Sri Lanka extends emergency in surprise move
Colombo: A state of emergency was extended by Sri Lanka's President Saturday, going back on pledges to relax the tough laws introduced after the Easter Sunday attacks that killed 258 people.
Maithripala Sirisena said in a decree he believed there was a "public emergency" in the country, and was invoking provisions of the public security act extending the state of emergency.
The tough laws, granting sweeping powers to police and security forces to arrest and detain suspects, were due to expire on Saturday.
Just over 100 people, including 10 women, are in custody in connection with April's Easter Sunday suicide attacks against three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo.
In late May, Sirisena told diplomats -- from Australia, Canada, Japan, the US and European states -- the security situation was "99 per cent back to normal" and he would allow the emergency laws to lapse by June 22.
He assured diplomats security forces had either detained or killed all those directly involved in the attacks, blamed on a local jihadi group and claimed by the Islamic State group.
There was no immediate word from the government why Sirisena changed his mind, but security remains tight in the capital. The emergency can be declared for a month at a time, and parliament must ratify it within 10 days.
The continuation of the emergency came as police announced criminal investigations against several top officers, including the Inspector-General, for negligence and lapses ahead of the bombings.
Sirisena himself has been criticised for failing to act on precise Indian intelligence that jihadists were about to hit Christian churches and other targets in Sri Lanka.
A parliamentary public inquiry has been told Sirisena -- who is also the minister of defence and law and order -- failed to follow proper national security protocols.
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.
Three arrested for running fake Aadhaar racket in UP's Badaun
Budaun (UP), Apr 30 (PTI): The Budaun Police on Thursday busted a gang allegedly involved in preparing fake Aadhaar cards and forged documents, and arrested three of its members, officials said.
The action was carried out in the Hazratpur area, where the accused were found operating an illegal setup to generate fake identity documents, they said.
The accused have been identified as Farman Ali, a resident of Munshi Nagla, Anuj Kumar of Uprela, and Brajnandan of Sirsauli.
The police said a fingerprint scanner, three laptops, a hard disk, a scanner, a large number of Aadhaar cards and several suspicious documents were recovered from their possession.
ALSO READ: Hit by car, delivery agent dies after falling from flyover in Delhi
During interrogation, it was revealed that the gang had been involved in preparing fake identity documents for a long time, misleading people and earning money through illegal means, officials said.
Station House Officer Pushpendra Singh said the accused have been produced before a court, and efforts are underway to identify and arrest other members of the gang.
He added that further revelations are likely as the investigation progresses.
