Four members of a family were hacked to death here in Uttar Pradesh early on Friday, police said.

The murders took place in Bigahiya in Madhavnagar. The dead include two women, a child and one man. The deceased have been identified as Kamlesh Devi, 52, her son-in-law Pratap Narayan, 35, her daughter Kiran, 32 and five-year-old grandson Virat.

The throats of all the victims have been slit. The murders were discovered in the morning by the neighbours.

Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari said a police patrol party was in the area till 1.30 a.m. and there was no such incident till that time.

A forensic team has been at the spot.

(IANS)

The US State Department has imposed financial sanctions on four individuals and five entities, accusing them of having facilitated weapons or fuel transfers, or provided other financial or material support, to the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria.

According to a statement released on Thursday by the State Department, the sanctioned individuals were Syrian and Lebanese nationals, and the targeted entities included companies based in Syria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, Xinhua reported.

“Today’s action shows that the US will continue to take concrete and forceful action to cut off material support to the Assad regime and its supporters. The US will continue to use all available mechanisms to isolate the Assad regime,” read the statement.

In a separate statement, the US Department of the Treasury said the targeted were involved in transactions with the Assad government and with the IS, noting the fact that the Idlib province has been encircled by the government forces.

All of the sanctioned individuals’ and entities’ assets within the US jurisdiction would be blocked, and US individuals and entities would be generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

Since earlier this year, the Syrian rebels were driven out of key areas in the capital Damascus, the central province of Homs and the southern region. The government’s army has been amassing forces and military gear around Idlib in recent weeks, as a major battle against the rebels in Syria looms.

(IANS)

Police in the Philippines have arrested 34 people for not standing while the national anthem was being played at a movie theatre, an official report said on Friday.

The report said the incident took place on Thursday in the theatre inside a mall in Lemery, a town in Batangas province, reports Xinhua news agency.

The national anthem called “Lupang Hinirang” is played in every theatre across the Philippines before the screening of a movie.

The police said the 34 people violated RA 8491 also known as the “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines”.

“As a sign of respect, all persons shall stand at attention and face the Philippine flag, if there is one displayed, and if there is none, they shall face the band or the conductor,” the Act says.

According to the law, any person or judicial entity which violates any of the provisions, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than 5,000 pesos ($93) but not more than 20,000 pesos ($371), or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

(IANS)

British Airways announced that it was probing a massive theft of customer data from its website and mobile app.

The airline said the breach took place between 10.58 p.m. on August 21 and 9.45 p.m. on September 5, reported.

“The breach has been resolved and our website is working normally,” it said in a statement on Thursday night.

“We have notified the police and relevant authorities. We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused. We take the protection of our customers’ data very seriously.”

British Airways said personal and financial details of customers making bookings had been compromised.

About 380,000 transactions were affected, but the stolen data did not include travel or passport details.

All affected customers had been contacted on Thursday night.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused. We take the protection of our customers’ data very seriously.”

This is not the first customer relations problem to affect the airline in recent times, the BBC said.

In July, the airline apologised after IT issues caused dozens of flights in and out of London’s Heathrow Airport to be cancelled.

In June, more than 2,000 British Airways passengers had their tickets cancelled because the prices were too cheap.

In May 2017, serious problems with British Airways’ IT systems led to thousands of passengers having their plans disrupted, after all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick were cancelled.

(IANS)

Congress leader and a former Maharashtra minister Subodh Saoji on Thursday allegedly announced a reward for anyone who “cuts off the tongue” of BJP MLA Ram Kadam, whose “would abduct the girl a boy has liked” statement triggered a huge controversy.

In a video of an event at Buldhana district, Saoji was purportedly heard saying that Kadam’s statement was unbecoming of a legislator. “And therefore, I am announcing a Rs 5 lakh reward for anyone who comes forward and cuts off his tongue. I strongly condemn him saying girls should be abducted,” he purportedly said.

The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has issued a notice to Kadam over his remark, seeking his reply.

In a big embarrassment for the ruling BJP in Maharashtra, one of its lawmakers on Tuesday courted a controversy by saying that he will kidnap a girl even if she refuses a proposal from a boy and help him elope with her. The controversial comments were made by BJP MLA Ram Kadam, who came under severe attack from ally Shiv Sena and other parties.

Kadam had made the controversial remarks at a ‘dahi handi’ event in his suburban Ghatkopar assembly constituency in Mumbai on Monday night. “You (youngsters) can meet me for any work,” he had told a huge gathering of youngsters there.

A video clip of the event later surfaced in which Kadam can be seen saying that he was flooded with requests from youngsters to help them after girls rejected their proposal. “I will help, 100 percent. Come (to me) with your parents. What will I do if parents approve? I will kidnap the girl concerned and hand her over to you (for marriage),” he told the crowd in Marathi.

Kadam also reportedly shared his mobile number with the crowd. However, when quizzed about his controversial statement, Kadam said that his remarks were distorted.

”If there was something objectionable, there were several journalists and they would’ve paid attention. They didn’t because they heard entire speech and not just a small video. Opposition leaders are making a 40-second clip viral on Twitter. That’s creating a wrong impression,” Kadam’said.

