English हिन्दी
Connect with us

India News

In early morning encounter, top Lashkar commander Abu Dujana killed in Pulwama

Published

on

In early morning encounter, top Lashkar commander Abu Dujana killed in Pulwama

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Clashes between civilians and armed forces erupt at encounter site in Hakripora village, mobile internet services suspended across the Valley

In a major boost for the counter-terror security forces deployed in Kashmir, Abu Dujana – terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) divisional commander in Kashmir – was gunned down early on Tuesday morning along with his accomplice Arif Lilhaari in an encounter at Hakripora village in Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The joint encounter operation that began at 4.30 am on Tuesday, was carried out by 182 Battalion, 183 Battalion, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and the Special Operations Group (SOG).[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]It is learnt that late on Monday night the security forces got a tip off about Abu Dujana through technical intelligence, when his phone suddenly became active in the Pulwama area. The joint operation team immediately began a search and cordon exercise around Hakripora village. Dujana, sources said, had given security forces the slip on at least five earlier occasions and was listed among the top most wanted terrorists in the Valley with a bounty of Rs15 lakh.

According to reports, militants opened fire during the operation leading to a fierce gun battle that raged on for five hours, ending at around 9.30 am on Tuesday.

Locals protest against encounter, 1 killed in clashes

Sources in the J&K police said that soon after the gun battle between the security forces and the LeT militants began, over 100 protestors gathered around the encounter site and began pelting stones at the security personnel. One person was killed and at least 15 others injured in the clashes that followed.

While there was no official word on the identity of the deceased, locals who had brought him to the Pulwama district hospital identified the deceased as one Firdaus Ahmad, a police official said.

The official said that even as the encounter was raging on, the joint operation team had to also handle the stone-pelters and was “forced to use tear gas shells, pellets and fire few live rounds to disperse the protestors”.

The civilian unrest carried on even after the encounter ended, said sources. As the security forces were retreating from the encounter site, some youth started pelting stones at them near the Pulwama district hospital. The forces had to again respond by opening fire, resulting in injuries to two persons including a nurse working inside the hospital.

Local media reported spontaneous protests erupting in several parts of south Kashmir in the aftermath of Dujana’s encounter.

Fearing an en core of the violent unrest that kept the Valley on the boil for months following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July last year, mobile internet services have been suspended across Kashmir, an official said, “as a preventive measure to curb dissemination of misleading information, rumour-mongering and calls for further protests”.

Who was Abu Dujana?

Dujana hailed from the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and had reportedly joined the LeT when he was just 17. In the past two years Dujana was successful in eluding security forces five times. In May, Dujana had escaped from the Harkipora village under the cover of a stone pelting mob.

Sources said Dujana had first infiltrated into India in 2010 after which he developed LeT’s network across Jammu and Kashmir, especially south Kashmir, which has been a hotbed of militancy since the past year. According to one report, in 2014 Dujana had turned up at a funeral of a militant in Kakpora area of Pulwama while other reports suggest that he had also attended the funeral of Burhan Wani last year.

The slain LeT divisional commander is said to be the mastermind behind the Pampore terror attack that killed at least eight CRPF men in 2016. It is believed that Dujana was also in touch with Zakir Musa whom the Al Qaeda, last week, named as the head of its newly formed splinter group in Kashmir.

According to local media reports from Kashmir, Dujana’s handlers in Pakistan were irked by his marriage with a local girl in Pulwama. It is being speculated that at the time of his encounter Dujana was in Hakripira to visit his wife.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Kerala youth who joined Islamic State killed in Afghan airstrike

A 23-year-old man from Kasargod in Kerala – identified as one Marwan Ismail – who was suspected to have joined the terror outfit Islamic State (IS) in 2016, was reportedly killed in an air strike in Afghanistan recently.

A report by news agency PTI said: “Kasargod police confirmed, on Tuesday, that Ismail’s father had received a message through Telegram app two days ago informing him about the death of his son in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. The message, purportedly sent by Ashfaq Majeed who was among the 21 youths from Kerala who allegedly went missing and joined the Islamic State last year, was also sent to social activist BC Abdul Rahman.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

Manipur: Congress hits back at BJP chief Nadda’s letter to Kharge

Ramesh emphasised that Nadda’s letter is replete with inaccuracies and reiterated that the people of Manipur long for normalcy, peace, and harmony.

Published

on

The Congress on Friday lashed out at BJP president JP Nadda’s accusations that the Opposition party was promoting a politically motivated narrative concerning the situation in Manipur.

The grand old party described Nadda’s letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as a 4D exercise, which means denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation.

