Aamir Khan can go to Pakistan, says Shiv Sena

Film star Aamir Khan found himself at the centre of a raging controversy on the issue of tolerance on Tuesday with saffron parties attacking him for stoking “fear” and telling him to “go to Pakistan” if he felt insecure in the country.

But parties at the other end of the spectrum defended the star actor, saying he was only reflecting the prevailing mood in India.

“He was a celebrated actor till now. But now it seems that we handed over milk to a snake. If he does not want to stay here, he can go to Pakistan,” Maharashtra Environment Minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said.

At an event in New Delhi on Monday, the actor said he was alarmed at the rise in intolerance over the past six to eight months and his wife and film-maker, Kiran Rao, had wondered if they should relocate to another country.

“Kiran and I have lived all our lives in India. For the first time, she said should we move out of India? That’s a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make to me. She fears for her child,” he said.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said: “Instead of branding all those who question the government and Modiji [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] as unpatriotic, anti-national or motivated, the government should reach out to people and understand what’s disturbing them.”

source- thehindu

I have no intention of leaving India: Aamir Khan

“To all the people shouting obscenities at me for speaking my heart out, it saddens me to say you are only proving my point”.

Unperturbed by the stinging criticism from the BJP, and other Hindu groups over his remarks on the raging intolerance debate, actor Aamir Khan on Wednesday said he or his wife Kiran Rao had no intention of leaving India and his love for the country required no endorsements from anyone.

“First let me state categorically that neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country. We never did, and nor would we like to in the future. Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview, or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said. India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying,” said Mr. Khan in a statement that cited Rabindranath Tagore’s famous poem “Where the mind is without fear.”

Stating that he stood by his statements in his controversial interview made in Delhi during a journalism awards ceremony, an unfazed Khan said: “To all those people who are calling me anti-national, I would like to say that I am proud to be Indian, and I do not need anyone’s permission nor endorsement for that.”

source- thehindu

Aamir Khan is talking nonsense, says Asaduddin Owaisi

As debate over Bollywood actor Aamir Khan's intolerance remark rages on, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday disapproved of Aamir's stance over the issue.

Talking to India Today TV, Owaisi said," I would have never said what Aamir said. We have seen numerous riots but still we continue to live here as its our country."

"We will not succumb to nonsense talks. We will do disservice to those who fought for us. We will struggle and strive to live here to improve the country," Owaisi said responding to Aamir Khan's statement that his wife Kiran Rao had suggested that they should move out of the country in wake of recent happenings seen by many as incidents of intolerance.

Speaking at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism awards in New Delhi on Monday, Aamir had said that he felt "alarmed" by recent happenings in the country.

"When I chat with Kiran at home, she says, 'should we move out of India?' That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day. That does indicate that there is this sense of growing disquiet, there is growing despondency apart from alarm," Aamir said.

Aamir's remark triggered a massive war of words between the ruling BJP and the Opposition led by the Congress. While Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi came out in support of the 50-year-old actor, the BJP denounced him, saying that no country in the world is better than the "incredible and 'atulya' (unmatched)"  India.

"Instead of branding all those who question the government and Modiji as unpatriotic, anti-national or motivated. The government would do better to reach out to people to understand what's disturbing them," Rahul said in a series of tweets.
 
"That's the way to solve problems in India - not by bullying, threatening and abusing," the Congress leader added.

BJP's Muslim face, Shahnawaz Hussain, hit back, saying, "Don't forget India made you a star." "Aamir Khan will not find a better country than India. We are the only country that does not look at an artist's religion," he said.

"If you leave India, you will only find intolerance anywhere you go," Hussain added.

source- indiatoday.in

Suspected ISIS supporter detained

NAGPUR: The antiterrorist squad (ATS) from Nagpur has detained a 29-year-old youth from Raipur for his alleged connection with terrorist outfit ISIS. Identified as Mohammad Shoaib Shaikh Musa, the suspect stays at Hingoli. According to sources, Mohd Shoaib was detained on Tuesday.

Mohd Shoaib was earlier arrested for his involvement in stabbing three policemen at Pusad in Yavatmal district a month ago. The second accused in the case, Abdul Razzak Abdul Malik, was also arrested. Mohd Shoaib had been granted bail in the case.

According to sources, National Investigation Agency team had arrested Shoaib in Hyderabad for some serious offence a few months ago but he was released on bail. He later planned the attack on policemen, they said.

