NIA files charge sheet against two IS operatives in Karnataka
New Delhi, Mar 17: National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against two alleged Islamic State operatives who were found involved in over two dozen incidents of arson and sabotage, including burning of the national flag in Karnataka, an official said Friday.
Maaz Muneer Ahmad (23) and Syed Yasin (22) of Shivamogga have been charged in a special court under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substances Act and Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.
The official said the case relates to a conspiracy hatched to further the activities of the banned Islamic State terror group by carrying out acts of arson, sabotage and violence in Karnataka. Further investigations against six other arrested accused are in progress.
“Ahmad and Yasin, both B Tech graduates, had been radicalised and motivated by an online foreign-based handler to target public and private properties, including warehouses, liquor outlets, hardware shops, vehicles and properties belonging to citizens belonging to a particular community. In furtherance of a conspiracy hatched by the Islamic State, they had committed over 25 incidents of arson and sabotage,” the spokesperson said.
The NIA said the level of their commitment is evident from their activities.
“Both of them went to Agumbe and Varahi river backwaters forest area of Shivamogga district for trekking and recce for hideouts. They procured explosives and prepared to fabricate an IED. Yasin conducted a trial explosion of one of the IEDs at the Varahi river bank in Shivamogga. He also burnt a national flag and recorded a video to establish his anti-India credentials,” the spokesperson said.
The official said the two terror operatives were being paid in cryptocurrencies by their online handler by fund transfers from abroad.
“Investigations have revealed that Ahmad received crypto equivalent to around Rs 1.5 lakh from the online handler into accounts of his friends, whereas Yasin received Rs 62 K into the account of a friend,” the spokesperson said.
As part of the larger IS conspiracy, the NIA said another accused in the case Mohamed Shariq had planned to carry out an IED blast at Kadri Temple, Mangaluru on November 19 last year but the device had exploded prematurely due to timer malfunction, which averted a “potential disaster”.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
India has agreed already to drop its tariffs to nothing: President Trump
New York/Washington, May 7 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has “agreed” to drop its high tariffs “to nothing”.
“I mean, India as an example, has one of the highest tariffs in the world. We’re not going to put up with that, and they’ve agreed already to drop it. They’ll drop it to nothing. They’ve already agreed. They would have never done that for anybody else but me,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to reporters as they met in the Oval Office to discuss the US-Canada trade.
“So we’re going to put down some numbers and we’re going to say our country is open for business and they’re going to come in and they’re going to pay for the privilege of being able to shop in the United States of America. It’s very simple. It’s very simple,” he added.
In the past, Trump has called India “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.
Last month, Trump had said that negotiations with India over a bilateral trade deal are “coming along great” and he thinks “we’ll have a deal with India”.
