The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Baneet Singh Talwar, son of late Harminder Singh, on Friday, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a major case linked to large-scale narcotics smuggling, an official statement said on Saturday.

Talwar was produced before the Special Judge (PMLA), Tis Hazari Courts (West District), on Friday and remanded to five days of ED custody, the ED press note said.

The ED probe was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and the Indian Penal Code against Harpreet Singh Talwar and others.

The NIA has already filed six charge sheets, alleging a conspiracy with an international drug-smuggling syndicate operating from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Dubai under the mastermind Vitaysh Koser alias Raju Dubai, a wanted accused, along with Pakistani ISI agents and Afghan nationals, the statement said.

Investigations have revealed that proceeds amounting to Rs 76 crore generated from the illegal sale of narcotics were transferred via hawala to Afghanistan and used for funding terrorist activities.

Financial probes by the ED have so far identified proceeds of crime totalling Rs 89 crore arising from contraband smuggling, drug sale proceeds siphoned to Afghanistan through hawala channels, and goods received in kind.

Baneet Singh Talwar is brother of Harpreet Singh Talwar. Probe findings show that he continued to manage and operate business entities under the beneficial control of his brother even after the latter’s arrest by the NIA, it said.

He is alleged to have provided more than Rs 55 lakh to M/s Magent India, an entity controlled by Harpreet Singh Talwar and involved in narcotics smuggling.

Financial analysis has uncovered multiple instances of round-tripping of funds, with matching and mirror entries across different entities indicating a structured flow of proceeds of crime.

Baneet Singh is also accused of using cash deposits to finance the purchase of vehicles in the names of benami entities, which have already been seized by the ED, and of parking proceeds to acquire immovable properties whose benefits continue to be enjoyed by Harpreet Singh Talwar and his family.

The ED described the arrest as part of a whole-of-government approach to dismantle the drug-smuggling racket and the nexus involving narcotics trafficking, money laundering and hawala transactions. Further investigation is in progress.

A Class 12 student died on Saturday after allegedly pouring an inflammable substance on herself and setting herself on fire at Sarvodaya Bal/Balika Vidyalaya in East Delhi Krishna Nagar area, officials said on Saturday.

The incident triggered panic among teachers and students on the school premises, prompting the authorities to initiate an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.

Officials said certain suspicious items were reportedly found in the student’s school bag. However, the nature of these items has not yet been officially confirmed, and the police are examining the circumstances that led to the incident.

According to officials, a Police Control Room (PCR) call reporting a fire incident was received from the school located in the Krishna Nagar area of Delhi’s Shahdara district.

“Upon receipt of the information, police staff from PS Krishna Nagar promptly reached the spot, where an approximately 18-year-old female student of Class 12th was found in a burnt condition behind the school guard room,” officials said.

They further stated that some materials were recovered during the initial proceedings at the scene and from the deceased student’s school bag. These items are being examined as part of the investigation.

“During preliminary proceedings, certain materials were recovered from the spot and the deceased girl’s school bag,” they added.

The police said a Crime Team of the Delhi Police was called to the school to inspect the scene, examine the circumstances and collect relevant evidence that could help establish the sequence of events leading to the incident.

“The circumstances leading to the incident are being examined, and further enquiry is in progress,” the police said.

A fire brigade team and police personnel were also present at the school as authorities began investigating the incident.

The police are examining the available evidence and the materials recovered from the spot to determine the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.

The investigation is ongoing, and officials have not yet confirmed the nature of the suspicious items reportedly recovered from the student’s bag.

Further details are expected to emerge as the police continue their enquiry into the incident.

An FIR has been registered against unidentified persons after two posters against the government were found pasted inside a train on the Delhi Metro’s Airport Express Line, police said on Saturday.

The FIR was registered under Sections of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act, 2007, and the Metro Railway (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2002.

“The black-and-white posters raised various issues and listed nine claims about changes in the country over recent years. They also carried a QR code inviting people to join an online group,” police said.

Officials said that police seized the posters, and the Special Cell is also involved in the investigation.

This comes amid the anti-Election Commission of India (ECI) protests in the National Capital over the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Several Opposition parties, student activists, as well as the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) organised protests across the city demanding a rollback of the SIR protest and resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Meanwhile, the INDIA Bloc has scheduled a mega rally against ‘vote chori’ on November 1 in New Delhi.

All India Congress Committee General Secretary, K.C. Venugopal on Friday said the party held high-level meetings with senior leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to intensify mobilisation for the rally.

In a post on X, Venugopal said that he, along with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, met AICC in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Rajendra Pal Gautam, UP PCC president Aradhana Misra Mona and other senior leaders from the state to discuss strategies for building large-scale participation in the rally.

The November 1 rally is being projected as one of the largest mobilisations by the Opposition alliance in recent times, with a special focus on drawing participation from northern states.

The Congress has appealed to supporters and citizens concerned about democratic processes to join the march and the Ramleela Maidan gathering in large numbers.