Latest news with #SOT
Hans India
3 days ago
- Hans India
Police Crackdown on Drug Smugglers
Drugs have once again caused a stir in Hyderabad. On Friday (May 30), a large amount of heroin was seized in the Cyberabad Commissionerate. The SOT police confiscated one and a half kilograms of heroin. According to reports, the police received reliable information that a gang of smugglers was selling drugs at a dhaba in Shadnagar, on the outskirts of the city. Acting quickly, the SOT police carried out a raid at the dhaba. During the operation, heroin, ganja, and OPM drugs were seized. The police revealed that the value of the seized drugs exceeds Rs. 3 crore. Full details of the case are yet to be released. Following government orders to crack down on drugs and intoxicants that are destroying youth lives, the police are taking strict action. As per Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's directive to make Telangana a drug-free state, the police are conducting regular checks and arresting drug smugglers.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- The Hindu
Four Rohingyas held in Rachakonda for identity fraud
In a joint operation, the Special Operations Team (SOT) of LB Nagar Zone along with the Hayathnagar police arrested four Rohingyas and seized forged Indian identity documents. The accused include Mohammed Arman, his wife Rumana Akther, his brother Mohammed Nayeem, and Mohammed Haris, who works as a private teacher at a local madarsa, said the Commissioner of Rachakonda police, G. Sudheer Babu. 'They had illegally entered India from Myanmar in 2011 and were residing in Pedda Amberpet and Balapur areas of Rangareddy district. Four children were also found living with them without legal status,' said the officer. According to the Commissioner, the group managed to obtain Indian Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, voter ID cards, a driving licence, and even LIC policy bonds by using forged documents and making false declarations. Authorities also seized bank passbooks from Union Bank and SBI, a cheque book from Andhra Bank, birth certificates, and five mobile phones. 'The alleged fraud began in 2014 when Arman secured an Aadhaar card from a Mee Seva centre in Manchal with help from Mohammed Haris. Using this Aadhaar card and a marriage affidavit, his wife also obtained her Aadhaar card. Nayeem, who entered India in 2016, was reportedly assisted by another Rohingya, Shoaib Malik, who helped him obtain Indian documentation. Malik and another suspect, Ayaz, are currently on the run,' explained Mr. Sudheer Babu. The four accused were arrested on May 20 and have been remanded to judicial custody. A case has been registered at Hayathnagar police station under charges of forgery, cheating, abetment, and causing harm to national integrity. Efforts are ongoing to locate and apprehend the two absconding suspects.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Time of India
4 Rohingya refugees held for obtaining Aadhaar fraudulently
Hyderabad: Four Rohingya refugees , including a couple, were arrested on Tuesday morning for obtaining Aadhaar cards through fraudulent means by the Rachakonda Special Operations Team (SOT) sleuths. The couple have four children from their marriage at the refugee camp in Balapur in the city, and they were handed over to the Child Welfare Committee . According to police, the accused, Md Arman, 32, and Md Rumana Akhter, 26, entered India separately in 2011 via Bangladesh when they were minors. Arman's brother, Md Nayeem, 20, entered India via Bangladesh in 2016. They stayed in the Rohingya refugee camp in Balapur. Arman operates vehicle battery business in Pedda Amberpet. Apart from the couple, police also arrested Nayeem and Mohammed Haris, a Rohingya working as a teacher at a madrasa in Hafeezbaba Nagar. Haris was arrested in 2019 too for possession of Aadhaar. In 2014, Arman obtained an Aadhaar card with the help of Haris from a MeeSeva centre in Manchal by providing a fake voter ID card and false declaration. Based on Arman's Aadhaar card and marriage declaration affidavit, Rumana also got her Aadhaar. Further, Nayeem too obtained the Aadhaar card in 2019 with the help of another Rohingya, Shoaib Malik, a resident of Balapur. "Using the Aadhaar card, he obtained a PAN card, voter ID card, driving licence, and even opened bank accounts. A suo motu case was registered at the Hayathnagar police station under the charges of forgery, cheating by giving false declaration before the govt officials, and obtaining Indian identity cards illegally," the Rachakonda police said in an official statement on Tuesday. Two other accused, Ayaz, a madrasa worker from Aghapally who helped Haris, in securing an Aadhaar card, and Shoaib, who helped Nayeem, were absconding. Police seized five Aadhaar cards, two PAN cards, five voter ID cards, a driving licence, two LIC policy bonds, three debit cards, a Bharat gas connection book, four bank passbooks, a cheque book, four birth certificates of Arman's children, and five cell phones from their possession. "The accused will be produced before court for judicial remand. We have handed over the custody of the four children, aged between 11 and one-and-a-half years, to the Child Welfare Committee," an SOT official said.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Indian Express
2 Hyderabad men held for trafficking workers to Gulf by forging work visas
The Cyberabad police Thursday busted a gang allegedly involved in a scheme to tamper with passports and visas to traffic people to Gulf countries illegally, and arrested two men. The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) police, along with the Special Operations Team (SOT) of the Shamshabad Zone, arrested Chilukuri Balaji, 43, and Sunkara Shiva Kumar, 30, both operating as travel agents, from Nampally in the city. According to a police statement, the agents targeted vulnerable people from Andhra Pradesh and other regions, promising high-paying jobs in Gulf countries like Kuwait and Oman. The modus operandi involved passport and visa tampering, where the accused procured visas, sometimes through fraudulent channels, and tampered with passports. This included stamping work visas with 'cancelled' to make them appear as tourist visas, thus bypassing immigration checks. The police action followed a complaint filed on May 13, 2025, by Gandikota Venkata Ramana, who alleged that agents, including Balaji, had deceived her and others, attempting to send them to Kuwait on tourist visas, despite holding Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports. Police investigation found that the accused exploited ECR passport holders (those who have not completed SSC), who require a Protect of Emigrant (POE) certificates, work contracts, and insurance for overseas employment. Not only did the agents circumvent these requirements, but they also forged work visa documentation, the police said. The accused earned a profit of Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 per person after covering expenses, the police said. 