Telangana Congress Committee Secretary Rashed Khan on Tuesday threatened of entering into Goshamahal, the constituency of T Raja Singh, and turning it into ashes if the police did not arrest him.
The video of the threat, made during an interview with Aaj Tak, has since gone viral on social media platforms. Khan threatens that there will be law and order issues if Singh is not arrested.
“If Raja Singh is not arrested on 23, I will turn Goshamahal (Raja Singh’s constituency) into ashes on 24,” Rashed Khan said. “I am ready to break law and order and enter Goshamahal. I will not be responsible for it then.”
In the interview, Khan also appeared to justify “Sar Tan Se Juda” chants raised against the suspended BJP leader, contending that Singh’s remarks on Prophet Muhammad triggered the beheading slogans against him.
“The people are on street and demonstrating against Raja Singh because he made provocative remarks against Prophet Muhammad,” Khan said when asked about ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ chants raised against the Goshamahal MLA.
Khan’s interview threatening of dire consequences came before police arrested T Raja Singh over his allegedly defamatory post against Prophet Muhammad.
This is not the first time that Rashed Khan had openly dished out threat. Last year, he had announced a bounty of Rs 25 lakhs for anyone who beheads Wasim Rizvi after he had recommended changes in some Quranic verses.
BJP MLA T Raja Singh arrested over post on Prophet Muhammad, received bail hours later
According to the reports, the BJP MLA had posted a comedy video on Monday in which the demonstrators claim that he used abusive language toward Prophet Muhammad. Multiple people filed a complaint against Singh and said that he had hurt the religious sentiments of the Islamists.
Protests swept Telangana as Islamists chanted provocative slogans against Singh over his social media post. The BJP suspended the MLA and sought an explanation from him within 10 days. As protests swelled, the police arrested him.
Raja Singh was booked under IPC Sections 153a (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion) and 505 (public mischief).
However, hours later, the 14ACMM court ordered an immediate release of suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh. The court returned the remand application for the suspended BJP MLA and granted him bail.
Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Thakur Raja Singh has said that protecting Dharma is more important for him than the party. He added that he has done nothing wrong and would remain a “loyal foot soldier” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He said, “More than the party, protecting dharma is important for me.”
Raja was arrested by Hyderabad Police yesterday for alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad, following which he was also suspended from the party and asked to submit a reply within ten days on why strict action should not be taken against him. However, he was released on bail on the same day.
He had published a video in which he allegedly used derogatory words for Prophet Muhammad, which led to backlash. Former IT cell head of AIMIM and social media influencer Syed Abdahu Kashaf had led a protest against him and raised ‘sar tan se juda’ (call to behead) against T Raja. Following the backlash, the video was removed from social media platforms. However, now T Raja has asserted that he would publish the second part of the video purportedly with similar remarks.
Multiple cases were registered against T Raja at Dabeerpura and Mangalhat. In a statement, the Police said, “We have been receiving complaints against him at various police stations across the city. All cases will be clubbed.”
T Raja uploaded a video in opposition to comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show
It has to be noted that the whole controversy erupted because of the show of controversial comedian Munawar Faruqui in the city that T Raja had opposed. He had threatened that if the show happened, he would set the venue on fire. The video was published on August 20, which led to his arrest. However, the TRS government provided heavy security to Faruqui, and he performed as scheduled.
The Assembly elections are scheduled for 2023 in Telangana. BJP has set momentum against the TRS government in the state. It is believed that swift action against T Raja was taken to ensure the campaign against the state government did not get diverted because of the controversy. However, owing to T Raja’s popularity in the region, his presence in the campaigning will be highly sought out by the party.
As per the recent reports, T Raja has got two threatening calls from unknown numbers. The case of T Raja is very much similar to former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma, where she is getting threats and has to go underground to save herself from Islamists. On the other hand, those who instigated Islamists against her, including Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair, are roaming freely.
In the case of T Raja, he was arrested and now receiving threat calls after beheading calls were made on Monday. However, those who gave death threats, including Syed Abdahu Kashaf and the comedian Munawar Faruqui who is the reason Raja made the video, are roaming free.
On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recovered 2 AK-47 rifles and 60 cartridges from the residence of Prem Prakash, an alleged close associate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The weapons were found during the raids conducted by ED at multiple locations in Ranchi as a part of an ongoing investigation into illegal mining and extortion case.
According to the reports, the ED officials while conducting searches at the residence of Prakash in Harmu Housing Colony found two rifles hidden in the old iron cupboard. SHO Argora Police Station, Vinod Kumar confirmed the incident and said that the arms recovered belonged to the Jharkhand Police. However, the ED said that the rifles would be handed over to the police only after the investigation was completed.
