The Madras High Court recently observed that every stone placed on public roads and draped in clothes can’t be considered a religious idol. The Court also directed district authorities to remove what it called a ‘stone’ which the locals had started worshipping as a Murti.
Notably, Justice Anand Venkatesh was hearing a writ petition filed by one E.Shakthi Murugan. The petitioner had sought relief and police protection to remove what he branded as a “stone” that was “projected as an idol” at the entrance of his private property. While granting relief to the petitioner, the Court remarked that “superstitions still prevail in society and people have not evolved over time”.
Justice Venkatesh said, “It is quite unfortunate that such superstitious beliefs continue to prevail in the society and people do not seem to evolve with the passage of time.”
The petitioner submitted before the court that a stone covered with a green cloth was planted right in front of his property. Additionally, there were claims that it was an idol which didn’t allow him to enjoy his property. He also submitted photographs of what he called a ‘stone’. The petitioner added that he had sought Police protection from the Assistant Commissioner of Police to remove what the locals had started worshipping, however, he didn’t get a response. This forced him to move the court.
On its part, the State argued that the complaint was closed as the issue was civil.
However, the court noted that the petitioner could not approach the civil court as it would be a “very funny situation”. The court observed that, in that case, one person would claim that the stone should be treated as an idol while another would deny it.
Justice Venkatesh asserted that it would be impossible for a court to decide whether the stone had been uplifted to the status of an idol.
The court observed, “A very funny situation will arise before the Civil Court wherein the seventh respondent will claim that the stone must be treated as an idol and the petitioner will state that it is merely a stone and not an idol. It will become impossible for the Court to decide whether it is a stone or it has uplifted itself into the status of an idol. Fortunately in our country, no court exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction.”
The court stated that pondering over such a frivolous issue would be a waste of judicial time. Consequently, the court directed the Assistant Commissioner to give necessary police protection to the petitioner and allowed him to remove the so-called stone.
On 7th February, the Calcutta High Court stayed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and investigation by the West Bengal Police in the matter linked to the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers in the state. The high court issued the order in an appeal filed by the ED against a single-judge order constituting an SIT comprising of State police & CBI officials to probe the attack on ED officials last month.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju appearing for the ED contended that the state police would not be able to investigate the matter correctly and that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would be the appropriate agency to investigate the case.
Bench assembles.
ASG SV Raju appearing for ED.
ASG: matter of attack on ED officers. the single judge accepted our contention that the state police investigation was not properly conducted. He also conceded that the CBI would be able to better deal with the matter.
ASG SV Raju told the court that there were apprehensions that one of the state ministers was involved in the matter and that the state police would jeopardise the investigation, which would amount to leakage and tempering [of evidence].
ASG: the SIT would not work, since state will try to shelter accused. It has to go to CBI
CJ: this case concerns assault of ED officials. The state is also on appeal. What is their ground of challenge?
ASG: they want the state police to continue…can’t be done. There is bias
Furthermore, ASG asserted the state might try to shelter the accused; thus, the matter should be shifted to ED. He said that the state police could not be allowed to continue the investigation as there was bias. Furthermore, ASG also opposed the anticipatory bail plea submitted by SK Shahjahan, the primary accused in the case.
In the judgment, the court stayed the direction of the formation of SIT including state police till the appeals submitted by ED and the state government were decided. The court noted that the inclusion of CBI in the SIT meant that there were doubts about the ability of police to handle the matter due to the political affiliations of the accused.
The court said, “On a reading of the order we find that the single bench has opined that the involvement of CBI in investigation of the current cases would be imperative considering the ineptitude of local police to handle the matter due to the political affiliations of the accused. In the background of these findings, the question to be decided in the appeal is whether the State police can be part of the SIT.”
CJ: matter must be decided after hearing both parties, since the State has also preferred an appeal.
Therefore, till the appeals are decided, the direction for constitution of SIT must remain stayed. The State police shall also not investigate the matter.
As a result, the court stayed the formation of SIT till the appeals are heard and decided. “The State police shall also not investigate the matter,” the court order categorically stated. The matter will be next heard on 6th March.
Attack on the ED team
On 5th January, a team comprising officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), CRPF, and journalists was attacked, and their vehicles were targeted in Sandeshkhali of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. The incident occurred when the ED team reached to execute a raid on the residence of Shahjahan Sheikh – a block-level official of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) – as part of an investigation into the ration scam. In a statement, ED said a violent mob comprising 800-1000 people attacked the ED team with CRPF with the intention of causing death. It added that the attackers were carrying sticks and stones.
The probe agency added that the mob is suspected to be instigated by TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his associates. It further informed that three of its officials had been injured in the mob attack and admitted to hospital for treatment. In addition to injuring the on-duty ED officials, the violent mob also stole their laptops, mobile phones, wallets, cash and other belongings.
On 7th February, an ancient idol of Lord Vishnu and a Shivling were unearthed from the Krishna river close to Devasugur village in Karnataka’s Raichur district. The idol of Lord Vishu in which all ten incarnations are featured around its ‘aura’ bore similarities to the recently consecrated statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir. It is believed that the idols were buried there to protect them from Islamic invaders.
