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By:

Ruddhi Phadke

22 September 2024 at 10:17:54 am

‘Sounds heard, missiles visible’

Mumbaikars recall their encounter with the missile attacks in Middle East Govandi Muslim Youth Front stage protest condemning killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatulla Khameni, at Govandi, in Mumbai, on Sunday. | Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: Dombivli resident Meghana Modak who flew to Dubai 15 days ago, as a tourist told ‘The Perfect Voice’ that she heard loud sounds and huge clouds of smoke in the air when she felt something was unusual. She was out for a casual walk on Saturday, but had to...

‘Sounds heard, missiles visible’

Mumbaikars recall their encounter with the missile attacks in Middle East Govandi Muslim Youth Front stage protest condemning killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatulla Khameni, at Govandi, in Mumbai, on Sunday. | Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: Dombivli resident Meghana Modak who flew to Dubai 15 days ago, as a tourist told ‘The Perfect Voice’ that she heard loud sounds and huge clouds of smoke in the air when she felt something was unusual. She was out for a casual walk on Saturday, but had to immediately rush home. She tuned in to news to find out about the US-Israel strikes on Iranian targets and Tehran's retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Gulf. “Dubai was not their target. However, the intercepting action and the missiles that passed through could be seen and heard. We are at home. Normal routine is on. However, schools and colleges stay shut. We have been advised to go out only for the inevitable basic needs of groceries.” said Modak. Modak is in Dubai to spend some quality time with her son and his family. She is scheduled to fly back to Mumbai on Tuesday. However, the plan stands indefinitely cancelled till further notice. “The Dubai airport has been hit indefinitely. We do that know when we will be back”, said Modak. Less Scary Modak cited the situation was reasonably less scary in Dubai compared to other places in the Middle East considering Dubai was not the prime target. There are no panic-struck evacuations and or sudden rush towards bomb shelters reported. However, the falling of the missile debris is certainly creating difficult situations. “A building caught fire claiming a life because of this debris falling. People are not panicking because everyone has faith in the Dubai government that they will ensure the safety of the innocent civilians.” Modak is currently staying at Jebel Ali is a large commercial port and business hub on the southern outskirts of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. There are about 4.3 – 4.36 million Indians living in the United Arab Emirates — making them the largest expatriate community in the country and roughly 35 – 38 per cent of the UAE’s total population. Dubai has the largest share of Indians within the UAE. From residents, to students to tourists, Indians account for a huge share in Dubai. While for some, situation is safe but a long uncertain wait till further course of action is clear, while some are under constant fear for life. Wait and Watch A Mumbai-based tourist anonymously told ‘The Perfect Voice’ , “My husband, my seven-year-old son and I left for a Dubai trip to have a break from our routine lives. We were in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Soon after the conflict began, we were shifted to bomb shelters. On Sunday, we have reached Dubai. It’s wait and watch till we get further update. The recreation trip has taken a stressful turn.” Tour operators are finding it tough to plan the evacuations of tourists who are currently stranded in Dubai due to airspace closure. Mumbai-based Shashank Abhyankar, the tour manager of Rajguru Travels, said, “I am just back from a tour last week. Our group of 25 Mumbaikars is in Dubai right now. Another tour manager is with them. They were supposed to visit gold market, Bhurj Khalifa, Baps Temple on Saturday and Sunday. However, everything is shut. They are scheduled to checkout from hotel on Monday 12 pm and fly back on an Indigo flight to Mumbai. The airline has intimated that the flight stands cancelled.” While airports are flooded with stranded passengers, it is an uphill task for tour operators to bring tourists back. “Safety is not a concern in Dubai. The biggest concern is, how to get people back. Stretching the stay would mean additional cost and even if we bear the cost availability of accommodation is also a concern. We are reaching out to people who are living there since many years for some solution. We have full faith in Indian government that they will do all they can to get Indians back. However, what will they do till the airspace is closed?” cited Abhyankar.

Crores siphoned off, yet no courage to probe

Khaki, Black Money - Part 4

 

State’s police machinery is sinking in the mire of corruption

AI Generated Image
AI Generated Image

Kolhapur: By law, every government employee is required to file an annual statement of assets held in their own name and that of their family members. The Supreme Court has repeatedly underlined this obligation. Yet, ask a simple question: how many actually file these disclosures on time? How many senior officers ever bother to seek an explanation when they don’t? The blunt answer is — almost none.


The reason is obvious. No one wants to declare assets, no one feels compelled to, and crucially, no one is ever held accountable. Instead, this loophole has been brazenly exploited to erect personal empires of wealth. Among all departments, the police rank disturbingly high. Armed with khaki uniforms, batons and pistols, sections of the force have turned into licensed predators. The plunder of Maharashtra continues unabated — and those in power, themselves mired in scams, find police reform deeply inconvenient.


Today, the Maharashtra government has digitised land records across the state. Property registrations are available online. If even a modicum of intent existed, an AI-enabled audit cell could be set up overnight to map police officers’ declared income against their actual assets. The results would be explosive. It would expose how ordinary citizens were systematically fleeced, how accused persons were beaten into submission to grow illegal cash crops, and how complainants themselves were extorted under the guise of “cross-examination”. What is missing is not technology, but political will — and public pressure. Without a mass demand, this rotten edifice will not collapse.


Some officers own hundreds of acres of land. Others have invested in hotel chains, real estate empires, or live in palatial homes that would shame royal estates. Where did this money come from? Ironically, these very officers lead agitations demanding pay commission hikes. Their salaries, it seems, are irrelevant — daily “top-up income” flows far more reliably. There have been officers who walked into offices with empty wallets in the morning, threatening staff that the wallet must be full by evening. Once juniors realised the boss’s appetite, the entire machinery descended into organised extortion. Many careers were destroyed, many lives ruined — but Maharashtra’s law and order apparatus looked away.


The police force was created to ensure citizens live without fear — “Sadrakshanaya, Khalnigrahanaya”. Today, it is the common citizen who trembles before stepping into a police station, while goons, fixers and habitual offenders move in and out with swaggering ease. Matka and gutkha are officially banned, yet flourish openly. Liquor is smuggled from Goa with police escorts and red beacons. Businesses and citizens are crushed under hafta demands. Drug peddling has turned Maharashtra into a floating narcotics market for its youth.


Transfers of officers require suitcases of cash; transfers of constables require cartons. The system has full authority to crack down on corrupt and irresponsible personnel — but when both sides are partners in crime, accountability becomes a farce. What survives is not law, but collusion.

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