A preacher at a madrasa in Tumakuru district, Karnataka, has been booked after 24 children allegedly escaped the institution citing physical abuse and forced labour. The children were found at a railway station in Bengaluru and are now under the care of the Child Welfare Committee.
Dhirendra Shastri, head of Bageshwar Dham, has apologised for his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj after facing backlash in Maharashtra. He claimed his comments were twisted on social media and clarified his stance on dedicating children to the RSS.
Britain has banned the entry of an Islamic preacher, Dr. Shadee Elmasry, over his defence of Hamas following the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel. The UK Home Office cited concerns about hate speech and extremist ideas.
A spiritual preacher, Kishor Dhondiram Jadhav alias 'Pistulya Maharaj', and his associates have been booked in Latur, Maharashtra, for allegedly misappropriating Rs 3.6 crore collected during a religious event. The funds were meant for temple construction but were unaccounted for, leading to protests by Warkaris.
A 30-year-old man was killed and three Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel were injured during a firing incident following an alleged attempt to snatch a service rifle in the Jaie area of Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, officials said.
A 38-year-old woman arrested here last week was allegedly preparing to travel to Pakistan via Nepal to marry a suspected terrorist commander believed to be a close associate of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, officials said in Jaipur on Thursday.
The videos were shown so that the woman could learn about Islam, she said in her statement, which is part of the chargesheet submitted in a Nashik court last week.
Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, acknowledged supervisory lapses at the Ayodhya Ram temple following alleged donation theft, but stated he would not resign as he does not consider himself personally at fault. He estimated the theft could be around Rs 3 crore and criticised SBI for not verifying employee credentials.
Maulvi Ishtiyaq told his interrogators a shockingly different story, claiming that Ganaie and Umar approached him earlier this year, asking him to store what they called "fertilisers" at his home and allegedly agreed upon a monthly storage fee of Rs 2,500, according to officials.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday took custody of three doctors and a preacher who were arrested in connection with the November 10 car blast outside the Red Fort in which 15 people were killed.
Maulvi Ishtiyaq, who has been brought to Srinagar, was staying in a rented house within the Al Falah university complex in Faridabad. It was from his home that police had recovered more than 2,500 kg of ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate and sulphur, the officials said.
A 12-year-old girl, reported missing in Budgam district, Jammu and Kashmir, was found murdered near her home, prompting a police investigation and widespread condemnation.
Police in Pune have registered a rioting case against a religious preacher and his supporters after an ink attack on an NCP (SP) spokesperson, following accusations of targeting spiritual leaders.
A local court in Pune has remanded NCP (SP) spokesperson Vikas Lawande in judicial custody until June 6 over controversial statements he made about leaders of the Warkari sect. The court cited insufficient grounds for police remand. Police admitted to inadvertently mentioning the wrong crime number in an earlier reply opposing interim protection from arrest.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the site of a terrorist attack in London where two Jewish men were stabbed and addressed the rise of antisemitism in the UK.
An underwhelming thriller that never quite hits a home run, despite a solid John Krasinski doing his best, observes Mayur Sanap.
Sri Lanka's response to the Easter attacks has been slow and politically contested, unlike India's swift institutional reforms after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, observes Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
Days after the alleged caste-based tonsuring of a Bhagwat Katha preacher and his aide in Etawah's Dandarpur village, tensions escalated on Thursday as members of Yadav groups staged protests demanding the arrest of all accused and withdrawal of the case registered against the victims.
Multiple avalanches on the Srinagar-Leh national highway at Zojila Pass have resulted in the deaths of seven people, including a child and two women, with rescue operations ongoing.
A controversy has erupted in Chhattisgarh after a video surfaced showing spiritual preacher Dhirendra Shastri arriving in a government aircraft and a police officer touching his feet. The Congress party has alleged misuse of public funds, while the BJP defends the officer's actions as personal faith.
The police entered the ashram premises of religious preacher Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari Bhole Baba in Mainpuri, UP, and later said he was not present there. A police official said they had gone there to check security arrangements.
Naik arrived in Pakistan at the invitation of the government on a month-long visit during which he will deliver lectures in major cities, including Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police have busted a 'white-collar' terror module, revealing that doctors arrested in the case had been radicalized since 2016 and formed a new terror organization named 'Ansar Interim' to carry out subversive activities.
'No one has been given a clean chit. The investigation is on and government agencies are searching for the main accused who is absconding'
Sinners really aims high and comes close, but it's the kind of film you respect for its ambition, even if it leaves you feeling more impressed than moved, observes Mayur Sanap.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Yasir Ahmad Dar, a close associate of Red Fort area blast perpetrator Umar-un-Nabi, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to nine. Dar is accused of active involvement in the conspiracy behind the car bomb blast near Delhi's Red Fort on November 10.
Investigation reveals Al Falah University's potential links to terror operatives, including a former student involved in multiple blasts and doctors arrested in connection with a recent terror plot.
Gujarat Police probing a hate speech case on Sunday detained Islamic preacher Mufti Salman Azhari in Mumbai, an official said.
Indian authorities have uncovered a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror plot involving doctors from south Kashmir, a Faridabad university, the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives, and a car bomb near the Red Fort. Eight people have been arrested in connection with the plot.
The Gujarat police have arrested Islamic preacher Mufti Salman Azhari from Mumbai in connection with an FIR registered against him for allegedly delivering a hate speech and are bringing him back to the state, an official said on Monday.
A court in Gujarat's Junagadh district on Wednesday granted bail to Islamic preacher Mufti Salman Azhari and two others in connection with a 'hate speech' case registered against them.
The Supreme Court of India denied bail to a man accused of being associated with ISIS, citing concerns about a potential 'ring of terror' plot. The decision came after the accused challenged a lower court's denial of bail in a case involving charges under UAPA and IPC.
Youths with no past criminal record or separatist affiliation are now preferred for recruitment by terror handlers in Jammu and Kashmir to stay under the radar of security forces, officials in the know say.
Amritpal Singh, the chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act, has thrown his hat into the ring as an Independent.
Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh has distanced himself from his mother's statement in which she had said that her son was not a Khalistani supporter, according to a statement issued by the Khadoor Sahib MP.
The self-styled godman, who is called Baba Narayan Hari and Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, is not named in the list of the accused in the FIR filed in the incident though his name is in the complaint.
The police suspect the recces were part of a larger conspiracy to target the historic monument on January 26, which might have failed due to intense patrolling in the area at the time.
A woman arrested for allegedly promoting Al-Qaeda's agenda had appealed to Pakistan's Army chief to invade India to unify Muslim lands under Project Khilafat, officials said.
Radical Sikh preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh's brother Harpreet Singh has been apprehended by Jalandhar police in a drug case, a senior police official said on Friday.
Radical Islamist networks are deliberately targeting Muslim youths embedded within the country's professional and academic ecosystems, leveraging their skills, mobility, and digital reach to quietly strengthen operational capabilities. This trend highlights a dangerous evolution in terror recruitment -- one that exploits ideological faultlines, online echo chambers and transnational radical Islamist influences to attract individuals who outwardly embody India's modern and aspirational narrative, points out Dr Kanchan Lakshman.
