Author: LokMarg

The Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Indian Army, have neutralized four terrorists, including two Pakistani terrorists, in the two ongoing anti-terrorist operations in Kupwara and Kulgam districts on Sunday.

“Earlier, Kupwara Police along with Army (28RR) launched a joint anti-terrorist operation today on the disclosure of an arrested terrorist Showkat Ahmad Sheikh in the forests of Chandigam Lolab area of Kupwara. During the search of a hideout, the hiding terrorists started firing indiscriminately upon the joint search party which was retaliated effectively (by the officials) leading to an encounter,” an official statement from Jammu and Kashmir Police said.
In the initial exchange of fire, one terrorist was killed and the arrested terrorist who led the search party also got trapped.

“In the ensuing encounter, so far two Pakistani terrorists of proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were killed. Heavy exchange of fire is still going on and operation is in progress,” it said.

Meanwhile, at about 3.30 pm, based on specific input generated by police regarding the presence of terrorists in DH Pora Kulgam, a joint cordon and search mission was launched by the police and Army (9RR) in the said area.

As the joint search party approached the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired indiscriminately upon the search party which was retaliated leading to an encounter.

Later on, the CRPF also joined the operation.

In the ongoing encounter, two local terrorists identified as Haris Sharief of Srinagar and Zakir Padder of Kulgam have been killed so far.

As per police records, the killed terrorist Haris Sharief was linked with the proscribed terror outfit LeT while Zakir Padder was linked with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit. Both the killed terrorists were part of the groups involved in several terror crime cases including attacks on Police/Security Forces (SFs) and civilian atrocities.

Both the operations are currently going on and further details regarding the operations are awaited. (ANI)

Soon after announcing that there will be no rollback of the Agnipath Scheme amid protests against the new military recruitment programme, a top army official on Sunday urged the youth to “start preparing” instead of “wasting their time” by taking to the streets.

Earlier today, the top officials of the Indian Army, Navy and Airforce held a joint press briefing here wherein they explained the benefits of the Agnipath Scheme and clarified that the programme would not be rolled back.
Speaking to ANI, Lt Gen Anil Puri, Addt’l Secy, Dept of Military Affairs, said, “By going to the streets, they are only wasting their time, they should spend this time to get themselves physically ready. The worst issue is that today we are not what we were 10 years back. Everything is interconnected. Why roger your future? It’s not worth it. I appeal to them to start preparing.”

The officer, while explaining the motive of the scheme, said that it was designed keeping the youth in mind.

“We have thought through the scheme which has been designed keeping the youth of the country in mind. We know that in the coming days that the youth of the country will be less than 25 years, 50 per cent of them. And the Indian Army has to be reflective of this,” Lt Gen Puri said.

Mentioning the protests that turned violent in various parts of the country, the officer said that they never thought that the “youth will damage the government property” though they knew that there may be some anger because of the change in the recruitment procedure.

“We know that all these problems (protests) may happen. Anger comes when change happens but we never thought youth will damage govt property… Anger and arson are two different things,” he said.

When asked about the appropriate place where the youth can express their opinion and anger against the scheme, the Army officer said that there are various recruitment centres across the country where they can be informed about the new procedure of recruitment properly.

“There are 112 recruitment centres, 84 of the Army. All they have to do is knock the door and ask about the scheme. They are stopping themselves because somebody is stopping them,” he said.

“What is the definition of the youth? It’s 17 and a half to 21, 23 years. Who is telling him about the scheme? Everyone else except him and they are telling him there is some problem. Because of this, there is negativism. I feel this will come down, there is no doubt about it,” the officer added.

Earlier today, giving a stern message to anti-Agnipath protestors who vandalised public property during their agitation, Lt Gen Anil Puri said that the aspirants will have to “write a pledge in the enrolment form” that they were “not involved in arson”, warning that if “FIR is lodged, they simply can’t join” the forces.

“Indian Army’s foundation is discipline. There is no space for arson or vandalism. Every individual will give a certificate that they were not part of the protest or vandalism. Police verification is 100 per cent, no one can join without that,” he said.

