Mumbai: The special PMLA court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take the custody of YS Reddy, suspended deputy director of town planning of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), in the money laundering case linked to illegal constructions.

Apart from him, ex-VVCMC chief, IAS officer Anil Pawar, and builder duo, Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta, have been arrested. They were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days on August 20, however, the ED had reserved its right to obtain their custody for further interrogation.

Reddy was remanded to ED custody till Monday after the agency submitted that he needs to be questioned regarding the huge amount of cash and jewellery found at his residence.

The ED sought Reddy’s after a civic employee allegedly gave a statement that he along with Pawar forced him to collect and deliver bribes to them. The employee revealed that while big architects and builders had access to meet Pawar at his official residence, smaller architects would send their representatives with him to deliver cash to Pawar’s cook or other staff, said the officials.

The employee has also provided a list of 457 commencement certificates (CC) issued for projects in ‘Urban Zone’ and 129 CCs for D-Zone in lieu of bribes, they added.

The agency said that it has also recorded the statement of an architect on September 1, who claimed that Pawar and Reddy sought bribes for granting CCs. The architect said that he has negotiated and facilitated payment of bribes to the duo, as per the statement.

Besides, ED prosecutor Kavita Patil referred to the August 29 statement of a builder, who claimed that he had paid Rs4.28 crore in bribes, which were collected at a rate of Rs30 per sq ft, to the accused. The builder also claimed that he had paid around Rs15 crore to Reddy and Pawar for various approvals granted by them, said Patil.

However, Reddy’s lawyer argued that he has already given explanation to the adjudicating authority regarding the valuables seized from his residence and that seeking custody was the ED’s tactic not to submit its reply, as directed, in this regard by September 10.

Accepting the ED’s contention, the court said, “Considering the statements of witnesses and the list of CCs, the investigation cannot be completed in a proper manner without Reddy’s custody.”

Mumbai: Mumbai woke up to moderate to heavy rains on Saturday as the city geared up for Ganpati Visarjan, the grand finale of the 11-day Ganeshotsav. With lakhs of devotees expected to join immersion processions across Maharashtra, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued yellow and orange alerts for several districts, cautioning citizens to remain vigilant during the day-long celebrations.

In Mumbai, a yellow alert has been sounded. Light to moderate rain showers lashed many areas since morning, while heavy spells are expected in some pockets through the afternoon and evening. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 30 degrees Celsius, with the minimum around 25 degrees. Despite the rains, the city will continue to experience humid and sultry conditions, while moderate winds are forecast along the coast.

Thane and Navi Mumbai also remain under a yellow alert. Officials have warned that sudden bursts of heavy rain may impact traffic and prolong immersion timings. Commuters and devotees have been advised to plan their travel carefully, as afternoon and late-evening showers are expected to intensify. Maximum and minimum temperatures are projected at 29 and 24 degrees respectively.

In Palghar, which has already been battered by heavy rainfall through the past week, the IMD has issued an orange alert. The district may witness very heavy showers in isolated areas, raising the risk of waterlogging and transport disruptions, particularly in rural belts. The weather office has predicted maximum and minimum temperatures at 28 and 24 degrees Celsius, with moderate to strong winds likely to persist.

Further down the Konkan coast, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts have all been placed under yellow alerts. Raigad may see moderate to heavy showers, while Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg are expected to receive uneven rainfall, intense in some places, lighter in others. Temperatures will range between 24 and 30 degrees Celsius, while humidity could rise as high as 89 per cent. Wind speeds are forecast to reach around 30 kmph, with the sea turning choppy and high waves anticipated along the shoreline.

Mumbai: On a rainy Thursday, food lovers were shocked when an insta post from Ranbir Batra, owner of New Yorker, the iconic Tex-Mex-Italian-Indian vegetarian restaurant at Chowpatty seaface founded by his father Tony Brar, announced that the place was downing shutters on September 11. It was a kind of 9/11 moment for the foodies.

The message came like a bolt from the blue. No reasons were given for the sudden decision. Efforts to reach out to Ranbir were in vain.

Ever since this dining place with its cool interiors opened 45 years ago, two generations of Mumbaikars had enjoyed its delectable fare. If the oldies preferred to go to Cream Centre next door for its outsized baturas and chhole, the younger generation headed for New Yorker.

In fact, taking your girlfriend to NY was an in thing in the ’80s. It was ideally sandwiched between Cafe Ideal, where you can sip your chilled lager as you watched the sunset through its glass windows, and Cream Centre which continues to be a favourite with the aunties and uncles.

In his post Ranbir said, “There is sadness as this restaurant opened a few years before I was born, close to 45 years ago…..It is due to some unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances that we have to shut our doors…but we pray this is not the end. We hope to continue to serve you some of our most popular dishes via a delivery model soon enough and then the door will always be open for New Yorker to come back in a new way. For now though, we say goodbye to this location.”

The post hints that NY may relocate to another location. There is speculation that the building may be going in for redevelopment and that is the reason for NY’s closure.

NY was justly famous for its Mexican tomato soup, Feta cheese salad, Smoky chipotle hummus, Nachos, Mexican galouti tikkis, Paneer quesadilla, Bean and cheese enchiladas, Burrito bowl, Blue Tribe Veg Sausage pizza, Pesto Genovese, Good ol’ Arrabiatta, Mucho grande pizza, burger, hot dog et al. which could be downed with Oreo thickshake, cranberry mojito or Lemon masala jeera soda.

The dessert section boasted Mexican churros, Molten choco lava cake, triple hot fudge nut sundae etc and guaranteed to make you stay away from your weighing scales.