Kolkata, July 30: After almost 24 hours of marathon raids and search operations coupled with interrogation, the Birbhum District Police in West Bengal on Thursday arrested Minar Mondal, a relative of Tulu Mondal, an influential stone-quarry owner in the district.

Following the marathon operations that started on Wednesday afternoon, the police recovered huge unaccounted cash and gold from Minar’s residence. The cops brought currency-counting machines from a local bank branch to count the cash seized.

The counting and recounting of the cash recovered was completed on Thursday morning; the total cash seizure had been found to be a little over Rs 28 crore, said a member of the investigating team.

Apart from that, he added, 15 kilograms of gold, whose estimated market value is over Rs 21 crore, have been seized from Minar’s residence.

“The estimated value of the seized cash and gold would be to the tune of around Rs 50 crore,” he added.

On Thursday morning, Minar was formally arrested, and the cops first took him to a local police station. At the same time, the police left his residence with a couple of trunks filled with seized cash and gold.

Minar will be presented to a district court in Suri later in the day, and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody.

Initially, Minar refused to answer repeated queries from the cops about the sources of such huge cash and gold. However, he finally admitted that the money and gold recovered were sourced from a syndicated crime racket, confirmed Birbhum’s district police Superintendent, Bidit Raj Bundesh.

According to police sources, last Tuesday, officials of Mohammad Bazar police station in Birbhum arrested seven dacoits. Based on the information from that dacoits’ group, the investigators found the location of the money and gold ‘mine’ in the house of Minar. Accordingly, the raids and search operations started at Minar’s residence on Wednesday afternoon, which continued till Thursday morning.

It is learnt that Minar was a bus driver in the state-run transport corporation. However, locals said he was involved in a major way with the stone-quarry business of Tulu Mondal, who again was a close confidant of Anubrata Mondal, the former Trinamool Congress district president in Birbhum.

The recovery of such a huge amount of cash and gold from his residence this morning has left his neighbours dumbstruck. In the past, the stone-quarry owner, Tulu Mondal, was accused of illegal stone mining.

Tulu Mondal’s name had also come up in the cattle smuggling case. He was under the watch of the ED in 2022. At that time, the Central investigators raided his house and office. The investigators are trying to find whether the huge cash and gold recovered from Minar Mondal’s residence were actually owned by Tulu Mondal.

Kolkata, July 30: A civic volunteer has been arrested for allegedly raping a female colleague multiple times by blackmailing her, said the police on Thursday. The incident took place at Habra police station area in North 24 Parganas district.

According to the police, the arrested civic volunteer and the victim civic volunteer, both work at Habra police station.

The accused has been arrested on specific charges. He was produced before the Barasat court on Wednesday and the court remanded him in police custody for five days.

According to the victim, a male colleague secretly took her photos while she was changing her clothes to get into her uniform. Later, he started blackmailing her by showing her the photographs and forced her to have physical intimacy with him.

According to the victim, the civic volunteer sexually assaulted the female colleague multiple times by threatening to share the photograph with others. Not only that, he also warned her that if she told anyone about it, there would be grave consequences for her.

Finally, the woman gathered courage and filed a written complaint with the Habra police station. After a preliminary investigation, the police arrested the accused.

According to district police officers, there are several serious allegations against the civic volunteer, including rape, intimidation, and threats.

Accordingly, a case has been registered. The civic volunteer was removed from duty soon after the complaint was filed.

Barasat Police District Superintendent, J. Mercy said, “He was removed from duty after receiving the complaint. A case has been registered.”

It may be noted that in March this year, a civic volunteer was arrested for allegedly molesting a teenage girl who later died by suicide after she was unable bear the trauma of the incident. The incident took place in Amta of Howrah district.

In August 2024, the body of a female doctor was recovered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The next day of the rape and murder of the doctor, civic volunteer Sanjay Roy was arrested by the Kolkata Police.

New Delhi, July 29: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday criticised Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for his remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a discussion in the House, alleging that he spoke without verifying facts and lacked basic knowledge of administrative procedures.

Speaking during the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Jitendra Singh said: “First of all, it is disappointing to see the conduct of the Opposition when such an important Bill is being discussed. This legislation has been brought with great sensitivity and reflects the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards ensuring fairness in public examinations. Instead of participating in a constructive discussion or offering suggestions, the Opposition is trying to politicise the issue.”

The Union Minister also expressed surprise over Gandhi’s conduct in Parliament.

“I am surprised by the behaviour of the Leader of the Opposition. The kind of language he used in Parliament was inappropriate. Such expressions should not be used in the House. If any Member of Parliament wishes to describe himself in a certain manner, that is a matter for outside Parliament, but such language has no place here,” he said.

Singh further said that Gandhi appeared unaware of parliamentary norms despite holding a position of responsibility.

“The office of the Leader of the Opposition carries great respect. It is surprising that he does not seem to know the basic norms of Parliament. If he claims that his remarks were not directed at any individual, then one wonders whether he was referring to the students. If students are being described in such terms, then nothing could be more unfortunate,” he said.

Referring to Gandhi’s allegations against Amit Shah, Singh said, “When Rahul Gandhi claims that Amit Shah ordered action against students, he has failed to provide any evidence to support the allegation. For basic information, no minister can issue such orders. Such decisions are taken by a magistrate, District Magistrate (DM), or Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). This is basic administrative knowledge, and it appears he lacks even this understanding.”

He further rejected Gandhi’s other claims.

“There was no firing; only tear gas was used. He also claimed that the Home Minister travels with 30 vehicles, which suggests he may be mistaken even in his calculations. He further alleged that the Home Minister was abroad, but there is no evidence to support that claim. Amit Shah has not gone abroad. Making statements without facts or evidence is not the conduct expected from the Leader of the Opposition,” Singh said.