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Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
Nashik police arrest 3 for kidnapping hotel manager
Nashik: The Nashik city police on Thursday arrested three people pertaining to the kidnapping of a hotel manager (39) on June 14 and later robbing him of Rs 5 lakh and cellphone before releasing him. The suspects are in the custody at the Indiranagar police station. The police said the hotel manager, who was riding his scooter home, was abducted by three to four people travelling by car at around 12.30am on June 14. They blocked victim's way and forced him into their car. Subsequently, they started beating him up and snatched his cellphone. They also took the password of his phone and transferred Rs 5 lakh from his bank account to another bank account. The hotel manager was released by the criminals after close to 23 hours. The trio also demanded an extortion of Rs 10 lakh from him. The hotel manager then registered a complaint with the Indiranagar police station, following which an FIR was registered by the police for the offences punishable under sections 140(2) (kidnapping for murder or ransom), 308(5) (extortion), 127(7) (wrongful confinement), and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanahita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act. The crime branch unit 2 officers, led by assistant inspector Hemant Todkar, checked the CCTV footage of the area and identified one of the kidnappers as Sajid Shaikh, who was located in Naupada, Thane. On detaining him, Sajid Shaikh (32) said he was a native of Igatpuri and currently residing in Nashik. The police seized a hatchback car worth Rs 2.4 lakh from him and his cellphone worth Rs 10,000. Later, the police also detained another suspect, Kunal Jariya (25) and Pravin Devkule (28), both from Igatpuri. The trio confessed to kidnapping the hotel manager for money. Todkar said the trio had no prior knowledge of the hotel manager. They kidnapped him, checked his phone and found a heavy balance in his bank account. The police said out of the Rs 5 lakh transferred to different bank accounts by the trio, Rs 2.5 lakh have been withheld. Another Rs 2.5 lakh was yet to be recovered.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
‘Even browsing such content is a crime': IIT-Kharagpur graduate, 14 others held in Telangana for circulating child abuse content; all repeat offenders
Telangana's Cyber Security Bureau has arrested 15 individuals, including an IIT graduate, for involvement in child sexual exploitation content. The arrests, part of a larger crackdown initiated in February 2025, targeted repeat offenders identified through Interpol tiplines. HYDERABAD: In a major crackdown on child sexual exploitation content, the child protection unit (CPU) of the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) has arrested 15 repeat offenders for watching, storing, and distributing Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM). Among the arrested is a 30-year-old IIT-Kharagpur graduate employed at a Hyderabad-based software firm. All the accused are currently in judicial custody. The child protection unit was set up in Feb 2025 by chief minister A Revanth Reddy to monitor and curb digital circulation of CSEAM. Since its inception, 294 cases have been registered, and 110 offenders arrested across the state. The latest operation, conducted on Wednesday, targeted individuals linked to 57 CSEAM complaints flagged by Interpol tiplines and routed through the ministry of home affairs. Offenders from Hyderabad, Jagadgirigutta (Cyberabad), Yadagirigutta (Rachakonda), Karimnagar, Warangal, and Jagtial were identified and arrested. 'All 15 were picked up in a single-day operation. These are repeat offenders linked to 34 previous cases, including 17 registered directly by TGCSB,' said TGCSB director Shikha Goel. Among the accused, the IIT graduate reportedly earns Rs 35 lakh per annum and resides in Hyderabad with his wife and daughter. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like When Knee Pain Hits, Start Eating These Foods, and Feel Your Pain Go Away (It's Genius) Read More Undo Another accused is an unemployed engineering graduate from Yadagirigutta with a prior CSEAM case. Others work in varied occupations, including automobile repair, construction, and retail sales. 'The accused are aged between 19 and 50, mostly in their twenties, and largely from middle-class backgrounds. The children in the content appear to be aged between 6 and 14 years, and 90% are girls, mostly from other countries,' Goel added. The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. TGCSB serves as the state's nodal agency for handling complaints related to CSEAM, including child pornography and sexual violence cases, received through platforms such as the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), cyber tiplines, and the case management tools of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The child protection unit also conducts surveillance across social media, as well as cyber patrolling on the dark and deep web. 'In one case, we were able to rescue a child victim from Suryapet who appeared in CSEAM material. Identifying a victim from tipline data is extremely rare, but our team succeeded. Let it be clear that browsing such content is a punishable offence. We are monitoring all such activity, and action will be swift and strict,' Goel said. Officials said the offenders accessed the content through closed social media groups or the dark web, in some cases by paying for it. Police will seek custody of the accused to trace the networks.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Punjab Police crack down on 'controversial' social media influencers after rise in threats from radical groups
