SRINAGAR: At least eight persons, including a father-son duo and a CRPF sub-inspector, suffered minor injuries in a grenade blast near Palladium Cinema at the busy Lal Chowk here today.

"Eight persons were injured when a militant lobbed a grenade near Palladium Cinema at Lal Chowk," a police spokesman said.

He said among the injured were a father-son duo — Ghulam Nabi Nayak and his eight-year-old son Farooq Ahmad — and CRPF sub-inspector Hari Ram Devakar.

"All the injured were shifted to a hospital where first aid was given to them," the spokesman said, adding, police and security forces have cordoned off the area.

SDPO Kothibagh Faisal Qayoom said police have started investigations and will be looking at the CCTV footage to track down the militant who lobbed the grenade.

This is first grenade attack in Srinagar city since militants made an abortive bid to attack an election rally in Khanyar during Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

The attack comes as electioneering for the Assembly elections in the city has started picking up. Polls in the city will be held in the fourth phase on December 14. — PTI

NEW DELHI: In a daring daylight heist, two unidentified armed assailants looted a cash van of around Rs 1.5 crore after allegedly killing an ATM security guard in Kamla Nagar area of North Delhi this morning.

According to the police, the incident took place near North Campus of Delhi University around 11 AM when custodians of the cash van, belonging to a private cash replenishment company, were in the process of refilling money into an ATM of a leading private bank at Bungalow Road.

"When the cash van reached near the ATM of Citibank, two unidentified bike-borne armed assailants arrived there and attacked its security guard. One of the accused shot at the guard for resisting their robbery attempt," a senior police official said.

Police said the accused also threatened to kill custodians of the cash van and escaped with a bag containing Rs 1.5 crore kept in the vehicle.

The security guard was rushed to a nearby hosptial where he was declared dead.

"We are scanning the footage of CCTV installed at nearby areas to ascertain the sequence of event. We are yet to ascertain the looted amount and further probe is on," he added. -PTI

Bengaluru: With the strategic gravity shifting from West to East, especially to Asia and Asia Pacific, "India faces security challenges in the region due to an assertive China and an intrusive Pakistan", the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, said Saturday.

"The situation is not good for the environment, as peaceful rise of China remains a distant dream. An assertive China is investing heavily in developing military power, especially aerospace power, laying claims on international waters, island territories and air space over South China Sea and East China Sea," Raha said during the eighth annual Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre memorial lecture.
Noting that the situation in South Asia spawning Afghanistan and Pakistan was going to be delicate, especially after the withdrawal of the US-led allied forces, the chief of air staff said Pakistan was the fountainhead of terrorism, encouraging terrorist activities despite being a part of the global war on terror.
"Withdrawal of American and western forces from Afghanistan will create a very delicate situation for India in terms of some conventional threats to us. Similarly, the IS (Islamic State) gaining strength in West Asia poses another challenge for us to deal with proper planning and induction of forces, especially aerospace power," he said.
Raha said China was developing capabilities to fight major conflicts over the next 35 years, as mentioned by a security analyst in Hong Kong in an article recently.
"By 2050, China wants to annex Taiwan, occupy the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, annex South Tibet and Arunachal from India, get hold of Senkaku Islands of Japan and recover lost territories in Russia and Mangolia," Raha said.
Claiming that India had no territorial ambition except to recover the land lost due to historical reasons, the Indian Air Force chief said with a hostile border left behind as a legacy of the British rule, the situation in the neighbourhood, specially on the western border, was vulnerable.
"Our aim is not to occupy but deter our enemy from waging war against us with striking capability to penetrate into the enemy's territory with air power and expose the vulnerability of the adversary," he said.
Khatre was the chief of air staff in 1984-85 and chairman of the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., which makes military aircraft for the IAF.
The day-long event was organised by the Air Force Association of Karnataka branch in association with the Aeronautical Society of India and HAL.
HAL chairman R.K Tyagi also spoke to the gathering of about 500 serving and retired officers, air warriors and other stakeholders.-IANS

SYDNEY: With the cricket world mourning Phillip Hughes’ tragic death, next week’s first Test between India and Australia was on Saturday pushed back to an unspecified date to let the players attend the late batsman’s funeral scheduled on Wednesday in his hometown.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Cricket Australia (CA) said that it was neither feasible nor fair to begin the Test on December 4 as originally planned.

