Nanded (Maharashtra) (PTI): A headmaster and six other school teachers have been suspended for allegedly availing disability quota benefits without submitting the valid certificates in Maharashtra's Nanded district, officials said.

The primary education department launched a verification drive in September last year to identify teachers using fraudulent disability documents.

It was found that the disability certificates of seven teachers were not recorded in the issuance register maintained by the district civil surgeon's office, an official said.

The findings also indicated the percentage of disability in these cases was below 40 per cent, thereby rendering them ineligible for the benefits, he said.

In one instance, the headmaster of a Zilla Parishad (ZP) school had allegedly been granted disability concessions despite not submitting any relevant certificate, the official said.

Among the other six teachers, some had not submitted the relevant certificates, while others presented documents found not to have been issued by the district civil surgeon, he said.

Following the probe, ZP Chief Executive Officer Meghna Kavali suspended the seven teachers with immediate effect on Monday.

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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.