A woman passenger was killed today as she was run over by an Express train here after being allegedly pushed by the Travel Ticket Examiner (TTE) from an AC coach, police said.

According to the complaint filed by the woman’s nephew Rahul Purohit with Government Railway Police (GRP), Ujjwala Pandey (38) with a general ticket, was trying to board the AC coach of LTT-Rajendranagar Patna Express (13202), and was stopped by TTE Sampat Salunkhe (staff of Mumbai Headquarters).

When train started to move, fearing she would miss it, she once again tried to board the AC coach from here with her ten-year-old daughter Palak and was allegedly pushed out by Salunke.

Ujjwala lost her balance and slipped into the gap between the coach and platform and was run over by the train, police said.

Her nephew had come to see off Ujjwala, who was going to Khandwa.

The kin in the complaint also alleged that the TTE was under the influence of alcohol.

Fearing angry passengers, Salunkhe initially hid in the pantry car but was driven out by passengers and the deceased’s kin, who took him to GRP station at the railway station.

He was arrested under section 304 of the IPC (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and further investigations are on, police added.

Two persons were injured in a clash between members of two communities in Palghar taluka of Thane district, police said.

Trouble started after a truck driver and his friends allegedly beat up a car driver in Manor area of Palghar on Wednesday night, they said.

Some locals also pitched in which led to a clash between members of both the communities causing tension in the area, police said.

The supporters of either side gathered at Manor police station at around 10 pm to lodge complaint against each other.

Two senior police officers held meetings with the locals to defuse the tension.

District police control said the situation was still tense but under control and additional police force has been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure.

The clashing parties complained to police against each other following which offences were registered under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 149, 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 323, 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 of the IPC against around 12 persons from both the sides, police added.

Union Minister Gopinath Munde would lead the BJP campaign to wrest power in Maharashtra from the Congress-NCP alliance, now into third term in office.

“Munde will lead our poll campaign for Assembly polls,” Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Vinod Tawde said.

Tawde, however, parried a question as to who would be the chief ministerial candidate in the event of BJP securing the largest number of seats among the Mahayuti alliance partners, which includes Shiv Sena and three other outfits. “After the poll results, the party’s parliamentary board will decide who will be the leader of BJP legislature party,” Tawde said.

“We (Mahayuti) will surely win at least 200 (of the total 288) Assembly seats,” Tawde said.

BJP’s position has improved in the state after the Lok Sabha polls, with the party securing 23 seats compared to Shiv Sena’s tally of 18 seats. This has boosted the morale of state leaders who feel BJP should get a chance to contest more seats than it did in the 2009 polls, thereby helping improve the tally.

Sena President Uddhav Thackeray recently reaffirmed his party’s claim on the chief ministerial post in case the Mahayuti were to come to power. The Sena held the CM’s post when the saffron alliance was in power in the state during 1995-99.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said though the climate change was leading to rise in the natural calamities, the agricultural production of the state would be increased to achieve the target of 10 per cent growth.

“We can achieve this with the hard work of the farmers and the use of modern technology,” Chavan said, addressing a kharif season preview meeting.

Around 1.5 lakh hectares of land in Maharashtra is under kharif cultivation, the Chief Minister said.

Meetings held by guardian ministers in their respective districts prior to the start of the season had been fruitful, Chavan noted.

He blamed the climate change for drought and other natural calamities that have hit the state in the recent years. “In last one year, Maharashtra faced a drought, hailstorms and excessive rains,” he said.

Financial assistance of Rs 6,635 crore had been given to farmers so far in the last one year, the Chief Minister said.

“This year there is a prediction of deficient monsoon. Therefore the government’s focus would be on ensuring availability of fertilisers, seeds, farm credit and electricity,” he said.

Thanks to effective monitoring, some 10,000 persons forfeited licenses after they were found to be involved in black-marketing of fertilisers and seeds, he said.

The state agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said the recent hailstorms affected 40 lakh hectares of cultivated land in Maharashtra, and yet the agricultural production was on the rise.

