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EYE on INDIA
Migrant labourers
Most come back to Delhi
because of money
ith Covid-19 positivity rate in Delhi plummeting to near-
ly 1.5 per cent, migrant labourers who had left for their
Whome states, during the lockdown in the national capital
owing to a sudden spurt in cases, are seen gradually returning. Buses
arriving at the city’s interstate bus terminals (ISBTs) -- Anand Vihar
and Kashmere Gate- are seeing half of their total seats being occu-
pied by these migrant labourers.
A lot of daily wage labourers, comprising majority of migrants
standing about in groups said they had no option but to come back to
Delhi to work as they were facing serious financial crunch back home.
Mohammed Wasim, from Budaun in Uttar Pradesh, was wait-
ing at the terminal for a share auto to take him to Chandni Chowk
where he works as a rickshaw puller. “I have no money left to feed
my family anymore and had to come back. I know the lockdown is
still on and will not get that many passengers. However, even if I
manage to get three or four passengers, it will be helpful for me.”
Wasim has a wife and three children in Budaun.
Others who were standing around at the bus terminal like Wasim
also had similar stories to share and expressed hope that the lock-
down curbs will be lifted by the end of the month.
At Kashmere Gate, a few passengers who alighted from a bus,
which arrived from Punjab said they were employed in a cardboard
packaging unit in Delhi.
One among them Anup Kumar said, “I am coming back from my
hometown in Jaipur. I have been following the news diligently and
found that the cases have been going down. My friends who stay in
Jaipur and work in the same factory decided to return. Even if we do
not go to Punjab, I can earn in Delhi and send money to my mother.”
However, the Old Delhi Railway station opposite the Red Fort
which on regular days is crowded with labourers and people from
various walks of life wore a deserted look with only a few coolies
sitting on the platforms and a handful of passengers going through
security screening.
sushant singh rajput
Siddhartha Pithani remanded
to NCB custody till June 1
A chief was briefed on the operational preparedness and the ongoing
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court in Mumbai
on Friday remanded Sushant Singh Rajput’s flatmate Sid-
dhartha Pithani to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)
custody till June 1.
The NCB Mumbai unit arrested Pithani on March 26 from Hy-
derabad and brought him to Mumbai on a transit warrant obtained
from a local court there. Pithani was booked under multiple sec-
tions of the NDPS Act, 1985 “Accused Siddhartha Pithani was ap-
prehended and his statement was recorded and he was duly arrested
under multiple sections of NDPS Act, 1985 and produced before
the court in Hyderabad. The court granted his transit warrant and
the said accused has been brought to Mumbai. He was produced be-
fore CMM court in Mumbai on 28.05.2021. The court was pleased
to grant NCB Custody till June 1, 2021,” said Sameer Wankhede,
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JUNE 04, 2021 | The Indian Eye 14
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee takes a stock of
damages due to the landfall of Cyclone ‘Yaas’, in Digha Sea Beach
in Purba Medinipur on Friday. (ANI)
Zonal Director, NCB in an official release.
The NCB said that notices under section 67 of the NDPS Act
were served to Pithani but he did not join the investigation.
“In a follow-up action in NCB Mumbai, a team of NCB Mum-
bai arrested one of the absconding accused Siddhartha Pithani at
Hyderabad on 26/05/2021. Earlier notices under section 67 NDPS
Act were served to accused Siddharth Pithani but he did not join the
investigation,” Wankhede added.
The NCB Mumbai gathered intelligence about the whereabouts
of the accused in Hyderabad.
“Accordingly, on 25/05/2021, a team from the NCB Mumbai was
deputed to Hyderabad in search of the accused who has been long
absconding and fleeing from justice,” the release read.
“Accused Siddhartha Pithani was apprehended and his state-
ment was recorded and he was duly arrested and produced before
the court in Hyderabad,” it added.
chinese war drills
IAF chief visits Ladakh to
review preparedness
t a time when the Chinese forces are holding exercises at their
training areas opposite Eastern Ladakh, Indian Air Force
Achief RKS Bhadauria today visited Leh to review the oper-
ational preparedness of the force deployed there. Sources said the
operations along the China border by the officials at the Leh air base.
The chief was also briefed extensively about the air maintenance
operations in support of the Indian Army and the paramilitary
troops there, they said.
The Air Force has two major bases in Leh and Thoise which help
it look after both China and Pakistan border. It has also deployed
troops at the forward locations all along the eastern Ladakh sector
including the Nyoma advanced landing ground and the air field in
Daulat Beg Oldi.
The Chinese military is holding exercises, which includes its Air
Force and Army, close to locations from where they diverted troops
towards Indian front last year.
The Rafale combat aircraft are also regularly deployed in the
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