Mumbai:

Nationalist Congress Party leader Amol Mitkari has sparked speculation regarding the possibility of the Mahayuti members contesting the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls independently if each constituent insists on demanding 100 seats, drawing the ire of the BJP.

Speaking at an event on Tuesday evening, Mr Mitkari emphasised the impracticality of accommodating such demands within the 288-seat Maharashtra assembly.

The Mahayuti alliance comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

“If each constituent adamantly insists on contesting 100 assembly seats in the upcoming state elections, then the parties will have to contest separately. With only 288 assembly seats available, being offered only 55 seats would be unacceptable for the party,” said Mr Mitkari, who is an MLC and NCP spokesperson.

Pravin Darekar, BJP legislative party leader in the Legislative Council, responded by saying, “Mitkari should be reined in by senior leaders of his party. The party’s chief or state president should clarify whether Mitkari is authorised to make such comments. Seat-sharing discussions will take place among the top leaders.”

Mr Mitkari had recently criticised BJP leaders, defending NCP chief Ajit Pawar.

Following the Pune Porsche car accident, Mr Mitkari insinuated that similar incidents had occurred when BJP leader and state minister for higher and technical education Chandrakant Patil was the guardian minister of Pune district.

The BJP has refuted Mr Mitkari’s claims and urged the NCP to caution him against making such comments.

Mr Mitkari recently advocated an alliance with the Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), which hobnobbed with Maha Vikas Aghadi, for the Maharashtra assembly elections, with a caveat that it was his personal view.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Bihar may not be the only state where malpractices were found during the medical entrance exam NEET with cops in Maharashtra questioning two teachers in the paper leak case.

Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav and Jalil Umarkhan Pathan were picked up by the Nanded Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on the suspicion that they were involved in the NEET paper leak case. They used to teach in Zilla Parishad schools and also run private coaching centres in Latur.

They were released after several hours of questioning and will be called again if needed, sources said.

The twin public exams of NEET and UGC-NET have rocked the Indian academic and political world with paper leaks being investigated by authorities at both central and state levels.

The CBI was handed over the probe into NEET paper leaks last night as the government vowed to protect the interest of the students. It is also probing the UGC-NET irregularities, which include papers being leaked and sold on the dark net.

Bihar Police had earlier arrested four persons who had confessed to having leaked the question papers a night before the NEET UG exam. Cops are now probing the role of ‘solver gangs’ that sell leaked exam papers to students and provide proxy candidates to take tests for candidates.

On its part, the government yesterday replaced the testing body head and formed a panel comprising to look into the NEET irregularities. A new law has also been notified to curb paper leaks and other exam malpractices.

Nearly 24 lakh students had taken the NEET UG test on May 5, but after the results were declared on June 4, allegations of paper leaks and grace marks given to over 1,500 students surfaced. This triggered protests and court cases, and ultimately a CBI probe.

This afternoon, over 1,500 aspirants will take a NEET re-test at seven exam centres after the testing agency withdrew the grace marks awarded to them to make up for loss of time. Officials of the exam body will be present to ensure the exams are held smoothly.

NEET PG, which was scheduled today, was cancelled last night with the Health ministry stating a new date will be announced soon. UGC-NET was also cancelled – just a day after it was already conducted.

Thane:

A case has been registered against a 27-year-old man for allegedly beating up his live-in partner and subjecting her to unnatural sex in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Sunday.

Based on a complaint lodged by the 25-year-old woman, the Ambernath police on Friday registered a case under sections 377 (unnatural sex), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 506 (criminal intimidation) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, an official said.

The woman, in her complaint, has alleged that her live-in partner thrashed her with a belt and punched her on the intervening night of June 13 and 14, he said.

The man also allegedly subjected her to unnatural sex and threatened her, the official said.

No arrest has been made in the case so far, and further probe is underway, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Nanded:

Pigs roamed as relatives of patients went about their chores – some brushing their teeth, some washing utensils. The scene was from the hospital in central Maharashtra where 31 patients had died in a span of 48 hours.

Hygiene was among the issues raised in the aftermath of the Nanded hospital horror, a glimpse of which was captured on Wednesday.

Plastic bottles and wrappers clogged the drains as the pigs roamed through garbage at Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital.

“This is how it is every day,” said a woman as she stopped cleaning a vessel.

Another said, “We can’t use the toilet. We get nothing here, we have to go out for everything.”