The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday rejected the bail petitions of five accused who were arrested in the money laundering probe emerging out of the Delhi government’s now scrapped Excise Policy.
While rejecting the bail plea, the court noted that none of the accused deserves to be released on bail in this case at this stage of proceedings as the allegations made against them are quite serious.
The Special Judge MK Nagpal while rejecting the bail plea of Vijay Nair, Abhishek Bonipally, Sameer Mahendru, Sarath P Reddy and Binoy Babu observed that the accused persons do not even satisfy the triple test as laid down in the case of P Chidambaram vs Directorate of Enforcement being relied upon by Defence Counsels.
The court said, “It can be seen from their personal and family history given on record that none of them is a flight risk and further even though the apprehensions being expressed by the prosecution regarding the influencing of witnesses by them may not be true and can otherwise also be taken care of by imposing some conditions, but keeping in view their conduct as reflected on record it will not be possible for this court to hold that they will make no attempt to tamper with the evidence of this case in case they are permanently released on bail as serious allegations of tampering with evidence by way of destruction or change of their mobile phones, various times have already been made by the ED against them and further even the specific allegations of destruction of digital data have also been levelled against the accused P. Sarath Chandra Reddy.”
“However, in the considered opinion of this court, the oral and documentary evidence which has already been discussed above and further which has been placed on record along with the two prosecution complaints filed before this court by the ED to date, nowhere warrants such an inference to be drawn therefrom and thus, the prosecution complaints filed against the accused persons by the ED cannot be held to be piecemeal complaints or chargesheets as the investigation qua all of them stands already completed and even specific submissions to this effect are found made in the said complaints, though some further investigation regarding role of other persons involved in the commission of alleged offences and to trace out the complete trail of ill-gotten money is still kept pending,” said the court in its order.
Vijay Nair is the former communication head of the Aam Aadmi Party and Sarath P Reddy, Binoy Babu, Sameer Mahendru and Abhishek Boinpally are the South-based businessmen.
The Enforcement Directorate in its second chargesheet in the Liquor excise policy case has 12 accused names are mentioned in the chargesheet in total – 5 arrested persons (Vijay Nair, Sharath Reddy, Binoy Babu, Abhishek Boinpally, Amit Arora) and 7 companies.
Further investigation is continuing to investigate the role of ECIR named accused and other persons on various allegations said the ED.
The first chargesheet was filed by the ED in the case against Sameer Mahendru and his related firms.
In the case, the ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval. The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.
The FIR in the case was instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
An FIR has been registered against eight people after cricketer Prithvi Shaw’s friend’s car was attacked. As per reports, Shaw refused to take selfie with the two fans and they in turn attacked his friend’s car.
As per reports, Shaw with his friend were at a five star hotel in Mumbai when they were attacked. A police complaint has been registered against eight people at Oshiwara Police Station. As per a complaint filed by Shaw’s friend Ashish Surendra Yadav, his car was attacked with baseball bats. Then the mob ran after the car and threatened to file a fake case if they did not pay up.
Prithvi Shaw refused to give selfie
Shaw had gone for a dinner at a five star hotel in Santacruz. At that time, one of the accused came up to him and asked for a selfie. Shawn took selfie with two fans but then more people came up to him and demanded he gets selfie clicked with them. Shaw then turned them down saying that he had come for dinner with his friend and did not want to be disturbed. When the group insisted further, Shaw’s friend complained about them to the manager.
The manager requested the gathered group to leave. When Shaw and his friend came out of the hotel, some people were standing there with baseball bats. One of the accused broke one glass window. Shaw was at that time sitting in the car. The complainant said that Shaw was inside the car and they did not want to trouble him. Hence, they put him in another car and sent him off.
Shaw’s friend then stopped the car at Lotus Petrol Pump in Jogeshwari where one woman came and offered to sort out the mess if they would cough up Rs 50,000. Else she would file a fake case against them.
Eventually, Yadav filed a police complaint in this regard at Oshiwara Police station and the police has started the investigation. The police have obtained details about the ones who had approached Shaw for selfie and they have been identified as Sana alias Sapna Gill and Shobhit Thakur.
On Thursday, February 16, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal gloated over Delhi being ‘removed’ from a list of the most polluted cities globally. CM Kejriwal congratulated the people of Delhi for their efforts and also said that there is a long way to bring Delhi to the list of the cleanest cities in the world.
