Connect with us
Monday,05-May-2025
Breaking News

National

IPL 2021: Stay calm, keep steady mind, Kaif tells DC players ahead of KKR clash

Published

on

Ahead of the all-important Qualifier 2 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday, Delhi Capitals assistant coach Mohammad Kaif has said that the team will have to stay claim under pressure.

Delhi have suffered back-to-back losses including the loss to Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1. As they gear up for the clash with KKR at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah for a place in the IPL 2021 Final, Kaif said though every game in IPL is a pressure game, Wednesday’s match will be a different challenge.

“It’s a big day tomorrow. It’s all about how we handle the pressure. Every game is a pressure game in the IPL, but this game is a different challenge for us. We have to stay calm and keep a steady mind under pressure. Clarity of mind will be very important for us,” the Delhi Capitals quoted him as saying in a release on Tuesday.

Kaif said that the Delhi Capitals will have to rise from their four-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 in Dubai on Sunday. “We have played well in this tournament. We finished at the top of the table in the league phase. We have played good cricket in this tournament. We have had back-to-back losses, but now it’s all about coming back. We have to rise after defeat in our game against KKR. And we have players who can win matches. There’s a lot of experienced and in-form players.”

The former India star said the Delhi franchise will take confidence from its previous success against KKR.

“We have played all the KKR bowlers in the past and we have had success against the team. We defeated them in the first half of the tournament. We lost to KKR in the UAE phase of the tournament, but we were in control in some parts of that match as well. However, in the next match, both teams will be under the same pressure as both sides are playing for a spot in the Final,” signed off Kaif.

National

For 11th consecutive day, Pakistan resorts to firing on J&K LoC, Indian troops respond strongly

Published

on

Jammu, May 5: For the 11th consecutive day on Monday, the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked small arms firing on the Indian positions on the Jammu and Kashmir Line of Control (LoC) as the Indian troops responded promptly and proportionately.

The Defence Ministry statement said, “During the night of 04 -05 May 2025, Pakistan Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajauri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor in J&K.”

“Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately,” said the ministry in the statement.

During the night of May 3 and May 4, Pakistan Army posts resorted to unprovoked small arms fire across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Poonch, Rajauri, Mendhar, Naushera, Sunderbani, and Akhnoor in J&K.

The Indian Army had responded promptly and proportionately.

Tensions have reached a new high between the two countries after Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists sponsored and aided by Pakistan killed 26 innocent civilians, including 25 tourists and a local, on April 22 in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

The entire country was outraged by the cowardly act of terrorists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his first reaction to Pahalgam killings that the terrorists, their handlers and backers would he chased and hunted down to the ends of the earth.

India announced a slew of measures against Pakistan, including the deportation of its nationals from Indian soil, the closure of the Attari-Wagah border crossing, throwing the Indus Water Treaty into abeyance, closing its airspace for Pakistani commercial flights, and the cancellation of all trade and cultural exchange between the two countries.

PM Modi has given operational freedom to the armed forces to avenge the Pahalgam killings.

This decision came after the PM met the defence minister, national security advisor, chief of defence staff (CDS), and chiefs of the army, navy and the Air Force.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a 40-minute-long meeting with the Prime Minister on April 28.

The defence minister met the PM after he received a detailed briefing by the CDS on the preparedness of the country’s armed forces to meet any eventuality.

J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha also had a security review meeting with Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi in Srinagar a few days ago.

The L-G asked the Army to use whatever force is required to hunt down the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Meanwhile, to send a powerful message to terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers, security forces demolished the houses of terrorists.

On April 25, two houses belonging to Adil Hussain Thokar and Asif Sheikh were demolished in the Tral and Bijbehara areas. Both these terrorists were part of the LeT group involved in the Pahalgam killings.

Security forces have so far demolished the houses of 10 terrorists, who are reportedly still active in the Kashmir Valley.

On April 28, the J&K Assembly unanimously condemned the dastardly terrorist attack and passed a resolution on this.

Continue Reading

Crime

Blaze kills woman in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala; 10-day infant among 6 injured

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Crime

Tahawwur Rana denies role in Mumbai terror attack during interrogation (Ld)

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Trending