Mumbai: A sessions court on Thursday ordered the transfer of dismissed RPF constable and quadruple murder accused Chetansingh Choudhary to a mental health facility and sought specific opinion as to whether he is fit or unfit to stand trial and capable of conducting his defence.Choudhary had filed a bail plea claiming that his mental health was rapidly deteriorating. “Jail superintendent of Thane Central Prison is hereby directed to refer and admit accused…Choudhary to Thane Mental Hospital for better management and care and treatment till further order,” said the judge and directed the medical officer to submit a report every 15 days regarding his treatment. Last year too, Choudhary had spent several months in the facility and received treatment.So far, 18 witnesses have deposed during the trial.In his bail plea, the accused cited a prior four-month admission to Thane Mental Hospital following a “panic mental attack” while in custody. The defence said he had no knowledge of the crime due to “extreme mental strokes” and he suffers from “haunted illusions of a ghostly world”. The plea said he has no prior criminal history and his wife and two children are “anxiously waiting” for his release so he can receive the “love, need and care” required for recovery.On July 31, 2023, Choudhary allegedly gunned down his senior, ASI Tikaram Meena, and passenger Kadar Bhanpurwala in an express train between Vaitarna and Mira Road stations. He went to another coach, allegedly took passenger Syed Saifuddin to the pantry car and shot him. He then allegedly shot a third passenger, Asghar Shaikh, and gave a communally charged speech.The proceedings have been adjourned to April 8.

INDORE: A dispute over the commercial use of a penthouse in a residential society turned fatal in Indore after a man allegedly rammed his car into a group of residents, killing a woman and injuring others in Sagar Township under the Lasudia police station late on Wednesday.Police said the accused, Mohit Choudhary, allegedly drove the car into a group of residents during a heated argument. His father, Kuldeep Choudhary, was also present in the vehicle. Both have been taken into custody.The deceased has been identified as Shampa Pathak (Pandey), a software engineer. She had recently moved into the flat on March 13 with her husband, Saurabh, and their two children.Investigators said the confrontation stemmed from ongoing objections by residents over the use of two penthouses in the building for short-term rentals through an online application. Residents had been opposing the commercial activity, citing frequent movement of outsiders and security concerns within the residential premises.

Attempts were made earlier this week to resolve the issue, including intervention by a local councillor, but tensions remained unresolved. On Wednesday night, the disagreement escalated again, culminating in the accused allegedly losing control and driving into the crowd.Police rushed to the spot after receiving information and shifted the injured to a private hospital, where doctors declared Pathak dead. The entire sequence of events was captured on CCTV cameras installed in the building, which are now part of the investigation.“A case has been registered and the accused have been arrested. We are recording statements to ascertain the exact sequence of events,” said Additional DCP Amrendra Singh.

Mira Bhayandar: A 37-year-old housemaid was brutally stabbed to death by an unidentified person inside a residential flat in Mira Road on Thursday night. The accused fled the scene immediately after the attack.The deceased has been identified as Suman Kamble, a resident of Kashimira, who was working at a flat in Chandresh Accord society. Upon receiving information, Mira Road police along with a forensic team rushed to the spot. The victim was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival. According to police officials, the victim sustained four stab injuries on the neck, below the chest, and on the stomach, indicating a violent assault. Police sources confirmed that multiple teams have been formed to trace and apprehend the accused. Preliminary investigations suggest that the crime may have been committed by someone known to the victim, although other angles are also being probed. The exact motive behind the murder remains unclear.

Mumbai: Seventy-two Mumbaikars have filed their living will with civic officials so far, according to BMC public health department. A living will is a written, legal document that provides instructions for medical care, or for the termination of medical support, in certain circumstances.“These 72 living wills have been submitted to the appropriate officials in our various ward offices,” BMC executive health officer Dr Daksha Shah said on Thursday. There is a surge in interest in living wills following the death of Harish Rana, India’s first passive euthanasia case, in Delhi.However, even two and a half years after the Supreme Court simplified guidelines for passive euthanasia, there is still a lack of clarity over how these living wills will be processed and handled at the state or corporation level. City gynaecologist Dr Nikhil Datar, who was the first to file a living will in Feb 2023, said that the state govt’s work on digitising living wills for online registration is still incomplete.In 2024, the Maharashtra govt appointed custodians in all civic bodies to receive and safely keep the living will documents of citizens. There are 417 custodians across municipal corporations and other local bodies. These custodians have to safekeep the advanced medical directives or living wills. “After I filed a petition in the high court in this regard, the state said that it would complete digitisation of the living will process within three months. The deadline was July 2025, but the process is incomplete,” said the doctor.A senior civic official said that state-level guidelines are still trickling in. “We need uniformity in the guidelines across the country. What if a person who has filed a living will in Mumbai travels to another state and the provisions have to be implemented?” said the official.