ED has recovered AK 47 from the premises of middleman Prem Prakash: Sources
Raids are underway at multiple locations in Ranchi (Jharkhand) in an ongoing investigation in connection with illegal mining and extortion. pic.twitter.com/RFlIxcnOkN
The ED conducted raids at Prem Prakash’s premises after it received specific information regarding his alleged association with CM Hemant Soren. Apart from Prem Prakash’s premises, the ED is conducting searches at 16 other premises in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi-NCR over the illegal mining case. The agency is probing the trail of Rs 100 crore of proceeds of crime generated from illegal mining operations in Jharkhand.
“The evidence collected during the course of the investigation, including statements of various persons, digital evidence, and documents revealed that the seized cash along with the bank balance was derived from illegal mining being rampantly done in the Sahibganj area, including the forest area. A trail of further Rs 100 crore of proceeds of crime generated from illegal mining has also been unearthed and being worked upon”, the ED was quoted saying earlier.
Earlier on July 29, the ED as a part of its ongoing investigation into money laundering in connection with illegal mining and extortion in the state had seized a vessel worth Rs 30 crore that was being operated at the behest of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s associate Pankaj Mishra.
According to the reports, the ship allegedly transported illegally mined stone chips and boulders from the Sukargarh Ghat in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj at the instruction of Rajesh Yadav alias Dahu Yadav, in collusion with Pankaj Mishra and others.
On July 19, Pankaj Mishra, a close adviser to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, was arrested in connection with the money laundering case involving purported illicit mining near Ranchi. Mishra was apprehended after many hours of interrogation by ED officials. He was sent for another 6 days of remand on July 26.
On July 8, the ED raided 18 properties in Jharkhand purportedly associated with Pankaj Mishra and the latter’s suspected business connections in Sahebganj, Berhait, Rajmahal, and Mirza Chauki. The agency reportedly confiscated Rs 11.88 crore in cash from 37 bank accounts connected to Pankaj Mishra. During the search, the ED also discovered five unlawfully operational stone crushers and five illicit pistol cartridges.
Previously, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that politicians and officials were participating in the illicit mining activity that has been going on in Jharkhand, and they gained profit by leveraging their power. The agency discovered a trail of more than Rs 100 crores linked to illicit mining in the state.
Two Pakistani terrorists were killed along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district’s Naushera sector. These terrorists were killed in a landmine blast that took place as one of them stepped over a landmine while infiltrating on the night of August 22. The Indian Army shared this information on Tuesday.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA
Terrorists, while trying to infiltrate in the Naushera district of Jammu and Kashmir on August 22, step on land mines, die. pic.twitter.com/TgsRpIGqKn
A video of this incident was captured on a nearby CCTV camera. This video was also released along with the information. In this video, the blast of the landmine is clearly seen. The CCTV clock shows that the incident took place at around 09:04 pm.
Defence spokesperson, lieutenant colonel Devender Anand said, “On the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, Indian Army foiled an infiltration attempt in Nowshera sector. In reconnaissance by a quadcopter, two bodies of infiltrators have been observed. The area is being scanned further.”
Another officer told that a detonation occurred in the landmine last night between 10:30 and 11:00 pm as one of the terrorists stepped over a minefield, which triggered off the blast.
In the dead of night, a group of terrorists attempted to cross the border into Naushera’s Pukharni village in Laam. On Tuesday morning, army personnel who were watching the terrorists’ movements, set up a cordon and began searching the area.
The latest incursion attempt in the Naushera sector comes in the wake of the detention of a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) guide who also operated for a Pakistani army intelligence unit. This arrest was done on Sunday 21st August 2022. Tabarak Hussain (32), a resident of Sabzkot village in Kotli in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), was apprehended for the second time in six years while attempting to cross the border.
Advocate Karuna Sagar who took up the case of now suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh stated on Wednesday that he received two threatening calls from unknown numbers. This is a day after Singh was granted bail in the case lodged against him for his alleged ‘blasphemous’ comments against Islam.
According to the reports, the suspended BJP MLA was released on bail on Wednesday hours after the Hyderabad Police arrested him for his alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad. The court accepted Raja Singh’s lawyer’s argument that the police did not issue a notice under CrPC 41(A) to the accused before the arrest.
Telangana | Advocate Karuna Sagar who has taken up the case of suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh claims that “he received two threatening calls from unknown numbers”.
