Crime
2 more terror suspects linked to jihadi groups arrested in Assam

Two more suspected cadres of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an affiliate of the Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) terror group, were arrested in Assam on Monday, officials said.
Police officials said that Musadik Hussain was arrested in Morigaon and Ikramul Islam, was arrested from neighbouring Nagaon.
The duo were absconding for over a month and they were associated with cleric Mufti Mustafa, who had been earlier arrested.
Earlier, one madrasa was demolished in Morigaon after suspected terror links with the AQIS backed ABT, a Bangladesh-based terror outfit.
Four private madrasas in Assam have been demolished in three districts in the past one month over the alleged links with the terror outfits and attempts to set up “jihadi sleeper cells” in the northeastern state.
Since April this year, Assam Police have arrested around 40 terror suspects in connection to AQIS-backed modules and a strict vigil is being maintained, particularly in the minority-dominated areas of western and central Assam.
Many of the detainees are imams at mosques or teachers at private madrasas.
Last week, the villagers of Pakhiura Char in Goalpara district voluntarily demolished a private madrasa that had employed two suspected Bangladeshi nationals linked to jihadi terror outfits
The Assam government had handed over some of the cases of “jihadi terror modules” to the NIA after preliminary investigation.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the Home portfolio, said that Assam has become a hotbed of “jihadi activities” and also announced that religious teachers at mosques and madrasas in Assam will be required to register themselves on a government portal if they come from outside the state.
Following the arrest of many jihadi cadres, the northeastern states which share a border with Bangladesh have stepped up the vigilance.
Police and intelligence officials in Agartala and Shillong separately said the strict surveillance over the jihadi activities have further intensified and intelligence inputs between the various security agencies being shared for taking further course of action.
Meghalaya Director-General of Police Lajja Ram Bishnoi said in Shillong that after getting the inputs of jihadi activities in Assam, directions have been given to all the police stations and outposts particularly in those areas having borders with Bangladesh to keep a close watch on the bordering villages.
“Our intelligence officials and police personnel are alert over the jihadi activities,” the police officer told the media.
In Agartala, a senior police officer said that Border Security Force (BSF) troopers and the people of the bordering areas have been alerted to keep a close watch in their respective areas.
The three cadres, who were recently arrested in Tripura for their links with the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), have been subsequently taken to Assam as part of the investigation against the jihadi group.
Intelligence officials found links between these three persons with the four arrested in Bhopal in April for their affiliation to the JMB.
A senior Tripura police official on Monday said that issues related to illegal immigration of Bangladeshi national in Tripura were reviewed at a high level meeting of the top police officials.
“It has been decided that important cases relating to the illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals into Tripura would be transferred to a Special Investigation Team formed at Tripura Police Crime Branch.This is to enable and ensure concentrated, focused and end to end investigation in coordination with other security agencies working in Tripura and at the Central level to identify organised networks involved in such anti-national activities,” the official told IANS.
He said that in the recent past a large number of illegal Bangladesh nationals were arrested and specific cases were registered with various police stations of Tripura.
So far, six important cases have been transferred for investigation to the SIT of Crime Branch, the official said.
Crime
Blaze kills woman in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala; 10-day infant among 6 injured

