"Should Go To Pak": Kasab Trial Witness Over Congress Leader's 26/11 Remark

Devika Rotawan, the youngest eye-witness in the trial of 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, slammed Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar without naming him for his statement about the death of then Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare and said one should not "sprinkle salt on wounds".

Mr Wadettiwar, the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, claimed that Hemant Karkare, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief during the 26/11 terror attack, wasn't killed by Kasab but by a bullet fired by a policeman affiliated to the RSS.

The Congress leader made the statement as he attacked the BJP's Mumbai North Central candidate Ujjwal Nikam - the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 trial.

"If Kasab did not fire on 26/11 then who did? No one will ever be able to forget the terror attack. You scratch our wounds and then sprinkle salt into it. If you want to do politics, do it on other topic and not on this," she told news agency PTI.

On November 26, 2008, Ms Rotawan, her father Natwarlal and brother Akash were waiting for a train at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) when Kasab and an accomplice opened fire.

Shot in the right leg, Ms Rotawan, who needed crutches for a long time, became the youngest eye-witness to depose in court during Kasab's trial that eventually saw him being awarded the death penalty.

"What is he (Vijay Wadettiwar) doing in India if he wants to support Pakistan?" Ms Rotawan said, adding that the allegations against Ujjwal Nikam were wrong since the lawyer "did so much for the nation and sent Kasab to the gallows".

Slamming Mr Wadettiwar, she said he was making such statements just at the time of election and asserted he does not have the right to stay in this country.

"Ujjwal Nikam did not lie or betray his country. If you want to praise Kasab, go and stay in Pakistan," she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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US Teen Who Slapped Teacher In Classroom Faces Kidnapping, Assault Charges

A US high school student, who attacked two teachers in school premises, has been hit indicted on assault and kidnapping charges, according to a report in Fox News. The outlet said that the attacks took place at Parkland High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A video of 17-year-old Aquavis Hickman hitting one of the teachers in the classroom in April had gone viral on social media, leading to a barrage of comments. Hickman is being tried as an adult and his case has been moved from a juvenile court to a superior court.

Watch the video:

NEW: North Carolina high school student who went viral for hitting his teacher has been smacked with felony charges & is being charged as an adult.

This is how it's done.

17-year-old Aquavis Hickman has been indicted on assault and kidnapping charges for two separate… pic.twitter.com/JOsO0bFiKX

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 5, 2024

"A grand jury was convened last week, last Monday, comprised of members of this community and the grand jury returned two bills of indictment against the defendant now in this case, Aquavis Hickman," Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill said at a press conference.

Mr O'Neill said Hickman "unlawfully confined and restrained" the female teacher on April 15 "for the purpose of terrorising her. That defendant was also indicted on that same bill for assault on a government official, that being a teacher, and finally communicating threats against that teacher."

The legal officer said the student told the teacher that he was going to kill her, and the "threat was made in a manner and under circumstances which would cause a reasonable person to believe that threat was likely to be carried out, and the person threatened believed it would, in fact, be carried out."

The viral video shared on social media shows Hickman violently slapping his teacher twice as well as abusing her.

After the teen slaps the teacher, she is heard asking him, "Do you think that affected me in any way?" "Want me to hit you again?" Hickman replies, while stepping up and repeating the question. "I don't want it," the teacher says, but he hits her again. He hit her so hard that glasses fly off her face while the teenager continues his profanity-filled rant. 

"Ain't nobody even coming. You got slapped. B****, go back to teaching," says Hickman.

With Hickman's arrest and indictment, the police wants to give a strong message.

"Our message to our community is simple. We stand with teachers. We will fight to protect those teachers. And if you lay a hand on a teacher and assault a teacher, you can expect that the punishment will be swift and severe," said Mr O'Neill.

School district officials declined to comment on the case or Hickman's arrest.

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Congress Office In UP's Amethi Attacked, Cars Vandalised

The Congress party office in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi was attacked by some unidentified miscreants around midnight on Sunday. The miscreants vandalised several vehicles parked outside and fled after creating a ruckus, triggering a protest by party workers.

