An accused in the 2020 murder of gangster Goldy Brar's cousin was fatally shot in Mohali. Police suspect Brar's involvement, citing threats and a social media claim of responsibility.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
Guru Dutt took an overdose of pills twice, once even swallowing opium, calling out for Geeta Dutt even when he was not fully conscious. One suicide attempt, according to sister Lalita Lajmi, was definitely deliberate with Guru Dutt leaving a letter for brother Atma Ram asking him to take care of the production company, his wife and the kids. But she always wondered if the third attempt was actually suicide since there were no calls and no letters.
A delegation of a Meitei civil society group from Manipur has conveyed its concerns to the Centre over an incident where the state's name written on a bus windshield was covered with white paper. The group, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), expressed its commitment to peace and its willingness to cooperate in efforts to restore normalcy. They also raised concerns over the growing threats posed by narco-terrorism, cross border illegal immigration, and widespread illegal opium cultivation in the state.
The central government has for the first time allowed a private company, Bajaj Healthcare, to process opium to extract alkaloids used to make pain-killers, cough syrups, and even cancer drugs. Two government factories in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, do the work yet, processing some 800 tonnes of opium gum annually to extract alkaloids. The government on Tuesday gave Thane-based Bajaj Healthcare an initial contract to process 500 tonnes of opium gum annually and wants production to be at 800 tonnes per annum (tpa) in the next five years, indicating the state's exit from the highly-regulated sector.
The US spent $1.5 million a day since 2001 fighting the opium war in Afghanistan. After hundreds of airstrikes failed to curtail the Taliban's $200-million-a-year opium trade, the US military quietly ended the campaign when the Trump administration officials engaged in direct peace talks with the Taliban, notes Atanu Biswas.
The United Kingdom extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.
The Meitei group Arambai Tenggol surrendered 246 firearms to security forces in Manipur, bringing the total number of weapons surrendered to 307. The surrender follows a deadline set by Governor Ajay Bhalla for the return of illegal weapons. Arambai Tenggol's decision was influenced by assurances from the governor, including the eradication of opium poppy cultivation, implementation of border fencing, and a general amnesty for members of the group. Officials believe the surrender will contribute to restoring peace in the state, which has been rocked by ethnic violence for nearly two years. The police have urged others in possession of illegal firearms to surrender them before the deadline. Former Chief Minister N Biren Singh welcomed the surrender, calling it a "big step towards peace."
Punjab Police launched a statewide operation against drugs, conducting raids at more than 750 locations as the cabinet sub-committee on the drug menace held its first meeting on Saturday. Around 12,000 police personnel were involved in the operation being carried out as part of an anti-drug campaign. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free. The operation led to the arrest of 290 drug smugglers after registration of 232 FIRs. Police recovered 8.14 kg heroin, 1.21 kg opium, 3.5 kg ganja, 19 kg poppy husk, 700 grams charas, 16,238 intoxicant tablets, injections and Rs 8.02 lakh cash.
However, unlike exports of other goods, which have been affected by the economic slowdown, the reason for fall in exports of opium is entirely different. India is the only country in the world to legally produce gum opium for export, for the pharmaceutical industry. However, exports to the US and Japan, the main importers, have been falling for the past couple of years.
Fast bowler Mohammad Asif was detained at Dubai airport this year for possessing opium, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) three-man inquiry committee said on Tuesday. The PCB's former chief operating officer added the player was eventually deported without charge because the quantity of opium, the raw ingredient of heroin, was small.
Rakesh Saini was nabbed from a barrier during routine checking on Sunday, police said.
In spite of the presence of thousands of British soldiers in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, it has become the biggest source of illicit drugs in the world.
A special court on Wednesday gave a clean chit to former External Affairs Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh and nine others in the infamous opium case which surfaced in October last year.Apart from Jaswant Singh, the special court of Narcotics and Anti-Drug Substances in Jodhpur absolved six party legislators, including three cabinet ministers, and three BJP Members of Parliament of all the charges in the case.
The Mumbai-based Piramal Healthcare is preparing to become the first private sector company to process opium for use in pharmaceutical products.
The war of words between the Samajwadi Party and Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma war turned personal on Sunday with SP leader Shivpal Yadav accusing the Union Minister of smuggling opium and using charas.
Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh and nine other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are likely to get a clean chit in the case of serving opium, with the Rajasthan police deciding to file a report in court saying that the allegations against them have not been established.
'A very large part of this would have come from opium.'
Opium has joined the list of conventional electoral issues such as roads, water supply and health. PB Chandra reports how the supply of opium will play a decisive factor in the elections
Amitav Ghosh discusses his new book River Of Smoke, the art of writing a trilogy, his dramatic characters, the nuanced language they speak, and the Imperial intrigues that culminated in the Opium Wars.
It was alleged that Singh welcomed the guests by offering them opium diluted in water, a charge denied by him. A local resident Om Prakash Vishnoi, through his counsel Malam Singh Choudhary, filed the complaint before the special judge, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act cases, under various sections of the law.
Most of Afghanistan's opium is trafficked out of the country and then processed into heroin and morphine.
Police on Thursday registered a case against senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh and nine other party leaders including some Rajasthan ministers for allegedly using opium in a social function recently.
A sessions court in Palanpur in Gujarat's Banaskantha district on Thursday sentenced former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt to 20 years in jail in a 1996 case involving planting of drugs to frame a lawyer.
Termed as 'opium brides', the daughters of poor poppy farmers are often given to drug traffickers if their fathers are unable to pay the loan taken for growing the illicit crop, because of the official action.
"Special Judge of NDPS Court, Jodhpur has admitted my complaint and sent it under section 156/3 of CrPC for investigation to the police station in Balotra area of Barmer district," Malam Singh Choudhary, counsel for complainant Omprakash Bishnoi, said. It was contended on behalf of the complainant that on October 31, Jaswant Singh had organised a social function traditionally called 'riyan' at his ancestral house near Jasol during which opium was illegally served.
Facing protests from a section of the Rajput community over Union Minister Parshottam Rupala's remarks, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh -- a Rajput-dominated seat -- is hoping that the 'Modi factor' and the development work undertaken by his government will help it retain the Lok Sabha constituency.
Pankaj Tripathi anchored the first two seasons with his performance. Here, he is made to sit it out for most of the show, and none of the actors, except for a fiery Ali Fazal, have the charisma to hold the viewer's attention, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Rajkummar Rao and Adarsh Gourav get into the nutty mode easily and carry off the dark comedy without overacting, while Dulquer Salmaan looks bored, observes Deepa Gahlot.
The remarks of the top court came on a bail plea of an accused who was arrested after opium was found in his fields and has served more than five years in jail.
Codeine-based formulations are under the scanner for misuse as a narcotic product.
The raids were conducted simultaneously from 6 am to 11am across several districts of the state on the directions of director general of police Punjab Gaurav Yadav.
The appointment of Col (retired) Nectar Sanjenbam for five years followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah statement last month that Kuki people started entering Manipur from Myanmar illegally following a military crackdown on militants.
This Web series is more about wine, opium, sex, more sex, gay love and incest, rues Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Aarya 3 feels like a recycled version of the previous seasons, discovers Mayur Sanap.
The policemen were booked at Kota's Kunhari police station at a high court order, issued after it heard the petition of Nirmal Singh, the father of the abducted man.
Dominic Xavier wonders if economic sanctions will make any difference to the Taliban who earn billions of dollars from the opium trade.
Chaduni is a member of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions that led an over a year-long farmers' agitation against three central agri laws, which have been repealed.
'She got really close, and I was like, oh Miss Universe and me dancing!'
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