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AAP’s CM face Bhagwant Mann wins with whopping margin

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Bhagwant Mann

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Bhagwant Mann, who on Thursday won the Dhuri seat with a margin of 58,206 votes, is set to become Punjab’s next chief minister.

AAP is heading to a landslide win in the 117-member legislative Assembly by leading at over 90 seats.

In his first public address in his home town Sangrur after winning the seat and seeing the meteoric rise of the party, Mann promised to fix unemployment as his first task in office.

“No government office in the state will have the photo of the Punjab CM, but will carry a portrait of B.R. Ambedkar.”

Mann said he will take oath as the Chief Minister in Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village Khatkar Kalan and not in Raj Bhawan.

“We will ensure that the youth do not have to go abroad… Within a month, you will observe changes,” he added.

Taking a dig at the opposition leaders, he said, “The elder Badal has lost…Captain (Amarinder Singh) Sahab has also lost. Majithia is also losing. Channi has also lost from both seats.”

The AAP is leading in 91 of 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI) website at 1.10 p.m. The Congress was leading in 17 seats so far.

For the AAP that was banking on ‘Hun ek mauka Kejriwal nu (now one chance to Kejriwal)’ — arguably one of the biggest advertisement blitz campaigns — two-time MP, Mann, took the lead as the chief minister’s face.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the AAP had made inroads among Jat Sikhs by emerging as the second largest party with 20 seats, 18 of them in the Malwa region. However, it failed to make a mark in Majha and Doaba regions.

Mann held his fort despite Modi wave across the country in 2019 by retaining the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat for the second time in a row.

“The fight is not to save some political families but to save Punjab, the farmers, the agriculture, the industry and the youth. Owing to lack of employment and better education infrastructure, our youth is moving abroad,” was the common talk of Mann in his folksy style in his elections campaigns.

Formerly a popular comedian-actor, Mann, known for his trademark ‘basanti’ turban, a colour associated with Shaheed Bhagat Singh, has had his fair share of controversies in recent years, especially linked to his drinking habit.

In these polls, AAP’s vote share is estimated to be close to 42.45 per cent compared to 22.9 per cent of the Congress and 17.9 per cent of the SAD.

The meteoric rise of AAP in the 2014 Parliamentary polls and then in the 2017 Assembly elections in Punjab followed by its nosedive owing to ‘mass exodus’ of its legislators proved a litmus test for the party in the 2022 Assembly polls in the state.

Political observers say AAP was seen as the alternative to the traditional parties that had dominated Punjab’s electoral space for decades.

Learning a harsh lesson from its mistake during the 2017 Assembly polls of not declaring a chief ministerial candidate, this time AAP’s CM face Bhagwant Mann was locked in a multi-cornered contest with Congress’ ‘Aam Aadmi’ Charanjit Singh Channi, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Badal, Capt Amarinder Singh, whose new party Punjab Lok Congress is in alliance with the BJP and the Samyukt Samaj Morcha, the fledgling coalition of farm unions.

Channi, Sukhbir Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh faced humiliating defeat from their respective seats.

In 2017, AAP sought vote in the name of Arvind Kejriwal, and despite him being tagged an outsider, it managed to win 20 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, emerging as the principal opposition party, pushing SAD to the number three position.

Crime

CISF seizes foreign currency worth Rs 1.13 crore at Kolkata airport

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Alert personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) detected foreign currency worth approximately Rs 1.14 crore concealed in the hand baggage of two passengers bound for Bangkok at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata.

The detection took place around 10:20 a.m. on October 19 during routine security screening at the International Terminal Security Hold Area. A CISF screener noticed suspicious images in the X-ray scans of the hand baggage carried by the two passengers scheduled to travel to Bangkok on Bhutan Airlines flight B3700. The bags were subsequently referred for physical examination.

During the inspection, CISF personnel recovered USD 1,19,900, equivalent to approximately Rs 1,13,64,002, concealed inside false bottoms of the two bags. The foreign currency had been wrapped in newspaper in an apparent attempt to conceal it from security personnel.

