 |
 |
|
|
Crime
& Casualties 13 terrorists, 6 jawans killed in Doda encounter Srinagar, Apr 29: Thirteen militants were killed in a fierce encounter with the Army in Doda hills on Tuesday, according to official sources. This was a major offensive, which claimed the lives of six soldiers as well. Acting on specific information that a large group of foreign militants, mostly Pakistanis of different outfits, was attending a meeting of their command council, the troops laid a cordon in the Bharat Forest area early on Tuesday and began to track down the terrorists in the dense forest belt. The militants were asked to surrender, but they fired rifle grenades and opened heavy fire on the troops. The latter returned the fire and in the ensuing gunbattle, n which militants, 13 guerrillas and six security personnel were killed. Twelve AK rifles, three pistols, 21 magzines, one UBG launcher, three radio sets, 17 renades, one rocket launcher, one night vision device, six IEDs and some maps were recovered. The operation is reportedly still going on. According to initial reports, the slain militants belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment, Lashker- e-Toiba, Al-Badr and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen outfits. 'Mandi' where minor girls are sold (Go to Top) Mansa (Punjab), Apr 27: Minor girls from poor families in the eastern region of the country are bought from their guardians at low prices and sold at higher rates in Punjab to elderly men. The middlemen make a killing at the cost of the lives of these innocent girls. A house located in Maghania village of Budladha sub-division in Mansa district was the venue where several of such girls were 'displayed' for sale recently. Mediapersons reached the venue just on time posing as prospective buyers and collected first-hand information on the unscrupulous deals. Rekha, now called Majit Kaur, gave the details regarding her arrival in Punjab. "I am from Durgapur, Kolkata. I have been here for one year now and have one child. My family is in Durgapur. I was sold to one Charan," she said. SK Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, revealed, "I told the SSP of Mansa to make an inquiry. Some arrests have been made. We have even arrested the lady who was involved in the buying and selling of girls. Through her we hope to identify some such agents. Police interrogation is on and only after some days we will come to know more details." The place has become a veritable "mandi" for sale and purchase of girls. The whole of Malwa region is known for this illegal sale. 3 militants among 5 killed in raid on J-K TV, radio stations (Go to Top) Srinagar, Apr 26: Authorities in Kashmir fought back an attempt by militants to raid India's main state-run radio and television station on Saturday but three rebels and two security force troopers were killed. Army sources said the militants first detonated a car loaded with explosives outside the complex in the heart of Srinagar to divert the attention of guards in the high-security area. "The fidayeens (suicide squads) were eliminated through joint efforts before they could enter the radio station. In the process two security personnel, one from Central Reserve Police Force and the other from Border Security Force, were also killed. The area has been thoroughly searched and no more insurgents have been found. The city is under control and forces are on high alert," said Des Raj, a senior Army officer. Big heroin haul at Delhi airport (Go to Top) New Delhi, Apr 24: Customs officials on Thursday seized heroin worth Rs 160 million from the Indira Gandhi international airport. The officials seized the contraband from a passenger who had come from Afghanistan, carrying narcotics in almond shells. Officials said the size of the almonds, which were bigger than usual, made them suspicious. "We were suspicious of the size of almonds as they were bigger than usual. The officer on duty took out one of the almonds and squeezed it and found that there was a small white powder pouch inside it. It was a fake almond. Then we decided to check with narcotics detecting kits. When we carried out the test, it was found positive for narcotics and it was heroin," said Manish Mohan, Deputy Commissioner of Customs Department. Mohan said the heroin would fetch at least three to four million dollars in the international market. "We have recovered 18 packets weighing one kilogram each. And if we retrieve heroin from it, then we will have to peel off the shells and it will be worth around 160 million rupees. And in international market the cost of it can be around 16-20 crore rupees," Mohan said. He added that of the total 21 packets, only three had genuine almonds. India has recently become the conduit for contraband, brought mainly from Afghanistan, for supply to other Asian countries. According to the United Nations, Afghanistan was the world's largest producer of opium last year. It made some 3,400 tonnes of the drug from which morphine and its derivative heroin are made. Earlier this month Pakistan also seized about one tonne of drugs from smugglers bringing in contraband from Afghanistan. Dubai deports another Dawood aide (Go to Top) Mumbai, Apr 21: Investigating agencies on Sunday brought back Anil Parab alias "Vangya", another aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, from Dubai. Parab is one of the accused in the 1993 serial explosions which shattered