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‘I wanted to become a nurse, now I am a terrorist’: Teaser of movie ‘The Kerala Story’ released, story of 32000 Kerala women who joined ISIS

OpIndia Staff
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‘I wanted to become a nurse, now I am a terrorist’: Teaser of movie ‘The Kerala Story’ released, story of 32000 Kerala women who joined ISIS

On 3rd November 2022, the teaser of the new film ‘The Kerala Story’ was released. The film produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Sudipto Sen depicts the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of 32000 women from Kerala who were radicalized to join the ISIS (Islamic States of Iraq and Syria) terrorist ranks. It is notable that many of these Muslim women from Kerala joining ISIS were converted with the motive of sending them to the terrorist organization ISIS.

The trailer shows a Muslim woman in front of the international border narrating her story. The character played by actress Adah Sharma says that earlier she used to be Shalini Unnikrishnan and wanted to serve the people as a nurse. She further tells that she was forcefully converted to Islam and renamed Fatima Ba, and subsequently sent to ISIS to become a terrorist and ultimately get locked up in an Afghanistan jail.

‘The Kerala Story’ narrates the pain of 32000 such converted Muslim women from Kerala who were sent to ISIS as terrorists only to get buried in the deserts of Yemen and Syria. A dreaded game of converting a normal girl to an ISIS terrorist is being played in Kerala for the last few years. Increasing radicalization in the southern state because of the activities of Islamist organizations like the Popular Front of India and its other allied outfits is responsible for this trafficking of girls to the gulf.

Makers of the film promise authentic and unbiased portrayal

The teaser for “The Kerala Story,” which promises to be a very authentic, unbiased, and truthful tale of events that shocked Kerala, is both matter-of-fact and powerful in its stance. While most people would avoid the topic, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah was adamant to present this gruesome story on the big screen, supported by 4 years of exhaustive study. Director Sudipto Sen visited the region, including some Arab nations, talked with residents and the relatives of the victims, and was astounded by what he saw.

At the time of the announcement of the film in March 2022, Vipul Shah had said, “In this movie, you will be confronted with a human tragedy that will leave you reeling. During the first meeting with Sudipto (writer-director), I burst into tears as he described it to me and shared his extensive research that spanned three to four years. I decided to produce this film on the same day that occurred. We want to create a film that is very realistic, impartial, and accurate to the events depicted.”

Kerala has been the target of Islamists since 2009

According to a recent investigation, approximately 32,000 females from the Hindu and Christian faiths in Kerala and Mangalore have converted to Islam since 2009. The majority of these girls eventually wind up in Syria, Afghanistan, and other regions with a high concentration of ISIS and Haqqani influence. The movie will reveal the truth about this conspiracy and the suffering of these ladies.

Though the conversions started in 2009, ISIS involvement in Kerala was initially traced in 2013. As early as 2014, ISIS established roots in Kerala, with modules encouraging religious conversions and aiming to attract professionals to join its troops in Afghanistan and Syria. Plenty of Kerala men and women are said to have joined the ISKP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province) in recent years. The United Nations warned in its 2020 terrorism report that there are a substantial number of ISIS terrorists in the Indian state of Kerala.

Furthermore, a National Investigation Agency’s charge sheet filed in July 2020 in connection with the murder of Special Sub Inspector Wilson revealed a strong association between ISIS terrorists active and growing in the state. The NIA is currently investigating cases related to IS operating recruitment centers in Kerala. Several non-Muslim women have also been radicalized and converted in the last few years and have been sent to Afghanistan and Syria to fight for the Islamic State.

Converting and radicalizing women in Kerala

When Mini Vijayan, a military official, claimed that her daughter Aparna had been forcibly converted to Islam, the issue of Kerala women being converted and recruited by ISIS received additional widespread attention in 2016. Aparna was linked to Sathyasarani, also known as the Malappuram-based Markazul Hidaya Educational and Charitable Trust. She arrived at the courthouse with a woman named Sumayya. Aparna informed the authorities that she had converted to Islam and did not want to rejoin her mother. When Aparna disappeared from her Kochi dormitory as a B. Tech. student, she married Aashiq, an auto driver from Malappuram.

Such episodes have been documented in several instances. When the NIA began looking into the Love Jihad and ISIS connection cases in 2017, they discovered that two Hindu girls called Athira and Akhila (who subsequently changed their names to Hadiya) had been lured by Sainaba, a PFI member.

The Malappuram connection

These ladies were all discovered to be associated with the Markazul Hidaya or the Sathyasarani Trust in Malappuram. Hadiya’s conversion and marriage to Shafeen Jahan were not unrelated events, according to the NIA, that testified in court, but rather the result of a planned operation by Sathyasarani and PFI. According to a sting operation against Sathyasarani and PFI, the founding member of PFI acknowledged on video that their ultimate objective is to turn India into an Islamic state. Additionally, it was announced that the NIA had received the investigative report.

The Sathyasarani Trust in Malappuram, also known as the Markazul Hidaya, a PFI-run organization, appears to be the unifying theme connecting these conversions and “education.” Individuals associated with this center included Aparna, Hadiya (Akhila), and the ladies who traveled to join ISIS. The records of 70 Hindu and Christian girls’ conversions were found during an investigation by law enforcement officials. The girls were there, according to the trust, to study religion.

