The arrest of an Indian Air Force non-commissioned officer, leading aircraftsman Ranjith, posted at Air Force Station, Bathinda, on charges of spying is the second such case to have cropped up in Punjab in the past 16 months wherein social networking sites were used by enemy agents to ‘trap’ Indian military personnel.
In August 2014, the Punjab police had arrested an Airman, Sunil Kumar, who was posted at the Air Force Station in Pathankot, and who was believed to have passed on information about the airbase, the equipment at the base, military exercises and the deployment of aircraft to an ISI agent through a social networking site.
In both these cases, cyber surveillance had led to the personnel being arrested. While in the case of Ranjith, he was enticed by someone by the name of ‘Damini’, Sunil Kumar was in touch on the internet with one ‘Meena Raina’. Both these profiles were found to be fake and in both instances cash had been transferred to the bank accounts of the two personnel in lieu of information.
The Indian Express had earlier reported in July 2015 that the Military Intelligence had sounded warnings that fake profiles of women were being used on social networking sites in order to extract confidential information relating to the Order of Battle (ORBAT) of various military units.
Senior intelligence officials say this trend of using sites such as Facebook and Whatsapp to contact military personnel and then lure them into friendship through sexually explicit conversation has been consistently coming to light. “In fact, many service personnel have voluntarily reported such attempts to their superior officers when they suspected that information was being extracted from them,” said a senior officer.
It is learnt that both in the case of the Bathinda incident as well as the Pathankot case, fake profiles of girls were used by ISI agents who use internet protocols of western countries instead of Pakistan in order to avoid suspicion. These agents also pose as Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) in order to allay any fear and entice the service personnel into violating security protocols.
The Army too had earlier identified three officers who were suspected to have passed restricted information about movement of units and ORBAT to a girl named ‘Simran’ on Facebook. An inquiry had been ordered against these errant officers.

(26 Dec) Washington D.C., Dec. 26(ANI): Kate Middleton should now be given a Master’s degree in wooing everyone with her chic style sense. During the royal family’s annual Christmas Day church service, the 33-year-old Duchess of Cambridge sported a long, forest green, belted SportMax coat and matching hat, paired with a leaf-shaped diamond brooch and black suede boots, reports E! Online. She was accompanied by husband Prince William, who was seen helping his wife carry an umbrella to shield them from the rain. The two chatted briefly with well-wishers, who gathered outside the church. The royal family recently released a Christmas 2015 card showing the couple with Princess Charlotte and Prince George. (ANI)

Chennai: People living in Tamil Nadu’s coastal districts affected by 2004 tsunami on Saturday paid homage to the thousands who were swallowed by the giant waves on this day. Eleven years ago, life had turned upside down for thousands of families living in the coastal areas like Nagapattinam, Chennai, Cuddalore, Velankanni, Poompuhar in the state. Over 8,000 people lost their lives in Tamil Nadu to the giant waves in 2004. Silent rallies were held in the tsunami affected areas to observe the day, with people offering milk and flowers at the sea for the dead. As a mark of respect to the departed souls, fishermen stayed away from the sea on Saturday. IANS

Google has announced that it is testing a new way to allow the users to sign into their Google accounts without password.

According to The Next Web, the new method will allow the users to use a mobile to log in into their Google account on the desktop. Google confirmed the move saying that they have invited a small group of users to help test a new way to sign-in to their Google accounts, no password required.

The test was first reported by a Reddit user, rp1226, who tells that the users first have to authorize their phone for use as an authentication device.

After entering their email in the Google account log-in field, a pop-up message on their phone asks them to authenticate the session. When they acknowledge the pop-up, the desktop page forwards as if they have entered the correct password manually. This test is reportedly for both iOS and Android.

Wanted underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, has decided to retire, says a report in Mumbai Mirror.

Dawood, who is currently based out of Karachi in Pakistan and enjoys the protection of the Pakistani security agencies, is likely to appoint his successor, even as his health is failing. The frontrunner for the position is his brother Anees Ahmed.

Dawood’s right hand man Chhota Shakeel on the other hand, will only retain his position, says the report. The successor’s name will be declared on Saturday when Dawood Ibrahim turns 60.

Dawood has decided that his failing health will not allow him to helm D-company’s $10 billion multinational empire of drugs, betting, hawala, and arms smuggling.

There has been no official word on the same from D-Company. But Mirror reports say that no one knows the venue of Dawood’s birthday celebration. Those who have been invited have been told that they will be picked up just minutes before.

But the transition will not be sudden. Dawood might hang around for a few years and guide the gang’s successor.

Dawood now has three brothers living with him – Anees, Humayun and Mustaqeem, after he death of his brother Noorul Haq alias Noora and deportation of Iqbal Kaskar from Dubai. Humayun and Mustaqeem are not very active in the gang any more.

Dawood’s two sons Mahrukh and Moin, as well as wife Mehjabeen have advised him to reduce his workload. Mahrukh is married to Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad’s daughter Junaid.

Dawood also did not want to leave his huge ill-gotten fortune to become a source of contention and endless dispute among his family members including his brothers, their children and his own, says the report.

Indian intelligence agencies and the Mumbai Police are already keeping a tab on the forthcoming birthday celebrations in Karachi. They already have a list of 35 people who are supposed to attend the event. The list includes members of UAE’s royal family and influential diplomats.

But the D-Company sources have denied that any such bash is to take place. What we know about is the family’s plans to feed 10000 orphans and distribute clothes to poor. We have no idea about any succession plan,” said a Karachi-based family friend of Dawood to Mirror.

Secret parties and revelry is also planned at some South Mumbai locations on Saturday. The Mumbai Police is keeping a watch on these parties.

Dawood, who has turned into a ‘devout’ Muslim over the past few years, is likely to visit Mecca after his 60th birthday.

‪#‎Bengal‬ Sanctions 7.47 Cottah Land for ‪#‎Lepcha‬ Bhavan in New Town, ‪#‎Kolkata‬

The Mamata Banerjee government has allotted a 7.47-cottah plot in New Town’s Action Area I to set up Lepcha Bhavan for the community.

Grid-connected solar panels will be installed on the roof for compound illumination of the state-of-the-art green building. The state urban development department is selecting a reputable architectue firm to come up with the design for the sixth-storied structure. The required built-up space of the building will be at least 12,000 square feet.

NKDA officials said that New Town is being developed as a green smart city and the aim is to have a unique landmark building in the township like the proposed Lepcha Bhavan.

“The aim is to construct an eco-friendly building that will reflect the Lepcha culture. It will be built, bringing together natural resources and modern technology,” an NKDA official said.

During a visit in Kalimpong, Mamata Banerjee had said the Lepcha Board was working for the development of their housing, education, livelihood, sanitation, tourism and preservation and propagation of their culture.

Courtesy_ Darjeeling Times