Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who joined the BJP today, has come under a ballistic attack by West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Addressing a gathering at the end of a Trinamool march to mark International Women’s Day, Ms Banerjee described the former judge as a “BJP babu who was sitting on the bench” and said that if contests the upcoming Lok Sabha election, she will ensure he loses.

“A BJP babu was sitting on the bench and now he has joined BJP. How can you expect justice from them? The mask is off,” she said.

Mr Gangopadhyay had made headlines as a judge of Calcutta High Court when he issued several orders to central agencies to investigate allegations of irregularities in the Mamata Banerjee government’s recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff. He joined the BJP today, days after resigning as a judge.

“Today, I have joined a new field. I am happy to join the BJP and will work as a party soldier. Our objective is to oust the corrupt TMC regime from the state,” he said. There is speculation that the former judge may be fielded by the BJP in the Lok Sabha election.

Hitting out at the former judge, Ms Banerjee said,

“After denying jobs to thousands of students, he has become a leader. Be ready. Wherever you contest from, I will send students to fight you. Remember, the people will judge you now.”

The Bengal Chief Minister added that she has five lakh jobs “but these dangerous snakes are denying jobs to the people of Bengal”.

Ms Banerjee also hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s barbs over the Sandeshkhali case. She said Bengal is the “safest for women”. “As many as 458 central teams came to Bengal. How many teams went to Manipur when women were paraded naked? How many teams went to Hathras? All your anger is for Bengal,” she said, countering the BJP’s charge.

The Sandeshkhali island in North 24 Parganas district has made headlines in the wake of allegations of land grab, extortion and sexual harassment against local Trinamool leaders. Sheikh Shahjahan, a strongman from Sandeshkhali, was arrested by Bengal police last month and is now in CBI’s custody. Amid the BJP’s charge, Trinamool has expelled Shahjahan for six years.

In an apparent reference to the action against the strongman, Ms Banerjee said, “Sometimes we are not aware of things, but if injustice is reported, we don’t hesitate to arrest even Trinamool workers.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday underlined India’s readiness for war in the face of multiple challenges along the country’s border. Speaking at NDTV’s first Defence Summit, Mr Singh said, “We have to be ready for war at all times… even in peacetime. We have to be ready.”

“Whether from land, air, or sea… if anyone attacks India, our forces will respond strongly. We have never attacked any country nor have we occupied even an inch of anyone’s land. But, if anyone attacks us, we are in position to give a befitting reply,” he said at the event.

Mr Singh’s comments have been seen as a not-so-veiled reference to continuing tension with China in Kashmir and Ladakh, as well as the northeast. Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in military stand-off for nearly four years – following confrontations at friction points in eastern Ladakh.

The 20th round of Corps Commander-level talks between Delhi and Beijing was held in October, at Chushul as part of ongoing efforts for disengagement and de-escalation to resolve the stand-off.

Tensions, however, continue to remain.

WATCH | NDTV’s Defence Summit – Unleashing India’s Defence Potential

Last week External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking at a think-tank event in Delhi, called on Beijing to adhere to border management pacts to ensure peace between the nations.

Rajnath Singh’s assertive comments to NDTV echoed those made in January, when he said the world had witnessed India’s rise as a “key global economic and strategic power”. Mr Singh acknowledged the India-China relationship “is currently under strain”, but insisted Delhi wants good ties with all.

Then the Defence Minister referred to “the courage shown by our soldiers during the stand-off with Chinese troops in Galwan (in eastern Ladakh)”, and said, “We are no more a weak country.”

“Ab aisa nhi hai ki Bharat ko ankh dikha ke jo chahe so nikal jaye (No longer can anyone show us a red eye and get away with it),” Rajnath Singh had said.

READ | “No Longer Can Someone Show India Red Eye And Get Away”

Meanwhile, at the NDTV Defence Summit, Mr Singh also spoke about the government’s focus on an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, or a ‘self-reliant India’, when considering the defence sector.

“In 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government came to power, we put defence sector as our main priority. ‘Atmanirbharta‘, or ‘self-reliance’, was encouraged… we introduced many make-in-India initiatives and our focus was on military modernisation,” he explained.

READ | “Modiji Brought Self-Reliance In Defence”: Rajnath Singh At NDTV Meet

“I am not saying previous governments did not put emphasis on defence sector. But we brought ‘atmanirbharta‘ in the defence sector,” he stressed.

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When a 71-year-old Delhi doctor got a video call at midnight, he assumed it was a patient calling about an emergency, but was surprised to find a woman in a compromising position on the other end. A video of his interaction on the call with the woman was recorded and what followed was a long cycle of extortion and blackmail, in which the doctor ended up transferring nearly Rs 9 lakh to a sextortion gang, police said on Thursday.

Having endured the ordeal for a long time, the doctor finally registered a case with the Delhi Police, which has led to the arrest of two brothers from Rajasthan. The men, who ran a sextortion racket, are suspected to have blackmailed 25 other people using the same playbook.

An official said the doctor had approached the Cyber Police Station in East District and complained that he had endured repeated video calls and blackmail from a gang which was threatening to leak a video of his call with the woman on social media. He told the police that he had transferred nearly Rs 8.6 lakh to the gang but the calls and demands did not cease. 

Investigation

After registering a case under sections related to cheating, criminal intimidation and extortion, among others, the police began its investigation.

“We started tracing and surveilling the numbers from which the calls were made to the doctor. We finally managed to get a lead and an identity of a person from Rajasthan. Informers helped us verify this information and told us that the person was part of an extortion racket. We raided his house last week and arrested him and his brother,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East District) Apoorva Gupta.

“Seven phones have been recovered from their possession, including the device used to make the original video call, and the phone and SIM card used to make the extortion call,” she added.

The brothers have been identified as 39-year-old Abdul Rehman, who has a wife and three children, and his brother Aamir Khan, 26, who are residents of the Mewat area in Deeg district, Rajasthan. They were remanded in police custody for five days. 
 
During the investigation, a money trail was also established and it was discovered that the funds had been transferred to various bank accounts in Haryana, Punjab, and Maharashtra. These bank accounts had been opened digitally, bypassing know your customer (KYC) verification.

More Victims 

“A study of the bank accounts has led us to suspect that the gang had 25 other victims. We are gathering information on other associates of the two brothers,” said DCP Gupta.

Apart from four other victims from Delhi, the others are from Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

The officer said three other criminals involved in sextortion, who taught the brothers what they know, have also been identified. They are from the same village as the brothers.