Lady snatched of chain at Vakola finally dies of injury

It was on Republic Day when Lasmi Nautiyal, aged 40 years and residing at Aasra Apts, Vakola was returning home after attending Republic Day function at Public High School. Lasmi was a teacher at Public High School. While on her way to home she noticed three men following her. After having reached the gate of Aasra Apartments building, St Anthony’s Road, Vakola, Lasmi stood for a moment and wanted the men to go ahead. After the men went into the building Lasmi took courage and entered the building. She then pressed for the lift but to her disappointment the lift was not working. Lasmi then decided to walk the stairs. While reaching the first floor she was stopped by one of the men who inquired with her as to where do a youth named Vilas resides. As Lasmi informed the man that nobody by the name of Vilas resides in the building, the man attacked her and grabbed her gold chain. While she shouted for help she was was banged against the wall.
In this incident the Vakola police arrested three persons on charges of attempt to murder and theft. The police had registered an attempt-to-murder, a case after Nautiyal's neighbour Narayan Dastehkar helped nab one of the chain-snatchers accused. Dastehkar also sustained injuries after being attacked with a chopper by one of the accomplices of the accused.
The extent of Nautiyal's injury was known only a couple of days after the incident. She had been shifted from the intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU to high dependency unit (HDU), where she was being treated for temporary contusion intracerebral hemotoma. A type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that causes bruising of the brain tissue, a hematoma involves heavy bleeding into or around the brain area. The severity of TBI can range from mild concussion to the extremes of coma or even death.
Her brother who flew down from Australia after he received the news stated that his sister fell down the staircase and probably suffered internal injuries. The following day, she had an appointment with her cardiologist but skipped the meeting with the doctor as she went to Sion Hospital to enquire about Dastehkar's health who was also seriously injured in the incident. Dastehkar suffered an injury below his eye, but was fortunate to recover soon after being admitted to Sion Hospital.
Unfortunately, Lasmi had undergone a heart operation a few years ago. Now, after the incident a cardiologist found that she was giving incoherent replies and therefore advised her to take a CT scan. The CT scan report confirmed that she had suffered internal bleeding. As soon as she fell unconscious, Lasmi was admitted to the hospital. Suddenly, a few days ago Lasmi had trouble eating and drinking. Also her blood pressure began to fluctuate. She was taken to a Nursing Home and since her condition deteriorated she was shifted to KEM Hospital where she breathed her last. Her funeral was taken on Gudi Padva day. She is survived by a 15-year-old daughter studying in St Charles High School who recently gave her Xth examination.

Major fire engulfed a six-storey building in Kalina

A major fire broke out in a six-storey commercial building in Kalina area of Santacruz on Friday afternoon. No casualties or injuries were reported. The incident occurred around 1:30 pm at the Diamond Square near Kalina University. The fire started from the left wing of the building and destroyed the left facade of the building. It later spread across the upper floors, said officials. “It seems that the fire might have been caused by a short circuit from the electrical installations on the first and second floor,” said Chief Fire Officer Uday Tatkare. “The building did not have any fire fighting system,” say officials. “There was no fire detection equipment in the building.” “According to the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act 2006, new buildings that are above 15-meter should have a well-equipped fire safety system based on the height of the building, occupancy of the building and the fire hazards. This building is around 22 metre tall,” said a fire official. The new law does not specify that how should the old buildings equip themselves with fire-fighting system, he said.
“Employees working in the building were able to evacuate safely. The building has two staircases on either sides,” said Tatkare. “Many employees were outside the building as it was lunch hour. As soon as we saw the fire from outside, we alerted all the people inside,” said Sudhir Panchal, an employee of an office in the building. Panic spread in the adjacent Golden Square residential complex minutes after the fire broke out. However, quick thinking saved the rapidly-spreading fire from reaching the neighbouring premises. "Some youngsters from our building ran out the minute they saw the fire and took cars out of the Diamond Square complex. Some glass structures had to be broken to take the cars out. Had the cars not been taken out of the complex, they would have caught fire and the flames would have spread to our building as well," said a resident.

