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TOI : PUNE: In a ghastly mishap, two college students, including a girl, were killed on the spot when their speeding motorcycle rammed into an electricity pole on the road divider near Soharab Hall in the early hours of Sunday. The deceased were identified by the police as Mohammed Fabil Mohammed Fazal (21) a resident of Kondhwa who hails from Kerala, and Kirti Anil Sharma (19), a resident of Koregaon Park hailing from Mumbai. Investigation revealed that the two were returning from a party.

According to the police, Fazal and Kirti were heading to Koregaon Park on the motorcycle at around 3.30 am. On Raja Bahadur Mill road, Fazal, who was riding the motorcycle at a high speed, didn’t notice the sharp turn near Hotel Le Meridien and rammed into the pole on the road divider. The impact of the collision sent the two soaring in the air. The motorcycle slid on the road for a distance of about 5 metres. Passers-by and a police van on patrol duty immediately rushed them to the Sassoon hospital, where they were declared dead.

Chaitanya Vilas Bhise (25) of Tingrenagar, who helped the police take the duo to the hospital, told TOI that he reached the spot five minutes after the mishap. He saw the duo lying in a pool of blood on the road in an unconscious state. A crowd had gathered around them but nobody had come forward to help.

“I telephoned a nearby private hospital, but they refused to come. I then called the police control room and within five minutes, a police van reached the spot,” Bhise said. With the help of the police and one Alok Mishra, the two were put into the police van and taken to the hospital, Bhise added. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The Wanowrie police have arrested Gangadhar Guruppa Kamble (27), a resident of Ramtekdi (Hadapsar), for allegedly strangulating his wife, Sangita Gangadhar Kamble (24) on Thursday around 9 pm.

According to the police, Gangadhar and Sangita were married five years ago and had a three-year-old baby girl. Gangadhar, who was an alcohol addict, used to hit his wife regularly, demanding money.

He was arrested after a complaint in this regard was lodged by Sangita’s mother Kavita Sham Kamble (40) of Sangli with the Wanowrie police station. Sub-inspector S.C. Pore is investigating the case. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE/SATARA: State forest officials have seized the half-burnt skin, bones and other remains of a chinkara from the farmhouse of state minister for transport and tribal development Dharmarao Baba Atram. The raid on Atram’s farmhouse at Khingar in Mahabaleshwar taluka comes nearly three weeks after the poaching of the chinkara, an endangered species of deer, in the forest area of Purandar taluka came to light.

Government officials, in another simultaneous raid at Atram’s house at Aheri in Gadhchiroli district, recovered two rifles and two trophies with mounted heads of deer. The poaching incident had taken place on June 14, which was reported by local residents.

Following the seizure, the demand for Atram’s resignation has become vociferous. Atram is a member of the Nationalist Congress Party.

The police on Friday night arrested two security guards, Ravindra Tukaram Bidkar, and Suresh Anand Biramne, who were posted at the farmhouse in Panchgani taluka. They have been remanded to police custody till Tuesday.

The officials investigating the poaching case suspected that the meat of the deer had been cooked at the farmhouse of Atram’s close associate Grabial Fernandes, who has reportedly been absconding for the past few days. Fernandes’ farm house is adjacent to the farmhouse of Atram.

Meanwhile, state forest minister Babanrao Pachpute, who had visited the site last week where the poaching took place, had said that no one, however powerful they may be, would be spared. He had praised the forest officials for the thorough enquiry that they had conducted in the case.

Incidentally, Atram was expected to attend a function organised by the Adivasi Vikas Jankalyan Yuvak Samiti, a body of tribal students at government-run hostels, at Sakhar Sankul in Shivajinagar in the city on Sunday. However, he did not turn up for the event. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Aparna Doke and municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma on Saturday inspected ongoing road projects in the township. Ordering quick completion of the work and removal of potholes and debris, Doke and Sharma themselves began the drive to repair potholes on Pimpri-Chinchwad link road.

Various road projects are currently in progress in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Work on some of these, such as the concretisation of the road from Thergaon bridge to Dange chowk, is moving at a slow pace. Pipelines are also being laid along some roads. As a result, debris is lying on many roads.

Besides, the road connecting Mercedes Benz corner with Dehu-Alandi road and passing through Kudalwadi has potholes and has become slushy due to the drainage water from nearby homes and scrap units flowing onto it.

It may also be recalled that the concretised portion of the old Mumbai-Pune highway from Kharalwadi to Nashik Phata has been closed to traffic for the past few days in order to repair potholes at Vallabhnagar chowk.

Consequently, deteriorating road conditions and slow-paced road work is causing motorists severe problems.

Against this backdrop, Doke and Sharma inspected the road from Chaphekar chowk to Chinchwad station, where concretisation work is in progress, and the Pimpri-Chinchwad link road, where pipelines are being laid. They later directed the civic officials to urgently repair the potholes on the roads. Sharma also ordered the immediate removal of debris on the roads. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: In a bid to expedite hearing of bail applications, the district and sessions court has set up an additional court with effect from June 1.

With the setting up of the new court, the number of courts has gone up to three, much to the relief of the lawyers and litigants.

Principal district and sessions judge A.I.S. Cheema issued the order recently. The judge has, for the first time, opted for an additional court to hear bail matters as the number of applications filed by suspects seeking regular and anticipatory bail are increasing. The lawyers have welcomed the move.

S.P. Hayatnagarkar will hear the bail applications filed by suspects whose cases are registered with the Faraskhana, Bundgarden, Bharti Vidyapeeth, Sahakarnagar, Vishrambaugh, Yerawada, Airport, Khadak, Swargate, Dattawadi and Shivajinagar police stations.

Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi will decide on applications coming under the jurisdiction of the Samarth, Chatushrungi, Deccan Gymkhana, Kothrud, Warje-Malwadi, Khadki, Vishrantwadi, Wanowrie, Cantonment and Kondhwa police stations. R.V. Deshmukh will hear pleas from the rural areas. The three judges will hear the pleas till July 31. Thereafter, the charge of conducting the hearing will be handed over to other judges on a rotation basis. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More