The Inter-State Cell (ISC) of the Crime Branch, Delhi Police, has busted a large inter-state cyber fraud network involved in online investment scams, arresting four accused in two separate cases and unearthing a money trail of around Rs 24 crore, officials said on Friday.

The racket operated through fake WhatsApp groups and fraudulent trading applications, police said on Friday.

In a major crackdown on counterfeit goods, the Inter-State Cell of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted a large-scale fake Castrol lubricant oil manufacturing unit operating in the Nangloi area of west Delhi, seizing stock worth Rs one crore.

The operation led to the seizure of nearly 3,950 litres of raw and counterfeit lubricant oil, around 12,000 empty Castrol bottles and buckets, along with machinery and packaging material worth over Rs one crore.

A major and sensational theft has been reported from Gopalganj district in Bihar, where unknown thieves carried out a large-scale robbery at the renowned Thawe Durga Temple, one of the most revered religious sites in the region.

The incident has triggered widespread anger among devotees and raised serious concerns over temple security.

Two cow smugglers were injured, and one was arrested in two separate police encounters in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur and Ballia districts, officials said on Thursday.

In Jaunpur, an encounter took place between police and cow smugglers in the Khuthan police station area late on Wednesday. During the exchange of fire, a notorious cow smuggler was injured by a bullet in police retaliation, while one of his associates was arrested after being surrounded by the police. A Swift car without a number plate, a country-made pistol, two empty cartridges and some cash were recovered from the spot, according to the police.

The Crime Branch of J&K Police said on Tuesday that it has filed a charge sheet in the court pertaining to a major Municipal Committee fraud in Budgam district.

A crime branch spokesperson said the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch Kashmir has presented a charge sheet before the Court of Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Srinagar, in connection with FIR No. 03/2022, involving serious allegations of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and abuse of official position.

“The charge sheet has been filed under Sections 420, 468, 120-B RPC read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against three accused persons. The accused includes Gh. Mohi-ud-Din Dar, former President of Municipal Committee Budgam, son of Gh. Qadir resident of Khan Pora, Budgam; Gh. Mohammad Mir, son of Ali Mohd Mir, a resident of Budgam; and Abdul Majid Bhat, son of Mohd Akbar Bhat resident of Budgam," the spokesperson said.

In a significant breakthrough, the Dwarka District Police have arrested an active criminal and recovered two stolen two-wheelers and three stolen mobile phones.

The arrest was made by the Crack Team of Police Station (PS) Bindapur following a well-coordinated operation based on specific intelligence inputs, officials said in a press release issued on Saturday.

According to the police, the accused has been identified as Abhishek alias Ganja, a 26-year-old resident of Shayog Vihar, Matiyala, Uttam Nagar. He is a habitual offender and has been previously involved in more than 10 cases of snatching and theft registered across different police stations in Delhi.

Unidentified miscreants attacked a readymade garment merchant in Bihar's Begusarai district on Thursday, leaving him dead, an official said.

The deceased was identified as Mohammad Shahzad.

Shahzad received gunshot injuries near Parbanda Baba Sthan under the Veerpur police station area early in the morning.

The Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) conducted surprise inspections at eight medical stores in Ahmedabad for allegedly selling cough syrup without a doctor's prescription.

All eight outlets have been issued show-cause notices and asked to submit an immediate explanation.

The crackdown is part of the FDCA's ongoing efforts to ensure that citizens receive safe and quality medicines.

A realtor, who had a criminal history, was brutally murdered by unidentified persons in Malkajgiri area of Hyderabad on Monday.

Venkatratnam, who was on his motorbike, was attacked by assailants near Foster Billabong School in Saket Colony under the limits of Jawahar Nagar Police Station.

The assailants stabbed the victim and also shot him, resulting in his death on the spot.

The killing in broad daylight shocked residents. Police rushed to the spot and shifted the body for postmortem examination.

In a major success, the Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended a smuggler and seized gold biscuits valued at over Rs 5.47 crore from his possession along the India-Bangladesh Border (IBB) in West Bengal's Nadia district, an official said on Friday.

