Month: August 2022

Soon after a mysterious boat loaded with weapons was recovered near the Harihareshwar beach, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that there is “no confirmation of any terror angle” into the incident, while also stating that the government is not ruling out anything and investigation is underway to probe all aspects.

Security was tightened in the Raigad region of Maharashtra after the recovery of a mysterious boat loaded with weapons near the Harihareshwar beach on Thursday. This comes a day ahead of the celebration of the Dahi Handi festival in the state.
“There is no confirmation of any terror angle. The boat has just drifted here. We are not ruling out anything, investigating all aspects. Police have been asked to be on high alert,” said Fadnavis.

“Some details cannot be revealed as it may spread an atmosphere of fear,” he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister informed that three AK-47 rifles were found on the boat which came towards the Kokan coast “due to high tide”.

The Central agencies have been informed about the developments.

“No possibilities of any consequences would be taken lightly,” said Fadnavis.

Citing the upcoming festive season, the Deputy CM said that instructions have been given to the police and administration to be prepared.

“The boat belongs to an Australian citizen. Boat’s engine broke out in the sea, people were rescued by a Korean boat. It has now reached Harihareshwar beach. Keeping in mind the coming festive season, police and administration have been instructed to be prepared,” he said.

Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has been put on the job and additional force will be deployed “if necessary”.

“ATS is also working on it. The additional force will also be deployed if necessary. All the precautions needed to be taken as per the norms of abundant caution,” he said.

Detailing about the boat, Fadnavis said that ‘Ladyhan’ named boat is owned by Australian women, her husband James Herbert is the captain of the boat.

After posters of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee claiming “new TMC will come in the next six months” were put up in Kolkata, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday took a dig at the ruling party in West Bengal, saying people no longer have faith in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Interestingly, the posters did not have TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s photo, it was only Abhishek Banerjee who was on the posters stating “In the next 6 months, a new TMC will come out. Just as the people wanted it to be.”

The posters were put up in the Hazra area of south Kolkata considered to be the citadel of Mamata Banerjee. Now, the “new Trinamool” and missing of Mamata Banerjee’s photo has created a buzz in the political circle of Bengal.

BJP took a potshot at TMC over the posters saying people have lost faith in Mamata Banerjee. The party also said it is an attempt by the TMC government to divert people’s attention from its corrupt practices.

West Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “Some posters appeared saying that a new face is coming in TMC. Does it mean that people no more trust Mamata Banerjee and that TMC needs a new face? People are against TMC’s loot. The party’s days are numbered.”

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Some people are uncomfortable with the pictures that revealed mountains of cash at multiple locations in the state. That is why to change the fact, it was done (posters were put up), but Bengal’s people are aware of the truth.”

Meanwhile, TMC vice-president Joy Prakash Majumdar said Mamata Banerjee is the supreme leader of the party and there is no ambiguity over the fact.

“Mamata Banerjee gave birth to TMC. She is the Supreme leader and there is no doubt about it. Abhishek Banerjee has reiterated time and again that Mamata Banerjee is our only leader. The posters might have been put up by some over-excited worker,” Majumdar told ANI. (ANI)

In a report published on the first anniversary of the Taliban returning to power in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watchdog called on the US to ban the Taliban from travelling abroad.

This comes as UN Security Council (UNSC) earlier gave leaders of the Islamic Emirate exemptions to travel bans to facilitate their negotiations with the US despite its long-standing international travel ban on the Taliban leaders.
Calling out the US to ban the Islamic Emirate officials from travelling abroad, the human rights group in a statement also expressed concerns over the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported.

“The Biden Administration and US Congress must act now and put Afghan women and girls at the centre of their diplomatic, development, and humanitarian engagement in Afghanistan. It is the US’s moral duty, as well as in the US national security interest, to counter the Taliban’s gender apartheid and advance security and prosperity in Afghanistan. One cannot be achieved without the other,” the report read.

However, Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid denied the report’s claims and said women are included in various areas.

