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News18
2 days ago
- News18
Scuba divers participate in marine cleanup drive in Andamans
Port Blair, Jul 20 (PTI) Concerned over plastic waste contaminating the marine environment, 24 scuba divers, including over 10 women, undertook a marine cleanup drive at North Bay Island in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, officials said. The scuba cleanup drive was organised on Saturday by the tourism department under the banner of 'Women's Dive Day 2025' with assistance from various dive associations and centres at North Bay Island, which is famous for coral reefs, snorkeling and scuba diving. Similar events were also organised at Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island) and Shaheed Dweep (Neil Island). Speaking to PTI, Tourism Secretary Jyoti Kumari said, 'We have organised special diving sessions for women participants. We would like to express our gratitude to various scuba dive centers for offering exclusive dive experiences on a complimentary basis to women participants." 'All the diver teams at North Bay, Swaraj Dweep, and Shaheed Dweep carried out underwater cleanup missions, reaffirming their commitment towards marine conservation and sustainable tourism practices," she said. Niharika Bhatt, Indian Reserve Battalion commandant and Superintendent of Police of Police Marine Force, also took part in the cleanup drive. 'I started diving last year and have completed the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) basic and advance diving courses. In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, there are world-class diving destinations with warm waters, corals and marine life. Diving is an exciting water sport that creates awareness about ocean conservation and protecting marine natural heritage," she said. 'Diving as a sport will help women gain confidence and break mental barriers. Such events will go a long way in promoting diving as well as creating awareness about marine ecology among the locals and tourists," Bhatt said. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration has enforced a complete ban on small plastic bottles as part of its drive to save marine ecology. This year, the forest department has already collected over 50,000 kg of marine plastic waste in the archipelago and this waste has been traced to around 20 countries, officials said. PTI SN SN ACD (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 20, 2025, 16:00 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.
Hindustan Times
13-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
IRB constable arrested for sneaking contraband into Ludhiana Central Jail
An Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) constable deputed at Ludhiana Central Jail was caught red-handed while trying to smuggle contraband items into the prison. An FIR has been registered against the accused under Sections 42, 45, and 52A of the Prisons Act. (HT Photo) The accused, identified as Jagdeep Singh, was found carrying 30 grams of loose tobacco and 14 sachets of packed tobacco concealed inside his uniform. Singh, a resident of Sujapur village in Sudhar, has been serving at the Central Jail for the past 14 years. His suspicious behaviour was noticed by jail officials during the night of July 10 and 11. Acting on the suspicion, the jail staff conducted a search and recovered the banned items from his possession. Following the recovery, assistant superintendent Rajiv Kumar lodged a complaint at Division Number 7 police station. An FIR has been registered against Jagdeep Singh under Sections 42, 45, and 52A of the Prisons Act. Police have initiated an inquiry to determine how long the constable had been engaged in smuggling activities and whether he had any accomplices inside or outside the prison. Previous incidents of smuggling at Central Jail On July 1, a home guard jawan was arrested for supplying drugs and mobile phones to inmates in exchange for money. Police said he received payments through UPI from inmates' relatives. June 4 last year, another home guard jawan was caught smuggling tobacco into the jail after accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 from inmates. On January 23 last year, two assistant jail superintendents and ten others, including inmates and their relatives, were arrested for their involvement in smuggling phones and contraband. Money was transferred to the jail staff via UPI.
