Belthangady: Thousands of fish found dead in River Somavathi; poisoning of water suspected
Belthangady: In a shocking incident that has left the locals dismayed, thousands of fish were discovered dead in River Somavathi on Thursday, which is the primary source of water to Belthangady town. The town receives up to 10 lakh litres of water from this river, but the supply has been stopped due to concerns of poisoning. The death of the fish has led to suspicions of miscreants having added poisonous substances to the river water.
The situation has become dire, as the struggle for water in the summer months has intensified from the agricultural fields to households, especially for drinking purposes. The incident has angered the locals, who are heavily dependent on the river for their water needs.
The authorities have been alerted, and an investigation into the matter has been initiated. The cause of the death of the fish is yet to be ascertained, but the locals fear that it could have a detrimental effect on their health, given that the river is the primary source of water for the town.
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Cordelia cruise case: Delhi HC gives nod to disciplinary action against Sameer Wankhede
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Friday gave its nod to the continuation of disciplinary proceedings against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede in connection with the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs case.
A bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan allowed the Centre's plea against an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) which quashed the disciplinary proceedings against Wankhede in the matter.
"This petition is allowed," said the bench while pronouncing the verdict.
A detailed copy of the verdict is awaited.
The central government challenged the CAT order passed on January 19, quashing the 'Charge Memorandum' issued to Wankhede on August 18, 2025, by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
Wankhede, a 2008 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, made headlines for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's family by threatening to implicate his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case during his tenure in the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai in 2021.
Before the CAT, Wankhede filed an original application challenging the disciplinary inquiry against him by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs for allegedly seeking confidential information related to the probe from NCB's legal department after he was relieved from the agency.
It was also alleged that he sought an "assurance" from the NCB's legal officer to "steer the investigation" in the probe.
On January 12, the high court refused to interfere with an order of the CAT staying the disciplinary proceedings against Wankhede.
It had, however, asked the CAT to make "sincere efforts" to decide the main matter on January 14 or within the next 10 days.