The idols were found at the riverbed during the construction of a bridge on the Krishna River near Shaktinagar. The crew safely retrieved them and promptly informed the local administration. According to archaeologists who examined the discoveries, the idols date back to the eleventh or twelfth century AD.
Dr Padmaja Desai, an ancient history and archaeology lecturer at Raichur University, stated that Lord Vishnu’s idol must have adorned the sanctum sanctorum of a temple and must have been dropped in the river at the moment of the temple’s potential destruction. She added that the idol found in the Krishna basin exhibited unique characteristics and highlighted that it is surrounded by an arc depicting the ‘Dashavatara’ or ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, including Matsya, Koorma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Rama, Parashurama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.
The Ram Lalla idol installed in the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya uses this design, the idol is surrounded by an arc with depictions of the Dashavatara and other gods.
Dr Desai elaborated on the idol’s attributes and noted that the idol portrayed Lord Vishnu with four limbs and in a standing posture. The two lower hands are in the gesture of bestowing boons (kati hasta and varada hasta) while the two upper hands are carrying the “shankha” (conch) and “chakra” (disk). She pointed out that the idol bore a resemblance to Venkateshwara as described in the Vedas.
“The standing posture of the idol adheres intricately to the guidelines set forth in the Agamas, resulting in a beautifully crafted representation,” Dr Padmaja Desai added.
However, it lacked Garuda (Lord Vishnu’s mount) which is often seen along with the deity in idols and other artwork. Instead, there are a pair of women holding fans. She informed out that this statue which represented a smiling Lord Vishnu is embellished with garlands and other decorations because he is fond of them.
She observed, “This idol must have adored the sanctum sanctorum of a temple. The statue is intact barring some damage to its nose. The idol could have been thrown in the water to avoid damage to it at the time of a (possible) attack on the temple.”
The stones used to carve the idols are green mixed rock, and it indicates that the idols could be from Kalyana Chalukya’s time. It is important to note that the statue of Ram Lalla installed in Ayodhya was made by sculptor Arun Yogiraj from Shyamal stone brought from Karnataka.
The Vishnu idol and Shivaling have been handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). More studies are being carried out on the idols.
Muslim cleric Salman Azhari and his hate speech have created a ripple effect among the Muslim community. He was arrested for his hate speech against the Hindu community. But his fellow jihadis have only been furthering his genocidal agenda even after his arrest.
A speaker at the Gareeb Nawaz Conference organised in Mumbra on 6th February was heard giving an inciteful speech while speaking in support of Azhari.
? Mumbra
Sayyed Shahbat Hussain called for Jihad at Gareeb Nawaz Conference.
This Islamîst is instigating Muslims for suicide bombing too.
A clipping from Sayyed Shahbat Hussain’s hate speech has gone viral on social media. In this clipping, he can be heard saying that the Muslims have and will always abide by the Indian laws but on the condition that Salman Azhari be released.
“Salman Azhari should be released and it should be conveyed that Salman Azhari is not alone, all Barelvi Muslims are with him,” Hussain said in an inciteful address and the crowd broke into loud cheers chanting Islamic slogans.
“Labbaik ya rasoolallah,” a man chanted the Islamic slogan as the crowd broke into the same chant. This was immediately followed by another question by Hussain to the jihadi crowd.
“Who can get their throats slit in the name of ‘huzoor’, raise your hands? Will you get your throats slit in the name of ‘huzoor’? Those who can get their throats slit in the name of ‘huzoor’ can do anything. So how many people will keep a beard in the name of ‘huzoor’ staring today, stand up please. Those who will keep a full beard in the name of ‘huzoor’ stand up,” he said to the delirious crowd.
In his 37-minute and 21-second long address, Muslim cleric Sayyed Shahbat Hussain largely preached about Islam followed by occasional jihadi chants.
At about 33:55 minutes, Hussain tells the jam-packed crowd of Muslim men that they should not live in fear and that they should a fearless life.
“Humare buzorgon ne darna nahin sikha hai. 313 the toh 1000 ko bhagaya tha. Talwaren saath thi magar allah saath tha. Kisi se darr ke mat jiyo. Kuch dinon mein marr jao koi masla nahin. Mere bache hain, mere bachon ka bhi ka bhi maalik wahi hai jo mera maalik hai. Unn chaapluson ko tareekh yaad nahin karti jo jaanon ke liye darte rahe hain, tareekh unko yaad karti hai jinhone madina chora toh unki laashen bhi madine kabhi nahin aayi. (Our elders have not taught us to fear. 313 had made a 1000 run away (reference to battle of badr which Muslims mark as Islam’s triumph against infidels). Swords were on our side but allah was on our side. Don’t live out of fear of anyone. No matter if you die in a few days (but life fearlessly). I have kids, their ruler is also the same as mine. Time doesn’t remember those who are scared of dying, time remembers those who left madina to die and their dead bodies also couldn’t return),” the cleric said in his radical address.
Hussain said that the reason behind him saying this is that although they are a peaceful community and love their country but if injustice will be done to their “ulema” (Muslim scholars) then “it will not be tolerated”.
