The Evening Wrap: Missing Indians killed by disbanded special unit, says Kenyan Presidential aide

Two Indian nationals missing in Kenya for nearly three months were killed by a notorious special forces unit that was disbanded by the new Kenyan administration, an advisor to President William Ruto has announced. Condemning the now defunct Special Services Unit, SSU, Denis Itumbi, said the former COO of Balaji Telefilms Zulfikar Ahmad Khan and his friend Mohamed Zaid Sami Kidwai were part of the social media team of President Ruto, and helped "immensely" in the political campaign. Zulfikar Ahmad Khan, 48, last worked as the COO of Balaji Telefilms. Before that he was the Managing Director of the OTT platform HOOQ and the Business Head and Chief Revenue Officer of Eros Now. He started his career with Star India and rose to be the senior vice president of Advertising Sales where he managed several channels like Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Sports, National Geographic and popular music outlet Channel V. According to a close friend, Khan left Balaji Telefilms earlier this year and was "in between jobs" during the summer when he went on a vacation to Kenya. He denied that Khan was involved in any other activity apart from travel and tourism. The friend of Khan said that they would wait for the forensic reports to confirm the claims made by Itumbi. Earlier this month, President Ruto disbanded the Special Services Unit (SSU) under the Directorate of Criminal Investigation which was set up more than two decades ago and was accused of many extra judicial killings and "enforced disappearances". Itumbi said in a Facebook post that cctv footage has shown that the vehicle that Khan and Kidwai were travelling was stopped by vehicles belonging to the special forces unit and they were "dragged" away along with the driver of the car. They were held in a container for three days and were driven to the Aberdare mountain range near the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The matter is still being investigated, he said. It is however not yet clear why the Special Services Unit targeted Khan and Kidwai. His friends maintain that they were not involved in local political affairs as alleged by Itumbi. Ministry of External Affairs is yet to comment on the claims from Itumbi though they stated last week that India is keeping a "close watch" on the case. The SSU had been criticised by rights groups in Africa and were accused of hundreds of "enforced disappearances" over the past two decades. India could tide over pandemic-related economic crisis due to decisions taken in the past eight years: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that it was no one’s expectation that the side effects of a pandemic that occurs once in a 100-years will go away in 100 days but India could tide over the crisis due to the economic and policy decisions taken in the past eight years. Modi said India leapt forward from the 10th position to become the fifth largest economy even though many big economies in the world were struggling and faced an all time high inflation and unemployment. “This has been made possible because in the last eight years we got rid of those shortcomings of the country's economy which created hindrances”, he said. Modi launched the Rozgar Mela (recruitment drive) for 10 lakh central government jobs via video conferencing. During the ceremony, appointment letters were handed over to 75,000 newly inducted appointees who were inducted in the first tranche. The 75,000 new recruits will join 38 Ministries and Departments at Group A, Group B (Gazetted), Group B (Non-Gazetted) and Group C levels. The posts on which appointments are being made include Central Armed Force Personnel, Sub Inspectors, Constables, Lower Division Clerk, Stenographers, Personal Assistant, Income Tax Inspectors, and Multi Tasking Staff among others. Addressing the appointees, Modi said, “We decided that a tradition of giving appointment letters in one go should be started so that a collective temperament of completing projects in a time-bound way develops in departments. I am happy that many NDA-ruled and BJP-ruled states along with the Union Territories will also organise similar Melas.” The Prime Minister also spoke about employment generation through infrastructure creation. He said that thousands of kilometres of National Highways have been constructed across the country in the last eight years and work is being constantly done across the country on doubling, gauge conversion, and electrification of railway lines. Technical failure likely cause of Army chopper crash in Arunachal Pradesh A technical or mechanical fault could be the likely cause of the Army chopper crash that killed five personnel in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district on October 21. According to a Defence statement, the Air Traffic Control concerned had received a Mayday call from the pilots prior to the crash, suggesting a technical or mechanical failure. "It is reported that the weather was good for flying operations. The pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on the ALH-WSI (advanced light helicopter-weapon systems integrated) and over 1,800 service flying hours between them," the statement said. The aircraft was inducted into service in June 2015, it added. "This (technical failure) will form the focus of the court of inquiry, which has been immediately constituted to investigate the causes of the accident," the statement said. A Defence spokesperson based in central Assam's Tezpur said the names