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Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
46-year-old man murdered in Surat, two arrested
A day after two people were arrested for allegedly murdering a 46-year-old Rajasthan native, the police on Monday produced the two accused before the court, which sent them to police remand till August 7. A third accused in the case is still absconding, said police. The Limbayat Police identified the victim as Alok Agrawal, who was formerly working as a broker in the textile trading business in Surat. The accused identified as Uttar Pradesh resident Dipak Kumar Singh (35) and Odisha-based Bhagwan Swai (25), residing in Surat city, were arrested on Sunday, said police. According to police, three persons allegedly waylaid victim Alok Agrawal on Saturday night near Vatika Shopping Complex in Surat's Parvat Patia area, and attacked him repeatedly with knives, leading to his on spot death. On Sunday, the victim's elder brother, Ajay Agrawal, filed a complaint with the Limbayat police station, said sources. Later in the day, the police arrested the two accused. A couple of hours after their arrest, the police took both of the accused to the alleged murder spot for the reconstruction of the crime. As the news of the police arrival spread, thousands of people from the Rajasthani community, staying in Surat, gathered on the spot. A few BJP party workers and local corporator Vijay Chaumal also accompanied the agitating people. Chaumal said, 'Action should be taken against criminals in Surat and the whole of Gujarat on the lines of Uttar Pradesh. The accused killed a Rajasthani youth in a public area, they should be shot dead by police.' The BJP councillor also allegedly tried to snatch a stick from Police Inspector N K Kamaliya in a bid to hit the murder accused, when the crime reconstruction was in progress, but was stopped before the situation could go out of hand, said police sources. Chaumal while addressing the mediapersons, on the sidelines of the spot, said, 'A strict message should be given to the murder accused…they should be gunned down by the Surat police in front of the public… There should be tit for tat, so that in future nobody would dare to commit such a crime.' Chaumal, who hails from Rajasthan and is settled in Surat, told The Indian Express, 'The victim Alok Agrawal hailed from Rajasthan and had been residing in Surat's Parvat Patia area for a long time. He was brutally murdered by the accused. Police arrested two accused, however, one person is still absconding. We want strict actions to be taken against the accused.' Meanwhile, sources said that a few days ago, the State Monitoring Cell had conducted raids in the EWS Awas area of Bhestan locality, during which a gambling ring was busted and cash worth lakhs was seized. According to sources, Alok had allegedly tipped-off the State Monitoring Cell personnel about the gambling activities. Limbayat Police Inspector N K Kamaliya said,'As per the initial probe, we got to know that Alok, who earlier worked as a textile broker, was involved in a dispute with one Ashfak Kawa of Kosad area in Surat. Around 15 days ago, a quarrel took place between Alok and Ashfak in Kosad. Nursing a grudge against Alok, Ashfak allegedly ordered his henchman to eliminate the former. Ashfak has gone underground and a police team is looking for him.' Kamaliya added, 'Apart from Dipak Kumar Singh and Swai Bhagwan, a third accused, Abrar Lassi, was also involved in Alok Agrawal's murder. They attacked the victim with knives. His body bore 50 injury marks. We have arrested the two accused while the third one is on the run. A manhunt has been launched to arrest him as well. Probe into the matter is underway.' On Monday, police presented both the accused before the Surat district court. Police had sought seven days of remand. After hearing arguments from defence and prosecution, the court granted police remand of both the accused for three days, till August 7.
