*New Delhi:* Delhi Police busted an interstate gang of cheaters and arrested six persons for around 700 people of Rs 2 crore. The victims were duped on the pretext of sanctioning loans, police said on Wednesday.
The accused persons who ran a fake loan company have been identified as Deepak Sharma, Rajesh Kumar, Raj Kumar, Anuj Kumar Baliyan, Vikas and Neeraj Sharma, police said.
"The arrest was made on Tuesday night after police teams examined their call details and bank accounts. Since all the IDs they used were found fake, their social media profiles and CCTV footage of different location were also scrutinised," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Omvir Singh.
Police also raided their hideouts in Rohini and other parts of Delhi and arrested them, Singh said. "All the gang members during questioning told police they ran a fake loan company in the name of Manipuram Finance and Aditya Birlas Finance and others," he added.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/28Nair-hospital-s.jpg
The Agripada police have traced the couple that had abandoned their premature baby in a civic hospital three days ago. The father, who was summoned to the police station on Tuesday evening, however, claimed that they hadn’t abandoned the girl.
The parents had given two fake addresses to Nair hospital. When the hospital administration had found out that the mother was missing, it had complained to the Agripada police. The baby, who is still in the hospital, is critical.
*The story*
The couple has been identified as Irfan and Sajra Sheikh. Sajra had arrived at Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central on December 8.
She delivered the girl on December 14, a month prior to her due date. The baby being weak was shifted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). On December 24, a nurse in NICU found Sajra missing. She informed the doctors, who contacted the Agripada police station.
The police checked the address given by Irfan at the time of Sajra’s admission. “The address mentioned was of Madanpura, Patrawala chawl. We made inquiries there and found out that they had never lived there,” said an officer.
Hospital records stated that Sajra had gone to Kasturba hospital first after going in labour. “We went there and checked the record. She had visited on December 7. The address given was of Dagdi chawl in Nagpada. This too turned out to be fake,” he added.
*Investigation revelations*
During investigation, the police found that a relative of the couple lived in Govandi. We got his cellphone number and contacted him. He said that Sajra is her distant relative and currently in Bihar. Officers contacted the mother and asked her to report to the police station. “Irfan Sheikh reported on Tuesday evening, Sajra will come on Friday,” said an officer.
The police said Irfan has been giving vague and unsatisfactory answers to the question of why they abandoned the girl. The couple has four boys, and the reason for leaving the baby could be her premature birth and expenses of her treatment, they added.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Lingeswara-Thilagan-s.jpg
*Chennai:* AIADMK cadres yesterday attacked and injured the husband of expelled MP Sasikala Pushpa, who was accused of trying to create a law-and-order problem ahead of todays General Council meeting to elect a new General Secretary.
While initial reports suggested that the attacked man, who was seen bleeding profusely, was Pushpa's lawyer, police later clarified he was her husband Lingeswara Thilagan, who has been detained for interrogation.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/29mumbai-hosp-deaths-s.jpg
At a time when the government is keeping no stone unturned to decrease child and maternal mortality, thousands of babies and mothers have breathed their last on delivery tables across the city’s hospitals. In the past five years, as many as 5,377 babies died perinatal (relating to the time, immediately before and after birth) deaths in four major BMC-run hospitals and 1,381 mothers passed away while giving birth.
The data has been accessed through a series of Right to Information requests filed by mid-day over two months.
Every day, at least four lives are lost — of mother and child — during delivery in the biggest civic-run hospitals: KEM, Sion, Nair and Cooper. There has been 32 per cent rise in the number of deaths of pregnant women from 2014 to 2015 alone in the four major hospitals.
*Worrying rise*
In 2011, 273 maternal deaths have been recorded in the four hospitals that rose to 362 last year. KEM Hospital, the biggest civic-run hospital, has recorded the highest number of fatalities where 434 mothers succumbed while giving birth to their babies. Shockingly, the numbers at Sion Hospital doubled in 2015 compared to the previous year. In 2014, 69 maternity deaths were reported in the hospital that rose to 138 in 2015. Moreover, in same period, 105 mothers have died because of excessive bleeding during and after delivery.
This worrying trend appears at a time when hospitals have seen a fall in the number deaths of patients but cases of maternity deaths keep rising steadily every year.
*Dying while being birthed*
As per the data accessed by mid-day through RTI, as many as 5,377 infants died on the delivery table before they could open their eyes to the world. Except Nair Hospital, the other three hospitals have seen a rise in the foetal death rate by 10 per cent.
In 2014, Cooper, Sion and KEM hospital recorded 634 foetal deaths in 2014 that increased to 703 in 2015. Only Nair recorded a fall from 615 in 2014 to 423 in 2015. But sadly, Nair hospital’s death record constitutes 46 per cent of the total foetal deaths in the past five years among the major hospitals. In this period, 2,482 foetuses died in Nair, followed by 1,628 in KEM, 746 in Sion and 521 in Cooper.