India on top of the World

As soon as Mahendra Singh Dhoni brought up India’s victory in the final of the 2011 cricket World Cup with a huge six, the entire nation erupted into wild celebrations with people pouring out on the streets, bursting fire crackers, shouting slogans and waving the tri-colour. It was the biggest party on earth to mark the triumph that had eluded the nation for the past 28 years. The win was even sweeter as it came after most had lost hope of a victory after the crucial wickets of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar fell early. The victory target of 275 set by Sri Lanka was not easy either, especially considering the pressure cooker scenario of a World Cup final. Only two sides had won the coveted trophy batting second before last night’s epic battle and a home team had never won the title before. But, the 33,000-strong crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai would have settled for nothing less than a win.
Tendulkar had scored centuries against England and South Africa to take his tally of international centuries to 99 and all Mumbai had been praying for him to score the 100th in his native town. However, Malinga had other ideas and after an assured start by Tendulkar, who at the age of 37 is unlikely to play in another World Cup, had him caught behind the stumps. But Tendulkar, the ultimate team man, was just happy to be part of a winning outfit at his sixth World Cup and he was carried on the shoulders of his team mates around the ground after the best final since Pakistan beat England in 1992. "He`s carried the burden of the nation for 21 years so it`s time we carried him on our shoulders," said Virat Kohli, summing up the feelings of a billion of his compatriots. In a reminder, if it were needed, that no individual is bigger than the team, Tendulkar`s early exit gave an opportunity to Gautam Gambhir and captain Dhoni to take their side to victory.
Dhoni, who joins Kapil Dev as the only two Indian captains to lift the World Cup, said the team had set their sights on the World Cup 18 months to two years ago. "Whatever we were doing on the field we had a long-term goal," he said. "Just by having a target in mind doesn`t mean you will win the World Cup.” "We prepared well for the World Cup, we tried to keep each and every individual fit. We tried to keep the best XI in the best form.” "We peaked at the right time, we wanted to win it for each other." "We played like champions and we deserve to win", player of the tournament Yuvraj Singh declared. "We batted like champions and we saved a lot of runs on the field," Yuvraj said after he was handed Player of the Tournament award by ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat. Yuvraj, who had said that he was playing the World Cup for a "special person", dedicated his award to the team, his two gurus and parents.
"This (winning the 50-over format World Cup) is unbelievable. Under-19 World Cup, then Twenty20 World Cup but this is the most special," he said. "(This is) for Sachin, for everyone else in the team. I want to dedicate this to my Guru Ram Singh and Guru Ajit Singh and my parents and friends," he said. An emotional Sachin Tendulkar admitted that Saturday was the "proudest day of my life". "Couldn`t have asked for more. This is ultimate. It is the proudest moment of my life," said Tendulkar in an emotionally choked voice. "I thank the team for putting up a fabulous performance and playing consistent cricket," the maestro added. Tendulkar who did a lap of honour on shoulder of his teammates said that there was tears in his eyes once Dhoni hit that six. "Yes, they were happy tears. So I don`t mind. We have stuck together through ups and down," stated the smiling legend. And as the match ended the party had just begun.

Wild celebrations erupted every time a Sri Lankan wicket fell and then with each boundary hit by India`s batsmen. Cheers became louder after Dhoni completed 6000 runs in one day cricket and then reaching his half century, sending esctatic fans into a frenzy. "This night will never to be forgotten", said a neighbourhood of Dhoni. It was Diwali once more on the streets of Mumbai, the venue of the final, as fireworks lit up the night sky and the playing of musical instruments like drums reverberated throughout the city as the "biggest party on the planet" began.

