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USA: Egyptian Yaser Abdel Said faces trial after 12 years on the run, had killed his 2 daughters for dating non-Muslim boys

OpIndia Staff
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USA: Egyptian Yaser Abdel Said faces trial after 12 years on the run, had killed his 2 daughters for dating non-Muslim boys

On Tuesday, 2nd August 2022, the trial of a man from Texas began in the court of Dallas in the USA. The Egyptian national Yaser Abdel Said aged 65, who lived in Texas, is accused of murdering his two daughters in ‘honor killings‘ for having non-Muslim boyfriends in 2008. After this incident, the accused was absconding for the next 12 years before he was nabbed in 2020.

According to a report by Fox News, Yaser Abdel Said was legally residing in Texas and allegedly killed his two daughters Amina (age 18) and Sarah (age 17) in 2008 for being ‘too American’. According to his wife Patricia Owens, he killed the two teenagers because their boyfriends were not Muslims. Yaser Abdel Said is on prosecution for premeditated murder and, if found guilty, would face a life sentence because prosecutors are not demanding the death penalty.

Last year, two of Said’s relatives, Islam and Yassein Said, were sentenced to long jail terms for allegedly assisting Yaser’s escapes. Prosecutors contend that on the day of the killing, Said stated he was going to take the two girls to a restaurant in Lewisville, but instead drove them to Irving, where he shot them.

After Yaser Abdel Said killed his two daughters, Patricia Owens divorced him. She said that the accused Said would often say that he did not want to raise whores as daughters. A 911 call was made by Sarah before she passed away, in which she was heard saying, “Help, my dad shot me! I’m dying, I’m dying!” Sarah’s sister Amina was believed to have died instantaneously.

Prosecutor Lauren Black said in court on Tuesday, “This is a case about a man obsessed with possession and control. These were two young, spirited young ladies. Normal teenage girls who wanted a normal life.” Amina’s lover testified that she ‘knew she was going to die’ when she grudgingly returned home on New Year’s Eve after fleeing to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her mother, sister, and boyfriends. Her last words to him, he said, were that she would never see him again. On January 1, 2008, she came home and was killed that night. On New Year’s Day 2008, the remains of Amina and Sarah were discovered inside their father’s taxi, which was parked outside of a hotel in Irving.

Amina’s high school history teacher testified that the 18-year-old had contacted her about her intentions to flee her house. Amina wrote to her teacher, “He will, without any drama or doubt, kill us.” She also asked her teacher to keep her plans quiet until she had left home.

Said escaped after the killings and was arrested roughly 30 miles from the crime location in 2020, a dozen years after the crime. His 19-year-old son, Islam, and his brother, Yassein, were both convicted of harboring a recognized criminal. Yassein received a 12-year term, while Islam received a 10-year sentence.

Patricia Owens, the mother of the two deceased girls, said, “My daughters were loving, caring, smart, loved everybody, would help anybody. They were two of the most awesome kids in the world and they did not deserve what happened to them.” The culprit who was on the run for 12 years, will now undergo trial in court.

Anti Narcotics Cell of Mumbai Police seizes drugs worth 1400 crore from Nalasopara

OpIndia Staff
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Anti Narcotics Cell of Mumbai Police seizes drugs worth 1400 crore from Nalasopara

On August 4, 2022, the Mumbai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) recovered a large stock of drugs. The drugs were seized from the Nalasopara area of the Palghar district and consisted of 703 kilograms of MD drugs.

The ANC team apprehended five drug peddlers and recovered a shipment of over 700 kgs of MD narcotics from their possession. The recovery was made after a raid in the Nalasopara area of the Palghar district adjacent to Mumbai.

DCP Anti-Narcotics Cell, Datta Nalawade, told the media that the ANC unit of the Mumbai Police has seized 703 kilograms of MD drugs from the Nalasopara area and arrested five drug peddlers. He also informed that the recovered drug consignment is worth around Rs 1,400 crores. 

