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”.
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Sensex falls by 322 pts as Trump imposes reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries; IT shares lead losers
Mumbai, Apr 3 (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed down on Thursday due to selling in IT shares amid a global sell-off as US President Donald Trump unveiled reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries, including India.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 322.08 points or 0.42 per cent to close at 76,295.36. During the session, it plunged 809.89 points or 1.05 per cent to hit an intraday low of 75,807.55 but recovered some of the losses as pharma shares advanced.
The broader NSE Nifty fell 82.25 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 23,250.10. The index declined by 186.55 points or 0.79 per cent to a low of 23,145.80 in early trade but later pared some losses.
President Trump, in a historic measure to counter higher duties on American products imposed globally, announced reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries. The US imposed a 27 per cent tariff on Indian goods while imposing a 10 per cent baseline tax on imports from all countries.
"This is Liberation Day, a long-awaited moment. April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. We are going to make it wealthy, good, and wealthy," Trump said in his remarks from the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday.
IT shares led the losses with TCS falling the most by 3.98 per cent. Tech Mahindra declined by 3.79 per cent, HCL Technologies by 3.71 per cent and Infosys by 3.41 per cent.
"The imposition of very high reciprocal tariffs by the US on its major trading partners, including India, will likely have large negative consequences for global and US GDP growth, global and US inflation, and the profitability of certain sectors and companies in India," Sumit Pokharna, VP-Fundamental Research, Kotak Securities said, adding that a sequential revenue decline for all large Indian IT service companies for the March'25 quarter is expected due to seasonal weakness, lower billing days, and marginal deterioration in demand.
Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Steel were also among the laggards.
PowerGrid, Sun Pharmaceuticals, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Asian Paints, Nestle India, Titan, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were among the gainers.
"The Nifty index opened lower in response to the US tariff announcements but saw some recovery due to resilience in select heavyweight stocks. This helped trim losses in early trades, leading to a range-bound session," Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
In broader markets, the BSE smallcap gauge rose by 0.76 per cent and the midcap index went up 0.31 per cent.
Market breadth was positive as 2,809 stocks advanced while 1,175 declined and 139 remained unchanged on the BSE.
"The domestic market initially showed signs of recovery but ended with modest losses after the announcement of a relatively lower... tariff on US imports. The IT and auto sectors experienced selling pressure due to US slowdown concerns and disruptions in the supply chain," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said.
Nair further, said pharmaceutical stocks benefited from being exempt from the tariffs. Nonetheless, robust domestic macroeconomic data and lower crude oil prices aided the broader market performance.
Although the tariff presents short-term challenges, India's economic resilience and bilateral trade agreement may help mitigate the overall impact, he added.
According to Choice Wealth' Vice President Nikunj Saraf, the US tariff on Indian exports introduces near-term economic headwinds, affecting key industries like automobiles, textiles, and gems & jewellery.
While India's trade surplus with the US is significant, prolonged tariffs may force us to explore alternative economic partnerships to safeguard growth.
If these duties persist and impact our economy, a strategic shift toward newer markets and domestic resilience will be imperative. The focus now must be on strong trade negotiations and proactive policy measures to mitigate risks, Saraf said.
Among the sectoral indices, Focussed IT plunged the most by 4.13 per cent, IT (3.78 per cent), Teck (2.85 per cent), Auto (1.14 per cent), Metal (0.99 per cent), Oil & Gas (0.59 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (0.24 per cent) and Energy (0.38 per cent).
On the other hand, Utilities, Power, Healthcare, Telecommunication, Consumer Durables, Services, and FMCG were among the gainers.
Despite, market ended in the red territory, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose by Rs 35,170.32 crore to Rs 4,13,33,265.92 (USD 4.83 trillion).
In Asian markets, Tokyo's Nikkei plunged the most by nearly 3 per cent, followed by Hong Kong (1.52 per cent), Seoul's KOSPI (0.76 per cent) and Shanghai (0.24 per cent).
European markets were trading lower in the mid-session deals. Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 3.68 per cent to USD 72.19 a barrel.
Meanwhile, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,538.88 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 2,808.83 crore on a net basis.
On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 592.93 points to settle at 76,617.44, and the NSE Nifty climbed 166.65 points to settle at 23,332.35.
