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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Man gets death for minor’s rape, murder

Mumbai | Nashik: A Nashik Special Fast Track Court has awarded the death sentence to a 25-year old man who was convicted last week for luring a 4-year-old girl with a chocolate, kidnapping, raping and murdering her, here on Friday. Terming the case as the ‘rarest of rare’ crimes, the Special Judge K. D. Paldewar – who had found Vijay Sanjay Khairnar guilty of kidnap, sexual assault and murdering the child on Sep. 30 but reserved the verdict after the final arguments on Oct. 7 – pronounced the...

Man gets death for minor’s rape, murder

Mumbai | Nashik: A Nashik Special Fast Track Court has awarded the death sentence to a 25-year old man who was convicted last week for luring a 4-year-old girl with a chocolate, kidnapping, raping and murdering her, here on Friday. Terming the case as the ‘rarest of rare’ crimes, the Special Judge K. D. Paldewar – who had found Vijay Sanjay Khairnar guilty of kidnap, sexual assault and murdering the child on Sep. 30 but reserved the verdict after the final arguments on Oct. 7 – pronounced the capital punishment today. He also slapped a fine of Rs 10 lakhs as compensation to the victim’s family, hailing from Dongrale village before a packed courtroom where the villagers, the victim’s family and others were present. Emerging from the courtroom after the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the media that “the Court had considered the gravity of the crime and the circumstantial evidence establishing Khairnar’s involvement” while deciding the sentence. The Court did not take into account the convict’s poverty – he was a daily wager – or illiteracy as grounds for leniency, added the ace criminal lawyer. It was on Nov. 16, 2025 in Dongrale village of Malegaon taluka when Khairnar lured the little girl on the promise of giving her a chocolate and took her to a desolate spot to carry out his devious plans. Betraying the trust of the child who used to call him ‘dada’ (elder brother) due to their acquaintance, Khairnar sexually assaulted her, killed her and abandoned her before decamping from there. A few hours later, the child’s body was found dumped in a nullah and the police were summoned. As details of the gruesome crime tumbled out and spread, it ignited widespread public outrage all over the state. The police swung into action, formed several probe teams and managed to track down Khairnar from his hideout within a few hours. Considering the sensitivity of the crime, the strong emotions plus the mass furore it created, the state government assigned the case to a fast-track court, assigned Nikam as the SPP and the matter was heard speedily. The SPP aggressively led the prosecution, arguing in the court that in view of the gravity of the crime, the circumstances leading to it and other aspects, it warranted the severest punishment – death – for Khairnar, irrespective of his age or financial status. The Dongrale villagers stood in solidarity with the victim’s family and they raised a chorus for quick investigations, an expeditious trial and slapping the death penalty on the convict to serve as a strong deterrent to potential offenders. As per the Indian law, the trial court’s verdict will now go to the Bombay High Court for confirmation. Political leaders from different parties hailed the court verdict and said “justice has finally been done to the victim’s family”.

Plastics Deconstructed: The Big Five and the Seven Codes

Writer: Dr. Sanjay Joshi
Dr. Sanjay Joshi
Nov 28, 2025
3 min read

While nearly all plastics are made from fossil fuels, their differences become clear only when we look at the seven RIC codes.

Dear Reader, it feels nice to take a journey down the ‘history lane’, and that is what I did over the past three weeks. In the first part, we began with Abeer’s vivid and haunting dream—a child’s gentle warning about the sorrow of our oceans.


In the second part, we traced plastics from their origins to their surprising rise as everyday companions in our homes. And in the third part, we explored how human ingenuity, driven by necessity and innovation, ushered in a new era of synthetic materials that transformed modern manufacturing.


So far, so good. Now, let us return to the present scenario and understand how this ‘wonder material’ is making life miserable not only for us humans but for all living beings on the planet. But before that, it will be worthwhile to learn the basics about plastics.


The big five

Almost 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels. On the basis of composition, there are many different types of plastic. But practically almost 90% of all the plastics produced are of five major types, which are as follows:


Polyethylene (PE) accounts for 34.4% of global plastic production, followed by polypropylene (PP) at 24.2%, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) at 16.5%, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at 7.7%, and polystyrene (PS) at 7.3%. Ethylene is a critical feedstock for the production of polyethylene, PVC, PET, and polystyrene—together representing about 65% of all plastics made by weight. Propylene, likewise, is the main raw material used to produce polypropylene.


Taken together, this means that most of the world’s plastics can be traced back to the product streams of just two industrial chemicals: ethylene and propylene. While not all fossil fuels are turned into plastic, virtually all plastics are derived from fossil fuels. This is further reinforced by the fact that the biggest companies in both sectors are integrated giants that produce fossil fuels as well as plastics.


Another key input, naphtha, comes directly from oil refining, and its production is concentrated among major oil companies with large refining capacities. If current trends in oil use and plastic manufacturing continue, plastics alone are projected to consume 20% of all oil produced by 2050. Understanding these industrial linkages is essential for addressing the global plastic pollution crisis and recognising the role that corporate actors play in driving it.


Plastics around us

Let us now take a closer look at the plastics we encounter in our daily lives. Plastics come in an astonishing range of shapes, sizes, and colours, and each variety serves a different purpose. To make sense of this diversity, they are grouped into specific categories based on their chemical composition, properties, and intended use.


For instance, certain types of plastic are sturdy and safe enough to be reused multiple times, while others are designed for single use because of the chemicals or additives they contain. Similarly, some plastics can be easily recycled and turned into new products, whereas others require careful handling and must be discarded in specialised ways.


RIC System: 7 Numbers

To make informed choices about the products we use every day, it is important to understand the different types of plastics, how they differ from one another, and the impact each type has on the environment. Plastics are broadly classified into seven major categories under the Resin Identification Code (RIC) system, with each type assigned a number from 1 to 7.


This number is usually printed or embossed on the product, placed inside a small triangle made of chasing arrows—something we often overlook. The next time you buy a bottle of drinking water, just turn it over and look at the base. You will notice the number 1 stamped inside that triangle, quietly telling you what kind of plastic the bottle is made of.


Curious to know what these numbers mean and how they guide recycling and disposal? Hold on to that curiosity until next Saturday. Untill then, have a wonderful weekend!


(The author is an environmentalist. Views personal.)

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