A non-bailable warrant was issued by Special Prevention of Money Laundering act (PMLA) court, on Wednesday against Chhagan Bhujbal's son Pankaj Bhujbal in money laundering case.Pankaj, an MLA in the Maharashtra assembly, has been named in the FIR filed by the Enforecement Directorate (ED), besides his father former deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, other associates and entities and his nephew Sameer Bhujbal
In February, ED had twice conducted searches at about a dozen premises, including properties and offices, belonging to the senior Bhujbal, Pankaj, Sameer and few others.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/Ponzi-schemes-s.jpg*One of the several high-end cars which Shekhar purchased using the money invested by the victims in his Ponzi schemes*
While granting bail, the SC observed: “In terms of the undertaking furnished by the accused-appellant before the court, the necessary deposit of the amount stated in the said undertaking shall be made within a period of one month in respect of Rs 3.5 crore and within three months in respect of Rs 16 crore (the remaining amount), failing which the bail will stand cancelled without further reference to the court.”
*Noose secured*
While Shekhar may heave a sigh of relief, police sources claimed that he is likely to be taken to Chennai today from Arthur Road Jail. They stated that Chennai police have secured a warrant against Shekhar in a previous case in which he jumped bail granted by the Madras High Court in 2014 for his involvement in a similar case.
Upon learning about Shekhar managing to secure bail from the apex court, Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW) Dhananjay Kamalakar contacted his counterparts in Chennai last week, ensuring that they reached the city in time and take Shekhar into custody before he once again jumps bail following his exit from the jail, said sources.
*Copspeak*
Commenting on Shekhar’s bail, officers from the economic offences wing (EOW) of Mumbai police said that he has nearly 16 cases of fraud registered against him across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Delhi. They also expressed doubts over Shekhar’s undertaking that he would refund all the investors, claiming that he has no property in his name. Shedding light on his modus operandi, officers claimed that Shekhar changes the city after cheating people every time he is out on bail.
A senior officer from Arthur Road jail, where Shekhar is currently lodged, said, “He had no money to spend inside the jail. As per norms, family, friends or relatives can send Rs 2,500 every month through money order, so that an inmate can buy products from the jail’s canteen. But Shekhar had no money to buy anything from the canteen.”
*Nefarious plotter*
Sources from Mumbai police claimed that before getting himself admitted in Rajawadi hospital, Shekhar tried every trick in the book to secure a bed at KEM hospital. To avoid spending days behind bars, he called doctors at the KEM and pressured them into admitting him at the hospital by posing as a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer. The tactic worked and Shekhar spent a month at KEM during the second half of 2015. He was shifted back to JJ hospital after EOW officers informed the court about the same.
Probe is also underway to find out how Shekhar managed to get himself admitted to Rajawadi from JJ hospital. During investigation, JJ authorities informed the prisons department that they had never referred him to Rajawadi, as theirs is a well-equipped medical facility. Bipin Kumar Singh, inspector general of police (south), prisons), confirmed that an inquiry is underway to trace the accused who aided Shekhar to shift ‘unlawfully’ to Rajawadi from JJ hospital without a court order. Sources also claimed that in 2013-2014, Shekhar duped a Chennai-based doctor to the tune of Rs 50 lakh under the pretext of getting him a luxurious apartment.
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**
*Rajit Kapur and Shernaz Patel in The Siddhus of Upper Juhu*
They’ve regaled us with their Mumbai-style humour. Now, the Rage Productions’ The Siddhus Of Upper Juhu will head to Singapore to give theatre-loving folks a taste of their brand of chaos on May 8 at the Victoria Theatre. Director Rahul daCunha is thrilled that the play is heading eastward. When we asked if there would be any changes in plot to cater to a culturally mixed audience, he said, “No tweaks for Singapore… but we may cut down on the Punjabi.” Well, here’s to another rollicking ride when the Siddhus take over Singapore.
*Over for Mumbai, Pune beckons*
**
*Lynn Deas, Z Poonawalla and G Vahanvaty at the book launch at Mahalaxmi Race Course, towards the tail end of the Mumbai season. Pic/Atul Kamble*
It is over and out for the Mumbai racing season, which ended last weekend. As with every end, looking over one’s shoulder comes with the territory. Some of the standout features, say the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC), were the of the Asian Racing Conference (ARC), and the introduction of innovative ideas like Club Day and Ivy League Day at the races. Yet, it is looking ahead that is more exciting and the Pune season will begin on July 28 and go on till October 22. RWITC’s media and marketing chief Vivek Jain says that the club needs to build its relation with the military, which has given the racecourse land on lease in Pune. Most importantly though, Pune has a monsoon track so, Jain adds, one hopes the present drought situation does not affect racing in any way, though the track does not require much watering if the monsoon is normal. So, what can racing aficionados do in the Mumbai-to-Pune hiatus? Maybe, read Lynn Deas’ book, Horse Racing In India: A royal Legacy. Launched during the Mumbai season, it’s for those who believe racing is the sport of kings, and… the king of sports.
