Delhi Police apprehends 966 people in southeast Delhi ahead of New Year under Operation Aaghat 3.0
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has apprehended 966 people and seized arms, drugs, illegal liquor and vehicles during a large-scale preventive crackdown in southeast Delhi ahead of New Year celebrations, an official said on Saturday.
The operation, namely Operation Aaghat 3.0, was launched to curb organised crime, street offences and the activities of habitual criminals in view of heightened public movement during year-end festivities, they said.
Of the total, 331 accused were arrested under the Delhi Excise Act, NDPS Act and the Public Gambling Act, while 504 people were apprehended under various preventive provisions, the police said.
As part of targeted action, police apprehended 116 listed bad characters, arrested five auto-lifters and four proclaimed offenders, officials added.
During the operation, police recovered 21 country-made pistols, 20 live cartridges and 27 knives under the Arms Act. They also seized 12,258 quarters of illicit liquor, 6.01 kg of ganja and Rs 2.36 lakh from gamblers.
A total of 310 mobile phones, six two-wheelers and one four-wheeler were also recovered, the police said.
In addition, action was taken against 1,306 persons under the Delhi Police Act, while 231 two-wheelers were seized for violations, the officials said.
The crackdown was carried out with over 600 police personnel deployed across the district.
The police said the operation was aimed at preventing any untoward incident during New Year celebrations, particularly in residential areas and jhuggi clusters, and to deter organised crime networks and habitual offenders.
Officials said stringent legal provisions, including sections 111 and 112 of the BNS, would be invoked in suitable cases, and proposals for externment of repeat offenders were also being initiated.
The police added that intensified patrolling, vehicle checking and night surveillance had led to a reduction in PCR calls related to street crime in the district over the past month.
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EC hands over probe into gherao of seven judicial officers in Bengal's Malda to NIA
Kolkata (PTI): The Election Commission of India on Thursday handed over the probe into the gherao of the seven judicial officers in West Bengal's Malda district to the NIA, following a Supreme Court directive.
Observing that West Bengal was the "most polarised state", the Supreme Court delivered a stinging indictment of the state administration after seven judicial officers engaged in SIR exercise were held hostage by protesters in Malda district and directed a CBI or NIA probe into the incident.
In an April 2 letter to the National Investigating Agency, the poll body referred to the apex court's order and directed it to probe the Wednesday incident.
Talking to PTI, a top official of the poll body said the NIA team would reach West Bengal on Friday.
Slamming the state administration for its "complete failure" and inaction over the "deplorable" gherao and attack on the officers during the Special Intensive Revision(SIR) of the voters list, the court also asked the EC to "requisition adequate Central Forces and deploy them at all places where judicial officers are adjudicating the objections".
West Bengal will have a two-phase poll -- on April 23 and 29.
The Supreme Court further said the incident was a "brazen attempt not only to browbeat the judicial officers" but also amounted to a challenge to the authority of this Supreme Court.
The top court gave the order after it took suo motu cognisance of a letter from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court detailing a harrowing night where the judicial officers, including three women and a five-year-old child, were held captive by a mob for over nine hours without food or water.
The incident occurred during the SIR exercise in the Kaliachowk area of Malda district, and as per the order, seven judicial officers were gheraoed by "anti-social elements" at a BDO office starting at 3:30 PM on Wednesday.
The officers were rescued by security forces around midnight on Wednesday after they were gheraoed over the alleged deletion of names from the electoral rolls, officials said.
