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Nine arrested in Maharashtra for alleged ISIS links

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad today (Wednesday, Jan 23) arrested nine people including a teenager from Mumbra, Thane and Aurangabad for alleged links with the ISIS.

The arrests came during the course of an investigation into the presence of sleeper cells ahead of Republic Day.

Among those arrested are Salman Khan, Fahad Shah, Zamen Kutepadi, Mohseen Khan, Mohammad Mazhar Shaikh, Taki Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Zahid Shaikh and a 17-year-old. Three of the men are brothers who main task was to recruit and radicalise young men.

The ATS claimed it had “very reliable input” about a group aligned with the ISIS and put the suspects under surveillance for several weeks.

“When it was revealed that the group is likely to carry out terror acts, the ATS formed about a dozen teams and carried out searches and seizures at five different locations in Mumbra, Thane and Aurangabad simultaneously during the intervening night and early morning of 22 January,” he said.

The ATS seized chemicals, powder, mobile phones, hard drives, SIM cards, acid bottle, knives etc during the raids, he said.

According to ATS officials, three of the nine – Salman, Mohseen and Taki – are brothers, and were influenced by ISIS sympathisers and were given task to radicalise others to join ISIS. Mohseen, the eldest of the trio, was monitoring every member from Mumbra and was connected with propaganda module of ISIS and was head of the local module.

Mohammad Mazhar Shaikh who worked in private firm in Bhiwandi as a computer engineer met Mohseen and Salman during Ramadan in a mosque at Mumbra last year. Mohseen left three days ago for Aurangabaad and was picked by the ATS official. On Monday evening Mazhar was nabbed in Mumbra when he boarded a bus for Aurangabaad.

Fahad Shah, a civil engineer, got in touch with Salman during Ramadan at a mosque in Mumbra area and after that they were in regular touch and often visited together in Aurangabaad. He also had a visa for Saudi Arabia. The ATS claimed that Salman had radicalised Fahad.

ATS officials also picked up a minor boy from Mumbra who they said had also been radicalised. He is said to have to have completed a diploma in electronics and cyber science.

Zamen Kuttepadi who worked as medical representative has very good knowledge about chemicals and Mohseen allegedly recruited him for any possible chemical attack and logistic support, the ATS said.

ATS officials said they were checking whatsapp chats and mails of the suspects who had deleted several chats from whatsapp and snapchat. The accused had also taken subscription of dark net and used to chat with each other, officials said.

A case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been registered and further investigation is in progress.

(With ht Inputs)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Tax terrorism has to stop, says Congress after Income Tax Department issues fresh Rs 1,700 crore notice

The Congress has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.

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Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Congress’ financial woes worsened once again with the Income Tax Department issuing a fresh Rs 1,700 crore notice. The tax department issued the notice due to discrepancies in tax returns. 

The fresh notice is for assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21 and includes penalty and interest. This comes a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed the party’s petition challenging the tax notices. 

The opposition party is already facing a funds crunch after Income Tax authorities imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore and froze its funds. Furthermore, the party has not received any relief from the High Court in the case and is likely to approach the Supreme Court. The Congress has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.

Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the notices are being sent to cripple the party financially. Calling the action as tax terrorism, Jairam Ramesh said that this attack on Congress has to stop.

Earlier in February, the Income Tax department had found fault in the party’s tax returns and demanded Rs 200 crore. Subsequently, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) had asked the party to pay the dues and froze their accounts. The Congress stated the tax tribunal’s order freezing its funds was an attack on democracy as the order came just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal stated that this is a deliberate attempt by the Narendra Modi-led to bankrupt the Congress ahead of elections. He mentioned that the timing of the penalty notice, following the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of Congress petitions challenging tax reassessment proceedings, reeks of political vendetta.

He underlined that while political parties are typically exempt from taxes, this penalty is allegedly due to delayed filing of returns. He asserted that it is a blatant move by the Modi government to cripple the Congress financially, especially during the elections. He further asserted that in response to the notice, the Congress plans to stage a nationwide protest, condemning BJP’s exploitation of central agencies to target opposition parties. 

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Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Tejashwi Yadav mourns demise of Mukhtar Ansari, demand probe

Akhilesh Yadav mentioned that such doubtful cases should be investigated under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge.

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Mukhtar Ansari, gangster turned politician, who has been in jail since 2005, died due to cardiac arrest on Thursday. After Ansari’s death, his family alleged that the politician had been poisoned in the jail.  

Expressing sorrow, several opposition leaders demanded a probe into the death of Mukhtar Ansari. Notably, the gangster turned politician submitted an application in Barabanki court, alleging he was given some poisonous substance along with his food. He claimed that on March 19, his nerves and limbs started paining after he consumed the food.

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav wrote on X that a few days ago Mukhtar Ansari complained that he had been poisoned in jail, yet it was not taken seriously. He added that prima facie the move does not seem justifiable and humane. He stated that constitutional institutions should take suo motu cognizance of such strange cases and incidents.

Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party Chief, Akhilesh Yadav said that the state is going through the worst phase of government anarchy. He added that it is the responsibility and duty of the government to protect someone’s life in every situation and at every place. 

The former Chief Minister added that the death of a hostage or prisoner while being confined in the police station, in a fight inside the jail, on falling ill inside the prison, while being taken to court, while being taken to hospital or during treatment in hospital will erode public confidence in the judicial process. He mentioned that such doubtful cases should be investigated under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge. He claimed that the way the government bypasses the judicial process and adopts other methods is completely illegal. 

Taking to social media platform X, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati said that the persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by Mukhtar Ansari’s family regarding his death in jail require a high-level investigation so that the facts in his death can be revealed. 

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said that the people of Ghazipur lost their favourite son and brother. He added that Mukhtar Ansari had made serious allegations against the administration that he was poisoned, but the government did not pay any attention to his treatment.

Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput stated that custodial deaths and firing in jail has become very common in Uttar Pradesh. He added that high level investigation should be conducted.

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Uttar Pradesh on high alert after gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari death, probe ordered on poisoned in jail charge

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), Prashant Kumar said that as a precautionary measure, Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed across the state.

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Several towns in Uttar Pradesh are on high alert and security has been strengthened after jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest. His family alleged that the gangster, who has been in jail since 2005, was poisoned. 

The jailed gangster was hurried to a hospital after he fell unconscious at district jail on Thursday night. After a few hours, he was declared dead by the doctors at the Rani Durgavati Medical College. 

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), Prashant Kumar said that as a precautionary measure, Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed across the state. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has also been called in to assist the police. Reportedly, the CRPF units have already been deployed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur, and Varanasi.

Additionally, the social media cell of the Uttar Pradesh Police is also on high alert to track unlawful elements that may try to spark a riot. Furthermore, a magisterial investigation into the death of Mukhtar Ansari will be carried out by a three member team, reports said.

A former five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat Muktar Ansari, had 60 criminal cases pending against him. The gangster turned politician was sentenced in eight cases since September 2022 by different courts of Uttar Pradesh and was lodged in the Banda jail.

Earlier, the former five-time MLA from Mau submitted an application in Barabanki court, alleging he was given some poisonous substance along with his food. He claimed that on March 19, his nerves and limbs started paining after he consumed the food.

Muktar Ansari was born into a family with deep roots in the independence struggle. His grandfather served as the Indian National Congress president in 1927. He was initially affiliated with the Bahujan Samaj Party before forming the Quami Ekta Dal (QED) after being expelled.

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