Singh was granted bail yesterday in connection with his alleged comments on Prophet Muhammad
The saga began when Singh Monday posted a video in which he, according to the Islamists, used derogatory language toward the Prophet Muhammad. Several people gathered at the South Zone DCP office in Hyderabad and staged a protest against the BJP MLA. Hundreds of them shouted Islamist slogans like, “Allah-hu-Akbar”, “Gustakh E Rasool ki ek he saza sar tan sejuda, sar tan se juda” and demanded the arrest of Raja Singh.
The Police then booked the former BJP MLA under IPC section 153A (Promoting enmity between two groups) and similar sections at the Dabeerpura police station for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the Islamist community.
On August 23, the Bharatiya Janata Party also suspended the leader for the said post, though Raja Singh had not used the Islamic prophet’s name in the video. BJP in the letter stated that Raja’s views were contrary to Party’s stand on religious matters. The letter also mentioned that the leader had violated Rule XXV 10(a) of the constitution of the party which reads, “breach of discipline includes acting or carrying on propaganda against any program or decision of the party”.
Reports mention that mild tension continued to prevail at the court on Wednesday as supporters of Raja Singh and also the protesters gathered and indulged in slogan shouting, forcing the police to resort to lathi-charge to disperse them. The Police also carried out a flag march in the city of Hyderabad amid protests against suspended BJP leader Singh.
Telangana Police carried out a flag march in Hyderabad, as protest erupts in the city against suspended BJP leader T Raja Singh over his alleged comment on Prophet Muhammad pic.twitter.com/WhqqpS1Tag
Earlier, former spokesperson of BJP Nupur Sharma was also suspended on similar grounds after a clip of her remarks on Prophet Muhammad during a debate went viral on social media. Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair had shared an incomplete video of Nupur Sharma’s debate on Times Now where she was defending her faith after a fellow co-panelist mocked the Shivling discovered at the Gyanvapi compound.
The row had escalated after Alt news co-founder Zubair and his supporters on Twitter sought help from the Muslim accounts from the Middle East, creating a diplomatic nightmare for the Indian missions in the Persian Gulf.
Reportedly, Singh was also arrested on August 19 for objecting to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s program in Hyderabad. Singh stated that Faruqui had previously insulted Hindu Gods in his shows, resulting in criminal prosecutions. The MLA had requested that the police prevent Faruqui from performing in Hyderabad but the police had arrested him instead of acting on his request.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal whose attempt to establish an ‘independent’ news channel with Tiranga TV failed miserably, recently raised apprehensions over the ‘independence’ of NDTV after Adani Group’s media arm announced it is purchasing a 29.18 per cent stake in the media group.
Taking to Twitter, Sibal expressed concern over Adani’s acquisition of NDTV. “Almost the last bastion of Independent journalism being taken over by industry,” said Sibal, who despite being a senior leader of the Congress party, had felt no compunction in backing news channel Tiranga TV, widely believed to have launched as a propaganda arm of the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Source: Twitter
Unfortunately for Sibal, Tiranga TV did not hit off and was shut down, curiously after the 2019 general elections and months after protests from employees who accused the company of abruptly sacking them.
Nevertheless, the Congress leader’s argument that if someone who invests money in a media organisation is a criterion for wielding control over the company, then none of the private media outfits in the country could be termed as independent, including NDTV, before the announcement of the Adani acquisition as the organisation was then owned and controlled by the Roys, who are known to have close links to the senior Congress leaders.
Sibal’s handwringing over the ownership and the ‘independence’ of NDTV comes a day after the Adani Group’s media arm, AMG Media Network Ltd (AMNL) released a statement on Tuesday, providing details of its offer to indirectly acquire NDTV and launch an Open Offer.
Adani Group to acquire a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV, launches an open offer to acquire another 26 per cent
The acquisition of a 29.18 per cent stake will be indirect and made through Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMG Media Network Ltd (AMNL), which is owned by Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).
“AMNL’s wholly owned subsidiary VCPL holds warrants of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPR) entitling it to convert them into a 99.99% stake in RRPR. VCPL has exercised warrants to acquire a 99.5% stake in RRPR. Such acquisition will result in VCPL acquiring control of RRPR,” the media release said.
This will trigger an open offer to acquire up to a 26 per cent stake in NDTV in terms of SEBI’s takeover regulations, the organisation said.
Following the Adani Group’s announcement, NDTV said the conglomerate did not consult before exercising its right to convert the loan into equity. NDTV’s statement that no discussions of acquisition took place, coupled with remarks made by people like Kapil Sibal and other social media users, has tried to lend an air of illegitimacy to the entire affair. It is, therefore, imperative to discuss how NDTV got its money and how the Adani Group holds the legal right to purchase the stake in the media group.
