Antique idols worth Rs 3 cr. seized, ten persons arrested
Indore, Sep. 21 (PTI): Indore police today claimed to have busted a gang involved in illegal trade of antiques with the arrest of ten persons and seizure of three metal idols worth more than Rs 3 crore in the international market. The police laid a trap after being tipped off that three ancient idols made from ‘ashta-dhaatu’ (eight-metal alloy) had been put up for sale on a WhatsApp group of real estate businessmen in the city. Policemen acted as ‘decoy’ customers and nabbed the accused who were trying to sell off the idols, said Deputy Inspector General of Police H C Mishra. Idols of Naag-kanya and Ganesh, both around 400 years old, and another Ganesh idol which is around a hundred years old were seized from them, Mishra told reporters here.
Asaram witness murder case: Accused beaten up by deceased’s wife
Muzaffarnagar, Sep. 21 (PTI): The main accused in the murder of a prime witness in the rape case against self-styled godman Asaram was beaten up with slippers by the deceased’s wife on the premises of a court where he was produced today. Kartik Haldar, who is alleged to have murdered Akhil Gupta (35) in the district on January 11, 2015, was arrested by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) of Gujarat from Raipur in March last year. Haldar, who is lodged in the Karnal jail in Haryana, was brought here on the directions of the local court. Chief Judicial Magistrate Gopal Tiwari sent him to judicial custody till October 4.
‘Punished’ by class teacher, Class 5 student commits suicide
Gorakhpur (UP), Sep. 21 (PTI): A Class 5 student allegedly committed suicide at his home in the Shahpur area here after he was “punished” by his class teacher, police said today. Navneet (11), a student of St. Anthony School, consumed poison on September 15 after his class teacher “punished” him, his father Ravi Prakash said in a complaint to the police. The boy was admitted to a hospital, where he died yesterday. After his death, his family members found a suicide note in his bag in which he blamed the class teacher for taking the extreme step, the police said.
Kerala, TN decide to hold talks on inter-state water disputes
Chennai, Sep. 21 (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today called on his Tamil Nadu counterpart K Palaniswami here and the two decided to hold official-level talks to solve the water disputes between the two states. A press release of the Tamil Nadu government described Vijayan’s meeting with Palaniswami as a “courtesy call”. At the meeting, “they decided to hold official-level talks towards solving the inter-state water sharing disputes”, it said. “Officials from the two states will soon hold talks,” it added. Later, speaking to reporters, Vijayan said the people of the two states were like brothers and stressed on talks to put an end to the water-sharing disputes.
