Muzaffarnagar:

The disappearance of a bride-to-be just hours before her wedding in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, a police complaint alleging abduction, and a social media post about her “death” sent investigators into a tizzy and sparked a massive manhunt, which ended after the woman was found in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior.

According to police sources, the chaos began on Tuesday evening, when the woman, Sushmana Sharma left her house to visit a beauty parlour, just hours before her marriage with Bharat Bhushan.

After the woman failed to return home and could not be traced, her family filed a police complaint, alleging she was abducted.

However, in a bid to save face in front of guests and relatives, the groom’s family posted on social media that the wedding could not take place as Sushmana died of a heart attack, the sources said.

The social media post, the sources added, went viral as netizens extended their sympathies to the groom’s family over the “devastating” development. 

The inconsistent claims by the woman’s family and the groom’s side left police puzzled, prompting them to launch a thorough investigation into the matter. 

New Mandi Circle Officer Rupali Roy Chowdhary told reporters that with the help of CCTV footage, the investigators tracked the bride’s movement and after hours of an intensive search, found her in Gwalior at around 8am on Wednesday. 

“Immediately upon receiving information about the woman’s disappearance, the police registered a case and formed two teams to trace her. She was found in Gwalior the following morning,” Ms Chowdhary said. 

The police did not provide any details but the sources said the woman escaped because she was not ready to marry Bharat. The sources also said the woman escaped with the help of a female friend. 

Asked about the rumour about the woman’s death on social media, Ms Chowdhary said: “A probe is underway.” 

Sironj, Vidisha::

A farmer in Sironj tehsil of Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh, collapsed in shock after the local administration ran a tractor over his standing crop. The action destroyed nearly 30 bighas of crops, leaving the farmer, Moolchand, unconscious, while his wife pleaded with officials to stop. Her cries went unheard.

The incident occurred in the Ketan Dam area, where officials justified the action claiming the land was encroached upon and that the leases were cancelled two years ago. 

Tehsildar (local revenue official) Vikas Agarwal said, “This was government land, and it was necessary to free it from encroachment. We have taken action as per the rules.”

Moolchand, however, insisted that he had deposited the fine for the land in October and has a receipt as proof. Despite this, the administration proceeded with the demolition.

Speaking of the traumatic day, Moolchand said, “When I saw the tractor running over my hard-earned crop, I could not bear it. I had a heart attack and fainted. When I regained consciousness, my crop had been destroyed.”

The incident has sparked widespread anger among farmers and turned into a political flashpoint. 

Images of the distraught farmer and his grieving wife have fuelled criticism against the administration, with opposition leaders calling for accountability. 

Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath strongly condemned the move, comparing it to British-era atrocities against farmers.

“Atrocities that were not committed against farmers even during the British era are happening under the BJP rule,” said Kamal Nath.

Sheopur:

A 26-year-old man collapsed and died on a horse during his wedding procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district, an official said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday night and a video capturing the man’s last moments surfaced on social media on Saturday.

The goom was identified as Pradeep Jat, the former district president of the National Student Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress.

District hospital’s civil surgeon Dr RB Goyal said family members rushed Jat to the medical facility but he was already dead by the time.

The groom, a resident of Soonswada village, possibly died due to a heart attack, he said.

The video shows Jat, dressed in traditional attire, going towards the stage on a horse. He slowly leans forward and becomes unresponsive. A relative tries to dismount him from the horse but Jat collapses before that.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Gwalior:

Two motorcycle-borne men allegedly kidnapped a six-year-old son of a businessman after throwing chilli powder into the eyes of the child’s mother as they waited for his school bus in Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, police said.

The incident took place in Morar area in the morning, they said.

“Two men came on a motorcycle and threw chilli powder into the eyes of the woman and kidnapped her son, whose father is a sugar merchant. The accused then took away the child on their motorcycle,” Gwalior Zone Inspector General of Police (IG) Arvind Saxena told PTI.

“After being informed about the incident around 8.10 am, the police announced a cash reward of Rs 30,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the accused and the rescue of the boy,” he said.

The kidnapped boy is the son of Rahul Gupta, who resides with his family in C P Colony of Murar area. As per the usual practice, Gupta’s wife went to drop their son to the spot where his school bus picks him up, the police said.

The entire incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed near the site, they added.

After the incident, senior police officials arrived there and launched an investigation.

