India

New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed that members of Popular Front of India (PFI) had allegedly collected a large amount of cash to the tune of Rs 120 crore to carry out attacks on important personalities.

ED sources claimed that Prime Minister Narender Modi was also on the radar of PFI, which had planned to attack the Prime Minister during a rally in July 2020. However, due to some reason, PFI didn't go ahead with the plan.

The sources claimed that the PFI members had even planned to organise a terror camp to execute an attack on Modi.

The sources said that around Rs 120 crore were collected by the PFI to carry out attacks and create unrest and riot-like situation in the country.

The ED had arrested a PFI member named Shafeequr Payeth from Kerala, who was produced before a special court in Lucknow on Friday. The remand paper of the ED, which has been accessed by IANS, said that the PFI was planning to carry out attacks on important personalities.

"In the past few years, PFI collected around Rs 120 crore, including cash coming from abroad. The cash was deposited in different bank accounts belonging to PFI," the remand paper read.

It added that some part of the money was allegedly used in North-East Delhi riots in 2020. The money was also about to be used to purchase arms and ammunition to create unrest and carry out terror acts in Uttar Pradesh.

The sources also said that PFI has scores of active members in the Gulf countries.

--IANS
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Kolkata, Sep 24 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) which has recently submitted its first chargesheet in the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scam, has tracked a proxy mobile number used by former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee while engaging in "important communications" related to the recruitment process.

According to ED sources, both Partha Chatterjee and his close associate, Arpita Mukherjee used multiple numbers and multiple mobile phones, all of which were seized by the ED sleuths.

"While checking the different mobile phones of the two, our officers tracked a particular SIM card, which though used by Partha Chatterjee was not registered in his name," an ED official said.

On enquiry from the service provider, the sleuths came to know that the as per documents required to be submitted at the time of taking a mobile phone connection, that particular SIM card and number was registered in the name of a "non-Bengali lady" whose name the ED official refused to disclose.

The connection was taken from an outlet near Partha Chatterjee's ancestral residence at Naktala in south Kolkata.

Sources said that although the ED sleuths questioned Partha Chatterjee about the identity of the woman on whose name the number was registered, the former education minister repeatedly denied having any knowledge about her.

It was learnt that the ED in the first chargesheet has mentioned about Partha Chatterjee using a proxy number to make special communication pertaining to the WBSSC recruitment process.

ED sources said Chatterjee used this particular number mainly to communicate with Trinamool Congress MLA Manik Bhattacharya who was recently removed from the chair of the president of West Bengal Board of Primary Education following an order by the Calcutta High Court.

"The proxy number was used deliberately to hide his identity while making such communications," the ED official said.

Manik Bhattacharya has already approached the Supreme Court against his removal and also with demanded quashing the Calcutta High Court order for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers in the state.

Both Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee are currently in judicial custody.

--IANS
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Chandigarh, Sep 24 (IANS) Amid a war of words between the government and the Governor's office, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday said it was condemnable that Governor Banwarilal Purohit has sought details of legislative business for the proposed Assembly session on September 27.

His assertions come in the wake of the Governor seeking details of legislative business to be taken in the Assembly session called by the government on September 27.

Reacting to this, Cheema, who was the Leader of Opposition in the previous state government, said the Governor's office is constantly interfering in the work of Punjab and not allowing an elected AAP government to work freely.

"I want to ask the Governor to check the record of his office and tell the people how many governors have asked the ruling government to provide information about the purpose of summoning an assembly session. Till today, no governor did it. Only he is doing so, because he is working at the behest of the BJP."

Responding to the purported "war of words", the Governor in a missive to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, "After reading your statements in today's newspapers, it appears to me that perhaps you are 'too much' angry with me. I think your legal advisors are not briefing you adequately.

"Perhaps your opinion about me will definitely change after reading the provisions of Article 167 and 168 of the Constitution, which I'm quoting for your ready reference."

Finance Minister Cheema lashed out at the BJP for trying to stop the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab through the Governor's office and said the BJP "is afraid of growing popularity of AAP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections in the both states".

He said AAP "is dedicatedly working for the welfare of people and after Delhi and Punjab now there is a wave for change in other states".

"The AAP is becoming a major threat to the BJP in the forthcoming elections and that's why they are now scared."