of the five personnel on board the ill-fated ALH-WSI will be released after the notification to the next of kin. The Indian Army Aviation chopper based at Likabali (Assam) crashed at Migging, south of nearest town Tuting in Upper Siang district at 10:43 am on Friday. The search and rescue team comprising Army, Airforce, police and locals retrieved the mortal remains of four personnel from the crash site. Efforts are on to retrieve the fifth body. After president polls, Congress to focus on Gujarat Assembly elections Hours after taking over as the Congress president on October 26, Mallikarjun Kharge will preside over a meeting of the Central Election Committee to shortlist potential candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections. Under pressure to dispel the notion that the Congress has conceded space to the Aam Admi Party (AAP), the party is ready to step up its campaign. The party is also working out the logistics to rope Rahul Gandhi in the campaign even though nothing has been finalized yet. Gandhi, who has not left the Bharat Jodo Yatra route since it started on September 7, is expected to be in Delhi during the Diwali break and then for Kharge’s taking charge. “We definitely want Rahul ji to campaign in Gujarat and we are working on a plan. But it can’t be a padayatra as we want him to cover as many areas as possible within a limited time,” said a senior leader who is also part of the panel that is shortlisting potential candidates. The screening panel has already had six rounds of meetings to discuss constituency-wise candidates. With the presidential election out of its way, the Congress is now focussing on Gujarat elections. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who was credited for the party’s impressive performance in the 2017 Assembly polls after it had won 77 seats and had stopped the BJP at 99 seats, spent two days in the State for a ground assessment. During his visit on October 17 and 18, Gehlot also met leaders of the Bharatiya Tribal Party and the Nationalist Congress Party, both of whom could be potential allies. The party’s strategy seems to be focussing on the rural areas where the party had done well in the last Assembly elections too. Of the 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat, the Congress’ weakest seats are the 55 urban seats. In the 2017 Assembly elections, BJP has swept the urban areas, winning as many as 46 urban seats. That’s why the emergence of the Aam Admi Party is being closely monitored by both, the ruling BJP and the Congress. Communist Party amends constitution boosting Xi’s ‘core’ status China’s Communist Party ended its once-in-five-year congress approving changes to its Constitution that have further enshrined leader Xi Jinping’s unchallenged “core” status. The changed Constitution said it is now “an obligation for all party members” to “follow the leadership core”, referring to Xi, who was declared a “core” leader when the Constitution was last amended at the previous congress in 2017. The amendments have now made it “an obligation” for all party members to “uphold” Xi’s “core” status. As Saturday’s resolution put it, the “revisions will help all Party members uphold and strengthen the Central Committee’s centralised, unified leadership and enhance cohesion and forge the Party’s soul with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,” referring to Xi’s eponymous ideology that was already written into the Constitution in 2017. An amendment has now added what the party calls “two establishes” and “two upholds” to ensure Xi’s “core” status in the Constitution. It said “establishing... Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has enabled the Party to successfully resolve the acute problems and challenges undermining its long-term governance”. “All Party members must acquire a deep understanding of the decisive significance of this major achievement, more conscientiously uphold Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralised, unified leadership,” the resolution said. Another amendment called for “carrying forward our fighting spirit and building up our fighting ability”, referring to China’s more assertive diplomacy under Xi. It has also included some of Xi’s key campaigns, such as “common prosperity”, which has been aimed at reducing inequality and also taming the private sector, unleashing several regulatory crackdowns that particularly targeted the tech industry. The amended Constitution also calls for “resolutely opposing and deterring separatists seeking ‘Taiwan independence”, sharpening its language on Taiwan. The constitution previously only referred to “reunification of the motherland and strengthening unity of all Chinese people, including in Taiwan”. In Brief: Russian-installed authorities ordered all residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to leave “immediately” on Saturday ahead of an expected advance by Ukrainian troops waging a counteroffensive to recapture one of the first urban areas Russia took after invading the country. In a post on the Telegram messaging service, the regional pro-Kremlin administration called on civilians to use boat crossings over a major river to move deeper into Russian-held territory, citing a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged “terror attacks” by Kyiv. