Latest news with #Pandit
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Six Nepalese flyers held for using fake Gulf job permits
Mumbai: Six Nepali nationals allegedly attempting to travel to Qatar and the UAE using counterfeit foreign employment permits (FEP), supposedly issued by Nepal Embassy in New Delhi, were held at the Mumbai International Airport on Wednesday. Between May 26 and June 4, a total of 16 Nepali nationals were detained after paying Rs 2.5 lakh each to various agents in Nepal for overseas employment opportunities. Sahar police reported that in the two most recent cases filed on Wednesday, the agents facilitated legal travel arrangements for the six detained individuals to reach Mumbai Airport, unlike previous incidents. Immigration officials on Wednesday intercepted the accused who were head to the Gulf countries for roles such as drivers, packers, stewards and waiters, using fraudulent FEPs. The officials first stopped Arun Pandit, aged 47, who had travelled via Bagdogara Airport in West Bengal on June 3 to Mumbai, before attempting to board a Doha-bound flight on Wednesday. "However, the officials found Pandit's Nepali passport forged and the passport was issued in the name of Niraj Madai. Further inspection the officials found the FEP too was fake," said the Sahar police. Subsequently, authorities arrested five individuals who had travelled to Mumbai Airport through legal channels: Rohan Tamang (20), Roshan Thakur (25), Shamad Rain (27), Sanjay Mukhiya (21), and Madan Tharu (31). Despite their legal entry, their FEPs were discovered to be fraudulent. A police officer explained that following last week's detention of 10 Nepali citizens at Mumbai International airport, who had illegally entered India through Bihar and attempted travel to Doha and UAE using fake permits, Nepali agents altered their strategy to include legal transit. Nevertheless, this new approach proved unsuccessful. "Previously, agents would arrange for job seekers to cross Bihar borders by road, then fly from Patna to Mumbai before attempting travel to Doha or UAE. Investigations revealed that in all instances, the travellers had paid Rs2.5 lakhs to their agent."
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Six Nepal flyers held for using fake Gulf job permits
Mumbai: Six Nepali nationals allegedly attempting to travel to Qatar and the UAE using counterfeit foreign employment permits (FEP), supposedly issued by Nepal Embassy in New Delhi, were held at the Mumbai International Airport on Wednesday. Between May 26 and June 4, a total of 16 Nepali nationals were detained after paying Rs 2.5 lakh each to various agents in Nepal for overseas employment opportunities. Sahar police reported that in the two most recent cases filed on Wednesday, the agents facilitated legal travel arrangements for the six detained individuals to reach Mumbai Airport, unlike previous incidents. Immigration officials on Wednesday intercepted the accused who were head to the Gulf countries for roles such as drivers, packers, stewards and waiters, using fraudulent FEPs. The officials first stopped Arun Pandit, aged 47, who had travelled via Bagdogara Airport in West Bengal on June 3 to Mumbai, before attempting to board a Doha-bound flight on Wednesday. "However, the officials found Pandit's Nepali passport forged and the passport was issued in the name of Niraj Madai. Further inspection the officials found the FEP too was fake," said the Sahar police. Subsequently, authorities arrested five individuals who had travelled to Mumbai Airport through legal channels: Rohan Tamang (20), Roshan Thakur (25), Shamad Rain (27), Sanjay Mukhiya (21), and Madan Tharu (31). Despite their legal entry, their FEPs were discovered to be fraudulent. A police officer explained that following last week's detention of 10 Nepali citizens at Mumbai International airport, who had illegally entered India through Bihar and attempted travel to Doha and UAE using fake permits, Nepali agents altered their strategy to include legal transit. Nevertheless, this new approach proved unsuccessful. "Previously, agents would arrange for job seekers to cross Bihar borders by road, then fly from Patna to Mumbai before attempting travel to Doha or UAE. Investigations revealed that in all instances, the travellers had paid Rs2.5 lakhs to their agent."
