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Madhya Pradesh: Another institute in Damoh found involved in religious conversion, Hindu students forced to read Bible in the Aadharshila children’s home

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Another institute in Damoh found involved in religious conversion, Hindu students forced to read Bible in the Aadharshila children’s home

A case of preaching and attempting religious conversion has appeared in Damoh of Madhya Pradesh. After recently exposed similar religious conversion attempts in the Ganga Jamuna School of Damoh, this is the second case surfacing in the area this month. A church-controlled institute named Aadharshila is embroiled in the controversy this time.

Hindu children were found reading the “Bible” at the Christian institution, run by the church which claims to work in the interest of children. When asked about their eternal traditions or Hindu customs, they knew nothing but the festivals of Christianity and the Bible.

A delegation from the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) reached Damoh on Sunday 11th June 2023 to investigate a complaint concerning a children’s home operated by Ajay Lal. The complaint alleges a case of sexual harassment of a girl by the children’s home staff member. On Sunday, members of the Madhya Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) arrived to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

Upon their arrival, Dr Nivedita Sharma and Onkar Singh, two members of the Madhya Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), discovered several grave shortcomings and an alleged conspiracy related to conversion within the children’s home. Additionally, they uncovered numerous objectionable flaws in the ongoing investigation. The Commission has duly acknowledged and taken note of these findings.

An earlier surprise inspection at the “Aadharshila” institute had also found several shortcomings and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairman Priyank Kanoongo himself came here and told the administration about the irregularities. He had even lodged an FIR against the concerned accused.

NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo has once again come forward to bring to the notice of everyone all the shortcomings found in this regard and the complaint of the “Aadharshila” institute. He tweeted, “In Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, a case of the sexual alluring a girl child by an employee of a children’s home run by missionary mafia Ajay Lal has come to the fore, some documents have also been found. A team of members of the State Children’s Commission has reached Damoh for investigation. It is worth mentioning that this Children’s Home is not registered under the prescribed procedure of the Juvenile Justice Act and has been told by NCPCR to the government in the past and an FIR has also been registered, but there was criminal negligence of duty of some government officials/employees. The result of this is that adolescent girls are becoming victims of grooming and sexual misconduct.”

In another tweet, he wrote, “The government employees are conniving at many levels with people who execute illegal religious conversions. The employees of the department knew for 20 days that the girls were being sexually abused, but they did not tell the police, the whole matter was hidden. When talked on a phone call in this regard, Shaleen Sharma – an employee of the department – tried to intimidate me by recording the phone call.”

The commission’s team conducted a surprise inspection of the children’s home “Adharshila.” When asked about the inspection, they provided information about a criminal act committed by the institution. Dr Nivedita Sharma said, “When I went inside, I found all the girls reading the Bible. It is not right to tell the full name and address of the girls. Most of the children are from Jabalpur and Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh.”

Police verification of any teacher and other support staff has not been received in the “Aadharshila” institute. No one even has a joining letter, which can tell when they all have joined, and where they have come from. What is even more surprising is that they do not meet the essential educational qualifications, even the least qualifications associated with the necessity of teaching children.

Prima facie, it appears that children from Hindu or other non-Christian religious backgrounds are being retained and subjected to prolonged indoctrination. This action is a violation of Article 28 of the Indian Constitution, which prohibits the imposition of religious practices on a child that are inconsistent with their own religious beliefs.

The SCPCR member stated that the “Aadharshila” institution lacks the necessary legal permission to operate a residential children’s home. During the investigation, it was discovered that a signature from an education officer had been obtained, but upon inquiry with the department, they denied granting any such permission. It is important to note that the Education Department does not possess the jurisdiction or authority to authorize the operation of residential children’s homes, particularly concerning children. Consequently, the potential involvement of government officials and employees colluding in this matter cannot be discounted.

Both boys’ and girls’ children’s homes are operating together in the “Aadharshila” institute which is not sanctioned by any legal statute. Government directives stipulate the operation of separate residences for boys and girls at a certain distance, in accordance with the law. However, a clear violation of these regulations has been identified in this case. The children residing in the homes exhibit resistance towards returning to their own families and refuse to engage with their parents. Their psychological well-being remains poorly understood, leaving many questions regarding their experiences within the institution unanswered. Furthermore, the individual whom the commission brought along to investigate the original complaint of sexual harassment has already been forced out by the managers of “Adharshila.”

In November of the previous year, Priyank Kanoongo, the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, conducted a visit to Damoh. During this visit, he conducted an investigation into major institutions operated by Christian missionaries. Subsequently, an FIR was filed against 10 individuals for alleged conversion activities following the discovery of significant irregularities. The NCPCR had been receiving reports of irregularities and alleged conversions taking place in children’s hostels operated by various individuals, including Ajay Lal, Rajkamal David Lal, Vivart Lal, and JK Henry of the Christian missionaries, for a considerable period of time.

In Madhya Pradesh, there exists a law against forced religious conversions, which forbids practices such as conversion by coercion, force, misrepresentation, undue influence, inducement, fraud, and conversion through marriage. Additionally, the law prohibits individuals from inciting and conspiring for such conversions. However, it appears that those involved in Christian conversions in the state do not seem to perceive any fear of prosecution under this law.

Notably, Aadharshila is the second institute in Damoh that is in the middle of a controversy over allegedly forcing children into religious conversion. Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School in Damoh district, Madhya Pradesh, became embroiled in a significant controversy when allegations emerged that the school was compelling students to wear hijabs. The claims surfaced after an advertisement for the school, published on May 31, showcased accomplished students, including Hindu and Jain girls, wearing hijabs.

Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School is a private English-medium institution situated in ward number 4 of the Futera neighbourhood in Damoh. The posters featuring the names of exceptional students, both boys and girls, gained traction on social media. Among the eighteen students, four girls from the Jain and Hindu communities were depicted wearing hijabs.

On June 7, the police registered a case against 11 members of the school management committee, charging them under IPC sections 295 (pertaining to damaging or defiling objects considered sacred by certain groups), 506 (related to criminal intimidation), 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), as well as relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.

‘Many Hussain Obama in India, no need to go to Washington’: Assam CM slams The Wire journalist over suggestion that Assam police should arrest Barack Obama

OpIndia Staff
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‘Many Hussain Obama in India, no need to go to Washington’: Assam CM slams The Wire journalist over suggestion that Assam police should arrest Barack Obama

On Friday, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed leftist journalist Rohini Singh for mocking PM Modi, Assam CM and the BJP led government amid PM Modi’s visit to the US.

This is after former US President Barack Obama courted controversy on June 22 by virtue-signalling India about its ‘human rights’ record. Obama, who has a notorious record as a potential war criminal, advised that the Biden administration should inform the Indian Prime Minister about safeguarding the “Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India.” He also suggested that India under the Modi administration would see another “partition” if it did not change its ways.

The Wire ‘Journalist’ Rohini Singh then grabbed the opportunity and mocked the Assam CM over the issue. She indicated that Assam CM would make issue out of this and arrest Obama for hurting the sentiments. “Has an FIR been filed in Guwahati yet against Obama for hurting sentiment? Is Assam police on it’s way to Washington to get Obama offloaded from some flight and arrest him?” she tweeted.

It is not clear why Rohini Singh chose to specifically target Assam Police, suggesting that an FIR should be filed in Guwahati against Obama.

Responding straight to this, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that there were many thinkers like Obama who needed to be dealt with. He also said that the Assam Police would work according to the set priorities and that would first consider ‘taking care’ of such thinkers existent in India.

“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,” the Assam CM tweeted.

Obama, who has a notorious record as a potential war criminal yesterday was interviewed by CNN news host Christiane Amanpour hours before PM Modi addressed the US Congress. During the interview, Obama said, “If President (Joe Biden) meets with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the protection of Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning. If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, then, part of the conversation would be that 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.”

Notably, it was reported earlier that the former US President, who is now mouthing platitudes about protecting the interests of Muslims in India, has been single-handedly responsible for the death of 100s of innocent people in Muslim-majority countries.

Barack Obama, who holds the distinction of being a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, reportedly launched airstrikes in at least seven Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Pakistan. The Presidential tenure of Barack Obama was also marked by the rise of the dreaded terrorist organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria aka ISIS.

And today, amid PM Modi’s visit to the US on the invite of the incumbent President Joe Biden, Barack Obama pontificated the Modi administration about human rights and peddled the distorted narrative of ‘Muslims being in danger in India’ which was further furthered by leftists Islamist journalist in India.

Yogeshwar Dutt and Vinesh Phogat engage in a war of words on Twitter after Dutt questions trial exemption given to the six protesting wrestlers

OpIndia Staff
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Yogeshwar Dutt and Vinesh Phogat engage in a war of words on Twitter after Dutt questions trial exemption given to the six protesting wrestlers

On Friday, June 23, Olympic medalist wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Vinesh Phogat entered into a heated argument after Dutt questioned the exemption granted to the six protesting wrestlers by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Yogeshwar Dutt questioned the IOA’s logic and criteria behind granting exemption to Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawart Kadian, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and his wife Sangeeta Phogat and Jitendra Kinha from the Asian Games and World Championship trials. 

Following the exemption, the six wrestlers will have to win just one bout against the winners of trials in their respective categories to secure their place in the Indian team. The IOA ad-hoc panel went a step ahead in their generosity as they pushed the trials to August only for the six wrestlers involved in the protests against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in an alleged sexual harassment matter. Unlike these six wrestlers, the others will be having their trials in July itself. 

Yogeshwar Dutt questions IOA’s trial exemption for wrestlers who joined protests against WFI chief Brij Bhushan

In a video posted on Twitter, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt said that the protesting wrestlers were away from the mat for nearly a year adding that such an exemption would be unfair to the rest of the wrestlers. 

“I’m not sure what criteria the IOA committee used to decide on the trials, and that too for these six wrestlers only. Ravi Dahiya is an Olympic silver medalist as well as a CWG gold medalist, Deepak Punia is a CWG gold medalist, Anshu Malik is a World silver medalist, Sonam Malik is also there and many others. I don’t understand why these six wrestlers have been granted an exemption. This is utterly wrong. Even in the old WFI setup, this was not done,” Dutt said.

Moreover, Yogeshwar Dutt urged wrestlers of various categories to speak up against the alleged “discrimination”.

“I am requesting that all greco-roman, men’s freestyle, and women wrestlers raise their voices in protest of this unfairness. I’m not asking you to sit in protest but raise your voice through the media and write letters to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, Anurag Thakur, the Sports Minister, and the IOA,” Dutt said.

Furthermore, Dutt asserted that even when teams were sent without trials, the best teams were chosen; however, the protesting wrestlers have been away from the wrestling mat for around a year.

“Such a step has never been taken in the history of Indian wrestling. Even if they sent teams with no trials, the best team was chosen. Exemptions had been granted in the past, but not to everyone; only exceptional performers and in-form wrestlers were considered. These six wrestlers have been away from the mat for a year, so this is wrong,” he stated. 

Dutt also urged Khap Panchayats and farmer groups to pay attention to the recent developments and understand the “motives” of the protesting wrestlers. 