Mumbai, April 26: A woman was killed and six people, including a 10-day-old infant, were injured in a fire in an high-rise building in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala in Andheri (West), early on Saturday, said the Mumbai Fire Brigade.
Abhina Kartik Sanjanvalia, 34, died on the way to Cooper Hospital. Her family member Kartik Sanjanvalia, 40, is undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation, said an official.
Five fire tenders fought the blaze, which started at around 2.40 am in Broke Land Building near Ashok Academy Lane, and restricted it to room number 104 on the first floor before extinguishing it at 5.30 a.m, said an official.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade suspect that the fire in the eight floor building was sparked by an electric short circuit. However, the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed.
The blaze burnt down furniture, mattresses, clothes, split and window air-conditioners and electrical installations in the flat on the first floor, said an official.
The other injured residents taken to Kokilaben Hospital were identified as 10-day-old baby boy Pradumna Gupta, Rihan, 3, Daya Gupta, 21, Aparna Gupta, 41 and Polam Gupta, 40.
The incident revived painful memories of another fire incident in a 15-storey building in Lokhandwala last October which claimed the lives of three people, including a visually impaired citizen.
Soon after the fire in Riya Palace building, a 37-year-old building at Cross Road Number 4 of Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri, there were demands for opening a fire station on a plot allotted for the purpose in the area three decades ago.
The October 2024 blaze that broke out on the 10th floor of the building started around 8 am and was doused around 9 p.m. The victims were identified as Kanta Soni, 74, Chandraprakash Soni, 74, and Pelubeta, 42.
In another fire incident on Saturday in Maharashtra, a plywood godown was gutted in Thane district. The fire started around 3.30 a.m, in a three-storey building in Rahnal village in Bhiwandi and four fire tenders continued to battle the flames for hours.
A firefighter of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) got a fracture in his leg during the operation to douse the blaze.
An official said due to a huge pile of plywood the blaze had posed a challenge to fire-fighters.
Crime
Tahawwur Rana denies role in Mumbai terror attack during interrogation (Ld)

Mumbai, April 26: Tahawwur Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian national accused of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has denied any role in the conspiracy during his interrogation by the Mumbai Crime Branch.
According to senior officials, Rana, who is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi, was questioned for over eight hours by a team of Mumbai Police officers.
During the interrogation, Rana distanced himself from the attacks that claimed over 166 lives and injured hundreds on November 26, 2008.
Rana reportedly told investigators that he had “no connection whatsoever” with the planning or execution of the attack.
He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused, David Coleman Headley, was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects.
Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including in Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
During questioning, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also travelled to Kerala.
When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed he had gone there to meet a known acquaintance and had provided the individual’s name and address to the agency.
Following this, sources said a team from the Mumbai Crime Branch may soon travel to Kerala to verify his claims and question the said person.
Officials revealed that Rana was largely uncooperative during the interrogation and frequently gave evasive answers.
He also cited memory lapses, stating that he was unable to recall specific details related to the attack that occurred over 17 years ago.
The interrogation is part of an ongoing probe by the NIA into the extensive three-year groundwork carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) prior to the Mumbai terror attacks.
Rana is also being questioned about his alleged links to several individuals whose names surfaced in intercepted communications, including Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, Sajid Majid, Ilyas Kashmiri, and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — all of whom are believed to have played crucial roles in the 26/11 conspiracy.
Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, was extradited to India from the United States recently to face justice in the Mumbai attack case.
Crime
‘Rise against your govt, army for encouraging terrorism,’ Sunni cleric’s appeal to Pakistanis

Lucknow, April 24: In a strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, senior Sunni cleric and Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, on Thursday called on the people of Pakistan to rise against their government and military for facilitating acts of terror on Indian soil.
The remarks come after 26 people, most of them tourists, were gunned down in a brutal targeted terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam on Tuesday.
The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based terror outfit and offshoot of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba, is suspected to be behind the massacre.
Speaking to Media, Firangi Mahali said, “The people of Pakistan should understand that no one will support such activities. They should raise their voices against their own government and army, which are encouraging these acts of terrorism.”
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a series of stringent measures in response to the attack.
These include the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, closure of the Attari-Wagah border, cancellation of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, expulsion of Pakistan’s military attaches from New Delhi and a reduction in diplomatic staff at both High Commissions.
Calling these actions “necessary and timely,” Firangi Mahali stated, “The horrific incident of terrorism in Pahalgam has been condemned in the harshest terms. This tragic event has shaken the entire country. The steps taken by the Government of India — whether on the water agreement, diplomatic expulsions, or visa cancellations — are absolutely appropriate.”
Appealing for national unity, he urged political parties to come together on a single platform in support of the government’s decisions.
“This is not the time for political division. All parties must stand united so that a positive image of national solidarity is conveyed internationally,” he said.
The cleric also warned against communalising the tragedy. “My appeal to fellow Indians is not to view this terror incident through a religious lens. No religion condones violence or terrorism,” he said.
“Some of the posts circulating on social media are sending out a very negative message. In this hour of crisis, every Indian — regardless of religion or political affiliation — must stand together,” he added.
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