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Speed-boat ‘scare’: Maharashtra ATS files FIR against unknown persons

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 After probing the drifted ‘speed-boat scare’ on Raigad shores, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) has filed a complaint against unknown persons, officials said here on Friday.

ATS chief Vineet Agarwal, who rushed to Raigad along with his team, and the Raigad Police have investigated the matter, and a possible terror angle has been discounted for the present.

On Thursday, the state security apparatus went into a tizzy after the severely damaged yacht washed up on Harihareshwar beach, around 200 km south of Mumbai, as the fisherfolk alerted the local authorities.

The UK-flagged 53-feet-long yacht ‘MY Lady Han’, owned by an Australian couple, was found with some documents, three AK-47 rifles and boxes containing live ammunition, sparking a major security scare in the state.

The Navi Mumbai ATS Unit is handing the probe and has filed a first information report invoking various sections of the Arms Act against unknown persons.

Later, a Dubai-based Neptune P2P Group announced that it had provided security to the yacht in June 2022.

The Maharashtra government informed the legislature that the speedboat suffered an engine failure in the high seas on June 26 and the crew on board were rescued by a Korean warship.

Later, after drifting in the Arabian Sea for 52 days, it finally washed up on Harihareshwar Beach on Thursday afternoon.

The Neptune P2P Group said that after the yacht was damaged during monsoon, an emergency was declared, the crew members were rescued though they could not salvage the vessel owing to extreme weather conditions.

The yacht was slated to sail from Oman to Europe with its owner Hannah Laundergun and her husband James Robert sailing it, along with at least one unidentified crew member, when the mishap took place.

The security provider said it had presumed the vessel to have sunk but after it was found on Raigad shores, the Neptune P2P Group is coordinating with the vessel owners, and the authorities in India and United Kingdom for the official recovery procedures of the vessel and the ‘controlled items’ (weapons) on board.

Crime

Three Khalistani terrorists who bombed Punjab Police posts killed in encounter in UP

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Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 23: Three criminals accused of hurling a grenade at police posts in Punjab’s Gurdaspur were killed in an encounter with police in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit early Monday morning, a senior police officer said.

Punjab Police DGP Gaurav Yadav, while sharing details on social media platform X, stated, “In a major breakthrough against a Pak-sponsored Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terror module, a joint operation by UP Police and Punjab Police led to an encounter with three module members who fired at the police party. This terror module is involved in grenade attacks at police establishments in border areas of Punjab.”

He said that the three suspects were involved in the grenade attack on a police post in Gurdaspur.

Pilibhit Superintendent of Police (SP) Avinash Pandey reported that the gunfight occurred in the Puranpur police station area between the suspected Khalistani terrorists and a joint team of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh Police.

The injured suspects, identified as Gurvinder Singh, Virendra Singh, and Jasanpreet Singh, sustained injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Authorities recovered two AK-series rifles, two Glock pistols, and a large quantity of ammunition from the scene.

“Early this morning, a team from Punjab Police informed Puranpur police station that suspects in a grenade attack on a police post by alleged Khalistani terrorists might be hiding in the area,” SP Pandey said.

Upon receiving this information, police teams immediately launched a blockade and searched the area. They later received a tip-off about three suspicious young men on a motorcycle, riding dangerously and carrying potentially harmful items, heading toward Pilibhit.

“Both Punjab Police and Puranpur police station staff chased the suspects. Meanwhile, Gajrola and Madhav Thanda police stations were alerted about possible escape routes. At a canal track near an under-construction bridge, the suspects opened fire when challenged by the police. In the retaliatory firing, all three were injured and subsequently sent to CSC Puranpur for treatment,” Pandey said.

However, they later succumbed to the injuries.

Recently, multiple explosions targeted police posts in Gurdaspur. On Thursday, a grenade was hurled at the closed Bakshiwal police post.

A day later, another explosion occurred at the closed Wadala Bangar police post, which had also recently shut down due to staff shortages.

Residents in nearby areas reported being shaken by the blasts. At Wadala Bangar, frightened locals emerged from their homes at night only to discover the sound originated from the police station. Following the explosion, police vehicles patrolled the area throughout the night, with sirens blaring.

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Crime

At least 18 killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

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Gaza, Dec 21: At least 18 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the central and northern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources.

Local sources and eyewitnesses reported that Israeli warplanes targeted an apartment in the multi-story “Yaffa” tower in the al-Nuseirat camp, located in central Gaza.

A statement from Al-Awda Hospital in the camp confirmed that eight people were killed and 14 others injured, some seriously, in the attack.

In northern Gaza, Israeli shelling struck a house belonging to the “Khilla” family in Jabalia Al-Balad, killing 10 people and injuring several others, according to the Gaza Strip’s Civil Defence.

The Israeli army has not commented on these incidents.

Also on Friday, the military wing of Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades, announced that one of its fighters had carried out a suicide attack targeting an Israeli force of six soldiers in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza.

The Israeli army has not issued a comment on this incident.

Earlier on Thursday at least 16 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombings in northern Gaza, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

At least 10 people were killed on Wednesday night and some others injured when the Israeli aircraft bombed the house of the Al-Najjar family in the town of Jabalia, WAFA said.

Six more people were killed due to Israeli bombing on the house of the Al-Zaytouniya family near the Al-Tabi’in School in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, east of Gaza City, it added.

The Israeli army has not commented on these incidents.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza in retaliation for the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault on southern Israel, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages taken.

As of Friday, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 45,206, according to Gaza-based health authorities.

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Crime

Maharashtra: Govt Employee Accused Of Attacking Marathi-Speaking Family In Kalyan Surrenders Before Cops

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The Maharashtra government employee accused of attacking a Marathi-speaking family at Kalyan in Thane district surrendered before police on Friday, a senior officer said.

Akhilesh Shukla (48), an employee of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), his wife Geeta (45) and others have been named in an FIR related to the alleged attack on the family, their neighbour, on December 18 after an argument.

Akhilesh Shukla surrendered before the Khadakpada police, senior inspector Aamarnath Waghmode said.

“We will trace the other accused,” said the police.

Meanwhile, before surrendering, Shukla posted a video on social media in which he claimed his wife was beaten up by family members of the victims.

The police have registered a case against Shukla and his wife Geeta (45) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 74 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), 189 (2) (3) and (5) (unlawful assembly) and others.

According to police, the attack took place around 8.45 pm on December 18, and the accused as well as the victims live on the same floor of a building in Kalyan.

As per the FIR, the victim saw Shukla quarrelling with one of their neighbours over lighting of an incense stick. The victim asked Shukla to maintain peace and not to abuse and insult the entire Marathi-speaking community.

The accused couple got angry on hearing this and beat up the victim and his wife with the help of eight to ten others. They attacked the male victim using some sharp weapon, iron rod, pipes and wooden sticks, and inflicted wounds on his arms, legs and face. The accused also molested his wife and threatened the couple, it added.

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