Maharashtra

Mumbai, Mar 29 (PTI) Celebrated indie filmmakers such as Anand Patwardhan, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan and Devashish Makhija have come together to issue an appeal to defeat fascism in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, saying the country is going its most "testing times ever".

In a joint statement issued on the website www.artistuniteindia.com, the group of 103 filmmakers have called people "to protect the democracy of the country" and claimed that the "BJP has made the country the boardroom property of a handful of businessmen".

Mumbai, Mar 27 (PTI) Abdul Kadir Najmudin Sathak, an alleged aide of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, Wednesday denied that he helped the controversial televangelist with money laundering.

Sathak, a jeweller, was arrested Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA).

Mumbai, Mar 28 (PTI) A 21-year-old Navy sailor, hailing from Tamil Nadu, died after being seriously injured during weapon firing drill onboard INS Gomati off Mumbai coast, an official statement said Thursday.

Mohan Raj, Seaman First Class, suffered a grave injury while carrying out "combat weapon firing drills at sea", a Navy statement said.

He was airlifted to naval hospital INHS Aswini here but succumbed to the injuries, it said.

Mumbai, Mar 25 (PTI) Jet Airways Founder and Chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal will resign from the board of the crisis-hit airline, according to a regulatory filing.

The decision was taken at the airline's board meeting held here Monday.

In a filing to the stock exchanges, Jet Airways said Naresh Goyal, Anita Goyal and one nominee of Etihad Airways PJSC would step down from the board.

Mumbai, Mar 25 (PTI) The husband of an NCP corporator was Monday hacked to death in Maharashtra's Beed district allegedly by a mob which suspected he was helping members of the Shikalgar community in a kidnapping case, police said.

Pandurang Gaikwad (50) was attacked with swords, sickles and sticks in Phule Nagar area of Parli-Vaijnath town in the district, over 470 kilometres from here, an official said.

"Gaikwad sustained serious injuries in the attack in the early hours of Monday. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival," the official said.

Mumbai, Mar 22 (PTI) A 57-year-old IAS official allegedly committed suicide by hanging after firing two rounds from an airgun at his wife in the early hours of Friday in Maharashtra's Solapur district, police said.

Vijaykumar Bhagwat Pawar hanged himself after shooting at and injuring his wife Sonali in Marvade in Mangalwedha town in Solapur, over 380 kilometres from here, an official said.

Thane, Mar 22 (PTI) A 23-year-old man, who was in a relationship with a woman, has been brutally killed allegedly by her relatives, who dumped his body in bushes in Murbad town of Thane district in Maharashtra, police said Friday.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Murbad) Rajendra More gave the name of the victim as Kalpesh Chowdhari, a resident of Kakadpada in Murbad taluka.

Two of the three accused were arrested Friday, the police said.

Mumbai, Mar 21 (PTI) Days after a school teacher was killed by the Naxals in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, the rebels have issued a letter calling it a mistake, the police claimed Thursday.

Yogendra Meshram was killed because he was suspected to be a policeman but he was "innocent", the purported letter said.

Meshram, teacher at a municipal school at Korchi, was shot dead by Naxals at Kombda Bajar on March 12.

Thane, Mar 20 (PTI) A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment by a court in Thane district of Maharashtra for kidnapping and molesting a girl.

Special POCSO court Judge P P Jadhav, in his order issued last week, also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Sandeep Vitthal Umap.

According to the prosecution, on January 13, 2017, the girl, then aged 17 years, left her home in Lokmanya Nagar here for her classes but did not return.

Mumbai, Mar 19; PTI/GANASHAKTI:  Cash-starved Jet Airways on Tuesday alleged that non-payment of salaries had adversely affected its members' psychological condition, which puts the safety of the airline's flight operations at risk.

In a communication to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Jet Airways Aircraft Maintenance Engineers' Association (JAMEWA) sought the aviation regulator's intervention in recovering the dues, saying the management's failure to keep its commitment of clearing their salary by March had "shaken" their faith in the company.