This is just a tip of an iceberg

Sathyasarani is only one of several institutions. Its supporters continue to reject any affiliations with extreme organizations or terrorist organizations. In Kerala, several of these facilities are in operation. Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation is the primary source of literature used by 95% of these brainwashing centers. Numerous converted females have also mentioned how enthralled they were by Naik’s talks. 5,975 persons in the state reportedly converted to Islam between 2011 and 2015, according to government statistics. 1,410 people converted alone in 2015. Women under 35 make up a staggering 76 percent of the new converts.

What is the key legal hurdle?

This is remarkably similar to incidents of forced conversion in Sindh, Pakistan. The only difference is that because of India’s strict laws against child marriage, the victims are now adults. As a result, the cases simply get dropped or stagnated because the girl and her Muslim husband are safeguarded by the law for acting of their own free will, this introduces more issues for the family members and police. The family and authorities are unable to prove pressure or indoctrination without the girl’s clear confession.

Conclusion of The Kerala Story

Radical Islam has deeply rooted itself in Kerala. The sheer volume of radicalization, conversion, and recruiting centers operating is still far from grabbing the attention of the national media or directing it toward the issue. However, it is undeniably a matter of grave concern. In the post-ISIS world, using women as tools and weapons—whether through sex slavery or recruitment for terrorism—is no longer a secret. The governments, both state and union, must take it seriously and devise effective solutions to combat the problem. Now that the film ‘The Kerala Story’ is about to release soon, there is hope that this serious issue will come to the center of the popular discourse.

National Union of Journalists slams press organisations for defending The Wire while remaining silent over the portal’s forgery in Meta story

OpIndia Staff
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National Union of Journalists slams press organisations for defending The Wire while remaining silent over the portal’s forgery in Meta story

Days after The Wire retracted its Fake stories on Tek Fog and Meta targeting the BJP, the National Union of Journalists- India NUJ(I) has condemned the portal for publishing fake stories, and slammed press organisations for supporting the portal. The NUJ(I) issued a statement on 3rd November 2022 and called out various press organizations for maintaining convenient silence over the faults of ‘The Wire’ and issuing prompt statements against the police inquiry in ‘The Wire-Meta Story’. The statement by NUJ-I came after a large number of media and journalist bodies issued statements condemning the police for the searches at The Wire office and the homes of its editors.

The organisation stated that while press organisations and guilds remained silent on The Wire forging documents in its Meta story, these groups were prompt to condemn the police investigation after an FIR was filed against the portal. It is notable that a lot of liberal and left-leaning media houses have reported the whole Meta versus The Wire episode in a manner that may suit the stand of the serial fake news-peddling propaganda website ‘The Wire’, and left-wing media organisations have issued statements defending the portal.

NUJ(I) President Ras Bihari has signed the statement and it is also published on the social media handles of the organization. The statement says, “The NUJI) represents the Press fraternity of India, it is as much our bounded duty to strive to maintain the freedom of the press as it is our duty to be vigilant against fraudulent and fake news reporting. It is in this regard that the timing of statements issued by certain press associations and guilds has disturbed our conscience. If the various press organizations and the guilds had been prompt in condemning The Wire reports, which were based on forged and fabricated documents, then their statements after the Delhi Police inquiry would have carried an imprint of fairness. It is pertinent to reiterate that in addition to the forgery and fabrication of documents, The Wire’s reports are also a classic example of a lack of journalistic diligence and a willful abdication of responsibility.”

It is further said in the statement, “However, the fact is that these press associations and guilds maintained a studied silence in the face of undeniable forgery that formed the core of The Wire reports. In contrast, their promptness in issuing a statement against the police inquiry, that seeks to trace the genesis of the forgery, makes these associations and guilds seem like partisan players. It would bode well for all responsible press organizations and guilds to collectively exercise restraint whilst seeking to interfere in the present case, which noticeably lays on a shaky edifice of fraud and fabrication. As journalistic organizations, it is our primary responsibility to ensure that the truth, for whatever purpose, must not be suppressed. Premature endorsements will not only prejudice investigations that seek to unearth the veracity of news reports but set a grave precedent that will imperil Journalistic ethics and transparency. In a case where ‘The Wire’ has itself demanded an investigation by leveling allegations of forgery against its own team member, as responsible press organizations and guilds our stand cannot be partisan.”

NUJ (I) statement concluded with a remark that said, “The freedom of the press is sacrosanct and all attempts must be made to resist any move to muzzle the press. However, those who are serial fake news peddlers should not be given the leeway to utilize the card of freedom of the press to escape the consequences of their deliberate actions over months and years. The NUJ(I) calls the law enforcement authorities to undertake a swift inquiry and unearth the entire sequence of fraud and forgery in The Wire-Meta story and bring the true facts to the public domain. We also call upon the members of our fraternity to apply the same standards upon ourselves that we seek to impose on others.”

The controversy is being investigated by the Delhi police as on October 29, BJP’s Amit Malviya filed a complaint with Delhi Police against The Wire, its editors, and reporters and said they published a series of stories with the intent to tarnish his reputation. Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery with the purpose of cheating), 469 (forgery for harming reputation), 471 (using forged document), 500 (defamation), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR was lodged after The Wire took down Meta stories that claimed Malviya was able to take down Instagram posts critical to the government, no questions asked.

