After Bollywood superstar Salman Khan reached the Mumbai sessions court, two witnesses identified him so far in relation to his 2002 hit-and-run case. The retrial of the infamous case began last week with witnesses deposing before the magistrate. The actor was seen accompanied by his sisters while entering the court. If found guilty, the actor could face jail term upto ten years.
Two of the witnesses deposed before the court in order to testify and identify whether Salman was present on the spot of the accident or not. Reportedly, the 48-year-old actor was seen by these two witnesses getting out from his car on that fateful day.

According to reports, one of the witnesses who deposed today has lodged a complaint claiming that he has received a threatening call a few days back. Reportedly, the court will take this matter in the next hearing itself.

During the deposing process last week, a witness named Samba Gowda, said he had drawn panchnama of the articles seized by police on the day of the incident on September 28, 2002.

The witness told prosecutor Jagannath Kenjalkar that it was a big car involved in the accident and said police had reached the spot along with him. He further said the car had rammed into a laundry and its bumper had hit the shutter of the shop. The witness said he saw glass pieces, number plate of the car and bumper parts lying on the spot. These articles were seized by police and a panchnama was drawn by him.

On March 26, three witnesses failed to turn up as they were either not available or untraceable making this the second occasion when the fresh trial has not begun in the case.

The Bollywood superstar is facing the charges of running over his Toyota Land Cruiser on people sleeping on a footpath outside a bakery in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002, killing one and injuring four others.

With a view to instill a sense of trust and strengthen coordination between two alliance partners ahead of crucial Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Congress asked NCP leadership to take “definite” action against party leaders who tried to spoil the prospects of nominees put up by Congress in just-held Lok Sabha polls.

While citing the action taken by its coalition partner against those leaders who had defied the party line to work against official candidates, Congress said it would also “reciprocate”.

NCP has taken action against Vijaykumar Gavit by sacking him from the ministry and the party after his daughter bagged the BJP candidature in Nandurbar against Congress veteran Manikrao Gavit.

“Similarly, Sawantwadi MLA Deepak Kesarkar resigned after he refused to tow the NCP line to support Congress candidate Nitesh Rane in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. Similarly, Sindhudurg district NCP chief Bal Bhise was sacked,” Thakre said.

He said the action against such leaders should be followed up with not giving them tickets for the Assembly polls and not taking them back in the party.

Thakre said that barring a few places, the overall coordination between Congress and NCP was “good” as “both the parties fought elections together and in true spirit of the coalition”.

“We expect some definite action from Sharad Pawar in this respect at the NCP’s May 10 meeting in Mumbai. Congress will also do the same,” he said.

Citing example of Parbhani Lok Sabha seat, Thakare said the NCP candidate Vijay Bhambale had contested as an Independent against Congress MLA Ramprasad Bordikar in 2009 elections.

“Bhamble was reinstated within 15 days in the NCP and was made the district unit chief of the party and also given the NCP candidature for Lok Sabha polls,” he added.

Surekha Nakte — a passenger on the ill-fated Diva – Sawantwadi train — was crushed to death instantly when the compartment she was traveling in was derailed on Sunday morning in Maharashtra’s Raigad district.

But Manasvi, her three-month-old daughter who was tucked in Surekha’s arms, miraculously survived the mishap.

Rescue workers found her under a seat of the mangled compartment.

22 people lost their lives when four compartments and the engine of the Diva- Sawantwadi Passenger train derailed between Roha and Nagothane station.

Manasvi has been admitted to a private hospital and is recovering well.

“When the child was bought here she was in a very critical stage. She was unconscious, totally dehydrated and not responding. We started intensive treatment and within a few hours, she regained consciousness. By evening, she had started taking feeds,” said Dr Minal Wagle, her attending physician.

Dr. Wagle added, “She has lost her mother in this accident. Her father is also in a critical condition. Her two sisters have been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai”.

Manasvi’s family was on its way to attend a wedding in Mangaon in the Konkan region.

At Sion hospital in Mumbai, Manasvi’s older sister Jahnvi is asking for her parents.

“She is asking about her younger sister and her parents. She wants to know where they are. I have no answer to these questions,” said Jahnvi’s uncle Pandurang Kamble.

Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge, who visited the site on Monday, admitted that the reason behind the derailment still had to be ascertained.

“We are doing our best. The tracks are maintained by human beings and trains are run by human beings. Sometimes such incidents happen; we are learning our lessons from that,” he said.

According to sources, a crack on the railway tracks is suspected to have led to the derailment.

A railway official on a routine inspection was on his way to inspect the area and was just 10 minutes away when the accident took place, they claimed.

Ordering an enquiry and promising compensation is the standard reaction of the Indian Railways after every such accident.

But do these measures mean anything for those, like Manasvi, whose lives are altered irreparably after such accidents?

A senior citizen was allegedly thrashed to death by his 32-year-old son following a heated argument at the latter’s residence in neighbouring Thane district, police said.

Victim Dattaram Salaskar (70) was beaten by his son Shailesh on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, police said.

The injured, who was later admitted in a government run Cooper hospital here for injuries, died yesterday while undergoing treatment, following which a murder case was registered against Shailesh at Andheri police station in the city, police said.

According to police, Salaksar had rung up his brother-in-law Vishnu Parab (71), a resident of suburban Andheri, at 3.30 am on Monday claiming that his son had beaten him up very badly. “Rattled Salaskar told Parab that he would be coming to latter’s residence in Andheri,” police said.

“Salaskar took a cab from Thane but fainted while travelling. The cab driver subsequently alerted the police patrolling team, which rushed him to a nearby Cooper hospital,” police said.

The victim died yesterday afternoon while undergoing treatment; police said adding that an FIR was registered against Shailesh at Andheri police station.

The reason for the argument between the father-son duo which led to the murder was not yet clear. The case has been transferred to the police station concerned in Thane for further investigation as the incident occurred there, police said.

Four employees of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), who had been arrested in connection with a building collapse incident at Daighar area in Shil Phata near Thane, were granted bail by the Bombay Hight Court.

The four accused had been arrested around a year ago.

The TMC employees who were granted bail are- Deputy Municipal Commissioner Deepak Chavan, Assistant Municipal Commissioner Babasaheb Andale, engineer Ramesh Inamdar and clerk Kisan Madke.

With this, the total number of persons released on bail so far in this case has gone up to eleven. While the police had arrested 24 accused, three are still at large.

Special public prosecutor Shishir Hirey told that the state would challenge the order in the Supreme Court.

The eight-storey building had collapsed in Mumbra, a suburb of Thane, on April 4, 2013 in which 74 people, including 18 children, had died.