Indian wrestler Antim Panghal refutes rumours of French police arresting her, her sister
New Delhi: Indian wrestler Antim Panghal has refuted rumours of her and her sister Nisha being arrested in Paris for attempting to help her siser illegally enter the Olympic Games village, clarifying that the French police, who wanted to verify her true identity, took her sister to the police station.
After Panghal lost 0-10 to Turkey’s Yetgil Zeynep, there were reports of her attempting to sneak her sister into the games village with the help of her accreditation card but was detained by the French police, NDTV has said. Panghal, in a video clip shared by NNIS Sports on Thursday, clarified that, as she had fallen ill she had visited her sister’s hotel, where the trouble started, as she asked her sister Nisha to get the things she had forgotten at the games village.
She has insisted in the video clip that neither was she nor was her sister arrested, but rumours were being spread as Wednesday ‘was just not my day’, when she first lost badly and then the talks began about her being arrested. She further said that, when Nisha found that Panghal had developed a fever after losing the wrestling match, she wanted to take her to the hotel she was staying in. Panghal’s coaches permitted her to go to the hotel as she wasn’t feeling well.
While she slept at the hotel, her sister went towards the games village to get Panghal’s remaining things. At the games village, when Nisha asked the authorities if she could do so, the authorities snatched away the young wrestler’s accreditation card from her sister and took her to the police station to confirm her identity, said Panghal.
She added that her card was returned by the police officers duly after confirming the identity of the card-holder. The news that Panghal’s coaches had a fight with a cab driver was also fake, said the wrestler, stating that the cab was booked by her. She, however, admitted that a language barrier caused a bit of problem when the coaches journeyed to the hotel to get money.
Finally, in reference to her return from Paris, Panghal said that the flight was booked by the Indian Olympics Federation. She urged people not to spread rumours about her stay in Paris.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
