Visiting Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI Director Christopher Wray has assured India that the US is probing attack on the Indian Consulate in San Francisco “aggressively” and would be able to share “credible” leads soon, sources said. Mr Wray met National Investigation Agency Director Dinkar Gupta on second day of his visit on Tuesday.

In March, a group of Khalistan supporters attacked and damaged the Indian Consulate. It was again attacked in July. The NIA team had visited San Francisco in August and returned with some leads.

The meeting between the investigating agency chiefs comes on the heels of Washington’s allegations about an Indian link to a foiled plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.

At the meeting, India flagged how freedom of expression is being misused, NDTV has learnt.

“The NIA chief highlighted how the nexus between terrorist outfits and terrorist elements with members of organised criminal syndicates spreading in the US,” a senior official said.

Detailed discussions were also held between both agencies on how to share real time intelligence, so that informed decisions can be taken promptly.

“Discussions were also held on several pending extraditions, including that of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack co-conspirator Tahawwur Rana,” another senior official said.

Pakistan-origin Canadian businessman Rana is wanted by the Indian authorities for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. He is currently in the US.

At the meeting, the NIA chief pointed out that threats in the cyber domain were increasing. Digital space was also being effectively exploited by terrorists and extremists for propagating radical views and recruitment, he said, adding that NIA was also seeing use of crytocurrency for terror funding.

The difficulties encountered by law enforcement agencies in obtaining data from encryption Apps were also discussed.

The two sides noted that with the advent of newer technologies at a fast pace, tracing, tracking and investigating crypto transactions is turning out to be a huge challenge, the official said.

The official said both agencies recognised the challenges posed by organised crime networks, terror related crimes, cyber-enabled terror attacks, ransomware threats, economic crimes and transnational terror crimes.

US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday that the country risked losing global support for its war against Hamas because of its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza.

In his most blunt remarks since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which provoked the current conflict, Biden told donors that Netanyahu needed to “change” his stance on a two-state solution for the Palestinians.

Netanyahu meanwhile said there was “disagreement” with Biden over how a post-conflict Gaza would be governed, reflecting a rare rift after weeks in which the US leader has strongly backed Israel.

Biden told a campaign event in Washington that Israel had “most of the world supporting it” after the Hamas attacks, in which Israel tallied 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians. Hundreds were also taken hostage.

“But they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” Biden said.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Tuesday that more than 18,400 people — also mostly civilians — had been killed in Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of the coastal territory.

Biden had previously refrained from describing Israeli bombing as “indiscriminate.”

And speaking later Tuesday at a news conference, Biden toned down his comments somewhat.

He said that the United States has to support Israel in the face of the brutality of October 7, but that “the safety of innocent Palestinians is still of great concern.”

He also announced that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will be sent to Israel this week for discussions with the war cabinet.

The US president also dismissed arguments that he said Netanyahu had made about Allied forces in World War II having “carpet-bombed” Germany and used nuclear weapons against Japan.

Biden said he’d told Netanyahu that international institutions were set up after the war “to see to it that it didn’t happen again” and reiterated that the United States had made “mistakes” after the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York.

‘Tough decision’

Biden then said that Netanyahu had a “tough decision to make” regarding his hard-right government.

“He’s a good friend, but I think he has to change, and, with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move.”

“They don’t want a two-state solution,” he said, describing it as the “most conservative government in Israel’s history.”

His comments reflect a growing split over what happens after the war, with US calls for Gaza to be turned over to a strengthened Palestinian Authority receiving a cool reception in Israel.

The Palestinian Authority is currently in charge of the West Bank while Islamist Hamas controls the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu said following a conversation with Biden that there was “disagreement” between the allies over “the day after Hamas.”

The Israeli premier said he hoped “we will reach agreement here” but he vowed not to “repeat the mistake of Oslo,” referring to the 1993 peace accords signed in the United States.

Washington has been calling for weeks for Israel to take more care to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, saying that too many Palestinians have been killed.

An increasing number of voices in the United States, notably from the left wing of the Democratic Party, have called on Biden to take a firmer stand toward his Israeli ally, and even to condition US military aid.

Biden sounded similar warnings about Israel losing global support during a ceremony at the White House on Monday, to mark the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

“We have to be careful. They have to be careful. The whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight, we can’t let that happen,” he told guests.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ravi Uppal, one of the two main owners of the Mahadev online betting app, has been detained in Dubai by the local police on the basis of a red notice issued by the Interpol at the behest of the ED, official sources said Wednesday.

Uppal, 43, was detained last week in that country and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) authorities are in touch with the Dubai authorities to get him deported to India, they said.

Uppal is being probed by the ED in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal betting apart from the Chhattisgarh Police and Mumbai Police.

The probe agency had filed a money laundering chargesheet against Uppal and another promoter of the Internet-based platform, Sourabh Chandrakar, before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur in October.

A red notice was subsequently issued by the Interpol on the basis of ED’s request.

The agency had informed the court in the charge sheet that Uppal has taken a passport of Vanuatu, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, even as he has not renounced Indian citizenship.

Uppal, the ED said in the prosecution complaint, “generated and enjoyed proceeds of crime and is involved in their concealment and layering.” It had alleged Uppal was “looking after the delivery of the liasioning money to the bureaucrats and politicians of Chhattisgarh through Chandrabhushan Verma”, an assistant sub inspector of police, and some others.

The projected proceeds of crime in this case is about Rs 6,000 crore, as per the ED.

The agency had claimed in November, just before the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly polls, that forensic analysis and statement made by a ‘cash courier’ named Asim Das have led to “startling allegations” that Mahadev betting app promoters have paid about Rs 508 crore to former Chhattisgarh chief minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel so far, adding that these allegations were “subject matter of investigation”.

Das had later submitted before the special court in Raipur that he had been framed as part of a conspiracy and he had never delivered cash to politicians.

The ED investigation has shown that Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in the UAE, officials said. It operates by franchising “Panel/Branches” to their known associates on 70-30 per cent profit ratio, it had said.

Large scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to off-shore accounts, it had said.

Large expenditure in cash is also being done in India for advertising of betting websites to attract new users and franchise (panel) seekers, the ED had said.

The company promoters hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and the Mahadev online book betting application is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)