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Blast near Saeed’s house in Lahore kills 2

As per police sources, an explosive laden vehicle exploded near a police check-post located near the Allah Hu Boulevard in Joher town….reports Hamza Ameer

At least two people have died while over 15 persons have been critically injured in a massive bomb blast in the Joher town area in Lahore on Wednesday.

As per police sources, an explosive laden vehicle exploded near a police check-post located near the Allah Hu Boulevard in Joher town.

The intensity of the blast was so severe that several nearby buildings developed cracks, while the windowpanes of many houses and vehicles parked in the area were shattered.

Official sources confirmed that the injured persons include women and children, who have been taken to nearby hospitals. Local people have been urged to visit the hospitals to donate blood.

The injured persons also include police officers, who are also being treated in the nearby hospitals. Their condition is stated to be critical.

Security forces have cordoned off the area while the officers of the Counter Terrorism Department are working towards ascertaining the cause of the blast.

“We will only be able to determine the cause after carrying out an investigation,” said Inam Ghani, Inspector General of Punjab Police.

As per eyewitnesses, the intensity of the blast was huge. However, some of the eyewitnesses claimed that the explosive was planted on a motorcycle.

It is pertinent to mention here that the target of the vehicle carrying the explosives may have been the residence of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, whose house is located in the same area.

The security check-post, near which the blast occurred, is close to the residence of Hafiz Saeed.

Ghani said that the target of the attackers seems to be the security officials.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has taken note of the blast and has directed the IG to investigate the matter and submit a report on priority.

“Those responsible for the blast should be brought under the law,” Budzar said.

Meanwhile, Ghani said that a foreign hand is always present in such terror attacks, adding that hostile foreign agencies trying to target security officials and spread fear would not succeed in defeating the ongoing fight against terrorism.

ALSO READ: Afghan leaders warned against blaming Pakistan during US visit

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-Top News Crime India News

Azhar, Saeed, Lakhvi among India’s top 31 wanted terrorists

The names of these terrorists are mentioned in the latest updated list of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which is responsible for securing the internal security …reports By Rajnish Singh

Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, and key Mumbai attacks perpetrator Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi feature in India’s list of 31 most wanted terrorists.

These 31 terrorists have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and figure in the list of most wanted individuals by the Indian government for their involvement in various anti-India activities such as bomb blasts, killings and other conspiracies which somehow compromised the country’s internal security.

The names of these terrorists are mentioned in the latest updated list of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which is responsible for securing the internal security of the country besides with taking strict actions against those conspiring against India.

Azhar, Saeed and Lakhvi are among the top five in the list of 31 terrorists, along with dreaded Indian gangster-tuned-drug lord Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and Wadhawa Singh Babbar, a key leader of banned terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).

Along with Dawood, 65, his Pakistan-based associates Javed Chikna alias Javed Dawood Tailor, Ibrahim Memon alias Tiger Memon and Shaikh Shakeel alias Chhota Shakeel are named in the list.

ALSO READ: Army brass discuss threats from China, Pakistan

All are accused in the 1993 Bombay blasts, when a series of 12 explosions claimed the lives of over 250 people.

The list also features Lakhbir Singh, chief of Pakistan-based terrorist organisation International Sikh Youth Federation; Ranjeet Singh alias Neeta of Khalistan Zindabad Force; Paramjit Singh of Pakistan-based Khaliastan Commando Force; Bhupinder Singh Bhinda of Khalistan Zindabad Force; Gurmeet Singh Bagga, a key member of Khalistan Zindabad Force based in Germany; Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a key member of Sikh For Justice based in the US; Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canada-based chief of Khalistan Tiger Force; and Paramjit Singh, the UK-based chief of BKI.

They were all declared as designated terrorists by the Home Ministry on July 1 last year.

Among the others named in the list are Sajid Mir, Yusuf Muzammil, Abdur Rehman Makki, Shahid Mehmood, Farhatullah Ghori, Abdul Rauf Asghar, Ibrahim Athar, Yusuf Azhar, Shahid Latif, Ghulam Nabi Khan, Zaffar Hussain Bhat, Riyaz Ismail Shahbandr, Md Iqbal and Mohammad Anis Shaikh.

Ahead of the next meeting of the global watchdog for terror financing and money laundering, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), scheduled later this month, Pakistan has scrambled into action by registering two cases against Masood Azhar, Rauf Asgar and Sajid Mir — the top leaders of JeM.

