Latest news with #ATS
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad arrests Bengaluru woman for terror module links
Bengaluru: A 30-year-old woman, allegedly maintaining contact with terror modules and sharing posts related to radicalisation, was arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) from her rented residence at Manorayanapalya in Hebbal on Tuesday. Sources said ATS officers tracking people in contact with terror modules on social media and sharing posts related to radicalisation, received information about the activities of Shama Parveen, a native of Jharkhand. Shama was staying with her younger brother, who is working in the city, for the past three years. She is single and unemployed. She used to share posts related to radicalisation, download speeches, and upload them on her Instagram account, asking people to support them. She was allegedly in contact with the terror module and is considered a sympathiser of banned outfits. She was following a few persons arrested by the ATS in other states recently. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru Following her arrest, the ATS personnel produced her in a local court, and obtained a transit warrant.
United News of India
10 hours ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Special Court set to rule on 2008 Malegaon Bombing Thursday
Mumbai, July 29 (UNI) Nearly 17 years after a fatal explosion tore through the communally sensitive town of Malegaon, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court will finally deliver its verdict this Thursday, July 31. The 2008 blast, occurring on September 29 during the holy month of Ramzan and coinciding with the Navratri festival eve, claimed six lives and left 100 others injured in the Muslim-majority town in Maharashtra's Nashik district. The protracted legal journey reaches a pivotal moment after the court reserved its orders on April 19. While initially directing the seven accused to appear on May 8 for the judgement, the pronouncement was subsequently rescheduled for July 31. The complex investigation saw initial handling by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), led by the late Special Inspector General Hemant Karkare, who was later killed during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The ATS filed its chargesheet in 2009. However, the case was in 2011 transferred to the NIA, which submitted a supplementary chargesheet in 2016. Although the NIA largely concurred with the ATS's findings, it differed on specific aspects, notably recommending the dropping of stringent charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a recommendation the court accepted. The trial, conducted by the special court in Mumbai, proceeded under charges framed on October 30, 2018. The seven accused face prosecution under critical sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including Sections 16 (committing a terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit a terrorist act), alongside various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC): 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 153(a) (promoting enmity between different religious groups). The accused standing trial are former BJP Member of Parliament Pragya Singh Thakur, retired Military Intelligence official Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sameer Kulkarni, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi. The prosecution presented a total of 323 witnesses during the lengthy trial. However, the proceedings were marked by the significant challenge of 34 witnesses turning hostile. The hearing of evidence concluded in September 2023, paving the way for the long-awaited verdict scheduled for this week. UNI AAA SSP
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Indian Express
Malegaon verdict on July 31: Recalling the 2008 bombing and the case against the accused
On Thursday (July 31), a special court in Mumbai will pronounce its verdict on the 2008 Malegaon blast case, in which former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit are among the accused. In one of the country's longest-running terror cases, seven accused have been on trial on charges including murder and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), and the anti-terrorism law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). Ahead of the judgment, this is a recall of what happened in Malegaon, and the major milestones in the 17-year journey of the case. The blast on September 29, 2008 A bomb went off at a chowk in Malegaon, a town known for its powerloom industry, about 100 km northeast of Nashik in Maharashtra. It was Ramzan, the holy month of fasting in Islam, and the blast, which took place in an area with a large Muslim population, killed six people and injured 100. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which took over the investigation from the local police, suspected that the improvised explosive device (IED) had been planted on an LML Freedom motorcycle. It was suspected that the conspirators had consciously chosen the month of Ramzan and the eve of Navaratri to carry out the bombing, intending to cause communal rifts and endanger the internal security of the state. The ATS claimed that the registration number of the motorcycle that was found at the site of the explosion – MH-15-P-4572 – was fake, and that its engine number and chassis number had been erased. The motorcycle was sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Nashik for restoration of the erased numbers. The ATS alleged that the owner of the bike was Pragya Singh Thakur alias Sadhwi Poornachetanand Giri, and arrested her on October 23, 2008. Thakur's arrest and interrogation, the ATS claimed, led it to the other accused. The agency said that it had intercepted phone calls of suspected persons. Calls between Lt Col Purohit and retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay were under scrutiny. Upadhyay and Sameer Kulkarni were arrested on October 28. By November 14, 2008, a total of 11 persons had been arrested. Among them was Purohit, who was arrested from the premises of the Army in Colaba in South Mumbai. The accused claimed that they were illegally detained by the ATS before being produced in court, and that they had been tortured in