‘Investigate sources of funds’of Kripashankar Singh

Almost a year after giving clean chit to Congress MLA from Kalina Kripashankar Singh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to renew its probe and investigate if some interest-free loans received by the Congress leader had any link with money laundering. The additional solicitor general, Darius Khambata, on Thursday assured the Bombay high court that the agency will investigate if any offence had taken place in transfer of the interest-free loans and if it was a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The assurance came after the division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice DG Karnik questioned him: “What about the so-called interest-free loans?” The income tax (I-T) department, which has completed its probe into the assets held by the Congress leader and his family members, had stumbled upon the interest-free loans during the course of its investigation. It is, however, not clear as to how much amount had been transferred to Singh’s account by way of the interest-free loans, as Khambata submitted the I-T investigation report to the court in a sealed cover.
The judges also suggested that the ED should also probe if the funds were connected with any of the accused involved in offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. To this, Khambata said that though the source of the interest-free loans had been identified, the ED will further probe the matter to ascertain if the funds were proceeds of any crime. During course of hearing on a Public Interest Litigation filed by city-resident Sanjay Tiwari, the judges also asked why the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had not so far registered any offence against Singh. Advocate general Ravi Kadam answered the query stating the ACB had prima facie found a case of disproportionate assets against Singh and his wife. He clarified that an opportunity is given to the public servant to explain the assets allegedly disproportionate to his known sources of income before registering an FIR. The couple would be given an opportunity to explain their allegedly excess assets of about Rs1.81 crore, Kadam added.
Tiwari had sought setting up of a special investigating team to probe alleged accumulation of unaccounted wealth by Singh and his family members. He had listed numerous immovable properties purchased by the Congress leader and his family members, and cash transactions running into crores of rupees reflected in their bank accounts. Replying to the PIL, the ED had in March last year informed the high court that it had found no direct evidence linking Singh to the Madhu Koda money laundering scam. The division bench directed the three agencies — ED, ACB and I-T department — to share their reports, conduct further probe, and submit another report by April 28.

Bridge work on Kalina-Kurla Road finally begins in full swing

The muhurat of the bridge work had taken place in early 2009 in the presence of corporator Alice Johnson Therattil;  Naseem Khan - Suburbs Gurdian Minister along with MRCC President and MLA Kripashankar Singh. Since the work in progress got delayed, recently a meeting was called in the chamber of  Director Ashok Shintre along with all senior officers and the following ponts were discussed:
1. The bridge work should be speeded up and completed by end of April 2011.
2. The bridge started partially collapsing on the sides as the traffic load is very heavy and it is too old.
3. The condition of the bridge is turning bad to worse day by day and the Corporator was asked to contact Sr. Inspector Traffic Vakola to seriously look into the matter as he was not diverting the full traffic through CST road instead of Kalina Kurla Road even though Jt. Commissioner Traffic Mumbai has given his consent.
4. Director ordered all concerned Sr. Officials to personally go to the site and take stock of the situation in speeding of the work.
5. Although work order duration is 21 months for completion of bridge work from 1st November 2008, it seems a major portion of the work is yet to be completed. It was also  seriously discussed that in case of any serious collapse of the bridge it would be at the risk and cost of all concerned officials.
Subsequently the work started in full swing by the third week of March after closing the traffic at Kalina Kurla road by diverting to CST road.