For several months, the ANC has been conducting anti-drug operations throughout the state. Earlier in April, a squad from the Anti-Narcotics Cell confiscated another batch of MD drugs from the same region in Palghar. At the time, three persons were detained, and the MD drugs were estimated to be worth Rs 7.04 lakh. The Crime Branch team of Navi Mumbai busted the network of another big drugs racket on July 15. The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch had seized heroin worth crores of rupees. The price of this heroin in the international market was estimated to be worth 362.5 crores.

Assam becoming hotbed of jihadi activities with modules operated from Madrasas, aim to indoctrinate youth towards Sharia: Himanta Biswa Sarma

OpIndia Staff
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Assam becoming hotbed of jihadi activities with modules operated from Madrasas, aim to indoctrinate youth towards Sharia: Himanta Biswa Sarma

A week after Assam police busted a jihadi terror module being operated from a Madrasa, the administration today demolished the Jamiul Huda Madrasa in Marigaon today. The Madrasa was sealed last week after Mufti Mustafa, who was running it, was arrested for his links with Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team & AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent).

The Madrasa was demolished under the Disaster Management Act & UAPA Act. According to the administration, the madrasa was built and operated without requisite permissions and was drawing electricity illegally. 43 students were studying at the Madrasa, and they have been admitted to different general schools with the cooperation of their parents.

Assam police in recent times have busted several jihadi terror modules in the state, with two modules busted on the same day last week, in Marigaon and Barpeta districts. Today Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed a press conference to give a detailed account of what police have found in the ongoing probes on the issue, where he said that Assam has become a hotbed of Jihadi activities, with terror modules being set up in Madrasas.

The CM said that the jihadi activities in Assam have become an issue of grave concern, as several jihadi modules of Bangladeshi immigrants have been busted by the police. Based on information obtained by Assam police from this probe, police in other states also have busted several jihadi and terror modules.

Assam police had first busted a terror module in 1999, when a Harkat-ul-Mujahideen cell was nabbed. After that, modules of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, Hizbul Mujahideen and Ansarullah Bangla Team have been busted by cops. At present Ansarullah Bangla Team, which is affiliated to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, has been most active in the state. In the last six months, five modules of ABT have been caught in the state. These groups were busted based on intelligence inputs gathered by both Assam police and central agencies. It is notable that Ansarullah Bangla Team has been banned in Bangladesh for its terror activities.

In March this year, an ABT sleeper cell of six people was busted, including one Bangladeshi national named Md Suman. According to police, several Bangladeshi ABT members are active in Assam, each leading separate sleeper cells. Md Suman had entered India illegally via West Bengal in 2018, and was working as a teacher at a Madrasa, and also working as an Iman at a mosque in Barpeta district. He had also married a local woman from Chirang.

After the arrest of Md Suman, police gathered several incriminating documents, and it was found that he was working towards indoctrinating youths in Assam for demanding Sharia law in the state.

Following that, several more modules of ABT operating in different places in Assam have been busted by the police, most of them run by Illegal Bangladeshi Muslims but also including Indian nationals. Fundamental Jihadi literature in Bengali was recovered from all such modules. So far five modules have been busted in recent months.

However, Jamiul Huda Madrasa in Marigaon which was demolished was not just a Jihadi module, but it was sort of a local headquarter of the Jihadi operation in the state. Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed that Mufti Mustafa had contact with several ABT modules, and was working as a coordinator for them.

Mufti Mustafa has a doctorate Degree in Islamic law from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. Before the doctorate degree, he studied in Jamia Akkalkuwa or the Jamia Islamia Ishatul Uloom in Nandurbar district in Maharashtra, and Jamia Arabia Hathaura, Banda, Uttar Pradesh.

After completing his studies in Islamic law, Mustafa opened the Jamiul Huda Madrasa at Saharigaon in Marigaon after getting his share of his parental properties, but it was only a front for his Jihadi activities. He has been accused of maintaining contacts with ABT leaders in Bangladeshi, and providing shelter and logistical support to their members.

Mufti Mustafa used to give shelter to illegal Bangladeshi nations at his Madrasa after they entered Assam, and he had provisioned separate rooms in the institute for this purpose. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he was also indoctrinating the students of his Madrasa also, as they were residential students, and he used to teach them jihadi literature at the night along with the members of ABT.

