SSB nabs four Nepal jail escapees during intensified patrol in U’khand
Pithoragarh, Sep 14 (PTI): Four inmates who escaped from jails in Nepal during the recent anti-government protests were apprehended in Uttarakhand by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) deployed on the India-Nepal border, officials said on Sunday.
According to a press note issued by the 55th Battalion of the SSB here, the four prisoners from Nepal were caught at the Devtal police post near Jhulaghat when they were illegally crossing the Kali river with the help of a tyre tube.
Dhamendra Chand (25), Tarkaram Luhar (22), Suraj Saud (24) and Asif Pahadi (31) were nabbed by the SSB while patrolling the banks of the Kali river, considered the border between India and Nepal, it said.
The force guarding the India-Nepal international border and police in different states have caught more than 79 people from various locations along this 1,751-km-long unfenced front till now, the SSB officials said on Saturday.
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Out of these, about 43 people have been caught along the international border in Bihar, 22 from Uttar Pradesh, 12 from Uttarakhand and two from West Bengal, the officials said.
The SSB caught six inmates who escaped from Nepal's Banke jail amid violence while they were trying to cross into Indian territory at Rupaidiha border in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich, officials said on September 11.
Of the four nabbed in Uttarakhand, three are accused of rape and are residents of Baitadi district. The other is a resident of Kanchanpur district who was lodged in jail for murder.
The SSB said, “We have kept the prisoners with us and they are being thoroughly interrogated about the plans of other prisoners to enter India illegally.”
The force said that they have informed the Nepalese authorities about the development and after completing the formalities, the captured prisoners will be handed over to them.
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Trump rushed out of dinner event after shots fired; one arrested
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