How Roys, the promoters of NDTV, took one loan to pay off another loan and got the organisation entangled in a debt trap
Prannoy Roy (PR) and Radhika Roy (RR) own and control RRPR Holding Pvt. Ltd., the promoter group company of NDTV, holding 61.45 per cent of the total shareholding of the organisation.
While the monetary troubles of NDTV began in 2004, their first shenanigan was their deal with General Atlantic Partners Investment (GA). That deal allegedly violated PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations) and SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares & Takeover Regulations) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The details of that deal have been covered in detail by PGurus and can be read here.
In June 2008, the promoters of NDTV made an open offer for the shares of the company. To bankroll the open offer, they took a loan of Rs 540 crores from Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd by pledging their shares in NDTV as security.
Four months later, in October 2008, NDTV promoters borrowed Rs 375 crores from the ICICI Bank Ltd at 19 per cent per annum to repay their loan obtained from Indiabulls Financial Services. To obtain the borrowing of Rs 375 crores, the promoters had encumbered their entire shareholding in NDTV through non-disposal undertakings with ICICI Bank, meaning although the shares of NDTV were owned by the promoters, they are at the same time subject to a legal claim by the ICICI Bank.
A few months later, in July 2009, NDTV promoters took another loan of Rs 350 crores from VCPL to repay ICICI Bank Ltd. RRPR, Dr Roy, Ms Roy and VCPL were signatories to the loan agreement. Through the agreement, RRPR Holding company secured Rs 350 crores which enabled it to discharge its liability towards ICICI Bank.
At the same time, two call option agreements dated 21 July 2009 were executed for 1,63,05,404 equity shares of NDTV, which represents 26% of its shares. One of the call option agreements was executed between RRPR Holding and Shyam Equities Pvt Ltd (SEPL) in terms of which SEPL had the right to buy 11.01% equity shares of NDTV from the promoter company at a call option price of Rs 214.65 per share.
Similarly, another call options agreement was executed between RRPR Holding and Subhgami Trading Pvt Ltd (STPL), in terms of which STPL had a right to purchase 14.99% equity shares of NDTV from RRPR Holding at a call option price of Rs 214.65 per share. Both SEPL and STPL are associates of Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMG Media Network Ltd (AMNL), which is owned by Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL). Another loan for Rs53.85 crore was taken by NDTV promoters from VCPL on 25 January 2010.
SEBI finds a violation by NDTV over its non-disclosure of the loan agreement with VCPL, a subsidiary wholly owned by Adani’s AMG Media Network Ltd
The two call agreements were challenged by the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and they levied penalties against the promoters and NDTV for its failure to disclose information about the loan agreement with VCPL.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) upheld SEBI’s finding of violation committed by NDTV and its promoters but reduced the financial penalties on promoters in the case related to non-disclosure of the loan agreement to Rs 5 crores from Rs 25 crores. Further, the appellate tribunal also slashed the fine levied on NDTV to Rs 10 lakhs from Rs 5 crores.
According to legal analysts, the control of RRPR went away from the Roys to the Adani Group after the warrants were executed, indicating that the loans continued to remain unpaid.
More importantly, the agreements were never challenged by the NDTV, Roys or anyone who had information about it, demonstrating that they were intimately aware of the implications of the agreements should they fail to foot the loan.
VCPL and its link to the Reliance Group
Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL), is company incorporated in 2008. In 2009, it offered unsecured loan to NDTV’s holding company, Radhika Roy Prannoy Roy Holding Private Limited (RRPRH) worth Rs 403.85 crore. RRPRH held 29% equity in NDTV.
VCPL, in same year, had received unsecured loan from Shinano Retail Private Limited, which had obtained money from Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited, a part of Reliance Group. Shinano Retail was a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Group. Since these documents are publicly available, NDTV was aware that it was obtaining unsecured loan from an entity that was linked to Reliance group. For its part, VCPL was owned by Shinano Retail and Teesta Retail Private Limited, another fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Group.
Niira Radia link: Infamous lobbyist had claimed she and Mukesh Ambani’s trusted aide would meet Prannoy Roy and support him
It is also worth noting that infamous lobbyist Niira Radia, who shot into the limelight after her explosive tapes with many public figures, including politicians, journalists and business houses, had gone public, spoke with MK Venu about meeting Prannoy Roy along with Manoj Modi, the trusted aide of RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani. In the conversation, Radia says that she and Manoj will be meeting Prannoy Roy who needed their “support.”
NDTV’s claim of lack of consent a fig leaf intended to cover its association with Reliance, Adani
Taken together, NDTV’s claims that they had not been consulted or their opinion was not sought before the Adani Group moved to acquire a stake in it is a dead giveaway that the media group was intimately aware that such a scenario was not entirely outside of the realm of possibility.