Maratha leader Vinayak Mete questioned the show-cause notice issued to him by NCP following his criticism of the leadership for dithering on the issue of reservations for the Maratha community.

Maharashtra NCP chief Bhaskar Jadahv issued a notice to Mete in March this year.

Mete, who belongs to the politically dominant Maratha community, switched his loyalty to the Shiv Sena-BJP led opposition alliance before the Lok Sabha elections.

“I am going to reply to their notice legally. I want to ask NCP that if I was taking forward party’s agenda to get reservations for the Maratha community, which was also a part of the party manifesto, then why was I served the notice.”

Only NCP could explain why he quit the party, he added.

NCP was interested only in Maratha votes, he said.

Mete also criticised NCP’s decision to induct Jitendra Awhad — with whom he is not on good terms — into the state cabinet.

Hong Kong-based multi-level marketing company QNET, allegedly involved in Rs 425-crore financial fraud, today filed an appeal in a sessions court here challenging a lower court order which had blocked its websites.

The appeal would come up for hearing by May 31, court sources said.

On a plea made by Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police, a city Magistrate had on May 3 issued an order asking Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) of Information and Technology Department of the Union Government to block the websites/servers of the company.

Accordingly, the CERT blocked these websites which were allegedly indulging in online illegal money circulation schemes. Being aggrieved, QNET filed an appeal in the sessions court.

The EOW had alleged that the websites of QNET induced the people to jump into money circulation scheme and thus they got cheated by way of selling various products.

The EOW had arrested nine team leaders of QNET for allegedly duping investors by offering to sell products like magnetic disks, herbal products and holiday schemes through fraudulent practices. However, they were released on bail later.

QNET has also been accused of using the banned binary pyramid business model for their multi-level marketing schemes to entice investors. The accused have been charged with cheating and forgery under relevant sections of the Prize, Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act 1978.

QNET contended in the appeal that it used its websites — www.Qnet.Net, www.Questnet.Net and www.Qnetindia.In — as their “e-commerce” platform to sell various products.

The company said that without hearing them or giving them an opportunity to plead its case, the Magistrate passed the impugned order asking the authorities to block websites.

QNET argued that it was engaged in e-commerce and hence its websites is their blood line. The EOW want to block their website to stop the blood line and bring the company business to collapse before proving the allegations levelled against them in the FIR registered in August last year.

With Shiv Sena MP Anant Geete finally assuming charge as Minister of Heavy Industries in Narendra Modi cabinet after ‘haggling’ over “significance” of the portfolio, the NCP today termed the saffron party as a “paper tiger” who is shown the “right place” by its alliance partner BJP in allocation of berths.
“In BJP’s view, Shiv Sena is worth only one ministry and the party’s objections were also overruled. The lone Shiv Sena minister Anant Geete had to fall in line by taking charge of the Heavy Industries portfolio,” NCP president Bhaskar Jadhav said.
Shiv Sena, which is the second largest NDA constituent with 18 MPs, was unhappy over the allocation of the portfolio and has reportedly sought the ministry of significance and also more berths for the party which is an all-weather ally of BJP.
Jadhav also recalled how BJP tried to reach out to Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena during campaigning for Lok Sabha polls.
Responding to a query on whether NCP is in favour of the change of guard in Maharashtra ahead of Assembly polls which are due later this year, Jadhav said, “It is not needed. We are not demanding this as there is very little time (left for elections)”.
On allegations levelled by Congress leaders like Narayan Rane and Patangrao Kadam that NCP was responsible for defeat of Congress candidates, Jadhav replied, “Even Congress leaders are not taking these allegations seriously”.
Jadhav said that NCP will celebrate its 15th Foundation Year with convening of a meeting of party office-bearers. “Senior leaders from all over the state will meet at Shanmukhanand Hall in Central Mumbai on June 8,” he added.
Jadhav said that NCP chief Sharad Pawar will speak on the future path of the party, besides co-ordination in party and in government, at the meeting.
“This will enable party men to organise similar meetings at Assembly constituency level on June 10 which is the Foundation Day of the party, where people from all sections of society will participate,” he said.