The officer also clarified amid demands by several corners regarding the scrapping of the newly launched Agnipath Scheme, that the programme will “not” be rolled back.

“Coming to the rollback of the scheme, no. Why should it be rolled back? It is the only progressive step to making the country young. Why is it being made young? We are tinkering with ‘Desk ki Raksha (national security). There is no space. I will give you an example. Do you know how many casualties are reported just for health purposes from high-altitude areas? Do read about it, then you would come to know why young is important,” the officer said. (ANI)

Father’s Day is being celebrated in several parts across the globe today and Bollywood isn’t far behind. Bollywood celebrities are often seen showering love, wishes, and good thoughts for their fathers on the occasion every year.

This year again special wishes and messages made their way to a lot of celebrities’ social media accounts. From Kareena Kapoor Khan to Anushka Sharma, celebs have commemorated the occasion with heartfelt messages, throwback pictures and sweet videos.
Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor Khan took to her Instagram handle and shared a throwback picture of herself with her father Randhir Kapoor, in which they were seen twinning in black.

The ‘Jab We Met’ actor was looking gorgeous in a sheer saree, and she simply captioned the photo “Papa,” with a heart emoji.

Actor Anushka Sharma showered love on her father Ajay Kumar Sharma by sharing a cute picture on her Instagram Story.

Anushka’s father is seen in the photo sitting next to a big-sized teddy bear while on the phone. The actor appears to have secretly snapped this adorable moment and added a heart emoji.

Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor took to her Instagram story and shared a lovely collage of pictures showcasing precious moments with her dad Boney Kapoor and sister Khushi Kapoor.

She wrote, “Happy Father’s Day to the best man I know love you the most.”

Shweta Bachchan surprised fans by giving a Father’s Day twist to Big B’s iconic dialouge, sharing a sweet selfie with her legendary father Amitabh Bachchan.

She captioned the photo and wrote, “Rishte mein toh sirf mere…lagte hai” with a heart emoji.

On the occasion of Father’s Day, actor Sara Ali Khan took to her Instagram handle to wish her father Saif Ali Khan a happy Father’s Day.

The ‘Atrangi Re’ actor shared a sweet photo of herself with her Abba and her younger brother Ibrahim Ali Khan.

She simply captioned the post, “Happy Father’s Day Abba Jaan”.

Father’s day is observed on the third Sunday of June and this year, the special occasion to celebrate the world’s purest relationship is on June 19. (ANI)

An Indore man who works as a fireman in the fire department gives free physical training to the army and police aspirants.

Omprakash Jaiswal started doing it in 2012. He trains both boys and girls who are willing to join the police and the army.

Speaking to ANI, Jaiswal said, “I started it in 2012. Till now, over 8,000 have been selected in police and army. Right now, I’m training 600 aspirants out of which 300 are girls.”

Notably, the government has ruled out a new recruitment method for joining the Defence Forces recently namely Agnipath Scheme. However, the scheme has attracted protests from various parts of the country with violent incidents taking place in some parts of the country.

Earlier today, a top official of the Army clarified that the scheme will not be rolled back and enumerated the benefits of the programme.

“Coming to the rollback of the scheme, no. Why should it be rolled back? It is the only progressive step to making the country young. Why is it being made young? We are tinkering with ‘Desk ki Raksha (national security). There is no space. I will give you an example. Do you know how many casualties are reported just for health purposes from high-altitude areas? Do read about it, then you would come to know why young is important,” the officer said.

He further said that the Centre will start with the recruitment of 46,000 Army aspirants to ‘analyse’ the scheme.

“In next 4-5 years, our intake (of soldiers) will be 50,000-60,000 and will increase to 90,000 – 1 lakh subsequently. We’ve started small at 46,000 to analyse the scheme…and to build up infra capacity,” said Lt Gen Puri.

He further said, “Our intake of ‘Agniveers’ will go up to 1.25 lakhs in near future and will not remain at 46,000 which is the present figure.”