Nadda, responding to Kharge’s call for President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention and his claims of the Centre’s total failure in managing the crisis, claimed that the consequences of Congress’s “abject failure” in handling local issues in Manipur during its governance are still being felt today.

Responding to Nadda, Congress General Secretary for Communications Jairam Ramesh stated, “Congress President Kharge ji wrote to the President of India on Manipur. Apparently, to counter that letter, the BJP President has now written to the Congress President.”

Ramesh emphasised that Nadda’s letter is replete with inaccuracies and reiterated that the people of Manipur long for normalcy, peace, and harmony.

He noted that they are posed with four critical questions: When will the Prime Minister visit the state? How much longer will the Chief Minister remain in office despite lacking majority support? When will a full-time Governor be appointed? And when will the Union Home Minister be held accountable for his failures in Manipur?

Nadda expressed astonishment at the Congress’s ongoing efforts to sensationalize the situation in Manipur, pointing out that Kharge appeared to overlook the fact that his party’s past government had legitimized the illegal migration of foreign militants to India, during which former Home Minister P Chidambaram had signed relevant treaties.

On Tuesday, Kharge had written to President Murmu regarding the worsening conditions in Manipur, requesting her immediate intervention to ensure that the citizens of the state can live peacefully and with dignity.

In his two-page letter, Kharge accused both the Union and Manipur state governments of “completely failing” to restore peace and normalcy over the past 18 months, resulting in a loss of public confidence in their leadership.

Continue Reading

India News

Rahul Gandhi is right, Gautam Adani should be arrested: RJD president Lalu Yadav

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

Published

on

RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday spoke in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand for immediate arrest of Gautam Adani, after the Industrialist was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on Thursday that Gautam Adani should be arrested immediately, and his protector Madhabi Puri Buch should be investigated

The former Congress chief claimed that the recent developments vindicate his long-standing allegations against Gautam Adani. He took a sharp dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that Modi is protecting Adani, and is also involved in corruption. 

Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar, was responding to queries from journalists here about Gandhi’s statement on the previous day, in the backdrop of charges of bribery and fraud against the Adani group in the US.

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

The RJD supremo, who incidentally has been convicted in several fodder scam cases and is on bail, was also asked about prospects of the INDIA bloc, of which his party is a part, in Jharkhand, where the counting of votes for assembly polls is scheduled on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI, the ailing septuagenarian replied, “I would like to remain focused on my statement that Adani must be arrested. I am not worried much about a new government (in Jharkhand) where we are already in power.” Jharkhand witnessed a straight battle between the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA, which included the JD(U) headed by Nitish Kumar, Prasad’s arch-rival and the current Chief Minister of Bihar.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Gandhi further said that Chief Ministers have been jailed for scams of Rs 10-15 crore, but Adani, who has committed a scam of Rs 2000 crore is walking free.

Continue Reading

India News

Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

The BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions.

Published

on

Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

BJP leader Vinod Tawde, accused of distributing cash to influence voters, has sent a legal notice to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Supriya Shrinate and Rahul Gandhi over the controversy. The BJP leader has demanded their apologies or face a Rs 100-crore defamation case.

Vinod Tawde’s legal notice came after regional party Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur on Tuesday accused him of distributing Rs 5 crore at a hotel in Virar in Palghar district, 60 km from Mumbai, to woo voters.

In the legal notice, the BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions. He claimed that he demanded an apology from the three Congress leaders for their remarks against him in the cash-for-votes row or he would be forced to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

Just a few hours before the Assembly Elections, a video went viral on Tuesday showing BVA workers storming into the hotel in Palghar during a meeting between Vinod Tawde and Rajan Naik, the BJP candidate from the Nalasopara seat. The BVA workers alleged that Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore cash.

In the viral video, the BVA workers were seen taking out bundles of cash from a bag, while Tawde was sitting at a distance. The BVA workers also took pictures and videos of him on their phones. Amid these allegations, BVA leaders said that Rs 5 crore cash was distributed, an election official on Tuesday said Rs 9.93 lakh cash was recovered from the hotel rooms.

However, Vinod Tawde denied the allegation, saying he was only providing guidance to party workers on poll procedures and said he was not stupid enough to distribute money at his opponent’s hotel. Speaking to the media, he said that the Vivanta Hotel is owned by the Thakurs, and he is not stupid to go to their hotel and distribute money there.

The Police registered two FIRs against Tawde, BJP candidate Naik and others in connection with the controversy. Additionally, the Election Commission filed three FIRs against Tawde.

Continue Reading

Trending

© Copyright 2022 APNLIVE.com