Pakistan had also reportedly carried out raids to locate Azhar, but the operation was unsuccessful as the raiding party only found his wife and a few aides from his Bahawalpur residence.

A Pakistan court in January this year had sentenced Lakhvi to five years in prison for terror financing. He has been accused by India and the US of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which at least 160 people were killed.

Last year, 70-year-old radical cleric Hafiz Saeed was sentenced to 15-and-a-half years in jail in Pakistan. He played a key role in carrying out the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Originally from Dongri in Mumbai, Dawood Ibrahim reportedly resides in D-13, Block 4 at Clifton, an affluent seaside neighbourhood in Pakistan’s Karachi, with his extended family, though the Pakistan government denies it. Dawood heads the organised crime syndicate D-Company, which he had founded in Mumbai in 1970s.

Since the early 90s, India has been fighting a war against terrorism that has claimed the lives of thousands of people, including several personnel of the security forces. While the country over the last three decades has taken several steps and measures to mitigate terrorism, more needs to be done to avoid the radicalisation of the youth.

ALSO READ: India abstains from vote on UNGA’s Myanmar resolution

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-Top News Crime India News

India closes proceedings in Italian marines case

two Italian marines

A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and M.R. Shah said that considering the international tribunal order, India has agreed to the compensation of Rs 10 crore…reports Asian Lite News

The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed all criminal proceedings pending in India against two Italian marines, accused of killing of two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012, after payment of Rs 10 crore compensation by Italy.

A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and M.R. Shah said that considering the international tribunal order, India has agreed to the compensation of Rs 10 crore and Italy has deposited the amount, which has been transferred to the top court’s registry.

“We are satisfied with the compensation and the ex-gratia paid over and above earlier.

“We are of the view that this is a fit case to close all the proceedings in India including criminal proceedings in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India,” said the bench, quashing the FIR registered at Kerala’s Kollam and re-registered by NIA in 2013 and also all proceedings originating from the case.

The bench noted as per the tribunal order, Italy will resume the criminal proceedings against the marines. It ordered transfer of Rs 10 crore to the Kerala High Court registry, out of which Rs 4 crore each should be paid to the two victims’ families and Rs 2 crore to the boat owner.

The bench added the High Court should appoint a judge to ensure the compensation is paid to the victims’ legal heirs.

The top court closed the case taking into account the Arbitral Tribunal, constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS, award dated May 21, 2020 under which Italy agreed to pay the compensation of Rs 10 crore, over and above the amount of ex-gratia amount already paid.

Citing the tribunal order, the top court noted that Italy can begin criminal proceedings against the two marines, and case details along with evidence will be provided by the Centre and the Kerala government to it.

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The top court also said the order of disbursement/investment be passed after hearing the heirs of each deceased and protecting their best interest.

It noted that Kerala government, the heirs of the deceased fishermen and the owner of the boat have agreed to accept the award.

The top court said that Rs 10 crore can be said to be a reasonable amount of compensation and in the interest of heirs of the deceased.

It emphasised that while disbursing the compensation to the heirs of the deceased fishermen, their interest is also required to be protected so that the amount of compensation paid to them is not frittered away, by investing the amount in the name of the heirs of each deceased in a fixed deposit in a nationalised bank for some time.

Heirs of the deceased will be paid the periodical interest accrued thereon, it said.

In February 2012, India had accused two Italian marines, Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre, on board the MV Enrica Lexie — an Italian flagged oil tanker — of killing two Indian fishermen who were on a fishing vessel in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The top court in August last year had told the Centre that it would not pass any on closure of cases against the two marines without hearing the victims’ families.

ALSO READ: India, Indonesia plan joint patrols in Malacca straits

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Crime India News Kerala

Govt not to allow return of Kerala women who joined IS

The four women presently lodged in a jail in Kabul include Soniya, Merin, Nimisha and Raheela, all Keralites…reports Asian Lite News.

A housewife Bindhu, on Saturday reposed faith in her country and hoped that India will do the needful to bring back her daughter Nimisha, presently in jail in Kabul for allegedly being an Islamic State supporter.

Bindhu who lives in the state capital was reacting to a news report in a leading national English daily on Saturday that the Indian government is unlikely to make efforts to bring back four women including Nimisha.

“How can my country say like that. They can bring the women and let them conduct the trial as per the law of our country. I am hopeful and I have trust in my country. All the four women are widows and they have children. What wrong have the kids done? I want my granddaughter who is four years now,” said Bindhu.

