Museum elevator accident probe in final stage, arrests likely soon: Cops

Mateen Hafeez / TNN

TNN | Jun 3, 2019, 08.19 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: Byculla police, probing the death of dentist Dr Arnavaz Havewala (64) in the Bhau Daji Lad museum lift case, said they were in final stages of deciding who was responsible for the mishap on April 28.

Investigators are awaiting a crucial electrical inspector (lift) report, which will clarify whose job it was to maintain the lift. Arrests are likely soon for negligence causing death, said sources.

Dr Havewala, attached to Masina Hospital, suffered multiple fractures and died there on May 9. Her daughter Hera, who was also in the lift and was injured, was also admitted to hospital but later discharged.

Police had registered a case under sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) against unidentified persons. When Havewala died, police added section 304 (negligence causing death) of IPC in the case.

Over two weeks back, police had written to the electrical inspector (lift) who visited the spot. "We are expecting the report this week. We recorded statements of employees of Expert Equipment Pvt Ltd, which maintained the lift till March 2019. The lift should have stopped and not crashed if there was a technical error. The report will tell us whose fault it was," said a senior police officer. Police have recorded statements of around 20 persons in the case.

Police also collected information and took expert opinion on whether installing an unconventional hydraulic lift was feasible at the museum. The lift was installed in the museum in 2005 by Expert Equipment. The agreement for maintenance contract was not renewed. Further, the firm had in 2014 asked the museum authorities to appoint a trained lift operator to handle the lift, said a police officer. During the probe, police also found that the lift had no licence to operate. But Expert Equipment claimed that no licence was needed for unconventional hydraulic lifts. The electrical inspector's report will also cover this aspect.

The Times of India, June 3, 2019

Mumbai: Accountant arrested for Rs 7 crore fraud spent loot on dance bars, booked flat

Mateen Hafeez / TNN

Jun 1, 2019, 05.41 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: Two months after an accountant was arrested for allegedly siphoning off Rs 7 crore from a watch showroom housed at a five-star hotel, the police said that the accused, Shailesh Haryan (34), had splurged the money on "costly" liquor, visiting dance bars and putting up at hotels with friends.

The economic offences wing of the city police recently filed a chargesheet against Shailesh Haryan (34), a Mira Road resident. Haryan worked at the showroom between 2010 and 2015.

The police said that he misused the company's system password to divert funds, made dummy entries and fudged the company's accounts.

The discrepancies had come to the fore during the auditing process, while the balance sheet for the financial year 2014-15 was being compiled. The auditor found that funds had been transferred to Haryan's bank accounts. Inspector Manish Awale filed the chargesheet.

A police officer said that Haryan splurged money on friends to buy costly liquor and visit dance bars.

Haryan had also used Rs 10 lakh of the misappropriated funds to buy jewellery besides Rs 23 lakh which was used to book a flat in Virar. The police said that he had returned the jewellery and the ownership papers of the flat to the company.

The Times of India, June 1, 2019

Nair trio accused in doc’s suicide, unit head suspended

 

 

Gynaecologists On The Run Seek Fair Probe In Letter To Med Body

Sumitra.DebRoy@timesgroup.com

 
Mumbai: The BMC on Monday suspended the doctor trio accused of abetting the suicide of Nair Hospital’s Dr Payal Tadvi, and their unit head Dr Yi Ching Ling for her failure to act on complaints lodged by the victim. Also, the state women’s commission served a notice to the hospital, while the Agripada police said they have dispersed teams to nab the accused from their native places.

The BMC’s suspension of Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Bhakti Mehar and Dr Ankita Khandilwal—accused by Dr Tadvi’s family of harassing and pushing her to end her life—came after they were removed from the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD). “They will remain under suspension till further notice. Action will also be taken against the department head,” said Nair dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal. “The action was ordered by the deputy municipal commissioner.”

