As reported by PTI Sep 1, 2010

A fast track trial court today recorded final statements of five of the six accused in the TISS rape case.
In the statement recorded under section 313 of CrPC, the accused denied all the allegations leveled against them for raping a US national, studying at the TISS institute, in April last year.

“The five accused told the court that they had gone out with the girl for partying and then returned to the house of one of the accused. They denied having raped her,” defence lawyer Rohini Salian said.

Six students – Vinamra Soni (23), Harshavardhan Yadav (22), Jaskaran Singh (21), Dev Colabawala (21), Anish Borkatki (21) and Kundanraj Borgonain (22) were arrested in April soon after the alleged incident.

According to the police, on April 12 last year, the victim had gone to a party with a hostelmate and six of her male friends. The group had snacked and consumed liquor at Deonar’’s Cafe XO after which she, along with her male friends, went to Andheri. She was allegedly raped at Borgonain’’s rented flat there.

The girl’’s statement blames Soni as the main culprit who spiked her drink and raped her along with the other accused.
The court will record the statement of Borgonain on September 3.

Excerpt from Indian Express by Prashant Rangnekar on Aug 25, 2010 : Read Full Article

Even as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is gearing up to complete the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) Project, trustees of a mosque near Tilak Nagar that is to be relocated to make way for the road have refused to shift until the MMRDA shows evidence that the new site is owned by it.

A letter to the MMRDA by the Jamat-ul-Muslimeen Housing Board (the mosque authorities) states that while it is not against development, MMRDA does not appear to own the plot of land where they are being asked to shift to.

“We’re not against development and are ready to move, but the MMRDA should send us a copy of the document that confirms the ownership. We have also learnt that a service road is being planned and if that happens we have to again shift,” said Shahnawaz Kalburgi, secretary of the mosque. “More importantly, MMRDA doesn’t own the plot which they are offering to us. Under what authority (they) are giving us the plot,” vice-president of the mosque Mohammed Khuthbuddin asked.

Excerpt from Indian Express, reported by Mustafa Plumber,Mustafa Plumber on Jul 30, 2010 Read Full Article

The Crime Branch probe into the murder of Farid Tanasha, a close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan, has revealed that the alleged conspirators, Bharat Nepali and Vijay Shetty, were reportedly paid Rs 90 lakh to commit the crime at Tanasha’s Chembur house on June 2 this year.

The police said the hefty expenses were incurred because Tanasha was heavily guarded and accurate planning was required for the murder.

Police said the amount was paid by co-accused and small-time builder Dattatray Yashwant Bhakre in instalments, ostensibly for use by Nepali to force out tenants of a Chembur building, where Bhakre reportedly wanted to undertake a redevelopment project. A senior crime branch officer said, “The money spent on the execution of murder was distributed at different levels for different purposes like purchase of motorcycles for doing a recce, purchasing SIM cards, mobile phone and also arranging accommodation for shooters hired from Uttar Pradesh.”

Excerpt from Hindustan Times, reported by Shahkar Abidi & Yashshri Soman, on July 28, 2010: Read Full Article

‘We approached college first’ :
The family of the 17-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped on July 21 by her senior from the Chembur college they studied in, first approached the college and asked for action to be taken against the boy.

The girl has alleged that the 20-year-old boy, a third year student of the Bachelor of Management Studies, raped her at his house in Chembur Camp when she had gone there to work on a college project. They had met on a social networking site.

Sources close to the girl’s family said they first approached authorities at Vivekanand Education Society’s College of Arts Science and Commerce, seeking action against the boy, since he too was their student.

Girl has cooked up story: Boy’s dad
Excerpt from Hindustan Times, on July 28, 2010: Read Full Article
The father of the 20-year-old college student accused of raping his junior on July 21 has alleged that the victim had cooked up a story to malign their family. “My son is innocent and I am 100 per cent sure about this,” the boy’s father told HT on Tuesday. He denied the girl visited his home on the night of the alleged crime.

The boy’s father, who works as a peon, also denied that his family was away on a pilgrimage when the alleged rape took place. “We were very much at home on that day,” he said.
“We are poor people. My son can never commit such a heinous crime. His only fault was he befriended a rich girl.”

As reported by PTI on July 26, 2010

A 20-year-old student allegedly raped his college mate at his residence in suburban Chembur at knifepoint, police said today.

The student, identified as Pankaj Mishra, 20, a student of the Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) course, was arrested yesterday from his residence after the 17-year-old girl lodged a complaint, BB Rathod, senior inspector at the Chembur police station, said.

Mishra and the victim, a first-year student of a mass media course, both study in Vivekanand College in Chembur.

The accused was booked for rape (section 376 of the Indian Penal Code), wrongful restraint (section 341), and wrongful confinement (section 342).

According to the police, Mishra and the victim became friends through Facebook in the second week of June. Later, they discovered that they were studying in the same college.

“As they met in college later, they became good friends. The victim told Mishra that she had to complete one project assigned by her professor in the class. Mishra called her to his home on July 20 saying he had done similar projects when he was in the first year and he could help her in completing it. She went to his house on that day,” Rathod added.

