Two aides of Mumbai gangster held for extortion
Mumbai: Two aides of gangster Harish Mandvikar were arrested for allegedly trying to extort Rs 10 lakh from a city-based businessman, police said on Wednesday. The Mumbai police’s crime branch on Tuesday arrested Gopal Singh (41) and Pratik Shaha (33), an official said. Shaha was operating the gang, as Mandvikar is lodged in Arthur Road Jail for offences including extortion, assault and murder, he said. A businessman from suburban Kandivali lodged a complaint with the police last week alleging that he had received threats from the accused who demanded Rs 10 lakh from him, the official said. The police arrested Mandvikar, who was involved in the killing of ‘Matka King’ Suresh Bhagat, for extortion, he said. During interrogation, he confessed the involvement of Singh and Shaha, following which the duo was arrested. (PTI)
Tigress kills man in Ranchi zoo
Ranchi: A tigress killed a person in Birsa Munda zoo in Ranchi on Wednesday, police said. The police said the incident took place when zoo was opened for public on Wednesday. “A mentally challenged person was hanging on a tree and fell into the tiger protected area of the zoo. Anushka, a tigress roaming around, came close to the person,” police said. Sources said the person, who has not been identified, died on the spot when he was attacked by the tigress. His body has been sent for post-mortem. The death has put a question mark on the safety and security of visitors to the zoo. Sources said no one from the zoo staff attempted to save the trapped person. The tigress was brought to Ranchi from Hyderabad zoo in 2016. She delivered three cubs last year. In 2018 an elephant had trampled mahout Ramu to death in the same zoo. (IANS)
Naxals kill former colleague
Sukma: Naxals killed a former colleague who was working as a police informer after surrendering in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, police said on Wednesday. Rebels attacked Hunga Kawasi with a sharp weapon near Palem village under Kukanar police station limits late on Tuesday night, a senior police official said. After leaving the outlawed CPI (Maoist) party last year, Kawasi was working as a ‘gopniya sainik’ (secret soldier), providing information to the police and assisting them in counter-insurgency operations, he said. Kawasi had gone to a local fair in Palem, when the rebels abducted him and took him to the nearby forest, the official said. The victim’s body was found by some villagers and the police were subsequently informed, the official said. A police team launched a combing operation in the area, he said, adding that the deceased’s body was sent for post-mortem. (PTI)
South African man held at IGI airport
New Delhi: A South African national was apprehended by CISF personnel at the Delhi airport on Wednesday after heroin worth Rs 15 crore was recovered from a concealed pocket of his bag, an official said. Justine Du Toit was intercepted at the departure forecourt in Terminal-III of the Indira Gandhi International Airport around 9:30 am after his behaviour raised suspicion among the security personnel. The South African man had arrived here from Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and was bound for Kolkata, officials said. About 3.4 kg of heroin worth Rs 15 crore was recovered from his bag, officials said, adding the man has been handed over to the customs authorities for further investigation. (PTI)