In his tweet, Kejriwal shared a chart of the world’s most polluted cities by Hindustan Times and wrote, “After a long time, Delhi is not in the list of most polluted cities of the world. Efforts of Delhiites are slowly but surely paying off. Congrats Delhi! But its still a long way to go. We have to be counted in the cleanest cities of the world.”
After a long time, Delhi is not in the list of most polluted cities of the world. Efforts of Delhiites are slowly but surely paying off. Congrats Delhi! But its still a long way to go. We have to be counted in the most clean cities of the world pic.twitter.com/iSWmLdBzQ6
In the list, Mumbai ranked second among the ten most polluted cities in the world, according to the Swiss air tracking index IQAir, a real-time global air quality monitor.
The list was compiled using data that was gathered between January 29 and February 2 to create it. According to the list, Mumbai is ranked as one of the second-most polluted cities in the world. Lahore, in Pakistan, came in the top place on the list. The list also included the names of the cities of Kabul, Kaohsiung, Bishkek, Accra, Krakow, Doha, Astana, and Santiago sequentially.
OpIndia, however, checked the latest rankings on IQAir and found that Delhi tops the list of the most polluted cities worldwide even as Kejriwal cherrypicked the data to pat his back.
In the latest live ranking, Delhi is at the top followed by Lahore and Bishkek, and at number 4 is ranked Mumbai, other than Delhi and Mumbai, Kolkata has also made it to the top 10 ranking at number 9.
Image via IQAir
While CM Kejriwal boasts Delhi not being among the top 10, the fact remains unchanged that Delhi has been consistently struggling with poor air quality and pollution.
Delhi remains the most polluted capital
An article by IQAir details why the air quality of India’s national capital remains the most polluted in the world. The article notes that smoke produced during the stubble burning season along with several urban sources work as a deadly combination resulting in the ‘worst air quality on the earth.’
Moreover, it is also pointed out that Delhi’s annual air pollution is 19 times greater than the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline. It is notable that in 2021, the WHO revised its average PM2.5 (particulate matter measuring 2.5) guidelines.
Even as you read this article, the air quality of the national capital remains severe. Even during the time period of January 29 and February 2, Delhi’s air quality fluctuated between severe (301-400), unhealthy (201-300), and poor (101-200) as per the data by New Delhi Air Quality Index.
Graphics via aqi.in
Stubble burning
The Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has for years been blaming the neighbouring Punjab and Haryana and the central government for the pollution caused by stubble (Parali) burning in these states. However, even after securing power in Punjab in the last state assembly elections, it has been seen how the Aam Aadmi Party has miserably failed at curbing pollution and improving air quality.
It was reported in October 2022 year that the state of Punjab witnessed around 8147 incidents of stubble burning from September 15 to October 27. The state also recorded a 20% increase in such incidents in comparison to the number of farm fires in the same period last year, affecting the quality of air in the major parts of Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
Despite the burning issue of farmer fires, the Punjab Assembly shelved the discussion on the topic. “The issue was not taken up as most of the sitting went into discussing the alleged usurping of SC scholarship funds to the tune of ₹64 crores by the previous Congress party government,” reported Hindustan Times on October 3, 2022.
In November last year, the AQI level went up in almost all zones in the city-state, with many places registering AQI above 500.
In its assessment, the Central panel noted that the AAP-led Punjab Government took negligible steps to control stubble burning. The Centre pointed out the bio-decomposers’ field experiments were successful in UP, Haryana, and Delhi. No efforts were made in Punjab by the state government to employ the technique for stubble management. Furthermore, while Haryana and Uttar Pradesh opted for bio-decomposer usage across 5,00,000 acres and 138,000 acres, respectively, Punjab used it only in 7,500 acres. Nurture Farms used another bio decomposer in another 250,000 acres in the state through a CSR initiative. The panel added that not only bio-decomposer but also the government failed to deploy residue management machines effectively. There was inadequate implementation of public sensitization over the matter.
Recently, CM Kejriwal while speaking about the different causes of rising pollution in the national capital at the opening of a real-time pollution data analyzer supersite in Delhi said that biomass burning is responsible for one-fifth of the state’s pollution, which rises considerably during the cold months when security guards and drivers burn wood and other biomass, leading the city to become a gas chamber due to temperature anomaly. He said that when security guards and car drivers at night burn wood to keep themselves warm in the winter seasons, it causes severe air pollution in the capital city.
