Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Jun, 2023 05:20 PM
New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) Three persons have been arrested here at the IGI Airport for attempting to smuggle 1,122 gm of gold valued at over Rs 57 lakh, an official said on Monday.
A Customs official said that the arrest was made based on profiling when an air passenger arrived at IGI, and was about to board a flight to Bangkok.
"During the investigation, it was revealed that the passenger admitted to smuggling the gold in paste form by handing it over to an airline staff member who then clandestinely took it outside the Delhi airport without declaring it to the proper customs officer or paying the customs duty on the gold," an official said.
The Customs officials seized a total of 1,122 gm of gold valued at Rs 57,65,879 under Section 110 of the Customs Act.
"Both the passenger and the referred person have committed offences punishable under Sections 132 and 135 of the Customs Act. They have been placed under arrest in accordance with Section 104 of the Customs Act," added the official.
Padma Shri Sahney made this announcement before taking oath of office in Parliament. Before the oath, he took part in 'kirtan' and 'ardaas' organised at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib here. On the occasion, Sahney announced that he will donate all his and staff salary of his tenure for the education of economically weaker students.
Mann said the 254-km long Delhi-Katra highway will be constructed at a cost Rs 11,510 crore and will pass through nine districts of the state -- Jalandhar, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Patiala, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur.
In a status report before Justice Anoop Chitkara's Bench, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sukhnaaz Singh said in view of the facts and circumstances, it is evident that there is sufficient prima facie evidence on record which reveals that the petitioner is the main conspirator, who hatched conspiracy with Gaurav Patial (accused) for eliminating Middukhera.
In January 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula also sentenced Rahim and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati over 16 years ago. His conviction on August 25, 2017 had led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, leaving 41 people dead and over 260 injured.
According to customs officials, "The gold was in the form of a paste which was wrapped in black tape in two packets. The total weight of the packets was 433 grams. After removing the tape and other impurities from gold, it weighs 397 grams."
The two accused -- Ankit Sersa and Sachin Chaudhary had been in the custody of the Delhi Police in an arms case. Chief metropolitan magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria granted their transit remand to the Mansa Police SIT team that is probing the murder of Punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala.
