Bus catches fire in Thane; passengers escape unhurt
Thane (PTI): Sixty five passengers travelling in a bus had a narrow escape after the vehicle caught fire in Maharashtra's Thane city on Tuesday, a civic official said.
The incident took place at around 8 am near Utaleshwar in the city limits, Thane Municipal Corporation's regional disaster management cell (RDMC) chief Avinash Sawant said.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus carrying at least 65 passengers was on way to neighbouring Bhiwandi town from Thane, he said.
After noticing the fire, the driver immediately stopped the bus and raised an alarm following which the passengers got down, the official said.
The bus was partly burnt, he said.
Local firemen and a team of the RDMC rushed to the spot after being alerted and doused the blaze in half-an-hour, he said.
A short-circuit is suspected to have caused the fire in the bus, which belonged to the Bhiwandi depot, the official said.
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Mangaluru: Two arrested, MDMA worth Rs 5.41 lakh seized
Mangaluru: Surathkal Police have arrested two persons and seized 54.06 grams of MDMA valued at Rs 5.41 lakh near a weighing bridge at Mukka within the Surathkal police station limits, Deccan Herald reported on Saturday.
According to DCP (Law and Order) Mithun H.N., the police acted on credible information that a resident of Kaup was arriving in the area to sell MDMA. Based on the tip-off, the PSI of Surathkal Police Station conducted a raid and found two cars parked side by side at the spot.
The arrested accused have been identified as Zakaria (38), from Kombugudde in Kaup and Mithun Poojary (23), from Santhekatte, Udupi district.
During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused had allegedly come to Surathkal to sell the MDMA to college students and the general public. Police arrested both and seized a total of 54.06 grams of MDMA from their possession,18.42 grams from Zakaria and 36.18 grams from Mithun Poojary.
Police confiscated two cars worth Rs 13 lakh, two mobile phones valued at Rs 20,000, and cash amounting to Rs 11,700. The total value of the seized property is estimated at Rs 18,72,700.
A case has been registered at the Surathkal Police Station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Further investigation is in progress.
The DCP said that Zakaria has a criminal history, with five previous cases registered against him. These include assault cases at Bajpe Police Station in 2009 and Mulki Police Station in 2020, a case involving assault on a woman in 2022, a kidnapping case at Udupi Town Police Station in 2021, and another assault case at Padubidri Police Station in 2022.
