Armed men take dairy owner hostage, take away 18 buffaloes in UP
Muzaffarnagar, Oct 26 : Nearly 25 armed men stormed a dairy in a village in Muzaffarnagar district and took away 18 buffaloes worth Rs 20 lakh after taking the owner hostage, a police official said Friday.
The incident happened in Ratanpuri village Thursday, the police official said.
The men entered the dairy forcibly and pointed a gun on its owner Naresh Kumar and his son Mohit. They took away the buffaloes in two vehicles, the official said.
He said a bike and two mobiles phones were also snatched.
Villagers angry over the incident blocked the road outside the area police station. They ended their protest after senior police officers visited the area and pacified the protesters.
A case has been registered against unidentified people and a search has been launched, the police official said.
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Court grants statutory bail to two more accused in Sabarimala gold loss cases
Kollam (Kerala) (PTI): A court here on Thursday granted statutory bail to more accused in two cases related to the alleged gold loss from the Sabarimala temple.
The Kollam Vigilance Court Judge Mohit CS granted bail to Chennai-based Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari and Ballari-based jeweller Govardhan Roddam in connection with cases involving gold loss from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) gold plates and the door frames of the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) at the temple.
The duo was granted bail in both cases after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to file charge sheets within 90 days of their arrest.
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Pankaj Bhandari is the 12th accused in the Dwarapalaka case and the ninth accused in the Sreekovil door frame case, while Govardhan Roddam is the 13th accused in the Dwarapalaka case and the 10th accused in the Sreekovil door frame case.
With the latest development, as many as 10 accused have now been released from jail after securing bail in the Sabarimala cases.
According to the investigation, the artefacts from Sabarimala were taken to Smart Creations in 2019 for replating, after which the SIT alleged that gold was lost.
Govardhan is also said to be a close associate of the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty.
The SIT, following searches at the residences and offices of the accused, had recovered gold allegedly equivalent to the reported losses from Sabarimala.
The SIT has informed the Kerala High Court that charge sheets in the cases will be filed before the end of March.