CHANDIGARH: With incidents of Sikh hardliners increasingly targeting social media influencers in recent days, the Punjab Police has begun scrutinising accounts of several popular influencers alleged to be promoting vulgar content, double-meaning language, or posts that could create law and order issues. The cyber cell of the state police has already flagged approximately 100 controversial posts to respective online platforms for removal under the Information Technology (IT) Act. This exercise was launched following the murder of social media influencer Kanchan Kumari, alias Kamal Kaur 'Bhabhi', by self-styled Sikh radical and Nihang Amritpal Singh Mehron on June 9. Sources in the intelligence community said that social media activity is now being treated as a matter of internal security. A crackdown has been initiated against 'controversial' influencers, with further action expected in the coming days. A senior official, on condition of anonymity, said several popular influencers alleged to be promoting provocative content are now under scrutiny. 'This is being done using human intelligence. Such accounts are being identified, and then the process of removing objectionable content begins,' the official said. Sources further revealed that many flagged posts include videos and statements from self-styled influencers who have gained notoriety for provocative content. These posts have triggered increased threats against other influencers.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Should Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 08/17/2006. The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $16.44 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market. Compared to large and small cap companies, mid cap businesses tend to have higher growth prospects and are less volatile, respectively, with market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment. While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets. When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal. Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.07%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space. It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.64%. ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis. This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 21.60% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three. Looking at individual holdings, Amphenol Corp (APH) accounts for about 2.63% of total assets, followed by Transdigm Group Inc (TDG) and Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI). The top 10 holdings account for about 15.13% of total assets under management. VOT seeks to match the performance of the CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index measures the investment return of mid-capitalization growth stocks. The ETF has gained about 7.40% so far this year and is up roughly 18.18% in the last one year (as of 06/19/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $216.28 and $276.98. The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 20.60% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 138 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk. Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VOT is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well. The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $8.63 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $18.71 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and IWP charges 0.23%. Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors. To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT): ETF Research Reports Amphenol Corporation (APH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Transdigm Group Incorporated (TDG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Motorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI) : Free Stock Analysis Report iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP): ETF Research Reports iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK): ETF Research Reports This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Iran-Israel conflict a threat to peace: PM
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday termed the regional situation very alarming due to escalated armed conflict between Iran and Israel and said it posed threat not only to the regional but also to the global peace. The prime minister reiterated Pakistan's complete solidarity with brotherly country Iran and its people against Israeli aggression and called upon the international community to make efforts for ensuring immediate ceasefire in the ongoing armed conflict. Addressing a meeting of the cabinet, which was telecast on national Tv channels, the prime minister said that Pakistan had strongly condemned the Israeli aggression against Iran in which hundreds of Iranian people lost their lives and a larger number of others were injured. "The global community should ensure a ceasefire," he stressed and expressed the optimism for lasting peace. Digital economy Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday established a high-level committee to promote cashless economy and speed up the digitization. The committee, chaired by the prime minister himself, will review the progress and initiatives related to the promotion of digitization and cashless economy on a weekly basis. During the briefing, the meeting was informed that the traders were given instructions regarding digital payments and transfers of money through digital means. The meeting was also briefed on the initiatives regarding the ministries of Finance and Information Technology. Daanish Schools Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that provision of equal educational and developmental opportunities to the economically weaker children remained among the government's top priorities. The prime minister directed that educational facilities in Daanish Schools and the University projects should align with the international standards.
