New Delhi:

The members of the “Chaddi-Baniyan” gang of Maharashtra have once again broken into shops at Malegaon in Nashik late Wednesday night and allegedly stole goods worth lakhs. 

The thieves, wearing vests and underwear, were seen breaking into six shops selling fertilizers, hardware, and electric pumps. 

They were captured on CCTV cameras installed at the shops.

Earlier this week, the gang stole nearly 70 gm of gold — worth Rs 5 lakh — and bananas from a home and a college at Malegaon.

Members of the gang typically commit crimes wearing underwear and sometimes carry sharp weapons to scare their targets. 

It is not clear if the multiple groups committing such robberies are connected, or if the ‘underwear’ attacks are just a modus operandi to mislead investigators.

New Delhi:

A gangster in Maharashtra was recently released from jail but was sent back to prison after his celebration rally video went viral on social media.

Nasik’s gangster Harshad Patankar was jailed under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act (MPDA). 

He got out of jail on July 23, following which his supporters took out a car rally to celebrate his release. 

About 15 two-wheelers also took part in the rally, which was allegedly held from the Bethel Nagar to Ambedkar Chowk.

In the viral videos, Patankar can be seen waving at his supporters while coming out of the car’s sunroof.

His supporters also shared the reels of the rally on social media, with the caption “comeback”. 

The reels, however, prompted police action and Patankar was arrested again, along with his six aides, for carrying out the unauthorised rally and creating chaos.

According to reports, several police cases have been registered against him, including attempted murder, theft and violence.

Amid the final stretch of Lok Sabha elections, onion farmers in the key producing districts of Nashik are cast their votes under the cloud of economic distress and policy dissatisfaction.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

In India, the rise in the price of onions has reportedly been a factor that influenced the outcomes of some elections in the past. This time, it is not the price of onions which has the potential to have an electoral impact but the export policy of the Centre.

Chart 1 | The chart shows the average retail price for 1kg of onions in Mumbai and the quantum of onions (in tonnes) that arrived in the city’s markets, month-wise.

Table appears incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode

In December 2023, the Centre imposed a ban on the export of onions to stop surging local prices. Onion arrivals slumped in November-December 2023, leading to a demand-supply mismatch. This resulted in a surge in onion prices to over Rs. 60 per kg and led to the export ban. Many farmers in the onion-growing districts of Maharashtra, especially Nashik, protested on the streets, blocked a national highway at three spots, and disrupted auctions in wholesale markets.

Editorial | A sob story: On onion exports 

On April 25, 2024, in a surprise move, the Centre partially relaxed the indefinite ban on onion exports and allowed the “immediate” export of 2,000 tonnes of white onions, mostly grown in Gujarat. The State went to the polls 12 days later. This decision was criticised by the Opposition leaders and the onion farmers of Maharashtra.

On April 27, the Centre allowed the export of more than 99,000 tonnes of onions, mainly sourced from Maharashtra to six neighbouring countries. On May 4, the Centre lifted the ban on onion exports. It also imposed a minimum export price of $550 per tonne and an export duty of 40%. The onion-growing districts of Maharashtra voted on May 13 and May 20.

These continuous flip-flops have not gone down well with the onion farmers of Maharashtra, suggest reports. On May 15, more than 50 farmers were detained in different police stations in Nashik, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the city. They had planned a protest along with the Opposition against the decisions regarding onion exports. Onion farmers and traders, especially in Nashik, have been up in arms for months now and have shown their anger by suspending onion auctions and going on a strike.

Chart 2 | The chart shows the top onion-exporting districts in India and their share in onion exports.

It is understandable why Nashik in particular is worried about the changing export policy, as the district is responsible for about 90% of onions exported from India (Chart 2). Given the circumstances, it will be interesting to see whether this will have an electoral impact in the 12 parliamentary constituencies, including the Dindori and Nashik seats in the Nashik district, which fall in the ‘onion belt’ of Maharashtra. The other seats are Shirdi, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Shirur, Baramati, Maval, and Pune.

Past election results in these seats show that the voters increasingly supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP’s vote share increased from 25% in 2009 to 33% in 2014 to 36% in 2019. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena also have significant vote shares in the region ranging from about 15% to 27%, but their vote shares have stagnated in the last few years. The NCP and the Shiv Sena have both split into two parties each. While the NCP led by Ajit Pawar and the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde support the National Democratic Alliance, the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray support the INDIA bloc. In Nashik, the two factions of the Shiv Sena are in a direct fight in 2024. In Dindori, Sharad Pawar’s NCP is fighting against the BJP.

Table 3 | The table shows the party-wise vote share split in the onion belt constituencies in the last three Lok Sabha polls.

^ Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, * Independent, # The NCP and the Shiv Sena have split into two parties each

While the Congress’ vote share is relatively low in these seats, it has increased across elections. The past vote share and seat share in these constituencies are shown in Tables 3 and 4, respectively.

Table 4 | The table shows the seats secured in the onion belt constituencies in the last three Lok Sabha elections.

Also read |Lifting of ban on onion export pushes up prices

Nashik:

A bottle of deodorant, a mobile phone on charging mode, and a blast that shattered every window in the vicinity – a strange episode unfolded in Maharashtra’s Nashik on Tuesday. 

In Nashik’s CIDCO Uttam Nagar area, three people were injured when a mobile phone exploded in a house. Right next to the phone, was a deodorant bottle. Being highly inflammable, the bottle caught fire and contributed to an even bigger explosion. 

The blast not only broke the glass and windows inside the house but also shattered every window in its radius. The explosion was so severe, it also broke the windows of the cars in the vicinity. Neighbouring houses also reported broken windows due to the blast.

The three people who suffered serious burn injuries are being treated at a hospital. The police have initiated an investigation into the unusually strong blast. 

Videos of the house and the surrounding area show damaged furniture and metal railings on windows dripping soot and ash. 

Smartphone fires and explosions are almost always caused by battery problems. Modern smartphones are generally equipped with lithium-ion batteries, with their delicate balance of positive and negative electrodes. Usually, if the batteries are old or faulty, excessive heat can cause a volatile reaction resulting in an explosion. The police are probing if this indeed was the reason behind the blast.