"Troops of the 32 Bn BSF, posted at the Banpur Border Outpost in Nadia, successfully foiled yet another smuggling attempt. Acting on specific intelligence, the troops apprehended an Indian smuggler red-handed and recovered 36 gold biscuits, weighing 4234.98 grams and valued at approximately Rs 5,47,37,117. This operation marks a significant setback to the cross-border smuggling network," said N.K. Pandey, DIG, BSF, South Bengal Frontier.

 A late-night operation by the Delhi Police’s Outer-North district led to the busting of an illegal bar running in the Samaypur Badli area, resulting in the apprehension of 25 people and the seizure of liquor, hookahs and sound equipment, the Delhi Police said on Friday.

The action was taken after police received specific information about an unauthorised bar operating at Samaypur Main Chowk.

According to officials, the raid was carried out in the intervening night of December 3 and 4 after a team was constituted under Inspector Shailendra Singh Jakhhar, SHO of Samaypur Badli police station.

One more person has been arrested from Karnataka in connection with the gold robbery case in Kolkata, police said on Tuesday.

The accused was identified as Masumbabu Mallick, a resident of Hooghly district in West Bengal.

Mallick had fled to Karnataka after the robbery at the Sinthee area on the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

The gold merchant was also a resident of the Hooghly district.

A man, accused of raping a six-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district, has been arrested following a short "encounter" in Bhopal on Friday.

According to Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kamlesh Kharpuse, the accused, Salman, was arrested from Bhopal between 3.30 a.m. to 4 a.m. in Bhopal.

The ASP said that when the police were taking Salman to Gauharganj, their vehicle's tyre got punctured on the way.

He said that the accused tried to flee the scene in between.

In a swift and coordinated operation, Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested four individuals who allegedly robbed an 86-year-old woman of her gold jewellery after entering her house on the pretext of enquiring about a room for rent in the Bindapur area of Dwarka district.

According to the Dwarka District Police, the accused — two women, their brother, and a friend hatched the plan after spotting the elderly woman wearing gold ornaments while sitting outside her home. A board displayed outside the residence, indicating that a room was available for rent, gave them the opportunity they needed to gain access to the property.

Security forces, in joint operations, have arrested four hardcore militants and destroyed an additional 41 acres of illegal poppy cultivation across different districts of Manipur over the last 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday.

A police official said the four militants were arrested from Imphal West district and belong to different factions of the outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP).

Three mobile phones, SIM cards and Aadhaar cards were recovered from their possession, and the militants are currently being interrogated.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has successfully busted another sophisticated smuggling attempt involving the illegal import of Chinese-origin fireworks and firecrackers into India, it was announced on Monday.

In a continued effort under operation “Fire Trail” to counter illicit import of firecrackers, the DRI seized smuggled 30,000 pieces of firecrackers worth Rs 5 crore at Mundra port and arrested one person, according to a Finance Ministry statement.

During the operation, DRI officers intercepted a 40-foot container at Mundra port, originating from China, which was declared as carrying “water glass set” and “flower receptacle”.

A Sydney man has been arrested over an alleged attempt to import 22 kg of cocaine from South Africa hidden inside suitcases.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a statement on Friday that the 25-year-old man from southwest Sydney was stopped for a baggage examination after he disembarked a flight that arrived at Sydney Airport from Johannesburg via Doha.

During the examination, ABF officers located 22 packages wrapped in plastic hidden inside the suitcases, news agency reported. The packages contained a white powder that subsequent testing identified as cocaine with a total volume of 22 kg.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a major gold smuggling and melting syndicate in Mumbai under “Operation Bullion Blaze”, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The operation exposed an organised network engaged in smuggling gold into India, melting it in clandestine furnaces, and offloading the refined bullion into the grey market.

Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers conducted simultaneous searches on November 10 at four discreet premises in Mumbai -- two illegal melting units and two unregistered shops.

J&K Police have recovered 350 kg of explosive and an assault rifle near New Delhi and arrested two doctors in this connection.

The police recovered the explosive, most likely ammonium nitrate, and an assault rifle in Faridabad, near the national capital, officials said.

Official sources said the massive recovery was made days after police arrested a Kashmiri doctor from Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur for allegedly putting up posters supporting terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar.

The Delhi Police on Friday cracked a robbery case within 48 hours, arresting four accused involved in the crime. With their arrest, police have recovered Rs 18,000 in cash and a Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire car used in the offence.

