QAhmedabad: Unemployed Diamond Worker Kills Himself & More

Catch the latest news from Gujarat here.

Image use for representational purposes only. A diamond worker at Surat’s diamond markets.

Photo Credit: Rahul Nair@The Quint

1. Jobless, Diamond Polisher Kills Self, Records Video

A diamond polisher who was out of job and was facing financial constraints allegedly killed himself by consuming poison and sent a video of the act to his brother in Sarthana area of Surat on Wednesday. Family members rushed him to hospital where he was declared dead.

Police said Jayesh Popatbhai Singada, a resident of Tirupati society in Sarthana area in Surat, and native of Botad, was working as diamond polisher in a private factory at Surat for the past 10 years.

“The factory where Jayesh was working laid off several employees, including him, three months ago. Jayesh was upset that he couldn’t find a job after that and went into depression, finally taking the extreme step,” Popatbhai Singada, Jayesh’s father, told The Indian Express.

(Source: The Indian Express)

2. 241 Guj Pharmacists Lose Registration for Renting Licences

Gujarat State Pharmacy Council (GSPC) on Wednesday, 16 October said it has cancelled the registration of 241 pharmacists in the state in the last six months for giving their licenses on rent to drug stores and taking up a job elsewhere, which is "illegal" as per norms.

Apart from suspending their licenses, the GSPC also imposed fine on these pharmacists for indulging in this malpractice prohibited under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Of these, 103 pharmacists faced suspension very recently following a decision taken in this regard during the executive committee meeting of the GSPC, its president Montubhai Patel said.

Many other pharmacists are also under the scanner and warnings have been issued to them already, he added.

(Source: The Times of India)

3. Petition Against Thakor, Zala's Candidature From BJP Withdrawn

A petition seeking to restrain former Congress leaders Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala from contesting bypolls on BJP symbol was withdrawn from the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday.

Thakor and Zala resigned as Congress MLAs and joined the BJP. The ruling party has fielded them in the ensuing by-elections from their respective seats Radhanpur and Bayad.

Rajkot-resident Suresh Singal moved the high court, seeking the court's direction to restrain the two from contesting the by-elections on BJP symbol, claiming that it was illegal as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

However, the court asked him to state what was his 'locus standi'.

(Source: The Times of India)

4. I-T Dept Raids Two Business Groups in Ahmedabad; Recovers Rs 7-Cr Cash

The Income Tax department has recovered about Rs 7 crore cash and identified over a dozen bank lockers for seizure after it raided two business groups in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, 16 October officials said.

While the officials did not identify the two entities, they said the first is a land broker and investor group and the other is a financier house that operates from Gujarat's capital city.

A total of 16 premises, including eight residential locations, were searched by a team of about 100 tax and police sleuths, they said.

Unaccounted cash of about Rs 7 crore has been found and thirteen bank lockers in the name of various family members of the business groups have been detected and will be put under restraint soon, they said.

(Source: The Times of India)

5. Thieves Cut Open SBI ATM in Ahmedabad, Steal Rs 9 Lakh

Unidentified men stole over Rs 9 lakh cash by breaking into a State Bank of India Automated Teller Machine at a commercial complex in Sarkhej on Tuesday 15 October.

Local police were informed on Tuesday evening of the theft at the SBI ATM inside Himalaya Complex at Sarkhej roundabout in Ahmedabad. According to a complaint filed by the security agency entrusted with handling cash refills at the ATM and monitoring CCTV footage, as many as 82 notes of Rs 100 face value, 1,842 notes of Rs 500 face value and 5 notes of Rs 2,000 face value are missing from the ATM.

“A complaint was received at our police station Tuesday evening that Rs 9,39,200 has gone missing from the SBI ATM,” Sarkhej Police station in charge BB Goyal said, adding that the theft is likely to have taken place in the wee hours of Tuesday.

(Source: The Indian Express)