Of the total amount recovered, USD 74,900 was found in the hand baggage of one passenger, while USD 45,000 was recovered from the other passenger’s bag.

Following the prescribed formalities, both passengers, along with the seized currency, were handed over to the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs for further investigation and necessary legal action.

On October 20, the passenger from whose baggage USD 74,900 was recovered was taken by AIU/Customs officials to the District and Sessions Court for further legal proceedings following the investigation and seizure. The second passenger was released by Customs after the issuance of a detention receipt for the USD 45,000 recovered from the passenger’s baggage.

CISF in a release reiterated its commitment to maintaining aviation security through effective screening procedures, alert surveillance and professional conduct by its personnel. According to officials, the detection stresses the importance of coordinated action between airport security personnel and Customs authorities in addressing suspected financial and currency-related violations.

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Crime

Gujarat: Man held after 0.77 grams of mephedrone found in ‘porter’ delivery parcel

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A 27-year-old businessman was arrested by Naroda police after 0.77 grams of suspected mephedrone, valued at Rs 1,540, was found in a parcel being delivered through the Porter application near Nana Chiloda Circle in Ahmedabad, police said on Wednesday.

The case came to light after police received a control-room message about a suspicious parcel that had arrived for delivery through the application.

The substance was examined preliminarily by a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) officer in the presence of panch witnesses and was found to be mephedrone, a synthetic drug.

Police seized the substance and initially registered an offence against three unidentified mobile phone holders under Sections 8(c), 22(a) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

During the investigation, they traced and arrested the man suspected of ordering the consignment through the parcel.

The accused was identified as Priyang Sanghvi (27). He is a businessman who lives in Aram Park Flats in the Sabarmati area of the city. He is originally from Shirodi village in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district.

According to the police, the suspected method involved using a mobile phone number belonging to a witness to log in to the Porter application.

Drug consignments were allegedly packed separately in zipper bags and sent through the delivery service. An intermediary was allegedly used to distribute the drugs to different customers for sale.

The police said the arrest followed instructions from senior officers to curb the illegal sale and transportation of narcotic substances and detect offences related to them.

“The operation was conducted by Naroda police personnel under the supervision of Senior Police Inspector B M Katariya,” officials said.

The police seized 0.77 grams of mephedrone, valued at Rs 1,540. The investigation concerns the alleged use of a parcel delivery application to transport the substance and its subsequent distribution through an intermediary.

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Crime

Bihar: 75-year-old man stabbed to death; woman and her son injured

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A 75-year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death, while a woman and her 25-year-old son were injured in a violent clash between neighbours at Rohda Kala village under Barharia police station limits in Bihar’s Siwan district on Wednesday.

The deceased was identified as Rama Nandan Prasad, son of the late Garib Bhagat.

The injured were identified as Baby Devi, 44, and her son Kishan Kumar, 25.

The injured were taken to the Barharia Community Health Centre for treatment. While Kishan received primary medical care, Baby Devi was referred to Siwan Sadar Hospital due to her critical condition.

According to Kishan Kumar, his grandfather was sitting outside the house drinking tea while his mother was cooking, and he was asleep.

Hearing a commotion, he went outside and found his grandfather lying in a pool of blood.

He then heard his mother crying from inside the house and rushed in, where he allegedly saw neighbours attacking her with knives. When he tried to intervene, he was also injured in the attack.

Kishan claimed that he had no prior dispute with the neighbours and said the reason for the attack was unclear.

With the help of residents, two alleged assailants were apprehended and handed over to the police.

After receiving information, the Barharia police reached the village and launched an investigation.

A Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team was also called to collect evidence from the scene.

The police have set up a camp in the village amid tension following the incident.

Barharia Station House Officer Chhotan Kumar said a patrolling officer was initially sent to the spot, after which he reached the village to investigate the incident.

He said an FIR has been registered against the named accused based on Kishan Kumar’s statement.

The two detained suspects are being questioned, while the motive behind the incident remains unclear.

Police said further action would be taken based on the investigation.

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