दिल्ली में प्रदूषण अब पंजाब के किसानों की पराली से नहीं बढ़ता है। AAP सरकार ने गहन रिसर्च करके एक्सपर्टस से बात कर पता किया है कि अब प्रदूषण दिल्ली में सिक्योरिटी गार्ड-ड्राइवरों की वजह से बढ़ता है,यह कहना है दिल्ली के उस CM का… जो अपनी जिम्मेदारियों से हमेशा भागते हैं। pic.twitter.com/Rgy2Cva2hi
For the past four years, the Kejriwal government in Delhi has been banning the manufacture and sale of firecrackers on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Diwali as it is apparently an easier thing to do than to chalk out an action plan to address the issue of stubble burning effectively.
A day after Diwali last year which is 25th October 2022, despite a firecracker ban, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at a ‘very poor’ level even though it was reported that it was better than in previous years.
On October 24, 2022, CM Kejriwal took the opportunity to pat his back as he credited his government for supposedly improving the air quality in the National Capital.
He shared a news article claiming that Delhi has been removed from the list of Asia’s most polluted cities. The Delhi Chief Minister made the claim that India’s National Capital was no longer polluted.
“Some years back, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world. Not anymore! The people of Delhi worked very hard. Today, we have improved a lot. Whereas we have improved, it’s still a long way. We will continue working hard so that we find a place in the best cities in the world,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Some years back, Del was the most polluted city in the world. Not any more!
People of Del worked v hard. Today, we hv improved a lot. Whereas we hv improved, its still a long way. We will continue working hard so that we find a place in the best cities of the world. https://t.co/UTL18dEWP7
The Delhi CM has had an old habit of cherrypicking data to hog the limelight, and deliberately ignoring overall facts. Notably, in the year 2021, IQAir published a report wherein New Delhi featured at the top of a list of 107 regional capital cities with the highest average annual PM2.5 concentration that year.
The Swiss air quality technology company collected data from 6,745 cities, spread across 117 countries to prepare the report.
“India’s annual average PM2.5 levels reached 58.1 in 2021, ending a three-year trend of improving air quality. India’s annual PM2.5 averages have now returned to pre-quarantine concentrations measured in 2019,” the report asserted.
The air quality report pointed out that in 2021, India was home to 11 out of the 15 most polluted cities in South and Central Asia. During that period, PM2.5 levels in Delhi increased from 84 μg/m to 96.4 μg/m3.
Graphics via IQAir
While Kejriwal may continue to present data selectively and gain attention, the fact remains unchanged that Delhi’s pollution continues to pose a threat to the health of the citizens.
A controversy has erupted in Karnataka after BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel’s statement on Tipu Sultan where he said that ‘Ardent followers of Tipu sultan should not survive on this fertile land’. The opposition has taken an aggressive stand against the BJP after his statement. Meanwhile, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has also reacted to the statement.
While speaking to the news agency ANI in this regard, Asaduddin Owaisi reacted angrily by saying, “I am taking Tipu Sultan’s name, let me see what you will do. Does the PM agree with what the Karnataka BJP president has said? This is an open call for violence, murder & genocide. Will the BJP govt in Karnataka not take action against this? This is hatred.”
I am taking Tipu Sultan’s name, let me see what you will do. Does the PM agree with what the Karnataka BJP president has said? This is an open call for violence, murder & genocide. Will BJP govt in Karnataka not take action against this? This is hatred: AIMIM MP Owaisi pic.twitter.com/fIlhDXivBV
What did Nalin Kumar Kateel say about Tipu Sultan?
While addressing a public meeting at Yelaburga in Karnataka, BJP’s state president Nalin Kumar Kateel talked about Tipu Sultan. He said, “We are devotees of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman. We pray and bow to Lord Hanuman and we are not descendants of Tipu. Let’s send Tipu’s descendants back home. I ask people here whether you worship Lord Hanuman or Tipu. Then will you send those who are staunch followers of Tipu to the jungle? I am issuing a challenge – those who are staunch followers of Tipu should not survive on this fertile land.”
Medieval Islamist tyrant Tipu sultan forcefully converted thousands of Hindus to Islam. The previous Siddaramaiah government had celebrated Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary for two consecutive years. The BJP canceled these celebrations after returning to power and has been consistently raising questions about eulogizing the Islamist tyrant.
