After outcry over police probe order against ‘PK’, CM says show will go on

MUMBAI: Within 24 hours of talk of a police probe into the contents of the Amir Khan-starrer 'PK', followed by angry reactions from the film fraternity, the state government went on the back foot on Wednesday.

The climb-down, after an embarrassing order by a junior minister, came from none other than chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who told TOI that 'PK' shows will go on and the state will take steps to ensure that the movie continues to be screened without hurdles.

The CM said minister of state for home Ram Shinde's comments were "misrepresented" by the media. "Shinde had only assured that an IG would look into law and order issues related to the film. The Censor Board has certified the movie. No court in the country has objected to the movie or banned it. Therefore, the state has a clear stand that the shows of 'PK' should continue," Fadnavis said. "There won't be any screening for the police to examine the film's contents. We will go for such probes only if a court asks us to do so."

Shinde, too, backtracked from his earlier statement, saying his statements had been "blown out of proportion". Asked about his specific directive to check the contents of the film, Shinde said it was to be decided by the IG (law & order). "My concern was to address growing complaints and angry reactions against the movie, which I conveyed to the police department."

The film fraternity had not taken kindly to the intervention. Filmmakers said such probe orders were stunts to buy time as any controversy eventually dies down. "It is ridiculous. Do the police have the expertise to sit in judgment on a film?" a filmmaker had asked, terming Shinde's original statement an insult to the authority of the Censor Board.

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Family court in Mumbai grants divorce to 10 couples, 25 start battle on December 31

MUMBAI: The last day of the year was also the end of a loveless marriage for 10 couples in Mumbai and the beginning of a bitter battle for a dozen others.

The mood at the Bandra family court was stark and somber as usual on Wednesday, made light only by the prancing in and out of a judge's chamber by a six-year-old as her estranged, not-on-talking-terms parents fought for access. But for 10 couples, happiness, or at least freedom, from each other was decreed by five judges.

One such couple, married through virtual introduction on an online marriage site in 2013, got their mutual consent divorce by being physically present on the last day of 2014.

Advocate Angana Pradhan had a fruitful day, her client was ready for a fresh start to his life on the first day of 2015. Also wanting a fresh start was an engineer aged 35. The start was however to a legal fight for divorce he filed on grounds of cruelty on December 31. His elderly parents had to leave home and the sadness of this year ought to be met with a fight in the new, he decided, as he sat on a shiny faux leather, partially broken, bench on the first floor.

Not all were frowning. One, separated from his wife for two years, was all smiles as he met his seven-year-old daughter, as his wife honored access orders, unlike those who contest each plea, which principal family court judge Laxmi Rao hopes to change next year.

Advocate Bhavana Jadhav, busy in one court, had a filing too. Her client, a woman, filed for custody of her 13-year-old daughter and sought to restrain her husband from meeting her.

The year ended with 8,381 cases filed till about 3pm on December 31. That's minimum 16,762 unhappy people, but more likely five times that number if both sets of parents-in-law are taken into account and seven times that if two children for each warring couple are added too. But for 20 of them, the day ended with a hope for a fresh start to make the new year romantically better.

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5 suspects admit sodomizing, killing two

MUMBAI: Three persons have been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenaged boy on the Marine Drive promenade till he died. Two others, who were also involved in the incident in June, 2014, are at large.

During interrogation, the three confessed to the crime and also admitted to sexually assaulting a 20-year-old man and beheading him inside the Shakti Mills compound near Mahalaxmi station in 2011. The same desolate mill premises was the site where a photojournalist and a tele-operator were gangraped in 2013.

"We initially detained the three accused, Rajkumar Rapannan alias Kala Anna (23), Sunil Kumar (30) and Vishal Padhgham (30). They were later arrested at the Marine Drive police station as a case of accidental death was registered there in June," said Sanjay Kamble, inspector of the V P Road police station. "Based on our interrogation and report, charges of murder will be added."

The three were picked up for a house break-in case, based on information by police nayak Shabbir Shaikh. A team of assistant inspectors Shrirang Sanas and Digambar Bidwe and some constables caught them at Gulalwadi near Girgaum, while two others, Siraj and Raj Chikna, are on the run.

"The accused worked part-time with local caterers and are drug-addicts. They denied being involved in the house break-in but during interrogation, they admitted to having killed two persons after sodomizing them," the police said. "They took the teenager, Sallu, to Marine Drive where four of them pinned him down and the fifth accused sexually assaulted him; they took turns to sodomize the boy. He started vomiting up blood and screamed for help, but the accused gagged him with polythene bags as they continued sexually assaulting him. He died on the spot when the five fled."

They had also taken an acquaintance, Vicky, to Shakti Mills in September 2011 where they sodomized him and then beheaded him, the police said. A murder case was registered at the N M Joshi Marg police station that remained unsolved.

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More Mumbaikars party at home to usher in 2015

A sea of strangers along the beachfront and the police crackdown on drunk driving have begun to alter the way Mumbai celebrates new year. Wednesday saw several residents opt for house parties or enjoy in the building compound.

