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.

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.

Maharashtra Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil on Monday directed the administration to prepare and submit realistic, village-wise action plans for potential water scarcity across all stages in the Nagpur, Amravati, and Konkan divisions by October 25.

Minister Patil also instructed officials to prioritise the completion and operationalisation of drinking water supply projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission that have reached between 75 per cent and 99 per cent progress.

The minister’s directives come after the state government has already announced drought in 304 talukas following scanty rainfall and launched 12 mitigation measures.

Addressing a high-level review meeting, Minister Patil evaluated the water supply status, groundwater levels, and mitigation measures for potential water scarcity in Nagpur, Amravati, and Konkan regions. While noting that there is currently no severe water scarcity in these regions, the Minister emphasised the need for administrative preparedness ahead of upcoming months.

“The administration must remain proactive. Action plans should be framed based on ground-level inspections and extensive consultations with public representatives, sarpanches, gram panchayats, and local officials,” he said.

Minister Patil instructed that pending works such as pipeline laying, pump installation, electrical connections, and transformer setups for projects in their final stages must be completed on a priority basis.

Schemes exceeding 75 per cent completion must have their package details verified and certified promptly to ensure smooth funding releases. He said that a dedicated plan for strengthening local water sources must be created for potential tanker-dependent villages.

Authorities should utilise 2 per cent of the District Planning Committee (DPC) funds primarily for source augmentation. Groundwater recharge works, including well recharging, farm ponds, cement bandharas, cement plugs, continuous contour trenches (CCT), and repairs of older bunds—must be carried out by tapping into District Planning, Mining, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, he stated.

Minister Patil reiterated that deploying water tankers should only serve as an ultimate last resort. Prior to that, officials must enforce cleaning and disinfection of available public wells. He asked the administration to focus on the rejuvenation of local water sources and efficient water budget planning and disciplined water conservation practices.

He strictly instructed officers to immediately visit villages and take necessary action whenever complaints regarding water scarcity surface or media reports highlight local distress.

To ensure long-term operational success, Minister Patil said that fixed timelines must be established to hand over completed and successfully tested water supply schemes to Zilla Parishads or Gram Panchayats. In cases of delay by local bodies in accepting projects, formal proceedings will follow state policy guidelines.

Zilla Parishads and Gram Panchayats are expected to handle operation, maintenance, and electricity billing effectively. Local officials were advised to coordinate directly with District Collectors and Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to resolve any persistent transformer or power connection hurdles, he said.