terrorist strike in Mumbai,2 Indians arrested

MUMBAI, India Indian police said Sunday they prevented a major terrorist strike in Mumbai by arresting two men who were preparing to attack several targets in the city, the country’s financial and entertainment hub.K.P. Raghuvanshi, chief of Mumbai’s anti-terrorism squad, said the two Indian men – both residents of the city – had targeted a popular shopping mall, a market and a state-owned gas facility. He said Abdul Latif Rashid and Riyaz Ali were arrested late Saturday in Mumbai’s Matunga suburb.

Police said the men had links with terror groups in Pakistan and were acting on directions from handlers there.”They were getting instructions from Pakistan to execute their activities here,” Raghuvanshi said.India has blamed Pakistan-linked Islamist militant groups for a deadly November 2008 terror attack on Mumbai in which 166 people were killed. Last month, 16 people were killed in a bombing in a popular bakery in the nearby city of Pune.

It was not immediately clear whether the men were preparing to attack the offices, oil tankers or a housing estate belonging to the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Raghuvanshi said.The suspects will remain in custody until Thursday, when they will appear before a judge and be assigned lawyers, Raghuvanshi said.Mumbai has been on high alert since the Pune bombing. Following the latest arrests, police have further tightened security measures with additional police patrolling markets and cinemas. (AP)

12 schoolchildren were charred to death and eight injured in a massive fire that broke out at aprivate hostel in Arunachal Pradesh

ITANAGAR  At least 12 schoolchildren were charred to death and eight injured in a massive fire that broke out at aprivate hostel in Arunachal Pradesh, officials said Thursday.A police spokesperson said that the fire broke out around midnight at a hostel built with bamboo and hay at Palin in Kurung Kummpy district, 260 km north of state capital Itanagar.

“Right now, we are in the process of evacuating the injured by choppers to hospitals in Itanagar. Twelve bodies have been found,” Remu Kemkei, district magistrate of Kurung Kummpy, said. There were 62 students of a local branch of the Don Bosco chain of schools staying at the privately-run hostel. “We are investigating the cause of the fire but preliminary reports indicate that it could be an accidental fire as students were studying under candle light since there was no power supply,” Kemkei said.