SRINAGAR: J&K Police’s investigative wing, Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), Thursday raided 10 locations in three districts of Kashmir Valley and busted a “terrorist recruitment module” allegedly linked to handlers across the Line of Control (LoC) and a network based in Bangladesh, a CIK statement claimed.The raids were carried out in Srinagar, Ganderbal and Shopian districts on warrants issued by the special NIA judge in Srinagar. The seizure included “incriminating materials, including digital devices, SIM cards, mobile phones, laptops, and other documents” pertinent to the investigation, the statement said. An FIR under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was registered at CIK police station.A Bangladesh-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, Shabir Ahmad Lone, had been handling the module, CIK stated. Lone, a native of Kangan in Ganderbal, operated under multiple aliases, including Raju and Zafar Saddique. A “highly radicalised and trained” handler, Lone underwent “structured arms training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir” and initially worked as an overground worker for a terror outfit in the late 1990s before joining LeT in the early 2000s, the statement said.“He later infiltrated India via the Bangladesh border and remained actively involved in terror-related activities, including conspiracy in high-profile attacks,” CIK stated, adding that Lone later exfiltrated to Bangladesh, from where he has been “operating and coordinating terrorist recruitment and network expansion”.Investigation further revealed that Lone was in close touch with the senior leadership of proscribed terrorist organisations and played a key role in reviving cross-border terror modules, CIK stated. He currently continues direct operations from Bangladesh “through a network of associates and overground workers” and is the “most wanted terrorist operating from a foreign land,” the statement said.CIK had earlier stated that it arrested one of Lone’s close associates, Irfan Ahmad Wani (45) from Shopian’s Heerpura. Wani had been in continuous contact with Lone and other terrorists based in Pakistan and Afghanistan through encrypted messaging platforms. “He was actively engaged in facilitating recruitment, radicalisation, and logistical support at the local level,” CIK had stated.

Siddaramaiah with DKS (File photo)

NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government’s growing expenditure on welfare schemes has placed pressure on its finances, forcing cuts in some ongoing programmes, the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) said in its report for the 2024-25 fiscal, tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.

Guarantee schemes consume significant revenue

The CAG noted that the state spent Rs 52,525 crore on five guarantee schemes — Shakti, Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyoti, Yuva Nidhi and Anna Bhagya, in 2024-25. The report said this accounted for around 20% of revenue receipts and 27% of the state’s own revenue, highlighting the schemes’ heavy burden on the budget.“Though the revenue growth is stable, it is insufficient to absorb the recurring costs of the guarantee schemes and hence the state needs to rely on borrowings to fund the guarantee schemes,” the report said. During 2024-25, while the state’s revenue rose by 10.63%, its expenditure grew by 14.99%, largely due to the guarantee schemes.

Cuts to other programmes and rising borrowings

The CAG highlighted that rising subsidies compelled the government to reduce funds for some ongoing programmes, including nutrition, assistance to local bodies, gram panchayats in rural development programmes and urban development initiatives.The mismatch between receipts and expenditure contributed to a revenue deficit of Rs 20,834 crore, while the fiscal deficit rose from Rs 65,522 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 85,030 crore in 2024-25, reported news agency PTI. To bridge the gap, the state undertook net market borrowings of Rs 71,525.15 crore, up Rs 8,525.15 crore from the previous year.

