The Maharashtra government has decided to set up a special court in neighbouring Thane, amid increasing incidents of building collapse and urban crimes there. The state urban development department had forwarded a proposal in this regard to the law and judiciary department to seek permission from the Bombay high court to set up this court in Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) area. The HC has given its nod, and has also granted permission to make 13 posts available in the special court for the judiciary process, a GR issued here said. It also states that the civic body should make a residence available to the judge of the special court. “Various complaints were received from builders and people over construction of buildings. Therefore to address the issue, we have decided to set up this court,” minister of state for urban development Uday Samant said. The judge of this special court will be of the level of additional district court judge, he said. Mr Samant said if such complaints are received from other parts of the state, the government would think upon setting up more such courts. According to an official in Mantralaya, rise in illegal buildings and structures prompted the government to take this decision.
*** Train murder: convicted accused arrested near mp AGE CORRESPONDENT Mumbai, Sept. 26
With the interstate arrest of a 32-year-old convicted criminal on Thursday, the Mumbai Government Railway Police (GRP) claimed to have cracked the murder case of a woman who succumbed to injuries after a robbery bid on a local train. The woman lost her life by falling off a running train after an unknown accused had hit her shoulder with an iron rod earlier this month. On September 5, Aarti Anil Golapkar (43) was travelling from Kopar Khairane to Thane standing on the footboard of a second-class ladies compartment. The incident took place at around 7.20 pm when the train was between Ghansoli and Rabale railway stations. The accused was hiding in the dense bushes along the railway tracks and hit Golapkar on her shoulder with an iron rod in a bid to rob her handbag. Golapkar lost her balance and fell off the train. She died of severe head and back injuries a few days later. “Commissioner Prabhat Kumar ordered a massive crackdown on all on-record criminals who used the same modus operandi. About eight teams from different police stations and crime branch units were part of the crackdown,” said senior inspector Parshuram Karyakarte, Vashi GRP. The accused, Harish Shankar Rathod alias Babulal Dhula Rathod was found to be missing from the day the crime had occurred. Rathod was traced from Katni junction in the Hirwara village of Madhya Pradesh, which is close to his village.
