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Dubai, Jul 5: Three Indians, who were repatriated on a chartered flight from the UAE on Friday, have been held in the state of Rajasthan after officials seized gold worth Dh2.2million from them, the government announced on Saturday.

They are likely to be placed under arrest along with 11 others, who were repatriated from Saudi Arabia, from whom gold worth Dh5.5million was seized, a statement from the government tweeted by Press Information Bureau in Rajasthan said.

The gold bars were hidden in emergency lamps, photos attached to the tweets showed.

The 14 passengers had arrived at the Jaipur International Airport by two chartered flights.

They were intercepted by the Customs team at the airport and 31.9kg of gold valued at Rs156,759,820 (Dh7.7million) concealed in the baggage was recovered from these passengers.

Three passengers arrived from Ras Al Khaimah by Spice Jet Flight SG9055 and 12 gold bars/bricks weighing 9.3kg valued at Rs.45,761,100 (Dh2.2million) were recovered from them, the statement said.

The Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed to Gulf News that the flight was chartered by a private company for repatriating its employees.

It is suspected that the passengers were used as carriers to smuggle gold.

The other 11 accused had arrived from Riyadh and 22.65kg of gold bars, predominantly with Suisse markings, valued at Rs110,998,720 (Dh5.5million) were recovered from them.

“The said recovered gold bars have been seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. The said passengers are being interrogated and are likely to be placed under arrest in terms of section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962,” the statement added.

Indian media had earlier reported similar cases in which stranded Indians were apparently lured to be carriers for smuggling gold on repatriation flights from various countries.

A spike in gold smuggling attempts using Indians getting repatriated after losing jobs was also reported from the Indian state of Kerala.

Bengaluru: The Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations in Karnataka concluded on Friday with an overall average of about 98 per cent attendance amid the coronavirus scare. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa congratulated the lakhs of students who appeared for the crucial exercise braving the coronavirus pandemic situation.

An average of about 98 per cent of 8.5 lakh odd enrolled students took the exams which began on June 25, after the government stuck to its decision to go ahead with them despite rising coronavirus cases but laid down a string of safety measures, including face masks and maintaining distancing by seating only one student a bench.

Examinations for all main subjects had been completed and alternative subjects such as music would take place on Saturday, Education department officials said.

"I heartily congratulate students who faced the examination even during the coronavirus pandemic," Mr Yediyurappa tweeted.

Expressing happiness over the successful completion of the examination, he greeted state Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, officers and employees of education department, health department, police and transport personnel.

"The exam is a proof that anything can be made possible if all the government departments work in tandem," Mr Kumar tweeted.

Later addressing a press conference, he said on Friday 98.10 per cent attendance was recorded compared to 98.76 for the same paper last year.

"Credit goes to children. First day, parents were scared and students were sceptical and there was a big challenge before us. But the children appearing for the exam instilled confidence. They came with masks, sanitisers and were careful about maintaining social distancing. Our children have set an example for others to follow," Mr Kumar said.

Lauding the students, parents and the government staff who made the exam possible ignoring the virus scare, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said Karnataka has set an example by successfully conducting the examination.

The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board, which conducted the examination, faced various challenges. While protecting students from coronavirus infection was the top priority, transportation, security and convincing the parents to allow their children to take up the exam were the other factors it encountered.

According to sources in the department, the education officers had directed authorities of all the schools to call the parents and students to make sure that they appear for the examinations.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and boards of various neighbouring states either gave general promotion or decided to give marks to the students based on their performance in the earlier tests conducted by the schools.

The exams were conducted at a time when there was a sudden spurt in coronavirus cases in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru. Expressing apprehension, former chief minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had appealed to the government to postpone the examination but the government went ahead with its decision.

Bengaluru, Jan 11: The Chief Justice of India Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde on Saturday inaugurated the phase-1 of the new building of the Karnataka Judicial Academy on Crescent Road in Bengaluru.

The new building has three floors, besides, the ground floor and two basement floors.

While Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa inaugurated the 319-seater multi-purpose auditorium, at which Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka felicitated Justice Bobde.

Justice Ravi Malimath, President of the Karnataka Judicial Academy and Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, in his welcome address said that the academy has so far trained as many as 4000 judicial officers and striving for excellence in the field of judiciary.

The building, built in the first phase, has parking in the lower and the upper basement, which can accommodate 44 cars and 124 two-wheelers, the ground floor consists of a 319-seater multi-purpose air-conditioned auditorium, a lecture hall with 84 seats, two lecture halls with 40 seats each and a VIP lounge. The First Floor has a lecture hall with 84 seats, two lecture halls with 40 seats each, a VIP lounge, two discussion rooms and an administrative office for the staff of the academy.

The second phase, to be built has a parking facility for 36 four-wheelers and 22 two-wheelers in the lower basement and 32 four-wheelers and 30 two-wheelers in the upper basement.

The total cost of the project, including Phase-1 and Phase-2, to be executed by the Public Works Department in the sprawling 2.2 acres plot of the Karnataka Judicial Academy is around Rs 96.02 Crore.