Latest news with #Usman
Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Indian Express
4 held in Noida for extorting men through Grindr dating app
The Noida police on Tuesday arrested four people who allegedly targeted men using the gay dating app Grindr, lured the victims under the guise of romantic meet-ups, and robbed them at secluded spots. Three of the accused, Arbaaz, 21, Usman, 20, and Vishal Kumar, 19, are residents of slum settlements in Sector 9, while the fourth accused, Himanshu, 19, is a resident of Harola in Sector 5. Vishal is the alleged mastermind of the group, said officials at Sector 24 police station. According to the police, the accused would create fake profiles on the app, and chat with victims under the pretext of engaging in a consensual relationship. They would then call them to isolated locations to loot their belongings. 'Once the victim arrived, the accused would distract them in conversation while others would snatch their mobile phones, wallets, and cash,' the Gautam Budh Nagar police said in a statement. The arrests were made during a routine police check at the Mother Dairy intersection in Sector 11 on Tuesday morning. 'The four were riding two motorcycles with fake number plates. Upon questioning, they failed to produce valid documents, leading to their arrests,' said a police officer. The police also recovered four mobile phones, an illegal pistol with one live cartridge, and two knives from them, and seized their motorcycles. The accused have confessed to multiple cases of theft and cheating in Noida and the Delhi-NCR region, the police said, adding that they would often meet at a local park to consume drugs and plan their operations. All of them are either school dropouts or illiterate. Their target was mainly men using Grindr, who were less likely to approach the police due to the social stigma attached to their identities, the police said. The police have also found their involvement in three incidents, including robbing a man of Rs 25,000 and two phones in Sector 34 on July 9, and two other phone robberies this month. The police said efforts are on to trace others who may have purchased stolen devices from the accused, and to verify if the gang has links to similar cases reported in Delhi and Ghaziabad.
Express Tribune
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Bodies of nine slain passengers sent home
Mourners in Multan carry the coffin of a victim of the latest terrorist carnage in Balochistan to graveyard. PHOTO: ONLINE Listen to article The bodies of nine passengers martyred in a terrorist attack in the Sardhaka area overnight were sent to their hometowns in Punjab for burial on Friday, as the provincial government expanded the scope of law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) to launch decisive actions against the perpetrators. Those slaughtered in the late-night terrorist attack belonged to the Lahore, Gujrat, Khanewal, Gujranwala, Lodhran, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, and Attock districts. They included two brothers Jabbar and Usman from Dunyapur. Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said that Fitna al Hindustan, a term used for Indian-backed terrorist organisations in Balochistan, had carried out attacks at three different places. The terrorist attack occurred near the boundary between the Zhob and Loralai districts. The bodies were brought to Zhob, where they were received by Deputy Commissioner Usman Khalid and Border Military Police Commandant Asad Khan Chandia. The victims, who were travelling from Quetta to Lahore, were identified as Muhammad Irfan, Dera Ghazi Khan; Sabir Hussain, Gujranwala; Muhammad Asif, Chowk Qureshi; Ghulam Saeed, Khanewal; Muhammad Junaid, Lahore; Muhammad Bilal, Attock; Bilawal, Gujrat and Jabbar and Usman, Dunyapur. The funeral prayers for brothers Jabbar Toor and Usman Toor were held at Government Boys High School, Dunyapur in the Lodhran district. Relatives said that the victims were traveling to attend the funeral of their father. Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti ordered the law-enforcement agencies to launch an immediate and decisive action against those involved in the Sardhaka massacre, authorising them to act beyond the "usual limits of the levies and police jurisdictions, if required". The chief minister chaired a security meeting in the provincial capital to review the law and order situation in the province, and received a briefing from the Balochistan inspector general of police on the Sardhaka incident and the updates on the ongoing investigation and security operations in the area. "The pursuit of these terrorists will continue until they are brought to justice. There will be no compromise on enforcing the law in Balochistan," the chief minister said, adding that security forces have been authorised to act beyond the usual limits of levies and police jurisdictions. 