Al-Qaeda module busted by ATS in Gujarat, four terrorists arrested
The accused were allegedly involved in radicalising youth and promoting jihad through social media and encrypted apps.
In a significant crackdown on terror, the Gujarat ATS arrested four individuals allegedly linked to an Al-Qaeda module for promoting extremist ideology and anti-national propaganda online.
The accused, Mohammad Faiq Rizwan (Delhi), Mohammad Fardeen Rais (Fatehwadi, Ahmedabad), Saifullah Qureshi Rafiq (Modasa, Gujarat), and Zeeshan Ali Asif Ali (Noida), were allegedly part of a covert digital network spreading jihadist literature and inciting violence.
According to ATS DIG Sunil Joshi, the operation was launched following a tip-off received on 10 June, which led to the surveillance of five suspicious Instagram accounts. The probe revealed that accounts such as Mujahideen 1 and Mujahideen 3 were spewing pro-Al-Qaeda and anti-democracy content.
Further digital forensics traced these accounts back to the arrested men.
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First Post
5 minutes ago
- First Post
India–Maldives ties: Time to look to the future, not the past
Lately, President Muizzu has conceded Delhi as a loyal friend and is working closely with India for economic recovery, which is unlikely to happen without the Maldives helping itself read more President of the Maldives Mohamed Muizzu, right, shakes hand with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after signing a memorandum of understanding between the two countries in Male, Maldives, Friday, July 25, 2025. (Indian Prime Ministers Office via AP) At the end of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the Maldives, 25-26 July, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said it all in his post-talks news briefing. 'Together, the two sides were looking into the future, not the past,' he said. This was India's position even on a day-to-day basis when, as a freshly minted president, host Mohamed Muizzu bad-mouthed India as much as he could for any Maldivian leader on bilateral matters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The visit was rich in optics—yes. From a public diplomacy perspective, it matters the most in both nations, especially now. The content of the visit was no less positive but was not flashy, as some in India especially had expected. At the end of their talks, Muizzu conceded at a news conference that India was a 'supportive, loyal friend'. It had taken him months to realise it and acknowledge it in public. In retrospect, it is safe to conclude that in his first weeks as president, and during his presidential poll campaign earlier, he was misinformed and misled by those around him. Share of blame Yet, Muizzu cannot absolve himself of the blame, as he already had six long years of experience as a senior minister for the all-important infrastructure development sector during the successive presidencies of Mohammed Waheed and Abdulla Yameen. He spent five years through Yameen's full term in office, during which time he was not known to have even squirmed at the president's anti-democracy initiatives. When Yameen launched his 'India Out' campaign while in the Opposition, Muizzu was seen in those rallies, though not all of them. In turn, this made Muizzu suspect in ordinary Indian eyes, as New Delhi too had reasons to brand Yameen as 'anti-India', more than for his being 'pro-China' or anything else. It was based on Yameen's perceptions about India in the context of Maldivian domestic politics. This is one area where Muizzu too could still trip if he does not take the India element out of his domestic political calculations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This includes motivated domestic perceptions that India backs democratic forces in the archipelago, represented purportedly by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and that every other leader, including Muizzu, is an autocrat or despot. This domestic perception among all political players in the country is not supported by India's actions that are people-centric, not personality-centric. Greater legitimacy The Prime Minister was accompanied by a high-level team, which included External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. This indicated the level of engagement that accompanied the visit. Incidentally, the presence of NSA Doval was a lesser-known fact for the media in the two countries, but that does not necessarily mean that there were 'secret talks' on the security front, as often assumed. For optics, you had Muizzu receiving the prime minister personally at the Male airport, accompanied later at the official reception with a 21-gun salute, both of them unprecedented, and Modi's presence as the chief guest at the 60th Independence Day of Maldives. It was also the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomacy, as India was among the first nations to recognise the new Maldivian regime post-independence in 1965. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Locally, eyebrows were raised, yes, when President Muizzu addressed a joint rally of the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) and the Maldivian Police Service (MPS) on the afternoon of Independence Day, when the Indian visitor was still in town. This was the first time an incumbent president was addressing the two together after then-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom bifurcated the infamous National Security Service (NSS) in 2006, in the run-up to full democratisation through a new constitution and presidential elections in 2008. Looked at from a domestic angle, the Indian Prime Minister's visit, followed by that of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in double-quick succession (July 28-29), is not about his administration opening up to ever-supportive neighbours, which is the truth of the matter. Instead, the perception, starting from Camp Muizzu, is one of his acquiring international legitimacy after having stabilised his hold over domestic governance and politics, in that order. Third visitor, who? STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Given the brutal majority that his People's National Congress (PNC) enjoys in the 93-member Parliament, there