Shiv Sena asks Goa government to declare drug trade kingpin's name
Panaji, July 3: The Shiv Sena in Goa on Tuesday urged Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar to come clean on his statement made on Monday, in which he had said that drug trade in Goa is being run by a "godfather" from behind the scenes.
"The statement by Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar about the existence of a godfather for drug trade has shattered the entire Goa, who now want the Minister to reveal the name of the person," state Shiv Sena vice president Rakhi Prabhudessai told reporters in Panaji.
"The Minister should reveal the name... If Azgaonkar feels that naming him in public is not right, then he should at least provide the information to Chief Minister or police department," Prabhudessai said.
The Minister had on Monday said: "There should be strong action against drug trade. If that doesn't happen, the government will fail... There should be no politics on this. Drugs are a serious matter. The Goa CM is very strong on this."
Same day, the Congress party, in a letter to the Director General of Police had urged him to crack down on the drug trade in the state, which the letter said had reached unprecedented proportions.
Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country, but over the years the state has also become popular as a destination for narco-tourism. Goa attracts more than six million tourists every year, half a million of which are foreign nationals.
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