custody. In November 2008, the ATS invoked stringent sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (MCOCA) against them. They were accused of having formed an organisation named Abhinav Bharat, which was an organised crime syndicate. In its chargesheet filed on January 20, 2009, the ATS named the 11 arrested persons as accused, and another three as wanted accused. The accused were charged under the IPC and UAPA. The ATS claimed that the accused had discussed targeting Muslims as revenge against terrorist acts by Muslim men. It was also alleged that the accused had discussed working towards 'Aryawart' or a Hindu rashtra with its own Constitution and flag, and a 'government in exile'. According to the ATS, the conspiracy had begun from January 2008, and meetings were held at a number of places including Faridabad, Bhopal, and Nashik. The ATS claimed that Thakur had promised to provide people to carry out the bombing, and funds were raised through Abhinav Bharat. RDX, the plastic explosive used in the IED, was procured by Purohit from his posting in Jammu and Kashmir, and the bomb was assembled at the house of the arrested accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi, the ATS claimed. It was alleged that the explosive device was fitted on the motorcycle by Chaturvedi and another accused, Ramchandra Kalsangra, after which the vehicle was parked at the spot. NIA finds gaps in ATS investigation In 2011, the case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the federal investigation agency that was set up after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Even as the NIA continued with its investigation, the accused approached courts challenging the invocation of MCOCA against them, under which their confessions were recorded. In its chargesheet filed on May 13, 2016, the NIA dropped the charges under MCOCA, saying that the manner in which the organised crime law was invoked by the ATS was 'questionable'. The ATS probe, it said, was filled with 'lacunae', and of the 11 individuals arrested by the agency, evidence existed against only seven, and against the two wanted accused, Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange. The NIA said that the motorcycle registered in Thakur's name had been in the possession of Kalsangra, who was using it well before the blast. It also said that since MCOCA was not applied, confessions made under the Act, including a statement where it was claimed that Thakur had asked a co-accused to call Purohit to arrange for explosives, were inadmissible as evidence. Most of the ATS's case against the accused relied on confessions, and the NIA said that the confession of Chaturvedi was an 'outcome of torture'. It also said that due to the passage of time, no additional evidence could be recovered from the spot. The NIA re-recorded the statements of some witnesses before magistrates, citing inconsistencies in the ATS probe. Witnesses who the ATS had claimed were present in meetings in Bhopal and Faridabad where discussions on revenge and the blast were allegedly held, told the NIA that they were not present at these purported meetings, and did not hear any such talk. One of the main allegations in the NIA chargesheet was that the ATS had created false evidence to implicate the accused, and had illegally entered the house of Chatuvedi in Deolali, as was noticed by two Army officers. What court said on Thakur, Purohit, others Despite the NIA's pitch to drop Thakur as an accused, the special court hearing the case said there was prima facie evidence to put her on trial. Even though the NIA chargesheet claimed there was no witness or other proof to show her involvement in the conspiracy, the court said that it was difficult to accept Thakur's claim that she had no connection with the blast. On Purohit, a military intelligence officer, the court said that a conclusion could not be drawn that he had participated in the alleged conspiracy meetings ahead of the blast in the discharge of his duty and with the permission of his superiors, as he had claimed. On December 27, 2017, the court accepted the NIA's contention that MCOCA cannot be invoked in the case. It said that the seven accused – Thakur, Purohit, retired Major Upadhyay, Kulkarni, Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, and Sudhakar Dwivedi – would face trial under UAPA, IPC, and the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The court also said that two other accused, Rakesh Dhawde and Jagdish Mhatre, would face trial only under the Arms Act, 1959, in Pune, and three others would be discharged for lack of evidence, as proposed by the NIA. How the trial of the accused progressed The trial began in December 2018. The ATS, the previous probe agency, did not have a say in the proceedings, but the prosecution relied on documents and evidence collected by both the ATS and the NIA during the trial. More than 30 witnesses who were cited in the chargesheet passed away before they could depose before the court. The prosecution examined 323 witnesses and cited technical evidence including Call Data Records and voice samples. Thirty-four of the witnesses turned hostile. The testimonies of these witnesses mainly related to Purohit and the alleged conspiracy meetings. These witnesses denied having participated in or heard any discussions by the accused about the conspiracy to carry out a bomb blast. Some of the accused also alleged that they had been coerced, illegally detained, and threatened by the ATS into giving false statements naming certain persons. In its final arguments, the prosecution submitted that there was evidence in respect of Call Data Records, and forensic evidence to show that the explosive device had been planted in the LML motorcycle. There was also evidence to show the presence of the accused at the places where the conspiracy meetings had taken place, and other documentary proof. The accused claimed that with witnesses turning hostile, the conspiracy was not proven at all. The accused also claimed that a mob of 15,000 had 'manipulated' the crime scene. Police officials deposed that a mob, angry about the attack, had gathered and stones were thrown at the police. Lawyers for the accused claimed that the mob was 'motivated', and had 'attempted to screen the real culprit'.