But what is causing such a sustained rise in the number of deaths? Medical experts and doctors mainly blame lack of pre-natal treatment. Dr Saida Khan, a member of BMC’s health committee said the deaths could be caused due to multiple reasons, including the nutritional levels of the pregnant woman, pre-medical complications, etc. When asked about why there is steady growth in the number of deaths, she said that she would be able to comment on it only after checking all the documents.
Speaking to mid-day, Dr Ramesh Bharmal, Dean of Nair Hospital said that most of the deaths are among the unregistered patients who come from peripheral hospitals.
“If you check the number of deaths among our registered patients, they are very less. Most of these patients are obedient and come for regular check ups during pregnancy, so the complications during delivery decrease. Being a tertiary-level hospital, we get many transferred patients from other hospitals, who mainly come with serious health conditions. Being a civic hospital, we don’t have a refusal policy and admit all patients. So, when they die during delivery or give birth to stillborn babies, it gets accounted in our hospital, though they are not our regular patients,” he said.
*Lack of check-ups*
Dr Ganesh Shinde, Dean of Cooper Hospital and head of its gynaecology department said as most of the patients come from underprivileged social and economic background, they lack awareness about the requirements of health check ups before, during and after pregnancy. This leads to complications and the mother and their child often die due to excessive bleeding and infections.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Black-Money-s.jpg
*New Delhi:* Two days before the deadline for depositing old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes expires, the Cabinet yesterday approved promulgation of an ordinance to make possession of a large number of scrapped banknotes a penal offence that will attract monetary fine.
The Specified Bank Notes Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance, makes holding of old 1,000 and 500 rupee notes after March 31 beyond a threshold amount, a criminal offence that will attract a monetary fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the cash held, whichever is higher.
Furnishing wrong information while depositing the old currency between January 1 and March 31 will attract a fine of Rs 5,000 or five times the amount.
Official sources said the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Ordinance, but did not say if the penal provisions will apply to holding the junked currency after the 50-day window to deposit them at banks ends on December 30 or after March 31, till which time deposit of old currency notes at specified branches of the Reserve Bank after submitting a declaration form is open.
The Ordinance also provides for amending the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act to provide legislative support for extinguishing the demonetised banknotes that are not returned. Sources said the proposal put to the Cabinet was for a four-year jail term for anyone possessing a number of demonetised currency after March 31, 2017, but it was not immediately clear if it was approved.
The Ordinance will have to be sent to the President and after his assent will come into force.
*‘Backdoor method’*
“It was inevitable for the government to bring the ordinance or else demonetisation move would not be legal...in actual practice, they should have amended the law concerned when Parliament was in session (to validate the December 30 deadline),” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.
“There is no need for taking ordinance route. But, afraid of law like this facing Parliament during winter session, the backdoor method has been employed by the Modi government,” he added.
However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declined to say anything on the ordinance. “Let me first go through the ordinance. I have to see the language. Without seeing it, it is difficult to say anything at this stage,” Banerjee told reporters.*Rs 5k*
The fine for furnishing wrong information while depositing the old currency between January 1 and March 31; it may also be five times the amount
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Taxi-stand-s.jpg
The rates charged by the Mumbai's taxi services like Ola, Uber and kaali-peelis and auto-rickshaws as well, have long been a serious bone of contention. Even though the City Taxi Rules 2016 was drafted by the Central Government in November, its implementation in the state will take some time. Reason: The Maharashtra Transport Department has given the responsibility of deciding the maximum and minimum fares of the services to a committee formed under former Transport Commissioner BC Khatua. The committee is expected to submit its report by March 2017.
*No more over-charging*
Speaking to mid-day, Transport Commissioner Praveen Gedam said, “The Khatua Committee is expected to decide the tariffs of the mobile aggregators soon. Officials from the Transport Department said that the committee would decide the minimum and maximum fares that the mobile aggregators can charge. They said that as per the City Taxi Rules 2016, the maximum fare per kilometer could be three times the base fare during the day and four times during the night. This would help eliminate the practice of charging up to five times of the base fare during peak hours, they added.
