Hyderabad police detain 239 in two-week crackdown

Hyderabad police have detained 239 suspects over the past two weeks, including 13 people with gunshot injuries, in a citywide crackdown that also led to the seizure of drugs, weapons and materials used to make gutka and mainpuri.

A police spokesman said those held included 62 hardened criminals, 50 drug peddlers and 73 people involved in the manufacture and sale of mainpuri and gutka. He said police recovered 34 pistols, 12.5 kilograms of hashish, 65 grams of crystal ice, liquor bottles, 35,000 sachets of mainpuri and gutka, and 4,501 large bags of raw materials used for the products.

In a separate development, the Hyderabad Development Authority cancelled the layout plan and no-objection certificate of Zafar housing scheme on the orders of the Provincial Ombudsman.

The HDA media cell said all relevant government departments had been informed that the scheme should not be provided any services. It said the sponsor and developer had failed to ensure adequate water supply, drainage and infrastructure facilities in violation of HDA rules and regulations, and advised the public not to invest in the project.