mUMBAI
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JULY 04, 2015
PUNE
“Our government is committed to providing a boost to both ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make in Maharashtra’ campaigns, provide business to both medium and small enterprises and create much-needed jobs.” - Devendra Fadnavis, CM
Fun way to keep techies on their front foot P4
Rati Agnihotri back with her husband Months after she filed a domestic violence case against her husband and moved out of matrimonial home, the actor is back with Anil Virwani BY Bapu Deedwania Four months after veteran actor Rati Agnihotri filed a case of domestic violence against her husband, she is back at her matrimonial home at Worli. She is said to be getting along with Anil Virwani, whom she accused of assaulting and intimidating. The 54-year-old actor, who starred in ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’, ‘Shaukeen’ and ‘Hum Tum’, is said to have had a change of heart after she was hospitalised recently. Sources reveal, her husband was by her side through it all. After her discharge, the actor went with her son Tanuj and husband to the Worli penthouse overlooking the Arabian Sea. Friends close to the family have confirmed that the actor has moved back with her husband after she was admitted to Jaslok Hospital last week when she complained of chest pain.
Rati Agnihotri with husband Anil Virwani; (right) their actor-son Tanuj
“She was visibly in pain. Tanuj, her actor-son was by her side. It was at this point that she inquired if Anil was there. He was informed about her health and he immediately rushed to the hospital. He was seen inquiring about her well
Madrasas ignoring formal subjects to be de-recognised
The registered Madrasas not teaching primary subjects will be classified by the state government as “non-schools” In a controversial move, the BJP government in Maharashtra today decided to de-recognise Madrasas which give students education only on religion without imparting formal education like teaching English, Maths and Science subjects. The registered Madrasas not teaching primary subjects will be classified by the state government as “non-schools” and children studying in them will be considered “out of school” students. The move has raised the hackles of Muslim leaders as well as the opposition parties in the state. “Madrasas are giving students education on religion and not giving them formal education. Our Constitution says every child has the right to take formal education, which madrasas do not provide,” State Minorities Affairs Minister Eknath Khadse told PTI. “If a Hindu or Christian child wants to study in a Madrasa, they will not be allowed to study there. Thus, Madrasa is not a school but a source of religious education. Thus we have asked them to teach students other subjects as well. Otherwise these Madrasas will be considered as non-schools,” Khadse said. He said the Principal Secretary of Minority Affairs department Jayshree Mukherjee has written a letter to Principal Secretary of School Education and Sports Nand Kumar in this regard. Khadse said the School Education department has planned a survey of
students that are not taking formal education on July 4. “Students who are studying in Madrasas that do not provide formal education will be treated as out of school students. Our only aim behind doing this is to ensure that every child of the minority community gets a chance to learn and come into the mainstream, get good paying jobs and have a prosperous future,” Khadse said. The minister said that out of a total 1,890 registered Madrasas in the state, 550 have agreed to teach the four subjects to students. “We are even ready to pay Madrasas for giving students formal education and are ready to provide them teaching staff as well,” Khadse said. Asaduddin Owaisi, who is the President of AIMIM, questioned the rationale behind the government decision, and asked whether students being imparted Vedic studies will also be considered out-of-school children. “There are many Madrasas that are teaching Maths, English and Science. Many Madarasa students have gone ahead and cracked civil service exam”, he said. Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind General Secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani said that whatever happened is “unacceptable”. Calling the move unconstitutional, Congress spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam said, “No child should be discriminated along religious lines. We are going to take the issue in the state Assembly.” PTI
MLA bats for naming road after Balasaheb A Shiv Sena leader has written a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding that the 35 km long coastal road, that will connect the island city with Kandivali in North Mumbai be named after late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. “Balasaheb Thackeray had a stature that has got Maharashtra not only national but international repute. Thus, I have demanded that this coastal road, which will be a one of kind project, be named after Balasaheb,” Sena MLA Sunil Prabhu told PTI. Prabhu, in his letter, has stated that by naming the coastal road after Thackeray, people coming to Mumbai from across the world would become
aware of his contribution to the city. “Balasaheb Thackeray has immensely contributed to the development of this city and has ensured that the city gets a distinct identity of its own. Thus, I demand that the coastal road be named after him (Thackeray), who is respected by all those living in Mumbai,” the letter stated. “The legacy of Balasaheb is not only limited to the city but he is revered by people across the globe. Everybody coming to Mumbai, not only from the across the city, but also from across the world should know about his contributions,” the letter PTI further stated.
