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Widespread violence in France following police shooting of a teenager – All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Widespread violence in France following police shooting of a teenager – All you need to know

On June 27 (local time), violence broke out in France, and protesters set public and private property on fire. The violence continued on the second night leading to multiple reports of arson where protesters set private cars on fire and targeted police stations. The violence in France erupted after a teenager was allegedly shot dead by the cops during a traffic stop. As per reports, around 2,000 riot police have been called in the suburbs located around Paris. The teenager who got killed has been identified as Nahel M.

Reportedly, Nahel was stopped by the police and was asked to show documents. Nahel tried to flee the scene, during which shots were fired. One of the bullets hit Nahel in the chest, and he died on the spot. Initially, police said the shots were fired in self-defence as Nahel allegedly tried to mow the police personnel down with his car. However, eyewitness uploaded a video on social media where cops were seen standing on the side of the vehicle at a safe distance from the car. Reports suggest that Nehal was previously convicted of failing to stop at a signal and driving without a license.

The protests started in the western suburb of Nanterre, where Nahel was killed. It quickly spread across other regions, including the Hauts-de-Seine and the eastern city of Dijon. Reports suggest that a group of protesters set a bus on fire after ordering the passengers to get off the bus. The incident took place in the Essonne region.

Another arson incident occurred in the southern city of Toulouse, where several cars were reportedly set on fire. Police and firefighters that responded to the reports of arson were attacked with projectiles. The police have arrested at least 77 people for rioting across the country.

On June 27, President of France Emmanuel Macron issued a statement over the incident. He said, “A teenager was killed. That is inexplicable and unforgivable. Nothing can justify the death of a young person.” He further added that the incident had moved the entire nation and expressed respect and affection for the victim’s family.

Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister of France Elisabeth Borne condemned “the shocking images… of an [police] intervention that clearly doesn’t respect the rules of engagement of our security forces”. Furthermore, she hoped that the absolute demand for the truth would allow calm to prevail over anger.

On the other hand, opposition leader Marine Le Pen called Macron’s comments excessive. She added she was astonished at “the swiftness of this stance, notably from the president”.

Alliance Police Nationale union has also criticised the President for his remarks. In a statement, the union said it was inconceivable to see the President react like that. They said, “[The President], like certain politicians, artists, and others, should not flout the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary by condemning our colleagues even before [justice] has been pronounced”. They added, “Like any citizen, [the officer] has the right to the presumption of innocence.”

In the aftermath of the incident, a police officer has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Reacting to the riots, internal minister Gerald Darmanin said that 23 police personnel were reportedly injured in the violence. The rioters burnt down at least 40 cars during the ensuing violence.

Uttar Pradesh: Journalist Kashif Arsalaan claims police prohibited Bakrid Namaz in Muzaffarnagar, police clarify calling it a baseless allegation

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Journalist Kashif Arsalaan claims police prohibited Bakrid Namaz in Muzaffarnagar, police clarify calling it a baseless allegation

On 29th June 2023, Muslims in India are celebrating Bakrid. Attempts are being made by Islamists and Muslim journalists to portray how Muslims in India are not allowed to peacefully enjoy their festival which is celebrated by killing an innocent goat. One such attempt was made by a journalist named Kashif Arsalaan who peddled lies saying that police were not permitting the Muslims in Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh to offer namaz on the occasion of Eid. The Muzaffarnagar police have debunked this claim and clarified that this is false and baseless news.

Kashif Arsalaan posted a seven-second video snippet in which police are seen directing Muslims to go in a particular direction. In the caption of this video, he wrote, “Uttar Pradesh – Muzaffarnagar, Eid prayer is at 6:30, but the local people allege that the police is preventing them from entering the Idgah since 6 o’clock.”

Giving a rebuttal to this false claim, Muzaffarnagar police replied to this tweet from their official Twitter handle. The Muzaffarnagar police wrote in their reply, “Rebuttal- The allegation mentioned in the tweet is false and baseless. No worshiper was stopped by the police from offering Namaz. The case pertains to the Shamli stand Idgah located in the Kotwali Nagar area, where people were informed by the police to offer namaz in other mosques as the Idgah was completely filled with people.”

