Defence Minister Rajnath Singh – in Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday to firefight protests over the death of three civilians after they were detained by the Army for questioning – also met others allegedly injured while in military custody. Eight civilians were detained after an ambush on two Army vehicles in J&K’s Poonch district, in which four soldiers were killed.

Earlier today Mr Singh met the families of those killed and called for caution when dealing with civilians. He said the Army could not “make any mistake” that hurts an Indian citizen.

“You are the country’s protectors. But I want to request you that besides ensuring the country’s security, you also have the responsibility to win the hearts of the people. There should be no mistake that hurts an Indian,” he said.

READ | “Don’t Make Mistakes That Could Hurt Countrymen”: Rajnath Singh To Army

“We have to win battles… eliminate terrorists… but a bigger objective is to win the hearts of the people. We will win wars but we need to win hearts too. And I know you try your best…”

The Army has ordered an investigation into the deaths of the three civilians, who have been identified as Mohammad Safeer, Shabir Ahmad, and Showkat Hussain. They were among more than a dozen villagers detained from the Bafliaz area on Friday.

READ | Army Orders Probe Into Deaths Of 3 Civilians Detained For Questioning

However, after a video showing troops beating and torturing civilians went viral, their families and some political parties alleged custodial torture. Around a dozen villagers were shifted to hospitals. The authenticity of the video, however, has not been established.

Responsibility for the Poonch terror attack was claimed by the People’s Anti-Fascist Front, which is linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist outfit and was first seen in 2019, after the government scrapped special status for Jammu and Kashmir.

The Defence Minister’s vist – his second in the last seven months – followed that of Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande, who was in the union territory on Monday to review the in-progress anti-terror op in Surankote and Rajouri district’s Thanamandi forest belt.

Last month two officers and three soldiers were killed in Rajouri, where, in May, 10 Army personnel were killed in a gunbattle with terrorists.

The Pir Panjal region – Rajouri and Poonch districts – had been free from terrorism since 2003 but major attacks have resume since October 2021. In the last seven months alone, 20 soldiers, including officers and special forces commandos, have been killed.

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, a film about navigating life, work and relationships in the age of social media is out on OTT. Arjun Varain Singh makes his directorial debut with the film starring Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav. In an exclusive interview with Filmfare, the director opened up about the film’s making.

When asked about his experience working with Ananya Panday, Arjun revealed that the actress is prep-oriented. He says, “She just works so hard. She is a hard worker and she put a lot of time in prep. It’s shocking how incredible her memory is. She actually is very intelligent. You say something to Ananya and six months later, she’ll remember it. It’s crazy.”

He adds, “She has a curiosity for every little detail about the script and her character’s motivation, the meaning behind the scene, she wants to know it all. She is very involved and we’ve done entire readings together scene-by-scene. We must’ve done that process alone three times.” 

The film sees Ananya Panday play Ahana Singh, a corporate consultant whose sudden break-up leaves her heartbroken, sending her down a social media rabbit hole that only makes matters worse. 

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is written by Arjun, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti and Yash Sahai. The film is produced by Zoya, Reema, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. The film is currently streaming.

SEE ALSO: Ananya Panday pens a sweet note to her Kho Gaye Hum Kahan character Ahana

Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the promoters of the Mahadev online betting app, has been put under “house detention” in Dubai while Indian probe agencies, including ED, have been “alerted” and are working through diplomatic channels to get him deported, official sources said on Wednesday.

The Enforcement Directorate may also file a fresh charge sheet in this multi-crore money laundering case soon, they said.

The development comes weeks after Ravi Uppal, another promoter of the betting and gaming app, was detained by local authorities in Dubai on a red notice (RN) issued by Interpol at the behest of the ED.

The sources said Chandrakar’s location in Dubai has been intimated to the federal agency and he has been put under “house detention”.

Indian agencies are working, through diplomatic channels, to secure the deportation or extradition of the two who are vital to the money laundering and police investigation into the alleged illegal activities of the ‘Mahadev Book Online’ app that also have political links in Chhattisgarh and elsewhere, the sources said.

The ED is also expected to file a fresh (supplementary) charge sheet in this case against two people arrested by it in November from Chhattisgarh – alleged cash courier Asim Das and police constable Bheem Yadav.

The agency, in its first charge sheet filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur, had named Chandrakar and Uppal along with some others.

In this charge sheet, it had quoted the statement of Dilip Chandrakar, the uncle of Sourabh Chandrakar, that before Sourabh went to Dubai in 2019 he ran a juice shop named ‘juice factory’ along with his brother in Bhillai town of Chhattisgarh.

The ED claimed Sourabh Chandrakar got married at Ras Al Khaimah, UAE in February 2023 and about Rs 200 crore “in cash” were spent for this event in which private jets were hired to ferry his relatives from India to the UAE and celebrities were paid to perform.

Uppal, 43, was detained last week in Dubai.

Both businessmen are being probed by the ED in the money laundering case linked to alleged illegal betting through online apps, apart from investigations by the Chhattisgarh and Mumbai Police Crime Branch.

A red notice was issued against the two by Interpol on the basis of the ED’s request that was based on a court-issued non-bailable warrant.

The projected proceeds of crime in this case are about Rs 6,000 crore, according to 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’ 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, 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 the 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 a 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 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, it is alleged.

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