More singles than families gathered along the Gateway of India, Girgaum Chowpatty, Carter Road and Juhu. The police had planned to adapt the Gateway of India bandobast model to demarcate special enclosures for families and stags at other beaches. However, this was yet to take off by late evening. Senior inspector of Santa Cruz police station Padmakar Chavan, whose jurisdiction includes most of Juhu Beach, said, "We have installed six watchtowers, extra lights and 16 CCTV cameras whose footage is being monitored." Both Chavan and his Juhu counterpart Abhay Shastri were sportingly willing to ring in another new year on bandobast duty.

Compound parties remain extremely popular. Two large housing societies in Mulund organised lavish celebrations for up to 300 members. Pinnacle Building in Vasant Oscar complex began the evening with one-minute games. "Everybody is very excited, particularly the children. There is a DJ playing music and the kids are dancing. We have been busy all of last week buying firecrackers and preparing an effigy of the Old Man to set alight at midnight," said organiser Vidya Iyer. Nearby at Shreedatta Kripa Society, secretary Vivek Bhatkhande could scarcely be heard over the din. "Yes, children are having a good time," he laughed.

Police were visible everywhere, a fact particularly reassuring to women. "Traffic is being managed well along Marine Drive, Chowpatty, Kemps Corner and Pedder Road," said Atul Kumar of the Nariman Point Residents' Association. Bus commuters were inconvenienced as BEST appeared to have curtailed its fleet.

(Inputs from Vinamrata Borwankar, Richa Pinto and Bella Jaisinghani)

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5 suspects admit sodomizing, killing two in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Three persons have been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenaged boy on the Marine Drive promenade till he died. Two others, who were also involved in the incident in June, 2014, are at large.

During interrogation, the three confessed to the crime and also admitted to sexually assaulting a 20-year-old man and beheading him inside the Shakti Mills compound near Mahalaxmi station in 2011. The same desolate mill premises was the site where a photojournalist and a tele-operator were gangraped in 2013.

"We initially detained the three accused, Rajkumar Rapannan alias Kala Anna (23), Sunil Kumar (30) and Vishal Padhgham (30). They were later arrested at the Marine Drive police station as a case of accidental death was registered there in June," said Sanjay Kamble, inspector of the V P Road police station. "Based on our interrogation and report, charges of murder will be added."

The three were picked up for a house break-in case, based on information by police nayak Shabbir Shaikh. A team of assistant inspectors Shrirang Sanas and Digambar Bidwe and some constables caught them at Gulalwadi near Girgaum, while two others, Siraj and Raj Chikna, are on the run.

"The accused worked part-time with local caterers and are drug-addicts. They denied being involved in the house break-in but during interrogation, they admitted to having killed two persons after sodomizing them," the police said. "They took the teenager, Sallu, to Marine Drive where four of them pinned him down and the fifth accused sexually assaulted him; they took turns to sodomize the boy. He started vomiting up blood and screamed for help, but the accused gagged him with polythene bags as they continued sexually assaulting him. He died on the spot when the five fled."

They had also taken an acquaintance, Vicky, to Shakti Mills in September 2011 where they sodomized him and then beheaded him, the police said. A murder case was registered at the N M Joshi Marg police station that remained unsolved.

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Bombay HC gets three new judges on the first day of 2015

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court got three new judges on the first day of the new year, taking the judges' strength to 67.

The new judges sworn in on Thursday are Kalidas Wadane, Indira Jain and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi. This is the first time the Bombay high court got a majority of women judges in the new appointments.

But 2015 will also have eights judges of the HC retiring from February through December, majority in the second half of the year.

The sanctioned strength of judges for the Bombay HC is 75 and the judge's retirement age is 62. The present Chief Justice Mohit Shah, who has been here since June 2010, is due to turn 62 in September 2015.

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Chembur pool revamp to be floated before civic panel in Mumbai

MUMBAI: A proposal to repair and reconstruct an Olympic-size swimming pool in Chembur is finally expected to come up before the civic standing committee on Friday. The pool has been shut since 2007.

The pool will be renovated at a cost of Rs 19 crore and equipped with an audience gallery, water filtration plant, canteen, garden, fire-fighting system and CCTV cameras.

Joint municipal commissioner (in-charge of gardens and swimming pools) S S Shinde, confirmed the plans. The renovation work is expected to be completed in two years.

The BMC manages four pools—at Dadar, Kandivli, Ghatkopar and Chembur.

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Young city designer dies at Goa dance fest

CALANGUTE/MUMBAI: A 27-year-old Mumbai fashion designer died after collapsing due to exhaustion at the Supersonic electronic dance music (EDM) festival in Goa's Candolim on Monday night. Isha Mantry's death sparked allegations as Congress and NCP linked the EDM with drug abuse and called for banning it.

This is the second such EDM-related death in Goa. A young female techie from Bengaluru had died under similar circumstances in 2009.