It is notable that the Editors Guild had issued a statement yesterday criticising the police for conducting a search at the Wire office and the homes of its editors in relation to the FIR filed against them on the complaint of Malviya. Earlier, the Guild had withdrawn its reference to the Tek Fog story made in a statement earlier this year, where they had demanded a Supreme Court probe on what has been proved to be fake now.

The Press Club of India, along with the Delhi Union of Journalists, Press Association, Working News Cameraman Association, Indian Journalist Union, Digipub News India Foundation and KUWJ also issued a statement expressing concern over the police searches. Digipub had already issued an individual statement a day before. Similarly, another leftist body Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) also voiced concern over the police action against The Wire.

Other organisations that came in the support include The National Alliance of Journalists (NAJ), Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ), The Committee to Protect Journalists- Asia, The Network of Women in Media India, Mumbai Press Club, International Press Institute, and others.

Apart from the groups, a large number of left-liberal journalists have also come in the support of The Wire.

All of them are broadly making the same point, that The Wire committed a mistake and they have apologised for it, therefore there should not be any police action against the portal. Some even claimed that The Wire was actually the victim as they were misled by false information. But, all of them chose to ignore that the FIR was filed not because of a ‘journalistic mistake’, but for forgery of documents, cheating, criminal conspiracy and other such serious criminal charges. The Wire used forged documents to attack BJP in the Meta story, and therefore mere apology is not sufficient, police need to find out who had forged the documents and why.

Madhya Pradesh: Christian missionary school punishes student for chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ in school assembly, parents protest demanding action

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Christian missionary school punishes student for chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ in school assembly, parents protest demanding action

On Wednesday, November 2, a student named Shivansh Jain was allegedly punished by his teachers namely Justin sir and Jasmeena Khatun for chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogan after the school assembly. The incident occurred on Wednesday in the Christ Senior Secondary School in Guna, Madhya Pradesh.

The incident, however, only came to light on Thursday after the family members and a few social organisations staged a protest in front of the school campus.

News agency ANI shared a snippet where parents and members of social outfits gathered outside the Christ Senior Secondary School in Guna earlier today and recited the Hanuman Chalisa to protest against the punishment meted out by the school teachers.

The victim student Shivansh Jain reportedly told the media what transpired in the school on Wednesday, “After the national anthem I raised a slogan ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, in the meantime, Justin sir came, he asked me to come out of the line and said, what are you saying, go to the Father. After that, my Hindi teacher came and asked me to meet the class teacher. When I met the class teacher, she said that I should raise it at home”.

“After that, I reached the classroom. One of my classmates has been chosen as vice-captain of the red house so my class teacher, Jasmeena Khatun said that one boy is making the class proud and I am tarnishing the class’s name. After that, ma’am made me sit on the ground for the next four periods,” he added.

The mother of the traumatised child told the media, “He came back home and locked himself in a room. He did not eat food and started crying. After that, he narrated the entire story, following which I told the entire incident to his father.”

The principal of the school, meanwhile, has refuted the allegation. Father Thomas defended his school teacher’s actions by pinning the blame on the student. He claimed that the boy did not raise the slogan for patriotism, but more for entertainment. A disciplinary committee meeting will be arranged, and the issue will be resolved, he added.

Guna ADM Virendra Singh Baghel also responded to the incident. He said, “A few parents and some organisations are protesting outside the school after a student was reportedly punished over chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. DEO has taken statements. FIR will be registered on the basis of complaints that are being given.”

Following the uproar, the school administration released a circular stating that such instances will not be repeated in the future. ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ will be chanted after the national anthem, it said.

Christian missionary school punishes students over Jai Shri Ram slogan, apologises after two days

In a similar incident that happened in March this year, two Hindu students were punished by the administration of a Christian missionary school for greeting each other with ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The incident took place at St.Mary’s school in the Vapi district of Gujarat.

The members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal reached the convent school and protested against the conduct of the convent school. Following that, St. Mary’s principal Savio Cathino and discipline Head Kalpesh Bhagat apologised to the parents of the two Hindu children.

OpIndia, in January this year, chronicled 19 such incidents in which Christian missionaries have toyed with Hindu children’s emotions and tormented, brainwashed, or forced them to convert or exploited them in some other way, while media, on its part, maintained a stoic silence.

Azaan was going on and Imran Khan was playing music, so shot him: Man who shot Imran Khan, Faisal Butt, confesses, says was acting alone

OpIndia Staff
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Azaan was going on and Imran Khan was playing music, so shot him: Man who shot Imran Khan, Faisal Butt, confesses, says was acting alone

The man who shot former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan in the leg during his Azad Rally at Zafar Ali Khan chowk in Wazirabad on 3rd November 2022 was arrested by the Pakistani police on the same day. The arrested attacker, identified as Faisal Butt by Punjab Police, has confessed to having committed the crime and said that he shot Imran Khan as he was misleading the people.

In his confession, Faisal Butt said, “I have done this because Imran Khan was misleading the people. I could not tolerate this. Therefore, I shot at him. I attempted to kill him. Only Imran Khan and nobody else.”