“The first Test between Australia and India that was scheduled to start in Brisbane next Thursday has been postponed until an unspecified date to allow the cricket world time to grieve over the death of Phillip Hughes,” the statement said.

“With funeral arrangements for Hughes confirmed for his home town of Macksville — midway between Brisbane and Sydney — next Wednesday afternoon, Cricket Australia has confirmed that it was neither feasible nor fair to begin the Test as originally planned the next day,” it added.

The CA said that its officials have maintained close contact with the BCCI since Hughes was critically injured on Tuesday. The 25-year-old died two days later as a result of the injuries he received on being struck by a bouncer while batting in a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG.

“It is understood that the BCCI, and the Indian Test squad which is currently in Adelaide where a scheduled two-day warm-up match was to have been played on Friday and Saturday was cancelled, have been understanding and supportive of the unprecedented circumstances.

“The life and achievements of Hughes, who would have turned 26 tomorrow, will be honoured and celebrated at a funeral service to be held in the Sports Hall at Macksville High School where Hughes was a student until his move to Sydney in 2006 to pursue his cricket dream,” the CA said.

The funeral will be telecast live on Channel Nine, while ABC Local Radio and the Fairfax Radio Network will also broadcast the service live around the country. It will also be streamed live on Cricket Australia’s website and mobile app. — PTI

JAMMU: Security forces have busted a militant hideout and recovered arms and ammunition in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said here on Saturday.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs, Rashtriya Rifles and police launched a joint search operation and busted the hideout in Marmat in Bhaderwah tehsil of Doda district yesterday, he said.

The recoveries from the hideout include an AK-47 rifle, a chinese pistol, two .303 rifle, three 12 bore gun, one sniper rifle, one country-made pistol, four magazines of AK-47 and three magazines of .303 rifle, he said.

In addition, two radio sets, around 216 rounds of assorted ammunition, four hand grenades and several other logistic stores were also recovered, the spokesman added. -PTI

AMRITSAR: A 41-member delegation of artistes, singers and musicians from Pakistan, on Friday arrived here to participate in a joint cultural festival 'Saanjh'.

The main objective of the festival is to foster strong bond of friendship between the two nuclear armed neighbours through shared cultural folklore, music and poetry.

The colourful rainbow of artists came together under the umbrella of Amritsar-Lahore peace festival, which is being celebrated since twelve years, spreading the message of peace and harmony.

“This festival was started twelve years back and every year this festival is organised, the main objective of the festival to celebrate the cultural similarities like folk lore, poetry and Sufism. We want our culture to be alive," said head of Pakistani delegation Usman Peer Zada.

India and Pakistan have many similarities in terms of sharing common folklore, culture and language.

In spite of the many contentious issues, India and Pakistan have made major strides in reducing the "trust deficit over the past few years.

Leading Sufi Musician of Pakistan, Saeen Zahur Ahmad said that people across borders should bond with each other, spreading the message of love and brotherhood.

"I wish that everyone across borders cooperate with each other and unite spreading the message of love and brotherhood," said Ahmad.

Both countries have also introduced a project named Aman Ki Asha', a peace initiative between India and Pakistan.

The festival is being organised by Punarjyot in collaboration with its Lahore-based counterpart Rafi Peer Theater Workshop. -Agencies

JALANDHAR: Paramilitary personnel paid homage to the fallen soldier killed in Kashmir gunbattle, after his last rites were performed at his hometown Punjab.

