Religare Enterprises, a financial services firm, has disclosed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turned down its application to appoint Rakesh Asthana as its whole-time director in May this year without citing any reasons. Asthana is a former top official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In a notice to the stock exchanges, Religare said that while the company and Asthana were weighing the options of dealing with the letter of refusal by the RBI, it was also busy in preparing for the "herculean task" of making ready multiple applications to regulators.
Trade between India and Bangladesh via land ports came to a standstill on Sunday as there was no movement of cargo trucks to and fro due to the ongoing student protests in the neighbouring country, officials said. The Bangladeshi side of the Petrapole landport remained non-functional, they said. Nearly one-third of land-based trade between India and Bangladesh takes place through Petrapole.
In a move aimed at maintaining 'zero tolerance' against terrorism and cross border crimes, the Centre has empowered the Border Security Force to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures up to an area of 50 km inside Indian territory from the international border along India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders.
The Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday allocated Rs 2,19,643 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of it -- Rs 1,43,275 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding, and security of vital installations.
Following the recent detection and killings of two Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bombers, who infiltrated the country from Pakistan, the Border Security Force has launched a massive drive to detect cross-border tunnels along the International Border in the Jammu sector.
Deputy inspector general of BSF (Jammu) SPS Sandhu said a small opening, believed to be a suspected tunnel, was found in a general area near fencing in Samba.
According to the Border Security Force (BSF), attempts were made by Pakistan from Gujarat and Rajasthan borders as well to infiltrate terrorists into the Indian side.
This was the first time that sweets were exchanged between the two forces after the abrogation of Article 370 as the Pakistani side refused to continue with the custom, they said, adding after the developments of August 2019, the offer of exchanging sweets was made by the BSF but the Pakistani side did not reciprocate.
'Despite the existence of a ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India, Pakistan Rangers did not stop their nefarious activities against India and carried on with their ill motives on IB in Jammu'
The Border Security Force flew a special helicopter sortie on Thursday to airlift a jawan deployed at a remote post along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir so that he could get home, about 2,500 km away in Odisha, in time for his wedding.
The state government, in its original suit, has said the extension of the territorial jurisdiction of the BSF encroaches upon the constitutional jurisdiction of the state.
India was drenched in hues of the rainbow on Monday as people celebrated Holi, the festival colours, on Monday and smeared 'gulal' on each other.
The situation remained calm but tense in Manipur's Imphal Valley, where an indefinite curfew has been imposed and internet services suspended following violent protests after the discovery of the bodies of six persons, three women and children each, allegedly abducted and killed by militants in Jiribam.
The statement assured that "security forces are on high alert to protect the lives and property of citizens. All communities are assured of their safety," and advised the public to "not believe in any rumors or unverified news."
The incident took place between 9:30 and 9:45 am when constable Sateppa SK allegedly used his service rifle and sprayed bullets on five of his colleagues, an officer said.
Ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on Thursday met the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and alleged that the Border Security Force (BSF) is threatening people in the border areas of the state to cast their votes in favour of a particular political party.
As part of the heightened security arrangements in view of Modi's visit, the officials said, the BSF and the police conducted a joint two-hour-long anti-tunnelling operation in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district.
Once identified, these individuals are drawn into private groups where they are exposed to manipulative content, including fabricated videos depicting atrocities allegedly committed by security forces, the officials said.
A man from Tripura's Sepahijala district returned home after spending 37 years in Bangladesh jails.
The force personnel noticed suspicious activity near the border fence on Thursday evening.
As news of Hasina's departure spread, hundreds broke into Hasina's residence, vandalising and looting the interiors, providing dramatic expression to the anti-government protests that have killed more than 100 people in the last two days. At the centre of people anger is the Hasina government's controversial quota system reserving 30 per cent jobs for families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war. With volatile crowds taking to the streets -- some clambering on Hasina's father and Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's statue and smashing it with hammers in a lasting image underscoring the fickleness of history -- Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that the 76-year-old prime minister has resigned.
The agency also carried out searches at 15 locations spread across Delhi; West Bengal's Kolkata, Siliguri and Murshidabad; Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Punjab's Amritsar and Chhattisgarh's Raipur, they said.
The court observed that illegal immigration will be on the rise in view of the present unstable situation in Bangladesh.
The event was given a miss as the relations between the two countries are strained at present.
A retired judge of Bangladesh's Supreme Court was detained from the northeastern frontier with India in Sylhet while he was allegedly attempting to flee the country, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said late on Friday.
During search operation, the BSF troops recovered the arms and ammunition from a bag which was found lying on a field near the border around 7 am, a BSF official said.
Police personnel checked vehicles and conducted flag marches at various places in Punjab on Wednesday while central forces maintained a tight vigil in Tripura.
When asked to stop, the intruders fired on BSF troops who retaliated in self-defence. Subsequently, five intruders were shot dead, a BSF officer said.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday condemned the drone bomb attacks on civilians as acts of terrorism and vowed a firm response.
Suspected Bangladeshi nationals attacked a border outpost in Meghalaya, assaulted 2 BSF jawans and snatched their weapons on Wednesday night. Another group from the neighbouring country barged into the house of a Meghalaya resident and looted money.
The BSF officer also said human rights organisations should take note of the killings of civilians and the damage caused to civilian properties in the intense shelling by Pakistan.
More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the natural ice Shiva Lingam formation inside the cave shrine last year.
The officials said the suspected drone returned to the Pakistani side when the border guards fired half a dozen rounds to bring it down.
Asthana is the 27th chief of the force and is expected to hold office till July next year, his scheduled date for retirement from service.
Another Pakistani intruder was similarly killed in November 2020, while an underground tunnel was also detected in this region very recently, an officer said.
"Border Security Force detects a tunnel along the international border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua. "More details awaited," officials said.
Motorcycle-borne terrorists fired upon the BSF jawans at a picket in Pandach area, 17 km from Srinagar in the outskirts of the city, the officials said. The area has been cordoned off and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, the officials added.
The BSF is also conducting joint patrolling with the army, the Central Reserve Police Force and police to thwart nefarious attempts of terrorists, Boora said.
Small Chinese-made drones, carrying narcotics in 95 per cent cases, are flying over from across the border into Punjab and Jammu regions and these flights are a "cause of concern" for which technology solutions are being scouted actively, BSF director general (DG) Pankaj Kumar Singh said on Tuesday.
A couple of days before the grand spectacle on Kartavya Path on Republic Day, a full dress rehearsal of what will be for sure a magnificent parade.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances