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The searches were undertaken on Monday at five locations in Hyderabad under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the federal probe agency said in a statement.

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it has seized 45 old cars, including some vintage ones, apart from Rs 23 lakh in cash and some foreign currency during searches in Hyderabad in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal sale of government land.

The searches were undertaken on Monday at five locations in Hyderabad under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the federal probe agency said in a statement.

The ED case stems from an FIR registered by Telangana Police against private persons and government officials in connection with “illegal” sale of government land involving forgery of documents and manipulation of revenue records.

Describing the case, the agency said government land or ‘Bhoodan’ land at Nagaram village under the Maheshwaram Mandal (Ranga Reddy district) was “falsely claimed” by a woman named Khaderunissa as her ancestral property.

Revenue records were “fraudulently” mutated and the land was sold to various entities in association with several middlemen. These middlemen, in connivance with government officials, “forged” the documents and changed the land revenue records, resulting in de-notifying the said land from the prohibited list and its subsequent sale to some private parties, the ED alleged.

Residences and farmhouses, including that of Khaderunissa, Mohd Munawar Khan, Mohd Lateef Sharfan, Mohd Akhtar Sharfan and Mohd Sukoor, were searched and “incriminating” documents related to fraudulent sale and purchase of government land, Indian currency worth Rs 23 lakh and 12,000 UAE Dirhams were seized, the agency said.

Forty-five used cars, including several vintage makes, were also seized from the farmhouse premises of Mohd Munawar Khan, it said.

She was elevated and sworn in as a judge of the High Court for the State of Telangana in 2022.

Hyderabad:

Telangana High Court’s sitting judge Justice Maturi Girija Priyadarsini passed away here on Sunday following a brief illness. She was 61.

The judge breathed her last in the morning.

The body has been kept at her residence in Hafeezpet. The last rites will be performed on Monday at Mahaprasthanam, Jubilee Hills.

Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, other judges of the High Court and lawyers have condoled the death of Justice Priyadarsini. She took over as the judge of the Telangana High Court in 2022. She was 16th in seniority and was set to retire next year.

She was born to Maturi Appa Rao, a Commercial Tax Officer in Telangana, and Nagaratnam. Soon after Intermediate, she got married to Dr. K Vijay Kumar and had two sons, Nikhil and Akhil.

Justice Priyadarsini pursued a Master of Arts in Sociology, a Master of Arts in Public Administration and a Master of Arts in Political Science from Andhra University. Later, she did her 3-year law course from N.B.M Law college, Visakhapatnam in 1995 and did her post graduation in Law (L.L.M) in Labour and Industrial Law from Andhra University in 1997. She stood first in Constitutional Law by securing the highest marks.

Justice Priyadarshini enrolled as an advocate on the rolls of the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh in September 1995. After enrollment as an advocate, she joined the office of P. Uma Bala and worked for about 7 years.

She actively practised for more than 10 years at Vishakhapatnam and dealt with all types of cases in civil, criminal, labour law, and matrimonial matters and actively appeared in pro-bono cases referred by the District Legal Services Authority of Vishakhapatnam.

She was later selected as a District Judge by direct recruitment and joined the judicial service as an Additional District Judge on November 3, 2008. Justice Priyadarshini worked at various places in the then combined state of Andhra Pradesh.

She was elevated and sworn in as a judge of the High Court for the State of Telangana on March 24, 2022.She took over as the judge of the Telangana High Court in 2022. She was 16th in seniority and was set to retire next year.

A statement from the Telangana fire department has identified the 17 victims. Eight of them are children, the youngest just one.

Shortly after a fire broke out in a home in the busy market area near Hyderabad’s Charminar, local residents rushed in as first responders and started bringing out those trapped inside. Zahir, who has a bangle business, was among them. Speaking to NDTV in the aftermath of the tragedy, which left 17 people of a family dead, he described a heartbreaking sight: a woman had embraced her children in a last-ditch attempt to protect them from the flames. They were charred in that last embrace.

“We managed to get inside shortly after the fire started. The flames were huge. Inside the room, a woman had hugged children. She was dead,” Zahir said.

According to the information so far, the fire appears to have started due to an electrical problem and the victims were caught unawares because they were sleeping. The nature of construction proved to be a major obstacle in rescue work. Most shops in this market are at least a century old, and rooms are constructed on top of them. There is a row of windows on top of the line of shops and most of these windows are presumably closed at night when air-conditioners are on. In the case of a fire, this would lead to a massive build-up of smoke in the small rooms. Another problem is the single, narrow entry point to access the rooms.

