Arrest of scientist in ISRO spy case 'unnecessary': SC

The West Bengal police suspect that Anwarul Azim Anar, the slain Bangladesh Member of Parliament, could have been lured into a New Town flat in Kolkata by a woman and then murdered by contract killers.

Apart from the honey-trap angle, the police are also probing a US citizen's role in the murder. Per the police, the person was the politician's close friend and had allegedly paid ₹5 crore for the killing. The person, who owns a flat in the West Bengal capital, is currently in the United States.

Anwarul Azim Anar was last seen alive entering a rented flat in Kolkata.

The police are now looking into the role of Shilasti Rahman, a woman who the investigators believe was acquainted with one of his killers and 'honey-trapped' the Bangladesh MP, delivering him to his end.

"The investigation indicates the MP fell into a 'honey trap'. It seems he was lured by the woman. We suspect he was murdered soon after he went to the flat," a Kolkata cop relayed info from Dhaka.

CCTV footage from the apartment had showed Mr Anar entering the flat with a woman. Shilasti Rahman has been detained by Dhaka police.

"It seems, Anar was lured into the New Town flat by the woman. We suspect he was murdered soon after he went to the flat," a senior officer said.

The CID has found CCTV footage which showed Anar entering the flat with a man and a woman. The duo came in and out of the flat later, but the MP never emerged again.

"In the CCTV footage, the politician was seen entering the flat with the two persons. The duo was later seen coming out and re-entering the flat the next day but the MP was not seen again," the officer told agency.

The duo later came out of the flat with a massive suitcase.

The police found blood stains inside the flat. Several plastic bags were also used to dump the body parts.
The police suspect that the MP was first strangulated. Later, his body was chopped into several pieces. The flesh was segregated from the bones and mixed with turmeric powder to delay decomposition.

"We suspect that after killing Anar, the murderers mutilated the body, segregated the flesh from the bones and mixed those with turmeric powder to delay decomposition," the officer added.

The body parts were placed in the trolley bag and later scattered at different locations. Some parts were also kept in a fridge.

To mislead his family members and friends, the killers sent out messages to his contacts, asking them to not contact him as he was travelling to Delhi.

Meanwhile, a Mumbai-based butcher, who skinned and cut the body of the MP, was arrested by the CID.

“One Jihad Hawaldar, 24 has been arrested. Hailing from Khulna in Bangladesh, Hawaldar was illegally staying in Mumbai. He was directly involved in the crime. Investigation is going on,” an IPS officer said.

New Delhi: Acting on a one-month-old notice it sent to the BJP on complaints over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s provocative and communal remarks, the Election Commission of India on Wednesday directed the saffron party’s star campaigners not to make speeches along 'religious/communal lines' and desist from statements that may 'divide the society'.

Separately, it also asked the Congress' star campaigners not to give 'false impression' of abolishing or selling the Constitution, make speeches that create 'mutual hatred or cause tension' between religious or linguistic communities or 'potentially divisive statements' regarding the socio-economic composition of the armed forces.

The EC’s letters to BJP president JP Nadda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge conveying its directions came 27 days after it issued separate notices to them on complaints against Modi, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. Though the complaints were annexed in the notice that were sent to party chiefs and not the alleged violators, the names of violators were not mentioned.

It also comes ten days before the seven-phased elections are ending on June 1 though the notices were issued a day before the second phase of polls on April 25. While Nadda had responded to the letter on May 13 after seeking two extensions, Kharge submitted his arguments on May 6 after seeking one extension. They were initially given time till April 29.

In its letter to Nadda, the EC said he has not denied the utterances mentioned in the Congress complaint though it 'stoutly defended' the campaign methods and remarks while invoking a 'unilateral drawing of inferences and interpretations' of star campaigners of opponents. It said its star campaigners continued with objectionable utterances even after the April 25 notice.

The latest communication came against the backdrop of complaints by Congress and other parties which referred to Modi’s speech in Banswara as “communal” where he spoke about Congress seeking to redistribute people’s wealth to “infiltrators”, in a veiled reference to Muslims, and that women’s ‘mangalsutras’ will be snatched.

Emphasising that Nadda’s defence was 'not tenable', the EC said, 'directs you as party president to also convey to all star campaigners to not make speeches and statements, which may divide the society. Directs BJP and its star campaigners to refrain from any campaigning methods/utterances along religious/communal lines'.

In its letter to Kharge, the EC said Kharge too has justified Congress star campaigners’ contentious remarks while claiming that the complaint had 'wilfully extracted only specific portions, devoid of context, to mislead the Commission'. Kharge also claimed that the BJP leaders were making 'motivated statements' invoking religious sentiments to attract voters.

The EC, which had taken cognisance of complaints against Kharge and Rahul, said the assertion of Congress’ star campaigners about the BJP attempting to change the Constitution was allegedly instilling fear in the minds of voters about an uncertain future and an attempt to spread anarchy in the country and could be considered as “corrupt practice” under election laws.

While insisting that it cannot accept the Congress arguments and find it untenable, the EC directed Kharge to convey to all star campaigners that they do not make statements which give a 'false impression such as the Constitution of India may be abolished or sold'.

Amid the Congress making a campaign point on the controversial Agniveer scheme, it also directed him to convey to star campaigners that they should not indulge in political propaganda involving the military and not make 'potentially divisive statements' regarding socio-economic composition of defence forces.

Both the party presidents to ensure that star campaigners refrain from making any statement that may “aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic”.

The EC also referred to controversial statements after the April 25 notice by star campaigners from both sides in its letters, referring to complaints and counter complaints.

Mangaluru, May 20: In a heart-wrenching tragedy, a Class 3 girl student tragically lost her life due to the collapse of the compound wall of Harekala Hajabba Government Senior Primary School in Newpadpu, situated on the outskirts of the city, during the evening hours of Monday, May 20, following heavy rains.

The young victim, identified as Shazia Banu (7), was the cherished daughter of Siddique and Jamila, residing in Newpadpu. She met her untimely demise in the unfortunate accident.

Over the past two days, students from the National Service Scheme (NSS) at Mudipu Undergraduate College had been engaged in activities at the Harekala Hajabba School. 

Shazia, who lived in close proximity to the school, eagerly participated in these endeavours. Tragically, while playing near the school compound gate before returning home in the evening, the wall collapsed suddenly, fatally injuring her. Despite the prompt efforts of local residents to rescue her, Shazia succumbed to her injuries.

The incessant rainfall in Ullal taluk since the morning had significantly weakened the structural integrity of the compound wall, ultimately resulting in its collapse. Officials from the Harekala gram panchayat and the Konaje police promptly responded to the scene and have initiated an investigation into the matter.