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

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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]

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Maharashtra Assembly election: Uddhav Thackeray expels 5 Sena members for not withdrawing nominations

Following the withdrawal of nominations, around 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats

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Maharashtra Assembly election: Uddhav Thackeray expels 5 Sena members for not withdrawing nominations

Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief on Tuesday expelled five rebel leaders for anti-party activities after they failed to withdraw nominations filed for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

The expelled leaders include Bhiwandi East MLA Rupesh Mhatre, Vishwas Nandekar, Chandrakant Ghugul, Sanjay Awari and Prasad Thackeray. Reportedly, 14 leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP had filed nominations, defying party command. 

Among those who withdrew their nominations by the Monday deadline was Congress’ Mukhtar Shaikh, who withdrew from the Kasba Peth assembly constituency in Pune and announced his support to the party’s official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.

In addition, royal scion Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati’s withdrawal as Congress candidate from Kolhapur North minutes before the deadline left the party without representation in one of its western Maharashtra strongholds. Madhurima Raje was nominated in place of ex-corporator Rajesh Latkar after a party office was vandalised by those opposed to the latter.

Hemalata Patil from Nashik Central, Madhu Chavan from Byculla and Vishwanath Walvi from Nandurbar are among the seven Congress rebels who withdrew their nominations. Only two NCP(SP) rebels are in fray.

Furthermore, among those to withdraw from the electoral race was Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, who has held on-and-off hunger strikes and protests to demand reservation for the community in education and jobs over the past year. The activist said that the Maratha community will decide on its own whom to defeat and whom to elect. He also announced he would support two candidates from Parvati and Daund in the state assembly polls, though he said their names will be disclosed later.

Following the withdrawal of nominations, around 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats, while 2,938 candidates withdrew their papers. The figure is a 28 per cent increase from the 3,239 candidates who fought the 2019 assembly polls.

This year, the Maharashtra Assembly election will see major regional parties NCP and Shiv Sena contesting after a split down the middle. The factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP have joined hands with the BJP to form the Mahayuti. The Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.

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Centre issues notice to Wikipedia on complaints of bias, inaccuracies

The government also questioned why Wikipedia should not be classified as a publisher, rather than an intermediary.

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Centre issues notice to Wikipedia on complaints of bias, inaccuracies

The Centre on Tuesday has issued a notice to Wikipedia over multiple complaints about bias and inaccuracies on the platform. The government in its letter to Wikipedia highlighted that a small group of editors appears to have significant control over the contents, particularly influencing its neutrality. 

Reports said that the government also questioned why Wikipedia should not be classified as a publisher, rather than an intermediary. However, neither Wikipedia nor the government has issued an official statement on the matter so far. 

Wikipedia, popularly known as free online encyclopedia, allows volunteers to create and edit pages on a wide variety of topics, including people, issues and various fields of knowledge. This recent development follows two months after the Delhi High Court slammed Wikipedia and also warned it of a potential ban in India during a case filed by news agency ANI, which alleged that its Wikipedia page contained inaccuracies and defamatory content. 

In the last hearing, Justice Subramonium Prasad further observed that Wikipedia might not be entitled to defend the defamatory edits since it claims to be only an intermediary. The Delhi HIgh Court also questioned if Wikipedia is an intermediary, why is it bothered? It added that if somebody else has edited and that addition is without basis, then it comes down.

It further stated that Wikipedia is not here to protect the editors but is a mere wall. The court opined that it will only see whether the opinion given in the encyclopaedia does not depict the correct picture, as not true representation of the article. However, Wikipedia clarified that it was not defending the statements or edits made on Wikipedia’s page about ANI. It further sought to assist the court in the matter, particularly with regard to the architecture of the platform. 

Notably, Wikipedia has faced growing criticism for alleged bias and inaccuracies, especially amid the ongoing US presidential elections. Elon Musk, owner of X, has publicly accused Wikipedia of supporting far-left ideologies. He also urged the public to stop donating to Wikipedia, claiming it is controlled by far-left activists.

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly election, PM Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the incumbent Hemant Soren government, accusing it to put appeasement at the top of its agenda.

While addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, the Prime Minister said the coalition government of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators. He said that the JMM-RJD-Congress government has taken appeasement to its peak, and that these parties are destroying the state’s social harmony. He alleged that the parties are supporters of infiltrators, and to get votes of Bangladesh infiltrators, they are getting them settled across Jharkhand.

The Prime Minister stated that when schools disallow Saraswati Vandana, one can imagine how big the danger is. When there is stone-pelting during festivals, Maa Durga is stopped and curfew is imposed, one knows how dangerous it is, he continued. The Prime Minister also added that when the issue of infiltration goes to court and the administration denies, it becomes clear that the government machinery has been infiltrated. PM Modi was referring to allegations that a Muslim teacher stopped prayers to Goddess Saraswati at a school in Jharkhand’s Giridih.

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink, and advised people to use their vote to uproot this infiltrator coalition. He maintained that Jharkhand’s swift development is possible only if it has a government that expedites the implementation of central schemes.

Referring to the JMM’s decision to replace Champai Soren as Chief Minister after Hemant Soren was granted bail in a money laundering case, PM Modi said that the party has left no stones unturned in humiliating an adivasi son. He asked how the party will take care of the people of the state when nothing matters to them more than family. He added that he does not have a family, and the people are his family. He also mentioned that Champai Soren, once a trusted lieutenant of Hemant Soren, is now with the BJP.

Slamming the ruling coalition of corruption, he said that corruption hollows out the country like termites, and destroys the poor, Dalits, people from backward classes and tribals. He claimed that Jharkhand has seen for five years the corruption of the JMM-Congress-RJD government.

He also referred to the massive cash haul from the home of Congress’s former Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu last year. Mentioning that mountains of cash are recovered from the home of Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP, he questioned if this money didn’t belong to Jharkhand.

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