Cheema told the media that in many states like Maharashtra, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP toppled governments after buying ruling MLAs under its devious "Operation Lotus".

They are intimidating Opposition MLAs with the CBI, the ED and through money. "They are murdering democracy."

"But this operation has been stopped by AAP, first in Delhi and now in Punjab. Due to this, the BJP has now opted for another tactic and is using the Governor's office to stop AAP," Cheema added.

He also attacked the opposition and said the Congress, the BJP and the Akali Dal do not have any issue against AAP that's why they were running away for any debate in the Assembly session.

"They don't want the elected government to work for the welfare of Punjabis," he added.

Chief Minister Mann clarified that the Governor or President consent before any session of legislature is a formality.

"In 75 years, no President/Governor ever asked list of Legislative business before calling session. Legislative business is decided by BAC (Business Advisory Council) and speaker. Next Governor will ask for all speeches also to be approved by him. It's too much," Mann tweeted.

Joining the issue, another Cabinet Minister Aman Arora termed it "unfortunate and condemnable".

Arora told the media that in the past 75 years no President or Governor has ever asked for the list of legislative business before calling the session.

"This is happening for the first time because the Punjab Governor is clearly working in cahoots with the BJP and the Congress to weaken the democratic system and stop the Aam Aadmi Party government from working for the welfare of common people," he said.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) The National Broadband Mission (NBM) under the Ministry of Communications on Saturday tweeted (and later deleted) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially roll out the 5G services in India on October 1 -- the same day when the India Mobile Congress (IMC) kicks off which will heavily focus on 5G and related domains.

All the top telecom honchos -- including Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani and Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal -- are scheduled to join the keynote address at the sixth edition of the IMC that will take place at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, from October 1-4.

"Taking India's digital transformation & connectivity to new heights, Hon'ble PM, @narendramodi, will roll out 5G services in India; at India Mobile Congress; Asia's largest technology exhibition," read the screenshot of the tweet (now deleted from the NBM handle).

The event will see participation from telecom gear manufacturers and other industry stakeholders, in the presence of IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

According to sources, the government may showcase some successful 5G testbeds being run in the country by Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea at the IMC 2022, jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

During his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister had said that the 5G services will be launched in India soon.

Vaishnaw last month said the government expects 5G services to be rolled out in the country by October 12, and the Centre will make sure that the prices are affordable for the consumers.

Vaishnaw said that installations are being done and telecom operations are busy with the seamless rollout of 5G services.

The government will ensure that the 5G plans remain affordable for the public, the minister said.

The 5G services would be rolled out in a phased manner and during the first phase, 13 cities are likely to get the 5G internet services.

The cities are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune.

Just like 3G and 4G, telcos will soon announce dedicated 5G tariff plans and according to industry experts, consumers may pay more to access the 5G services on their devices.

An immediate tariff war with the launch of 5G is unlikely, but it "will be competitive as India continues to be a price-conscious market".

--IANS
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Kolkata, Sep 24 (IANS) Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police on Saturday arrested Peer Mohammad, a suspected spy of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), from Kalimpong, the hill resort city in the northern part of Kolkata. The process has started for bringing the accused to Kolkata for interrogation purposes.

STF sources said that they doubt that Peer Mohammad, who had regular links with ISI made the hills in North Bengal its base because of the presence of a number of bases of the Indian army in the region. The STF sleuths have recovered a number of documents including maps of different pockets of West Bengal, multiple mobile SIM cards, laptop and mobile phones from the possession of Peer Mohammad.

"A number of diaries have also been recovered from his possession and we expect to decipher crucial information after properly examining the items seized," said an STF official. Preliminary investigation has revealed that Peer Mohammad used to be in touch with the senior officials of ISI and Pakistan Army using high-end technology.

STF sources further said that they received information about Peer Mohammad hiding somewhere in the state using multiple fake identity proofs, from different central agencies. "We have been hunting him for quite some time and finally our sleuths were able to nab him from Kalimpong," the STF official said.

It is learnt that he used to pose himself as an agent who arranged loans at easy installments to local people and through this, he easily developed his network in the area.

During the last two months, the STF sleuths had arrested six Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) activists, whose main tasks were to look after fresh recruitment and strengthen AQIS's sleeper cell network in the state.

--IANS
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Dehradun, Sep 24 (IANS) Outrage in Rishikesh grew over the alleged killing of Ankita Bhandari with people setting a factory of the prime accused on fire on Saturday.

