
Two men arrested with 20g MDMA
Police had kept the duo under surveillance after receiving information about their drug business from another person arrested in an NDPS case.
They then contacted them posing as customers. Following the officers' direction, the accused reached the bus stop with the drug and the police team soon apprehended them.
Police identified the arrested persons as Abin S, 19, of SN Nagar Road near Pettah and Athul J, 26, of Chilotu Veedu near Moonammanackal Devi Temple at Kadakampally.
They were remanded after being produced before a court on charges under sections 22 (c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act-1985.
During questioning, the accused admitted that they bought the drug from Bengaluru for sale here and were in to peddling for the past few months.
The mobile phones of the accused were seized and sent for forensic examination to find the other links in the drug network. "Their call details are also being examined," added police.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


News18
3 hours ago
- News18
Arunachal minister reiterates state govts commitment to ensure child safety
Agency: Itanagar, July 20 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Women and Child Development minister Dasanglu Pul has expressed deep concern over the recent child abuse case reported in Lower Dibang Valley district of the state, and reiterated the state government's commitment to ensuring justice and safety of children. In a meeting convened with key child welfare stakeholders at Roing on Saturday, Pul assured full government support to the victims and their families, an official statement said. The stakeholders include members of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), and the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) of the district. 'My heart goes out to the victims and their families. We stand united to ensure justice and healing. No child should ever feel unsafe," the minister said, underscoring the importance of coordinated action in such cases. At least eight minor girls were subjected to physical abuse in a private school at Roing, by a migrant youth from neighbouring Assam, who was later lynched by a mob on July 11. The 19-year-old man, identified as Riaz-Ul Kurim from Bongaigaon in Assam, was taken into police custody on Friday after it came to light that he had allegedly sexually assaulted several girls of a school, police had said. The parents of the girls, who filed a complaint with the school authorities, had nabbed the youth and thrashed him before police rescued him and took him into custody. However, a mob barged into the police station, dragged the youth outside and beat him up. As he was rescued and taken to the hospital, they followed him and thrashed him again, ultimately leading to his death. The youth used to work at a construction site near the school, police said. The minister also welcomed the state cabinet's recent approval to implement the 'Support Person' provision under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The initiative aims to provide emotional and procedural assistance to child victims during police and court processes. 'Children facing such trauma often feel scared, confused, and isolated. This important step ensures they receive emotional and procedural support, bringing us closer to a truly child-friendly justice system, one that protects, empowers, and upholds the dignity of our youngest citizens," the minister said. The move is being seen as a significant milestone in Arunachal Pradesh's efforts to build a robust and compassionate child protection framework. PTI UPL UPL RG view comments First Published: July 20, 2025, 11:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.


Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Who is surprised by a Monojit Mishra? A look at Bengal colleges, governing bodies, and political control
The alleged rape of a student at a law college in Kolkata last month brought into focus a well-known West Bengal secret: the control by politicians of colleges in the state, largely through their governing bodies (GBs). In his latest visit to the state, which goes to the polls next year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday raised 'the state of the education sector' in Bengal, specifically the school jobs scam. 'What is happening in West Bengal is worrying. Be it primary education or higher education, the situation is the same everywhere. Thousands of teachers have lost their jobs because of grassroots corruption … Trinamool has put both the present and future of Bengal in crisis,' he said at a rally in Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district. The Indian Express looked at several colleges in and around Kolkata, some of which are affiliated to the University of Calcutta (CU), where Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders wield influence in the governing bodies. Following the case of alleged rape at the law college, it emerged that the main accused, Monojit Mishra, is a member of the TMC's student wing Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and was appointed a 'casual' clerical staffer after he graduated. A TMC MLA heads the college's governing body. Some MLAs and ministers, in fact, are the governing body presidents of multiple colleges. To questions about how this affects academic and administrative freedom in these institutions, the TMC points out that the appointments are well within the rules. The West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Act, 2017, which sets out the rules on governing bodies, says in Article 5(3) that their tenure will be 'determined by the State Government from time to time'. As a result, many of these GBs have remained unchanged for over half a decade, with the government routinely extending their tenure every six months. The structure of these 10-member bodies is also such that it allows the government to stack them with people whom it either directly nominates or those who are closely linked to the TMC. Only four elected members make it to the governing bodies — three teachers and one non-teaching staff representative — and often, they too have links to the ruling party. Since student union elections have not been held in colleges for the past several years, the post of student representative continues to remain vacant. Some TMC leaders and the college governing bodies they are presidents of are: . Ashok Kumar Deb, Budge Budge MLA: Bangabasi College, Acharya Girish Chandra Bose College, Budge Budge College, South Kolkata Law College, and Sarsuna College . Shashi Panja, Industry Minister: Maharaja Manindra Chandra College, Maharaja Srischandra College, Baghbazar Women's College, and Chittaranjan College . Chandrima Bhattacharya, Health Minister: Mrinalini Datta Mahavidyapith and Gopal Chandra Memorial College of Education . Sudip Banerjee, Kolkata North MP: Maulana Azad College and Seth Anandram Jaipuria College . Madan Mitra, Kamarhati MLA: Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women . Md Nadimul Haque, Rajya Sabha MP: Calcutta Girls' College The Indian Express reached out to all of them but received no response. 'Principals are now sandwiched between politics and college administration. There is no freedom to work,' said a college principal who refused to be identified. A recurring complaint among principals is the lack of change in the governing bodies. 'The GB in my college was last officially formed in 2018. Every six months, the government sends an extension order,' said Dr Satya Upadhyay, principal of Calcutta Girls' College. However, he added, that despite TMC MP Haque heading the college governing body, he didn't face any pressure. 'We sometimes have differences of opinion, but we end up finding a solution. You cannot take politics out of campuses,' Upadhyay said. Last month, after the principal of Kolkata's Rani Birla Girls' College, Srabanti Bhatacharya, initiated the election of teaching and non-teaching staff representatives to the GB — which has been unchanged for seven years — a government nominee dropped in a day before voting was to take place. The election was subsequently cancelled, with Bhattacharya hospitalised on complaint of acute chest discomfort. In a letter, the faculty and other staff members alleged that the government nominee had put pressure on the principal to halt the election. 'Those who don't listen to orders face consequences. Many principals have been suspended because of differences. For instance, it happened in Purulia Raghunathpur College because the principal didn't listen to the GB,' claimed former All Bengal Principals' Council president and retired AJC Bose College principal Purna Chandra Maity. Alleged political interference in colleges also extends beyond GB appointments, with instances of former leaders and general secretaries of TMCP getting appointed to non-teaching positions. In one instance, a powerful TMCP leader became the head clerk at Ashutosh College and a former general secretary was appointed the college accountant, said a source. This shows an 'urgent need for comprehensive reforms to restore academic autonomy and ensure transparent, democratic governance in colleges', said a college principal, who did not wish to be identified. Another feature of the political limbo on college campuses is the absence of regular student union elections. 'Non-functional student unions give the TMCP all the advantage,' said a CU official. 'College authorities also treat the TMCP unit as the students' union. Every college used to have a separate fund for these unions, and that now goes to the outfit.' Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state president Indranil Khan alleged that 'over-politicisation of campuses' by the TMC had 'ruined the academic atmosphere'. 'Such people control colleges, admissions, and examinations. They would never nominate a fair academic to the governing body, as then they will not be able to rig elections,' he said. CPI(M) student wing SFI's All India Joint Secretary Dipsita Dhar accused the TMC of running a monopoly in colleges. 'The whole idea of having a governing body without a student in it is antithetical to internal democracy. Sadly, in Bengal, colleges have turned into a source of income for the Trinamool nexus,' she said. The institutional control of universities and educational institutions, however, is not exclusive to the TMC years. It was a source of consternation for the middle classes during the three-decade Left rule, too. In Economic and Political Weekly in June 2011, economist Pranab Bardhan, analysing the fall of the CPI(M), mentioned its all-pervasive control of institutions, including colleges and universities, and the damage it caused. 'The appointments and promotions in colleges and universities, directly orchestrated from the party office in Alimuddin Street and screened for party loyalty, decimated Bengal's long-enjoyed advantage in academic, intellectual and professional pursuits,' he wrote. TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya defended the extended term of the general bodies, saying it was within the rules. 'I do not understand the problem if the GB president is a political person and is efficient. For example, Dr Shashi Panja is so efficient. Also, not all college GBs are in the party's control,' he said.


New Indian Express
7 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Smugglers hide cocaine in comic books; Rs 40 worth drugs recovered at Bengaluru airport
BENGALURU: In a new shift in modus operandi, criminals are using magazines and comic books as camouflage to smuggle contraband drugs on transnational routes to escape detection and hoodwink law enforcers. On July 18, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Bengaluru Zonal Unit (BZU) intercepted an Indian male passenger, who arrived in Bengaluru from Doha at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in the early hours of Friday. The officers found that he was carrying in his baggage two superhero comics/ magazines which were 'unusually heavy. They recovered white powder concealed in the coverside of the magazine. The powder tested positive for cocaine,' said sources. 'The recovered cocaine weighing 4,006 grams (over 4 kg) and having an international market value of around Rs 40 crore was seized. The passenger, originally from Delhi was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985,' added sources. 'The contraband drug was meant for consumption in Bengaluru city,' said sources on condition of anonymity. The accused was produced before the special court and remanded to judicial custody the same day. The DRI since April has seized 30-40 kgs of methamphetamine (crystal meth) from Bengaluru city. In March the DRI seized three kg of cocaine at KIA. The Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) and police have also seized huge quantities of contraband drugs, especially meth.