Sri Lanka crisis: Defence Ministry orders tri-forces to open fire on rioters
Colombo, May 10: Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence on Tuesday ordered the Army, the Air Force and the Navy personnel to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing harm to others amidst violent protests in the island nation over the unprecedented economic crisis.
The order came after embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged people to stop "violence and acts of revenge" against fellow citizens and vowed to address the political and economic crisis facing the nation.
The death toll rose to eight in the unprecedented violence that erupted after supporters of then prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked anti-government protesters here on Monday. Though Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, has quit as prime minister, this has failed to bring calm.
Nearly 250 people have been injured in the violence in Colombo and other parts of the country.
The Ministry of Defence has ordered the tri-forces to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing harm to others, the Daily Mirror newspaper quoted the Army Spokesman as saying.
A curfew is in force across the island nation after mobs burned down the ancestral home belonging to the ruling Rajapaksa family amid mounting anger at the worst economic crisis.
Anti-government protesters have also set up a checkpoint on the road leading to the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo to prevent the Rajapaksa family loyalists from fleeing the country.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.
The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
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Four held for Rs 33 lakh online investment fraud; interstate racket busted
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted an interstate cyber fraud syndicate involved in an online investment scam and arrested four persons, an official said on Saturday.
A crime branch team arrested the accused in a case where a victim was allegedly cheated of Rs 33.83 lakh on the pretext of lucrative returns through online trading platforms.
“Police said the accused lured victims with promises of high returns and later coerced them into depositing more money on the pretext of unlocking or withdrawing earlier investments,” the officer said.
Police said the racket operated across several states, including Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan, and used a network of mule bank accounts to route and layer the defrauded money to conceal its origin.
“During the investigation, the cheated amount was traced to 15 bank accounts. Thirteen of these accounts were registered outside Delhi, indicating the organised and interstate nature of the syndicate,” said the police officer.
The accused have been identified as Mohammad Khalid (26) and Atiur Rahman (23), both residents of Delhi, Ramandeep Singh (29) from Punjab, and Tanish alias Heera Ram (27) from Rajasthan.
According to the police, Khalid was arrested on March 15 and allegedly disclosed that he gave his bank account details and SIM card to a co-accused for a commission.
Rahman, who was already lodged in a jail in Haryana in a similar case, was later formally arrested. Ramandeep Singh was arrested on April 6 and allegedly admitted to sharing his account credentials for monetary gain.
Tanish was apprehended from Rajasthan on April 9 for facilitating the use of such accounts in the fraud network.
During the probe, officers analysed over 100 call detail records, IMEI data and transaction-related digital evidence to track the accused and establish the money trail.
Three mobile phones and SIM cards used in the crime have been recovered.
Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the syndicate and trace additional financial linkages, the police said.
