MUMBAI: A special Pocso court cited doctor’s statement and the delay in filing of the FIR while acquiting a 35-year-old man, who spent 12 years in jail, of gang-rape of a minor girl. The judge said, “In the absence of examination of the issuing authority, to my mind, it cannot be firmly said that the…
Navi Mumbai: The general assembly of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) approved the implementation of an amnesty scheme to recover long-pending water tax dues and encourage citizens to clear their outstanding bills. According to the decision taken in the meeting, the city currently has water tax arrears of around Rs 64 crore. Of this total,…
By 2.30 pm in Pune, the summer sun has a way of making women disappear.Only the eyes and fingers are visible as Sujata Khilare crosses the Hirabaug chowk near Shukrawar Peth, her face wrapped in a colourful dupatta and her green sari hidden beneath a white lab-coat-like lightweight jacket dotted with blue flowers. She is…
One does not know the fate of the furniture and books at the Urdu Markaz locked since July 2016. But the people who nurtured this cultural-educational organization which ran from the one-room rented Imamwada Urdu Municipal School in Dongri since its inception in 1999 till the BMC padlocked it, citing alleged non-educational activities, are knocking…
Recording ka button kidhar hai, Madam?” Laughter erupts. This is how the documentary Mast Mahila Mandali (Cool Ladies Club) begins. With women having fun. In 2024, ten women from ten bastis in Mumbai’s M East ward participated in an experiment in filmmaking—they were to document each other’s lives for a feature-length film, shot entirely on…
Thane: A magistrate court acquitted NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad and 11 of his accomplices in the Viviana Mall assault case after the complainant and all prosecution witnesses turned hostile. The judgment, delivered by Joint Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class R B Khandare, concluded that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges…
Navi Mumbai: Following a department-wise survey of existing buildings within its jurisdiction, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) declared 500 buildings dangerous under the category specified in Section 264 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act. The NMMC issued notices to the respective cooperative housing societies to vacate buildings in the C-1 category, as per the…
Navi Mumbai: Two Navi Mumbai residents, Pradeep Choudhary and Madhav Athwale, photographed a fan throated lizard at the Chalkewadi Plateau, Satara, early this month. The fan-throated lizard is a striking reptile known for its vibrant, fan-like extension of skin on its throat, used for display during mating rituals, territorial disputes, warding off rivals and cooling…
Mumbai: The city’s malaria burden underscores how far India’s financial capital remains from the World Health Organisation’s 2030 malaria elimination target, with the city continuing to report unusually high infection rates even beyond the traditional peak season.Between Jan 1 and April 21, state health department data reveal that Mumbai recorded 1,773 malaria cases, far ahead…
Mumbai: Salaried taxpayers claiming House Rent Allowance (HRA) under the Income-Tax (I-T) Act, face tighter disclosure norms from April 1, 2026, with the introduction of a new declaration format: Form 124 which replaces the earlier Form 12BB and requires additional details to curb misuse.Employees are required to submit this form to their employers for the…