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Operation Sindoor a declaration, asserts India will punish not only terrorists but systems that nourish them: JNU V-C Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit
The vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Dr Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, on Thursday said that Operation Sindoor asserts that India will not be 'blackmailed by nuclear threats' and will punish 'not only terrorists but the systems that nourish them'. Pandit was delivering the valedictory address as she presided over the convocation of the College of Military Engineering (CME) in Pune on Thursday morning. Thirty-five officers were conferred degrees under the academic affiliation of the JNU. This included 11 officers from the MTech (Structural Engineering) course and 24 officers from the Technical Entry Scheme (TES) course who received BTech degrees in civil and mechanical engineering. Referring to Operation Sindoor, India's retaliatory response after the Pahalgam terror attack, Pandit said it 'represents the changed doctrine that redefines national goals'. 'India's national security philosophy is no longer one of ambiguity and endurance. It is now of clarity, consequence and retaliation. The Pahalgam attack – barbarically targeted and state-sponsored – was not the first provocation but a final trigger. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor, a calibrated multi-domain retaliation that changed our national security paradigm,' she said. '(Operation) Sindoor was not just a military operation but a declaration. It asserted that India will not absorb terrorism as a cost of geography or diplomacy. It will retaliate. It will define the escalation matrix. And it will punish aggression through strength, not speeches. The significance of Operation Sindoor lies in operational brilliance and strategic symbolism,' she added. Saying that Operation Sindoor was the beginning of a new strategic era, Pandit said, 'It asserts that India will not be blackmailed by nuclear threats. India will retaliate across domains – military, cyber, diplomatic, hydrological. India will punish not only terrorists but the systems that nourish them. India will shape the narrative before it is shaped by others. It is the doctrine you are part of and it is the doctrine you must help sustain, through your preparedness, innovation and unapologetic assertion of our national interest. Deterrence is not a slogan. It is infrastructure, data, logistics and precision – the very things you have been trained for.' The JNU vice-chancellor added, 'In the past, India made some strategic errors. Trusting third parties to resolve internal issues…internationalising domestic concerns…and assuming that restraint would earn respect. No longer. Operation Sindoor decisively rejected any third-party mediation…'. 'You are now a part of a doctrine that no longer allows Pakistan to hide behind non-state actors. You are part of a generation that has rejected the fatalism of strategic restraint and has adopted strategic clarity of national interest. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are no longer civilian luxuries but are military necessities. In the cyber warfare phase of Operation Sindoor, we witnessed a dramatic evolution that, for the first time, cyberspace became an active theatre of conflict. It is not science fiction. It is your battlefield,' Pandit said, addressing the gathering. Addressing the 35 officers, Pandit said, 'Graduating today means stepping out in a world more volatile, complex, and interdependent than ever before. A world where technology disrupts borders, cyberattacks undermine sovereignty and engineered narratives shape geopolitical outcomes. It is a world where the old doctrines of diplomacy have collapsed under the weight of asymmetry, hybrid warfare and proxy battles. But it is a world today where India stands tall, emerging not just as a regional anchor but as a global conscience. The world you enter from here is one beyond engineering and military doctrine, but one where technological mastery is a prerequisite tool for you to preserve the sovereign status of India. You are not merely engineers, you are the architects of India's deterrence.' CME Commandant Lieutenant General A K Ramesh encouraged the graduating officers to remain committed to professional excellence by staying attuned to ongoing innovations and challenges in the engineering domain. Brigadier Ravi Reddy, Officiating Deputy Commandant and Dean, CME, presented the academic report for Spring Term 2025. Lieutenant Colonel Neeraj Parmar was awarded the Gold Medal and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Army Training Command (ARTRAC) Award for securing the top position in the MTech (Structural Engineering) course. The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief ARTRAC Award for BTech (Civil Engineering) and BTech (Mechanical Engineering) went to Lieutenant Priyansh Mishra and Lieutenant Anshuman Chaudhary of TES, respectively.
Time of India
7 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Vidyadas Baba takes charge as Anjanadri temple's chief priest
Gangavathi (Koppal): Vidyadas Baba has taken charge as the chief priest of the Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple at Anjanadri Hill in Chikka Rampur village, a location considered sacred as Lord Hanuman's birthplace. Following his petition to the Supreme Court challenging his dismissal and the temple's acquisition, the court issued a notice to the state govt on May 27, instructing him to continue conducting the temple's puja and karmic activities. Upon his arrival at Anjanadri, Vidyadas addressed the gathered devotees, proclaiming that the truth was victorious. He said the temple premises will be kept clean, and religious activities, including Sanskrit Pathshala, Homa Havan and Hanuman Chalisa chanting, will be organised regularly. Additionally, a special puja for Anjaneya will occur every Saturday, with free food provided to the devotees. The dispute began in 2018 when the state govt attempted to place the Anjanadri Temple under the Muzrai department's control using the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1997. This action faced strong opposition from Vidyadas, whose family maintained the temple's religious practices for over 120 years following the Ramanandi tradition. On May 27, the Supreme Court instructed the state govt to retain Vidyadas as chief priest, allowing him to continue his religious duties and reside in the Mandir room. This decision temporarily halted the govt's takeover plans and reinforced the High Court's 2023 interim order permitting his continued service. The Supreme Court stated that interference with the Pandit's removal or religious practices would face serious consequences. While acknowledging the Muzrai department's administrative role, it upheld Vidyadas and his family's right to conduct worship undisturbed, ensuring their accommodation and basic needs at the premises. Before 2018, the Kishkinda Trust and Pandit family managed the mandir independently without govt involvement. The Koppal deputy commissioner's 2018 order transferred administrative control to the govt under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1997. The writ petition lodged by Vidyadas is awaiting resolution in the Karnataka high court. The order from the Supreme Court functions as a provisional directive, compelling compliance with the earlier orders of the high court and advising the state govt against any breaches.
