Israeli PM congratulates 'close friend' Modi on election victory

Mangaluru, Nov 3: Mangaluru police have apprehended two individuals connected to a major online purchasing scam, seizing assets worth ₹11.45 lakh. The suspects, Raj Kumar Meena (23) and Subhash Gurjar (27), hail from Rajasthan and are accused of fraudulently acquiring high-value electronics through deceptive orders.

Background of the Case

According to City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, the case began with a fraudulent order placed through an international e-commerce company. Using a false identity under the name "Amrith," the suspects ordered two high-end Sony cameras along with ten other items, directing the delivery to an address near the KSRTC bus stand in Mangaluru on September 21 at 4 p.m.

The Scam Unfolds

During delivery, Raj Kumar Meena received the items by providing a delivery OTP, while Subhash Gurjar reportedly distracted the delivery personnel. The suspects then executed a sticker-swapping tactic, replacing original Sony camera box labels with stickers from other items in the order to mislead the delivery team. Meena also intentionally provided an incorrect OTP, causing further confusion. The duo told the delivery agent they would collect the cameras the next day, then sent him away before cancelling the camera order.

Detection and Arrest

The unusual activity raised suspicions, and upon inspection, Amazon’s delivery partner, Mahindra Logistics, discovered the sticker swap and alerted Amazon. Subsequent investigations revealed that the suspects had taken the genuine cameras and left behind tampered boxes.

Upon deeper investigation, CCTV footage and other tracking methods led the police to identify and pursue the suspects as they attempted to flee the city. Meena was initially detained by the Salem police on October 4 for a similar scam and subsequently transferred to Urwa police custody in Mangaluru. Following his 13-day custody beginning on October 18, which included a thorough probe in both Mangaluru and Jaipur, Subhash Gurjar was apprehended on October 21.

Broader Criminal Network

The arrested individuals are allegedly part of a larger network, with involvement in at least 12 other high-profile cases. Their targets included high-end cameras, iPhones, and laptops, each costing over ₹10 lakh, with cases registered across states like Assam, Odisha, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

The seized assets, valued at ₹11.45 lakh, have been presented to the court as evidence, and investigations continue as authorities seek to dismantle this organized fraud operation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has killed or captured 69 terrorists linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad during a major counterterrorism drill in the country's southeast, its spokesman says.  

General Ahmad Shafaei, the spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said Friday that a total of 23 terrorists have been killed and another 46 arrested in various clean-up operations ever since the IRGC Ground Force launched it in the Sistan and Baluchestan province on November 1.

Seven terrorists have also turned themselves in during the period.

“The undeniable fact about terrorists is that they rely on arrogant powers, particularly the intelligence service of the wicked and vicious Zionist regime," Shafaei said.

“Unfortunately, weapons and munitions at terrorists’ disposal are among the most sophisticated ones in the world. This accounts for their heavy dependence.” 

The official stated that several members of the disbanded terror teams were non-Iranian nationals, who had been hired by foreign intelligence agencies to carry out acts of sabotage and terror inside Iran.

In a most recent operation, six terrorists were arrested and four others were eliminated, three of whom were non-Iranians, he added. 

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.

In January, Iran launched a military operation during which the headquarters of the Pakistan-based terrorist group was targeted in missile strikes, destroying its infrastructure.

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says its fighters have killed at least 20 Israeli soldiers in northern parts of the besieged Gaza Strip in just two days, in retaliation for the occupying regime’s genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

In a statement on Monday evening, Hamas said that fighters of its military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, “killed at least five occupation soldiers” in northern parts of the coastal territory earlier in the day.

It added that Hamas fighters also killed 15 Israeli soldiers in the war-ravaged region on Sunday.

The resistance movement’s “qualitative operation … confirms once again the failure of the criminal Zionist entity to suppress and eradicate the Palestinian resistance, which continues to direct qualitative strikes against its terrorist soldiers,” Hamas further said on its Telegram channel.

Palestinians have increased their resistance operations in the face of intensified Israeli aggression in northern Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 over the past weeks.

“Our valiant resistance is waging a war of attrition with the criminal enemy, inflicting daily losses on its soldiers and vehicles, and all of [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s bets and dreams of achieving any of his goals are failing,” the Gaza-based resistance movement added.

Hamas also vowed that Israel’s ongoing crimes and aggression against Gaza would be met with increased resistance and painful strikes, which will continue until the aggression against Palestinians ends and the regime fully withdraws from the blockaded territory.

As the war in Gaza enters its 14th month, the Health Ministry reports that Israeli attacks have killed at least 43,603 Palestinians and wounded 102,929 others.