A prominent Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader from the adjoining Thane district joined the BJP, which announced on Tuesday, that some more leaders of the Sharad Pawar-led party would join it shortly.

Kapil Patil, who was the NCP Thane rural district unit president, was welcomed into the BJP here by its senior leader Gopinath Munde and Maharashtra unit president Devendra Fadnavis.

Patil told r that he left NCP since he felt that only an able leader like Narendra Modi could ensure development of his Bhiwandi Lok Sabha constituency.

Patil is likely to be the BJP candidate from Bhiwandi and a formal decision is expected on Wednesday.

Answering a query about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s warning to Medical Education Minister Vijaykumar Gavit, whose daughter, Heena Gavit, is likely to join the BJP, Munde said, “Joining any party and practising an ideology is a right given to people by the Constitution.”

“There is no point exerting pressure on a father to prevent his daughter from joining any other party,” Munde said.

“Even nephews don’t listen to uncles, as can be seen from mine and Balasaheb’s (Thackeray) case,” Munde said, in an apparent reference to his nephew Dhananjay joining the NCP and the late Thackeray’s nephew Raj leaving the Shiv Sena and forming the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

“Mind you, the same thing is going to happen in Sharad Pawar’s case,” Munde said, implying that all may not be well between Ajit Pawar and his uncle, in future.

The Thane police arrested four members of a family on Tuesday including a couple on charges of allegedly harassing a young married women and forcing her to end her life under duress for more dowry, the police said.

Police station inspector PT Kale of the Kalwa police station told that the victim’s family and those arrested lived in the Atkondeshwar Nagar of Kalwa.

The victim Rinki Rajesh Gupta (23) was married to one Rajesh Gupta (27) on June 07, 2011.

Within a couple of months after the marriage her in-laws began haressing the girl demanding more dowry, which she could not not fulfill.

They also wanted a sum of Rs 5 lakh from Rinki to fund Rajesh’s foreign visit, according to a complaint by the victim’s brother Ashok Gupta, who is a Navi Mumbai resident.

The torture increased day by day and on Saturday she doused herself in kerosene and set herself on fire after which she was badly burnt, the police said.

She was rushed to the Thane civil hospital for treatment where she died today, the police said, adding that her in-laws were arrested by the Kalwa police.

The names of those arrested are Rajesh Gupta (27), his mother Gayatri Devi Gupta (45), his father Ramchandra Gupta (50) and his brother Brijesh Gupta (23), who have been charged under Section 498-A and Section 306 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, the police said.

Observing that advocate Sindha Shreedharan, charged with culpable homicide following collapse of a building in Mumbai killing seven persons, cannot be held solely responsible, Bombay High Court directed police not to take coercive steps against her or any BMC official.

A division bench of Justices Anoop Mohta and M S Sonak was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by Shreedharan challenging the eviction notice issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in April 2008 asking all the tenants to vacate the seven-storey building in suburban Vakola as it was dilapidated.

While all tenants were evicted, Shreedharan’s family refused to vacate their ground floor premises due to dispute with the landlords.

On March 14, the building collapsed killing seven persons, including Shreedharan’s sister, and injuring four others. Police on Monday registered a case of culpable homicide against Shreedharan and unnamed BMC officials for failing to take steps for eviction and building’s demolition.

“The BMC has also not taken any steps towards eviction or demolition of the building. How can the BMC put burden on the petitioner alone as being responsible for the collapse? If the building was in a dilapidated condition since 2008, what steps has the corporation taken? Can only the petitioner be blamed?” Justice Mohta said.

The court was informed that Shreedharan had in March 2010 obtained a stay on the eviction notice from the High Court. The corporation had moved the court in 2013 challenging the stay order. “So your (BMC) basic cause of action is that nothing could be done because of the stay order. How can that be the basis of the petitioner’s arrest?” the court said.

Stating that the matter will have to be heard in detail before passing any order, the court directed the police to not take any coercive steps like arrest against the petitioner or any BMC official. The court directed all the parties involved to file their affidavits and supporting documents and posted the petition for hearing on 15 April.

Shreedharan alleged that she was being targeted by land sharks, Shiv Sena politicians and the BMC officials. “I cannot be held liable for the collapse. If I am arrested today I will be killed in custody. Shiv Sena politicians are instigating the locals against me,” she alleged.