Mustafa helped several Bangladeshi nationals to get settled in India, and several of them found jobs at Madrasas and Mosques as teachers and Imams, while working as sleeper cell members of ABT.

The chief minister said that the ABT members use very sophisticated chat applications with peer-to-peer encryption to communicate with each other, which makes it very difficult to trace their online activities. The CM said that peer-to-peer encryption is more sophisticated than end-to-end encryption, and such apps are also used by Al Qaeda. They never use phone calls for ABT-related conversions, and often uninstall the chat apps after using them, removing all traces from their devices. Police also found a very high level of encryption in the electronic devices like laptops, phones, pen drives etc recovered from the modules.

Mutfi Mustafa had links with all the Jihadi modules busted in Assam and other states in recent months, and he had also links with the top leadership of Ansarullah Bangla Team. The ABT leadership used to send money to him via bank transfer, and he in turn used to distribute the money to ABT cells. The money was sent in small amounts, to avoid any suspicion.

The Assam CM said that all the Jihadi modules caught so far were operating from private Madrasas, and they flourished during the Covid-19 period as the administration was concentrated on the pandemic. They imparted training on operating guns and making bombs, apart from teaching jihadi literature.

Among the documents recovered from the Marigaon Madrasa include a letter from Al Qaeda on the occasion of Eid, and the book titled Kitab al-Jihad, which is the book of Jihad.

While making the revelations, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the busting of the Jihadi modules does not mean that Muslims in Assam as a whole support them, as many times it is the local Muslims who inform the police about suspected activities in Madrasas and Mosques. The CM appealed to the people to report any unknown Iman that arrives at their villages to the police, so that police can verify their backgrounds. He also said that while the Assam govt has closed the govt run Madrasas, there are still a large number of Qawmi Madrasas or privately run madrasas, and not all of them are linked to Jihadi activities. However, action will be taken against any Madrasa if any link with Jihadi groups is found.

The CM also requested the peace-loving Muslims to keep an eye on Madrasas and Mosques in their areas, and inform police about any suspected activities or any new teacher or imam.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also informed that the goal of the ABT in Assam at present is not terror attacks, but to indoctrinate a large number of Muslims in the state. The organisation plans to indoctrinate such a large number of people that they will be able to start a movement against the govt demanding a Sharia state. After a large number of people are onboard, they will start terror activities in support of their goals.

The CM said that Assam has become a hotbed of Jihad activities, and along with arrested Md Suman, five other Bangladeshis had entered Assam who are absconding. It is not known how many modules they have formed, but the number will be big as the police have busted 5 modules in a short period of time.

Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the objective of the press conference was to appeal to the Muslim population in the state to cooperate with police in exposing the jihadi plans of terror groups. He hoped that after he presented the facts of the Bangladesh based terror modules, local Muslims will help the administration. He also added that already Muslim citizens are giving valuable inputs which have helped in busting the Jihad modules.

After 28 years, a child born out of rape helps his mother get justice: UP police nabs Naqi and Razi Hasan who had raped a 12-year-old girl in 1994

OpIndia Staff
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After 28 years, a child born out of rape helps his mother get justice: UP police nabs Naqi and Razi Hasan who had raped a 12-year-old girl in 1994

After a long wait of 28 years, a rape survivor in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur has finally seen justice, primarily due to the efforts of her son, who was born out of the rape. Uttar Pradesh police apprehended and sent one of the rapists identified as Mohammad Razi alias Guddu Hasan to jail on Tuesday (August 2). Efforts are being made to apprehend the second accused, Naqi Hassan, who has been traced somewhere in Odisha.

According to reports, the police arrested Mohammad Razi alias Guddu Hasan from Hyderabad where he had been hiding. “Razi confessed and said that he never imagined that the case would be opened after all these years,” investigating inspector Dharmendra Kumar Gupta told TOI.

The police revealed that the brothers had raped the victim when she was 12 years old. After 28 years, based on the complaint of the victim’s son, Shahajahanpur registered a case against the accused on March 4, 2021, and started investigating the case. After a lot of effort, the police managed to crack the case and arrested the accused.