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 22 OCTOBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Missing Indians killed by disbanded special services unit, says Kenyan Presidential aide Two Indian nationals missing in Kenya for nearly three months were [killed by a notorious special forces unit that was disbanded by the new Kenyan administration]( an advisor to President William Ruto has announced. Condemning the now defunct Special Services Unit, SSU, Denis Itumbi, said the former COO of Balaji Telefilms Zulfikar Ahmad Khan and his friend Mohamed Zaid Sami Kidwai were part of the social media team of President Ruto, and helped "immensely" in the political campaign. Zulfikar Ahmad Khan, 48, last worked as the COO of Balaji Telefilms. Before that he was the Managing Director of the OTT platform HOOQ and the Business Head and Chief Revenue Officer of Eros Now. He started his career with Star India and rose to be the senior vice president of Advertising Sales where he managed several channels like Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Sports, National Geographic and popular music outlet Channel V. According to a close friend, Khan left Balaji Telefilms earlier this year and was "in between jobs" during the summer when he went on a vacation to Kenya. He denied that Khan was involved in any other activity apart from travel and tourism. The friend of Khan said that they would wait for the forensic reports to confirm the claims made by Itumbi. Earlier this month, President Ruto disbanded the Special Services Unit (SSU) under the Directorate of Criminal Investigation which was set up more than two decades ago and was accused of many extra judicial killings and "enforced disappearances". Itumbi said in a Facebook post that cctv footage has shown that the vehicle that Khan and Kidwai were travelling was stopped by vehicles belonging to the special forces unit and they were "dragged" away along with the driver of the car. They were held in a container for three days and were driven to the Aberdare mountain range near the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The matter is still being investigated, he said. It is however not yet clear why the Special Services Unit targeted Khan and Kidwai. His friends maintain that they were not involved in local political affairs as alleged by Itumbi. Ministry of External Affairs is yet to comment on the claims from Itumbi though they stated last week that India is keeping a "close watch" on the case. The SSU had been criticised by rights groups in Africa and were accused of hundreds of "enforced disappearances" over the past two decades. India could tide over pandemic-related economic crisis due to decisions taken in the past eight years: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that it was no one’s expectation that the side effects of a pandemic that occurs once in a 100-years will go away in 100 days but [India could tide over the crisis]( due to the economic and policy decisions taken in the past eight years. Modi said India leapt forward from the 10th position to become the fifth largest economy even though many big economies in the world were struggling and faced an all time high inflation and unemployment. “This has been made possible because in the last eight years we got rid of those shortcomings of the country's economy which created hindrances”, he said. Modi launched the Rozgar Mela (recruitment drive) for 10 lakh central government jobs via video conferencing. During the ceremony, appointment letters were handed over to 75,000 newly inducted appointees who were inducted in the first tranche. The 75,000 new recruits will join 38 Ministries and Departments at Group A, Group B (Gazetted), Group B (Non-Gazetted) and Group C levels. The posts on which appointments are being made include Central Armed Force Personnel, Sub Inspectors, Constables, Lower Division Clerk, Stenographers, Personal Assistant, Income Tax Inspectors, and Multi Tasking Staff among others. Addressing the appointees, Modi said, “We decided that a tradition of giving appointment letters in one go should be started so that a collective temperament of completing projects in a time-bound way develops in departments. I am happy that many NDA-ruled and BJP-ruled states along with the Union Territories will also organise similar Melas.” The Prime Minister also spoke about employment generation through infrastructure creation. He said that thousands of kilometres of National Highways have been constructed across the country in the last eight years and work is being constantly done across the country on doubling, gauge conversion, and electrification of railway lines. Technical failure likely cause of Army chopper crash in Arunachal Pradesh A [technical or mechanical fault could be the likely cause of the Army chopper crash]( that killed five personnel in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district on October 21. [Smoke billows from the site of a crash of an advanced light helicopter of the Indian Army at Migging in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on October 21, 2022. Photo: Screenshot from video tweeted by Twitter/@KirenRijiju via PTI] According to a Defence statement, the Air Traffic Control concerned had received a Mayday call from the pilots prior to the crash, suggesting a technical or mechanical failure. "It is reported that the weather was good for flying operations. The pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on the ALH-WSI (advanced light helicopter-weapon systems integrated) and over 1,800 service flying hours between them," the statement said. The aircraft was inducted into service in June 2015, it added. "This (technical failure) will form the focus of the court of inquiry, which has been immediately constituted to investigate the causes of the