Like every year, Bakrid in India is witnessing controversy around Muslims imposing their cruel customs on innocent neighbourhoods. In the Mira Road area near Mumbai metropolitan region, one Mohsin Khan took 2 goats in his flat in the JP Infra Apartment breaking the rules of the society. Residents of the society opposed him and he had to take the goats away. 60 goats were found in the parking lot of the Nathani Heights building in Mumbai. These goats were brought for slaughter on the occasion of Bakrid. The Hindu Jain community in the society opposed it and the Bombay high court prohibited any slaughter in the residential complex.

Uttar Pradesh: Farhana shot and hacked to pieces by brothers Salman, Faman, Noman and Meherban for marrying a ‘lower caste Muslim’

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Farhana shot and hacked to pieces by brothers Salman, Faman, Noman and Meherban for marrying a ‘lower caste Muslim’

On Wednesday, June 28, four brothers in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, killed their own sister in cold blood. According to reports, the brothers of the deceased woman identified as Farhana were angry ever since she had married her boyfriend Shahid, who was reportedly from a ‘lower caste.’ Prima facie the case appears to be that of a suspected honour killing.

The incident happened in the district’s Alipur Aterna village of the Budhana Kotwali area, wherein the accused shot their sister Farhana in broad daylight and hacked her with a sharp weapon before fleeing the scene.

The accused have been identified as Salman, Faman, Noman and Meherban. The police have registered a case based on a complaint filed by Farhana’s brother-in-law. Circle Officer (CO) Vinay Gautam, reached the village with his team as soon as they got the information of the crime. The body of the deceased was sent for post-mortem. The police formed two teams to search for the accused.

According to the police, the deceased woman Farhana was the daughter of a village local named Jamshed Pathan. She had 8 brothers. Two years ago Farhana married a youth named Shahid. Shahid belonged to the Faqir caste. Farhana’s brothers were disapproving of their relationship. On August 6, 2021, Farhana ran away from her house and married Shahid in court. The duo started living separately in Muzaffarnagar.

On June 7, 2023, Farhana and Sahid returned to their village hoping that Farhana’s family would have forgiven them by now, given that a lot of time had passed since she went against the family’s wishes and married the love of her life.

She took up a job at a beauty parlour in the vicinity. Farhana’s brothers, however, remained enraged and vindictive. They once threatened to kill the duo if they did not leave the village.

On Wednesday (June 28) evening, when Farhana was returning home from the beauty parlour, her four brothers Salman, Faman, Noman and Meherban surrounded her in the middle of the road and shot her. They then attacked their injured sister with a sharp weapon until she fell to the ground and died. As people started gathering, all four accused fled the scene.

Honour killings show the ugly side of our society, OpIndia had earlier reported an incident in which a 19-year-old girl was smothered with a pillow by her brothers Tohid and Danish for reportedly having a love affair with a youth whom the latter did not approve of. The brothers learned that the victim was planning to elope with her boyfriend and marry him in court. They were infuriated over this and killed her

White House distances itself from Obama’s comments on India twice in 3 days, official says Obama made the remarks as private citizen

OpIndia Staff
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White House distances itself from Obama’s comments on India twice in 3 days, official says Obama made the remarks as private citizen

A week after former US president Barack Obama made highly controversial comments on India during PM Modi’s US visit, the White House has distanced itself from the comments. In a press briefing and a media interview, the White House officials refused to comment on Obama’s comments, terming them the opinions of the private citizen.

During a State Department press briefing on 26 June, a journalist had asked that while the president (Obama) had remarked about Muslims and other minorities India, the joint statement issued after the meeting between PM Modi and President Biden didn’t mention it. To it, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller replied that they regularly raise concerns about human rights in our conversations with Indian officials. He pointed out that Biden had spoken himself in the joint press conference that he held with Prime Minister Modi.

The spokesperson seemed to be confused about the question as the journalist mentioned only the ‘president’, and he assumed it was about Biden. Therefore, another journalist clarified that the question was former President Obama, adding that there has been quite a bit of response in India to that. The journalist then added Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s reaction to Obama’s comments, saying, “there was a social media post by the chief minister of the state of Assam, who is an ally of Prime Minister Modi, using quite insulting language about former-President Obama.  Is that something that the United States wants to comment on.”

However, the State Department spokesperson refused to comment on it, replying with, “No, no, I don’t think so.”

