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TOI : PUNE: In yet another incident that proves that the city is turning into a safe haven for criminals, a seven-member gang of armed dacoits assaulted five persons, including the security guard, in a housing society at Padmavati in the wee hours of Sunday. The incident occurred at the parking lot of Vinkar co-operative housing society, E-wing and the dacoits made a way with cash and valuables worth Rs 50,400. Notably, this is the third incident of dacoity in the city in two weeks.

Sahakarnagar police said that seven men entered the society premises from the rear side of the building at about 2 am on Sunday. They thrashed security guard Sukhdeo Misal and handcuffed him. Meanwhile, Sagar Dhotre (25) and Sachin Pokharkar (25) reached there on a motorcycle and noticed some strangers holding Misal. But before they could react, the assailants attacked them with sharp weapons. The duo was relieved of cash, gold chain and mobile phones.

The dacoits also attacked Sagar’s parents, who came running after hearing their screams. Meanwhile, the society
members came down running to the rescue of the victims. Apprehending danger, the dacoits decamped with the booty in a silver colour Maruti car, parked behind the compound wall on the Yeshwantrao Chavan road.

Sachin alerted Sahakarnagar police station, which is located at a stone’s throw away from the society. Police commissioner Jayant Umranikar, additional commissioners of Police (south region) Vivek Phansalkar and Rajender Singh (crime), deputy commissioner of police (zone II) Satish Khandare, assistant commissioner of police (Swargate division) Subhash Dange, inspector S.S. Shinde (crime) and others visited the spot.

The injured, Sagar and his mother Anita Dhotre (40) are undergoing treatment at Rao nursing home in Bibvewadi. Sagar’s father Ramesh Dhotre (45), whose condition is serious, is being treated at KEM hospital in Rasta Peth. Those who escaped with minor injuries include Sachin of Dnyaneshwar…More

TOI : PUNE: After the state authorities failed to address their grievances, around 150 members of the Maharashtra Government Nurses Federation (MGNF) will meet President Pratibha Patil on Monday on the occasion of International Nurses Day to make her aware of their demands.

MGNF president Anuradha Athavale told TOI that they hope to sensitise the President about their problems. “Since she is a woman, we are optimistic that the meeting will help us achieve our demands.” The MNGF’s demands include adequate equipment and safety at workplaces, upgradation of nursing education and ending unreasonable transfers of nurses.

Elaborating on the demand for greater safety at the workplace, Athavale said that nurses face threats to their security in places like Chandrapur, Akola, Amravati, and Jalna. The delegation left from Pune for New Delhi on May 9.

The MGNF had earlier threatened to go on strike on March 31. The agitation was deferred after the state government promised to look into their grievances. This, however, did not happen. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: A 90-year-old freedom fighter from Mumbai and an 81-year-old student of Jainology are all set to make history by becoming the oldest male and female candidates, respectively, to enrol for a doctorate in philosophy (Ph.D) at the University of Pune (UoP).

Prakashbhai Mohadikar, from Dadar, is a follower of Marathi author and social activist Sane Guruji. He has expressed his desire to do a doctoral study on the work and contributions of his mentor. On the other hand, Madanbai Lodha (81), a resident of Prabhat road here, who is associated with the Sanmati-teerth research organisation at the Fi-rodia hostel, wants to do her Ph.D in Prakrit and Jainology.

“The university has started the enrolment process. Let’s see what happens. I would definitely pursue the doctoral study if I get a chance,” Lodha told TOI on Sunday.

The university has demonstrated its willingness to relax the Ph.D enrolment norms for these two senior citizens — as part of its initiative to raise a ’senior citizens help cell’ under the board of extra mural studies.

On Saturday, the cell was inaugurated by former Union minister Suresh Prabhu and vice-chancellor (V-C) Narendra Jadhav. Janseva Foundation activist Vinod Shah presided over the session, while H.V. Sardesai spoke on the ‘Health of senior citizens’.

The newly-established cell, which is the brainchild of Jadhav, will focus on five areas — training senior citizens on
health and personal finance matters; utilising their experience and expertise in various fields for conducting short-term courses, lectures and workshops; engaging them as teachers at the extra mural studies unit; facilitating their Ph.Ds on a voluntary basis, provided they are degree-holders and above the age of 60 and, finally, utilising their expertise on a voluntary basis for the Samarth Bharat Abhiyaan initiative of the UoP.

Both, Prakashbhai and Madan Lodha, were felicitated at the inaugural function of…More

TOI : PUNE: Copper and brass vessels, which were more than 100 years old and belonging to the family of freedom-fighter Lokmanya Tilak, were stolen from Gaikwad wada, next to Kesari wada, at Narayan Peth on Saturday night.

Sub-inspector R.M. Vichare said the stolen vessels included four large copper pots (handis), each weighing around 20 kg, and a 10-kg brass plate (parat), totally worth around Rs 50,000.

Construction work is under way at the wada, which belongs to Tilak’s family, and the vessels were kept out in the open, said Vichare. On Sunday morning, the house help, Kamal Raut (64), noticed that the vessels were missing. She lodged a complaint with the police.

When contacted, corporator Mukta Tilak, a member of the Tilak family, told TOI that these vessels were more than 100 years old and were not being used regularly.

The wada, which is barely 200 metres away from the Narayan Peth police chowky, is usually a crowded place due to the offices located on the premises.

The police have questioned the labourers working at the construction site and are also keeping a watch on various city markets where the vessels could be pawned or sold. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: In a startling revelation, Pune police commissioner Jayant Umranikar said on Saturday that there are only 6,500 policemen to protect the 60 lakh inhabitants of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Umranikar was speaking at a panel discussion on the topic ‘Punawadi to Hinjawadi’ organised by the D.S. Kulkarni group as part of the annual ‘DSK Gappa’ event.

Admitting to a severe shortage of personnel, Umranikar urged citizens to be alert owing to the current state of affairs. “The character of the city is changing. It has a large floating population. On the other hand, the police are short-staffed and under pressure. Moreover, bandobasts, VIP visits and security provisions during festivals also take up a lot of our time.”

Speaking about the crumbling infrastructure and worsening traffic woes, he pointed out that there are only 450 traffic policemen to man 1,477 traffic junctions.

“The city has 20 lakh vehicles. But roads are in a bad shape, although there is an improvement over last year. Further, the civic body frequently undertakes digging and road works,” Umranikar said, adding that the police should be involved in road design as they can give inputs to enhance safety.

Some panellists attributed the worsening state of the infrastructure to the politicians’ lack of vision and political will.

Former Congress corporator Satish Desai and BJP MLA Girish Bapat refuted the charge, saying that the information technology (IT) industry had been attracted to the city because of the politicians’ vision. He opined that the public needs to be more proactive. “People should become more responsible voters and come out to vote in larger numbers. They must also question politicians over development issues. Merely criticism is not going to solve problems.”

Madhav Kulkarni, director of IT company Cognizant, said that although the IT sector has grown at a tremendous rate in the city in the…More