Latest news with #ArunBothra
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Time of India
Security concerns: 21 Pak crew members on board vessel refused entry at Paradip port
Kendrapada/Bhubaneswar: Amid simmering tension between India and Pakistan, security agencies Wednesday refused 21 Pakistani crew members aboard a crude oil tanker from disembarking shortly after it anchored near Paradip port on Wednesday. The Hong Kong-flagged vessel, ' MT Siren II ', carrying 196,580 metric tonnes of unrefined oil, anchored at the Single Point Mooring (SPM) berth, around 20 km offshore from Paradip port. The cargo is destined for Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) refinery in Paradip, a major oil refinery with 15 million tonne per annum capacity. Arun Bothra, additional director general (ADG) of coastal security in Odisha, said the cargo vessel has 25 crew members, including 21 from Pakistan. "Specific instructions were issued for the Pakistani nationals not to disembark from the ship as a precautionary measure," Bothra told of police (Jagatsinghpur) Bhawani Sankar Udgata said security measures were intensified immediately after immigration authorities identified Pakistani nationals among the crew. "The Pakistani crew will remain onboard," Udgata said. There would be no such restriction on the remaining four crew members, two each from India and Thailand security agencies, including Marine Police, Indian Coast Guard, CISF, and Customs have been placed on high alert. The agencies have conducted thorough vessel searches and document verification of all crew members coming from South Korea via Singapore. The state govt has been notified about the presence of Pakistani nationals, and the 17-year-old vessel will remain under constant surveillance throughout its stay near Paradip, the SP SPM, a floating buoy anchored offshore, facilitates the transfer of liquid cargo through underwater pipelines to the refinery. Sources said the ship will start unloading crude oil through the pipelines on Thursday and will take around 36 in such cases the crew members come to the port land to relax when the cargo is being unloaded. In this case, however, the Pakistani nationals will be under strict vigil on the ship itself though the security agencies have found nothing suspicious on them. "It is an abundance of precaution in view of the current situation," the SP added.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Time of India
Pakistani crew on Hong Kong-flagged ship not allowed to disembark
KENDRAPADA/BHUBANESWAR: Security agencies refused to allow 21 Pakistani crew members aboard a crude oil tanker to disembark shortly after it anchored near Paradip port Wednesday. The Hong Kong-flagged 'MT Siren II', carrying 196,580 MT of unrefined oil, is anchored at the single point mooring (SPM) berth approximately 20km offshore from Paradip port. The cargo is destined for the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd refinery in Paradip. ADG ( coastal security ) in Odisha Arun Bothra said the cargo vessel has 25 crew, including 21 from Pakistan. 'Specific instructions were issued for the Pakistani nationals not to disembark as a precautionary measure,' he told TOI. Jagatsinghpur SP Bhawani Sankar Udgata said security measures were intensified after immigration authorities identified the Pakistani nationals. 'The Pakistani crew will remain on board,' Udgata said. There will be no restriction on the remaining crew, two each from India and Thailand.
India Today
11-05-2025
- India Today
IPS officer's witty reply to ‘Bangalore Port destroyed' claim leaves X users in splits
A senior IPS officer's witty reaction to a false online claim about a naval strike on Bengaluru struck the right chord on X. The absurd rumour soon turned into a viral moment of misinformation surfaced amid recent tensions between India and Pakistan, a particularly bizarre claim from across the border stood out. Over the weekend, a few Pakistani social media users began circulating posts alleging that the Pakistan Navy had 'destroyed Bangalore Port'.advertisementNotably, Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, is a landlocked city located over 300 kilometres from the nearest coastline, and has no port. Amongst the many who reacted to the claim, senior IPS officer Arun Bothra's comment gained the most attention. Quoting the post on X, he wrote, 'Bangalore has only USB ports.' His hilarious reply quickly garnered thousands of reactions from amused officer Awanish Sharan further pointed to a similarly misplaced claim about the 'Patna sea port' being destroyed. Patna, like Bengaluru, lies inland and has no connection to any media users flooded the comments with memes and sarcasm. While several users poked fun at the errors, others pointed out the growing issue of misinformation during times of misinformation continues to circulate during the ongoing tension, government bodies such as PIB Fact Check have stepped in to debunk false claims. In an official advisory, the unit clarified that several viral videos depicting attacks were from combat games and not real
Hindustan Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
IPS officer trolls Pakistanis celebrating destruction of ‘Bangalore Port'
Senior IPS officer Arun Bothra joined thousands of Indians in mocking Pakistanis who celebrated the Pakistan Navy's 'destruction' of Bangalore Port - seemingly unaware or willfully ignoring the fact that Bangalore is a landlocked city with no port. Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, a number of Pakistanis and Pakistan supporters took to social media over the weekend to falsely claim their navy had destroyed the port of Bengaluru. In reality, Bengaluru – the capital of Karnataka – is at least 300km away from the shoreline. A screenshot of one such comment was widely circulated and mocked on Indian social media. 'Bangalore Port destroyed by Pakistan Navy,' read the comment from a man named Faward Ur Rehman. His comment quickly became the subject of much trolling. It comes amid a slew of misinformation being spread on social media at a time of conflict. IPS officer Arun Bothra reacted to the viral comment by joking: 'Bangalore has only USB ports.' IAS Awanish Sharan replied to his X post, taking a dig at another viral screenshot claiming the destruction of 'Patna sea port.' Patna, in Bihar, is another landlocked Indian city. People took recourse in sarcasm to dismiss the outlandish claims. The Press Information Bureau's Fact Check unit has been working overtime to debunk the many false claims circulating on social media. In a recent post, PIB Fact Check informed users that several combat gaming videos are being shared online as real clips from the India Pakistan conflict. 'Several combat gaming videos are being deceptively circulated as real footages of recent India-Pakistan conflict. Please don't fall prey to such propaganda posts,' the unit advised. India and Pakistan on Saturday agreed to immediately cease all hostilities across land, air, and sea, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes. However, hours after the announcement, Jammu and Kashmir was rattled by a series of drone sightings in the night, followed by the sound of explosions, prompting security personnel to engage air defence systems to bring them down. (Also read: Pak minister schooled by CNN anchor for absurd 'social media' reply as proof of downing Indian jets)
