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Is Greece turning out to be a hotbed for Grooming Jihad by Pakistani immigrants? Recent murder of a 17-year-old is only the latest of such crimes

OpIndia Staff
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Is Greece turning out to be a hotbed for Grooming Jihad by Pakistani immigrants? Recent murder of a 17-year-old is only the latest of such crimes

On August 2 this year, the Athens police launched a massive manhunt for a Pakistani man, wanted in the brutal murder of his 17-year-old girlfriend Nicoletta.

The accused, a Pakistani immigrant named Ahsan was even hosted by the girl’s family in their house. As per reports, he killed his minor girlfriend after she allegedly spoke ill of Quran and asked him to convert to Christianity. The body of the deceased was sent for medical examination which confirmed that the victim was suffocated to death.

The matter came to light when Athens-based doctorate researcher Paul Antonopoulos cited the case and warned the Greek youth to be wary of Pakistani Muslim men, conspiring to entrap them in ‘love jihad.’

This is, however, not an isolated case. Paul began documenting such cases of grooming since December 2020 when two underage girls (aged 16 and 17) were drugged, raped and kept in illegal confinement by a Pakistani national.

The victims however managed to escape and notified the police, leading to the arrest of the accused. On raiding the home of the Pakistani national, the police recovered 49 packets of cannabis, heroin and 70 pills.

In the following month, a 20-year-old Pakistani attempted to rape a 5-year-old toddler in the Koropi area in East Attica in Greece. The accused was identified as Ihtisham Ali, who worked at an equestrian club.

Following a complaint by the victim’s mother, the police swung into action and nabbed the accused. Ali confessed to committing the heinous crime. The Juvenile Protection Sub-Directorate officers also launched a probe to determine whether he had committed such sexual offences in the past.

Pakistani national Ihtisham Ali, image via Twitter/ Paul Antonopoulos

In January 2021, a 29-year-old Pakistani was apprehended by the Juvenile Protection Sub-Directorate for sexually abusing a minor girl in Athens since September 2019.

As per the complaint, the accused chased the victim near Attiki Square, and stabbed her with a knife on August 23, 2020. He then went on to rape her brutally.

The Pakistani man also coerced her into silence. He continued his heinous crime until January 2021 when the victim finally reached out to the police and had him arrested.

In a tweet in February that year, Paul Antonopolous wrote, “A Pakistani attempted to rape and rob a woman with a knife in the small municipality of Koliri in the Peloponnese. How many more rapes and attempted rapes need to occur before mass deportations begin?

He also highlighted another case wherein an 11 year old girl was sexually assaulted by a 25-year-old Pakistani in Karpathos islands in Greece.

In March last year, a Pakistani national attempted to molest his 13-year-old neighbour in Messara village of the Crete island. Reportedly, the pervert tried to kiss the victim on the mouth when the latter went to his house.

The matter came to light when the child informed about the sexually inappropriate behaviour to his father, who in turn called the police.

Similarly, a woman named Despina Platanaki was sexually assaulted by a man of Pakistani origin on March 19, 2021.

While recounting the incident, she said, “He started beating me furiously, kicking and punching me, and tearing my clothes, while he was punching me in the chest, buttocks and genitals!”

“Despite the shock and terror, I reciprocated the blows as much as I could. Better dead than raped,’ she added. A cyclist came to her rescue, following which the Pakistani man fled the crime scene. The perpetrator was arrested and sentenced to 7 years in prison for victimising a total of 16 women.

In another case, a 34-year-old Pakistani national named Imran Khan attempted to rape a minor girl and 3 young women in Athens. He was later arrested from a cafe by the officials of the Security Sub Directorate of Southeast Attica.

He was charged for attempted rape, disobedience, insult of sexual dignity, violence and minor bodily harm. Prior to his arrest, he had posted on Instagram, “I think I’m afraid of being happy because every time I’m happy something bad happens.”

In one case, a 25-year-old pregnant woman was raped by an Afghani man in Athens.

