Obama's visit has opened new chapter in ties: Modi

Kashmir, Mar 3: Four days after the National Investigation Agency made a major breakthrough in the Pulwama terror attack case over a year after the bombing, arresting one person who had sheltered the suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar, the NIA on Tuesday arrested two more people in the case - a father-daughter duo - who had also provided shelter to the bomber, officials said.

The NIA also claimed that the video of the suicide bomber was also recorded at their residence and released by the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group from Pakistan after the attack. An NIA spokesperson in Delhi said: "Two more persons have been arrested by the agency in the Pulwama terror attack case and they have been identified as Insha Jan, 23, and her father Tariq Ahmed Shah, 50, who works as a tipper driver."

The official said that the father-daughter duo have been arrested from Hakripora area in Pulwama for their involvement in the attack. The two were arrested on early Tuesday morning after senior officials of the NIA raided their house on Monday night.

A senior NIA official related to the probe told IANS: "The video of Dar, who attacked the CRPF convoy, was recorded at the home of the duo. And the same video was released soon after the Pulwama terror attack by the JeM terrorists from a Pakistani IP address."

He said, "The video was shared by them to their handlers in Pakistan."

The spokesperson further claimed that during the probe Tariq Ahmed Shah disclosed that his house in Hakripora area was used by Dar, Mohammad Umar Farooq, a Pakistani terrorist and IED maker, Kamran - another Pakistani terrorist (both were later killed in encounters with security forces), Sameer Ahmed Dar, a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist from Pulwama and Mohammad Ismail aka Ibrahim, a Pakistani terrorist.

The spokesperson said that Shah facilitated all the terrorists at his house for sheltering and for planning of the heinous attack on the CRPF convoy. He said Jan, daughter of Shah, facilitated the terrorists at their home and provided food and other logistics during their stay on more than 15 occasions for two to four days each time, in their house during the year 2018-2019.

"Initial interrogation has revealed that Jan was in constant touch with Farooq and was in communication with him over telephone and other social media applications," the spokesperson said. The fresh arrests of the two accused brings the total number of arrests in the case to three.

The arrests were made on the revelations of Shakir Bashir Magrey, who was arrested by the anti-terror probe agency on February 28. According to senior NIA officials, more arrests will be made in the coming days. Magrey, a resident of Hajibal, Kakapora in Pulwama district of Jammu & Kashmir, is an overground worker (OGW) of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

According to agency sources, Magrey allegedly provided shelter and other logistical assistance to the Pulwama suicide bomber. He was sent to 15 days' NIA custody by a special NIA court in Jammu & Kashmir on Friday. During interrogation, Magrey revealed that he had harboured Dar and Pakistan-based terrorist Mohammad Umar Farooq in his house from late 2018 till the attack in February 2019 and assisted them in the preparation of the Improvised Explosive Device (IED). His shop is located near Lethpora bridge, and as advised by Mohammad Umar, he started conducting reconnaissance of the movement of CRPF convoys on Jammu-Srinagar Highway in January 2019, and informed Mohammad Umar and Adil Ahmad Dar about it.

Magrey was also involved in modifying the Maruti Eeco car and fitting the IED into it in early February, 2019 and was introduced to Adil Ahmad Dar in mid-2018 by Mohammad Umar and he became a full-time OGW of JeM.

"During his initial interrogation, he disclosed that on several occasions, he collected and delivered arms, ammunition, cash and explosive material to JeM terrorists, including those involved in the Pulwama attack," the agency had said on February 28.

"During investigation, the make, model and number of the car used in the attack was quickly ascertained by NIA to be a Maruti Eeco through forensic examination of the tiny remnants of the car which were found at the spot during extended searches," the agency stated.

"This has been corroborated by accused Shakir Bashir Magrey. The explosives used in the attack were determined to be ammonium nitrate, nitro-glycerin and RDX, through forensic investigation," it said.

New Delhi, Feb 29: The father of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma, whose body was pulled out of a drain in northeast Delhi's riot-hit Chand Bagh, complained to police that goons had assembled at the residence of former AAP counselor Tahir Hussain and were throwing petrol bombs from the rooftop.