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
Conversion Case: Probe Agency ED Gets Chhangur Baba's Custody Till August 1
Lucknow: A special PMLA court in Lucknow on Monday granted a five-day custody of Chhangur Baba to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of a money-laundering investigation against him and his associates linked to an alleged illegal religious conversion racket in Uttar Pradesh, officials said. Chhangur Baba alias Jalaluddin alias Karimulla Shah has been in jail in the predicate offence case being investigated by the Uttar Pradesh Police's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). The ED had applied to the court for his custody following which it was allowed a five-day remand of the accused till August 1, the officials said. He will be questioned in jail and his statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added. Earlier this month, the federal agency conducted searches at Chhangur Baba's native place in Balrampur district and two places in Mumbai. The ED later said in a statement that the accused had received funds worth Rs 60 crore in 22 bank accounts, including "large amounts" from abroad. The money-laundering case against Chhangur Baba stems from the ATS FIR filed at a police station in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021. Chhangur Baba, his son Mehboob and alleged associates Naveen Rohra alias Jamaluddin and Neetu Rohra alias Nasreen were arrested by the ATS. They are currently lodged in a jail. The ATS complaint alleged a "large-scale" conspiracy involving unlawful religious conversions, utilisation of foreign funds and activities posing a potential threat to national security. "Chhangur Baba and his associates are alleged to have established an extensive network operating from the premises of the Chand Auliya Dargah in Balrampur, where he regularly organised large gatherings attended by both Indian and foreign nationals. "He is accused of systematically inducing, coercing and manipulating individuals of other faiths, particularly Scheduled Castes and economically disadvantaged persons belonging to Hindu religion, into religious conversion," the ED had said. The agency has said it has analysed 22 bank accounts related to Chhangur Baba and his associates and it was found that funds worth more than Rs 60 crore were received by them. "It was also found that a large amount of funds has been received from foreign countries by Chhangur Baba and his associates," it has said. The searches also led to the seizure of a number of documents that show that the "proceeds of crime" (illicit funds) were majorly transferred to different people for purchasing a number of immovable properties worth crores of rupees and carrying out construction activities in these properties. All the immovable assets acquired by Chhangur Baba are in the names of Naveen Rohra and Neetu Rohra to conceal his actual involvement in money laundering, the ED has said. Following the arrest of Chhangur Baba, alleged illegal constructions linked to him in Balrampur were razed by the district administration. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had described the actions of the accused as not only anti-social but also "anti-national".
India.com
a day ago
- Politics
- India.com
Agra Conversion Racket Exposes ISI Link: ‘Lady Brigade', Plot To Target Hindu Women And More
In a startling revelation, an alleged religious conversion racket busted in Agra has been linked to Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI, according to findings by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). The ongoing investigation suggests that ISI was orchestrating a plan to create a 'Lady Brigade' — a network of women converted from Hinduism — to operate as sleeper cells across India. It is believed that ISI was not only working to convert Hindus but was also allegedly using those converted to further propagate conversion among others. In today's DNA episode, Zee News analysed the alleged religious conversion racket in Agra: Watch Full DNA Episode Here: DNA : हिंदू ही हथियार बनेंगे..हिंदू ही मारे जाएंगे! मुनीर-ISI के इशारे पर भारत में धर्मांतरण! मुनीर के 'एंटी हिंदू टूलकिट' का DNA टेस्ट#DNA #Chhangur #Balrampur #Agra #Pakistan @pratyushkkhare — Zee News (@ZeeNews) July 28, 2025 The racket came to light earlier this month when UP ATS arrested several individuals in Agra. One of the key accused, Abdul Rehman, was apprehended. Meanwhile, investigations revealed that this group was in touch with international funding sources and was reportedly receiving money from countries such as Canada and England. Further investigations have revealed that Pakistani YouTubers Tanveer Ahmed and Sahib Adeeb were also involved in the network and were allegedly on ISI's payroll. These individuals were reportedly offering online religious indoctrination and targeting Hindu girls through social media platforms. The conversion syndicate reportedly even had a dedicated WhatsApp wing operating in Delhi. Girls recruited through this system were allegedly being radicalised and encouraged to incite others or support anti-national activities. The ATS also uncovered that a man named Syed Dawood, originally from Madhya Pradesh but currently based in Canada, where he runs an Islamic centre, was allegedly one of the key financiers of the operation. Officials have not ruled out a terror angle to the Agra conversion case and are currently exploring links between this group and a similar racket operating from Balrampur's Chhangur area, which was previously exposed. As the investigation deepens, Indian security agencies are working to uncover the full extent of ISI's alleged involvement in funding and orchestrating religious conversions with potential links to anti-national activities.
