Maharashtra heads to the polls for 29 municipal corporations, with Mumbai's BMC election taking center stage as the BJP-led Mahayuti faces off against the Thackeray front. Key issues include promises for women, pollution control, and the city's financial health.
Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations began amid tight security at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported as there was nobody inside or on the vehicles.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Friday announced that Thursday, January 15, will be a public holiday in areas falling under the 29 municipal corporations where polling for civic elections will be held, an official said.
Is Deputy CM Ajit Pawar giving the CM shooting lessons?
Shirish More Maharaj, a well-known kirtankar and descendant of 17th century Marathi poet-saint Tukaram, was found dead in his home in Dehu Road, Pune. A suicide note found at his home mentioned financial distress as the reason for his decision.
A disgruntled driver allegedly set a minibus on fire near Pune, killing four employees and injuring ten others. The driver, Janardan Hambardekar, was angry after his salary was cut and procured benzene to start the fire. He is currently hospitalized and will be arrested later.
A former NCP leader from Pune, Rajendra Hagawane, and his son Sushil were arrested on Friday for their alleged involvement in a dowry harassment and abetment to suicide case involving Hagawane's daughter-in-law. The arrests came after the duo were expelled from the NCP by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The victim, Vaishnavi, had allegedly hanged herself on May 16 at her in-laws' house. Her parents alleged that the Hagawane family had harassed her for dowry despite receiving a substantial amount of gold, silver, and an SUV at the time of her marriage.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar says an inquiry has been initiated into the alleged illegal sale of government land to his son's company in Pune. The sale of 40 acres of land is under scrutiny, and the Chief Minister has stated that action is being taken as per law.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis assures impartial action in the Pune land deal case involving a company linked to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's son, Parth Pawar.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar says his son Parth was unaware that the land his company purchased in Pune belonged to the government. The controversial transaction has been cancelled, and a probe has been ordered.
A major accident on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway near Pune resulted in eight fatalities and 14 injuries after a car was crushed between two container trucks, leading to a large fire. The incident occurred on the accident-prone Navale Bridge.
He said that the structure had been declared dangerous by the district collector before the incident, and villagers had also placed warning boards.
Days after the controversial 40-acre Pune land deal by a firm linked to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son, a now-suspended tehsildar issued an eviction notice to the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), a long-standing tenant on the property
Two pilots and an engineer were killed after a helicopter crashed and caught fire in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning, police said.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) conducted searches at multiple locations in Pune concerning the suspected radicalisation of individuals linked to an ISIS module case. The raids, based on intelligence about radicalised people, led to the seizure of electronic devices and documents, and the questioning of several suspects.
The Learjet 45 (LJ45), a mid-size business jet aircraft produced by the Learjet Division of Bombardier Aerospace, went off the runway while attempting to land at Baramati airport and burst into flames.
The incident had occurred in Pimpri city on Saturday in apparent protest against minister Patil's controversial remark about Dr BR Ambedkar and social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.
After Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced that the sale deed executed by his son Parth's firm for a prime land in Pune has been scrapped, officials said the company will have to cough up double the stamp duty, which comes to Rs 42 crore, to get the transaction cancelled.
A BMC spokesperson said the average voter turnout stood at 29.96 per cent till 1.30 pm in the metropolis, which has more than 1 crore eligible electors.
A 28-year-old man was arrested in Pune, Maharashtra for faking his own abduction to extort money from his father. Pradeep Chauhan sent a message to his father claiming he had been kidnapped and then switched off his phone. His father, Rama Shankar Chauhan, reported the matter to the police, who traced Pradeep's location to Pune. Pradeep admitted to faking the kidnapping and was arrested. He was granted bail after his father pleaded for his release.
Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner Krishna Prakash, who led the operation late Sunday night, "threw a tree" on the accused when they tried to escape following the confrontation and exchange of fire between the two sides, he said.
Ahmedabad-based filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala, who was reported missing following the June 12 air crash, the matching of DNA samples confirmed that he died in the catastrophe, following which his mortal remains were handed over to his family.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has expelled a local leader and his son after they were named in a dowry harassment and abetment to suicide case in Pune, India. The victim, Vaishnavi, allegedly hanged herself on May 16 after facing harassment from her in-laws for dowry. The police have arrested her husband, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law, while the father-in-law and brother-in-law are absconding. The case has garnered attention due to the involvement of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who attended the couple's wedding and gifted them an SUV.
Jayant Naiknavare, deputy inspector general of police (VIP security), will replace Pandey as the Nashik police commissioner.
The vehicle was ferrying 12 employees of Vyoma Graphics from Warje to Hinjewadi at the time.
Curfew has been lifted in Nagpur after six days of violence that rocked the city. The situation is now peaceful, according to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The violence, which began on March 17, was sparked by rumors that a "chadar" with holy inscriptions was burned during protests by the VHP and Bajrang Dal demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb. The police have arrested more than 100 people in connection with the violence.
A judicial magistrate (first class) granted bail to the 17-year-old boy's father Vishal Agarwal, a prominent builder, and his grandfather, who were arrested in May-end and are currently in judicial custody.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against the man under Sections 447 and 353 of the Indian Penal Code. He was booked at Talegaon Dabhade Police station.
While the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited, which runs buses in the Pune as well as in Pimpri Chinchwad, is fighting for space to keep its own buses, it is plagued by the 'encroachment' of another kind -- that of vehicles dumped in its space. These vehicles were brought by the authorities and are standing there in spite of many protests. Devidas Deshpande reports.
The incident took place at a lodge in Hinjawadi area of Pimpri Chinchwad on Saturday and the police got the information on Sunday morning, they said, adding the motive behind the killing was yet not known.
Though normalcy is returning to the violence-hit areas, it is still gripped by tension, police sources said.
'The man's kin took him to YCMH but, possibly due to the rush there, took him home. On Monday, his health deteriorated and he was was rushed to Cantonment Hospital again, but by then his oxygen level was just 37 per cent and he died soon after'
Patkar and his three partners allegedly bagged Mumbai civic body contracts fraudulently for managing COVID-19 field hospitals during the pandemic, the official said.
The controversy deepened after a video surfaced showing Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the wedding, personally handing over a Fortuner SUV and making a remark widely interpreted as normalising dowry.
Emerging out of the ED grilling in Mumbai, Rohit Pawar denied any wrongdoing and asserted struggle was imminent in fight for ideology while declaring he wasn't scared.
A day after carrying out a major reshuffle in the police force, the Maharashtra home department on Thursday stayed the promotion and transfers of five IPS officers.
Eighteen days left for India's 75th Independence Day, and the flags are already out in anticipation of that milestone.
Datta Phuge become the talk of the town after he presented himself a 'gold shirt' weighing about 3.5 kg and worth Rs 1.27 crore in 2012.
Switching off the engine affects the vehicle's braking ability and this possibly resulted in the truck hitting other vehicles on the bridge slope on Sunday, as per a probe conducted into the accident by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), he said.
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