Sources said that at present, the minimum fare charged by the mobile aggregators is something between Rs6-8 kilometre, but it can change depending on what the committee decides. They also mentioned that the committee is expected to submit its report by March 2017.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Brendon-Gonsalves-s.jpg
As if finding a beheaded body in the secluded Aarey Colony wasn’t eerie enough, the police have now found a sinister drawing by the victim depicting a human and animal being decapitated in sacrifice — a grim picture of his own future. Mounting evidence seems to suggest that the 23-year-old was the victim of human sacrifice, including post-mortem results and the prayer offerings found near the body.*CCTV footage shows Brendon strolling in Aarey Colony on the day he disappeared*
The drawings in Brendon Gonsalves’ sketchbook —found by the police in his home — are an uncanny foreshadowing of the fate that was to befall the 23-year-old, whose body was found propped up in a seated position at a field in Unit 2, Aarey Colony. His head was found 30 metres away.*Cops also spotted what looks like a cult symbol right next to the door to Brendon’s home*
*Violent doodles*
His pencil sketches depict two violent acts — both sacrifices. In one, a man wearing a suit stands poised to hack off the head of an animal with its tongue out, while in another, a person’s head is being snapped off with a saw. There are other doodles of the Spongebob cartoon character, as well as monsters. On the other side of the page, there is also a sketch of a headless deer and the head of Simba from the animated movie, Lion King. Cops also found what looked like a cult symbol at the main entrance to Brendon’s home (see pic above).
*Also read - Headless body: Cops form eight teams to hunt Aarey killer**Brendon Gonsalves*
Brendon’s mother Sima said that drawing was one of his hobbies, along with swimming. “He was very obedient and never argued. He had some bad habits like smoking cigarettes and weed, but a year ago, he stopped that too. Since his father’s death, Brendon was having a tough time,” she said.
*Knocked out cold*
The post-mortem report shows that Brendon suffered blunt trauma on the back of his head and died due to decapitation. Sources said that this is a common sign of human sacrifice — performing the ritual is easier if the victim is first knocked unconscious. So far, the police have recorded statements of around 35 to 40 people, including Brendon’s friends and neighbours. Ten people have been detained, including two babas whom the police are interrogating about sacrificial rituals.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Local-derailed-s.jpg
Five coaches of the Kurla-Ambernath local train derailed Thursday morning between Kalyan and Vitthalwadi stations in Thane district, officials said.
No one was injured in the mishap that took place at 5:53 AM. Services were disrupted on the Central Line of Mumbai suburban railway, while they were suspended on the Kalyan-Karjat line, they said.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/demonetisation-1978-s.jpg
A photo posted by Old BOMBAY (@oldbombay) onNov 15, 2016 at 1:27pm PST
India's previous experience with demonetisation was when the then President of India N Sanjiva Reddy promulgated the demonetisation ordinance on January 16, 1978, demonetising the Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 currency notes with the objective of eliminating "the possible use of such notes for financing illegal transactions."
People Waiting outside the bank for currency exchange 1978 #oldbombay
A photo posted by Old BOMBAY (@oldbombay) onNov 15, 2016 at 1:29pm PST
It was through the All India Radio’s (AIR) 9 am news bulletin that people were informed about the policy decision. It added that all banks and treasuries would be closed the next day, on 17 January.
Rs 1,000 and higher denomination notes were first demonetised in January 1946 and again in 1978. The highest denomination note ever printed by the Reserve Bank of India was the Rs 10,000 note in 1938 and again in 1954. But these notes were demonetised in January 1946 and again in January 1978.
Under the law all 'high denomination bank notes” ceased to be legal tender after January 16, 1978. There was a prohibition of transfer and receipt of high denomination bank notes. Plus, all banks and government treasuries had to send to the Reserve Bank the total value of high denomination bank notes held by it at the close of business on the January 16.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/6Zakir-Naik-s.jpg
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) would soon register a money laundering case under Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act against self-proclaimed Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and his organisation IRF.
*Also read: NIA wants lie detection test for Zakir Naik aide*
According to sources, the fresh case would probe the multiple layers of funds received by Naik and his organisation through banking channels and donations. An ED official said that the case would be based on the one registered by the NIA, as the central agency intends to find out whether the same suspects are involved in money laundering.
A senior official said, “ED can register a case under PMLA if there is already a schedule offence against the suspect. And since NIA has already registered a case under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of IPC and sections of UAPA against Naik, ED can register the case to probe the money transactions connected to him.”
Sources in the ED said that once the case is registered, the officials would be able to scrutinise various banking accounts linked with Naik and his relatives, including sister Nailah Noorani. They would also probe his foreign investments and the layers of funds created through four firms namely Majestic Perfumes Pvt Ltd, Longlast Constructions Pvt Ltd, Harmony Pvt Media Ltd and Alpha Lubricants Pvt Ltd.
*Also read: IRF ban timed amid demonetisation to avert resistance: Zakir Naik*
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Ratan-Tata-s.jpg
Locked in a bitter boardroom battle with ousted Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry, industrialist Ratan Tata visited the RSS headquarters on Wednesday.
