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NDTV
7 days ago
- NDTV
Fraudster Posing As Army Colonel Arrested From Old-Age Home In Punjab
New Delhi: A 77-year-old man who had been absconding for over a decade after jumping bail in a cheating case involving the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) was arrested from an old-age home in Punjab's Patiala, the Delhi Police said on Sunday. The accused, Sitaram Gupta, a native of Mansa in Punjab was impersonating as a Colonel in the Indian Army and duped people by offering flats and shops under fictitious AWHO schemes, police in a statement said. "Gupta, a postgraduate in Economics and History from Panjab University and a former student of ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had been evading trial in a 2007 cheating case registered at Vivek Vihar police station in Delhi," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Apoorva Gupta in the statement said. He allegedly took Rs 56,000 from a complainant after offering him a flat and shop under the AWHO scheme and issued forged receipts, the officer said. After his arrest in 2007 and subsequent release on bail, Gupta went underground and failed to appear before court, leading to the issuance of non-bailable warrants. On April 26 this year, the Karkardooma Court declared him a proclaimed offender. He had started his career as a contractor supplying oil to Army cantonments across India, the statement said. During this period, he gained insider knowledge of the Army's functioning, which he later used to impersonate as a senior Army officer and lure unsuspecting people with promises of employment and housing benefits. "He moved to Delhi in 1987 and began posing as a Colonel. He conned several people on the pretext of recruitment in the Army and real estate opportunities through AWHO," the DCP said. A special team was formed which was tasked with tracking Gupta. Based on a tip-off, the team conducted surveillance and zeroed in on the old-age home in Patiala where he was living under a false identity. "He had changed his appearance and cut off ties with his family to stay under the radar. After confirming his identity, he was apprehended from the shelter," the officer added. During interrogation, Gupta admitted to his involvement in multiple cases of cheating, including three other fraud cases registered with the Shakarpur police station and the Crime Branch in Delhi, related to fake Army job offers. Police said Gupta's wife has passed away and he has two children. He had been leading a secluded life to evade arrest, shifting locations and using different mobile numbers
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
November 9 tentatively set for demolition of Chander Kunj Twin Army Towers in Kochi
The district committee has set November 9, 2025 as the tentative date for the demolition of the twin towers of Chander Kunj Army Towers at Vytilla in Kochi, Kerala, and October 31, 2029 for handing over the newly built apartments. This was part of the elaborate four-phase plan the committee has drawn up for the proposed demolition and reconstruction of the twin towers starting with the evacuation of affected families by July 31. The district committee, with the District Collector as convener and representatives of the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO), residents association, experts and officials associated with the demolition and reconstruction, was formed in compliance with the Kerala High Court order dated February 3, 2025. Two months for the evacuation of the affected families marks the first phase of the process. The affected families will be given three weeks' notice ahead of evacuation. The committee has asked AWHO to release three months' rent based on the category of the apartment unit they have been holding as decided by the court. Besides, each family should be given ₹30,000 each towards shifting charges. AWHO has been asked to make the first payment to the apartment owners by June 17, 2025. The demolition of the towers will mark phase two. It would start with the invitation of tender for demolition on July 1, 2025, followed by its finalisation on August 7, 2025. Two months between August 16, 2025 and October 16, 2025, would be devoted to the preparation of the engineering design for the demolition. Demolition by implosion Preparation of structures for demolition by implosion would take two months from September 1 to November 1. November 9 has been set as the tentative date for demolition. Cleaning of the demolition site by removing the debris is likely to be completed in two months by January 9, 2026. Finalisation of the project management consultant (PMC) would mark the third phase. The tender for PMC would be invited on July 8 and finalised on August 2. This will be followed by the invitation and finalisation of tender for civil contractor in EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) Contract by December 7, 2025. The design would be finalised between January 9, 2026, and February 28, 2026, and approved by March 31, 2026. The six-month-long piling and foundation works between April 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026, would mark the beginning of the fourth phase. Reconstruction works would be finished in two-and-a-half years by July 31, 2029. Yard levelling, numbering of the apartments and their eventual handover would be completed in the next two months.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pakistan hackers target armed forces' sites
NEW DELHI: There has been an increase in cyberattacks emanating from Pakistan, as ceasefire violations by small arms fire continue along the Line of Control (LoC) for the last six days following the Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan-based cyber actors have tried to deface pages and harvest personal information from a few welfare and educational websites of the armed forces, which are publicly accessible, but prompt restorative action was taken to isolate and thwart the attempts. This came after Pakistan-based hackers, operating under the moniker " IOK Hacker - Internet of Khilafah", sought to deface pages, disrupt on-line services and harvest personal information from websites and portals run by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation, IAF Placement Organisation, Army Public Schools at Srinagar and Ranikhet. "India's cyber-security architecture detected the intrusions in real time and quickly traced their origin to Pakistan. All the websites under attack were promptly isolated and restorative action was undertaken. No operational or classified networks were affected," he said.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Cyber attacks on four defence-affiliated facilities by Pakistan-based groups thwarted
Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, cyber attacks were reported on the websites of four institutions associated with the armed forces. The cyber attacks originated from Pakistan, official sources said. Intelligence assessments confirmed four related incidents, including cyber attacks on the websites of the Army Public School in Srinagar and Ranikhet, both of which were targeted with inflammatory propaganda, while the school in Srinagar also faced a distributed denial of service attack, Army sources said. 'They could deface the homepage, and caused distributed denial of services. However, it was quickly rectified by the web managers,' a source said. An attempted breach of the Army Welfare Housing Organisation database was also detected, while an effort was made to compromise the Indian Air Force Placement Organisation portal, the source stated. 'All four sites were promptly isolated, and restorative action was undertaken; no operational or classified networks were affected at any stage. Pakistan-based cyber actors have once again failed in their attempts to violate Indian cyber sovereignty,' the source said. These attacks on publicly accessible welfare and educational websites appeared to have been carried out after mission-critical national networks were found impenetrable, the source observed. Intelligence assessments ascertained that the attacks were carried by a group under the name 'IOK Hacker' or the 'Internet of Khilafah', and sought to deface pages, disrupt online services, and harvest personal information. 'India's layered cyber-security architecture detected the intrusions in real time and quickly traced their origin to Pakistan,' the source stated, adding that these attempts highlighted both the adversary's intent as well as limitations. As tensions mount between the two nuclear armed neighbours in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, firing by small arms along the Line of Control (LoC) has been reported over the past five days even as Pakistan continues to redeploy forces and heavy military hardware along the border. In addition, tensions and propaganda have also peaked on social media.
