Residents of a non-descript village in Maharashtra celebrate Dussehra in a different way as they perform the ‘aarti’ of demon king Ravan on the festival when his effigies are burnt in other parts of the country.Many residents of Sangola village in Akola district believe they are employed and able to sustain their livelihood because of Ravan’s blessings and the peace and happiness in their village is because of the demon king.Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special priceLocals claim the tradition of worshipping Ravan for his “intelligence and ascetic qualities” has been going on in the village for the last 300 years.At the centre of the village stands a tall black stone statue of the 10-headed demon king.The villagers believe in Lord Ram, but they also have faith in Ravan and do not burn his effigies, local resident Bhivaji Dhakre told PTI on the occasion of Dussehra on Wednesday.Visitors from across the country come to this small village on Dussehra every year to catch a glimpse of the Lanka king’s statue and some even offer prayers, locals said.Sangola resident Subodh Hatole said, “With the blessings of Mahatma Ravan, today many people in the village are employed. On the day of Dussehra, we worship the statue of Ravan with a maha-aarti.” Some of the villagers hail Ravan as a “scholar” and believe he abducted Sita for “political reasons and preserved her sanctity”, Dhakre said.Local temple priest Haribhau Lakhade said while the rest of the country burns effigies of Ravana on Dussehra, symbolising the victory of good over evil, residents of Sangola worship the demon king for his “intelligence and ascetic qualities”.Lakhade said his family has since long been worshipping Ravan and claimed the happiness, peace and contentment in the village is because of the Lanka king.📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!
Locals claim the tradition of worshipping Ravana for his "intelligence and ascetic qualities."Akola, Maharashtra: Residents of a non-descript village in Maharashtra celebrate Dussehra in a different way as they perform the 'aarti' of demon king Ravana on the festival when his effigies are burnt in other parts of the country.Many residents of Sangola village in Maharashtra's Akola district believe they are employed and able to sustain their livelihood because of Ravana's blessings and the peace and happiness in their village is because of the demon king.Locals claim the tradition of worshipping Ravana for his "intelligence and ascetic qualities" has been going on in the village for last 300 years.At the centre of the village stands a tall black stone statue of the 10-headed demon king.The villagers believe in Lord Ram, but they also have faith in Ravana and do not burn his effigies, local resident Bhivaji Dhakre told news agency PTI on the occasion of Dussehra today.Visitors from across the country come to this small village on Dussehra every year to catch a glimpse of the Lanka king's statue and some even offer prayers, locals said.Sangola resident Subodh Hatole said, "With the blessings of Mahatma Ravana, today many people in the village are employed. On the day of Dussehra, we worship the statue of Ravana with a maha-aarti." Some of the villagers hail Ravana as a "scholar" and believe he abducted Sita for "political reasons and preserved her sanctity", Dhakre said.Local temple priest Haribhau Lakhade said while the rest of the country burns effigies of Ravana on Dussehra, symbolising the victory of good over evil, residents of Sangola worship the demon king for his "intelligence and ascetic qualities".PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comLakhade said his family has since long been worshipping Ravana and claimed the happiness, peace and contentment in the village is because of the Lanka king. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
In a major setback to the Maharashtra-based Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) founder and president Prakash Ambedkar, a senior leader of the party Ravikant Rathod joined Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in Mumbai Friday.Ravikant Rathod who belongs to the Banjara community (nomadic denotified tribe) was second in command in the VBA and had a sizeable following amongst the Banjaras in various parts of Maharashtra.Ravikant Rathod along with 15 others from the community, including Mahant Sunil Maharaj of Poharadevi temple in Yavatmal district, tied ‘Shivbandhan’ band on their wrists showing their support to Thackeray-led Sena.Thackeray Sena was in search of a prominent Banjara face as Cabinet minister Sanjay Rathod who represented the Banjaras in the Shiv Sena had defected to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.Sanjay Rathod is an MLA from Digras constituency in Yavatmal district.Thackeray’s Sena is likely to field Ravikant Rathod against Sanjay Rathod in the next Assembly polls, sources revealed.Ravikant who is originally from Majalgaon in Beed district of Marathwada had for long been with the VBA.“VBA has limited political scope. The problems of Banjara went unaddressed. So, we decided to join the mainstream Sena led by Thackeray,” he explained. Meanwhile, VBA chief Ambedkar said that his organisation is not going to get affected “by one or two persons leaving us. We are not in politics for power. We are committed to taking up the OBC cause. Fight against injustice against any community, caste or religion.”
