BJP to file FIR against Ajaz Khan

By

-

January 7, 2014

The Bhartiya Janata Party activists are miffed with actor Ajaz Khan for addressing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as thief in seventh edition of reality show Bigg Boss. A delegation of BJP’s Yuva Morcha filed a complaint against Ajaz at Samata Nagar Police station for using offensive language against Modi. The reality show Bigg Boss is always known for creating some kind of controversies.

In the complaint the BJP party workers had mentioned that Ajaz Khan had hurt the sentiments of Narendra Modi’s well wishers. Modi is the prime ministerial candidate of BJP and commands respect hence people should not pass objectionable comments against him. Ajaz Khan doesn’t have any right to comment against Modi. Strict action must be taken against him for insulting Modi who is a national leader.

The party workers warned that if police fails to take action against Ajaz then they will protest in their own style. They are also planning to protest outside Bigg Boss house in Lonavala where the incident occurred.

Sandeep Upadhaya, BJP Yuva Morcha president spoke to AV and said, “We are miffed with Ajaz Khan for passing unwarranted comment against Narendra Modi. We want the police to take strict action against Ajaz failing which we will teach him a lesson in our style. A ban must be imposed of such kind of reality shows. If he is unaware about politics then he should refrain from using such kind of abusive language against our leader Narendra Modi.”
The Samata Nagar Police has registered a non-cognizable offence against Ajaz Khan.

Pravin More, Senior Police Inspector from Samata Nagar Police said, “We have registered a complaint filed by a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party who arrived at our police station. We will forward the complaint to Lonavala Police Station as the incident occurred there.”

Earlier, another Bigg Boss Contestant Armaan Kohli was in trouble in case of attacking of Bigg Boss Co Contestant Sofia Hayat. After getting eliminated from the show, Sofia filed a police complaint against the actor. Armaan was taken into custody for interrogation and released few hours later.

The BJP party workers had protested outside the Bigg Boss house at Lonavala and they also attempeted to enter inside the house.

When we tried to contact officials from Colors channel about this issue they remained unavailable for comment.

BJP MLA from Borivali, Gopal Shetty said, “If any violent incidents occur in the city then Colors and Mumbai police will be responsible for that. They can’t malign the image of our prime ministerial candidate just for the sake of garnering TRPs.”

Will AICC take action against ex-CMs?

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan might have taken a U-turn over the Adarsh report after Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi criticised the state government’s stand over the report but will action be taken against Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan? Senior ministers have been washing their hands off this issue and put the onus on the centre to take action against tainted ministers. They said that AICC will take a call in this regard. Earlier minister of state for communication Milind Deora had called for a debate on the judicial report pertaining to Adarsh Scam. He received support from Rahul Gandhi who had distanced himself from the state government’s decision to turn down the judicial report of the scam.

“The action against Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde comes under the purview of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The decision to allow or not allow former CM Ashok Chavan to contest Assembly elections also comes under AICC’s purview” said senior ministers from the Congress party.

Earlier the opposition parties like BJP and Shiv Sena has been demanding the resignation of Chavan for rejecting the Adarsh report. They alleged that the CM has been shielding the tainted ministers.

Shiv Sena MP and spokeperson Sanjay Raut said, “When the opposition parties had raised the Adarsh report issue in the assembly then CM Prithviraj Chavan turned a blind eye towards it but when Milind Deora and Rahul Gandhi took a tough stand Chavan became serious about it. A debate must be held about the Adarsh scam in Lok Sabha too and strict action must be taken against the accused.”

Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Eknath Khadse demanded convening of a special session of state legislature to debate the report which has indicted four former Congress chief ministers, including current Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

“If the government does not accept our demands then we will take our protests to streets and to Parliament,” Khadse said.

“If they (Cong-NCP) are really serious about corruption, they should clear the hurdle for CBI to prosecute Ashok Chavan who has been indicted by the commission,” said Shiv Sena Group Leader in Legislative Assembly Subhash Desai.

Desai said Prithviraj Chavan’s clean image has taken a beating as he is “shielding” those indicted by the panel in its report. “The Chief Minister should resign on moral grounds,” he said.

On the other hand, MPCC Chief Manikrao Thakre defended Prithviraj Chavan and said that there is no need for him to step down from his post. “There is no question of Chief Minister resigning. The decision (to reject the report) had been taken after taking the cabinet into confidence,” Thakre said.

