Terrorists kill two Indians, abduct one in south-west Niger
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Niamey: Two Indians were killed and one abducted following a terrorist attack in south-west Niger, said the Indian Embassy here."In a heinous terror attack on 15 July in Niger's Dosso region, two Indian nationals tragically lost their lives and one was abducted," the Embassy posted on social media on Friday.Unidentified gunmen attacked an army unit guarding a construction site in Dosso, about 130 kilometres from the capital Niamey, local media reported.The Indian mission said it is working with local authorities to repatriate the mortal remains of those killed.The embassy is also working to "ensure safe release" of the Indian abducted.Indians in the West African nation are also advised by the mission to remain vigilant.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Nimisha Priya
The clock seems ticking for 37-year-old Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who is on death row at the Central prison in Yemen's capital Sanaa for the alleged murder of Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national. Media reports that emerged two weeks ago had stated that her execution was scheduled on July 16. Her family members and well-wishers felt a glimmer of hope after last-minute diplomatic and other interventions resulted in the postponement of her sentence. However, it remained short-lived as a social media post by the victim's brother Abdul Fatah Mahdi said 'justice would prevail', and affirmed that 'retribution would come regardless of any delays in the execution'. A nurse from Kerala, Nimisha has been imprisoned in Sanaa's central jail since 2017, convicted of murdering Mahdi, her business partner. A native of Kollengode in Palakkad district, she left for Yemen in 2008 with dreams of securing a better future for her parents, who worked as domestic helps. She landed a job at a government-run hospital in Sanaa. She worked there until 2011, before returning to Kerala to marry Tomy Thomas, a daily-wage labourer and native of Thodupuzha in Idukki district. The civil war in Yemen that resulted in the Houthi rebels gaining control over Sanaa in 2014 shattered Nimisha's dreams. The Government of India issued an advisory in April 2015 asking Indian nationals not to travel to Yemen owing to the adverse political and security situation. In 2015, Nimisha quit her low-paying hospital job to start her own clinic. However, Yemeni law required nationals to own and operate businesses, forcing her to partner with Mahdi to set up the venture. The same year, Mahdi accompanied her to Kerala when she came home for a month-long holiday. A petition filed by Nimisha's 58-year-old mother, Premakumari, in December 2023 before the Delhi High Court, seeking the Centre's permission to visit her daughter, stated that her relationship with Mahdi deteriorated over time after he allegedly began torturing her and siphoned off all the clinic's revenue. In July 2017, desperate for a way-out, Nimisha sought advice from a jail warden near her clinic where Mahdi had previously been allegedly imprisoned for various offences. The warden allegedly suggested sedating Mahdi to recover her passport. However, an apparent overdose resulted in his death, says the petition. Nearly a month later, Nimisha was arrested near Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia after Mahdi's dismembered body was discovered in a water tank. Death penalty She was sentenced to death by a trial court in Sanaa in 2020 and the Houthi Supreme Political Council dismissed her appeal in November 2023. The appeal court kept open the option of paying blood money (diyah) — in accordance with Shariah law — to the murdered man's family and be pardoned for the crime. The efforts to release her from prison gained momentum after the formation of Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, a collective comprising elected representatives, lawyers and human rights activists. But the case had posed significant challenges in view of India's lack of official ties with the Houthis. Ms. Premakumari met her daughter after a long gap at the prison in Sanaa on April 24, 2024 following the Delhi High Court's directive in December 2023 asking the Centre to relax its 2017 notification that barred Indian passport holders from travelling to Yemen. She has been staying in Sanaa since then amid hopes of securing the release of her daughter. As the deadlock continues, the Indian government says it is in contact with 'local authorities' in Sanaa, as well with some 'friendly governments' in the region to push for her release. Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar, a religious leader from Kerala, who had reportedly intervened through his friend and Yemeni Sufi scholar Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz to convince the victim's family to pardon Nimisha, says 'talks had been under way with Talal's family despite their strong desire for retribution'.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Denied leave, Niger terror victim missed daughter's wedding on Jul 2
