Tag: security

Amritpal shifted to Dibrugarh jail amid tight security

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Dibrugarh: Amid tight security, Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh was shifted to the Dibrugarh central jail in Assam on Sunday following his arrest in Punjab earlier in the day.
He was flown from Punjab’s Bathinda air base to Dibrugarh’s Mohanbari airport under tight security.
A team of Punjab Police and National Security Agency (NSA) officials arrived in Dibrugarh with the Waris Punjab De chief. A huge team of Assam Police personnel was present at the Mohanbari airport.

The Assam Police have however, refused to issue any official statement on Amritpal’s arrival in Dibrugarh.
Meanwhile, the security cover outside the central jail was beefed up.
Already, a multi-tier security arrangement was in place, but more security personnel were deployed on Sunday.
The general public were not allowed to go near the jail.
Nine other aides of Amritpal Singh, including his close aide Papalpreet and uncle Harjit Singh, have been lodged in the Dibrugarh central jail since last month.

The 30-year-old Waris Punjab De chief who had been on the run since March 18, was arrested on Sunday morning from Rode in Moga district — the native village of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in the Indian Army’s Operation Blue Star in 1984.
Amritpal shot to prominence in February after an armed mob led by him clashed with police and laid siege to a police station near Amritsar, demanding the release of one of their colleagues who had been taken into custody in an alleged kidnapping case.
Six policemen were injured in the bloody clash.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 23, 2023
Northern Army Commander Visits Attack Site In Poonch, Reviews Security

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SRINAGAR: On Saturday, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, the Northern Army Commander, visited the site of the militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, where five Indian soldiers were killed.
He reviewed the security in the border area and the ongoing combing operation to track down the militants who ambushed the Army truck on Thursday.
Top security officials, including BSF Director General S L Thaosen and ADGP Mukesh Singh, also visited the spot. The soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations. Security forces have launched a manhunt in the dense forest area of Bhata Dhurian to nab the militants.
A high alert has been sounded in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. Fourteen people were detained for questioning, but some have been released.

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#Northern #Army #Commander #Visits #Attack #Site #Poonch #Reviews #Security
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 22, 2023
Hindutva activist lashes out against BJP for withdrawing security

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Mangaluru: Hindu right-wing leader Satyajith Surathkal on Friday strongly criticised the state government’s decision to withdraw the security provided to him on account of the Assembly elections.
Addressing reporters at the press club here, Surathkal, who is Dakshina Kannada district Hindu Jagaran Forum leader, said BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel and RSS leaders would be responsible if he got killed during the election process.
Surathkal said he had been provided security for the past 16 years. “It is now removed on the pretext of elections and even my revolver has been taken. Appeals made to the state Home Minister and Sangh Parivar leaders proved futile,” he said.

Surathkal said he had been receiving threats only because he stood for the Hindutva cause. “I have no political ambition and will continue the fight,” he said.
Dakshina Kannada district Hindu Jagarana Vedike leaders Raviraj, Nagesh and others were present at the press conference.
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#Hindutva #activist #lashes #BJP #withdrawing #security

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 22, 2023
Uttar Pradesh: Security beefed up for ‘Alvida’ prayers

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Lucknow: Elaborate police deployment has been made at mosques across Uttar Pradesh for ‘Alvida’ prayers on the last Friday of Ramzan.
Special Director General (SDG), Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, said: “In addition to the routine deployment of over 1.25 civil police personnel in different districts, the state police have provided extra police force of around 7,000 under training sub-inspectors, 249 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary, three companies of State Disaster Response Force and five companies of central armed police force. Moreover, cops in civvies will be deployed with body worn cameras and binoculars to keep vigil during the prayers.”
He said drone cameras and high-resolution CCTV cameras would be installed at sensitive spots during the prayers.

As many as 4,800 two-wheeler and four-wheeler police response vehicles have been deployed for continuous patrolling during the festival while 1,785 quick response teams equipped with riot control equipment have been deployed at sensitive spots identified across the state, he added.
The SDG said 2,933 sensitive spots or hot spots have been identified across the state, adding that these areas have been distributed under 849 zones and 2,460 sectors and the force deployment has been done accordingly.
“All the social media platforms are under strict vigil and stern action will be taken against those involved in posting objectionable content that may disturb law and order or incite communal sentiments,” said Kumar.
He said the ‘Alvida’ prayers would be offered at 29,439 mosques, while Eid prayers will take place at 33,304 places, including 29,439 mosques and 3,865 Eidgahs across the state.
The police and district administration has held 2,669 meetings with civil defence, clerics, peace committees and other responsible citizens to maintain coordination during the festival.