Faisal Butt further said, “I shot him because while Azaan was going on, Imran Khan was playing music. Thinking over this, my conscience did not consider these things to be good. I was convinced to do this from the morning itself. Rather, I was thinking of shooting him right from the day he left Lahore and took his march. Since then, it was clear to me that I should not spare him.”

When asked if he is part of any group, he said that he was acting alone. Faisal Butt added, “No one is with me. There is no force backing me. I am all alone. I came here on my own bike from my home. I parked my bike near my uncle’s shop. He runs a motorcycle showroom.”

Videos of the incident have emerged which show that a man had tried to stop Faisal by snatching the gun from him.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan is reported to be out of danger after three bullet injuries to his leg. Cricketer turned politician Imran Khan has blamed Interior Minister Rana Salaullah for the attack. Imran Khan has also reportedly expressed his concern for the people injured during the stampede that took place as a result of the sudden attack.

On Thursday, November 3, former Pakistan PM Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan was reportedly injured as shots were fired near his ‘Azadi march’ container. The firing reportedly happened when Imran Khan’s container was anchored at Wazirabad on Thursday afternoon. Imran Khan was taken away on a stretcher to a hospital with a heavy security cordon surrounding him.

As per reports, besides the PTI chief, one person was killed and four other officials of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, including a senior aide to PTI chief Senator Faisal Javaid, Ahmad Chattha, and Imran Yousaf, were also injured in the gunshot attack.

The Wire’s shoddy handling of the sexual harassment case against Vinod Dua: How the committee did not even look into the allegations

Anurag
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The Wire’s shoddy handling of the sexual harassment case against Vinod Dua: How the committee did not even look into the allegations

On November 3, Twitter user Cringearchivist shared a set of documents revealing what happened behind the scenes at The Wire concerning the sexual harassment allegations against its former anchor Vinod Dua. The documents revealed how an internal committee was formed and dissolved later without reaching any conclusion. So much so that the victim who had raised a complaint against Dua was not informed that the committee was prematurely dissolved without concluding anything.

Note: Though the leaked papers contain the victim’s name and the victim has revealed the source’s identity on Twitter, OpIndia has decided not to use the victim’s or source’s name. We have used Kiran and Babool as pseudo-names for the victim and source, respectively. Cringearchivist gave the name Babool to the source in the documents.

Cringearchivist and Babool are friends in real life

In the note about the documents, Cringearchivist revealed that they (one of the members of the groups) and Babool are friends in real life. Notably, Cringearchivist was not aware Babool had access to the documents, and Babool was not aware his friend was one of the persons running Cringearchivist on Instagram and Twitter.

As per the note, Babool got his hands on the documents during an in-depth investigation into Me Too allegations. Because of his investigation, he was allegedly boycotted by the Indian newsrooms. Later, he left journalism. Cringearchivist said in the note that The Wire neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the documents.

Note: OpIndia got access to the documents via a public link of a Proton drive shared by Cringearchivist on Twitter. We neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of these documents. At the moment, we cannot independently confirm if the information provided in the documents is real.

The allegations raised by Kiran against Vinod Dua

In the year 2017, Vinod Dua called out actor Akshay Kumar for making “sexist” remarks against his daughter Mallika Dua. When Kiran came to know about it, she remembered how Dua was equally sexist, misogynist and sexual harasser. Initially, she decided not to speak about it as the incident with her took place decades ago. However, when she came to know that Dua used The Wire’s platform to speak against sexual harassment, Kiran decided to speak up. Still, she only wrote, “Vinod Dua, don’t make me open my mouth” on the social media platform Facebook.

On October 14, 2018, she noticed Dua extended support to author Varun Grover after he was accused in the Me Too cases. That was when Kiran decided to detail what happened in 1989. The documentary filmmaker said that in June 1989, she was called for an interview by Vinod Dua on her birthday. At that time, she had just started working in the field.

Dua allegedly made a lewd joke before she could even settle down. Later, when they discussed the monetary benefits linked to the gig, Kiran told him that she expected Rs 5,000 as the fees that, according to her, most graduates were getting at that time. Dua sarcastically asked if the amount she quoted was in her “aukaat”.

Kiran left the office and reached home in tears. She later got a job at Newsclick. Dua allegedly got information about her job and tried to contact her. She noticed him in the parking one day. Dua was sitting in his vehicle. He rolled down the window and called her. Kiran said she thought Dua wanted to apologise and went to his car. He asked her to sit inside, which she did.

Before she could understand, Dua allegedly kissed her. Kiran said she somehow managed to get away. Since that movement, Dua continued to follow her, called her office and asked her to come down, but she refused. Kiran added she spotted his car in the parking on multiple occasions.

Communication between The Wire and Kiran

On October 14, 2018, Kiran and officials at The Wire started communicating over the issue. The first communication was with Siddharth Varadarajan over Facebook. They exchanged numbers to discuss Kiran’s complaint.

source: Cringearchivist

On October 15, Jahnavi Sen emailed Kiran that the Internal Complaints Committee had a meeting on the matter and requested she file a formal complaint. The Wire’s Monobina Gupta, Meenakshi Tewari, Jahnavi Sen, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashastha and external member Tanika Sarkar were present at the meeting. Kiran informed them she would file a formal complaint soon.