Chavan has already received flak for rejecting the Adarsh report. Of the politicians indicted in the report, former chief minister Shivajirao Nilengekar Patil is no longer an active player. Former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh is no more. This leaves with former CMs Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde.

After High Command order, CM Chavan under pressure?

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

The Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi expressed his displeasure over the Maharashtra government’s decision to reject the Adarsh report. He wanted the government to reconsider the decision taken by it on the report. Ever since the Congress has lost assembly polls in four states Rahul has been showing some urgency to undo the damage by taking tough stand on issues like corruption and inflation which has severely affected the party’s performance.

Referring to the Maharashtra government’s decision to reject the report on the Adarsh scam, Rahul said, “I don’t agree with that decision, they should reconsider that”.

“There is no question of protecting anybody”, added Rahul Gandhi.

Earlier Maharasthra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was reluctant to reverse the state cabinet decision to reject the Adarsh Commission report.

“I stand by the decision unanimously taken by the Cabinet in Nagpur. It was a collective decision and there is no question of reconsidering the matter,” Chavan said.

Chavan said he did not feel it necessary to explain the issue in detail since the state government had tabled an ATR (action taken report) along with the Adarsh Commission report. “It is self-explanatory,” he said.

The first two terms of reference covered by an earlier report said the land belonged to the state government and that the project was not confined to Kargil war heroes. The second report, tabled in the legislature in the winter session that concluded December 20, related to the others terms of reference (3-13) and was rejected by the government. “But we did table the entire report. So why accuse the government of concealing any fact,” Chavan added.

The Nationalist Congress Party had washed its hands of the Adarsh report and held Prithviraj Chavan responsible for rejecting the judicial commission report as he is the head of the cabinet. The Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had said that Chavan had taken this decision after receiving instructions from the Congress high command in Delhi.

“The decision to reject the Adarsh commission report was taken by the Chief Minister. The CM is head of the cabinet,” Ajit Pawar said.

He also added that the Opposition parties had a right to go to court against the Cabinet decision if they wanted to.

The probe report has indicted several top politicians and bureaucrats that include four former Congress chief ministers — late Vilasrao Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan, Sushilkumar Shinde and Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar.

The state government had delayed submitting the report in the Assembly until the last day of the winter session, when it suddenly announced it was rejecting the report after the report was tabled by the Chief Minister along with an action taken report (ATR).

Sources close to the CM said the government was apprehensive that if it were to accept the report, it would be incumbent upon it to take action based on its findings. “This could have put the state in a piquant situation with sitting ministers named in the report,” said a Congress minister.
The BJP has been vociferous in its demand that the Maharashtra government take action on the Adarsh Housing scam.

“It’s ironical that Prithviraj Chavan, who was brought after the Adarsh scam broke out and who formed the Adarsh commission, has rejected the report. By rejecting the report, Chavan has hurt his own image of being Mr Clean,” state BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis said.

Police gear up to tackle

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

With the New Year just few days away the Mumbai police will remain vigilant for maintaining law and order in the city. Cops will wear plain clothes and will monitor several areas of the metropolis to keep an eye on anti-social elements. The police have alerted their informer’s network and asked them to keep a vigil in their respective areas and report about any untoward incidents.

Pratap Dighavkar, Deputy Commissioner of Traffic Police said, “We had begun a drive to crackdown the drink and driving case and it will continue till 1st January. We have already recorded nearly 15,000 drink-driving cases this year till mid-December.”

Our personnel will keep a vigil on Eastern and Western Express Highways, the Eastern Freeway, Bandra, Juhu, Versova, Borivali, Gorai, Churchgate, Colaba and Marine Drive.

Krishna Prakash, Additional Commissioner of Police (South region), said, “On the eve of new year many youth consume alcohol and they try to molest women and indulge in eve-teasing activities. We want to ensure that women remain safe on the occasion of New Year.”

“Many people arrive in the city and terrorist threat is eminent on the occasion of new year. Hence we have to remain extra vigilant.”, Krishna further added.

A DCP rank level police officer on the condition of anonymity said, “Since the New Year is approaching we have instructed our team to keep an eye on the bars, restaurant and other areas frequented by youth. We are conducting raids on bars and restaurants after receiving a tip-off from our sources. We will also take steps to curb prostitution activities which increase on the eve of new year.”
2,500 traffic cops have been deployed in the city to keep a tab on drive and drinking cases.
Here are the statistics of drink and driving cases which have been reported since last four years.