Senior police officials held 1871 meetings with the managers and organisers of the religious gatherings to ensure peace and communal harmony during the prayers.
Besides, 1,561 meetings had been conducted with municipal corporations, health and power departments to make all necessary arrangements for the festival, he added.
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#Uttar #Pradesh #Security #beefed #Alvida #prayers
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 21, 2023
India, US facing same security challenge from China, says US Indo Pacom Commander

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Washington: India and the United States are facing the same security challenges from China, a top American commander said here Wednesday, noting that the Biden Administration is not only providing assistance to New Delhi with cold weather gear, as it defends its border on the northern side, but also helping India in its effort to develop its own industrial base.
“We value our partnership with India, and we’ve been increasing it and doing a lot more, over time. They have the same security challenge, primary security challenger that we do, and it’s real on their northern border. Two skirmishes now in over the past nine or 10 months on that border, as they continue to get pressurised by the PRC for border gains,” Admiral John Christopher Aquilino, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Indo-Pacific National Security Challenges.
Admiral Aquilino was responding to a question from Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna. “I would like you to reflect on the importance of the relationship — postcolonialism India and China had a relationship to emerge as the Asian voice. But that relationship now has really soured with a concern that there should not be a hegemon in Asia and that China is treating other countries as junior partners,” Khanna said.

“It seems to me that this gives us an opportunity to ensure that China doesn’t emerge as a hegemon to strengthen the relationship with India,” said the Indian American Congressman.
Aquillino said both India and the US have the same security challenges. “We also have the desire to operate together, based on the world’s largest democracy. We have common values, and we also have people, the people ties for a number of years. I met with General Chauhan, my counterpart, at the Raisina Dialogue not long ago. I’ve been to India five times now in the past two years.
“So, the importance of that relationship can’t be overstated. We operate together, frequently, with the Quad Nations. Again, the Quad is not a security agreement, it’s diplomatic and economic, but the Quad Nations come together, often, to operate together in multiple exercises. So, we continue to work to be interoperable and to expand the relationship,” he observed.
In response to another question from Congressman Patrick Ryan, the admiral said India is a critical partner and besides conducting joint war exercises in the Malabar, the US is providing assistance to India “as it applies to cold weather gear and other capabilities that they might need, as they defend their border on the northern side.”
“But additionally, we’re expanding our cooperation in the form of production as India tries to work to develop its own industrial base. So, C-130 critical components made in India, helicopter critical frameworks made in India. That is expanding the partnership and moving them towards self-sufficiency and increased partnership with the United States,” Aquilino added.

Referring to the recently launched India-US initiative for critical and emerging technology announced by the national security advisors of the two countries, Jedidiah P Royal, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security, said: “We’re already delivering offers under the context of the ISAT arrangement. This is a real moment of convergence for the United States and India and we’re looking to take full advantage of it, going forward.”
Testifying before the committee, Royal said: “India faces the same challenger that we face in the region. So what we’re seeing right now is a moment of strategic convergence in our relationship with the government of India. There’s a lot of momentum in that regard. With respect to your question on from whom do they buy their weapons, we believe that they are through a generational process of looking to diversify off of traditional suppliers.
“We want to make sure that the US defence industrial base is in the best position possible to be India’s partner of choice moving forward,” he said.
In response to another question, Aquilino said the US is working with our Indian partners both to advance their warfighting capabilities together to ensure that the US is sharing information that’s needed.
“We do have the same strategic competitor or whatever definition we want to put on it and in my time over in the theatre now for five years straight, it has increased exponentially. It’s trending in the right direction. They’re really good partners,” he said.
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#India #facing #security #challenge #China #Indo #Pacom #Commander
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 20, 2023
UK taking Indian mission’s security ‘extremely seriously’, Parliament told

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London: The British government takes the security of the Indian High Commission in London “extremely seriously” and robustly responds to criminal incidents at diplomatic missions, the House of Commons has been informed.
In response to a written parliamentary question by Indian-origin Labour MP Navendu Mishra, UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said on Monday that the government finds the criminal damage and assaults on staff at the Indian High Commission in London last month “unacceptable”.
“The government takes the protective security of the Indian High Commission extremely seriously,” said Tugendhat.