Vinesh Phogat hits back, accuses Yogeshwar Dutt of being a boot-licker of Brij Bhushan

Dutt’s video soon triggered a long and scathing response from Vinesh Phogat who in a long tweet accused him of licking the feet of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Calling Dutt “spineless” Vinesh alleged that he was insensitive to the female wrestlers as a member of the panel probing the complaints adding that he pressurized their families to take their cases back.

She further claimed that Dutt used to have a “cheap laugh” while hearing the ordeal of women wrestlers. 

“When I heard the video of Yogeshwar Dutt, his ugly laugh got stuck in my mind. He was a part of both the committees made for women wrestlers. When women wrestlers were narrating their ordeals before the committee, he used to laugh very badly. When two female wrestlers came out to drink water, he came out and told them that nothing would happen to Brij Bhushan. Go and do your practice,” Vinesh Phogat tweeted.

Phogat further accused Dutt of leaking the names of women wrestlers to Brij Bhushan and the media. She also alleged that despite giving statements against women wrestlers publicly, he was appointed to both committees.

Vinesh Phogat went on to claim that Dutt was trying to stop the wrestlers and coaches from joining the protests.

“The whole wrestling world understood that Yogeshwar was eating leftovers from Brij Bhushan’s plate”, she added.

In her tweet in Hindi, Phogat accused Yogeshwar of making derogatory remarks regarding Indian Army jawans, students, Muslims, and Sikhs.

“Earlier he made cheap comments about farmers, jawans, students, Muslims, Sikhs and now he is engaged in defaming women wrestlers.” Vinesh said Yogeshwar hasn’t been able to win any election because he is a traitor and a “poisonous snake,” Phogat tweeted. 

“Do not use force to break the resolve of female wrestlers; they are very determined.” You could get a broken back. You’ve already laid your spine under Brij Bhushan’s feet. “You are a very insensitive person who flatters a tyrant,” she continued.

It is worth noting that though Vinesh Phogat leveled serious allegations against Yogeswar Dutt, however, she did not respond to the questions raised by Dutt regarding trial exemption granted exclusively to the protesting wrestlers. 

Interestingly, in April, some protesting wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat had given statements demanding direct entry to the Olympics without competing for the nationals. Ideally, athletes who compete at the national level should get a chance to show their potential on the international platform.

In a media statement in April, Vignesh Phogat said a separate federation for wrestlers in Haryana has been created and none of the protesting wrestlers would compete in nationals. She claimed they are ready to compete at the Olympics directly.

Wrestlers protest against former WFI chief

The wrestlers have been protesting against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, demanding his arrest. Female wrestlers have alleged that Singh sexually harassed them. Two FIRs were registered against Singh on the complaint of seven female wrestlers, including one allegedly minor wrestler. Singh was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and POCSO Act. However, recently it was reported the minor wrestler withdrew her statement in front of the magistrate and recorded a new one under Section 164 of the CrPC.

Anti-Modi, anti-India rants: Meet Sabrina Siddiqui, ‘journalist’, born to Pakistani parents, who got a befitting reply from PM Modi about ‘minorities’ in India

Jhankar Mohta
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Anti-Modi, anti-India rants: Meet Sabrina Siddiqui, ‘journalist’, born to Pakistani parents, who got a befitting reply from PM Modi about ‘minorities’ in India

On Thursday, June 22, Indian PM Narendra Modi addressed a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden during his state visit to the United States. During the press conference, a journalist tried to insinuate that rights of Muslims and other minorities are under threat in India and consequently the democratic values. The journalist got a befitting response from PM Modi as he reminded everyone of the history of Indian democracy, which is rooted in valuing human rights and non-discrimination.

For the uninitiated, the journalist who went on to pose the cleverly manufactured question echoing the claims of Islamists and left-liberals; alleging persecution of Muslims in India, was none other than Sabrina Siddiqui.

Sabrina Siddiqui is a Muslim American journalist working for The Wall Street Journal. She is a White House reporter in Washington, D.C., where she covers the Biden presidency. She has also covered the White House and the 2016 presidential election while working at The Guardian before 2019.

Previously, she covered the Obama administration and Congress at The Huffington Post and also worked with the White House team at Bloomberg.

Siddiqui, the daughter of Pakistani parents, is a graduate of Northwestern University and lives in Washington with her husband. According to reports, her father was born in India but was raised in Pakistan. Her mother was a Pakistani, however, Siddiqui was born in America.

Asking the question, Sabrina Siddiqui said, “World leaders have made commitments to protecting democracy. What steps are you and your government willing to take to protect the rights of Muslims and other minorities and to uphold free speech?”

In response, PM Modi said, “I am surprised that you are saying that ‘people say’ India is a democracy. It is not about what people say, India is a democracy. And as President Biden said, 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.”

The question posed to PM Modi by ‘journalist’ Sabrina Siddiqui jibes perfectly well with the hackneyed liberal propaganda portraying the Modi government as the enemy of the Muslims. It also fits with the ‘rising Muslim intolerance’ narrative that the Western media has been pushing to sully Modi’s reputation in India and around the world ever since he came to power in 2014.

Sabrina Siddiqui’s attempt to disparage the Indian government on a global stage is, however, unsurprising, given that she has a history of demonstrating an unseemly eagerness to vilify India and the Indian government led by PM Modi. The social media accounts of Sabrina Siddiqui are littered with posts aimed at destroying PM Modi’s reputation and portraying him as a leader who has given the country’s Hindu nationalists carte blanche to act as per their whims and fancies.