BENGALURU: A chain of events turned Sri Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre in T. Begur near Nelamangala, Bengaluru Rural, into a battleground after a controversial classroom episode involving a professor and an alleged love proposal triggered outrage and violence. The incident reportedly took place on Wednesday and came to light through videos recorded by students on their mobile phones.According to initial information, the trouble began when a professor, identified as Mohammed, allegedly proposed to a student inside a classroom. Two videos that have gone viral purportedly identify the professor.Also see: (Photos) ‘Excuse me?’: Bengaluru professor’s proposal to student sparks row In one of the clips, the professor, while addressing the class, claims that a student from the batch had proposed to him and that he too was in love with her. He is also seen distributing chocolates to the class to mark the occasion. The student immediately objected and asked him to take up the matter with the principal. She further questioned him on when she had proposed to him.The professor questioned her, “didn’t you say I love you Mohammed, didn’t you say it.” He further claimed that there was CCTV footage to support his statement, prompting the girl to demand that he show it. He then walked out of the classroom, telling her that he would speak to her the next day, while asking students to have chocolates. It is also learnt that the professor had brought a carton box full of chocolates and had arranged for a person to distribute them among students.However, tensions escalated soon after he exited the classroom. What began as an argument spiralled into a full-blown ruckus on campus, with the agitated girl allegedly hitting the professor with her slipper/sandals, while other students joined in abused him filthily and assaulted him.The incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Nelamangala Rural Police Station in Bengaluru Rural district. A senior police officer told TOI that no complaint has been filed by either the student or the professor so far.

Mumbai: Bombay high court on Thursday said the state govt has failed in its duty to implement the Street Vendors Act of 2014 as a scheme drafted in 2017 does not have compliance with a crucial section. But after the state lawyer assured she would be in touch with the highest officer of the urban development department, the HC said as a last chance the matter will be heard on April 20 for the state to come out with a proper scheme.The HC division bench headed by Justice Bharti Dangre was hearing petitions filed in 2022 over TVC and scheme for hawkers, which the state said will be one for entire Maharashtra, while another division bench headed by Justice Ajay Gadkari posted to Monday a suo motu PIL on hawkers issue to enable BMC to inform the steps taken to announce the town vending committee (TVC) election result for Mumbai pursuant to the court’s decision.“Will you place before the public a half-baked scheme or a foolproof scheme?” Justice Dangre asked the state.On Feb 12, the HC asked state to file an affidavit, and on Thursday, Justice Dangre expressed deep disappointment over the affidavit filed by the joint secretary of the UDD and said if on the next date the affidavit is not proper, the HC would call the public servant to court. The HC said that more than a decade since the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, was enacted by the Parliament to protect the rights of the urban street vendors and to regulate street vending activities, and more than eight years passed since the HC passed exhaustive guidelines for its implementation in a petition filed by Azad Hawkers Union, heard along with a Public Interest Litigation raising a challenge to a scheme purportedly framed under Section 38 of the Act by the Govt Resolution dated Jan 9, 2017. The HC said, “State is still lurking in dark about the implementation of the Statute”.On Thursday, there were three individual petitioners and Maharashtra Hawkers Federation, questioned Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation about its arbitrary action. The HC questioned the quality of NNMC reply too and asked it place on affidavit by when its TVC poll would be conducted. The hawkers said the scheme does not deal with goods seized by authorities nor does it provide for a panel for grievances as contemplated by the Act. The HC repeatedly asked the state lawyer how difficult it was for the state to come out with a scheme that contains all necessary aspects as mentioned in the Act and call all TVCs, over 420 of them for the state, for a consultation in a time-bound manner before passing the scheme. Justice Dangre said Maharashtra was lagging behind other states in implementing the Act meant to regulate hawkers.

An Indian-origin man was charged in a Singapore court on Thursday after he allegedly drove a luxury sports car last year, with his two young children sitting on the rear boot, in an act authorities said endangered their safety.The man, identified as Prem Anan Sugunakumar, faced one count of committing a rash act that put children below the age of 14 at risk, according to reports. The children involved were aged eight and seven.The incident took place on October 20, last year, along Dairy Farm Lane in a residential area. Investigations found that the man drove the car while the children were seated on the back of the vehicle.