accident," the statement said. A Defence spokesperson based in central Assam's Tezpur said the names of the five personnel on board the ill-fated ALH-WSI will be released after the notification to the next of kin. The Indian Army Aviation chopper based at Likabali (Assam) crashed at Migging, south of nearest town Tuting in Upper Siang district at 10:43 am on Friday. The search and rescue team comprising Army, Airforce, police and locals retrieved the mortal remains of four personnel from the crash site. Efforts are on to retrieve the fifth body. After president polls, Congress to focus on Gujarat Assembly elections Hours after taking over as the Congress president on October 26, Mallikarjun Kharge will preside over a meeting of the Central Election Committee [to shortlist potential candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections](. Under pressure to dispel the notion that the Congress has conceded space to the Aam Admi Party (AAP), the party is ready to step up its campaign. The party is also working out the logistics to rope Rahul Gandhi in the campaign even though nothing has been finalized yet. Gandhi, who has not left the Bharat Jodo Yatra route since it started on September 7, is expected to be in Delhi during the Diwali break and then for Kharge’s taking charge. “We definitely want Rahul ji to campaign in Gujarat and we are working on a plan. But it can’t be a padayatra as we want him to cover as many areas as possible within a limited time,” said a senior leader who is also part of the panel that is shortlisting potential candidates. The screening panel has already had six rounds of meetings to discuss constituency-wise candidates. With the presidential election out of its way, the Congress is now focussing on Gujarat elections. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who was credited for the party’s impressive performance in the 2017 Assembly polls after it had won 77 seats and had stopped the BJP at 99 seats, spent two days in the State for a ground assessment. During his visit on October 17 and 18, Gehlot also met leaders of the Bharatiya Tribal Party and the Nationalist Congress Party, both of whom could be potential allies. The party’s strategy seems to be focussing on the rural areas where the party had done well in the last Assembly elections too. Of the 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat, the Congress’ weakest seats are the 55 urban seats. In the 2017 Assembly elections, BJP has swept the urban areas, winning as many as 46 urban seats. That’s why the emergence of the Aam Admi Party is being closely monitored by both, the ruling BJP and the Congress. Communist Party amends constitution boosting Xi’s ‘core’ status China’s Communist Party ended its once-in-five-year congress [approving changes to its Constitution]( that have further enshrined leader Xi Jinping’s unchallenged “core” status. The changed Constitution said it is now “an obligation for all party members” to “follow the leadership core”, referring to Xi, who was declared a “core” leader when the Constitution was last amended at the previous congress in 2017. The amendments have now made it “an obligation” for all party members to “uphold” Xi’s “core” status. As Saturday’s resolution put it, the “revisions will help all Party members uphold and strengthen the Central Committee’s centralised, unified leadership and enhance cohesion and forge the Party’s soul with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,” referring to Xi’s eponymous ideology that was already written into the Constitution in 2017. [Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People on October 22, 2022 in Beijing.] An amendment has now added what the party calls “two establishes” and “two upholds” to ensure Xi’s “core” status in the Constitution. It said “establishing... Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has enabled the Party to successfully resolve the acute problems and challenges undermining its long-term governance”. “All Party members must acquire a deep understanding of the decisive significance of this major achievement, more conscientiously uphold Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralised, unified leadership,” the resolution said. Another amendment called for “carrying forward our fighting spirit and building up our fighting ability”, referring to China’s more assertive diplomacy under Xi. It has also included some of Xi’s key campaigns, such as “common prosperity”, which has been aimed at reducing inequality and also taming the private sector, unleashing several regulatory crackdowns that particularly targeted the tech industry. The amended Constitution also calls for “resolutely opposing and deterring separatists seeking ‘Taiwan independence”, sharpening its language on Taiwan. The constitution previously only referred to “reunification of the motherland and strengthening unity of all Chinese people, including in Taiwan”. In Brief: Russian-installed authorities [ordered all residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to leave “immediately”]( on Saturday ahead of an expected advance by Ukrainian troops waging a counteroffensive to recapture one of the first urban areas Russia took after invading the country. In a post on the Telegram messaging service, the regional pro-Kremlin administration called on civilians to use boat crossings over a major river to move deeper into Russian-held territory, citing a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged “terror attacks” by Kyiv. 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