'Government officials use Gmail and ordinary phones without basic security consciousness.' 'Interoperability, especially in joint exercises with countries like the US, worries me.' 'It often means we open our systems to them, but they don't reciprocate.' 'They could have kill switches in their systems and might even be able to affect ours.'
In an incident reminiscent of the murder of IPS officer Narendra Kumar, two members of a mining mafia on Wednesday allegedly tried to kill a police officer who was trying to stop a tractor-trolley carrying illegally mined sand.
The SC told the Haryana counsel to convey to the state government that the law will deal with those indulging in illegal mining even if the state wished to protect them.
State Home Minister Anil Vij said the probe will also go into all aspects of illegal mining in the area.
Amid tight security, former Karnataka tourism Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy was on Friday produced before a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Bengaluru which remanded him to CBI custody till March 12 in connection with an illegal mining case.
Adityanath alleged that illegal mining, including rampant extraction of sand, coal and forest resources, was flourishing under the protection of the ruling coalition, leaving Jharkhand hollowed out by mafia activities.
The ED action, sources said, has been initiated after taking cognisance of a 2018 FIR of the Punjab Police against some companies and individuals alleged to be involved in illegal sand mining in the state.
The agency wants to question and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Karnataka's mining baron, Janardhan Reddy is in trouble. The chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation has suggested that Reddy earned Rs 4,300 crore through illegal mining.
The top court said a balanced approach of sustainable development ensuring environmental safeguards needs to be resorted to while dealing with the issue of sand mining.
In Rajasthan's Karauli district, a decade ago, rampant drought and dwindling water sources forced many men into a life of dacoity, leaving their families in fear. However, the women of Karauli, tired of the despair, took matters into their own hands. They persuaded their husbands to give up their lives of crime and together they began reviving old water bodies and constructing new ones with the help of a local NGO. This community-led effort, which included building pokhars (water bodies) and reviving the Serni River, resulted in a remarkable transformation, bringing stability and hope to the region, and turning former dacoits into thriving farmers.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera claims 89 lakh irregularities were flagged in Bihar's electoral rolls revision but rejected by the Election Commission, demanding a re-exercise.
The officials said that families of the illegal miners are yet to report to the authorities, fearing police action.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday termed as "illegal" Vedanta's bauxite mining project in Orissa's Niyamgiri hills which was denied environmental clearance by the Centre.
Police officials had erected a checkpost near Hullur village to curb illegal sand mining activities, and when Chauhan tried to check the tractor, its driver ran the vehicle over him and escaped, officials said.
Mining operations in all the 90 mines in Goa were ordered to be halted by the Supreme Court on Friday on the basis of the Justice M B Shah Commission report which estimated a whopping Rs 35,000 crore loss to the exchequer due to illegal mining in the last 12 years.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force consisting of over 60 personnel reached on Friday morning, while 12 personnel from the State Disaster Response Force are already at the site.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) Santosh Hegde on Sunday opposed granting financial assistance to people affected by closure of mining in Goa and expressed doubts over the state government's willingness to implement recommendations of Justice M B Shah Commission.
In the second part of this two-part series, we take a close look at this poison, which spread across small mining towns of Karnataka, unchecked and unbridled, before it was brought to a grinding halt last year
Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh alias Honey was arrested in this case by the agency.
The demand for minerals, boulders and sand is so great that it has fueled a black market and the goons who control this trade do not hesitate to kill law enforcement officers and reporters who have tried to expose them.
The Enforcement Directorate has issued fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to appear before it in Ranchi on November 17 for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state, official sources said Wednesday.
Ninety percent mining in Bellary district of Karnataka is illegal which has converted the area of green scenic into a war ravaged zone with huge ugly scars, says the Supreme Court-appointed committee.
The Rajasthan government will soon begin an online auction of a special pink sandstone variety, much sought after by builders including those constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya, found in the Bansi Paharpur area of Bharatpur.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has refuted claims made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin regarding fund allocation and delimitation, accusing him of spreading misinformation and engaging in diversionary tactics. Shah asserted that the Modi government has provided significant financial support to Tamil Nadu and denied claims of any reduction in Parliamentary representation for the state following delimitation. He also criticized the DMK government's handling of law and order, citing issues such as drug trafficking and corruption. Shah expressed confidence in the BJP's prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections, predicting a larger victory than in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The Central Bureau of Invstigation has started interrogating former Karnataka Tourism Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy in connection with an illegal mining case, agency sources said on Saturday.
Sabbir, alias Mittar, the key accused in the case, was arrested from Rajasthan's Bharatpur district.
'There is a clear relationship between the Char Dham road widening and these landslides.' 'The situation has further worsened with the massive influx of tourists whose number are running into several lakhs per month.' 'No parameters have been laid down to control tourist inflow and the result is that the Char Dham yatra has seen a sharp escalation in accidents and loss of lives.'
Deadlock in Karnataka over the mining issue continued for the second day with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa failing to convince the Opposition to let the proceedings go on smoothly.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader had asked the ED to advance the date of appearance to November 16, which has not been agreed to by the agency, they said.
Facing flak from opposition Congress on the mining issue, the Karnataka government on Monday ordered a probe by Lokayukta into illegal export of minerals, including iron ore, from 2000 till date.
Police said around half-a-dozen dumper trucks and some machines were buried under the debris caused by the landslide which occurred around 9 am in Tosham block.
Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, who is in the thick of a fight against a powerful mine owner and Karnataka's tourism minister Galli Janardhan Reddy, has chided the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress for being under control of mining mafia.
The government on Friday approved a landmark draft mines bill which provides for miners to share 26 per cent of their net profits for the people affected by the coal projects, while the burden on the non-coal miners will be amount equivalent to royalty.
A special CBI court in Hyderabad on Monday dismissed the bail plea of mining baron and former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, an accused in the illegal mining case involving his Obulapuram Mining Company.
Janata Dal - Secular chief H D Deve Gowda on Thursday sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention into the alleged illegal mining situation in Karnataka, especially Bellary district, where he alleged that the 'mining mafia was ruling the roost'. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Gowda allleged that there was 'no semblance of rule of law especially in Bellary district' and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government of being 'a mute spectator'
The Congress on Thursday demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the mining scam exposed by the Lokayukta report, charging the Bharatiya Janata Party government of trying to shield the guilty. Seeking to move an adjournment motion in the Legislative Assembly, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah (Congress), said the (then) Lokayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde submitted his interim report on illegal mining in December 2008.
Dubbing the Bharatiya Janata Party ministry in Karnataka as the "most corrupt government in free India", the Congress on Wednesday demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and all ministers indicted by the Lokayukta in the illegal mining case. "Those holding constitutional positions should uphold high moral traditions. Yeddyurappa and all ministers involved in the nefarious activities should quit," party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.
'His willingness to take the initiative to fight for truth and justice and his willingness to cross swords with anyone for a just cause.'
