Anand, Oct 15: Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) has seized fuel, chemicals and vehicles worth a combined Rs 1.72 crore in two separate raids in Anand district, arresting seven people in connection with the alleged theft of petroleum products and chemicals, officials said on Thursday.

In the first raid conducted at the premises of Rajpurohit Hotel on National Highway 48 along the Anand-Nadiad highway in Boriyavi, police seized 10,290 litres of diesel and petrol worth Rs 20.08 lakh, two vehicles valued at Rs 23 lakh, and four mobile phones worth Rs 15,500.

The total value of the seized property was Rs 43.25 lakh. A team led by State Monitoring Cell Police Inspector M.K. Malviya conducted the raid. Four people were arrested, and a case was registered at Anand Rural Police Station on October 14 under Sections 287, 316(4), 317(4), 61(2) and 112(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 3, 7 and 8 of the Essential Commodities Act, the statement said.

The arrested accused were identified as Narvarbhai alias Natubhai Lakum, a resident of Dholka in Ahmedabad district; Swaroop Singh Rajpurohit, a resident of Barmer district in Rajasthan; Dhan Singh Rajpurohit, also from Barmer district; and Laxmanbhai Bharwad, a resident of Boriyavi in Anand district.

In a separate operation, the State Monitoring Cell seized chemicals weighing 65,312 kg, valued at Rs 71.84 lakh, from a location in Danteli village along the Vasad-Tarapur highway in Petlad taluka.

The seizure also included six plastic barrels worth Rs 700, three vehicles valued at Rs 57 lakh, and four mobile phones worth Rs 20,000. The total value of the seized property was Rs 1.29 crore.

The raid was conducted by Police Inspector A.J. Chauhan. A case was registered at Petlad Rural Police Station on October 14 under Sections 303(2), 316(3), 317(1), 317(2), 61(2)(a) and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Three people were arrested in the second case: Dharmendra Singh alias Munna Rajput and Rajan Singh Rajput, both residing in Kalali of Vadodara and originally from Sultanpur district in Uttar Pradesh; and Ramvikas Yadav, a resident of Pratapgarh district in Uttar Pradesh.

A notice was issued to a 15-year-old boy, who is also from Uttar Pradesh and resides in Vadodara. Police identified two other accused, Vivek Vanvasi, from Pratapgarh district, and a person identified only as Vijay, as wanted.

Further investigation is ongoing in both cases.

New Delhi, Oct 15: The Special Staff of Shahdara district has arrested a man posing as a tantric and two of his associates for cheating a 79-year-old man on the pretext of extracting buried ancestral gold through occult rituals and stealing gold jewellery worth approximately Rs 15 lakh from his residence, Delhi Police said on Thursday.

The police recovered Rs 2.73 lakh in cash, a Mahindra Scorpio-N, clothes used during tantric rituals, fake identity documents, mobile phones, and other articles in connection with the case.

The case was registered at Seemapuri police station under FIR No. 622/2026 under Sections 318(4), 305, 123 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), following a complaint by Girijesh Singh, 79.

According to the complaint, the accused, identified as Shoaib Ali, Mahakader Khan, and a man posing as ‘Krishna Pandit’, gained the complainant’s confidence by showing him a genuine gold coin and promising to extract buried ancestral gold through tantric rituals. They induced him to pay approximately Rs 39.30 lakh through cash and UPI transactions.

During the intervening night of August 4, the accused staged a ritual at the complainant’s residence using steel pots containing soil and fake gold biscuits. The complainant alleged that he was administered a sedative and became unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness, he discovered that gold jewellery worth approximately Rs 15 lakh was missing from his cupboard.

Following verification, a case was registered, and the investigation was handed over to the Special Staff of Shahdara district.

A dedicated team was constituted under the leadership of Inspector Ashish Kumar, in-charge of Special Staff, under the supervision of ACP, Operations, Pavan Kumar and the overall supervision of DCP, Shahdara, R.P. Meena.

During the investigation, the main accused, who allegedly posed as Krishna Pandit, was traced to Amba Vihar in UP’s Muzaffarnagar. His identity was established as Tahsin, 48, and he was subsequently arrested.

Police said a black Mahindra Scorpio-N, Rs 2.73 lakh in cash, 11 rings, tantric clothes, two Aadhaar cards bearing the names of Tahsin and Krishna Sharma, a PAN card, an ATM card and two mobile phones were recovered at his instance.

The two alleged associates, Shoaib Ali, 40, a resident of Mayur Vihar in Dasna, Uttar Pradesh, and Mahakader Khan, 48, a resident of Dabagram Salboni in West Bengal, were also arrested. They introduced the complainant to the main accused and facilitated the subsequent transactions.

Police said further investigation is underway to establish the individual roles of the accused, trace the money transferred through various accounts and payment modes, identify the beneficiaries and determine whether other persons were involved in the alleged crime.

New Delhi, Oct 15: A man was allegedly stabbed to death by a group of assailants in southeast Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj area in a suspected revenge killing linked to a past rivalry in jail, police said. Three accused have been arrested so far, and further investigation is underway.

The deceased, Shahid Hussain, a resident of Abul Fazal Enclave-II in Shaheen Bagh, was taken to Apollo Hospital by Constable Avdesh of Kalindi Kunj police station. A medico-legal certificate issued at 5.32 p.m. by the hospital stated that Hussain had been brought dead.

Police reached Shriram Chowk after Head Constable Manish informed the duty officer about the stabbing. An abandoned scooter was found at the scene, with bloodstains nearby.

According to the preliminary account shared with the police, Hussain had gone to meet Shabid Malik alias Monu, a resident of Madanpur Khadar, in Basantpur, Haryana. The two allegedly met at a restaurant and consumed beer. While Hussain was returning on his scooter, four men riding a black Splendor motorcycle with silver stripes allegedly intercepted him and stabbed him before fleeing.

Shabid Malik was detained for questioning. Police later apprehended Karan alias Karam Shah, 21, a resident of JJ Colony in Madanpur Khadar, near Samosa Chowk. Investigators were informed that Karan had been riding the motorcycle and had sustained a stab injury to his left leg during the attack, according to the police account.

During questioning, Karan allegedly told investigators that the murder was planned to avenge an earlier rivalry between Hussain, also known as Chhota Chor, and Tarun alias Ranjan, who had allegedly been injured by Hussain while in jail. Tarun reportedly feared that Hussain might target him after his release.

Police said Tarun and Shabid allegedly planned to lure Hussain to a beer party and attack him on his return journey. The police account also names Gaurav Gumma, Aman and Raja as alleged participants in the conspiracy. Abuzar alias Sonu, 27, allegedly provided his newly purchased Splendor motorcycle for the crime.

Police said three accused have been arrested and will be produced before a judicial magistrate. Investigators will seek four days of police custody remand. Further investigation is underway.