Kolkata, April 14: Amid the continuing air of tension in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, which has been on the boil for the last few days with violent protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, the administration has decided to extend the suspension of Internet services to the adjacent districts of Malda and Birbhum.

At the same time, some additional areas in the Murshidabad district have also been brought under the ambit of the suspension of Internet services. Earlier, the suspension of Internet services was enforced mainly in troubled areas like Suti, Jangipur, Dhulian, and Samserganj, among others, the areas that were most affected by violence and riot-like situations.

An insider from the state police said that although following the beginning of joint patrolling by the state police and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel since Saturday night following an order of a special division bench of the Calcutta High Court, the situation in Murshidabad has come more or less unless control as of now. The main headache of the law enforcement authorities is the continuing spreading and sharing of fake information regarding the tension through different social media platforms.

The suspension of Internet service in the extended areas will be enforced till 10 p.m. on April 15. Whether the suspension will be lifted or not after that will be decided on the situation prevailing then.

Meanwhile, the Border Security Force (BSF), whose personnel are mainly deputed to the troubled areas, will send a comprehensive report on the development following the visit of the BSF’s Additional Director General (Eastern Command) Ravi Gandhi to the troubled pockets.

During the visit, Gandhi will review the deployment of the BSF personnel in the region and also discuss with the senior officers of the state police how better coordination could be achieved on this count.

The BSF has also been alerted to ensure absolute security of the villages adjacent to the International Borders with Bangladesh in the Murshidabad and Malda districts, to ensure that members from underground extremist groups there cannot enter the Indian Territory and fuel the existing tension.

Meanwhile, as per the latest report available, almost 500 families from the different troubled pockets in the Murshidabad district are currently homeless and have taken shelter at a temporary relief camp at a school in the adjacent Malda district. These families are mainly from the Dhulian and Samserganj areas.

Jammu, April 11: A terrorist was killed in a joint operation launched against terrorists in J&K’s Kishtwar district on Friday, officials said.

The terrorist was killed in the joint operation by the army and the other security forces launched on April 9 in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar.

“The operation was based on specific intelligence inputs, which led to a firefight with terrorists, resulting in one terrorist neutralised. The search operation, conducted by the Army and police, aimed to flush out terrorists hiding in the dense forests, continues,” an official said.

Another operation is going on in the Joffar forest area in the jurisdiction of Ramnagar police station in Udhampur district.

A CASO (Cordon and search operation) by the joint forces was started on April 9, and three terrorists are reportedly trapped inside the cordoned off area.

Civilian Rachpal told security forces that three terrorists dressed in black, heavily armed, entered his house around 8.30 p.m. on April 9 and left around 11.30 p.m.

Following the disclosure by the civilian, security forces tightened the cordon, and after reinforcements were called in, the joint forces were closing in on the hiding terrorists, as per the last reports.

On March 3, a police team immediately reached Sanyal village in the Hiranagar area of Kathua district, where five terrorists were spotted.

Since Sanyal village is barely 4 km away from the international border, the group of terrorists spotted in Sanyal village are believed to have recently infiltrated into the Indian side.

The terrorists managed to escape from Sanyal to the Safiyun Jakhole area. The police team engaged the terrorists in a sustained gunfight, killing two terrorists.

Four policemen were martyred in that gunfight. To trace the remaining three terrorists, joint forces started a ‘seek & destroy’ operation, which was extended to higher reaches of Kathua and Rajouri districts.

A brief exchange of gunfire took place between the terrorists and the joint forces in the Billawar area of Kathua district.

On April 8, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level security review meeting in Srinagar. The meeting was attended by the J&K Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha, the Union Home Secretary, the IB chief, the army chief, the army’s Northern Commander, GOCs of all the corps in J&K, chiefs of paramilitary forces, the J&K DGP and heads of other intelligence agencies.

The Home Minister appreciated the role of the joint forces in curbing terrorism, but gave orders for the total eradication of terrorism from J&K with special focus on the Jammu division of the UT.

Bengaluru, April 11: The Karnataka Police arrested four people and detained a minor on Friday in connection with a case of moral policing reported under the Chandra Layout police station limits in Bengaluru.

The accused allegedly confronted a Muslim woman for speaking with a Hindu youth. They verbally abused her and attempted to assault her.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Maheem, Afridi, Wasim, and Anjum. The police are also questioning the minor boy involved in the incident.

According to the police, the woman, who was wearing a burqa, was chatting with a Hindu youth seated on his bike in the Chandra Layout area. The group of accused individuals approached them and questioned the woman, asking why she was affectionately speaking to a Hindu boy while wearing a burqa.

The gang reportedly insulted her, asking whether she had any shame or self-respect. They also demanded that she provide the phone numbers of her family members so they could speak to them directly.

However, the woman stood her ground and confronted the group, questioning their interference in her personal matters. She reportedly told them that the person she was speaking to was her classmate and asked why she should give out her family’s contact information.

Enraged by her response, the group allegedly attempted to assault both the woman and the Hindu youth. The accused later circulated a video of the two chatting on social media, which went viral.

Following the circulation of the video, some Hindu organisations and activists raised objections and questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asking whether this incident did not amount to moral policing. They further criticized the state government, rhetorically asking whether Sharia law had been implemented in Karnataka.

The Chandra Layout police registered a case and took swift action by arresting the accused.

In a horrific incident reported from Hangal town on January 8, 2024, a woman, a homemaker, was allegedly dragged out of a hotel after being seen with a person from another community and was beaten up.

The victim, who belonged to the minority community, said that when she was at the hotel, a group of five to six men barged inside, questioned her and took her on their motorcycles forcibly. She claimed that they took her to an isolated place and assaulted her brutally and all of them raped her. Later, they asked her to sit in a car and the driver also raped her. Her ordeal did not end there. She was also taken to other places and gang-raped. The police arrested the accused persons after the victim released a video and appealed for action.