The Hindu
7 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Farooq, Mehbooba, Karra join Pandit devotees at the Mata Kheer Bhawani temple in Kashmir
Prominent Jammu and Kashmir leaders, including Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference (NC), Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Tariq Hameed Karra of the Congress, on Tuesday joined hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits in paying obeisance at the Mata Kheer Bhawani temple on the occasion of Jyeshta Ashtami, amid the sense of unease and fear that was spread by the recent Pahalgam terror attack. Dr. Abdullah, accompanied by his senior party colleagues, drove to Ganderbal district in central Kashmir in the morning, and joined devotees at the temple. 'We took the blessings of Mata Kheer Bhawani. We are living in harmony; we will be living in harmony. We sent a message of happiness,' the NC president said. Mingling with the Pandit devotees, mainly those who fled the Kashmir Valley in the face of militancy in the 1990s, Dr. Abdullah prayed that the Kheer Bhawani Mela (fair) turn out to be a 'starting point for displaced brothers and sisters to return and settle down in Kashmir again'. 'Land and houses should be provided to Kashmiri Pandits. The government and the Centre should do the needful for their peaceful return. The situation is not the same as when former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ensured employment for thousands of Kashmiri Pandits by offering them government jobs in Kashmir for their peaceful return,' Dr. Abdullah said. Claiming that there was a sense of fear among devotees visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu after the recent India-Pakistan military confrontation, Dr. Abdullah appealed to people to visit the shrine. 'Don't fear. Visit the shrine,' he said. Ms. Mufti too joined the Pandit devotees in the visit to the shrine, and extended her wishes to the community on the occasion. She also paid floral tributes at the Kheer Bhawani temple pond, which is considered an auspicious ritual by the Pandit community. 'The PDP has always believed that guns or military interventions are not the solution. There should be a political process, that process cannot be completed until our Kashmiri Pandit brothers and sisters return with due respect and settle here,' the former J&K CM said. She said Kashmiri Pandits were an essential part of Kashmir. 'Pandits should return to Kashmir with dignity. They are an integral part of Kashmir. They have stakes in Kashmir,' Ms. Mufti said. Mr. Karra said the mela was 'a reflection of communal harmony, despite attempts to divide'. 'All communities stand united here. It is a reflection of the fact that Mahatma Gandhi also saw a ray of hope in Kashmir at the time of the Partition. Our [late] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh created a package that can still help in resolving the issues of Pandits, and ensuring their dignified return,' Mr. Karra said. The Kheer Bhawani Mela is the first major Hindu festival to take place in the Valley after the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, which left 26 civilians dead. The incident has cast its shadow on the fair, evident in the thin attendance when compared with 2024. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, however, termed the gathering a good omen. 'Devotees have come in large numbers to attend the Kheer Bhawani Mela. This is a good sign. This is the first time after April 22 that such a crowd has gathered at a place,' Mr. Sinha said. He said all the preparations for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, which beings on July 3, were complete. 'Security arrangements have also been finalised. I appeal to devotees from across the country to come and take Baba's (Lord Shiva's) blessings,' Mr. Sinha added. Meanwhile, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, in a statement said an interfaith dialogue 'must evolve into a moral movement rooted in justice — because peace without justice is just a pause, no more'. 'I urged faith leaders to rise above nationalism, protect diversity, and uphold the moral duty of the majorities towards the minorities. From Palestine to Kashmir, only justice, dialogue, and mutual respect can bring lasting peace, and end human suffering,' he said.
