Thane contractor displays upside-down tricolour at an event; booked

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A contractor in Thane district was booked on Monday for allegedly displaying the tricolour upside down on banners used as a backdrop during an event arranged to witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with Viksit Bharat Sankalpa Yatra beneficiaries.

Reportedly, the contractor, who was tasked with printing banners for the Thane Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti event, allegedly ignored the authorities' provided background sample and printed the tricolour upside down. Union Minister of State Kapil Patil, Thane Guardian Minister Shamburaj Desai, Collector Ashok Shingare, and other dignitaries were in attendance at the event.

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According to a report in PTI, an official said that the banners exhibiting the inverted tricolour were showcased on the stage at the Kalher gram panchayat premises in Bhiwandi during the program on December 9.

The report further stated that the police officers registered a case against the said contractor after a complaint was filed by the Block Development Officer of Bhiwandi. He faces charges under the Prevent of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Reportedly, the Narpoli police station officer told PTI that a probe is underway and that no arrests have been made in connection with the case.

In another unrelated incident, the police in Bhiwandi recently booked a scrap dealer for allegedly storing hazardous industrial waste without appropriate permission.

According to a report, an official from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) filed a complaint against the dealer, revealing that the accused had stored hazardous waste in both a godown and an open area at Kausa. Approximately 15 tonnes of the hazardous material were found in the open area, with an additional five tonnes stored in the godown, leading to charges against the accused, Mohammad Arif Altaf Hussain Khan, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Environmental Protection Act.

Simultaneously, five paan shop owners faced arrest for allegedly stocking and selling banned tobacco products at their stalls in Thane's Naupada area. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) conducted a raid, seizing banned tobacco items worth Rs 31,744 from the shops.

The accused were charged under IPC sections related to poisoning, selling noxious food, and adulteration of food, along with sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act and FDA regulations. The FDA officials subsequently sealed all five shops, and an investigation into the matter is underway.