When asked, the boy’s father Rahul Gupta said, “I am a wholesale sugar trader. After the kidnapping incident, nobody has contacted us. We do not have enmity with anyone and don’t know who might have done this.” Meanwhile, merchants and shopkeepers in Murar area shut down their business units to condemn the kidnapping incident.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Indore:

A 42-year-old man’s condition deteriorated so much that he had to be hospitalised for a week after unknowingly consuming fish gall bladder in Indore, a doctor said on Wednesday.

Dr Jai Singh Arora, a nephrologist at a private hospital here, told PTI that the man started throwing up and suffered from diarrhoea after he ate fish gall bladder without realising that he had ingested the organ that stores bile produced by the liver.

His family thought it was a case of food poisoning until investigations pointed to something serious. Along with his serum creatinine, an indicator of kidney functions, the levels of two liver enzymes – SGOT and SGPT – had shot up dangerously, the doctor said.

“The patient came to us in a critical condition. He was admitted to the hospital for a week. Even after this, his treatment continued. At present, he is healthy,” Arora said.

The fish gall bladder contains a poisonous chemical called sodium cyprinol sulfate, which can rapidly damage the liver and kidneys if ingested by humans, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhopal:

In an escape so ridiculous it could be a deleted scene from The Hangover, a robbery suspect managed to ditch jail guards during a doctor’s visit as they were busy getting massages at a spa centre in Madhya Pradesh. 

A robbery was reported on December 25 in Madhya Pradesh’s Nagda town in Ujjain district. Five armed robbers breached the premises of Shiva Baba Liquor Company holding employees at gunpoint and fleeing with Rs 18 lakh in cash.

Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Rohit Sharma, identified as the prime accused. Sharma was taken into custody and lodged in Khachrod Sub-Jail on January 5. However, his detention took an unexpected turn when he was granted medical attention due to a reported leg injury.

On Tuesday at 11 AM, jail guards Rajesh Srivastava and Nitin Dalodiya escorted Sharma to Khachrod Government Hospital for treatment. Standard protocol dictates that an accused should be returned to jail immediately after medical attention. However, by 6 PM, Sharma had not returned, prompting concerns and an internal inquiry.

Authorities soon discovered inconsistencies in the accounts provided by the two jail guards. This led to an urgent review of hospital CCTV footage. The recordings revealed that Sharma had walked out of the hospital between 12 PM and 12:30 PM – hours before his absence was officially noticed.

Further investigation uncovered an even more bizarre detail. Instead of escorting Sharma back to jail, the two guards allegedly took him nearly 30 kilometres away to a spa in Ratlam. While Sharma vanished, the guards reportedly indulged in a massage session at the facility. 

CCTV footage from the spa centre suggests Sharma too got a massage. One of the videos shows the suspect hurriedly leaving one of the massage rooms while in the process of putting on a t-shirt before escaping through a door. 

Following a formal complaint by Khachrod Jail Superintendent Surendra Singh Ranawat, police registered a case against both jail guards and Rohit Sharma under Sections 262 and 264 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).

According to Ujjain Superintendent of Police (SP) Pradeep Sharma, both the jail guards have been suspended. An FIR has been registered against them for aiding in the escape. 

With Sharma still missing, multiple police teams have been deployed to track him down.

Bhopal:

The wife of a photographer who committed suicide and three of her kin were booked in Indore in Madhya Pradesh for alleged abetment of the act, a police official said on Thursday.

Nitin Padiyar (28) had ended his life on January 20 after leaving behind a suicide note in which he urged the government to make changes to the Dowry Prohibition Act to stop women from “misusing” it, Banganga police station house officer (SHO) Siyaram Gurjar told PTI.

“An FIR for abetment of suicide has been registered against his wife, and three of her family members, comprising her mother and two sisters. Padiyar’s wife had filed a dowry case against him in Rajasthan, from where her parents hail. They were allegedly demanding money from Padiyar to withdraw this case,” Gurjar informed.

“I, Nitin Padiyar, request the Government of India to change the law because women are misusing it. If you do not change it, then many more men and their families will get ruined every day. I request youth of India not to get married and if they do, they should strike an agreement before it. Seek justice for me after my death if you feel I have been bullied. Or wait for your turn,” Padiyar’s note stated. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhopal:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids at multiple locations in Madhya Pradesh in connection with a private firm allegedly engaged in producing and distributing adulterated milk products domestically and internationally using forged lab certificates.

The ED’s crackdown against Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd and its director comes as part of larger action against alleged food adulteration and fraudulent trade practices.

Searches have been carried out at in as many as nine locations, including Bhopal, Sehore and Morena since early Wednesday.

The premises being raided are allegedly related to Kishan Modi, Rajendra Prasad Modi and others — the directors of Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd, according to official sources.

