Heroin worth Rs 500 cr seized
Ahmedabad: A major attempt to smuggle in Rs 500 crore worth drugs from Pakistan was foiled after Coast Guard and ATS personnel intercepted a boat and seized around 100 kg heroin, officials said Wednesday. The boat crew set the vessel afire and also tried to destroy the drugs. The ATS arrested nine Iranians from the boat, the officials said. The Iranian boat was loaded off the Gwadar port in Pakistan, the officials said. The joint mid-sea operation was carried out off Gujarat coast Tuesday by the Coast Guard and the state Anti-Terrorism Squad, they added. Occupants of the boat set it ablaze as the Coast Guard and ATS personnel closed in, officials said. The boat sank off the Gujarat coast near Porbandar, an official release said. “The interrogation of nine Iranian nationals from the smuggler’s boat revealed one Pakistani national named Hamid Malek had sent the consignment, which was loaded in the Iranian boat off Gwadar port of Pakistan. The total value of the 100 kg contraband is estimated to be Rs 500 crore,” the release said. Officials said Gujarat ATS had received a tip-off that an Iranian boat will make an attempt to smuggle in heroin along the Gujarat coast. (PTI)
6-yr-old boy memorises Quran
Allahabad (UP): Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the head of the Dawoodi Bohra community, has felicitated a six-year-old boy for “memorising” the Quran at an event here. On the death anniversary of his grandfather Taher Saifuddin, the Syedna felicitated 920 community members at the event in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, according to a community spokesperson. Of the 920 people who memorised the Quran, 445 were men and the rest women, with the youngest being six-year-old and the oldest 62. Rashida Khandwala, the mother of the youngest ‘hafiz’ (one who memorises the Quran) Burhanuddin, said the memorisation process started with her elder son, who is a ‘hafiz’ as well. “There was no target in mind but the idea was to keep it consistent…This experience really helped me when I decided to start the process for my younger son at the age of 3,” she said. (PTI)
Three held for cricket betting
Mangaluru: Three people have been arrested on charges of operating an online cricket betting business from a rented room near the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus stand here, police sources said Wednesday. Another member of the gang managed to escape during the raid at the premises, the sources said. Police also seized Rs 62,700 and four mobile phones. The group had been operating the business with the help of a mobile application, police said. (PTI)
Cong men booked for pasting anti-BJP stickers inside trains
Indore: The Railway Protection Force has booked two Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders for pasting stickers with the slogan “chowkidar chor hai” inside passengers coaches at Indore railway station. An RPF official identified the two as Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) secretary Vivek Khandelwal and city Congress Committee spokesperson Girish Joshi. The two were booked under relevant sections of the Railway Act, he said, adding that the RPF had video footage of the stickers being pasted. The stickers have images of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along side a depiction of the Rafale fighter jet as well as the offending slogan. The stickers have the images and names of Khandelwal and Joshi as well. While the BJP uses the “chowkidar” tag to describe Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fight against corruption and his hands-on style of governance, the opposition Congress, which alleges graft in the Rafale fighter jet purchase, routinely hits back with the “chowkidar chor hai” slogan. (PTI)
Sarabjit Singh’s sister wants BJP ticket from Haryana
Chandigarh: Sister of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who died in a Lahore hospital after a brutal attack on him in 2013, has sought a BJP ticket for contesting Lok Sabha elections from Haryana, party leaders said on Wednesday. Dalbir Kaur wants to contest from Sirsa, a senior party leader told IANS. Refusing to divulge the details, he said it was for the party leadership to take a call. “I have met several BJP leaders, including state President Subhash Barala. If given a chance, I will win the election,” Kaur told reporters. (IANS)