“After the 3-month-pregnant woman was raped by an Afghani in Central Athens, she called for help. Instead of receiving assistance from the 3 Pakistanis that approached her, they gang-raped her instead!!!”, Paul Antonopoulos stated.

As recently as July 25, 2022, a 23-year-old woman was drugged, abducted from Livadi beach and raped by 2 Pakistani men.

Paul pointed out that the existence of grooming gangs in Greece can be directly attributed to the overly sexually repressive society of Pakistan.

He emphasised, “Overly sexually repressive societies like Pakistan is a major reason for the rape culture we see them bring to Greece when they illegally enter as “Syrian refugees.” Of course, Pakistanis in Greece are not the only ones to do this, but they’re massively disproportionately represented.”

The research scholar also shared a clip of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, contextualizing sexual assault by Pakistani men and resorting to victim blaming.

He wrote, “Pakistani PM Imran Khan himself explains why Pakistani men disproportionately (in a massive way) commit sex crimes in Greece. He literally says Pakistani men cannot tolerate seeing some skin, which I don’t care about, but then don’t come to Greece.”

Pakistani grooming gangs have raped 5 lakh non-Muslims in the UK in 4 decades: Survivor

In an interview with the Triggernometry in July 2020, rape survivor Dr Ella Hill revealed that at least half a million Non-Muslim girls had been raped by grooming gangs, operated mostly by Pakistani Muslim men in the United Kingdom, in the past 40 years.

Recounting her tale of horror from 20 years ago, Hill informed that she was targeted as a teenager by her Pakistani Muslim boyfriend. Dr Ella Hill defined the activities of the grooming gangs as ‘racially and religiously aggravated rape’, perpetrated by a group or network.

She revealed that the grooming gangs primarily targeted underage girls but also victimised young and old women. The survivor then reiterated that there were half a million victims of grooming gangs in the UK alone in the last 40 years.

“And it’s predominantly white victims and the perpetrators are predominantly Asian Muslim,” Hill emphasised.

Bollywood nepo-kid now wants to take action on audience for boycotting films, says filmmakers ‘tolerated too much’

OpIndia Staff
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Bollywood nepo-kid now wants to take action on audience for boycotting films, says filmmakers ‘tolerated too much’

Arjun Kapoor, the ‘star kid’ of the lesser famous Kapoor clan, whose father, uncles, cousins, step mother and step siblings have all been part of the tinsel town, in his recent interview with Bollywood gossip website ‘Bollywood Hungama’ said that the film industry people need to come together to end the boycott trend. “We have stayed silent for too long and thought our work will speak for itself,” he said. He added that now ‘people are used to’ making the boycott calls and the hashtags that run are far from reality.

Arjun Kapoor made his debut in film ‘Ishaqzaade’, which romanticised inter-faith marriage, and has failed to register a memorable hit till now. He claimed that the boycott calls are part of ‘agenda’ and refuses to address the elephant in the room that is poorly scripted movies that seem to be based on Hinduphobia coupled with unremarkable performances by those who identify themselves as actors only because their parents were one.

Kapoor further claimed that the shine of the film industry has come down over past few years because they (film industry people) didn’t do much and ‘allowed’ muck be thrown at them. The Bollywood Hungama host Faridoon Shahryar then claims that certain television channels have made a lot of money just by defaming the film industry, to which Kapoor said that ‘nothing sells like show business’.

Shahryar and Kapoor then claim that the boycott call for Aamir Khan’s film Laal Singh Chaddha and the flak Ranveer Singh drew for his nude photoshoot is a ‘distraction’, but ‘it should not take away from the industry the respect it deserves’, Kapoor says. However, Kapoor does concede that the work produced by Hindi film industry has not been good and said that the industry first needs to fix the quality of work it brings on table for audience. He does assert towards the end that nothing can beat better quality films.

Kapoor’s interview comes close on the heels of much anticipated big budget films like Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan which have tanked at the box office miserably. While many netizens have claimed the films had weak opening because of the boycott calls made for the films owing to the Hinduphobic nature of people associated with the films, critics have also noted that the films were badly made and were more like an assault on sensibilities of the audience which is why the films likely tanked. The films, Laal Singh Chaddha especially, has been a disaster at the box office.

Rajasthan: Vikram Khan, Asad Khan, Syabu, Sahun, and others lynch one Chiranji Lal to death on suspicion of theft, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Vikram Khan, Asad Khan, Syabu, Sahun, and others lynch one Chiranji Lal to death on suspicion of theft, arrested

On August 16, Rajasthan Police arrested Vikram Khan, Asad Khan, Syabu, Sahun, Taleem, Kaasam, and Pola for lynching 43-year-old labourer-cum-vegetable vendor Chiranji Lal on suspicion of theft in fields near Rambaas Village under Govindgarh Police Station area. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police have also seized an SUV used by the accused.

Accused assumed Chiranji Lal had stolen their tractor

As per reports, at around 4:30 AM on August 15 morning, Chiranji Lal was relieving himself in the fields. A tractor came rushing into the fields, and a pickup truck and SUV were following it. Soon, the tractor driver, who had stolen it, allegedly left it in the fields and ran away. There were 15-20 people in the two vehicles following the tractor.

As the tractor was parked close to Chiranji Lal and the thief who had actually stolen the tractor had escaped, the owners of the tractor assumed Lal was the thief and attacked him with sticks. A complaint in the matter was lodged in Govindgarh Police station by Chiranji Lal’s 25-year-old son Yogesh. In his complaint, Yogesh said, “When I and my uncles Harish and Shivlal ran out upon hearing the noise, we saw one Vikram Khan and others, who left upon seeing us.”

Lal was rushed to Govindgarh hospital. Owing to serious injuries, he was referred to Alwar, from where the doctors asked his family members to take him to Jaipur. Lal succumbed to death at SMS Hospital while receiving treatment at around 3 PM on Monday.

Alwar SP Tejaswani Gautam said that a tractor belonging to the accused was stolen. They were searching for the tractor when they saw Chiranji Lal near it in the field and assumed he was the thief. He said, “Vikram Khan got to know that his tractor is in a particular village. So, when he reached there with his relatives, he did find the tractor, but the thief had managed to run away. Spotting Chiranji Lal, the men assumed him to be the thief and assaulted him.”

Dainik Bhaskar, in a report, suggested that the accused had called the Police themselves. The Police reached the spot at around 6:30 AM, and till then, the locals and the accused were arguing. The Police pacified the situation for the time being and rushed Chiranji Lal to a local hospital, from where he was referred to Alwar and then Jaipur.

Villagers and local leaders blocked the road demanding justice

Chiranji Lal died at around 3 PM on Monday, and his dead body reached the village at around 11 PM. On Tuesday morning, villagers and local leaders blocked the Ramgarh-Govindgarh road demanding compensation and the arrest of the accused. At around 2:20 PM on Tuesday, there was an agreement between Chiranji Lal’s family and administration over compensation. The family got five lakhs immediately and the local administration has promised to appeal to the government for compensation of Rs 50 lakhs and a job for a family member of the victim. The administration has promised a job to a family member too.

Sales of ‘The Satanic Verses’ soar after the Islamist attack on author Salman Rushdie 

OpIndia Staff
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Sales of ‘The Satanic Verses’ soar after the Islamist attack on author Salman Rushdie 

Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’ is topping the charts on Amazon’s best-seller lists days after an Islamist stabbed him during an event in New York.

Among Amazon’s contemporary literary and fiction chart, the book has leapfrogged to the top position while it is second on the censorship and politics category, and was 18th bestselling book overall on the e-commerce site on Monday.

Besides, the Kindle version of the book is also witnessing strong sales, reaching numero uno position in many categories, including fiction, satire, censorship, and politics.

It was 23rd on Amazon’s chart of Kindle bestsellers.

The author’s other works have also becoming popular, with Midnight’s Children reaching 10th on the contemporary literature and fiction list. 

