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The five women whose petition has shaken up the nation

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 The five women who caused an upheaval in the country by filing a petition seeking permission to offer prayers at the Shringar Gauri shrine in the Gyanvapi mosque complex here are neither friends, nor part of one group.

Of the five petitioners, one is based in Delhi while four belong to Varanasi. The closest they came to know of each other is a chance meeting at a ‘satsang’.

While Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas and Rekha Pathak live in Varanasi and have been present at every hearing of the case which began in August 2021, the fifth and the main petitioner, Rakhi Singh, lives in Delhi and has not been to court.

Rakhi Singh’s interest in religion seems to originate from her links to the ‘Vishwa Vedic Sanathan Sangh’.

Rakhi, 35, is a founder member of the outfit, which claims to have done ‘coordination’ for the petition. Her uncle, Jitendra Singh Bishen, is the President of the Sangh.

According to Santosh Singh, the UP convenor of the Vishwa Vedic Sanathan Sangh, the outfit coordinated with four of the women and brought them together to file the Gyanvapi petition in August 2021.

“We are managing the whole case,” he claimed.

The second petitioner is Laxmi Devi, 65, whose husband, Sohan Lal Arya, is a senior VHP office-bearer in Varanasi. Laxmi Devi is essentially a homemaker and lives in Varanasi’s Mahmoorganj area.

An active player in this case, her husband claims it was he who “inspired and brought together the five women (petitioners)”.

Arya, 71, is also the litigants’ agent in the petition.

The VHP Varanasi Mahanagar vice-president and spokesperson since 1984, he said that the petitioners, including his wife, were chosen by him.

Arya, who claims to have been associated with the RSS since childhood, said that he filed his first petition in the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi matter in a Varanasi court in 1985.

“This time, I decided to put women in front as it is they who pray to Maa Shringar Gauri. I chose the four women as I needed some women to file the petition. I didn’t have any other names, so I picked them,” he said.

The Vishwa Vedic Sanathan Sangh was founded in 2018 “for the cause of Hindutva”. The outfit has also filed cases over the status of Qutub Minar in a Delhi court as well as one regarding the Krishna Janmabhoomi in a Mathura court, which also involves dispute with a mosque.

Sita Sahu, another petitioner, however, has another story as to how they came together for the case.

“Four of us met at a satsang and decided to file the petition. We were contacted by Rakhi Singh saying she wanted to be a part of the petition, so we included her as well,” she said.

Sita Sahu runs a small general store from her house in Chetganj area of Varanasi, just 2 km from the Gyanvapi complex.

While she has never been associated with any outfit or organisation, she said, “We are doing work for Hindu religion and filed the petition because we are not allowed to properly worship our Goddess at the temple.”

Manju Vyas, 49, runs a beauty parlour from her house located 1.5 km from the Gyanvapi complex and is not a member or office-bearer of any outfit or organisation. Apart from her small business, she looks after her family. Her interest is to pray at the Shringar Gauri Sthal.

Rekha Pathak, 35, the fifth petitioner in the case, said she became a part of the petition for the cause of her Goddess.

“I felt bad that women who go to the temple for worship are not allowed past the barricading, so I became a part of the petition. The decision to file the petition was taken by us during a satsang of the temple because all of us worship the Goddess,” she said.

It is on their petition that the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Varanasi, ordered a videographic inspection of the Gyanvapi mosque, inviting objections from the Muslim community.

“For us, nothing else matters except for offering prayers at Shringar Gauri Maa and we will not rest till we are given the permission,” the petitioners said.

Interestingly, none of the five petitioners are aware of the legal or political implications that their petition is having on the nation.

“We are only concerned with worshipping at Shringar Gauri and nothing else matters to us,” said Rekha Pathak.

Maharashtra

Crackdown on illegal street vendors in Andheri, Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s ‘K-Waste’ department takes action, citizens are relieved

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Mumbai: Around 200 unauthorised hawkers and additional structures on footpaths in Ram Ganesh Gadkari Marg (Arla Marg) area of ​​Andheri (West) in Mumbai were evicted by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s ‘K-West’ department yesterday (January 29, 2026). The operation, as per the instructions of Municipal Corporation Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani, was conducted under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner (Zone-4) Bhagya Shri Kapse, and Assistant Commissioner (K-West Division) Chakrapani Ale. Unauthorised additional structures were found on footpaths connecting Swami Vivekananda Marg and Gulmohar Marg in Andheri (West) and on Ram Ganesh Gadkari Marg (Arla Marg) adjacent to the entrance of Dr. No. Cooper Hospital. It was also observed that unauthorised hawkers have set up shops in this area. It was creating obstacles for ambulances bringing patients to Cooper Hospital in case of emergency and for pedestrians to walk on the footpaths.

In this context, an eviction drive was launched by the ‘K-West’ administrative department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Under this, around 200 unauthorized hawkers and unauthorized additional structures established on the footpaths in this area were evicted.