The absconding accused have written to MARD demanding a fair probe into the incident, one that is not “influenced by the police or media”. In the letter, they said “heavy workload” was being given the term of ragging. “...Then we all have been ragged or ragging someone while performing our basic duties. Then all of us should be blamed as the workload is transferred from our seniors,” read the letter, signed by all three. It is the first communication from the trio, missing since May 22, when Dr Tadvi was found hanging from the ceiling of her hostel room.

Demanding justice from the institute, the three doctors wrote, “Do we treat patients based on caste? Are we allotted work on the basis of our caste?” Saying they were under immense pressure, the three urged MARD to support them. But MARD representatives as well as college authorities insisted they come out and face the investigation. “Till they give a statement (to the police), no one can give them a fair inquiry,” said MARD’s president. Dr Bharmal said the three doctors and their parents have been called, even emailed, to no avail.

The 21-member anti-ragging committee that met on Saturday is likely to submit its findings to Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) on Tuesday. Around 30 people were interviewed on Saturday, including Dr Tadvi’s professors, roommates, nurses, lab technicians and friends. “The panel will recommend on Tuesday whether or not the registrations of the accused should be cancelled”.

Several political parties protested outside the Mumbai Central hospital. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, Students Federation of India, and All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) have demanded strict action against the hospital authorities. At BMC, opposition party leader Ravi Raja demanded an inquiry. The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has asked the hospital to submit an actiontaken report in eight days.

Agripada police teams have left the city to nab the accused doctors. Other teams are engaged in recording statements of witnesses; WhatsApp chats have been sent for forensic analysis. Police are recording statements of all members of the doctors’ WhatsApp group and want to collect group chat backups.

Meanwhile, three of Tadvi’s roommates have been allotted new rooms. “Most of us work under extreme stress, but caste, I think, has not been an issue. Seniors burdening juniors is a known practice in medical colleges. Police should find out what pushed her over the brink,” said one of Tadvi’s hostel mates.(Inputs by Mateen Hafeez)

The Times of India, May 28, 2019

7cr cheating FIR against builder couple

Mateen.Hafeez@timesgroup.com

 
Mumbai: A cheating complaint was filed against a realty firm and its husband-wife directors for duping 13 flat and shop buyers of a Bhandup project of Rs 7.2 crore. Shreenath Build Grand Pvt Ltd. and Neeraj and Sapna Ved allegedly sold flats to buyers who did not get possession of the same.

“Most complainants are senior citizens of which 12 had booked flats while one had booked a commercial gala in a project. From 2011to 2014, the buyers had paid the money and were issued allotment letters. The complainant, Mahendra Dharod, later found that the flat allotted to him was registered under someone else’s name and informed the others,” said a police officer of the Bhandup police station. The 13-storey building has mostly 2BHK flats which were sold for Rs 60 lakh each in 2011.

An FIR was registered.No arrest has been made yet.

The Times of India, May 28, 2019

Cops to take SoBo man to Kerala in Brazilian rape case

Bhavani Srinivasan & Mateen Hafeez TNN

 

Mumbai: The police, probing the sexual assault of a 19-yearold Brazilian girl by a Cuffe Parade resident, Padmakar Nandekar (52), will take the accused to Kerala to corroborate the victim’s claim that the accused had booked a single room for both and had forced her to spend a night with him. He was produced before a court on Sunday and remanded in police custody till May 29.

The girl, who is on a yearlong youth exchange programme in  India, had lodged a rape complaint on May 20 against Padmakar Nandekar, district secretary, Rotary Club of Bombay Queen City, alleging that he raped her after spiking her drinks. Nandekar had initially hosted the girl at his home, where she stayed with his family for six months. It’s learnt that one of her friends had gone to the Cuffe Parade police station four to five days prior to the official FIR was lodged. However, the police sub-inspector at the station house took the complaint letter from the victim’s friend and stated that cops will inform whenever they register the case. There were reports that the FIR was registered only after the Brazilian consulate intervened. Senior police officers were tightlipped about the issue.