The top military officer also said the Agniveers will get compensation for Rs one crore if he sacrifices his life in service of the nation.

Actor Kajal Aggarwal just turned 37 on Sunday. The South Indian actor is on cloud nine as she is embracing motherhood to the fullest since the birth of her son Neil Kitchlu on April 19. The diva has won millions of hearts with her acting skills and continues to strike the heartstrings of the audience via her films.

On the occasion of her birthday, let’s dive into the list of Kajal Aggarwal’s best movies which impressed the audience and critics to date.

1. Madadheera (2009) Being one of the best performances of Kajal’s career span so far, ‘Magadheera’ is a reincarnation story, where Kajal portrayed the role of a princess called Indira aka Indu, who falls for Raghu. She is the queen of Udayghar and falls for a warrior named Bhairav (portrayed by Ram Charan) in her past life. This performance came out to be a big boost to her acting career.
2. Singham (2011) This movie marked Kajal’s comeback to Hindi cinema which was a major hit opposite Ajay Devgn. Kajal gained massive attention and received praise for her performance as Kavya Bhosle in the superhit action flick.
3. Arya 2 (2009) Kajal’s role in the film garnered a lot of appreciation and praise at the time of its release. Her role as Geetha in Arya 2 was pretty well designed. The plot of the film revolves around two childhood friends growing up differently to fall in love with the same woman.
4. Nene Raju Nene Mantri (2017) One of her most admirable roles was of Radha in the film, ‘Nene Raju Nene Mantri’. Kajal was paired opposite Rana Daggubati in the film as the main female protagonist. Kajal’s role as Radha in the film was indeed a powerful one and the entire movie revolved around her.
5. Brindavanam (2010) Kajal’s role in the film was extremely soft-spoken. She portrayed the role of Bhumi in the film. This film was a super-duper hit, where she was paired opposite Junior NTR. With Brindavanam, Kajal has proved that she is a good dancer too. Meanwhile, on the work front, Kajal was last seen in the romantic tale, ‘Hey Sinamika’. (ANI)

The Gandhinagar police in Gujarat seized 294.5 grams of cannabis, informed the officials on Sunday.

The police also arrested two drug peddlers in the matter.

The Gujarat ATS reached the near Bhat toll naka and conducted the searches based on a tip off.

“We held two namely, Jaikishan Thakor and Ankit Kulhari along with 294.5 gm of cannabis in the form of biscuits worth 41,000 rupees,” said Deputy superintendent of police (Dy. SP), PD Manwar

The investigation has been handed over to Special Operations Group (SOG) Gandhinagar.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)

A member of the Taliban forces was killed in the attack on Karte Parwan Gurdwara by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) on Saturday.

Taliban’s Ministry of Interior Affairs on Saturday informed that multiple blasts took place in the vicinity of a Dharmashala in the Karta-e-Parwan area of PD 2 in the capital Kabul.
At least one member of the Taliban forces and a Hindu was killed in the incident, said Abdul Nafay Takor, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior Affairs, adding that seven people were wounded, reported Tolo News.

The attackers were killed, he said, without giving the exact details about the number of the attackers.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) in an earlier statement said that a number of unknown armed individuals in the early morning entered a Dharamshala. The attackers used a grenade that resulted in injuring two people.

The wounded have been evacuated to the hospital, the statement said. According to the statement, an explosive-laden vehicle aiming to target the Dharamshala was thwarted before reaching its goal.

Residents said they heard several blasts and gunfire in the area.

On Saturday, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) attacked Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul.

On Sunday, they owned the attack. According to ISKP, ‘Abu Mohammed al Tajiki’ carried out the attack which lasted for three hours.

The group claimed that besides submachine guns and hand grenades, four IEDs and a car bomb were also used in the attack.

It further claimed that about 50 Hindu Sikhs and Taliban members were killed in the attack and the attack was conducted as revenge for the insult of Prophet Mohammed by an Indian politician.

However, in the attack, only two people were killed and seven others were wounded.

