Gadchiroli: Police recently destroyed two Maoist-erected monuments and arrested a Naxal supporter actively involved in violent activities against security forces. Officials said both actions were part of ongoing anti-Maoist operations aimed at eliminating fear from local communities.

On September 30, a police team from Poste Katezari, along with SRPF personnel, was conducting a search operation in the Katezari and Marma forest areas of Mauja Katezari. During the operation, they found two Maoist monuments, erected two to three years ago, intended to spread fear and show Maoist presence in the region.

After inspection by the bomb disposal team, both monuments were demolished and destroyed. Police said that, with the cooperation of local citizens, trees were planted at the site as a symbol of peace.

Superintendent of Police, Gadchiroli, Nilotpal, said: “The Gadchiroli police is trying to free citizens from the terror of the Maoists. Such memorials have no place in society, and people are urged not to participate in such illegal constructions.”

In a separate incident on September 29, while security forces were conducting an anti-Maoist operation in the Bhamragad area, they received information about a suspicious person allegedly conducting reconnaissance of security forces.

The man was detained and later identified as Sainu alias Sannu Amlu Mattami (38), a resident of Poyarkothi, Bhamragad. Investigations revealed he was a staunch Naxal supporter involved in violent activities, including an encounter between police and Maoists in the Koparshi-Phulnar jungle area on August 27, 2025.

Mattami was arrested on September 30.

According to officials, since January 2022, Gadchiroli police have arrested a total of 110 Maoists, a result of sustained anti-Maoist operations in the district.

The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to quash the order passed by the State Bank of India (SBI), which had classified the loan account of Reliance Communications and its chairman, Anil Ambani, as ‘fraud’.

The classification was made on June 13, 2025, under the Reserve Bank of India’s Master Directions on Fraud Risk Management and SBI’s internal policies.

Ambani had challenged the move, arguing that the bank had not followed principles of natural justice. He claimed that he was not given an opportunity to be heard before the account was flagged as fraudulent. He also stated that some crucial material used in the classification was initially withheld and only provided to him after a delay of six months.

The High Court, however, upheld SBI’s decision, noting that the classification was in line with regulatory guidelines.

Srinagar, Oct 3: Police in J&K’s Sopore sub-division said on Friday that it has booked two drug peddlers under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act.

“Two habitual drug peddlers were booked under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT NDPS Act), as part of their intensified campaign against narcotics in the region,” said a police statement.

The police official stated that the offenders have been identified as Umar Farooq Sheikh, son of Farooq Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Seeloo Sopore, currently incarcerated in Kot Bhalwal Jail, Jammu, and Abdul Hamid Mir, son of Abdul Rashid Mir, a resident of Janwara Sopore, who is presently incarcerated in District Jail Poonch.

“Both accused are repeat offenders with multiple NDPS cases against them. Despite previous arrests and preventive measures, they continued their involvement in drug trafficking,” the official said.

Police stated that in the last four days alone, six repeat offenders have been booked under the PIT NDPS Act, while six others were arrested in three separate FIRs under the NDPS Act, with the recovery of contraband.

Sopore Police reiterated their zero-tolerance approach against narcotics and urged locals to report drug-related activities to help build a drug-free Sopore.

Security forces in J&K are carrying out aggressive operations against terrorists, their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers to dismantle the entire ecosystem of terror.

Drug peddlers and drug smugglers are under the scanner of the security forces, as it is believed that the funds generated by drug smuggling and hawala money rackets are finally used to sustain terrorism in J&K.

The duties of anti-terrorist operations are manned by the security forces and police in J&K, while the army and the Border Security Force (BSF) guard the line of control (LoC) and the international border, respectively.