Ashok Saraogi, Nandekar’s defence lawyer, said, “We have CCTV footage of my client’s residence, which will prove what exactly happened that night.” He said, “My client had given his credit card to the girl to use for emergencies. On the day after the incident, she spent Rs 1 lakh using his card. I will prove that my client is innocent. He has a high rank at the Rotary Club and is also general secretary of Cuffe Parade Residents’ Association. It is due to dirty internal politics in these organizations that my client has been implicated.” He said students on exchange programmes get around Rs 6,000 per month for expenses, but Nandekar gave Rs 10,000 to help the girl.

The residents’ association has removed Nandekar from his post after the case came to light.

In her complaint, the girl told police that on April 15, Nandekar invited her for dinner. He took her to a five star hotel where he spiked her drinks after dinner and they returend to his Cuffe Parade residence where Nandekar allegedly raped her. Following her complaint, the police arrested Nandekar.

A Rotary spokesperson said a similar incident had occurred in Japan a few years ago. “Nandedkar was on the way to Korea for a Rotary convention and on the way, he spent a few days in Japan. There, he allegedly invited a Japanese woman to a hotel, where he spiked her drink. When he returned to Japan after the convention, the woman filed a complaint and he was jailed," said the spokesperson. “It was due to Nandedkar’s contacts at the Japanese consulate that he was released from jail.”

The Times of India, May 28,2019

Medical report confirms rape of Brazilian girl

TNN | May 25, 2019, 09.59 AM IST

 

MUMBAI: Police, probing the sexual assault by a 52-year-old Cuffe Parade resident on a 19-year-old Brazilian, said on Friday that the medical report had confirmed rape.

The girl, on a year-long youth exchange programme, had lodged a complaint on May 20 against Padmakar Nandekar, district secretary of Rotary Club of Bombay Queen City, alleging that he had raped her after spiking her drinks.

The girl told police that in January, while being hosted at his house for six months, he had taken her to Kerala for blessings of some sadhus. She told police Nandekar had booked only one hotel room. A police team is likely to leave for Kerala, police said. “He had told the girl not to speak to his wife about their trip,” added a senior police officer.

A court extended the police custody of Nandekar, who used to be general secretary of Cuffe Parade Residents’ Association, till May 26.


The Times of India, May 25, 2019

South Bombay residents’ body president conned, raped me: Brazilian teenager

Mateen Hafeez / TNN

 

May 23, 2019, 06.09 AM IST

 

MUMBAI: Cuffe Parade police probing a rape complaint filed by a 19-year-old Brazilian against Cuffe Parade Residents’ Association president Padmakar Nandekar have learnt Nandekar had invited her for dinner to his home and promised to drop her back to Bandra where she currently lives. But he took her to a five-star hotel, instead.

Nandekar, 52, was arrested on Monday on charges of rape. He has been sent to policy custody till May 24.

The survivor is a participant in a year-long youth exchange programme organized by a popular club. She arrived in India in August 2018. “The girl stayed with Nandekar’s family for six months and later moved in with another family in Bandra,” said an officer.

According to the police, on April 15, Nandekar’s wife was out of town when he took the girl for dinner to a five-star hotel near Gateway of India where he allegedly spiked her drink and raped her. The girl has told police she felt dizzy and when she woke up the next morning she found Nandekar in the room. The survivor has told the police she left the hotel and spoke to her mother in Brazil who told her to file a complaint. The girl, along with the Bandra family, then approached Cuffe Parade police. The police took the girl for medical examination and a final report is awaited.

Nandekar’s daughter is on a similar exchange programme in Spain.

A spokesperson said the exchange programme rules are strict and this is the first time such an incident has occurred. “As per guidelines, the exchange student has to return to the host family’s residence by 10 pm. However, since Nandekar had previously hosted the girl, he knew her new host family which is why she was allowed to stay out with him overnight,” he said.

“Nandekar is influential and so the girl’s host family first approached the club, which filed the FIR against him,” the spokesperson stated. The international organisation is likely to suspend his membership.

The Cuffe Parade Residents’ Association has not taken any decision yet on ousting Nandekar.

(With inputs from Bhavani Srinivasan)

The Times of India, May 23, 2019