The ED officials have uncovered 63 falsified lab reports that were allegedly used to export substandard milk products to several countries, including Bahrain, Hong Kong, Singapore, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“It was learned that forged lab certificates were used for the export of adulterated milk products to various countries like Bahrain, Hongkong, Singapore, Oman, Qatar and UAE. Searches are still underway,” the official told media persons in Morena.

According to sources, Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd, which was established in 2013 in Bhopal, is a prominent manufacturer and exporter of dairy products with the brand name ‘Milk Magic’.

Apart from packed milk, the firm also manufactures various products, including ghee, khoya, white butter, margarine, etc. The company has established a significant presence in both domestic and international markets. Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd has built a reputation for delivering high-quality dairy products to a broad customer base, both within India and internationally.

Authorities are examining financial records and other documents to determine the scale of the alleged violations.

More details about the raid and an official statement from the ED and the company were awaited.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

In a record-breaking operation, approximately 80,000 kilograms of narcotics seized over the past year from seven districts of Madhya Pradesh were destroyed in a cement factory in Neemuch district. The massive haul of drugs, including opium, smack, MDMA, ganja, hashish, and other substances, was confiscated in 456 cases from police stations across Ujjain, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Agar-Malwa, Dewas, and Shajapur districts.

On Thursday morning, 22 trucks loaded with the seized drugs arrived at the Neemuch cement factory. Following a meticulously planned operation, the process of burning the narcotics began at 7 am and continued until 11 pm The drugs were incinerated at an extreme temperature of 1400 degrees Celsius in the cement factory’s furnace, ensuring their complete destruction.

“Such a large quantity of drugs destroyed at one time in one location is a record in itself,” remarked SP Ankit Jaiswal, highlighting the significance of the operation in the state’s fight against narcotics.

The entire process was conducted under the supervision and clearance of scientists from the Pollution Control Board. Remarkably, not a single particle of smoke escaped the facility, and the operation adhered to strict safety and environmental standards.

“A committee under the DIG of the Ujjain and Ratlam range, along with the Pollution Control Board, monitored the operation to control harmful gases,” said Harishankar Sharma, a scientist involved in the process.

The narcotics included 10 different types of substances, with 168 kilograms of opium among them. Interestingly, the heat generated during the incineration was utilised as “green fuel” by the factory to power its production processes, reducing the need for coal.

“The calorific value of the drugs was used as raw material, replacing coal, to sustain the factory’s operations for hours,” added SP Ankit Jaiswal.

Over 200 police personnel were deployed to ensure the safety of the operation, which successfully destroyed narcotics valued at approximately ₹8600 crore in the international market.

This milestone operation is part of the government’s intensified crackdown on drug trafficking, aligning with directives from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav.

Bhopal:

The Madhya Pradesh government plans to take a new loan of Rs 25,000 crore before the current financial year ends on March 31, 2025. This includes an immediate loan of Rs 5,000 crore, with the remaining amount to be borrowed in phases over the next two months.

Ahead of the state budget, Finance Minister Jagdish Devda is engaging with various stakeholders to gather inputs for the financial roadmap. However, the growing fiscal deficit has necessitated fresh borrowing.

“We are taking loans as per the rules, and they are being repaid with interest. The upcoming budget will address all sections’ needs. There is no cause for concern,” said Finance Minister Jagdish Devda, assuring citizens of prudent financial management.

Debt Soars to Rs 4.21 Lakh Crore

Madhya Pradesh’s debt has seen a rapid rise over the past five years. In March 2020, the state owed Rs 2.01 lakh crore. By March 2024, this figure had ballooned to over Rs 3.75 lakh crore. It is estimated to exceed Rs 4.21 lakh crore by the end of this financial year, effectively doubling within five years.

Madhya Pradesh accounts for over 5% of the nation’s total debt, ranking ninth among states in terms of borrowing.

The opposition Congress has raised serious questions about the state’s borrowing practices.

“Why take loans when state properties are being sold? The government is spending recklessly-be it expensive cabinet meetings, costly bridges, or luxurious purchases. How many generations will repay this debt? The government must issue a white paper to provide transparency,” said Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta.

Mr Gupta also highlighted expenditure on non-essential items, such as a Rs 230 crore jet plane proposal, Rs 18 crore for repainting ministers’ bungalows, and Rs 5 crore for SUVs for ministers.

A significant portion of the state’s expenditure is directed toward welfare schemes, particularly the Ladli Behna initiative, which costs approximately Rs 1,600 crore per month. The government has also invested heavily in developmental projects across the state.