*Also read: On 79th birthday, Ratan Tata meets RSS chief in Nagpur*
Tata, currently the interim chairman of the country's biggest conglomerate, was with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for about 20 minutes, a senior functionary of the Sangh, the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, said.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/28abhijeet-s.jpg
Residents of Royal Classic building in Andheri are a harassed lot, and they have been for a while, courtesy, they allege, an illegal shed put up by singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya as an extension to his restaurant on the premises. Bhattacharya owns an eatery called Ticca Tikka in the society.
*A cloud of fear*
Society secretary Suman Arya (60) told mid-day, “There are a total of five establishments that have done illegal encroachment. One of them belongs to Abhijeet. We sent them notices but in vain... we aren’t getting support from the authorities either. The civic body had sent its men to demolish the illegal set-ups, but after the workers left, the encroachments came back up.”
Residents said they now live in fear as those owning the commercial establishments have threatened them for filing complaints against them.
Arya said, “After we failed to get any response from the authorities, we filed an RTI application on November 17, asking what action was taken on our complaints. We got a reply on December 8 that the BMC sent notices to Bhattacharya and the others under section 55 (unauthorised structures) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, directing the shop owners to remove the illegal extensions within 15 days, failing which the civic body would raze them down.”
However, it was alleged, not a single shop owner acted on the notice. “On December 22 around 4.30 pm, BMC officials came to the building and demolished all illegal encroachment. After they left, around 7 pm, the shop owners put up the sheds again,” added Arya.*Society secretary Suman Arya (left) has alleged that singer Abhijeet threatened him and other residents. Pics /Satej Shinde*
“This is the fourth time that the K-west ward officials demolished the illegal structures, which were set back up again within hours. BMC had earlier demolished these in 2007, then 2012 and once earlier this year.”
Parag Masurkar, assistant municipal commissioner, K/West ward said, “If they have reconstructed the sheds, we will demolish it again and also seek explanation from them.”
*Singer's threats*
After the demolition, an argument had taken place between the shop owners, including Abhijeet, and society members, said Arya, adding, “He came up to us and started arguing; he abused me and kept on shouting at me. I then lodged a complaint with the Amboli police, who have registered a non-cognisable offence against him and two others under sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.”
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Bhagwati-Hospital-s.jpg
When the BMC spent Rs 28.88 crore on the renovation of Bhagwati hospital, officials promised a multi-superspeciality hospital that would relieve the load on major hospitals in the city. Six months on, it turns out that all that money was spent on a 110-bed hospital that treats just 4-5 patients a day.
*Also read - Mumbai: After 5 years and Rs 43 crore, Bhagwati Hospital to reopen minus OT**Six months on, mid-day found most of the beds vacant*
*'Shocking waste'*
An RTI query has revealed that between June 27 and November 18, the hospital admitted only 654 patients. This comes up to less than five people per day, even though the facility has 110 beds (50 in male wards, 50 in female wards and 10 in the MICU). When mid-day visited the hospital on Monday afternoon, there was only one patient admitted in the female ward, while five were admitted in the male wards.
In the meanwhile, major hospitals like KEM, Sion, Cooper and Nair are reeling under pressure. “We receive around 200-300 indoor patients every day and it becomes very hectic for us. Most of the patients get referred to us from peripheral hospitals. There is a need for more multi-superspeciality hospitals to come up. It is shocking that Bhagwati hospital is wasting so many precious beds every day while we struggle,” said a senior doctor from KEM’s emergency medicine department.
*Staff crunch*
What’s more, the hospital is running on a 60% staff shortage, with many senior positions like chief medical officer, senior medical officer, medical officer, registrar lying vacant.
In 2013, when the hospital was demolished, all staffers were shifted to Kandivli’s Ambedkar Hospital, and now they don’t want to return. “Bhagwati hospital was opened in haste to woo voters for the upcoming BMC elections. The lazy BMC staff do not want to return as they have less work at Ambedkar hospital, which is operating with double strength. For example, running a department with 14 people means each person will have to do night duty every 14 days, whereas when you run the department with seven people, there is night duty once a week,” said Chetan Kothari, who had filed the RTI query in June.
In addition, the so-called multi-speciality hospital doesn’t even have ventilators or a casualty department. Only medical and emergency medical services are available. Even the blood bank is without a pathologist, which is violation of FDA norms.
In fact, the hospital doesn’t even have the infrastructure to conduct HIV testing of patients.
“In case of difficulty, they take help of pathologists from Bhagwati blood bank and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital,” reads the hospital’s reply to the RTI application.*Hospital says*
The hospital management claimed that the building visited by mid-day was built as a nursing training centre that is supposed to provide only medical services, and the rest of the facilities would come up in the next phase of the renovation. “This building is meant to provide only medical services. There will be an adjacent building that will have the capacity of 800 beds with all the facilities. This is just the first phase,” said Dr Pimple, dean of Bhagwati hospital.
