Latest news with #ImprovisedExplosiveDevice
The Print
6 hours ago
- The Print
ED attaches Rs 29,176 from bank account used to receive ISIS funds for 2022 Mangaluru IED blast
At one time, the account received more than Rs 3 lakh of which the terror module had spent more than Rs 2 lakh. It was part of the overall funds passed on to terror accused Mohammed Shariq and his aides, including Syed Yasin, the ED spokesperson said. The bank account was used to allegedly fund various nefarious activities such as online purchase of items to assemble an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), hiring hideouts in Mysuru city as well as in conducting reconnaissance of different places in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, an ED spokesperson said Wednesday. New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached the money lying in the bank account of the 2022 Mangaluru bomb blast accused, who allegedly used to receive funds from his ISIS handler. The account came under the ED lens after the Karnataka police booked Shariq alias Premraj, a resident of Shivamogga district, for orchestrating an IED blast near Kankanady railway station in Mangaluru on 20 November, 2022. From the spot, the local police had found a pressure cooker, 9-volt batteries and circuits generally used for assembling IEDs. In the further course of investigation, chemicals, mechanical tools and electrical items—required to assemble IEDs—were seized from Shariq's rented accommodation in Mysuru. Days later, the case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). In its charge sheet, the NIA submitted that Shariq was on the way to plant the IED concealed in pressure cooker outside Manjunatha temple in Dharmasthala. However, the IED went off because the timer was set at nine seconds instead of an initially planned time of 90 minutes, leaving Shariq with 40 percent burn injuries. All these accused are in judicial custody and are now facing trial. Also Read: 'Bare allegations'—how Malegaon ruling debunked ATS & NIA's theories on RDX, conspiracy meetings Online DIY classes A couple of months before the blast, the Shivamogga police booked Shariq, Yasin and Munir Ahmed alias Maz on the charge of hatching a conspiracy to spread the ISIS ideology. The trio, according to the FIR, was working to bring Sharia law as they believed India never really got independent. The trio had stored explosives and exploded a bomb outside Yasin's house in Shivamogga, it added. The NIA registered a case on 15 November, 2022—five days before the Mangaluru IED blast mistakenly triggered by Shariq. An ISIS handler with the pseudonym 'Colonel' radicalised the trio along with at least nine other youth from across Karnataka and gave them instructions through applications such as Wickr and Telegram on how to assemble IEDs, according to the counter-terrorism agency. The handler, it said, had also trained them online on carrying out reconnaissance of sensitive targets such as power sub-stations, railways, telephone access points, as well as business and industries belonging to individuals of the Hindu community. The handler had arranged payment channels through cryptocurrency, which were sold and deposited into mule bank accounts opened with Fino Payments Bank, the NIA alleged. Through the same method, the accused received Rs 2.86 lakh, while funds amounting to Rs 41,680 were collected in cash from PoS (Point of Sale) agents. The money was used to purchase items online to assemble the IED, for hiring hideouts in Mysuru city and other locations, and also for conducting reconnaissance in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, the NIA said. The police seized Rs 39,228 in cash from Shriq's bag when he was admitted to a hospital after being injured in the IED blast. The remaining Rs 29,176 in Yasin's bank account was disabled on the ED's instruction. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: Web of spoof sites, scam call centres. Crypto theft racket modus operandi in focus amid ED crackdown
Indian Express
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
As top ULFA(I) leader joins BJP, what it means for peace talks in Assam
Manoj Rabha — alias Drishti Rajkhowa — who joined the BJP earlier this week was the second-in-command of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) before he surrendered in 2020. Rabha was inducted into the BJP along with a set of other leaders, including the Aam Aadmi Party's former Assam state-in-charge Manoj Dhanowar. Speaking about Rabha's entry into the BJP, Assam BJP chief Dilip Saikia said he has 'assimilated into our mainstream society for quite a while now'. 