Panvel City police have arrested a 26-year-old woman, Pranali Pralhad Naik, and two accomplices for the murder of her mother, Priya Pralhad Naik, a 44-year-old resident of Pardeshi Aali in Panvel. Priya was found dead by her husband on the night of September 13. The post-mortem revealed that she died from asphyxia due to ligature strangulation, prompting her husband to file a murder complaint.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Prashant Mohite reported that technical evidence led to the identification and detention of two suspects, Vivek Ganesh Patil (19) and Vishal Amresh Pandey (19). The suspects confessed to the crime, revealing that Pranali had hired them to kill her mother. Patil, who claimed to be a ‘Tantrik,’ agreed to the job for money and brought Pandey along.

Pranali, who had been living with her parents since 2020 due to marital issues, was unhappy with her mother’s control over her life and finances. She wanted to take over the family’s properties and finances, which led her to plot the murder. On the day of the incident, Pranali left the house with her daughter, allowing Patil and Pandey to enter and carry out the killing.

The trio appeared in court on Monday and have been remanded to police custody until September 23.

The Ulwe Node Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Sector 6, built by CIDCO to handle sewage from nearby housing societies, has been facing serious problems. Currently, only 10% of the plant is working, and most operations have been shut down for years. This has caused nearby housing complexes to suffer from bad smells, an increase in mosquitoes, and more cases of diseases like dengue and malaria.

Local residents have complained for the past five months, reaching out to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for help. Despite MNS visiting the plant and asking CIDCO to fix the problems, nothing significant was done, frustrating the community even more.

Due to the pressure from local villagers and Ulwe residents, the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has now stepped in. The MPCB has ordered CIDCO to take immediate action against the contractor responsible for mismanaging the plant. Leaders from the MNS, including Raigad District President Sandesh Thakur, have been following up on the issue with both CIDCO and MPCB.

On August 13, MNS formally complained to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board about the plant’s poor operations. Now, residents of Ulwe Node are keeping a close watch to make sure CIDCO fixes the plant and holds the contractor accountable. The involvement of the Pollution Control Board and the ongoing efforts of MNS are expected to lead to improvements in the plant’s operations and better living conditions for the affected residents.

The Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Mandal of Sector 17, Vashi is celebrating its 40th year of Ganesh Utsav with the grand display of ‘Navsala Pavnara Maharaja,’ the biggest and most famous Ganesh idol in the area. This year, the main attraction is the stunning pandal, a replica of the Mysore Palace. Built by 40 artisans over a month, the huge 45×60-foot structure is drawing thousands of devotees every day.

The 13-foot idol of Navsala Pavnara Maharaja, affectionately called ‘Gajaraja,’ is portrayed in a royal ‘Raja’ pose, which has captivated the local community. Many devotees believe that their wishes have been granted by the Maharaja and have made offerings in gratitude. Sampat Shewale, President of the Mandal, shared that this year the Maharaja received several pieces of gold jewellery, including a golden Mukut (crown), a garland, armlets, and a waistband. One devotee even offered a 5 kg silver mace after his wish was fulfilled.

Besides the religious celebrations, the mandal is also dedicated to social welfare. They have conducted health camps for devotees during the festival and adopted 51 underprivileged students from Adivasi Taluka, providing them with education and medical support throughout the year. They also help students in need within the Vashi area.

During the festival the pandal regularly includes prayers, aartis, women’s bhajan sessions, and prasad distribution. A grand Satyanarayan Mahapooja was held on Sunday evening, adding to the spiritual atmosphere of the celebration.