*181*
Total number of senior posts in the hospital
*94*
Senior posts still lying vacant Reported by Mid-Day 5 hours ago.
The accused persons who ran a fake loan company have been identified as Deepak Sharma, Rajesh Kumar, Raj Kumar, Anuj Kumar Baliyan, Vikas and Neeraj Sharma, police said.
"The arrest was made on Tuesday night after police teams examined their call details and bank accounts. Since all the IDs they used were found fake, their social media profiles and CCTV footage of different location were also scrutinised," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Omvir Singh.
Police also raided their hideouts in Rohini and other parts of Delhi and arrested them, Singh said. "All the gang members during questioning told police they ran a fake loan company in the name of Manipuram Finance and Aditya Birlas Finance and others," he added.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/28Nair-hospital-s.jpg
The Agripada police have traced the couple that had abandoned their premature baby in a civic hospital three days ago. The father, who was summoned to the police station on Tuesday evening, however, claimed that they hadn’t abandoned the girl.
The parents had given two fake addresses to Nair hospital. When the hospital administration had found out that the mother was missing, it had complained to the Agripada police. The baby, who is still in the hospital, is critical.
*The story*
The couple has been identified as Irfan and Sajra Sheikh. Sajra had arrived at Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central on December 8.
She delivered the girl on December 14, a month prior to her due date. The baby being weak was shifted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). On December 24, a nurse in NICU found Sajra missing. She informed the doctors, who contacted the Agripada police station.
The police checked the address given by Irfan at the time of Sajra’s admission. “The address mentioned was of Madanpura, Patrawala chawl. We made inquiries there and found out that they had never lived there,” said an officer.
Hospital records stated that Sajra had gone to Kasturba hospital first after going in labour. “We went there and checked the record. She had visited on December 7. The address given was of Dagdi chawl in Nagpada. This too turned out to be fake,” he added.
*Investigation revelations*
During investigation, the police found that a relative of the couple lived in Govandi. We got his cellphone number and contacted him. He said that Sajra is her distant relative and currently in Bihar. Officers contacted the mother and asked her to report to the police station. “Irfan Sheikh reported on Tuesday evening, Sajra will come on Friday,” said an officer.
The police said Irfan has been giving vague and unsatisfactory answers to the question of why they abandoned the girl. The couple has four boys, and the reason for leaving the baby could be her premature birth and expenses of her treatment, they added.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Lingeswara-Thilagan-s.jpg
*Chennai:* AIADMK cadres yesterday attacked and injured the husband of expelled MP Sasikala Pushpa, who was accused of trying to create a law-and-order problem ahead of todays General Council meeting to elect a new General Secretary.
While initial reports suggested that the attacked man, who was seen bleeding profusely, was Pushpa's lawyer, police later clarified he was her husband Lingeswara Thilagan, who has been detained for interrogation.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/29mumbai-hosp-deaths-s.jpg
At a time when the government is keeping no stone unturned to decrease child and maternal mortality, thousands of babies and mothers have breathed their last on delivery tables across the city’s hospitals. In the past five years, as many as 5,377 babies died perinatal (relating to the time, immediately before and after birth) deaths in four major BMC-run hospitals and 1,381 mothers passed away while giving birth.
The data has been accessed through a series of Right to Information requests filed by mid-day over two months.
Every day, at least four lives are lost — of mother and child — during delivery in the biggest civic-run hospitals: KEM, Sion, Nair and Cooper. There has been 32 per cent rise in the number of deaths of pregnant women from 2014 to 2015 alone in the four major hospitals.
*Worrying rise*
In 2011, 273 maternal deaths have been recorded in the four hospitals that rose to 362 last year. KEM Hospital, the biggest civic-run hospital, has recorded the highest number of fatalities where 434 mothers succumbed while giving birth to their babies. Shockingly, the numbers at Sion Hospital doubled in 2015 compared to the previous year. In 2014, 69 maternity deaths were reported in the hospital that rose to 138 in 2015. Moreover, in same period, 105 mothers have died because of excessive bleeding during and after delivery.
This worrying trend appears at a time when hospitals have seen a fall in the number deaths of patients but cases of maternity deaths keep rising steadily every year.
*Dying while being birthed*
As per the data accessed by mid-day through RTI, as many as 5,377 infants died on the delivery table before they could open their eyes to the world. Except Nair Hospital, the other three hospitals have seen a rise in the foetal death rate by 10 per cent.
In 2014, Cooper, Sion and KEM hospital recorded 634 foetal deaths in 2014 that increased to 703 in 2015. Only Nair recorded a fall from 615 in 2014 to 423 in 2015. But sadly, Nair hospital’s death record constitutes 46 per cent of the total foetal deaths in the past five years among the major hospitals. In this period, 2,482 foetuses died in Nair, followed by 1,628 in KEM, 746 in Sion and 521 in Cooper.
