In the new policy, the application fee for new/renewal of foreign liquor ‘OFF’ shops has been hiked to Rs 1.2 lakh from Rs 1.1 lakh. Similarly, the annual composite Label registration fee for FL OFF shops, FL ON shops for sale of all brands through the shop has been fixed at Rs 50,000.

While the abduction and subsequent killing of a 15-year-old boy for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh in Odisha’s mineral-rich Jharsuguda district has sent shockwaves across the State, the involvement of the two persons in the crime, who don’t have any criminal antecedents, has deepened the mystery surrounding the case.

Though police have arrested the two accused- Amit Kumar Sharma of Jharsuguda and Dinesh Kumar Agarwal of Brajrajnagar in connection with the case, the motive behind the crime is yet to be established.

Earlier on March 28, police had recovered the body of Samarth Agarwal, son of a businessman of Sarbahal, Bargarh.

Amit along with his aide Dinesh abducted Samarth on March 27 while the latter was on his way for cricket practice on a scooter.

According to sources, the duo first demanded Rs 50 lakh and later Rs 90 lakh from Samarth’s father even after knowing he is not financially strong.

Interestingly, Amit was the neighbour of Samarth at Jharsuguda’s Brundaban colony. Even Amit’s daughter used to tie Rakhi to Samarth and call him brother.

But what led Amit to hatch the kidnapping plot and kill Samarth for the ransom is still a mystery. 

“We are investigating from all angles. As per preliminary investigation, the accused have called Samarth’s father on March 27 night and later on March 28 after killing him,” said Smit Parmar, Jharsuguda SP.

On the other hand, the family members of the deceased have demanded stern action against the accused and restoration of law and order in the district.

“The entire family is broken. After Samarth’s death, common people will not feel safe to send their children outside. The government must take necessary steps to restore the law and order situation,” said Gobinda Agarwal, relative of the deceased.
Meanwhile, friends and the coach have mourned Samarth’s death.

“Samarth was well behaved and we were good friends. We used to practice daily and played many matches,” said the friend of the deceased.

“He (Samarth) was very serious about his game and he had already represented Jharsuguda U-16 team. He could have represented the State team soon. The district has lost a very talented player,” said Sumit Singh, coach of Samarth.

(Reported by Debandra Behera, Bhagirathi Sahoo and Sanjay Jena, OTV)

A minor boy reportedly went missing after being swept away in Daya River near Lingipur on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Thursday evening.

According to sources, the mishap took place when the minor boy, a resident of Indira Colony in Lingipur, was taking bath in the river this evening.

He suddenly slipped and was swept into the river, said eyewitnesses. However, why he came to the river and who else was accompanying him or whether he was alone is yet to be established.

On being informed about the incident, Fire Services personnel rushed to the spot and launched a search operation.

Till the last report came in, the Fire Services personnel were yet to trace the missing boy even after three hours of frantic search.
 
Though two scuba diving experts of the Fire Services department were engaged in the search operation, darkness was posing to be the major obstacle, sources informed. 

(Reported by Atulya Bout, OTV)