
Bengal Everester goes missing on way down
KOLKATA: A 45-year-old mountaineer from Bengal went missing on way down after summiting Mount Everest even as two others from the state scaled the world's highest peak and made it back to their camp late Thursday.
Subrata Ghosh
probably disappeared in what is referred to by climbers as the 'death zone', near the summit, while descending to Camp IV, the final stop on way to the 8,849-metre peak. A search and recovery operation is likely to start by Sunday but seasoned climbers that TOI spoke to were not very hopeful of his survival.
'We are yet to get details of what happened to Ghosh. The sherpa who was with him suddenly realised he was not there. The sherpa's condition was also very bad. He is still hallucinating,' said Bodhraj Bhandari, managing director of Kathmandu-based
Snowy Horizon Treks
, which organised the expedition.

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News18
37 minutes ago
- News18
LeT, Jaish Tap Bangladesh Radical Networks, Use Campuses To Target Indian Students
Last Updated: Top intelligence sources reveal Bangladesh-based groups are now providing legitimate access to LeT and Jaish in universities, where they target Indian students for radicalisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed have joined hands with radical groups in Bangladesh, opening a new front to radicalise Indian youth, CNN-News18 has learnt from top intelligence sources. A recent speech by Saifullah Kasuri, aka Khalid, in Kasur, Lahore, which has gone viral and is now circulating among radical groups, referenced Bengal and the division of the region on May 28. The speech is being actively used in radical circles to fuel propaganda. Bangladesh-based groups are now providing legitimate access to LeT and Jaish in universities, where they target Indian students for radicalisation. These India-based groups are also collaborating with Jamaat-e-Islami, creating a cross-border ideological network. LeT's exploitation of Bangladeshi universities is built on three key pillars: ideological alignment with local radicals, institutional decay, and cross-border impunity. Backed by ISI, LeT operates through multi-layered strategies combining ideological networks, institutional vulnerabilities, and cross-border operational logistics. LeT coordinates with Jamaat's student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir to infiltrate campuses. Shibir grants access to student networks, hostels, and Islamic study circles, which are then used for recruitment. Following the restoration of Jamaat-e-Islami's legitimacy post-2024, this access has become more streamlined. Groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both linked to LeT, operate madrasas near universities. These madrasas indoctrinate students with Wahhabi-Salafi ideologies, framing education as jihad for Islamic revival. UK-based front organisations have also funded radical madrasas that later recruit university students. Shibir members invite Indian students into Islamic study circles, blending religious discussions with LeT propaganda videos. Events at the University of Dhaka have glorified Kashmir terrorists killed as martyrs. LeT's attack footage from India is shared through encrypted apps such as Telegram and Signal, with videos from incidents like the Pahalgam attacks being circulated to incite anti-India sentiments. Radical groups offer scholarships, flood relief, and financial aid to economically vulnerable Indian students. Following the 2024 floods, Jamaat distributed aid along with radical literature. Senior student 'mentors" isolate Indian youth, presenting radicalisation as identity preservation, while enforcing conservative dress codes such as beards and veils to build group loyalty. LeT is also using Bangladesh as a transit hub. Indian students radicalised in Dhaka or Chittagong are sent to LeT camps in Pakistan via Myanmar or Nepal, often under the guise of educational tours. They portray India as oppressing Muslims, leveraging events like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and incidents of communal violence, such as the 2023 temple vandalism to validate jihadist narratives. The post-2024 interim government in Bangladesh lifted bans on Jamaat-e-Islami and allied groups, appointing radicals to key positions, including the Hizb-ut-Tahrir founder as Home Secretary. This has enabled LeT affiliates like Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) to operate openly on campuses. Government concessions to Hefazat-e-Islam, such as compulsory Islamic education, allow madrasas to teach jihadist ideologies unchallenged. Universities have also adopted gender-segregated curricula, normalising extremist norms. Bangladesh's lax NGO oversight, coupled with hundi remittances and money laundering—both significant contributors to its GDP—allow LeT to mask funding as charitable donations. LeT receives funds via NGOs from the Middle East, Gulf, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, under the pretext of reviving Islamic heritage and campus charities. Radicalised students returning to India are deployed as operatives. HuJI-B, JMB, and LeT proxies maintain around 40 sleeper cells in Assam and Nagaland, using Bangladesh-trained Indians to carry out attacks. LeT has also utilised Bangladeshi routes for India-bound operations. The 2025 Pahalgam attack involved a LeT operative who had met a Bangladeshi official prior to the operation. Anti-minority violence in Bangladesh — where nearly 2,200 Hindu-targeted incidents were reported in 2024 — spills over into India, intensifying Hindu-Muslim tensions and aiding in jihadist recruitment.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
‘Operation Ghost SIM': Assam man who helped route fake numbers to Pakistan-based WhatsApp accounts arrested
