Ram Katha an important medium for taking India’s cultural heritage to masses: Om Birla

Pune, May 10 (IANS) The Wagholi Police in Pune have busted a major MD (Mephedrone) drug network and arrested eight accused who were allegedly involved in supplying narcotics across the city and nearby rural areas, while also planning to establish an MD drug manufacturing unit in the outskirts of the district, officials said on Sunday.

During the operation, police seized contraband and assets collectively valued at nearly Rs 1.16 crore, officials added.

According to the police, the case began on April 16, when officers intercepted two accused at around 8 p.m. near the Jogeshwari Weighbridge on Theur Road in the Kesnand area.

The accused were allegedly found in possession of five grams and five milligrams of MD drugs valued at around Rs 1.1 lakh.

Following the seizure, a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered against five persons.

As the investigation progressed, police uncovered what they described as a larger and organised narcotics supply network operating across Pune city and adjoining rural areas.

Investigators identified the alleged kingpin of the racket as Sumit Ashok Ghule, who was accused of running the drug supply chain with the help of his associates.

According to the police, the gang had allegedly been distributing MD drugs in Pune city as well as in rural regions, including Lonikand, Bhima Koregaon, Shikrapur, Karegaon, Ranjangaon and Shirur.

During further investigation, police also learnt that the accused were allegedly planning to establish a factory for manufacturing MD drugs in rural areas around Pune.

Officials said the gang was reportedly trying to take assistance from another accused who was currently out on bail and had a previous criminal background related to narcotics manufacturing cases.

Acting on technical surveillance and confidential intelligence inputs, police teams traced and arrested the main accused, Sumit Ghule, from Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

Subsequently, several other accused linked to the racket were also apprehended from different locations. Among those arrested were Akash Ashok Dhawale, Ramniwas Bishnoi, and other associates allegedly involved in the drug trade.

Police said that during the operation, a substantial quantity of MD drugs was recovered from the possession of the accused.

So far, the police have seized a total of 225 grams of MD drugs, estimated to be worth around Rs 45.6 lakh in the illegal market.

Apart from the narcotics, the police also confiscated several luxury vehicles allegedly linked to the drug network, including a BMW car and other expensive automobiles.

Officials said that with the arrest of eight accused, the entire drug distribution network operating under the gang has been dismantled.

The total value of the seized narcotics, vehicles and other confiscated property has been estimated at around Rs 1.16 crore.

The entire operation was carried out under the supervision and guidance of Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar and other senior police officials.

Police officials said that investigations into the wider network and possible links of the gang with other narcotics syndicates are still underway.

Further details are awaited.

–IANS

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Hyderabad, Jan 27 (IANS) Telangana’s main opposition party BRS on Tuesday sought Governor Jishnu Dev Varma’s intervention for a probe by CBI or a sitting judge into the alleged corruption and financial irregularities in the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).

A delegation of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by party working president K. T. Rama Rao met the Governor and submitted a representation highlighting alleged irregularities related to tender, procurement, policy, and CSR funds.

The delegation presented documentary evidence related to alleged misuse of public funds, irregular tendering processes, and inflated project costs in mining and solar power projects undertaken by Singareni.

The BRS delegation informed the Governor that Singareni is jointly owned by the Telangana government (51 per cent) and the Government of India (49 per cent), stressing that every rupee involved was public money, and demanded urgent intervention to prevent further losses.

Addressing the media after the meeting, KTR said the party appealed to the Governor to initiate or recommend an independent probe—whether by the CBI or a sitting judge—into the alleged irregularities in Singareni’s OB mining projects and solar power ventures. It urged to immediately halt what he described as a “systematic siphoning of public funds”.

KTR said that the party had formally brought to the Governor’s notice the alleged “large-scale plunder” in Singareni and the government’s failure to provide credible explanations despite repeated disclosures made by BRS leaders, including former minister T. Harish Rao.

He stated that after BRS exposed the issue with supporting documents, the ruling party was unsettled, and instead of responding to the substance of the allegations, was attempting to divert public attention by summoning individuals in the name of inquiries.