On October 17, Siddharth sent an email to Kiran informing her about the formation of an external committee comprising Justice Aftab Alam (retired justice of the Supreme Court), Justice Anjana Prakash (retired justice of the Patna high court), Prof Neera Chandhoke, retired professor, University of Delhi, and former Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh to look into the matter. He urged Kiran to file a complaint by the end of October 18.

On the same day, Kiran replied and expressed her inability to send the formal complaint by the date mentioned, as Siddharth did not provide ample time, and she was travelling. She added a complaint would be filed by October 26. Another member Prof Patricia Uberoi was added to the committee as Kiran had requested a women-majority committee of five members to look into the matter.

On October 19, Siddharth sent another email to Kiran requesting her to send the complaint to The Wire’s Syeda Asia, who would forward the complaint to the committee. Justice Alam was appointed as the head of the committee, and it was ensured that The Wire would have no knowledge about the proceedings.

On October 26, Kiran sent a detailed complaint to The Wire.

On October 27, Syeda sent minutes of the committee proceedings to Kiran. On November 3, another set of documents was sent to Kiran, including a reply from The Wire. On the same day, the reply sent by Dua was forwarded to Kiran with documents supporting his reply.

In Dua’s rebuttal to the allegations, Kiran noted that he sent the reply on the condition that no further cross-questioning would happen. Dua had written, “I agreed to send this reply on the specific assurance by The Wire that I will neither be cross-examined by anyone nor cross-examine anyone.” Irked by the condition imposed by Dua, she wrote, “Please clarify the position urgently as I would like to make it amply clear that I will not participate in the proceedings any further if Mr Dua’s contention is correct.”

The communication between The Wire’s Syeda and Kiran continued for a couple of months, during which Kiran requested to be represented by a friend. Though the committee wanted her to be present for at least the first hearing, the dates were never agreed upon for one or the other reason. The committee was dissolved later without informing Kiran.

Dua’s response

In a lengthy point-wise response, Dua rebutted the allegations and suggested that the details provided by Kiran were not in sync with the addresses, locations, vehicle descriptions etc. Dua categorically denied holding any interview with Kiran and said the location she mentioned where she went for the interview did not exist.

He further pointed out that SUVs were not a “thing” during that period, and he only owned a second-hand ambassador car. Furthermore, he claimed that the office of Newstrack was at a location where it would have been impossible for him to “forcefully kiss her”.

In his response, he questioned the silence maintained by Kiran over the years and said she had been contesting cases for decades, so “his position of power” would not have been an issue for her. He also pointed out that those who supported her in the Facebook post she made against Dua had been socialising with him for years without any problem.

Kiran’s reply to Dua’s rebuttal

In her reply to Dua’s rebuttal, Kiran pointed out that Dua said that he never interviews anyone. However, in an interview with The Scroll, journalist and author Sunita Thakur pointed out how he allegedly tried to come close to her physically. She added Sunita’s testimony in her reply.

Source: The Scroll

Kiran categorically said that Dua was trying to misrepresent and misinterpret her statement/complaint. She also pointed out that the office location that was Connaught Place in Delhi was not “bustling with activity” at 10-11 PM in 1989.  

Important aspects of the committee’s meeting

The committee met three times during the course of the inquiry. In the first meeting, the allegations raised by Kiran were discussed. In the second meeting, the response from Dua was received and discussed. In the third and final meeting, it was decided to dissolve the committee as no date was able to be fixed between the concerned parties. The committee noted, “Apart from the three meetings that it has held, the members of the committee have shared their views with each other over more than a hundred emails. The committee has also interacted with the parties who are the subjects of the enquiry before it. On the basis of the materials that have come to it and the positions taken by the parties, the committee comes with regret to the conclusion that no useful purpose would be served by prolonging the process and that it is unable to proceed further in this matter.”

Source: Cringearchivist

It added, “Before it dissolves itself, the committee makes it absolutely clear that it is not commenting upon any allegations made by the complainant nor on the counter allegations made by the respondent against the complainant, and the pleas taken by him in his defence. With the aforesaid, the committee hereby dissolves itself. Now that the committee no longer exists, it would not be in a position to receive any communications nor to reply thereto from anyone.”

Kiran “exposed” Cringearchivist’s sourced

Fumed at Cringearchivist for releasing the documents without “permission”, Kiran took on Twitter and exposed who Babool was. In a Tweet, Kiran said, “Your post is not pro-MeToo. You just revealed your ulterior motives. How dare you share these papers publicly without taking permission and without redacting names? This is clearly illegal, and you are not doing any woman any favour here.”

Source: Twitter

Currently, Cringearchivist is facing a series of attacks for releasing documents that would require a separate report. OpIndia is working on a follow-up report with a few questions for Cringearchivist.

Coimbatore blast: Masjid committee members visit Kottai Easwaran temple, condemn the explosion

OpIndia Staff
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Coimbatore blast: Masjid committee members visit Kottai Easwaran temple, condemn the explosion

Days after the Coimbatore car blast, members of the District Federation of All Jamaat and Ulemas and from three mosques in the Kottiamedu region visited the Kottai Easwaran temple in the city, outside which the blast took place and held talks with the temple priests. The members of the Masjid committee condemned the act of terrorism and said that they would stand by the unity among Hindus and Muslims in the city.