“Whatever has happened with Hazrat Mufti Salman Azhari, we are all with him in every way,” Sayed Shabahat Hussain said as the crowd broke out into a loud clatter of Islamic chants once again.
Hussain defended Azhari’s hate speech saying that whatever the latter said was not as wrong as it was made out to be.
“Whatever he (Azhari) said, you (the government) misrepresented it. And what about the statements that are given by your people morning and evening? In Delhi, it was said “goli maro saalon ko”, what did you do with that person? These people who keep babbling, make them understand, control them. And tell them this too that they don’t know how to speak the way we do alhamdulilah,” Hussain said.
This was followed by calls for the release of Salman Azhari.
Who is Sayed Shabahat Hussain?
According to his Instagram bio, Sayed Shabahat Hussain Qaudri is a Muslim cleric who looks after the Jinhata Shareef mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandausi.
Many video clips from his speeches are posted on his Instagram profile. In one such video, he can be heard singing praises of the proponent of two-nation theory and Pakistan, Muhammed Iqbal.
What does “Labbaik Ya Rasool” mean?
The Islamic phrase “Labbaik Ya Rasool” literally means in the service of prophet mohammad. The term “Labbaik” is used by Islamists to forcefully assert their servitude to their god Allah and his messenger Prophet Mohammad. The phrase and term both affirm that their faith towards allah and islam above all else.
It is this underlying radical faith that is used to justify acts of terror, all in the name of service to prophet and allah. While on one hand goes the phrase “labbaik ya rasool” where Muslims announce their eternal servitude to the prophet, they also declare to separate the heads of those who are not in servitude of the prophet.
“Gustakh-e-Rasool ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda, sar tan se juda,” which means that the heads of those who violate the prophet will be separated from their torso. This phrase, which has roots in Pakistan, is a radical sentiment emanating from “labbaik ya rasool”. It is safe to say that when clerics like Hussain and his followers chant “labbaik ya rasool” they are not only reaffirming their loyalty but also declaring to kill as part of this very loyalty.
The Mumbai crime branch has recovered Rs 13.63 crore in cash and valuables from Khar resident Hiren Bhagat, the sixth accused in the Rs 164 crore extortion bid against a city developer. The gang threatened the developer with arrest in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case intending to extort money. The crime branch additionally found documents linked to various cases under investigation by the ED and the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing at accused Hiren Bhagat’s residence.
Police brought Bhagat to court on Tuesday (6th February), seeking an extension of his custody. The court remanded him in custody until 12th February. Six of his associates are also in police custody. In the meantime, police stated that they have received three more complaints against Bhagat accusing him of extorting money from them.
The police informed the court that they had seized items worth Rs 13.63 crore from Bhagat’s flat, driver’s residence, and bank vaults in his sister’s name. During Bhagat’s interrogation, police seized three weapons, 150 live cartridges, gold ornaments, expensive watches, and Rs 5.13 crore in Indian and foreign currency, as well as a walkie-talkie and a radio frequency detector.
The police told the court that they had recorded Hiren’s sister Runali Bhagat’s statement adding that the items kept in the bank locker in Runali’s name belonged to her brother Hiren Bhagat.
The police stated that during the investigation, they identified two bank accounts in his sister’s name at Karnataka Bank and seized gold worth Rs 7.19 crore, Rs 67 lakh in Indian currency, Rs 56.96 lakh in foreign currency, luxury watches, and other agreements from the bank’s Bandra branch. Moreover, the police said that Hiren Bhagat also bought a flat in Dubai worth Rs 3.5 crore under his sister’s name adding that they are verifying this information.
“Bhagat’s phone is locked, so we are taking the help of cyber experts and expect sizable amount of evidence to be extracted from the device,” a police officer from unit 9 of the crime branch said.
“…Bhagat has been using Australian SIM cards, and private VPN (where the connections are secured). We have given his mobile phones to the state forensic lab to extract the contents,” public prosecutor Randdhir Yelaave informed the court.
Meanwhile, Hiren Bhagat’s counsel Girish Kulkarni said that Bhagat is a businessman and has nothing to do with the five accused in the case. He further claimed that Bhagat had obtained licenses from Mumbai Police for the three weapons found. Kulkarni added that the main accused in the case, builder Satish Dhanuka has been granted interim bail already.
Notably, Hiren Bhagat was arrested on 1st February by a crime branch team led by Inspector Dayanayak after a builder claimed he demanded Rs 164 crore in payment after a dispute with a real estate developer. The builder claimed to have paid Bhagat Rs 25 lakh.
Rajendra Shirsath, Raesh Anand Kumar Kediya, Kalpesh Bhosle, Avnish Shivkant Dubey and Amay Sawekar were arrested on the 21st and 22nd of January after the crime branch’s unit 9 launched a probe into the matter. Notably, Rajendra Shirsath is the working president of Congress from the western suburbs.