In an interview with CNN, Obama had said that President Biden should mention the “protection of Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India” in his meeting with PM Modi. He had added that had he met PM Modi, he would have told him, “if you do not protect the rights of minorities, then there is a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart…That would be contrary to the interests of India.”

Obama’s comments were met with strong objections in India, with several top BJP leaders responding to it, and even reminding how large number of Muslim countries were attacked and bombed by US during Obama’s regime.

However, opposition and left-liberals were having a field day, celebrating comments of Obama against India. When The Wire journalist tried to taunt the Assam govt over the issue by suggesting that Assam police should go to DC to arrest Barrack, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma commented there are many enemies in India who will be dealt with first before going to foreign countries. He said, “There are many Hussain Obama in India itself. We should prioritize taking care of them before considering going to Washington. The Assam police will act according to our own priorities.”

Expectedly, these comments of the senior BJP leader and CM were widely criticised by the left-liberal ecosystem, including many foreign journalists. However, from the comments of the state department spokesperson, it is clear that they do not find it necessary to react to the comments of the Assam CM.

After that, Hindustan Times talked to a senior administrative official of the White House on the issue, who completely distanced the administration from Obama’s comments. The official said that Obama made the comments on his own as a private citizen, and there was coordination with the White House. When asked if the speculation of US playing “good cop-bad cop” with the opposite stands taken by the current and former presidents, the official said that they have enormous regard for Obama, “But he is a private citizen, and there was no coordination on what he said.”

The official added that every relevant issue was raised during Modi-Biden meeting, saying that Biden’s style is to do it with great dignity, to treat partners with respect and to engage in the spirit of a close partnership. He said that just like Biden had issues to raise, Modi also had few issues that he wanted to raise.

“I can tell you that the depth of their relationship allowed them to talk about issues respectfully and in a way that I’m confident that the other heard it and heard it in a spirit of respect,” the official said.

The official however reiterated its support for WSJ reporter Sabrina Siddiqui who asked a controversial question to PM Modi in Washington DC. “We have made very clear that we believe free and open press is important. We frankly do not support any kind of online harassment. And indeed it concerns us greatly,” he said.

It is notable that White House has come out strongly in support of Sabrina Siddiqui after she was criticised for her propaganda-laden question to Modi.

Sabrina had asked what steps PM Modi and his government are willing to take to protect the rights of Muslims and other minorities and to uphold free speech. In response, PM Modi had given a befitting reply by saying that India is a democracy, and both India and America have democracy in their DNA. “Democracy is our spirit, democracy flows in our veins. We live in a democracy and our ancestors have put that into words in the shape of the Constitution and our government runs on the basis of the Constitution which is based on the basic democratic values,” he had said, making it clear that every citizen is treated equally in India, regardless of religion.

After that, the reporter was criticised in India as it was evident that it was not a question, but an attempt to spread the propaganda that Muslims are under attack in India. But the White House has come in her support, asserting that the administration supports freedom of the press. On 26 June, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby and Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned the “harassment” of Wall Street Journal’s Sabrina Siddiqui.

On the other hand, critics of PM Narendra Modi are using her comments to further target the union government, as it bolsters their propaganda that Muslims are under attack in India and the govt needs to do more for Muslims. However, it is clear that the White House has no comments to make on that claim. Their support is only for the freedom of speech and freedom of the press to ask questions, and they opposed the alleged social media trolling targeting her. Their defence of Sabrina is a standard defence of press freedom, a standard objection to alleged online harassment, and was not linked to what she tried to imply with her question. They made no reference to the subject matter of the question.

Similarly, the US administration has distanced itself from the comments of ex-president Obama, which are backed by the same propaganda, that Muslims are being targeted in India under the Narendra Modi government. While the state department refused to comment on his remarks, the top official said that those were his personal remarks and White House has nothing to do with them.

This makes it clear that the White House does not do or say anything that can hamper diplomatic relations with India.

Badaun: Ammar Qureshi threatens to convert a girl and her family using her pictures and videos, case registered

OpIndia Staff
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Badaun: Ammar Qureshi threatens to convert a girl and her family using her pictures and videos, case registered

In a fresh case of love jihad in UP’s Badaun, a complaint was registered against a Muslim man for pressurising, threatening, and attempting to convert a Hindu girl to Islam.

