At least 58 Taliban militants were killed and several others wounded following separate air and ground operations in Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces, officials said on Wednesday.

More than 100 Talibans attacked two security posts on Uruzgan province’s main roadway on Tuesday evening. However, they had to flee as the security forces retaliated appropriately.

It left 40 militants dead, provincial police chief Abdul Qawi Omari told Xinhua news agency.

In Talayee area of the provincial capital Tirin Kot, at least seven armed Taliban fighters were killed when the army shelled artillery on their hideouts, said Omari.

In neighbouring Kandahar province, late on Tuesday, a joint Afghan and US-led NATO coalition air operation killed another 11 militants and injured an equal number, provincial police chief Abdul Razeq said.

The sources did not give details if Afghan security forces or civilians suffered casualties.

Ground and air offensives against militants in the past few months have increased as the country prepares for parliamentary and district council elections slated for October 20.

The Talibans have not commented.

(IANS)

An Indian man has been charged with stabbing to death his roommate for talking loudly on the phone.

Public prosecution records showed that the 37-year-old Indian construction worker, who was drunk, fatally stabbed the victim in his room in the March incident in Al Qusais area. The Indian was charged at the Court of First Instance, the Khaleej Times reported on Tuesday.

Prosecutors called for a stiff penalty to be inflicted on the Indian.

“I was informed by a driver about a problem involving the defendant. I went to the latter’s room and saw a crowd of labourers… The victim was lying in a pool of blood. He appeared motionless with a stab wound in the abdomen,” said an Indian labour accommodation supervisor.

“I heard from a group of workers that a verbal brawl ensued between the accused and the victim as the latter was talking loudly on his mobile phone”, the supervisor said.

“He (the Indian man) picked a knife and stabbed the victim in the abdomen. He then pulled out the knife and rushed out.”

A witness said that he saw the Indian man outside of the building. “He was apparently drunk and bleeding from between his fingers. He would not tell me how he got that injury,” according to the witness.

A CCTV footage showed the accused hiding the knife under his clothes when he entered a restroom and walking out without it.

The cause of death was severe bleeding due to a deep stab wound, officials said. The trial was adjourned to October 7.

(IANS)

The Bhima Koregaon violence should be probed by a judicial commission and action should be taken against those responsible for it, civil rights activist Anand Teltumbde said on Monday.

Speaking at a function organised by the Dakshinayan Abhiyan on “Decimating Dissent: The Truth Behind Bhima Koregaon” in South Goa’s Margao town, Teltumbde said the Maharashtra police were targetting him for attending a conference in Paris, which they claimed was funded by Maoists.

“There should be a probe by a judicial commission into this episode and whosoever did it should be taken to task. In a democratic state, taking a posture and acting against citizens is unpardonable,” he said.

Teltumbde was one of the several Dalit thinkers whose homes were raided on August 28 by Pune police in connection with Bhima-Koregaon violence of January 1.

He said he had filed a defamation case against the Pune police.

“They raided my residence because I had attended a convention in Paris which was organised by the Department of Amercian Studies in Paris in April this year. It was not funded by Maoists nor it had any Naxal link,” he said.

“The search by the police was absolute fabrication and utterly nonsense,” he said.

Pune police raided Teltumbde’s official residence on the Goa Institute of Management campus in Sanquelim village, 30 km from Panaji.

(IANS)

Interpol has issued a red corner notice (RCN) against Purvi Deepak Modi, sister of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi who is wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, officials said on Monday.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) the Interpol issued the RCN against Purvi Modi on the charge of money laundering, as requested by it.

In August, a special court in Mumbai had issued public summons to Nirav Modi’s sister Purvi and brother Neeshal, who are Belgian citizens, to appear before it on September 25. The court also said that if they fail to appear then their properties would be confiscated under the newly enacted fugitive offenders act.

According to ED officials, Purvi Modi and other family members of Nirav Modi were the recipients of the proceeds of the crime.

Last week, Interpol issued a RCN against Nirav Modi’s close aide Mihir Bhansali in connection with the case.

Bhansali, who was an executive in Nirav Modi’s Firestar International firm, is absconding since the probe started in the alleged $2 billion PNB fraud case.

The RCN is issued to seek the location and arrest of wanted person(s) with a view to extradition or similar lawful action.

