Baltej Singh, a New Zealand businessman and the nephew of one of Indira Gandhi’s assassins who is serving a 22-year prison sentence in New Zealand for masterminding one of the country’s largest methamphetamine importation operations, has lost a legal bid to keep his name suppressed. His identity was revealed on Saturday by New Zealand media outlet Stuff after courts lifted name suppression orders granted over fears that his family’s notoriety among Sikhs and Hindus worldwide could expose them to harm.. New Zealand authorities say Baltej Singh played a central role in an international drug-smuggling network (X/@NoticerNews). In an affidavit presented to the court, Singh’s father had previously told a New Zealand court that the family had faced threats, intimidation and hostility after the assassination made them “notorious” among Sikh and Hindu communities worldwide, Stuff reported.. The court initially accepted those concerns, ruling that the risk to the safety of Singh’s relatives outweighed the public interest in open justice. But the New Zealand government appealed and in November, the court overturned the order, finding there was an “appreciable public interest” in identifying a man responsible for importing an unprecedented quantity of drugs into New Zealand. Judges said anyone motivated by revenge connected to the 1984 assassination would likely already know Singh’s identity and assessed that the risk of harm from revealing his name was very low, Stuff reported.. Singh had initially sought to challenge the ruling before the Supreme Court but later abandoned that effort, Stuff reported.. New Zealand authorities say Singh played a central role in an international drug-smuggling network that concealed methamphetamine inside commercial shipments labelled as beverages.. In 2021, cans of coconut water arriving in New Zealand from New Delhi were found to contain dissolved methamphetamine and ephedrine, a precursor chemical used to manufacture the drug, Stuff reported.. In 2022, containers arriving in New Zealand from Canada and the US carried tens of thousands of cans of “Honey Bear” lager beer and bottles of kombucha. Police later discovered the beverages were being used to transport liquid methamphetamine into the country.. The drugs were sent to an industrial unit where they were converted into crystal meth. Police seized more than 700kg of liquid and crystallised methamphetamine — the largest haul ever uncovered by New Zealand.. The operation came to light after one of the cans of beer was mistakenly given to a 21-year-old man by an associate of Singh, Himatjit Singh Kahlon, who was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 21 years in prison.. Days after the victim was hospitalised, police arrested Baltej Singh at Auckland International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Dubai. 

 Varanasi: A passenger on board an IndiGo flight was booked for attempting to open the aircraft’s emergency exit door just before landing at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi, prompting the pilot to abort the landing and take the aircraft back into the air, officials said. The flight landed safely a few minutes later.. The aircraft eventually landed safely at approximately 10:35 pm. (Vipin Kumar/HT). The passenger was taken into custody, and interrogated by multiple security agencies before being released, officials said. The accused initially told the police during questioning that he was under the “influence of a ghost,” police said. However, he later said he was unaware that pressing the emergency exit button could open the aircraft door.. ALSO READ | IndiGo flight reports engine failure mid-air, makes safe emergency landing in Delhi. According to officials, IndiGo flight 6E-185 (aircraft VT-IRW) from Bengaluru was approaching Varanasi airport around 10:20 pm on Saturday when the passenger allegedly tried to open the emergency exit door moments before touchdown.. Acting swiftly, the pilot executed a go-around, averting any potential danger. The aircraft eventually landed safely at approximately 10:35 pm. The incident triggered panic among over 100 passengers who were on board.. Officials said the passenger, identified as Mohammad Adnan, 26, had earlier attempted to tamper with the emergency exit shortly after the flight departed from Bengaluru, but was restrained and pacified by the cabin crew.. Following the safe landing, the accused was handed over to the airline’s security and the CISF, who subsequently transferred him to the local police, in accordance with security protocols.. He was booked under Section 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) based on a complaint filed by IndiGo assistant security manager Devanshu Pratap Singh, said Phulpur station house officer (SHO) Atul Kumar Singh.. Confirming this, deputy commissioner of police (Gomti Zone) Akash Patel said, “After interrogation, a notice was served to the accused passenger. He was later handed over to his parents. Investigations are ongoing.” 

 The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is set to extend the timeline for messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, ShareChat and Arattai to comply with its SIM binding directive, following requests from companies citing technical challenges, a DoT official said on Sunday, adding that the government is now expecting compliance by December-end.. Centre likely to extend SIM binding timeline. The department had, in November 2025, directed app-based communication platforms that use mobile numbers for user identification to ensure that their services remain linked to the SIM card installed in the user’s device, making it impossible to use such apps without an active SIM. The order was issued to curb misuse of telecom identifiers, including instances of cyber fraud originating from outside India.. The directive also said that web-based versions of these apps must be periodically logged out, at least once every six hours, with users required to re-authenticate, typically through a QR code, to continue access.. “We will extend the compliance deadlines as companies have run into technical challenges, including testing and operating system updates. Firms have sought additional time to address these issues. The compliance will happen in a phased manner. Android is likely to comply first, while iOS faces certain technical constraints for which Apple is working on a solution. These are expected to be resolved by December,” a DoT official said on the condition of anonymity. An order formalising the extension is expected shortly.. HT reached out to Apple for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.. Under the November 2025 directive, companies were required to comply with the directive within 90 days, which was by the end of February 2026, and submit a compliance report within 120 days. However, these timelines were not met. Earlier, the DoT had indicated it was open to compliance by March-end, but is now considering a longer timeline following requests from platforms.. People aware of the matter at Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said the company is working with the DoT to find a technically feasible solution. For WhatsApp on Android, SIM binding is currently in beta testing, the people said. As of Thursday, the company had not received a formal extension from the government, they added.. Meanwhile, Arattai, developed by Zoho, said it is working with the DoT to address implementation challenges. “We are working closely with the DoT to comply with the SIM-binding directive. During implementation, we encountered certain technical challenges that we are currently addressing. We have also received additional clarifications from the DoT and are incorporating those directions into our update. They have granted us a grace period, and we will roll out the necessary updates in the coming weeks to ensure full compliance with the directive,” Jeri John, global product head at Arattai, said.. “As we implement t 