According to the family, the Hindu girl was trapped in a relationship by Ammar Qureshi who allegedly blackmailed her by threatening to make her images and videos viral. He also threatened the girl’s two sisters saying that he would wed them to Muslim men and convert them to Islam.

Qureshi threatened the girl saying that as soon as she turned 18, he would convert her to Islam. A complaint has been filed under sections 354 (K), 352, 504, and 506 and against religious conversion under sections 3 and 4.

The love jihad case against Ammar Qureshi

Ammar Qureshi had been pressurising the Hindu girl, the daughter of a temple priest, for a year to convert. He would use the position of his father, Hasan Mahmood who worked in the CJM court, to threaten the girl and her family. Despite the family’s numerous appeals, Qureshi did not stop. According to the girl’s sister, when they confronted his parents, they said they knew nothing.

On Wednesday, Qureshi told the girl to meet him at a local restaurant. After the girl had been gone a long time, the family set out to search for her and found her at the restaurant. The family caught hold of Qureshi and handed him over to the police.

The family said Qureshi also threatened to damage their image in society using the images and videos of the girl. The family has demanded that Qureshi be jailed and action be taken in all such cases of love jihad.

Bihar: Muslim ex-boyfriend’s family assaults Hindu girl’s family with bricks and stones in Hajipur, police says no communal angle

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Muslim ex-boyfriend’s family assaults Hindu girl’s family with bricks and stones in Hajipur, police says no communal angle

On 27 June, in the Vaishali district in Hajipur, Bihar, a Muslim family reportedly tried to force a Hindu girl into marriage and assaulted her family. As per Times Now Navbharat, her family was attacked twice, initially with bricks and stones, and later when they were taken to a hospital by the police for their treatment. Five people including her brother and a police personnel suffered injuries as a result of the assault.

The instance is Fatehabad village which falls under the Hajipur police station and is at a distance of 3 to 4 kilometers from the city. The Hindu family had sent their daughter to a relative’s house out of fear. According to them, the accused was constantly harassing their daughter and even threatened to shoot the boy with whom the girl was scheduled to get married. On 27 June, the Muslim side attacked the girl’s family and assaulted them with bricks and stones. Now, police are deployed in large numbers in the area to maintain order and peace.

However, when OpIndia contacted the area’s Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), he refuted all charges of love jihad and denied any communal angle as well. He claimed, “News reports are lying and trying to create a rift in the society on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. There is no love jihad. Media only wants to increase their TRP. We have already released a statement about the same. This is a personal matter between the families and there is no communal angle to it.”

He also alleged that the girl was in a relationship with the Muslim boy for the last two years and he had gone to her house before Eid where he was beaten by the former’s family after which his side retaliated and attacked her family. “All of this occurred on 27 and media is running the news today,” he complained and added, “There is no law and order issue in the region.”

Vaishali Police also released a statement today offering clarification on the incident. It stated that the reason for the conflict was personal and a case has been registered against both families. It read, “Ten people from each side have been arrested. It is not a communal occurrence. The incident has been misrepresented as a communal one during Eid by news and social media. This is an effort to incite conflict between the communities. Those who engage in such practices will face strict action.”

Uttar Pradesh: Abu Talha, son of former BSP MLA, arrested for insulting Goddess Sita, hurting Hindu sentiments on social media

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Abu Talha, son of former BSP MLA, arrested for insulting Goddess Sita, hurting Hindu sentiments on social media

On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Abu Talha Pathan, son of former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA, Muslim Khan from Shekharpur Assembly for spreading religious hatred and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. The accused had put up an objectionable post on social media against a Hindu deity, police were quoted as saying.

According to the reports, the accused is a student at Kota, Rajasthan. He got into a verbal fight with one of his friends named Mayank Raj over religion after which he posted a derogatory comment against Hindu religion. Raj took a screenshot of the comment post and approached the UP Police seeking strict action against Abu Talha.

However, the accused person, a resident of the Kakrala region, Badaun, is said to have deleted the controversial comment later. Notably, the screenshots of the derogatory have been going viral since then. The accused blatantly abused Goddess Sita and used derogatory language against her.