2010: 16,290
2011: 16,324
2012: 14,133
2013 (till mid-Dec): 14,436

The police have already raided two places in the city and taken action against persons indulging in prostitution activities. Acting on a tip off about Christmas party, a raid was conducted at Lakshadeep bar and restaurant on Gajdarbhandh road in Santacruz at around 11.40 pm on Tuesday by Social Service Branch of city police.

As many as 45 persons, including eight bar girls, were arrested and three girls rescued during separate raids on bars for alleged involvement in obscene activities. Forty-three people, including the bar owner, staff, 21 customers and eight bar girls were arrested from there.

Assistant Commissioner of Police from Santacruz division said, “The bar girls and customers were found to be allegedly involved in obscene acts when the raid was conducted. All the accused were arrested under IPC Sections 294 (indulging in obscene acts and songs) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).”

In another case, police carried out raid in one-storey premises at Ganesh Nagar in Chembur last evening and arrested two persons for allegedly pushing girls into prostitution. The two were arrested under relevant sections of Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act.

CPI leader D Raja discharged after bypass surgery

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja has undergone a bypass surgery at a city hospital here.

“D Raja (64) was discharged last night after undergoing a complex cardiac procedure at the Asian Heart Institute here,” a hospital spokesperson said.

“The CPI leader underwent the surgery at the hands of Dr Ramakanta Panda, reputed cardiac surgeon,” the spokesperson said.

2014 polls: Maharashtra AAP undecided on number of Muslim candidates

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Maharashtra unit has chosen to remain non-committal on the number of Muslim candidates it will nominate for the ensuing 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the state.

“Muslims would definitely be given representation in decision-making bodies … but for (Lok Sabha) candidature, it would be solely merit – it may be more or may be less,” said AAP national executive member and social activist Mayank Gandhi Monday.

Gandhi was responding to a demand for adequate representation made by a group of Muslim organisations under the banner of National Movement for Social Justice, Good Governance and Empowerment of Minorities, which Monday met and formally extended support to AAP.

They included Maulana Salman Husani Nadwi, Chairman of Ekta Manch which is a federation of 26 political parties from Uttar Pradesh and announcing support to AAP which is gearing up for a massive campaign prior to the 2014 General Elections.

AAP plans to make a big entry in Maharashtra by contesting a majority of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, including targeting stalwarts like Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Nitin Gadkari and Gopinath Munde, Nationalist Congress Party’s Praful Patel and Congress’ Suhilkumar Shinde, among others.

In the 2009 elections, for the first time in many years, not a single Muslim leader from any political party was elected to the Lok Sabha from the state, which has a huge Muslim population – around 15 million as per the 2011 Census.

Subsequently, the Congress sought to make amends by nominating Hussain Dalwai to the Rajya Sabha – the sole representative of the community in parliament.

“After the British rule, we felt there would be a change, but both the Congress and the BJP have let us down. Now that the AAP has emerged as a new force, we hope they will carry forward the good work,” Nadwi said.

Some major organisations which have thrown their weight behind AAP include the Jamat-E-Islami Hind, AMU Alumni Association of Maharashtra, Husaini Sunni Foundation, United Muslims of Maharashtra, Nadva Foundation of Mumbai and Imaan Foundation.

Salman case: State wants to appeal but actor seeks early trial

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

A sessions court today deferred the 2002 hit-and-run case involving actor Salman Khan to January 21 after prosecution sought time to file an appeal in the Bombay High Court against its order for a fresh trial.

Prosecutor J V Kendralkar informed the court that the prosecution had written a letter to Law and Judiciary Ministry of the state government seeking permission to file an appeal.

As the Ministry’s response was still awaited, the state sought time. However, Salman’s lawyer Srikant Shivade urged for commencement of a fresh trial and pleaded the court to give a short date to the state for adjournment of the case.

Judge D W Deshpande then adjourned the case to January 21 and asked the prosecution to seek instructions from the state on filing the appeal in the High Court.

The court, on December 5, had ordered a fresh trial on the ground that witnesses had not been examined in the context of aggravated charge of culpable homicide which was invoked against the actor midway through the proceedings.

The judge had held that the trial would be held de novo (fresh) as the actor had not been given an opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses vis-a-vis the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder which attracts a 10-year sentence. The court had also fast-tracked the case.

The actor had earlier been tried by a magistrate for a lesser offence of causing death by negligence which entailed imprisonment of two years.

