Jaipur, Oct 24: The members of the Advisory Board on Friday held a three-hour hearing at Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan to review the detention of environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA).

The three-member panel arrived at the jail around 10:30 a.m. from the Jodhpur Circuit House to record Wangchuk’s statements and review documents related to the case. Wangchuk’s wife, Geetanjali Angmo, was also present during the proceedings.

The hearing was conducted by Advisory Board Chairman and former judge M.K. Hujura, District Judge Manoj Parihar and social activist Spal Jayesh Angmo.

The Advisory Board is a special constitutional body constituted under the National Security Act (NSA) 1980, which reviews cases of preventive detention

The closed-door session reportedly focused on the reasons cited by the administration for invoking the NSA and Wangchuk’s representation challenging the same.

Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known innovator and environmentalist from Ladakh, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) earlier this year. The move triggered nationwide protests and legal challenges, with several rights groups calling the detention arbitrary.

The Supreme Court is also hearing petitions against the government’s action.

Wangchuk’s wife, Geetanjali Angmo, stated that their legal team has challenged both the grounds of detention and the procedural lapses in the case. She alleged that Wangchuk’s statements and videos were distorted and presented out of context, forming a misleading basis for the NSA order.

It determines whether the detention has adequate justification. The board comprises three members, all of whom are sitting or former High Court judges, appointed by the Chief Justice of the High Court of the respective state.

The government must submit all relevant documents to the board within three weeks of detention, and the board must send its report within seven weeks.

Proceedings remain confidential, and detainees are heard in person without the presence of lawyers. The board’s recommendations will determine whether Wangchuk’s detention under the NSA continues or is revoked, said officials.

Kolkata, Oct 24: The police, on early Friday morning, detained a 14-year-old boy on charges of raping a five-year-old girl at Kolaghat in East Midnapore district in West Bengal.

The accused, a minor, will be presented at a Juvenile Justice Court in the same district later in the afternoon, a police official from East Midnapore District Police confirmed.

There are further charges against the accused that he threatened to kill the victim in case she divulged about the sexual crime committed on her to anyone, including her parents.

It is learnt that the victim went to the accused’s residence in the morning of October 22. As per the police complaint lodged by the victim’s parents, the accused raped their daughter at his residence, taking advantage of the absence of other family members at home.

Initially, as per the police complaint, the victim did not speak about the sexual crime committed on her to her parents. However, finally on Wednesday, as she started to feel some physical uneasiness, she divulged the details to her parents.

On Thursday morning, the victim’s parents first went to the house of the accused and narrated the entire incident to the parents of the accused. However, as told by the victim’s parents to the police, the parents of the accused not only rejected their accusations but also got them beaten up.

Thereafter, the victim’s parents lodged an official complaint against the accused at the local Kolaghat Police Station. The police lodged a case and finally arrested the accused. Since he is also a minor, he has been booked under certain sections of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

“Initially, my daughter did not divulge anything to us. But later, as she started to feel pain in her abdomen, she divulged everything. We want the strictest of punishment for the accused,” the victim’s mother said.

New Delhi, Oct 24: In a major breakthrough against narcotics trafficking, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested the kingpin of an inter-state drug syndicate that smuggled hybrid ganja (marijuana) into India from abroad, the police said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Zamjith K.P. alias Samjhu (38), a native of Calicut, Kerala, was detained at Mangaluru Airport on October 21 after arriving from Dubai.

According to the Crime Branch, Zamjith had been absconding for months and was the prime mover behind a sophisticated drug network operating across several states.

“During the course of investigation, continuous efforts were made to trace and apprehend the accused Zamjith @ Samjhu, and he was successfully detained at Mangaluru Airport on October 21, 2025, upon his arrival from Dubai,” the police said.

His arrest comes months after three of his associates — Fahim Ahmad K.M., Deepak Sharma alias Deepu, and Sameer — were nabbed on July 9 with 4.13 kg of hybrid ganja.

A case (FIR No. 175/25) was registered under sections 20 and 29 of the NDPS Act at the Crime Branch police station.

Investigations revealed that Zamjith, who previously lived in Cambodia for nearly nine years dealing in the tobacco trade, later shifted to Thailand, where he allegedly ran his narcotics operations.

He is accused of smuggling high-grade hybrid ganja into India through international cargo consignments routed via Mumbai and Delhi airports, using a network of couriers and distributors.

“So far, a total of four persons have been arrested, and further investigation is in progress to identify and apprehend other individuals involved in this interstate drug syndicate. Efforts are also being made to dismantle the entire network and ensure that all perpetrators are brought to justice,” said DCP Pankaj Kumar.

The Crime Branch is now probing financial transactions and communication trails to uncover the wider network and identify overseas links involved in trafficking hybrid ganja into India.