New Delhi, Sep 18: The Delhi BJP announced plans to hold a protest on Saturday outside the office of Aam Aadmi Party’s Trilokpuri municipal councillor Vijay Kumar, who is facing allegations of financial fraud and abetment of suicide of a civic worker.

A day after Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra pointed to the registration of an FIR against Vijay Kumar, the ruling party’s spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that on Saturday the BJP Mahila Morcha will hold a protest outside the office of the AAP councillor and demand his resignation.

Accusing AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj of trying to shield the guilty, Kapoor said that despite the matter being raised by Delhi BJP President Malhotra, the AAP leadership has taken no action against its municipal councillor so far.

This protest is not merely against an individual councillor but against the political silence in which an elected representative facing serious allegations is allegedly being shielded from accountability, Kapoor said.

He said that if Councillor Vijay Kumar does not resign on Saturday and the Aam Aadmi Party takes no action against him, the Delhi BJP will protest outside the Aam Aadmi Party office on Ferozeshah Road on Sunday.

He said the silence of the Aam Aadmi Party despite the serious emotional and financial crisis facing the family of the deceased employee is deeply concerning.

Kapoor said that Kejriwal and Bhardwaj will have to answer the people of Delhi whether the AAP stands with its councillor Vijay Kumar or stands for impartial action to ensure justice for the deceased sanitation worker and his family.

Kapoor said Vijay Kumar must explain the moral basis for continuing in his position and ensure a fair, impartial investigation into the entire matter.

On Thursday, Delhi BJP chief Malhotra said that this tragic incident has exposed the double standards and dark face of the AAP.

Malhotra said Municipal Corporation sanitation worker Deepak had worked in the Trilokpuri Ward for several years and wanted to build a house for his family. He had sought help from AAP Councillor Vijay Kumar.

Around a year ago, AAP Councillor Vijay Kumar allegedly showed the late Deepak dreams of owning a house and arranged a Rs 15 lakh loan, which was transferred into his own account.

He also took possession of Deepak’s signed bank cheque book. Using these signed cheques, the Councillor allegedly withdrew Deepak’s salary every month for the past 9–10 months.

Deepak had been asking Councillor Vijay Kumar for several months either to arrange the house or return his money. However, the Councillor allegedly started threatening to get him transferred and also demanded a 25 per cent commission, or Rs 25,000 per lakh, said the Delhi BJP chief.

New Delhi, Sep 18: The Delhi Police have arrested two accused for tampering with the cash-dispensing mechanism of ATMs, officials said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Aman and Suraj. Both of them are in their twenties and hail from Uttar Pradesh.

According to the investigators, the accused were previously employed at ‘HITACHI’ as custodians and were responsible for depositing and withdrawing the cash from the ATM machines of Axis Bank. While working at the company, they gained knowledge about the working of the ATMs and the loopholes in the machines

An official statement said that on September 15, a team of Special Staff, Central District, received specific secret information that Aman and Suraj would arrive near Mirdard Wali Gali, Tagore Road, behind Civic Centre, Delhi, on a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle.

Upon receiving the tip, a dedicated team was constituted under the leadership of Inspector Sandeep Yadav, I/C Special Staff, Central District, comprising SI Vijay, SI Satish, SI Naresh, HC Manish, HC Munesh, HC Mohit, HC Vikas, HC Deepak, HC Inderjeet, HC Hariom, HC Heera Lal, Ct. Surajpal, Ct. Jayant, Ct. Sumit and Ct. Ajay, under the overall supervision of ACP Operations, Central District, Delhi, Padam Singh Rana.

Acting on the information, the team laid a trap near the rear side of the MCD Building, in front of Reliance Building, Tagore Road, Kamla Market in Delhi.

At about 11:20 p.m., two persons approached from the Gandhi Market side on a motorcycle. The secret informer identified them as the persons mentioned in the information. When the police team signaled them to stop, both attempted to flee. After a brief chase, both accused were apprehended along with the vehicle.