According to a statement issued by the South-West District Police, the staff of Police Post Subroto Park, under the jurisdiction of Police Station Delhi Cantt, apprehended four accused persons identified as Amit alias Kaku (21 years), Pawan (22 years), Manish alias Churri (21 years), and Sonam (19 years).

On November 3, a PCR call was received at the Delhi Cantt police station regarding a robbery committed by occupants of an unidentified car. The complainant informed police that after arriving from the IGI Airport to Dhaula Kuan Bus Stand around 1.30 a.m., he boarded a private Maruti Suzuki Tour car already occupied by three men and a woman.

Hyderabad police have arrested a woman and nine others for kidnapping her husband for ransom.

Police said on Tuesday that M. Madhavi Latha, 55, is the prime accused in the case. She hired another accused to abduct her husband, Mantri Shyam, after he sold ancestral property worth Rs 20 crore.

Shyam was kidnapped in the Amberpet area on October 29. He escaped from his captors on October 31, even as the police were on the hunt for the kidnappers. On the statement of the

The victim, the police registered a case and arrested the accused.

Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department officials on Monday seized over 15 kg highly addictive methamphetamine tablets, valued at over Rs 45 crore and arrested four drug peddlers, including two Myanmar nationals, officials said on Monday.

One team of Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department carried out operation in New Champhai region, where they apprehended two drug peddlers and recovered 10.1 kg of methamphetamine tablets from them.

The drug peddlers were identified as Zamsianmanga (41) and Ronald Liana (26), both residents of Sagaing Division of Myanmar.

Another team intercepted a vehicle at the area, bordering Champhai town and seized an additional 5.11 kg of the same methamphetamine tablets.

 Three criminals and a head constable were injured during an exchange of fire between Delhi Police and a group of wanted offenders in the Nangloi area early on Saturday.

According to officials, the gang -- known for attacking police teams -- had been under surveillance by the Outer District Police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Sachin Sharma told, "Two days ago, the same group was involved in a hot chase during which they opened fire on the police party. The officers retaliated, but the accused managed to escape at that time."

The criminals resurfaced in Nangloi on Saturday morning, where they were intercepted by the police. When challenged, the gang once again opened fire, prompting officers to return fire. In the ensuing exchange, three of the four criminals sustained bullet injuries and were later apprehended.

The police, on early Friday morning, detained a 14-year-old boy on charges of raping a five-year-old girl at Kolaghat in East Midnapore district in West Bengal.

The accused, a minor, will be presented at a Juvenile Justice Court in the same district later in the afternoon, a police official from East Midnapore District Police confirmed.

There are further charges against the accused that he threatened to kill the victim in case she divulged about the sexual crime committed on her to anyone, including her parents.

It is learnt that the victim went to the accused's residence in the morning of October 22. As per the police complaint lodged by the victim’s parents, the accused raped their daughter at his residence, taking advantage of the absence of other family members at home.

In an intelligence-based operation, Punjab Police, in coordination with central agencies, apprehended two terror operatives Mehakdeep Singh and Aditya from Amritsar and recovered one rocket-propelled grenade, said Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were in contact with Pakistan's ISI operative, who had sent the weapon.

The rocket-propelled grenade was intended for a targeted terror attack. A first information report (FIR) has been registered at the police station in Gharinda in Amritsar district.

Further investigation is underway to unearth the entire network, said the DGP.

A woman and her daughter have been arrested for stealing a newborn from Burdwan Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal, police said on Wednesday.

Rinki Khatun, alias Rumki Khatun and her mother, Minira Bibi, were arrested on Tuesday night.

Acting on information that an 18-year-old boy had been stolen from Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, the police sprang into action and started an investigation.

During preliminary investigation, it came to the fore that the incident occurred when the baby's mother, Selefah Khatun, had brought him to the outdoor children's ward for a doctor's visit.

In a shocking incident, a woman allegedly killed her two children and then died by suicide by jumping off a building in Hyderabad.

The incident occurred in Padmanagar under the limits of Balanagar Police Station of Cyberabad Commissionerate late on Monday night.

The woman, identified as Sai Lakshmi, allegedly killed her two-year-old twin children by strangling and then jumped to death from third floor of an apartment building where they were residing.

