Arrested suspects part of huge conspiracy: Mangaluru Police Commissioner Dr. P S Harsha
Mangaluru, Aug 17: Eight suspected members of a burglary gang, which was allegedly planning to carry out a heist in Mangaluru have been arrested, police said Saturday.
The gang members who were moving around in a Sports Utility Vehicle displaying, were arrested Friday night.
"Based on the information, we tried to nab the gang of eight people. They were staying in a room in a hotel. They tried to run away from the scene. We surrounded them, picked them up and questioned for more details," Mangaluru Police Commissioner P S Harsha told reporters.
The kingpin of the gang identified as Sam Peter claimed that he was from Kerala but the preliminary investigation revealed that he was from West Bengal and Odisha, the official said.
It was found that five of the gang had travelled to Bengaluru posing as Enforcement Directorate Officials.
They also possessed two firearms a revolver with eight live cartridges and another pistol resembling glock, an official release said.
"These people were planning to carry out a heist," it said.
A high security alert has been sounded across the state following intelligence inputs from the Centre, police sources said.
All the important locations of the city with heavy footfall such as malls, restaurants, bus stands, railway stations, shopping complexes, government offices, government buildings, prime installations such as Vidhana Soudha, Vikas Soudha and High Court are under tight vigil.
We have apprehended a gang of economic offenders possibly trying for extortion using firearms .. gang lead by one Sam Peter posing himself as Director NCIB, arrested 8 persons seized one revolver 8 live cartridges 1 fake pistol 10 mobile phones.. pic.twitter.com/KB46ivGs1Z
— Harsha IPS CP Mangaluru City (@compolmlr) August 17, 2019
Contd...
— Harsha IPS CP Mangaluru City (@compolmlr) August 17, 2019
Special teams constituted.. looking into interstate and national ramifications.. history of previous frauds committed...
Good police work by police inspector East and his staff, Acp central, DCP crime and Dcp law and order.. pic.twitter.com/FZXYTKT1ls
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AI, IndiGo, SpiceJet seek ATF price relief; say airline industry on verge of 'stopping operations'
Mumbai (PTI): Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have told the government that the country's airline industry is under extreme stress and on the verge of "stopping operations", as they sought revision in ATF pricing and financial support.
The West Asia turmoil has pushed up oil prices, and airspace restrictions have increased airlines' operating costs, especially on long-haul routes. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for around 40 per cent of a carrier's operational expenses.
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the civil aviation ministry, seeking steps to extend the same fuel pricing mechanism uniformly across both domestic and international operations as was done in the past with the establishment of the crack band.
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With an unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices and exorbitant crack/differential between crude and ATF, the federation said the operation of airlines is being challenged in totality.
"... any ad hoc pricing (domestic vs international) and/or irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airlines and will lead to grounding of aircraft, resulting in cancellation of flights," the federation, which represents Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, said.
"In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation," it said in a letter on April 26.
Also, the airlines have sought temporary deferment of excise duty on ATF, which is at 11 per cent.
"With the abnormal increase in ATF prices from the pre-crisis period, adding rupee depreciation to the increased prices, the 11 per cent excise duty also increases manifold for the airlines and adds to the ATF price as a big impact on airlines," they said.
Last month, the government limited the hike in ATF price to Rs 15 per litre for domestic operations, but for international operations, the price rose by Rs 73 per litre.
The airlines said the situation has practically made international operations, along with domestic operations, completely unviable and resulted in significant losses for the aviation sector in April.
Seeking urgent intervention on the current ATF ad hoc pricing, FIA said the current situation is creating a severe imbalance in domestic and international operations and rendering airline networks unviable and unsustainable.
"The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and is on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations."
The federation has pitched for a transparent pricing framework under the crack band mechanism (USD 12–22/BBL) that was implemented in October 2022, saying there was a fair and reasonable margin for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
According to FIA, the country's largest aviation hub Delhi has the second-highest value-added tax (VAT) of 25 per cent on jet fuel, while the highest rate is 29 per cent levied in Tamil Nadu.
"The other major aviation cities, viz. Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata range between 16 per cent and 20 per cent. These 6 cities cover more than 50 per cent of airlines' operations within India," the federation said.
