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Major reshuffle expected in Maharashtra Police leadership

The State Home Department in Maharashtra is gearing up for a significant overhaul of its top police leadership, including the position of Director General of Police (DGP) and Police Commissioners of Nagpur and Thane. The impending retirement of the current DGP, Rajnish Seth, on December 31 has prompted the department to commence the process of selecting his successor.A top rank official said that several prominent names have emerged as contenders for the esteemed position of State DGP. The frontrunner is Senior IPS Officer Rashmi Shukla, who currently serves as the Director General (DG) of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar is also a strong candidate for the role. Other notable contenders include Thane CP Jaijeet Singh, DG ATS Sadanand Date, DG Police Housing Sandeep Bishnoi, DG Railway Pradnya Sarvade, Additional Director of NIA Atulchandra Kulkarni, and DG State Security Corporation Bipin Kumar Singh, he said. He further stated that the State Home ...

‘There is no future for drug addicts’ - DCP Mummaka Sudarshan

DCP Mummaka Sudarshan THE growing menace of drug addiction is leaving a trail of devastation on many lives in the city. As the youth find themselves in the clutches of narcotics, their promising futures are being overshadowed by a dark and insecure path. In response to this alarming situation, the Nagpur police have launched an aggressive campaign known as “Operation Narcos,” taking aim at drug addicts and smugglers in a bid to restore hope and safety. In this background, on the eve of the International Day Against Drug Abuse, I caught up with Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Detection, Mummaka Sudarshan, who threw light on the severity of the drug consumption scenario in Nagpur and the comprehensive offensive launched by the Nagpur Police. “The consumption of drugs has reached alarming levels in Nagpur,” remarked DCP Sudarshan, citing the concerns voiced by various segments of society. He further revealed that the most prevalent contraband substances among the city’s youth are Ganj...

Biased action ? Only 61 motorcycles penalized for overspeeding against 7,968 cars in Nagpur

In the first three months of this year, there have been 8,123 cases of overspeeding on the roads of Nagpur, with a staggering 7,968 cases registered against car drivers and just 61 cases against motorcycles, according to statistics from the City traffic police. The population of two-wheelers is around 15 lakh while the population of four-wheelers is around two lakhs. The disproportionate number of overspeeding cases against cars has led to concerns of bias in the enforcement of traffic laws. Experts have suggested that the traffic police may be focusing disproportionately on cars while neglecting to enforce laws against motorcyclists who are also speeding. Ravindra Kaskhedikar, Secretary of Janakrosh and member of National Road Safety Council, said that it is visible on the city streets that two-wheeler riders are indulged in overspeeding. “If they are not penalized by the police, the overspeeding on the streets would not stop,” he said. It is important for law enforcement agencies to ...

DRDO develops Payload UAV that can drop bomb at enemy site

With an aim to carry out logistic operations in the Himalayan frontier, an Untethered Multi-copter payload, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The UAV is capable of flying in the Himalayan environment with 5 kg of payload and even dropping bombs in the enemy areas. The multi-copter was displayed by DRDO at the 108th Indian Science Congress. Mahesh Shahu, an official of DRDO, informed ‘The Hitavada’ that successful trials of the multi-copter were conducted at Sikkim at 14,000 altitude. The product would be ready for induction in the forces after two remaining successful trials, he said. The DRDO has developed the multi-copter with payload capacity from 5 kg to 25 kg and working on to increase the capacity upto 30 kg, he stated. The multi-copter has an onboard Li-ion battery bank. Advantage of the multi-copter is that it has high payload capacity and endurance of 30 minutes. It can carry out autonomous missions with wa...

Rat with mounted camera to help armed forces in intelligence gathering from enemy territory

A rat with a mounted camera on his head would help Indian armed forces in Intelligence Surveillance and Recovery (ISR) operation by entering the enemy territory soon. Scientists of DRDO’s Young Scientist Laboratory (DYSL-AT) created intelligence-augmented rat cyborgs controlled via a wireless micro-stimulator. The Rat cyborgs are undergoing Phase-I trials at DRDOs’ laboratory, informed P Shiva Prasad, Director of DYSL-AT on Thursday. P Shiva Prasad told mediapersons after the plenary session that the rat would be maneuried with electronic commands through semi-invasive brain electrodes. “This is the first time India has engaged in developing such technology,” he said, adding that some foreign countries already have the technology. In Phase-I, the operator always gives commands for all the turns and the rite will go accordingly. In Phase-II, the scientist can actually feed an image to the camera. When the rat finds the image in the camera it will stay there. He gave an example of the 26...

Uproar in council over demand of resignation of Minister Abdul Sattar over land issue

The proceedings at Legislative Council were stalled by Opposition benches demanding Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar’s resignation over an illegal land regularisation order passed by him when he was a minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe adjourned the house for the day due to the uproar. The High Court stayed Sattar’s order of regularising 37 acres of gairan land (grazing land) in Washim district for private use. Taking cue from the High Court’s order, Leader of Opposition (LoP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Ambadas Danve raised the issue under Rule 289 of Council. He said, “Sattar illegally alloted the land when he was the Minister of State for Revenue in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government.” The allotment took place on June 17, 2022 overruling orders of District Court and District Collector, stated Danve. Sattar illegally allotted plots, sand contracts, Agricultural Produce Market Committee at Ratnagiri, Aurangaba...

Stipend of ITI student will be increased to Rs 500 from Rs 40 : Min Lodha

The Maharashtra government has made a big announcement for thousands of Industrial Training Institute (ITI) students in the State. There will be a gradual increase in the monthly stipend received by the students of government ITI institutes. For the past several years, the students were given a stipend of Rs 40. Now, the stipend will be increased to Rs 500.  Skill Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha informed the Legislative Council during question hour on Monday. The issue was raised by legislators Vikram Kale, Dr. Sudhir Tambe, Satish Chavan, Balaram Patil during question hour. For the last several years, the students of the Government ITIs in the State were being paid stipend Rs 40 per month. The MLCs underlined their demand and stated that the existing stipend of Rs 40 is minimal in the time of rising inflation. Responding to the query, Minister Lodha said that the process to table the proposal before the cabinet is underway. It is proposed to increase the tuition fee for ...

Declare ‘Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra’ as Union Territory : Uddhav Thackeray

While speaking on the raging boundary dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka, Former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday demanded in the state Legislative Council that the Union government should declare ‘Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra’ areas as a Union Territory and the resolution in this regard should be passed in the house. He also fired a salvo at the Shinde-Fadnavis government for failing to corner the Karnataka government on the issue.  This was the first time Thackeray attended proceedings of State legislators after resigning as the Chief Minister in July. Thackeray said, “Marathi language and culture rooted in the Belgaum (Belgavi) area since 1800.  It is not just a case of language and border, but of ‘humanity’.” These Marathi-speaking people are facing atrocities from the Karnataka government, he said and demanded that the ‘Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra’ areas should be declared as Union Territory by the Central Government till the issue is pending before t...