According to the reports, a delegation of 13 members from Idhayathul Islam Shafia Jamaat, Thareekathul Islam Shafia Jamaat, and Kerala Muslim Jamaat visited the temple to maintain communal harmony in the textile city. They exchanged pleasantries and the temple administration presented them with garlands and shawls. The delegation meanwhile held talks with the Temple Executive Officer V Prabhakaran and other priests of the temple.

While condemning the car blast, Federation general secretary Haji M A Inayatullah said that no one to date could break the unity between Hindus and Muslims in the city. “Muslims have been living in the Kottiamedu area for more than seven generations. People who follow different faiths are living together in peace for many years with brotherhood. No one can break the unity between Hindus and Muslims in the city”, he said.

He also appealed to the people of the city to continue to maintain communal harmony among Hindus and Muslims. He also said that terrorism in any form would not be allowed. The delegation also requested the political leaders to stop giving religious angles to the incident.

On October 23, there was an explosion at about 4 AM in a Maruti car just opposite the Kottai Eswaran temple in the Ukkadam area of Coimbatore. The vehicle, a Maruti 800 hatchback, was shattered into pieces as a result of the bomb blast. One Islamist accused identified as Jamesha Mubin also died in the incident.

It was reported earlier, that Mubin was an engineering graduate and was influenced by ISIS. He was caught on CCTV, loading a large object (LPG cylinder) wrapped in a white bag onto his Maruti 800 car. It was around 11:25 pm. Mubin was accompanied by 3 other men, namely, Mohammad Riyaz, Feroz Ismail, and Mohammad Navaz Ismail.

The Police during the investigation also recovered unexploded LPG cylinders, steel balls, glass pebbles, and aluminum and iron nails from the spot. A total of 6 people, namely, Mohammad Thalka, Mohammad Azarudheen, Riyaz, Nawaz, Afsar Khan, and Feroz have been arrested in connection to the case. The accused have been charged under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 3A of the Explosive Substances Act by the Ukkadam police.

The Wire takes down videos ‘explaining’ Meta and Tek Fog stories, but video claiming ‘Md Zubair was targeted using Tek Fog’ remains

OpIndia Staff
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The Wire takes down videos ‘explaining’ Meta and Tek Fog stories, but video claiming ‘Md Zubair was targeted using Tek Fog’ remains

After retracting the Meta and Tek Fog stories after they were proven to be fake and fictious, now left-wing propaganda portal The Wire has also removed several videos related to these stories. The Wire had particularly published several videos on Tek Fog, where their editorial and technical team had discussed and ‘explained’ how they ‘exposed’ the so-called Tek Fog app and how ‘BJP was using this super app to manipulate social media’.

The portal had also hosted discussions with panellists from outside on the two issues, where everyone had agreed to slam the Modi government based on the fake claims made by The Wire in their fictious stories about BJP having superpowers on social media. However, now all the videos, originally uploaded on YouTube, are no longer available for the public. While the videos have not been deleted, they have been marked as private, which means the general public can’t watch them.

Among the videos that have been retracted now by Wire, one was an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session conducted on Reddit and YouTube. In this AMA, Ayushman Kaul and Devesh Kumar, the authors of the Tek Fog fiction, went live with Wire’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan, where  Kaul and Kumar answered ‘technical questions’, and Vardarajan answered ‘non-technical, editorial policy’ related questions as he is not a ‘tech person’. However, now the video is not available on YouTube as it has been made private.

While publishing the Tek Fog story, had also hosted a video where they explained their claims about the ‘app’. In the discussion titled “Tek Fog: An App With BJP Footprints for Cyber Troops to Automate Hate, Manipulate Trends”, Sumedha Pal, Siddharth Varadarajan, Devesh Kumar and Ayushman Kaul discussed the findings of their ‘investigation’ which they claimed went on for two years, and also ‘explained’ how the app worked. This video also has been made private on YouTube. However, for some reason, it is still available on Facebook.

The Wire had also hosted a panel discussion on the Tek Fog story in January, where Sophie Zhang, Billy Perrigo, Robert Baptiste, Tarunima Prabhakar, V. Anand and Sagarika Ghose had joined with The Wire team to agree on how dangerous the Tek Fog app was, based on claims made by the portal. That video also has been made private on YouTube. But like the above-mentioned video, this video is also still available on the Facebook page of The Wire at the time of publishing this report.

Similarly, the Wire had done an explainer on Meta story also, where the portal had alleged that BJP’s Amit Malviya has been given powers to remove content on Instagram as per his wishes. That video is also no longer available now.

While the portal has removed all YouTube videos on their Tek Fog story, a video where they had claimed that this ‘app’ was used to target Mohammad Zubair of Alt News, is still there on the platform. They had claimed this in a report published after Zubair was arrested following riots triggered by his tweets on Nupur Sharma.

The Wire had claimed that the “arrest of India’s most prominent fact-checker, Mohammed Zubair, is the product of a long-running campaign by a network of accounts linked to the ruling BJP”. It had further claimed, “One of the weapons they used was Tek Fog – a secretive app that targets government critics and subverts public discourse on a massive scale”.