But what is causing such a sustained rise in the number of deaths? Medical experts and doctors mainly blame lack of pre-natal treatment. Dr Saida Khan, a member of BMC’s health committee said the deaths could be caused due to multiple reasons, including the nutritional levels of the pregnant woman, pre-medical complications, etc. When asked about why there is steady growth in the number of deaths, she said that she would be able to comment on it only after checking all the documents.
Speaking to mid-day, Dr Ramesh Bharmal, Dean of Nair Hospital said that most of the deaths are among the unregistered patients who come from peripheral hospitals.
“If you check the number of deaths among our registered patients, they are very less. Most of these patients are obedient and come for regular check ups during pregnancy, so the complications during delivery decrease. Being a tertiary-level hospital, we get many transferred patients from other hospitals, who mainly come with serious health conditions. Being a civic hospital, we don’t have a refusal policy and admit all patients. So, when they die during delivery or give birth to stillborn babies, it gets accounted in our hospital, though they are not our regular patients,” he said.
*Lack of check-ups*
Dr Ganesh Shinde, Dean of Cooper Hospital and head of its gynaecology department said as most of the patients come from underprivileged social and economic background, they lack awareness about the requirements of health check ups before, during and after pregnancy. This leads to complications and the mother and their child often die due to excessive bleeding and infections.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Black-Money-s.jpg
*New Delhi:* Two days before the deadline for depositing old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes expires, the Cabinet yesterday approved promulgation of an ordinance to make possession of a large number of scrapped banknotes a penal offence that will attract monetary fine.
The Specified Bank Notes Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance, makes holding of old 1,000 and 500 rupee notes after March 31 beyond a threshold amount, a criminal offence that will attract a monetary fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the cash held, whichever is higher.
Furnishing wrong information while depositing the old currency between January 1 and March 31 will attract a fine of Rs 5,000 or five times the amount.
Official sources said the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Ordinance, but did not say if the penal provisions will apply to holding the junked currency after the 50-day window to deposit them at banks ends on December 30 or after March 31, till which time deposit of old currency notes at specified branches of the Reserve Bank after submitting a declaration form is open.
The Ordinance also provides for amending the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act to provide legislative support for extinguishing the demonetised banknotes that are not returned. Sources said the proposal put to the Cabinet was for a four-year jail term for anyone possessing a number of demonetised currency after March 31, 2017, but it was not immediately clear if it was approved.
The Ordinance will have to be sent to the President and after his assent will come into force.
*‘Backdoor method’*
“It was inevitable for the government to bring the ordinance or else demonetisation move would not be legal...in actual practice, they should have amended the law concerned when Parliament was in session (to validate the December 30 deadline),” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.
“There is no need for taking ordinance route. But, afraid of law like this facing Parliament during winter session, the backdoor method has been employed by the Modi government,” he added.
However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declined to say anything on the ordinance. “Let me first go through the ordinance. I have to see the language. Without seeing it, it is difficult to say anything at this stage,” Banerjee told reporters.*Rs 5k*
The fine for furnishing wrong information while depositing the old currency between January 1 and March 31; it may also be five times the amount
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Taxi-stand-s.jpg
The rates charged by the Mumbai's taxi services like Ola, Uber and kaali-peelis and auto-rickshaws as well, have long been a serious bone of contention. Even though the City Taxi Rules 2016 was drafted by the Central Government in November, its implementation in the state will take some time. Reason: The Maharashtra Transport Department has given the responsibility of deciding the maximum and minimum fares of the services to a committee formed under former Transport Commissioner BC Khatua. The committee is expected to submit its report by March 2017.
*No more over-charging*
Speaking to mid-day, Transport Commissioner Praveen Gedam said, “The Khatua Committee is expected to decide the tariffs of the mobile aggregators soon. Officials from the Transport Department said that the committee would decide the minimum and maximum fares that the mobile aggregators can charge. They said that as per the City Taxi Rules 2016, the maximum fare per kilometer could be three times the base fare during the day and four times during the night. This would help eliminate the practice of charging up to five times of the base fare during peak hours, they added.
