New Delhi, Mar 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and while discussing with him the current situation in West Asia, condemned attacks on the energy and civilian infrastructure in the region.

During his telephonic conversation with the King of Bahrain, the prime minister reiterated the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation and keeping shipping lines open and secure.

“Had a fruitful discussion with the King of Bahrain, His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa. Conveyed warm greetings on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr to him and the people of Bahrain.

“We discussed the current situation in the West Asian region. Condemned attacks on the energy and civilian infrastructure in the region, underscoring their adverse impact on global food, fuel and fertiliser security,” Modi said in a post on X.

The prime minister also thanked the king for his continued support for the well-being of the Indian community in Bahrain.

This was the second time Modi spoke to the king of Bahrain since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. The Islamic Republic also retaliated by attacking several of its Gulf neighbours.

The prime minister has also spoken to several other world leaders, including those from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, France, Malaysia, Israel and Iran since the conflict began.

New Delhi, Mar 20: The price of premium or higher-grade petrol price on Friday was increased by Rs 2 per litre while the rate of bulk diesel sold to industrial users was hiked by about Rs 22 a litre, reflecting the spike in global oil prices amid conflict in the Middle-East.

However, the price of normal petrol and diesel remains unchanged.

Premium 95-Octane petrol price in Delhi has been increased from Rs 99.89 per litre to Rs 101.89 in the national capital, industry sources said.

Alongside, bulk or industrial diesel prices were hiked from Rs 87.67 per litre to Rs 109.59 in Delhi.

International oil prices touched USD 119 per barrel on Thursday on intensifying Iran war, before pulling back to around USD 108 a barrel.

A litre of normal petrol in Delhi continues to cost Rs 94.77 while the same grade diesel comes for Rs 87.67 a litre.

Normal petrol typically has an octane rating of 91-92 and is suitable for standard engines, offering adequate performance for everyday driving. Premium petrol, on the other hand, has a higher octane rating of 95-98, making it ideal for high-performance or high-compression engines.

At a media briefing, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said there is no increase in prices of normal petrol and diesel.

“Some increase is reported in the premium category which hardly makes up for 2-4 per cent of the entire petrol (sold in the country),” she said. “There is no increase in price for the common man.

Pricing decisions, she said, are taken by oil companies independently as petrol and diesel pricing was deregulated in 2010 and 2014 respectively. “It (pricing) is decided by oil marketing companies. Government does not regulate petrol and diesel prices,” she added.

The government is closely monitoring global oil markets, but there is no immediate plan to raise retail fuel prices. Oil marketing companies are expected to absorb the current cost pressure for the time being.

“Our priority is to make energy available to all consumers, which we have been doing all through the crisis. Till now we have not increased the prices,” she added.

Retail petrol and diesel prices have been frozen since April 2022, with fuel retailers like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) absorbing losses when crude prices are high and making profits when rates are low.

This meant that when global fuel prices went up in response to elevated crude prices, prices were stable in India. And when softening of crude prices pushed down fuel rates globally, rates in India remained unchanged.

The government wants to continue to shield consumers, and the same policy will continue unless there is a huge spike in crude prices.

India imports 88 per cent of its crude oil needs and roughly half of its natural gas requirement. These mostly come via the Strait of Hormuz. Following the US and Israeli attacks on Iranian government, military and nuclear facilities, Iran warned shipping away from the strait, and insurers withdrew coverage, effectively halting tanker movements.

Prices had risen to USD 119 per barrel in June 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That year, oil companies had nominal profits, but in FY24, they posted record Rs 81,000 crore profit, helping make up for past dent in margins.

This year, the three companies have posted Rs 23,743 crore profit in the December quarter alone.

New Delhi, Mar 20: Flagging gaps in the probe, a Delhi court has acquitted two men accused of pledging allegiance to banned terrorist organisation ISIS, besides procuring arms and ammunition from Uttar Pradesh for the Islamic State Jammu & Kashmir (ISIS-JK) cadres for executing terrorist acts.

Underlining that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal acquitted Jamsheed Zahoor Paul and Parvaiz Rashid Lone, residents of Shopian in Kashmir, who were arrested in 2018.

The special cell of Delhi Police had registered a case against them under sections 18 (punishment for conspiracy) and 20 (punishment for being members of terrorist gang or organisation) of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and under the Arms Act provisions.

Police claimed that they received a tip-off that Paul and Lone had pledged allegiance to ISIS and were in Delhi to procure weapons for terrorist activities on September 6, 2018.

The Special Cell alleged that the duo were apprehended at the Jama Masjid bus stop on Netaji Subhash Marg, near the Red Fort, with two 7.65mm pistols and ten live cartridges.

In an 79-page order passed on Thursday, the court said, “It is held that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against both the accused persons. Both the accused persons are thus acquitted in this case.”

Highlighting the failure to follow rules regarding the handling of digital evidence, the court said four mobile phones seized from the accused were kept unsealed in the custody of the investigating officer (IO) for nearly two months before being sent for forensic analysis.

“It raises a strong doubt of tampering with the said mobile phones as without any plausible or satisfactory explanation the prolonged custody of the said devices remained with the IOs and that too in an unsealed condition,” the court said.

The court also rejected screenshots of alleged chats with their terror handlers, saying it failed to meet the mandatory requirement regarding the admissibility of electronic evidence.

While the prosecution claimed the duo was in touch with ISIS-JK handlers via the BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) app, the court found no evidence to establish such a nexus.

“The prosecution has also failed to prove that the accused persons used to communicate with their handlers, namely, Umarbin Nazir and Adil Thokar on BBM App,” the court said.

Another major lacuna, the court flagged, was the lack of independent witnesses. Despite the arrest taking place at 10:45 PM in a busy area near a metro station and bus stand, no public witnesses were made part of the investigation.

“The failure to join independent witnesses, especially when the public witnesses were available raises a strong doubt on the prosecution version regarding the recovery of the said arms and ammunition from the accused persons,” the court said.

Concluding the verdict, Judge Bansal said said that the prosecution failed to prove that on September 9, 2018, both accused persons were members of ISIS and had conspired with two other co-accused, Asif Nazir Dar alias Ummar Ibn Nazir, who later died, and Adil Vani alias Adil Thokar, who is still absconding, to commit terrorist act or any activity linked to the commission of a terrorist act at different places within the country.

He said it was also not proved that the duo, in pursuance of the said conspiracy, purchased or collected weapons for committing terrorist acts and also had chats with their handlers and co-accused through BBM and WhatsApp.

“The prosecution has also failed to prove that during the said period prior to September 6, 2018, both the accused persons were found to be members of ISIS which is a banned terrorist organisation and is involved in committing terrorist acts,” the judge said.