'Barbaric act' President Asif Ali Zardari described the killing of passengers as a "barbaric act" and said that it was part of Fitna al-Hindustan's broader conspiracy to destabilise Pakistan. He reaffirmed the state's commitment to purge the country of Fitna al-Hindustan and their facilitators at all costs. Similarly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Sardhaka massacre, terming it "blatant terrorism". He asserted that the perpetrators would be dealt with through full state force. "The blood of innocent people will be avenged," he said, blaming India for supporting such acts against unarmed civilians. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi denounced the killings as "cowardly barbarism" by "Indian?sponsored terrorists and their local facilitators", vowing nationwide pursuit and punishment of the perpetrators. He reaffirmed the state's commitment to thwart all plots against national peace and integrity. (WITH INPUT FROM APP)
Express Tribune
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Bodies of victims killed in Balochistan bus attack sent to Punjab for burial
The bodies of nine passengers who were abducted and killed in Balochistan's Loralai district last night were recovered and transported to their hometowns in Punjab for last rites, officials said on Friday. Assistant Commissioner Naveed Alam said seven of the victims have been identified—hailing from Lodhran, Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujrat, Attock, Khanewal, and Gujranwala—while two remain unidentified due to missing documentation. Among those killed were brothers Usman and Jabir, who were travelling back to Punjab with their family to attend their father's funeral scheduled for 9am today. Sabir, their brother, shared on social media that their father had died the previous day. On Thursday night, terrorists allegedly affiliated with Fitna al-Hindustan gunned down at least nine passengers from Punjab-bound buses passing through Sardhaka area of Balochistan's Loralai district. The assailants checked the passengers' ID cards and reportedly targetted individuals with Punjab addresses. The incident occured near the N-70 highway at a site along the Loralai-Zhob border. Read: Terrorists slaughter nine passengers Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said that the terrorists, who carried out this gruesome attack, belonged to the Fitna al-Hindustan. In May this year, the government designated all terrorist organisations in Balochistan as Fitna-al-Hindustan. The term refers to Indian-backed and/or sponsored terrorist organisations operating in Balochistan. Proscibed group Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) reportedly claimed responsibility for the killings, stating it blocked the highway between Musakhail-Makhtar and Khajuri before targeting the passengers. 'Barbaric act' Condemnations poured in shortly after the attack. President Asif Ali Zardari described the killings as a 'barbaric act' and said that it was part of Fitna al-Hindustan's broader conspiracy to destabilise Pakistan, according to state-run Radio Pakistan. He reaffirmed the state's commitment to cleanse the country of all such threats and their facilitators, saying, 'We will clear our land of Fitna al-Hindustan at all costs'. Similarly, PM Shehbaz condemned the attack in the strongest terms, terming it 'blatant terrorism'. He asserted that the perpetrators would be dealt with through full state force. 'The blood of innocent people will be avenged,' he said, blaming the Indian state for supporting such acts against unarmed civilians. Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi denounced the killings as "cowardly barbarism" by 'India‑sponsored terrorists and their local facilitators', vowing nationwide pursuit and punishment of the perpetrators. لورالائی اور موسی خیل کے قریب قومی شاہراہ پر سرہ ڈاکئی کے مقام پر فتنہ الہندوستان کے دہشتگردوں کی بزدلانہ کارروائی وفاقی وزیرداخلہ محسن نقوی کی بے گناہ و معصوم مسافروں کو نشانہ بنانے کی شدید الفاظ میں مذمت — Ministry of Interior GoP (@MOIofficialGoP) July 10, 2025 He expressed sympathy for the bereaved families and reaffirmed the state's commitment to thwart all plots against national peace and integrity. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the attack as well, describing it as 'blatant terrorism' and an unforgivable crime committed solely based on Pakistani identity. Pledging a severe response, he said that the perpetrators had shown themselves to be 'cowardly beasts' rather than human beings, and vowed that the state would pursue them relentlessly, leaving them no place to hide.
