Three held for attack on cast, crew of ALTBalaji show
Mumbai: Three persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on the cast and crew of ALTBalaji's under-production show "Fixer" in neighbouring Thane district, a senior police official said Thursday.
Some team members of the web series on Thursday also met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who assured that strict action will be taken against the culprits.
According to a police official, there was a dispute over selection of a spot for the shoot, following which some men attacked the show's crew members while they were shooting at a set located on Ghodbunder Road in Thane on Tuesday.
Later, the show's assistant director lodged a complaint following which three men - Krishna Sonar, Sonu Das and Suraj Gupta - were arrested on Wednesday, Kasarwadavali police station's senior inspector K Khairnar said.
The accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 143 (unlawful assembly) as well as other relevant provisions, he said.
In a video shared by filmmaker-actor Tigmanshu Dhulia, who features in the series, the show's producer, Sakett Saawhney, and actor Mahie Gill alleged they were beaten up by drunk goons.
Meanwhile, the show's director, Soham Shah, Gill, and other cast and crew along with filmmaker Ashoke Pandit met Fadnavis in the state legislature here and informed him about the incident.
Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Pandit and Gill said the chief minister assured that stern action will be taken against the attackers.
Pandit said they apprised Fadnavis about members of the film industry feeling insecure while shooting in Thane, Mira Road and Naigaon areas, where, he caimed, such incidents often take place.
"The entire unit was shooting in a closed set at the Ghodbunder Road in Thane. Some eight to ten people came there and attacked the unit," he said.
"Most of the unit members", including Shah, were injured in the attack, he told reporters.
Gill said the incident took place when the team was busy shooting the climax sequence of the series.
"Suddenly some goons turned up at the set and started attacking. They didn't abuse anyone or say anything. They straight away started hitting people. They approached me also to attack, but I immediately rushed towards a vehicle (for safety)," she added.
Gill said the attackers also vandalised a vanity van.
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Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
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It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
