Maharashtra

Thane,Feb 20 (PTI) A leopard was spotted at a shopping mall and a hotel in Thane city of Maharashtra on Wednesday morning and later caught by forest officials after over six hours, an official said.

The big cat was initially thought to be a panther but it was later found to be a leopard.

Mumbai, Feb 19 (PTI) A day after sealing a seat-sharing pact with the BJP, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday asked the NDA government not to behave in a way that would fuel allegations that it was trying to wage a war to influence poll results.

Riots and terror attacks should not be used for "political gains", the Sena said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

Nagpur, Feb 18 (PTI) A 22-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself in her house in Maharashtra's Nagpur district, after she was raped by an accomplice of her friend last week, police said Monday.

The woman, in a suicide note purportedly written by her, stated that she was ending her life out of shame as the incident has become public.

Palghar, Feb 18 (PTI) Eight mandal unit chiefs of the BJP in Palghar district of Maharashtra have resigned amid apprehension that the Lok Sabha seat here, currently held by the party, may be given to the Shiv Sena as part of pre-poll alliance for the upcoming general elections.

Palghar BJP unit chief Pascal Dhanare said on Monday that eight mandal presidents of the party in the district have resigned and four more are likely to follow suit.

Mumbai, Feb 15; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Veteran actor Shabana Azmi on Friday said she and her husband, lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar, have decided not to attend Kaifi Azmi's birth centenary celebrations in Karachi in the wake of Pulwama terror attack.

The couple was invited to Pakistan by the Karachi Arts Council for a two-day event.

Mumbai, Feb 15 (PTI) A sixty-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a girl who had run away from home, the city police said Friday.

The victim, who is 16 years old and lives in Sewree area in south Mumbai, was scolded and slapped by her sister for returning home late at night on Wednesday, the police said.

In a fit of anger, the victim left the house and took a train to Panvel.

Mumbai, Feb 13 (PTI) Three men have been arrested for allegedly duping several two-wheeler owners in the city by selling fake vehicle insurance policies to them, a senior police official said Wednesday.

A preliminary probe by the police has revealed that the accused have so far sold over 800 bogus insurance policies in the city, the official said.

Mumbai, Feb 12 (PTI) Shortage of pilots continued to hamper budget carrier IndiGos operations with the airline cancelling as many as 30 flights Tuesday from across stations and passengers allegedly being forced to buy last minute high fares for its flights, a source said.

On Monday also, the Gurugram-headquartered airline had pulled out 32 flights from its network.

Pune, Feb 9 (PTI) NCP president Sharad Pawar said Saturday that he was "worried" about Union minister Nitin Gadkari as he is being projected as a possible alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gadkari, a senior BJP leader, was recently in news when he was seen as taking swipes at his party's top leadership after the Assembly poll losses in three states.

Mumbai, Feb 7 (PTI) A 22-year-old driver, who was operating a bus using a bamboo stick as gear lever, was arrested after his vehicle carrying school students hit a car in Mumbai, a police official said on Thursday.

No injury or casualty was reported in the mishap.