'He has left guns and bullets and entered the politics of ballots. What we have been saying for a very long time is 'Bye bye to bullet and welcome to ballot'… We, along with the central government, are always telling Paresh Baruah [ULFA(I)'s commander-in-chief] that bullets and talks cannot go together. The Constitution does not permit it. There can be talks… That is what we want, but Assam has to be peaceful,' he said. One of the BJP's biggest talking points in Assam is the numerous peace pacts its governments have signed with various insurgent groups in the state, but ULFA(I) under Baruah's leadership is the only one that has repeatedly refused to enter peace talks. A pro-talks faction of the ULFA had signed a tripartite peace pact with the Union and state government in December 2023, but the ULFA(I) has resisted coming to the table for talks without discussing sovereignty for Assam. Rabha, 55, is from Western Assam's Goalpara district. He was known to be a close confidant of Baruah and was the deputy commander-in-chief of ULFA (I). His surrender in November 2020 had been hailed by the central government as 'a major blow' to the outfit that was 'ushering a new dawn of peace in the region'. He had been an active member of the outfit for three decades, was a well-known Improvised Explosive Device (IED) expert, and headed the outfit's operations in Western Assam. His parents — Dhaneswar Rabha and Sushila Rabha — had been killed in 1999 in the infamous 'secret killings' of Assam. These were extra-judicial killings of close relatives of numerous ULFA leaders by unidentified killers between 1998 and 2001. Rabha's formal induction into the BJP comes amidst criticism over the government's handling of the ULFA(I). It took place days after the ULFA(I) claimed that its camps in Myanmar along the border in India had been bombed in a 'drone attack' by Indian forces in which three of its senior functionaries had been killed. While the Indian Army has denied information on such an operation and the Assam state government has distanced itself from it, the alleged operation has drawn criticism from both civil society groups and opposition parties in Assam as being detrimental to the cause of facilitating talks with the ULFA (I). 'Sudden and unprovoked attacks of this nature could disrupt the peace process, which neither the people of Assam nor AASU desires,' the All Assam Students' Union had said in a statement. Opposition parties such as the Congress and the Asom Jatiya Parishad have also questioned the implications of the incident on future peace talks. Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi claimed that 'precision strikes' could not have taken place without the knowledge of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Sarma. He asked: 'What is the reason that the approach of dialogue and peace has been abandoned in favour of killing youths from Assam in precision attacks?'
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Mumbai police probe sender of hoax bomb emails with names of politicians, stars from South India
THE MUMBAI police are probing a series of hoax bomb threat emails sent by an unidentified person using names of politicians, actors and popular YouTubers from southern states. Police have received complaints regarding around nine such email threats, so far, which they suspect were sent by one person who uses several keywords like names of South Indian public figures and claim that RDX-based Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) being kept at popular places and government installations in and around Mumbai. The latest in the series of threats was received on Sunday by the BSE where the accused threatened that RDX had been kept inside the building. This particular email had been undersigned by the name 'Comrade Pinari Vijayan', referring to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A BSE employee saw the email on Monday and alerted the authorities, following which the premises were checked and the threat was found to be a hoax. An FIR has been registered at the MRA Marg police station. An official from Mumbai police said that in the past the accused has used the names of actor Tamil Nadu Deputy CM and actor Udhayanidhi Stalin, YouTuber Subakku Shankar, IPS officer Jaffar Sait and Afzal Guru with some conspiracy theory along with a threat. ' The threat usually mentions that an RDX-linked Improvised Explosive Device (IED) device is placed somewhere. We suspect it is the same person who has been sending these threat mails. We have zeroed in on nearly nine keywords used in approximately 10 threat mails that have been received in the last few months,' the official said. The official added that in all these cases, the accused has used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to send these emails due to which we have so far not been able to track him down. 'The frequency with which he uses South Indian celebrities and mentions conspiracy theories makes us suspect the accused hails from a southern state or it could be to mislead us,' the official said. The official added that they are still conducting a technical probe in the matter and will trace the accused. In May, the Palghar collector's office had received a threat mail about RDX based IED being kept there. The mail said that there the RDX had been kept by the same people who were planning to kill the Opposition leader in Tamil Nadu EK Palaniswami to ensure that the probe against former DMK functionary Jaffar Sadiq in a drug trafficking case is unsuccessful.
