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TOI : PUNE: Around 27 foreign students, including 13 girls, were arrested early on Sunday morning for partying with loud music and allegedly watching porn material on laptops on the terrace of a bungalow at Madhuban Society in Sangvi.

Most of the students, who were in an inebriated state, allegedly resisted the police who had reached the spot following a complaint. One girl student also allegedly bit the hand of a woman constable who was trying to arrest her.

The police have booked the students, who hail from different city colleges, under charges of unlawful assembly, possessing foreign liquor without a permit, disturbing the public peace and voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his/her duty.

Incidentally, the riot control police had to be summoned after the students allegedly threatened the police. The students also pelted stones at newspaper photographers outside the Sangvi police station.

The police swooped down on the two-storeyed bungalow at lane No. 5 in Madhuban Society shortly after midnight after a complaint from a local resident about the ruckus being created at the party.

According to police inspector Vijaykumar Savant, loud music was playing at the premises. He said the students were also viewing porn material. A few CDs and laptops, besides empty cans of beer and liquor bottles, were seized from the students.

The Sangvi police were recording the statements of the arrested students till noon on Sunday. Deputy commissioner of police Mahesh Patil supervised the police action.

According to James Haokip, brother of the bungalow owner, the place had been rented out to four students around two months ago. Haokip said he came to know about the party and the subsequent police action only on Sunday morning.

Madhuban society, which is more than 20 years old, has several rowhouses and bungalows. Residents in the locality said some…More

TOI : PUNE: The Sahakarnagar police on Saturday arrested four persons, including a television journalist, for allegedly gangraping two women and kidnapping one of them on Friday evening. The suspects also allegedly looted jewellery and cash from one of the women’s houses.

The suspects have been identified as Samir Desai (30), a TV journalist and resident of Mahalaxminagar, Bibvewadi, Vijay Makhamale (28) of Mahesh society, Bibvewadi, Rahul Shinde (30) of Bhakti Apartment, Bibvewadi and Sachin Pawar (32) of Ghorpade Peth. The police also have booked an unidentified accomplice of the accused who posed as a police constable.

In her complaint to the Sahakarnagar police, one of the women stated that two of the suspects gangraped her and her friend at her house on Friday. The suspects then forced her friend in their car, took her to Katraj and gangraped her again.

Inspector Shailesh Shinde said the complainant was a sex worker two years back and had been introduced to the suspects while she was still in the trade.

On Friday evening, the complainant and her friend were at Sahakarnagar when they were allegedly followed by the suspects who forced their way into her house. The complainant said that Vijay and Sachin took her to the bedroom and raped her while Sachin and Rahul raped her friend. The four suspects then took the friend to Katraj where she was again raped by Sachin and an unidentified person who posed to be a police constable, Shinde said.

Shinde said that Samir had allegedly threatened to make the complainant’s name public and had demanded sexual favours from her. The woman said that Samir also snatched her gold chains worth Rs 16,000. She further stated that Sachin brandished a knife and looted Rs 4,000 from her and also robbed one Thakkar, who had come to the flat at the time of incident, of Rs 11,600….More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune crime branch arrested three people for their involvement in nine cases of burglaries in Pimpri-Chinchwad. The police have recovered a booty of Rs 16 lakh from their possession.

The suspects have been identified as Prakash Parmar (28) and Prakash Chaudhary (25) both of Dighi, Rajasthan. The police also arrested Shailesh Korde (28), a resident of Vishrantwadi, who purchased stolen goods from the two.

Addressing the media, additional commissioner of police (crime) Rajender Singh said unit-III of crime branch had received a tip-off that one of the suspects was in Rajasthan. “Sub-inspector Dattatreya Gadhve and his team went to Rajasthan and arrested Parmar,” Singh said.

During sustained interrogation, Parmar confessed his involvement in the crime and also revealed Chaudhary’s name, who was then in Yerwada jail. Police got his custody from the jail. Chaudhary was arrested last month for his involvement in another case of burglary.

Investigations have revealed that Chaudhary and Parmar used to break into mobile stores and car accessory stores at night and steal handsets and car accessories. “They used to sell the stolen goods to Korde, who has a car accessories shop in Vishrantwadi,” Singh said.

Singh added that the duo had also sold stolen mobile handsets in Rajasthan and Amravati. “The police have recovered 116 mobile handsets, mobile vouchers, car tapes and watches totalling to Rs 16 lakh,” Singh said.

The investigation team comprising of deputy commissioner of police (crime) Anil Kumbhare, assistant commissioner of police (crime) Sangramsingh Nishandar, inspector Mohan Mohadikar, sub-inspectors Dattatreya Gadhve, Rajendra Bahirat, constable Shakir Jinedi, Bhanudas Bhalerao and Prasad Kamble, solved the case. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: From being in the doldrums just two years back to experiencing a high turnover now – that’s the story of Marathi cinema which has been infused with a breath of fresh air post- Shwaas .

In fact, Marathi cinema is on the verge of achieving a milestone this year, with the expected release of more than 100 movies by December. While over 40 movies have already been released, another 60 or so are expected to hit the screens by December. And the turnover from these movies is expected to touch the Rs 80-crore mark this year, a never-before for the ailing industry considering that the turnover was a piffling Rs 5 crore a couple of years back.

The industry has been rejuvenated post- Shwaas (2004) with many young directors willing to explore new themes and contents. In 2006, the industry released 67 movies while 91 were released in 2007.

The success of Marathi films has even lured Bollywood bigwigs like Subhash Ghai and Amitabh Bachchan. While Ghai distributed the popular Valu, he also co-produced Sanai Choughade with Shreyas Talpade. Bachchan, meanwhile, is planning to produce a film to be directed by Umesh Kulkarni, the director of Valu.

With movies like Sakhi, Valu, Checkmate and Swami Daivat Maze celebrating their silver jubilee runs and those like De Dhakka, Sade Made Teen, Tingya, Amhi Satpute and Kadachit reaping impressive returns, the turnover figures have already crossed the Rs 50-crore mark. The industry has also been helped by the waiver of entertainment tax on Marathi movies.

“Considering the number of movies still being produced, the turnover will certainly touch the Rs 80-crore mark by the end of the year. And the movies are getting an overwhelming response in theatres across the state,” says Ajay Sarpotdar, president, Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal (ABMCM), the apex body of the Marathi film industry.
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TOI : PUNE: 26 foreign nationals were arrested after they indulged in revelries at a party held in Sangvi, a city suburb, police said.

The revellers, who are students hailing from African countries, were found to be in an inebriated state partying on the terrace of a house last night, they added.

A case under IPC 292 was being filed against them for disturbing public peace, police said.

Those arrested include 12 women and 14 men, they added. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More