This comes after Bandra police station registered an FIR on 10th January in connection with the extortion case based on an FIR filed by the promoters of Omkar Developers. Allegedly, the accused persons were working on behalf of another builder Satish Dhanuka of Dhanuka Developers. There is a dispute between the two groups over a project they were developing together. The project was cancelled and then handed over to Omkar Developers, as Dhanuka Developers allegedly did not fulfil the conditions for the development work. After winning the project alone, Omkar Developers paid Rs 8.10 crore to Dhanuka Developers as expense charges.
But Satish Dhanuka maintained grudges against the company, believing that Omkar Developers was behind the removal of his company from the project. Therefore, Satish Dhanuka planned to extort Rs 164 crores from Omkar Developers using the ED’s name and got the other accused involved in the plan.
In the meanwhile, the police have received three more complaints of extortion against Hiren Bhagat.
Tucker Carlson, the famous US journalist has been in Moscow for the last few days. He is there to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is a significant event not just for the media, but for the overall narrative in the current geopolitical scenario of the world. The Western media, for the last several years, and especially since February 2022, has painted Vladimir Putin as an evil, cruel dictator running a terrorist regime. The vilification has been so unidirectional, biased, and relentless that any scope of understanding and mutual dialogue has been stamped out.
Even media and social media in other countries, which do not follow the line the Western media takes, and instead try to present a picture from both sides of the war narrative, have been criticised and vilified by the US media. In the USA and the Western countries, there is no question of nuances and discussion when it comes to Putin Vs Zelenskyy. The media behaves like a spoiled 3-year-old. Putin is just bad, only bad, Putin has to be bad and anyone even indirectly suggesting ‘Let’s try to understand what he wants’ is bad by extension too.
On the other hand, Zelenskyy is good, he is only good, and anyone even indirectly suggesting or trying to discuss the rampant corruption, media blackout, banning of opposition parties and free speech in Ukraine, or questioning the continuous money flow from Western countries to the war dump of Ukraine is as bad as Putin himself.
Tucker Carlson’s soon-to-be aired interview with Vladimir Putin will be the first time any Western journalist has interviewed Putin since the war started in 2022. Western world, their political leaders, and their media went so relentlessly hateful against anything Russian that even Russian artists, civilians, and businesses were banned across nations. Russian media is restricted across all Western nations, even tech giants like Google and Facebook, Visa, and others went anti-Russian as per the directive of their government.
The interview with Putin is yet to be aired. However, Tucker Carlson has released a 4.38-minute video explaining WHY is he interviewing Putin and why it is important that everyone watches it.
Carlson highlights how Western leaders have deliberately kept the citizens of their country ill-informed. He discusses how the Western media runs only a one-sided, misinformed, juvenile narrative when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war and how any voice that tries to question the hundreds of billions of dollars poured into Ukraine, the point of funding a war so far away and the sanity of a military conflict with a country that holds the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, is immediately branded an enemy of peace.
“2 years into the war that is reshaping the region, most Americans are not informed. They have no real idea what is happening in this region, here in Russia or in Ukraine 600 miles away. But they should know, they are paying for much of it, in ways they might not yet fully perceive. The war in Ukraine is a human disaster. It has left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians dead and depopulated the largest country in Europe. But the long-term effect is even more profound. This war has utterly reshaped the global military and trade alliances, and the sanctions that followed have as well. In total, they have upended the world economy,” Tucker Carlson stated.
He added that the declining dominance of the US dollar, the falling of the post-WWII world order, and other changes are history-altering events but the population of the US is mostly unaware. “The media outlets in the USA are corrupt, they lie to their readers and viewers”, Carlson added.
He highlighted the countless interviews of Zelenskyy in the US media, the prevalent stories of Ukraine, and the total omission of Russia’s side of the story. The interviews of Zelenskyy, he added, are not exactly interviews but fawning pep sessions that are specifically designed to amplify Zelenskyy’s demand for more and more money from the US government, taxpayers’ money, money that should be spent for the benefit of American people.
While Zelenskyy has been promoted like a new consumer product, no Western journalist has bothered to interview the President of Russia, to try and know the other side of the story, Carlson adds.
‘Biden administration illegally spied on me, tried to stop me’: Tucker Carlson
Carlson further added that the Biden administration had in 2021 illegally spied on his team and had leaked their text messages to their ‘compliant’ media outlets. He added that there have been multiple previous attempts to prevent him from interviewing Putin.
“We came to Moscow on our own money, not sponsored by any government. We are not here because we love Putin, we are here because we love the USA. We want the USA to remain prosperous and free. The interview can be watched on our website for free, there will be no paywall. Elon Musk has promised that the interview, when released on X, won’t be censored or blocked. We are not encouraging you to agree with Putin, we are encouraging you to listen to what he says and then decide on your own, like free citizens, not slaves”, Carlson ended.
The relentless media campaign and the narrative onslaught
The US and European media have gone so far as to vilify India for buying Russian oil. Completely ignoring India’s long-standing relations with Russia, and the fact that India needs energy for its own population. Also, ignoring that they buy more Russian energy than India does, exploring loopholes in their own sanctions.
