Tag: Tamil Nadu

CSG seizes one tonne of sea cucumber from Nagapattinam warehouse in Tamil Nadu

NAGAPATTINAM: Coastal Security Group on Saturday busted an illegal warehouse containing sea cucumbers near Nagapattinam and arrested three people for allegedly processing and trying to smuggle them to Sri Lanka.

The seized items, weighing about a tonne, are valued at about Rs 30 lakh and are worth several times higher abroad. The CSG received information that a large amount of sea cucumber (Kadal Attai) was stored illegally in a building at Thideerkuppam near Akkaraipettai.

An eight-member team led by ADSP J Shankar and CSG inspector R Rajasekaran raided the building and found the sea cucumber being fermented and processed. The police apprehended three people under suspicion of smuggling and processing the sea cucumber, namely S Sabarinathan (40) from Nagapattinam, K Suresh (47) from Selloor and V Selvam (50) from Akkaraipettai. The police weighed the sea cucumber and found it to be around 1000 kilos, and their worth is estimated to be around Rs 3000 per kilo.

“We learnt that the suspects were processing the sea cucumber and planning on smuggling it to Sri Lanka via boats in sea route,” Inspector R Rajasekaran told TNIE. Sea Cucumbers are marine echinoderms classified as ‘Endangered Species’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite being banned from catching. they often get caught as ‘bycatch’ in fishing nets.

They are often smuggled to foreign countries like Sri Lanka, where they’re in demand for alleged medicinal purposes and are sold at multiple times their price in the black market. The CSG personnel handed the sea cucumber to forest department officials in Nagapattinam, and a case was registered at the Forest Range Office in Nagapattinam under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It is learnt that the sea cucumber would be destroyed after seeking permission from a magistrate.

March 26, 2023
Explosion at Firecracker Unit in Kancheepuram, Eight Killed and 13 Injured

Chennai: At least eight people were killed and 13 others injured in an explosion at a firecracker unit in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram on Wednesday, said police.

The injured have been admitted to the Kancheepuram district hospital. The reason for the explosion is not yet known.

Police said that 25 persons were working in the unit when the explosion took place Wednesday afternoon
Four Units of fire force reached the unit and doused the fire. More information on the explosion are awaited.

March 22, 2023
Eight killed in Tamil Nadu firecracker factory blast

Chennai, (IANS) | At least eight people were killed and 13 others injured in a blast at a firecracker factory in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram on Wednesday.

The injured have been admitted to Kancheepuram District Hospital.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known.

Police said 25 people were working in the unit when the explosion occurred on Wednesday afternoon.

Four units of fire brigade reached the factory and doused the fire.

More details about the blast are awaited.

–IANS

March 22, 2023
PM Modi to flag-off two train services in Tamil Nadu on April 8

CHENNAI: Come April, Southern Railway will introduce two new express trains – Vande Bharat express on the Chennai-Coimbatore route and a tri-weekly express on the Tambaram-Sengottai route. The services will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 8, as per the tentative plan, revealed official documents.

The introduction of a new service to Sengottai will enable a direct link to Chennai on the Tenkasi – Ambasamudran – Tirunelveli (72 km) sector, 11 years after being converted into a broad gauge line. The new service will run on the main line via Thiruvarur, Karaikudi and Tenkasi. Two new trains on highly congested routes are expected to provide huge relief to passengers who otherwise rely on omnibuses during weekends and festival seasons.

Official sources said civil works to reinforce the tracks have been completed and lines are expected to be cleared for operation by the commissioner of railway safety from April and June respectively. “Once the sectional speed is increased to 130 kmph, the travel time of trains plying on Chennai – Jolarpettai (214 km) track will be cut by 10 to 15 minutes. Subsequently, the overall journey time between two cities will go down to less than 7 hours,” added the official.

Currently, the 495 km Chennai-Coimbatore section is served by two super express trains and a Shatabdi express during the day. The journey from Chennai to Coimbatore takes approximately 7.5 hours, while the return journey takes 8 hours. The Shatabdi express covers the distance in 7 hours. The permitted sectional speed is 110 kmph.

Similarly, the Chennai-Sengottai route is serviced by the Pothigai Express (daily) and Silambu Express (tri-weekly). The Pothigai express operates on the mainline through Tiruchy and Madurai, while the Silambu Express runs through Aruppukottai and Virudhunagar. Therefore, the introduction of the first train via Ambasamudram and Tenkasi has brought joy to the locals.

A Pandiaraja, a native of Tenkasi, who is also a member of the Madurai divisional rail users consultative committee, said, “The train timings should be planned keeping the convenience of the passengers in the Tenkasi – Tirunelveli section.” Sources added that the PM will also inaugurate the BG line between Thiruthuraipoondi – Agasthyamalai and two DEMU trains.

Lines awaiting safety clearance for operation
Official sources said civil works to reinforce the tracks have been completed and lines are expected to be cleared for operation by commissioner of railway safety from April and June respectively

March 22, 2023
CBI Detains Man From Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur In Online Child Sexual Abuse Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a person from Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district in connection with an ongoing investigation into an online sexual abuse case, said the federal agency on Saturday, March 18. A case was registered against the 35-year-old accused and other unknown persons for allegedly creating, collecting, downloading, browsing, exchanging/distributing material showing children in the sexually explicit act in electronic form, the agency said.

CBI found Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) images and clips from the Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database of Interpol. The images from the Interpol database were examined using digital forensic tools and the location was traced to the Thanjavur district.

“India joined Interpol ICSE Database last year to give impetus to its efforts of countering the menace of online child sexual exploitation,” CBI said.

Following this, searches were carried out at the premises of the accused which led to the recovery of incriminating electronic gadgets.

‘Accused was sexually abusing a child for last 4 years,’ says CBI
“It was alleged that the accused was sexually abusing a child for the last four years and he had captured nude videos/photographs of the minor kid which he had uploaded to his Google Account,” the federal agency said.

It added, “It was further alleged that the accused forced 02 minor victims (male and female) to perform penetrative sexual acts on them as well on other minor children, including a minor victim girl; clicked photographs & recorded video; forced them to watch sexual acts with other adult person; threatened them to publish the pictures/video on social media and bring more minor girls.”

Last year in September, CBI launched operation ‘Operation Megh-Chakra’ and carried out searches in 19 states and a union territory in connection with two cases of circulation of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The operation was based on inputs from the Interpol database in Singapore and intelligence gathered during 2021’s Operation Carbon.

March 18, 2023