The four women presently lodged in a jail in Kabul include Soniya, Merin, Nimisha and Raheela, all Keralites.

The news of Keralites joining the IS surfaced after the Kerala government contacted various central agencies – IB, NIA, RAW in 2016 about the veracity of reports about 19 missing people from the state. According to some of the relatives they are believed to have joined the IS.

These 19 included 10 men, six women and three children and of these, most of them hail from Kasargode and a few from Palakkad districts and include Christian and Hindu converts.

In the past three years, a few of those who had joined the IS were reportedly killed, according to their relatives who got information about it. The husbands of these Kerala women were among those who have been killed.

It was in 2016 that Bindhu, who is settled near Manacadu in the state capital, approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his help to locate her daughter who had gone missing.

 Reposing faith in country, mother of jailed alleged IS supporter waits hopefully.

But later it became known that Nimisha has got married to her friend Eeza, a Christian who had converted to Islam.

Then the news came that she had left for Afghanistan and the last contact the mother and daughter had was in November 2019.

ALSO READ-6 Islamic State militants, policeman killed in twin attacks in Iraq

READ MORE-Islamic State claims responsibility for Kabul mosque attack

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Crime

Pak Hindu community outraged over illegal construction in KP

The Hindu community has moved the Abbottabad bench of the Peshawar High Court, which has admitted the case for hearing and issued notices to the authorities concerned….reports Asian Lite News

Illegal constructions at the site of a 3,000-year-old Shiv temple in Mansehra in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has irked the area’s Hindu community.

According to The News International, despite its religious, historical and architectural significance, the authenticity of the temple is at risk due to the unplanned constructions at the site by the department concerned.

It was reported that toilets are being constructed along the lower sacred cult object, leading many to believe that the temple’s sacredness, historical and architectural originality, and authenticity have been trampled.

The Hindu community has moved the Abbottabad bench of the Peshawar High Court, which has admitted the case for hearing and issued notices to the authorities concerned.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s technical team of the board will visit the area in a few days and the issue will be resolved in consultation with all the stakeholders, reported The News International.

All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement chairman Haroon Sarab Diyal said that the community has brought the issue to the notice of the authorities concerned to stop these constructions at the site to ensure the sacredness and authenticity of this important temple. However, no authority has taken note of the seriousness of the matter.

He said that the Mansehra Shiv Temple is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Pakistan, better known as Chitti Gati, a name that is given due to the presence of the Shiva lingam made of white marble.

“The annual Shivaratri in the temple is visited by people all around Pakistan and from abroad… the temple has a great religious significance and has the potential to attract religious tourists/visitors from home and abroad,” he said.

Archaeology and Museum Director Abdul Samad said that any heritage building which is 100 years old comes under the antiquities definition of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Antiquities Act 2016 and that the recent intervention in the temple in Mansehra is illegal and against the law, The News International reported.

“…We have moved a comprehensive summary to hand overall 100 years and plus old buildings to the archaeology dept for conservation and uplifting. The historic and religious buildings need to be secured for which they should be handed over to the department,” said Samad. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Pakistan concerned over more demographic changes in Kashmir

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-Top News Crime UK News

Met cop pleads guilty to kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard

Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was last seen on March 3 in the Clapham neighborhood of south London…reports Asian Lite News.

A London metropolitan police officer has pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and rape of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman whose body was found in March, leading to a national reckoning in Britain over violence against women.

Wayne Couzens, 48, made the guilty plea at the Old Bailey, the central criminal court, in London on Tuesday, a clerk from the court told CNN.

Couzens also “accepts responsibility” for killing Everard but has not yet been asked to enter a plea on the charge of murder, the Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday. He will next appear in court on May 9.

Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was last seen on March 3 in the Clapham neighborhood of south London.

The police said that human remains had been found as part of their investigation into her disappearance, prompting an outpouring of grief from lawmakers, community leaders and London residents.

Couzens, a police constable whose primary role at the time was uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic premises, was arrested and charged with Everard’s kidnap and murder, reported CNN.

Thousands of people gathered in South London on Saturday for a vigil to pay tribute to Everard despite police warnings that the event would defy coronavirus restrictions.

The crowd chanted “Shame on you!” and “How many more!” In what became a rally against gender violence, some clapped their hands and others held tea lights or signs that read “End Violence Against Women.”

