Kolkata, June 28: The railway authorities have conducted a significant eviction operation at the Park Circus station area in Kolkata, clearing illegal shops from land owned by the Indian Railways.

Earlier this month, the authorities issued notifications to the proprietors of these shops and local vendors, instructing them to vacate their shops from the station premises and the surrounding lands in the Sealdah South Section of Eastern Railway. However, due to their noncompliance, a bulldozer was deployed on Saturday night to demolish these shops.

A large number of police, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed for this drive.

After the change of government in the state, the Railways have been conducting drives to evict encroachments in the station areas. Similar drives were held at several stations, including Howrah, Sealdah, Dum Dum, Jadavpur and Habra. This time, the drive was also launched at Park Circus station in Kolkata.

Late Saturday night, the Park Circus station premises were surrounded by railway police and the RAF. Security was tightened to prevent any unrest. First, the Railways used loudspeakers to announce instructions to vacate the station area and railway land. Some time was given to the traders to remove their belongings. However, none of the traders in the station area moved their goods. After that, a bulldozer was brought in, and the illegal shops were demolished one by one.

The Park Circus station area has always been congested. It is alleged that a large number of illegal shops had mushroomed at the station premises over the years. The Railways have never been able to evict illegal hawkers at that station, which is located in a minority community-dominated area. There were allegations that railway passengers used to face harassment and crimes at various times while travelling to that station.

After the BJP government came to power in the state, it was decided that illegal hawkers would be evicted from the station premises. The eviction drive lasted for about two and a half hours.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has also taken steps to remove illegal encroachments and shops under several flyovers across the city.

It was learnt that the KMC has issued notices to illegal hawkers to remove their shops from under the Sealdah flyover in North Kolkata and Sukanta Setu in the southern outskirts of the city. Those who have illegally encroached on spaces under these two bridges have been asked to move out within the next seven days. The KMC will take action in accordance with the provisions of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, as mentioned in the notice.

New Delhi, June 28: The Delhi Police, in pursuance of the zero tolerance policy against narcotic drugs and drug trafficking, arrested 16 accused and made recoveries of drugs during an operation launched under the ongoing ‘Operation Kavach-14.0’ to dismantle narcotics supply networks and curb the menace of drug trafficking.

Dedicated teams of Anti-Narcotics Squad (ANS), Special Staff and Police Stations of West District conducted sustained intelligence-based raids, surveillance and targeted operations against drug peddlers and traffickers operating within the district, said the police in a press statement on Sunday.

During the operation, 13 NDPS cases were registered, and 16 accused, including two women, were apprehended.

The operations resulted in the recovery of substantial quantities of narcotic substances, including 32.161 kg of ganja, 89.77 grams of smack, 9.8 grams of cocaine, and 6.62 grams of MDMA. Besides narcotic substances, one three-wheeler (Auto), one Scooty, one mobile phone, and Rs 1,450 in cash were also recovered.

The Anti-Narcotics Squad registered a case vide FIR No. 314/2026, under section 20(c)/29 of the NDPS Act at the Punjabi Bagh police station and arrested four accused persons, namely Mithun Kumar, Vikram Kumar, Sanjay Yadav and Md. Rizwan. A total of 23.160 kg of ganja (Commercial Quantity) was recovered from their possession.

The ANS registered a case video FIR No. 265/2026 U/s 22/25 NDPS Act, Rajouri Garden police station and arrested the accused Ram Kumar with the recovery of 6.62 grams of MDMA along with one three-wheeler (Auto).

Special Staff registered a case vide FIR No. 268/2026 U/s 21 NDPS Act, Rajouri Garden police station and apprehended one accused and recovered 9.8 grams of cocaine and one Scooty.

During the operation, four separate cases were detected with the recovery of approximately 89.77 grams of smack, leading to the arrest of four accused persons from police stations Tilak Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Khyala and Vikas Puri.

Apart from the commercial quantity case, several separate cases were registered involving the recovery of ganja from different police stations of the West District.

The police in the statement said that sustained action under Operation Kavach-14.0 reflects “the commitment of the West District Police towards eliminating the drug menace and dismantling narcotics supply chains through intelligence-led policing and coordinated enforcement”.

Further investigation in all cases is in progress to apprehend other persons involved in drug trafficking, the police said.

Mumbai, June 27: The Maharashtra State Council of Examinations (MSCE) on Saturday abruptly cancelled the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) 2026, which was scheduled to be held on Sunday. The decision comes after a joint raid by the Bhiwandi Police exposed a major question paper leak just a day before the statewide examination.

The exam was set to take place across 1,028 centres in Maharashtra. Council officials stated that the postponement was necessary to maintain absolute transparency and fairness for all candidates. The postponement of TET has thrown the future of over 428,122 candidates in limbo and sparked widespread outrage across the state.

According to an official release, Intelligence agencies received confidential information in the early hours of Saturday indicating that a group of individuals in Bhiwandi (Thane district) had unauthorised access to the TET question papers.

Acting swiftly on the tip-off, a team from the Bhiwandi Police Department raided the location. During the operation, law enforcement personnel detained several suspects and seized incriminating materials.

Senior officials from the MSCE were immediately summoned to the spot by the police to verify the seized documents.

Upon a detailed cross-examination, officials discovered a definitive match as the questions found in the possession of the detained individuals were identical to the questions drafted for the actual June 2026 Teacher Eligibility Test.

Following the confirmation of the breach, an official First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Bhiwandi Police Station against the accused individuals. Taking a serious note of the security lapse, the MSCE decided to call off Sunday’s exam to ensure a thorough, comprehensive probe.

The Education Department and Thane Police have launched a high-level joint investigation to trace the mastermind behind the leak, map out how the security protocol was breached, and determine if any internal Board officials were involved.

The MSCE has assured candidates that a fresh date for the Maharashtra TET 2026 will be finalised soon. All updates regarding the rescheduled examination dates and revised guidelines will be published directly on the official website of the Maharashtra State Council of Examinations.

An extensive investigation is currently underway to identify the mastermind behind the leak and determine if any internal network or printing press was compromised, said the MSCE release.

The MAHA TET is a mandatory benchmark for candidates aspiring to teach in primary (Classes 1–5) and upper primary (Classes 6–8) schools across Maharashtra.

A total of 4,28,122 candidates had registered to take the exam in two separate sessions across the state. Many applicants had already travelled long distances to reach their designated exam centres, only to be met with the news of the sudden cancellation.

The cancellation has led to massive frustration among aspirants, drawing sharp parallels to recent nationwide controversies surrounding the NEET and UGC-NET paper leaks.

Candidates are demanding stricter implementation of anti-paper leak laws and immediate accountability from the education department.