Screenshot of Wire video claiming the use of Tek Fog to target Md. Zubair

Based on the fact that several Twitter users had criticised Zubair, and had called for his arrest for hurting religious feelings of Hindus, Wire had concluded that it was part of a well planned conspiracy to target him, and the Tweets came from Tek Fog. The portal claimed that there were hundreds of bots operated by Tek Fog that posted hashtags and tweets calling for arrest of Zubai. By this, the Wire tried to claim that the case was Zubair was arrested because hashtags calling for his arrest were trending on Twitter.

The existence of Tek Fog has been debunked now, and The Wire has been forced to retract its stories. The claims that a super app like Tek Fog is needed to engineer trending hashtags also have been debunked thoroughly by many experts, as these are actually organic mass campaigns where thousands of supporters participate.

Another interesting point is that after The Wire has retracted its Tek Fog story and removed all its videos from YouTube, another leftist portal Newslaundry has pulled down an interview they did with The Wire ‘tech experts’ on Tek Fog. The interview titled ‘NL Interview: Tek Fog exposé writers on BJP IT cell’ has been removed from the website, and the title of the webpage now says ‘NL Interview: The interview with Devesh Kumar and Ayushman Kaul on ‘Tek Fog exposé’ has been pulled down’. While the video of the interview is no longer available, snippets of the same which were posted on Facebook are still there.

UK’s ‘morgue monster’ David Fuller pleads guilty: All you need to know about the Necrophiliac killer who murdered two women and abused over 100 corpses

OpIndia Staff
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UK’s ‘morgue monster’ David Fuller pleads guilty: All you need to know about the Necrophiliac killer who murdered two women and abused over 100 corpses

David Fuller, a British necrophiliac killer who is serving life in jail for the murder of two people and sexual assaults on 78 corpses, has pleaded guilty to abusing the bodies of another 23 women over a 13-year period. He admitted to committing 16 sexual offences against 23 deceased women in mortuaries between 2007 and 2020. Fuller will be sentenced at the Old Bailey during the week commencing 5 December, UK’s Kent police informed on Twitter.

Prior to this, Fuller had pleaded guilty to sexual offences against 78 deceased females. Now with this latest confession, the number of dead bodies Fuller has sexually abused has gone up to 101.

While appearing in Croydon Crown court by video-link from HMP Frankland, Fuller reportedly admitted 12 counts of sexual penetration of a corpse and four counts of possession of extreme pornography between 2007 and 2020.

Following an investigation that revealed evidence of 101 victims in the mortuaries, Fuller was charged with further offences relating to the remaining 23 victims, according to Kent Police.

Thirteen of the 23 more victims, all of whom were adult women, have been formally identified, but police have been unable to identify ten of them.

David Fuller admitted to sexual offences against 78 deceased and murder of two women

Fuller had earlier pleaded guilty to sexual offences against 78 deceased females at mortuaries in Tunbridge Wells Hospital and at the former Kent and Sussex Hospital between 2008 and 2020.

In December 2021, Fuller received two life sentences after admitting to the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in 1987. According to reports, Fuller had beaten and strangled Wendy Knell (25) and Caroline Pierce (20) to death before sexually assaulting them in two separate attacks in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

The murders of Knell and Pierce, known as “the bedsit murders”, had remained unsolved for more than three decades until advanced DNA techniques identified Fuller as the killer.

Wendy Knell, who was killed by David Fuller in an attack in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, source: Gaurdian
Caroline Pierce, who was killed by David Fuller in 1987, source Gaurdian

Moreover, Fuller was also sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexual assaults on 78 dead women and girls between 2008 and 2020. Fuller, purportedly, filmed himself abusing corpses in the now-closed Kent and Sussex hospital and Tunbridge Wells hospital, in Pembury.

Fuller worked in electrical maintenance at hospitals since 1989 and was at the Kent and Sussex Hospital until it closed in September 2011. He was transferred to the Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury, where the offences continued until his arrest.

Police said that Fuller used his job as a hospital electrician to enter the mortuary of two Tunbridge Wells hospitals, where from 2008 to 2020 he sexually abused 102 dead bodies. There was no CCTV where the attacks took place.

Image source; Sky News

Investigators said Fuller, known as the “morgue monster”, would go into the morgues when other staff had left, often “visiting the same bodies repeatedly”.

UK govt initiates independent inquiry

Meanwhile, the government has called for an independent investigation into how Fuller was able to continue to commit the crimes for so long.

Fuller stalked and murdered two young women in Kent in 1987, and for 33 years appeared to have gotten away with it before confessing during a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

DNA breakthrough led to the arrest of David Fuller

A DNA breakthrough led to him being identified as the prime suspect. When authorities raided his home in December 2020, they discovered hard drives full of his attacks on the dead and files downloaded from the internet revealing horrific pornography, including child rape.

Justice Cheema-Grubb, who handed down a life sentence at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday, stated expressly that she intended for Fuller to die in prison.

Court calls David Fuller a ‘vulture’, says would die in prison

“Having killed two young women who were full of the promise of life, you became a vulture, picking your victims from among the dead, within the hidden world of hospital mortuaries which you were left free to inhabit, simply because you had a swipecard,” she said.

