39 Indians kidnapped by Islamic State in Mosul are dead: Sushma
New Delhi: Thirty-nine Indians kidnapped by the Islamic State in Iraq's Mosul in 2014 are dead, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.
The minister told the Rajya Sabha that their bodies were spotted using deep penetration radar. The bodies were exhumed from mass graves and their identities confirmed by DNA tests, she said.
"The bodies were sent to Baghdad for DNA testing. The DNA of 38 Indians have been matched," she said.
All of them were construction workers, mostly from Punjab, and were employed by an Iraqi company in Mosul.
Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh visited Iraq, days after Mosul was liberated by Iraqi forces from the rule of Islamic State.
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Anti-Waqf law protests: Pleas in SC seek court-monitored probe into WB violence
New Delhi (PTI): Two petitions in the Supreme Court have sought a court-monitored probe into the violence in West bengal over the newly-enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act.
Fresh incidents of Waqf law-related violence rocked Bhangar area in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on April 14, even as police claimed the law and order situation in the previous riot epicentre of Murshidabad remained largely under control.
One PIL was filed by lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha seeking the court to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the cases of violence.
Another plea was filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari seeking the constitution of a five-member judicial enquiry commission headed by a former apex court judge to investigate the violence in the state.
One of the pleas sought a direction to the state government to file a report in the top court on the violence aside from the directions for protecting people's lives and properties.
The Calcutta High Court recently ordered the deployment of central forces in violence-hit Murshidabad district.
At least three people were killed and hundreds were rendered homeless in communal violence in parts of Murshidabad district, mainly Suti, Samserganj, Dhulian and Jangipur, on April 11 and 12 during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