The Western media has been so compliant, so submissive to the Western political powers that a blatant act of terrorism, an act that threatens their own energy supply, was promptly ignored in a shameless manner. Europe needs Russian energy to meet its own needs, but European political leaders have been trying to sabotage their own supplies and relations. The destruction of the Nordstream 2 pipeline, was allowed to go unquestioned by the Western media. When they failed to pin it on Putin, and realised that the whole world knew who might be behind it, they went ahead and ignored the news.
The same Western media that questions government policies in India, migrant handling in Bangladesh, and human rights all over the world, literally closed its eyes and pretended that the Nordstream pipeline was destroyed by nobody.
Not only did the Western media ignore its duty to question and demand an investigation into the act of sabotage, but they even went to the extent of pushing the narrative that asking questions about the blowing up of the Nordstream pipeline should be stopped.
How the Western world preaches sermons on ‘media freedom’ in India and elsewhere
The whole world has witnessed how the 2020 elections were handled in the USA. The whole world has watched how the current government in the USA has been trying to stop Biden’s main opponent Trump from contesting elections. The world watched when Canadian PM Justin Trudeau stamped down against protestors, put them in jail, and froze their bank accounts. The world watches how the Western world tries to bully developing nations into submission and compliance with their agenda. But the Western media’s sermons on ‘media freedom’ are reserved for the Global South like India.
The US government machinery will release a dozen statements on issues like the human rights of protestors and media freedom, and democracy in India, but it does not question why the US government is censoring opinions on Covid, Russia-Ukraine wars, funding of military conflicts in faraway lands and much more. Even questioning the Nazi links of some Ukrainian military units is ‘banned’.
Screenshot of report on Google’s censoring about Azov battalion’s Nazi affiliation
A tweet by an American professor recently went viral. He (or they) was questioning why NASA is still working in collaboration with the Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS. He suggested that it is almost like working with Hitler himself. Thousands of responses from around the world, including X’s community notes, reminded him that NASA was, in fact, advanced with active Nazi collaboration. The Western narrative, which brands anyone they don’t approve of, from Modi to Mohammad Bin Salman to Putin as ‘Nazi dictator’, conveniently forgets that Operation Paperclip was funded by US government to sneak in and rehabilitate Nazi scientists and engineers to advance the interests of America.
Please remember that US tech giant Facebook, which has been found to be actively interfering in US elections to favor the Democrats, updated its policies to allow threats of violence and harm against Russians in their platform, and not to censor such content.
Community Notes ‘fact check’ on Professor Roman Sheremeta’s post
There are always, always two sides to a story. The world needs and deserves to know about both, sometimes all sides of a story. ‘Russia had always objected to NATO expansion near its border’ is a fact. ‘An elected government in Ukraine was taken down, and a puppet regime was erected to further NATO interests’ is a fact. ‘The Ukrainian government has been bombing the people of the Donbas region since 2014’, is a fact. ‘The people of Crimea voted to be a part of Russia’, is a fact too. The war in Ukraine that has killed hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians in 2 years could have been prevented, that is a fact too. Just like PM Modi said, “This is not the era of war”.
Just as the USA won’t tolerate nuclear missiles installed in Cuba, Russia cannot allow NATO at its border. All the attempts by the US-led Western forces to bend the world to their warmongering whims have failed. Sanctions against Russia are not working. The Russian economy did not collapse like the Western media had predicted dozens of times, instead, it flourished, because the world needs energy, fertilisers, and metals.
All predictions of the Western media about Russian economy have failed
The Western media, and Western government’s attempts to bully nations like Saudi Arabia, India, etc to ‘boycott’ Russia has failed. India continues its traditional bonhomie with Russia and Putin was welcomed like a king in Saudi Arabia while the West sulked in a corner.
The web of lies that the Western governments have been building around issues like Covid origins, terrorism, Russia-Ukraine war, and their selective definitions of ‘democracy’ need to be broken. It is a multipolar world whether the Western powers like it or not and in a multipolar world, every nation will watch out for its own interests. And that is a fact too.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 7th February searched seventeen locations in Delhi, Uttrakhand, and Chandigarh in connection with a forest scam case involving Uttarakhand Congress leader and former forest minister Harak Singh Rawat. The sources stated that ED teams searched his home in Defence Colony as well as a medical institution in Dehradun.
#WATCH | Enforcement Directorate conducts raids at residences related to former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat in Dehradun. pic.twitter.com/TU7Qp60ZZM
The raids have been carried out in relation to a matter concerning the purported destruction of thousands of trees, financial irregularities and unlawful construction in the Corbett National Park’s Pakhro Tiger Reserve area in 2019. It was one of Rawat’s pet projects when he was the forest minister in the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government.
He joined the Congress in 2022 before the state assembly election following his expulsion from the Uttarakhand cabinet and his main membership in the BJP for six years on account of “anti-party activities.” He was among the ten MLAs who defected to the BJP in 2016 after turning against senior Congressman and former chief minister Harish Singh Rawat.
After reports of unauthorised construction and tree-cutting in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in October 2021 and representatives of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in December 2021 performed inspections. The installation of a water feature close to the Pakhro forest rest house, houses in Morghati, and Kandi Road were all determined to have anomalies during the probe.