Its business interest with Reliance-owned subsidiary, agreeing to terms of loans that could grant the borrower the right to convert the debt into equity underscores that the company was aware with whom it was dealing with and of the implications the non-payment of loans could borne.
Suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh, who was arrested yesterday for allegedly committing blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad, was granted bail on the same day. To protest against his release, Islamists in Hyderabad took to the streets and held demonstrations throughout the night. During these protests, they were continuously raising slogans demanding the beheading of T Raja Singh. The protest also turned violent and 4 police personnel were injured in an attempt to control the mob.
It is notable that T Raja Singh’s attorney argued in the bail plea that no notice was served to the MLA under Section 41(A) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The court accepted this argument of the lawyer and granted bail to T Raja Singh. Subsequently, protests started across the state. The sloganeering by the mob increased so much that the police had to disperse the crowd with lathi-charge and by using tear gas.
— Pramod Chaturvedi (ANI) ?? (@PramodChturvedi) August 24, 2022
Protests against Raja Singh were held in Amberpet, Tallabakatta, Mogalpura, Khilwat, Bahadurpura and Chanchalguda. Hundreds of protesters marched from Barkas to Chandrayangutta.
Protests erupt in Shalibanda once again, markets shut, protesters say they will continue to agitate till Raja Singh is punished #HateSpeechRowhttps://t.co/KF9W0DFLsM
In Hyderabad’s Shalibanda, a violent clash between protesters with the police took place. The police van was also vandalized by the protesters. Apart from this, the incidents of forcibly closing shops in the market, hitting slippers on posters of T Raja Singh, and burning his effigy are also reported.
Protest again erupted at Shalibanda blocking main road against #BJP suspended MLA Raja Singh for making derogatory statements on #ProphetMohammad. I don’t understand why @hydcitypolice is still allowing protest since late last night & no action on Sar Tan Se Juda sloganeers pic.twitter.com/DViUeRf8J8
Controversy erupted in Hyderabad after a statement by T Raja Singh
On Monday, 22nd August 2022, BJP MLA T Raja Singh made a video criticizing so-called comedian Munawar Faruqui. In this video, while talking about Islam, T Raja Singh talked about an elderly person, which Muslims said that it is an objectionable comment made about the Prophet Muhammad. However, T Raja Singh said that it was a joke. This was followed by protests across the city. On Tuesday morning, police arrested T Raja Singh. In the afternoon, the BJP suspended him from the party and then the court sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.
Bharatiya Janata Partysuspended T Raja Singh.
Muslim organizations are calling T Raja Singh’s remarks shameful, shocking, and riot-inciting. T Raja’s supporters demanded his release. Late at night, the court granted him bail. But after this, the situation in the city deteriorated again. Fundamentalists came on the road in large numbers. As the tension prevails in the state, there is a continuous demand for action against the suspended BJP MLA amidst the beheading calls by the protestors.
On August 23, a missing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader identified as Som Raj was found hanging from a tree in Hiranagar town of district Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir. Som Raj has been missing since Monday. The J&K Police has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the matter.
J&K | BJP leader Som Raj’s body found hanging from a tree in Kathua
A hanging incident occurred in Hiranagar. SIT constituted, along with a 4-member board of doctors for post-mortem. FIR to be filed; probe underway; we’ll look into the cause of death: SSP Kathua RC Kotwal (23.8) pic.twitter.com/Qc3UmoN1DF
As per reports, the dead body of the BJP leader was found hanging by a villager at some distance from his house, who then informed the Police. The body reportedly had blood marks. The Police recovered the body and sent it to a Sub District Hospital (SDH) in Hiranagar hospital for post-mortem.
BJP leader Som Raj was found hanging from a tree under ‘mysterious circumstances’ with blood marks on body in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, he was missing for the past few days.
The Police have registered a case under Section 174 of CrPC. The family members and BJP leaders have sought a detailed probe into the death of Som Raj. Following the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family for the last rites.
Union minister Jitendra Singh expressed condolences in a tweet and said, “Deeply saddened to hear the news of the passing away of our old colleague and senior BJP leader Shri Som Raj (Soma) in Hiranagar, District Kathua. May God rest his soul.”
