Mangaluru: Police have arrested a 70-year-old man for allegedly sharing a WhatsApp message that could incite attacks against innocent people in Mangaluru, officials said.
The arrested person has been identified as Dharmapala Shetty (70). According to Commissioner of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy CH, the accused shared the message in a WhatsApp group titled “Hindu Geleyara Balaga”, Deccan Herald reported on Friday.
The message allegedly read, “Wake up, Hindus, before Mangaluru turns into a mini Bangladesh…”. Through the message, he allegedly attempted to spread hatred against shopkeepers in a particular area of the city.
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The Commissioner said that the police had already witnessed an attack on a migrant worker, who was later found to be an Indian national, in Mangaluru, and action had already been taken in that case.
“Based on the message, the police verified the background of the family concerned and found that they had purchased property in 2014 in their name. There is nothing to indicate that they are not Indian citizens,” he said.
He added that anyone with information about persons suspected to be from Bangladesh could share it with police stations, Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) or the Commissioner’s office.
“After proper verification of antecedents, such persons will be prosecuted and deported as per law,” he said.
He further warned that if anyone shares details branding an Indian citizen as a Bangladeshi based merely on suspicion, or circulates messages that could lead to attacks on people, strict action will be taken as per law. FIRs have already been registered against two persons for posting such messages.
He reiterated that any person staying illegally would be prosecuted and deported strictly in accordance with the law.
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Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 17 paise to 92.71 against US dollar in early trade on Thursday as the fragile ceasefire and Iran's threat to step out of the talks if Israel kept bombing Lebanon kept investors wary.
Forex traders said markets are in a wait-and-watch mode rather than strong directional positioning as the situation in West Asia remains fragile.
Geo-Political uncertainty was still high amid Iran’s threat to step out of the talks if Israel kept bombing Lebanon, keeping investors wary of the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.63 against the US dollar, then gained ground to touch 92.71 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a gain of 17 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 92.54 against the American currency.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. The White House demanded that the channel be reopened and sought to keep peace talks on track.
"The fragile ceasefire could be jeopardized by the renewed Middle East tensions as Israel struck Lebanon and Iran warned of moving out of the ceasefire if strikes against Lebanon continued," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
This caused the dollar index to rise to 99.10, with the Euro and GBP both falling against the dollar. Asian currencies also fell from their Wednesday highs.
The RBI left Interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but flagged risks to the Indian economy from disruptions caused by the Iran war, Bhansali noted.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.10 per cent at 99.03
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.93 per cent at USD 96.52 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex dropped 243.57 points to 77,319.33 in opening trade, while the Nifty declined 88.3 points to 23,909.05.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,811.97 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met senior US officials here and discussed ways to further deepen the defence and trade relations and exchanged views on the developments in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia.
On a three-day visit here, Misri met under secretaries Michael Duffey and Elbridge Colby in the Department of Defence, and under secretaries Jeffrey Kessler and William Kimmitt in the Department of Commerce.