The ED wants to question Purvi Modi and Bhansali to unearth further details of the fraud committed by Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali group to cheat the Mumbai-based PNB’s Brady House branch.

The Interpol, in its notice, requested its 192 member countries to arrest or detain Bhansali so that his extradition process could begin.

The Interpol has issued a similar notice against Nirav Modi, who as well as his family and uncle Choksi left the country in January, a month before the fraud came to light.

The notice mentions Bhansali’s birth place Mumbai and gives his date of birth as November 15, 1977.

Purvi Modi’s photo is also pasted on the notice.

(IANS)

A woman head constable with Haryana Police has accused a man and his brother, who too is a head constable, of raping and blackmailing her, an official said on Sunday.

Following the rape case being filed at women’s police station, Palwal on Saturday, a probe was launched, Palwal SP, Waseem Akram said.

However, he denied the rumours that the woman was raped inside a police station as reported by a section of the media.

“The woman head constable has complained that she came in contact with the main accused Joginder alias Mintu of Alawalpur, Palwal in 2014. She had first met him in Mahendergarh,” Mr Akram said quoting the complaint by the woman.

“She stated that they were in touch since then and Joginder had allegedly repeatedly raped her during her posting in Faridabad, Jind and Palwal,” he added.

The complainant further alleged that in June 2017, Joginder introduced her to his brother– a head constable with Faridabad Police– who too allegedly raped her, Mr Akram said.

She alleged that Joginder has been blackmailing her for money and sexual favours as he possesses objectionable photographs of her and threatens to post them on social media.

“During the investigation, it has been found that the accused Joginder is married and has two children. The complainant is also married,” he said.

(IANS)

A court here on Monday convicted a third accused in the 2007 Hyderabad twin bomb blasts which had claimed 42 lives while the other two convicts are likely to be sentenced later in the day.

The Second Metropolitan Sessions Court held Tariq Anjum, an alleged operative of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), guilty for providing shelter to the other accused. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced later.

Two other accused, Farooq Sharfuddin and Sadiq Ahmed Sheikh, were acquitted for lack of evidence while the fate of a fifth accused will be decided next week.

The court is likely to pronounce the quantum of punishment for Anique Shafiq Syed and Akbar Ismail Choudhary, who were convicted last week.

Anique allegedly planted the bomb at Lumbini Park which claimed 10 lives while Akbar kept the bomb at Diluskhnagar but it failed to explode.

The court convicted them on September 4.

While 32 people were killed at Gokul Chat, a popular eatery, 10 others lost their lives at Lumbini Park, near State Secretariat, in near simultaneous blasts around 7.45 p.m. on August 25, 2007.

More than 50 were injured in the blasts.

The accused were arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in October 2008. Three other accused including IM chief Riyaz Bhatkal and his brother Iqbal Bhatkal still remain at large.

(IANS)

The AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu Sunday decided to recommend to the state Governor Banwarilal Purohit, the release of all seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

A resolution to this effect was adopted at the state cabinet which met here under Chief Minister K Palaniswami’s leadership, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar told reporters.

It decided to recommend to Governor Purohit, the release of Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran, Robert Payas and Nalini, serving life imprisonment.

The moves comes days after the Supreme Court asked the Tamil Nadu Governor to consider the mercy petition of Perarivalan seeking remission or pardon under Article 161 of the Constitution and disposed of the Centre’s petition opposing Tamil Nadu government’s earlier proposal for the release of the convicts.

Though the apex court had asked the Governor to consider the plea of Perarivalan, the government decided to recommend setting free all others also as they had also petitioned seeking premature release, he said. The cabinet resolution will be sent to the Governor “immediately,” he said.

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur near here by an LTTE woman suicide bomber, Dhanu, at an election rally. Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed.
(PTI)

Police arrested a man for killing his wife and trying to transport his wife’s body near Rama Mandira Road in Rajajinagar on Wednesday.

The suspect has been identified as Hiren, was employed in a private company.

It has been reported that he was staying with his wife Preethi (28) and a 16-year-old son in an apartment in Rajajinagar.

According to the police, Hiren would quarrel with his wife everyday suspecting her fidelity.

On Wednesday afternoon, he again picked up a fight with her and in a fit of rage, he slit her throat. After his son returned home from college around 4.30, he told him about the murder. He told his son that he would be abandoned if he goes to jail. The confused son then followed his father.

