Mother and aunt burn 5-year-old girl with candle over mischievous behaviour

Palghar, Mar 7: Police have arrested a man for allegedly cheating several shopkeepers in Maharashtra's Thane, Pune and Nashik by making phone calls in a woman's voice, police said on Friday.

The accused, Shashikant Ambekar (42), a resident of Palghar, was arrested in the last week of February, they said.

"He used to note down the phone numbers mentioned on different shops and call the owners in a woman's voice to order some things from them. He would tell them that he had a Rs 2000 currency note and needed change," an official said.

"He would ask the shopkeepers to send smaller denomination notes for exchange. He would wait at the entrance of buildings and when the delivery man arrived, he used to tell that he was there on behalf of the ''caller woman''.

"He would then take the currency notes from the delivery man saying he would get the Rs 2,000 note from the woman. However, he would disappear from the scene," the official said.

Police have seized Rs 1,85,000 from the accused and found that so far he has committed 22 similar crimes in different parts of the state.

Five Bajrang Dal activists have been arrested for allegedly indulging in vandalism in the city on Valentines Day, police said.

They said about 10 to 15 activists on two wheelers vandalised a shop in Kattupalli area in Hyderabad on February 14.

Bajrang dal workers vandalize shops in Hyderabad's Gachibowli area (hitech City). The state police, which was so proactive in curbing anti-CAA/NRC protests, couldn't prevent vandalism from anti-social elements. Video courtesy: @Asifyarrkhan pic.twitter.com/TH6WLYZXiH

— Yunus Lasania (@lasaniayunus) February 14, 2020

Bajrang Dal Goons Created Terror at a Mall in Gachibowli & Vandalises the Infrastructure & Most Shocking Mall is Very Near to Cyberabad Police HQ
Any action against this..?@cyberabadpolice @TelanganaCMO@cpcybd @TelanganaDGP@amjedmbt @asadowaisi#Hyderabad #ValentinesDay2020 pic.twitter.com/AdQOOLxzQZ

—  (@SyedMoinBhai) February 14, 2020

They held aloft flags and raised slogans against celebration of Valentines Day and "created havoc" at different malls, a police press release said.

On receiving information, police rushed to a mall, but the Bajrang Dal activists escaped from the spot.

Five of them were later identified with the help of CCTV footage and arrested, police said.

The others too have been identified and efforts were on to nab them, police said.

Two cases have been registered against them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code on a complaint from shop owners, the release said.

Mumbai, May 28: Twenty four doctors and three others staying in a south Mumbai hotel were rescued after a major fire broke out in the five-storey building, officials said on Thursday.

The BMC has arranged temporary accommodation for emergency and essential service staffers, including doctors and nurses, in various hotels and lodges in the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This hotel is one such facility.

The fire broke out at Hotel Fortune near Metro Cinema late Wednesday night and was brought under control after nearly three hours early Thursday, fire brigade officials said.

“The fire spread from the first to the third floor of the hotel, a fire brigade official told PTI. It was a level-2 fire and eight fire engines were rushed to the spot, he added.

The fire was confined to the electric wiring and cables in the electrical duct, false ceiling in the lobby and the common passages on the first, second and third floors of the hotel, he said.

The 24 rescued were resident doctors at a local hospital who were provided temporary accommodation in the hotel, while the three others were guests of the hotel, he said.

The fire broke out at 11 am and wasbrought under control at 1.40 am, the official said. Cooling operation is underway at the hotel, he added.

Five doctors were rescued using fire brigade ladders and breathing apparatus sets, the official said.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known, the fire brigade official said.

On April 21, a major fire broke out in a lodging room of Hotel Ripon near Mumbai Central, which was being used as a quarantine facility by the civic body.