Delhi Police arrests 59 drug offenders in citywide crackdown ahead of Republic Day
New Delhi (PTI): Ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, Delhi Police carried out a coordinated crackdown on narcotics smuggling, organised crime and other offences, conducting raids at 2,348 locations across the city and arresting 59 drug offenders, an official said on Sunday.
The citywide action, carried out under Operation Kavach 12, involved 1,059 police teams drawn from all 15 districts, the Crime Branch and the Special Cell. The 24-hour operation began at 6 pm on January 23 and continued till 6 pm on January 24, he said.
During the anti-narcotics drive, police recovered 31.21 grams of heroin and 30.75 kilograms of cannabis, and registered 55 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
In addition to this, they registered 231 cases under the Delhi Excise Act, arresting or apprehending 238 people.
"The seizures included 50,110 quarters of illicit liquor, 31 cartons of beer, 12 beer bottles and 12 liquor bottles. A further 1,682 people were arrested under Sections 40A and 40B of the Excise Act for drinking in public places," a senior police officer said.
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Under the Arms Act, 117 persons were arrested in 115 cases, with the recovery of two pistols, 16 country-made firearms, 25 live cartridges and 98 knives.
Police also arrested 261 people in 149 gambling cases, seizing cash worth Rs 3.51 lakh.
The operation also led to the arrest of 31 proclaimed offenders and 21 vehicle thieves, and recovered 33 stolen vehicles. In addition to this, 2,276 vehicles were seized under the Delhi Police Act.
"As part of preventive measures, 703 people were arrested to block the commission of offences. As many as 4,082 people were taken into preventive custody, while 25,300 people were detained under the Delhi Police Act. Action was also initiated under various preventive provisions of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and and 4,545 listed bad characters were checked during the drive," the officer said.
Further, 4,714 violators were prosecuted under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, police said.
They highlighted several major breakthroughs during the operation. The Crime Branch detected and sealed an illegal manufacturing unit involved in producing empty tubes of spurious cosmetic and pharmaceutical products in Bawana, and seized machinery and large quantities of fabricated packaging material.
In another case, a national-level shooter was arrested for his alleged role in a mule bank account racket linked to cyber frauds amounting to over Rs 40 lakh.
In separate operations, police teams recovered over 20 kilograms of cannabis in west Delhi and arrested multiple accused, while a proclaimed offender wanted in an Arms Act case was apprehended with 30 stolen mobile phones.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
