Palghar (PTI): A woman accused in a 2020 murder case in Maharashtra's Palghar district has been arrested from Mumbai after absconding for more than five years, police said on Sunday.

The accused, Dolrin Afrin Ahmed Khan (27), resident of Nallasopara area, allegedlystrangulated Pradeep Dayashankar Rai (23) to death on February 12, 2020 at Arnala in Palghar and then staged the scene to make it appear as a suicide, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal said.

A preliminary probe suggested a monetary dispute between the accused and the man, a resident of Badlapur in neighbouring Thane district, as the motive behind the crime, he said.

An FIR was then registered under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code.

As the woman remained at large, the police had filed a chargesheet under Section 299 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which permits recording of evidence in the absence of an absconding accused, the official said.

"Over the past four months, our team intensified efforts to trace her. Acting on a specific tip-off, we located her at Kandivali in Mumbai and arrested her on October 10. She has now been handed over to Arnala police for further investigation," Ballal said.

Raipur (PTI): The Chhattisgarh government on Saturday rolled out a set of austerity measures, including restricted use of convoy vehicles for the chief minister, ministers and heads of state-run bodies, besides curbs on foreign travel at government expense.

The state has decided to implement the cost-saving steps with immediate effect to ensure efficient management of financial resources and discipline in public spending, said a directive issued by Finance Secretary Rohit Yadav.

The move follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for austerity amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

The order said that only essential vehicles should be used in the convoys of the CM, ministers and office-bearers of corporations, boards and commissions, while ensuring restrained use of other government resources.

It also directed departments to take steps for a phased conversion of all official vehicles into electric vehicles in order to promote the use of EVs.

As part of fuel-saving measures, expenditure on petrol and diesel for government vehicles should be kept to a minimum, the directive said.

Vehicle pooling arrangements should also be implemented for officials of departments travelling to the same destination, it added.

The order further stated that foreign travel of government employees at state expenses will be completely prohibited except under extremely unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, prior approval of the CM will be mandatory.

To reduce administrative expenditure, departments have been instructed to hold physical meetings preferably only once a month and encourage virtual and online meetings. Regular departmental review meetings should compulsorily be conducted through video conferencing, it said.

The government also stressed the need for energy conservation in its offices, directing that all electrical equipment, including lights, fans, air-conditioners and computers, must be switched off after office hours.

The directive will remain effective till September 30 this year.

Amid the war involving the US, Israel and Iran, Modi has suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of EVs, utilising railway services for parcel movement and working from home to conserve foreign exchange.