CAF constable, friend held for stealing arms to sell it to naxals
Raipur, Oct 10 : A Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawan and his friend were arrested for allegedly stealing arms and ammunition from a camp of the security force and trying to sell them to naxals in Dantewada district, police said on Wednesday.
Terming it a "very sensitive" issue, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava claimed that this was the first time a policeman was nabbed for stealing arms and selling to it naxals.
The accused, CAF 10th battalion (E company) constable Raju Kujur and his friend Mitthe Netam, were apprehended on Tuesday from Dantewada, around 400 km from here, he said.
Both are natives of Osra village in Dantewada's neighbouring Bijapur district, located around 450 km from the state capital Raipur, the SP said.
The CAF's E company was deployed in the Barsoor police station area of Dantewada.
During interrogation, Kujur claimed that some more police personnel from Bijapur and Dantewada were involved in the nexus, Pallava said, adding more arrests were likely after the investigation.
He said an investigation was launched after theft of two self-loading rifles and four magazines, containing 70 rounds of ammunition, from the CAF camp came to light a few days back.
The weapons and ammunition were recovered Monday from the bank of a river at a forest in Bhairamgarh area of Bijapur, the police officer said.
Based on suspicion, phone call details of Kujur, who was on leave for the last few days, were checked. Later, during interrogation, the accused admitted to have stolen the weapons to sell them to naxals, Pallava said.
The investigation also revealed that Kujur was allegedly involved in providing ammunition to naxals for the last five years in lure of money. This was the first time that he had struck a deal to supply automatic firearms to ultras, the SP said.
Describing it as a "very sensitive" issue, he said, "For the first time in the state, a policeman has been arrested in a case of pilferage of arms and ammunition and selling it to Maoists."
Pallava said Kujur had struck a deal for selling the rifles at Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh each and a round of ammunition for Rs 500.
Kujur's friend Netam was acting as his courier to supply the weapons to naxals, the SP said, adding a case has been registered against the accused under IPC sections 380 (theft) and 457 (trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence).
Kujur's bank account details and assets were being analysed, the police officer said.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
