Bhopal hosts cricket tournament of Sanskrit-speaking Vedic pandits; prize includes Ayodhya trip
Bhopal, Jan 6: Vedic pandits clad in dhoti-kurta and with religious marks on the forehead are facing off on a cricket pitch in Bhopal as part of an annual tournament aimed at promoting Sanskrit.
The winners of the event, organised to mark the birth anniversary of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who introduced the practice of transcendental meditation to the West, this year will get to visit Ayodhya, where the consecration of the Ram temple will be held on January 22, said an organiser.
The four-day tournament began at Ankur ground in the Madhya Pradesh capital on Friday, with players and umpires communicating in fluent Sanskrit.
Even the commentators narrated hits, misses and catches on the field in the ancient language.
The organisation founded by the spiritual leader, who was born on January 12, runs Vedic schools and seminaries in some parts of the country.
According to Maharishi Maitri Match Committee member Ankur Pandey, the winners will be sent to Ayodhya after January 22. They will also receive a prize of Rs 21,000, while the runners-up will get Rs 11,000, he said.
Pandey said a dozen teams, including four from Bhopal, are participating in the fourth edition of the cricket tournament.
Another organiser said the event aims at promoting Sanskrit and sportsmanship among the Vedic family. Prizes apart, players are being honoured with Vedic books and a 100-year 'panchang' (almanac), he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
J-K: Six held with drugs, assets worth Rs 73 lakh attached in Udhampur
Jammu (PTI): Six persons were taken into custody during an intensified anti-narcotics crackdown, with police recovering contraband substances and over Rs 23 lakh in Doda and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Monday.
In a parallel action, properties worth over Rs 73 lakh linked to drug peddlers were also attached in Udhampur district under relevant legal provisions, the police said.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Doda, Mohd Aslam said three persons, including a woman, were detained during a raid on a house at Dak Mohalla in the main town following recovery of 85 grams of suspected brown sugar and over Rs 23 lakh on Sunday evening.
He identified the woman as Zareena Begum, stating that she had been under police surveillance following inputs indicating her involvement in drug peddling.
Besides Zareena, officials said her daughter and son-in-law were also picked up by police during the raid.
“We have taken three individuals into custody. Their roles are being examined, and based on that, arrests will be made. We are continuing raids at other suspected locations,” Aslam said.
Three drug peddlers --Pardeep Singh of Hiranagar, Rahees Butt of Billawar and Ali Sen of Amritsar (Punjab) -- were arrested along with heroin at different places in Kathua district, a police spokesman said.
He said while 2.79 gm of heroin was seized from Singh, 2.66 gm were recovered Butt. Similarly, 303 gm of heroin was seized from Sen who was intercepted near Berrian-Pattan village while moving in a private car from Bhagthali to Maggar Khad on the Jammu-Pathankot highway.
All the three were booked under the NDPS Act and further investigations are on, the spokesman said.
In Udhampur, the spokesman said properties worth Rs 73 lakh were attached in two separate cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The attached properties included a newly constructed residential house, a car, a motorcycle and a mobile phone with a total value of Rs 65 Lakh, belonging to accused Saif Ali who was booked under the NDPS case in Majalta area early this year, he said.
In another action, movable property worth Rs 8 lakh comprising a car, belonging to accused Danish Butt of Doda has been attached under Section 68(F) NDPS Act in connection with an FIR registered at Rehambal police station, the spokesman said.