हीरानगर, ज़िला #Kathua में हमारे पुराने साथी एवं भाजपा के वरिष्ठ नेता श्री सोम राज (सोमा) के स्वर्गवास की खबर सुनकर अत्यंत दुख हुआ। परमात्मा उनकी आत्मा को शांति दे। ?? pic.twitter.com/ODyXV7Jh4m
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kathua RC Kotwal said in a statement that an SIT headed by SDPO Border was constituted to investigate the death of a BJP leader. He said, “Questioning of the leaders on whom the family has leveled allegation will also be conducted, and whosoever will be found guilty will be dealt with iron hands.”
On Monday, a United Nations diplomat from South Sudan named Charles Dickens Imene Oliha was arrested for sexually assaulting one of his neighbour women in Upper Manhattan in New York, and was released immediately after it was known that he had diplomatic immunity. The incident is said to have happened on Sunday afternoon inside the apartment of the victim woman.
According to the reports, the Police arrested the accused South Sudanese diplomat several hours after the assault and later released him because he has diplomatic immunity. Oliha, aged 46 is a career diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in South Sudan. The Police confirmed that the accused diplomat was taken into custody and interrogated in the case.
“But once he informed detectives from the New York City Police Department’s Special Victims Unit that he was a diplomat, investigators confirmed he had immunity and swiftly released him without formally charging him”, the Police were quoted.
Meanwhile, the victim lady narrated her ordeal to the Police and said that she and the diplomat stayed in the same apartment at Wadsworth Terrace in Fort George. She told the cops that the accused followed her to her apartment upstairs and sexually assaulted her. According to the police, on Sunday at noon, the lady had taken a neighbour’s dog on a walk. The man approached the woman in the lobby and said that he was going to follow the woman upstairs.
He did though the woman had replied to the diplomat saying, “No, you’re not”. But as the woman opened the door to her apartment, the diplomat forced his way inside, the police said. “The woman reported that the intruder pinned her against a wall and raped her using a condom before raping her again on the couch without a condom”, the Police were quoted.
Reports mention that the victim was in shock after the attack and went to sleep. She later called 911 to inform the Police about the incident after a friend convinced her to make a report. The woman was also taken to the Columbia University Medical Center for treatment.
After receiving the complaint, police arrested Oliha on Sunday night. But he was released on Monday morning after he invoked his diplomatic immunity and the police found it to be true after verifying. After his release, he has gone missing, he was not found at his hom and the South Sudanese embassy has not been able to trace him.
Jane Manning who is the director of the Women’s Equal Justice project and a former sex-crimes prosecutor took cognizance of the incident and said, “It is disturbing to know that someone who is accused of rape cannot be held accountable no matter what the facts”.
“I hope that the NYPD detectives will still do a full and thorough investigation to establish what the evidence shows”, she added. Meanwhile, Dy permanent representative for the embassy of South Sudan, Cecilia Adeng stated that she or the other officers were not aware of the incident.
“This is something that’s not tolerable at all. I tried calling him but he didn’t answer”, she said. Adeng also added that she would have a conversation with the diplomat once he returns to the embassy and take the report to the headquarters.
Charles Dickens Imene Oliha lives in a building near 191st Street in upper Manhattan with his wife and their four young children. After the incident, there have been demands to the US state department to revoke his diplomatic immunity so that he can be arrested by the police. So far the state department has not commented on the matter, and has not revealed whether he is still in USA or not. +
Charles Dickens Imene Oliha lying on street after drinking session (Photo: Daily Mail)
Prior to this incident, Charles Dickens Imene Oliha was known for his drinking behaviour, as he would often pass out on the streets after drinking too much. Daily Mail posted a video from last month showing hm lying on the street after a session of drinking Coors Light beer. According to his neighbours, it was nothing unusual, as he drinks every evening om the stairs of his house, and often passes out. In fact, people didn’t even believe him when he said that he worked at the UN, because they always saw him drunk.
Earlier, a similar incident happened in the year 2018 when Martiniano Sosa, the husband of an Argentine diplomat was released because of diplomatic immunity. Sosa during a 2018 boozy party at the Cuban Embassy in Midtown had beat the United Nations worker in his face. According to the reports, the accused did not face any criminal charges as he was covered under the diplomatic immunity of his wife, Argentine envoy Natalia Babio.
Reports mention that diplomatic immunity offers a special status to envoys since ancient times. In 1790, the United States passed laws that granted ambassadors, their families, and servants absolute immunity. Over time, the legislation has been altered to reduce the amount of protection and the number of persons who may be granted it.
The US State Department notes that dealing with the notion of immunity presents significant challenges for law enforcement officials, who are averse, by oath and training, to offering special benefits or concessions to persons who break the law. “Diplomatic immunity is not intended to serve as a license for persons to flout the law and purposely avoid liability for their actions. Law enforcement must keep a sharp eye on how it is administered”, the State Department was quoted.
