Lucknow, May 28 (PTI): Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant has been fined Rs 30 lakh for maintaining a slow over rate during his team's defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their last IPL match here.

The rest of the playing XI, including the Impact Player, were handed a penalty of Rs 12 lakh for the breach on Tuesday.

"As it was his team's third offence of the season under the IPL's Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Rishabh Pant was fined Rs 30 Lakh," an IPL media release stated.

"The rest of the members of the Playing XI, including the Impact Player, were each individually fined either Rs 12 Lakh or 50 per cent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser."

Hosts LSG went down by six wickets despite Pant's magnificent 118 not out off 61 balls to sign off the season with a loss.

The win helped RCB advance to Qualifier 1 in which they will take on Punjab Kings at Mullanpur (Chandigarh) on Thursday.

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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.