Namibia's Loftie-Eaton smashes fastest T20I century
Kirtipur (Nepal), Feb 27: Namibia's Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton smashed the fastest century in T20I history, achieving the feat off just 33 deliveries against Nepal in the opening match of the Tri-Nation series here on Tuesday.
The middle-order batter bettered the record of Nepal's Kushal Malla by just one delivery. Malla had achieved the feat during the Hangzhou Asian Games last year when his side had posted a world-record total of 314/3 against Mongolia.
Loftie-Eaton played a knock of 101 off just 36 deliveries, which included 11 fours and eight sixes at an amazing strike rate of 280.55.
The left-handed batter scored 92 runs in boundaries. The 22-year-old has played 33 T20Is and 36 ODIs so far, with this being his maiden century across formats.
The visitors posted 206/4, with opener Malan Kruger remaining unbeaten on 59. In reply, Nepal were dismissed for 186 in the 19th over with Ruben Trumpelmann returning figures of 4/29. Dipendra Singh Airee (48) was Nepal's top scorer.
The Netherlands is the third team in the fray.
FASTEST T20I CENTURY IN 33 BALLS...!!! 🤯
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 27, 2024
Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton of Namibia smashed a world record 33 ball T20i century. pic.twitter.com/BwK7Rz1t78
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
