Archives for March 2021

Pramesh Jain

Kerala ISIS module case: NIA conducts searches at 11 locations in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka; Three held:

In a major action against the Islamic State (IS) modules,the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted searches at 11 locations across the country.The multiple agency sleuths carried out searches across Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala.

The National Investigation Agency officials along with local police conducted simultaneous searches at 11 locations including eight locations in Kerala spread over Districts of Kannur, Mallapuram,Kollam and Kasargod,two locations in Bengaluru and one location in Delhi in a case pertaining to terrorist activities of a group led by one Mohammed Ameen alias Abu Yahya from Kerala for his ISIS link and arrested three persons part of the ring.

The accused has been identified as,Mohd. Ameen alias Abu Yahaya,Mushab Anuvar and Dr. Rahees Rashid have been arrested on Monday .

During investigation it was found that,Mohd Ameen was leading the module and the other two arrested accused were his close associates.

According to the NIA officials,this group have been running various ISIS propaganda channels on different social media platforms such as Telegram,Hoop and Instagram for propagating the violent Jihadi ideology of ISIS and radicalizing and recruiting new members to this ISIS module. 

NIA had registered the case against 07 known and other unknown accused persons under sections,120B,121 and 121A of IPC &sections 17, 18,18B,20,38&40 of Unlawful Activities (prevention)Act on March 5th this year.

Probe revealed that the group of radicalized individuals under the leadership of Mohammed Ameen owning allegiance to proscribed terrorist organization ISIS had identified certain individuals in Kerala and Karnataka for targeted killing.

They had also planned to undertake Hijrat (religious migration),to Jammu and Kashmir  for engaging in terrorist acts. 

Further,Mohammed Ameen had travelled to Jammu&Kashmir immediately after his return to India from Bahrain in March,2020 and had been camping in Delhi for last two months for establishing connection with Jammu Kashmir  based operatives having allegiance to ISIS.

The officials carried search operations at the premises of accused Mohammed Ameen and his associates who were members of the various groups and channels on encrypted chat platforms.

During the searches,several digital devices including Laptops,Mobiles,Hard Disk Drives,Pen Drives,multiple SIM cards of different service providers and incriminating documents have been seized.

Seized exhibits are being scrutinized and will be sent for forensic examination.Searches today were preceded by extensive verification jointly by NIA,Special Cell,Delhi Police and ATS,Kerala Police.

Further, investigation in the case continue,the official release said.

UFBU, an umbrella body of nine unions, had given a strike call for March 15 and 16, and claimed that about 10 lakh bank employees and officers of the banks will participate in the strike.

NEW DELHI: Banking operations including cheque clearance across the country got affected on Monday as bankers under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) have gone on a nationwide strike to protest against the proposed privatisation of two state-owned lenders.

UFBU, an umbrella body of nine unions, had given a strike call for March 15 and 16, and claimed that about 10 lakh bank employees and officers of the banks will participate in the strike.

Services in the state of Maharashtra got affected on Monday as around 40,000 bank employees and officers have gone on a two-day strike to protest against the government’s decision to privatise two more state-run banks.

Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of the government’s disinvestment plan in the Union Budget for the next fiscal.

However, branches of private sector lenders like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank are open as they are not part of the strike.

In the Union Budget presented last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of the government’s disinvestment plan.

The government has already privatised IDBI Bank by selling its majority stake in the lender to LIC in 2019, and has merged 14 public sector banks in the last four years.

According to All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary CH Venkatachalam, services at branch level; cheque clearance; and government transactions have been affected.

Besides, money markets and stock markets are also going to face problems as payments would be impacted, he said.

Members of UFBU include All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA) and Bank Employees Confederation of India (BEFI).

Others are the Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO).

While the property located on Usman Road measures 4,800 sq ft and has a reserve price of Rs 124 crore, the second property located on Ranganathan Street has a reserve price of Rs 46 crore.

NEW DELHI:  Public sector lender Indian Bank has put on sale two immovable properties of Saravana Stores (Gold Palace) at T Nagar in Chennai. 

The bank has issued a notice of sale to recover Rs 288 crore from the jewellery represented by its partners, guarantors and title holders.

While the property located on Usman Road measures 4,800 sq ft and has a reserve price of Rs 124 crore, the second property located on Ranganathan Street has a reserve price of Rs 46 crore.

Both are located in T Nagar, one of the country’s leading commercial hubs. 

In January 2020, Karur Vysya Bank said that the outstanding stood at Rs 162.8 crore. The private sector lender issued a possession notice in which it stated that the borrowers included Saravana Stores Gold Palace Ltd and its guarantors, including Y Pallaku Durai, son of Yogarathinam, Durai’s wife P Sujatha, and son Y P Shiravan.

The bank asked the title holder of Saravana Stores Gold Palace Ltd, Pallaku Durai, to repay the amount mentioned in the notice. After the borrower failed to repay the amount, the bank issued a notice to take possession of the properties.

State-owned Indian Bank recently said its committee of directors has approved raising up to Rs 4,000 crore through share sale.

Shareholders of the bank on March 2 had given approval for the raising equity capital up to Rs 4,000 crore (including premium) through qualified institutions placement (QIP) in one or more tranches, Indian Bank had said in a BSE filing.

Yadav and Kisan Sangharsh Samiti leader Sunilam met Gogoi at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

GUWAHATI: Activist Yogendra Yadav met jailed Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi on Sunday and appealed to the people to defeat the ruling BJP in Assam.