Furthermore, it discovered that felling of trees for the planned tiger safari in Pakhro was illegal and in violation of the All India Services Conduct Rules, the Wildlife (Conservation) Act of 1972, the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1970 and the Indian Forest Act of 1927. Over 6,000 trees were cut illicitly in the CTR during the Pakhru tiger safari, according to the Forest Survey of India (FSI), even though only 163 trees were allowed to be felled. The state forest department, however, disagreed with the FSI’s conclusions, pointing out unsolved technical problems with the study.
Teams from the Uttarakhand Vigilance Department raided a medical college and a gas station owned by Harak Singh Rawat’s son in August 2023 about a complaint regarding purported irregularities in the Pakhro Safari construction in the Kaulagarh Tiger Reserve in Corbett National Park.
Two generators were taken by Vigilance from the Doon Institute of Medical Sciences in Shankarpur and the Amravati gas station, according to sources. Both of these generators were reported to have been installed at the two establishments and bought using government funds. The team also examined the institute’s records and questioned staff members and the former minister during the raids. Speaking to the media, he then claimed that the forest department had been asked in a letter dated January 2022 to remove those generators, but that request remained unanswered.
The Uttarakhand High Court adopted a strong stance regarding the cutting of thousands of trees and unapproved construction in Jim Corbett Park. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was given control over the inquiry in September 2023 at the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) about the accusations. The high court also ordered the Uttarakhand investigating authorities to collaborate with the agency.
He and the divisional forest officer (DFO) Kishan Chand were found guilty last year by the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court of several illegal activities, including building related to a tiger safari in 2021 in the Pakhro and Morghatti forest areas of the Kalagarh Forest Division of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Even before the Lok Sabha election, I.N.D.I. Alliance’s disruption has become a major tension for the ‘well-wishers’ of the opposition bloc, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi roared ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’ in the Parliament. On Tuesday (6th February), propagandist Ajit Anjum and ‘Duggal Sahab’ of political activism Yogendra Yadav (Salim) ‘analysed’ PM Modi’s claim that NDA will cross 400 seat mark in the coming Lok Sabha elections as well as challenges before the opposition bloc.
Yogendra Yadav said that Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury should not raise his voice over law and order and corruption issues in West Bengal since Trinamool Congress (TMC) is in power there which happens to be a member of the INDI Alliance. Yadav said that Chowdhury repeatedly violated the ‘Maryada’ of a political alliance.
While discussing Mamata Banerjee’s recent announcement snapping ties with the I.N.D.I. bloc and attacking Congress, Ajit Anjum asked what went wrong between TMC and Congress. He also claimed that Mamata Banerjee’s scathing attack on the Congress party seemed more like a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.
Yogendra Yadav says:
There's corruption in Bengal but Adhir Ranjan shld not demand ED/CBI investigation bcz TMC is in INDI Alliance
There is bad law and order but Adhir Ranjan is wrong to demand President rule.
In response, the ‘protestor of all seasons’ said, “When the I.N.D.I. Alliance was formed, and after that, there had to be a certain ‘Maryada’, a limit beyond which the alliance partners would not attack each other. I felt that Congress in Bengal under Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s leadership violated that ‘Maryada’ several times. For instance, he [Chowdhury] said that President’s rule should be imposed in West Bengal. You’re asking the BJP government in the Centre to come and dismiss an elected government that too of my alliance partner. This is not in line with the Maryada.”
Yogendra Yadav went on to say that the Congress party was wrong in raising its voice against the alleged corruption of the TMC government in the state saying that the party should have maintained ‘Maryada’ since TMC was an alliance partner. “There were allegations of corruption levelled by Congress which is fine coming from an opposition party, but Congress went a step ahead and said that there should be CBI and ED raids against TMC leaders. Even I had differences with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) but when Manish Sisodia was arrested I said that his arrest was political revenge. So this should have been Congress’s role here…” Yadav said.
Notably, the Enforcement Directorate has conducted raids at locations linked to several TMC leaders in connection with corruption allegations. It is pertinent to note that TMC leaders have been accused of various scams including cash-for-query scam, public distribution system scam, cattle smuggling scam, and Teacher SSC recruitment scam among others.
TMC vs Congress: INDI Alliance falling apart even before facing mammoth Modi challenge
Congress and TMC have never been on the same page in West Bengal. However, the Modi hate and challenge to defeat him in the elections brought the two parties together, at least on the face of it. The two anti-Modi parties could not retain their ‘partnership’ for long with Mamata Banerjee on 24th January 2024 announcing that her party will so solo into the coming Lok Sabha elections. While announcing TMC’s exit from INDI Alliance, Banerjee said, “Will fight LS polls alone. I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we will alone defeat BJP. She had also alleged that despite suggesting the name ‘INDIA’ for the opposition bloc, she did not get the respect she deserved in the alliance.