was no need for Muizzu to get an 'undemocratic' anti-defection law passed without debate. Nor was there any justification for the government-controlled Judicial Service Commission (JSC) suspending first and sacking three Justices of the Supreme Court when the full, seven-judge bench was set to hear a petition challenging the anti-defection law. Yet, he did both and initiated more such moves that critics claimed were 'anti-democratic'. It is in this context that critics see Muizzu's eagerness to have more foreign visitors on invitation, to tell his world that the international community stood by him. Hence, there is also speculation, if not betting, on who the 'lucky' third one would be after Modi and Anura to receive Muizzu's invitation to visit his country. New Delhi may not have any direct interest, least of all influence, in Muizzu's choice of the next couple of overseas Heads of State and/or Government visiting Maldives on invitation. Yet, India would be watching it all from the ringside to have a clear perspective of Muizzu's foreign, security, and overseas economic policies—not necessarily in that order. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Will the next visitor be the Chinese Prime Minister, if not President Xi Jinping, or Turkey's President Recep Erdogan? After all, Muizzu had courted both nations in his early weeks in office, and possibly before his election, too, and from whose shoulders he was firing (their?) anti-India salvos, too, before seeing their true colours, and tucked his tail between his legs without losing time or initiative. Credit and more On the constructive side, India and Maldives signed a total of eight agreements during Modi's visit, all of them discussed and debated threadbare in-house in the two governments and between them. The list includes one on a $565 million Line of Credit (LoC) from India and another on pharmaceutical supplies. This, in a way, is acknowledgement of the Muizzu Government's failure to obtain 'quality medicines at affordable prices' from Europe without depending on a 'single source' (India), as he had thumbed his chest last year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Before the pharma deal now, Muizzu had gone back on his muscle-flexing on commissioning annual supplies of essentials, including rice, sugar, and wheat flour, from distant Turkey, again to limit dependence on a 'single source'. It happened after the Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea provided a legitimate excuse for Erdogan to possibly go back on his purported promise during Muizzu's visit only weeks after assuming office in November 2023. In Male, PM Modi also inaugurated multiple India-funded projects and handed over the keys to owners under a housing scheme. In a city with the highest population density for a South Asian capital, urban housing is still politically and electorally sensitive. Balanced FTA Of equal importance is one setting the terms of reference for further discussions on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Maldives. For now, Maldives especially has learnt a lot from the hurried FTA President Yameen signed with China in 2017 but whose implementation he and his successor, President Ibrahim 'Ibu' Solih, both did not take up. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Now, after implementing the China FTA since January 1 this year, Muizzu has found out that Maldives was losing scarce revenue, big time. Maldivians were spending dollars in big numbers, not only in conventional trade but also through online sales of Chinese goods, airlifted mostly out of Hong Kong. In recent months, this has affected small and medium traders in the country. They form a key electoral constituency. But then a 30 per cent service tax on specified online trade firms dealing in Chinese goods has not helped after the latter introduced equal discounts for their Maldivian customers. This would engage Indian negotiators as they work out the details of the Indian FTA in the coming weeks and months. They will also have another example in the Sri Lanka-Maldives FTA, which was signed during President Dissanayake's visit, post-Modi's. National dichotomy Maldives' woes owe to the nation living beyond its means. This has an indirect impact on national security and foreign policy that flows from over-dependence on external assistance. In the name of upholding national security and sovereignty viz the ever-helpful Indian neighbour, presidents like Yameen and Muizzu welcomed extra-regional powers, especially China. It only complicated the nation's security situation even more. They too silently acknowledged post facto that China had a larger scheme in which the Maldives was only a speck, and they could do nothing about it if sucked in more than ready. But domestic compulsions stood in the way of Yameen applying the correctives. With little choice after he found out that China, and also Turkey, did not match word with action, Muizzu at least is on a course correction viz India relations. Maldives' problems reside in the economic sphere. In a 500,000-population, half of whom are on the electoral list, first-time voters in their thousands are jobless. They tend to side with him who promises the moon. Frustration has already driven them to drugs, and the puritans among them tend to take to religious radicalisation—in the absence of any left political movement. Skill sets & FDI All these when available jobs, again in tens of thousands, are going to foreigners, mostly Bangladeshis but with a sizable sprinkling of Indians and some Sri Lankans, too. This is because local youth ambitions are not matched by skill sets that can attract big-ticket FDI in non-tourism sectors, too. Competitive populism is the bane. Every post-democracy president, including incumbent Muizzu, promised to set matters right but has been swept away by electoral compulsions. Going back to the days of 'elected autocracy' is not an option, but that is what successive post-democracy presidents have attempted in their own ways—but failed on both fronts. The people simply threw them out in favour of yet another untested individual, whose face was relatively fresh and whose promises looked beneficial. All of it often leads to situations wherein incumbent