A spiritual preacher, Kishor Dhondiram Jadhav alias 'Pistulya Maharaj', and his associates have been booked in Latur, Maharashtra, for allegedly misappropriating Rs 3.6 crore collected during a religious event. The funds were meant for temple construction but were unaccounted for, leading to protests by Warkaris.
A Solapur court has issued a temporary injunction preventing the Pandharpur temple committee from applying a chemical protective coating on the idol of Lord Vitthal. The decision came after devotees argued that modern chemicals violate religious traditions, while the committee cited preservation needs ahead of the Ashadi Ekadashi pilgrimage. The court emphasised the idol's ownership by devotees and the lack of immediate emergency for the controversial coating.
A local court in Pune has remanded NCP (SP) spokesperson Vikas Lawande in judicial custody until June 6 over controversial statements he made about leaders of the Warkari sect. The court cited insufficient grounds for police remand. Police admitted to inadvertently mentioning the wrong crime number in an earlier reply opposing interim protection from arrest.
Police in Pune have registered a rioting case against a religious preacher and his supporters after an ink attack on an NCP (SP) spokesperson, following accusations of targeting spiritual leaders.
A landslide in Maval tehsil, Pune district, has buried a house, with three family members feared trapped. Rescue operations are underway by NDRF and police, while heavy rainfall has also caused waterlogging and partial closure of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
A controversy has erupted in Latur, Maharashtra, over the accounting of donations collected for a religious event, with organisers alleging irregularities and filing a complaint with the police.
The charred remains of a 60-year-old man were discovered in a sugarcane field in Beed, Maharashtra. Police suspect suicide due to the man's illness and mental distress.
The incident occurred when devotees were scrambling to gain entry into Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Samadhi Mandir in Alandi town, 22 km from Pune city, during the ceremonial procession which is part of the annual Ashadhi Ekadashi pilgrimage to Pandharpur.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said he has followed the principle of '80 per cent social work and 20 per cent politics' of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in his career and pledged to continue working for the common man. Shinde's remarks came after the state assembly passed a unanimous resolution congratulating him for receiving the 'Adya Jagatguru Shri Sant Tukaram Maharaj Puraskar', a prestigious award from the Warkari (devotees of Lord Vitthal) community, earlier this month. The resolution comes amid a row over stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra's alleged defamatory remarks against Shiv Sena leader Shinde, with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanding an apology from Kamra even as the opposition came out in his support.
Pawar urged people not to fall prey to the Opposition's "fake campaigns", highlighting government schemes for the youth, women, Warkaris (followers of Lord Vithoba) and others.
Gadkari and Singh on Thursday came together to release a book on late Congress leader Ramkrishna More at Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune.
Pawar also said it is the moral responsibility of the major Opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect in the state assembly polls the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Thackeray, along with top leaders of the Sena-UBT, went to Mumbra here to visit the razed shakha but had to face resistance from workers of the CM's Shiv Sena, who also showed black flags.
The march will start near J J Hospital and end at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai.
The Maharashtra chief minister on Wednesday performed the 'mahapooja' of Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur on Ashadhi Ekadashi.
Amid different voices within the Congress and INDIA bloc on DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against Sanatan Dharma, the principal opposition party on Monday said it respects all religions and stressed that others also have the freedom to express their views.
Hundreds of Warkaris (devotees of Lord Vitthal) who had gathered outside the prison premises late last evening, chanted name of Vitthal in chorus as Karadkar declared the sects resolve to oppose the setting up of the Dow Chemicals unit near Shinde village in the district.
Thackeray accused the Eknath Shinde-led government of being ideologically bankrupt.
Today is one of the holiest days in the Hindu calendar. Here's what you should know about it.
Defying age and critics Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray made a public appearance on Wednesday to flag off a caravan that will carry son Uddhav's recently published photo book Pahava Vitthal from Mumbai to Pandharpur.
The Maharashtra government fears that the agitation against Dow Chemical's proposed Research and Development centre was orchestrated by its aggressive neighbour to influence Dow to take its $400-million project to that particular state.
Activist Narendra Dabholkar, who was in the forefront of a campaign to persuade Maharashtra government to pass an anti-superstition and black magic bill, was shot dead in Pune on Tuesday morning by unknown assailants.
With focus on 'Mission 150' for the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday expressed confidence that the traditional 'puja' at Pandharpur next year would be performed by a chief minister from the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance.
'Will the liberals explain if minorities are under such a dire threat in India, how come more and more groups want to separate from the majority and want themselves to be declared a minority?' asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Various Maratha organisations had held massive 'silent marches' across the state last year for various demands, including reservation.
Full marks to Riteish Deshmukh and Nishikant Kamat for taking the plunge into Marathi cinema, says Prasanna D Zore.
The Maharashtra government dillydallied for over seven years to pass the anti-superstition and black magic bill, and it took the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who tirelessly pushed for the bill, to goad it into passing it through the ordinance route at its cabinet meeting on Wednesday as a tribute to him