Indian Express
26-07-2025
- Indian Express
Gujarat Police begins process to have its own head constable prosecuted under GujCTOC Act following arrest in prohibition case
Six years after the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GujCTOC) Act came into force, the police in the state has initiated the process to assess if it could have one of its own suspended personnel prosecuted under the law. The case pertains to the recent arrest of a head constable by the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) that functions directly under the office of the chief of Gujarat Police. Head Constable Sajan Virabhai Vasrani is accused of taking bribe in lieu of smooth passage of a consignment of liquor, which is prohibited in the state. If it comes through, Vasrani's prosecution would become the first such case of a policeman being booked under the law that came into force in 2019. On July 19, the SMC received information that the driver of a heavy vehicle was transporting a gas capsule container filled with Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). On the Bharuch-Vadodara highway, the Vadodara Rural Police stopped, searched and seized the consignment. The Local Crime Branch (LCB) of Vadodara Rural Police seized 20,340 bottles of IMFL worth Rs 1.73 crore and arrested one Fagluram Umaram Jat. Two others, Anil Jagdish Prasad and Manish Bhaiji, were declared 'wanted' and booked under sections of the Gujarat Prohibition Act on July 20. However, the SMC said in its statement on Saturday, it received information that the members of this bootlegging gang had allegedly paid a bribe of Rs 15 lakh for the consignment to be transported through Gujarat unmolested. In its statement, the SMC said it found 'that the accused persons had paid a bribe of Rs 15 lakh to someone known only as Rahulbhai in Bharuch. The money was transferred to Gandhinagar via angadia (a traditional, informal courier system) with instructions that the amount was payable to a person bearing a specific Rs 10 note. The sender of the IMFL consignment, Anil alias Pandia Jagdishprasad Jat of Rajasthan, had sent the Rs 15 lakh by angadia the same day, according to the statement. On the other end, a man named Hardik had taken possession of Rs 5 lakh from the angadia firm and had further sent the other Rs 10 lakh via same mode to a man named Rakesh, in Junagadh, the statement further said. In Junagadh, this amount of Rs 10 lakh was picked up by a man named Rocky, allegedly on the instructions of Vasrani who turned out to be a Police Head Constable posted with the SMC itself in Gandhinagar, according to the statement. On June 23, DGP Vikas Sahay transferred Vasrani to his parent police department in Dwarka district, placed him under suspension, and initiated an SMC-led departmental inquiry against him. On the other hand, the SMC alleged that Vasrani switched his phone off and went underground the day he was transferred. However, he was apprehended by his colleagues at the SMC on July 25 under section 35(1)(j) (arrest without warranty) of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), and was handed over to Vadodara Rural Police as accused in the FIR filed under the Prohibition Act. The SMC statement said that it had obtained and filed as evidence five voice recordings between Head Constable Vasrani and Jat, who is the main accused in the case filed under GujCTOC Act. The SMC has now begun proceedings to have Vasrani added to the same FIR. DIG Nirlipt Rai told The Indian Express, 'There is a process to book someone under GujCTOC. For that, we have to gather the evidence, and then we will file our report before the Inspector General (IG) of the Border Range, who has jurisdiction over Dwarka. The Range IG will then decide whether to add him to the FIR. GujCTOC is meant to take action against those helping people engaged in organised crime.'
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Time of India
Police sub-inspector dies of heart attack after liquor seizure operation
Rajkot A 35-year-old police sub-inspector of the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) died of a heart attack after a liquor seizure operation in Bhavnagar on Thursday. Officials said PSI Sharma and his team had received specific intelligence regarding a liquor-laden car heading towards Bhavnagar's Nari Crossroads from Ahmedabad. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now As they kept a watch, the car driver abruptly made a U-turn and began heading back towards Ahmedabad. The team chased the car but later found it abandoned under an overbridge. As the suspects had fled the scene, Sharma and his team began a search operation. During this, one accused, identified as Ashok Bishnoi, was apprehended. Soon after the arrest, Sharma experienced acute chest and shoulder pain, and was taken to a local doctor who found that he his blood pressure was high. He was immediately taken to a private hospital in Bhavnagar where he died. Police have initiated proceedings to register a case under the Prohibition Act against the accused. Sharma had previously served at Pipavav Marine police Station in Amreli. Upon learning of the incident, Nirlipt Rai, deputy inspector general of police (DIG), rushed to Bhavnagar while district superintendent of police Harshad Patel, Range IGP Gautam Parmar, and other senior officials also reached the hospital and gathered details about the sequence of events.
Indian Express
21-06-2025
- Indian Express
PMLA probe complete, asked banks to unfreeze accounts of bootlegger's brother: Gujarat Police tells HC
Nearly three years after the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) of the Gujarat police directed two banks to freeze accounts of a Vadodara-based businessman to investigate a proposed case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against his brother, a wanted alleged bootlegger, the cell informed the Gujarat High Court that it has requested the banks to 'unfreeze' the accounts as the investigation was complete. On Thursday, Justice HD Suthar of the Gujarat HC disposed of the petition filed by Rajesh Udhwani, a resident of Vadodara's Warasiya area and the brother of Vijay Udhwani, who had moved a Special Criminal Application through his advocate Rahul Sharma against the state of Gujarat, Director General and Inspector General of Police, SMC, and Vadodara city branches of two banks — Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank – after his accounts were frozen in July 2022 at the directions of the SMC. On Thursday, as the petition came up for hearing, the government