Vol. 68 No. 126 | Friday, February 28, 2025 | 27 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to June 2024) PUNE RAPE FALLOUT | Transport Minister announces CCTV cameras, GPS systems, panic buttons in 15,000 MSRTC buses MSRTC in for security audit Pratap Sarnaik Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI Following the rape of a woman inside a parked state transport bus at the Swargate ST depot in Pune, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Thursday ordered a security audit of all Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus stations and depots. He announced that CCTV cameras, GPS systems, and panic buttons would be made mandatory in approximately 15,000 MSRTC buses, including those leased from private contractors. Sarnaik also stated that all unused buses and vehicles parked inside MSRTC depots across the state would be disposed of before April 15 this year. Speaking at a press conference at Mantralaya, after reviewing security measures at MSRTC bus depots in light of the Swargate incident, Sarnaik emphasized the need for a security audit of all depots and stations. MSRTC operates around 580 bus stands and 251 bus stations across Maharashtra. “A thorough audit will be conducted, and any deficiencies identified will be addressed,” he said. Currently, MSRTC has ap- proximately 2,700 security guards hired through various security boards. The minister stated that the possibility of increasing their numbers is being examined, along with a proposed 15-20% rise in the number of female security guards. 4Contd on | Nation ‘Victim did not resist’ Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam stated that there was no visible struggle during the rape at Swargate. He said that at the time, there were 10 to 15 people near the Shivshahi bus where the incident took place but since the victim did not resist, no one suspected anything. This allowed the accused to commit the crime, he said. Kadam, who visited Swargate bus depot on Thursday morning, informed the media that the police had not deliberately disclosed certain details to the press to avoid compromising their search for the accused. He also mentioned that police patrols were conducted at 1:30 AM and 3:00 AM on the night of the incident in Swargate bus depot. HC censures sessions judge’s relief to cops Urvi Mahajani MUMBAI The Bombay High Court on Thursday took a dim view of an order passed by a sessions court in Thane, which kept “in abeyance” the findings made by a magistrate in a report questioning the legitimacy of the encounter of an accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case. A bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Neela Gokhale censured the additional sessions judge DR Deshpande saying that the order granting relief to the policemen in the encounter case was “shocking” and that the judge overreached the HC order. The Free Press Journal was the first to report on February 25 about the sessions court order granting relief to the policemen. Judicial Magistrate First Class, Ashok Shendge, had submitted a report on January 18, holding five policemen—Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Shinde of the Thane Crime Branch, Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More, Head Constables Abhijeet More and BADLAPUR ENCOUNTER FPJ News Service PUNE The rape of a 26-year-old woman inside a stationary Shiv Shahi bus of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) at the busy Swargate depot has triggered an uproar in Pune. Amid mounting pressure to nab Dattatraya Ramdas Gade (37), the accused in the case, the Pune Police on Thursday deployed sniffer dogs and drones to track him down. Additionally, a total of 13 teams have been deployed to apprehend Gade, with eight teams from the Crime Branch and five teams from Swargate Police Station working on the ground. Commissioner Amitesh Kumar has also announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to anyone providing information about his whereabouts. Amid all this, the security at the Swargate bus depot has come into question. The bus depot witnesses a daily footfall of over 60,000 passengers with over 600 buses plying. Besides, there are numerous hawkers and food vendors throughout the day. However, the bus depot has always been a hotspot for illegal activities. 4Contd on | Nation SC safeguards on GST Act arrests FPJ News Service MUMBAI both were injured. However, the magistrate’s report raised serious doubts about the alleged encounter. The findings stated that the four policemen, despite being in a position to control the situation, failed to do so and that the use of force was “not justified.” The Supreme Court has ruled that an arrest under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act cannot be made solely on suspicion. Authorities must have substantial evidence and a justified belief that a cognizable and non-bailable offence has been committed before making an arrest reports Live Law. Arrests under GST cannot be made just to investigate if a crime has taken place. The Supreme Court made it clear that officials must first confirm through material evidence that the conditions outlined in Section 132(5) of the GST Act are met. If an arrest is made without proper justification, it will be considered illegal. For an arrest to be valid, specific conditions must be met. The offence must be listed under clauses (a) to (d) of Section 132(1) of the Act. Additionally, the amount of tax evasion, wrongful input tax credit, or fraudulent refund claimed must exceed Rs. 500 lakhs. 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation “It is overreaching the orders passed by us. The (sessions) judge has overstepped his jurisdiction. When the matter is sub judice before this court, can the sessions judge entertain this revision application?” Harish Tawade, and Police Constable Satish Khatal—accountable for Akshay Shinde’s custodial death. The policemen, who were escorting Shinde from Taloja Prison to Kalyan for questioning, had claimed that Shinde snatched Assistant Police Inspector Nilesh More’s service pistol, leading to a struggle during which With dogs, drones, the hunt is on Indian student in coma in US Agencies Nilam Shinde a student from Satara was knocked down by a four wheeler in California and is in coma, requiring brain surgery. MEA has facilitated an emergency visa interview NEW DELHI The United States has scheduled an emergency visa interview for the father of Nilam Shinde, a 35-year-old Indian student who has been in a coma at a California hospital following a road accident on February 14. The interview will take place at 9 am on Friday. The development came after the Americas division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reached out to the US government. While emergency travel permits for medical reasons are usually granted swiftly, it remains unclear what caused the delay in this case, NDTV reported, citing sources. Shinde's family had made a desperate plea to the Centre for assistance after struggling to secure a visa for her father, Tanaji Shinde, who has been trying to travel to the US since learning about the accident on February 16. A Master of Science student in her final year, Shinde suffered multiple fractures and severe injuries to her chest and head after being hit by a four- wheeler. The hospital treating her sought immediate family consent for brain surgery, according to the family. "We got to know about the accident on February 16 and have been trying for a visa since then. But we haven't got it yet," her father had told NDTV. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule took up the issue, urging External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to intervene and expedite the visa process. She tagged him in a post on X, calling for urgent action. "This is an alarming issue, and we all need to come together to resolve it. 4Contd on | Nation