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Crime

Pirate attack, missing Indian sailor: Gabon marine police probing 3 locals

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Security agencies in Gabon-marine and local police of the West African nation are questioning three persons who had boarded the merchant vessel MV Tampen two days before the attack on the ship by pirates, said a senior official of Proactive Ship Management.

The ship, with 17 Indian crew, was sailing from Cameroon to the UAE when it developed some propulsion problems and was anchored just two kilometres away from Gabon’s Owendo anchorage when pirates boarded the ship on Sunday morning.

While the pirates threw one of the crew overboard and shot and injured two.

“The marine and local police in Gabon are questioning three persons who had boarded the ship two days before the attack. We hope to know some information about the attackers and the missing crew today (Wednesday),” Captain Sunil Kumar, Security Officer of Proactive Ship Management, told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

The company had provided the men for manning the ship.

He said: “One garbage cleaner and two technicians had boarded the ship as per the information conveyed to us by our agent there.”

According to him, the vessel was in the inner part of the port. It is suspected that those who knew the port very well might be involved.

Kumar also said the two injured sailors are doing fine and they had spoken with their family members in India.

The ship’s chief officer and cook suffered bullet wounds.

Kumar said the ship was not carrying any cargo and was to go to the UAE.

According to Kumar, the two injured crew saw the ship’s Second Engineer being thrown overboard. It is not known whether he was kidnapped by the pirates. He is currently missing.

The pirates had fired at the ship crew when they resisted and the Second Engineer was thrown into the sea.

Kumar said the company has informed the Indian authorities like the Directorate General of Shipping and other authorities in India and in Gabon.

Queried about the next course of action in bringing back the crew Kumar said the company can send a replacement for one of two crew who want to sign-off.

“The remaining crew are on the ship. There are armed security guards on the ship. We are paying about $700-800 per day for their services,” Kumar added.

The ship is an offshore supply vessel sailing under the flag of St Kitts and Nevis.

Crime

Rajasthan CMO gets bomb threat in Jaipur, police launch probe

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Jaipur, Aug 18: Panic gripped Jaipur after the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) received a bomb threat on Tuesday.

A threatening phone call was received at the Jaipur Police Control Room, prompting police and administrative officials to step up security measures.

Soon after receiving the information, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Rajarshi Raj, reached the spot and took stock of the situation.

Police teams have launched an investigation to identify the caller and determine the motive behind the threat.

Technical teams are also examining the call details and other available information to trace its origin.

Police officials are treating the threat seriously and are checking whether it poses any actual security risk.

Further details are awaited as the investigation continues.

This is not the first time that prominent locations in Jaipur have received bomb threats.

In July 2025, both the Chief Minister’s Office and Jaipur International Airport were reportedly threatened through emails.

Security agencies, including bomb disposal teams, conducted searches at the locations, but no explosives were found.

Jaipur has also witnessed several similar threats targeting schools, the airport, metro stations, court complexes and the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

On May 30, 2025, a bomb threat was reported at Mansarovar Metro Station and the Metro Court-Family Court complex.

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium also received multiple bomb threats in May 2025.

Earlier in July 2025, Maheshwari Girls Public School in Vidhyadhar Nagar received a threatening email.

The school premises were evacuated and thoroughly searched by security teams. However, no explosive device was found.

The repeated threats have raised concerns over security in Jaipur, particularly as several high-profile government and public locations have been targeted in the past.

Police are now working to establish the identity of the person behind Tuesday’s call and determine whether the threat was genuine or a hoax.

Security agencies are maintaining heightened vigilance around the CMO and other sensitive locations in the city.

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Crime

SC seeks replies from Centre, intermediaries on plea against police sharing photos of accused on social media

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New Delhi, Aug 18: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre, sates and intermediaries to respond to a plea aimed at preventing police officials from uploading photos and videos of an accused on social media to safeguard the latter’s fundamental right to fair trial.

Taking note of the petitioner’ view that revealing identities of accused could prejudice their right to fair trial, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi and Justice V Mohana took note of a suggestion for having in place guidelines for use of social media by police organisations.

At the same time, CJI Surya Kant wondered how preventing police from sharing photos online could prevent the circulation of the content in the digital ecosystem.

“his is not a border that you can just close down,” CJI Kant said, agreeing with the need to prevent the uploading of content that reveals faces or identities of accused.

During the hearing, petitioner Hemendra Patel was represented by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan who shared images and videos depicting accused in handcuffs or being made to kneel.

Stressing on the need for uniform guidelines at the national level, Sankaranarayanan said that there is a crying need for an operational mechanism to prevent police-generated content violating the rights of an accused, who is still to be proved guilty.

He added that similar issues have been examined in some High Courts earlier but there is scope for a uniform national framework to prevent police organisations from circulating photos and videos of the accused.

The petition, which made the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and social media platforms respondents in the matter, also sought a formal, transparent and structured mechanism for prompt removal of such content in case of an objection.

A reference was also made to a matter in Rajasthan High Court in January wherein the judges ordered a takedown of social media content related to an accused under arrest.

Following this case, the state police issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) curbing the practice of uploading or sharing of photos and videos of arrested persons on social media or with mediapersons.

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Crime

Two held with stolen foreign liquor worth Rs 27,000 in Pune

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Pune, Aug 18: Two men were apprehended after police found stolen liquor from a shop in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar on Tuesday, officials said.

Six bottles of foreign liquor, valued at Rs 27,200, were recovered from the accused.

According to the officials, the youths were apprehended by a team from Yerwada police station near the GST office in Kalyani Nagar.

The investigators said that the accused have been identified as Rohan Ram Kamble (28) and Amit Mahadev Sitapure (27).

They also added that a case has been registered against both the accused under Sections 303(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

While patrolling the area on Tuesday, police personnel Sandeep Jaybhay received information that two suspicious-looking youths were standing near the GST office and might be in possession of stolen goods, the officials said.

Acting on this information, the police team arrived at the spot and intercepted the two youths. They failed to provide satisfactory answers during questioning. Upon searching the bag they were carrying, the police found six bottles of foreign liquor, the officials added.

The police took both individuals to the Yerwada police station for questioning, during which, according to the officials, the accused admitted that the liquor bottles had been stolen from the ‘Tonic Outlet’ shop in Kalyani Nagar.

According to the police, the recovered liquor is linked to a theft case registered at the Yerwada police station.

The officials said that Sub-Inspector Kishor Berad is conducting investigations into the matter to ascertain the nexus and see if the accused duo has been involved in similar incidents in the past.

Necessary legal proceedings have been initiated in connection with the case, the investigators said.

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