1 2 Bokaro: A pall of gloom has engulfed Karipani village under the Gomia block of Bokaro district, following the tragic death of 39-year-old Ganesh Karmali in a recent terror attack in Niger, a West African country. Karmali was working as a security guard with a private company in the country when he was killed in a brutal terrorist assault in the Dosso region on July 15. His mortal remains are yet to be brought back to India, and the grieving family is enduring an agonising wait that may stretch over a week. Fighting back her tears, Ganesh's elder daughter Sapna Kumari, appealed to the Centre to intervene and ensure that the company her father worked for compensates their family adequately. "My father was not ill, nor did he die in an accident. He was murdered by terrorists. The the external affairs minister, must ensure justice. My father was the sole breadwinner of our family. We are devastated," she said. Recalling the painful memories, Sapna also said her father had promised to attend her wedding on July 2, but the company denied him leave. "If he had returned for the ceremony, he might still be alive. It was very painful for any girl to get married without her father's presence," she said, finally wiping off a tear.. Sapna was en route to Bangalore with her husband when she received the devastating news. "I got the call on the train. I de-boarded midway in Odisha and returned home. My younger sister and brother are, too, small to even understand this loss. We just want to see him one last time," she said. Ganesh's wife, Yasoda Devi, is in a state of trauma. "My life has shattered. I have no idea how to raise my children alone. The company offered Rs 15 lakh, but how long will that last?" Bokaro labour superintendent Ranjit Kumar confirmed that the Indian embassy in Niger is working closely with the Jharkhand Migrant Cell to provide all help to the family of the deceased. "NOC has been issued by the Niger govt and the body is likely to arrive within a week," he added. The entire village of Karipani stands united in grief, mourning a man who left home seeking hope and returned only as a memory.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Silent killer on the loose: The menace of Chinese manjha
It's a humid July afternoon. In Southeast Delhi's Sangam Vihar, a 14-year-old has just come back from school. The scrawny teenager quickly changes into brown shorts and a black T-shirt and heads out again. He has to buy a packet of toned milk from a grocery store in the Sangam Vihar market, a small cluster of shops across the road from the main Wazirabad market. But the milk is only part of the errand. The boy, his friends claim, is the contact in the area to get the infamous 'Chinese manjha (kite string)'. 'Kam se kam 200 ka loge? (Will you buy at least Rs 200 worth of manjha?)' — he's often heard asking prospective customers. Once assured the buyer is serious, the boy gestures for them to follow him inside the market. En route is a shabby one-room kite shop, with children queuing up outside. But he passes by without a glance. 'Yahan kuch nai milega. Abhi (police) raid ka season hai. (You won't find anything here. This is the season of raids),' he says, referring to a recent raid by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in Wazirabad on July 5. After passing through a narrow alley, the boy reaches a small medical shop. He steps up and murmurs into the ear of an 18-year-old youth sitting at the counter. 'Rs 220 ek reel manjhe ke liye. Ek dum dhaardaar hai, Bareilly se laya hai mere chacha ka ladka. Bolo toh mangwaunga (Rs 220 for one reel of manja. It's very sharp. My cousin got it from Bareilly. Say the word and I will bring it),' the boy at the counter says. Despite being banned in Delhi, the sale of Chinese manjha continues. The string, made of nylon, is coated with crushed pieces of glass, giving it razor-sharp edges that easily cut through other kite strings in the air — but it is capable of doing far worse on the ground. In recent years, it has been linked to multiple deaths and injuries, particularly among two-wheeler riders whose necks get caught in stray strings hanging across roads. This year, it has already led to the death of one person and injured another. On June 27, Yash Goswami (22) died after his throat was slit by a Chinese manjha on Rani Jhansi flyover in North Delhi. The Karawal Nagar resident was on his way home at the time. 'Goswami suffered a deep cut on his neck, causing him to collapse on the spot. He was rushed to the hospital by passersby, where he was declared dead on arrival,' a police officer had said. In another incident on July 2, the string did not take the life of Axis Bank employee Prakash but slashed his face while he was passing by the Shastri Park flyover on his bike, police had said. Chinese manjha, according to the police and shopkeepers, is primarily produced in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. It is called 'Chinese' not because of its origin, but because it is synthetic, unlike traditional Indian Manjha or 'Sadda', which are made from natural cotton threads. In January 2017, the Delhi government moved a notification banning manjha made of nylon and plastic and ones made of cotton coated with glass or metal (popularly known as 'Bareilly ka manjha'). In 2017, the National Green Tribunal had ordered a total ban on manjha made of nylon or any synthetic material. Like every year, the Delhi Police has started its crackdown on the supply of Chinese manjha. With the kite-flying season approaching ahead of Independence Day, the Crime Branch has already seized over 1,200 rolls of the banned thread from three locations in the city. The first seizure was done at Central Delhi's Kamla Market on June 26. Running the illegal manjha operation here was Areeb Khan (22) a former textile store worker. 