Archives for 2022

Parmesh S Jain

In what can be called a major crackdown by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB),a drug trafficking network in Bengaluru and Tamil Nadu was busted by the agency.

The NCB said on Wednesday that 40 grams of MDMA,84 grams of cocaine and a small quantity of marijuana was recovered.Four people were arrested among which one is Nigerian,NCB said.

Officials with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) uncovered an inter-State drug trafficking network and arrested four persons a foreign national from Nigeria and three suspected dealers from Tamil Nadu on Monday.

One of the three dealers arrested is reportedly wanted in connection with a 2015 high-profile case in Kochi where a Malayalam film actor was caught in possession of cocaine, said sources.

During a raid on Monday at Electronics City, an NCB team seized 84 grams of cocaine, 40 grams of MDMA and a small quantity of hashish and ganja. The total cost of the seized drugs is estimated to be around Rs.50 lakh.

The dealers hail from Chennai and had come to Bengaluru to purchase drugs.They are known suppliers and habitual offenders, already involved in NDPS cases registered in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

They were planning to sell drugs procured from the Nigerian national to their customer base in hotels, pubs and colleges in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu,said an NCB official.

With their arrested,the NCB Bengaluru Zonal Unit has effectively neutralised a major drug syndicate which was operating in the States of Karnataka,Tamil Nadu and Kerala,said Amit Ghawate, zonal director, NCB.

The Nigerian national arrested was not only a regular supplier of drugs but also an expert in manufacturing them.He even said that he often taught his buyers ways to mix illegal substances to improve their potency.

Gurugram: A Gurugram court has ordered the registration of an FIR on the charge of medical negligence for leaving a cotton swab in the abdomen of a woman during the birth of her baby after a caesarean.

The court of Gurugram chief metropolitan magistrate gave the order on Tuesday on a complaint by the woman’s husband, whose pleas earlier for the registration of a criminal case against Shiva Hospital in sector 12 was turned down by the police.

In his complaint to the court, the woman’s husband Diwas Rai, a Darjeeling native living here at Sikandarpur with his wife Swastika, said his wife was found pregnant in April 2020.

There was a lockdown due to Covid and I had lost my job. In such a situation, I did not have money and took my wife to the government Anganwadi centre. The Anganwadi worker asked me to take my wife to Shiva Hospital in Sector-12, he said in his complaint to the court.

As I took my wife to Shiva Hospital, the doctors operated upon her on November 16, 2020 and a baby girl was born and the hospital charged Rs 30,000 from me, he said.

Rai alleged that right after the delivery, his wife started having abdominal pain and swelling with red marks on her stomach following which he again took her to the hospital where doctors just gave her some vitamins and other medicines to reduce pain.

But as the medicines given by the Shiva Hospital doctors did not work, Rai took her to another hospital where they began another course of treatment.

As my wife still did not get any relief and lost her weight by 16 kg while suffering all the pain that started post-delivery, I took her to a third hospital which advised a CT-Scan for my wife, following which she was found having some cotton sway like articles in her abdomen, Rai said.

He added in his complaint that after he reported the matter to Shiva Hospital, they first ignored the findings but later sent an ambulance to my home and got my wife picked up and admitted to the hospital without my knowledge and consent.

At the hospital, they made her sign some blank forms and operated upon her and removed the swab, said Rai.

As I went to the police, they ignored my complaint, Rai added.

On the court’s order, the police, however, has now lodged an FIR at the Sector 14 police station of Gurugram against Dr Poonam Yadav and Dr Anurag Yadav of Shiva hospital under sections 417 (punishment for cheating), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.

Paarl: India’s inexplicable middle-order collapse ensured that fine half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli did not count for much as the team was handed a 31-run defeat by a resolute South Africa in the opening ODI here on Wednesday.

Chasing a challenging 297, India were cruising at 138 for one before wickets fell in a heap dashing the hopes of the visitors who trail 0-1 in the three-match series. India’s innings ended at 265 for eight.

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma (110 off 143) and Rassie van der Dussen (129 not out off 96) had scored contrasting hundreds en route to their 204-run stand to take South Africa to 296 for four after opting to bat.

India were comfortably placed to get home when Kohli (51 off 63) and Dhawan (79 off 84) were in the middle but it all came crashing down with the end of their 92-run stand.