India became the team that refused to be beaten

India plotted a new era of cricket domination the day after its stunning World Cup success confirmed its status as the sport's superpower. The comfortable six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai, India's first world title since 1983, was also being viewed as a reflection of the country's growing commercial and political muscle. In the last three to four years India has done well in shooting, badminton, tennis, hockey and football. We are growing as a sporting nation. But cricket is special because of the infrastructure. It all started with the 1983 win. Then two big players, Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar, came on the scene, followed by Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
Dhoni, the son of a steel factory worker, is a multi-millionaire thanks to a career which has seen him become the first man to captain a World Cup and World Twenty20 winning side. His team are also top of the Test world rankings. Throughout the six-week tournament, he was a regular on match-day TV commercials, endorsing everything from ceiling fans to mobile phones to high-end property.
Significantly, even before the last celebratory firework exploded in the Mumbai night sky on Saturday, the team's paymasters were keeping them sweet with rewards of $225,000 per player for capturing the trophy. Indian newspapers revelled Sunday in victory, hailing Dhoni's men as heroes for a new generation. "The World At Our Feet" crowed the front page headline in the Times of India. "The wait has ended and a new legend has been born," the Times said, putting Dhoni's squad on the same pedestal as the 1983 side. "Windia!" was the banner headline in the Indian Express.
Saturday's victory for India also sparked tributes to Sachin Tendulkar, the record-breaking batsman, who finally won a world title at his sixth attempt and just three weeks short of his 38th birthday. "Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It was time we carried him," young team-mate Virat Kohli said.
On both counts, the Indians came off at the Wankhede Stadium like the fireworks that lit up the Mumbai night seconds after Dhoni's bold signature six sealed their triumph. The final was the time when all the incomplete notes of India's World Cup performance fell into sync. Gautam Gambhir, who had three fifties in the Cup yet had not seized a game by its throat personally, produced his most convincing performance to lift India from the shock of losing their openers. He was central to two partnerships that took India from 32 for 2 to a six-wicket victory. There they were. Not a familiar India dependant on its batting, but a more secure, self-assured India, batting as if chases in finals were like having a net, except with a crowd cheering them on. This was India in its most accomplished situational batting performance of the event, chasing down 274 with 99 singles, 24 twos and even a three. In every knock out game, India has, through sheer consistency of method, exposed the weakness of its opposition. It made the most of Australia's uneven bowling attack, defended against Pakistan by pressing hard in the field and forcing its batsmen to fumble, and stunned Sri Lanka by letting the weight and experience of its batting bear down by taking the barest minimum of risks, but making sure to always keep the score moving.
India's danger signs for the opposition in this World Cup came not with its attacking openers or any flood of fours, but with what its weakest links were able to do. When Indian fielders start diving, its batsmen start taking threes or sprinting surprising singles, or its most medium of pacers begin to repeatedly beat the edges and hurry batsmen, it is time for the opposition to worry. Or as the old says goes, to be afraid. In a World Cup knockout, that should have read very afraid. After the game at the Wankhede, Dhoni said that the World Cup win had ended a chapter in Indian cricket that had opened with the World Twenty20 win of 2007, where, not only was he captain but also top scorer in the final. "Right now we can close the chapter. We need to build a team again. Because of the amount of cricket we play, we need quite a few reserves players to come in and bowl. We need spinners and batsmen to be at their best because if we want to do well at the international level, we will have to try out quite a few players and not think about the result."
Two weeks ago, the audience would have guffawed. Now, it must nod in agreement. Today, it is perhaps wiser to give Dhoni and India's theories the time to be tried out. After all, over the course of six weeks, with their victory, they have busted a few old ones and proved several of their own right. That fielding can be lifted, no matter what dotage the players may belong to. All through the tournament, Dhoni had constantly reminded outsiders that the Indians were not really good fielders yet in the knockouts, they stepped up a level with every single game. No matter how clumsy or non-polished their techniques, the oldest and creakiest of the Indians were diving to stop boundaries. Where India were most astonishingly impressive during the knockouts was in cricket's most 'unselfish' art - in the field. All through the tournament, Dhoni who specialises in automobile analogies, had compared the Indian fielding to an old car engine trying to adjust to working with hybrid fuel. After the semi-final, he had said, that all he hoped for now was one more game. "After that, even if some of the cars fall down, it is okay."
Then there is this last one: about India not really hacking it in ICC tournaments. Partly true. Not in the World Twenty20, not in the Champions Trophy. But in this one, the ICC's biggest tournament, the Indians more than hacked it. When it came down to the rounds where both ability and nerve came into play, India became the team that refused to be beaten.

