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MEA S Jaishankar questions merits of US-Pakistan deal on F-16, says the relationship has not served either of the countries

OpIndia Staff
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MEA S Jaishankar questions merits of US-Pakistan deal on F-16, says the relationship has not served either of the countries

Dr S Jaishankar, the Union Minister of External Affairs, questioned the “merits” of the US-Pakistan alliance, asserting that Washington’s ties with Islamabad had not served either of the two countries. Jaishankar criticised the Biden administration’s plan to provide 450 million dollars in spares and maintenance for Pakistan’s F-16s, asserting that claims that these highly proficient fighter aircraft are exclusively for counter-terrorism operations are nonrational and delusional.

At a gathering organised by the Indian American community in Washington on Sunday, Foreign Minister Jaishankar said, “It’s a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well nor serving the American interests. It’s really for the United States today to reflect on the merits of this relationship and what they get by it,” Jaishankar said.

“For someone to say I am doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content and so when you are talking of an aircraft like a capability of an F-16 where everybody knows, you know where they are deployed and their use. You are not fooling anybody by saying these things,” Jaishankar noted.

The statements follow after Jaishankar was questioned by the audience on the United States’ decision to sell F-16 combat planes to Pakistan. The Pakistani government has received a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) from the US State Department for the first time since 2018 in the amount of USD 450 million to maintain the F-16 aircraft and its individual parts.

Rajnath Singh, the Indian Defence Minister, immediately voiced India’s reservations to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Washington’s proposal to provide a maintenance package for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet.

Jaishankar’s four-day visit to Washington, DC, started with an unprecedented public interaction with the Indian American community, a Q&A session in which he took direct questions from the audience and his every response was met with multiple rounds of applause.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar wrapped off the high-level discussion about the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday and will spend the following three days in Washington. The foreign minister will meet with Anthony Blinken, secretary of state for the United States, and other senior members of the Biden administration.

Delhi: Minor boy gang raped by friends and cousins, rod inserted in private part in Seelampur, 2 arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Minor boy gang raped by friends and cousins, rod inserted in private part in Seelampur, 2 arrested

On September 18, an underage boy was gang raped by his cousin and three of his friends in the Seelampur area of North-east Delhi.

As per reports, the victim is said to be just 12 years old. He was beaten with rods, sticks and a rod was inserted in his private parts. The incident came to light after the authorities at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital informed the police that on September 22 that a minor boy was admitted for physical assault.

So far, the Delhi police have nabbed two of the accused. A case was lodged under Sections 34 and 377 (unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. One of them was also produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

According to DCP (Northeast Delhi) Sanjay Kumar Sain, the family refused to give a statement until Saturday (September 24) although the Investigative Officer (IO) contacted them on a regular basis.

He added, “Immediately, a police team reached the hospital and met the parents of the child, but they refused to give any statement.” Thereafter, the police arranged for counselling sessions for the victim and his mother.

DCP Sain informed, “On extensive counselling, the mother of the child disclosed that three days back i.e. on September 18 her son was physically assaulted and sodomized by his three friends.”

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal has taken cognisance of the matter. “The boy is presently admitted in hospital in a very critical condition. This is a very serious matter.,” she said in a notice.

She sought a copy of the First Information Report (FIR), details of the accused arrested in the case and a report on the course of action so far. Maliwal has asked the Station House Officer (SHO) of Seelampur police station to submit the required information by Wednesday (September 28, 2022).

Reportedly, the victim and the accused are from the same community. It must be mentioned that Seelampur has been the hotbed of Islamist violence since the anti-Hindu riots of 2020.

Taliban cheated us, butchered our hair in prison: Sikhs thank Modi govt for rescuing them from Afghanistan

OpIndia Staff
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Taliban cheated us, butchered our hair in prison: Sikhs thank Modi govt for rescuing them from Afghanistan

On Sunday (September 25), the Sikh community heaped praise on the Modi government for rescuing them from the Taliban-controlled Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

As per reports, a special flight carrying Sikhs from the conflict-torn nation to India reached the National Capital yesterday. The passengers included 38 adults, 3 infants and 14 children. About 43 community members stayed back in Afghanistan to look after the Holy book of ‘Guru Granth Sahib.’

The evacuation was undertaken by the Indian government with the help of the Indian World Forum (IWF) and Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee (SGPC). Reportedly, the Taliban refused permission to the Sikhs to bring the last remaining copies of their Holy book with them.

