The Maharashtra BJP unit on Thursday termed the state government’s decision to provide relief package to hailstorm-hit farmers as “too little too late.”

It would just remain on paper as happened during some earlier calamities, BJP state unit president Devendra Fadnavis said.

The Maharashtra Cabinet had on Wednesday decided to provide a special package of Rs. 4,000 crore to farmers whose crops were hit by unseasonal hailstorms recently.

“The state government has announced the decision of relief package to the affected farmers merely because (BJP’s prime ministerial nominee) Narendra Modi is scheduled to interact with farmers in Vidarbha region,” Fadanvis said adding that the intention is to garner political mileage.

“There is rampant corruption and red tapism in the panchanamas conducted by the bureaucrats,” he alleged and sought to know why the relief package was not announced before the imposition of model code of conduct in view of the Lok Sabha elections.

“We had met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and asked him to declare the relief package before the model code came into force,” said the senior BJP leader, who is here to oversee arrangements for Modi’s visit today.

He also claimed that they had asked Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to declare the calamity faced by the farmers in the state as national disaster, but the minister was unwilling for it.

“Over 37 farmers have committed suicide in the state (following crop damage) due to the hailstorm and unseasonal rains so far,” Fadanvis pointed out while expressing fear that the number could swell up by the time the relief package (if at all) finally reaches the affected farmers.

On the occasion, Shiv Sena candidate and sitting MP Bhavana Gawali, and other local leaders were also present.

Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil on Thursday welcomed a court’s verdict as much needed to desist rogue elements from committing heinous acts like rape in a city like Mumbai or elsewhere.

“The verdict given by the court will definitely put a balm on the families of those victims whose modesty were violated by those found guilty. What is heartening is that the court pronounced them as guilty within the shortest span of time since the chargesheet were filed,” Patil added.

“We still believe that Mumbai is a safe place for women and the verdict announced by the court will have far reaching consequences and a warning for potential criminals so that such cases are not repeated in future,” Patil said.

A court in Mumbai has found four accused in Mumbai’s Shakti Mills gang rape case as guilty for raping two women in the desolate compound.

It maybe recalled that the accused outraged the modesty of a 22-year-old photo-journalist, interning for a lifestyle magazine in August last year. At least three of the five men assaulted the victim at an abandoned mill close to the railway tracks in the Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai.

The five accused in the Shakti Mills gang rape of a 23-year-old photojournalist on August 22 are Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav, Chand Babu Sattar Shaikh, Mohammed Kasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Kasim Bengali and Siraj Rehman Khan.

Days after their arrest, a telephone operator came forward revealing that three of the accused had also gang-raped her on July 31. A 362-page charge sheet was filed against four of the accused in October. The accused, all unemployed young men, lived at a nearby slum.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday observed that unseasonal rains and hailstorms that wreaked havoc in several villages across Maharashtra since February this year was a serious issue.

“It is a serious issue and needs to be looked into,” a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice MS Sanklecha said while hearing a public interest litigation filed by two agriculturists seeking financial aid of Rs. 20,000 crores to all those farmers who have been affected by the hailstorm.

The bench posted the PIL for hearing on Friday.

The PIL filed by Gorakh Gadke and Vithalrao Pawar sought a direction to the Union Government and state government to disburse immediate financial aid of Rs. 20,000 crore despite the election code of conduct.

Additional government pleader Milind More informed the court that the government has declared a relief package of Rs. 4000 crore to the farmers and they would be exempted from paying electricity bills for six months.

Additional Solicitor General Kevic Setalvad, appearing for the Union government, sought two weeks time to file a reply to the PIL.

The Court, however, said it wanted to hear the petition on Friday.

According to the petition, lands ad-measuring over 17 lakh hectares had been affected in the natural calamity. Crops of summer rice, jowar, wheat, vegetables, onion, sugarcane, corn, maize, groundnuts, and horticultural products like banana, pomegranate, grapes, orange, papaya, mango and sweet lime have been damaged.

“The loss of crops, which were about to be harvested and taken to the market for sale, comes up to Rs. 42,000 crore approximately,” the PIL claimed.

The rail service on the Central line was hit on Thursday after a local train bound for Mumbai CST from Kasara derailed near Titwala.

As per the railway authorities, one passenger has died in the accident while 3 others injured.

Four coaches of the fast local derailed minutes after it left Titwala railway station towards Ambivali and Kalyan. Titwala is around 65 kms from Mumbai CST.

A break-down train and medical van have reached the accident site along with senior officials as efforts were underway to restore traffic flow in the affected section, the statement added.
The Kalyan-Kasara rail segment, on which the accident occurred, is a very busy route which connects the financial capital of Mumbai with the northern and eastern cities of the country.

Barely seven months after a Mumbai woman journalist was gang-raped in the deserted Shakti Mills complex, a court on Thursday found four accused guilty in the case.

Four accused have also been convicted in the July 31 rape of a call centre employee in the same premises.

A total of seven persons, including two minors, were arrested in both the cases in which three of them are common.