Speaking about the case, Shahjahanpur SSP, S Anand said, “The crime came to my notice after the FIR was registered on March 4, 2021, on the court’s orders. We didn’t have the complete names of the accused and their addresses were not confirmed either. It was quite an old case but the complaint looked genuine. We wanted to help the woman get justice as she had suffered a lot in her childhood. After an extensive follow-up, we managed to identify the accused brothers and found them living freely in the Haddaf area of the city.”

Anand stated that when authorities confronted the accused, they claimed they had never met the survivor. As a result, the police decided to conduct a DNA test. In July 2021, samples were sent to a lab, and the results which were obtained in April 2022 turned out to be positive. The results concluded that one of the accused Mohammad Razi was the biological father of the victim’s son. Cops immediately secured a warrant from the court to arrest the duo, but they had already fled by then.

“Since we were very close to solving the case, we deployed multiple teams and sent them to various locations in search of the absconding brothers. The role of the surveillance team was important in finding the locations of the two men, which was not an easy task after so many years,” the SSP said.

According to reports, the incident dates back to the year 1994. Mohammad Razi and Naqi were the victim’s family acquaintances. Taking advantage of her family’s trust in them, the duo raped her several times and impregnated her at the age of 12.

After the child was born, the accused reportedly compelled the victim to give up her son for adoption and warned her not to register an FIR.

In 2021, the survivor’s son found his mother and persuaded her to seek justice. On March 4, 2021, an FIR was lodged in Shahjahanpur pursuant to court directives.

Viral video of Gwalior Judge getting upset over a Muslim girl’s conversion to Hinduism for marriage highlights double standards of judiciary for inter-faith marriages

OpIndia Staff
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Viral video of Gwalior Judge getting upset over a Muslim girl’s conversion to Hinduism for marriage highlights double standards of judiciary for inter-faith marriages

An old video from the proceedings in Gwalior High Court in January went viral recently on social media. Justice Rohit Arya of the High Court can be heard asking why a girl converted from Islam to Hinduism. He further asked why can’t the boy convert to Islam instead.

Even though the video is from January 2022, the video came into the social media spotlight at the end of July, and left social media users confused about the Judge’s comments.

In the video, the judge can be heard telling the boy’s lawyer that it is not a joke to convert a Muslim girl to Hinduism. He further said that if this is accepted by the court then what will happen to society? The boy, who was in custody, was further advised by the Judge to convert to Islam instead.

Justice Arya said that the boy will go to prison since he has converted the girl to Hinduism by ‘fraud’. He mentioned that they will bring even a Qazi to get his input in the case.

The Muslim girl and the Hindu boy got married at Arya Samaj Sammelan Trust Ghaziabad (UP) on September 17, 2019. The trust had issued a marriage certificate to the couple and had also issued a conversion certificate to them that they have converted to Arya Samajis.

Justice Arya further questioned the legitimacy of that certificate in the viral video and asked the counsel under which act Arya Samaj can issue such a certificate. The court also questioned whether an Arya Samaj Trust could solemnize a marriage between an inter-faith couple.

A sharp contrast to the Supreme Court verdict in the Hadiya case

Back in 2018, the Indian Supreme Court had upheld the marriage of Hadiya to Shafin Jahan after her religious conversion, a marriage that was earlier annulled in 2017 by the Kerala High Court.

Hadiya (who was earlier Akhila) had converted to Islam at the age of 16 to marry Shafin Jahan. Hadiya had submitted an affidavit that she is converting to Islam out of her own free will, a decision that was finally accepted by the Supreme Court.

In its verdict, Supreme Court had noted that when Hadiya appeared before the High Court, she stated that she was not under illegal confinement. The High Court has no power to decide the ‘just’ way of life or ‘correct’ course of living for Hadiya. She has absolute autonomy over her person.

In fact, Supreme Court had also noted that the Kerala High Court was guided by social considerations while annulling her marriage, which was wrong.

Interestingly, in Gwalior High Court, Justice Arya seems to be guided by the same social considerations when he asks what will happen to society if they allow such conversions. Interesting to note that in the case before Gwalior High Court, both boy and girl were above 18 years of age at the time of conversion and marriage. That was not the case when it came to Hadiya, as she was 16 years old at the time of her conversion.