The ‘journalist’ has also never shied away from claiming that the Modi administration is to blame for the rise of intolerance in the nation.

Motivated by her pathological hatred for PM Modi and India, ‘journalist’ Sabrina Siddiqui has regularly shared fabricated articles from Western liberal bastions like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Reuters, and several other news outlets, which are always eager to give space to Modi’s criticism without critically evaluating its legitimacy; to meticulously paint a grim picture of Narendra Modi.

The Modi govt certainly takes great pride in its cultural identity and historical traditions, something that the previous UPA regimes and the Congress party had always scorned and despised. The only thing that the Modi govt has perhaps stopped is the appeasement of radical elements of the Muslim community that Congress did unabashedly. The Modi government has stopped the minority appeasement and called out the threat posed by the menace of Islamic radicalism. This has proliferated the ire of the left-leaning liberals and Islamists both in India and the West and prompted the likes of Sabrina Siddiqui to work overtime to project Modi as anti-Muslim.

Leftist liberals and Islamists are busy singing accolades for the WSJ journalist

Nevertheless, ever since Sabrina Siddiqui questioned the Indian Prime Minister about the steps taken by his government to improve the rights of minorities in India, insinuating that the rights of Muslims and other minorities are under threat in India, she is being hailed as a hero by the left-leaning liberal brigade.

Social media is replete with tweets from loyal members of this avid Modi-hater gang, who are lauding The Wall Street Journal ‘journalist’ for posing, what they are regarding as a gutsy question to India’s PM that left him speechless on a global stage.

One such ‘esteemed’ member of this liberal bastion going euphoric about the so-called ‘heroism’ exhibited by Sabrina Siddiqui is none other than AltNews’ Mohammed Zubair, the man responsible for unleashing the wave of Islamist violence in India that resulted in the death of at least 6 Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati.

Zubair inferred that PM Modi was caught off guard and started ‘beating around the bush’ when Sabrina Sidduiqui posed that question to him.

‘Journalist’ Arfa Khanum Sherwani, who has never held back from promoting false claims to portray Muslims as victims in Modi’s India and thereby displaying her blatant hatred for Modi, also praised The Wall Street Journal ‘journalist’ by inferring that WSJ journalist left Modi tongue-tied with her ‘hard hitting’ question.

Tweeting the question Sabrina Siddiqui posed to Modi at the joint press conference with US President Joe Biden during his state visit to the US, she said, “The Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy standing on a global stage can not answer a simple question on how he plans to make things better for India’s Muslims.”

‘Journalist’ Swati Chaturvedi also retweeted a post by Jacqui Heinrich currently serving as a White House Correspondent for FOX News channel, to laud Sabrina Siddiqui for calling out Modi by raising ‘human rights’ issues.

The adulation being showered on Sabrina Siddiqui by this coterie of leftist liberals and Islamists is evidently because she, too, is a loyal member of this anti-Modi, anti-Hindu and anti-India brigade. Several of Sabrina Siddiqui’s old tweets clearly display her pathological hatred towards PM Modi, India and Hindus in general.

When Sabrina Siddiqui used the Covid-19 pandemic to spread fake news against Modi govt

In 2020-2021, when India, like every other country in the world, was dealing with the scourge of Covid-19, Sabrina Siddiqui reaped the opportunity to spread canards against Modi by questioning India’s preparedness in handling the crisis.

In another tweet, the WSJ journalist chose to use one of the several articles Reuters had published then, milking the humanitarian crisis to peddle lies, misinformation and propaganda against Modi.

On April 20th 2021, Reuters wrote about Prime Minister Modi being “scorned” over “reckless rallies, religious gatherings”. Sabrina Siddiqui shared the article and tweeted, “You hold rallies as people head to funerals,” in an obvious attempt to paint Modi as insensitive.

Likewise, when India was grappling with a formidable second wave of the Coronavirus outbreak, several leftist media outlets tried to fearmonger by spreading fake news about the shortage of oxygen and how the Modi government was doing nothing to resolve the issue. Sabrina Siddiqui had maliciously used an article published by the leftist website Scroll, titled: India is running out of oxygen, Covid-19 patients are dying – because the government wasted time, which squarely blamed the Modi government for the shortage of oxygen in the country.

The article published by Scroll on April 18, 2021, read that the Narendra Modi government took eight months to invite bids for new oxygen generation plants which caused the scarcity of oxygen at a crucial time when the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was sweeping through the country.

The truth was, however, that amidst the second wave of infection, the government of India had worked extensively to increase the production of oxygen in the country. According to the government’s data, the production of medical oxygen had risen by 500% since February 2021.

Additionally, to meet the very high demand for medical oxygen due to the then surging Covid-19 cases, the union government had taken proactive action in the first week of April 2020, before oxygen shortages started to appear in several hospitals mostly in Delhi and granted permission to industrial oxygen manufacturers to manufacture oxygen for medical use.

Sabrina Siddiqui used Aryan Khan’s arrest in drug case to peddle her anti-Modi rhetorics

Such is her hate for Modi that in 2021, when Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested in the cruise ship drug case, she quickly went on to use the news to peddle her anti-Modi rhetorics. She tweeted, “This is not just about Shah Rukh Khan, but about anyone the government resents for not prostrating before Modi and his nationalist vision. This moment in India should be a reckoning — unite and fight, or perish in fear.”

To peddle her anti-Modi rhetorics, Sabrina Siddiqui shared a vicious article penned by Islamist Rana Ayyub in Washington Post, wherein the latter raked Shahrukh Khan’s Muslim identity to insinuate that he and his son were being victimised by the ‘anti-Muslim’ Modi government for their religious identity.

