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Sarnath turtle breeding centre faces cash crunch

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The Sarnath Turtle Breeding Centre in Sarnath is facing a severe cash crunch, mainly due to a technical glitch.

The centre had come into existence in 1987 to meet the requirement of the Tortoise Sanctuary that was declared a wildlife protected zone in a seven-km stretch of the river Ganga from Rajghat to Ramnagar in 1989 under the Wildlife (Conservation) Act-1972.

Officials said that they are banking on borrowed resources to feed these aquatic creatures, which are instrumental in Ganga cleaning.

In 2019, the government decided to relocate the Tortoise Sanctuary from Varanasi to Mirzapur district. The order to shift the sanctuary to the Mirzapur-Prayagraj stretch of the river was issued in June 2020 for its relocation to a 30-km area which was found to be a fit habitat for the turtles.

After the relocation, the turtle breeding centre, a part of the Kashi Wildlife Division, is yet to receive funds from the government to feed the turtles.

According to the forest officials, such a situation occurred due to confusion after the government ordered the relocation of the tortoise sanctuary from Varanasi, as it was not clear at that time whether the turtle breeding centre would also be relocated with the sanctuary.

However, the forest officials claim that the confusion has been cleared now and hope that the turtle breeding centre would get the funds soon.

“We sent a proposal last year, which was sanctioned. The release of funds was delayed due to some reasons like the Assembly elections. We are quite hopeful that the fund meant for the turtle breeding centre will be released in this month,” said divisional forest officer (DFO) of Kashi Wildlife Division, Dinesh Kumar Singh.

He admitted that there was a confusion whether, along with the sanctuary, the turtle breeding centre will also be shifted or will remain at its original place in Sarnath situated at the outskirts of the Varanasi city.

He said that it has been made clear that the turtle breeding centre will remain at Sarnath, and the mature turtles will be released in the relocated sanctuary.

“Currently, there are 887 turtles out of which about 250 are adults, ready to be released into the sanctuary area of the Ganga,” he said.

The turtle eggs were procured from the Chambal river for hatching at the Sarnath breeding centre before releasing in the sanctuary area in the Ganga after attaining adulthood.

According to records of the Kashi WildLife Division, so far over 42,000 turtles were reared at the Sarnath breeding centre in Sarnath and released into the Ganga.

Till 1993, when the first phase of Ganga Action Plan (GAP) had been completed, 28,920 tortoises were dropped into the Ganga. With the end of GAP-I, the tortoise breeding project was also stopped in 1993. Later, the forest department revived the programme in 2005.

Crime

Anti-Narcotics Cell cracks down on Mumbai drug dealers, two drug dealers arrested, drugs worth over Rs 2 crore seized

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The Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell has claimed to have arrested a drug dealer from the Andheri Lokhandwala area of ​​Mumbai’s suburbs.

The ANC Azad Maidan unit had received information that a person was going to come to Lokhandwala to sell drugs. On this, the ANC recovered Rs 18 lakh in cash, 703 grams of hashish and 104 grams of Mephedone MD from the person’s possession. After this, in the second operation, the ANC on July 8 arrested a suspect in the case of selling illegal heroin in the Andheri Versova area and recovered 306 grams of heroin from his possession. Along with this, it was revealed that the accused sells drugs in Andheri and surrounding areas.

Action was taken against both of them under the NDPS Act and both of them have been arrested. It has been claimed that drugs worth over Rs 2 crore have been seized from their possession. The 46-year-old arrested from Andheri Lokhandwala The accused and the second accused are 31 years old and both are under investigation. The operation was led by Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti and was conducted by DCP ANC Nunath Dhole.

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Crime

Maharashtra Crime: 3 Arrested For Rape & Suicide Case Of 16-Year-Old Girl In Sangli

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Mumbai: In an disturbing incident, Sangli police on Wednesday arrested three men linked to the alleged rape and suicide of a 16-year-old girl in Kargani village, located in Atpadi tehsil. The girl, a Class 10th student, reportedly took her own life on Tuesday after being sexually assaulted and threatened by the accused.