In addition to this, versions of his 2012 memoir Joseph Anton that chronicles his decade of life under police protection, occupied the four top spots on the religious intelligence and persecution list. 

On August 12, an assailant named Hadi Matar attacked ‘The Satanic Verses’ author when he was about to give a lecture at Chautauqua Institution in New York. As per eyewitnesses, the attacker stormed the stage and begin punching and stabbing Rushdie when he was being introduced. The author fell down on the floor after being attacked by the assailant. 

Rushdie came into the limelight after his book “The Satanic Verses” was banned in 1988 by a host of countries, including India which was then governed by Rajiv Gandhi, over content that Muslims considered “blasphemous”. A year later, Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, calling for Rushdie’s death.

A bounty of $3 million was offered to anyone who kills Rushdie after Islamists around the world targeted him for his book “The Satanic Verses”, which they said was blasphemous against Islam. 

Did Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP hire a professional actor Shahbaz Khan to show ‘frustrated youth of Gujarat’, netizens wonder

OpIndia Staff
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Did Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP hire a professional actor Shahbaz Khan to show ‘frustrated youth of Gujarat’, netizens wonder

With an eye on improving their electoral prospects in Gujarat ahead of the state’s assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday posted a video depicting ‘Gujarati youths’ discontent with the BJP.’ Netizens, on the other hand, were quick to raise doubts over the youth’s grievances. They pointed out how the frustrated youth in the AAP video is a professional actor who often flaunts his wealth online.

On Tuesday, the AAP Party shared a video, which was captioned, “This is the level of Frustration of Gujarat’s Youth against BJP. Youth says – @ArvindKejriwal is their last HOPE!”. In the 1.49-minute video, a ‘frustrated’ youth is heard telling Arvind Kejriwal, how in the last 12 years, the BJP government has done little for the development of the state. He rued how the BJP government, in the last 14 years has not been able to change a transmitter in his village.

He also complained in front of Kejriwal about the BJP government’s inability to open schools in the state for the past eight years. He also argued that there has been no growth in Gujarat in the last several years under the BJP administration and urged Kejriwal to take the reigns of the state in his hand and fight for the betterment of Gujarat’s youth.

“We need people like you, sir…do something…we’re pleading with folded hands,” said the young man, who introduced himself as Shahbaz Khan, a humble inhabitant of Dora village in Amod Taluka in Gujarat’s Bharuch District.

The youth further added that the people who have gathered there have not been paid, as is typical of the BJP, instead, they have been sitting there for hours in order to catch a glimpse of their leader Kejriwal.

He concluded his dramatic monologue by claiming that he is aware that he will be fired as a result of his speech and that he cares only about the country, said the youth.

As soon as the Aam Aadmi Party shared the video, Netizens started digging out details about this particular ‘frustrated’ youth. One social media user shared Shahbaz Khan’s Instagram bio where he identifies himself as an ‘actor’.

Interestingly, his Instagram profile shows he is a professional actor. His Instagram bio, in fact, reads “Shahbaz Khan, video creator, My passion acting Actor.” He has also shared a link to his Youtube channel in his Instagram bio. As can be seen, Shahbaz Khan has 259 followers on Instagram and has to date posted as many as 623 posts.

The Instagram page of Shahbaz Khan

Another social media user shared a video wherein this ‘humble’ youth could be seen driving an expensive car on the streets of Gujarat. “Gujarat ke gareeb log bhi car lekar ghoom rahe phir kis baat ki dikkat hai isko,” tweeted @delhichatter, which roughly translates to “If the poor youth of Gujarat are also roaming around in cars, then what is his issue”.

Another user going by the handle @BeingPolitical1 said that people should enjoy the entertainment being provided by ‘Lavanasur’, a moniker Arvind Kejriwal got after the Wikipedia page of the list of Chief Ministers of Delhi was vandalised last year.

Another video provided by Twitter user @nanditathhakur shows the ‘poor’ and ‘humble’ Shahbaz Khan laying in between bundles of currency notes.