Strong action has already been taken against those who made derogatory remarks. A statement was also issued by concerned quarters emphasizing respect for all religions, denouncing insult to any religious personality or demeaning any religion or sect. Vested interests that are against India-Kuwait relations have been inciting the people using these derogatory comments.

The Bharatiya Janata Party suspended its spokesperson Nupur Sharma from the party’s primary membership and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their alleged inflammatory remarks against minorities.

The holy Guru Granth Sahib from Gurudwara in Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul was retrieved from the complex, from which plumes of smoke were seen billowing out after the attack early this morning, according to visuals posted on social media.

Visuals posted by locals on social media show a barefoot man carrying the Guru Granth Sahib on his head. The visuals show two or three more people, all walking without footwear accompanying him.

According to Sikh religious belief, the Saroop, a physical copy of the Guru Granth Sahib is considered a living guru. The transportation of Guru Granth Sahib is governed by a strict code of conduct and as a mark of respect, the Guru Granth Sahib is carried on the head, and the person walks barefoot.

According to reports, the Holy Book was taken to the residence of Gurnam Singh, president, of Gurdwara Karte Parwan.

Religious minorities in Afghanistan, including the Sikh community, have been targets of violence in Afghanistan.

In October, last year 15 to 20 terrorists entered a Gurdwara in the Karta-e-Parwan District of Kabul and tied up the guards.

In March 2020, a deadly attack took place at Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Gurudwara in Kabul’s Short Bazaar area in which 27 Sikhs were killed and several were injured. Islamic State terrorists claimed responsibility for the attack. (ANI)

A top military officer on Sunday informed that the recruitment of soldiers will increase to over one lakh in the future under the Agnipath scheme.

He said that the Centre will start with the recruitment of 46,000 Army aspirants to ‘analyse’ the scheme.
“In next 4-5 years, our intake (of soldiers) will be 50,000-60,000 & will increase to 90,000 – 1 lakh subsequently. We’ve started small at 46,000 to analyse the scheme…and to build up infra capacity,” said Additional Secretary Lt Gen Anil Puri, Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in a media briefing here today.

He further said, “Our intake of ‘Agniveers’ will go up to 1.25 lakhs in near future and will not remain at 46,000 which is the present figure.”

The top military officer also said the Agniveers will get compensation for Rs one crore if he sacrifices his life in service of the nation.

“We want a mix of josh and hosh and that is why we wanted to reduce the age profile. The average age is 32 years at present and we want to reduce it as per the recommendations of the Kargil review committee and Arun Singh committee report,” Arun Puri said.

He said around 17,600 people are taking premature retirement from the three services every year.

“No one ever tried to ask them what they will do after retirement,” he stated.

He further asserted that Agniveers would get the same allowance in areas like Siachen and other areas which are applicable to the regular soldiers serving at present.

“No discrimination against them in service conditions,” he added.

“This reform was long pending. We want to bring youthfulness and experience with this reform. Today, a large number of jawan are in their 30s and officers are getting command much later than in the past,” he added.

The Union Cabinet on June 14 approved a recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the three services of the Armed Forces called Agnipath and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers.

Under the scheme, people between the age of 17.5 years and 21 years will be inducted into the services for a four-year tenure. During this period, they will be paid a monthly salary between Rs 30,000-40,000 plus allowances, followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits.

Following the announcement of the scheme, agitations broke out and a tense situation prevailed in various states. The protests took place in several states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand and Assam so far.

In a few states, the protests turned violent, which included setting trains on fire and stone-pelting incidents, and arrests were made. In Uttar Pradesh at least 250 people have been arrested and six FIRs were lodged till Friday. One died in Telangana’s Secunderabad district.

Protesters expressed concerns about their future after four-year of contractual employment in the Indian Army, hence, demanding immediate rollback of the scheme.

Owing to the violence, the train services of the East Coast Railway zone were also affected.

In states like Bihar, where trains were set on fire in some places, the state police are probing the role of the coaching institutes behind the violence.

