National News
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to get first Council of Ministers on March 19
Two days after taking oath as Punjab Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann is set to get his first Council of Ministers, all first-timers, on Saturday.
Former Leader of the Opposition and a prominent Dalit face Harpal Singh Cheema may be inducted as the deputy chief minister. Cheema retained his Dirba seat.
The other probables in the Cabinet are Aman Arora, Kultar Sandhwan, Harjot Bains, Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, Baljinder Kaur, Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Neena Mittal and Kunwar Vijay Pratap.
It is learnt the party leadership is keen to induct six to seven ministers in the Council of Ministers that has space for 17 ministerial posts, excluding the Chief Minister’s.
The remaining ministers will be inducted after a few months, a senior party leader told IANS.
Sunam MLA Aman Arora is a prominent Hindu face of the party and is known for his proximity with Mann. In 2018, when Mann had resigned from the post of the state president after Arvind Kejriwal apologised to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on allegations of drug trade, Arora too had quit AAP. Both of them later rejoined the party.
Arora defeated Congress’ Jaswinder Singh Dhiman by a record margin of 75,277 votes, state’s highest.
First-timer Jivan Jyot Kaur, who emerged as the ‘giant slayer’ by showing the door to two political heavyweights — Navjot Singh Sidhu of the Congress and Majithia, who were busy in mudslinging against each other, is likely to inducted a minister.
Another first-time Kunwar Vijay Prartap, who once served as the Amritsar SSP, is AAP’s big face who registered a victory in Amritsar North by defeating his closest rival and SAD’s Anil Joshi by a margin of 28,313 votes.
Party’s state co-in-charge Raghav Chadha has already clarified that the induction of the Council of Ministers in government is the prerogative of Bhagwant Mann, seting aside speculations that Arvind Kejriwal will be taking the final call from Delhi.
The party is trying to maintain a balance in the Cabinet from the state’s Malwa, Majha and Doaba regions.
The Malwa belt can get more ministers as the party owns 66 out of the 69 seats in the region. In Doaba, AAP won 10 out of 23 seats, while in Majha, it won 16 out of 25.
Also, this time AAP sent eight women legislators, five doctors, the richest legislator — Kulwant Singh with assets of Rs 238 crore and won from Mohali — and the youngest — Narinder Kaur Bharaj, 27, to the Assembly.
The AAP recorded a thumping win by claiming 92 of the Assembly’s 117 seats. The ruling Congress won 18, down from 77 in 2017.
Crime
CISF seizes foreign currency worth Rs 1.13 crore at Kolkata airport

Alert personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) detected foreign currency worth approximately Rs 1.14 crore concealed in the hand baggage of two passengers bound for Bangkok at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata.
The detection took place around 10:20 a.m. on October 19 during routine security screening at the International Terminal Security Hold Area. A CISF screener noticed suspicious images in the X-ray scans of the hand baggage carried by the two passengers scheduled to travel to Bangkok on Bhutan Airlines flight B3700. The bags were subsequently referred for physical examination.
During the inspection, CISF personnel recovered USD 1,19,900, equivalent to approximately Rs 1,13,64,002, concealed inside false bottoms of the two bags. The foreign currency had been wrapped in newspaper in an apparent attempt to conceal it from security personnel.
Of the total amount recovered, USD 74,900 was found in the hand baggage of one passenger, while USD 45,000 was recovered from the other passenger’s bag.
Following the prescribed formalities, both passengers, along with the seized currency, were handed over to the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs for further investigation and necessary legal action.
On October 20, the passenger from whose baggage USD 74,900 was recovered was taken by AIU/Customs officials to the District and Sessions Court for further legal proceedings following the investigation and seizure. The second passenger was released by Customs after the issuance of a detention receipt for the USD 45,000 recovered from the passenger’s baggage.
CISF in a release reiterated its commitment to maintaining aviation security through effective screening procedures, alert surveillance and professional conduct by its personnel. According to officials, the detection stresses the importance of coordinated action between airport security personnel and Customs authorities in addressing suspected financial and currency-related violations.
Crime
Gujarat: Man held after 0.77 grams of mephedrone found in ‘porter’ delivery parcel

A 27-year-old businessman was arrested by Naroda police after 0.77 grams of suspected mephedrone, valued at Rs 1,540, was found in a parcel being delivered through the Porter application near Nana Chiloda Circle in Ahmedabad, police said on Wednesday.
The case came to light after police received a control-room message about a suspicious parcel that had arrived for delivery through the application.
The substance was examined preliminarily by a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) officer in the presence of panch witnesses and was found to be mephedrone, a synthetic drug.
Police seized the substance and initially registered an offence against three unidentified mobile phone holders under Sections 8(c), 22(a) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
During the investigation, they traced and arrested the man suspected of ordering the consignment through the parcel.
The accused was identified as Priyang Sanghvi (27). He is a businessman who lives in Aram Park Flats in the Sabarmati area of the city. He is originally from Shirodi village in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district.
According to the police, the suspected method involved using a mobile phone number belonging to a witness to log in to the Porter application.
Drug consignments were allegedly packed separately in zipper bags and sent through the delivery service. An intermediary was allegedly used to distribute the drugs to different customers for sale.
The police said the arrest followed instructions from senior officers to curb the illegal sale and transportation of narcotic substances and detect offences related to them.
“The operation was conducted by Naroda police personnel under the supervision of Senior Police Inspector B M Katariya,” officials said.
The police seized 0.77 grams of mephedrone, valued at Rs 1,540. The investigation concerns the alleged use of a parcel delivery application to transport the substance and its subsequent distribution through an intermediary.
Crime
Bihar: 75-year-old man stabbed to death; woman and her son injured

A 75-year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death, while a woman and her 25-year-old son were injured in a violent clash between neighbours at Rohda Kala village under Barharia police station limits in Bihar’s Siwan district on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Rama Nandan Prasad, son of the late Garib Bhagat.
The injured were identified as Baby Devi, 44, and her son Kishan Kumar, 25.
The injured were taken to the Barharia Community Health Centre for treatment. While Kishan received primary medical care, Baby Devi was referred to Siwan Sadar Hospital due to her critical condition.
According to Kishan Kumar, his grandfather was sitting outside the house drinking tea while his mother was cooking, and he was asleep.
Hearing a commotion, he went outside and found his grandfather lying in a pool of blood.
He then heard his mother crying from inside the house and rushed in, where he allegedly saw neighbours attacking her with knives. When he tried to intervene, he was also injured in the attack.
Kishan claimed that he had no prior dispute with the neighbours and said the reason for the attack was unclear.
With the help of residents, two alleged assailants were apprehended and handed over to the police.
After receiving information, the Barharia police reached the village and launched an investigation.
A Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team was also called to collect evidence from the scene.
The police have set up a camp in the village amid tension following the incident.
Barharia Station House Officer Chhotan Kumar said a patrolling officer was initially sent to the spot, after which he reached the village to investigate the incident.
He said an FIR has been registered against the named accused based on Kishan Kumar’s statement.
The two detained suspects are being questioned, while the motive behind the incident remains unclear.
Police said further action would be taken based on the investigation.
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