Yadav and Kisan Sangharsh Samiti leader Sunilam met Gogoi at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

“Gogoi has put up 19 candidates in the 86 seats in the first two phases. His goal is to ensure that the BJP is defeated,” Yadav said.

“We have come with one message that the BJP should be ousted for the way it has treated farmers and taken decisions against their interests and welfare,” the Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader said.

Yadav said that he had met Gogoi in jail in February last year and his health condition has deteriorated considerably since then.

“He has been subjected to considerable mental torture and his medical condition has deteriorated but still the ideological clarity, mental resolve and the courage shown by him is a model,” he said.

Yadav alleged that Gogoi has been put in jail to ensure that he cannot interact with the people during the elections.

“This is not a criminal trial but a political trial,” he alleged.

Yadav said that he had not gone to discuss politics but Gogoi was very interested to know how the farmers’ agitation was progressing and was very clear about the urgent need to defeat the BJP.

Sunilam alleged that the way NIA is investigating the cases against Gogoi it appears that they are acting at the behest of the government.

“It is obvious that false cases have been slapped against him to silence peoples’ voice, which he represents, but now that the elections are here, the people of the state must make a decision,” he said.

He appealed to the Congress to reconsider their decision of fielding a candidate against Gogoi.

Sunilam said that he would go to Sibsagar to campaign for Gogoi.

Gogoi was arrested in December 2019 during the protests against CAA in the state and was booked under the stringent UAPA.

He had tested positive for COVID-19 some months back and shifted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital where he is still lodged with a board of doctors monitoring his condition.

Sibsagar goes to the polls in the first phase on March 27 along with 46 other constituencies.

Elections to the 126-member Assam legislative assembly will be held in three phases with 39 constituencies in the second phase on April 1, and 40 in the last phase on April 6.

In rural parts of Karnataka, many households are using LPG only as an emergency option and have not got refills over the last many months.

BENGALURU : The country’s first village that bid goodbye to traditional cooking fuels, like wood, and went smokeless was Vyachakurahalli from Chikkaballapur district in 2015.

But in 2021, six years down the line, thousands of households, especially in rural Karnataka, are contemplating switching back to firewood or coal for cooking and ditching gas stoves as LPG prices have skyrocketed over the last year.

Though a release from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd stated that a 7.3 per cent increase has been seen in overall LPG consumption between December 2020 and February 2021, a reality check by suggests otherwise.

In rural parts of Karnataka, including in Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Chikkaballapur, Chikkamgaluru, Uttara Kannada and other districts, many households are using LPG only as an emergency option and have not got refills over the last many months.

“I have a cylinder at home. It will get over in a couple of weeks and I will not get it refilled as a cylinder costs Rs 980 in our village. Ours is a big family and we cannot afford such a high cost every month. We have shifted back to firewood for cooking,” said Mahantesh Ramappa Hosamani, a Karyakartha, Coolie Karmikara Sangha, at Aihole village of Bagalkot district.

“It is not just our home, but almost every household in our village and those in Hungund taluk have completely stopped using LPG after the price hike,” he added. The cost of the cylinder has gone up by Rs 175 in the last three months, with the price ranging between Rs 800 and Rs 980 in different parts of the state.

“Nothing is Ujjwala, everything is dark here. If essentials like petrol and LPG cylinders become so expensive, how do we survive? With great difficulty, I convinced my family to switch from firewood to LPG stove. But now, we don’t have money to refill cylinders. We can’t fetch firewood and the government won’t give us kerosene. What do we do,” asked Lakshmamma G from Koppal.

Public health doctors warn of dire health consequences because of the use of wood stoves. Dr Sylvia Karpagam said, “Underlying respiratory disease is one of the significant comorbidities leading to poor outcomes in COVID and other respiratory conditions. Women in rural areas are known to suffer from such respiratory diseases as they use smoke-inducing fuels, like firewood.”

Dr Giridhara Babu R, Senior Epidemiologist and public health expert, said using wood or coal stoves is the leading cause of indoor air pollution, affecting the health of women and children in most rural households.

“Price hike in LPG results in many poor people from rural areas and urban slums switching back to traditional sources of fuel. They use stoves without chimneys or proper ventilation. In some places, people also use empty cement bags, paper and other material which increase their health risk. The government should take care of vulnerable sections,” he said.

Also, many villagers said that they have not received the LPG subsidy for many months. “We have not received subsidies under any scheme. We earlier paid Rs 830 per cylinder and got around Rs 180 as a subsidy. But for the last 10 months, we have not received the subsidy,” said Mahantesh, a social activist from HD Kote, Mysuru.

According to a recent study conducted in Koppal by the University of British Columbia, an average rural family needs at least 10 cylinders weighing 14.2 kg to fulfil their cooking needs for a year. But under the Ujjwala scheme, women are availing less than four refills.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti said, “I am aware of the problems being faced by the people. I am in Delhi and will address this issue by speaking to the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.”

Akash Maharia

Jaipur: An army jawan was arrested for allegedly leaking confidential information to a Pakistani agent, an intelligence official said on Sunday.

The 22-year-old jawan, Akash Maharia, is a resident of Sikar district of Rajasthan and is posted in Sikkim.

He came in contact with a Pakistani intelligence agent through social media and shared confidential information with him, the official said. He said the accused was arrested Saturday night following interrogation by intelligence agencies.