Investigations reveal that the accused had been harassing the girl for several days. They allegedly raped her in the presence of her sister and, along with the others, as reported by Hindustan Times. They also mentioned that the accused allegedly filmed an obscene video and threatened to make it viral.

As per the report, the minor informed her parents about the incident. However, before they could file a police complaint, she died by suicide on Sunday. The suspects, Raju Gend, Anil Kale, and Rohit Kharat, have been taken into custody. A fourth accused, Ramdas Gaikwad, was beaten by angry villagers before being handed over to the police. He is currently receiving medical treatment and will be arrested once discharged.

The sub-divisional police officer, Vipul Chhaya Vijay Patil, mentioned that “We have arrested three accused in this case, while the fourth accused is undergoing medical treatment at a hospital,”

The Vinay Bahir, PI, Atpadi police station said, “Police also enquired about the sister of the deceased girl, and she also didn’t know much about the incident.” Based on the complaint, the police filed a case against the accused for charges of rape and abetment of suicide.

In a separate crime story from Maharashtra, a 16-year-old girl from Adivali in the Dombivli area of Thane was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a 20-year-old man during a train journey to Akola. Senior Police Inspector Pandhari Kande from the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Kalyan reported the case on Monday.

According to the police, the incident occurred on June 30. The man took the girl on a train from Thane to Akola, where he assaulted her during the journey, as reported by the news agency PTI. Upon their arrival in Akola, the man’s parents refused to allow them into their home. He then abandoned the girl at the Akola railway station and returned to his residence.

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Crime

Man Held At Mumbai Airport While Attempting To Flee To Dubai After Rs 10 Lakh Theft In Mahabaleshwar’s Oxygen Hotel

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Mumbai: In a dramatic breakthrough, the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of Satara police foiled an attempted international escape and cracked a high-profile theft case involving a hotel in Mahabaleshwar. The primary accused, who had allegedly stolen luxury items worth Rs 10 lakh from Oxygen Hotel, was held at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport just before boarding a flight to Dubai.

The theft, which occurred between June 25 and June 28, involved electronic appliances, expensive furniture and kitchenware being stolen from the upscale Oxygen Hotel. Following the incident, Satara Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi launched a swift investigation and assigned Police Inspectors Arun Devkar and Bapusaheb Sandbhor to lead a dedicated probe.

Special Police Team Held Accused Just Before Boarding Dubai Flight

Initial investigations pointed toward an inside job, raising suspicions about a hotel staffer’s involvement. Acting on critical intelligence, LCB Inspector Arun Devkar received a tip-off that the main suspect was attempting to flee the country. A special police team was immediately dispatched to Mumbai Airport. With support from Sahar Police, the team intercepted and arrested Kanchan Kaliprasad Banerjee, a resident of Nalasopara, just as he was checking in for his flight.

Upon interrogation, Banerjee admitted to the theft and disclosed that he had already sold the stolen goods to two scrap dealers in Satara. Based on his confession, the police arrested Karan Dashrath Ghadge from Ambawade Khurd and Gautam Suresh Jadhav from Saidapur, who had bought the stolen materials. Raids conducted at their warehouses led to the recovery of items worth Rs 10 lakh.

Stolen Goods Traced & Returned To Oxygen Hotel

In addition to the stolen goods, authorities also seized a truck and a tempo used to transport the items, pushing the total recovery value to Rs 17.9 lakh. The stolen items were traced back to Oxygen Hotel and have been returned.

The Mahabaleshwar Police and LCB’s swift coordination, aided by timely intelligence and cross-jurisdictional support, was crucial in solving the case. Legal proceedings have been initiated against all three accused, who are currently in police custody. Further investigations are underway to determine if more individuals were involved in the theft or its cover-up.

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