Sources said that at present, the minimum fare charged by the mobile aggregators is something between Rs6-8 kilometre, but it can change depending on what the committee decides. They also mentioned that the committee is expected to submit its report by March 2017.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Brendon-Gonsalves-s.jpg
As if finding a beheaded body in the secluded Aarey Colony wasn’t eerie enough, the police have now found a sinister drawing by the victim depicting a human and animal being decapitated in sacrifice — a grim picture of his own future. Mounting evidence seems to suggest that the 23-year-old was the victim of human sacrifice, including post-mortem results and the prayer offerings found near the body.*CCTV footage shows Brendon strolling in Aarey Colony on the day he disappeared*
The drawings in Brendon Gonsalves’ sketchbook —found by the police in his home — are an uncanny foreshadowing of the fate that was to befall the 23-year-old, whose body was found propped up in a seated position at a field in Unit 2, Aarey Colony. His head was found 30 metres away.*Cops also spotted what looks like a cult symbol right next to the door to Brendon’s home*
*Violent doodles*
His pencil sketches depict two violent acts — both sacrifices. In one, a man wearing a suit stands poised to hack off the head of an animal with its tongue out, while in another, a person’s head is being snapped off with a saw. There are other doodles of the Spongebob cartoon character, as well as monsters. On the other side of the page, there is also a sketch of a headless deer and the head of Simba from the animated movie, Lion King. Cops also found what looked like a cult symbol at the main entrance to Brendon’s home (see pic above).
*Also read - Headless body: Cops form eight teams to hunt Aarey killer**Brendon Gonsalves*
Brendon’s mother Sima said that drawing was one of his hobbies, along with swimming. “He was very obedient and never argued. He had some bad habits like smoking cigarettes and weed, but a year ago, he stopped that too. Since his father’s death, Brendon was having a tough time,” she said.
*Knocked out cold*
The post-mortem report shows that Brendon suffered blunt trauma on the back of his head and died due to decapitation. Sources said that this is a common sign of human sacrifice — performing the ritual is easier if the victim is first knocked unconscious. So far, the police have recorded statements of around 35 to 40 people, including Brendon’s friends and neighbours. Ten people have been detained, including two babas whom the police are interrogating about sacrificial rituals.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Local-derailed-s.jpg
Five coaches of the Kurla-Ambernath local train derailed Thursday morning between Kalyan and Vitthalwadi stations in Thane district, officials said.
No one was injured in the mishap that took place at 5:53 AM. Services were disrupted on the Central Line of Mumbai suburban railway, while they were suspended on the Kalyan-Karjat line, they said.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/demonetisation-1978-s.jpg
A photo posted by Old BOMBAY (@oldbombay) onNov 15, 2016 at 1:27pm PST
India's previous experience with demonetisation was when the then President of India N Sanjiva Reddy promulgated the demonetisation ordinance on January 16, 1978, demonetising the Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 currency notes with the objective of eliminating "the possible use of such notes for financing illegal transactions."
People Waiting outside the bank for currency exchange 1978 #oldbombay
A photo posted by Old BOMBAY (@oldbombay) onNov 15, 2016 at 1:29pm PST
It was through the All India Radio’s (AIR) 9 am news bulletin that people were informed about the policy decision. It added that all banks and treasuries would be closed the next day, on 17 January.
Rs 1,000 and higher denomination notes were first demonetised in January 1946 and again in 1978. The highest denomination note ever printed by the Reserve Bank of India was the Rs 10,000 note in 1938 and again in 1954. But these notes were demonetised in January 1946 and again in January 1978.
Under the law all 'high denomination bank notes” ceased to be legal tender after January 16, 1978. There was a prohibition of transfer and receipt of high denomination bank notes. Plus, all banks and government treasuries had to send to the Reserve Bank the total value of high denomination bank notes held by it at the close of business on the January 16.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/6Zakir-Naik-s.jpg
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) would soon register a money laundering case under Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act against self-proclaimed Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and his organisation IRF.
*Also read: NIA wants lie detection test for Zakir Naik aide*
According to sources, the fresh case would probe the multiple layers of funds received by Naik and his organisation through banking channels and donations. An ED official said that the case would be based on the one registered by the NIA, as the central agency intends to find out whether the same suspects are involved in money laundering.
A senior official said, “ED can register a case under PMLA if there is already a schedule offence against the suspect. And since NIA has already registered a case under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of IPC and sections of UAPA against Naik, ED can register the case to probe the money transactions connected to him.”
Sources in the ED said that once the case is registered, the officials would be able to scrutinise various banking accounts linked with Naik and his relatives, including sister Nailah Noorani. They would also probe his foreign investments and the layers of funds created through four firms namely Majestic Perfumes Pvt Ltd, Longlast Constructions Pvt Ltd, Harmony Pvt Media Ltd and Alpha Lubricants Pvt Ltd.
*Also read: IRF ban timed amid demonetisation to avert resistance: Zakir Naik*
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Ratan-Tata-s.jpg
Locked in a bitter boardroom battle with ousted Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry, industrialist Ratan Tata visited the RSS headquarters on Wednesday.
*Also read: On 79th birthday, Ratan Tata meets RSS chief in Nagpur*
Tata, currently the interim chairman of the country's biggest conglomerate, was with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for about 20 minutes, a senior functionary of the Sangh, the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, said.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/28abhijeet-s.jpg
Residents of Royal Classic building in Andheri are a harassed lot, and they have been for a while, courtesy, they allege, an illegal shed put up by singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya as an extension to his restaurant on the premises. Bhattacharya owns an eatery called Ticca Tikka in the society.