India have been guilty of relying too much on their top three in the past and once again, the middle-order could not capitalise on the platform provided by Kohli and Dhawan after they lost skipper K L Rahul (12) cheaply.

Chase master Kohli, playing his first game since his captaincy tenure ended across formats last weel, hardly broke a sweat in reaching his half-century before a sweep shot off Tabraiz Shami, a stroke he doesn’t play regularly, led to his downfall leaving him in disbelief.

Dhawan looked in sublime touch during his stay and played the Test series’ rising star Marco Jansen rather comfortably, collecting five of his 10 fours off the tall left-arm pacer.

The stage was set for the likes of Rishabh Pant (16), Shreyas Iyer (17) and debutant Venkatesh Iyer (2) to get the job done but they fell in quick succession, leaving India at 188 for six from a strong 138 for one.

While Pant was stumped by a lightening quick Quinton de Kock, the shot selection of Shreyas and Venkatesh could have been better.

Shardul Thakur (50 not out off 43) tried his best towards the end but the damage had already been done.

Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah (2/48) was the stand out bowler for India in an otherwise ordinary bowling effort.

After a sluggish start, van der Dussen and Bavuma shared the second highest partnership ever against India in ODIs to ensure a competitive total for the home team.

South Africa opted to bat on a slow surface at the Boland Park. The white ball did a bit early on with both Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar getting to move it off the pitch as well as in the air.

After an inaccurate first over, the usually accurate Bumrah got his act together and had opener Janneman Malan (6) caught behind with an outswinger. Expecting an incoming ball, Malan was caught on the crease with his loose push taking the outside edge.

South Africa struggled to 39 for one in 10 overs with Indian bowlers restricting the flow of runs.

De Kock (27 off 41), playing his first game since announcing his Test retirement, and Bavuma found the going tough with the ball not coming on to the bat.

De Kock perished while trying to break the shackles. Ashwin, featuring in his first ODI since June 2017, found de Kock’s stumps with a slider as the opener went for a cut shot.

It became 68 for three in the 18th over when Aiden Markram got run out from a direct hit by Venkatesh after he went for a single that was not for the taking.

At that stage, it seemed South Africa would find it tough to get past 200 but a fighting stand between Van der Dussen and Bavuma changed the course of the innings.

Indian bowlers looked rather ordinary in the middle overs with the well-set South African pair rotating strike regularly besides picking up an odd boundary.

Van der Dussen was the aggressor in the partnership from the word go as Bavuma played anchor.

Van der Dussen used the reverse sweep for four runs off Yuzvendra Chahal to put the leg spinner under pressure before using the conventional sweep twice to collect more boundaries.

He later used a free hit to smash a Shardul full toss for a six as South Africa’s innings found much needed momentum.

Two pick up shots on one knee for six over deep backward square were the highlight of van der Dussen’s entertaining knock. He ended with nine four and four sixes.

Bavuma was happy picking singles at the other end while anything loose on offer was put away behind the ropes.

The skipper got his hundred in the 45th over while his batting partner achieved the milestone in 48th over. It was the second ODI hundred for both the batters.

The last over bowled by Thakur went for 17 runs, taking the hosts close to 300. Thakur was the most expensive bowler, bleeding 72 in his quota of 10 overs. Venkatesh was not used as the sixth bowling option.

New Delhi: Days after 20 YouTube channels and two websites were blocked for spreading anti-India propaganda and fake news, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday warned that the government will continue to take such action against those “hatching conspiracy against the country.

I had ordered for action against them. I am happy that many big countries across the world took cognisance of it. YouTube also came forward and took action to block them, Thakur told reporters here while replying to queries on the issue.

In a “closely coordinated” effort with intelligence agencies, the I&B ministry had in December last year ordered the blocking of 20 YouTube channels and two websites as they were spreading anti-India propaganda and fake news.

And in future also, action will be taken to block any such account hatching conspiracy against India, spreading lies and dividing the society, the minister asserted.

In a statement in December, the ministry had said that these 20 YouTube channels and the websites belonged to a coordinated disinformation network operating from Pakistan and spreading fake news about various sensitive subjects related to India”

The channels were used to post “divisive content in a coordinated manner on topics like Kashmir, Indian army, minority communities in India, Ram Mandir, General Bipin Rawat, etc”, it had said.