Later on 2nd February, the TMC supremo again came down heavily on the Congress party and said that there is no guarantee that Congress can win 40 seats in Lok Sabha. Interestingly, while her own party has been known for Muslim appeasement, CM Banerjee accused Congress of appeasing Muslims in the state. “We had told the Congress party to fight 300 seats alone and give the remaining 243 seats to other regional parties to contest wherever they are strong. We had asked the Congress party not to be over-smart. But they first came for Bengal. Like the BJP is appeasing Hindus, the Congress is trying to appease Muslims in Bengal. We are being sidelined despite being representative of all communities,” Banerjee said. She further challenged the Congress party by saying “If you have the courage, they defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad, Benaras, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.”
Prior to this, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had called Mamata Banerjee an ‘opportunist’ amidst reports that TMC is unwilling to share seats with Congress.
Yogendra Yadav gives up on INDI Alliance defeating BJP
Interestingly, in the same conversation with Ajit Anjum, Yogendra Yadav said that BJP can be stopped before 272 seats if the INDI Alliance fights unitedly even though elections are just two months away. He said that by working together INDI Alliance can take at least 30 seats away from BJP to stop it at 272 seats.
Yadav, however, admits that there are high chances of BJP winning, but says even confining the BJP to 272 would be a big and significant feat since somehow ‘constitution’ is at stake in the coming Lok Sabha election. He says that if BJP and NDA are limited to 272-73 and come to power by taking support from YSRCP, Naveen Patnaik, KCR etc, then the character of that government would be different but if BJP NDA achieve their “Abki baar 400 paar” ambition then the character would be different and harm constitution.
In addition to a lack of mutual respect and trust as well as consensus over prime ministerial candidate, seat sharing has also been a major point of contention among the I.N.D.I. Alliance parties, as evidenced by the Madhya Pradesh elections last year, when the Samajwadi Party openly criticised Congress for not giving the party enough seats, with SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav calling Congress a “Chalu” party and wishing for its defeat.
Congress party which earlier was playing the self-appointed ‘big brother’ role in the INDI Alliance boasting its “national party” status has been pushed on the backfoot, especially after its recent defeats in the Hindi heartland. Other than TMC in Bengal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also refused to share seats with the Congress party. On 17th December 2023, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal expressed his desire to contest all thirteen Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and one Lok Sabha seat in Chandigarh in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections.
With key opposition players switching sides, including JDU leader Nitish Kumar, and the TMC severing ties with the INDI Alliance, the anti-Modi ecosystem is desperate for a miracle that will ‘overthrow’ Narendra Modi from power. However, the dismal standing of the INDI Alliance and the NDA’s dominant position makes it appear almost impossible.
On 6th February, it came to light that a second FIR had been registered against Maulana Mufti Salman Azhari in Kutch, Gujarat. Salman Azhari is already facing an FIR in Junagarh, Gujarat after a complaint was filed against him for giving a provocative speech on 31st January. Gujarat ATS picked him from Maharashtra. Reports suggest that he gave a similar speech in Kutch before he went to Junagarh.
Notably, the organiser, identified as Mamad Khan Mori in Samakhiyari, Kutch, who sought permission for the event named “Dharmik Takrir”, where Salman Azhari gave an inflammatory speech in Kutch, has also been booked in the matter. The police and ATS are investigating the matter jointly.
In the video from Kutch for which the second FIR has been filed, Salman Azhari was heard saying, “We believe that if they desecrate a mosque, a ‘Ghulam’ of Prophet Muhammed will come who will purify the mosque and Azaan will echo in the air. Today is the day of these dogs, tomorrow will be ours.” He then continued to praise the Muslim community of the country for becoming “aware” of the religion. Chants of “Nara-e-Takbir, Allah Hu Akbar” were also heard in the video.
According to Superintendent of Police Sagar Bagmar of Kutch (East), both accused have been booked under Sections 153B and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He said, “We have registered an offence after the video of his hate speed went viral on social media. At present, the Mufti is in the custody of Junagadh Police. We will apply for a transfer warrant to bring him here.”
Local saints have expressed anger against the inflammatory speech given by Salman Azhari. Mohandas Maharaj, executive president of Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti, opposed the incendiary speech by Salman Azhari in Junagarh. He said, “Action should be taken against such maulvis who disrupt peace in India. If Maulana Mufti Salman Azhari is not punished, someone else will also give inflammatory speeches elsewhere. The government and police should be thanked for arresting these maulvis. These maulvis should have control of their language.” He further stated that Salman Azhari should not get bail and deserves severe punishment.
Notably, Junagarh Police and Gujarat ATS are collecting information related to the accused, including his inflammatory speeches in Kutch from social media accounts. Three trusts linked to him, including Jamia Riyazul Jannah, Al Aman Education and Welfare Trust, and Darul Aman Trust, are under investigation. Moreover, it has been found that Salman Azhari has connections with some extremist organisations, which is also being investigated.
Derogatory speech and arrest of Salman Azhari
On 31st January, Mufti Salman Azhari made derogatory remarks against the Hindu community during his 56-minute-long speech in Junagadh city of Gujarat. In the contentious video that went viral on social media, the radical Islamic preacher was heard saying, “The final battle of Karbala is yet to come… a moment of silence, then there will be noise again. The dogs are having their time today. Our time will come tomorrow.”