Sabrina Siddiqui milked the farmers protest in India to berate Modi

Similarly, in February 2021, the WSJ journalist did not forget to capitalise on the farmers’ protest against the Modi government over new farm laws. It is not hidden how the farmer’s protest which was started under the guise of a peaceful demonstration against the three farm laws, took no time to devolve into a breeding ground of sorts for all kinds of criminal activities. The 12-month-long protests were overwhelmingly punctuated by incidents of chaos, rapes, murders, riots, vandalism and arson, as restless protesters unleashed their criminal tendencies. 

Various Khalistani organisations such as Poetic Justice Foundation, Khalsa Aid and others actively partook in the protests, providing monetary and emotional support to the protesters in their demands against the Centre. It cannot be discounted that the central aim of these organisations was to stoke Khalistani sentiments among the people and characterise the Centre as against the interests of Sikhs. Even banned foreign-based organisations such as Sikhs For Justice, a Khalistani outpost based out of the United States, voiced their support to the farmers, spurring them to continue stirring anarchy under the pretext of carrying out peaceful protests against the three farm laws.

On November 19, 2021, PM Modi announced that his government would take back the three farms after failing in their endeavour to convince a section of protesting farmers about its benefits. The announcement should have led farmer unions to call off the protests. Instead, they came up with a fresh set of demands, warning the government that if they don’t fulfil it, the protests would continue unabated. 

Despite all the information being available on the public platform, Sabrina Siddiqui went on to accuse the Modi Govt of not handling the farmers’ protest prudently. She tweeted, “Modi has drawn immense scrutiny for his handling of #FarmersProtests, Kashmir, treatment of religious minorities & crackdown on free speech. No specific mention of those issues in WH readout, but looks like some general prodding from Biden on democratc values and norms.”

These are just a few of the countless anti-Modi tweets that we found on Sabrina Siddiqui’s Twitter timeline as we scrolled down, clearly showcasing her profound hate for Modi.

Well, if one goes through Sabrina Siddiqui’s social media accounts carefully, one would know that her political bias quite evidently reflects her cultural and religious bias. Siddiqui has many times in the past clearly reflected her anti-India and anti-Hindu sentiments through her posts. So going by her past antecedents, it is plausible that Sabrina Siddiqui’s question to PM Modi during the joint press conference in the United States was not based on any actual information but rather driven by a sinister agenda to berate Modi and India on a global platform.

Muslim lover arrested after Muslim woman commits suicide, Islamists, including The Wire ‘journalist’ blame a Hindu in the name of ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’ conspiracy theory

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim lover arrested after Muslim woman commits suicide, Islamists, including The Wire ‘journalist’ blame a Hindu in the name of ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’ conspiracy theory

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.

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’. 

According to the initial report by Swarajya, the woman died due to suicide. The station house officer (SHO) of Kotwali Nagar Police in Aligarh confirmed the suicide and stated that the man with whom the woman had been staying after Deepak had surrendered in the case. 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.

The officer reported that on the morning of June 19, according to Faizan’s landlord, Faizan left the residence and went to see a relative. The landlord discovered Muskan’s body hanging from the ceiling at 10 pm. 

“The landlord became suspicious when there was no sound coming from Faizan and Muskan’s room all day,” the SHO, Ramvakeel Singh was quoted as saying by Swarajya.

He gave the door a gentle tap at around 10, and it opened without any difficulty. He then discovered Muskan hanging from the ceiling of the room after which he called the cops right away. The ‘bhagwa love trap’ theory was triggered by initial suspicions of Muskan’s parents.

They also provided the Kotwali Nagar Police with a written statement outlining their allegations. The SHO, on the other hand, informed that Muskan’s parents 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.

Muskan’s mother talking to media. Allegation letter by Muskan’s family (Swarajya)

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.

According to an initial investigation, Muskan moved in with Faizan, who is also from Aligarh, roughly 2.5 years ago after parting ways with Deepak. “They lived in several places including Delhi. In their current house, in which her body was found, they moved a couple of months ago,” the SHO said.

According to Circle Officer Abhay Kumar Pandey, Faizan is currently being held in judicial custody on charges of facilitating suicide. He stated that more inquiry may involve questioning Deepak as well. The officer also asserted that the claims of a “bhagwa love trap” in this case are absurd.

Conspiracy of Bhagwa Love Trap

A long-running belief among Muslim organisations claims that Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) particularly educates Hindu men to target Muslim women for relationships in order to persuade them to convert to their religion to Hinduism.

The conspiracy theorists refer to it as the “bhagwa love trap,” where “bhagwa” means saffron and refers to Hindus. Prominent clerics, adherents of particular political parties, influencers, journalists, and anonymous social media accounts are among those who are blindy promoting this propaganda.

With the increasing radicalization among Islamists in India, Hindu men are repeatedly being attacked if they even walk with a female Muslim colleague. At these times, Hindu men always end up at the mercy of law enforcement authorities.

A couple of months ago, Islamists began peddling the baseless theory, “Bhagwa Love Trap” to counter 100s of documented cases of impersonation, identity fraud, and forced conversions to Islam (popularly known as Love Jihad). While it started out as a social media hashtag, Islamists began sharing videos of random hijab-wearing Muslim women and their male Hindu friends/ acquaintances and partners without their consent.

Such incidents even happening today are followed by heated arguments, physical assault on the Hindu men, and even molestation of the Muslim women. The attacks are carried out under the pretext that a sinister plot is underway to convert Muslim women to Hinduism by luring them into a love trap.