being, talking to doctors about what was wrong and making sure she got the best treatment,” said a friend who did not want to be named. From the hospital, Rati straight went to her matrimonial home at Worli
and since then the two, sources reveal, have been spending time together and talking to each other. “We have always known them to be a happy couple and we are glad that Rati is back home. Tanuj has been instrumental in getting his parents together and being sensitive enough to not take sides and let his parents be,” said another friend of the family on condition of anonymity. When The Golden Sparrow contacted him, Anil Virwani responded, “All three of us are happy and content. We as a family would like all well wishers to respect our privacy.” Tanuj, when asked about the development, said he was happy that his mother is back home and that his parents are together. “These things take time to sink in. I am very happy but at the same time I am not privy to any of their conversations. I made it very clear that I will not take sides. They are spending a lot of time together. I am glad about that. Beyond that, I would really request media to respect our privacy and give us our time and space with each other and wish the very best for them.” Despite repeated attempts Rati Agnihotri could not be contacted. Actor’s complaint Rati Agnihotri, who married Anil
Virwani, architect-businessman in 1985, filed a complaint with Worli police in March this year, alleging harassment and torture. Virwani was booked under sections 498A (harassment), 350 (criminal force), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (assult), 504 (Insult) and 506 (intimidation). After filing the case, Rati did not go back to her matrimonial house. In her interviews to media houses, she said that she had moved to Lonavla. Meanwhile, her businessman husband was granted interim relief by a court. At a recent court hearing, Rati agreed to opt for mediation to sort out issues between her and Anil. bapudeedwania@gmail.com
ED arrests Mumbai trader on money laundering charges The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a Mumbai-based trader for allegedly laundering over Rs 19 crore funds sourced by him and others after defrauding a national bank in 2013. Officials said the zonal office of the agency here arrested Ajit Jain under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as he was “instrumental in laundering the proceeds of crime of over 19 crore.” “Investigations in the case are on,” ED Joint Director KSVV Prasad said while confirming the development. The case dates back to 2013 when Canara Bank registered a criminal case with Chennai Police for cheating and duping of Rs 19.21 crore funds against a few of its officials, private entities and National Award winning Bollywood actress Leena Maria Paul. ED sources said Jain was allegedly involved in routing and laundering of the funds from the accused to the mastermind of the financial fraud after receiving the amount in “several dummy companies” by way of RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement). The CBI is also probing this case. PTI
My daughter is off limits: Abhishek Actor Abhishek Bachchan, who was recently trolled on Twitter by a user, says that being a public figure he is open to “bouquets and brickbats” but daughter Aaradhya is off limits. Recently, a Twitter user commented that Abhishek’s daughter Aaradhya would not like his movies like ‘Drona’ and ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’ when she grows up. Abhishek retorted sharply and slammed the user for bringing his daughter into the picture, following which the tweet was deleted. “I do understand that both me and my wife and my parents (Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan) are public figures but my daughter is off limits. I am not here to talk about her. I said what I had to,” the actor said when asked about the incident at an event here.