“The government remains committed to protecting the security of missions throughout the UK, including preventing and rapidly and robustly responding to incidents such as this. The criminal damage and assaults on staff from the India High Commission at the incident on the weekend of the 18th March were unacceptable. The police have powers to deal with such acts,” he said.
The Home Office minister said the follow ups in the case were an operational matter for the police, with decisions on possible criminal proceedings to be made in conjunction with the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
“As stated in our previous response, it is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on diplomatic security arrangements. To do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals and locations concerned,” he added.
Mishra had tabled his question at the end of last month to seek further information about the security assessments assured by the British government in the immediate aftermath of the attack on the High Commission premises and what steps were being taken “to ensure the safety and security of diplomatic missions”.
It comes as it emerged that India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) will take over the case of the attempted vandalisation of India House in London during last month’s protest, as it involves unlawful activities carried out by certain people holding Indian nationality abroad.

Indian officials have said that the NIA will take over the investigation from the special cell of the Delhi Police, which had registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
A group of pro-Khalistani protestors shattered windows at the London mission and pulled down the national flag during protests on March 19, a day after the local police launched a crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab.
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#Indian #missions #security #extremely #Parliament #told
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 18, 2023
Russian court dismisses jailed Wall Street Journal reporter’s appeal

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MOSCOW — A Moscow city court on Tuesday dismissed American journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal to be released from a high-security jail where he is being held on espionage charges.
Gershkovich’s defense team had requested that the Wall Street Journal correspondent be transferred to house arrest, another jail or released on bail.
Although the outcome of the appeal hearing was never really in doubt, it was significant as the first time Gershkovich has been seen in public since he was arrested last month in the Ural mountains’ city of Yekaterinburg.
Confined to a glass cage, as is customary for defendants facing criminal charges in Russia, Gershkovich seemed tense but composed. Ahead of the hearing he even flashed a couple of smiles at some of those colleagues and attendants he recognized, before the courtroom was emptied and the hearing began.
Espionage cases in Russia are veiled in secrecy and held behind closed doors.
A handful of journalists were allowed back into the courtroom for the judge’s verdict. Gershkovich, dressed in light jeans and a checkered shirt, looked downcast as he paced back and forth in his glass cage.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, detained Gershkovich on March 29, accusing him of spying “for the American side.” A day later he was transferred to Moscow’s high-security Lefortovo prison, where he has remained largely in isolation barring a handful of meetings with his lawyers, state prison observers and, on Monday, a visit from the U.S. ambassador after more than two weeks of being denied consular access.
Speaking outside the courthouse on Tuesday, Ambassador Lynne Tracy told journalists that Gershkovich was “in good health and remains strong despite his circumstances.”

Gershkovich, who faces up to 20 years in jail, is the first foreign journalist to be arrested on espionage charges since the Cold War and his case sends a chilling signal to both Americans in Russia and the country’s foreign press corps.
Inside the courthouse, a man dressed in civilian clothes covertly filmed journalists who came to cover the case.
‘In fight mode’
Though details are sparse, the Kremlin has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that Gershkovich was “caught red handed.”
Gershkovich’s employer, the Wall Street Journal, has dismissed the charges as bogus and the White House has classified him as “wrongfully detained,” implying Gershkovich was primarily targeted for being an American citizen.
Gershkovich’s supporters hope he will eventually be released as part of a prisoner swap with the U.S. But in the past, such deals have only taken place after a conviction, which in the journalist’s case is likely to take months if not years.
Outside the court, Gershkovich’s lawyer Tatiana Nozhkina said he was “in fight mode,” determined to prove his innocence and the right to free journalism.
In prison, she said, Gershkovich spent much of his time reading, watching television, including culinary programs, and trying to stay fit with exercise.
She added that Gershkovich, who is the son of Soviet emigrés to the U.S., told his mother jokingly in a letter that the prison’s porridge breakfast reminded him of his youth.
The next time Gershkovich could appear in court will be in late May, when a judge will have to decide whether to extend the term or his pre-trial detention.

