Mumbai News LIVE Updates: Mumbaikars immerse their Ganpati Bappa after 1.5 days

Condemning the brutal rape and murder of a woman in Sakinaka, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a fast-track trial in the case, he also directed the Mumbai police to expedite the investigations and to ensure that the charge sheet in the case is filed in a month.

A 14-year-old girl was raped by a 35-year-old man at Ulhasnagar railway station premises on Friday night. The accused forcefully took the victim from Ulhasnagar skywalk to an isolated room at railway quarters, where he raped the girl.

The immersion of the 'one-and-half day' Ganesh idols began in Mumbai on Saturday, with 6,116 idols making their way into lakes and other artificial water-bodies till 6 pm, an official said. (PTI)

The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) has arrested a drug peddler with mephedrone (MD) worth Rs 1.25 lakh in Maharashtra's Thane city, an official said on Saturday.Based on a tip-off, the ANC of the Thane city police laid a trap and nabbed Pranay Mahale (29) from Manpada junction on Friday, assistant police inspector Jaimala Wasave said.The ANC team recovered 17 gm of mephedrone worth Rs 1.25 lakh from the accused, who was charged under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the official said.

A man was booked for allegedly posting "derogatory" messages about several senior Maharashtra politicians on Facebook, Shivajinagar police in Pune said on Saturday.The social media account is in the name of one Rahul Mule, an official said, adding that the case under Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act provisions has been registered on the complaint of local resident Dnyaneshwar Bade.Further probe into the matter was underway, he added.

Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil ordered a thorough investigation into the Sakinaka rape case in which the victim succumbed to injuries on Saturday."The incident that happened yesterday in Sakinaka is very unfortunate and heart-wrenching. One person has been arrested by the police in this case. The police were instructed yesterday itself that a thorough investigation should be done in this matter. If anyone else is an accused in this case then he should also be arrested and investigated," Walse said."I have also given this instruction to the police that updates related to the investigation of this case should be shared with me. Whoever is guilty in this case will be punished. I myself am keeping my eye on the investigation of this matter," he added.

A 31-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a mentally-challenged girl in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Saturday.The police on Thursday nabbed the accused, a labourer from Nalla Sopara in Vasai, senior inspector Pramod Badhak said.According to the police, the accused allegedly kidnapped the victim, took her to an isolated place on his motorcycle and raped her there on Wednesday, he said.

As the much-awaited Ganeshotsav kicked off in the city, Mumbai reported 365 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday.The overall case tally has now climbed to 7,34,702.Also, the death toll has now mounted to 16,015 with four persons succumbing to the virus in the day.

The Thane crime branch has solved the kidnapping case of a 9-year-old boy in Ambernath town by rescuing him and nabbing three men who had demanded a ransom of Rs 40 lakh.The arrested kidnappers have been identified as Amjad Khan, Chotu Singh and Yogesh Singh. All three of them are aged between 30 and 40 years.

TOI photo: Uma Kadam

Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale on Saturday informed that a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to look into the horrifying Saki Naka rape case.Nagrale was questioned over the absence of police patrolling units in the Saki Naka region during the Ganesh festival. To that, he replied that cops reached the crime spot within 10 minutes of receiving information and that they cannot be everywhere.

The Navi Mumbai police have arrested a man in connection with the death of a senior citizen, whose body was recovered from a pit in Ulwe area last week, an official said on Saturday.The police have arrested Mohanlal Ganaram Chowdhary, a grocery shop owner, for allegedly killing Shyamkant Naik (80) and dumping his body in a water-filled pit, the official said.

The twin cities of Kalyan and Dombivli in Maharashtra's Thane district reported 54 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday.No new fatalities were recorded in the region.Out of the total new cases, the maximum of 20 came up in Kalyan west, followed by 14 in Kalyan east, six in Dombivli west, and five in Dombivli east.

A 25-year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death by two persons over a petty dispute at a village in Kalyan taluka of Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Saturday.The Thane district rural police have arrested brothers Sandeep and Deepak Damle for allegedly stabbing Anil Dudhale at Mharal village on Friday evening, the station house officer of the Kalyan taluka police station said.

A court has sentenced a 49-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a toddler in Maharashtra's Thane district.Additional sessions judge Kavita D Shirbhate found the accused, a resident of Mumbra, guilty of charges under relevant sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The BJP in Maharashtra sought capital punishment for the accused involved in the Saki Naka rape case and also hit out at the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government over the issue of women's safety."I know that awarding a sentence is in the hands of the judiciary. But I feel the culprit should be hanged to death," Devendra Fadnavis said. He added, "The onus of this incident is entirely on the state government because there is no respect left for the law. It is horrible to know the kind of pain that she had to go through. I am deeply anguished by her death. I cannot describe my feelings in words. It is not only shameful, but it has made me angry. The state needs to take some action."

Just like every year, this year too devotees have come up with unique Lord Ganesha idols and decorations for Ganeshotsav. In Mumbai, Franklin Paul of Pratiksha Nagar put up an idol of Ganpati with the usual scene of a waterlogged Hindmata circle in the backdrop.