Hans India
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Cache of arms, IEDs recovered in anti-Maoist operation in Jharkhand's Latehar
Latehar (Jharkhand): Security forces have recovered a large cache of arms and explosives, including eight improvised explosive devices (IEDs), during an intensive anti-Maoist operation in the forested region of Netarhat in Jharkhand's Latehar district, officials said on Wednesday. According to police officials, Maoist cadres had planted the IEDs underground in the Tutapani forest and surrounding hilly terrain under Netarhat police station limits to target security personnel patrolling the area. Each IED weighed around 0.5 kg. These were safely neutralised on-site by the bomb disposal squad, police said. The discovery came amid an ongoing operation launched after an encounter on May 26 in which Maoist commander Manish Yadav, carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh, was killed. During the same operation, zonal commander Kundan Kherwar, with a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was apprehended. Following the encounter, Latehar SP Kumar Gaurav ordered a massive cordon-and-search operation in the region. Acting on intelligence inputs, joint teams from Manika and Garu police stations, along with personnel from the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) B Set-147, combed the area intensively. Latehar police stated that the recoveries during the search operation included a 7.62 mm rifle, a 9 mm carbine, forty live cartridges of 7.62 mm and 5.56 mm, seventy-nine live cartridges of 9 mm, four SLR rifle magazines, four magazines of 9 mm carbine, a magazine cover for a 9 mm firearm, military-grade pouches, rifle cleaning rods and oil, and a Motorola wireless communication set. The recovered items suggest the kind of preparations the Maoist squad operating in the region had made. On May 26-27, security forces in the Hussainabad subdivision of neighbouring Palamu district gunned down another top Maoist leader, Tulsi Bhuiyan. An SLR rifle and other arms were seized from the site of that operation as well. Police have said that search and combing operations will continue in both districts to root out any remaining presence of Maoists and dismantle their logistical networks.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
IRB jawan gets life term for 2018's triple murder in Daund
1 2 3 Pune: Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) jawan Sanjay Shinde (43) was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs2 lakh by the court of additional sessions judge BP Kshirsagar on Tuesday. Shinde had gunned down three men with his service revolver over a personal and financial dispute in Daund under Pune rural on Jan 16, 2018. IRB is a paramilitary force within the state armed police force. The court also sentenced Shinde to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs1 lakh for the offence under section 409 (misappropriation of property) of the Indian Penal Code. If the total fine of Rs3 lakh is deposited, then 80% of it would be given to the legal representatives of the deceased and the remaining 20% would be credited to the govt. In his 53-page judgement, Kshirsagar observed that on the basis of direct, scientific and circumstantial evidence, the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Shinde, then in charge of the armoury, obtained a service pistol, two magazines and 22 rounds. He shot dead Gopal Shinde (32) and Parshuram Shinde (32), both of Wadarwadi, and Anil Jadhav (26) of Kurkumbh Road in full public view at Nagarmori Chowk and Jijamatanagar in Daund. The prosecution's case was that the jawan, who was on a scooter, fled after the murders. He was caught by Pune rural police at Supa village on the Pune-Ahilyanagar highway soon after the incident. He was lodged in judicial custody at the Yerawada Central Prison since then. The judge relied on the testimony of doctors, post-mortem reports and inquest panchnamas to show that the victims died due to firearm injuries in a homicidal attempt. On the allegations of the defence that the jawan was wrongly implicated, the Kshirsagar said, "There is nothing on record to show that witness Gajanan Shinde, brother of victims Gopal and Parshuram, would allow the real offender to escape and falsely implicate the jawan. The instant reaction of a witness is to name the culprit who committed the crime." On analysing the prosecution's evidence, Kshirsagar said even the accused did not assign any amicus to falsely implicate him. The scientific evidence in the form of call detail records proved his presence at the crime scene. Additional public prosecutor Rajesh Kavediya pleaded for capital punishment in the case, but the court said it did not fall within the ambit of the rarest of rare cases as defined by the Supreme Court to mandate a death sentence. Kavediya relied on testimonies of 32 witnesses and appreciated the significant role played by officer Vidyadhar Nischit in securing the presence of a ballistic expert from the US via video conference and other witnesses from Daund and Baramati to prove the guilt of the accused. The chargesheet in the case was transferred from the Baramati sessions court to the Pune court to expedite the trial after considering the law and order situation and threat perception received by the accused, he added. Shinde