Bhatkal: More than 24-hours after youngster went missing in dam, locals continue search operation
Locals complain of non-cooperation from police, coast guard
Bhatkal: More than 24-hours after a young 16-year old boy went missing in a local dam in Bhatkal where he reportedly went for swimming on Wednesday, locals were unable to trace him even after continuous search operation.
Ibrahim Abida, who returned from Umrah Pilgrimage on Wednesday morning went for a swimming outing with his friends in the evening and was reportedly washed away in the flowing water in the dam as it was gushing owing to the heavy rain the region experienced for the last few days.
Locals however complained that the police department and coast guard were helpless without adequate equipment and team of swimmers which has left the whole task of looking for Ibrahim, down to the local youngsters who have been looking for Ibrahim, voluntarily for last 24-hours.
Locals expressed their anguish over non co-operation from the police department. “The department being helpless in such cases is a sorry-state of our administration. Except Tahsildar, no senior officer of administration has visited the spot where hundreds of people are looking for and anticipating the search operation of a youngster” one of the social worker told Vartha Bharati.
Speaking to Vartha Bharati over phone call Bhatkal Circle Police Inspector Ganesh KL added that the police team along with coast guard were doing their bit and were looking for youngster in areas like Shirali and nearby sea waters.
“We have been doing our bit since yesterday. The coast guard is also active with their equipment and are looking for that boy, so far we couldn’t trace him but our efforts will continue” Ganesh said.
Imtiyaz Udyawar, President of Bhatkal Muslim Youth Federation which is leading the search operation voluntarily along with several youngsters of the town added that organisation had arranged a boat for the search operation voluntarily and that the coast guard and police were doing little in the search operation.
“We have arranged a boat for ourselves to pace our search operation. The police and coast guard were not of any significant help. Bhatkal Tahsildar however arranged kerosene for us immediately so that we can begin our search operation with the boat. It was of great help” he said.
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Codeine syrup seized in UP; six held in separate operations in Etah, Mirzapur
Etah/Mirzapur (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Police have intensified their crackdown on the alleged illegal trade, diversion and distribution of regulated codeine-based cough syrup, arresting six persons in separate operations in Etah and Mirzapur districts, officials said on Monday.
The action comes as the probe widened into the alleged codiene syrup trafficking racket, suspected to be involved in illicit trade estimated to be worth hundreds of crores -- with links stretching across several states and possibly beyond international borders.
In Etah, a joint team of the Agra anti-narcotics unit and Aliganj police recovered 47 cartons of codeine-based cough syrup, estimated to be worth around Rs 50 lakh, from a tobacco warehouse under Aliganj police station area limits Sunday night.
Four persons, including a retired serviceman, were arrested on the spot, police said.
According to police, the raid was carried out at a warehouse in Nagla Bani village following a tip-off. Preliminary investigation revealed that the seized cough syrup bore the name of a Baddi-based pharmaceutical company, 'Wings', but the batch numbers printed on the wrappers had been deliberately scratched off, indicating that the consignment was illegally manufactured.
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The arrested accused have been identified as Jitendra Yadav, Jitendra Shakya, Pramod Shakya and Punjab Singh, a retired soldier. Cases have been registered against them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and other relevant sections, and further investigation is underway, police said.
Official sources said the Etah recovery is suspected to be linked to Varanasi-based drug trader, Shubham Jaiswal, who is allegedly associated with an international drug syndicate.
A lookout circular has already been issued against him, while his father was arrested earlier from Kolkata. The main accused remains absconding, officials said.
In a separate development, Mirzapur police arrested two more accused -- Ajit Yadav and Akshat Yadav -- in connection with a case of illegal supply of codeine-based cough syrup registered at Adalhat police station. The arrests were made on Sunday evening following sustained investigation of the suspects, police said.
According to officials, the two accused had allegedly floated firms using forged Aadhaar cards and supplied cough syrup through fake documentation.
During investigation, police found that transactions worth over Rs 1 crore had been routed through bank accounts opened in Varanasi in the name of the fake firms.
Police said Akshat Yadav, proprietor of a firm named A K Distributors, was supplied around 36 litre of New Phensedyl cough syrup (100 ml bottles) from a trader based in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
The firm was found to be non-functional on the ground, and records showed it had been opened only once or twice without carrying out any genuine pharmaceutical business.
Further scrutiny revealed that the Aadhaar card used for obtaining the drug licence carried a Mirzapur address and was forged, while a different Aadhaar card with a Varanasi address was used for banking purposes, pointing to deliberate fabrication of documents, police said. The firm's bank account in Varanasi showed a turnover of around Rs 1.28 crore.
The two accused have been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the NDPS Act and sent to jail. Police said involvement of more suspects is likely and the investigation is ongoing.
Officials said the recoveries and arrests form part of a broader state-wide investigation into the illegal diversion of codeine-based cough syrup, a regulated drug.