Hindustan Times
06-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
AP police conduct fresh searches at home of detained terror suspect
The Rayachoti police in Andhra Pradesh's Annamayya district on Saturday seized fresh evidence from the house of one of the two suspects— Abu Bakr Siddiqui and Mohammad Ali— arrested by the Tamil Nadu Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday night in connection with an alleged terror plot, officers familiar with the matter said. AP police conduct fresh searches at home of detained terror suspect Police conducted fresh searches in Siddiqui's residence and seized a parcel bomb, the officers said. It was discovered that the parcel was prepared with a Delhi address, they added. 'We are investigating the Delhi connections of the accused. We are also looking into their possible connections with any foreign terrorist organizations,' an officer privy to the investigation said. Security has been tightened around the two suspects' residences and the police have also questioned some additional suspects, closely related to Siddiqui and Ali, the officer added. On Thursday, Kurnool range deputy inspector general of police Koya Praveen told reporters that Siddiqui and Ali were found to have been involved in extremist operations in Tamil Nadu. He said Rayachoti police also arrested Siddiqui's wife Shaikh Syra Banu and Ali's wife Shaikh Shameem and produced them before the court, which remanded them to 14 days in judicial custody. They were shifted to Kadapa Central Jail. The DIG said both Siddiqui and Ali belonged to the terrorist organization 'Al Ummah' and added they had plotted bomb blasts in three major cities of the country. 'We are investigating those who assisted the accused in Rayachoti. We have seized nearly 50 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) manufacturing materials and explosives,' he said. The police registered two cases at Rayachoti Urban police station under section 132 of the BNS(assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), Explosives Act (1908 & 1884), sections 13, 15 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Arms Act, as well as additional charges under the UAPA and Explosives Act.
Hans India
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Pakistan: 13 soldiers killed, 29 injured in North Waziristan suicide bombing
Islamabad: As many as 13 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 29 others injured, including 19 civilians, in a suicide attack early Saturday morning in Khadi area of North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Citing security agencies, Pakistani media outlet Mashriq TV stated that a suicide bomber crashed an explosive-laden vehicle into a mine-resistant Improvised Explosive Device (IED) vehicle belonging to the Bomb Disposal Unit amid a curfew imposed due to military movement in the area. The powerful blast resulted in the killing of 13 military personnel and injuring 24 people, including 14 civilians. There were reports of indiscriminate firing also which caused injuries to 19 civilians, including women and children, in the area. Reports suggest that the rescue operations were launched immediately following the blast. According to local authorities, the condition of several injured, including women and children, remains critical and the number of casualties might rise significantly. The Usud al-Harab organisation, a sub-faction of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group affiliated with Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan, has reportedly taken responsibility for the suicide attack. The incident is termed as the deadliest attack in North Waziristan in recent months, raising serious concerns over the deteriorating security conditions in the area. The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, has not yet commented on the attack. According to reports, the security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation in the region. Last month, a car bomb explosion in Gulistan Area of Qila Abdullah, a border area of Pakistan's Balochistan province with Afghanistan, killed at least four people and injured more than 20 others, eight of them critically injured. The explosion occurred in Jabbar commercial market situated on the Quetta–Chaman National Highway in Gulistan town, adjacent to the fort of Pakistan's Frontier Corps (FC). As per details, the massive explosion destroyed many shops and vehicles parked in the area and walls of the FC Fort were also damaged. Locals said that many shops in the market also caught fire. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the attack with Pakistani analysts suggesting a clear coordination between the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the TTP, who have intensified their attacks in the recent past. At the same time, the BLA has also intensified its attacks on security forces in the province.