*Tabla taal for Game Of Thrones*
**
*Karan Chitra Deshmukh
*
About five years ago when Karan Chitra Deshmukh took to the tabla professionally, he had no clue that his video on the rendition of the title track of popular television show, Game Of Thrones would get him over 7 lakh views in a day. “I’m not a fan of the show,” says the 23-year-old nonchalantly, much to this diarist’s surprise. “My cousin, who is a fan of the show, pinged to ask if I could do a tabla version of the title track. Since the new season was coming up, he said it would generate a lot of views. That got me excited,” shares Deshmukh, who took a day to sync the track and shoot the video. “Many websites have uploaded the video, splitting the views. Many of those have 4 to 5 lakh views independently. This makes me want to upload videos more regularly now,” confesses the city-based musician, who recently graduated as a sound engineer. He also performs with Karsh Kale.
*Rowling returns*
**More good news for JK Rowling fans. Little, Brown Book Group announced that the screenplay of the film, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, will release on November 19, as part of a new publishing programme from the author’s world of wizards. The published screenplay will follow the film’s worldwide release by Warner Bros, a day prior. A new and original story by Rowling, the film is inspired by the Hogwarts textbook, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, written by character Newt Scamander, the pre-eminent Magizoologist in the world of Harry Potter.
*Style lunches in NYC*
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/ATS-officers-nabbed-Karia-s.jpg*ATS officers nabbed Karia from Nalasopara on Monday evening.*
Cops said Sandip Tansuplal Karia called the police control room from a PCO in Grant Road on Monday and claimed that a terrorist organisation had planted a bomb to kill a judge. Investigation later revealed that the accused took the step to derail an ongoing case against him, as he feared conviction.*A CCTV grab of Karia after he made the call from a PCO near Grant Road station.*
*Chase begins*
ATS and Crime Branch officers initiated a probe after the call was ascertained to be a hoax. A scrutiny of the call location led the officers to the PCO near Grant Road station. The officers then secured CCTV footage from the nearby shops and managed to zero down on the man who made the call.
After securing the caller’s picture, the cops went through their records and ascertained Karia’s identity, a history-sheeter with two cases registered against him at VP Road and Malad police stations. Karia had been booked under sections 420 (cheating) and 170 (personating public servants) of IPC at both the police stations. Based on the personal details registered in the records, Karia’s whereabouts were traced to Nalasopara following which ATS officers nabbed him on Monday night.
*Motive unearthed*
During investigation, Karia told the cops that two cases against him were underway simultaneously at Girgaum and Borivli courts and this had taken a toll on his health and finances. He feared conviction, as both the judges heard his cases regularly and were issuing dates for the next hearing at regular intervals. Karia claimed he made the hoax call out of desperation, hoping that it would slow down the pace of at least one of the cases.
Karia was booked under sections 182 (false information), 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), 505 (1) (Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report) and 507 (Criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) of the IPC. He was produced in the court yesterday and was remanded in police custody till April 28.
*Copspeak*
In the case registered against Karia at Malad, he has been accused of looting a labourer named Uttam Natu of R500 by posing as a policeman, said Inspector Subhash Sawant, ATS (North region). A similar complaint has been registered at VP Road police station as well.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/27nadira-s.jpg*(From left) Juhi Babbar, Manoj Cherian and Nadira Babbar in Jasma Odhan directed by Nadira Babbar**The rehearsal of Murkhapoor*
The writer-director-actor, who won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001, is ready with her latest stage production, Murkhapoor, which will open in the city this Sunday as part of the Ananda Hindi Natya Utsav 2016. It features her son, Arya Babbar as associate director. “I wrote it six months ago. It was inspired by Neil Simon’s play, Fool. I have adapted the basic idea and written a play that is relevant to us today. I mainly write about subjects that feature everyday life and issues,” Babbar shares. The play is set in a village, which is suffering a curse that makes everyone a fool (including the cattle) until the entry of a schoolteacher who steps in to teach Tara, the female lead in the story. He ends up falling in love with her and rescuing her from the village. “It’s a satire that talks about people in any country, city or town, who are blind to the fact that they are being fooled,” she reveals.
