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Burqa-clad woman in Sopore Kashmir tries to burn CRPF bunker, attacker identified

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The Commune
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As the hijab debate continues, a burqa-clad woman, in Kashmir’s Sopore district hurled a petrol bomb at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bunker on Wednesday (March 30).

According to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar, the woman who tried to burn down the CRPF bunker has been identified and will be arrested soon.

“The woman who hurled a bomb at the CRPF bunker in Sopore yesterday has been identified. She will be arrested soon,” Kumar told ANI.

The incident was captured on CRPF’s CCTV camera and in that CCTV footage, one can clearly see the arsonist almost burned herself before she throw the petrol bomb inside the bunker and fled from the scene of the crime and luckily, no injuries have been reported. 

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Transform Bay of Bengal into a Bridge of Connectivity: PM Modi at BIMSTEC

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The Commune
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today participated in the 5th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit hosted in virtual mode by Sri Lanka, the current chair of BIMSTEC.

Prior to the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, preparatory meetings at the Senior Official and Foreign Minister levels were held in Colombo on 28th and 29th March in the hybrid mode.

The Summit’s theme “Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy People” captures the main current priorities of member states, and the efforts by BIMSTEC to develop cooperation activities that support member state’s programmes to deal with the economic and development consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The main outcome of the Summit was the adoption and signing of the BIMSTEC Charter, which formalizes the grouping into an organization made up of members states that are littoral to, and dependent upon, the Bay of Bengal.

The Summit also saw considerable progress being achieved in the BIMSTEC connectivity agenda with the adoption of the ‘Master Plan for Transport Connectivity’ by Leaders which lays out a guidance framework for connectivity related activities in the region in the future.

In his intervention, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of enhanced BIMSTEC regional connectivity, cooperation and security, and made several suggestions in this regard. The Prime Minister called upon fellow leaders to strive to transform Bay of Bengal into a Bridge of Connectivity, Prosperity, and Security among the BIMSTEC-member countries.

Prime Minister Modi along with other leaders also witnessed the signing of three BIMSTEC agreements which represent progress being achieved in ongoing cooperation activities: (i) BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters; (ii) BIMSTEC Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Cooperation in the field of Diplomatic Training and (iii) Memorandum of Association on Establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility.

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Palestinian gunman kills five in Tel Aviv suburb, Israel on high state of alert since 2021

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The Commune
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Terror again visited the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv late Tuesday (March 29) when a Palestinian gunman opened fire at passers-by and vehicles killing five people in the third shooting or knife attack in a week.

This has prompted the police to raise its alert level nationwide to “the highest it has been since the fighting in Gaza in 2021”.

The shooting took place in the city of Bnei Brak, a crowded suburb of Tel Aviv and the shooter was shot dead by police during the incident. As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack as this is the third deadly one in Israel in a week.

After the terrorist was killed, police Spokesman Eli Levi told the state-owned Kan TV news that the shooter was armed with an M-16 rifle. The police also released a statement wherein the shooter was a Palestinian resident from the occupied West Bank who stayed in Israel without permits.

A news report by Kan TV,  the attacker was a 27-year-old man who was previously convicted of illegal arms trade and served about six months in prison before being released in late 2015.

Thousands of police officers are now being deployed to guard schools, kindergartens, bus stations, and crowded places across the country, said a police statement.

In the following days, most of the police efforts will be put into “fighting terror, increasing their presence in the streets and securing the civilian population,” it said.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, “Israel is facing a wave of murderous Arab terrorism and the security forces are at work”. He added, “We will fight terrorism with persistence, diligence, and an iron fist,”.

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DMK functionary attacks shop owner for refusing to pay ‘mamool’

By
The Commune
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In yet another instance of DMK functionaries attacking business owners, an incident has been reported in Tiruneermalai where a DMK youth wing functionary assaulted a eatery owner for refusing to pay mamool.

Dhinesh is the brother-in-law of Chithra Devi who is the ward councillor in Ward No. 31 in Pallavaram, Chennai. He is also a youth wing functionary of the DMK. Ever since his sister-in-law got the post, Dinesh has been going around the area collecting ‘mamool’ (illegal money/tax collected from vendors and business owners).

He along with another local rowdy named Sukumar had gone to shops in Shankar Nagar area to get ‘mamool’. As the owner of the shop refused to pay the money, Dhinesh started throwing items from the shop creating a ruckus.

By the time police came to the spot, both Dhinesh and Sukumar absconded. They were later apprehended in Thiruneermalai and produced before the magistrate in Tambaram and were sent to Puzhal prison.

Sukumar is a history-sheeter and has several cases against him including that of murder.

This is not the first time that DMK functionaries have indulged in attacking business owners.

Just few days after the DMK came to power in May 2021, the party’s cadres attacked a biryani shop owner with a iron rod owing to personal animosity.

