Aus police raid properties linked to New Zealand terror suspect
Melbourne: Australian counter-terrorism police on Monday searched two homes linked to the family members of the gunman accused of killing 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch to obtain material that may assist New Zealand Police in their investigation into the terror attack.
The attacker, identified by authorities as Australia-born Brenton Tarrant, 28, targeted immigrants during Friday prayers. Witnesses said victims were shot at close range.
He was arrested shortly after entering two mosques --Masjid Al Noor and Linwood - with high-powered weapons and shooting dead 50 people, including five Indians.
The New South Wales (NSW) Joint Counter Terrorism Team on Monday two properties on the state's mid-north coast.
One of the properties being searched belongs to Sharon Tarrant, the mother of the attacker.
''Around 8.30 this morning (local time) officers from the NSW JCTT executed a search warrant at a home in the town of Sandy Beach, near Coffs Harbour. A short time later, a second search warrant was executed at another home in Lawrence near Maclean,'' the statement said.
''The primary aim of the activity is to formally obtain material that may assist New Zealand Police in their ongoing investigation,' it said adding ''the family of the Australian man arrested in Christchurch continues to assist police with their inquiries.'
Police further assured the community that that there was no information to suggest a current or impending threat related to this search warrants.
The NSW JCTT comprises representatives from the Australian Federal Police, NSW Police Force, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the NSW Crime Commission.
In an interview with Nine News, Tarrant's family expressed shock and apologised for his role in the shooting. His uncle, Terry Fitzgerald, mourned the victims in Christchurch.
"We are so sorry for the families over there, for the dead and injured," he said. His grandmother, Marie Fitzgerald, told reporters she could not fathom how "somebody in our family would do anything like this .
The 81-year-old said her grandson was "obviously not of sound mind .
The family had dinner with Tarrant 12 months ago for his sister's birthday in Grafton.
Tarrant, a self-avowed white supremacist, lived in Grafton, 500km northwest of Sydney, where he worked as a personal trainer at Big River Gym. He moved to the New Zealand city of Dunedin at some point in the last two or three years.
Tarrant did not request bail during a brief court appearance on Saturday and will next appear on April 5. He has been charged with one count of murder but further charges are expected.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton defended the ASIO and the Australian Federal Police against suggestions they had failed to identify the danger Tarrant posed.
He said Monday that Tarrant had spent only 45 days in Australia over the past three years and was not on any terror watch lists. His social media ravings were missed because of the massive amount of digital traffic which has to be monitored.
"There is only so much content that can be covered, assessed and analysed by ASIO and other partner agencies," said Dutton.
He also rejected claims the security authorities were only focused on Islamic terrorists, ignoring right-wing extremists.
Dutton said Australia's security agencies are very concerned about retaliatory or copycat attacks in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack.
Tarrant's travels through Europe, Turkey and Asia are now being examined in detail, in part to see if he had any overseas help in carrying out the massacre.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