Ever since the recovery of Ankita's body on Saturday morning, people are demanding death sentence for the accused.

A mob at AIIMS, Rishikesh, vandalised Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht's car. Sensing the situation to be grim, Renu Bisht left the city.

The prime accused in the case is Pulkit Arya, son of former state minister Vinod Arya.

The BJP has expelled Vinod Arya and Pulkit's brother Ankit Arya from the party.

Ankit Arya has also been removed from the post of Deputy Chairman of the Uttarakhand Other Backward Classes Commission with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, the Opposition burnt Uttarakhand government's effigy and demanded strict punishment for the guilty.

On Friday, the protesters had vandalised Pulkit's resort. On the direction of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the resort has been razed to the ground.

Expressing deep grief over the incident, Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan said: "This is a heart-breaking incident that shames humanity. We have lost a daughter of Uttarakhand for which we all are sad."

She also expressed condolences to the bereaved family.

The Speaker said that the state government and she herself are with Ankita's family, assuring that justice will prevail and the gulity will be punished.

"Now we have to think as to how much the revenue police is effective in the area. Should revenue police be given policing rights. Strict decisions need to be taken about probing all the illegal resorts," she said.

Pulkit and his two aides have been sent to 14-day judicial custody.

Teams of Municipal Council and Revenue Department have reached Pulkit's place where Vinod Arya said, "We will cooperate with the administration."

--IANS
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Dehradun, Sep 24 (IANS) The body of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, a staffer at an Uttarakhand resort who went missing a few days ago, was found on Saturday in a canal. The discovery prompted the BJP to suspend the father and brother of the prime accused in the murder case.

The prime accused is BJP leader Vinod Arya's son Pulkit, who was arrested with two others on Friday.

The party has suspended Vinod Arya, a member of the national executive of BJP OBC Morcha, as well as his other son Ankit, a minister of state.

Ankita, a resident of Dobh in Srikot, used to work at the resort owned by Pulkit Arya in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal. She went missing on September 18.

Following the recovery of the body from the Chilla canal, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered an SIT probe led by DIG P. Renuka Devi to probe the murder.

Taking to Twitter, Dhami said: "Today morning, Ankita's body was recovered. Heart-broken with this heart-wrenching incident."

On directions of the Chief Minister, the resort has been razed to the ground.

Strict action will be taken against the officers who were involved in the illegal construction of the resort, Dhami said.

"It is our resolve that the those guilty of this heinous crime will not be spared," he added.

Ankita's family had lodged a missing complaint on September 21 with the revenue police and on the District Magistrate's direction, the matter was transferred to regular police the next day.

Taking cognisance of the incident, Ashok Kumar, Director General of Police, Uttarakhand, had directed the Superintendent of Police, Pauri for a speedy investigation into the incident.

Following the arrest of the accused, they told the police that after murdering Ankita, they threw her body in the canal.

Under the guidance of DGP Uttarakhand, the SDRF commenced a search operation. Deep divers were also deployed to look for the body at the bottom of the canal

The search operation resumed this morning during which the body was found.

The body has been handed over to the district police.

--IANS
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Kochi, Sep 24 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate, investigating the Masala bonds case involving former Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, on Saturday told the High Court that he is running away from the probe.

The ED had served two notices to Isaac to appear before them with regards to the masala bonds taken by the Kerala government when he was the Minister (2016-21).

Isaac, however, failed to appear before it and approached the court which asked the ED to go slow on it and file its affidavit.

In the affidavit, the ED said that he is duty bound to appear before them as this forms part of the probe and his response was "immature".

It further stated that the probe is in its preliminary stage and it is to find out if there were any violation in the FEMA guidelines and the ED has every right to ask questions.

The ED said that Isaac is running away from the probe and requested the court not to consider his plea that he will not appear before them.

Isaac's petition was that the ED had send two summons asking him to appear before it with numerous documents, including personal ones.

He had then contested the probe as one where the ED has now become a tool for the BJP to target political rivals.

The former minister pointed out that the apex court has clearly said ED is to tackle cases under Public Money Laundering Act and not under FEMA. It is the RBI which deals with FEMA.

