Crime
NCB DDG Sanjay Singh starts probe in Aryan Khan drug case
The newly constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Narcotics Control Bureau Deputy Director General Sanjay Singh on Saturday started probe in six drug cases including of Aryan Khan lodged with Mumbai Zonal office.
Singh, a 1996 batch IPS officer, will take over the investigation of all six cases which were headed earlier by Zonal Director Sammer Wankhede including the sensational cruise ship party raid of October 2 in which Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, was arrested.
On Friday, the NCB constituted an SIT headed by Singh to probe into these cases and removed Wankhede from the investigating team a week after the agency initiated probe into the alleged allegations of bribery and extortion against him.
The NCB statement issued on Friday said that an SIT comprising officers from Operations Branch of NCB headquarters has been constituted by the Director General, NCB to take over a total of six cases from NCB Mumbai Zonal Unit which have national and international ramifications, in order to conduct deeper investigation to find out forward and backward linkages.
The statement also said that no officer or officers have been removed from their present roles and they will continue to assist the Operations Branch investigation as required until any specific orders are issued to the contrary.
It is reiterated that the NCB functions across India as a single integrated agency. However, Wankhede denied that he has been removed from the case and said, “I have not been removed from the investigation. It was my writ petition in the court that the matter be probed by a central agency. So Aryan Khan Case and Sameer Khan Case are being probed by Delhi Special Investigation Team. It is coordination between NCB teams of Delhi and Mumbai.”
He has been under a cloud for a variety of reasons including allegations of corruption, fake caste certificate, a lavish lifestyle, and targeting high-profile individuals, especially from Bollywood and glamour industry with comparatively insignificant drug seizures, etc.
Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik and Wankhede have been engaged in an unprecedented war of words for the past one month, with the NCP leader making a series of shocking exposes on the NCB Mumbai head, besides an affidavit by a witness accusing him of extortion, allegations of Bharatiya Janata Party politicians and wanted criminals being roped in during the ship raid, etc.
The embattled Wankhede has been running from pillar to post to politicians to statutory panels to the courts seeking protection from action against him, and has been recently given relief in the form of three working days’ notice in case of arrest by the police.
Crime
Three Khalistani terrorists who bombed Punjab Police posts killed in encounter in UP
Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 23: Three criminals accused of hurling a grenade at police posts in Punjab’s Gurdaspur were killed in an encounter with police in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit early Monday morning, a senior police officer said.
Punjab Police DGP Gaurav Yadav, while sharing details on social media platform X, stated, “In a major breakthrough against a Pak-sponsored Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terror module, a joint operation by UP Police and Punjab Police led to an encounter with three module members who fired at the police party. This terror module is involved in grenade attacks at police establishments in border areas of Punjab.”
He said that the three suspects were involved in the grenade attack on a police post in Gurdaspur.
Pilibhit Superintendent of Police (SP) Avinash Pandey reported that the gunfight occurred in the Puranpur police station area between the suspected Khalistani terrorists and a joint team of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh Police.
The injured suspects, identified as Gurvinder Singh, Virendra Singh, and Jasanpreet Singh, sustained injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Authorities recovered two AK-series rifles, two Glock pistols, and a large quantity of ammunition from the scene.
“Early this morning, a team from Punjab Police informed Puranpur police station that suspects in a grenade attack on a police post by alleged Khalistani terrorists might be hiding in the area,” SP Pandey said.
Upon receiving this information, police teams immediately launched a blockade and searched the area. They later received a tip-off about three suspicious young men on a motorcycle, riding dangerously and carrying potentially harmful items, heading toward Pilibhit.
“Both Punjab Police and Puranpur police station staff chased the suspects. Meanwhile, Gajrola and Madhav Thanda police stations were alerted about possible escape routes. At a canal track near an under-construction bridge, the suspects opened fire when challenged by the police. In the retaliatory firing, all three were injured and subsequently sent to CSC Puranpur for treatment,” Pandey said.
However, they later succumbed to the injuries.
Recently, multiple explosions targeted police posts in Gurdaspur. On Thursday, a grenade was hurled at the closed Bakshiwal police post.
A day later, another explosion occurred at the closed Wadala Bangar police post, which had also recently shut down due to staff shortages.
Residents in nearby areas reported being shaken by the blasts. At Wadala Bangar, frightened locals emerged from their homes at night only to discover the sound originated from the police station. Following the explosion, police vehicles patrolled the area throughout the night, with sirens blaring.
Crime
At least 18 killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza
Gaza, Dec 21: At least 18 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the central and northern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources.
Local sources and eyewitnesses reported that Israeli warplanes targeted an apartment in the multi-story “Yaffa” tower in the al-Nuseirat camp, located in central Gaza.
A statement from Al-Awda Hospital in the camp confirmed that eight people were killed and 14 others injured, some seriously, in the attack.
In northern Gaza, Israeli shelling struck a house belonging to the “Khilla” family in Jabalia Al-Balad, killing 10 people and injuring several others, according to the Gaza Strip’s Civil Defence.
The Israeli army has not commented on these incidents.
Also on Friday, the military wing of Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades, announced that one of its fighters had carried out a suicide attack targeting an Israeli force of six soldiers in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza.
The Israeli army has not issued a comment on this incident.
Earlier on Thursday at least 16 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombings in northern Gaza, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.
At least 10 people were killed on Wednesday night and some others injured when the Israeli aircraft bombed the house of the Al-Najjar family in the town of Jabalia, WAFA said.
Six more people were killed due to Israeli bombing on the house of the Al-Zaytouniya family near the Al-Tabi’in School in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, east of Gaza City, it added.
The Israeli army has not commented on these incidents.
Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza in retaliation for the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault on southern Israel, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages taken.
As of Friday, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 45,206, according to Gaza-based health authorities.
Crime
Maharashtra: Govt Employee Accused Of Attacking Marathi-Speaking Family In Kalyan Surrenders Before Cops
The Maharashtra government employee accused of attacking a Marathi-speaking family at Kalyan in Thane district surrendered before police on Friday, a senior officer said.
Akhilesh Shukla (48), an employee of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), his wife Geeta (45) and others have been named in an FIR related to the alleged attack on the family, their neighbour, on December 18 after an argument.
Akhilesh Shukla surrendered before the Khadakpada police, senior inspector Aamarnath Waghmode said.
“We will trace the other accused,” said the police.
Meanwhile, before surrendering, Shukla posted a video on social media in which he claimed his wife was beaten up by family members of the victims.
The police have registered a case against Shukla and his wife Geeta (45) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 74 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), 189 (2) (3) and (5) (unlawful assembly) and others.
According to police, the attack took place around 8.45 pm on December 18, and the accused as well as the victims live on the same floor of a building in Kalyan.
As per the FIR, the victim saw Shukla quarrelling with one of their neighbours over lighting of an incense stick. The victim asked Shukla to maintain peace and not to abuse and insult the entire Marathi-speaking community.
The accused couple got angry on hearing this and beat up the victim and his wife with the help of eight to ten others. They attacked the male victim using some sharp weapon, iron rod, pipes and wooden sticks, and inflicted wounds on his arms, legs and face. The accused also molested his wife and threatened the couple, it added.
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