'The accused, Balaji and Shiva Kumar, are exploiting the desire of many people to seek employment in the Gulf (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Doha, etc.). They, along with absconding accomplices Anji and Satyanarayana, operate a human trafficking scheme. Through sub-agents in Andhra Pradesh, they target poor and illiterate individuals, collect their passports, and obtain work visas. However, these agents do not follow the legal requirements for processing work visas, such as obtaining POE certificates, insurance, and job contracts,' said K Srinivas Rao, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Shamshabad division). According to him, the accused illegally created and tampered with visas and other documents. 'Victims are then sent from Indian airports using tourist visas. Once onboard the flight, the tourist visa documents are discarded, and victims are instructed to present the altered or fraudulent work visa documentation upon arrival at immigration counters in the Gulf countries. This entire system, orchestrated by Anji and Satyanarayana, constitutes human trafficking,' he explained. The police recovered 14 tampered passports, 14 Gulf countries visas, 16 copies of round-trip flight tickets from RGI Airport to Muscat, among other things, such as two stamps, one stamp pad, seven cell phones and one Laptop. The arrested are associates of absconding main agents, Satyanarayana and Anji alias Penegalapati Ramanjaneyulu, said the police. Police investigations revealed that Balaji operated under a false identity, 'Srinivasa Global Recruits,' and was involved in a previous criminal case in Punjab. Shiva Kumar assisted in recruiting victims, collecting payments, and facilitating the fraudulent documentation process. An FIR has been registered under sections 318(4), 336(3), 340(2), and 112 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and 12 (1)(a)(b) of the Passport Act. The police are continuing their investigation to apprehend the others in the racket.
News.com.au
10-05-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Paramedics union claims new mental health trial will put ‘crucial' specialists at risk
Some of NSW's most specialist paramedics have launched workplace action as the paramedics union seeks to challenge the rollout of a new mental health unit trial they claim will put staff safety at risk. Paramedics have vowed not to support the Mental Health Co-Response Team (MHRCT) trial which is due to commence on May 12, including the reallocation of resources or participating in training. The Australian Paramedics Association of NSW says the MHRCT would redirect Specialised Operations Paramedics away from critical rescue and high-risk responses to 'staff an untested model'. 'Our patients in need of mental healthcare deserve better than being treated as an afterthought. They deserve permanent, evidence-based solutions,' APA NSW Assistant Secretary Gary Wilson said. 'This action is about safety. The safety of paramedics, of our nursing colleagues, and our patients. These safety risks have been raised on an ongoing basis with representatives of the employer since February.' Mr Wilson said only a handful of paramedics were trained as Specialised Operations Paramedics, and that it was 'crucial they are available when their specialist skills are required like Bondi' stabbing. 'If our extremely limited SOT resources are used to cover for (NSW) Health's failure to provide appropriate mental health services rather than treated as the scarce, highly specialised essential resources they are safety will continue to be compromised,' he said. 'Will SOT be available the next time a patient trapped in a fire zone needs medical assistance, or will the assistance for members of the community again depend on our road paramedics selflessly entering a situation they are untrained for, putting themselves at risk in the process. 'This should never be a choice they have to make.' The union has called on NSW Ambulance to cease plans to use SOT paramedics for the trial, and instead expand upon the 'highly successful, evidence-based Mental Health Acute Assessment Team model'. The APA said they had also requested for the dispute to be urgently listed at the Industrial Relations Commission. It is due to be heard on May 12. In a statement, a NSW Ambulance spokesperson said the safety of clinicians, patients, and the community was the 'top priority', and that the paramedics would remain available for incidents requiring specialist expertise. 'The Mental Health Clinician Response Team (MHCRT) trial involves NSW Ambulance Special Operations Team (SOT) paramedics working with NSW Health mental health nurses hosted by Western Sydney Local Health District,' the spokesman said. 'The trial aims to improve the experience for mental health patients by providing a rapid response, assessment and referral to the most appropriate mental health pathway, and by reducing emergency department presentations. 'NSW Ambulance assures the community that SOT qualified paramedics will remain available for incidents that require their specialist skills.' The spokesman said the 12-week trial would allow SOT paramedics to 'leverage their unique skills to treat and assess mental health patients in collaboration with the specialist nurses'. 'In the event the unit is dispatched to a non-mental health emergency incident, the mental health nurse would not be required to provide health care outside their scope of practice,' the spokesman said. 'During the consultation period, an assessment of risks and control measures regarding MHCRT was undertaken and shared with the Australian Paramedics Association (APA) and other stakeholders.