“The women are included in all areas where they are needed such as in sectors of health, higher education, secondary education, police, and national ID and passport services,” he said.

Some women’s rights activists also claimed that there will be no changes in the policy of the Islamic Emirate if practical steps are not taken soon to counter the atrocious regime of the outfit in Afghanistan.

“Undoubtedly, the reports and statements which are released by the human rights organizations about the Afghan women cannot help the situation in Afghanistan,” TOLOnews reported quoting Marriam Marouf, a women’s rights activist as saying.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Associate Director of Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Heather Barr said that it has been 327 days now since the Taliban imposed a de facto ban on girls’ secondary education in Afghanistan. That’s 327 days of a nation’s girls being denied education–327 days they will never get back as she condemned the Taliban regime.

Since the Taliban seized power in Kabul last year, the human rights situation has been exacerbated by a nationwide economic, financial and humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale.

Acts of terror, killings, blasts and attacks have become a regular affair with unabated human rights violations involving ceaseless murder of civilians, destroying mosques and temples, assaulting women, and fueling terror in the region.

The Taliban dismantled the system to respond to gender-based violence, created new barriers to women accessing health care, blocked women aid workers from doing their jobs, and attacked women’s rights protesters.

With the US troop’s withdrawal from the country, large-scale violence has been unleashed creating political uncertainty in different parts of the country. At least 59 per cent of the population is now in need of humanitarian assistance – an increase of 6 million people compared with the beginning of 2021, according to UNAMA. (ANI)

The Centre on Thursday blocked eight YouTube-based news channels, including one operating from Pakistan and one Facebook account for posting “fake, anti-India content” online.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a statement today that the action was taken by imposing emergency powers under Information Technology Rules, 2021. The orders for the move were on August 16.
The blocked YouTube channels had cumulative views of over 114 crore and were subscribed by over 85 lakh users.

After analysing the content it was established that the purpose of these YouTube channels was to spread hatred amongst various religious communities in the country and included the agenda of spreading fake news, the ministry said.

Examples of some of the fake news spread via the means of these channels included news such as the “Government of India to have ordered demolition of religious structures; Government of India to have banned the celebration of religious festivals, Declaration of religious war in India, etc.”

Such content was found to have the potential to create communal disharmony and disturb public order in the country, the ministry statement said.

The YouTube channels were also used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces and Jammu and Kashmir. The content was observed to be completely false and sensitive from the perspective of national security and India’s friendly relations with foreign states, the ministry said.

The blocked Indian YouTube channels were observed to be using fake and sensational thumbnails, images of news anchors and logos of certain TV news channels to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic.

All the YouTube channels blocked by the Ministry were displaying advertisements on their videos having false content detrimental to communal harmony, public order and India’s foreign relations, the ministry said.

Pakistan-based “News Ki Duniya” with over 95,000 subscriptions has been blocked.

The Facebook page of Loktantra TV, which has been blocked, has over 3.62 lakh followers. The YouTube site of Loktantra TV with over 12.90 lakh subscribers had been previously blocked.

Of the blocked sites, ‘Sab Kuch Dekho’ had the most subscribers with 19.4 lakh, and nearly 33 crore views.

U&V TV with over 10.20 lakh subscribers also stood blocked. Other sites blocked include AM Razvi, Gouravshali Pawan Mithilanchal, SeeTop5TH, and Sarkari Update.

The content blocked by the Ministry was found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, India’s friendly relations with foreign States, and public order in the country. Accordingly, the content was covered within the ambit of section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

With this action, the Ministry has since December 2021 issued directions for blocking of 102 YouTube-based news channels and several other social media accounts.

The Government of India remains committed to ensuring an authentic, trustworthy, and safe online news media environment, and thwarting any attempts at undermining India’s sovereignty and integrity, national security, foreign relations, and public order. (ANI)

Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered arms and ammunition dropped by a Pakistani drone in Toph village near the international border.