governments are tempted to fall back even more on external economic assistance, but in terms of 'competitive ideology', though none exists. Successful experience Muizzu is working closely with India for economic recovery that is unlikely to happen without Maldives helping itself. Given India's successful experience in pulling itself out of the fiscal/economic mess that it found itself in the early nineties, the Maldivian government, as a democracy, can also seek guidance in the matter, after downsizing them to Maldivian levels. In 2013, President Yameen's foreign policy document claimed that his government would make the nation economically strong to be able to have an 'independent foreign and security policy'. The reference was, of course, to India. He failed on the first count, so his government did not reach the second stage, despite his wooing China, as if the nation had a panacea for Maldives' ills. Muizzu began by placing himself in such a conundrum but has been quick to retrieve at least some of the lost ground. How he proceeds from here will decide the future for the Maldives and strategic peace for the region's nations, including India and Sri Lanka. That is where the Maldives' strategic reset should begin, where the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) could provide a basis for defining/redefining the nation's priorities in the present and the future. Such an approach alone can help the Maldives and Muizzu to achieve what they intend to achieve on the domestic front. That is without them having to invite and/or facilitate complex competitive competition between superpower America and wannabe superpower China, both of whom do not belong here but want to be here through proxies. The writer is a Chennai-based Policy Analyst & Political Commentator. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
News18
28 minutes ago
- News18
Watch These OTT Shows If You Loved Mandala Murders
2/10 If murder mysteries are your thing, you cannot miss these Indian OTT shows that will keep you on the edge of your seats. (Image: Instagram) Delhi Crime: This Netflix crime drama web series, written and directed by Richie Mehta, is produced by Chirag Shah, Golden Caravan, Ivanhoe Productions, Film Caravan, and Poor Man Productions. (Image: IMDb) The series stars Shefali Shah, Rasika Duggal, Adil Hussain and Rajesh Tailang. The first season is about the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape. The second season is about the Chaddy Banyan gang. (Image: IMDb) Daahad: The crime thriller web series, created by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, and directed by Ruchika Oberoi, is available on Amazon Prime Video. The series stars Sonakshi Sinha, Gulshan Devaiah, Vijay Varma, and Soham Shah. (Image: IMDb) Auto Shankar: Auto Shankar revolves around a notorious serial killer and gangster from Tamil Nadu. Active in Chennai during the 1970s and 1980s, his criminal activities have now been adapted into a crime thriller web series available on ZEE5. (Image: IMDb) The series follows the life of an auto driver whose world is dramatically changed by his involvement in local liquor smuggling and prostitution. The role of Auto Shankar is portrayed by Appani Sarath. (Image: IMDb) The Talwars: Behind Closed Doors: Behind Closed Doors is a documentary series about the 2008 Aarushi murder case. It also covers the murder of the house servant Hemraj. (IMDb) This series, available on JioHotstar and HBO, offers a detailed look at the Noida double murder mystery. It provides insights into the case that hasn't been shown in any movie. Watching it is sure to keep you up at night. (Image: IMDb)
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Kim Kardashian shocked by missing cruise girl doc, joins public plea for Amy Bradley
Kim Kardashian has once again stepped into the true crime spotlight, this time after being deeply shaken by Netflix's new documentary Amy Bradley Is Missing. The three-part series unravels the eerie disappearance of Amy Bradley, who vanished without a trace from a Royal Caribbean cruise in 1998. Kim, who is known for her legal reform efforts and passion for justice, took to Instagram with an emotional post, urging her followers to tune in and help bring attention to the decades old mystery. Kim Kardashian reacts to haunting Netflix case Kim called the documentary 'mind blowing' and said it left her shaken. According to her post, she found the whole thing terrifying and insisted that more people need to watch and talk about it. She declared it is time to 'find Amy' – a call to action that quickly caught the attention of her massive fanbase. Who was Amy Bradley and what happened? At just 23, Amy had recently graduated from university and set sail with her family, her parents Ron and Iva, and her younger brother Brad, on what was supposed to be a relaxing Caribbean holiday. But on the early morning of March 23rd, 1998, Amy vanished. She had returned to her cabin around 3:35am after partying at a nightclub onboard. By 6:15am, she was gone. No note. No trace. Just silence. Despite an intense search involving helicopters and coast guards, not a single piece of evidence was recovered. Coast Guard official Henry Vrutaal stated in the doc that it was 'the biggest search' they had ever conducted, yet they found nothing. The island of Curaçao, where the ship had docked, offered no answers. Kim is hooked on true crime, and wants answers This is not the first time Kim has spoken out about a haunting true crime case. She recently shared her reaction to Amazon Prime's One Night In Idaho, which follows the 2022 university murders that shocked the nation. She admitted she was overwhelmed by the pain of the victims' families and was left emotionally drained after watching it. In March 1998, Amy Lynn Bradley vanished from a cruise ship during a family vacation in the Caribbean. #FBIWFO continues to investigate her disappearance. If you have information that could lead to her recovery, call your local #FBI office or the nearest U.S. Embassy.… Whether she is studying law or watching Netflix crime docs, Kim is clearly not one to scroll past injustice. With her massive platform behind it, the Amy Bradley case might just get the renewed attention it desperately deserves.
