Srinagar, Sep 27: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Kashmir of J&K Crime Branch said on Sunday it has arrested a long-absconding accused in a multi-crore fraud case.

A statement said that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Kashmir, Crime Branch, J&K, has arrested an accused person, Soom Nath Koul, son of Kalash Nath Koul, Resident of 22-Lotus Tower, Bangalore North, Karnataka, presently residing at Janipur, Jammu, in compliance with the orders of the Court of the Sub-Judge, Srinagar.

A special team of this investigation agency was constituted to execute the orders passed by the Court. The team, after sustained efforts and following due procedure, succeeded in tracing and apprehending the accused. The accused had remained absconding for several years.

During this period, ‘Hue and Cry Notices’ were issued and published from time to time to trace and identify the accused. Despite sustained efforts to locate him, the accused allegedly continued to evade detection and was reportedly using different identities.

The accused is involved in many cases registered with the Crime Branch, Kashmir. A total of five cases have been registered against him, pertaining to allegations of cheating, forgery and land-related fraud involving migrant properties through fake Powers of Attorney and agreements to sell.

In one of the cases, a chargesheet was filed against the accused in absentia under Section 512 CrPC. During the course of investigation, it emerged that the accused allegedly induced individuals to purchase land by representing himself under different identities, including Soom Nath Koul, Brij Nath Bhat, Mohan Lal Dhar and Hadi Nath Dhar, and cheated them in connection with land transactions.

The investigation has further revealed allegations of fraud involving crores of rupees, committed in connivance with other accused persons. Pertinently, during the course of the investigation, one Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Dar, son of Abdul Khaliq Dar, resident of Jawalapora, Samson, Budgam, was arrested last week.

He was found to be involved in the same case. The arrest of Soom Nath Koul, alias Brij Nath Bhat, alias Hadi Nath Dhar, alias Mohan Lal Dhar, forms part of the ongoing investigation into the above-mentioned cases.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain the complete extent of the alleged financial fraud, the land transactions involved, and the role of other persons allegedly connected with the offences.

“The general public is advised to remain vigilant against economic fraudsters and report any such incidents directly to SSP EOW Srinagar (Crime Branch J&K), Abdul Waheed Shah. If you have been a victim of economic fraud, you may also send your complaint to the official email: sspeow-kmr@jkpolice.gov.in”, the statement said.

Kolkata, Sep 27: The bodies of three elephants — a mother elephant and her two calves — were spotted in a paddy field at Salboni in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, on Sunday morning.

An initial investigation has suggested that the three elephants came in contact with a high-tension electricity wire.

The bodies were first noticed by the local villagers in the morning, who subsequently brought the matter to the notice of the local forest department office.

According to local sources, a herd of elephants was passing through the village. An electric pump was installed to irrigate the farmland with a live wire passing through the land. It is believed that the three elephants died after touching the wire and getting electrocuted.

At the time the report was filed, the forest department officials had reached the spot and started an investigation. They said that the cause of the deaths will be clear after the autopsy.

However, an insider from the state forest department said that the electrocution death of elephants is nothing new in the Jangalmahal region, which is a major elephant zone in the state.

“In the past, elephants died in these forest areas due to electrocution. There had been a lot of uproar about that. There has been a common tendency among farmers in the region to surround their farmlands with electric wires to protect their crops,” the state forest department official said.

Last month, a middle-aged tusker died after getting electrocuted as it came into contact with an illegally energised fence erected around farmland in the Falakata block of Alipurduar district.

The state forest department insider said that in the past, there had been several attempts by the department to stop the villagers from erecting illegally energised fences around their farmland, as this causes elephant deaths, especially when they are passing in a herd from one forest to another.

“Earlier, there had been instances of penalising the offenders on this count. However, the fencing activity has continued,” he added.

New Delhi, Sep 26: The ECI on Saturday extended the deadline for Delhi electors to file SIR-related claims and objections by one month or till October 30 and fixed November 30 as the last date for disposal of notices and claims and objections, an official said on Saturday.

The earlier deadline for Delhi electors, whose names were missing in the draft electoral roll, to file Form-6 along with supporting documents was September 30.

“In view of the request received from CEO Delhi, the period for filing claims and objections has been extended by the Commission till 30th October, 2026. The period for disposal of notices and claims & objections has been extended till 30th November 2026,” said the ECI after a meeting at Nirvachan Sadan.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and attended by Election Commissioners S.S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, also relaxed the provisions related to physical appearance of electors who have received SIR notice and allowed them or their representatives to attend hearings before election officials through online mode.

“In case of any person to whom notice has been issued during the ongoing SIR, for being unmapped and logical discrepancies, BLOs will visit the homes of such persons for collection of documents and thereafter upload them on the ECINet, for decision by the ERO,” said the ECI statement.

“Such persons need not be called for hearing to the ERO/AERO office. Only in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the ERO, the hearing will be held preferably online. Any adult member of the family can be authorised by the elector to attend the hearing on their behalf, if required,” the statement said.

“Facilities for the online hearing to be strengthened. DEOs (District Election Officers) will create adequate number of help desks/hold special camps for the people living in night shelters, labourers, poor people, homeless, etc as per requirement,” it said.

The CEC-chaired meeting also extended the deadline for filing claims in Maharashtra.

“As per the request received from CEO Maharashtra, the period for filing claims and objections in Maharashtra has been extended by the Commission till 12th October, 2026. The period for disposal of notices and claims & objections in Maharashtra has been extended till 10th November 2026,” said the ECI. Earlier, the deadline for disposal of claims and objections was October 3.

The poll panel said that SIR has already been completed in 20 States/UTs including Bihar and West Bengal. Any person whose name has got left out during SIR or thereafter, and any person, including young/ first-time voter, may apply to the concerned ERO for inclusion of their name in the electoral rolls under the process of continuous updation.

In recent months, the Commission has taken numerous decisions, including SIR across the country. The order for the SIR issued on June 24, 2025, for all the States/UTs, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other States/UTs, was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission, said the statement.

The same has been upheld by the Supreme Court. The schedule for SIR for 12 States and UTs was issued on October 27, 2025, and those for 19 States/ UTs was issued on May 14, 2026 with the unanimous approval of the Commission, said the ECI.

The final figure of the number of electors will be known only after final publication in the remaining 12 states of Phase-III, it said.