Acceptance of marriage certificates from Islamic bodies but rejection of certificates issued by Arya Samaj

In the Hadiya case, a questionable marriage certificate was produced, and it was claimed that Hadiya and Shafin got married in a ceremony that was attended by close relatives from both sides. However, nobody from Hadiya’s side, not even her parents, were aware of the marriage. Moreover, the Kerala High Court observed that “Thanveerul Islam Sangham”, which issued the marriage certificate has no authority to issue any such certificates. 

The court was not even sure of the identity of the names that appeared on that certificate. When Akhila converted to Islam, which doesn’t have any documentary proof, she assumed the name “Aasiya” through an affidavit. Later on, in her writ petitions, she called herself “Akhila Ashokan @ Adhiya”.

Despite all these discrepancies with the marriage certificate and lack of clarity on even the existence of the organisation that issued the certificate, Supreme Court upheld the marriage as legal.

However, in the case in Gwalior High Court, the judge straightaway rejected the idea that Arya Samaj trust can solemnize the marriage. Questioning under which act Arya Samaj can issue a marriage certificate, Justice Arya questioned the legitimacy of the wedding between these two consenting adults.

Spain bans ACs in commercial establishments from dropping below 27 degrees, up to 6 lakh euros fine

OpIndia Staff
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Spain bans ACs in commercial establishments from dropping below 27 degrees, up to 6 lakh euros fine

As Europe reels under a heat wave, the Spanish government has decided to forbid establishments with air conditioning from setting it below 27°C throughout the summer. The decision is a part of strategies that have been employed to decrease the nation’s reliance on Russian gas and reduce its energy usage. Additionally, the rule will prohibit wintertime heating from being set above 19°C. The government of Spain made this decision public on Tuesday 2nd August 2022.

According to a report by Euronews, all public and commercial establishments, including pubs, theatres, movie theatres, airports, and railway stations in Spain will have to abide by these restrictions. Besides, commercial establishments, Spanish households are also advised to adopt it as a guideline. The measure was enacted by the government as part of an effort to cut the country’s gas usage by 7% in accordance with recent European Union energy accords to minimize reliance on Russian gas. In case anyone violates this rule, the government has decided on a fine of up to 600,000 euros for such defaulters.

Teresa Ribera, Spain’s minister of ecological transition, stated that the restrictions, which include turning off store window lights after 10 pm but not street illumination, will be first enforced until November 2023. She urged Spaniards to embrace the cutbacks, claiming that it would not only reduce consumption but also lower home electricity bills.

This order by the Spanish government in the middle of the ongoing energy crisis in Europe has caused a heated debate and reactions from the Spanish people. Laura Berge, a Valencia public official, questioned the measure’s feasibility. She said, “Generally speaking, you can work at 27 degrees, but to reach that temperature in hot areas, you need to put the air conditioner at 22 or 23 degrees for a couple of hours, so I am worried that it will not be allowed to exceed 27 degrees. at any time.”

She added, “In that case, the air would have to be turned on well in advance and it would be counterproductive in terms of energy savings.” This criticism has come in the wake of the heat wave that has struck the European country. Andrea Castillo, a worker at Castellón university in Spain, said, “Right now, perhaps suggested by the heat wave we are experiencing, I would say that with 27 degrees we will be very hot. Perhaps we could work at 25 degrees, but not at 27.”

It is notable that Spain is not the only European country to enforce such restrictions on people in this energy crisis. France, Lithuania, and Germany have also imposed various restrictions on the public given that the crisis is only worsening after Russia waged a war against Ukraine and the European Union decided to reduce its reliance on Russian gas imports.

The Hindu wilfully misrepresents what Kishan Reddy said about #HarGharTiranga program to insert China, KTR furthers the propaganda

S. Sudhir Kumar
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The Hindu wilfully misrepresents what Kishan Reddy said about #HarGharTiranga program to insert China, KTR furthers the propaganda

On August 1st, 2022, The Hindu published a report with a headline – “Kishan Reddy defends flag import”. The accompanying tagline attributed the quote ‘Country’s khadi industry cannot meet the demand for Har Ghar Tiranga scheme’. 