public prosecutor informed the court that the SMC, had, through a communication to the banks in April, directed that the two accounts held by Rajesh Udhwani be 'unfreezed' as the 'investigation was done'. The court, in an oral order, disposed of the petition and said, 'In view of the communication dated 29.04.2025 prepared by the Police Sub-Inspector, State Monitoring Cell, Gujarat State, the application stands disposed of as having become infructuous.' In his petition before the HC, the petitioner stated that he runs a liquor business in Rajasthan and a retail cloth store in Vadodara city. He challenged the seizure of his two bank accounts with the HDFC and the Bank of Baroda, which was effected by both banks in July 2022, on the directions of the SMC. The petition stated that Rajesh Udhwani 'has no criminal antecedent and is not involved in any criminal activity'. The petitioner had stated that he 'has reasons to believe that his bank accounts were seized because several offences under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949, have been registered against his brother.' Rajesh Udhawani's advocate Rahul Sharma told The Indian Express, 'The petition contended that seizure of bank accounts of any person, without there being any connection with any crime, is not permissible under law. There is also no reason for the police to suspect the commission of any crime. Therefore, the prayer was that the order of the SMC to seize the accounts of the petitioner be quashed and set aside and the petitioner be allowed to operate his bank account without any hindrance… The SMC had frozen the accounts without following the process of law.' In a letter sent to the manager of the banks in April, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, SMC, directed that the accounts be 'unfreezed'. The letter, which is now part of the annexures presented before the HC by the petitioner, and signed by Police Sub-inspector of SMC, said, 'An offence has been registered (in 2021)… for the purpose of PMLA (money laundering) proposal of the accused and to further investigate the case, the Investigating Officer JH Dahiya, Police Inspector SMC Gandhinagar, with cited reference letter, has examined account details of the accounts connected and familiar with the main accused… and after that the IO had requested your bank to freeze and mark this account as 'No Debit' till further instructions from his office… Investigation of the account has been done… so you are requested to unfreeze the account.' The petitioner's brother, Vijay Udhwani alias Viju Sindhi, is an alleged bootlegger who has multiple cases against him across the state as well as a red corner notice. Vijay has been on the run since his name cropped up in the murder of gangster Mukesh Harjani in Vadodara in 2016. In February, the SMC had booked Vijay under the GUCTOC Act along with his gang members in hundreds of collective cases. Vijay has challenged the FIR in the Gujarat HC.
Hans India
20-05-2025
- Hans India
Crackdown on drug racket in Gujarat, one arrested
Himmatnagar (Gujarat): In an operation against narcotics trafficking, the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) of the Gujarat Police carried out a well-coordinated raid targeting an illegal drug operation in the state's Sabarkantha district. Acting on intelligence inputs, the SMC team raided the residence of Khursidkhan Sadatkhan Pathan in Sanjarnagar, Madani Society, in Himmatnagar city in the district. The two-day raid, conducted under the provisions of the NDPS Act Sections 8(C), 22(C), 29 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act Sections 111(3) and 111(4), led to a major seizure of drugs and related materials. During the search, the team recovered 195.280 grams of Mephedrone, a banned synthetic stimulant, valued at Rs 19,52,800. In addition, the police seized two mobile phones worth Rs 10,000, Rs 79,280 in cash, two weighing scales valued at Rs 1,000, and 136 blank zipper bags used for packaging drugs. The total value of seized muddamal stands at Rs 20,43,080. The raid was executed by Police Inspector (PI) C.B. Chaudhari and PSI V.K. Rathod of the State Monitoring Cell Police Station. Two individuals were arrested during the operation. The primary accused, Khursidkhan Sadatkhan Pathan, is alleged to have stored and sold the Mephedrone from his residence. He has a previous criminal record, having been booked in 2007 at Sector 7 Police Station in Gandhinagar under IPC Sections 365 (kidnapping), 384 (extortion), and 403 (misappropriation of property). The second accused, Nomanmiya Sakirmiya Parmar, a resident of Kasba Vad in Harsol village, Talod taluka, Sabarkantha, was reportedly the buyer of the narcotic substances. He also has a history of criminal charges, including IPC Sections 504 and 506(2), for criminal intimidation, registered at Talod Police Station in 2021. The SMC has also identified a third individual, Irfankhan Nisarkhan Pathan, as a wanted accused in the case. A resident of the same locality as Khursidkhan, Irfankhan is believed to have sourced the Mephedrone from Madhya Pradesh and supplied it to Khursidkhan for distribution. He is considered the key link in the supply chain. Irfankhan has a previous NDPS case registered at Himmatnagar A Division Police Station (Cr. No. 1751/2021), involving the seizure of 348.600 grams of Mephedrone valued at Rs 34.86 lakh. He was released on bail six months ago in that case. Gujarat has emerged as a significant hub in India's battle against narcotics, with recent data highlighting a sharp increase in drug seizures and arrests. In 2024 alone, authorities confiscated narcotic and psychotropic substances valued at Rs 7,303 crore, with a substantial portion of these shipments originally intended for Punjab. However, the rising number of seizures within the state suggests a growing local consumption, particularly of synthetic drugs like mephedrone. The state's strategic location, featuring a vast coastline and major ports, has made it a key transit point for drug trafficking. This has led to increased vigilance and operations by law enforcement agencies. In a notable operation, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), in collaboration with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), seized 907 kg of mephedrone from a manufacturing facility in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Further emphasising the state's proactive measures, the Gujarat government has rewarded over Rs 11 crore to 970 informants over the past three years for assisting in drug-related apprehensions.