*Hindi theatre for Mumbai*
Apart from writing original scripts, Babbar enjoys adapting works by masters of Hindi literature like Munshi Premchand. Speaking of Hindi theatre’s impact in Mumbai, Babbar feels that a lot more needs to be done, and the genre is currently lagging behind. “There is always a need for good scripts. Commercially, Marathi and Gujarati plays are doing well in the city. You will not find a booking vacancy in Bhaidas Hall for months. Hindi theatre also gets Gujarati and Marathi audiences for which we are grateful. It’s surprising that despite the NSD having its roots in the north, the theatre scene is not very evolved there,” believes Babbar, adding that most NSD students start out with theatre but move to Mumbai at the first opportunity of getting to work in a television series or a film. “I conduct two acting courses every year. People come to brush up their acting skills and not particularly for their love for theatre; most want to be part of film,” she adds.
*Also at Ananda*
Also premiering at the sixth edition of the festival will be three other plays. The opening act will be famous Surajmukhi Aur Hamlet, stage and film actor Zakir Hussain’s group Theatre Circle’s Hindi version of Jean Anouilh’s Episode in the Life of an Author. Touted as a serious comedy, the play looks deeper into the life of a writer and how he is affected by the monotony of daily routines.*A scene from Surajmukhi Aur Hamlet**A scene from Beewion Ka Madarsa**A scene from Hazaron Khwab Roshan Hai*
Featuring a cast of 24 high school students, the second day of the festival will stage Page to Stage Production’s (Baroda) Hazaron Khwab Roshan Hain, highlighting issues concerning today’s youth such as pressure of study, molestations, virtual addiction and their aspirations. Next in line will be a revival of Ank’s popular comedy Beewion Ka Madarsa, based on Moliere’s School For Wives, about an old bachelor who falls in love with hilarious consequences.*From: April 29 to May 1, 5 pm and 7 pm*
*At: Godrej Dance Theatre & Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.*
*Call: 66223724*
*For schedule, log on to ncpamumbai.com/buy-tickets*
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*Watch out: In May*
Children's play Breadcrumbs will redefine fairytales and present an assortment that will look at forgotten characters like the rat that was transformed into a page boy to accompany Cinderella to the Prince's ball and the tailors who made the Emperor’s clothes that could only be seen by smart and intelligent people.
*On: May 3, 12 noon*
*At: Prithvi Theatre, 20, Juhu Church Road, Janki Kutir, Juhu. Call: 26149546*
*
Rehearsal of Breadcrumbs*
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/apr/Angry-parents-s.jpg*Angry parents had gathered outside the school yesterday after attempting to resolve the issue for a week.
Pic/Nimesh Dave *
Angry parents had gathered outside the school yesterday after trying to solve the matter quietly for five days. Sufiya Bukhari, one of the worried parents, said, “We have been going to the school since April 22, a day after we got an SMS of allotment from the education department. Everyday, everybody was given different reasons. The school can’t keep us hanging. We have approached the local education officer.”
The education department, before allotting schools to students, makes sure that it fits all the requirements. “We filled the admission application after the authorities verified if we fall in the said distance. Otherwise, the system would not have had accepted our application. This school was mentioned on the list of schools available to us, considering our residential address. Now suddenly, the school cannot deny admission. If they have any problem, it is between the school and the education department. Why are we suffering?” she added.
Another parent, Siraj Shaikh, said, “One cannot apply for a school that does not fall in the permitted radius. In this case, either the education department has made a wrong allotment or the school is lying.”
*Another reason*
Distance is not the only reason the school has given to reject these children. They said they don’t even have the capacity to accommodate them.
RTE activist Samir said, “This is not possible as allotments are done considering the available intake capacity of that school because all schools have to register and mention those specifications.”
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*Also Read: Drug ring busted in Thane extends to Europe, Africa**Behind bars: Punit Sringi would post selfies every time he went abroad for a drug deal. File pic*
The drug ring was exposed earlier this month, with the arrest of four people and the seizure of nearly 20,000 kg of ephedrine from the Solapur factory of a pharma company.
As one of the three leaders, Punit was the one handling the smuggling operations.
*Read Story: Thane drug seizure: Addicted to lavish life, man turned to drug smuggling*
The other two leaders — Kishor Singh Rathod (son of former Congress MLA Bhavsingh Rathod) and Jay Mukhi — had also travelled abroad for drug deals several times, but every time Punit went abroad, he would post a new selfie on Facebook.
This helped the police piece together a timeline and list of countries connected to the case.
A senior police officer from the Thane commissionerate said, “We arrested him at 4 pm on Tuesday and he will be produced in court on Wednesday. We will investigate him further to expose the larger smuggling racket,” the officer said.
“All the three kingpins were responsible for running the smuggling racket and their local and international links are to be investigated,” added the officer. Reported by Mid-Day 57 minutes ago.