India successfully test-fires long-range hypersonic missile; Rajnath describes it as 'historic'
New Delhi (PTI): In a major boost to its military prowess, India has successfully flight-tested a long-range hypersonic missile off the coast of Odisha, an achievement that has put the country in a select group of nations having the weapon that can strike with extreme speed and evade most air defence systems.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the missile test on Saturday under the country's first long-range hypersonic mission as a "stupendous" achievement and a "historic moment".
The missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is designed to carry various payloads for ranges greater than 1,500 km, an official readout said.
"India has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting flight trial of long range hypersonic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off-the-coast of Odisha," Singh said on 'X'.
"This is a historic moment and this significant achievement has put our country in the group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies," he said.
Generally, the hypersonic missiles, capable of carrying conventional explosives or nuclear warheads, can fly in the range of five times the speed of sound (Mach 5 which is roughly 1,220 km) per hour at sea level.
However, some advanced versions of hypersonic missiles can even fly at the speed of over 15 mach.
At present, Russia and China are way ahead in developing hypersonic missiles while the US is in the process of developing a range of such weapons under an ambitious programme.
Several other countries, including France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Iran, and Israel, are also pursuing projects to develop hypersonic missile systems.
Defence Minister Singh also congratulated the DRDO, the armed forces and the industry for the "stupendous" achievement.
The defence ministry said the missile was tracked by various range systems, deployed in multiple domains.
"The flight data obtained from down range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal maneuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy," it said in the readout.
This missile has been indigenously developed by the laboratories of the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile complex, Hyderabad along with various other DRDO laboratories and industry partners.
The flight-trial was carried out in the presence of senior scientists of DRDO and officers of the armed forces.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
