Mid-Day Top News at this hour: Human Rights Commission summons officers over Borivli hawkers’ menace; Senior citizen seduces senior citizens in suburbs and more

Bhaji Market Gully, which has been taken over by hawkers, in Borivli West, on Thursday. Pic/Prasun Choudhari

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Mid-Day Impact: State Human Rights Commission summons officers over Borivli hawkers' menace

Taking suo motu cognisance of a mid-day report highlighting how BEST bus routes had to be shifted owing to hawkers taking over a lane opposite Borivli railway station, the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission has issued summons to the Mumbai police commissioner, additional commissioner (transport department) and the BEST general manager. A division bench headed by Justice K K Tated, chairperson of the commission, and panel member M A Sayeed came down heavily on the civic administration for allowing the encroachment to go unchecked. Read more.

Mumbai: Senior citizen seduces senior citizens in suburbs on morning walks

The MHB Colony police have arrested a 64-year-old woman from Bhayandar who would steal jewellery from senior citizens whom she would befriend on the streets. On Wednesday, the accused, Geeta Patel, was busted by a Borivli resident while allegedly attempting to snatch a gold chain worth R1.5 lakh from an 80-year-old. Ten cases have been registered against Patel by victims aged 65 to 80 years and the accused has spent several months behind bars. In fact, the MHB Colony police, as reported by mid-day in 2015, had caught her for a similar offence. Read more.

Maharashtra elections 2024: Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis says BJP not against Muslims, only opposes appeasement

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is leading the BJP's third consecutive state Assembly elections campaign, is confident that the BJP-Mahayuti will form its third government. With just six days to go to poll day, the former CM said the alliance had an edge over the MVA that was focused more on appeasement politics rather than development agenda. He said the BJP's pitch of ‘Batenge to Katenge' and ‘Ek hai toh safe hai' was a counter-narrative to the Congress-MVA's narrative of dividing the society on the lines of caste and religion. Read more.

"It was for SKY": Tilak Varma after match-winning century

Tilak Varma did not want to become a source of chagrin for his skipper Suryakumar Yadav after requesting him for the No. 3 slot in the batting order in the third T20I against South Africa. And he didn't. Varma had batted at No. 4 in Durban and Gqueberha, scoring 33 and 20. Surya, who himself batted at No. 3, after giving it a thought, obliged his young teammate. Read more.

Shahid Kapoor starrer 'Ashwatthama: The Saga Continues' on hold due to budget constraints and logistical challenges

In March, Amazon Prime Video had announced the mythological action film, Ashwatthama: The Saga Continues, with much fanfare at its event. The Shahid Kapoor-starrer, to be helmed by Kannada filmmaker Sachin B Ravi, was designed to be one of the streaming giant's most ambitious productions from India. However, eight months on, we've heard that the project has been put on hold due to budget constraints and logistical challenges. Read more.