India-US relationship flourished under PM Modi, says official in Trump administration
Washington, Mar 22:The relationship between India and the US flourished under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official in the Donald Trump administration has said, adding it expects the ties to improve after the Lok Sabha elections.
The senior official also said the first ever India-US two-plus-two dialogue, held in New Delhi last year, took the relationship forward.
Responding to a question on five years of the Modi government and the recent visit of India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to the US, the official said, "US-India relationship has really flourished... since Modi took power."
"The highlight, I would say, was Prime Minister Modi's visit to the White House in the June of 2017 where a lot of progress was made on the relationship. I would just say that the visit by Foreign Secretary Gokhale was just the latest illustration of the positive trajectory that the relationship is on," the official said requesting anonymity.
"We look forward to working with whoever is elected in this (general) election," the senior official said, adding there is "a lot of strategic logic" to the India-US relationship.
The official said the US expects the ties to continue to improve and the country is looking for ways of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in particular on Washington's converging strategic interest in that part of the world.
Describing the recent visit of Gokhale to the US a milestone, the official said the visit of the top Indian diplomat began with a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and concluded with National Security Advisor John Bolton.
During his three-day to the US visit last week, Gokhale had important foreign office consultation and strategic security dialogue at the state department. A wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues were discussed.
"They were able to talk about our shared vision for the Indo-Pacific, ways to strengthen our defense and security cooperation. Of course, they discussed Indian Pakistan situation as well as Afghanistan," the senior official said.
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Miscreants decamp with 70 kg silver articles from jewellery shop in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Unidentified miscreants allegedly broke into a jewellery shop here and decamped with approximately 70 kg of silver articles worth crores of rupees, police said on Friday.
The incident was reported at a jewellery shop near 8th Mile, Havanur, on April 28, they said.
According to police, the accused are suspected to have entered the premises from the rear after breaking open the lock and drilling a hole through the wall of the shop.
The incident came to light at around 7 am on April 28 when shop staff opened the premises and discovered signs of forced entry and extensive damage to the rear section of the building, following which they alerted police authorities.
Preliminary estimates indicate that around 70 kg of silver articles, worth crores, were stolen. Most of the silver items displayed in the cupboards were taken, while valuables kept in the locker remained intact, a senior police officer said.
Police said CCTV cameras inside the shop were not functioning. Efforts are underway to identify the suspects using footage from cameras installed in the vicinity.
The miscreants also allegedly took away the Digital Video Recorder (of CCTV) of an adjacent shop, the officer added.
Investigators are also examining the tools and techniques used to gain access to the shop, suspecting the involvement of a professional gang with prior knowledge of the store layout.
A case has been registered at Bagalagunte Police Station, and further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend the accused, police said.