Meanwhile, the descendants of Tipu Sultan expressed their displeasure saying that Tipu Sultan’s name is being used by the political leaders at their own convenience. According to a report by News18, Tipu sultan’s descendant Mansoor Ali said, “Why is the name of our ancestor Tipu Sultan being dragged and politicized at every given opportunity? We have had enough. Political parties cannot use his name whenever they feel it is convenient. We will be forced to file defamation cases against those who misuse his name from now on.”
Several days ago, an opposition leader in Bangladesh had termed Hindu holy scriptures as “pornographic”, whereas the government did not take any action against him for such extremely deplorable remarks.
A doctored photo has been repeatedly shared by Islamists in Bangladesh on social media platforms, including Facebook that appears to show Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina receiving Hindu vermillion on her forehead, while the original photo was taken during her visit to India in 2012 and it does not show her taking part in the ritual. The claim was accompanied by two photos, one showing Hasina praying in a black hijab and the other appearing to show her receiving a traditional vermilion mark on her forehead.
Islamists in Bangladesh have altered the original photograph through photoshop, while the caption of the original AP photo reads: “Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inspects a guard of honor in Agartala, in the northeastern Indian state of Tripura, Wednesday, January 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)”.
A similar photo of Hasina performing the Hindu ritual was circulated online in 2022 – to accuse her of being pro-Hindu and pro-India to secure her rule after Bangladesh’s government refused to condemn comments made by Nupur Sharma, the former spokesperson for India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the Prophet Mohammed in May 2022.
Following Nupur Sharma’s remarks, the French news agency AFP reported that several countries, including Qatar, Iran and Kuwait, described her remarks as “Islamophobic” and summoned their Indian ambassadors to lodge protests.
But despite rallies in Bangladesh demanding the government to lodge similar protests, information minister Hasan Mahmud said Nupur Sharma’s remarks were largely an external issue for Bangladesh and refused to raise the matter with India.
For years, Jamaat-e-Islami and its ideological ally Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been continuously branding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and leaders of the ruling Awami League as “agents of Hindus and India” while in some of the statements Jamaat and BNP had accused Sheikh Hasina for placing Hindus in important positions in government offices, armed forces, law enforcement agencies, and judiciary. They even went further by stating, Sheikh Hasina was turning Bangladesh into a Hindu state or subservient “state” under India. Unfortunately, none of these dangerous remarks was properly countered by the ruling party or state machinery.
Meanwhile, since 2013, Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) a pro-Caliphate group of madrassa teachers and students have been pushing forward their agenda of stopping the Sheikh Hasina government’s policy of empowerment of women, while they also have been demanding the deletion of texts from the national education curriculum that promotes Hindu religion. Leaders of HeI have also been demanding the introduction of a harsher blasphemy law in Bangladesh with provisions of capital punishment for critics of Islam and jihad.
Sitting in London, Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of BNP and a convicted fugitive with deeper connections with Pakistani spy agency Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) has been issuing video statements (copying the patterns of Al Qaeda kingpins) calling upon his party activists to wage jihad against Sheikh Hasina and ruling Awami League and embrace martyrdom by sacrificing lives to “salvage” Bangladesh from the grips of “pro-India” elements.
He has been spending millions of dollars towards lobbyists in the United States and the United Kingdom with the agenda of buying the sympathy and support of the Western leaders and using such sympathy in ousting the Awami League government from power through unconstitutional means. Islamists want to return to power through the backdoor with the active support from the Biden administration as well as those Islamist-inclined Western leaders, while Pakistani ISI wants to turn Bangladesh into a Hindu-hating nation.
As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is expected to begin on Wednesday, 22 March of this year, a struggling and broke Pakistan is bracing for a further jump in the already skyrocketing inflation in the country.
The government increased the General Sales Tax to 18% from 17% coupled with federal excise duty on Wednesday, adding worries for customers who are already struggling under rising prices for nearly all necessities.
Despite the rupee’s value recovering by almost Rs. 11, which lowers the cost of importing raw materials and finished goods, manufacturers have yet to offer any price relief, reported Dawn.
Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association General Secretary Umer Islam Khan projected a surge of Rs. 3 to Rs.5 per kg/litre in ghee and cooking prices after the GST hike.
According to him, commercial banks continue to be reluctant to open letters of credit (LCs) for the importation of edible oils. After the inauguration of LCs, goods generally take 45 to 60 days to reach Karachi ports.
“If this situation persists the industry would be unable to meet the demand for ghee/cooking oil in Ramadan,” he warned.