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's close family aide Champa Singh Thapa, often described as Balasaheb's 'shadow', on Monday threw in his lot with CM Eknath Shinde's group. Another Balasaheb aide Moreshwar Raje, who had served Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' for almost three decades, joined the Shinde faction too. "Champa Singh Thapa, who is considered the shadow of Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray, and Moreshwar Raje, who served for a long time on Matoshree, announced their decision to support us," Shinde tweeted. Thapa, Man Friday to the Sena patriarch, had served him for 27 years till his death in November 2012. He was always seen standing behind Thackeray at public rallies and during press conferences. After Thackeray's death, Thapa began working for Uddhav Thackeray and was also seen at public meetings with him. Thapa didn't say if he wasn't happy with the way Uddhav was leading Sena. "I have always shadowed Balasaheb and will now shadow Shinde as I liked his thoughts. I was in touch with Matoshree and Uddhav saheb over the years but now I like Shindeji's thoughts and so came to extend my support to him," said Thapa. Shinde said the duo decided to join as his factionrepresents the "real" Shiv Sena and is taking forward the teachings of the Sena founder and his Hindutva ideology. "Balasaheb used to do straight talking and used to be blunt. People knew Balasaheb well and hence they did not accept Sena's alliance with Congress and NCP under the Maha Vikas Aghadi." Asked about speculation that five MLAs and MPs were poised to join his group, Shinde said: "Many people are in touch with many but I am not aware as of now of anyone joining us." Sena veterans said Raje used to attend to phone calls at Matoshree for Balasaheb, and had spent at least 35 years in the Thackeray residence. Thapa, who is from Nepal, was treated as a member of the Thackeray household, said Sena insiders. "After the death of Thackeray's wife Meenatai in 1996, Thapa's responsibility increased a lot. It was he who took care of Balasaheb, from meals to medicines. Thapa was so close he also participated in Balasaheb's last rites along with the rest of the family," said a Sena functionary. Thapa had also set up Shiv Sena's Nepal unit and had become a celebrity in the Nepalese community in the city.
Eknath Shinde welcoming Champa Singh Thapa into his Sena faction.Thane: Champa Singh Thapa and Moreshwar Raje who had served former Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' for almost three decades on Monday joined the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde here.Thapa, the trusted aide of the Sena patriarch who helped him in his daily chores, had served him devotedly for 27 years before the Thackeray senior's death in November 2012.So much so that Sena president Uddhav Thackeray acknowledged his service by keeping Thapa by his side while performing the senior Thackeray's last rites.Thapa would attend to senior Thackeray's phone calls and also pass on his messages to whoever called him.Raje, who also used to attend phone calls at 'Matoshree' for Bal Thackeray, had spent at least 35 years in the Thackeray residence in suburban Bandra in Mumbai.Chief Minister Shinde, an MLA from Thane, welcomed Thapa and Raje to the fold by offering them shawls and greeting them.हिंदुहृदयसम्राट शिवसेनाप्रमुख बाळासाहेब ठाकरे यांची सावली समजले जाणारे चंपासिंह थापा व मातोश्रीवर प्रदीर्घ काळ सेवा बजावलेले मोरेश्वर राजे यांनी आज टेंभीनाका येथील जय अंबे धर्मादाय विश्वस्त संस्थेच्या दुर्गेश्वरी मातेच्या आगमन मिरवणुकीत आम्हाला पाठींबा देण्याचा निर्णय जाहीर केला. pic.twitter.com/UT82ppZlMV— Eknath Shinde - एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) September 26, 2022"On this auspicious occasion of Navaratri, everyone is happy that (pandemic-related) restrictions on festivals have been lifted. There is huge enthusiasm which is the need of the hour," he said and added that the joining of Thapa and Raje, who were like shadows of Bal Thackeray, had added to the pleasant atmosphere of festivities.Shinde said the duo decided to join his faction as he represents the "real" Shiv Sena and is taking forward the teachings of the Sena founder and Hindutva."Balasaheb used to do straight talking and used to be blunt. People knew Balasaheb well and hence they did not accept the Sena's alliance with Congress and NCP under the Maha Vikas Aghadi," he said.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comPalghar Zilla Parishad president Vaidehi Vadan and some members of the local body also joined the Shinde faction on the occasion. PTI COR MR PR NSK NSK(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Champa Singh Thapa, who was an assistant to the late Bal Thackeray, joined Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction of the Shiv Sena on Monday.Thapa was greeted and felicitated by Shinde in Thane’s Tembhi Naka area, where the chief minister had gone to participate in a Navratri procession.Thapa served Thackeray till his last breath and was also one of those at Matoshree who were close to the Sena founder. He could be seen with Thackeray at every occasion and was seen with Uddhav Thackeray at his father’s funeral in 2012.Thapa told the media that he had sided with Shinde because the chief minister followed Balasaheb’s ideology.When the media asked whether he did not like Uddhav’s ideology, Thapa said, “I don’t know about their ideology, but I felt that I should join Shinde saheb, so I came here and joined him.”Political analysts say that even if Thapa’s move is not a jolt to the Uddhav faction, it is a symbolic victory for the Shinde camp.“With this, the Shinde camp would be able to show that even Balasaheb’s closest person has joined them by leaving Uddhav Thackeray,” said a political analyst.