Several Hindu activists raised their voices against the post after which the police took cognisance of the event and arrested the accused under section 505 (promoting enmity, hatred) of the Income Tax Act and section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

Inspector Haripal Singh Balyan commented on the issue and confirmed that a case has been registered against the son of a former BSP MLA from Shekhupur Assembly for spreading religious hatred and hurting religious sentiments. Investigations are underway.

7 days after Faizan got arrested in the Muskan suicide case, BBC Hindi is yet to retract their report that blamed her former Hindu partner

OpIndia Staff
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7 days after Faizan got arrested in the Muskan suicide case, BBC Hindi is yet to retract their report that blamed her former Hindu partner

On June 19, late in the evening, a Muslim woman’s body was discovered hanging outside of her leased residence in the Aligarh region of Uttar Pradesh. Because Muskan had eloped with a Hindu man named Deepak 5 years ago the Leftist media tried to paint the story as one where a Hindu man was the culprit behind a Muslim woman’s death.

On 23 June, OpIndia published a news report on the suicide case of Muskan and exposed the attempt by the left-liberal media to paint the picture of ‘bhagwa love trap’ by blaming her former Hindu partner for the suicide.

The same ‘Hindu man caused Muslim woman’s death’ narrative was also peddled by BBC News Hindi.

Seven days on, the BBC is unapologetically running fake news without any correction. Notably, it has almost never reported on the several love jihad cases that are cropping up across India.

What was the case?

On June 19, late in the evening, a Muslim woman’s body was discovered hanging outside of her leased residence in the Aligarh region of Uttar Pradesh. According to preliminary evidence, the woman named Muskan, had eloped with and married a Hindu man named Deepak a few years ago.

The news of her death was quickly spread on social media under the hashtag ‘bhagwa love trap’, suggesting that the man had lured the woman into a relationship in exchange for her conversion to Hinduism and then killed her. However, the police discovered that the woman had split from Deepak a year ago and had been residing with a man named Mohammed Faizan ever since.

The tweets shared on social media by Islamist and left liberals falsely indicated that Muskan’s death was a result of some hoax concept recently developed by the Islamists named the ‘Bhagwa Love Trap,’ to counter the reality of love jihad.

Muskan had left Deepak, and was living with Mohammad Faizan

BBC’s report insinuates that Muskan Bano’s suicide was linked to her Hindu partner Deepak with whom she had eloped 4 years ago. However, the report conveniently left out the fact that Muskan had separated from Deepak was living with Mohammad Mohammed Faizan ever since.

Instead of basing it on the official police records, the report stems from the allegations Muskan’s family who had not spoken to her for a while and were not aware of the change in her life that had occurred when she settled in with Faizan and left Deepak.

According to the SHO, Muskan eloped with Deepak in 2019 while she was still a minor. Her parents later filed a complaint against Deepak for kidnapping after which the girl was recovered by the Police. 

Muskan testified before the court that she had eloped and was not the victim of kidnapping, which led to Deepak’s release on bail from judicial custody. After some time, they fled together once again and started living together. The SHO stated that it is unclear if they were legally wed.

Meanwhile, Faizan surrendered in court on June 22 and told the court that Muskan had been pressuring him for nikah while he had been avoiding it.

Zakir Ali Tyagi, a journalist for the contentious website The Wire, Kashif Arsalaan, a Muslim activist with more than 34,000 Twitter followers, Shahin Khan, a student with 46,000 followers on Twitter, Sadaf Afreen, a journalist with more than 61,000 followers on Twitter, and Kavish Aziz, a user with 58,000 Twitter followers are among those who suggested Deepak as accused under the so-called ‘Bhagwa love trap’.

The British Broadcasting Company blatantly published its agenda so long as a Hindu appeared to be guilty enough to push the ‘bhagwa love trap’ conspiracy theory. It has been seven days but the fake news continues to be published on BBC News Hindi website and twitter.

BBC’s tryst with propaganda

17 April 2023: BBC romanticises gangster Atiq Ahmed

BBC News ‘journalist’ Geeta Pandey stirred the hornet’s nest by trying to create a sympathy wave for deceased gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed.

In her piece titled ‘Atiq Ahmed: The brazen murder of an Indian mafia don-turned-politician,’ Pandey went on to weave a sorry tale around Ahmed’s childhood days. “The 60-year-old was born in a poor family in Prayagraj and was a school dropout…” the report read.

