New Delhi, Sep 18: Earlier this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the war on drugs had entered an intensive mission mode for 2026-29, making it clear that this objective of making the country drug-free would be achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even as Indian agencies warn that Pakistan is looking to ramp up narcotics smuggling into India on a very large scale.

Intercepts suggest that multiple meetings have been held between officials of the ISI, members of the Dawood Ibrahim syndicate and other narcotics smugglers in recent weeks.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the latest meeting that was held last month in Lahore, discussed multiple ways of pushing more drugs into India through the borders of both Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

The ISI not only wants more money to fund terror groups, but also seeks to challenge the Narendra Modi administration, which has launched a massive attack on narcotics smuggling, the official added.

An official said that the next couple of months would be extremely challenging.

Going by the intercepts that have been picked up in Pakistan, the writing on the wall is clear. The agencies do not just have to battle against the existing networks and tactics, but will also have to counter emerging tactics that the ISI would look to deploy, the official said.

While the ISI wants the primary focus of narcotic smuggling to be at the borders with Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, it is also looking at other borders as well.

Pakistan will look to work closely with the cartels operating at the Golden Triangle, the border region where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. This cartel focuses extensively on heroin and synthetic drug trafficking, the official said.

Another official said that the smuggling at the Golden Triangle affects the northeastern states the most.

The ISI is known to have backed several insurgent groups in this region and would look to help them raise funds with the help of drug money, the official said. The ISI is aware that the northeast is a sensitive region and hence, along with the push being made in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, it would look to focus on this region as well, the official said.

Pakistan also has the southern states very much on its radar as well. The likes of Haji Salim focus immensely on this region.

If one notices the pattern, the ISI has been backing Salim heavily so that he can ramp up operations in the southern states, officials say.

With the agencies being on a relentless pursuit of narcotics smugglers, the recent meetings held in Lahore indicate that they want to corner India from all sides.

It is a three-pronged approach that is aimed at raising funds for terror, stressing the Indian agencies, and also challenging the Narendra Modi government’s vision of a drug-free India.

Officials point out that the ISI has instructed its cartels and stooges not to rely only on drones for narcotics smuggling. The instruction is to use every tool at its disposal to push drugs into India.

In this battle against narcotics smuggling, the Indian agencies would not just deal with the drones, but also smuggling that takes place using the land and sea routes. In addition to this, the ISI has also instructed the drug cartels to ramp up recruitment in India specifically to push drugs within the country.

These cartels have been majorly challenged by the Indian security agencies, owing to which they are falling short of carriers to supply drugs. This explains the decision to spruce up recruitment in India.

Between 2014 and 2026, statistics show that the law enforcement agencies have registered 8,75,000 cases and arrested 10,97,000 people, including smugglers, carriers and individuals linked to drug networks.

In the previous decade between 2004 and 2014, the number of arrests stood at 1,95,000. Further, 747 foreign nationals, primarily from Nigeria, Nepal, and Myanmar, were arrested in 2025, compared to the 660 and 735 arrests made in 2024 and 2023, respectively. Additionally, five high-profile traffickers such as Salim Dola have been extradited from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.

These statistics show the scale of the war against drugs and explain clearly why the ISI keeps re-strategising and is also looking to ramp up recruitment in India, an official said.

Mumbai, Sept 18: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ram Kadam said on Friday that Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray waited six-and-a-half years to say that he has no connection to the Disha Salian case.

Speaking to media, Kadam reacted to Disha Salian’s father issuing a Rs 500 crore defamation notice to Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray.

The BJP MLA said, “It took Aaditya Thackeray six-and-a-half years to say that he has no connection with (Disha Salian case) it. Even if we assume he has no connection, what was there to fear? Why wasn’t a proper investigation conducted?”

“All these questions place them in the circle of suspicion. Even when Disha’s father repeatedly asked for the case to be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), why wasn’t it handed over? What was the reason behind it? They cannot deny all these points…”

“Somewhere down the line, he (Aaditya Thackeray) put himself under speculation, because when in power, the police attempted to protect him, tampering with evidence… these aspects should be taken into consideration. Why did the previous Uddhav Thackeray government not give justice to Disha’s family? Who were they protecting?” he asked.