Investigation in the Pusad case revealed that some terrorists were involved in it. A senior ATS official and his team stayed at Akola for a few days to probe the case. During investigation, it was learnt that before the attack on policemen, Shoaib had posted some objectionable and suspicious posts on a social networking site.

On probing further, it was learnt that Shoaib had been following ISIS site and would post many of its activities on the internet.

ATS officials are interrogating Shoaib whether he has any accomplices or followers of ISIS in the city and are also questioning him about his plans.

source- TOI

ISI agent held in Kolkata

KOLKATA: A suspected ISI agent, Akhtar Khan, who lived a double life as bartender Raju

Goswami, was arrested from Kalutola on Saturday.

Police commissioner Surajit Kar Purakayastha said Akhtar alias Md Javed was on the ISI payroll. A Collins Street resident since 2008, he was being under watch for some time and central intelligence was crucial in the arrest, say sources. A second suspect is under the scanner. 

Akhtar, 51, worked at many bars along EM Bypass. He frequently visited Delhi, Jharkhand and Jammu Kashmir apart from Nepal and Bangladesh and used Skype and the internet more than his mobile phone, say police. It was his calls to Pakistan that sealed his fate, said an officer. 

Sources say this Indian national visited Pakistan in 1985 where he married and has two children. The ISI pushed him into India through the Nepal border in 2008, say police. 

Investigators suspect he was trying to collect information on the Army's Eastern Command and find recruits. Akhtar is said to have a Pakistani passport as well, which he destroyed. 

Interestingly, he came under the scanner after a fake lottery and ATM card gang was busted in Jadavpur in August, say sources in STF. Questioning of the two suspects revealed that the racket had links in Pakistan and UAE. 

The arrest of an ISI agent in the heart of the city raises questions of Bengal's vulnerability. Sources in police said that they are more worried about a lone-wolf attack in the state rather than any planned attack. "The IS, at best, has sympathizers here. But we cannot ignore the fact that a Baguiati youngster was swayed to join IS and four Hyderabad youths ended up at a hotel near Collins Street trying to sneak into Bangladesh to join the terror group. It is better to take precautions," said an officer. 

source- TOI

Hacker group Anonymous declares 'war' on ISIS following Paris attack

NEW DELHI: In a video released on the internet, hacker group Anonymous has declared war on ISIS in the aftermath of the Paris attack. The series of terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13 left more than 120 people dead and hundreds injured.

The controversial hacker group have posted the video following the attack, where a narrator wearing the trademark Guy Fawkes mask says in French, "You should know that we will find you and we will not let you go."

The man in the video further says, "We will launch the biggest operation ever against you."

"Expect massive cyber attacks. War is declared. Get prepared.

"The French people are stronger than you and will come out of this atrocity even stronger."
source- TOI

Earthquake measuring 7.5 rocks Afghanistan, tremors in north India; 14 killed in Pakistan

A massive earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale today jolted north India, with panic-stricken people rushing out of houses and buildings that shook during the temblor lasting almost a minute. According to reports, four people have been killed in northwestern Pakistan. The quake killed at least 14 people and injured 200 others. The earthquake epicentred in the Hindukush mountain range in Afghanistan struck at around 2.40 PM, sending ripples across several states like Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, the National Capital Region (NCR), Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
Our bureaus in Chandigarh and Srinagar have reported massive tremors, though no reports of damage have come in. The NDRF has been put on alert and 24 battalions are ready for deployment. Speaking to CNN-IBN, DG, NDRF OP Singh said: “So far we haven’t recieved news about any damage in the country. We are trying to contact officials in Jammu and Kashmir. We have alerted our battalions in Punjab and Ghaziabad for rescue operations in Jammu and Kashmir and NCR respectively. Twent four teams are on alert and if the crisis worsens we will be on the field. We cannot get in touch with officials in J&K as phone lines are down. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed concern and said India was ready to provide any assistance required.
People frantically rushed out of their houses and offices as the ground shook. In the national capital, metro services were briefly halted. 
In Srinagar, residents said they saw the buildings “swinging”, reminding them of the devastating quake in 2005.
In the Pakistani capital, walls swayed back and forth and people poured out of office buildings in a panic, reciting verses from the Quran. 
Vineet Gahlot, the director of seismology at the Indian Meteorological Department, said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5 and an epicenter deep in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. The location has a population 666,668. The density of the location is 19/Sq Km, with 330000 in a radius of 75 km. The GDACS also states that the area has steep slopes (up to 90 per cent) and may be susceptible to landslides. Details of calamities, if any, are awaited. The full extent of the damage and the number of possible casualties was not yet known.