Though a new player in Gujarat’s electoral politics, Arvind Kejriwal has interestingly been trying every trick up his sleeve to take on the BJP on their strongest turf in Gujarat. Last week, the Aam Aadmi Party chief announced cash for women in Gujarat should his party be elected to power. 

Publicity stunts are not new to Arvind Kejriwal. It may be recalled that during the election campaigning in Punjab, Kejriwal went on an auto ride and then went for dinner at the ‘auto driver’s home’ because the auto driver out of his whim decided to change routes. Though eventually, it turned out that the said auto driver was an AAP worker.

‘Why put Savarkar’s portrait in a Muslim area?’ Karnataka LoP Siddaramaiah on communal flare-up in Shivamogga

OpIndia Staff
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‘Why put Savarkar’s portrait in a Muslim area?’ Karnataka LoP Siddaramaiah on communal flare-up in Shivamogga

Former Karnataka chief minister and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah on Tuesday gave a bizarre explanation over communal tensions that swept Shivamogga district on Monday. The Congress leader insinuated that putting Savarkar’s portrait in a “Muslim area” had caused the communal flare-up.

“Why did they put Savarakar’s photo in a Muslim area and removed Tipu Sultan’s portrait?” Siddaramaiah questioned on Tuesday, a day after a row broke out over a Vinayak Damodar Savarkar banner displayed at Ameer Ahmed Circle on Independence Day. 

On Monday (August 15), the Karnataka Police imposed prohibitory orders in the state’s Shivamogga district as communal tensions flared up after a group of Muslim youths removed the flex banner with the image of Veer Savarkar. Savarkar’s poster was put up as part of Independence Day celebrations and the Muslim youths tried to replace it with that of the Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan.

Two men identified as Praveen Singh and Prem Singh were also stabbed by unidentified miscreants in two different places in the city. The former was stabbed in Ashok Nagar by bike-borne youths on his way home from Gandhi Bazar after shutting his shop, while another youth was stabbed in Upparakeri. 

Four men were arrested by the Karnataka police on Tuesday in relation to the stabbing that took place in the Shivamogga district on Monday. Nadeem (25), Abdul Rehman (25), Tanveer and Jabiullah have been named as the arrested accused.

Karnataka Congress puts up posters of Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan in Bengaluru to celebrate 75 years of Indian Independence

It may be recalled that yesterday, the Karnataka Congress had placed posters of the Islamic dictator Tipu Sultan in Bengaluru’s Hudson Circle and several other places to celebrate 75 years of Indian independence.

The posters were later allegedly damaged by some people as per some reports. The Karnataka Congress had put up posters of Tipu along with several freedom fighters across Bengaluru.

The Congress party protested the damage inflicted to the posters by unknown people. Talking to reporters, State President DK Shivkumar said that some people are not able to digest the “Freedom March” by the Congress party. “Someone is trying to create disturbance in the state. They are not able to digest Congress’ Freedom March,” Shivakumar said.

Jammu and Kashmir: In yet another targeted attack, terrorists shoot a Kashmiri Hindu dead and leave his brother critical in Shopian

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir: In yet another targeted attack, terrorists shoot a Kashmiri Hindu dead and leave his brother critical in Shopian

In another targeted terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, terrorists shot dead a Kashmiri Pandit on Tuesday, while leaving his brother critically injured in the Shopian district of the valley. The deceased was identified as Sunil Kumar and his injured brother as Pintu Kumar, the police said. Pintu Kumar was shifted to a hospital where he is currently undergoing treatment.

Sharing information about the attack, Kashmir Zone police tweeted, “#Terrorists fired upon civilians in an apple orchard in Chotipora area of #Shopian. One person died and one injured. Both belong to minority community. Injured person has been shifted to hospital. Area #cordoned off. Further details shall follow.”

Soon after the attack, a joint team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Indian Army, and paramilitary forces cordoned off the area to trace the terrorists behind the attack.