The soldier laid his life fighting the militants in Arnia district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier in the day, fresh firing erupted in Arnia town and search operation was launched to look for militant hideouts after gunmen wearing army uniforms on Thursday attacked an army base near the border with Pakistan, leaving ten people dead in the worst militant violence in more than a year.

Meanwhile, a soldier, Bahadur Singh said that Kulwinder fought bravely till the end.

"Even after he got hit by the bullet he kept fighting. His fight showed bravery and he did a good job," said Singh.

Family members and relatives performed the last rites in his ancestral home town in Gakhal village.

According to top official, a total of 11 people lost their lives on Friday in the operation, including four militants, four civilians and three army soldiers.

Security forces tightened the cordon to track down the hiding militant and retrieve the bodies of civilians killed in the gun battle while the sanitization operation is underway in Arnia. –Agencies

GUWAHATI: Terming Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad a constant security threat, Director of Intelligence Bureau Asif Ibrahim on Saturday said return of the battle-hardened youth from Iraq and Syria poses a new challenge to the country.

"the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad remain a constant threat to our national security," he said addressing the 49th annual conference of DGPs, IGPs of all states, Union Territories and central police organisations heads here organised by the Intelligence Bureau.

Referring to the terrorist violence in Iraq and Syria, Ibrahim said the two countries have emerged as new theatres of 'jihadi' violence.

"The return of the battle-hardened youth from these regions into India poses a fresh challenge," he said.

A youth from Mumbai's suburb Kalyan, Arif Majeed, who was believed to have been killed while fighting for militant group ISIS in Syria, returned to the metropolis on Friday and was arrested after joint interrogation by NIA and Maharashtra ATS. — PTI

MUMBAI: A special NIA court on Saturday remanded alleged Islamic State ‘recruit’ Aarif Majeed in the probe agency’s custody till December 8, observing that his custodial interrogation was necessary.

The NIA on Saturday told the court that they want to unearth the entire conspiracy from Majeed’s ‘recruitment’ to the role played by him in the ‘war’ (for an Islamic state).

The agency also told special NIA judge P.R. Deshmukh that three other youths, who had joined the UN-banned terror outfit, along with Majeed are shown as wanted in the case.

“We also want to investigate the kind of training that Majeed was imparted before joining the ISIS forces,” NIA’s prosecutor told the court.

In the court, when asked by the judge, Majeed told his name and replied in the negative when asked whether he had any complainants against the NIA.

The 23-year-old youth landed in Mumbai on Friday following which he was immediately detained by the security agencies, and later arrested.

A case under sections of Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act (UAPA) and section 125 of IPC which deals with waging war against any Asiatic country which has friendly ties with India, was registered against ISIS, Majeed and other three other youngsters.

According to the police, the four engineering students flew to Baghdad on May 23 as part of a group of 22 pilgrims to visit religious shrines in Iraq.

The next day Majeed had called his family from Baghdad and apologised for having left without informing them. Upon returning to India, other pilgrims had told police that Majeed, Fahad Shaikh, Amaan Tandel and Shaheem Tanki had hired a taxi to Fallujah, a city west of Baghdad which had emerged as the epicentre of Iraq’s deadly insurgency.

On August 26, Tanki called up Majeed’s family and told them that their son had become a ‘martyr’ claiming that the latter died fighting for ISIS in Syria

Accordingly the next day, Majeed’s family performed Janaza-e-gayabana (prayers for the departed soul in absence of the body) in Kalyan.

Recently, Majeed’s father Ejaz Majeed had reportedly met the NIA and told them his son had fled from the IS-controlled areas to Turkey after fighting for the militant group for nearly three months and wants to return to India. — PTI

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government has ordered the transfer of 128 bureaucrats, a spokesman said on Saturday.

Those transferred are all Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers.

The BJP government in Haryana led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar assumed office October 26.

The Haryana government has ordered the transfer of nearly 100 IAS officers in the state in the last few days. -IANS