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The Print
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Operation Sindoor showed operational capability of India's armed forces: Raha
Stating the success of Brahmos supersonic missiles makes him 'very proud,' Raha, now Chancellor of Assam University, recalled that the project had begun years back. Operation Sindoor demonstrated the tremendous potential the country has gained over the years, he said at a conference organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce on the role of MSME in the defence sector. Kolkata, Jun 14 (PTI) Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Arup Raha, on Saturday said the Operation Sindoor against terror bases in Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack showed the true operational capability of India's armed forces. 'India achieved a tremendous landmark. ISRO has become the leading organisation in the world in space research. From lunar to solar projects, ISRO is setting one goal after another. Under ISRO's guidance, we have developed a powerful rocket system. Our satellites are… used by other countries which are not strong economically. ISRO is meeting various requirements in different fields,' he said. Raha said satellites were also put in orbit by ISRO to strengthen defence operations. 'Command and control data, gleaned by satellites, are being processed using Artificial Intelligence and helping in surveillance, to keep track of borders, for dynamic targeting across borders during Operation Sindoor,' he said. In Operation Sindoor, Indian armed forces in the early hours of May 7 carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke. The operation was retaliation to the April 22 terror attack, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam. In his speech, Raha said the missiles developed by DRDO are packed with 5 to 10 times the speed of sound through space. He said projects like the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and integrated command control project have taken India to the front-running nations, in the sectors of IT, ITes, space, efficient propulsion systems, ships, submarines, nanotechnologies, AI and robotics. Raha, however, added that there is one problem area, as India is not good at making jet jet propulsion engines. 'We are buying engines from Americans…..this dependency is not good. We are losing our strategic autonomy by importing state-of-the-art technologies which incur lots of expenses,' he said. The country needs to think about this in the next 10 years in terms of employment generation and export revenues, Raha said. 'Larger players both in public and private sectors need to build up a supply chain, a self-supporting ecosystem of building our capabilities and developing capability in the defence sector, in developing our capability in civil aviation,' he said. If hundreds of aircraft are bought from global aviation majors, billions of dollars would fly out of the country, the former Air Force officer said. 'Why pay money to outsiders? We need to have a combined plan and a strategic plan in the air sector,' he said. Raha advocated setting up a defence corridor and taking MSMEs of the eastern region to the defence hub elsewhere in the country. PTI SUS NN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
08-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Assam University suspends professor for 90 days over sexual harassment allegation
Silchar: The Assam University, Silchar (AUS) authorities on Wednesday suspended an assistant professor, who has been absconding since Sunday, following allegations of sexual harassment by three female students. Police have registered a case against assistant professor Ajit Kumar Jena under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyay Sanghita (BNS) (Representational image) The students filed a police complaint against assistant professor Ajit Kumar Jena on May 4, alleging that he had sexually harassed them over an extended period. Police have registered a case against the professor under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyay Sanghita (BNS). 'The accused professor has been absconding since last Sunday. His location was traced somewhere for a while. A team of Cachar police has gone out to that area to search,' he told HT on Thursday. University registrar Pradosh Kiran Nath sent an email to Jena on May 5, asking him to take a month's leave and cooperate with the investigation. However, Jena did not respond, Nath said. Consequently, Nath suspended him for 90 days on Wednesday. 'Jena was asked to proceed on leave immediately, and he was communicated by email. He was also informed that an FIR had been filed on the matter. Accordingly, he was asked to cooperate with the police administration and report to the police immediately. But he neither applied for leave, nor reported to police,' Nath said. Also Read:Assam University conducting offline exam again, students say 'save us' The suspension order issued on Wednesday read, 'Therefore, considering the non-compliance with the instructions of the University by Ajit Kumar Jena, the competent authority of the University, in exercise of the powers conferred by Rule 10(1) of CCS Rules, 1965 and Acts and Statutes of the University, hereby places him under suspension for a period of 90 (Ninety) days with immediate effect.' Also Read: Non-teaching staff of Assam University held for molesting minor The students called off their protest on Wednesday after the university's vice-chancellor, Rajiv Mohan Pant, met them, but said they still demand the professor's arrest. The investigating officer, Diganta Kalita, said that they are thoroughly investigating the matter and the professor was traced in Guwahati once, but after that he switched his mobile off. 'All the police stations in Guwahati and the surrounding area have been informed about this and our team is also searching. We are hopeful that he'll be arrested soon,' he said.
Indian Express
26-04-2025
- Indian Express
Pahalgam terror attack: ‘Saw death… not sure if I would ever return to Kashmir'
For Debasish Bhattacharya and his family, it was their maiden visit to the Kashmir Valley. And it turned out to be a nightmare last Tuesday when they saw people being shot dead in front of their eyes in the meadows of Pahalgam. 'Our 5-day trip to Kashmir was to conclude on April 26, and we planned to spend a day in Pahalgam. On April 22, we reached the Baisaran meadow, which is called mini-Switzerland, from the rear. Not many people were there. We were all very relaxed. My wife was looking at shawls, and my son was walking around, while I took photos. Suddenly, I heard gunshots. I asked the local photographer. He told me that sometimes, to scare the monkeys away, shots are fired by forest officials,' recounted Bhattacharya, a professor at Assam University Speaking to The Sunday Express over the phone from his Silchar residence, Bhattacharya said he saw four terrorists gun down men in front of his eyes. 'After shooting a man, one of the terrorists quietly walked up to us and asked me, 'kya bol rahe ho?' (What are you saying?). Everyone near us was chanting kalma (Islamic verses), and I also started chanting. Though out of fear, nothing was coming out of my mouth. I do not know what the terrorist felt, and he walked away. A little while later, the terrorist returned from the opposite direction, took a round and walked away. When the terrorist was around 20 metres away, we all ran for our lives. Crossed the fence and wandered for two hours in the mountain where there was no cellphone signal and we didn't know where we were heading,' he said. 'We were still in fear that terrorists could reappear from the forest and shoot them. We followed the hoof marks of the horses and reached a village. We heaved a sigh of relief when they were able to contact our local driver. A local person helped us reach safety. A family from Chhattisgarh was also with us. They got separated, and their child was with us. We quickly returned to Srinagar,' he said. 'Definitely, it's a new life for us. We faced death right on our faces,' the professor of the Bengali Department said. Bhattacharya is not sure if he would ever return to Kashmir, but his son Drobadeep wants to visit the Valley again; sometime later.