According to Puneet Chandhok of IWF, about 9 visa applications for Afghan Sikhs are pending with the Government of India. He said that the remaining 34 members of the Sikh community are likely to depart from Afghanistan only if they are granted permission by the Taliban regime to bring their scriptures.

Chandhok appealed to the Indian government to convince the Taliban to allow the repatriation of Holy Sikh scriptures. Baljeet Singh, one of the Sikhs evacuated from Afghanistan, thanked the initiative by the Centre.

“The condition is not very well in Afghanistan. I was imprisoned for four months. Taliban have cheated us, they butchered our hair in prison. I am thankful and happy to return to India and to our religion,” he informed.

Another Sikh man, Sukhbeer Singh Khalsa, said, “We would like to thank the Indian government to give us urgent visas and help us to reach India. Many of us still have families left behind as around 30-35 people are left stranded in Afghanistan.”

Past rescue missions undertaken by Indian government

In July 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) reportedly approved long-term visas for 700 Sikh and Hindus currently living in Afghanistan. According to Kashmiri journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, such long-term visas are granted only to persecuted minorities in the region.

As per reports, about 600 Sikhs had applied for such long-term visas to India after the attack on Gurudwara that occurred on March 25, 2020, and left 27 dead. In August 2021, Afghan Sikhs brought three hand-written Swaroop of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Afghanistan to India.

They were received at the airport by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State and V Muraleedharan, Ministry of External Affairs. Again, in December last year, the Indian government evacuated 110 Sikhs from Afghanistan under the rescue operation Devi Shakti.

It was carried out jointly by the Indian Air Force and the Ministry of External affairs. President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Manjinder Singh Sirsa had announced the arrival of the Sikhs from Kabul to New Delhi by a special flight.

Uttar Pradesh: Unauthorised sale of masjid in Aligarh triggers probe, read details

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Unauthorised sale of masjid in Aligarh triggers probe, read details

On September 25, a matter came to light where a man identified as Mohammad Aslam from village Pilakhna of Charra constituency under district Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, reportedly absconded after selling a mosque without the administration’s permission. The mosque in question was constructed four years ago by Aslam on his land using donation money. Reports suggest he did not take permission for construction as well. As per regulations, a mosque cannot be constructed or sold without permission of the administration.

The matter came to light when the administration was investigating a case involving the theft of unnamed stamp papers. During the investigation, they found that a mosque was sold recently in Pilakhna village. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that permission was sought neither for the construction nor for the sale of the mosque, which was against the regulations.

Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Amit Kumar Bhatt said it was a serious matter. Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Kaul Sanjeev Ojha has been instructed to register a case in the matter. Bhatt said, “Prime facie, it appears that Aslam constructed the mosque on his farmland. It was a matter of Stamp theft. If the allegations are found to be true, strict action will be taken against the builders of the mosque, including Mohammad Aslam.”

Aslam is absconding from the village. Further probe is underway.

‘Mankading’: Playing the game by the rules is the ‘spirit of the game’, trying to steal extra yards as a non-striker is not

Amit Kelkar
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‘Mankading’: Playing the game by the rules is the ‘spirit of the game’, trying to steal extra yards as a non-striker is not

On Saturday, September 24, one of cricket’s most contentious issues was back in the headlines as the cricket world once again debated whether it is in the ‘spirit of the game’ or not to run a non-striker out for backing up too far (mankading as it is still called popularly even though new ICC rules have discontinued the use). This issue initiates a heated debate every time a batter is run out in this fashion. However, the onus is always placed on the bowler to uphold this spirit of the game, and hardly ever the batter is asked to stay in the crease to uphold the same spirit.

This time, the batter at the receiving end of this runout, commonly called ‘Mankad’ was English youngster Charlotte Dean. Dean was batting on 47, looking forward to her maiden half-century when Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma run her out for backing up too far. This also happened to be the last England wicket, handing India a closely fought 16 runs win and the series with a 3-0 scoreline.

What followed this dismissal was pretty much along the expected lines, English cricketers, men or women, current or former, were incandescent with rage. Deepti Sharma and the Indian team were accused of not playing the game in the right spirit, some saying India used this tactic because England was edging towards victory, and some insinuating that it was simply cheating on the behalf of the Indian team.

The most common argument was that Deepti should have warned Dean before running her out in this fashion. That is such a strange argument because, for no other mode of dismissal, a bowler or fielder is expected to issue any warning to the batter before dismissing them. For some reason, everyone has decided to make a special concession for ‘mankading’ as a dismissal which should require a prior warning.