The Hindu article

As expected, Telangana CM KCR’s son, KTR, who holds multiple portfolios in the cabinet, picked up on this report and tweeted that the reality of Make in India was that our flags are being imported from China. 

KTR tweet

Now, nowhere in the report is China mentioned so people just figured out that this was one of those KTR’s half-baked tweets with loads of misinformation. This piqued my interest further though and I went through the video link of the press conference, only to realise the cunning and deadly game that The Hindu has played. 

The conversation between the Journalist (from The Hindu) and Minister Kishan Reddy happens from 37:45 to 38:42 in the video link. Am reproducing the conversation below for ease: 

Journalist: You amended the flag code. It is benefitting China only. 

Kishan Reddy (with a clear gesture indicating “No”): We only are stitching flags in our villages with self help groups. 

The journalist cuts short the minister and rephrases his question:

Journalist: Because of the import of polyester cloth, the khadi industry is getting affected severely. 

Kishan Reddy: We have given orders to all the Khadi industries. However, we cannot manufacture so many crores of flags with the Khadi that we have. That you have to understand. 

Journalist: You are planning from a year.

Kishan Reddy: No, we weren’t planning this from an year. This idea came recently.

Journalist: You did not have this thought before? 

Kishan Reddy: No, we didn’t. People like you gave this idea <smiles>.

We now revisit KTR’s tweet in its totality. The Hindu’s report, which severely misrepresents Kishan Reddy, does not mention China anywhere. It looks like KTR picked it from the journalist’s question and simply used it in his tweet to further his meaningless propaganda. KTR also tweeted that though the Modi government knew that the 75th year is in 2022, it couldn’t plan for flags for all homes. This argument is again directly from the playbook of the journalist who asked the same question, for which Kishan Reddy has given a clear-cut answer.

Whilst it is understandable that KTR is playing politics with even something like the #HarGharTiranga program, it is completely unfathomable as to why The Hindu would resort to such mischief. The journalist’s question was about the impact on the Khadi industry because of polyester, for which the minister had categorically stated that there is no impact because the industry is flooded with orders. At no place has he defended a “flag import”? He had, in fact, categorically denied any import from China (Note how only The Hindu cares about China!). He has only explained the need to amend the flag code for the usage of polyester in addition to Khadi. While the interaction is so clear-cut, how did The Hindu manage to think that in today’s day and age, they can get away with such wonton mischief that will aid the minister KTR in furthering his propaganda?

The original flag code says:  “The National Flag shall be made of hand-spun and hand-woven wool/cotton/silk khadi bunting”.

The revised flag code says: “The National Flag shall be made of hand-spun and hand-woven or machine-made, cotton, polyester, wool, silk khadi bunting”. 

The amendment was done on 30 December 2021 to include machine-made flags and also that polyester as a material can be used for making these flags. There are many huge flags that are flown across India, including one in Hyderabad. These hand-woven flags often get damaged because of the wind, and so they are very often changed. In fact, the TRS government spends huge amounts of money to maintain the huge flag that flies in Hyderabad. Using machine-made polyester material will help prevent these frequent damages. This is a common practice worldwide. The Modi government made a very logical amendment to our flag code, to enable longer-lasting huge flags. 

At no place in the revised flag code is the word “import” used. The English media woke up very late in the day and simply concluded that this change implies that machine-made polyester will only be imported. KTR’s own party tweeted that the flag code was amended because Ambani is the largest manufactured Polyester in India! Only KTR and his party can explain how can both Ambani and China get benefitted at the same time on the same issue!

The Hindu’s original report was published in the “South” section in the Hyderabad edition on August 1st, 2022. Kishan Reddy’s OSD sent a stinging clarification letter to The Hindu. That clarification was NOT published in the “South” section of the Hyderabad edition on August 4th, 2022. Instead, it was published only in the “Andhra Pradesh” section. 

The Hindu papers

After the clarification from the office of Kishan Reddy, The Hindu has slyly changed its headline in the online version. The headline now reads – “Kishan Reddy brushes aside criticism on procurement of national flags”. Remember how the original headline talks about imports of the flag? The Hindu’s report starts with “Even as a controversy rages”. The only controversy is this willful misrepresentation of the Q&A with Shri Kishan Reddy solely intended to mislead the reader.  