13 February 2023: BBC backs child marriage

BBC published a piece titled, “Indian women protest against child marriage mass arrest”, trying to push the theory that Indian women are somehow in favor of child marriages. Interestingly, BBC in its own report says that child marriages are prevalent in India due to patriarchal traditions, and then goes on to support that patriarchy.

Notably, the “BBC legend” Jimmy Savile was famous for abusing children sexually, with the first of those allegations appearing in 1958, but they were ignored by BBC till 2011 when Savile died.

10 February 2023: BBC sympathizes with ISIS bride

BBC faced backlash in its own country for trying to create sympathy for ‘ISIS bride’ Shamima Begum in its documentary titled The Shamima Begum Story. The documentary is a follow-up of the ten-part podcast by BBC on Shamina Begum, which was titled I’m Not a Monster, The Shamima Begum Story. After the podcast was released, BBC was accused of giving a platform to an ISIS terrorist.

29 January 2023: Protests against BBC documentary on Modi

The Indian diaspora in London staged a protest against BBC outside its headquarters over the documentary it released accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Gujarat Riots 2002 when he was Chief Minister of the state.

The Indian Government banned the two-part documentary released by BBC on Gujarat Riots 2002. While the Supreme Court has cleared then-CM Narendra Modi’s name in the riots, the media house accused him of not controlling the riots. Furthermore, the documentary tried to set the long-debunked narrative that the reason for the train burning in Godhra was unknown, which triggered the riots.

Rajinder Pal Singh smuggled 800 Indians from Canada to the US using ride-sharing app Uber, jailed for 3 years

OpIndia Staff
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Rajinder Pal Singh smuggled 800 Indians from Canada to the US using ride-sharing app Uber, jailed for 3 years

On Tuesday, June 27, a 49-year-old man California resident identified as Rajinder Pal Singh, aka Jaspal Gill, has been imprisoned for smuggling more than 800 Indian citizens into the USA using the ride-sharing app Uber. He was sentenced to over three years in jail by the US District Court in Seattle.

The Department of Justice said in a press release that the accused had pleaded guilty in February, admitting that he was involved in a smuggling operation that brought hundreds of Indian citizens into Canada from across the border, earning more than USD 500,000.

“Over a four-year period, Mr Singh arranged for more than 800 people to be smuggled into the U.S. across the northern border and into Washington State,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

“This conduct was not just a security risk for our country, it also subjected those smuggled to security and safety risks during the often weeks-long smuggling route from India to the United States. Mr Singh’s participation in this conspiracy preyed upon the Indian Nationals’ hopes for a better life in the United States while saddling those smuggled with a crushing debt of as much as $70,000,” the court added.

According to the news release, which cited documents submitted in the case, starting in July 2018, Singh and his accomplices used Uber to transport individuals who had illegally crossed the border from Canada to the Seattle region.

Singh organised more than 600 journeys involving the transportation of Indian people who were being trafficked into the US illegally between mid-2018 and May 2022.

According to investigation estimates, the 17 Uber accounts connected to the smuggling operation accrued more than USD 80,000 in charges between July 2018 and April 2022.

In trips that typically started near the border in the early hours and were split across different riders, Singh’s accomplices would use the one-way vehicle rentals to transport individuals smuggled to their final destinations outside Washington state, according to the press release.

The smuggling ring’s members also employed sophisticated techniques to launder the illegal earnings. Singh admitted that the purpose of the complex money movement was to obscure the illegal nature of the funds.

According to the news release, investigators also seized around $45,000 in cash and fake identification documents from one of Singh’s California homes.

Singh, who is not authorised to be in the US, will probably be deported after serving his sentence.

Leftist professor Ashutosh Varshney says Pakistani terrorists killing Indian armed forces is ‘understandable’, and 26/11 was bad because it made Aman Ki Asha difficult

OpIndia Staff
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Leftist professor Ashutosh Varshney says Pakistani terrorists killing Indian armed forces is ‘understandable’, and 26/11 was bad because it made Aman Ki Asha difficult

Leftist professor Ashutosh Varshney has appeared recently on a Pakistani YouTube channel to discuss India-Pakistan and India-USA ties. In an hour-long discussion with Pakistani YouTuber Wajahat S Khan, Varshney has made some deeply problematic statements and has even tried to peddle debunked, discarded theories peddled by Leftist historians for decades.