His provocative remarks against the Hindus were applauded by his supporters, who yelled ‘Labbek ya Rasulullah’ in unison. But this was not the only genocidal comment made by Salman Azhar on that day. Before his ‘dog reference’, Salman Azhari spoke in the context of the Ram Mandir Pran Prathishtha at Ayodhya and the legal battle surrounding the disputed Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi.
“If you keep idols inside a mosque, then, it will not become an idol-worshipping place (referring to temples),” he had stated. Azhari defended the tendency of Islamic invaders to appropriate religious structures of non-Muslims and pagans.
“You have kept one idol ( at Ram Mandir) but there were 360 idols at Kaaba. Even then, the Kaaba belonged to the Muslims. This did not stop the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj,” he continued. “…Dear Muslims, the revolution will begin from your homes. They (Hindus) do not dare to convert your mosques to idol-worshipping places (referring to temples). You have yourself abandoned the mosques,” Azhari further added.
While referring to the Hindus as ‘dogs’, he emphasized, “We have a saying – When the ground is left open, dogs take over the place. But if you keep using the ground, then, they won’t become the shelter for dogs.”
Following his speech, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him. On 4th February, a team of Gujarat police reached Mumbai and arrested Salman Azhari in connection to his genocidal comments.
The cops also obtained a 2-day transit remand to take the Islamic hate preacher to Junagadh in Gujarat. As expected, Muslim ‘journalists’ came to defend Azhari on social media and seek his immediate release. Islamists also gathered outside the Ghatkopar police station and tried to intimidate the police into releasing the preacher.
On 6th February, Rachit Kaushik (Tantra Baba), founder of the Sab Loktantra news portal, was picked up by four Punjab Police officers from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Kaushik was in Muzaffarnagar to attend a family wedding. The incident occurred around 7 PM when Kaushik was accompanying his niece from the parlour to the wedding location.
OpIndia contacted Kaushik’s family. His mother spoke to our journalist and narrated the whole incident. She said Kaushik was coming back to the event location after picking up his niece, who was getting married on that day. A Scorpio suddenly came in front of their vehicle, and a Sikh man in civilian uniform emerged.
Kaushik thought his car might have touched the Scorpio, so he pulled down the window glass to talk to the Sikh man. Without warning, the Sikh man opened the door from outside and pulled Kaushik out. Before anyone accompanying Kaushik could understand what happened, he was picked up and pulled towards the police vehicle. The only thing they could understand was that there was a warrant against him.
Within minutes, Kaushik’s relatives and people who had witnessed the incident gathered at the spot. Kaushik’s mother said they called the police, and it took some time for them to figure out that Punjab Police had informed one of the police stations in the area. Police also forwarded the FIR based on which Punjab Police arrested Kaushik. Interestingly, Kaushik’s family did not receive any warrant.
FIR does not mention Kaushik or Sab Loktantra
OpIndia accessed a copy of the FIR based on which Punjab Police arrested Kaushik. Interestingly, nowhere in the FIR was Kaushik of Sab Loktantra’s name mentioned. The FIR was registered based on a complaint of one Alisha Sultan from the Salem Tabri Police Station area in Ludhiana. The complainant said that she is a pastor, and on 17th January, she noticed posts by a Twitter (now X) account called ‘noconversion’ against the Christian religion. The complainant accused the account owner of insulting Christian women and nuns and asserted such posts could incite communal tensions, which might disturb peace in the country.
Copy of FIR accessed by OpIndia. Source: Kaushik’s family
The FIR mentioned that copies of those posts were attached to the complaint, but the links to those posts were not included in the FIR. The FIR, registered under Sections 295A, 153A, 153, 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 of the IT Act, nowhere mentioned which posts by the said account hurt the religious sentiments of the complainant.
Speaking to OpIndia, Kaushik’s mother asserted there was a possibility that Punjab Police picked her son as he said against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his videos. A clip of such videos by Kaushik was shared by the ‘noconversion’ account on X on 16th January. The clip shared talked about Arvind Kejriwal’s son and his alleged income from renting treadmills to CM’s house. Apart from that clip, there was no other video featuring Kaushik on that account. Kaushik’s mother said, “Punjab Police officer was heard saying ‘We have been tracing you for a long time. Finally, we caught you”. Interestingly, Kaushik did not mention Christians or speak against conversion in that clip.
OpIndia could not find any other video of Kaushik posted by ‘noconversion’ mentioning conversions being done by missionaries. Furthermore, we could not confirm whether this post and video led to Kaushik’s arrest.
Screenshots of the video shared by nocoversion featuring Kaushik at different timestamps. Source: X
It is unclear why Kaushik was picked in the matter related to the posts made by the ‘noconversion’ account on social media.
Interestingly, the FIR that the family of Rachit Kaushik was provided has no mention of Rachit at all. It only mentions the Twitter handle ‘no conversion’. The FIR also does not mention the video against Arvind Kejriwal and his son. It, therefore, seems likely that Rachit may have been arrested because of the video that was shared by ‘noconversion’ Twitter handle.
OpIndia tried reaching out to the concerned police station in Punjab but could not connect. When and if Punjab Police releases a statement, we will update this report accordingly.