The ruling by Principal Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi in the sensational August 22 gang-rape involving the woman photo-journalist as well as the July 31 rape of the call centre employee in the same premises came five days after the court completed its hearing in both the cases.

The judge will pronounce quantum of sentence in both the cases on Friday.

The judge convicted Vijay Jadhav, 19, Mohammad Qasim Shaikh, 21 and Mohammad Ansari, 28, in both the gang-rape cases.

In addition to the trio, the court found Siraj Khan guilty in the photojournalist gang-rape case, and Mohammad Ashfaque Shaikh, 26, guilty in the telephone operator gang-rape case.

Two minors, one in each case, are being tried by the Juvenile Justice Board separately.

The court today convicted the five men for gang-rape, conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex and offences under the Information Technology Act.

The first case pertains to a 23-year old photojournalist working as a trainee with an English magazine who was gang-raped by five youths, including a minor where she and a male colleague had gone there for an assignment.

She had identified the accused – Ashfaq Sheikh, Kasim Hafiz Sheikh alias Kasim Bengali, Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav and a minor – in the incident which was often referred to as Mumbai version of the Delhi December 16 gang-rape case.

In the second case, a 19-year old call centre employees was gang-raped in the same premises on July 31 and she recognised the perpetrators of the crime from the pictures flashed by police in the photojournalist case.

Following a nationwide uproar, the Mumbai police had nabbed the accused within three days after the August 22 incident and filed its 600-page plus chargesheet against them in less than four weeks after cracking the case.

Among other things, the accused were charged with offences of rape, conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex, and sections of Information Technology Act as they had also made a video clip of the incident.

A few weeks after the incident, the Mumbai police and civic authorities had cleared the huge and desolate Shakti Mills complex of the dense undergrowth and beefed up security in the vicinity.

Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil on Thursday welcomed a court’s verdict as much needed to desist rogue elements from committing heinous acts like rape in a city like Mumbai or elsewhere.

“The verdict given by the court will definitely put a balm on the families of those victims whose modesty were violated by those found guilty. What is heartening is that the court pronounced them as guilty within the shortest span of time since the chargesheet were filed,” Patil added.

“We still believe that Mumbai is a safe place for women and the verdict announced by the court will have far reaching consequences and a warning for potential criminals so that such cases are not repeated in future,” Patil said.

A court in Mumbai has found four accused in Mumbai’s Shakti Mills gang rape case as guilty for raping two women in the desolate compound.

It maybe recalled that the accused outraged the modesty of a 22-year-old photo-journalist, interning for a lifestyle magazine in August last year. At least three of the five men assaulted the victim at an abandoned mill close to the railway tracks in the Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai.

The five accused in the Shakti Mills gang rape of a 23-year-old photojournalist on August 22 are Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav, Chand Babu Sattar Shaikh, Mohammed Kasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Kasim Bengali and Siraj Rehman Khan.

Days after their arrest, a telephone operator came forward revealing that three of the accused had also gang-raped her on July 31. A 362-page charge sheet was filed against four of the accused in October. The accused, all unemployed young men, lived at a nearby slum.

Even though NCP managed to swap the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency with Congress, its high profile candidate and Maharashtra water resources minister Sunil Tatkare may not have a cakewalk during the elections.

Tatkare is locked in a tough battle with five-time MP Anant Gite of Shiv Sena, former police officer Sanjay Apranti of AAP and PWP’s Ramesh Kadam – an ex-NCP MLA.

Congress stalwart A R Antulay is sulking because the seat swap happened without consulting him since he represented the constituency for four terms. However, party sources say he will not harm interests of the ruling alliance candidate.

Raigad constituency, about 130 kms away from Mumbai, has six Assembly segments – Pen, Alibaug, Shrivardhan, Mahad, Dapoli and Guhaghar. Pen and Shrivardhan were earlier part of the erstwhile Kolaba constituency while Mahad, Dapoli and Guhaghar were in Ratnagiri Lok Sabha constituency.

The Pen and Alibaug Assembly segments are with Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), Mahad and Dapoli with Shiv Sena, Shrivardhan and Guhaghar with NCP.

Tatkare is legislator from Shrivardhan while state NCP chief Bhaskar Jadhav represents Guhaghar. Over the years, Congress has lost its hold over the region.

“Tatkare is not even a leader of his own district and not on good terms with his own party men Bhaskar Jadhav and Uday Samant. How can one expect him to lead the people of the area?” asked PWP leader S P Jadhav.

Tatkare has done nothing to establish himself as a leader and does not have a vision for development. It is the PWP which has fought battles of the people, Jadhav said adding that infighting in the NCP and unrest between the Congress unit and Antulay will benefit them.

However, Tatkare rubbished the allegations saying had he not worked for development, he would not have been an MLA for 15 years. “I am meeting all leaders and office-bearers of Congress and NCP and will unitedly handle the campaign and am confident of my win,” he expressed.

On the contrary, Tatkare and PWP leaders say Anant Gite, who has represented the constituency for five terms, has proved to be ineffective.

So much so that Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam has openly stated that he will not work for Gite. “I have told the party leadership that I will campaign for the party in rest of the state, except Raigad,” Kadam told