Following the incident, Congress District President Pradeep Singal rushed to the party office.

A heavy police force along with CO City Mayank Dwivedi reached the spot after the incident and tried to pacify the protesting party workers.

यूपी के अमेठी में स्मृति ईरानी और BJP के कार्यकर्ता बुरी तरह डरे हुए हैं।

सामने दिख रही हार से बौखलाए BJP के गुंडे लाठी-डंडों से लैस होकर अमेठी में कांग्रेस कार्यालय के बाहर पहुंचे और वहां खड़ी गाड़ियों में तोड़फोड़ की।

कांग्रेस के कार्यकर्ताओं और अमेठी के लोगों पर भी जानलेवा… pic.twitter.com/Knv7BBN8bk

— Congress (@INCIndia) May 5, 2024

CO City Dwivedi has assured that the matter will be investigated and action will be taken against those responsible for the incident.

Police force has been deployed at the site of the incident.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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From A 13-Year-Old Hacker To Europe's Most Wanted 11 Years Later

The imprisonment of a hacker, who was one of Europe's most wanted criminals, brought an end to an 11-year cyber-crime spree.

According to a report in the BBC, Julius Kivimaki has been jailed for blackmailing 33,000 patients, who were undergoing or underwent therapy, with their stolen session notes.

The report added that the crime spree began when Mr Julius was just 13, catapulting him into prominence in a network of anarchic teenage hacking gangs.

As per a report by Business Insider, the Finnish hacker on Monday was sentenced to six years and three months in prison, after the District Court of Western Uusimaa found him guilty of all counts.

The accusations reportedly included 9,231 counts of disseminating information violating personal privacy and 20,745 counts of attempted aggravated extortion.

After being extradited from France to Finland, Mr Julius was charged in October last year, the report added.

The Finland judiciary system published a bulletin, in which the court revealed that Vastaamo, a private psychotherapy service with centres across the country, was hacked back in November 2018.

The hacking of the psychotherapy service provider resulted in an illegal copy of its patients' database.  

As per BBC, in 2020, the 26-year-old demanded a ransom of more than 400,000 euros, or $426,818 (₹3,55,88,362), from the therapy company.

Other reports by Finnish media state that the demand was much higher at 450,000 euros ($534,000).

In addition, Mr Julius demanded that the ransom is supposed to be paid in Bitcoin by the psychotherapy centre.

After the psychotherapy centre refused to pay the ransom amount, Mr Julius emailed thousands of patients asking them all for 200 euros, or $213, BBC reported.

While threatening to publish their confidential therapy notes and personal details online, Mr Julius also warned the patients that the amount would be increased to 500 euros unless paid within 24 hours.

Soon after the threat, confidential information reportedly surfaced on the dark web. This also included patients' personal details, Social Security numbers, and sensitive therapist and doctor notes from their private sessions.

The BBC report noted that at least one suicide has been linked to this case.

While Mr Julius denied all charges, the legal bulletin cited evidence presented in the trial, confirming his involvement.

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"They Took Some Unilateral Measures...": S Jaishankar On New Nepal Note

Contesting Nepal's decision to introduce a new Rs 100 currency note featuring disputed Indian territories, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that New Delhi's position is very clear adding that Kathmandu unilaterally took some measures on their side.

He also said that while both countries were having talks on boundary matters, by doing something unilaterally, Nepal is not going to change the on-ground reality.

"I saw that report. I have not looked at it in detail, but I think our position is very clear. With Nepal, we were having discussions about our boundary matters through an established platform. And then in the middle of that, they unilaterally took some measures on their side. But by doing something on their side, they are not going to change the situation between us or the reality on the ground," said S Jaishankar while interacting with professionals in Bhubaneswar on "Why Bharat Matters."

A cabinet meeting on Friday decided to incorporate a new political map of Nepal on 100 rupee banknotes, covering the controversial territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as part of its territory.