Now, all eyes are on what position the court will take as the ED is insisting on Isaac appearing before it.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) In a bid to prevent antisocial elements or terrorists from using cyber cafes to create disturbance, the Delhi Police has issued certain guidelines for the cyber cafe owners, asking them to maintain a register for vistors' identity.

"It has come to notice that certain criminal antisocial elements or terrorists are using these facilities to mislead the security/ investigating agencies, create panic in the public, endanger the security of VVIPs and Govt. Institutions, help in the terrorist activities directly affecting the security of the state," an official order by ACP (Lajpat Nagar) Jai Narayan Bhardwaj read.

The official said that it is necessary to take speedy measures in this behalf to prevent danger to human life and safety, to thwart and prevent terrorist activities which may affect the security of the state and disturb public order and tranquility. In view of this, the police asked the owners of Cyber Cafes in the entire area of Sub-Division Lajpat Nagar to maintain a register for the identity of the visitor.

"Make an entry in the handwriting of the visitor mentioning name, address, telephone number and identity proof. The user shall also sign the register kept for this purpose. The identity of the visitor shall be established through identity card, voter card, ration card, driving license, passport and photo credit card (any one of them)," the official order, accessed by IANS, read.

It further asked the Cyber Cafe owners to preserve the activity server log for a period of six months. "The users of Cyber Cafe are photographed on a continuous basis and records of the same will be kept properly. Scan the copies of Identity Cards of their customers while they visited the cyber cafe," the order read.

According to police, the order shall remain into force for a period of 60 days till November 15.

--IANS
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By Zubair Qureshi
Srinagar, Sep 24 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah is visiting Jammu and Kashmir for two days on October 1-2. As per BJP sources, he will address a public rally on October 1 in Rajouri of Jammu division and the next day Kashmir's in Kupwara district, and will spend a day each in the two divisions of the union territory. During his visit, the Home Minister will also announce the inclusion of the 'Pahari' language speaking tribe in the Scheduled Tribes (SC) category.


As soon as this news came to light, hope has awakened among the hill people living in Jammu and Kashmir of the fulfilment of something that they longed for so many years. Ever since Jammu and Kashmir got the status of a Union Territory, the Central and UT administrations have been taking historic measures for the people of the lower, settled and especially the nomadic classes.

In 1991, when the Centre granted ST status to 7 tribes of the then state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Gujjar Bakarwals, the 'hill' community was left out despite being on the first place in the recommendation.

Since then, the people of the hill tribe have been pleading with Central governments to include them in the ST category, but to no avail.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the demands of hill tribes from the ramparts of the Red Fort and Shah assured the hill community during a rally in Jammu that they would give their rights, his much-anticipated visit has now brought the hill tribes to the fore.

According to the All Jammu and Kashmir Pahari Cultural and Welfare Forum, governments from time to time assured them that their legitimate right to include the Pahari tribe, but the reality is that their voice is heard in the desert. It was proven.

Zafar Iqbal Minhas, the leading leader of the hill tribe and former MLC Zafar Iqbal Minhas, says that the youth of the tribe are facing a dark future due to the fact that the hill tribe is deprived of their rightful rights.

He said that the hill youths are also suffering from mental retardation due to this misbehaviour.

Talking to Milap News Network, the leading "Pahari" leader Abdul Majeed Zindadil said that by not including the tribe in this category, this tribe will lose their right to vote in the rural areas as the ST category is a political reservation.

After being given, the graph of injustices meted out to the "hill" tribe will increase manifold. He said that after the nomination of Ghulam Ali from the Gujjar tribe to the upper house, he is fully convinced that the BACHPA government will fulfil the promise made to the "Pahari" tribe.

In view of this, there is ample justification for giving ST status to the hill people as the data shows that neither industries have been introduced in the hill populated areas nor any other means of gainful employment has been provided. Can be done. Due to lack of financial resources, hill people are often left behind in giving proper education to their children. And so this class has been suffering from economic, social, educational even from the same point of view. In the mountainous areas, there is no arrangement for mobile schools, so most of the children belonging to this class are only able to see the face of the school.

It is also an alarming fact that as a result of giving the status of tribals to the Gujjar Bakarwal class, the hill people are now losing jobs even in the lower categories. And in spite of having the same lifestyle in the same region, these people who suffer from insomnia are seen to be different from mental retardation.

In such a situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as a new ray of hope for them.

--IANS
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