BSF launches Operation Alert along Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya
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New Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Omni bus owners allege illegal tax collection in Tamil Nadu
COIMBATORE: The All Omni Bus Owners and Operators Association alleged on Sunday that transport officers in the state are illegally collecting money from omni bus owners from both Tamil Nadu and other states under the guise of a special tax, despite them already paying the legally mandated road tax. The association's founder, A Pandiyan, stated that a bus with an all-India permit pays a road tax of Rs 90,000 to the central government every three months. Additionally, they pay road tax to their respective state governments based on the number of seats. He said that, according to law, no other taxes are required. Operators are also subjected to long checks at toll gates, causing delays in passenger drop-offs and affecting their business, he said. 'However, officers from the state transport department are collecting money from omni bus owners who are operating inter-state, from other states to Tamil Nadu and vice versa. They are doing so in the name of a special tax. They collect anywhere from `20,000 to `1 lakh, especially on holidays and during festival times,' Pandiyan alleged. Urging Transport Minister SS Sivasankar to intervene and put an end to this illegal practice, the association warned of a larger protest at the state transport department office in Chennai if the issue persists. When contacted, transport and road safety commissioner R Gajalakshmi told TNIE that she would look into this matter.
Hans India
22 minutes ago
- Hans India
Police arrest one with 16 kg ganja
Hyderabad: Rachakonda police uncovered a drug trafficking operation along the busy Hyderabad – Nagpur highway. The Abdullapurmet police arrested a driver transporting 16.460 kg of ganja from Andhra Pradesh to Maharashtra. According to police, at around 9:22 pm on Friday, Patrol car-1 of Abdullapurmet police station received a phone call from a caller, stating that a car crashed into the divider before Nirmala Service Station / Indian Oil petrol pump, NH-65, towards Hyderabad road, Batta Singaram, Abdullapurmet. Following the alert, police rushed to the spot and found a person named Bhukya Madhu (33), car driver, who informed that he was going from Khammam to Nagpur, Maharashtra. On suspicious movements, the patrol car staff checked his car, opened the door and found two plastic bags with brown coloured packets between the back and front seat. Subsequently, police found ganja weighing about 16.460 kg and seized the contraband. On interrogation, Madhu revealed that his friend Sadib from Khammam district advised him to transport ganja from one place to another, from Odisha to Nagpur, Maharashtra, and gain profit and share the amount for which he agreed. 'He met Sadib in Khanapuram, Khammam on August 13 and was paid Rs 50,000 and was directed to go to Gokavaram, Rajahmundry, where one person would hand over ganja packets and to pay Rs 45,000 to the party and keep Rs 5,000 for expenses,' said Police. Following Sadib's direction, Madhu went to Rajahmundry, where one person handed over two bags containing ganja packets at Rajahmundry on August 14 and proceeded from Khanapuram, Khammam to Nagpur, Maharashtra state, via Hyderabad, and on the way on August 15 at Batasingaram, he crashed into the road divider due to over speeding, added police. Abdullapurmet police registered a case and are investigating. The accused was arrested and was produced before the court.
Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Ineligible persons posted at drug rehab, de-addiction centres, finds DC
An inquiry conducted by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Tarn Taran has allegedly found a nexus involving officials and a private contracting firm for recruiting ineligible persons into the district's drug de-addiction and rehabilitation facilities through outsourced contracts. The border district is one of the worst affected by the problem of drug menace. DC Rahul has recommended registration of police case based on inquiry report. The complainant claimed that contract was allegedly awarded illegally by the then Deputy Medical Commissioner, Dr Ramandeep Singh Padda. 'The contractor Davinder Singh was allegedly running a nexus through which he and his associates prepared fake degrees and documents, collected large sums of money from people, and gave them jobs. In this scheme, Rs 5 lakh was taken for the post of counsellor, Rs 3 lakh for staff nurse, and Rs 2 lakh for data entry operator, despite the degrees being fake. In July 2023, the company allegedly collected Rs 6,000 from each person in the name of verification, without issuing any receipt. The documents of the company's director and those submitted by the company are alleged to be fake. At the time of awarding the contract, Dr Padda is alleged to have carried out no verification,' says complainant Harjinder Singh. The inquiry report states that Asian Advanced Development Pvt Ltd, contracted to provide manpower from July 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, charged unlawful 'verification fees' and allegedly took bribes for recruitment. The company's manager and contractor, Davinder Singh, has been accused of concealing facts about the contract, failing to follow contractual terms, submitting incomplete or misleading records, and harassing employees who raised complaints. The report further adds that the then Deputy Medical Commissioner Dr Padda, now posted as Senior Medical Officer (SMO) at Sur Singh, is alleged to have colluded with the contractor by failing to scrutinise documents and by ignoring irregularities in the recruitment process. The report cites evidence that fake certificates were used to hire several outsourced employees, including counsellors and data entry operators. It also refers to a legal agreement dated August 16, 2023, which allegedly shows that Rs 26.86 lakh was collected for recruitment as bribe. Several other outsourced staff are suspected to have been appointed without proper verification. The Deputy Commissioner has recommended forwarding the matter to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Tarn Taran, for detailed investigation, describing it as a matter of criminal nature. In a letter dated July 28, 2025, the incumbent Deputy Medical Commissioner of Tarn Taran reported alleged false patient entries and misuse of Buprenorphine tablets at two state-run opioid assisted treatment (OOAT) centres in the district. Buprenorphine, a controlled substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, is intended to help individuals gradually withdraw from opioid dependence. However, health officials say that some addicts extract and inject the medicine for a more intense 'kick'.' 'These tablets are not available in the open market and are dispensed strictly through prescription under controlled medical supervision,' a senior health official said. 'They are primarily used in de-addiction centres as part of opioid substitution therapy.' In letter addressed to the Senior Medical Officers of Ghariyala and Khadoor Sahib, the Deputy Medical Commissioner said that inspections at the OOAT Centre in Kiratowal (CHC Ghariyala) on July 28, 2025, and the OOAT Centre in Khadoor Sahib on July 25, 2025, revealed 'serious irregularities' in patient records and the distribution of medicines. According to the official, when the previous week's records were reviewed, the number of patients at the centres did not match the number of entries made online. The letter alleges that staff were 'consistently making false entries' and misusing OOAT medicines. The matter had also been referred to the Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police, Tarn Taran, for further investigation and possible action against the staff involved. In this matter too the police investigation hasn't started yet. Besides, these irregularities, these centres also witnessed theft of Buprenorphine from OOAT centres. The most recent incident occurred on July 1 at the Bhagupur Drugli Rehabilitation and OOAT centre in Tarn Taran. According to officials, a thief broke into the premises but was apprehended on the spot by security personnel and handed over to the police. The police also registered an FIR against the accused for stealing the fan from the facility at the Sadar Patti police station. On February 2, 2025, staff at the community health centre (CHC) at Ghariala reported that the door of the OOAT centre was found broken. Upon inspection, they discovered that the box containing Buprenorphine medicines had been forcibly opened. As many as 296 tablets of 2 mg and 5,626 tablets of 0.4 mg were reported stolen, according to officials. On March 3, 2025, thieves again targeted the CHC Ghariala. Items stolen included an air conditioner, a camera, a fan, and 3,151 tablets of 2 mg buprenorphine, officials said. Further, on May 25, all the Buprenorphine tablets were stolen from the civil hospital in Ajnala. Another theft was reported on December 13, 2024, at the Aam Aadmi Clinic in Rattagudda village in Tarn Taran. In this case, one air conditioner and a tablet charger were reported missing.