Alerted by the locals, police rushed to the spot and launched an investigation. The bodies were shifted to government-run Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad.

The police have nabbed another person in connection with the gang-rape of a second-year medical student from Odisha in West Bengal's Durgapur, taking the total number of arrests to four.

The police said on Monday that the arrest was made last night. The arrested person is a temporary worker at Durgapur Municipal Corporation. He will be produced in Durgapur Sub-Divisional Court later in the day, where the police will seek his custody.

Meanwhile, a search is on for another accused in the case. The police had registered an FIR against five persons, out of whom four have been arrested. On Sunday, the three accused were sent to 10 days' police custody.

A youth was arrested in Kolkata from the port area in the city on Saturday on charges of raping a differently-abled woman, police said.

A FIR was filed at Nadial Police Station under the Port Division of the city police on Friday night.

The cops immediately started an investigation into the matter and finally arrested the accused person on Saturday morning, said an official of the Kolkata Police.

"A written police complaint on the matter was filed at around midnight on Friday at the Nadial Police Station. On the basis of the complaint, an FIR was registered. Investigation started immediately without wasting any time, and within hours, the accused person was arrested on Saturday morning," the city police official said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday said it has arrested a Superintendent and an Inspector of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) in Mumbai, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a businessman.

According to a CBI statement, the arrested officials have been identified as Superintendent Vikram and Inspector Lav Kumar Chittoria, both posted in the CGST Santacruz Division.

The case was registered on Tuesday following a complaint from a textile trader who had applied online for GST registration of his firm on September 24, the statement said.

Senior lawyer and BJP leader Pitabas Panda was shot dead by unknown bike-borne assailants near his residence in Berhampur city of Odisha's Ganjam district.

The attack took place late Monday evening when Panda was returning home, located at Baikunthanagar under Vaidyanathpur police station area in Berhampur, at around 10 p.m. after attending some programmes.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police, on Monday, attached the property of a drug peddler under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (PIT NDPS) Act in the Kulgam district, officials said.

A police statement said, "Continuing its unwavering drive against the drug menace, Kulgam Police has attached the property of another notorious drug peddler under Section 68-F of the NDPS Act."

"During the investigation of an FIR under Sections 8/15, 21 NDPS Act of Qazigund Police Station, it came to light that the accused Cheki Badwani, resident of Kurigam, Qazigund tehsil, has been involved in multiple cases of drug trafficking and had no legitimate source of income," the statement added.

In a major anti-drug operation, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) in Jaipur seized ganja worth Rs 5 crore, hidden in a secret chamber of a container truck being smuggled from Odisha to Rajasthan.

Two men, Subhash Gurjar and Pramod Gurjar, residents of Sikar in Rajasthan, have been arrested in connection with the case.

According to ADG (Crime) Dinesh M.N., the AGTF received intelligence about a large consignment of ganja being transported to Rajasthan for delivery to two notorious drug lords from the Shekhawati region, Raju Pachalangi and Gokul.

Acting swiftly on the tip-off, the AGTF, in coordination with the Jhunjhunu District Special Task Force (DST), set up a checkpoint in the Udaipurwati area late Thursday night.

In a case that has plunged the Chambal-Gwalior region of Madhya Pradesh into grief and outrage, police have arrested Bharat Sikarwar and his wife for the alleged murder of their 17-year-old daughter, Divya Sikarwar, a Class 12 student.

Alongside the arrest of her parents, police have registered a case against 23 others, naming 11 individuals, while the remaining suspects remain unidentified.

The incident, suspected to be an “honour killing”, has reignited fierce debate over caste orthodoxy and the violent lengths to which families go to preserve it.

Delhi Police detained two women associates of 'Swami' Chaitanyanand Saraswati, accused of molesting 17 women students, on Tuesday and were interrogating them.

The accused, also known as Partha Sarathy, director of the reputed Sri Sharda Institute of Indian Management in Delhi's posh Vasant Kunj, is facing a criminal case for allegedly targeting female students enrolled in post-graduate management diploma courses under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) scholarship category.

According to the complainant, three wardens used to help Chaitanyanand bring the girls to his room. It is not clear whether the two women associates detained are the same wardens.

The officials said that Chaitanyananda is not cooperating with the interrogation and is showing no remorse.