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Pinarayi Vijayan strikes back as Kerala Vigilance picks up Swapna’s close aide

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Hours after Swapna Suresh, prime accused in the gold smuggling case, slammed Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family for their role in the entire episode on Wednesday, her close aide and now colleague P.S. Sarith was picked up by the Vigilance wing of the police from their flat at Palakkad. Sarith is also an accused in the gold smuggling case.

Hearing about it, Swapna said she has no clue who took Sarith away and this is nothing but retaliation for her revelations.

The media and the local police also descended at the flat where Swapna and Sarith live with her children. Even the local police initially had no clue of who took away Sarith in a Swift Car.

It was revealed later that it was the Vigilance department sleuths who picked Sarith. Hearing about this, Swapna lost her cool and screamed politics is a dirty game.

“The Vigilance has only one case and it pertains to collection of commission in the construction of Life Mission flats. But in the case the 5th accused is M. Sivasankar (former principal secretary of Vijayan and top IAS official, who was also in jail for several weeks and is now out on bail in the gold smuggling case). I am the 6th accused and Sarith is only the 7th accused. They have not served any notice and instead they picked him and it was Sivasankar who should have been picked up first. We are not scared of any investigation as we all were in jail for months,” said an angry Swapna Suresh.

Meanwhile, in a related development on Wednesday morning Vijayan had a closed door meeting with police chief and his deputy.

Soon after that former State Minister and Left supported legislator K.T. Jaleel arrived at the police station next door to the State Secretariat, here and registered a complaint against the baseless allegations levelled against Vijayan, his family and himself.

“I have filed a complaint against these baseless allegations levelled by an accused in the gold smuggling case. This is nothing but a conspiracy hatched against the state government and both the Congress and the BJP have joined in this campaign,” said Jaleel.

“All these allegations which she has raked up again have all been probed by three national agencies and today she has aired the same, but with a lot of spice. We are all supremely confident as all these national agencies probed everything and found nothing. The role of P.C. George and his relation with Swapna is conspiracy,” added Jaleel.

Meanwhile across the state, angry supporters of the Congress led UDF took to the streets demanding resignation of Vijayan and at several places they burnt the effigy of the Chief Minister.

But Vijayan moving around with massive security cover while taking part in a meeting here said, in 2018 the state faced the worst floods in a century.

“Later, the state witnessed a never seen before barrage of allegations (gold smuggling case in July 2020) and it went on and on, with various agencies probing it. Finally the people of Kerala gave us a second successive term in office. The people dismissed all the allegations stating that this is their government. The people are with us,” said Vijayan, who is yet to interact with the media on this issue.

State BJP president K. Surendran asked Vijayan to quit and face the probe as an ordinary citizen.

“Swapna Suresh has told the court everything and hence Vijayan should quit and face a probe and come clean,” said Surendran.

Leader of the opposition V.D. Satheesan, leading the protesters at Kollam, said the probe by various agencies came to a standstill after several Kerala BJP leaders teamed up with the CPI-M to stop this probe then.

“But now things have again come out in the open and it’s strange that when Oommen Chandy had to face lot of issues, that law seems not applicable to Vijayan. This cannot happen. We are looking into all options on how this new revelation needs to be taken up at all fronts,” said Satheesan.

Earlier in the day, Swapna said she has no political or any personal agenda.

“I don’t know about politics and I do not care who is ruling the state, then or now. I have given a statement under 164 of CrPC in the past but none came out. Allow me to live, it’s difficult for me to live. Those ladies, who are wives and daughters including Kamala Vijayan (wife of Vijayan), Veena (daughter), are leading a luxurious life while I am suffering,” said Swapna.

On Tuesday, Swapna first accused Vijayan, his wife and daughter that they had a role in shady things like transferring currency notes to the UAE and also on a few occasions transferred vessels which were used to make biriyani from the residence of the UAE Consul general here to Vijayan’s residence and it contained metal objects.

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‘34 massacres took place in between 1990-2005’: HM Amit Shah lambasts RJD

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Patna, Nov 1: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lambasted the RJD leadership for the alleged “jungle raj”, accusing them of 34 bloody massacres between 1990 and 2005 during their tenure.

Addressing a virtual rally for NDA candidates in Gopalganj, Shah cited 34 massacres that took place during that period, including Bara, Senari, Bathani Tola, Laxmanpur-Bathe, Shankar Bigha and Miapur.

“This is not an election to elect an MLA or minister, but an election to choose between good governance under Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar, or the Jungle Raj of the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan),” Shah said.

The Home Minister said that this election will decide who will control Bihar, those who oversaw years of jungle raj, or the PM Modi-Nitish Kumar combine that has put Bihar on the path of development.

Shah was scheduled to attend the rally in person but said he was unable to fly due to bad weather and addressed the virtual rally from Patna.

“I apologise to the people of Gopalganj who turned out in large numbers. We did not get permission to take off due to weather conditions,” he said, adding that Gopalganj has never elected an RJD MP or MLA since 2002 and expressing confidence that the district would maintain this record.

Shah also highlighted the NDA manifesto and repeated two promises targeting women and farmers.

He said the government had already transferred Rs 10,000 to each of 1.41 crore Jeevika Didis and promised that after government formation, they would be given an additional Rs 2 lakh each.

For farmers, he claimed that the annual PM-Kisan support would be increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000.