Meanwhile, New York Post in its report claimed that the diplomat might have fled from the United States with his wife and kids. The Post officials continuously knocked on the doors of Charles Dickens Imene Oliha’s apartment on August 23. “No sounds came from inside and there was no light visible from behind a red curtain fluttering in a window”, the report stated.
On August 23, Washington Post published a redacted version of the complaint filed by the former head of security at Twitter. Peiter Zatko, a widely known hacker known by his nickname “Mudge,” had worked for Twitter for a long time, but his services were terminated in January 2022 owing to ‘poor performance and ineffective leadership. In his 84-page long complaint, Mudge accused Twitter of security problems, cyber-security negligence, allegedly allowing foreign government agents to get employed at the company with full access to user data, and more.
Here are the key takeaways from the complaint.
‘India had government agent inside Twitter, ‘ said the whistleblower
First, let’s talk about the accusation laid down against the Indian government. On page 38 in Section 72 of the complaint with the title ‘Penetration by Foreign Intelligence & Threats to Democracy,’ Mudge accused Twitter of allowing foreign agents to have full access to the user database.
Mudge named three countries, India, China, and Nigeria, for managing to get their hands on sensitive user information. Furthermore, Mudge claimed that Twitter’s CEO Parag, at one point, had suggested to “consider ceding to the Russian Federation’s censorship and surveillance demands” when he was CTO of the company.
As per the disclosure report, the Indian government “forced” Twitter to hire specific individuals who were government agents. These alleged agents had access to the sensitive information on Twitter “because of Twitter’s basic architectural flaws.” It reads, “Twitter’s transparency reports purported to quantify the number of government data requests from the Indian government, but the company did not, in fact, disclose to users that it was believed by the executive team that the Indian government had succeeded in placing agents on the company payroll. By knowingly permitting an Indian government agent direct unsupervised access to the company’s systems and user data, Twitter executives violated the company’s articulated commitments to its users.”
Excerpt from the complaint. Source: Washington Post
In the footnote, it was mentioned that further details of the incidents, though unclear how much more information about allegations against India was provided, were submitted to the relevant agencies. Interestingly, the document did not mention when these incidents happened. Mudge came to know about the alleged incidents over the course of 2021.
It is notable that the key phrase that needs attention here is “it was believed by the executive team that the Indian government had succeeded in placing agents on the company payroll.” Was there no concrete proof of the accusations against the Indian government that the document uses the word “believe”? OpIndia tried to find more details and check additional documents provided by Washington Post in its report but could not find any.
About the specific allegation, the Washington Post read, “He [Mudge] believed the Indian government had forced Twitter to put one of its agents on the payroll, with access to user data at a time of intense protests in the country.” It further quoted an “unnamed source” on Twitter familiar with the matter who “agreed that the employee was “probably” an agent.” Again, keywords like “believed” and “probably” were used, throwing very vague allegations. Unless there is more proof in public, it is hard to believe that a company that went to extremes to stop the Indian government from getting information about the users that the Indian security agencies believe could harm the harmony and democratic processes in the country will allow such unrestricted access to a ‘govt agent’.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Twitter did everything to avoid hiring a compliance officer from India in accordance with the new IT laws. The Indian government had and still struggling to get rid of the anti-India elements on Twitter. The company took months to take action on legal demands by the Indian government and even sued the Indian government to skip complying with legal demands.
There have been multiple protests, some of them gone violent, in the past three years in India, which were triggered by social media posts. If, by all means, the Indian government had agents inside Twitter, it would have been easier for the security agencies to nab the anti-India elements provoking people and put a stop to the violence much before they went out of control. It is hard to digest that a government that has worked extensively to ensure a good image on the international platform let protests happen against itself even though it allegedly had so much sensitive information at its disposal.
Allegations against China and Nigeria
Further, in the same section, Mudge alleged that though Twitter was banned in China, the company accepted funds from Chinese entities. He alleged that after Twitter received money from the Chinese entities, there were concerns within the company that the information possibly provided to them would allow the Chinese agencies to “identify and learn sensitive information about Chinese users who successfully circumvented the block and other users around the world.”
“Twitter executives understood this constituted a major ethical compromise. Mr. Zatko was told that Twitter was too dependent upon the revenue stream at this point to do anything other than an attempt to increase it,” the document read.
In the case of Nigeria, Mudge alleged that despite being aware of the misinformation being spread by the Nigerian government about being in conversation with Twitter executives following the ban on the platform in the country, Twitter did not try to correct them. The inaction of Twitter led to negotiations in favour of Nigeria.