It is not a new phenomenon for Islamists to come up with conspiracy theories that absolve them of any wrongdoing or project them as perpetual victims. This time they seem to use the conspiracy theory of the ‘Bhagwa Love trap’ to rationalize their act of moral policing and violence against the Hindu community.

Multiple videos have now come to light where rabid Islamist mobs are seen openly harassing, abusing, and manhandling inter-faith couples. These videos have been reported from different cities/States of India. The victims are targeted on roads, restaurants, eateries, and even hotels. Based on local reports and social media videos, OpIndia has compiled several such cases where Hindu men and Muslim women were attacked by extremists under the pretext of ‘Bhagwa love trap.’ Those reports can be accessed here and here.

Barack Obama, who should be declared a war criminal, pontificates to India about human rights: Here is his track record

OpIndia Staff
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Barack Obama, who should be declared a war criminal, pontificates to India about human rights: Here is his track record

On Thursday (June 22), former US President Barack Obama courted controversy by virtue-signalling India about its ‘human rights’ record.

Obama, who has a notorious record as a potential war criminal, suggested that the Indian Prime Minister must be told by the Biden administration about protecting the ‘Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India.’ He also hinted at another ‘partition’ if India, under the Modi government, did not mend its ways.

The former US President made the contentious remarks during an interview with CNN news host Christiane Amanpour, just hours before PM Modi made his historic address at the joint session of the US Congress.

He said, “If President (Joe Biden) meets with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the protection of Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning.”

Barack Obama also claimed, “If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, then, part of the conversation would be that 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”

The former US President, who is now mouthing platitudes about protecting the interests of Muslims in India, has been single-handedly responsible for the death of 100s of innocent people in Muslim-majority countries.

Human rights record of ‘war monger’ Barack Obama

Barack Obama scripted history in 2008 by being the first African-American man to become the President of the United States. In 2016, he also created another record of being the only President to take the country to war during the entirety of his 8-year term.

As per a report by the ‘Bureau of Investigative Journalism’, Obama oversaw more drone strikes (54) in his first year than George W Bush did in his entire term. Prior to his Presidency, he would talk about ending ‘dumb wars’ but did the opposite when he came to power.

Barack Obama, who holds the distinction of being a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, reportedly launched airstrikes in at least seven Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Pakistan.

He sanctioned the use of a whopping 563 drone strikes and killed 3797 people in this process. In one instance, a CIA drone strike targeted a funeral in Pakistan, which led to the death of 41 civilians in Pakistan.

Data via the Bureau of Investigative Journalism

More than 89 civilians in the same country were killed by the Obama administration over the course of 128 targeted drone strikes. The US President was aware that the drone strikes were far from accurate and were increasingly leading to the death of civilians.

But this did not stop him from continuing with such attacks in Somalia (2010) and Yemen (2011). Reportedly, 21 children and 12 women (five of them being pregnant)were killed by the Obama administration’s first strike in Yemen, with the aim of targeting Al-Qaeda.

It also came to light that in 2016 alone, the US government under Obama carried out at least 26,171 bombings, which translates to 72 bombings every day on civilians in other countries.

Mass civilian casualties were also reported in Afghanistan. An average of 582 people were killed annually in Afghanistan by the US, its allies and the Afghan government in Kabul between 2007 to 2016.

The Obama administration has also been accused of conducting ‘double-tap drone strikes’, which means that the site of a drone strike is attacked again. This is despite knowing the fact that such follow-up strikes lead to the death of first responders, which is against the guidelines laid down by the 1948 Geneva Conventions.

Obama administration warmed up to Muslim brotherhood, oversaw the rise of ISIS

During the tenure of Barack Obama, the US government warmed up to the radical Islamist outfit ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ in Egypt during the Arab Spring. It was a complete departure from the approach undertaken by previous US administrations.

According to author Hany Ghoraba, Barack Obama believed that he could separate the terror outfit ‘Al-Qaeda’ and Muslim Brotherhood. “Empowering the Muslim Brotherhood would, according to Obama, weaken Al-Qaeda in a decision that can be considered as one of the severest cases of political naiveté in modern times,” he noted.

“The core fault of the Obama administration was its adoption of a false rhetoric, presented for years by Islamist activists and later liberal Western politicians and pundits, that there is a distinction between the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda,” Ghoraba pointed out.

The Arab Spring led to significant political changes in several countries, including the ousting of long-standing autocratic leaders. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, namely, the Freedom and Justice Party, emerged as a major political force.

In 2011, the Obama administration thought it was a great idea to engage with the Muslim brotherhood-led- government, mistaking it to be a ‘new democratic force’ and looking past its radical Islamism, dangerous ideology and its mistreatment of religious minorities.

Later when protests erupted against the government in Eqypt, the Obama administration quickly took a U-turn and called for the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Documents now reveal that the US government funded anti-Morsi activities.

The Presidential tenure of Barack Obama was also marked by the rise of the dreaded terrorist organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria aka ISIS.

One of the major contributing factors was the withdrawal of the US troops, failed negotiations with the Iraqi government and lack of residual US military presence in the country. The security vacuum left in Iraq gave opportunities for radical Islamist groups to expand.

Conclusion

Barack Obama has been at the helm of building secret drone bases in the Middle East and Africa and increasing the deployment of warships and troops in the Western Pacific and Eastern Europe.

He has been accused by his first three Defense Secretaries at the Pentagon of micro-manging the military from the White House. Through the killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Barack Obama ensured that Libya plunged into complete chaos.

Later, the oil-rich nation became a magnet for terrorist groups. Despite his active war-mongering and mass killing of civilians in the name of drone attacks against terror groups, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. With the left media acting as his PR agent, Obama has been able to keep up with the false image of being a ‘great ex-President.’

