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TOI : PUNE: Former vice-president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Pune, Praveen Pradeep Jagdale (27), was hacked to death by unidentified people at Shirole plot, off F.C. road, here on Tuesday evening.

The police have yet to ascertain the motive behind the murder, senior inspector Jaywant Deshmukh of the Deccan police said, adding that he had also been attacked a yearand-a-half ago at Nigdi.

Jagdale is survived by wife Jyotsna and a six-year-old son, he said. According to Deshmukh, Jagdale, a resident of Anandnagar on Sinhagad road, used to pick up his father from a college on SB road where he works as a peon.

The senior inspector said that Jagdale used to visit the Shirole plot to see pigeons. When he went there around 5 pm on Tuesday, some unidentified persons attacked him with sharp weapons and stones, he said.

“Jagdale, who used to live near Shirole road, had moved to Sinhagad road about seven years ago. He owned a cyber cafe and was into the cable business at Anandnagar. Jagdale’s friends at Shirole road said he was a fitness freak and an instructor at the Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s College of Commerce,” Deshmukh said. City Congress chief Abhay Chhajed said Jagdale was an active member of the NSUI. B…More

TOI : PUNE: A committee led by agriculture commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh would probe the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for farmers, said Pune guardian minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday. Pawar made the announcement during a meeting of the district planning and development committee (DPDC) at the Council Hall.

Raising the issue at the meeting, DPDC member Sambhaji Kunjir alleged that funds allocated under various projects never reached the farmers. “Under the government scheme, farmers were supposed to get seeds to grow fodder, but hardly any farmer has received seeds.” Kunjir added that farmers were not given funds to purchase manure.

Kunjir also alleged that no funds were allocated at all in Haveli, Bhor and Mulshi talukas, while the district officials maintained that 4,875 kilo seeds were purchased and distributed to 500 farmers.

Pawar, who headed the meeting, said Kunjir will also be a member of the committee to probe the alleged misappropriations .

Meanwhile, corporators demanded more funds for development of pilgrimage places in the district. However , Pawar said that local residents in many places, like Narayanpur, were not co-operating with the administration for development of the place. “The state has prepared a detailed plan for development of pilgrimage places. But the local people should co-operate .’

During the meeting, some corporators castigated forest officials for failing to protect leopards at the rescue centre in Junnar . The forest officials said that the centre was handed to an NGO which was taking care of the leopards. B…More

TOI : PUNE: Himani Savarkar, president of the Abhinav Bharat and the Hindu Mahasabha, said on Tuesday that she would provide free legal aid to all the Abhinav Bharat members who were arrested by the state ATS which is investigating the Malegaon bomb blast case.

Speaking to TOI here she said: “As the national president of Abhinav Bharat it is my duty to help members who are in the custody of state ATS.”

Savarkar said, “Though the charges against the suspects are yet to be proved, the Malegaon blast should be viewed as a reaction against the unending terrorist activities in the country.”

Savarkar confirmed that those arrested by state ATS – Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni and Ajay Rahirkar – had connection with the Abhinav Bharat. However, she added that “Except for Sameer Kulkarni, I don’t know much about others.”

Himani is the daughter-in-law of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s brother. Savarkar had set up Abhinav Bharat in 1904 for an armed struggle against the British government. After the independence, the organisation was dissolved in 1952.

Himani Savarkar started working with the Abhinav Bharat (which is currently an unregistered organisation) in 2006. She claimed that she became the national president of the Abhinav Bharat eight months ago. “The main motto of the organisation is to oppose anti-national activities and to redress the injustice meted out to the majority community. The organisation does not support terrorism,” Savarkar said.

She said, “I will provide legal aid to all the suspects who have connection with the Abhinav Bharat. The ATS has arrested one Rakesh Dhawade. I don’t know who he is and why he was arrested, but I will help to him too. I am glad that the Shiv Sena also came forward to help them.”

She added that, except for Gujarat , the state governments were not…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) may have cut down a number of trees in order to widen its roads, but now it has determined that each tree within its limits is worth Rs 25,000.

At a recent meeting, the board decided that anyone who cuts down a tree will have to pay up. Moreover, if a tree is transplanted (sapling planted in lieu of a cut tree), the deposit money will now be Rs 10,000 instead of the Rs 2,000 it was earlier.

“A resolution will be passed to this effect and the rule will soon be implemented,” said Jayant Kangane, garden-incharge of the PCB.

He added that the decision was made in order to prevent people from cutting down trees.

The PCB takes a deposit amount from citizens who want to fell a tree and plant another in its place. “We keep a tab on the trees planted under this scheme,” said Kangane. “We return the deposit money only after we make sure that the new tree has survived. However, on many occasions we found that Rs 2,000 was not a big deal and rather than planting a new tree, people would just forget about the deposit money. We decided to increase the amount so that those who cut down trees will be more inclined to plant new ones.”

Kangane said that earlier the cost of felling a tree was defined by the value of its wood, ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 3,000.

Environment activists have welcomed the board’s decision but said it should also consider what kind of concessions it can give in case a tree has to be felled for genuine reasons. Activists also said that instead of charging money, the board should consider options to prevent trees from being felled at all.

“The amount will certainly act as a…More

TOI : PUNE: Five people, including two women, sustained severe injuries after part of the flooring of the third floor of a 200-year-old wada caved in around 6.30 am on Tuesday.

The victims were identified as Dhondiba Satpute (70), his son Mahesh (30), their neighbours Shirish Potnis (40) his wife Nilima (35) and mother Neela (60), all residents of Mote Wada, Kasba Peth. Fire brigade officials managed to rescue 70-year-old Gajanan Potnis who was stuck in the debris. All the victims have been admitted to a private hospital and doctors say they are out of danger.

Chitra Satpute, wife of Dhondiba Satpute, and an eyewitness to the incident, told TOI, “On Tuesday morning I was having a bath. My husband and son were asleep. Suddenly, I heard a big noise. When I opened the bathroom door, I saw our room was full of dust and I couldn’t see my husband and son. I saw that entire floor of our room had collapsed onto the first floor. I went screaming outside to seek help from the neighbouring Potnis family but, I found that the entire Potnis family had also fallen down.

“By this time the other residents in the society gathered,” she continued. “They broke open the rooms on the first floor and dragged five of the people to safety, including my husband and son who had fallen down along with the bed.”

Her son Mahesh said, “I was fast asleep when the incident took place. When I opened my eyes I was in the middle of debris and the entire room was full of smoke. The neighbours came in and rescued me.”

Fire officer Gajanan Patrudkar told TOI, “After receiving the call, our fire engine , rescue van and ambulance immediately rushed to the spot. We rescued all the people stuck in the debris. Our officer, Bhimrao Pawar, rescued Gajnan Potnis.”…More