No racism involved in 'attack' on Kashmiris: Delhi Police
New Delhi, May 12: Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik on Saturday told Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba that the alleged attack on a group of Kashmiris in the national capital involved a local issue and had nothing to do with their origin, an officer said.
"During a briefing, Amulya Patnaik told Gauba, the incident was triggered by a dispute over feeding stray dogs in Sunlight Colony's Siddhartha Enclave on Thursday night, following which four women and a youth from Kashmir were allegedly beaten up by a mob of 30-40 people," the officer said.
"Patnaik told Gauba, the complainant is an avid dog lover and animal rights activist. There have been more than 50 complaints and counter complaints against the residents of Siddhartha Enclave and the complainant on the issue of feeding of stray dogs. Based on evidence of CCTV footage, four people have been arrested so far."
On Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal had said: "We have registered a case on charges of sexual harassment, making sexually-coloured remarks, criminal intimidation and using words and acts intended to insult the modesty of women against the accused."
Earlier, a Kashmiri man living in Sunlight Colony had in his complaint accused a group of residents of carrying out a planned attack on him and four women, including his sister, while they were walking in the street after dinner on Thursday night.
"A group of 40 residents of the area attacked the women. When the women asked the reason, the accused abused them and shouted slogans like 'Kashmiri terrorists should be sent back from India'," the complainant said.
"When I came to my sister's rescue, some persons carrying hockey sticks attacked me. I suffered a fracture in hand," he said.
The police officer told IANS that a complaint was received from both parties, who had accused each other of assault.
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