Thousands of women in the UK and around the world came forward after Everard’s death to share their own experiences of intimidation or harassment while walking alone at night, CNN reported. (ANI)

ALSO READ-UK police gains access to NHS’s test and trace details

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-Top News Crime India News

Antigua begins probe into Choksi’s ‘possible abduction’

Mehul Choksi

Choksi, who is wanted in India by the CBI and the ED in connection with the PNB fraud case, had gone missing on May 23 from Antigua…reports Asian Lite News

Antigua and Barbuda police have commenced an investigation into the possible abduction of Mehul Choksi from Antigua on May 23, 2021.

According to Antigua Ness Room, a news outlet in Carribean island, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said that Choksi’s lawyers wrote to the police commissioner providing the names of the people he believes abducted him.

Browne said both the police and the government are taking the allegations seriously.

While speaking to a radio, Browne said that he has learnt that Choksi has filed a complaint with Antigua and Barbuda police that he was abducted and taken to Dominica.

“Choksi has filed a complaint with the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda to the extant that he was abducted. He made a formal claim through his attorneys that he was abducted from Antigua and taken to Dominica so it is a report that police is taking seriously and they are currently investigating the abduction,” Browne said.

A Dominican High Court will hear Choksi’s bail plea later in the day.

Meanwhile another report in the Associates Times found out fault in the theory of Dominica opposition leader Lennox Linton, who had reportedly claimed that Choksi was brought to Dominica in the Yacht Calliope of Arne around 10 p.m. on May 23.

Choksi, who is wanted in India by the CBI and the ED in connection with the PNB fraud case, had gone missing on May 23 from Antigua sparking a massive manhunt. He was captured in Dominica on May 26.

ALSO READ: Choksi alleges abduction by Indian agents

Choksi and his lawyers had claimed that he was forced on a vessel and was abducted.

On June 2, Choksi pleaded not guilty to illegal entry before the court and was denied bail.

He appeared before the magistrate on a wheelchair in a blue T-shirt and black trousers.

According to Dominica News Online, the magistrate’s court denied bail to Choksi after the government prosecutor argued that he was facing 11 offences in India and extradition proceedings in Antigua and could be a flight risk.

The 62-year-old left India in January 2018, days before the CBI registered a case.

On May 27, first pictures of Choksi emerged online, showing several signs of bruises on his arms and a swollen eye.

ALSO READ: Mehul Choksi captured in Dominica

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Africa News Crime

Bandits kill 88 in Nigeria

A man stands by a burnt bicycle in Gwaska village, Nigeria's northwest state of Kaduna, on May 8, 2018. The death toll of an attack on Gwaska village in Kaduna has risen to 73. (Xinhua/Olatunji Saliu/IANS)

The bandits launched attacks on eight different communities in the Danko-Wasagu local government area of the state…reports Asian Lite News

At least 88 people were killed and several others injured following attacks by bandits in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Kebbi, police confirmed.

The bandits launched attacks on eight different communities in the Danko-Wasagu local government area of the state, Nafi’u Abubakar, the state police spokesperson told reporters on Saturday.

“Initially, the bodies recovered were 66 but as I am talking to you now, about 88 bodies have been recovered,” Xinhua news agency quoted Abubakar as saying.

Security operatives were deployed to the communities to forestall further attacks, he said.

In April, nine policemen and two members of a civilian defence group in Kebbi were killed while repelling an attack.

ALSO READ: India needs to make fast moves in Africa

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Crime UK News

Christian Michel’s kin urge UK intervention

Christian Michel James

Addressing a virtual press conference, Michel’s sons Alaric and Alois Michel said that they have been more and more concerned for their father’s well-being…reports Asian Lite News

The family of alleged AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal middleman Christian Michel on Thursday expressed concern for his well-being amid the continuing Covid-19 pandemic in India and urged the British authorities to intervene on behalf of the accused being held in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

Addressing a virtual press conference, Michel’s sons Alaric and Alois Michel said that they have been more and more concerned for their father’s well-being amid the continuing Covid-19 pandemic within the nation’s prisons and his medical situation involving kidney stones.

Alaric said that his father was rotting in jail amid fears about rising Covid-19 cases in India. “We want his trial to take place despite fears that such a trial won’t be free and fair… We are imploring the UK government to do what is right, which is protecting one of its citizens who is being treated badly,” he said.

His younger brother Alois said that his family has been waiting for more than three years for developments in Michel’s case amid fears about a trial ever happening.

Alaric said: “It has been extraordinarily onerous on us, particularly our 17-year-old sister. We’re involved for our father’s well-being given the Covid-19 pandemic and his medical situation.”