Hindustan Times
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Assam: 11 arrested for alleged anti-national social media posts, CM warns of NSA
Silchar: The Assam police have arrested 11 individuals for their alleged anti-India and pro-Pakistan remarks on social media in the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack. This includes journalists, lawyers, Assam University student and others, police said on Saturday. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said they are tracing and chasing out the sympathisers of Pakistan and Islamic terrorism and those individuals will be prosecuted under the National Security Act (NSA). Sarma said that the state police have launched a statewide crackdown on anti-India remarks and till Saturday morning, a total of 11 individuals, including a journalist, lawyer and Assam University student, have been arrested. Attending an event in Cachar district's Hatichera tea garden on Saturday afternoon, Sarma said, 'Pakistan is a known enemy and their softness towards terrorism is also a known fact. But there are many sympathisers of Pakistan hiding in our society, and we are tracing and chasing them out.' Sharing the names of the individuals, Sarma on Friday wrote on social media, 'Assam will not tolerate any individual who, directly or indirectly, supports or defends Pakistan in connection with the heinous attack in Pahalgam.' He further said, 'As part of its intensified crackdown on individuals promoting anti-national sentiments, the Assam Police has made the arrests and further arrests are underway.' The arrested persons have been identified as Md Jabir Hussain from Hailakandi, Md AK Bahauddin, Md Imran Hussain Borbhuiya, Baktar Hussain Barbhuiya and Md Javed Mazumder from Cachar, Md Mahahar Mia alias Md Mujihirul Islam from Morigaon, Md Aminul Islam from Nagaon, Md Sahil Ali from Sivasagar, Md Jarif Ali (25) from Barpeta and Anil Bania from Biswanath. Police said that individuals were booked under 152 (sedition) and other sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, mostly for their social media posts related to the recent Pahalgam terror attack. Sarma said that those who are likely to repeat the offences would be prosecuted under NSA. 'NSA is not for past crimes but for the offences likely to be committed in the future. If we feel that the arrested individuals may repeat the offences, we'll consider prosecuting them under NSA,' he said. The CM appealed to citizens to inform the police if they see any anti-India act. 'Just inform us, we'll take care of them,' he added. A senior police official said that the cybersecurity cells across the state are monitoring the social media posts of ordinary people and the superintendent of police in all the districts has been asked to act promptly in such cases. Sarma said that the central government is planning to give a strong answer to Pakistan about the Pahalgam terror attack. He also said that this attack will not destroy the peace in Jammu and Kashmir. 'Kashmir will return to normalcy again, and we'll go there again. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will set an example by giving Pakistan a strong answer, just wait and watch,' he said.
Indian Express
26-04-2025
- Indian Express
Pahalgam terror attack: How Islamic verse ‘Kalma' recital helped Hindu professor at Assam University survive: ‘Feels like second life'
Death was just a bullet away from Debasish Bhattacharya, an Assam University professor Bhattacharya who was on a six-day Kashmir tour with his family, on the fateful day when terrorists gunned down tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. Born to a Hindu Brahmin family, Bhattacharya, while recounting the spine-chilling story of survival, told The Indian Express that he recited Islamic verse 'Kalma' as he saw four terrorists gun down (Hindu) men in front of his eyes. 'Our Kashmiri tour was from April 21 to April 26, and we were to stay at Pahalgam for a day. On that day, we entered the arena called Mini Switzerland from the back side. Not many people were there on that side. We were all very relaxed. My wife was looking at some shawls while my son was walking around and I took some photos. Suddenly, I heard gunshots and asked the local photographer about it. He said shots are fired by the forest people to scare away monkeys,' said Bhattacharya, the head of the Bengali Department of Assam University. Bhattacharya recalled that more gunshots were heard and his son saw one of the terrorists ask something to a tourist and then shoot him. 'Quickly, we all ran towards a tree and lay down. Another couple with a child came there for shelter. A terrorist came there and asked the husband something that was inaudible to us. Then I saw the man shoot him dead in front of my eyes,' said the professor. Bhattacharya said that after the murder, the terrorist quietly walked up to the group and asked the professor, 'Kya bol rahe ho?' (What are you saying?) 'At that moment everyone was chanting 'La ilaha illallah'. I also started chanting that verse, even though no sound was coming out of my mouth, out of fear. I do not know what the terrorist felt, but he walked away. But then again, the terrorist returned from the opposite side, took a round, and then walked away. When the terrorist was 20 metres away, we all crossed the fence and ran for our lives and wandered for two hours in the mountains, not getting any signal,' Bhattacharya recounted. Bhattacharya mentioned that with no mobile network and having no idea from where the terrorists would emerge from the mountains, they followed the horses' footprints and reached a village. 'Much to our relief, we were able to contact our local driver, and a local resident took us to safety. A family from Chhattisgarh was also with us had got separated from the group. Luckily, their child and the other members of that family were with us and we quickly descended and came back to Srinagar. It's like a new life to me I faced death right in the face.' This was the family's first visit to Kashmir, but Bhattacharya does not know if he will visit the Valley again. But he says his son Drobadeep Bhattacharya would visit the place in the future.
