Mumbai Mar 27 PTI In a bid to encourage citizens to step out of their homes to enjoy health and recreational activities in a relaxed manner the Mumbai police have launched a Sunday Street initiative to keep some roads closed for vehicular movement for a few hours every weekend an official said People can come out and do yoga on streets as well as enjoy cycling skating and other health and wellness activities with their children and near and dear ones on Sundays he said As part of the initiative this weekend the Dorabhai Tata Road at Nariman Point Carter Road in Bandra Mind Space Road in Goregaon Lokhandwala Road in D N Nagar Andheri Tansa Pipeline Road in Mulund and the Eastern Expressway in Vikhroli area have been closed for vehicular movement from 6 am to 10 am he said The police have facilitated traffic movement on alternate routes during this time he said In the morning a number of people were seen out on roads exercising running and engaging in other fun activities Ambulances and mobile toilets were arranged by the authorities for citizens who were asked to follow COVID-19 guidelines while indulging in recreational activities out on roads the official said PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Feb 24 PTI Police have arrested a 38-year-old man for allegedly making a threat call to the Israel consulate generals office in Mumbai an official said on Thursday The accused is mentally unstable He had called up the offices of various other envoys also as he was denied visa by some countries the official said On Monday the man called up on the Israel consulate generals office located in Lower Parel area and allegedly threatened the staffer and used abusive language he said Based on a complaint an FIR was registered at the N M Joshi Marg police station against the then unidentified person During the investigation the caller was traced to an area in Mumbai and he was placed under arrest he said The accused identified as Madhur Mohin a native of Gurugram in Haryana is mentally unstable the official said During the investigation it came to light that the accused had also made threatening calls to the offices of some other envoys he said Mohin wanted to go to abroad but at least seven countries had denied visa to him Hence he would call up their offices to issue threats or hurl abuses the official said Since the last two months he was living out of his car in Mumbai he said After being arrested the accused was produced in a court which granted him bail the official said PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Feb 23 PTI The Mumbai Customs Department on Wednesday conducted a special drive to destroy over 600 kg of seized narcotic substances worth about Rs 500 crore and more than one crore cigarettes of foreign origin an official said The disposal was done at a waste management facility in Taloja area of neighbouring Navi Mumbai he said These seized drugs included 293 kg of heroin and 50 kg of mephedrone with a cumulative market value of about Rs 500 crore Customs principal commissioner zone-3 Rajesh Sanan said Besides more than one crore cigarettes of foreign origin weighing 19 metric tonne and worth around Rs 15 crore were also destroyed he said The drugs seized in various anti-smuggling operations were destroyed as per provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act Various agencies concerned had completed the investigation in all these cases as well as the legal formalities a statement issued by the Customs said The destruction of these items was conducted under the supervision of a high-level drug disposal committee and in the presence of representatives of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Narcotics Control Bureau it added PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Dec 30 PTI In the wake of emergence of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 the Mumbai Police have prohibited New Year celebrations and gatherings in any closed or open space including hotels and restaurants an official said on Thursday The orders were issued on Wednesday under Criminal Procedure Code CrPC Section 144 by Deputy Commissioner of Police operations S Chaitanya The order will be in force from Thursday till January 7 2022 the official said The police order prohibits all New Year celebrations programmes functions and gatherings in any closed or open space including hotels restaurants bars resorts and clubs On Wednesday Mumbai reported 2510 COVID-19 cases the highest daily addition since May 8 and one death taking its tally to 775808 and toll to 16375 a civic official said The spike in the countrys financial capital has got pronounced since December 20 when just 283 cases were reported Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 85 fresh cases of Omicron the highest single-day tally recorded so far by any state in the country taking the overall count to 252 as per the state health department State minister Aaditya Thackeray had urged people not to panic but exercise extreme caution in the wake sharp rise in coronavirus cases in Mumbai and stressed on vaccination and widespread use of face masks Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday expressed concern over the rise in the number of fresh as well as active COVID-19 cases in the state terming it as an alarming situation and said stricter measures will be imposed to stem the infection spread He urged people and authorities to exercise caution at a time when the new coronavirus variant Omicron has fuelled worries about a fresh spurt in cases The minister emphasised on strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols and ramping up of vaccination against the infection PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Dec 30 PTI In the wake of emergence of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 the Mumbai Police have prohibited New Year celebrations and gatherings in any closed or open space including hotels and restaurants an official said on Thursday Deputy Commissioner of Police operations S Chaitanya issued an order to this effect on Wednesday under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code CrPC The order will be in force from Thursday till January 7 2022 the official said The police order prohibits all New Year celebrations programmes functions and gatherings in any closed or open space including hotels restaurants