Mumbai killing 257 people and injuring 713. The blasts were believed to be in retaliation for religious riots triggered by the destruction of an ancient mosque by Hindu zealots in UP in December 1992. Police says Parab is a sharp shooter of the Dawood gang and several criminal cases were pending against him. In recent months, the United Arab Emirates has deported notorious gangsters such as Ejaz Pathan, Iqbal Kaskar and Mustafa Dossa alias 'Majnu', wanted by Indian police for long. India signed an extradition treaty with UAE in 1999. New Delhi has been struggling to bring back several gangsters, including Abu Salem, who is held in Portugal. One injured in Bandra bomb blast (Go to Top) Mumbai, Apr 14: One person was injured when a crude bomb exploded on Monday outside a jewellery market in Mumbai. The blast took place in the suburban area of Bandra, the industrial area of the city. The bomb, which police said was planted in a parcel box, exploded when the security guard of a jewellery shop was told to open it by the owner. "There was a parcel in the name of the owner. Being a holiday he came specially to get the parcel, which was a box. The owner got a little suspicious and his watchman to open it a little far from the shop. The box then blasted just when the watchman started opening it which injured his hands," said Ramu, an eyewitness and the owner's servant. Police said the guard was admitted to hospital. 215 kg of Shahtoosh wool worth Rs 5 cr seized, 3 held (Go to Top)
New Delhi, Apr 7: In the biggest seizure of its Kind, the Wildlife Department of the Delhi government caught hold of 215 kg of Shahtoosh wool worth Rs 5 crore, officials said on Monday. Shahtoosh is one of world's finest wools that is banned because it is derived from the hair of an endangered Tibetan antelope, the Chiru. Three persons, including a Nepali national, were arrested on Sunday. Shahtoosh is smuggled from Nepal to Kashmir. Delhi's Minister for Environment Forest and Wildlife, Deep Chand Bandhu, said the banned wool was mixed with sheep wool to avoid suspicion. "Our wildlife department caught a truck at Shahdara toll tax bridge. The truck was carrying 11 bags of Shahtoosh, a costly wool used for making shawls. The cost of Shahtoosh is approximately Rs 5 crore", Bandhu said. One shawl approximately requires 20 grams of Shahtoosh wool and a nearly three-metre shwal weighs barely 160 grams (five ounces). Officials estimate that 1,500 shawls would have been made out of the seized wool and over 4,000 Chirus must have been killed in the process. International wildlife organisations say five Chirus are shot and skinned to make, which is so fine that an entire shawl can be pulled through a wedding ring. The trade has been banned internationally since 1979 under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species. Animal activists estimate there are about 75,000 Chirus left today and the number is rapidly declining. Two Hizb terrorists held in Capital (Go to Top) New Delhi, Apr 4: The Delhi Police claimed to have arrested two terrorists belonging to the Pakistan-backed terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen here on Friday. Police said the duo was on a mission to target senior policemen and secret informers in the Capital. Some arms and ammunition were recovered from their possession. The terrorists were later identified as Feroz Ahmed Sheikh (34) and Mehboob Jaan (30). Both reportedly hail from Srinagar and were allegedly involved in a recent attempt on the life of a Kashmiri journalist Zaffar Iqbal Sheikh. They are also facing charges for killing seven persons in Jammu and Kashmir. Threats of attack at Vaishno Devi, CRPF beefs up security (Go to Top) KATRA: Apr 2: Security forces guarding the Vaishno Devi shrine have gone into a tizzy in the wake of threats of terrorist attacks during the 'Navaratras', which began on Wednesday. Following the threats, the Central Reserve Police Force has decided to deploy one more company along the 14-km route to the shrine situated atop the mountains. Intelligence sources said messages signifying terrorist attacks through suicide squads have been intercepted during the past one week. They said the terrorists planned to strike at the shrine, and in case they are not able to reach the top, they might open indiscrminate fire on the 14-km long path. The sources added that the threat was "specific" this time. In order to detect any militant activity, the CRPF, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Indian Army deployed here have intensified surveillance and patrolling in and around the shrine. It may be recalled that around the same time last year, the security forces had gunned down five heavily-armed terrorists when they were found to be moving towards the shrine it to launch a suicide attack. Four policemen kidnapped by PWG naxalites (Go to Top) Hyderabad: Apr 2: Suspected Naxalites belonging to the banned People's War Group (PWG) kidnapped at least four policemen, including one of sub-inspector rank, on Wednesday. This reportedly happened in the Nallamalla forest in Prakasam district. Highly placed district officials said the miscreants first stopped the vehicle in the forest area and then took the victims away forcibly. They said the police party had gone to Katamraj to provide security on the occasion of 'Ugadi', the Telugu new year. The cops were returning in a vehicle after duty at the time of the abduction. -ANI |
|