The discussion skips why Pakistan is no longer seen as a US ally and focusses on ‘security’ concerns

In the discussion, the YouTuber Wajahat S Khan started off by discussing how India and USA are becoming close allies in recent years, and how the USA used to be an ally of Pakistan. Though Wajahat cited ‘security’ concerns in the world, like the Russia-Ukraine war and India-China hostilities as the reason, he carefully avoided mentioning that Pakistan is no longer considered a US ally because it has slid into economic doom and is seen globally as a failed state.

Varshney says rights of Muslims are endangered because of CAA

The discussion between Varshney and Wajahat Khan focused on the usual ‘Leftist-favourtite’ tropes of Modi bashing, waxing eloquence about ‘liberal democracies’. Varshney claimed that though India can be called an electoral democracy, it cannot be called a ‘liberal democracy’. He even cited the withdrawal of the FCRA license of foreign NGOs to make his point.

Varshney claimed the rights of Muslims in India have been harmed by CAA when the CAA does not even concern Indian Muslims.

Khan who is a Pakistani living in the USA, asked Varshney how Modi, who was refused a US visa some years ago, is now getting a red-carpet welcome in the USA as a state guest. Varshney goes ahead to claim that it is only because China is now the main adversary of the USA that the USA wants to be close to India.

Varshney admitted that it is difficult for the USA or anyone to paint India as undemocratic because India is a robust electoral democracy, and elections have been free and fair. He also admits that the welfare benefits and development programs carried out by the Modi government do not discriminate among people on the basis of their religion.

Point number 32 of India-USA joint statement

38 minutes into the discussion, Varshney drew Khan’s attention to point number 32 of the joint statement made by PM Modi and Joe Biden that

Point No 32 of the India-USA joint statement

Pakistani terrorists attacking Indian armed forces is ‘understandable’ for Varshney

“Many Indians who advocate for friendship with Pakistan also were disappointed with the 26/11. This is not how (Pakistan’s) national interests should be pursued. It is one thing to attack armed forces and paramilitary forces, but coming to Mumbai and attacking civilians was problematic. Many of us, who advocate for friendship with Pakistan, have faced a difficult situation because of the 26/11 because it has made it difficult for us to explain our cause (for India to have a friendly relationship with Pakistan)”, Varshney says.

Varshney then went ahead to add that even many Pakistanis had publically stated that 26/11 was wrong and that it was not how Pakistan should pursue its national interest. He said that he has witnessed Hussain Haqqani, Nazam Sethi, and many other Pakistani diplomats and intellectuals face difficulties defending the 26/11 attack.

Varshney added that 26/11 laid the groundwork for point number 32 to be substantiated all the years later. The paragraph explicitly mentions Pakistan-based terrorist organizations and stresses that India and USA will work together to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice.

It is pertinent to mention here that for Ashutosh Varshney, the 26/11 attack was a mere inconvenience because he faced difficulties explaining his opinions advocating for India-Pakistan friendship. He even claims that the terrorist attacks on Army and paramilitary are ‘understandable’.

It comes across as a subtle way of saying that for Varshney, the Pulwama attack, Pathankot attack and other numerous attacks on Indian armed forces by Pakistani terrorists are ‘acceptable’ and even defendable. However, the 26/11 attack was bad because it made things inconvenient for him, not because it claimed the lives of 166 people including foreign nationals.

Many Indians have reacted to Varshney’s statement, pointing out how he casually mentions that he thinks attacks by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists on Indian armed forces are ‘understandable’.

Later in the video, Varshney goes ahead to advocate for India-Pakistan friendship, trying to placate his host by complimenting Pakistani agri products and singers.

‘Hindus are outsiders in India’

Varshney and his host then invent some claims about statements that PM Modi never made, and state that PM Modi’s mention of ‘1000 years of foreign rule’ means that he thinks all Muslims of India are outsiders. Using the debunked Aryan Invasion Theory, and some baseless whataboutery about Bollywood actors, Varshney goes on to claim that Indian Muslims are Indians only, and it is the Hindus themselves who are the outsiders.

That part of the discussion can be seen from 1.00 hours onwards.

Varshney is a professor of political science at Brown University. He is a columnist at the Indian Express and is popular among Leftists in India for his hyper-intellectualized scorn for PM Modi.

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