Half-sisters Renuka Shinde and Seema Mohan Gavit, along with their mother Anjanabai and Renuka’s husband Kiran, were arrested in Nashik in 1996 for kidnapping a girl – an arrest that led to startling revelations of spine-chilling crimes that still haunt people in western Maharashtra.Police Inspector Mandaleshwar Madhavrao Kale, who was investigating the kidnapping case of a nine-year old in Nashik in October 1996, had said that he had no idea the probe would reveal that the trio had, in a span of six years, kidnapped at least 13 children and murdered nine of them.The nine-year-old girl, who was kidnapped, was the daughter of Mohan Gavit, one of Anjanabai’s two husbands, from another marriage. During a search of the house of the accused in Nashik, the police found several discarded clothes of small children and photographs of birthday celebrations of Renuka’s children that showed the presence of several other kids who were not locals. Suspecting something amiss, the police began an investigation to trace the children.The police found out that the three women had a pick-pocketing gang. They also learnt that the nine-year-old child was dumped in a sugarcane field near Pune and the trio returned after a few months without knowing that Mohan’s wife had lodged a kidnapping complaint against them.After an initial probe, the case was taken over by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Suhas Nadgauda, who is currently a senior police officer in Pune Police, was part of the investigating team in the case. According to Nadgauda, it was an extensive investigation spread over multiple locations in western Maharashtra and nearly 156 prosecution witnesses were examined during the trial. Most of the children kidnapped and murdered by the trio were from poor families, he said.The police believed that the trio were involved in more than 40 cases of kidnapping and murder. However, due to the absence of electronic clues, the police could only get sufficient evidence in some cases.The probe revealed that Anjanabai had started indulging in petty street thefts by using her daughters as bait or distraction. The trio were habitual thieves and police had caught them on several occasions. However, they used to allegedly bribe the officials and escape.In 1990, Renuka, along with her child went to a temple which had a large gathering and tried to snatch a purse from a man but he caught her. Renuka made a hue and cry and questioned how he could catch her. People around her let her off, seeing the mother and the toddler. Renuka narrated the incident to her sister and told them how she managed to escape as she had her minor son with her. Thereafter, they would have a child with them at the time of committing the crime to easily escape from the crowd, police said.They conspired to kidnap small children below five years of age, use them while committing thefts and then murder them when they no longer remained useful, the investigation revealed. The accused thought this would be the only way to evade arrests.The probe revealed that their first such victim was a one-year-old boy who was picked up by Renuka from a female beggar in July, 1990. They brought him to Pune and named him Santosh. In April 1991, they took him to Kolhapur where Seema was caught while trying to steal a devotee’s purse at Mahalaxmi temple. Anjanabai intervened and threw Santosh on the ground, following which he sustained injuries. That distracted the crowd and Seema could escape. After committing two-three more such thefts, they killed Santosh as he would keep crying due to his injuries and it would lead to them being caught by the police. They disposed of the dead body near the State Transport bus stand at Kolhapur, the probe revealed.The police found that the trio, with the help of Kiran, who later turned approver in the case, had kidnapped at least 13 children and killed 9 of them and attempted to kidnap one more child. These incidents took place between June 1990 and October 1996 in Pune, Thane, Kalyan, Kolhapur and Nashik. They kept roaming around Western Maharashtra, including areas near Mumbai, by attending fairs, festivals and processions at landmark temples, train stations, bus stands and gardens and made a living out of stealing valuables from the crowded areas.Anjanabai, Renuka and Seema were arrested, along with Kiran, in November 1996. Anjanabai, who was nearly 50, died in prison due to illness prior to the commencement of trial. The sessions court in Kolhapur sentenced the two half-sisters to death in 2001 for kidnapping and murdering six children and the Bombay High Court upheld the sentence for five murders in 2004. The Supreme Court in 2006 upheld the death sentence and the President of India rejected their mercy plea in 2014.Over 25 years after their arrests, the Bombay High Court earlier this year commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment and pulled up the state machinery for “laxity and indifference” in deciding their mercy plea.
MUMBAI: The cyber police are conducting a probe to track down the culprits behind circulation of recent fake videos and audio clips on social media about children being kidnapped from outside their buildings or school premises in several localities of Mumbai. JCP (Law & Order) Vishwas Nangre Patil has urged the people not to believe such rumours and fake news.