Police said Mantry's friends ruled out a drug angle in their statements to cops. She had attended the event along with 13 people.

Mantry's friends told police she was indisposed when she arrived in Goa and was feeling unwell the day they attended the festival, where they had beer.

Her postmortem would be conducted after her parents arrive in Goa on Wednesday afternoon from Odisha.

Mantry's friends told police she fell unconscious just before the festival was to end. She was taken to a first aid centre from where she was shifted to a private hospital, where she died.

SP (North) Priyanka Kashyap said they have registered a case of unnatural death and are conducting further investigations.

Mantry had worked as a costume designer for movies like 'Mary Kom'. "We worked very closely during the making of 'Mary Kom'. She was a joyous person. So it is really sad news what has happened,'' said film-writer Saiwyn Quadras. "It is always a real tragedy when life is cut so short. She was good with everyone on the set, very dedicated, very hardworking. People only speak about her in high regard.''

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Growing meth addiction in city has doctors concerned

MUMBAI: The reason Mumbai's youth consume the deadly meth or M-cat is simple: in the short-term, these drug release high levels of neurotransmitter dopamine. A hormone, dopamine is associated with pleasure that one draws from happy activities such as eating one's favourite dish, watching a favourite movie or being in the company of a loved one and so on.

The reason doctors are worried about meth and other such "middle-class cocaine alternatives" is also obvious: these lab-drugs are highly addictive and cause a host of physical and mental problems. 'Meth mouth', characterized by tooth decay and fall, is one of the obvious side-effects. Psychosis, along with hallucinations, is another big worry. Newer research in the US where meth was banned long back show structural changes in the brain areas associated with emotions and cognition.

"Around 80% of addicts admitted for rehabilitation in state government-run GT Hospital near CST as well as Masina Hospital in Byculla are meth addicts," said psychiatrist Dr Yusuf Matcheswalla. He said many of the addicts become prone to lung infections because of rampant meth and M-cat usage. The show of aggression, the frequency of nose bleeds and the odd convulsions is the price that many of these addicts pay, said Dr Matcheswalla.

"In the early eighties, we saw brown sugar addiction. Now, it is addiction to the amphetamine family of compounds such as crystal meth or M-cat," said psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty. "It was previously believed that an idle mind is a devil's workshop, but nowadays an empty house is a devil's workshop. Youngsters look for such empty houses because they get access to drugs, games and porn,'' he added.

Doctors say these lab-grown compounds are cheap to make: literally cooked in a pressure cooker and dried in the open. "Having a mephedrone fix costs Rs 15 which is equivalent to buying vada pav," said Dr Yusuf Merchant who runs the NGO Drug Abuse Information Rehabilitation and Research Centre (DAIRRC).

At a press conference held on Tuesday, he said M-cat had become popular because "it is legal in India, it doesn't have to be smoked but can be sniffed or eaten. It is a sexual stimulant. It is cheap costing Rs 150 for one gram." Dr Merchant estimates that 30,000 teenagers in Mumbai alone are addicted to mephedrone. Dr Shetty saw six youngsters on Monday who want to break the habit. "Today, I saw three more with a similar request," he said.

DAIRRC has petitioned the government to add drugs such as M-Cat and meth to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). Last week, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state would appeal to the Centre to add such drugs to the Act. At present, the Mumbai police book those found with this substances under section 328 of the IPC that forbids the consumption, possession or transportation of a poisonous substance.

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Centre, private companies to fund smart police stations

MUMBAI: After announcing the smart city initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now drafted a plan to set up citizen-friendly smart police stations in each state.

For the first time, setting up of a police station will be funded by the Centre and the private sector's corporate social responsibility programme.

A month ago, addressing a high-level meeting of DGPs, Modi had made it clear that police personnel should be SMART—sensitive and strict, modern with mobility, alert and accountable, reliable and responsive and trained and techno-savvy.

A senior home department bureaucrat on Tuesday confirmed that the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has asked the state to set up a comprehensive proposal for a smart police station in Maharashtra. "We are in the process of submitting a proposal to set up a smart police station in Mumbai," he said.

The bureaucrat said that Modi wanted the smart police station to be citizen-friendly, clean and one that meets operational and welfare needs of police personnel. It should have basic amenities for visitors, a waiting area, toilets and drinking water facility, rest rooms for constables, separate facilities for women police personnel, besides natural light, proper ventilation, solar lighting and energy-saving features.

It has also been to set up a state-of-art CCTV network, safe armoury, record room and automatic kiosks for filing of complaints by public and a back-up for follow-up. "Police station is a primary point of interaction between the public and police personnel, as such, it should be citizen-friendly," he said.

An IPS official said while the concept is novel, it was high time the state initiates an action plan to provide basic amenities in the existing police stations. The official felt that CM Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, should take a review of police stations across the state. "Fadnavis must ensure that police station's across the state are enabled with state-of-the-art technology. Our crime data has still not computerized and hence there is no data sharing," he said.

There was also an urgent need to review manpower deployment, he said.

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