Udhampur/Jammu (PTI): Two days ahead of the start of the annual Amarnath Yatra, a trial run was conducted on Wednesday from Jammu to Banihal for a thorough inspection of security and other arrangements to ensure a safe pilgrimage for the devotees.

Leading a convoy of security vehicles, Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh, accompanied by senior officers, conducted the trial run along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

Senior civil and police officers in charge of the Jammu division examined all arrangements made by Jammu, Udhampur, and Ramban district administrations for the pilgrimage.

"The trial run was conducted by the security establishment from Jammu to Banihal on the highway for a thorough inspection of security and other arrangements", an officer said.

The 62-day-long pilgrimage to the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on July 1 and conclude on August 31. Pilgrims will embark on the yatra via two routes -- the traditional 48-kilometre Nunwan route, in south Kashmir's Pahalgam, and the shorter 14-kilometre Baltal route in central Kashmir's Ganderbal.

The first batch of pilgrims will depart from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on June 30. They will travel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway before reaching their designated base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal.

To ensure the utmost convenience of the pilgrims, the administration has planned that transit camps would accommodate the devotees in the event of inclement weather necessitating the closure of the highway, officials said, adding steps have been taken to ensure landslide debris are cleared promptly expediting the reopening of the highway.

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New Delhi (PTI): A couple has been arrested for allegedly stealing cash or valuables from elderly passengers travelling in e-rickshaws in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area, police said on Sunday.

The accused has been identified as Suresh (25) and his wife, the police said, adding that they were apprehended after an investigation into the theft of Rs 1 lakh from a 60-year-old passenger earlier this week.

According to the police, the complainant, a resident of Kirti Nagar, had hired an e-rickshaw from a showroom on Shivaji Marg on May 13.

The man was carrying a small bag containing Rs 1 lakh cash. After reaching his destination, he found that the bag had been torn and the cash was missing, they said.

An e-FIR was registered at Moti Nagar police station on May 14 and an investigation was launched. A team analysed CCTV footage from the route taken by the complainant and identified the e-rickshaw allegedly used in the crime.

"Using technical surveillance and local inputs, the accused couple was traced and apprehended," a senior police officer said.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed that they used to target elderly passengers travelling in e-rickshaws and steal cash and valuables from their bags during transit without raising suspicion.

Police recovered Rs 90,000 of the stolen amount from the possession of the accused along with the e-rickshaw used in the commission of the offence.

"The accused had no previous criminal involvement on record. Further investigation is underway to ascertain whether the couple was involved in other similar theft cases targeting passengers and senior citizens in different parts of the city," the police officer added.