The Assam Police on Saturday night arrested the prime accused in a fake SIM card racket allegedly linked to Pakistan, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 11 since May 16. The crackdown is part of ' Operation Ghost SIM ', a joint effort initiated by the state police based on intelligence inputs from the Indian Army. The accused, Mostafa Rahman (29), was nabbed by the Special Task Force (STF) from Pokalagi Part III village in the Dhubri district of lower Assam. He is believed to be a key operator in the racket that generated and circulated SIM cards using fake identities for cybercrime and anti-national activities . During the arrest, police recovered critical evidence including: One laptop Two mobile phones Three micro ATM machines One biometric device Six ATM cards Eleven voter ID cards An Aadhaar card and a PAN card 'Further interrogation of the accused is currently underway,' Assam Police said in a statement. Live Events SIMs used to create WhatsApp accounts for Pakistan-based operatives Launched on May 16, 'Operation Ghost SIM' unearthed a network operating out of Assam, Rajasthan, and Telangana, where fraudulently obtained SIM cards were allegedly being used to support cybercrime operations and sensitive communications with Pakistani agents. According to the police, the accused procured SIM cards using documents of unsuspecting citizens and used them to activate WhatsApp accounts that appeared to be Indian, but were allegedly operated by anti-national actors. 'In this case, there seems to be clear evidence that some of these numbers have been shared across and are being used by inimical elements,' a senior police officer said. Accused face terror, cybercrime, and conspiracy charges The case has been registered under multiple serious provisions, including: Criminal conspiracy Waging or attempting to wage war against the Government of India (under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 Information Technology (IT) Act The first arrests under this operation were made in Assam, Rajasthan, and Telangana on May 16, with seven individuals taken into custody. The arrest of Rahman marks a significant step in uncovering the larger network behind what officials have called a 'national security threat disguised as digital fraud.'


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Illegal construction begins at sector 17 collapsed building site, Chandigarh DC orders probe
CHANDIGARH : In what it appears to be a blatant violation of norms, illegal construction has started at a site in Sector 17 which once housed a famous three-bay building that collapsed on Jan 6 all due to gross negligence and violation of safety measures. While the debris of the collapsed building was cleared from the site a few days back, multiple iron columns have now come up at the spot despite the fact that the UT estate office has not approved a revised building plan for the site so far. The estate office has now decided to probe the entire matter. With the said site being completely covered from all sides with huge tin sheds, the iron columns are not visible from the ground level. But these can be clearly seen from upper storeys of nearby buildings. The TOI too captured a clear view of the site and found fresh iron columns installed at the spot, indicating that the work has been going on for the past few days. Nishant Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner (DC)-cum-estate officer of the Chandigarh administration, said, "No revised building plan for the collapsed building in Sector 17 has been approved till date. In fact, no building plan has been submitted for approval at the estate office. In the absence of the revised building plan, no construction is allowed at the collapsed building site." Sources in the Chandigarh administration revealed that there is a laid-down process and procedure for constructing commercial and residential buildings in Chandigarh. "For commercial buildings, applications for building plans must be submitted to the UT estate office. The Chandigarh administration's technical and administrative staff review the plan at designated stages. Upon successful completion of all steps, the Estate Office issues the building plan, authorising construction in accordance with Estate Rules and regulations." "Additionally, the Chandigarh administration has established a plan approval committee (PAC), consisting of senior technical and administrative officers from various departments, including engineering and architecture. For significant and critical building approval cases, the PAC conducts thorough evaluations, considering all relevant rules and standards before reaching decisions on submitted building plans," sources added. The structural integrity of the building adjacent to the collapsed area appears severely compromised, with visible deterioration evident across various sections of its exterior. A thorough assessment is necessary to determine if installing iron columns at the impacted location would be a feasible solution, given the concerning state of the surrounding structure. Following the collapse, the UT administration had already sent its detailed fact-finding report to Chandigarh Police to probe the matter. Major lapses led to collapse Jan 6 | Just 10 days after it was declared unsafe for occupancy, a three-bay building in Chandigarh's one of most important commercial hubs, Sector 17, collapsed in the early hours on Monday. The structure (SCO 183-185) had been evacuated and sealed off since December 27 after being deemed unsafe. Jan 28 | Almost three weeks after the collapse of a building in Sector 17 on Jan 6, UT Police have filed a case against nine individuals for allegedly making structural modifications which caused the incident. April 20 | UT administration began removing debris from the building that collapsed in Sector 17. The work is supervised by the National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research (NITTTR). April 27 | The fact-finding inquiry report of the UT administration found both the lessee and owner of the building in Sector 17 responsible for its collapse. In his detailed inquiry, the SDM of the Chandigarh administration's central division found that despite knowing that the structural stability certificate had not been procured, they renovated and altered the structure, ignoring the possible risks. The report revealed that no safety measures had been taken even during repair work of the building. Moreover, no revised building plans had been passed by the estate office, and an objection was already placed. However, the lessee and owner ignored this and initiated renovation work.