'He had 248 rolls of banned string and was caught near Kamla Market. Areeb used to work at a clothing store but moved to kite-string selling for more profit,' DCP (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav had said. The second operation happened in West Delhi's Uttam Nagar on June 27. 2. Raju Chaurasia (51) was arrested in the case. The third operation took place in Sangam Vihar, Wazirabad on July 5. The raid led to the arrest of Danish Khan (28) and the recovery of 56 rolls of manjha. He used to make kites but started selling manjha to earn more money, police had said. In all, 1,226 rolls of Chinese manjha have been found, and police registered three FIRs against the people involved. On Friday itself, brothers Samir (22) and Shakir (18) were arrested from a jhuggi cluster at Nand Nagri with 325 reels of the banned Chinese manjha. They allegedly told the police that they were stocking up for the Independence Day. Kamla Market in Daryaganj, in the Lal Kuan area, is known as the hub for kite shops. Sitting at his family's kite shop is a 13-year-old bespectacled boy, handling customers as the adults have stepped out. Behind him, kites of all shapes and colours are pinned to the wall. The news of Areeb's arrest has spread like wildfire, with shopkeepers now vehemently denying ever possessing the Chinese Manjha. 'Chinese manjha ab nahi milta yaha. Jo bechte the unko bhi pakad liya police ne (Chinese manjha is not available here, the police have caught those who sold them),' says the boy. 'Par uski takkar ka mil jaayega (But you can get something of the same quality at the main shop),' he adds. He goes down a damp lane and, after about 250 m, enters a house with a green curtain serving as its entrance. Inside is a room with high-ceiling, with kites all around. Sitting on the floor, on a ragged, torn maroon carpet, are two teenage boys and an elderly man clad in a white kurta pyjama — all sewing kites. The man owns the kite shop. The 13-year-old asks the man, who is holding a purple kite in his hand, for manjha. The man shouts, 'Indian reel le aa ek (Bring a reel of cotton manjha).' Hearing him, the other two boys, a couple of years older than their bespectacled peer, rush together inside a storeroom. They come out with a reel of thread. 'Cotton hai, par masala chadha hua hai. Wahi glass wala jo hota hai. (It's a cotton thread, but it's coated with glass),' says the man on being asked if the thread has the same sharpness as the 'Chinese one'. According to police officers, the ban applies both to the nylon thread and its deadly glass coating (Bareilly manjha). 'The nylon threads are sometimes replaced by cotton ones at these shops. But they have options. You can buy a sadda (plain cotton reel) or the glass-coated one (glass-coated cotton reel),' an officer said. 'Hard to make arrests' Though suppliers are often caught in raids, arrests are rare in cases where deaths occur from stray manjha hanging in public spaces. 'It's very difficult to nab someone in these cases. The thread gets cut once it tangles around someone on a road or in any public place. It's difficult to trace the owner of one piece of thread found on a random flyover,' a police officer says. No arrests have been made in the two cases from this year, police say. On August 19 in 2023, Sandeep (40) was taking his seven-year-old daughter on an early morning drive on his black motorcycle to Bhaira Enclave in West Delhi's Paschim Vihar. His daughter was sitting in front. He was about to take a turn when his daughter screamed. 'I quickly stopped and got her down — and saw the manjha wrapped around her neck. She was bleeding,' Sandeep had told police at that time. The girl died on her way to the hospital. No one has been arrested till now, a senior police officer says. In August 2019, Manav Sharma (28) had his throat slit by the manjha in Paschim Vihar of Outer Delhi. He was on the way home on a scooter with his sisters after celebrating Raksha Bandhan. No arrest was made in this case either, the officer adds. Monika (26), the younger sister of Manav, was sitting behind him on the scooter, when his throat was slit. 'The scooter has been parked for the last six years in front of our building. No one in our family touched it,' Monika says. The death of Manav, who was the sole breadwinner for a family of five – including his parents and his two sisters – devastated the family. 'We were returning after celebrating Raksha Bandhan. My cousins had come from Punjab. Manav was riding the scooter, and I and my sister were riding pillion. He suddenly stopped and we saw blood gushing from his throat,' Monika says. Monika is now the sole breadwinner of the family of three – her father had died in 2023. 'I work for a private firm… Since he (Manav) left us, I haven't been able to ride a two-wheeler. Every year, I hear about manjhas causing deaths. I don't know about the ban, but how come such a thing that can kill people this easily is still available in the market,' she asks. As Independence Day nears, raids on manjha godowns are expected to be stepped up, senior police officers said. 'Most suppliers get stock 48 hours before August 14, when the demand is at peak. They look to quickly sell and finish off the stock before they can be caught,' an officer added.