Calling these not small commitments, Shah said, “Rs 9,000 a year to 87 lakh farmers and Rs 2.10 lakh each to 1.41 crore Jeevika Didis – this is not a small thing.”

He further claimed the Narendra Modi government had decided to reopen all sugar mills of Bihar, saying several had already restarted, including three in Gopalganj and one rice mill, while Riga Sugar Mill in Sitamarhi was functioning.

Shah also announced new infrastructure commitments, including an expressway from Dumariaghat (Gopalganj) to Patna and the redevelopment of Thave railway station.

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‘Onboard LTTE-ISI Operatives’: IndiGo Flight From Jeddah To Hyderabad Diverted To Mumbai After Receiving ‘Human Bomb’ Threat

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Mumbai: An IndiGo flight 6E 68 traveling from Jeddah to Hyderabad was diverted to Mumbai on November 1, following ‘human bomb’ threat email. The Rajiv Gandhi International (RGIA) Airport in Hyderabad received a threat email early morning which claimed that there was a “human bomb” onboard the flight. However, the plane was diverted and safely landed in Mumbai.

According to the police, the threat mail stated, “…onboard LTTE-ISI operatives have planned a major 1984 Madras Airport Modus operandi style blast,” as quoted by news agency media.

On the incident, IndiGo spokesperson also released a statement and said, “A security threat was received for IndiGo flight 6E 68 operating from Jeddah to Hyderabad on November 1 and the aircraft was diverted to Mumbai.” After the information was received, following the established protocols, the relevant authorities were immediately informed. All the necessary security checks along with the relevant authorities were carried out before the aircraft was cleared for further operations.

In addition to this, the IndiGo Spokesperson also added, “We made all efforts to minimise inconvenience to our customers including offering them refreshments and sharing regular updates,” as quoted by media.

Mumbai has witnessed several instances of bomb threats targeting schools, hospitals, airports, temples, the Bombay High Court, and other public places

On October 9, a threatening email was received at the Bandra Family Court in BKC. Following the email, the BKC police station and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) were informed. In the email, the sender claimed that a bomb had been planted in the BKC Family Court.

In September, an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Delhi received a bomb threat. The flight 6E 762 had around 200 people on board and the security agencies found the threat to be non-specific, the source told media.

On September 28, Mumbai’s Shivaji Park Police Station received a bomb threat where caller claimed that a bomb had been planted at Dadar Railway Station. Prior to that, the Bombay High Court had received a threatening email claiming that a bomb had been planted on its premises.

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Gujarat: Applications for selection of State Haj Inspectors for Haj 2026 open till Nov 3

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Gandhinagar, Nov 1: The Gujarat State Haj Committee under the General Administration Department has invited applications from eligible state government employees interested in serving as State Haj Inspectors for Haj–2026, government officials said on Saturday.

The online application process, which began on October 15, 2025, will remain open for only two more days — until November 3, 2025, while offline submission of applications will be accepted until November 5, 2025.

The role of the State Haj Inspector is crucial in assisting pilgrims during their sacred journey.

Selected officials will be deputed to Saudi Arabia for nearly two months under the supervision of the Consulate General of India in Jeddah through the Haj Committee of India.

The deputation period will be treated as official duty, and regular salary and allowances will be paid by the respective departments.

To be eligible for selection as a State Haj Inspector for Haj–2026, applicants must be Muslim officers or employees currently serving under the Gujarat government, its public sector undertakings, autonomous institutions, or commissions, and must possess a graduate degree from a recognised university.

However, officers belonging to Class I or equivalent cadres, as well as contractual employees or those engaged through outsourcing arrangements, are not eligible to apply.

The applicant’s age must also be below 50 years as of October 15, 2025, ensuring that only physically fit and capable individuals are considered for the demanding nature of the assignment.

Each candidate must also hold a valid Indian passport, with an expiry date extending beyond December 31, 2026, to cover the entire duration of the Haj deputation period and related travel requirements.

Applicants, who have previously served as State Haj Inspectors or Khadim-ul-Hujjaj on three or more occasions will not be considered, as preference will be given to new candidates or those with fewer prior deputations to encourage wider participation among eligible government employees.

In addition, every applicant must upload a No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by their respective department, organisation, or competent authority at the time of online submission.

In cases where the NOC is not available at the time of applying, candidates are required to upload a written undertaking or declaration, committing to submit the NOC during the interview stage.

This ensures administrative clearance and accountability for deputation from the parent department.

Interested applicants must first submit their application on the Haj Committee of India website (http://hajcommittee.gov.in) by November 3, 2025.

Later, they must fill out the State Haj Committee online form on https://haj.gujarat.gov.in and upload the required details and documents.

A hard copy of the completed application, forwarded through the head of the respective department or public enterprise, must reach: Secretary, Gujarat State Haj Committee, Block No. 8, 8th Floor, Secretariat, Gandhinagar, by November 5, 2025, during office hours.

Applications that are incomplete, lack required documents, or are received after the deadline will not be considered for the selection process.

As per the guidelines of the Haj Committee of India and the Ministry of Minority Affairs, candidates will be selected through a computer-based test followed by an interview.

For Haj–2026, one State Haj Inspector will be appointed for every 150 pilgrims.

Selected candidates will be required to obtain approval from their parent department or competent authority and bear 50 per cent of the deputation cost (Rs 2,10,000).

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