At the time of PM Modi’s visit to the US on the invite of the incumbent President Joe Biden, Barack Obama is pontificating the Modi administration about human rights and peddling the distorted narrative of ‘Muslims being in danger in India.’

PM Modi’s Egypt tour to begin tomorrow: He will visit the Al Hakim mosque in Cairo and Heliopolis War Grave cemetery

ANI
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PM Modi’s Egypt tour to begin tomorrow: He will visit the Al Hakim mosque in Cairo and Heliopolis War Grave cemetery

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit the 11th-century Al-Hakim Mosque here during his two-day visit to Egypt beginning on Saturday.

PM Modi’s visit to the mosque is scheduled as the first event on the last day of his two-day program in Egypt’s sprawling capital Cairo.

The Prime Minister will spend nearly half an hour at the Al-Hakim Mosque-a historic and prominent mosque in Cairo named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985-1021), the 16th Fatimid caliph.

The mosque was originally built by Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah’s father, Caliph Al-‘Aziz Billah, towards the end of the 10th century, in the year 990, and was later completed by Al-Hakim in the year 1013.

The mosque is also known as Al-Anwar, meaning “the Illuminated”, similar in style to the name of the earlier Al-Azhar Mosque founded by the Fatimids. It is the second-largest mosque in the city of Cairo, and the fourth oldest.

The mosque is located in the heart of Islamic Cairo, on the east side of al-Mu’izz Street, just south of Bab al-Futuh (one of the northern city gates of Fatimid Cairo).

The Al-Hakim Mosque is a significant example of Fatimid architecture and history in Cairo. The rectangular mosque covers an area of 13,560-metre square out of which 5000 square metres is the large courtyard or sahn at the centre. The remaining area is divided into the four covered halls on each side of the mosque, with the Bayt al salat, or sanctuary area and prayer hall towards the qibla wall, being the largest at 4,000 square metres and consisting of five bays.

The mosque has two distinctive minarets on its north and west corners, which were modified by Al-Hakim himself in 1010 by adding a square salient around them. They are the oldest surviving minarets in the city. The mosque also has the distinction of being the oldest mosque in the world to have two minarets erected together at the time of its initial construction.

The mosque has eleven gates, of which the most important is the central one on the main facade, made of stone. The gate has a prominent portico with carved niches and squares on its tip, similar to the Mahdiyah Mosque in Tunisia.
The mosque also has pointed arches supported by rectangular columns in the courtyard and the prayer hall, reminiscent of the Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo.

The mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is an important cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community in Cairo. The latest renovation project was the second such initiative undertaken by the Dawoodi Bohra community after the first renovation and restoration project that was completed nearly forty years ago.

The renovations were undertaken as part of a large-scale plan by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to boost tourism to Cairo’s Islamic sites. The work was co-funded by the Dawoodi Bohra community.

Work on the mosque began in 2017 and included repairs to water damage and cracks in the walls. Wooden fixtures, including the mosque’s doors, its pulpit and the signature decorative wooden tiles that line the base of its ceilings, were bolstered.

The ornate chandeliers of the mosque, one of Cairo’s most prominent Fatimid sites, were also restored. Security cameras were installed as well as more efficient electrical wiring to service both the indoor areas and the large courtyard that the mosque is known for.

Intricate restorations were also undertaken on the mosque’s facades and marble floors.

The al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Mosque, a nearly 1000-year-old structure in the heart of the Egyptian capital of Cairo, was reopened on the 27th of February this year following extensive renovations that took six years to complete.
PM Modi will make a State visit to Egypt on June 24 and 25.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said, “It is worth mentioning here that this will be Prime Minister’s first visit to Egypt and I might also mention that this would be the first official bilateral visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Egypt since 1997.”

PM Modi during his first Egypt tour will also visit Heliopolis War Grave cemetery to pay tribute to the Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice fighting for Egypt during the First World War.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

West Bengal Panchayat Polls: Unopposed wins by TMC see a massive decline despite violence during nominations

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal Panchayat Polls: Unopposed wins by TMC see a massive decline despite violence during nominations

West Bengal Panchayat polls witnessed a significant decline for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) as they secure just under 10% of seats without facing any opposition, marking a sharp drop from the 34% uncontested wins they achieved in the previous election. The deadline for withdrawal of nominations concluded on June 20, 2023, with the elections scheduled to take place on July 8. The results will be declared on July 11.

With a sharp drop from the 34% of seats won without contest in the previous election, the TMC could only secure below 10% of the seats uncontested this time. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) experienced a significant decline in unopposed victories, indicating a weakening hold on power.

As per the figures provided by the State Election Commission, the TMC secured approximately 7000 seats (9.47%) out of the total 73,887 without any opposition. Out of these, they won 6,238 (9.7%) out of total 63,229 gram panchayat seats, 759 (7.8%) out of 9,730 panchayat samiti seats, and eight out of 928 (0.86%) zila parishad seats without facing any rivals.

In contrast, the opposition parties were able to secure only a handful of seats, with the majority going uncontested to the TMC. The ruling party’s uncontested victories were primarily concentrated in districts like Birbhum, Bankura, Murshidabad, and South 24 Parganas, which have been marred by clashes and violence in recent times.

During the 2018 panchayat elections, the TMC had won a much larger share of uncontested seats, including 16814 (34.5%) of the gram panchayat seats, 3059 (33.2%) of the panchayat samiti seats, and 203 (24.6%) of the zila parishad seats.

