SC ruling on activists vindicates Pune police: Fadnavis
Mumbai, Sep 28 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on the arrest of five rights activists and termed it a "victory for the Pune police and the country."
"We welcome the decision based on Pune police investigations and evidence it collected has been considered valid. The court has said it will not interfere in the investigations," Fadnavis said to the media here.
He pointed out that the apex court had accepted that there is no political influence nor a plot to suppress opposition voice.
"They (activists) have been indulging in this for many years, but since there was no evidence, the probe was incomplete," Fadnavis added.
He said that the verdict vindicates the government's stand against urban Maoists who have been hatching a conspiracy to create unrest in the country.
"These persons have been working against the nation and planning to kill our Prime Minister. But we have collected all evidences against them and now will move the appropriate courts to seek their custody. They will not be spared," Fadnavis said.
In nationwide swoops in August, Pune police arrested five human rights and Dalit activists -- Varavara Rao, Sudha Bhardwaj, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Gautam Navlakha.
They were accused of involvement in the Koregaon-Bhima riots in January and other charges. They were later placed under house arrest by an apex court order on August 29.
In a 2:1 ruling, the Supreme Court on Friday declined relief to the activists, rejected their plea for a Special Investigating Team and allowed the Pune police to continue with their investigations.
While extending their house arrest by another four weeks, the apex court also directed the activists to approach local court for relief in the matter.
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Top US counterterrorism official resigns over Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat
Washington (AP): Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration's war in Iran.
Kent said on social media Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Kent, a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote.
As head of the National Counterterrorism Centre, he was in charge of an agency tasked with analysing and detecting terrorist threats.
Before entering President Donald Trump's administration, Kent ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in Washington state. He also served in the military, seeing 11 deployments as a Green Beret, followed by work at the CIA.
Democrats strongly opposed Kent's confirmation, pointing to his past ties to far-right figures and conspiracy theories. During his 2022 congressional campaign, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right military group the Proud Boys, for consulting work. He also worked closely with Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, and attracted support from a variety of far-right figures.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kent also refused to distance himself from a conspiracy theory that federal agents instigated the January 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, as well as false claims that Trump, a Republican, won the 2020 election over Democrat Joe Biden.
Democrats grilled Kent on his participation in a group chat on Signal that was used by Trump's national security team to discuss sensitive military plans.
Still, Republicans praised Kent's counterterrorism qualifications, pointing to his military and intelligence experience.
Sen. Tom Cotton, the GOP chair of the intelligence committee, said in a floor speech that Kent had "dedicated his career to fighting terrorism and keeping Americans safe.”
