Lost dog walks 250 km to reach home in Belagavi
Belagavi (Karnataka) Jul 30: Yamagarni village in Nipani taluk of Belagavi district recently witnessed a strange sight. A jubilant crowd paraded a black indie dog covered in garlands and held a feast in its honour. For the villagers, the return of the dog, which had been lost, is a miracle.
Fondly called Maharaj, the animal which is well past its prime, was lost in the crowd in the pilgrimage town of Pandharpur in South Maharashtra, but made its way back to the village in Belagavi in North Karnataka, travelling nearly 250km on its own.
In the last week of June, Maharaj had followed its owner Kamalesh Kumbhar when he went on his annual 'Wari padayatra' trip to Pandharpur.
Kumbhar, a ‘Warkari’, said he visits Pandharpur every year on Ashadha Ekadashi and Kartiki Ekadashi.
This time, the dog too accompanied him, he said.
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“Maharaj has always liked listening to bhajans. Once, he had accompanied me on another padayatra trip to Jyotiba temple near Mahabaleshwar,” Kumbhar told PTI.
For nearly 250 km, the dog followed the master, who walked with a group of his friends, chanting bhajans.
After the darshan at Vithoba temple, Kumbhar said he noticed that the dog was missing. When he went looking for him, he said people over there told him that the dog had left with another group.
“I still searched for him everywhere and I could not find him. So, I thought maybe the people were right, that he left with someone else. I returned to my home town on July 14,” Kumbhar said.
The very next day though, Kumbhar said, to his surprise “Maharaj was standing there in front of my house, wagging his tail as if nothing had happened. He looked well fed and perfectly fine."
Overcome with happiness, Kumbhar said, he and the villagers celebrated Maharaj's return with a feast. “It is such a miracle that the dog could find its way, although it was 250km or so away from home. We think it was Lord Panduranga who guided him."
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
