Ahmedabad, Oct 10: The Ahmedabad Rural Police have seized 696.94 kg of poppy husk concealed beneath steel coils in a truck travelling from Nagpur in Maharashtra to Sanand in Gujarat and arrested the driver, while two other suspects have been identified in connection with the alleged interstate trafficking operation.

The narcotic substance, packed in 36 sacks, was valued at Rs 1.045 crore, while the total value of the seized property, including the truck, steel coil, mobile phones and cash, was estimated at Rs 1.47 crore, police said on Saturday.

The joint operation was conducted by the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Anti-Narcotics Wing (ANW) of Ahmedabad Rural Police following a tip-off received by SOG Sub-Inspector I.K. Sheikh that a truck-trailer was carrying a large consignment of poppy husk concealed beneath steel coils.

The coils were reportedly being transported from Nagpur for delivery to Tata Motors in Sanand, said the police.

Acting on the information, police teams tracked the vehicle and received specific information that it would pass along the Kheda-Dholka highway on the night of October 8. The teams intercepted the vehicle and inspected its cargo.

When the tarpaulin covering the steel coils was removed, they found 36 black and yellow sacks containing the suspected narcotic substance concealed beneath the coils.

Police identified the arrested driver as Bhairaram Tarad, 33, a resident of Barmer district in Rajasthan.

According to the police, the consignment had allegedly been loaded into the trailer near Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh by a person identified as Santosh, who is now wanted in the case.

The driver was allegedly promised freight charges of Rs two lakh to transport the consignment to its intended recipient in Gujarat.

Police have also detained Jetaram Kadwasha, a resident of Samakhiyali in Kutch district, who is suspected of being the receiver who ordered the consignment. He is being questioned, while efforts are underway to apprehend Santosh.

A case has been registered at Dholka Rural Police Station under Sections 8(c), 15(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Further investigation is underway to establish the source of the consignment and the roles of the other suspects.

The seized property includes the truck-trailer valued at Rs 20 lakh, a steel coil worth around Rs 22.22 lakh, two mobile phones valued at Rs 7,000 and cash amounting to Rs 32,010, in addition to the poppy husk.

New Delhi, Oct 10: The Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha staged a protest on Saturday to demand the expulsion from Congress and the arrest of MP and JNU Professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam accused of sexual harassment of female students.

A large number of Mahila Morcha workers gathered near the Laxmi Nagar Metro Station in East Delhi, and raised slogans against the MP.

As soon as they began marching towards the Congress headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, the Delhi Police detained them after they had walked only a short distance and took them to Shakarpur Police Station, a Delhi BJP leader said.

The protest was led by BJP Mahila Morcha National Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Sangeeta Yadav and Delhi BJP General Secretary Yogita Singh, in the presence of State Vice President Sarika Jain, Mahila Morcha President Archana Gupta and In-charge Aarti Mehra.

Rajya Sabha MP Sangeeta Yadav said, “We are standing here to defend the dignity of daughters. At a prestigious educational institution like JNU, a person accused of sexually harassing female students under the guise of being a professor, and who is also a Congress MP continues to move around freely.”

“The Congress is the most glaring example of an ‘anti-women’ mindset. A party that cannot protect its daughters has no right to remain in power,” she added.

“We (BJP) demand his (Akoijam’s) immediate expulsion from the party (Congress) and immediate arrest. The BJP Mahila Morcha will not remain silent. The slogan of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ will be meaningful only when those responsible are punished. Ensuring the safety of every daughter in Delhi is our responsibility,” she said.

Delhi BJP General Secretary Yogita Singh said that the Congress has always treated women merely as a vote bank.

“A sitting MP is accused of sexually harassing female students at JNU, and the Congress is shielding him. The party should be ashamed,” she added.

“How long will the dignity of our daughters continue to be violated? How long will the Congress protect its leaders accused of wrongdoing?” Yogita Singh asked.

“If Angomcha Bimol Akoijam is not arrested today, no other daughter will be safe tomorrow. Our struggle will continue from the streets to Parliament. We demand justice, not compromise,” she said.

BJP Mahila Morcha General Secretary Archana Gupta said, “A Congress MP has been accused of harassing female students at JNU. This exposes the Congress party’s double standards — speaking about women’s empowerment on public platforms while allowing the exploitation of women within its ranks.”

“We demand that the accused be expelled from the party and sent to jail. The BJP Mahila Morcha stands with every daughter. Break the silence and deliver justice,” she added.

Richa Pandey, Delhi BJP Vice-President, said the Congress is ‘anti-women’.

“The party is shielding MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, who is accused of exploiting JNU’s female students. This is an insult to our daughters,” she added.

New Delhi, Oct 10: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday asked why the Congress had not dismissed its MP from Manipur, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, from the party after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) dismissed him with immediate effect following an inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment.

Speaking to media, BJP leader Harsh Malhotra said Akoijam, a JNU professor and Congress MP, had brought disrepute to the teaching fraternity.

“Teachers and professors are not only supposed to impart education, but they are also required to teach morality and adhere to it themselves. Thirteen female students from JNU have levelled sexual harassment allegations against him, which a committee at the university investigated and found him guilty of, resulting in his dismissal from JNU,” Malhotra added.

He asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the party’s response to the matter, alleging that Akoijam was close to him.

“I want to ask Rahul Gandhi through you, since Akoijam is considered very close to Rahul Gandhi and is his close aide then why hasn’t he been dismissed from the Congress party yet? How long will Rahul Gandhi’s double standards continue? Whenever someone from their own side is corrupt or guilty of misconduct, they maintain complete silence,” Malhotra said.

He added that women in Delhi wanted to know when Rahul Gandhi would take action against the MP and urged the Congress leader to address the issue personally.

Malhotra also criticised Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over his remarks on the detention of protesters, citing incidents of police action during protests under previous Congress governments.

“If arrangements are made to stop aggressive protesters, they call it fear. I want to ask him: they (Congress) opened fire in the name of law and order!” Malhotra said, referring to the 1966 protest against cow slaughter outside Parliament.

He also cited the 1988 farmers’ protest on Janpath and protests related to the Ram temple movement in 1990 and 1993, alleging that authorities had used force, including cane-charges and tear gas, to control demonstrators.

Malhotra questioned the Congress over its protest at Jantar Mantar and demanded that its leaders explain why they were seeking the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

Earlier on Saturday, Kharge criticised the Union government in a post on social media platform X, alleging that young people, students, lawyers, journalists, social activists, farmers’ union leaders, YouTubers and content creators questioning the government were being detained.

“Modi Govt has turned the ‘Mother of Democracy’ into a ‘Muzzled Democracy’! The cowardice of the BJP-RSS is on full display today,” the Congress President said.