Earlier in May 2020, Nepal's updated map prepared incorporating the missing territories was submitted to the Ministry of Land Management by the Department of Survey which claims to have taken accurate scale, projection and coordinate system.

Tension had mounted between New Delhi and Kathmandu after the issuance of a political map by Nepal in mid-May 2020, including the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, which India earlier had included in its November 2019 map.

The earlier map issued in 2032 BS left Gunji, Nabhi and Kuri villages, which have now been included in the recently revised map, adding 335 square kilometres of land.

Diplomatic ties between the nations worsened after the inauguration of a road linking Kailash Mansarovar via Lipulekh on May 8, 2020, after which Nepal handed over a diplomatic note to India objecting to the move.

Prior to the handover of the diplomatic note, Nepal also had strongly objected to India's unilateral move to construct the road. Following a strong objection from Nepal, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said the road going through Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district "lies completely within the territory of India."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Absent From Contest": BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay's Swipe At Opposition

After filing his nomination from the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, BJP candidate and former Calcutta High Court judge, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, on Saturday said that he has respect for the opposition but it seems they are not very active or present in the current election race.

"I do not underestimate them (opposition), but I find that they are not on the ground. They are absent from the contest," he said.

BJP has fielded Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay from Tamluk while TMC has fielded Debangshu Bhattacharya from the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat.

TMC's Adhikari Dibyendu won from the Tamluk garnering 724433 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. TMC defeated BJP Sidharthashankar Naskar who got 534268 votes. The TMC secured 50 percent.

Voting in the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat will be conducted on June 25 in Phase 6. West Bengal, which sends 42 MPs, to Parliament, is voting in all seven phases. Polling for six Lok Sabha seats in Bengal was held across the first two phases on April 19 and 26.

Polling for the remaining parliamentary seats will be held on May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC won 34 seats in the state, while the BJP had to settle for just 2. The CPI (M) won 2 seats, while the Congress bagged 4.

In the 2019 general elections, the TMC dropped to 22 seats, while the BJP saw the lotus bloom in 18 seats. The Congress brought up the rear, winning just 2 seats.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Uddhav Thackeray Would Have Kept Silent Had BJP...": Raj Thackeray

MNS president Raj Thackeray on Saturday claimed that his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray would not have said anything against the BJP if the saffron party had accepted his demand of Maharashtra chief minister's post.

Speaking at a campaign rally here for Union minister Narayan Rane, BJP candidate from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency, Raj Thackeray also justified his support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing the construction of the Ram Temple and abrogation of Article 370 among other reasons.

Notably, while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief had supported Modi in 2014, he had launched scathing attack on the prime minister in rally after rally before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"I did not agree with (Modi's) stand (in 2019). It was not that I wanted something in return (for supporting him again now)," Raj Thackeray said in his first rally in support of the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance in Maharashtra.

"If the BJP had accepted your (Uddhav Thackeray's) proposal of sharing the chief minister's post for two-and-half years, would you have said the things you are saying today? You would have kept mum for power," Raj Thackeray said.

Uddhav Thackeray broke off his party's decades-long alliance with the BJP after the state polls in 2019 as the saffron party was not ready to share the CM's post with him.

Raj Thackeray, meanwhile, countered Shiv Sena (UBT)'s charge that investments were being diverted from Maharashtra, asking what Uddhav did when he was an ally of the ruling BJP from 2014 to 2019, and later when he was chief minister from 2019 to 2022.

"You (Uddhav) were in power for seven and a half years. Why did investments go out? Why were you quiet?" the MNS chief asked.

Raj Thackeray also attacked Uddhav Thackeray for opposing big-ticket projects like the Jaitapur Nuclear Power plant and an oil refinery in Konkan on the pretext that the coastal region's ecology will be damaged.

There were instances where sitting Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP of Shiv Sena (UBT) Vinayak Raut (who has been renominated by his party) would oppose a project, while local MLA of the same party would back it, he claimed

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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