Thrissur: Renowned Malayalam poet and Jnanpith laureate Mahakavi Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri died at a private hospital here on Thursday, family sources said.

He was 94.

Akkitham, who was admitted to hospital due to age related ailments, died at 8.10 am, hospital sources said.

Recently, he was conferred with the Jnanpith award, the highest literary award in the country, at a special function held at his house at Kumaranallur in Palakkad district.

The poet, who was instrumental in heralding modernism in Malayalam poetry, was also a true Gandhian, social reformer, journalist and an example of simplicity

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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.