Zahir said it was very difficult to get inside. “We brought out 13 people. We could not see anything due to the smoke. We pulled down a wall to get inside,” he said, adding that most victims burned to death and smoke choked the others.

A statement from the Telangana fire department has identified the 17 victims. Eight of them are children, the youngest just one. Four are senior citizens and five are women. Only one family member survived because she was out for a walk.

Y Nagi Reddy, director general of Telangana fire services, told NDTV that the fire engines reached the spot minutes after the fire call. “The main problem here is only one entrance. A very narrow staircase leads to the first and second floors. So in the case of a fire, there is no way of escape.”

He said the fire seems to have started at the electrical mains and then spread to the shops on the ground floor. “Then the smoke spread to the other floors, a lot of heat was generated in the area,” he said, adding that inhaling smoke makes people unconscious, making escape difficult.

Mr Reddy urged shopkeepers in the area must understand that fire would not spare anybody and take adequate precautions to ensure safety.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office said he was “deeply anguished” by the loss of lives in the fire. “Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire tragedy in Hyderabad, Telangana. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” the PMO said in a post on X.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has expressed shock over the incident and asked officials to step up relief efforts and ensure the best treatment for those injured.

What turned into a tragedy was meant to be a family gathering during the summer break at schools and colleges.

The death of 17 members of a family, including eight children, in a massive fire has left people shocked in Hyderabad. The fire broke out at the ‘Gulzar House’ building, less than 100 metres from the iconic Charminar, this morning due to a short circuit.

What turned into a tragedy was meant to be a family gathering during the summer break at schools and colleges. Among the casualties were visiting relatives – four daughters of the resident and their children.

On Sunday morning, when the fire erupted, they had little or no chance of escape. The building had only one entry point. The windows were closed, probably due to the use of air conditioners. With no outlet for the smoke, the building turned into a gas chamber.

Inhaling toxic smoke from the fire is suspected to have made those inside unconscious within minutes. The victims died due to smoke inhalation, and nobody had burn injuries, said Y Naggi Reddy, Director General of Telangana Disaster Response and Fire Services.

The police also blamed the single narrow entrance to the building for such a large number of deaths. Sneha Mehra, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, said they had to break in and make another entry point for the firefighters to enter.

“Another entry point was created, and firefighters entered from there. Most of the people inside were unconscious. These are old establishments with some new construction. Only one narrow path leads to the area where the fire happened,” said the DCP.

Asaduddin Owaisi, the MP from Hyderabad, said some residents had shut the door from inside. 

At least 11 fire engines, along with a firefighting robot and dozens of fire personnel, were deployed for the rescue operation.

Some locals claimed the fire engines had run out of water, but a senior fire official said there was no shortage. “Every fire engine has 4,500 litres of water; the rest is arranged by the corporation,” said Mr Reddy, highlighting the need for fire and smoke alarms.

Some shopkeepers in the area have also blamed sharp voltage fluctuations for the fire. Gulzar House houses several pearl shops on its ground floor. Shyam Sunder Agarwal, secretary of the Hyderabad and Secunderabad Pearls Association, said three fire incidents have occurred in a week, and called on authorities to ensure the safety of the locals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy have expressed shock over the tragedy and announced financial assistance for the victims’ families.

An argument broke out between them during which the accused bit off the woman’s finger and a portion of it fell down, police said.

A 26-year-old man in Hyderabad allegedly bit off a woman’s finger during a heated argument over a monetary dispute, police said on Monday.

The incident happened on May 17 and the accused, an employee at a private firm, was arrested after a case was registered against him and his wife based on the complaint by the victim’s daughter, they said.

The accused couple were tenants at the residence of the 45-year-old woman and her daughter, but had vacated the house in April, a police official at Madhura Nagar Police Station said.

The house owners were to pay an amount of Rs 30,000 to the couple as part of a chit business, police said.

They told the couple that they would deduct Rs 5,000 and pay them the remaining amount as one of their known persons, who had earlier stayed in their house had not paid rent, police said.

Following this couple went to the woman’s house. A scuffle broke out between them and during which the accused bit off the woman’s finger and a portion of it fell down, police said.

The woman was taken to a hospital and after treatment she was told by the doctors that the part of the finger which was cut cannot be attached, they said.

After this the woman’s daughter lodged a complaint against the couple and a case was registered against them following which the man was arrested and sent to jail, police said. 

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