 A PRD jawan died allegedly by suicide inside the lockup at Raipur Police Station in Dehradun on Sunday, with his family suspecting foul play and demanding strict action against the police personnel on duty at the time.. According to the police, the doctors have cited hanging as the cause of death in the postmortem report. (Representative image/PTI). Dehradun Police informed ANI that, in connection with the death of Sunil Raturi, related to Raipur Police Station, a postmortem was conducted by a panel of expert doctors.. According to the police, the doctors have cited hanging as the cause of death in the postmortem report. However, to ensure greater clarity regarding the cause of death and in view of the concerns raised by the deceased’s family, viscera has been preserved and will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for further examination.. The entire matter will be subjected to a judicial inquiry, which will be conducted by a magistrate.. Speaking to ANI, Dehradun SP (Rural) Jaya Baluni said Raturi was arrested after police received a call on the emergency helpline about a person refusing to pay for petrol and creating a disturbance.. “We received information on 112 that a person is refusing to pay for the petrol and creating a disturbance while claiming to be a police officer. The person was arrested and later found unresponsive inside the lockup. He was then declared dead at Coronation Hospital,” Baluni told ANI.. However, speaking to ANI, Raturi’s brother-in-law, Akhilesh Dobhal, alleged it is a case of custodial death and demands strict action against all those who were present in the police station at that time.. “We suspect that it is a custodial death… We want strict action against all those who were present in the police station at that time…They should have at least been suspended…You changed the entire staff of the department…This means the staff is involved in this…Their names should be made public through a statement,” he said.. Meanwhile, SSP Dehradun, Pramendra Dobhal, has taken immediate action in the suspicious case of the alleged suicide of PRD jawan Sunil Raturi, who reportedly hanged himself using a blanket while in police custody at Raipur Police Station in Dehradun.. To ensure a transparent investigation into the matter, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Raipur Police Station, along with three police personnel posted at the station, have been attached to the Police Lines with immediate effect.. Following the incident, Sub-Inspector Krishna Kumar Singh, who was deployed from Dalanwala Police Station for duty to maintain law and order, has been suspended with immediate effect by SSP Dehradun for not conducting himself in accordance with the dignity of his position during duty. (ANI) 

 It was all set for BJP national president Nitin Nabin to resign from the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Sunday, but he shelved the plan and rushed to Delhi for an important meeting.. BJP national president Nitin Nabin addressing during Abhinandan Samaroh at Sahay Sadan in Patna. (Photo by Santosh Kumar/ Hindustan Times). Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar, who was in New Delhi, rushed to Patna Saturday evening to do the necessary arrangement as soon as he got the news that Nabin would resign.. “I got the information from BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi that the national party president would resign and accordingly, I returned. Suddenly, it got delayed due to some important work. The rule mandates he can remain a member of only one House beyond 14 days, but let us see,” said Prem Kumar.. The Speaker said he would again go to Delhi for a function and return by evening. For Nabin, March 30 is the deadline by which he has to resign from one House, as after being elected to the Rajya Sabha he cannot remain a member of both Parliament and a state legislature.. Also Read: Bihar Governor reinstates Patna University VC sent on leave by predecessor. The same applies to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who has also been elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time. Both were elected to Rajya Sabha on March 16. Kumar is the member of the Bihar Legislative Council and he is likely to resign on March 30. “Both may resign on Monday, the last day, Nabin had some pressing engagement and it is no big deal” said a party leader.. According to the Prohibition of Simultaneous Membership Rules, 1950 (under Articles 101/190 of the Constitution), a member elected to both Parliament and a State Legislature must resign from one within 14 days.. Sources in the BJP said that serious deliberations were on in both the BJP and the RSS for a replacement of Nitish Kumar, as Bihar has remained the only state in the Hindi heartland where it has struggled over the years. “There has to be deliberations also on the new cabinet. BJP may like to give a message from the word go that it wants to walk the talk,” they added.. Incidentally, the elevation of Nabin, 45, to the apex BJP position was also a surprise move and seen as a generational shift in the party. Nobody in the state seemed to have any inkling about five-time MLA Nabin’s elevation until it happened.. Also Read: Pushpanjali, Sabreen toppers, Nahid Sultana at second spot: Girls outshine in Bihar BSEB Class 10 merit list. “Having a first BJP CM in Bihar requires serious thinking, as the person donning the post will replace Nitish Kumar, who held the chair for two decades and built an aura around him. Besides, there will be a lot of expectations from the BJP CM to deliver on multiple parameters and also lend strength to the party. It has to be a face that nobody could finger at and at the same time have administrative astuteness,” said a senior leader.. Though there are wide-ranging speculations