Temple priest, aide among three arrested for journalist's murder in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur
Sitapur (UP) (PTI): Police recently arrested three men, including a temple priest, in connection with the murder of a journalist, who was shot dead on the Sitapur-Delhi National Highway on March 8, officials said.
Two shooters who carried out the attack on Raghavendra Bajpai -- a resident of Maholi who worked with a Hindi daily -- remain at large and efforts are underway to arrest them, they added.
Sitapur SP Chakraesh Mishra had formed three teams to investigate the case, which questioned more than 100 suspects and scanned around 250 CCTV camera feeds, leading to the arrests.
"The probe revealed the involvement of Shivananda Baba alias Vikas Rathore, a priest at the Karedev Baba temple in Maholi. CCTV camera footage showed two men loitering around the temple suspiciously near Bajpai's residence around the time of the incident. After further probe, police arrested Shivananda Baba, his close aide Nirmal Singh, and Aslam Ghazi," the SP said.
"Their interrogation revealed that Bajpai reportedly saw Shivananda in a compromising position within the temple, which could have severely damaged the latter's reputation.
"Shivananda narrated the incident to Nirmal Singh, who, with the help of Aslam Ghazi, orchestrated a contract killing to eliminate Bajpai. Two shooters were hired for the job," the officer said.
Three teams from the Crime Branch and seven teams from the Special Task Force (STF) are currently conducting raids to nab the shooters.
A reward of Rs 25,000 each has been announced for information leading to the duo's arrest, the SP said.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
