UP man held for association with Pakistan-based LET
SRINAGAR/MUZAFFARNAGAR: A man from Uttar Pradesh has been arrested for working with Pakistanbased Lashkar-e-taiba (LET) and actively participating in terror activities in Kashmir, including the recent killing of six cops, the police said on Monday, making a startling revelation.
Sandeep Kumar Sharma alias Adil, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, was a part of LET module busted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, a top police official said.
A local militant Muneeb Shah, resident of Kulgam in Kashmir, was also arrested.
According to Khan, it was the first case of a nonlocal being found associated with LET.
“We have busted a module involved in a series of sensational crimes, including terror crimes, in south Kashmir. Two individuals, Sandeep Kumar Sharma alias Adil, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, and Muneeb Shah, a resident of Kulgam in south Kashmir, have been arrested,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Munir Khan told reporters.
Sandeep, an expert in looting, was involved in criminal and militant activities and became a “hardcore terrorist in the sense that he accompanied LET terrorists in three actions”, he said.
The arrest of Sandeep, basically a welder, points to the blurring lines between criminality and terrorism, Khan said.
The IGP revealed that Sandeep was nabbed from the house where LET commander Bashir Lashkari was killed in an encounter on July 1. His arrest led to Shah being caught.
“We apprehended Sandeep during the encounter in which notorious militant Lashkari was eliminated. It raised the fingers of suspicion. We were surprised to see a non-local sitting in the same house where Lashkari was taking shelter, so we decided to go further,” the police officer said.
Giving details, Khan said Sandeep was involved in an attack on a police party in Achabal in south Kashmir on June 16 in which SHO Feroze Dar and five other policemen were killed and their faces disfigured.
Sandeep was also involved in the June 3 ambush on an army convoy in lower Munda in which a jawan was killed and also in the snatching of weapons from retired Justice Muzaffar Attar's guard in Anantnag, the IGP said.
“In all these actions, Sandeep was present and participating,” Khan said. NEW DELHI: India's external security challenges, evolving regional power play as well as threat of terrorism were deliberated on Monday at a meeting attended by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, NSA Ajit Doval and the three service chiefs.
In his address at the Unified Commanders' Conference, an annual forum to take stock of the country's security preparedness, Jaitley said there is a deep sense of appreciation in every citizen and the government for the "exemplary" manner in which the Army, Navy and IAF have been conducting themselves, according to the defence ministry.
"He expressed his satisfaction in the way the armed forces have been handling the multiple challenges to security.
He also appreciated the strong thread of 'synergy' in the interactions during the conference," the ministry said in a statement. Jaitley also assured the armed forces that with resource availability increasing within the Indian economy, capital expenditure will be a priority area.
The UCC is also understood to have discussed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and issues relating to maritime domain.
Jaitley said that there is a clear realisation in the government that issues relating to the services cannot be kept pending for long and it will be decisive in its approach.
It was not clear whether the ongoing standoff between armies of India and China in Sikkim sector figured during the deliberations.
The meeting is also understood to have discussed the need for ensuring coordination among the three services to ensure optimal use of resources as well as in effectively dealing with challenges facing the country.
Key operational and logistical issues also figured.
Chief of the Navy Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat and IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa presented their views relating to security preparedness. Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and Chief of Integrated Staff Lt. Gen. Satish Dua also addressed the conference. MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government to review the rule that gives it up to nine months to decide on granting sanction to prosecute a public servant and make the period shorter.
The period should be shorter, observed a division bench of justices R M Savant and Sadhana Jadhav while seeking the government's stand on a plea by social activist Ankur Patil, challenging the government's circular which makes it compulsory for the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to get government's nod to prosecute ₹public servants.'
As the ACB cannot try officials without the sanction, several cases are pending, pointed out Patil's plea. Additional Public Prosecutor Prajakta Shinde said as per a 1996 government resolution (GR), a proposal seeking sanction to prosecute must be decided within six months. The period can be extended by another three months, if needed.
Shinde also pointed out a case which is pending for sanction since 2002.