”I said that every youth, whether it’s a boy or a girl, should marry after taking their parents into confidence. After saying this, I took a long pause and from the audience said something. I repeated that on mike and after that also, I spoke some more,”Kadam.

Demanding an apology from the MLA, the Shiv Sena asked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state’s home minister, what action would be taken against Kadam for making a statement that “threatens the safety of girls”. The Congress also called for Kadam’s arrest, while the NCP that said his comments exposed “Ravana-like” face of the ruling party.

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray took to Twitter to slam the MLA offering to marry off girls “against their will”. “Ashamed and disgraced that he sits in the legislative assembly of Maharashtra- a land of culture & women liberty,” he tweeted.

“Not just an outright apology from him, but I’d want to know from the Home Minister of Maharashtra what action will be taken for openly making such statements that threaten the safety of girls and offering safety to those wanting to kidnap them,” he added.

Opposition Leader in Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said Kadam’s remarks were unfortunate and condemnable. “The state government should immediately arrest him,” he said.

State NCP chief Jayant Patil said, “Cases should be filed against Kadam if a girl is kidnapped in Maharashtra as the MLA himself is encouraging their kidnapping.” “He should apologise. I am sure women members of the Assembly will pose questions to him,” Patil said.

State NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said Kadam was speaking the language of abducting girls.

(ANI)

The CBI on Thursday said it has arrested four persons including the promoters and directors of Jayem Industries and officers of the Food Safety and Drug Administration and Excise Department in connection with the multi-crore gutkha scam in Tamil Nadu.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) source told IANS said the agency had arrested Jayem Industries promoters and directors A.V. Madhav Rao and Uma Shankar Gupta.

The source said it had also arrested a designated officer of the Food Safety and Drug Administration department, P Senthil Murugan, and a Superintendent of the Central Excise Department, N.K. Pandian.

The arrests come a day after the CBI searched over 35 places in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Puducherry, Chennai, Tiruvallur and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

It raided the premises of Tamil Nadu Health Minister C. Vijayabasker and Director General of Police T.K. Rajendran, prompting calls for their resignation.

The CBI on May 29 registered a case against unknown officials of Central Excise, Tamil Nadu government, Food Safety Department, public servants and private persons on charges of criminal conspiracy and for corruption following a direction of the Madras High Court on April 26.

Its probe relates to the illegal manufacture, import, supply, distribution and sale of gutkha and other forms of chewable tobacco which are banned in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Twin bombings at a sports club in Kabul on Wednesday killed at least 20 people and wounded 70 others, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks in the Afghan capital.

No immediate claim of responsibility was made for the blasts in Dasht-e-Barchi, home to many members of the mainly Shia Muslim Hazara ethnic minority that has been targeted in the past by members of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Images taken at the scene showed young men in torn wrestling kit helping the wounded onto vehicles to be taken to hospital.

The first explosion was triggered by a suicide bomber and was followed by a car bomb shortly after, said interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the bombings. “An attack on civilians and media workers of the country is an attack on freedom of speech and crime against humanity,” he said in a statement.

A reporter and cameraman from Afghanistan’s largest broadcaster, Tolo News, were killed in the second blast and four other local television crew were wounded, according to NAI, a group supporting open media in Afghanistan.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the second explosion hit as police were helping victims and a number of officers were wounded.

Reporting from Kabul, said the second bomb appeared to target first responders and journalists.

“It has been a very deadly year here for journalists and for Afghans alike,” Glasse said.

On April 30, twin explosions in Kabul killed nine media workers and 16 other people.

‘A lot of dead’

Suicide bomber targets school in Kabul
Social media users who purportedly witnessed the attack said the bomber killed the guards at the club before blowing himself up inside.

He “detonated inside where a large number of athletes had gathered. There are a lot of dead and wounded”, Mohammad Hanif said on Facebook.

Wednesday’s attack underlined the danger in Kabul as elections approach next month, as well as the threat facing the Hazaras – a Persian-speaking minority that has long faced discrimination.

In mid-August, at least 34 people were killed in a suicide attack in front of an education centre in Dasht-e-Barchi, west of Kabul.

ISIL – which has established a brutal reputation and which both the Western-backed government and the Taliban consider an enemy – claimed responsibility for that bombing.

(Aljazeera)

The Maharashtra Police on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the five activists arrested on August 28 were involved in planning large-scale violence. The police filed a counter-affidavit after the court issued it a notice the day after the arrests. The five activists – Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao – are currently under house arrest.

In its affidavit, the police claimed that the activists were in the process of creating large-scale violence and destruction of property, which would result in chaos. The police said this was part of the agenda of the banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist). The five were arrested not because of their dissenting opinions against the government but because of evidence that they were active members of the Maoist outfit, the police added.

During a hearing on August 29, the Supreme Court observed that “dissent is the safety valve of democracy”.

The material found from computers, pendrives and memory cards of the activists clearly showed their active membership of the CPI (Maoist), and indicated a design to commit criminal offences with potential to destabilise the society, the police said in the counter-affidavit affirmed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Shivaji Panditrao Pawar, Swargate Division, Pune.

