Page 225 - War Conflict
District Reserve Guard jawan injured in gunfight with naxals
A District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan was Sunday injured in a gun-battle between security forces and naxals in a forest in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, police said. Over a dozen rebels were also believed to have suffered injuries in the gunfight, a senior officer said. The encounter broke out at around 10 am in the forest of Ikmetta village in Abhujmad area when a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and the DRG was out on an anti-Maoist operation, Deputy Inspector General (anti-naxal operation) Sundarraj P told PTI over the phone. The security forces had launched the operation on getting a specific input about the presence of around 200 ultras in forests of Ikmetta, Irpanar and Irakbhatti villages of the district, he said. When the patrolling team was advancing through Ikmetta, located around 350km from the state capital Raipur, it came under heavy fire from a big group of armed naxals, triggering the gun-battle, the IPS officer said. After a prolonged ...
School teacher held for hailing Pakistan over terror attack
A woman teacher of a private school in Karnataka has been arrested for allegedly hailing Pakistan in the backdrop of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that left 40 CRPF personnel dead, police said Sunday. Jilekha Bi of the school at Shivapura in Belagavi was arrested Saturday night after she posted a message on social media saying "Pakistan Ki Jay Ho", they said. She is the second person to be arrested in the state over similar comments on the Thursday's suicide bomb attack in Pulwama. A Kashmiri student studying in a city college was arrested Saturday for hailing the Jaish terrorist in a social networking site. The teacher, a native of Belagavi, was produced in a local court Sunday and remanded in judicial custody, police said. Her post triggered public outrage and some youth gathered near her house, pelted it with stones and allegedly tried to set it afire, they added. Soon, police reached the spot, arrested the woman and the protestors. Earlier Saturday, police arrested ...
Pulwama attack: Protests, candle marches continue in Delhi for third day
Hundreds of people from all walks of life gathered at India Gate and Jantar Mantar on Sunday to hold candle light marches to express solidarity with the families of the CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack. As the protests continued for the third day on Sunday, police enhanced security in the national capital with special deployments in the protest areas. Students, corporate employees and members of social organisations gathered at the two venues demanding that Pakistan be given a "befitting reply" in the wake of the Pulwama attack. BJP MP Udit Raj also participated in the protest at the India Gate and said the sacrifice of the martyrs should not go waste and the fight against terrorism be strengthened. "The protests are peaceful. Special deployments have been done and security strengthened. Adequate PCR vans and 'Parakram' vans have been deployed. Blood donation camps are also being organised at the spot," Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma said. The New Delhi ...
Student held for 'glorifying' Pulwama attack sent to judicial custody
A court in Himachal Pradesh's Kasauli on Sunday sent an engineering student from Kashmir to a 14 days judicial custody for allegedly posting a comment "glorifying" the Pulwama terror attack that left 49 CRPF troopers dead, police said.
US-backed Syria force says IS holding 1,000 civilians
Islamic State militants are preventing more than 1,000 civilians from leaving a tiny area still held by the extremist group in a village in eastern Syria, a spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian militia fighting the group said Sunday. "Regrettably, Daesh have closed all the roads," Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, told The Associated Press, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym. SDF officials have said the extremists are hiding among civilians in a tented village and using a network of caves and tunnels. IS, which once ruled a proto-state in large parts of Syria and Iraq, is clinging to an area less than a square kilometre in the village of Baghouz, in eastern Syria. The extremists may include high-level commanders, and could be holding hostages among those trapped inside. Occasional coalition airstrikes and clashes continue inside the village of Baghouz. Artillery rounds were meant to clear land mines for the SDF fighters to advance. SDF ...
Four Kashmiri students of pvt varsity suspended, booked for 'celebrating' Pulwama attack
Four female paramedical students of Kashmiri-origin were suspended from a private institute here and later booked for allegedly celebrating the Pulwama terror attack by posting "anti-national" messages on an instant messaging app, officials said Sunday. The second-year students of the National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Talveen Manzoor, Iqra, Zohra Nazir and Uzma Nazir, were suspended for posting on WhatsApp a picture in which they were purportedly seen celebrating the terrorist attack in Kashmir that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. The picture soon went viral, prompting the university administration to take action. In the suspension order, the NIMS registrar said,"You have posted an anti-national message on your WhatsApp for celebrating killing of Pulwama terrorist attack martyrs. The university will not tolerate and strictly condemns such activities. The act is grave and serious in nature." Later, a case was registered against the four students following a ...
