3 taxi drivers looted, 4 held
MUMBAI: The Nehru Nagar police in Kurla East arrested a gang of four for allegedly robbing three taxi drivers at knife point in three separate incidents on Tuesday. Police officials said two of the taxi drivers were robbed at Thakkar Bappa colony, while the third was looted at Amar Mahal junction, a kilometre away on the Eastern Express Highway.
The officials said the accused approached the taxi drivers as passengers and robbed them of cash and valuables at knife point.
Three of the accused have been identified as Sanjay Ujapuria, 19, Lekhraj Padmaraj Nangaliya, 23, and Arjun Raju Bhopariya, 20. Meanwhile, the fourth accused is a minor and all are residents of Chembur.
The first incident occurred around 1.45am on Tuesday. According to the victim, Sukhlal Sav, 46, around 1am he was standing at Marine Drive when four people approached him and hired the taxi for Adarsh Vidyalay at Thakkar Bappa Colony in Chembur. They reached the destination around 1.45pm were supposed to pay ₹400 fare.
“After getting off, the accused started abusing Sav. One of them removed a knife and threatened to kill him if he made noise. They took away ₹1200 cash from his shirt pocket and snatched his mobile phone,” said senior inspector Chandra Shekhar Bhabal of the Nehru Nagar police station.
Satveer Tej Singh, 49, who was heading towards Sion after dropping passengers at Kurla. Again, the four accused asked Singh to drop them at Thakkar Bappa Colony at 2.30am.
As the taxi stopped at the destination, one of the accused removed a knife and placed it on Singh’s neck. They took his mobile phone and ₹10500 cash from his pocket and fled.
The victim went to Worli and informed the taxi owner and they approached the Nehru Nagar police and registered a case against four unknown persons. As per description given by the victim it looked like the same group had targeted him, said Bhabal.
The gang walked towards Amar Mahal Junction and found the third taxi driver, Anis Khan, a resident of Bandra East, waiting on EEH. Anis was then robbed of ₹3500 cash and mobile, said the police officer.
“The modus operandi in all three cases were the same. People in the area identified one of the accused and we nabbed him from his residence. After questioning him we nabbed the other three suspects,” said police sub inspector Omkar Godbole of the Nehru Nagar police station.
MUMBAI: In a fourth consecutive day, on Wednesday, the city recorded an average air quality index (AQI) of 271 -- categorised as “poor”. An AQI between 200 and 300 is rated in this category, while an AQI of over 300 is placed in the “very poor” category.
Now, all 24 administrative wards have been directed to take immediate remedial measures to deal with rise in AQI levels by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Bmc)-appointed Airavat Enviro Engineers and Consultants.
The expert body has asked BMC to clean road dust and sprinkle water. Additionally, air pollution hotspots and micro hotspots, such as BKC junction or a potholed road should be identified. “We have suggested a ban on open garbage burning but security guards in housing societies are known to burn wood during winter,” said the head of Airawat Enviro Engineers and Consultants, who did not wish to be named.
“Trucks that come and go at construction sites lead to dust being emitted. Industrial areas of Chembur and Mahul add to air pollution, which will be monitored. These small steps are a
part of our action plan,” he said. “Bakeries and hotels need coal and wood to enhance the taste of food served. We have asked the fire and health departments of BMC to ensure that these commercial hubs switch to cleaner fuels like PNG or electric ovens or install an air pollution system. Garbage should also not be dumped in the open as people then set fire to the heap.”
The consultants held a special meeting earlier this month with the civic body and pointed to four wards that showed rise in AQI levels, much above 200. They are: A Ward in Colabachurchgate, M East Ward in Mankhurd, P North Ward in
Malad and R (Central) Ward in Borivali.
Explaining the reason behind the present crisis, the head of Airawat Enviro Engineers and Consultants, said, “AQI level’s increase can be due to local factors such as burning green waste or construction sites present near monitoring stations.” He was however quick to state that the present rise in the index was primarily due to the weather phenomenon, although air pollution contributed to it.
A civic official from BMC’S environment department reasoned, given the absence of air movement and lack of turbulence in winters, the particulate
matter (PM) gets stuck at a particular location.
“The PM gets added daily, which has impacted the air quality. North India has been facing this situation for a while, but now Mumbai has also come in the fray due to meteorological phenomenon, with air pollution contributing to it,” said he. He added that the present advisory was conveyed to the additional municipal commissioner, environment, at a meeting last week. However, when HT reached out to Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner, P North ward (Malad) he said that he had yet to receive any communication on the matter.
Experts noted that the major factors contributing to the present crisis in the city are Metro work, road digging, building constructions, industrial activities and small activities like vehicular emissions, bakeries and crematoriums.
The 20 locations from where air quality is measured fall between Colaba and Mulund-dahisar. Some belong to MPCB, comprising 11 monitoring stations, and SAFAR (a joint body of IITM-PUNE and IMD), comprising nine stations. All 20 are connected to the CPCB website. These 20 locations provide real time data of air pollution in Mumbai.