In August 2020, a DMK cadre’s son brandished billhook and demanded free groceries at a store in Cuddalore

In January 2020, DMK cadres attacked a biryani shop in Karur for refusing to give biryani for free that too after business hours.

(With inputs from Polimer News)

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J&K police and CRPF eliminate two LeT jihadists, one of them was a former journalist

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The Commune
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Infiltration Bid Foiled In J&K's Nowshera Sector, Two Terrorists Killed Two Soldiers Martyred, Two Injured as J&K’s Longest Anti-Terror Operation Enters Ninth Day

The counter-terror operations led by Jammu and Kashmir police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the Rainawari area of Srinagar on early Wednesday (March 30) morning eliminated two terrorists belonging to the banned terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

According to the Jammu and Kashmir police, one of the Islamic terrorists killed in the counter-terror operation has been identified as Rayees Ahmad Bhat, a journalist turned Islamic jihadist.

According to the police, Bhat had joined the terrorist ranks of Lashkar-e-Taiba in August last year and was categorised as ‘C’ on the terrorists’ list and two FIRs are already registered against him for terror crimes.

Speaking to the media, Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu and Kashmir, said that, “the involvement of a former journalist in terror crimes suggested that there was a clear case of misuse of media,”.

The other terrorist killed in the encounter has been identified as Hilal Ahmad Rahm, a resident of Bijbehara and a ‘C’ categorised terrorist.

The police said both terrorists were involved in several recent terror crimes, including the killing of civilian killings, and after the encounter, police recovered incriminating materials, including arms and ammunition.

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NIA uncovers plot by LTTE to gather funds for resurrecting ‘Tamil nationalism’ in India

By
The Commune
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India’s  National Investigation Agency (NIA) is investigating terror funding for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the agency has filed a charge sheet against six people.

Previously, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) which runs counterintelligence operations had issued an alarm and had warned that attempts are being made to siphon off money for reviving the group.

It has also been assessed that the ultimate aim may not be the resurrection of the LTTE, but to create a situation in Tamil Nadu and resurrect ‘Tamil nationalism’ in India.

The NIA informed about the case in a press release dated 29/03/2022. “NIA Files Charge Sheet Against 6 accused in LTTE Terror Funding Case (RC-02/2022/NIA/DLI)” the NIA wrote in a tweet.

 

According to the press release by the NIA, the case was lodged as FIR No.1/2021 by the ‘Q’ Branch CID in Chennai and was taken over by the NIA on January 18, 2022. It relates to a criminal conspiracy to resurrect the LTTE by forgery and the use of fabricated papers as real in order to siphon cash from dormant accounts to perform criminal and terrorist actions.

Letchumanan Mary Franciska, Kenniston Fernando, Baskaran, Johnson Samuvel, G Dharmendran, and E Mohan are the six charged.

As per the NIA press release, “During investigation it was found that Letchumanan Mary Franciska, T. Kenniston Fernando and K. Baskaran entered into a conspiracy with foreign entities to siphon off deposits in dormant bank accounts by using Indian identity documents obtained fraudulently and forging identity documents to revive, revamp and regroup LTTE in India and Sri Lanka. They were abetted by Johnson Samuvel, Dharmendran and Mohan in forging Indian identity documents,”. 

The whole matter came to the attention of the security agencies when a Sri Lankan national, Letchumanan Mary Franciska was apprehended at Chennai Airport who had arrived in India on a one-year tourist visa in December of this year. 

She later rented a property in Anna Nagar’s Shakthi Colony and obtained a rental agreement by concealing her nationality in order to obtain an LPG connection in her name and also obtained an Indian passport and a voter ID through the LPG connection document.

The police then arrested her because she was in possession of an Indian passport through forgary and when the NIA started to look into this affair, it discovered a bigger plot of serious consequences for India’s national security.

The Intelligence Bureau has said that, though the LTTE has gone silent since it lost the war, there are attempts to reinvigorate the terror organisation.

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IAF to acquire JDAM precision-guided bombs for LCA Tejas

By
The Commune
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In a bid to make the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas more lethal, India has placed orders for American Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) precision-guided bombing kits. 

This is a very important decision because JDAM precision-guided bombs when released can cause a lot of damage to the enemy targets as China refuses to deescalate the military conflict along the Indian northern borders.

The acquisition of JDAM kits is under the delegated financial powers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that will enable Tejas jets to take out enemy bunkers and runways at 80 km and distances beyond.

If the IAF has to carry out another Balakot-like airstrike, the JDAM will empower our fighters with more accuracy and precision to destroy multiple enemy targets.

India has already activated two LCA Tejas fighter squadrons and is working to replace the outgoing MiG-21 fighters that pron to accidents.