The BRS leader alleged that the Chief Minister’s silence on the matter had led to widespread public anger in coal-mining regions. He remarked that workers increasingly felt that the state leadership was shielding the “coal mafia.”

He further accused the government of misusing nearly Rs 10 crore of Singareni funds for purposes unrelated to the core functioning of the company, asserting that this amounted to a grave injustice to the institution and its employees.

The BRS Working President raised several pointed questions regarding a newly introduced “Site Visit Certification” clause in tender processes—something he claimed had never existed earlier in Singareni or in coal mines elsewhere in the country.

He questioned why tenders that earlier attracted bids at rates below estimates were cancelled, only to be re-issued later with the new clause, allegedly resulting in costs rising well above projected values.

He demanded that the government release a comprehensive White Paper detailing the number of companies that conducted site visits over the last nine months, communications received by Singareni, certificates issued and criteria used for selecting contractors

KTR also questioned whether contractors were being selectively favoured and sought clarification on alleged links between certain beneficiaries and relatives of the Chief Minister.

On solar power projects, he alleged that while the national average cost stood at Rs 2.5–3 crore per megawatt, Singareni projects in Telangana were tendered at nearly Rs 7 crore per megawatt, calling for an explanation for what he termed as a massive escalation.

He also flagged a reported 30 per cent increase in the prices of explosives and gelatine sticks used in mining operations, stating that even Singareni directors had objected to the hike in board meetings, but were instead subjected to action while contractors allegedly benefited.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) The Supreme Court has issued notice to the state of Maharashtra on a plea seeking compensation for wrongful conviction and incarceration of a man who spent 12 years in prison, six of them on death row, before being acquitted earlier this year.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on the writ petition filed by Ramkirat Munilal Goud, who was acquitted by the apex court on May 7, 2025.

The Justice Vikram Nath-led Bench also directed that notice be issued to the Attorney General and Solicitor General, the highest and second-highest law officers of the Union, to assist it in the matter.

The apex court further tagged two similar petitions filed by ex-death row convicts, Kattavellai @ Devakar and Sanjay, seeking compensation.

Goud’s petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution detailed a harrowing account of wrongful arrest, fabricated evidence, and tainted investigation that led to his conviction by a Special POCSO Court in Thane on March 5, 2019, and the subsequent confirmation of his death sentence by the Bombay High Court on November 25, 2021.

The Supreme Court, while acquitting him in May 2025, had made scathing observations on the conduct of the police and prosecution. The apex court found that key witnesses “were created by the investigation agency for ulterior motive”.

It also held that Goud was illegally arrested on October 3, 2013, noting that “there was no material on the investigation file so as to even cast a minimal suspicion against the accused appellant. The Investigating Officers did not even possess the barest evidence which could have pointed a finger of suspicion towards the accused appellant. Thus, the very foundation for arresting the appellant in this case is lacking”.

The plea stated that the petitioner endured six years on death row and was released only on May 19, after spending twelve years in prison without ever receiving parole or furlough.

“The Petitioner’s children had never been able to visit him in prison,” the plea said, adding that upon his release, he found his family “living in a kaccha house, with plastic sheets for a roof”, having sold and mortgaged land and jewellery to pay for his legal expenses.

“The petitioner, now aged 41 years, lost the prime years of his life due to a wrongful conviction, essentially induced by an unlawful and tainted investigation. These wrongs suffered by him on account of the officers of the respondent State of Maharashtra ought to be compensated so that he may restart his life and provide for his family,” the petition further stated.

Claiming a violation of his fundamental rights under Article 21, the petition said that the government must be held strictly liable for the “illegal and tainted investigation, unfair prosecution, and fabricated evidence” that led to his wrongful conviction.

“The mere release of the individual from incarceration is not sufficient to correct the wrong faced by him,” the petition contended, urging the Supreme Court to direct the state of Maharashtra to provide appropriate compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary harm.

The petition on behalf of Goud was filed by advocates Mihir Samson and Yash S. Vijay, along with Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium appeared for the petitioner, while senior advocates Gopal Sankarnarayanan and Anitha Shenoy represented the other two petitioners.

–IANS

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