was attached to the IRB battalion in Kolhapur and was stationed at the SRPF camp in Daund at the time of the incident. Pune: Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) jawan Sanjay Shinde (43) was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs2 lakh by the court of additional sessions judge BP Kshirsagar on Tuesday. Shinde had gunned down three men with his service revolver over a personal and financial dispute in Daund under Pune rural on Jan 16, 2018. IRB is a paramilitary force within the state armed police force. The court also sentenced Shinde to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs1 lakh for the offence under section 409 (misappropriation of property) of the Indian Penal Code. If the total fine of Rs3 lakh is deposited, then 80% of it would be given to the legal representatives of the deceased and the remaining 20% would be credited to the govt. In his 53-page judgement, Kshirsagar observed that on the basis of direct, scientific and circumstantial evidence, the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Shinde, then in charge of the armoury, obtained a service pistol, two magazines and 22 rounds. He shot dead Gopal Shinde (32) and Parshuram Shinde (32), both of Wadarwadi, and Anil Jadhav (26) of Kurkumbh Road in full public view at Nagarmori Chowk and Jijamatanagar in Daund. The prosecution's case was that the jawan, who was on a scooter, fled after the murders. He was caught by Pune rural police at Supa village on the Pune-Ahilyanagar highway soon after the incident. He was lodged in judicial custody at the Yerawada Central Prison since then. The judge relied on the testimony of doctors, post-mortem reports and inquest panchnamas to show that the victims died due to firearm injuries in a homicidal attempt. On the allegations of the defence that the jawan was wrongly implicated, the Kshirsagar said, "There is nothing on record to show that witness Gajanan Shinde, brother of victims Gopal and Parshuram, would allow the real offender to escape and falsely implicate the jawan. The instant reaction of a witness is to name the culprit who committed the crime." On analysing the prosecution's evidence, Kshirsagar said even the accused did not assign any amicus to falsely implicate him. The scientific evidence in the form of call detail records proved his presence at the crime scene. Additional public prosecutor Rajesh Kavediya pleaded for capital punishment in the case, but the court said it did not fall within the ambit of the rarest of rare cases as defined by the Supreme Court to mandate a death sentence. Kavediya relied on testimonies of 32 witnesses and appreciated the significant role played by officer Vidyadhar Nischit in securing the presence of a ballistic expert from the US via video conference and other witnesses from Daund and Baramati to prove the guilt of the accused. The chargesheet in the case was transferred from the Baramati sessions court to the Pune court to expedite the trial after considering the law and order situation and threat perception received by the accused, he added. Shinde was attached to the IRB battalion in Kolhapur and was stationed at the SRPF camp in Daund at the time of the incident.
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Indian Express
Maoist commander arrested, another killed after gunfight in Jharkhand
A top Maoist commander, carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was arrested and another Maoist was killed in an overnight encounter with security forces at Douna village in the Netarhat area of Jharkhand's Latehar district, a senior police officer said Monday. Latehar police said they had been receiving consistent intelligence inputs about the movement of Kundan Singh Khairwar, a zonal commander of the banned CPI (Maoist), in the Mahuadanr and Netarhat areas. Acting on a tip-off on June 25, a police raiding team was formed under the leadership of Mahuadanr Sub-Divisional Police Officer Shivpujan Baheliya and officers-in-charge of Barhesandh and Mahuadanr police stations. Around 1.30 am, the joint team comprising district police, the Indian Reserve Battalion, and local intelligence units zeroed in on Chorha Tola in Douna village. 'While conducting reconnaissance in the area, the police spotted suspicious movement, which was confirmed to be a Maoist gathering,' the officer said. An officer said that as the team moved in, the Maoists opened fire on the security forces, to which the latter retaliated. 'In the ensuing encounter, the Maoists, unable to withstand the pressure, began fleeing. One of them, later identified as Kundan Singh Khairwar alias Sudhir Singh, was captured with arms,' he said. Kundan, a resident of Matlaung under Manika police station in Latehar, has been associated with the Maoists for the past 10-12 years. He was known for orchestrating major attacks, extortion, and disruptions in development work across Latehar and neighbouring districts. After reinforcements from the SSB 32 Battalion, CRPF 11 Battalion, and Jharkhand Jaguar arrived, a cordon-and-search operation was launched. During the sweep, the body of a Maoist was recovered, police said. 'He was identified as Manish Yadav, alias Manish Ji, a sub-zonal commander from Gaya, Bihar,' said the officer. A cache of arms, ammunition, and daily utility items used by the Maoist squad were also seized from the area.
