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Maharashtra

Shiv Sena ‘rebel’ who changed his mind in Guwahati, gets ACB notice now

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 Pressure further mounted on the Shiv Sena-UBT after an MLA – who had “rebelled” in June last year and then changed his mind in Guwahati – has been slapped with an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) notice, party leaders said here on Tuesday.

Balapur (Akola) MLA Nitin Deshmukh has been served the ACB notice, making him the third MLA in the past two months to get such notices for allegations pertaining to holding disproportionate assets.

The Sena-UBT has again cried foul at the hounding of its legislators by various probe agencies by the government.

In recent months, two of its MLAs – Vaibhav Naik from Kudal (Sindhudurg) and Rajan Salvi from Rajapur (Ratnagiri) – had received ACB notices in October and December 2022, respectively.

After going to Gujarat and Guwahati with the rebel camp led by Eknath Shinde – now the Chief Minister – Deshmukh had mysteriously resurfaced in Mumbai and rejoined the faction led by Uddhav Thackeray.

The party had wholeheartedly rejoiced, showered praises on him and he was felicitated by both Thackeray and son Aditya Thackeray later.

Unfazed after getting the ACB notice, Deshmukh said that “attempts are being made to implicate me”, and he would report to the probe agency on January 17 in Amravati to record his statement.

He said that around a fortnight back, Shinde’s Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena (BSS) MP Bhavna Gawli had filed a case against him after which the ACB Amravati notice was received.

Deshmukh pointed out that the ACB notice is vague, with no mention of the complainant’s name, the nature of the complaint and he would not be scared even if central agencies send him a notice as he has no illegal properties.

The Sena MLA said that after going to the ACB Amravati office, he would hold a media conference and expose the conspiracy against him.

At the height of the rebellion drama in June, Deshmukh had alleged that he was “kidnapped”, whisked off to Surat and then to Guwahati where attempts were made to subject him to some “medical procedure” but he managed to escape.

Dismissing his accusations, the Shinde camp had then countered by saying that nobody was taken there forcibly and they had arranged a private jet for him to return.

Maharashtra

Mira Road Violence: 65 Booked After Violent Clash Over Parking In Dachkul-Pada, Several Injured & 30 Autos Damaged

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Mira Road: Tensions flared in Mira Road’s Dachkul-Pada area early Tuesday morning after a violent clash broke out over a parking dispute, leading to multiple injuries and extensive property damage.

The Kashigaon police have booked 15 identified individuals and around 50 unidentified others for their involvement in the attack, which left at least three to four people injured and nearly 30 to 35 autorickshaws damaged.

According to officials, the incident occurred around 6 am on Tuesday when a group of locals got into an argument with a few autorickshaw drivers who were washing their vehicles by blocking the road. The situation quickly escalated when one of the complainants, who had objected to the road being blocked, was allegedly attacked. Within minutes, the accused reportedly called in reinforcements from nearby areas, and around 50 men armed with axes, bamboo sticks, and sickles stormed into the lane.

“They attacked the complainant and a few others with sharp weapons and sticks. One of the victims suffered a head injury requiring stitches, while others escaped with bruises and scratches,” a police officer said. The crowd also went on a rampage, damaging several autorickshaws parked in the vicinity.

Locals alleged that the police arrived at the scene nearly an hour after the assault, by which time the attackers had fled. They also claimed that a group of miscreants regularly create nuisance in the area under the pretext of cleaning their autos and have been involved in drug-related activities. Residents have urged for stricter patrolling and police presence in the locality to prevent further incidents.

In response, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik and MLA Narendra Mehta visited the site of the clash and assured residents that swift and strict action would be taken against those responsible for the violence.

Senior Police Inspector Mahesh Togarwad of Kashigaon Police Station confirmed that around 65 people have been booked under serious charges, including attempt to murder (Section 307), causing grievous hurt with weapons, rioting, unlawful assembly, and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Police Act for carrying prohibited weapons.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai drivers should be given 25% discount on purchase and conversion of electric vehicles: Raees Shaikh

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Mumbai: Samajwadi Party MLA from Bhiwandi East Raees Shaikh has written a letter to the state transport department on the draft Motor Vehicle Aggregators Rules, 2025, suggesting that drivers be given a 25 per cent subsidy on the cost of converting to an electric vehicle (EV) and it should be provided from the Driver Welfare Fund. The transport department had published the draft rules in this regard on October 9 and the last date for submission of suggestions and objections is October 26.

MLA Raees Shaikh said that to increase the income of drivers, the daily working hours limit should be increased, passengers should be given a fixed period to cancel the ride without being charged a fine, a government grievance redressal portal should be created, delay compensation should be given to passengers, medical and psychological tests of drivers should be conducted and regular testing of GPS should be done from funds.

Raees Shaikh, in a letter to the Transport Commissioner, suggested a phased transition to EVs to promote sustainable transport in draft Rules 18 and 20. Since drivers will not be able to bear the heavy costs, these changes will be possible if a 25% subsidy is provided through the Driver Welfare Fund. Raees Shaikh has suggested major changes in the ride cancellation policies under Rule 17. Passengers should be fined only if the driver comes within 200 meters of the pick-up point. In addition, passengers should be given a grace period of 2-3 minutes to cancel after booking without any fee.

The cost of fines due to software glitches or GPS errors should be borne by the aggregators, not the drivers. In case of vehicle malfunction, passengers should be refunded 10% of the fare if there is a delay beyond the permissible limit. MLA Raees Shaikh has recommended that there should be a government portal for complaints that are not resolved for more than seven days.

On driver welfare under Rule 10, Raees Shaikh has insisted that the cost of mandatory medical and psychological tests should be borne entirely by the aggregators. The limit of daily working hours should be increased to 14 hours. This will help increase the income of drivers.

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Maharashtra

Controversy over offering prayers at Hazrat Khwaja Shah Dargah in Pune Saniwar Wada… Hindu organizations protest, tense situation, peace maintained, police arrangements increased.

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Mumbai: In the ancient historical fort of Saniwar Wada area of ​​Pune, Muslim women offered Friday prayers in the premises of the shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Syed Shah (may Allah be pleased with him), after which the police have registered a case against the three prayers and started an investigation. A conspiracy has started to give this incident a religious color. BJP MP Medha Kulkarni took out a front here to straighten out the area and demanded that a case be registered. The police have registered a case against the three unidentified women under pressure from Hindu organizations, while the situation in Pune has become extremely tense after this incident.

The video of the three worshippers offering prayers went viral on social media at the time, on this basis the police have registered a case, while in Pune, Medha Kulkarni said that offering prayers in Saniwar Wada will not be tolerated. After offering prayers in Saniwar Wada, politics has also started on it by giving it a Hindu-Muslim color. After the video went viral, a Hindu organization named Patis Pawan filed a written complaint and the police have registered a complaint on the complaint of Ishwar Babban Kode. The accused have not been arrested yet. There is a fear that Hindu organizations will once again stage a protest in Saniwar Wada. After rejecting the protest, sectarians led by Medha Kulkarni raised slogans of Jai Shri Ram and hoisted saffron flags on the dargah’s lattice. Not only that, Siddhi Karan was performed outside the premises and Gautam Buddha was sprayed. The situation is peaceful, but tension remains. This dargah is under the influence of the Waqf Board and now Hindu organizations have also started demanding the removal of this shrine. The police have issued an alert after this incident and have increased the arrangements.

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