National News
Bilkis Bano case: SC judge recuses from hearing plea against release of convicts

A Supreme Court judge, Justice Bela M. Trivedi, on Tuesday recused from hearing the petition filed by Bilkis Bano against the release of 11 men convicted of gang-raping her in the 2002 Gujarat riots, and also accused of murdering her family members.
The matter was listed before a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela Trivedi. Justice Trivedi chose to recuse from the case.
In the plea, Bano said release of all the convicts came as a shock.
The petition, filed through advocate Shobha Gupta, said: “The premature release of all the convicts came as a shock not only to the petitioner, to her grown up daughters, to her family, but also to the society at large, nationally and internationally, and the society across segments had shown their anger, disappointment, distrust and protest to the clemency shown by the government by releasing criminals like the 11 convicts of the case.”
Terming the release order mechanical, the plea said the en masse premature release of the convicts in the much talked about case of Bilkis Bano, has shaken the conscience of the society and resulted in a number of agitations across the country.
The plea contended that shocking news of premature release of all the convicts, including the writ petitioner, was revealed to the present petitioner and public at large when the convicts were honoured and photographed in full public glare.
Bilkis Bano said she was “extremely-extremely” hurt, disturbed, and full of dejection with the early release and sudden and traumatising presence and existence of 11 of her rapists who brutally gang-raped her while she was five months pregnant and inflicted on her person and soul extreme level of violence and brutality.
Bano has also separately filed a review petition against challenging the May 13 judgment of the apex court, saying that Maharashtra’s remission policy should be applied in the present case instead of 1992 remission policy of Gujarat since the trial had happened in Maharashtra.
National News
Dawoodi Bohra community met PM Modi, said thank you for the Waqf law

Delhi News: A delegation of the Dawoodi Bohra community met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 17). During this, the Dawoodi Bohra community expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recently passing the Waqf Amendment Act 2025. The community described the Waqf Amendment Act as a long-pending demand. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was also present with the Prime Minister during this meeting.
The delegation of the Dawoodi Bohra community, who came to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that this law was being demanded for a long time through the Dawoodi Bohra community, which has now been fulfilled by the government. The delegation said that this has strengthened the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’.
PM Modi gave this assurance
The delegation of the Dawoodi Bohra community met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed its full faith in the policy of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’. He said that the decisions taken by the government promote the inclusion and progress of all sections. The delegation appreciated the positive changes taking place under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and thanked him for his efforts. The Prime Minister also interacted with the representatives of the community and appreciated their contribution and assured that the government is committed to the equal development of all communities.
Who is the Dawoodi Bohra community
The Dawoodi Bohra community belongs to the Muslim sect, which is mainly from West India and whose members are settled in more than 40 countries of the world. The Dawoodi Bohra community connects its heritage to the Fatimi Imams, direct descendants of Prophet Muhammad in Egypt. Dawoodi Bohras around the world are guided by their leader Al-Dai al-Mutlaq (unrestricted preacher), who earlier operated from Yemen and has been operating from India for the last 450 years.
Crime
Put under house arrest again, says Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Srinagar, April 18: Senior religious and Huriyat Conference (HC) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said on Friday that authorities have placed him under house arrest, thereby denying him the right to offer congregational prayers during the day.
Mirwaiz Farooq said on X, “Every Friday I am put under arbitrary house arrest ! Putting pressure on me not to speak up, the ban also aims to weaken the centrality of Muslim institutions of the valley-the Jama Masjid, office of the Mirwaiz, and cause collective grief to Muslims and all those who oppose this authoritarian and sectarian outlook. My house detention case is still pending in court, where I am seeking relief from the Hon’ble High Court, but In such times patience remains our only strength.”
Mirwaiz traditionally delivers the Friday sermon at the Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta area of old Srinagar city. He also heads the Anjuman-e-Nusratul Islam, a religious organisation that runs some educational institutions in Kashmir, including the Islamia High School in Rajouri Kadal area of Srinagar.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last month declared the Mirwaiz-headed Awami Action Committee (ACC) a banned organisation for five years. The ACC was formed in 1963 during the Holy Relic agitation by Mirwaiz Maulana Mohammad Farooq. After the elder Mirwaiz was assassinated in 1990 by the terrorists, the ACC came to be headed by his son, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
The MHA order said that the ACC has been encouraging youth to violence and is acting in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the state.
Mirwaiz Farooq, who is the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, has witnessed the desertion of several affiliates. As many as 12 Hurriyat-linked organisations have broken off from secessionism, reposing trust in the Constitution of India.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that “separatism has become history in Kashmir”, and the unifying policies of the Modi government have eliminated separatism in J&K. He has also said this is a victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
Crime
Harpreet Singh, responsible for terror attacks in Punjab, arrested by FBI

Chandigarh, April 18: National Investigation Agency (NIA) charge-sheeted Harpreet Singh, accused of carrying out terror attacks in Punjab, has been arrested by the US security agencies – the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Enforcement and Removal Operations in California’s Sacramento.
The FBI said on Friday that Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia, entered the US illegally and used burner phones to evade capture.
Hailing from Passia village in Ajnala, the terrorist has been linked to at least 16 grenade attacks in Punjab, targeting police posts, religious sites, and residences.
On March 23, the NIA chargesheeted four terror operatives of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist organisation in the 2024 Chandigarh grenade attack case.
The chargesheeted accused include Pakistan-based designated individual terrorist Harwinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda, and US-based Happy Passia.
Sandhu and Passia were the primary handlers and conspirators behind the attack. They had provided logistical support, terror funds, weapons, and ammunition to India-based on-ground operatives in Chandigarh for executing the grenade attack, said the NIA.
The September 2024 attack was intended to target a retired officer of the Punjab Police, whom the assailants believed to be the occupant of the house.
NIA investigations revealed that Rinda, along with Passia, had orchestrated the conspiracy to strike terror among law enforcement officials and the public through the grenade attack, as part of the broader aim to promote BKI’s terrorist agenda.
They had recruited local operatives, Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, who were tasked with carrying out the attack on their direct instructions.
Rinda and Passia directed the other accused, Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, to conduct reconnaissance on the target twice before hurling the grenade, investigations revealed.
In the chargesheet filed before the Special NIA Court in Chandigarh, all four accused have been charged under multiple sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act, and other related provisions, for their roles in planning and supporting the attack.
Investigations in the case are continuing, and the NIA is trying to track down other members of the BKI terror group and dismantle its network in India.
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