Speaking on Congress’ concerns with the OBC quota within the Maratha reservation, Kadam said: “It’s nothing like that. The Maratha community of Maharashtra knows that respected Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ji was the one who gave the first reservation. Of the 13 demands, 12 demands were fulfilled. The 13th demand comes under the jurisdiction of the court. It won’t hold in the court of law. Thus, it is not important what others are saying. The crucial thing here is that the people of Maharashtra understand that the current government stands with them.”

Reacting to actor Swara Bhaskar’s texts to other actors after the Ram Janmbhoomi verdict, BJP MLA Ram Kadam said that there are individuals in the country who make absurd comments to stay in headlines, adding that such entities should not be entertained.

New Delhi, Sep 18: The Delhi Police have arrested two accused for tampering with the cash-dispensing mechanism of ATMs, officials said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Aman and Suraj. Both of them are in their twenties and hail from Uttar Pradesh.

According to the investigators, the accused were previously employed at ‘HITACHI’ as custodians and were responsible for depositing and withdrawing the cash from the ATM machines of Axis Bank. While working at the company, they gained knowledge about the working of the ATMs and the loopholes in the machines

An official statement said that on September 15, a team of Special Staff, Central District, received specific secret information that Aman and Suraj would arrive near Mirdard Wali Gali, Tagore Road, behind Civic Centre, Delhi, on a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle.

Upon receiving the tip, a dedicated team was constituted under the leadership of Inspector Sandeep Yadav, I/C Special Staff, Central District, comprising SI Vijay, SI Satish, SI Naresh, HC Manish, HC Munesh, HC Mohit, HC Vikas, HC Deepak, HC Inderjeet, HC Hariom, HC Heera Lal, Ct. Surajpal, Ct. Jayant, Ct. Sumit and Ct. Ajay, under the overall supervision of ACP Operations, Central District, Delhi, Padam Singh Rana.

Acting on the information, the team laid a trap near the rear side of the MCD Building, in front of Reliance Building, Tagore Road, Kamla Market in Delhi.

At about 11:20 p.m., two persons approached from the Gandhi Market side on a motorcycle. The secret informer identified them as the persons mentioned in the information. When the police team signaled them to stop, both attempted to flee. After a brief chase, both accused were apprehended along with the vehicle.

Police recovered one illegal country-made pistol and two live cartridges while searching Suraj. During the frisking of Aman, three live cartridges were recovered.

Accordingly, FIR No. 288/2026 dated 16.09.2026 under Sections 25/54/59 Arms Act, PS Kamla Market, Central District, Delhi, was registered.

Officials said during sustained interrogation, the accused disclosed that they targeted ATMs during relatively less crowded hours and on Saturdays and Sundays, particularly when security guards were not present.

According to investigators, the accused allegedly misused their familiarity with the functioning of ATMs. While working at the company, they had learnt the whole process of tampering with ATMs and withdrawing cash from machines illegally.

The accused allegedly got the keys of the targeted ATM machines from their earlier associate to gain access, tamper with the cash-dispensing mechanism and place rubber rings to create an obstruction. Thereafter, they would close the machine and leave the spot, officials said.

Subsequently, when a genuine customer entered the ATM, inserted or swiped their ATM card and entered the PIN and other required details for a cash withdrawal, the transaction would be processed. However, due to the obstruction created inside the cash-dispensing mechanism, the cash would not come out through the normal dispensing outlet and would instead remain trapped inside the ATM’s internal dispensing area/tray.

The customer, believing that the cash had not been dispensed, would leave the ATM booth. The accused would then return to the ATM, opened the machine with the help of the keys already available with them and retrieve the cash that had remained trapped inside the ATM.

The accused disclosed during interrogation that they had adopted this modus operandi at multiple ATMs of Axis Bank in Sector 4–5, Gurugram, as well as at ICICI Bank ATMs in Kapashera and nearby areas of Delhi.

Further investigation is underway where the investigators are contacting the concerned police stations in these areas to ascertain whether any FIRs have been registered in connection with similar incidents.