NASHIK: The Nashik police have busted an inter-state fake currency racket, allegedly run by a former Zilla Parishad member from Bidar, Karnataka, Prakash Kalekar of the Janata Dal and his party colleague and a corporator, Marus Vaijnath Upadhyay. While Marcus has been arrested. Kalekar is absconding. Police have recovered fake notes worth Rs 1.30 lakh, all in Rs 50 denomination.

Marcus was arrested and remanded to police custody, where he confessed to the racket. The tip off was given to the police by a petrol pump owner in Peth taluka of Nashik district, when he found that the drivers of two trucks had given him some new curency notes having identical numbers. He contacted the police who chased the trucks and recovered some notes.

Stir threat against Shourie's book

AURANGABAD: Republican Party of India is all set to launch an agitation demanding an immediate ban on the recently published controversial book on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar by Arun Shourie. RPI leader Ramdas Athavale, said while he upheld freedom of speech, he would not tolerate anything written in an irresponsible manner with the sole motive to defame Ambedkar. ``Shourie has distorted facts and projected a very misleading profile of Ambedkar'' Athavale said, and added that the popular columnist shouldn't be under the impression that he had a monopoly over `scholarship.' Athavale said the RPI would soon give a representation to the Central and the State govt asking them to ban the book.

Paper leak reported at YCCE

NAGPUR: Close on the heels of the engineering paper-leak scandal at the Manoharbhai Patel Institute of Engineering and Technology at Gondia, another such incident is reported to have taken place at the Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering (YCCE), Nagpur. In the case of the Gondia college, which is run by Congress MP Praful Patel, the paper-setter Asudkar has been found guilty and punished by the university.

ACB case against police officer

AHMEDABAD: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case of corruption against a police officer for having allegedly acquired wealth disproportionate to his known source of income. The IPS officer has since been suspended from duty, until the probe against him was complete, the deputy director of ACB, J K Bhatt, said here yesterday.

Heavy rains lash Nagpur city

NAGPUR: Heavy rains the city of Nagpur from Wednesday night. The Regional Meterological Office has said that the sudden showers were the result of low pressure development over central parts of east Madhya Pradesh and adjoining east Vidarbha. The State Government has issued warnings asking people residing on the banks of rivers and low lying areas to remain alert in wake of heavy rains. The Divisional Commissioner, Shahjad Hussain, has said that the district administrations have made adequate arrangements to cope up with any eventuality.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.