News

TOI : PUNE: In a shocking incident, a 22-year-old woman, working as a customer care executive at the International Business Machines’ (IBM) call centre at Phursungi, was allegedly gangraped by eight to 10 people, suspected to be cab drivers, on the intervening night of Thursday-Friday.

This is the second such case involving a call centre employee in the city. IT professional Jyoti Kumari Chaudhary was raped and killed at Talegaon Dabhade in November, 2007.

According to the Loni Kalbhor police, the incident took place on a hill near Tukai Mata temple, near Phursungi. The woman originally hails from Nandurbar and has been working with the IBM call centre for the last one year.

The incident came to light after the victim’s boyfriend registered an FIR of mass rape against unidentified cab drivers on Friday.

The incident once again brings into sharp focus the safety of women working in call centres.

According to the FIR, the woman took a cab from her hostel in Phursungi after she received a call from an official of the company late on Thursday night. The woman was reportedly told to come to the office for some urgent work.

The FIR further said that some people, suspected to be cab drivers, chased her vehicle up to a distance and intercepted it in a remote area near the temple and dragged her to the hill and allegedly gang-raped her between 11.30 pm and 1 am.

The police said the woman was later dropped by the suspects at the hostel. When her boyfriend visited her on Friday, she told him that she was not feeling well and disclosed the incident to him, who rushed her to the police station for lodging an FIR.

While at the police station, the woman lost consciousness and the police rushed her to a private hospital at Magarpatta…More

TOI : PUNE: A woman attempted suicide by consuming poison at the courtroom of judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) S.B. Bhajipale at the Pimpri court on Friday after the hearing of her petition regarding a land dispute.

The victim has been identified as Chimu Pingle (55) of Gawdewada in Chinchwad. She was immediately shifted to the Yashwantrao Chavan memorial hospital at Pimpri. Her condition is said to be critical.

Pingle had a dispute with a builder from Chinchwad over a piece of land regarding which she had filed a complaint with the Nigdi police. Recently, the matter was shifted to the Pimpri court.

On Friday, the witnesses in the case did not appear before the court for their evidence. Bhajipale decided the date for the next hearing on August 20. Pingle, who was present during the proceeding, then consumed the poison, which she had brought with her. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is seeking approval to acquire land at Moshi for a new sub-station of the fire brigade department here at the earliest for which a proposal would be tabled before the standing committee on Tuesday.

The proposal states that the primary Development Plan of the newly merged villages, prepared in 2000, shows that 4,000 sq m land in Gat no 702, 704, 705, 706 and 707 is engaged under reservation no 1/178 as a fire brigade office.

The PCMC has also sought approval to give compensation for acquiring this land under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, Article 126(1), and Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

Speaking to TOI on Saturday, MI Phadnis, assistant commissioner, PCMC, said there should be at least 17 fire sub-stations for the rapidly growing population within the municipal limits.

However, the municipal fire brigade department had just one central office and three sub-stations. The central office was located at Pimpri, while the sub-stations were at Rahatni, Bhosari and Pradhikaran.

In fact, he said, a letter had been sent to the state government seeking permission for sub-stations at Dapodi and Chikhli at the earliest.

Phadnis said if there was ever a fire in Dapodi or its nearby areas, then fire engines had to be sent all the way from the Pimpri central fire station. If a sub-station gets built in Dapodi, then it would cater to many areas, including Pimpale Gurav and Sangvi.

In the past, a number of major fires had occurred in Kudalwadi area of Chikhli, which houses a large many scrap dealers’ godowns. The circumstances makes it imperative that the proposed fire station gets built here at the earliest, he said.

To expedite opening up of new sub-stations, said Phadnis, the department had also sent a letter to the civic town…More

TOI : PUNE: The department of welfare of handicapped at the Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP), located near the district collectorate, has become inaccessible for the physically-challenged for the last five months due to the ongoing construction of a subway, which has blocked the two entrance points to the office.

Only a narrow opening at the main gate of the ZP has been left open. However, people with disability cannot use it as the opening contains a staircase and there is no provision for using wheelchairs. The situation is expected to remain the same for the next six months when the welfare office shifts to the new ZP building being constructed near the existing office.

The department receives at least 50 to 100 disabled visitors every day who seek information on various welfare schemes for education, rehabilitation and employment offered by the government.

Located at the Sassoon general hospital chowk, the handicapped welfare office for the Pune district delivers services to the differently-abled people from the district.

“Over 50 to 100 persons approach the office every day. As there is no easy entrance to the office, they often face problems. The situation has worsened as the work for the subway is expected to take more time,” an employee of the department told TOI.

“We have been trying to help the visitors to come to the office. But it’s been very difficult. Those who come in wheelchairs are asked to wait outside and we ask our staff to go out to meet them. We are also trying to minimise the time in processing their forms and applications,” the employee added.

The office also attends has visitors and representatives from various non-governmental organisations working for the physically-challenged people.

