分类： bharat

Jitendra alias Jitu Soni, 62, the owner of a tabloid accused of rape, blackmail, extortion, human trafficking, land grab, was arrested from Gujarat on Sunday after remaining on the run for seven months, the Madhya Pradesh police said.

Deputy inspector general Harinarayanchari Mishra said of the 64 criminal cases, Soni, an Indore resident, faces, 47 have been lodged over the last six months. He added a local court has remained Soni in police custody for interrogation.

Soni had been on the run since escaping during a police raid in December after Harbhajan Singh, an Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) engineer, filed a case against the tabloid owner for defaming him based on “unfounded conversation” and for trying to blackmail him.

The tabloid published a transcript of the engineer’s alleged conversation with certain women arrested on charges of luring, trapping, and blackmailing high-profile people in states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It also carried transcripts of purported conversations of two other high-profile people, including a former minister.

Indore inspector general Vivek Sharma said six police teams carried out raids at several places to track Soni over the last six months. He added Soni was eventually arrested from his ancestral Dhargni village in Gujarat’s Amreli district when he was about to change his location.

Sharma said Soni kept moving from one place to another in Maharashtra and Gujarat. “He has had a criminal history since 1991.” He added there was a Rs 1.50 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest.

Sharma said Soni has primarily been arrested in connection with the case filed against him in December. “So far, Soni’s son, Amit Soni, and brother, Mahendra Soni, have been arrested. His other brother Hukum Soni, son Vikki Soni, nephews Jignesh Soni and Lucky Soni, four other members of his family, and 25 other accomplices are yet to be arrested.”

IMC and police razed Soni’s two bungalows in Indore and removed illegal structures at his two hotels and a cafe in December as part of an anti-encroachment drive. The demolition began on December 5 when police claimed to have rescued 67 women and several children from the hotel and arrested Amit Soni, his bouncer, and several members of their staff.

Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that India will win the battle against coronavirus, which has originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, as well as the border standoff in Ladakh with China which escalated on June 15.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a commanding officer (CO), were killed in a fierce clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15.

It was the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

Speaking to a news agency in an interview, Amit Shah said that he wants to assure the Indians that the country will both the battles under PM Modi’s leadership.

“Let me make this clear that we will win both the battles. I want to assure the people of India that under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership, India is going to win both the battles,” Amit Shah said.

Amit Shah also accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of playing into China and Pakistan’s hand by indulging in “anti-India” propaganda during a crisis.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s “Surender Modi” tweet, Amit Shah said, “We’re capable of handling anti-India propaganda but it’s painful when the former president of a big party [Rahul Gandhi] does ‘ochhi rajneeti’ during a crisis.”

A locust swarm of three-kilometre length reached Gurugram and flew across the city in the NCR region on Saturday morning, according to officials.

The Gurugram administration resorted to using sirens and horns to make loud noises in order to prevent the locusts from settling on green vegetation and destroying them.

“Besides, we have been spraying chemicals through vehicle-mounted pump sets in rural areas,” said Amit Khatri, Gurugram Deputy Commissioner (DC).

Meanwhile, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation following the locust attack in Gurugram. He asked the national capital’s south and west districts’ administrations to remain on high alert.

“After the emergency meeting, an advisory will be issued on steps to be taken to deal with the situation,” Rai told PTI.

He also asked the officials of the Agriculture department to make field visits to areas close to Gurugram.

Delhi Air Traffic Control (ATC) on Saturday directed pilots of all airlines to take necessary precautions during landing and take-off of aircraft in view of locust swarms seen near the airport in areas along Gurugram-Dwarka Expressway, news agency ANI reported. A team has been set up to monitor the situation.

There is disagreement among different administrations over whether the swarm would enter Delhi.

“They are flying across the city [Gurugram] West to East due to the steady wind. They will most likely enter Delhi,” said Khatri.

However, KL Gujjar, deputy director, Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage (PPQS), Faridabad, said that it was unlikely that they would reach Delhi because they were moving towards East direction. PPQS comes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and it is a nodal body to take measures on locust control through its various sub-offices across the country.

“They have entered India from Pakistan through Jaisalmer and Barmer border area and reached Jhujhuna. From there, they travelled to Rewari. From Rewari, they came to Jhjhar and from there they have reached Gurugram. Now from here, they will fly to Faridabad and then considering the current wind direction they will move towards Palwal side. I don’t see that they will enter Delhi,” Gujjar said.

The locust attack has ravaged parts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and few other states for over a month.

Experts say that the present locust crisis that many Indian states are faced with is intense due to the younger population of the insect, swarms of which have entered the country from the north-west areas bordering Pakistan.

A young locust is far more dangerous for crops than a mature and older one. While the mature locusts cover shorter distances and focus more on breeding, the younger ones can fly 150 km in a day and devour more green vegetation.