6 arrested over Venezuelan President's alleged assassination bid
Caracas, Aug 6 : Six people have been arrested over an alleged assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro here, the interior minister said.
Maduro survived the assault on Saturday evening after several drones armed with explosives flew toward him while speaking at a commemoration ceremony of the 81st anniversary of the Venezuelan national guard, reports CNN.
The President he blamed far-right elements and Colombia's outgoing president, Juan Manuel Santos of carrying out the foiled attempt. Those arrested are accused of "terrorism and assassination", Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on state TV on Sunday.
Reverol said one of the detained had an outstanding arrest warrant for his alleged role in the August 2017 attack on a military base in Valencia.
The attackers used two DJI M600 drones that each carried 1 kg of C-4 explosive, the Minister added.
The munitions could cause damage in a radius of 50 metres and intelligence services were able to identify the nearby streets that were used for launching the drones from a distance.
One of the drones flew over the presidential stage with the intention of being detonated by the attackers, but he said the authorities were able to cause it to lose control and detonate outside the area the attackers targeted, CNN quoted the Minister as saying.
Reverol said the second drone lost control and fell into an apartment building, where it exploded on the first floor.
Live footage of Saturday's incident showed Maduro suddenly looking up startled mid-speech, while beside him his wife, Cilia Flores, winced after a loud bang and dozens of soldiers were seen scattering.
Seven members of the national guard were injured during the attack.
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Police crack whip against inciteful social media posts
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Police have registered a case on their own after discovering a series of alarming and provocative posts on Instagram, allegedly aimed at inciting communal hatred, glorifying violence and threatening revenge attacks in the city.
According to the FIR, filed by Police Sub-inspector Anita Nikkam of the Kankanady Town Police Station, the officer who was monitoring social media platforms on December 2 as per the instructions of senior officials, came across multiple Instagram accounts sharing inflammatory content.
The FIR states that posts and stories on 16 Instagram accounts reportedly carried images of unknown individuals brandishing weapons, including pistols, revolvers, swords and machetes, some with their faces masked.
Police said the posts were crafted to instil fear, provoke violence, create hostility between communities and disrupt public order in Mangaluru.
The FIR states that the content appeared to be part of a larger attempt to incite hatred between religions and communities, encourage unlawful activities, and disturb peace and communal harmony.
The complaint notes that Mangaluru is a 'sensitive region', and that the posts indicated a coordinated attempt to create fear, trigger riots, conspiracies and criminal acts through social media.
Police have initiated action under relevant sections of law and are tracing the individuals behind the Instagram accounts.
Further investigation is under way.