Twitter was allegedly forced to hire locals for leverage
In Section 74 of the document titled ‘Squeezing Local Staff,’ Mudge alleged that India, Nigeria, and Russia had sought and succeeded to a varied extent to “force Twitter” to hire local full-time employees that “could be used as leverage.” If the allegation is understood correctly here, Mudge is claiming that the countries where Twitter has physical offices “forced” the company to hire locals.
Excerpt from the complaint. Source: Washington Post
Mudge claimed that “There was the physical safety of the employees to consider. The threat of harm to Twitter employees was sufficient to cause Twitter to seriously consider complying with foreign government requests that Twitter would otherwise fundamentally oppose.” Basically, the complainant wants to impose the idea that in countries including India, there was a risk of physical harm to the Twitter employees thus the company bent to the “forceful hiring of the local staff.” The company that was not even ready to hire a local compliance officer was claimed to have been “arm-twisted” in hiring local employees is not something that is easy to digest, especially when the “additional documents” that the complaint disclosure talked about are not in the public domain.
The allegations over lack of security practices at Twitter
Mudge was hired by Twitter after the embarrassing situation where some of the most famous accounts were hacked, including that of former President of the US Barack Obama and then-presidential candidate Joe Biden by a teenager from Florida who ran a cryptocurrency scam on those accounts.
In his complaint, he mentioned that there was a long list of security failures at the company, including a lack of server updates, inadequately configured employees’ computers, and more. Mudge claimed that the lapses in security were in violation of a previous settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Furthermore, Mudge alleged Twitter claimed to care about addressing spam, but the reality is completely different. He claimed that there were no bonuses to tackle spam for the employees, but on the other hand, they could fetch bonuses up to $10 million for an increase in user base without caring if they are real users or fake accounts or bots.
The document came as a blessing for tech billionaire Elon Musk who recently said he might not buy Twitter as the company failed to give out details about the spam accounts. In a Tweet, Musk said, “Give a little Whistle,” followed by another tweet where he shared a screenshot from a WaPo report and said, “So spam prevalence *was* shared with the board, but the board chose not to disclose that to the public.”
So spam prevalence *was* shared with the board, but the board chose not disclose that to the public … pic.twitter.com/lXk48TFZL1
Musk had quoted the part of WaPo’s another report on the same case that read, “Four people familiar with the company’s processes for spam detection, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive internal matters, told The Post that the company keeps several internal tallies of spam and bots — known as “prevalence” — across the service beyond the number supplied to Wall Street. The Post also obtained an internal document, which was redacted to hide the numbers, showing that “spam prevalence” was a number shared with the board. The document was supplied to the board at a meeting Zatko attended, according to two of the people.”
It is noteworthy that Mudge has categorically denied any coordination with Musk before filing the complaint. However, a lawyer at Whistleblower Aid, the law firm representing Mudge, informed WaPo that he would reply to a subpoena that, according to Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro, had already been issued.
Poorly tracked access to user information
Mudge alleged in his complaint that he had warned his colleagues that the servers were running out of date. He further claimed that the lack of proper updates was leading to vulnerabilities in the software. He claimed that the executives withheld the facts about the number of breaches into the servers and the lack of protection of user data. Instead, they submitted “feel good” charts of unimportant changes.
He further claimed that thousands of the employees at Twitter had poorly tracked internal access to the core software, and it led to embarrassing hacks over time. He alleged that Twitter’s CEO lied in his tweet in May, where he had claimed that the company was “strongly incentivized to detect and remove as much spam as we possibly can.”
Parag’s internal letter to employees rejected allegations
After Washington Post’s reports got published, Parag sent an internal letter to the employees suggesting the allegations were false. In his letter, he said that his team was reviewing the redacted claims that have been published, “but what we’ve seen so far is a false narrative that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and presented without important context.”
NEW: First time Twitter CEO @paraga weighs in on whistleblower story.
He further added that the allegations do not take away from “the important work you have done and continue to do to safeguard the privacy and security of our customers and their data.” He further said, “Given the spotlight on Twitter at the moment, we can assume that we will continue to see more headlines in the coming days – this will only make our work harder. I know that all of you take a lot of pride in the work we do together and in the values that guide us. We will pursue all paths to defend our integrity as a company and set the record straight.”
While the allegations are still being reviewed by the experts, without further details and disclosures, it is hard to assess how much of the complaint is based on truth. Mudge is a reputed name in the cybersecurity sector. His work in the past has given him a cult following that would believe in anything and everything he would say. The next few weeks will be interesting, especially for Musk, who has a hearing scheduled in October this year in the matter related to the acquisition of Twitter.
