TWO HELD FROM ULHASNAGAR FOR CARD FRAUD

THANE: Two people were arrested from Ulhasnagar in a cheating case in Dahisar.

Around 54 debit and credit cards were found from Shrikant Godbole, 25, and Pravin Sable, 22, residents of Kalyan and Nashik respectively.

The police suspect that the twomighthavecommittedfraud of more than ₹10 lakh but are yet to get complaints. Both have been charged under sections 420 of the IPC.

“We scanned their call record data after seizing the cards. We learnt that they had travelled to various places in Maharashtra. After inquiring in police stations, we came to know that they have committed crimes in various places. Complaints have been registered in Shil Daighar, Badlapur, Vashi, Dhule, Pune, Akola and Kolhapur,” said Aviraj Kurade, assistant police inspector, Thane crime branch Unit 1.

In October 2018, Dahisar resident Shambunath Yogi was withdrawing money from an ATM in Dahisar when three unknown people managed tosee thePIN. Theystolethe debitcard and withdrew ₹29,900. The complaint was filed at Shil Daighar police station. The police received a tip-off that the duo was in Ulhasnagar. They laid a trap and arrested them.

THANE: A 24-year-old from Hyderabad has been arrested on Wednesday for running wildlife smuggling racket.

He is the seventh person to be arrested in the case.

The Thane forest department received a tip-off that the absconding accused, Mohammed Imran Khan, will be visiting a friend at Majiwada. The police laid a trap and arrested him at the Majiwada circle on Wednesday.

He was produced in Kalyan court and has been granted one day police custody.

Sanjay Pawar, round forest officer, Thane, said, “We had been on the lookout for Khan for days. He is a pet shop owner and was supplying animals to the main accused.”

OnDecember10,Mohammad Khalid Riyaz Ahmed was arrested at Thane station with many animals and birds. Further investigation revealed names of three more accused, two from Mumbai and one from Telangana. They were later arrested by the forest official. However, all were released on a bail.

“HyderabadresidentMohammad Ahmed was arrested by Thane forest officials with three falcons, one black-shouldered kite and one Eagle owl which was kept in a box. He was travelling in Coimbatore-LTT (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) to sell them in Mumbai when he was arrested at Thane station ,” said one of the forest officials from Thane forest department.

On December 11, one more accused was arrested from Bengaluru.

“All the accused were arrested under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972,” said an official.

THANE: Although Thane Municipal Corporation plans to inaugurate the work on two of its subclusters next week, the cluster urban renewal plans (URPs) are still waiting approval from the state government.

This was revealed after a Right to Information (RTI) application was filed by former Congress corporator Sanjay Ghadigaonkar in December. The state in its reply to the application said TMChadsubmittedsixURPsfor approval, but have not got approval yet.

The town planning department has plans to lay the foundation stone for the project, stating that in-principle approval has been received for the two urban renewal schemes (URS) or subclusters in Kisannagar and Hajuri.

ChiefministerUddhavThackeray is slated to inaugurate the work of two sub-clusters on February 6.

Ghadigaonkar said, “There is no provision in Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act and the cluster development policy to start the work merely on in-principle approval, which is basically the approval of the civic commissioner. The clusters need to be approved by the state urban development department. In reply to an RTI query, the state has informed that none of the six URPs are approved, so how can TMC begin work?”

TMC had submitted URPs of first six clusters — Kopri, Rabodi, Lokmanya Nagar, Kisannagar, Hajuri and Tekadi Bungalow — to the state for approval last year.

The work of surveying beneficiaries and amenities in the six clusters is also in the final stage. Last year before the Assembly polls, the town planning departmentsaidtheworkonasub-cluster in Kisannagar and another in Hajuri will begin soon.

An official from state urban development department confirmed that the URPs have not yet been approved.

The officialsaid,“We hadpublished the first notification of cluster on July 5, 2017, while a second notification asking for suggestions and objections was submitted in September 2019. Based on this notification, TMC

submitted URPs of six clusters. They are still in process of seeking approval.”

TMC, however, claimed that they are merely developing a sub-cluster where people have themselves formed societies.

A TMC official said, “There are three kinds of URP — one which is demarcated based on the development plan of the city, second which is demarcated by the corporation and third which the residents have come forward to develop. The two sub-clusters come under the third category, wherein people have formed a society and are seeking permission to develop the cluster. Only the URP drafted by TMC needs permission.”

He said TMC is only building a road in Kisannagar sub-cluster.

“The floor space index (FSI) permissible in cluster is twice the FSI consumed or 4, whichever is more. In some clusters like Hajuri and Rabodi, FSI consumedis1.5sotheycanconsume equal FSI for redevelopment. So the redevelopment is financially viable, as the rehabilitation component is equal to the sale component,” he said.

“However in Kisannagar, the consumed FSI is 2.7, thus the rehabilitation component is more than the saleable component. We will have to facilitate amenities such as wide roads to ensure the cluster becomes financially viable,” he added.

› We had been on the lookout for Khan for days. He is a pet shop owner and was supplying animals and birds to the main accused. SANJAY PAWAR, round forest officer