banquet halls bars pubs orchestras resorts clubs and rooftops Trains buses and private cars may ply as per the current guidelines and norms the order stated Mumbai continues to be threatened by the rise in cases of COVID-19 and emergence of the new variant Omicron it noted The prohibitory orders have been issued to prevent danger to human life for the health and safety of people and to curtail transmission of the virus the order said Any person contravening the order shall be liable for punishment under Section 188 disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant of the Indian Penal Code as well as provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act Pandemic Act and the Disaster Management Act the order stated On Wednesday Mumbai reported 2510 COVID-19 cases the highest daily addition since May 8 and one death taking its tally to 775808 and toll to 16375 a civic official said The spike in the countrys financial capital has got pronounced since December 20 when just 283 cases were reported Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 85 fresh cases of Omicron the highest single-day tally recorded so far by any state in the country taking the overall count to 252 as per the state health department State minister Aaditya Thackeray had urged people not to panic but exercise extreme caution in the wake sharp rise in coronavirus cases in Mumbai and stressed on vaccination and widespread use of face masks Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday expressed concern over the rise in the number of fresh as well as active COVID-19 cases in the state terming it as an alarming situation and said stricter measures will be imposed to stem the infection spread He urged people and authorities to exercise caution at a time when the new coronavirus variant Omicron has fuelled worries about a fresh spurt in cases The minister emphasised on strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols and ramping up of vaccination against the infection PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Dec 28 PTI A fire broke out in a seven-storey residential building in Mumbai on Tuesday following which at least five persons suffered from suffocation and were hospitalised an official said The blaze erupted around 9 am in the electric meter room of the building of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority MHADA at Jankalyan Nagar in suburban Kandivali he said Soon smoke engulfed the whole building due to which some residents got trapped inside and on its terrace the official said Fire brigade officials with three vehicles police and ambulance rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation Around 40 people were rescued from the building Five of them got suffocated and were sent to hospital where they were reported to be in stable condition the official said The fire was doused by around 11 am he said PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Dec 23 PTI Mumbai Police have arrested a man from Bengaluru for allegedly threatening Maharashtra cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray an official said on Thursday The accused identified as Jaisingh Rajput was apprehended by the Mumbai crime branchs cyber team on Saturday and brought to Mumbai he said Aaditya Thackeray is the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Rajput allegedly called the minister on December 8 but the latter did not receive the call The accused then sent threatening text messages to the minister the official said During the investigation the cyber police traced the callers mobile number to Bengaluru in neighbouring Karnataka Accordingly a team was sent to Bengaluru where the accused person was arrested the official said He was later produced before a court which sent him in police custody The accused was a fan of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput the official said PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Oct 27 PTI The NCBs Deputy Director General DDG-northern region Gyaneshwar Singh on Wednesday said they have started recording the statement of the agencys Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede in connection with the departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion in the drugs-on-cruise case A five-member vigilance probe team which landed in Mumbai in the morning has started its probe and collected some documents and recordings from the Narcotic Control Bureaus NCB office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai DDG Singh who is heading the departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion told media persons We have started recording the statement of Wankhede It is a sensitive inquiry and it is not possible to share real-time information related to the probe he said We have started our investigation and are calling witnesses to record their statements he added Earlier Gyaneshwar Singh reached the NCBs office here at 1245 pm The NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by a witness Prabhakar Sail in the cruise drugs case of an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials including its Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede to let off Aryan Khan the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan The inquiry is being conducted by Gyaneshwar Singh who is also the chief vigilance officer of the federal anti-narcotics agency A large number of media persons were present outside the NCBs office when Singh arrived Wankhede who is leading the probe in the cruise drugs case visited the NCBs headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday and spent over two hours Sources earlier said the inquiry will also look at the aspect of K P Gosavi another NCB independent witness in the case being in close proximity of Aryan Khan after the raids and the procedures followed by the sleuths while entrusting custody of all the accused arrested on October 3 from the international cruise terminal in Mumbai Photos and videos of Gosavi with Aryan Khan have gone viral on social media and other news platforms The role of all the officers and witnesses involved in the case will be probed and it will be recorded if they followed the NCB manual and procedures mentioned in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act during such operations they said Wankhede on Sunday wrote to Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale seeking protection from likely legal action being planned against him by unknown persons to falsely frame him concerning an alleged vigilance-related issue On Monday he failed to get any relief related to an affidavit on the sensational extortion claims made by Sail with a special court saying it cannot pass a blanket order barring courts from taking cognisance of the document PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Oct 27 PTI The NCBs Deputy Director General DDG-northern region Gyaneshwar Singh on Wednesday said they have started recording the statement of the agencys Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede in connection with the departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion in the drugs-on-cruise case A five-member vigilance probe team which landed in Mumbai in the morning has started its probe and collected some documents and recordings from the Narcotic Control Bureaus NCB office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai DDG Singh who is heading the departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion told media persons All the material witnesses in the probe will be called to record their statements I will not take name of any individual Singh said However to queries from reporters the official later said The statement of Wankhede is being recordedit is a sensitive inquiry and it is not possible to share real-time information related to the probe and we will not be able to share all the details We have started our investigation and are calling witnesses to record their statements Singh told reporters at the NCBs Mumbai zonal office We will definitely speak to Wankhede in connection with the inquiry and others also he added Asked if Wankhede will continue to probe the cruise drugs seizure case Singh said he will not make any comments related to the investigation in that case as he is not directly connected to it The official said he is in Mumbai for a vigilance inquiry The NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by a witness Prabhakar Sail in the cruise drugs case of an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials including its Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede to let off Aryan Khan the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan The inquiry is being conducted by Gyaneshwar Singh who is also the chief vigilance officer of the federal anti-narcotics agency A large number of media persons were present outside the NCBs office when Singh arrivedWankhede who is leading the probe in the cruise drugs case visited the NCBs headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday and spent over two hours Sources earlier said the inquiry will also look at the aspect of K P Gosavi another NCB independent witness in the case being in close proximity of Aryan Khan after the raids and the procedures followed by the sleuths while entrusting custody of all the accused arrested on October 3 from the international cruise terminal in Mumbai Photos and videos of Gosavi with Aryan Khan have gone viral on social media and other news platforms The role of all the officers and witnesses involved in the case will be probed and it will be recorded if they followed the NCB manual and procedures mentioned in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act during such operations they said Wankhede on Sunday wrote to Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale seeking protection from likely legal action being planned against him by unknown persons to falsely frame him concerning an alleged vigilance-related issue On Monday he failed to get any relief related to an affidavit on the sensational extortion claims made by Sail with a special court saying it cannot pass a blanket order barring courts from taking cognisance of the document PTI DC GK GK

Mumbai Oct 27 PTI The NCBs Deputy Director General DDG-northern region Gyaneshwar Singh who is heading the departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion in the drugs-on-cruise case arrived at the agencys office here on Wednesday Singh reached the Narcotics Control Bureaus NCB office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai at 1245 pm The NCB has ordered a vigilance inquiry into the claims made by a witness Prabhakar Sail in the cruise drugs case of an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some agency officials including its Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede to let off Aryan Khan the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan The inquiry is being conducted by Gyaneshwar Singh who is also the chief vigilance officer of the federal anti-narcotics agency A large number of media persons were present outside the NCBs office when Singh arrived While getting out of his vehicle Singh said he will speak to media persons later It was not immediately clear whether he will record the statement of Wankhede on Wednesday Singh along with four other officers of the NCB landed in Mumbai from Delhi in the morning Wankhede who is leading the probe in the cruise drugs case visited the NCBs headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday and spent over two hours Sources earlier said the inquiry will also look at the aspect of K P Gosavi another NCB independent witness in the case being in close proximity of Aryan Khan after the raids and the procedures followed by the sleuths while entrusting custody of all the accused arrested on October 3 from the international cruise terminal in Mumbai Photos and videos of Gosavi with Aryan Khan have gone viral on social media and other news platforms The role of all the officers and witnesses involved in the case will be probed and it will be recorded if they followed the NCB manual and procedures mentioned in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act during such operations they said Wankhede on Sunday wrote to Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale seeking protection from likely legal action being planned against him by unknown persons to falsely frame him concerning an alleged vigilance-related issue On Monday he failed to get any relief related to an affidavit on the sensational extortion claims made by Sail with a special court saying it cannot pass a blanket order barring courts from taking cognisance of the document PTI DC GK GK