*A cloud of fear*
Society secretary Suman Arya (60) told mid-day, “There are a total of five establishments that have done illegal encroachment. One of them belongs to Abhijeet. We sent them notices but in vain... we aren’t getting support from the authorities either. The civic body had sent its men to demolish the illegal set-ups, but after the workers left, the encroachments came back up.”
Residents said they now live in fear as those owning the commercial establishments have threatened them for filing complaints against them.
Arya said, “After we failed to get any response from the authorities, we filed an RTI application on November 17, asking what action was taken on our complaints. We got a reply on December 8 that the BMC sent notices to Bhattacharya and the others under section 55 (unauthorised structures) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, directing the shop owners to remove the illegal extensions within 15 days, failing which the civic body would raze them down.”
However, it was alleged, not a single shop owner acted on the notice. “On December 22 around 4.30 pm, BMC officials came to the building and demolished all illegal encroachment. After they left, around 7 pm, the shop owners put up the sheds again,” added Arya.*Society secretary Suman Arya (left) has alleged that singer Abhijeet threatened him and other residents. Pics /Satej Shinde*
“This is the fourth time that the K-west ward officials demolished the illegal structures, which were set back up again within hours. BMC had earlier demolished these in 2007, then 2012 and once earlier this year.”
Parag Masurkar, assistant municipal commissioner, K/West ward said, “If they have reconstructed the sheds, we will demolish it again and also seek explanation from them.”
*Singer's threats*
After the demolition, an argument had taken place between the shop owners, including Abhijeet, and society members, said Arya, adding, “He came up to us and started arguing; he abused me and kept on shouting at me. I then lodged a complaint with the Amboli police, who have registered a non-cognisable offence against him and two others under sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.”
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/dec/Bhagwati-Hospital-s.jpg
When the BMC spent Rs 28.88 crore on the renovation of Bhagwati hospital, officials promised a multi-superspeciality hospital that would relieve the load on major hospitals in the city. Six months on, it turns out that all that money was spent on a 110-bed hospital that treats just 4-5 patients a day.
*Also read - Mumbai: After 5 years and Rs 43 crore, Bhagwati Hospital to reopen minus OT**Six months on, mid-day found most of the beds vacant*
*'Shocking waste'*
An RTI query has revealed that between June 27 and November 18, the hospital admitted only 654 patients. This comes up to less than five people per day, even though the facility has 110 beds (50 in male wards, 50 in female wards and 10 in the MICU). When mid-day visited the hospital on Monday afternoon, there was only one patient admitted in the female ward, while five were admitted in the male wards.
In the meanwhile, major hospitals like KEM, Sion, Cooper and Nair are reeling under pressure. “We receive around 200-300 indoor patients every day and it becomes very hectic for us. Most of the patients get referred to us from peripheral hospitals. There is a need for more multi-superspeciality hospitals to come up. It is shocking that Bhagwati hospital is wasting so many precious beds every day while we struggle,” said a senior doctor from KEM’s emergency medicine department.
*Staff crunch*
What’s more, the hospital is running on a 60% staff shortage, with many senior positions like chief medical officer, senior medical officer, medical officer, registrar lying vacant.
In 2013, when the hospital was demolished, all staffers were shifted to Kandivli’s Ambedkar Hospital, and now they don’t want to return. “Bhagwati hospital was opened in haste to woo voters for the upcoming BMC elections. The lazy BMC staff do not want to return as they have less work at Ambedkar hospital, which is operating with double strength. For example, running a department with 14 people means each person will have to do night duty every 14 days, whereas when you run the department with seven people, there is night duty once a week,” said Chetan Kothari, who had filed the RTI query in June.
In addition, the so-called multi-speciality hospital doesn’t even have ventilators or a casualty department. Only medical and emergency medical services are available. Even the blood bank is without a pathologist, which is violation of FDA norms.
In fact, the hospital doesn’t even have the infrastructure to conduct HIV testing of patients.
“In case of difficulty, they take help of pathologists from Bhagwati blood bank and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital,” reads the hospital’s reply to the RTI application.*Hospital says*
The hospital management claimed that the building visited by mid-day was built as a nursing training centre that is supposed to provide only medical services, and the rest of the facilities would come up in the next phase of the renovation. “This building is meant to provide only medical services. There will be an adjacent building that will have the capacity of 800 beds with all the facilities. This is just the first phase,” said Dr Pimple, dean of Bhagwati hospital.
*181*
Total number of senior posts in the hospital
*94*
Senior posts still lying vacant Reported by Mid-Day 5 hours ago.