“The depravity of what you did reveals that your conscience is seared; callused over. The sentence I am about to pass means you will spend every day of the rest of your life in prison”, the judge added.

Fuller claimed not to have had sexual pleasure in interviews following his arrests. He documented the abuse by filming and photographing it, then categorising it according to the type of attack. Some recordings bore the names of victims, and one folder was labelled “best yet.”

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan suffers injury on his leg during firing at his ‘Azadi rally’, shooter arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan suffers injury on his leg during firing at his ‘Azadi rally’, shooter arrested

On Thursday, November 3, former Pakistan PM and Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan has reportedly been injured as shots were fired near his ‘Azadi march’ container in Zafar Ali Khan chowk in Wazirabad, Pakistan, news agency ANI quoted Pakistan media as reporting. Imran Khan has reportedly been shot in the leg. Doctors have said that Khan’s condition is stable.

The firing reportedly happened when Imran Khan’s container was anchored at Wazirabad on Thursday afternoon. The attacker has been arrested.

As per reports, Imran Khan has been shot in the leg. Videos have emerged on social media, wherein Imran Khan is seen being taken away on a stretcher to a hospital with a heavy security cordon surrounding him.

Another video that has emerged shows Imran Khan being escorted to his car after allegedly receiving the bullet injury.

As per reports, besides the PTI chief, one person was killed and four other officials of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, including a senior aide to PTI chief Senator Faisal Javaid, Ahmad Chattha, and Imran Yousaf, were also injured in the gunshot attack.

Furthermore, the firing caused panic among the marchers which triggered a stampede in which many people also got injured.

The police has said that the police have arrested two people in connection with the firing on PTI’s long march container.

Notably, only on Sunday, Imran Khan announced that he was calling off the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’. The decision came after a female journalist died on October 30 after being crushed under his container. The deceased was identified as local news house Channel 5 reporter Sadaf Naeem.

Geo News reported that Sadaf was hit by the container carrying Khan but it was not confirmed.

As per latest report, the person who had opened fire at Imran Khan’s rally has been shot dead.

After the tragic incident, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Tweeted, “We are ending today’s march due to an accident. We have decided to stop here.”

On 28th October 2022, Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan commenced his Azadi March from Lahore to Islamabad. In a video message posted on Twitter before the march, the former cricketer who is now a politician explained that the goal of the rally was to prevent “foreign puppets” from running Pakistan, not to advance “personal or political” goals.

The PTI leader’s long-standing demand that the current government call early elections is considered the impetus behind the march. The 70-year-old leader is leading this rally for the second time. A similar march that Khan had organized earlier in May ended violently and in bloodshed after police and PTI protesters battled in numerous places.

Uttar Pradesh: Taj Mohammad of Shahjahanpur burns Quran in a mosque, says it wasn’t him but his soul that did it

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Taj Mohammad of Shahjahanpur burns Quran in a mosque, says it wasn’t him but his soul that did it

On Thursday, 3rd November 2022, the Shahjahanpur police in Uttar Pradesh arrested one Taj Mohammad for burning Quran in a local mosque on Wednesday night. When questioned, Taj Mohammad said it wasn’t him but his soul that committed this act.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people gathered as soon as the news of the religious book getting burnt spread in the city. Angry Muslims burnt BJP posters on the road demanding immediate arrests. They also raised slogans against the police administration. As the situation worsened, the police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the crowd. A heavy police force was later deployed at the spot.

Quran was burnt in a mosque in Shahjahanpur

Syed Shah Fakhre Alam Mian Mosque is located in Mohalla Bavujai of Chowk Kotwali area of Shahjahanpur city. On Wednesday evening, two youths barged into the mosque and burnt the Quran kept there. When Imam Hafiz Nadeem and others arrived for evening prayers, seeing the burnt pages of the Quran, they informed the Imam of the mosque. Around 8 pm, a sizeable crowd gathered in the area. After this, some youths tore up the BJP posters there and set them on fire.

CCTV footage of the mosque surroundings also surfaced in which the suspect could be seen. Based on this, the police arrested the accused. Taj Mohammad alias Munna lives in the Badjui area which is located at a distance of 3 kilometers from the mosque. This area comes under the Sadar Bazar police station of Shahjahanpur.

There is only one entrance to the mosque. After walking about 15 to 20 steps inside the mosque from the entry gate, there is a common carpet laid down for offering Namaz. Copies of the Quran are also kept on one side there. The Muslims who want to read the Quran after the prayers may read them. The Quran was lying burnt inside the mosque at a distance of 25 to 30 steps from the gate.

‘My soul burnt the Quran’, says accused Taj Mohammad

Taj Mohammad said in his confession, “I don’t do any work. I’m always roaming around being jobless. My family is not getting me married. This keeps me upset.” On being asked why did he burn the religious text, accused Taj Mohammad said, “It is not me but my soul that has burnt it.” On Thursday morning, the District Magistrate took stock of the area. He appealed to everyone not to pay heed to rumours.

Hafiz Haseeb, the plaintiff in the case, said, “Tension prevailed in the area after the incident. Despite this, morning prayers were offered. But, the number of people attending the morning prayers was far less than the regular. This is the first such incident in Shahjahanpur. Police should take strict action in the matter.”

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