The eviction was carried out with the help of 04 encroachment removal vehicles, 03 JCBs and other equipment. During this operation, an adequate police force including 100 officers and employees of the Municipal Corporation were deployed. Local representatives and citizens are expressing satisfaction over this action. The Municipal Corporation administration has made it clear that regular evictions against unauthorized structures will continue in the future.

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Mumbai Press Exclusive News

Target to complete all works of Vidya Vihar Flyover by June 25, 2026, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Project) inspects site

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Mumbai: A flyover is being constructed by the Municipal Corporation at Vidya Vihar railway station, connecting the east and west sides of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s ‘N’ zone. The entire work of the project is targeted to be completed by June 25, 2026. However, all work on the eastern side of the bridge will be completed by February 28, 2026. The process of removing the affected residential and commercial structures and re-aligning the road on the western side of the bridge should be completed immediately. Keeping in mind the monsoon, all the necessary work on the bridge should be planned to be completed before May 31, 2026. After this, efforts should be made to complete the surfacing and finishing works and open the bridge for traffic by June 25, 2026, Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar said (Projects) A flyover passing over the tracks of Vidya Vihar railway station, within the limits of the ‘N’ zone of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, is being constructed by the Bridge Department of the Municipal Corporation to connect Ram Chandra Chemburkar Marg in the east and Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in the west with the Ghatkopar area. The flyover project also includes a main bridge of about 100 meters in length that passes over the railway tracks. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar visited the project site today (January 29, 2026) and inspected it. During the inspection, he gave necessary instructions to the concerned agencies.

The flyover, which connects Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg and Ram Chandra Chemburkar Marg, has a total of two lanes. The 650-metre-long project includes a 100-metre bridge over the railway tracks, while a 220-metre approach road is being constructed on the eastern side and a 330-metre approach road on the western side. The flyover is also providing a connecting road to the footpaths of Vidya Vihar railway station. Along with this, the railway ticket counter, station master’s office and the stairs on both sides have also been reconstructed. The pedestrian path is being connected to the by-road through stairs within the railway limits. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar said that the work on the eastern side of the flyover is currently in the final stage. All the work, including the completion of the concrete path on the eastern side and surfacing of the entire bridge, will be completed by February 28, 2026. For this, a detailed and phased planning of the work should be done. So far, the construction of six pillars on the western side has been completed. The construction of the remaining four pillars, bridge span, normal road etc. is pending. Traffic diversion during these works is a major challenge. Therefore, the road work on both sides of the bridge will be completed first to provide more space for traffic while the work is in progress. After this, the remaining works of the bridge will include removal of affected residential and commercial structures and realignment of the road. After the completion of both these processes, the flyover works will gain significant momentum. Keeping in view the upcoming monsoon, all the major essential works of the flyover should be completed by May 31, 2026, followed by surfacing and other final works. In any case, the flyover should be completed and opened for traffic by June 25, 2026.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Ajit Pawar’s plane crash investigation handed over to central agency, inquiry started after state government’s recommendation, agency in possession of black box

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Mumbai: The investigation into the plane crash of the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar (Ajit Pawar Baramati plane crash) will now be conducted by a central agency. The Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started an investigation into the accident and after receiving its report, it will be sent to the state government. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had written a letter to Union Aviation Minister Kanjrapu Ram Mohan Naidu requesting an investigation into the accident. After this, the Union Minister gave this information in a letter written to the Chief Minister.

The Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started an investigation. The black box of the aircraft has been seized. An investigation has been started as per the Aircraft Accident and Incident Rules. This will be done in a transparent and time-bound manner.

All the technical records, operational details, facts available at the accident site are being investigated. The Ministry has taken note of our request to control such incidents in future and steps will be taken in this regard as soon as the investigation report comes. The cooperation of the Maharashtra government in this investigation will also be valuable for us. The local administration will help in this. We will also give this complete investigation report to the state government.

A very senior leader like Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash. Along with him, 4 others have also lost their lives in it. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had demanded that the exact reasons for this accident should be investigated. He also demanded in the letter that immediate steps be taken to ensure that such accidents do not happen in the future.

Ajit Pawar’s last rites
The last rites of the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar were performed in a mournful atmosphere in Baramati. Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash in Baramati yesterday. After which the entire state is in mourning. Ajit Pawar’s last rites were performed at the Vidya Pratishthan Ground in Baramati in the presence of lakhs of fans, supporters and leaders of all parties.

The untimely death of Ajit Pawar has shocked the entire state. Senior leaders of all parties including senior leader Sharad Pawar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, MNS President Raj Thackeray and others were present at the Vidya Pratishthan. Amidst the slogans of Ajit Dada Amar Rahe, Partha Pawar and Jay Pawar performed the last rites of Dada with tearful eyes. It seems that Dada’s departure has created a big void in the politics of the state.

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