Latest news with #VishalSingh
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Suakati panchayat of Keonjhar wins e-governance award
Keonjhar: Suakati gram panchayat in Keonjhar district has won the 'jury award' in the National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG)-2025, for effectively using technology to enhance public service delivery. Suakati GP, Palsana GP in Gujarat and Lalitpur municipal council in Uttar Pradesh are the three local bodies in the country to be honoured in the newly introduced category. "The recognition reaffirms our belief that effective governance, when backed by innovation and dedication, can truly uplift rural communities," said Keonjhar district magistrate Vishal Singh. He said that Suakati's achievement would serve as motivation for other panchayats to adopt digital tools and practices. The awards will be presented during the 28th National Conference on e-Governance to be held in Visakhapatnam on June 9 and 10. The ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions announced 10 gold and 6 silver awards across six categories. Among the gold awardees are the IMD for its 'Multi-Hazard Early Warning Decision Support System' and the ministry of civil aviation for its Digi Yatra initiative. Gold winners will receive a trophy, certificate, and Rs 10 lakh to support further digital projects, while silver awardees will be awarded Rs 5 lakh.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Time of India
2 associates of gangster Arsh Dala arrested in Bathinda
Bathinda: The Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), Punjab, in a joint operation with Faridkot police , arrested two associates of foreign-based gangster Arsh Dala . The arrested associates have been identified as Vishal Singh of Muktsar and Onkar Singh of Gamewala village in Ferozepur. The police also recovered two .30 pistols, along with six live cartridges, from their possession. The two have multiple cases registered against them, DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Wednesday. The DGP said preliminary investigation revealed that accused Vishal Singh, who had come out on bail recently, was actively planning to eliminate his rival gang member. The accused was continuously in touch with his foreign-based handlers and was waiting for directions to execute a crime in Punjab. Yadav said further investigation was underway to identify other associates and establish backward and forward linkages in the case. The arrest is seen as a part of the ongoing crackdown on the terrorist-gangster networks with international linkages. Additional director general of police (AGTF) Promod Ban said based on intelligence inputs, the AGTF team led by DSP Rajan Parminder located the accused persons in the jurisdiction of Faridkot. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Click Here - This Might Save You From Losing Money Expertinspector Click Here Undo He said, in a joint operation with the Faridkot police, they arrested the accused and recovered weapons from their possession. Faridkot senior superintendent of police Pragya Jain said the arrested persons had a criminal background, with cases related to attempt to murder, cheating, and under the Arms Act registered against them. MSID:: 121317897 413 |
Hans India
21-05-2025
- Hans India
Punjab Police arrest two associates of foreign-based gangster Arsh Dala
Chandigarh: In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police's Anti Gangster Task Force (AGTF) in a joint operation with Faridkot Police have arrested two associates of foreign-based gangster Arsh Dala, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday. Those arrested have been identified as Vishal Singh, a resident of Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Onkar Singh, a resident of village Gamewala in Ferozepur. Police teams have also recovered two .30 bore pistols along with six cartridges from their possession. DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigation revealed that the accused Vishal Singh, who came out on bail recently, was actively planning to eliminate his rival gang member. The accused was continuously in touch with his foreign-based handlers and waiting for the directions to execute sensational crime in Punjab, he said. The DGP said that further investigation is underway to identify other associates and establish backward and forward linkages in this case. Sharing operation details, Additional Director General of Police (AGTF) Promod Ban said that the teams of the AGTF led by DSP Rajan Parminder, acting on human and intelligence inputs, located the accused persons in the jurisdiction of Faridkot. In a joint operation, Faridkot Police have arrested both the accused from near Dana Mandi chownk in Sadiq and recovered weapons from their possession. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pragya Jain said that both the arrested persons have a criminal background with cases pertaining to attempt to murder, cheating, under Arms Act, etc., have been registered against them. Earlier, the police have busted a Pakistan's ISI-backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module, being operated by foreign-based handlers Maninder Billa and Mannu Agwan, on directions of terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda with the arrest of its six members involved in attempted grenade attack outside a liquor vend in Batala town. As per information, some bike-borne youth had lobbed a hand grenade outside a liquor vend in the Focal Point area of Batala on May 17, which failed to explode due to faulty assembly, preventing any untoward incident.
