Prime accused in Keenan, Reuben murders has links with Nitish Rane

The prime accused in the murders of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez has links with Nitish Rane and is even currently on banners that sport him with Nitish Rane, finds Mumbai Mirror. “A couple of hours after the fight, at around the time that Keenan was declared dead and Reuben had finally been taken to a hospital, Jitendra Rana was at the local office of Nitesh Rane’s Swabhimaan Sangathana, a party with which he has close links. At the entrance to Anand Nagar, for example, a giant hoarding propped up on a metal frame wishes residents of Amboli ‘Happy Diwali’. On this banner, put up by Swabhimaan Sangathana workers, are prominent photographs of both Nitish Rane and Jitendra Rana. The party, just like everyone else in Valmiki Nagar, has disowned the accused,” reported the paper. [caption id=“attachment_124965” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The prime accused in the murders of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez has links with Nitish Rane and is even currently on banners that sport him with Nitish Rane, finds Mumbai Mirror.”]  [/caption] Animals in Byculla zoo are having a terrible time. “Four environmentalists documented the maltreatment of the animals by the zoo administration. Plant and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS) Mumbai has prepared a report, after four of its members visited the zoo disguised as tourists, on 29 October. The report has been sent to various authorities including, the secretary of the Animal Welfare Board of India. “We found that there was no water served in many enclosures. The animals looked weak. We found wounds on the elephant. One of the workers was poking a crocodile with a stick,” complained Sunish Subramaniam of PAWS Mumbai,” a DNA report says. This is bizarre, a real believe-it-or-not story. “As if the problem of students’ dropout in civic-run schools was not enough, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) education department is now grappling with the problem of surplus teachers. In a reply to an Right to Information (RTI) query of a social activist, the department revealed it has 2,287 extra teachers. Activist Anil Galgali claimed this is imposing a financial burden on the civic body,” says Indian Express. Hopefully, this will make our city more secure. “Established in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is all set to expand, more than doubling its strength and opening three new offices. With a proposal submitted by the Union Home Ministry being approved by the Cabinet, the agency, entrusted with cases related to terror, will see its strength go up from existing 380 to nearly 850. Besides, it will have three new offices in Lucknow, Kochi and Mumbai,” says Indian Express. Lifeline or deathline? “The suburban railway network, regarded as the lifeline of Mumbai, cuts a sorry figure when it comes to safety standards. In the last three years, rail accidents have claimed 11,514 lives and proved near fatal for over 15,000 commuters,” writes the Times of India. Will Mumbai be a beneficiary? “Rickshawale and other similar ventures across India could have sparked the beginning of a makeover for autorickshaws. Branded dial-an-auto businesses offer the benefits of call-centre support and low-cost tracking technology that could shrink expenses, while boosting revenue through the use of on-board media, including advertising screens by the last-mile transporters, eliminating the compulsion to over-charge customers,” reports the Mint.