Acting against the violence, the Andhra Pradesh Police on Saturday detained a man named Subba Rao who ran Army training centres in Palnadu district on the suspicion that he is the conspirator in Thursday’s arson at Secunderabad Railway station in Telangana.

In response, the Centre has stepped up its efforts to appeal to the protestors not to protest and understand the new recruitment programme of the military. The government explained to the youths that they will get an exit package worth Rs 11.71 lakhs after their tenure and priority in government services.

In an effort to pacify the protesters, the Centre has introduced several modifications to the newly-unveiled Army recruitment scheme since the initial announcement.

On Saturday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a proposal to reserve 10 per cent of the job vacancies in the Ministry of Defence for Agniveers meeting requisite eligibility criteria.

The government had also announced that it has decided to increase the upper age limit for the recruitment of Agniveers from 21 years to 23 years for the recruitment cycle of 2022.

The Union Home Ministry decided to reserve 10 per cent vacancies for recruitment in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles for Agniveers. Home Ministry has further announced that it will give three years of age relaxation to Agniveers beyond the prescribed upper age limit to recruitments in CAPFs and Assam Rifles. For the first batch of Agniveers, the age relaxation will be of five years.

Moreover, there are several state governments like Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka that have come out and announced various supportive measures for the Agniveers who would return to the civil life after their 4-year service in the Defence Forces.

Several state governments have announced that Agniveers, after serving the armed forces for 4 years, will be given preference in filling vacancies in state police forces. (ANI)

A SpiceJet Boeing 737 with about 185 people on board passengers returned safely to Patna soon after an emergency landing on Sunday afternoon following the reports of a fire in one of the engines.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials said that the plane (VT-SYZ), prima facie, was involved in air turnback as the cabin crew informed PIC about sparks coming out of the engine.
During the rotation, the cockpit crew suspected a bird hit on the engine. Later, the crew did not observe any abnormality and the flight resumed further climb.

“The flight returned back after a bird hit and due to one engine shut in the air, all on-board passengers safe,” the officials added.

On Sunday afternoon, a Delhi-bound Spice Jet aircraft made an emergency landing at Patna airport after there were reports of a technical glitch which prompted fire inside the plane. All the passengers were safely rescued.

“The Delhi-bound flight had returned to Patna airport after locals noticed a fire in the aircraft and informed district and airport officials. All 185 passengers were safely deboarded. The reason is a technical glitch, engineering team analysing further,” said Chandrashekhar Singh, Patna District Magistrate told media persons.

Taking note of the incident, Patna airport Director said that an alternate flight is being arranged by SpiceJet airlines.

“Another flight is being arranged by SpiceJet airlines. This incident is a matter of investigation,” Director, Patna airport said.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi reacted to the incident, saying this was “playing with the lives of passengers”.

“This is playing with the lives of passengers. Repeatedly been raising this with the minister, with the aviation secretary. Don’t know when they will rise to the occasion and avoid a major mishap waiting to happen,” the Shiv Sena leader tweeted. (ANI)

The dead body of a man that was found hanging from a tree in the forest area of the Jawaharlal Nehru University on June 3 has not been identified yet.

According to the police, they are trying to identify the dead body from the last 15 days but till now success has not been achieved, according to the police.
To identify the dead body, the missing report of all the police stations of the entire South West district has been searched, but the missing report of that person has not been registered anywhere, apart from this, the police of South West district is also in touch with the rest of the districts.

Apart from this, no family has contacted the police about their family member not returning from the JNU campus. The body is in a very mutilated condition, with the entire face disfigured. This is a major reason why difficulties are being faced in identifying the dead body.

The police found the body of an unidentified person hanging from a tree in a very rotten condition in the forest of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

As per the officials, a PCR call was received at around 6.30 pm on June 3. On reaching the spot they found a dead body hanging from a tree in a very mutilated condition in the forest area. They took the body into possession and sent it for post-mortem, the person was found to have died due to hanging in the post-mortem, according to the police on Friday (June 3).

The age of the deceased seems to be between 40-45 years, the man hanged himself with a red-coloured nylon rope, police added.

Further investigation is underway. (ANI)