Michel was extradited to India on December 5, 2018 from the United Arab Emirates. On his arrival in India, he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and days later, arrested by financial probe agency, the Enforcement Directorate.

An Italian Navy AW101 which is the same model purchased under this deal(wikipedia)

Since then, he has been lodged in judicial custody at Tihar Jail.

The press conference was organised by Guernica 37 Worldwide Justice Chambers in London.

Besides Michel’s sons, his lawyers Francois Zimeray and Toby Cadman, who are working with his Indian counsel Aljo Joseph, also said that they feared he would not get a free and fair trial in India.

Michel had recently sought bail in connection with the cases registered against him by the CBI and the ED on the grounds that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) concluded his detention was arbitrary.

His layers said that they planned to petition the UN to take further action following India’s failure to act on WGAD recommendation in March this year that Michel should be immediately freed.

The lawyers also said that they will also submit a report to the UK government and the European Union on Michel’s case.

Zimeray said he had rarely seen “such a lack of respect for basic human rights and indifference”.

He said that the UN panel’s recommendations did not amount to a political decision as WGAD’s findings were technical in nature and based on whether India’s position was in line with international treaties and conventions it has signed.

He noted that it is up to the UK government to raise its voice and raise the issue (with India) as Michel has been jailed for political reasons.

Indian courts have rejected the bail pertition of Michel on number of occasions.

On September 19 last year, the CBI filed a supplementary charge sheet against 15 accused, including Michel and accused-turned-approver Rajiv Saxena, in connection with the alleged corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

The CBI had earlier filed a charge sheet in this case on September 1, 2017 against then IAF chief S.P. Tyagi and 11 other accused.

On January 1, 2014, India cancelled the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and on charges of paying kickbacks amounting to Rs 423 crore.

ALSO READ: Over half of UK adults fully vaccinated

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-Top News Crime India News

Gambhir’s foundation found guilty of illegal stocking of Covid drug

Gautam Gambhir. (File Photo: IANS)

The drug controller informed that action will be taken against Gambhir’s foundation, drug dealers, as well as other such cases…reports Asian Lite News

The Delhi government drug controller on Thursday informed the high court that Gautam Gambhir’s foundation has been found guilty of non-authorised stocking, procuring and distributing Fabiflu medicine used for Covid-19 patients.

The drug controller informed the Delhi High Court that action will be taken against Gambhir’s foundation, drug dealers, as well as other such cases which were brought to its notice.

The drug controller also informed the court that MLA Praveen Kumar has also been found guilty of similar offences under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

The court asked the drug controller to submit a status report on progress made in these cases within six weeks. The court has posted the matter for further hearing on July 29.

Gautam Gambhir Foundation(Twitter)

On May 31, the Delhi High Court had said it cannot be taken for a ride, as it pulled up the drug controller, for not properly probing the issues involved with procurement of huge quantity of Fabiflu, used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients, by BJP MP Gautam Gambhir.

A bench comprising Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh had said: “You can’t take us for a ride. If you think we are so naive, we are not.”

Slamming the drug controller, the bench added, “You better do your job. If you can’t do your job, tell us, we will have you suspended and let someone else do your job.”

Rejecting the status report filed by the drug controller, the court said its confidence in the drug controller was shaken. The report was filed in connection with its probe into procurement of the medicine by cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir.

The court noted it was well-known that the essential Covid drug was in short supply.

ALSO READ: Choksi alleges abduction by Indian agents

However, Gambhir purchased several strips of the medicine; and others, who needed it, could not get it, the bench added. “You (drug controller) are wrong to say it was not in short supply. You want us to shut our eyes. You think you would get away with this,” said the bench.

The high court did not mince words in criticizing recent statement by Gambhir stating that he will continue to do such work.

The bench said: “We have already said it is a malpractice. This tendency of people trying to take advantage and then trying to appear as a saviour when they themselves created the problem, has to be denounced.”

The court also examined the report in connection with the allegations against AAP MLAs Priti Tomar and Praveen Kumar for hoarding of medical oxygen.

The report in connection with allegations against Tomar was accepted by the court, however, it trashed the reports in connection with Gambhir and Kumar. The court gave three days to the drug controller of the Delhi government to file better reports.

The court was hearing a PIL seeking registration of a case on the allegations that politicians are able to procure in huge quantities and distribute Covid-19 medicines even as patients were running from pillar to post to get them amid a brutal second wave of the pandemic.

ALSO READ: India shifts focus on doers not talkers to boost post-Covid economy