Hindustan Times
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Guru Dutt's voice missing in stories about him: biographer Yasser Usman
New Delhi, Guru Dutt lives on only in the memories of those who knew him personally or professionally, his own voice "completely absent", says his biographer Yasser Usman describing the actor-director as a "chronic introvert". Guru Dutt's voice missing in stories about him: biographer Yasser Usman As reams get written about the legendary filmmaker, who would have been 100 on Wednesday, Usman says he remains an enigma despite so many books and documentaries analysing his life and works. Usman, the author of the 2021 "Guru Dutt: An Unfinished Story", said he researched various archives, magazines and newspapers of Guru Dutt's time but couldn't find a single cover story on the filmmaker, one of the most influential cinema personalities of his time with a body of work that included "Pyaasa", "Kaagaz Ke Phool" and "Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam". Guru Dutt was found dead on October 10, 1964 at his rented apartment in Mumbai's Peddar Road from a cocktail of alcohol and sleeping pills. He was just 39. "Everything we know about Guru Dutt, almost 98 per cent, is through the memories of people who knew him professionally or personally," Usman told PTI in an interview. "I think that is the major reason of him carrying this mystique throughout. Even on his 100th birthday, we are talking about him, and there is a major amount of mystery surrounding his life and even his death," he said. The writer-journalist said Guru Dutt's masterpiece "Pyaasa" was a great commercial success and one of the biggest hits of 1957. However, during his deep dive on the filmmaker, he couldn't find a cover story or interview of the director. "I interviewed a few people who were alive then, most importantly, his younger sister, Lalita Lajmi. She was a witness to Guru Dutt's life, his cinema, as well as his turmoil and his childhood. But you need a person's voice to understand them better... The books, magazine stories of those times, none of them include his voice. It is completely absent. "There were many magazines that were covering all other stars and filmmakers, including Mehboob Khan, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, everyone got a cover story, except Guru Dutt... He was a chronic introvert, and he did not want to speak." The writer, who has also penned biographies of Rajesh Khanna, Sanjay Dutt and Rekha as well as the fiction book "As Dark as Blood: A Roshan Rana Mystery", said his fascination with Guru Dutt began after he saw the filmmaker's movies at a retrospective in Delhi in 2004-2005. "I realised that these films don't feel dated though they were made in the 1950s and 1960s. They were entertaining. When we talk about the greatness of a filmmaker or a writer, we never use such words. He was mainstream but artistic." Usman said he became more intrigued when he realised that the filmmaker made some of his biggest classics while his personal life was going through great turmoil. "He was trying to end his life. There were multiple suicide attempts. This was fascinating to me that someone who, on the sets while shooting or making his cinema, is creating such free-flowing, excellent artistic films, but simultaneously his personal life is completely devastated. "When I collaborated with Lalita Lajmi for the book, she told me that he was really suffering from mental health issues, but there was really no awareness in those times. So they didn't contemplate getting psychiatric treatment. She regretted that Guru Dutt, in a way, was crying for help, but they couldn't get the help he wanted or needed in those times," he said. His films, particularly "Pyaasa" and "Kaagaz Ke Phool", were intensely personal, giving a glimpse into his life and thought process, Usman said. " 'Pyaasa', of course, was based on the struggles of his father. His father wanted to be a writer, a poet but he was a clerk and he was busy paying bills for his big family and could never become a creative artist that he wanted to be." Guru Dutt's own struggles when he came to Mumbai from Pune and went without a job for months are reflected in "Pyaasa", which he initially wrote as a story titled "Kashmakash". "Kaagaz Ke Phool" was a semi-autobiographical story about a filmmaker with a fractured relationship with his wife and a confused relationship with his muse and one that tragically ends in the death of the filmmaker. "It was really close to his own life story... He put his heart and soul into the movie. At that time it was a major disaster and it completely broke his heart so much so that he never directed a film again. You know it's strange to see that now the film is considered a classic. It is like 'Pyaasa' playing all over. After an artist is dead you're going to praise his film which you rejected completely when it was released," Usman said. In his view, Guru Dutt's life can be divided into pre and post "Kaagaz Ke Phool" phases. "Commercially, his biggest blockbuster came right after 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' which was 'Chaudhavin Ka Chand'. It remains his most successful film and he made a brilliant comeback like eight-nine months after the disaster of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool'. His mental health completely went berserk. His constant refrain to many people who were working with him or were personally close to him was, 'I'm going mad. I think I'll go crazy'. "His sister told me that they after his second suicide attempt, which was after 