As the trial would be held afresh, the evidence adduced before a magistrate earlier would be discarded and all the witnesses who had appeared before would be examined and cross-examined afresh.

The case, dragging on for over a decade, had taken a twist earlier this year when the magistrate, after examining 17 witnesses, held that the charge of culpable homicide was made out against Salman and referred the matter to a sessions court, as cases under this offence are triable by a higher court.

Raise Number of Subsidised Gas Cylinders in Maharastra to 12: Nirupam

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

After demanding reduction in power tariff in Mumbai on the lines of Delhi state government, Congress MP and spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam today asked the central government to increase the number of subsidised gas cylinders from nine to twelve.

“We first increased the number from six to nine. The middle class and poor will benefit if the number is now taken to 12,” he said, speaking at a function to unveil the bust of Babasaheb Ambedkar in suburban Kandivli here tonight.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who unveiled the bust, said that he will convey the message to the Cabinet but cannot comment as the final decision is yet not taken.

Nirupam also demanded that the government should regularise pre-2005 slums in the city.

Bank official, 2 others held for theft from dead NRI’s account

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

A debt-ridden executive of a reputed private bank and his two accomplices have been arrested for allegedly stealing Rs 49 lakh from the account of a dead NRI since November last year, police said today.

The bank employee carried out the theft by transferring the amount to a fake account opened by his accomplice in another bank.

Accused Mahendra Gurav (32), a customer service manager with ICICI Bank’s Dadar branch, his friends Rajesh Jamkar(39) and Ballu Gate alias Sandeep Kale (32) were apprehended after the ICICI Bank notified the Matunga police following an internal probe during which the fraud came to light, police said.

Police have recovered Rs 15.5 lakh while a fake account having Rs 11 lakh has been frozen.

According to Matunga police, Gurav, who had been facing financial crisis, was searching for a dormant account when he stumbled upon an NRI account of Gobind Kaur, a senior citizen who had settled in the UK. She had the account with the bank’s Chandigarh’s branch.

Gurav procured cheque leaflets for the account and the specimen signature. He then contacted Jamkar, who asked Kale to open an account with a co-operative bank in Matunga. Gurav then issued four cheques with Kaur’s fake signatures between November 11 and December 27.

With the help of the cheques, about Rs 49.28 lakh was transferred to Kale’s account that had been fraudulently opened. Cash had also been withdrawn from the fake account as and when required by the accused, police said.

Kaur’s family in the UK was unaware of the fraud till the Chandigarh branch of ICICI Bank contacted her family, which said Kaur had passed away on December 3.

A mail was sent on January 1 this year to Dadar branch Deputy Manager Rekha Lad about the fraud from the bank’s Chandigarh branch. An internal probe was subsequently carried out, following which the bank complained to police on January 4.

It gave details of the co-operative bank in Matunga where the four cheques were cleared.

Based on the inputs from both banks, DCP (zone IV) Dattatray Karale formed a special team and nabbed Kale when he came to withdraw money on January 4. Kale then led the police to Gurav and Jamkar the same day.

Probe reports against Sunil Tatkare submitted to HC

By

Afternoon Voice

-

January 7, 2014

The state Anti Corruption Bureau, city police’s Economic Offences Wing and the Collector of Raigad district today submitted their final probe reports against the Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Sunil Tatkare in the alleged money laundering and land grabbing.

The high court had in October last year directed the agencies to complete their investigations within three months.

Following this, the ACB, EOW and Collector Raigad submitted their final reports in sealed envelopes to a division bench of Justices S J Vazifdar and G S Patel.

The agencies were directed to conduct probe after a public interest litigation was filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.

Somaiya had sought CBI probe into alleged money laundering and land grabbing by various companies floated by Tatkare and his relatives.

The investigating agencies had time and again faced the ire of the high court for failing to conduct a fair probe against the minister and his family.

The high court had in the last hearing, while asking the agencies to submit their final reports, said if it was not satisfied with the manner in which the probe was conducted then it would be compelled to consider handing over the investigation to an independent agency like the CBI.

The bench today said it would peruse the reports and posted the matter for hearing on January 24.

Somaiya has listed 51 companies formed by Tatkare, which have his family members and friends as directors, and alleged that they purchased benami lands in Maharashtra and indulged in money-laundering, causing loss to the public exchequer.

Tatkare, who holds water resources portfolio in Maharashtra cabinet, has termed the petition as “false, malicious and politically motivated” in his reply affidavit.