In fact, as far as the actual rule is concerned, it is really simple to understand. As a non-striker, don’t step out of the crease before the bowler releases the ball. If you do, the bowler can run you out. It is not a very complicated rule and doesn’t require an elephantine memory to remember. However, the bowler is still expected to remind the non-striker, preferably multiple times, before running them out, or else it is not in that mythical spirit of the game.

Interestingly, the non-striker stealing those yards while backing up and making the pitch shorter to run those extra runs does not hurt any spirit, of the game or otherwise. It is a blatant case of cheating to gain an unfair advantage, but if you penalise it, then that is against the spirit of the game.

In fact, no other form of ‘cheating’ on a cricket field is against this spirit of the game. You can edge to first slip and refuse to walk, you know the bat is miles away from the ball but appeal for caught behind, you can even claim grounded catches, all of it would be gamesmanship, not hurting any spirit of the game. However, when it comes to mankading, the spirit suddenly turns very sensitive.

The hue and cry against mankading invariably comes from England cricketers, maybe because their batters have been caught out most frequently with this mode of dismissal. Whether it was Murali Kartik in the county cricket running out Alex Barrow, or Ashwin running out Jos Buttler in the IPL or yesterday, when Deepti Sharma ran out Dean, English players struggle to stay behind the crease.

Instead of getting angry every time and reciting ‘spirit of the game’ ad nauseum, maybe England should teach their cricketers to stay behind the crease till the bowler releases the ball. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, following the rules of the game is playing the game in the right spirit, breaking the rules and then expecting to get away with it is not in the spirit of the game.

Delhi: Woman alleges Da Code club bouncers tore off her clothes and misbehaved with her, CCTV footage shows the woman creating a ruckus

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Woman alleges Da Code club bouncers tore off her clothes and misbehaved with her, CCTV footage shows the woman creating a ruckus

On September 18, a woman alleged that the bouncers of Da Code club in South Extension in Delhi misbehaved with her over the entry into the club. Police have registered a case based on a complaint by the woman that she was misbehaved with, her clothes were torn off, and she was also physically abused by two bouncers. The woman claimed that during the brawl, her friends were also beaten up.

However, CCTV footage from the incident has now surfaced, showing it was the woman creating a ruckus. In the video, she gets furious with the bouncers and smashes the furniture. Her gait gives the impression that she was intoxicated at the time of the incident. The woman hasn’t yet made a statement after the footage surfaced.

On the other hand, the club owner dismissed all claims made by the woman, accusing Delhi Police officials of mental and physical harassment and being unfairly involved in the case for failing to pay ‘extortion’ money.

The incident occurred on the night of September 17-18. “A PCR call was received at KM Pur police station about an incidence of misbehaving and tearing off a woman’s clothes at ‘Da Code’ club in South Extension, after which the police arrived and met the caller,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Chandan Chowdhary.

According to the DCP, when the police arrived at the scene, they saw that the lady caller’s clothes were messed up, and when questioned, she stated that her clothes had been torn by two bouncers and the club’s manager. “She further revealed that she was misbehaved with, and physically hit by them and that they had also inappropriately touched her after the woman and the bouncers had an argument,” the DCP said.

The officer stated that the incident was being investigated and that CCTV cameras from the club and other nearby showrooms are being analyzed. “The details of the bouncers have been obtained from the club and efforts are being made to apprehend the actual perpetrators,” the DCP said.

In a letter to the Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), club owner Surendra Singh Chowdhary accused local police of demanding Rs 5 lakh in extortion money every month and threatening him when he refused to pay. On the September 18 incident, the club owner stated that at around 1 AM, four inebriated men and three women misbehaved with the club’s personnel, and when warned to behave, the girls threatened to incriminate us on false charges.

“They forcibly grabbed Rs 1.5 lakh from the podium before calling the cops. When the cops arrived, it was the same cop who had been threatening us with extortion, and he then threatened us again with terrible consequences”, the club owner stated. The owner claimed that the police officers returned the next day, September 18, and detained two of their employees who were discussing the previous night’s occurrence.

“We kept begging police officials to investigate using CCTV cameras because our club is entirely covered with cameras and the entire incident was recorded,” the club owner stated. He said that the police detained his employees for more than 22 hours and battered them with belts, clubs, and shoes at regular intervals.

Club owner Chowdhary further alleged that on September 23-24, the police returned to their pub and seized Rs 2,53,000 in instruments because he refused to pay the extortion money. Responding to the club owner’s accusations, DCP (South), Chowdhary stated that further investigation into the club owner’s allegations is also underway.