Pricey Steel And Cement
As a result of the increase in GST, Agha Steel Industries has increased the price of steel bars in the diameters 16-32 mm and 10-12 mm to Rs. 304,000 and Rs. 306,000 from Rs. 300,000 and Rs. 302,000.
From Rs. 301,500 and Rs. 303,500, Naveena Steel Mills has announced revised rates of Rs. 305,500 (16-32 mm) and Rs. 307,500 (10-12 mm).
According to a cement manufacturer, the combined effect of the GST increase and the Federal Excise Duty (FED) increase from Rs. 1.5 to Rs. 2 per kg will further elevate the price of a 50 kg cement bag by Rs. 38–40 per bag.
Faraz-ur-Rehman, president of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), claimed that the new taxes measures to placate the International Monetary Fund will further reduce consumer purchasing power.
Expensive Bikes
The effects of new tax laws were quickly communicated by automakers. For instance, Atlas Honda Ltd (AHL), the company that assembles Honda motorcycles, raised the rates on Wednesday by Rs. 9,000 to Rs. 35,000.
The new prices for CD70, CD70 Dream, Pridor, CG125, CG125 S, CB125F, CB150F, and CBI150F (Silver) are respectively Rs. 137,900, Rs. 147,500, Rs. 81,500, Rs. 205,900, Rs. 243,900, Rs. 330,900, Rs. 418,900, and Rs. 422,900.
As opposed to the previous rate of Rs. 18,729-56,361, the government would now collect Rs. 21,035-64,510 on various engine capacity bikes.
According to a recent projection by Moody Analytics, Pakistani inflation could average 33% in the first half of 2023 before falling lower, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout won’t likely be enough to restart the country’s economy on its own. Moody’s has predicted a 2.1% economic growth for the year 2023.
The famous RJ of Ahmedabad has been ‘caught’ by Police in Ahmedabad in illegal money lending case. Shocked? Here is what happened.
Since yesterday, a video is going viral on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram, in which RJ Devang of Ahmedabad, is clearly seen asking two rickshaw pullers to pay money on interest.
RJ Devang had offered the two rickshaw pullers ten percent interest of Rs 10,000 each for a day. In this video, he said that right now they are giving him nine thousand rupees in cash and in the evening both of them will have to return ten thousand rupees to him. RJ Devang is also saying that as long as he is there, the two rickshaw pullers need not worry about money.
While this conversation is still going on, we can see in this video that an officer of Ahmedabad Police comes there and this RJ is caught by the Police. The policeman asked RJ Devang if he has a license to lend money to people on interest. Failing to answer this question, RJ Devang is asked to be detained by the officer. The officer then advises the rickshaw drivers that instead of taking money from any person on interest in this way, the necessary money can be taken on loan by taking advantage of various schemes of the Government of Gujarat.
However, this entire video is part of an awareness campaign being run by the Gujarat Police of Ahmedabad in collaboration with the popular RJ, Devang. In Gujarat, the number of people lending illegal money and putting high and unusual interest rates on it has increased tremendously for the last many years. Not only this, there have been numerous cases where despite the payment of both capital and interest, the interest-seekers used to demand more money by torturing the person physically and mentally.
In such cases, many have attempted suicide because of the vicious debt cycle, and many of them have lost their lives as they could not bear the torture of the people who were extorting patient in this way. As such incidents were rampant across Gujarat, the Gujarat government and the Gujarat Police came into action earlier this year i.e. from January 5. A mega drive has been launched against the defaulters of illegal money.
In this mega drive, celebrities like RJ Devang not only join the Gujarat Police and spread awareness, but the Gujarat Police itself also organizes the lok darbar. In this lok darbar, people who are troubled by interest-seekers file their complaints with experts and police officers with no hesitation or fear and the police take immediate action on them.
Apart from this, people in this lok darbar who really need money and are eligible to take loans are also informed about the various money lending schemes of the Gujarat government. During the mega drive of the Gujarat Police, a large number of illegal moneylenders from all over Gujarat have been arrested in this one-and-a-half months, including some political leaders.
The police have not only registered an FIR against such illegal money lenders and arrested them but also recovered chequebooks, diaries, mobiles, vehicles, and other documents of their debtors from these people, which have been seized and further action has been taken.
RJ Devang has made viral a video of “the famous RJ of Ahmedabad being caught by the Gujarat Police” to spread awareness, but it is equally important that people also take care of these things. To meet small financial needs, one should give the first preference to government financial institutions or banks, if this is not possible, then decide to take loans from government-licensed financial institutions.