According to Police, a case was registered on February 24, 2022 at Arnia police station regarding recovery of arms and ammunition dropped by Pakistani drone. One accused, belonging to Jammu, made revelations that a Pakistani prisoner/handler Mohd Ali Hussain alias Qasim has been instrumental in drone droppings and is the main operative of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Al Badr.
He was then brought before the court on production from Jail and subsequently police remand was taken.

Police said during sustained questioning, the accused confessed to his role in the Arnia weapon drop case and also disclosed two locations where the arms and ammunition dropped by drone had been concealed.

In order to recover the weapons, a police team, along with the magistrate concerned went to the spot one after the another.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh said, “Though no recovery was made at the first place but at the second place in Toph village (near the International Border) in Phallian Mandal area, a packet of arms, ammunitions and explosives were recovered. When the packet was being opened, the accused attacked one of the police officials and snatched his service rifle. He fired at the police party and tried to flee from the spot.”

“In retaliation, the accused got injured and was shifted to Governmnet Medical College Jammu along with an injured police official. The injured terrorist later succumbed to his injuries,” said the official.

The dropped packet was then scrutinized with the help of the Bomb disposal squad. An AK rifle, magazines, 40 AK rounds, a star pistol, pistol rounds, and Chinese small grenades were recovered from the packet.

The investigation is underway. Further details are awaited. (ANI)

An explosion at a mosque in the north of the Afghan capital of Kabul killed 20 people and injured 40 more, media reports said.

The blast reportedly took place in a mosque in the Khair Khana area during evening prayers.
“As a result of an explosion in a mosque north of Kabul, 20 people were killed and another 40 were injured,” an Afghan security source told Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

The Taliban claim they have full control of Afghanistan but the Islamic State continues carrying out attacks on civilians and police across the country.

The Taliban has not issued any statement on casualties, according to the Afghan news agency. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.

Among the dead is a top Islamic cleric named Amir Mohammad Kabuli.

Two weeks ago, two deadly blasts in Kabul took the lives of 10 people, injuring 40 others. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both attacks.

This blast comes on the heels of one year of Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Rights groups said the Taliban have broken multiple pledges to respect human rights and women’s rights.

After capturing Kabul in August last year, the Islamic authorities have imposed severe restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights, suppressed the media, and arbitrarily detained, tortured, and summarily executed critics and perceived opponents, among other abuses.

The New York-based rights group in its report said Taliban human rights abuses have brought widespread condemnation and imperilled international efforts to address the country’s dire humanitarian situation. (ANI)

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted multiple raids at the premises of Bahujan Samaj Party’s MP Mukhtar Ansari in Lucknow and Ghazipur in connection with an alleged Prevention of money laundering case.

Ansari is currently lodged in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda jail.
The ED has covered a total of 11 locations during the searches.

The central agency is also raiding the residence of his Mukhtar Ansari’s brother Afzal Ansari. (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to list for hearing a plea of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader seeking direction to the Centre to declare ‘Ram Setu’ as a national heritage monument.

Swamy mentioned the matter for an early listing of the case before a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana, which asked him to mention it before the bench of Justice DY Chandrachud.
Swamy theen mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Justice Chandrachud. Justice Chandrachud told Swamy that he would consult with the other judges on the bench and list the matter for hearing.

Swamy had mentioned the matter for an early listing of the case on many occasions.

Earlier, Swamy submitted that the issue is pending for a long time and an urgent hearing is required.

In his plea, Swamy urged the apex court to pass an order and direct the “Union of India along with National Monuments Authority (NMA) to declare Ram Setu as an Ancient Monument of National Importance.”

He has also urged the top court to pass an order and direct the “Union of India to engage Geological Survey of India and Archeological Survey of India to conduct a detailed survey in respect to Ram Setu as an Ancient Monument of National Importance.”

Swamy said that he has already won the first round of the litigation in which the Centre accepted the existence of ‘Ram Setu’ and added that the union minister concerned had called a meeting in 2017 to consider his demand to declare the Setu as a national heritage monument but subsequently nothing happened.

