Maharashtra

Pune, May 27 (PTI) A case has been registered against an assistant commissioner of police posted in Pune for allegedly extorting Rs 40,000 from a youth in Satara district of Maharashtra, an official said.

Bhuinj Police Station in Satara has registered the case in this connection against ACP Deepak Humbre, who was attached to the Special Branch.

Humbre had been on "compulsory leave" for the last couple of months after an inquiry was pending in connection with a case against him, police said.

Mumbai, May 25 (PTI) A Maharashtra cabinet minister and senior Congress leader, who has tested positive for coronavirus, was on Monday admitted in a hospital here, a close aide said.

He became the second cabinet minister after NCP leader Jitendra Awhad to test positive for coronavirus.

The minister had contracted the infection a few days back and is undergoing treatment, a Health official had said on Sunday.

Mumbai, May 25 (PTI) A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said states will have to seek permission from his government if they want UP migrant workers back, MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Monday said labourers will have to seek nod of the Maharashtra government also if they wish to work here.

The Maharashtra government needs to take such things seriously, said the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, who is the estranged cousin of state Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

Mumbai, May 24 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said it was wrong to impose the lockdown suddenly and now it cannot be lifted all at once.

Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, Thackeray also said there was a need to be extra cautious during the upcoming monsoon.

It was wrong to impose the lockdown suddenly. It will be equally wrong to lift it in one go. It will be a double whammy for our own people," he said in a televised message.

Mumbai, May 23 (PTI) Apparently fed up with the COVID situation and personal health issues, senior trade union leader Dada Samant has committed suicide by hanging in suburban Borivali, police said on Saturday. He was 92.

The Maharashtra General Kamgar Union leader was found hanging at the residence of his elder daughter on Friday morning, an official said.

He was brother of prominent trade unionist Datta Samant who was shot dead by gangsters in 1997.

Pune, May 21 (PTI) The first experimental use of plasma therapy for treating a COVID-19 patient has been successful at Pune's state-run Sassoon general hospital, a senior doctor claimed on Thursday.

A 47-year-old woman, who had co-morbid conditions such as hypertension, hyperthyroid and obesity and who was in critical condition, was given convalescent plasma therapy twice on May 10 and 11.

Mumbai, May 22 (PTI) The Reserve Bank on India (RBI) on Friday said India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be in negative territory in 2020-21 as the outbreak of coronavirus has disrupted economic activities.

In a televised address, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the global economy is heading into recession. He also said inflation outlook is "highly uncertain".

Pune, May 22 (PTI) At least 25 COVID-19 patients, who are in a semi-critical condition at Pune's government-run Sassoon General Hospital, will be administered tocilizumab, a drug which has proven effective in treating the infection, an official said on Friday.

The new drug, an injection which costs around Rs 20,000, will be given to 25 patients in the first phase and depending on the results, the Pune Municipal Corporation will decide on its further use, municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad said.

Beed, May 19 (PTI) A case was registered against a BJP MLC for allegedly entering a COVID-19 containment zone in Ashti area in Maharashtra's Beed district, police said on Tuesday.

A case was registered against Suresh Dhas, a member of the Legislative Council from Ashti, for allegedly entering a containment zone in the city on Monday, an official said.

"Dhas entered Patan Sangvi, a containment zone in his constituency, and met residents of the sealed area on Monday morning," Ashti police station in-charge Madhav Suyavanshi said.

Gadchiroli, May 20 (PTI) Naxals set ablaze four trucks in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district ahead of the bandh called by them to protest the killing of an associate, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Savargaon-Murumgaon road around Tuesday midnight, a release from the office of Gadchrioli superintendent of police said.

The rebels blocked the road in Dhanora taluka and torched the four heavy vehicles, an official said.