Income Tax department conducts raids at Kripashankar’s residence

During the past 18-months Santacruz Patrika has been regularly reporting on the alleged Kripashankar scandals and disproportionate assets in his wife and sons names. Some of the earlier articles reported by this publication are - 'Will Kripashankar tide over alleged involvement of Rs 4,000 crore scam' dated 18-24th July, 2010; 'Will Kripa be relinquished of Mumbai Chief post dated 8-14th August,2010'; 'Kripashankar suffers a further setback in scam probe' dated 19-25th December,2010; 'HC asks for speedy inquiry into Kripashankar's alleged disproportionate assets' dated 6-12th March,2011.
Mumbai’s chief of Congress and Kalina’s MLA Kripashankar Singh, for the past two years has been entangled into a heap of controversies. In a latest development in the 2G scam money trail, it has come to light that DB Realty promoter Shahid Balwa had paid Rs 4 crore to the son of a prominent Congress leader. Reports today said referring to documents in possession of RTI activist Sanjay Tiwari that the telecom and real estate company paid Rs 4 crore to Mumbai Regional Congress Committee chief Kripashankar Singh's son, Narendramohan Singh. The money is reported to have paid the money in three instalments in 2009. "The money received from DB Realty was part of a business transaction but was returned in March 2010 as the deal did not materialise. All the transactions are reflected in books of accounts and income tax returns," said Narendramohan. Dynamix Realty has issued a statement in this regard. "Dynamix Realty had given a loan to Mr. Narendra Mohan Singh which has been repaid to the company on 12th March 2010." Income Tax department also conducted raids at Kripashankar’s residence today. Tiwari had on March 18 filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court in connection with the case. The HC has ordered the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department and the Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Kripashankar Singh and submit a report within 4 weeks.
Last year raids were conducted by the Income-Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate into Kripashankar’s alleged involvement of the Rs 2,000-crore Madhu Koda scam. Investigators are examining, among his other assets, savings bank accounts of his family that show disproportionately large transactions between 2006-07 and 2008-09, and several discrepancies in documents that suggest forgery.
Eight savings bank accounts of his family members and close associates are under the scanner. Three of these accounts show cash deposits and transfers of nearly Rs 65 crore in two years by Kripashankar’s wife Maltidevi Singh and son Narendra Mohan Singh. These transactions unearth at a time when Kripashankar was All-India Congress Committee (AICC) observer for Jharkhand, exactly when Koda, an independent MLA then, was sworn in CM with Congress support. Further, at that time his son, Narendra Mohan married Ankita, daughter of Jharkhand politician Kamlesh Singh, in April ’08. Ankita’s dad Kamlesh Singh was then water resources minister in the Koda government and is a key accused in the scam.
Both Koda and Kamlesh Singh were arrested; the Jharkhand vigilance bureau filed preliminary charge sheets against them for holding assets disproportionate to known sources of income. Kamlesh Singh’s assets were estimated at nearly 130 per cent more than his sources of income. However, it is alleged that a considerable sum of scam money may have been diverted through his daughter, son-in-law and the latter’s father. Also, on investigations it is revealed that the Koda diary, incidentally, mentions a “Kripashankar a/c” with several entries against it. Kripashankar has denied it was him, but investigators have placed him and his family under scrutiny.
Kripashankar’s family owns properties in projects executed by one of the real estate companies which deposited huge amounts into his son’s account; the company also has infrastructure projects in Jharkhand. Also, there was a sudden rise in the wealth and property acquisitions of the Kripashankar family in Mumbai during the years Koda held sway in Jharkhand (first as mines minister in the Arjun Munda-led BJP regime, and later as CM). This includes a large duplex apartment near Mumbai airport, a bungalow on Bandra’s Carter Road, known as one of the costliest property prices of real estate in Mumbai, office spaces and shops at key locations in projects by either of the two real estate companies associated with the family, and land in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
The PIL, filed early this year by social worker and RTI activist Sanjay Tiwari, had linked Singh with the Madhu Koda scandal and raised questions about his assets. The petitioner was represented by senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani and Mihir Desai. The petitioner contended that in 2006 when Singh was an AICC observer for Jharkhand, he was instrumental in installing the Madhu Koda government. Koda was arrested along with his then ministerial colleague Kamlesh Singh. Incidentally, Kamlesh Singh's daughter Ankita is married to Kripashankar's son Narendra alias Sanjay Singh.
He also pointed out that Singh used chartered flights often and it was "obvious that large sums of money were paid for this purpose and this needs to be investigated". The petitioner further alleged that he has not declared his wife's property details when he stood for elections in 2009. The petition alleged that Singh's daughter Sunita has two ration cards and her husband Vijay Kumar Singh was a resident of UP and a government employee there till April 1997. Yet, Vijay Kumar was allotted a house in Maharashtra in joint name from CM's discretionary quota on the basis of fake documents.