B’luru blast case: Prompt action of state police...
The men arrested this morning — Mussavir Hussain Shazeb and Abdul Matheen Taha — are believed to be key conspirators; Taha allegedly handled the logistics while Shazeb planted the bomb. They were traced to Kanthi in East Midnapore. Kanthi is the stronghold of the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari.
Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Shashi Panja also slammed the BJP's “safe haven for terrorist” jibe and said: “Why were they found in Kanthi... What is the connection there? Our chairperson, Mamata Banerjee, also raised the question of how they found shelter in Kanthi? BJP is trying to avoid this and hence they are diverting people's attention.”
“West Bengal has NEVER been a safe haven for terrorists and the state police will continue to remain ever-vigilant in keeping its people safe from nefarious activities,” Bengal police in a statement said. The police said “contrary to Malviya's claims” the two accused had been arrested after a joint operation involving themselves and central intelligence agencies.
“The proactive role of West Bengal police has been officially acknowledged by the central agencies. Bengal has NEVER been a safe haven for terrorists and the state police will continue to remain evervigilant...” the police said.
At least 10 people were injured when a blast took place at Rameshwaram Cafe in Brookfield in East Bengaluru on March 1. The investigation into the explosion had been handed over to the NIA.
administration has deposited Rs 20000 in the bank accounts of the victims. “In the next few days, the district administration will deposit another Rs 40,000. The instalment then will be of Rs 60,000 This Rs 120000 in two installments is for building houses under the Banglar Bari project of the West Bengal Government. This is being done by the administration under the Disaster Act,” stated Banerjee. Along with Jalpaiguri, houses have been damaged in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar also.
Banerjee addressed poll campaigns at Sanghati Maidan in Cooch Behar in support of Jagdishchandra Barma Basunia and at Nimati Mela ground in Kalchini, Alipurduar in support of Prakash Chik Baraik on Friday.
Training guns at the BJP, Banerjee stated that the saffron brigade was going all out to malign Bengal. However, she advised the TMC leaders to maintain restraint. “Udayan stay cool. They will provoke you and keep you preoccupied in scuffles while they get the voting done by the BSF,” alleged Banerjee.
She sent out strong messages that no bike rallies and campaign rallies should be allowed from April 17 onwards till the polls on April 19 as the campaign has to stop 48 hours before voting.
“No one will be spared if anyone is found instigating riots and unrest or if there is a law and order situation. I have also asked our leaders and supporters to maintain restraint.” She alleged that unaccounted money was being brought in through the Assam border in connivance with a section of the security forces.
She reiterated that the CAA, NRC and Uniform Civil Code were all parts of a conspiracy. “I dare Prime Minister Modi or Amit Shah to hold a debate with me on any news channel and I will prove this. Let the public be the judge. However, it is sad to see the Union Home minister using unparliamentary language threatening to beat people up after hanging them upside down. He made such remarks during a public address in Bengal recently,” she said.
Meanwhile, two US officials told the BBC's US partner CBS News that an attack could come as soon as Friday. The tension between Iran and Israel rose to a critical level when a strike demolished the Iranian consulate in Syria 11 days ago. Iran blames Israel for the strike that killed one of its top military commanders and six officers.
The strike on its consulate evoked a hard response from Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to declare that an attack on Israel was “inevitable.''
While the US embassy in Israel asked its employees and their families to restrict travel outside Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and
Be'er Sheva, the French foreign ministry advised its citizens against travelling to Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Moreover, Russia, Germany and Britain urged countries in the Middle East to show restraint and Israel said it was preparing to “meet all its security needs” in a region on edge.
The German airline Lufthansa, one of only two Western carriers flying to Tehran, extended a suspension of its flights to the Iranian capital and Russia warned against travel to the Middle East.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian to urge “maximum restraint” to avoid further escalation. Russia's foreign ministry told citizens they should not travel to the Middle East, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
“Right now it's very important for everyone to maintain restraint so as not to lead to a complete destabilisation of the situation in the region, which doesn't exactly shine with stability and predictability,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing.
British foreign minister David Cameron said on Thursday he had made clear to Amirabdollahian that Iran should not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict.
“I am deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further violence,” Cameron said on X. lowest at 2.29 per cent. The NSO gathers price data from a network of 1,114
urban markets and 1,181 villages across all states and union territories on a weekly basis. In March 2024, data collection covered 99.8 per cent of villages and 98.5 per cent of urban markets.
On the industrial front, India's production growth accelerated to 5.7 per cent in February 2024, marking a four-month high, largely driven by the mining sector's strong performance. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth was 6 per cent in February 2023, with the previous peak at 11.9 per cent in October 2023.
The April-February period of 2023-24 saw IIP growth reach 5.9 per cent, a slight increase from 5.6 per cent in the same period the previous year. Mining output growth surged to 8 per cent in February, compared to 4.8 per cent in the year-ago month. However, the manufacturing sector's output growth slowed to 5 per cent, and power generation growth decreased to 7.5 per cent.
The capital goods segment experienced a significant slowdown, with growth falling to 1.2 per cent in February 2024 from 11 per cent a year earlier. Conversely, consumer durables output expanded by 12.3 per cent, a stark contrast to the 4.1 per cent contraction in February 2023. Consumer non-durable goods output declined by 3.8 per cent, compared to a 12.5 per cent expansion in the previous year.
India advises its citizens against travel to Iran...
Retail inflation eases to 5-month low, IIP grows to...