New Delhi, Sep 18: The Delhi Police Special Cell, in a joint operation with the Gujarat Crime Branch, has busted a narco-extortion network operating between Delhi and Gujarat and recovered 2 kg of Pakistani-origin heroin valued at around Rs 12 crore.

Police said an accused associated with the Rohit Godara and Mahendra Delana gang was arrested during the operation. The accused has been identified as 31-year-old Kuldeep Swami, a resident of Rajasthan’s Churu.

According to police, Swami was involved in a major narco-extortion module and was wanted in connection with a high-profile extortion case involving approximately Rs 10 crore registered in Gujarat’s Vadodara.

During the investigation, police recovered 2 kg of high-quality heroin, a car, and currency notes used for hawala token verification.

A secret cavity was also found in the recovered vehicle, police said. Investigators are now probing the alleged links of the network with gangsters Godara and Delana, along with possible connections to Pakistan-based narcotics networks.

The latest action comes amid a series of operations by the Delhi Police against criminal networks involved in extortion, narcotics and arms-related offences.

Earlier, on August 26, the Delhi Police Special Cell had arrested two alleged sympathisers of the Gogi gang who were reportedly planning to commit extortion-related crimes.

Police had identified the accused as 22-year-old Chirag, a resident of Narela, and 26-year-old Sagar, a resident of Haryana’s Sonipat. The two were arrested near the Munak Canal on August 19 following a tip-off, officials said.

A .32-bore semi-automatic pistol along with four live cartridges, a country-made single-shot pistol and two mobile phones were recovered from their possession, according to a senior police officer.

In another case, on March 19, a team of the Delhi Police Special Cell apprehended a proclaimed offender who had allegedly been evading arrest in connection with an Arms Act case registered in Delhi.

The accused, identified as 26-year-old Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Haryana’s Ambala, was wanted in an FIR registered at Jagatpuri Police Station under Section 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.

Police had said Singh had been absconding since the registration of the case and was subsequently declared a proclaimed offender by a court.

New Delhi, Sep 18: In a bid to augment railway capacity and improving train operations, Indian Railways on Friday said it has approved the doubling of the Chouk-Karjat railway section (10.86 km) of Central Railway at a cost of Rs 497 crore.

Indian Railways also approved the construction of the 38.21 km new rail line between Mukutban (Adilabad) and Gadchandur in South Central Railway at a cost of Rs 493 crore.

The Central Railway project has been approved for doubling, tripling, quadrupling, flyover and bypass works aimed at augmenting the capacity of the railway network, according to an official statement.

The Chouk-Karjat section forms part of the Panvel-Chouk-Karjat route, which is an important corridor for both passenger and freight movement.

On completion of the project, the section is expected to facilitate five additional passenger trains in each direction per day.

The project is also expected to support additional freight traffic of 18.35 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA). It will also help reduce the detention of freight trains.

Meanwhile, Mukutban in Yavatmal district and Gadchandur in Chandrapur district are important industrial and mining centres, serving several cement plants, coal mines of Western Coalfields Ltd. and nearby limestone mines.

The new rail line will strengthen rail connectivity to these industrial clusters and facilitate more efficient movement of freight, said the statement.

The new rail line will provide a shorter and more efficient rail route, reducing travel distance, transportation time, and associated costs.

It will also provide an alternative route to decongest the existing Wardha-Manikgarh section, supporting smoother movement of freight traffic.

The project is expected to support 6.08 MTPA of freight traffic, along with two MEMU trains in each direction per day after commissioning.

The freight traffic is expected to include coal and coke, cement, sponge iron, metal scrap, iron & steel, fertilisers and foodgrains, among other commodities.

The new line will provide direct connectivity between the coal and cement cluster and the Majri-Nanded route, facilitating shorter leads for coal, cement and RMSP traffic towards Jalna, Parbhani, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and other destinations in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Noida, Sep 18: A massive fire broke out on the fourth floor of a garment company in Noida’s Sector 63 area on Friday, triggering panic in the locality.

Eight fire tenders were deployed to the spot, and firefighters brought the blaze under control after around one-and-a-half hours of sustained efforts. No casualties were reported in the incident.

According to officials, the fire broke out at a garment company located at F-463, within the jurisdiction of the Sector 63 police station. Flames and thick smoke were seen emanating from the fourth floor of the building, following which the Fire Department was alerted.

As soon as the information was received, fire service teams rushed to the location and launched a firefighting operation. Considering the intensity of the blaze and the presence of garment-related materials inside the premises, firefighters took immediate measures to prevent the flames from spreading to other parts of the building and nearby areas.

Firefighters sprayed water from different directions to contain the flames and prevent the situation from worsening.

After approximately one-and-a-half hours of firefighting efforts, the blaze was brought under complete control. Following the operation, fire service personnel conducted a thorough inspection of the premises to ensure that there were no remaining flames or pockets of smoke that could lead to a rekindling of the fire.

Chief Fire Officer (CFO) of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Pradeep Kumar, said that the fire department received information about a blaze on the fourth floor of a garment company located at F-463 in Sector 63.

“Immediately after receiving the information, the fire service team reached the spot. Eight fire tenders were used to extinguish the fire. After approximately one-and-a-half hours of firefighting, the blaze was brought under control,” he said.

The CFO confirmed that no casualties were reported in the incident.

According to the preliminary assessment, a short circuit is suspected to have triggered the fire. However, officials said the exact cause of the blaze and the extent of damage to the property and materials could be determined only after a detailed investigation.

A fire department team inspected the site after the blaze was extinguished and collected the necessary information as part of the ongoing assessment.

The incident caused concern among people in the surrounding area, although prompt action by the fire service personnel helped prevent the fire from spreading further. The authorities are continuing to assess the circumstances that led to the incident.