If you know an illegal money lender who seeks interests, then you can not only save many people from mental and physical torture by contacting the Gujarat Police immediately, but in some cases, you can also save their precious lives.
On Monday, BJP raised the issue of the killing of party leaders in Chhattisgarh in the last few days. BJP has accused the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government of starting a proxy war against BJP using the Maoists as the front. The party is preparing to have a large demonstration across the state on Friday. BJP raised the issue in parliament after four BJP leaders were killed in Bastar district in a month, reportedly by Maoists.
Chhattisgarh BJP president Arun Sao raised the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha and urged the Centre to direct the Chhattisgarh government to ensure the safety of the people. He said that the murders of four BJP members were a result of targeted killings and political conspiracy.
“Four of our key members and office bearers have been killed in Bastar in the last one month. Our Bastar district secretary Budhram Kartam who was out for a walk was found dead, Mandal president Neelkanth Kakkem was hacked to death in Bijapur, district vice president Sagar Sahu was shot dead in front of his family members in Narayanpur and former sarpanch Ramdhar Alami was hacked to death in Dantewada. All these incidents happened within a month, and it is a clear case of targeted killing and political conspiracy,” Sao said in the Lok Sabha.
Sao further said that the people of Chhattisgarh were not safe under the leadership of the Congress party. The state administration is doing nothing to ensure the protection of our people, who are now at the mercy of God. Chhattisgarh is experiencing violent crime. But we will not let the sacrifice of our people go in vain, Sao stated.
He also demanded an impartial probe into the death of the BJP’s local leaders in Bastar by any independent agency. The three recent murders involve the death of Neelkanth Kakem, the BJP divisional leader of the Bijapur district, Sagar Sahu, the party’s vice head for the Narayanpur district, and Ramdhar Alami, a former sarpanch. Kakem was murdered on February 5 by Maosists who dragged him from his home and killed him in front of his family. Five days later, two Maoists reached Sahu’s house, knocked on his door, and fired two rounds from an AK-47 as soon as the door was opened. The third and most recent killing of Ramdhar Alami was reported from Dantewada.
After BJP’s stand on the matter, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel rejected security failure claims and maintained that the killings were the last efforts by Maoists to establish their presence as they are losing ground in the Bastar area. “Such allegations of reduced security cover are false. Kedar Kashyap, former BJP MLA lost the election, but he still has Z+ security. Former CM Raman Singh doesn’t even visit Naxalite-affected areas but has more security than the Chief Minister,” Baghel told reporters on Monday.
However, former MLA Kashyap asserted that while his security cover has lasted, at least eight to ten Bastar-based BJP office-bearers have been left without police protection since the Baghel administration assumed office.
He also added that Sagar Sahu had received death threats two months ago and he had approached former SP Sadanand Kumar but no appropriate action was taken then. “There is no fear of law in the State. What security protocol is the Chief Minister and the police talking about when our workers are being killed at their own house? This shows lack of seriousness on the police’s part,” Kashyap said.
Further, BJP spokesman Ranjana Sahu also said that the Maoists and Baghel’s administration were working together. She said, “Baghel is fighting his political battle against us hiding behind the Maoists in tribal areas and using officials to get false cases registered against our workers in the plains.”
Also, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Brijmohan Agrawal slammed the state CM over the recent murders of BJP leaders. He asked the government to take responsibility for the murders and give Rs 1 crore compensation to the family members of the deceased. “Law and order is the subject of the state government. Naxalites killed four office bearers of the BJP in the last month, who is responsible for these murders? The Chief Minister should take responsibility and should give Rs 1 crore compensation to the family members of the deceased workers. The government should take responsibility,” he added.
On Wednesday, a case of purported love jihad from Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh came to light. Mohammed Arif disguised himself as a Hindu, Guddu Rajput, in order to befriend Chanda, a 35-year-old widow. The couple even started living together but then Arif brutally murdered her on Wednesday because she refused to convert to Islam. The event occurred in the Meerdahan Ka Purwa hamlet, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Paschim Sarira police station in the Kaushambi district.
Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, the Superintendent of Police today (Thursday, February 16), in a video byte, revealed that Arif, who initially fled after killing his live-in partner, has been arrested. The police confirmed that the accused killed the woman after she refused to comply with his demand for conversion. The police also said that when they went to arrest Arif, he fired at them. Police retaliated, and Arif was injured in the leg during the return fire. He was admitted to the local hospital and is now being treated. A case has been lodged against Arif under relevant provisions of the IPC and the state’s anti-conversion law.