Uttar Pradesh: Two Nuns arrested for forcing Hindu woman to convert to Christianity, spitting on pictures of Hindu deities and burning them

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Two Nuns arrested for forcing Hindu woman to convert to Christianity, spitting on pictures of Hindu deities and burning them

Two Christian nuns were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district for exerting pressure on Hindus to convert to Christianity. Both of them are also accused of ripping and burning Hindu gods’ and goddesses’ pictures. According to reports, both of the arrested ladies are linked to Christian missionaries. Both work as nuns at CDM High School, a local Christian missionary school. Hindu organisations have voiced their dissatisfaction with this incident. The incident occurred on September 21, 2022 (Wednesday).

The incident occurred under the Jurisdiction of the Nakhasa police station. On September 21, 2022, the police got information regarding an accusation of illegal conversion in the village of Sirsanal. The police were also informed that the accused ladies had damaged images of Hindu deities.

The SDM and DSP of the region arrived with force at the village after receiving information about the incident. When the police came, they discovered the two Christian ladies affiliated with Christian missionaries, Rose Marie and Jisa, were pressuring a lady named Sunita to convert.

Sunita’s husband’s name is William, who is a Christian, while his wife is a Hindu, according to IPS Chakresh Mishra, Superintendent of Police of Sambhal district. Sunita, according to SP Sambhal, objected to the act and, based on her accusation, the police detained both ladies under section 452/504/506 153-A of the IPC and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Religion Act 3/5 (1). He stated that the situation on the scene is normal and that a police team has been sent to provide protection.

The complainant lady Sunita’s Christian husband William stated that his wife is a Hindu and that she had four pictures of Hindu deities on the wall. William has accused both Christian nuns of breaking into his home, spitting on god and goddess statues, ripping them down, and burning them. William demanded justice, citing his wife’s distress.

While talking to the media, complainant woman Sunita said, “Both sisters were asking me to become Christian but I refused and told to remain Hindu.” Sunita also said that she has 2 sons and they too will remain Hindu in future.

At the same time, the police confirmed that additional legal action is being taken in this case.

Haryana: Woman Congress leader booked for firing in the air with illegal weapon, FIR registered after police spot Instagram reel

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: Woman Congress leader booked for firing in the air with illegal weapon, FIR registered after police spot Instagram reel

A case has been filed in Palwal, Haryana, against a woman Congress leader and a woman lawyer for openly firing illegal firearms into the air. These two women also created a video of them firing the guns and posted it on Instagram as a reel. The police became aware of the matter after spotting the video on the social media platform. However, no arrests have yet been made.

According to media reports, Palwal Police Cyber Cell in-charge Vinod Kumar spotted the video while monitoring social media on September 16. During the monitoring, he noticed the videos on Instagram of two women waving an illegal firearm. There were five videos posted on the same Instagram account, where the two women were seen brandishing a handgun in dramatic styles. The videos have Punjabi tunes playing in the background. Following it, an FIR was filed against both ladies based on a complaint from the police lines regarding illegal firearms.

Cyber cell in charge Vinod Kumar said that both the women featured in the video have been identified after gathering information regarding the Instagram account. One of these women has been identified as Chanchal Gautam alias Nisha Gautam, Congress leader from Ward No. 14 and the other as Poonam Rao, Advocate, from Ward No. 26.

Renu Devi, Officer-in-Charge of City Police Station, said she has been assigned to investigate the incident, and accordingly, she is investigating the entire issue. She said that action will be taken against the accused based on the findings of this inquiry.

RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari shields PFI, says Pakistan Zindabad slogans are part of routine protests

OpIndia Staff
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RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari shields PFI, says Pakistan Zindabad slogans are part of routine protests

On September 25, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) vice president Shivanand Tiwari defended the Popular Front of India and said that ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans raised during a protest in favour of PFI were only a “sign of protest.” Tiwari’s comments came after over a hundred PFI activists were arrested in several states in a nationwide operation on Thursday, after which PFI workers had chanted Pakistan Zindabad slogans in Pune during a protest against the arrests.

News Agency ANI quoted him saying, “Pakistan zindabad slogan is a sign of protest, this doesn’t mean that they are Pakistanis or they want to go to Pakistan. This is a way to express that they are not supporting the government as their ministers are making controversial statements, this is why they are protesting.”

He added, “What is the condition of the country today? The Government of India has issued an advisory that people going to Canada should be careful that there is a hate campaign going on against Indians. In America and England, hatred towards Indians is being expressed a thousand times more. Because of the hate campaign you are running within the country, the Indians have to suffer in foreign countries”.