Sharing more details of the brutal incident, journalist Aditya Raj Kaul quoted a Jammu and Kashmir police officer as telling him that there was a “J&K Police Guard at their residence but as soon as the minority Hindu brothers went to their Apple Orchard, the Islamist terrorists attacked them. One killed on the spot, other injured. Forces rushed to the spot.”

Manoj Sinha, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, and numerous other political figures denounced yet another targeted attack on Kashmiri Hindus. “Pained beyond words on despicable terror attack on civilians in Shopian. My thoughts are with the family of Sunil Kumar. Praying for speedy recovery of injured. The attack deserves strongest condemnation from everyone. Terrorists responsible for barbaric act will not be spared,” tweeted Sinha.

Such targeted attacks on Kashmiri Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir have been on the rise in recent times. Two grenade attacks took place in Budgam and Srinagar districts on August 15, Monday, while a policeman was killed in Nowhatta on August 14, Sunday. Similarly, a migrant labourer was killed in Bandipora last week.

Prior to this, terrorists killed a young Kashmiri Pandit named Rahul Bhat at Chadoora in Budgam in May this year. In the incident that took place on May 12, two Islamic terrorists fired bullets at Rahul Bhat, who was a clerk in the Tehsildar’s office. Reportedly, the youth was working in his office in the Chadoora area, when the terrorists barged in and opened fire on him at point-blank range. Bhat sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a hospital in Srinagar, where he died a little while later.

In June this year, OpIndia reported how the killing of civilians by terrorists in the valley suddenly peaked from October last year. There have been about 11 targeted killings of Hindus in the previous 36 weeks, with the number certain to rise if we include other non-local Hindus and Muslim government officials who have also been targeted in the valley recently.

The continuous attacks on Hindus have prompted fears of another exodus like the one in 1990.

Two policemen guarding polio vaccinators shot dead in Pakistan; the country remains one of the last hurdles to eradication of polio

OpIndia Staff
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Two policemen guarding polio vaccinators shot dead in Pakistan; the country remains one of the last hurdles to eradication of polio

Two policemen guarding polio vaccinators in North-West Pakistan were shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday, 16 August. The incident occurred in Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering South Waziristan. The gunmen escaped after the incident, and police are busy combing the area to identify and arrest the culprits.

The two assailants, who came on a motorcycle, were hiding near a small water channel before opening fire on the guards from a very close range, the local police informed.

The team of two polio vaccinators emerged unharmed from the attack but this is yet another setback to the polio vaccination drive in the country. Pakistan remains one of the two countries in the world where polio is still classified as an endemic, neighbouring Afghanistan being the other one.

Polio vaccinators in Pakistan have to be accompanied by police officials owing to a threat to their lives from various terrorist groups headquartered in Pakistan. These terrorist groups have spread all kinds of rumours about the polio vaccines, from pig fat and alcohol content in vaccines to these vaccines causing sterilization.

Another reason why all the terrorist organisations based out of Pakistan look at vaccinators suspiciously is that the US intelligence agency CIA staged a fake vaccination campaign to get a confirmation of Osama bin Laden’s residence in Pakistan. These terror groups and their leaders don’t want to be the next ones to fall prey to a US strike.

Many polio workers and their security guards have been killed in Pakistan over the years by terrorists, making it difficult for the world to get rid of the disease. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where the disease still remains endemic.

With total eradication not achievable due to the resistance shown against the vaccine in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the disease has started reappearing in previously polio-free countries like the US and UK. The United States registered its first case of polio in almost a decade in July this year. While the UK detected the polio virus in sewage samples in June this year, leading to the urgent vaccination of about a million children in the area. Both US and UK get plenty of immigrants from Pakistan.

Norway: Walrus ‘Freya’ killed by authorities because ‘selfie-hungry’ people won’t stay away from it, wildlife experts outraged

OpIndia Staff
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Norway: Walrus ‘Freya’ killed by authorities because ‘selfie-hungry’ people won’t stay away from it, wildlife experts outraged

The hunger for selfies with a glorious marine animal resulted in horrific consequences as the authorities of Norway’s Shetland euthanized the gentle giant 600KG female walrus affectionately called ‘Freya.’ She was the centre of attraction at the Oslo Fjord for almost a month.