Police recovered one illegal country-made pistol and two live cartridges while searching Suraj. During the frisking of Aman, three live cartridges were recovered.

Accordingly, FIR No. 288/2026 dated 16.09.2026 under Sections 25/54/59 Arms Act, PS Kamla Market, Central District, Delhi, was registered.

Officials said during sustained interrogation, the accused disclosed that they targeted ATMs during relatively less crowded hours and on Saturdays and Sundays, particularly when security guards were not present.

According to investigators, the accused allegedly misused their familiarity with the functioning of ATMs. While working at the company, they had learnt the whole process of tampering with ATMs and withdrawing cash from machines illegally.

The accused allegedly got the keys of the targeted ATM machines from their earlier associate to gain access, tamper with the cash-dispensing mechanism and place rubber rings to create an obstruction. Thereafter, they would close the machine and leave the spot, officials said.

Subsequently, when a genuine customer entered the ATM, inserted or swiped their ATM card and entered the PIN and other required details for a cash withdrawal, the transaction would be processed. However, due to the obstruction created inside the cash-dispensing mechanism, the cash would not come out through the normal dispensing outlet and would instead remain trapped inside the ATM’s internal dispensing area/tray.

The customer, believing that the cash had not been dispensed, would leave the ATM booth. The accused would then return to the ATM, opened the machine with the help of the keys already available with them and retrieve the cash that had remained trapped inside the ATM.

The accused disclosed during interrogation that they had adopted this modus operandi at multiple ATMs of Axis Bank in Sector 4–5, Gurugram, as well as at ICICI Bank ATMs in Kapashera and nearby areas of Delhi.

Further investigation is underway where the investigators are contacting the concerned police stations in these areas to ascertain whether any FIRs have been registered in connection with similar incidents.

New Delhi, Sep 18: The government on Friday eased the existing 15-day sugar stockholding limit for bulk consumers to 30 days, subject to the condition that the quantity of stock held beyond the existing 15 days limit is sourced exclusively from sugar imported under advance authorisation scheme (AAS) and tariff rate quota (TRQ).

The stockholding limit for purchase from the open market will remain unchanged and will be restricted to 15 days’ consumption only.

The government has also put in place a mechanism for the declaration and weekly disclosure of sugar stocks every Friday by bulk consumers through the Department of Food and Public Distribution’s online portal, according to an official statement.

The government held detailed consultations with major bulk consumers of sugar and their suggestions have been duly considered with a view to maintaining a stable and orderly sugar market.

Meanwhile, retail sugar prices have declined by around 10 per cent to Rs 58.50 from their peak of Rs 65 in August. However, ex-mill prices have already declined by nearly 25 per cent.

The government observed that the slower decline in retail prices indicates that the benefit of the reduction in ex-mill prices has not yet been fully transmitted through the supply chain to the consumer.

The government made a strong appeal to the sugar trade, wholesalers and retailers to immediately pass on the benefit of the significant reduction in ex-mill sugar prices to consumers, emphasising that the decline in retail prices must keep pace with the correction already achieved at the mill level.

At present, bulk consumers using or consuming more than 10 MT of sugar per month as a raw material for production, consumption or use are permitted to hold sugar stock for a period not exceeding 15 days of their consumption. Bulk consumers have represented that the existing limit may be enhanced, particularly in view of the upcoming festival season.

The measure is intended to strike a balance between the interests of bulk consumers and the need to maintain stability in the domestic sugar market. It will provide greater operational flexibility to genuine industrial consumers during the upcoming festival season while ensuring that additional stocks are sourced from imported sugar rather than placing undue pressure on domestic stocks, the statement said.

In a joint meeting with representatives of ISMA, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories and sugar trade, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, underlined that the reduction in ex-mill prices has not yet been reflected fully in retail prices.

The Secretary emphasised that the farmer and the consumer are the two central pillars of India’s sugar policy. The government has consistently worked to balance the interests of sugarcane farmers with the need to maintain stable and reasonable sugar prices for consumers.