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#Russian #court #dismisses #jailed #Wall #Street #Journal #reporters #appeal
( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 17, 2023
EU turns to Elon Musk to replace stalled French rocket

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The European Commission wants to cut deals with private American space companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch cutting-edge European navigation satellites due to continued delays to Europe’s next generation Ariane rocket system.
In a draft request to EU countries seen by POLITICO, the Commission is planning to ask for a green light to negotiate “an ad-hoc security agreement” with the U.S. for its rocket companies to “exceptionally launch Galileo satellites.”
The Commission reckons only SpaceX’s Falcon 9 heavy launcher and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan system are up to the job of sending the EU’s new geo-navigation Galileo satellites — which weigh around 700 kilograms each — into orbit.
Seeking U.S. help to keep its flagship space program running puts a dent in the EU’s idea of strategic autonomy. Galileo is a point of pride for the EU, as it seeks to become less dependent on other regions for critical infrastructure, services and technology — a quest strongly backed by Paris.
The EU is having to seek assistance to launch new versions of its navigation satellites because the Ariane 5 rocket, developed by France-based ArianeGroup and launched from France’s South American spaceport in French Guiana, is to be retired in the next months.
The deployment of its replacement, Ariane 6, has been delayed; the new system is currently expected to carry out a maiden launch at the end of this year, with full commercial deployment starting next year.
The alternative to the Ariane series would have been launching Galileo satellites with Russian-built Soyuz rockets, a version of which are also used at the French Guiana site. However, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two Galileo launches using Soyuz rockets have been cancelled, prompting the search for alternatives.
Galileo satellites beam highly accurate navigation and precise time data back to earth — and also provide a top secret encrypted service for use by government agencies. That means launches typically can only be carried out from EU territory under tight security rules.

“In view of the security sensitive information … included in Galileo satellites, an ad-hoc legally binding security agreement with [the] U.S. is necessary, in order to protect the integrity of the satellites and the Galileo constellation,” said part of a draft proposal from the Commission seen by POLITICO.
It will be up to EU countries to approve negotiations for an agreement, which would come under the umbrella of standing deals on the exchange of classified information, the proposal states.
Capacity to launch satellites and humans into space independently of other powers has been a key part of French efforts to develop the concept of strategic autonomy for Europe.
But the need to contract out launches of critical space infrastructure to private companies operating in the U.S. undermines the argument that Europe is able to manage its own alternative to the U.S. GPS, Russia’s Glonass and China’s BeiDou constellations.
“Analyses are … ongoing to ascertain whether or not launching with an alternative launch service provider would be feasible,” said Commission spokesperson Sonya Gospodinova, adding that no decision has yet been taken. Assessments are being made on technical compatibility, launch site security and cost, she said.
While SpaceX’s Falcon rocket is already operational, ULA only plans its first Vulcan mission in May.
The Paris-based European Space Agency, which isn’t an EU institution but helps manage Galileo and runs the French Guiana spaceport, had already been looking at alternative launch options for satellites.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 17, 2023
‘Shocking’: Putin critic handed 25 years in prison

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MOSCOW — A Russian court on Monday slapped opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza with 25 years in prison for treason and other claimed offenses.
Moscow City Court sentenced Kara-Murza to a penal colony for spreading “fake news” about the army and “cooperation with an undesirable organization,” as Russian President Vladimir Putin steps up his crackdown on dissent and Russian civil society. But the bulk of his sentence had to do with another, third charge: treason, in the first time anyone has been convicted on that count for making public statements containing publicly available information.
On the courthouse steps, British Ambassador Deborah Bronnert called the sentence for Kara-Murza, who holds both Russian and British citizenship, “shocking.” Her U.S. counterpart said the verdict was an attempt “to silence dissent in this country.”
The U.K. summoned the Russian ambassador after the conviction, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly calling for Kara-Murza’s “immediate release.”
Upon traveling to Russia in April 2022, Kara-Murza was detained for disobeying police orders. From that moment the charges piled up: first for spreading “fake news” about the Russian armed forces, then for his participation in an “undesirable organization,” and last for treason, on account of three public speeches he gave in the U.S., Finland and Portugal. The charges, all of which Kara-Murza denies, were expanded to treason last October.
A close associate of the late opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015, Kara-Murza was one of the last remaining prominent Putin critics still alive and walking free. But over the years he has ruffled many feathers as a main advocate for the Magnitsky Act, which long before the war called upon countries to target Russians involved in human rights violations and corruption.
The defense’s attempts to remove the judge — who is also on the Magnitsky list — were dismissed.
Kara-Murza continued to speak out against the Kremlin despite mounting personal risks, including what he described as poisonings by the Russian security services in 2015 and 2017, where he suddenly became ill, falling into a coma before eventually recovering.