Frank Bakke-Jensen, head of Norway’s fisheries directorate, said, “The decision to euthanize was taken on the basis of a global evaluation of the persistent threat to human security.” In the name of “human security,” a completely harmless and beautiful animal was killed just because the Norwegian authorities failed to control the selfie-hungry crowd of tourists.

Frank further added, “We carefully examined all the possible solutions. We concluded that we could not guarantee the wellbeing of the animal by any of the means available.” Interestingly, Norwegian authorities concluded Freya could not be shifted to another place at the time when African nation Malawi successfully relocated 263 wild elephants and 431 additional wildlife to ensure their safety and the safety of people living around them.

Notably, the Norwegian officials had previously pointed out that they were considering euthanasia (a toned-down term for what appeared to be a well-thought murder of a glorious animal) as the public did not adhere to their repeated call to keep distance from Freya.

People refused to stay away from Freya. Source: Orangdre/Twitter

Freya is the name of the Norse goddess of beauty and love. The female walrus that was named after her has been making headlines since July 17, when she was spotted for the first time. Notably, walruses do not travel this far and are often found in the northerly latitudes of the Arctic.

Walruses, a protected species under the local laws, feed on invertebrates such as molluscs, shrimps, crabs, and small fish. It often sleeps for over 20 hours a day. During the four hours that Freya was awake, she was seen chasing ducks, swans, and other birds and animals. For most of the time, Freya was seen sleeping peacefully near the rocks.

Netizens condemned Norway’s decision to kill Freya

As soon as the reports of euthanizing Freya the walrus hit social media, netizens condemned Norway’s decision. Wildlife TV presenter Chris Packham said, “I’ve just heard. The Norwegians have killed ‘Freya’ the walrus. What is wrong with this world right now? Savages. I’m so depressed. We do everything we can to highlight the plight of the natural world and this. Savages. No better here – fox hunting, Geronimo.”

Science writer and author Josh Luke Davis said, “Yeah, so they euthanized Freya, the walrus that had been doing the rounds of the North and Baltic Sea. Apparently, as people kept trying to get too close to take photos, so here’s yet another PSA that getting close to wild animals costs them their lives.”

Political commentator Keith Olbermann said, “Humans at fault, so the animal has to die? Why not forcibly remove the humans? Or, if the humans were putting themselves at risk, let them. If you want to go into the water near Freya, sign a waiver. You get hurt, tough shit. Look around: our species is NOT “better” than hers.”

Phil Demers, also known as Walrus Whisperer, said, “RIP Freya, the walrus. She was euthanized today by the Directorate of Fisheries in Norway because she was perceived as a “continued threat to human safety.” The real threat, of course, proved to be the crowds – and now Freya is dead. Abhorrent and unforgivable. What a tragedy.”

Photographer Greg Sheard had clicked some beautiful photographs of Freya. He wrote, “Freya the Walrus who I photographed earlier this year in Northumberland, has been put down in Oslo, Norway. They deemed Freya a threat because people were getting too close to her. Freya was innocent in all this, the Norwegian authorities should have handled this better.” He added, “When she visited Northumberland, volunteers were ensuring people kept a very safe distance away from her. To get the shots I have, I have a long 600mm lens and a bit of cropping. Why couldn’t the Norwegian authorities do the same and make people keep a safe distance.”

Naturalist Dr Jacquenlyn Gill said, “This sad outcome could absolutely have been avoided if Norway officials had bothered to consult with wildlife experts. As negative human-wildlife interactions increase, we need to be teaching people how to interact safely and respectfully with wildlife.”

Animal advocate and actor Dan Richardson said, “Freya – named after the Norse goddess of beauty & love, but treated by humans with ugliness & indifference. The government of #Norway just killed her. They can add that to the mass whale slaughter they also endorse. Waste of oxygen, all of those involved.”