U'khand Police dispels reports of Kashmiri students being attacked in Dehradun
Director General of Police Ashok Kumar on Sunday dispelled reports of Kashmiri students being attacked in Dehradun in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, and asserted that "everything is normal.""Rumours are being spread on social media that girls here are not safe. Everything is normal here. We are providing full protection to everyone," he told ANI.The statement comes after media reports suggested that Kashmiri students had to lock themselves up in order to remain safe as mob violence erupted over the ghastly terror attack in Pulwama.On Saturday, the police had arrested a Kashmiri student in for allegedly making insensitive and communal posts on social media in the wake of the terror attack.The complainant alleged that the accused had attempted to provoke communal tension by making defamatory comments on Facebook and WhatsApp.In this regard, Kumar said action will be taken against those who talk or post anti-national things on social media."Uttarakhand Police has provided ...
Pulwama attack: CRPF cautions people against fake pics aimed at spreading hatred
The CRPF Sunday cautioned people against "fake pictures" being circulated online of body parts of its 40 soldiers killed in the Pulwama attack, the deadliest terrorist strike on security forces in Kashmir Valley in three decades. "It has been noticed that on social media some miscreants are trying to circulate fake pictures of body parts of our martyrs to invoke hatred while we stand united. "Please DO NOT circulate/share/like such photographs or posts," the force said on its official Twitter handle @crpfindia. It asked people to report any such content by sending an email to webpro@crpf.gov.in. Officials said a number of such photographs of badly mutilated bodies were being circulated and the development was brought to the notice of force officials after which the advisory was issued. The paramilitary force, that has deployed about 65,000 personnel as part of 61 battalions in Jammu and Kashmir, issued another advisory on bogus messages being circulated on social media vis-a-vis ...
Rs 20 lakh relief to kin of slain CRPF trooper from Rajouri
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday announced ex gratia cash assistance of Rs 20 lakh to the next of kin of a CRPF trooper from Rajouri district who was killed in the Pulwama terror attack.
U'khand police asks Kashmiri students to not issue provocative statements
Uttarakhand police Sunday appealed to Kashmiri students studying in the state to not issue provocative statements on social media in the wake of Pulwama terrorist attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. "People are outraged across the country over the Pulwama attack and students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in Uttarakhand should not issue provocative statements on social media to add fuel to the fire," Additional Director General of Police Ashok Kumar told PTI. However, Kumar added Kashmiri students have no reason to worry as police is there to ensure their complete safety. On allegations of a section of Kashmiri girl students that they remained locked up for hours in a room as they were afraid about their safety, he said, "The matter had been blown out of proportion." "They had shouted anti-India slogans when a candle march procession was being carried out by locals, triggering tension. However, police intervened immediately and the matter was resolved. But they blew up the
J-K Guv announces ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh for CPPF jawan's family
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 20 lakh to the kin of CRPF jawan Naseer Ahmed of Rajouri district, who was killed in the Pulwama attack, a Raj Bhavan spokesman said Saturday. Ahmed was among 40 CRPF personnel who were killed Thursday in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. The spokesman said the governor prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and expressed sympathy and solidarity with his family members. Thousands of people, including Union minister Jitendra Singh, bid final adieu to the jawan at his native place in Rajouri district on Saturday.
Sand artist pays tribute to Pulwama terror attack victims
Amid the outpouring of grief and outrage, a woman sand artist in Mumbai paid tributes to the 40 CRPF jawans killed in Pulwama terror attack in her own novel way. Laxmi Gaud made a sand mural at the Juhu beach here on Saturday depicting a hand, decorated in three colours of the national flag, saluting those killed in the deadly terror strike. Gaud, who assists her husband at his 'vada pav' (a popular street snack) stall on the beach when not doing sand art, took over nine hours to complete the sculpture. The artist later told reporters on Saturday evening that she used nearly one tonne of the beach sand to make the mural. "I started making it at 8.30 am and completed it by 6 pm. Some savings from our family business and financial support from friends helped me in buying colours for the sculpture," Gaud said. "This is a tribute to the jawans from me and my family," she added. At least 40 CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on Thursday in one of the deadliest ...