'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam', a year or two before his death, the family called a psychiatrist but they never followed it up. They regretted it because they said that they had no clue." Usman added that there was really little awareness in those times about such issues and Guru Dutt kept crying for help. He also reflected on the tumultuous marriage between Guru Dutt and Geeta Dutt, two very successful people who really could not come to terms with each other's creativity. When Guru Dutt married Geeta Dutt, she was the bigger star while he had just made his debut film, "Baazi". "Before they got married, he never said that you cannot sing outside my banner but after his marriage, he wanted Geeta Dutt to sing only for his films and he wanted her to take care of his house and kids. He had become a major star after 'Pyaasa' and she regretted the fact that she had lost her stardom and this kind of poisoned their bonding... But neither Guru Dutt nor Geeta Dutt ever talked about it. Their voices on the matter, and it's such a personal matter, are completely missing." The writer said he was so inspired by Guru Dutt's life that after writing the biography, he wrote his first crime fiction and modelled his lead protagonist as a brooding cop just like Guru Dutt." This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hindustan Times
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Guru Dutt@100: Bungalow that never became a home and the birthday demolition that followed
New Delhi, Bungalow No 48 in Pali Hills was a dream for many but not for its owner, filmmaker Guru Dutt. For his wife, singer Geeta Dutt, it was a haunted space, for him, never the sanctuary he longed for. In time, he had it demolished - that too on his birthday. Guru Dutt@100: Bungalow that never became a home and the birthday demolition that followed The heartbreaking story of the palatial house that never became a home for the celebrity couple has been vividly captured in two books, Bimal Mitra's "Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari" and Yasser Usman's "Guru Dutt: An Unfinished Story". Purchased for ₹1 lakh - and razed in 1963, the year before Guru Dutt was found dead after a cocktail of alcohol and sleeping pills the bungalow was the filmmaker's prized possession. But tragedy soon seeped into its walls. It's the house in which he tried to end his life twice. 'I always wanted to be happy in my household. My house is the most beautiful among all the buildings in Pali Hill. Sitting in that house, it does not look like you are in Bombay. That garden, that ambience where else can I find it? Despite this, I could not stay in that house for much longer," Usman quotes Guru Dutt as saying. According to Lalitha Lajmi, Guru Dutt's sister, it was Geeta Dutt who suggested they leave the house. 'She believed that the bungalow was haunted. There was a particular tree in the house and she said there's a ghost who lives in that tree, who is bringing bad omen and ruining their marriage. She also had something against a Buddha statue that was kept in their huge drawing room," Lajmi, who witnessed the relationship from the early days of courtship till the end, recalls in Usman's book. Grappling with depression, a troubled marriage and his wife calling it "graveyard", the director-actor eventually made up his mind. According to Usman's book, on the morning of his birthday, the man who once dreamed of peace in his expansive bungalow yet often found resting only in a modest 7x7 foot room at his studio called in workers and instructed them to tear it down. 'I remember it was his birthday. He loved that house and he was heartbroken when it was demolished," says Lajmi. The abrupt demolition of the house is also recounted by writer and close friend Mitra, who held many fond memories of time spent at the Pali Hill bungalow. Mitra was the author of the Bengali bestseller "Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam", which Guru Dutt famously adapted into a critically acclaimed film. When Mitra visited Bombay at Guru Dutt's invitation, he was surprised to be taken not to the familiar Pali bungalow, but to a modest rented flat. Bewildered, he soon learned that the house had been demolished. Later, Guru Dutt drove him to the site of the now razed Bungalow No 48. Nothing looked the same. 'I felt as if he wasn't my Guru anymore, as if this wasn't Bombay as if this wasn't Pali Hill... Where Guru used to sleep, there was now a pile of flower garden at the front was now covered with thorny shrubs,' recounts Mitra, staring at the ruins of what was once a majestic bungalow where he had often stayed during his scriptwriting visits. Stunned, Mitra finally asked his friend why he had taken such a drastic step. Guru Dutt's reply, 'Because of Geeta... Ghar na hone ki takleef se, ghar hone ki takleef aur bhayanak hoti hai..' When Mitra posed the same query to Geeta, she said she had been sleeping in the guest house and, upon hearing a loud noise and looking out the window, saw that the workers had already torn down the entire house. "I immediately called up Guru who was in the studio and told him that labourers were demolishing the house. 'Let them do it! I have asked them to raze it to the ground,' replied Guru Dutt," reads the book. Guru Dutt, regarded as amongst the greats of Indian cinema with films such as 'Pyaasa', 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' and 'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam', would have been 100 on July 9. He was found dead in 1964 when he was just 39. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