The next day again, she went to the accused’s house but Mishra threatened her with a knife to stay back when she wanted to leave in the evening, the police said.

At around 11.30 pm, Mishra sexually abused her and let her go home the next day, the police said.

The victim told her parents, who work in separate private firms, how the accused threatened her with a knife and sexually abused her, the police said, adding that the victim lodged the complaint yesterday.

Mishra’s father works in the same college, police said adding that the victim was taken to Nagpada police hospital for a medical examination and that further a probe was on.

Excerpt from Indian Express, on Jul 17 2010: Read Full Article

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has sought another extension from the World Bank for the ongoing Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) project. The deadline is likely to be extended from June 2011 to December 2011.

The World Bank officials are in the city to review the progress of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project’s (MUTP) Phase I. Apart from the railway component under phase I, the officials would also be reviewing the on-going Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) and SCLR projects that are aimed to improve the East-West connectivity in the city. It is to be noted that the World Bank has also extended the deadline of rail component projects to June 2011.

In a presentation made by the MMRDA before the World Bank team, the agency elaborated on the progress on the design clearances from the railways, land acquisitions and project accounts. “A major aspect in SCLR is the Road Over Bridge between Kurla and Vidyavihar stations. We are now going ahead with a steel bridge as it will take less time unlike the RCC bridge, which would have taken three years to complete in the given situation,” said SVR Srinivas, additional metropolitan commissioner. “We take the matter with the Central Railway to expedite speedily.”

Excerpt from Mid-Day, reported by Saurabh Katkurwar, 2010-07-15 Read Full Article

Peeved Chembur residents say city will lose huge chunk of its lungs; redeveloped plot will also house government buildings; state unaware.

Chembur’s green cover is under threat to make way for a mall. Around 3,000 trees at a plot for Beggars’ Home in this eastern suburb are likely to face the axe.

“A part of the 24-acre plot will house government buildings, while the rest of it has been given to a real estate firm to construct shopping malls,” said Deepak Killekar, a resident of Sidharth Nagar in the vicinity.

Residents of Chembur, a locality which houses chemical and fertilizer industries and is known for high pollution levels, are already up in arms against the mall.

“These industries spew huge amounts of ammonia and other toxic gases which are hazardous to health,” said Deepak Shinde, president, Nagrik Hakk Paryavaran Bachav Samiti, an ad hoc committee cobbled up to save greenery in the vicinity. “The massive chopping of trees will affect the atmosphere.”

The plot, bearing number 469 A and situated close to Chembur naka, is owned by the Social Justice Department.

“Builders and politicians will make good money from this proposed construction, but for locals it will be stifling, as hacking down of trees will rob us of oxygen levels,” said Anil Jadhav, vice president of the Committee.

Excerpt from Indian Express, reported by Mohan Kumar on Jul 14 2010 : Read Full Article

In a setback for the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road Project, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday passed an interim order restraining the state government and Mumbai Metropolitan and Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) from acquiring two housing societies and evicting the residents.

The state government had decided to acquire the housing societies after the MMRDA, the executing authority of the project, and the residents of the societies failed to reach a consensus on rehabilitation of the residents on an ownership basis. According to petitioner’s lawyer Uday Warunjikar, the division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S C Dharmadhikari on Tuesday directed the authorities not to evict the petitioners and asked to to provide the details of rehabilitation.

The court will hear the case in two weeks. The Netaji Nagar Co-operative Housing Society, a group of five societies, had moved court after it came to light that two of their housing societies are going to be affected as it came in the way of the link road project funded by the World Bank.

Excerpt from TOI, reported by S Ahmed Ali, Jul 14, 2010: Read Full Article

A senior inspector of Chembur police station has earned the wrath of the court for diluting the charge of grievous hurt registered against a builder and converting it to a less serious offence—that of causing hurt.

Causing grievous hurt is a non-bailable and carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in jail. On the other hand, causing hurt is bailable and carries a maximum punishment of only three years in jail.

Metropolitan magistrate of Kurla court, L G Patkar, while pulling up inspector Bhimsen Rathod, said, “The police may add to the charges, but they have no authority to delete charges against the accused during the course of investigations.”

Excerpt from Mumbai Mirror, reported by Sudhir Suryawanshi on 14th July 2010: Read Full Article

Despite objections from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the State Government has greenlighted the Rs 300-crore redevelopment of a 42-acre plot of land in Chembur originally meant for a beggars’ home.

According to the proposal, two- and three- storeyed structures will accommodate more than 1,000 inmates in separate sections for men and women.

The project will commence soon and expected to be ready by 2013. However, as reported earlier, 10 acres from this 42-acre plot will be given to private developers for residential and commercial exploitation.

The beggars’ home will come up on 10,000 square metres of land with the remaining land housing a an administrative building, government guest house, auditorium and hotels for girls and boys.

Why the Civic Body Objected : The civic body’s Improvement Committee had demanded that the plot reserved for beggars’ home should have been used only for rehabilitation of project-affected people and beggars.