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Delhi Police dog squad: Too many threats, too few paws
In a city rattled by hoax bomb threats, high-stakes security drills and drug busts, Delhi's most loyal frontline defenders are falling short — not in spirit, but in numbers. The Delhi Police dog squad, vital to detecting bombs, tracing suspects, and locating the missing, is operating at just 60% of its sanctioned strength. With only 64 dogs on duty instead of the required 105, the Capital's canine force is stretched dangerously thin. The pressure has only intensified since July last year, when the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) came into effect, calling for forensic-led policing across India. In Delhi, where more than 500 hoax bomb threats were recorded in 2024 alone—targeting schools, railway stations, and markets—the demand for trained dogs has skyrocketed. Yet, in six of the city's 15 police districts, dogs are not easily available. Back in August 2023, police commissioner Sanjay Arora issued a directive: every district must have its own dog squad, and select police stations should be equipped with specialised kennels. Two years later, that vision remains mostly unfulfilled. Vast swathes of the city—police districts including South, Southeast, Dwarka, Shahdara, Rohini and Outer Delhi—remain without a single dog. And in the districts that do, numbers barely meet emergency needs. According to the Crime Branch, which oversees the K9 squad, each district should house at least seven dogs—trained in explosives, narcotics, and tracking. But internal records accessed by HT show a stark shortfall: Northeast Delhi has just two dogs; North has four; Central and East have five each. New Delhi and Southwest fare slightly better with eight and nine dogs respectively. Eleven of the 64 dogs are stationed with the Crime Branch, serving citywide emergency needs. Senior police officers say they're often forced to 'borrow' dogs from neighbouring districts or the Crime Branch for routine security checks, VIP movements, and special events. 'We even rely on CISF's dogs for help during large-scale deployments,' said an officer in New Delhi district, which handles the bulk of VIP movements. Even where dogs are available, they are often overworked and fatigued. 'Dogs can work for about an hour at a time, especially Labradors and Golden Retrievers. In summer, they tire quickly and need at least 30-45 minutes of rest between deployments,' said head constable Vishal Singh, a dog handler. 'Belgian Malinois are more efficient—they can go longer, but they're also expensive and difficult to procure.' Of the 64 dogs currently in service, 58 are trained in explosive detection, just three are tracker dogs, and three are trained for narcotics. They include 22 Labradors, 17 Belgian Malinois, 16 German Shepherds and nine Golden Retrievers. But Delhi needs more—and needs them fast. The workload has become overwhelming. Each bomb threat, even if a hoax, triggers a full-scale response: bomb disposal units, sniffer dogs, and crime teams are dispatched to every location named in the threat. And each email often lists 10 to 15 schools or locations. 'We need two to three dogs per school to sweep every floor and room. When we get multiple threats in a day, it's physically impossible to manage,' said a canine handler in Model Town. Last October, an explosion outside a CRPF school in Rohini damaged walls and nearby vehicles. The following month, another low-intensity blast occurred in Prashant Vihar. While there were no casualties, the dog squad was pressed into action both times to trace the source and remnants of the improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Then came the real test of endurance. Last week, a four-storey building collapsed in northeast Delhi's Mustafabad, killing 11. The rescue operation ran for 16 hours, and a three-member dog squad was deployed to search for trapped victims. A similar building collapse in Burari three months earlier had killed five and left over a dozen trapped. Tracker dogs helped locate survivors in both instances. 'These incidents involve multi-storey structures, and first responders often can't see through the debris. Dogs are crucial in helping us detect trapped persons or bodies,' said a senior fire department official. The dog squad had once been stronger. 'We only use dogs between the ages of two and 10. Beyond that, they grow weak and can no longer serve in high-pressure environments,' said a dog squad official. 'We inducted 30 dogs between 2023 and 2024, mostly from military and paramilitary training centres. But we lost nearly the same number to retirement or illness.' At present, 115 police personnel are posted with the canine unit to train, care for, and operate the dogs across districts. But those numbers, too, are under strain. Recognising the growing burden, the Delhi Police has now begun drawing up plans to expand the scope of the canine unit. Senior officers told HT that two new categories of dogs—combat dogs and life-saver dogs—will soon be introduced for the first time in Delhi. 'These dogs will go beyond bomb and narcotics detection. Combat dogs will help during raids, and life-saver dogs can assist in medical emergencies and disaster rescues,' said Devesh Kumar Srivastava, special commissioner of police (Crime Branch). 'The aim is to build a more versatile, responsive, and resilient squad.' But as the city waits for that upgrade, the immediate concern remains dire: a squad on the brink, a city vulnerable, and the rising weight of emergencies falling on four legs that are simply too few.
Indian Express
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Midnight reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh: Information Director Shishir Singh transferred, Kaushal Raj Sharma brought into CMO
A major midnight bureaucratic reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh saw the entry of 2006-batch IAS officer Kaushal Raj Sharma, who was serving as Divisional Commissioner of Varanasi, into the Chief Minister's Office as secretary to the Chief Minister. In an another major shift that came as a surprise, Director of Information Shishir Singh, who was considered close to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was also transferred and replaced by 2015-batch IAS officer Vishal Singh, who was Bhadohi District Magistrate and had earlier served as vice chairman of the Ayodhya Development Authority from 2020 to 2024. A total of 33 officers were transferred in the reshuffle. Kaushal Raj Sharma, who has been made secretary to the CM, served as District Magistrate of Lucknow from 2017 to 2019 and then District Magistrate of Varanasi until 2022, before he was appointed Divisional Commissioner of Varanasi. He came to be known for his crisis management skills while serving as District Magistrate of Muzaffarnagar in 2013, where he took charge soon after the communal riots there. He has also served as District Magistrate of Prayagraj, Kanpur and Pilibhit. Meanwhile, the most unexpected transfer was that of Director Information Shishir Singh, who had been in the post since 2017. He has now been made Special Secretary, MSME, and CEO of Khadi and Gramudyog Board. Vishal Singh, who was promoted as IAS in 2015, and was serving as District Magistrate Bhadohi, will replace him and take charge of all his responsibilities, including as Director of Information and Special Secretary, Culture Department. Notably, Vishal Singh had served as Vice Chairman of Ayodhya Development Authority from September 2020 to February 2024, which included the period of development work being implemented in Ayodhya surrounding the construction of the Ram Temple. Also among those transferred were the District Magistrates of Varanasi, Azamgarh, Hapur, Bareilly, Ambedkar Nagar, Ghazipur, Jhansi, Kushinagar, Mahoba, Bhadohi, and Sant Kabir Nagar.