Neither journalists nor high-ranking diplomats were allowed into the courtroom to witness the ruling and instead followed the sentencing on a screen.
Kara-Murza was in a glass cage, dressed in jeans and a gray blazer, with his mother and his lawyer standing outside of the cage. He smiled when the sentence was read out.
After the verdict Oleg Orlov, the co-chair of Russia’s oldest human rights group, Memorial, who himself is facing charges for “discrediting the Russian army,” drew a parallel with the Soviet Union, when “people were also jailed for words.” Kara-Murza compared the legal process to Stalin-era trials, in his appearance at court.
Kara-Murza’s lawyer Maria Eismont said the sentence was “a boost to his self esteem, the highest grade he could have gotten for his work as a politician and active citizen,” but added that there were serious concerns about his health.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 17, 2023
Flag march in Sambalpur, internet suspended, security tightened ahead of Hanuman Jayanti

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Sambalpur: The security personnel conducted a flag march on Thursday in Odisha’s violence-hit Sambalpur city, where internet services were suspended and security tightened as the district administration geared up to organise a peaceful Hanuman Jayanti.
District collector Ananya Das, north central range IG Brijesh Ray, SP B Gangadhar along with security personnel conducted the flag march to instill confidence among the residents, who have restricted themselves indoors since Wednesday’s violence during a bike rally held ahead of the Hanuman Jayanti on Maha Bishuba Sankranti on April 14.
Ten police personnel and some civilians were injured in the clash between two communities while the bike rally was passing through a locality in the city on Wednesday.

Violence erupted on Wednesday evening when stones were allegedly thrown at the bike rally taken out to celebrate the Hanuman Jayanti.
The bike rally and a ritual Jhanda Sthapana’ are organised every year prior to Hanuman Jayanti in the western Odisha city.
During the clash, some shops and several two-wheelers were set on fire while a number of cars were damaged.
The police have arrested 26 people so far and sent them to jail on the charge of rioting, while petrol bombs and swords were recovered from the houses of some persons in the city. Most of the localities wore a deserted look on Thursday as the majority of the shops remained closed.
Fresh violence was reported from a place in Dhanupali police station jurisdiction where two people were stabbed, police said.
Das said the administration has made elaborate security arrangements for Hanuman Jayanti and more force will deployed if required.

She convened a peace committee meeting, which was attended by representatives from both communities. “All those who attended the peace committee meeting have assured to cooperate to organize a peaceful Hanuman Jayanti tomorrow,” the collector said.
Sambalpur superintendent of police, B Gangadhar said that 43 people were detained and 26 others booked so far.
The administration clamped prohibitory order under section 144 CrPC in areas under Town, Dhanupali, Khetrajpur, Ainthapali, Bareipali and Sadar police stations in Sambalpur city.
Thirty police platoons were deployed in the area to stall any further attempts to create trouble, he said.
Asked if the violence in Sambalpur city was part of a conspiracy, Gangadhar said, “We think it is a sporadic incident. Investigation is on and the situation is now under control.”
The prohibitory order was also promulgated at Jeypore town in Koraput district from 3 pm to 9 pm on Thursday.
The order, which prohibits meetings and gathering of people, will continue till April 20, a senior official of the Koraput district administration said.
The Odisha government suspended internet services in Sambalpur district for 48 hours from 10 a m Thursday to check the spread of rumours which could incite fresh communal passion after Wednesday’s Hanuman Jayanti procession turned violent.
“The situation is critical and miscreants are circulating false and inflammatory messages through the social media to disturb public order in Sambalpur district,” the notice issued by additional chief secretary of the home department, D K Singh said.
Meanwhile, the Hanuman Jayanti Coordination Committee, which organises the Hanuman Jayanti every year, has given a 36-hour-bandh call from 3 pm on Thursday and urged all to celebrate the festival.
Committee president Damodar Kar was seriously injured and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city.
Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said “governance deficit” was responsible for the violence in Sambalpur, the heart of western Odisha, and came down heavily on the BJD government for failing to maintain law and order in the state.
“It was a clear intelligence failure and the police could not guess the possibilities,” said BJP state president Manmohan Samal.
Blaming the state government for the violence in which many innocent people were attacked and their properties lost, he said the state government should move the Centre and seek deployment of central forces if it is unable to handle the situation.
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#Flag #march #Sambalpur #internet #suspended #security #tightened #ahead #Hanuman #Jayanti
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 14, 2023