JeM's Nagrota attack plotter arrested
Srinagar, May 26: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said it arrested a JeM operative on Saturday for his role in a 2016 terror attack that killed seven soldiers at Jammu and Kashmir's Nagrota Army camp.
The counter-terror probe agency identified the arrested accused as Syed Muneer-Ul-Hasan-Qadri, a resident of Lolab Valley in north Kashmir district of Kupwara.
According to NIA officials, he was arrested in a joint operation with Jammu and Kashmir Police.
"Qadri has revealed that he along with other valley based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) operatives were in touch with its leadership in Pakistan and had received a freshly infiltrated group of three Pakistani terrorists from the Samba sector a day before the attack (on November 29, 2016)," an NIA spokesperson said.
"They subsequently stayed at a hotel in Jammu and then left the attackers at Nagrota outside the Army camp late at night and proceeded to the Kashmir Valley," the official said.
The NIA has been investigating the attack that also left three soldiers.
Three Pakistani militants were killed in the operation and a huge quantity of fire arms, ammunition, explosives and other articles recovered from them.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
