Five Pak nationals held with Rs 175 cr drugs off Gujarat coast
Ahmedabad: Five Pakistani nationals on board a fishing boat were apprehended mid-sea off Gujarat coast on Monday morning when they were allegedly trying to smuggle drugs worth Rs 175 crore into the state, security agencies said. As many as 35 packets of heroin, each weighing one kg, were seized from the five men near Jakhau coast in Kutch district, located around 440 km from here, the Indian Coast Guard said in a release. The seized contraband is worth Rs 175 crore in the international market, it said. The early morning operation in the Arabian Sea near Jakhau was carried out by teams of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Indian Coast Guard after the ATS received inputs about a possible smuggling attempt. “The information further revealed that the consignment was being sent in a Pakistani fishing boat from Pakistan. ATS officials approached the Coast Guard and a joint operation was launched to apprehend the smugglers,” the release said. A team of ATS and Coast Guard started the operation with fast interceptor boats at Jakhau. “The apprehended persons are being interrogated jointly by all agencies,” it said. (PTI)
Tiger carcass found in Goa forest
Panaji: Forest department officials have begun a probe under the Wildlife Protection Act into the recovery of a tiger carcass from inside Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary in Sattari taluka in North Goa, officials said on Monday. The carcass, which was four to five days old and was hidden under the sand, was found near Thane-Dongurli village panchayat on Sunday after which villagers alerted forest staff, said officials. A case has been registered against unknown persons under the Wildlife Protection Act, officials said. However, the forest department probe has spread fear among the villagers as a similar incident in 2009 led to the arrest of several people from Keri, also in Sattari taluka, on the charge of killing a tiger and hiding evidence. “A charge sheet was filed in that case and trial is underway. The villagers at the time had falsely accused forest officials of harassing them,” environmentalist Rajendra Kekar, credited with exposing the 2009 Keri incident, told PTI on Monday. “The spot where the tiger carcass was found on Sunday is under close surveillance because the presence of a big cat and her cubs was revealed during a tiger census. The tiger whose body was found on Sunday was two to four years old,” he added. Officials meanwhile said probe was underway and post mortem report was awaited. (PTI)
Fresh snowfall in Uttarakhand hills
Dehradun: Fresh snowfall occurred in the high altitude areas of Uttarakhand on Monday while bone-chilling winds coupled with intermittent showers swept the plains. Badrinath, Kedarnath, Hemkund Sahib and the Valley of Flowers received a fresh spell of snow in the morning even as it rained in the lower areas. Red Cross volunteers in Chamoli district distributed blankets among the poor and bonfires were lit in public places in the urban areas in the state to combat the cold wave. Gangotri, Yamunotri, Harsil, Har Ki Doon in Uttarkashi district also received fresh snowfall. Gangotri recorded a minimum of minus 1 degree Celsius followed by Harsil which recorded a minimum of 1 degree C. Intermittent rain lashed Dehradun through the day as the state capital recorded a minimum of 3.8 degree Celsius. Similar weather conditions are likely in the state till January 9, it said. (PTI)