Ex-UK intelligence worker jailed for taking top secret data home
Hasaan Arshad, 25, pleaded guilty in March to one charge under the Computer Misuse Act, committed between August and September 2022 while working at British signals intelligence agency GCHQ.
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Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Prime Minister Keir Starmer launches historic inquiry into grooming gangs as survivors break silence
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced a full statutory national inquiry into 'grooming gangs', following a scathing audit by Baroness Louise Casey. The move reverses months of hesitation and brings hope to survivors who say their suffering was swept aside for too long. 'What matters most is getting justice for the victims,' said Paul Waugh, Labour MP for Rochdale, a key flashpoint in earlier grooming scandals. He welcomed Starmer's decision to back a statutory inquiry, which can compel witnesses and documents, ensuring inquiries are not stifled by local authorities. Grooming gangs refer to groups of men, often operating in towns like Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford, who sexually abused and trafficked vulnerable girls, often over many years. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Average IQ Is 90. Check if Your Is Higher IQ International Undo Victims were groomed with attention, gifts, or alcohol, then exploited. Authorities repeatedly failed to act, with some fearing accusations of racism due to the ethnic background of many offenders. The scandal exposed deep institutional neglect and cultural taboos. Fiona, a survivor from Bradford quoted by Sky News, said she still 'thinks it's shocking' how social services ignored her crying for help and even blamed her 'lifestyle choices' Live Events Why national inquiry now? Public pressure intensified early this year when figures like Elon Musk highlighted the issue on social media , prompting renewed political scrutiny. Conservative and Reform UK figures called Starmer's stance a 'U‑turn,' notably Kemi Badenoch, who criticized the delay and demanded urgency The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) outlined hundreds of failings earlier in 2022, but its recommendations remain largely unimplemented. A local audit by Baroness Casey, completed recently, went further, finding a nationwide pattern of institutional indifference and embedded failures. Starmer said he 'read every single word' of the audit and would implement Casey's call for a statutory investigation under the Inquiries Act. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will formally introduce the inquiry in Parliament next week, accompanied by Casey's full report. What's next The inquiry will coordinate both national and targeted local investigations, even in areas where local authorities might resist. This structured, legally empowered approach stands to uncover who failed, why, and how to prevent it again. For survivors like Fiona, it's a long-awaited step toward justice and the chance for their voices to finally be heard.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
DNA of 19 victims matched, more remains discovered
Doctors in Ahmedabad worked round the clock to match blood and DNA samples to slivers of charred remains, forensic investigators combed through mangled pieces of metal for human parts, and rescuers cut through the wreckage to pull out bodies on Saturday as authorities struggled to arrive at the final toll of India's worst single-aircraft tragedy. Officials said they pulled out three bodies from the debris on Saturday, adding to the already staggering toll from the Thursday afternoon crash of the London-bound Air India 171 flight just outside Ahmedabad airport, even as it became clear that people had died not just on the plane or in the hostel it slammed into, but also the neighbourhood. The government has confirmed that only one of the 242 people on board the plane survived, and eight bodies of people who died at the BJ Medical College hostel were handed over to their families on Friday. In addition, the 15-year-old son of a tea-seller who was sleeping under a tree, Akash Patni, was confirmed dead as well. Around 20 more people – all on the ground – were feared dead, but confusion reigned on the exact number. 'As of Friday, the death toll stood at 270. Today, we recovered three additional bodies, including one from the tail section of the aircraft. Search and recovery operations for the remaining victims continue,' a police official stated. But Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at B.J. Medical College, told reporters that at least 270 bodies were recovered from the site of the crash. 'The eight bodies handed to the families on Friday did not need DNA identification. They had died after the wall collapsed. But 11 passenger bodies were examined for DNA sampling on Saturday because of the burn injuries. It matched with the blood samples given by the victims,' said medical college dean Meenakshi Desai, adding that the hospital authorities were waiting for four families to give their samples. Later in the evening, state home minister Harsh Sanghavi said in a post on X that the matching process for 19 victims was completed. 'DNA Matching Progress: 19 DNA samples have been matched so far, confirming the identities of victims,' he said. Emergency services continued recovery efforts, extracting a badly burnt body from the wreckage on Saturday before cranes were deployed to clear debris. DNA identification is underway to confirm victim identities, with relatives, some traveling to India, providing samples to assist. The flight carried 169 Indian, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian passenger, along with 12 crew members. The deceased include at least four medical students and two of their relatives who were inside the hostel where the plane crashed. Only one British nation, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived. Three forensic science laboratory teams were engaged in DNA sample analysis, and so far, blood samples from 248 relatives were collected, a Civil Hospital official said on condition of anonymity. At the Trauma Centre, the health department deployed five teams comprising around 100 specialists and assistants in orthopaedics, neurology, medicine, plastic surgery, and burns. Additionally, a team of 32 experts and 20 assistants was stationed at the post-mortem room, while 12 experts were operating at the testing facility of B.J. Medical College. The DNA matching process is being conducted with support from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the National Forensic Science University (NFSU). Hospital authorities have established strict protocols. A close relative who provided the DNA sample should come in person to collect the body. If unavailable, other close family members may collect the body. If the person who gave the DNA sample cannot come personally, they must send an authorised representative with a proper authority letter. Some relatives expressed frustration that the process was taking too long. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process. Navib Sheikh, who lost four members of his family, asked, 'The doctors are saying it will take 72 hours. The mother of the girl who died does not know that her daughter is no more. We gave the DNA samples on the day the incident took place. Why is it taking so long?' Sheikh's relatives Mariam Ali Syed, her husband Javed, and their two children, Zayn, 5, and Amani, 4, perished. State Emergency Commissioner Alok Pandey said the deceased were from 18 of Gujarat's 33 districts. 'A grief counsellor has been appointed for each family to address the mental trauma. The families of the 11 foreign nationals have also been contacted, and they will arrive here by noon tomorrow,' he added. Dean Desai said, 'The forensic science laboratory is working round-the-clock to match the samples. We hope to release the report of 10-20 samples every day. The bodies of the passengers are being handled in a dignified way.' Explaining the process, Desai said that the tissue from bones and teeth of charred bodies were taken up for DNA profiling. ' Taking samples in case of a charred body is possible but it takes time. In case of immediate relatives, the results are delivered immediately. For distant relatives, it may take time. But all bodies will be identified and handed to the families for a dignified funeral.' Throughout Saturday, families of those who died in the crash continued to wait outside the mortuary. Among them was Yash Mistry, a resident of Anand in Gujarat, whose sister, Kinal, was among the passengers on the Air India flight. 'This morning, a police inspector explained the process. We have been given a slip with a number. The hospital authorities said that each one of us will get a call, once the body is identified. We have been told to present this slip containing the number at the counter in the hospital. Once they match the number and our identity, then the bodies will be returned.' Police officials at the mortuary said that each passenger, whose identity was not known, too was assigned a number. 'The number and the blood sample given by the relatives is matched. This is how the bodies will be handed. We have told the relatives not to stand in this heat outside the mortuary and urged them to return to the accommodation provided by the government until then,' they added. Aamir, whose brother Irfan Sheikh, a flight crew member, is suspected to be among the dead, said the hospital authorities said that the body would be handed in by Saturday night or soon. 'We are hoping to receive a call from the hospital anytime. Each time the phone rings, we hope this is a call from them. We want to take our brother home at the earliest.'
Indian Express
7 hours ago
- Indian Express
19 identified through DNA tests: Minister
The identities of 19 of the 241 passengers who died on the AI 171 Dreamliner on June 12, were confirmed by matching DNA samples by Saturday afternoon, 48 hours after the crash. Of these, the body of Poornima Patel from Dakor in Kheda district was handed over to the family members and has been cremated. Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi said on X that until 9 pm Saturday, 19 DNA samples have been matched so far, confirming the identities of victims. 'State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) unit team and National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) team are working through the night to match more DNA samples,' he said in the post. The samples which matched also include that of Kalpana Prajapati and Alysia Makwana, a British national from Vadodara. The other bodies identified are of passengers from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, the source said. 'Both bodies will be sent to Vadodara on Sunday morning for the last rites to be conducted by the families,' Hemang Joshi, Vadodara MP, told The Indian Express. To avoid chaos and distress to the next of kin, the Gujarat government has requested family members residing abroad to plan their arrival after sending their DNA report , a top source in the government told The Indian Express. 'We have requested the foreign nationals who have not yet arrived in Ahmedabad to send their DNA profile reports from wherever they are, as a reference sample, and we will then cross verify with the DNA profile of the sample extracted from the victim here and then they can come and collect the body, on a stipulated date. They will be given all the documents in a proper file for any future reference,' the source said. There are at least 21 samples expected to be taken from foreign nationals whose family members died in the AI 171 crash on June 12. Kheda District Collector Amit Prakash Yadav told The Indian Express, 'The mortal remains of Purnima Patel, one of the crash victims arrived in her hometown in Dakor in Kheda district on Saturday evening and the cremation was done with full rituals by the Swaminarayan community, which the family belongs to. The Gujarat government supported the community in arranging the final rites.' Patel was travelling to London to meet her son. Yadav said that relatives of one crash victim from Kheda, a Canadian national, Piyush Patel (29), are on their way to submit the DNA samples. Yadav said, 'Piyush Patel's Canada-based wife and 7-year-old daughter are arriving in India to submit the daughter's sample for identification of the body. An expert on DNA forensics and retired IPS officer Keshav Kumar said that in cases such as the Air India crash where bodies are severely charred, the DNA extracted from the molar tooth of the victim, is the best bet to match with the reference sample. Kumar, who is consultant to the Home and Political Affairs department of the Government of Assam, recalls Rajkot's TRP game zone fire on May 25 last year which left 27 dead. 'Some parents had come to us saying our child is missing and we had used the RapidHIT technology to match DNA within 90 minutes from reference samples and exhibits'.