“The material gathered from others based upon which the five accused persons were arrested, clearly show that they were involved in selecting and encouraging cadres to go underground in ‘struggle area’, mobilising and distributing money, facilitating selection and purchase of arms, deciding the rates of such arms and suggesting the routes and ways of smuggling such arms into India for its onward distribution amongst the cadres,” the affidavit reads.

Police said the arrested activists along with one other “absconding underground accused” arranged public meetings under the banner of Elgaar Parishad. Elgaar is a corrupted version of “Yalgaar” which means “the attack”, police said.

To contend the petitioner’s argument that the arrested activists were well-respected human rights crusaders, police have referred to a case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Vernon Gonsalves in which he was convicted for his involvement in Maoist activists.

The Maharashtra Police also said that the investigators had decided to videograph the entire procedure of the raids to avoid future allegations of foul play.

House arrest of the activists would mean they can ensure destruction of evidence elsewhere and can alert other potential accused, the affidavit reads. The police requested the vacate the previous order of house arrest to allow the investigators to take the accused under police custody.

Who filed the plea in Supreme Court
Academics Romila Thapar, Prabhat Patnaik, Devaki Jain and Satish Deshpande, among others, had filed the petition challenging the arrests. They had alleged that the arrests were arbitrary and were made without evidence. The plea sought an independent inquiry into the arrests. The Supreme Court stayed the transit remands for those arrested to be taken to Pune, and instead asked them to be put under house arrest till the next hearing on September 6.

The arrests came hours after the Pune police raided the homes of 10 human rights activists in Mumbai, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Delhi, Faridabad and Goa. Those arrested were among the 10.

The Maharashtra Police have earlier claimed that the activists were involved in an “Elgar Parishad” event in Pune on December 31, which was followed by caste violence in the nearby village of Bhima Koregaon the next day. The police have said the activists’ speeches at the event were meant to incite hatred. They also claimed to have seized thousands of letters exchanged among “underground” and “overground” Maoists.

Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was detained Wednesday by the Gujarat CID in connection with a 22-year-old case of arrest of a man for alleged possession of drugs, a senior police official said.

Bhatt and seven others, including some former policemen attached with the Banaskatha Police, were detained for questioning in the case, Director General of Police, Crime Investigation Department (CID), Ashish Bhatia said.

Bhatt was the Banaskantha district superintendent of police in 1996.

As per case details, the Banaskatha Police under Bhatt had arrested Sumersingh Rajpurohit, an advocate, in 1996 on charges of possessing around one kg of drugs.

At that time, the Banaskanta Police had claimed that drugs were found in a hotel room occupied by Rajpurohit in the district’s Palanpur town.

However, a probe by the Rajasthan Police had revealed that Rajpurohit was allegedly falsely implicated by the Banaskatha Police.

It had also found that Rajpurohit was allegedly abducted by the Banaskatha Police from his residence at Pali in Rajasthan.

In June this year, the Gujarat High Court had handed over the probe in the case to the CID while hearing Rajpurohit’s plea.

The high court had asked the CID to complete the probe in three months.

The CID found substance in charges against Bhatt, which led to his detention, Bhatia said, adding that Bhatt and some others could be arrested after questioning.

Bhatt was sacked by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2015 for “unauthorised absence” from service.

(PTI)

A nine-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and brutally killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said Tuesday, adding five people, including her step-mother and step-brother, were arrested in this connection.

The minor had gone missing on August 23 following which her father, a resident of Uri, filed a complaint with the police, Baramulla Superintendent of Police Imtiaz Hussain Mir said.

Her body was found in a decomposed state on Sunday in a nearby forest area, he said, adding it appeared to be a case of murder.

He said a special investigation team (SIT) headed by SDPO Uri was constituted to investigate the murder.

“The SIT interrogated the suspects and during sustained questioning of the step-mother of the deceased, a bone-chilling and horrible account of murder and rape of the nine-year-old child came to light,” Mir said.

It was found that the step-mother had been nourishing a long-standing grudge against her husband’s second wife and her children, he said.

“During questioning, she revealed that her husband would mostly spent time with her second wife and the girl was dearest to him,” he said. She hatched a conspiracy to eliminate her step-daughter.

On the fateful day, she was armed with a sharp-edged knife and took the girl to the nearby forest area.

Her 14-year-old son joined her along with his friends and committed the crime.

The SSP said the girl was gang-raped by the accused in presence of her step-mother.

They all took turns to rape her and thereafter her step-mother strangulated her, Mir said.

Detailing the extent of brutality, the SSP said, “While the step-mother strangulated her, the step-brother hit her head with an axe. Another accused gouged out her eyes with a sharp knife and then sprinkled acid on her body parts. Physical condition and preliminary forensic analysis of the body substantiated all these facts”.

He said they dumped the body in bushes and covered it with twigs and branches of pine trees.

All the material and weapons of offence, including the axe and the knife, have been recovered at the instance of the accused.

All the accused have been arrested, the police officer said.