“Tejas is a far better aircraft than the Chinese developed JF-17 and the Hammer would take it ahead of their fleet in strike capabilities,” an official said.

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Loyola College staff allege caste discrimination by management

By
The Commune
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A woman staff working at Loyola College, Chennai has alleged that the college management is discriminating staff on the basis of their caste.

J. Buela, has reportedly been working as an Assistant Professor for five years at the ‘School of Service Learning’ in Loyola College.

She has said that she was fired from her job through an email on 31 August 2021 without prior notice.

When she had asked the Secretary of the college Rev. Dr D. Selvanayakam, S.J. for the reason for the termination, she was informed that her contract period with the college was over.

However, Buela says that no such condition was present in the appointment letter that was given to her.

“This kind of termination and casteism has been happening for a long time under the guidance of Fr. Selvanayakam S.J, and Rev Dr A. Thomas, SJ.”, she said.

She also said that nearly 25 such Dalit staff (teaching and non-teaching) have been fired adding further that though the Rector of the institution Rev Dr Francis P. Xavier, SJ is from the Dalit community (Christian Dalit), he has not been able to help.

On 24 March 2022, Buela along with a few colleagues protested inside the college premises against the management.

Speaking to The Commune, social activist Robert Rosario who has been vocal against corruption within the Church and its clergy, said that there is rampant discrimination on the basis of caste within the Church and its institutions. He said that the case of Buela is just one among many such instances of institutionalized discrimination by the Church. He also said that the clergy in the Church consider themselves to be above the law and get away with crimes using their power.

Just a few days ago, in another instance of discrimination by the Church, a class 2 boy who died in a freak accident at a school was denied a burial place by the Roman Catholic church in Chennai.

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‘Will be at Kamalalayam only, arrest me if you have proof and guts’: BJP TN chief Annamalai challenges DMK

By
The Commune
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BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai dared the DMK to arrest him if possible within six hours while addresing a press meet on Tuesday (March 29) at the party’s head quarters in Chennai.

Responding to the legal notice sent by DMK MP R.S. Bharathi for allegedly “blackmailing and extorting money” from former AIADMK ministers, he said, “If the DMK had proof and guts, you should send the whole Tamil Nadu police to arrest me. I will be here at Kamalalayam till 6.15 p.m. Otherwise, the people of Tamil Nadu will not take you seriously”.

The BJP leader said that he would not hide behind defamation notices adding that he was ready to face a thousand more.

He also pointed out that RS Bharathi had no locus standi to send legal notice to him and only CM Stalin or the Advocate General could do so as per the CrPC.

Commenting on CM Stalin’s Dubai visit, Mr. Annamalai said that MK Stalin and his son in law Sabareesan had gone to invest 5,000 crores of illegal investment in Dubai.

He questioned the presence of Stalin’s personal auditor who had reportedly flew in a private chartered jet back in February 2022.

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India is working towards positive indigenisation on defence related items under Aatmanirbhar Bharat

By
The Commune
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The Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Monday (March 28) informed the Rajya Sabha that 153 defence items are planned to be indigenized by December this year and said that there is “no stoppage on their exports”.

Bhatt gave the information in a written reply to a query on “the number of items related to the defence which are kept under the list of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the export of which has been stopped between 2018-22”.

“Two positive indigenisation lists comprising 101 and 108 items were promulgated by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) Ministry of Defence (MoD) on August 21, 2020, and May 31, 2021, respectively. The lists have been hosted on the Ministry of Defence Website to give wide visibility to the Defence Industrial base in enabling them to effectively meet the requirements of the Armed Forces. Of these, 153 items are planned to be indigenized up to December 2022. There is no stoppage on their exports,” Bhatt said.

He was also asked how much amount of foreign reserve would be saved, and the government is considering adding more items for indigenous production, the Minister said, “In addition, to minimize import by DPSUs, Department of Defence Production (DDP) or Ministry MoD has also notified a positive indigenisation list of sub-systems or assemblies or sub-assemblies or components on December 27, 2021, therefore positive indigenisation list comprises defence equipment that will be designed, developed and manufactured over a period from 2020 to 2025, it will not be possible to assess actual savings at this juncture.”.

However, the minister of state for the defence said, “It is estimated that over approximately Rs 5 lakh crore worth of equipment included in both the positive indigenisation lists will be procured from domestic industry over the next five to seven years and the government is considering adding more items for indigenous production,”.

On the timeline, the minister said, “timeline to add more items is reviewed continuously based on the requirements of Armed Forces as well as capability of Domestic Industry.”.

“The list contains 2,500 items, which are already indigenized and 351 items which will be indigenized in coming three years till December 2024. Of these 351 items, 172 items are planned to be indigenized up to December 2022.”

The indigenisation of defence equipment is now a matter of national security for India due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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