जबरन मतांतरण कराने और उसका विरोध करने पर एक युवती की निर्मम हत्या करने वाले अभियुक्त को पुलिस मुठभेड़ में गिरफ्तार किया गया। इस संबंध में पुलिस अधीक्षक कौशाम्बी द्वारा दी गई बाइट।#UPPolice#kaushambipolicepic.twitter.com/P2hY85DuCE
According to reports, Arif, a resident of UP’s Kaushambi district worked as an ambulance driver. Arif was currently posted at 108 emergency services in the Mirzapur district. The deceased, Chanda Singh, was a Mau resident from Uttar Pradesh. Chanda lost her first husband Durgesh Singh five years ago. She had two daughters with her first husband.
Chanda met Arif on social media after her husband died. He disguised himself as Guddu Rajput, a Hindu, in order to befriend her. The woman subsequently fell into his love trap. Arif summoned the woman to Ballia under the guise of employment.
He persuaded Chanda to sell her home in her hometown and move in with him. Chanda sold all of her Mau property worth Rs 1 crore without alerting anyone. Arif purchased land from that money in Ashadha hamlet in the West Sarira police station area and began constructing a house there. Meanwhile, the couple began living together in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh.
The deceased woman’s daughter said that Arif frequently fought with her mother over money. She added that ever since Arif’s religious identity was revealed before Chanda, he began pressurizing her to convert to Islam and perform Namaz at home. Arif used to mercilessly beat up Chanda if she resisted giving in to his demands.
After death of her husband, Chanda Devi got into a relationship with one Arif. Three days ago, she was found dead
Chanda’s daughter from her previous marriage tells the media Arif would constantly fight with Chanda over conversion and money. Case filed in Kaushambi, UP pic.twitter.com/KlMZ7ksV89
A few days before the incident, Arif gathered people from his community and a Maulvi to exert pressure on Chanda to convert to Islam, but she flatly refused.
The daughter went on to say that on February 11, 2023, Arif got Chanda to speak to her daughters, following which he informed them that she was ill and that he was taking her to the hospital for treatment. After a while, they learned of their mother’s death. Arif went to their residence on Tuesday (February 14), left Chanda’s dead body there, and fled.
In order to save money, simply skip breakfast, suggested a Wall Street Journal article to the US populace. Even statistical argument is provided in the article to support their claim. It stated that a number of breakfast essentials experienced significant price rises as a result of a perfect storm of inclement weather, disease outbreaks, and ongoing consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The article, by Gabriel T. Rubin, began by outlining the factors that led to the sudden price increases for a number of breakfast staples, which include a perfect storm of inclement weather, illness outbreaks, and ongoing consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It further said, that the egg prices rose 8.5% in January compared to the previous month and have grown 70.1% in the last year, which is the largest annual rate since 1973. According to Information Resources Inc., the U.S.’s greatest avian influenza pandemic has decimated poultry flocks, pushing up the price of eggs more than any other supermarket item in 2022. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. egg stockpiles were 29% lower in the last week of December 2022 than they were at the start of 2022.
Frozen, noncarbonated juices and drinks saw a 1.5% increase in January compared to the previous month, and the 12.4% yearly increase is the largest in more than ten years. Due to a cold, two storms, and a citrus disease that is destroying its orange groves, Florida orange growers are collecting their smallest crop in nearly 90 years, the article added.
Breakfast cereal costs rose just 0.4% in January compared to the previous month, but were 15% higher than they had been a year earlier due in part to raised global grain prices brought on by problems related to the conflict in Ukraine.
It concluded by saying, that breakfast lovers might do better to stick to a cup of roasted coffee rather than instant. Prices for roasted coffee fell last month by 0.1%, while those for instant coffee increased by 3.6% on a monthly basis.
The article, however, was severely mocked and characterized as innocuous, lacking in objectivity, and reticent regarding the cost-benefit analysis of starving oneself to survive.
Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, used the article as an opportunity to criticize the failings of Joe Biden administration.
For the past year, inflation has been the biggest concern for Americans who are having trouble paying for essentials. People are being forced to use more restraint while buying and consuming their favourite foods because the cost of basic items like meat, cheese, and bread has jumped by anywhere from 10% to 30%.
