Kolkata youth held for terror mail to Delhi CM

January 25, 2013

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Gurgaon/Kolkata, Jan 25: Haryana Police arrested a 27-year-old youth from Behala on Tuesday for allegedly sending a threat mail to a five-star hotel chain in Delhi and IT city Gurgaon in the name of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen.

Copies of the terror mail were also marked to the offices of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit and police commissioner Neeraj Kumar.

Before moving in for the arrest, the cyber cell of the Gurgaon police had seized a computer hard disk from a cyber cafe on Roy Bahadur Road in Behala that was allegedly used to send the mails.

Sources in Gurgaon police said that the suspect - Nilesh Bhattacharya - has a "disturbed past" and may have been seeking attention.

Nilesh was picked up from his home around 10pm on Tuesday and taken to Gurgaon. Sources said he is unemployed and passed the Class XII exams through open school. "His father died a couple of years ago. His brother, too, had an unnatural death with the accused claiming that he had committed suicide. Nilesh claims that his mother is undergoing some treatment. We are investigating his claims and trying to ascertain if he is mentally challenged," said Gurgaon police DCP Maheshwar Dayal.

The e-mail, claiming to be from Indian Mujahideen, had threatened terror strikes on the lines of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. It was sent from the ID - [email protected] on January 20. "Mumbai ke bad ab dilli ki bari, hotel *** . New Dilli ka koi astitva nahi rahne denge. gola barood to tumhare yahan pahunch chuka hai (After Mumbai, it's turn of Delhi. Delhi will be reduced to ashes. Explosives have already been sent). Mohmmad Abdul Aaka alias Nilanjan Bhattacharya," said the mail.

It seemed that the threat was addressed to the Delhi chief minister, police commissioner and hotels, said Gurgaon police commissioner K K Sindhu. "It was forwarded only to the security officer, who is currently working with Leela Kempinski at the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon," he said.

The Special Cell of Delhi police said they were also investigating the case since the same e-mail was forwarded to the Delhi chief minister's Sheila Dikshit's office just ahead of the Republic Day celebrations.

Talking to TOI, S N Srivastava, special CP (Special Cell), said they had difficulties in tracking the accused as there was no CCTV footage that could be recovered from the cyber cafe. Gurgaon police, though, said the accused had attached his photo with the email making their job easier to identify the accused.

"The team had visited a cyber cafe in Behala and took the IP address from where the email was sent. The computer hard disk was also seized," said joint commissioner of police (crime) Pallab Kanti Ghosh.

The ID used to send the alleged Indian Mujahideen mail was created on January 20, the same day it was sent from the cyber cafe. According to a senior police officer, two other persons are also under scanner and the cafe owner too is being questioned.

"The three suspects regularly visited the cyber cafe. Their entries in the log book, along with ID cards, were also recovered. One of the three IDs deposited could be fake. We are on job and the accused will be arrested soon," a member of the police team said.

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News Network
December 5,2025

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New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said. 

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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News Network
December 2,2025

A major upgrade in safety and monitoring is planned for Haj 2026, with every Indian pilgrim set to receive a Haj Suvidha smart wristband linked to the official Haj Suvidha mobile app. The initiative aims to support pilgrims—especially senior citizens—who may struggle with smartphones during the 45-day journey.

What the Smart Wristband Will Do

Officials said the device will come with:
•    Location tracking
•    Pedometer
•    SOS emergency button
•    Qibla compass
•    Prayer timings
•    Basic health monitoring

SP Tiwari, secretary of the UP State Haj Committee, said the goal is to make the pilgrimage safer and more comfortable.

“Most Hajis are elderly and not comfortable with mobile apps,” he said. “The smartwatch will help locate pilgrims who forget their way or cannot communicate their location.”

The wristbands will be monitored by the Consulate General of India in Saudi Arabia, similar to mobile tracking via the Haj Suvidha App.

Free Distribution and Training

•    Smart wristbands will be given free of cost.
•    Training for pilgrims will be conducted between January and February 2026.
•    Sample units will reach state Haj committees soon.
•    Final devices will be distributed as pilgrims begin their journey.

New Rules for Accommodation

Two major decisions have also been finalised for Haj 2026:
1.    Separate rooms for men and women – including married couples. They may stay on the same floor but must occupy different rooms, following stricter Saudi guidelines.
2.    Cooking banned – gas cylinders will not be allowed; all meals will be provided through official catering services arranged by the Haj Committee of India.

These decisions were finalised during a meeting of the Haj Committee of India and state representatives in Mumbai.

Haj Suvidha App Launched Earlier

The government launched the Haj Suvidha App in 2024, offering:

•    Training modules
•    Accommodation and flight details
•    Baggage information
•    SOS and translation tools
•    Grievance redressal

Haj 2026 Quota and Key States

•    India’s total Haj quota for 2026: 1,75,025 pilgrims
•    70% (1,25,000) allotted to the Haj Committee of India
•    30% (around 50,000) reserved for Haj Group Organisers

Uttar Pradesh has the largest allocation (around 30,000 seats), though approximately 18,000 pilgrims are expected to go this year. States with high pilgrim numbers include Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Dates of Haj 2026

The pilgrimage is scheduled to take place from 24 May to 29 May, 2026 (tentative).
Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is mandatory for Muslims who meet the required conditions.

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News Network
December 6,2025

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New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:

1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest

Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.

The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.

2. Cap on Night Landings

Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.

Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.

Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.

3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty

Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.

This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.

4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave

Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.

Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.

Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.

5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring

Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.

This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.

The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.

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