Concerns over capital expenditure and debt servicing

While overall capital expenditure rose by Rs 5,786 crore, the report said actual investment in infrastructure increased by only Rs 3,284 crore after adjusting for central assistance, investments, and off-budget borrowing. The CAG warned that this “compression in gross capital formation may prove detrimental to future growth prospects.”It further noted that higher borrowing would increase debt servicing obligations, which could crowd out spending on developmental, infrastructure, and welfare measures. The report cautioned that continued borrowing growth could risk breaching the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act (KFRA) fiscal targets.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday launched a sharp counterattack on Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge over their criticism of the party in poll-bound Kerala, accusing the Congress of targeting the Left for electoral gains while going soft on the BJP.In a strongly worded statement, the CPI(M) said the Congress was reneging on its claim of fighting communal-authoritarian forces and had instead become “a feeder organisation for the BJP.”The CPI(M) Polit Bureau also strongly disapproved of what it called the “provocative statements” made by Rahul Gandhi and Kharge against Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the secular credentials of the party.“Such canards are being spread by them to secure cheap electoral gains in the Assembly elections. By targeting the CPI(M) instead of the BJP, the Congress leaders are reneging on their claim of fighting communal-authoritarian forces. The people of Kerala will see through this sinister agenda,” CPI(M) said in a statement.The response came after Rahul Gandhi and Kharge launched a broadside against the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) while kicking off the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) campaign for the Kerala elections from Kozhikode on Wednesday.Gandhi alleged that there was an understanding between the LDF and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.“There are actually only two sides fighting here in Keralam. One is the UDF alliance, and the other is the partnership between the BJP and the LDF. The UDF unites people, listens to them, and embraces and empowers them. The LDF and their hidden partner divide people and crush them,” he said while addressing the campaign through video conferencing.He also referred to cases filed against opposition leaders and questioned why similar action had not been taken against the Kerala Chief Minister.Gandhi said he himself had around 40 cases and had been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for five consecutive days, and alleged that the lack of similar action against Vijayan “despite corruption cases” was evidence of a BJP-LDF understanding.Responding to the allegations, the CPI(M), which is also a constituent of the INDIA bloc along with the Congress, said the Congress should introspect on why many of its leaders in different states had joined the BJP.“It is a well-known fact that the present BJP Chief Minister of Assam held important portfolios in the earlier Congress government. In Tripura, the entire Congress leadership joined the BJP in 2018 in order to defeat the Left Front. Many ministers in the Union government and Members of Parliament belonging to the BJP were earlier prominent leaders in the Congress. The Congress became a feeder organisation for the BJP,” the statement said.The party further accused the Congress of allying with minority fundamentalist forces in the state.“Even in these elections, the Congress is allying with minority fundamentalist forces. The Congress-League-BJP nexus has been exposed in various elections in Kerala, including the recently concluded local body elections,” it said.Kerala will go to the polls on April 9 and votes will be counted on May 4. The Congress-led UDF is seeking to unseat the ruling LDF.

NEW DELHI: With less than a week left for the Centre’s March 31 deadline to end left wing extremism, security forces have launched a series of intensified operations across key Maoist-affected regions to track down remaining armed cadres and force surrenders.“The plan is to ensure 100 per cent neutralisation of armed Naxals by March 31, a deadline announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. This would either by engaging in encounters or getting effected surrenders. Some large operations are being undertaken in these last 5-6 days of the countdown,” a top CAPF commander told PTI.Security forces are still tracking about 130-150 armed cadres, including two central committee members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and some other divisional-rank operatives.Official sources told PTI that the Centre is also preparing an “operations and development” blueprint, which is expected to include the withdrawal of about five Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) battalions from these regions and the launch of multiple welfare schemes.As part of the operations, about three to four CoBRA units of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are being moved from Chhattisgarh to Jharkhand for a special operation in the Saranda forests of West Singhbhum district, sources said.Misir Besra alias Bhaskar is stated to be based in Jharkhand and CoBRA teams are searching for him and his associates.In Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, teams from the CRPF, BSF and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are also being “re-located” with the specific aim of engaging armed Maoist cadres in gunbattles or forcing their surrender, the sources said.A cross-border operation involving Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Odisha is also in the works, according to the sources.Rammanna, also known as Ganapathi or Laxman Rao, is reportedly in touch with Telangana Police and may surrender by March 31, according to officials.Another officer said that about three battalions of the Border Security Force (BSF), along with a sector office headed by a DIG-rank officer, are expected to withdraw from Koraput district and adjoining areas of Odisha.The sector office could relocate to Kandhamal district in the state and the three battalions will either move for border guarding duties or to Manipur, as the situation may warrant.Some CAPF battalions from Chhattisgarh will also be withdrawn, with an announcement expected on March 31. The state police and the Chhattisgarh DRG will take over the CAPF camps, the officer added.Chhattisgarh Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma declared in Jagdalpur on Wednesday that nearly 96 per cent of Bastar’s vast geographical area is now free from Naxal influence.Sources said the CAPFs and state police forces have also been asked to undertake a joint “de-mining” exercise to look for hidden Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and bombs in Naxal violence-affected regions.In February, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) conducted a fresh review of Naxal violence-affected regions and notified that the number of left wing extremism (LWE)-hit districts in the country is seven.These seven districts are Bijapur, Narayanpur, Sukma, Kanker and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, West Singhbhum in Jharkhand and Kandhamal in Odisha.The nine LWE-affected states, under various categories, are Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal.According to official data, during 2005-06, a total of 76 districts in nine states were hit by LWE.Home Minister Shah has repeatedly asserted that the LWE menace, once called the biggest internal security challenge for India in 2010, will see its end by this March.He describes Naxal violence as a challenge to democracy, saying it has claimed around 17,000 lives of civilians and security personnel so far.The Naxalite movement emerged in India in 1967 at Naxalbari, a village in West Bengal located at the tri-junction of India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

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Government offers assurances on strong fuel security, says they have 60 days of oil reserves

The government assured that India’s petroleum and LPG systems are secure and under firm control, with no shortage of petrol, diesel or LPG anywhere in the country. The ministry further stated that crude oil requirements for the next 60 days have already been secured, and there is no supply gap in the system. Read full story