His remarks came during the time when National Investigation Agency (NIA) launched a pan-India crackdown on the Islamist organization allegedly supporting terror activities in the country. Reportedly, PFI members held demonstrations and protests across 15 states to mark their aggression over the raids on locations linked to PFI.

As per reports, ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised during one such protest in Pune City, Maharashtra, outside the office of the District Collector. More than 60 people were booked and around 40 were arrested for unauthorised gathering. As a response to the slogans, Bharatiya Janata Party demanded a ban on the organization. MLA Nitesh Rana also issued a warning to PFI members against raising such slogans.

JDU has distanced itself from the RJD leader’s statement. State President Umesh Kushwaha said, “Though I have not heard the statement if he has said anything like that, it is completely wrong.”

PFI crackdown by NIA

On September 22, it was reported that NIA raided PFI-linked locations in 15 states. Codenamed ‘Operation Octopus’ included multi-agency teams of NIA and ED. Around 106 members of PFI were arrested during raids at 93 locations spread over 15 states that are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, Bihar, and Manipur.

The raids were conducted over the allegations against PFI that the organization supports terror activities in the country. Following the raids, PFI officials condemned the raids and called the arrests’ unjust’. They claimed the accusations laid down by NIA were baseless and were aimed to create “an atmosphere of terror.”

Notably, last year in April, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court that the Union Government was in the process to ban the radical Islamist organization.

Punjab: Farmers threaten to dump stubble outside agriculture minister’s office for taking action against stubble burning ahead of smog season

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab: Farmers threaten to dump stubble outside agriculture minister’s office for taking action against stubble burning ahead of smog season

On September 24, members of the Kirti Kisan Union (KKU) threatened that if the Punjab government did not stop taking action against the farmers for burning paddy residue in the fields, they would dump the stubble outside the office of Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal in Ajnala on October 5. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal is the minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, apart from Rural Development & Panchayats, and NRI affairs.

The warning was issued during a meeting of the farmers and members of KKU in Ajnala. The farmers raised the issue of the government’s action against farmers for burning stubble and not creating alternate use for crop residue. The farmers accused the government of getting on backtrack from the promise of financial assistance to the farmers so that they could make alternate arrangements to manage the crop residue.

The farmers claimed it would cost them Rs 3,000 per acre if they mixed the residue in the soil. They called the whole process time-consuming, costly and cumbersome. Satnam Singh, KKU President, said, “More than 95 per cent of the farmers do not have the machines which are required for alternate management of crop residue.”

Farmer leader Jatinder Singh Chinna said, “Even if the farmers make bales of stubble, it does not have any market value. The farmers will need space to store these bales.” He further added that as an alternative, the crop residue can be used in the cardboard and paper industry. However, “Instead of taking responsibility for the stubble issue, the government is shifting the onus to the farmers,” he said.

Blaming industries for the pollution, Chinna claimed that the Agriculture sector causes only 8 per cent of the pollution. He said, “While the government is acting tough against farmers, it has never acted against pollution-causing industries.”

Earlier, Agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal had appealed to the farmers not to burn farm residue and had assured that five super seeder machines will be given to each block so that small farmers can use them. The Punjab government is also providing 32000 machines to the farmers on subsidy. Reportedly, the Punjab govt has 90,422 stubble management machines, including about 35,000 happy seeder and super seeder machines. Nearly 32,000 machines will be distributed by providing around Rs.450 Crore subsidy this year.

Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has also started the Information Education Communication (IEC) campaign, through which they will tell people about the detrimental effects of stubble burning on the environment, soil, human health etc.

Recently, the Central Government refused to provide any financial assistance to Punjab to pay incentives to the farmers so that they do not burn stubble. In a video message, CM Bhagwant Mann had announced that over one lakh machines to manage the stubble would be made available for the farmers, but no further announcements were made on the matter.

In the next couple of months, farmers from Punjab will start burning stubble on a large scale, which is one of the major reasons for pollution in Delhi during that period. While the central government and state governments have been working on the issue, Punjab, in particular, has shown an increase in stubble-burning cases in the past couple of years. Notably, while stubble burning has been proven as one of the major causes of air pollution during the period, governments and activists continue to blame Diwali firecrackers, even though the firecrackers cause pollution only for a few hours in a day. Like in last few years, this year also the Delhi government has already announced a complete ban on firecrackers during Diwali.

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