Journalist Tove Danovich said, “I’m still mad about Freya the walrus. There are so many easy things that could have been tried, and instead, we jumped to killing a wonderful animal who thought she’d found a nice spot to hang out in the sun.”

The authorities had warned the public to stay away from the marine animal for their own safety. However, the selfie-hungry people did not adhere to the instructions and often went too close, sometimes with children. Norway was not the only spot where Freya was seen. Earlier, she was sighted in the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark.

‘Naked, butchered bodies of Hindu women were hung at beef shops in Kolkata’: Direct Action Day survivor recalls the horror

OpIndia Staff
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‘Naked, butchered bodies of Hindu women were hung at beef shops in Kolkata’: Direct Action Day survivor recalls the horror

On the 16th of August, 1946, Mohammad Ali Jinnah gave a call to fellow Muslims across India for a “Direct Action Day” on the streets of Kolkata (then Calcutta). Many provocative speeches were made and this resulted in one of the worst massacres in history – the Calcutta Killings. Sword-wielding Islamists went on a killing spree and nearly 10,000 people were killed and up to 15,000 wounded in a span of 3 days.

Today on the 75th anniversary of horrific ‘Direct Action Day’ also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings journalist Abhijit Majumder shared a series of videos wherein Rabindranath Dutta, a survivor of the Direct Action Day and the subsequent Noakhali Riots was seen recalled the brutality Islamists had inflicted on innocent Hindu women during those days.

In a video shared by the journalist, Rabindranath Dutta recalled the inexplicable violence and brutality that Islamists had unleashed, especially on Hindu women during the 1946 massacre that started with the announcement of ‘Direct Action Day’ by the Muslim League. He reminisced how Islamists hung the naked, butchered bodies of Hindu women from hooks at Kolkata’s Raja Bazar beef shops.

The 92-year-old Rabindranath Dutta, who claimed to have written a few books on ‘Direct Action Day’ is further heard saying in the video that a police official Rabihari Mujumdar (the name is a little unclear in the video) also confirmed to him that during the massacre, girls studying in Kolkata’s Victoria College were raped, killed and their bodies were tied to hostel windows.

He mentioned how all these details are chronicled in his books also. Dutta lamented how Bengalis have forgotten the atrocities inflicted on them during those days.

Journalist Abhijit Mujumdar further Tweeted how the 92-year-old survivor of the Noakhali riots, which was a direct result of Jinnah’s call to fellow Muslims across India for a “Direct Action Day” on the streets of Kolkata (then Calcutta), narrated how he stood watching heaps of slaughtered Hindu bodies with pools of blood around his heels during the 1946 Noakhali Riots.

Mujumdar quoted Dutta as saying that during the 1946 carnage, most Hindu women’s bodies had breasts missing, just black bite marks at those places and the genitals.

Direct Action Day and the Noakhali Riots

Calls for a separate Muslim nation were running high in Bengal in the early 1940s. It was on 16th August 1946 that Direct Action Day was started and it is no coincidence that the 16th of August was the 18th Day of Ramzan, a day when the prophet had launched the Jihad against the pagans of Mecca and massacred them in the bloody Battle of Badr proclaiming the victory over Heathens and Infidels.

In Noakhali, which was not much affected during the Calcutta killings, the violence started on 10 October 1946. These Noakhali riots were a series of semi-organized massacres, mass rapes, abductions and forced conversions of Hindus to Islam and looting and arson of Hindu properties perpetuated by the Muslim community in the districts of Noakhali in the Chittagong Division of Bengal (now Bangladesh).

The slaughter of Hindus began on October 10th, the day of the Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, and lasted for almost a week. It is estimated that 5,000 were killed and hundreds of Hindu women were brutally raped. Thousands of men and women from the Hindu community were forced to convert. The forcibly converted Hindus were coerced to give written declarations that they had converted to Islam of their own free will. 

What is shocking is that these Noakhali riots were orchestrated by some of the most powerful Muslim leaders who went on to hold the reigns of Pakistan. These include Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy who was the then Chief Minister of Bengal and went on to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. 

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