Fire raging in your bosoms is in my heart too: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that he shared the grief and outrage with the people of the nation in the wake of the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. The prime minister, who was in this north Bihar town to launch a slew of projects, began his speech with a few lines in the local dialect Angika and paid tributes to two jawans from the state who died in the Pulwama attack. "I salute and pay my tributes to Sanjay Kumar Sinha and Ratan Kumar Thakur. To the people who have gathered here, I would like to say the fire that is raging in your bosoms, is in my heart too," Modi said, evoking a thunderous response from the crowds.
Afghan forces kill 20 militants, overrun Taliban base
Afghan government forces have killed 20 militants and overrun a Taliban base in Sari Pul province, an official said on Sunday.
Pulwama attack fallout: Kashmiri students in Delhi fear for their security
Several Kashmiri students here said they were in a state of fear after reports of alleged harassment of Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack, even as police asserted that security had been enhanced in the national capital and they would ensure the safety of all citizens. According to media reports, several Kashmiris living outside the state claimed they were harassed and attacked after the terrorist attack in Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF men were killed. A Kashmiri student from Jamia Millia Islamia, who did not wish to be identified, said, "Just the fact that one is a Kashmiri, irrespective of his ideology or leanings, is enough to put one's life to risk. It is happening across the country. Kashmiri students are being harassed and hounded, be it Dehradun, Ambala or Bangalore. We really fear for our security here too." JNU activist Shehla Rashid, who hails from Kashmir, said, "Throughout India, mobs are attacking Kashmiri students, verbally abusing them, asking for them ..
Pulwama attack: Sena MLC wants boycott of tourism in J&K
Against the backdrop of the Pulwama terrorist attack that claimed lives of 40 CRPF personnel, a Shiv Sena MLC wants people from other parts of India to boycott tourism in Jammu and Kashmir for two years. Sena legislator and spokesperson Manisha Kayande said boycotting tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, "where youth, women and children pelt stones on security forces", would hurt the economic resources of the northern state. "The need of the hour is to counter the mentality of keeping the state on tenterhooks by targeting Indian jawans," she said in a statement issued on Saturday. Noting that Jammu and Kashmir is a beautiful state that attracts visitors from across the globe, Kayande said, "Tourism benefits the local people. If these resources earned are used against the country and the security forces, Indians should boycott tourism in the state for next two years." "Whenever there is an encounter between militants and security agencies, locals pelt stones on jawans to help militants get ...
8 Afghan policemen killed in Taliban clash
At least eight policemen were killed and three injured after the Taliban stormed a security checkpoint in Balkh province, an official said on Sunday.
CRPF jawan gives blood to Naxal injured in J'khand encounter
Three CRPF personnel donated blood to help save the life of a woman Naxal, who was shot during an encounter in West Singhbhum district on February 14, a senior police officer said. Superintendent of Police Chandan Kumar Jha said police had received specific information that around 24 Maoists, led by Kande Honhaga, the self-styled sub-zonal commander of the ultra group, had assembled to execute a "plan". A team of security forces pooled from 174 and 60 battalions of the CRPF and the district police, headed by Additional Superintendent of Police (Ops) Manish Raman, rushed to the spot between Muffasil and Goilkera police stations of the district. Not heeding the security forces' call for surrender, the Maoists triggered a landmine blast and started firing, Jha said. The security personnel surrounded the jungle from two sides but the Maoists kept firing at them, forcing a retaliation. The Naxals made a hasty retreat, buckling under pressure, he said. The security personnel then spotted a .
Man arrested for supplying arms to Khalistani supporters
A man was arrested for allegedly supplying arms to the Khalistani supporters, police said Sunday. Sanjiv Rathi alias Guddu was arrested by the ATS with the help of Punjab Police in Budhana Police Station area on Saturday, they said. Two pistols and nine cartridges were were seized from Rathi, who supplied arms to Khalistani supporters, the police said.
Guwahati teacher suspended over Facebook post on Pulwama attack
A college teacher was suspended here for a Facebook post over the February 14 suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama that claimed the lives of 49 CRPF troopers.