According to the FIR which was registered on Thursday on the basis of the complaint lodged by Ankit's father Ravinder, the goons were also firing from the rooftop.

On Tuesday, Ankit returned from his office at 5 pm and then went outside to buy groceries. When he did not return, the family started looking for him and later filed a missing report, the FIR stated.

They got to know from their neighbours that a body has been recovered from a drain… later it was found to be that of Anikt, it said, adding the body had multiple stab injuries on the face, head, back, and chest.

The family has alleged in the FIR that it was Hussain and the goons at his residence who killed Ankit. In the FIR, Hussain has been accused of murder, destruction of evidence and abduction.

Soon after the FIR was registered on Thursday, the AAP suspended Tahir Hussain from the primary membership of the party till the police completed its probe.

The death toll in Delhi's communal violence rose to 42 on Friday as the situation showed some signs of returning to normalcy and clouds of smoke cleared to reveal the extent of the damage from the worst riots in the city in over three decades.

A total of 148 FIRs have been registered and 630 people have been either arrested or detained so far in connection with the communal violence, a Delhi Police spokesperson said.

New Delhi, May 17: Spelling out the government’s fourth tranche of initiatives towards achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced significant structural reforms in eight sectors of the economy — coal, minerals, defense production, aviation, power distribution in Union territories, space and atomic energy.

Addressing her fourth and the second-last press conference, Sitharaman said crucial sectors such as coal production and exploration, defence production and space would see an increased participation from private entities.

Coal sector:

In the realm of coal exploration, the government has decided to liberalise the entry norms for private entities, which would mean that any interested party could bid for a coal block and sell it in the open market. The minister said that the government would do away with all the eligibility conditions at the time of bidding for a coal block, except requiring an “upfront payment with a ceiling.”

Nearly 50 coal blocks would be offered to private players immediately, revealed Sitharaman.

She further said that Rs 50,000 crore would be spent by Centre in creating ‘coal evacuation’ infrastructure, which would expedite the transport of mined product to the destination.

Defence sector:

In defence production, Sitharaman revealed that the government would raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the sector from current 49 per cent to 74 per cent. Further, the government would also work towards corporatising the ordnance factory boards. “Corporatising doesn’t amount to privatization,” added Sitharaman.

In a bid to boost indigenous production of defence products and gave an impetus to Make in India, Sitharaman said that the government was in a process of notifying a list of weapons/platforms for an import ban with year-wise timelines.

These decisions would also help in reducing huge import bills, the finance minister said.

Privatisation of electricity:

In another announcement that could have an effect on electricity charges in the union territories, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday that power departments and utilities in all the centrally administered territories would be privatised.

Sitharaman said that the proposed move would lead to better service to consumers and improvement in operational and financial efficiency in distribution.

The finance minister said that decision was guided by 'sub-optimal' utilisation of performance of power distribution and supply'.

She said that the move to that effect would provide a model for emulation by other utilities across the country, in what could be an indicator of what's in the pipeline for utilities in other states as well.

Sitharaman said that the privation reform was in line with the tariff policy reforms and would help in enhancing consumer rights, promote industry and improve the overall sustainability of the sector.

Space sector:

Sitharaman also announced the opening up of the space exploration sector for private players. Till date, the government-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has held a monopoly on all activities concerning space exploration and satellite launches.

The Indian private sector will be a co-traveller in India's space sector journey, said Sitharaman, while announcing a series of structural reforms in eight crucial areas of the economy. The Union Finance Minister was addressing her fourth press conference in as many days, as a follow-up towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'atmanirbhar Bharat', which was spelled out in his video address on May 12.

Sitharaman said that the reforms in the space sector will provide a level-playing field for private companies in satellite launches and space-based services.

She said that the private sector would be allowed to use ISRO facilities and other assets to improve their capacities. Stating that the government would provide predictable policy and regulatory environment to private players, Sitharaman also disclosed that future projects for planetary exploration and outer space travel among others would be opened up for private entities.