In the district of Birbhum, where the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has dominance over all panchayats, both Lok Sabha seats, and 10 out of the 11 assembly constituencies, the party managed to secure only one out of the 52 zilla parishad seats. TMC leaders have stated that their candidates emerged victorious without any opposition in over 800-odd gram panchayat seats and approximately 120 panchayat samiti seats.

A senior TMC leader attempted to explain the increase in opposition nominations for zila parishads by suggesting that the party had encouraged a peaceful filing process at the district magistrate offices, allowing more opposition candidates to come forward. However, opposition parties dismissed these claims, arguing that their ability to file a higher number of nominations reflected the diminishing organizational control of the TMC.

Critics of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused her of presiding over a lawless rule, allowing a deteriorating law and order situation and the unchecked hooliganism of TMC workers. They pointed out instances where opposition candidates were prevented from filing nominations in Diamond Harbour, allegedly using the state machinery to stifle their participation.

CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty asserted that despite facing such obstacles, the opposition parties managed to submit nominations in most areas, suggesting that the TMC was apprehensive about an impending defeat.

Anubrata Mondal, the president of TMC in Birbhum district, is currently incarcerated in Delhi’s Tihar jail due to his involvement in a cattle smuggling case under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). Despite this setback, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) remains the sole party contesting all 2859 gram panchayat seats and all 490 panchayat samiti seats in Birbhum. In comparison, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), TMC’s closest rival, is only contesting 1284 seats in gram panchayats and 297 seats in panchayat samiti. Based on the available figures, the TMC has thus won approximately 920 seats in Birbhum.

In the district of North 24 Parganas, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is the sole party contesting in all 4535 Grampanchayat seats. On the other hand, both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have fielded approximately 2,200 candidates each. The Congress, however, has chosen to contest in only 466 seats. Notably, in the regions of Purulia and West Midnapore districts, where the BJP performed well in 2018, the number of BJP candidates is considerably higher compared to other opposition parties.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar has remarked on the sharp decline from 34% to 9.5% in the unopposed wins of the TMC in the panchayat elections. He said, “This 9.5% figure would have been 4.5 % if we could file nominations and there was no violence. TMC has destroyed democracy.”

These developments raise questions about the effectiveness of Mamata Banerjee’s leadership and the state’s democratic processes. Critics argue that the diminishing number of uncontested wins reflects a waning grip on power and the erosion of the TMC’s dominance in West Bengal.

MP High Court directs state govt to ensure shelter homes are not misused for giving religious education

OpIndia Staff
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MP High Court directs state govt to ensure shelter homes are not misused for giving religious education

On Monday, June 19, the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state government to take steps to ensure that no religious education is provided to children who reside in shelter homes registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The single bench of Justice Vishal Dhagat further ordered that only modern and secular education be imparted to the children. 

The Court ruled that the term “education” as defined in Section 53(1)(iii) does not include “religious education.” Therefore, shelter home administrators should provide secular education to children. It was observed that education means modern education that will enable them to earn a living later in life.

This comes after Priyank Kanungo, chairman of the National Child Rights Protection Commission (NCPCR) raided a children’s home named Asha Kiran Institute. During the raid, it was found that the Hindu children were forced to offer Christian religious prayers, read Bible and visit Church. It was also alleged that the Hindu students were not allowed to visit temples or celebrate Diwali. They were reportedly not allowed to follow the Hindu way of worship. 

Following the raid, the NCPCR chairman lodged a complaint on May 30 against the authorities of the shelter home in question. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against Jerald Alameda and Leeji Joseph under sections Section 7 of the JJ Act and Sections 3 and 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.

To challenge the registration of FIR, accused Jerald Alameda and Leeji Joseph contended that under the provision of Section 54 of the JJ Act, the inspecting team should comprise three members, including a woman and a medical officer. 

It was further argued that even if the children were found with Bible or were made to chant Christian prayers, it cannot be concluded as religious conversion. The applicants contended that under section 75 of the JJ Act, no criminal offence was committed.

This argument, however, was met by the State’s counter that acts committed by the applicants Almeeja and Joseph are covered under a section of the MP Freedom of Religion Act. 

Furthermore, it was alleged that this is a case of mass conversion since more than two children in the Child Care Home are coerced into reading the Bible, going to church, and praying adding that the infraction is serious in nature.

As there is no complaint filed by the person who was converted, the person who was wronged, the person against whom an attempt was made to convert, or their relatives, the Court held that the police did not have jurisdiction to inquire or investigate an offence committed under Section 3 of the MP Freedom of Religion Act. In addition to this, the anticipatory bail applications of the applicants were allowed.

Assam floods: 2.61 lakh people across 196 villages in Bajali district affected

ANI
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Assam floods: 2.61 lakh people across 196 villages in Bajali district affected

 The flood situation in the Bajali district of Assam is still grim, as nearly 2.61 lakh people in 196 villages have been affected by the flood.

The flood waters of the Pahumara River have submerged several villages in the Pathsala area.

The flood waters submerged Swahid Madan Rauta Sub-Divisional Civil Hospital in Pathsala, and the hospital authority shifted all patients from the hospital to other hospitals on Friday.

On the other hand, the flood waters of the Pahumara River have breached a large portion of the embankment at Medhikuchi village and washed away several houses.

The affected villagers are now taking shelter on roads, embankments, and highlands. According to reports, the flood waters have submerged 297.30 hectares of cropland in Bajali district.

On the other hand, the flood water damaged a bridge in the Kumarikata area of Tamulpur, Assam.

In the Kokrajhar district of Assam, the flood waters of the Madati River washed away a wooden bridge in the Gossaigaon area on Thursday.

 (This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

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