The ‘All Is Well’ star is active on social networking sites and has learnt to take things in his stride. “I wasn’t deeply hurt. This is
something I am used to. “I always have this attitude that if you can’t stand the heat then get out of the location. If you are on public
Eight-year-old kidnapped and murdered by her uncle TGS News Network @TGSWeekly An eight-year-old resident of Navi Mumbai was kidnapped and murdered by her own uncle. This came to light in the wee hours of Friday, four days after Franshela Vaz went missing from her housing society compound in Airoli. The case came to light on Monday when Franshela did not get home from school. A student of New Horizon Public School in Navi Mumbai, she got of her school bus but never went up to her house. Several other kids studying in the same school and residing in the same housing society as Franshela, had no clue where the kid had gone. Only one of the children had Clarence Fonseca seen her getting in a red van and leaving the society compound. The same day, Sophia Vaz, Franshela’s mother, who has been unwell for a while now, lodged a complaint with Rabale police station in Navi Mumbai. Francisco Vaz, Franshela’s father works with an IT company and recently left for Netherlands, where he was sent for assignment by his firm. On the same day cops registered a case of kidnapping and started investigating the case. Sources in the police revealed that initially they had no clues as such. Except
Cops had formed 11 teams to look for the missing girl
for the 12-year-old who had seen the girl leave in a red van, the cops had nothing to go by. “The only thing we were certain of was that she had gone with somebody known to her. She wouldn’t go out of her society with a stranger without a struggle. Moreover, only somebody who knew her would know that her mother was bedridden and father out of country, hence she was an easy target,” said one of the officers investigating the case. The cops had formed 11 teams to look for the missing kid. Insiders reveal that Franshela’s parents suspected one of their maids, who had committed a theft not so long ago. “The couple recovered the stolen goods but did not register a formal
case against her. We suspected her involvement,” said another investigator. In all this, her father, returned from Netherlands. Franshela’s relatives and family friends also gathered at her house. The police made a breakthrough in the case on Thursday evening when they found something amiss with one of the relatives. “After the girl went missing, Clarence Fonseca and his wife were around all the time. Clarence is married to the victim’s maternal aunt. The couple would sit by the side of victim’s parents at all times. But as we started making headway into investigation, and activity picked up, the couple were nowhere to be seen. By Thursday there was no sight of them,” said an investigator. On Friday, cops picked up Clarence, a resident of Mira Road near Mumbai and questioned him. During the course of investigation, cops say, he broke down and confessed to the crime. He kidnapped Franshela and later murdered her. He allegedly killed her within hours of picking her up. Several relatives and family friends, who met Clarence while the victim was reportedly missing, are in a state of shock. “He didn’t seem like someone who would do something like this. He and his wife were there by side of victim’s family at all times. He behaved absolutely normal and in fact would go out of his way to help,” said one of the family friends. Cops are yet to get to the bottom of motive behind the crime. “We have arrested him and will find out in due course,” said an investigator. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com
platform you have to be ready for brickbats and the bouquets ... and I am fine with that. I have always taken things in my stride.” Abhishek also said that he appreciates the fact that the tweet was deleted as the guy probably realised that he had gone a bit too far in what he had to say. “He apologised and removed the tweet... I appreciate that. I think when you are in public domain it is important to allow freedom of speech... it is a constitutional right. But it is also important to take objection... it is my platform and he tweeted something to me, I replied. If you are on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram this is going to happen... it’s healthy, fine and fun most of the times,” he added. PTI
Ratan Tata to join Jungle Ventures as Special Advisor The Singapore-based Jungle Ventures has announced that Ratan Tata, C h a i r m a n Emeritus of Tata Sons, will come on board as a Special Advisor. Founded by Anurag Srivastava and Amit Anand, Jungle Ventures is an early stage Ratan Tata venture capital fund focussed on helping build innovative technologyled companies in Asia-Pacific. The venture fund said it has already made investments in 30 leading Asian start-ups, including Zipdial (recently acquired by Twitter), LiveSpace, Tradegecko, CrayonData, Fastacash and travelmob (acquired by Nasdaq listed HomeAway). In his role as Special Advisor, Tata has formally committed to spending time with Jungle’s portfolio of companies to help them build category leadership while being ethically impregnable and culturally strong in Asian and global markets, the venture fund said in a statement. Jungle Ventures, launched with a USD 10 million seed-to-early stage fund in 2012, is currently raising a second fund with a much bigger corpus, it said. “For Jungle Ventures, Tata believing in our vision also comes as a validation of our purpose to spawn and nurture entrepreneurship across the Asia-Pacific,” said Srivastava, founding and managing partner. PTI