While the duo were trying to transport her body, the neighbours were alerted and police were called to intervene.

Further probe is on.

(PTI)

A lawyer on Friday lodged a complaint against noted playwright and Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad for holding a placard ‘Me Too Urban Naxal’ during an event organised to mark the first death anniversary of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh on September 5 in the city.

In his complaint, advocate Amruthesh NP said Girish Karnad sported a placard around his neck declaring himself as an urban Naxal.

“Urban Naxals are those who spread insurgency against the nation,” he said in his complaint and demanded that Girish Karnad be arrested immediately. By holding such a placard, “Karnad has tried to promote/abet and propagate the violent and criminal activities of Naxalism,” the advocate said.

Amruthesh NP said how can somebody carry a banner of a banned organisation and support it.

Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat) police said they have transferred the complaint to the Halasuru gate police station under whose jurisdiction the incident took place.

Girish Karnad along with many other activists took part in an event organised outside Lankesh’s residence on Wednesday.

The participants also staged a protest against the house arrest of five activists from across the country for their alleged links with Maoists.

(PTI)

Former Chennai Police Commissioner S. George on Friday said he has not received any money from any gutkha manufacturer.

The former city police chief told reporters here that at the time when the scam surfaced, it was blown up to prevent him and T.K. Rajendran from becoming the Director General of Police (DGP).

However, Rajendran was appointed as the Tamil Nadu DGP.

George said he has not received any money from any gutkha (a tobacco product banned in Tamil Nadu) manufacturer.

Queried about an entry in the diary of the gutkha manufacturer A.V. Madhava Rao listing out the payment of “Rs 15 lakh for Christmas to a former Commissioner of Police”, George said someone might have collected the money from the gutkha manufacturer falsely saying that it is for him (George).

“Entries might have been made in the diary based on someone’s statement. Why should an ex-commissioner be paid any money,” he asked.

He also said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is carrying out a probe based on entries made by a gutkha manufacturer.

On September 5, the CBI raided the houses of George, DGP Rajendran, Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister C. Vijayabaskar, gutkha manufacturer Rao and several state and central government officials in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

George said his name is not mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the CBI.

According to him, there are several layers of hierarchy between the Commissioner of Police and down below. There are about 300 police stations in Chennai.

“Is it possible for a scam to go on just with the blessing of the Commissioner of Police,” he asked. There are different levels in the police hierarchy and different periods, he added.

He said Deputy Commissioner Jayakumar did not report the illegal gutkha operations to his superiors despite knowing and happening under his jurisdiction.

According to George, he held a preliminary inquiry about the gutkha scam and had written a letter to the state government to conduct a probe citing the rumours of police officials being involved in the scam.

George said as the allegations were against the Commissioner of Police, it was not possible for him to order a probe but there were several agencies that could have been entrusted with the task.

He said he did not know why the government did not act on that report.

As to the seizures by CBI after raiding his home, the former commissioner said, the CBI took only the sale deed of his plot bought from the state housing board, certain lease documents and insurance policies.

On Thursday, the CBI arrested five persons — three promoters of gutkha manufacturing company Jayam Industries viz Rao, Uma Shankar Gupta and Srinivas Rao; Food Safety Department official Senthil Murugan and Central Excise Superintendent N.K.Pandyan.

The case is related to an Income Tax Department raid in the offices, residences and godowns of a gutkha manufacturer Madhava Rao in Tamil Nadu in 2016 for evading about Rs 250 crore tax.

A diary was seized from Rao’s residence which listed alleged bribes paid to various officials to the tune of about Rs 39.31 crore.

The IT Department had sent a report to the Tamil Nadu government about the alleged payoffs to various officials.

The state government claimed it did not receive any report from the IT Department. But a copy of the letter sent to the state government by the IT Department was seized from the room occupied by V.K. Sasikala in the late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s residence in November 2017.

The Tamil Nadu government has banned the manufacture and storage of gutkha. However, the product was reportedly available in the market with the alleged connivance of police officers and others.

Despite objections from the opposition parties, Rajendran was given a two-year extension in 2018 by the AIADMK government.

George avoided some media questions and ended the press meet abruptly with his assistants asking him to conclude the meet.

(IANS)