TS Kawate, social welfare officer, told TOI, “The administration has taken a decision to shift the office from the existing premises to…More

TOI : PUNE: From August 10, the Baner road has been closed down from National housing society chowk to Sadanand hotel for vehicles other than those of local residents and PMPML buses.

According to a press statement issued by the Pune Municipal Corporation, the move has been made to facilitate road-widening and concretisation work in view of Commonwealth Youth Games. No vehicle can cross Sadanand hotel chowk to go towards the highway or come onto Baner road.

Motorists going towards Mumbai, Dehu road, Mhalunge, Hinjewadi, Katraj-Dehuroad bypass from University chowk side should use an alternative route instead of Baner road.

The alternative routes are Pune University chowk-Bremen chowk-Rajiv Gandhi bridge-Sangvi junction-Rakhshak society-Hinjewadi.

Those going towards bypass can use Pashan road via NCL-Pashan circle-Sus road-bypass. The digging work on the road is already a matter of concern for the commuters. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : MUZAFFARPUR: Search for the lost Bhoodan land has been stepped up in this district after the joining of a retired ADM rank officer, A K Chaube on contract basis recently.

At a review meeting convened by Muzaffarpur DM Vipin Kumar here on Friday, it was detected that records of more than 5,646 acres of land donated by landlords 40 to 50 years back to Bhoodan movement are very much available with the administration.

Of this, nearly 3,460 acres of land has been confirmed to be of Bhoodani land involving no controversy at all.
Apart from this, 3,673 acres Bhoodani land had already been distributed and the process of distribution of 118 acres more is presently going on.

Now, the district administration has directed all the circle officers and BDOs concerned of the district to get back into possession 2,187 acres of land from landowners who, anyhow, succeeded in putting such controversial plots in their names after the last survey.

Besides, many such cases have also been found where the landowner had donated only five kathas of land to the Bhoodan movement but later on, it was shown as five bighas. This has created an agrarian agitation between Leftist parties and the landowners in many parts of the district and elsewhere in the state. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI :
PATNA: A girl student Soni (name changed) has been reported missing since Thursday from Rajeev Nagar locality under the Digha police station. Her family members have lodged a complaint, apprehending her abduction.

Digha police station SHO NK Singh said Soni is a management student of Zakeer Hussain Institute. She left her Rajeev Nagar home for the institute around 11 am and did not return home in the evening. As a search for her by her family members failed, they lodged a complaint with the police. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : MUZAFFARPUR: Search for the lost Bhoodan land has been stepped up in this district after the joining of a retired ADM rank officer, A K Chaube on contract basis recently.

At a review meeting convened by Muzaffarpur DM Vipin Kumar here on Friday, it was detected that records of more than 5,646 acres of land donated by landlords 40 to 50 years back to Bhoodan movement are very much available with the administration.

Of this, nearly 3,460 acres of land has been confirmed to be of Bhoodani land involving no controversy at all.
Apart from this, 3,673 acres Bhoodani land had already been distributed and the process of distribution of 118 acres more is presently going on.

Now, the district administration has directed all the circle officers and BDOs concerned of the district to get back into possession 2,187 acres of land from landowners who, anyhow, succeeded in putting such controversial plots in their names after the last survey.

Besides, many such cases have also been found where the landowner had donated only five kathas of land to the Bhoodan movement but later on, it was shown as five bighas. This has created an agrarian agitation between Leftist parties and the landowners in many parts of the district and elsewhere in the state. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI :
PATNA: A girl student Soni (name changed) has been reported missing since Thursday from Rajeev Nagar locality under the Digha police station. Her family members have lodged a complaint, apprehending her abduction.

Digha police station SHO NK Singh said Soni is a management student of Zakeer Hussain Institute. She left her Rajeev Nagar home for the institute around 11 am and did not return home in the evening. As a search for her by her family members failed, they lodged a complaint with the police. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : MUZAFFARPUR: Search for the lost Bhoodan land has been stepped up in this district after the joining of a retired ADM rank officer, A K Chaube on contract basis recently.

At a review meeting convened by Muzaffarpur DM Vipin Kumar here on Friday, it was detected that records of more than 5,646 acres of land donated by landlords 40 to 50 years back to Bhoodan movement are very much available with the administration.

Of this, nearly 3,460 acres of land has been confirmed to be of Bhoodani land involving no controversy at all.
Apart from this, 3,673 acres Bhoodani land had already been distributed and the process of distribution of 118 acres more is presently going on.

Now, the district administration has directed all the circle officers and BDOs concerned of the district to get back into possession 2,187 acres of land from landowners who, anyhow, succeeded in putting such controversial plots in their names after the last survey.

Besides, many such cases have also been found where the landowner had donated only five kathas of land to the Bhoodan movement but later on, it was shown as five bighas. This has created an agrarian agitation between Leftist parties and the landowners in many parts of the district and elsewhere in the state. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More