Ram Setu is a chain of limestone shoals between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, and Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. (ANI)

‘Axel’, an Army assault canine dog who lost his life in a counter-terrorist operation in the Kashmir valley, was posthumously awarded ‘Mention-in Despatches’ for Gallantry in Operation ‘Rakshak’ on Independence Day.

On July 30, during ‘Op Wanigam Bala’, Axel on seeing a terrorist holding a 7.62 mm AK-47 assault rifle, jumped and attacked him. Terrorists shot the valiant soldier. Despite being wounded, it again tried to attack but fell down and got killed in action due to excessive blood loss.
“Two-year-old Axel of the 26 Army Dog Unit was killed in action after it was hit by terrorist bullets while it was deployed in a counter-terrorist operation with 29 Rashtriya Rifles unit in the area of 10 Sector RR counter-insurgency force,” the Army officials told ANI.

During a building clearance operation, initially, another Army dog ‘Balaji’ was sent for building intervention and sanitised the corridor inside.

After that, Axel was deployed. The dog went inside the first room and cleared it. As soon as it entered the second room, it was fired upon. After being hit, it showed some movement for 15 seconds and fell down,” they said.

The gunfight continued between the troops and terrorists and once the operation was over, Axel’s body was retrieved.

Post mortem was carried out at 54 Armed Force Veterinary Hospital which showed that besides the bullet entry and exit wounds, more than ten wounds were also there along with a fracture of the femur.

“Wreath laying ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow by the Kilo Force Commander after which the burial of the brave dog will take place in 26 ADU premises,” the officials said. (ANI)

Dismissing the allegations that the newly sworn-in Bihar Minister Kartikeya Singh is absconding from the arrest in a kidnapping case, his lawyer on Wednesday asserted that no evidence was found against the RJD leader during police investigation, adding that they have approached the court for relief on the matter which shows that Singh is not absconding.

“A false information has been spread that Kartikeya Singh has been absconding in a kidnapping case. The case that is being talked about does not mention Kartikeya Singh as an accused in the FIR. His involvement has not been mentioned in the FIR. According to the provisions of CrPc, taking the statements of all the evidence, the police said it clearly that there is no involvement of Kartikeya in the case. No evidence was found against him. The police submitted a document in court calling him innocent. When the police investigation is over, the case ends there,” the lawyer said.
He said that no evidence has been found against him and “Police had proved him innocent.”

“The court took cognisance of the matter. We filed a petition against the cognisance in the High Court. We are satisfied with the observation of the High Court that it asked us to put the facts in front of the court which took cognisance of the matter. A person is not proven guilty just with the registration of an FIR against him. We submitted the plea for interim bail. Who said that he is absconding?” he said.

Notably, RJD leader Kartikeya Singh, now a minister in the Bihar cabinet, was granted interim bail till September 1 by the court on August 12.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the Nitish Kumar-led state government over Singh’s induction and demanded to sack the minister on an immediate basis.

Calling the move the beginning of ‘Jungle Raj’, Union Minister RK Singh said that he’s ashamed of the state of affairs in the region.

“I am from Bihar and I am shameful of what’s happening. Jungle Raj has begun. The law minister himself is an absconder, that too in a kidnapping case. He is the right hand of Anant Singh, who is a don. Does CM not know? Kartikeya Singh should be sacked,” Union Min RK Singh said.

Furthermore, BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi said that Singh should be dismissed immediately.

“If Kartikeya Singh (RJD) had a warrant against him, he should have surrendered. But he has taken oath as Law minister. I ask Nitish, is he trying to take Bihar back to Lalu’s times? Kartikey Singh should be immediately dismissed,” said BJP MP, Sushil Kumar Modi.

The BJP leaders also suggested Patna HC’s intervention in the matter.

“We expect Patna HC to take serious notice of this. I expect CM Nitish Kumar to show some courage. Kartikeya Singh should be sacked and strict action should be taken against him,” said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had earlier said that he had no information on the issue.

“I don’t know. I have no information on this,” said CM Nitish Kumar. (ANI)