As custody gets extended, Sanjay Raut complains of windowless room, ED says ‘because there is AC’

OpIndia Staff
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As custody gets extended, Sanjay Raut complains of windowless room, ED says ‘because there is AC’

Shiv Sena’s motormouth leader Sanjay Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on July 31 for his alleged links with the Patra Chawl property scam case. On August 4, a special court in Mumbai extended his ED custody till August 8.

As per reports, judge MG Deshpande stated that ED has made remarkable progress in the investigation. The court also rejected an intervention petition filed by witness Swapna Patakar, who had accused that Raut was threatening him.

Raut’s brother Praveen has also been arrested in the case. The ED has also attached the properties of Varsha Raut, Sanjay Raut’s wife.

The ED is investigating violations under PMLA in the Patra Chawl scam case. Patra Chawl was developed by Guru Ashish Constructions Ltd, a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited. Guru Ashish Constructions Ltd, in an agreement with MHADA, had taken a project to develop 672 flats for Patra Chawl tenants, flats for MHADA and sell the remaining land to private developers.

ED has alleged that the company sold the FSI to private developers for over 900 crores, without constructing flats for the Patra Chawl tenants or the MHADA. Praveen Raut is accused of receiving over 100 crores from the scam and diverting the funds among family members of Sanjay Raut. The ED states that Sanjay Raut and his wife had received over 1.06 crores from the proceeds of the crime in their bank account.

Sanjay Raut complains of ‘windowless room’

As per reports, when Raut was presented in court on August 4, he complained that the ED kept him in a ‘windowless room’ that has no ventilation. The judge then asked ED why they had kept Raut in a windowless room. As per reports, the ED replied that the room is ‘windowless’ because it has air conditioning.

Sanjay Raut reportedly stated that he cannot use the AC because of his health conditions. Following this, the court has asked the ED to keep Raut in a room that has proper ventilation.

What the court said while rejecting Siddique Kappan’s bail: Prima Facie offence committed, use of tainted money, connection to PFI and more

OpIndia Staff
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What the court said while rejecting Siddique Kappan’s bail: Prima Facie offence committed, use of tainted money, connection to PFI and more

On August 2, Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) rejected the bail plea submitted by alleged journalist and PFI member Siddique Kappan who was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police in the ‘Hathras conspiracy’ case in October 2020. Single-Judge bench comprising Justice Krishan Pahal observed in the judgment that in the perusal of the documents and charge sheet, “prima facie reveal that the applicant has committed the offence”.

Notably, the Court observed that Kappan had no work at Hathras. Also, the co-accused accompanying him did not belong to the media fraternity. The Court said, “It has come up in the investigation that the applicant had no work at Hathras. The State machinery was at tenterhooks owing to the tension prevailing due to various types of information being viral across all forms of media, including the internet. The said sojourn of the applicant with co-accused persons who do not belong to media fraternity is a crucial circumstance going against him.”

Excerpt from judgment. Source: Allahabad High Court Website

The Court said that Kappan, in his defence, stated he went to Hathras owing to his professional duty as a journalist. However, pertaining to the charge sheet and the persons he was arrested with, his justification stood nullified. The order read, “The tainted money being used by the applicant and his colleagues cannot be ruled out.”

‘Accused collected funds to break the social harmony and incite violence

The Court noted that the prosecution informed the Court about the incriminating material recovered from Kappan and other accused, including Athikurrehman, Alam and Masood. The Police had recovered six smartphones, laptops and pamphlets that the accused were planning to use.

The prosecution said, “The said persons are said to have been collecting funds and running a website ‘Carrd.com’. It was also revealed that the said collected funds were used to break the social harmony and incite violence. The pamphlets read as ‘AM I NOT INDIAS DAUGHTER MADE WITH Carrd etc. It was also found that the incident of mob lynching, exodus of labourers and the Kashmir issues were also highlighted through the same website. The website also imparts training pertaining to concealing one’s identity during demonstrations and ways to incite violence. The website was found to be full of misinformation, thereby distorting true facts. There was another website operated by the laptop which had the heading ‘Justice For Hathras’.”

Chats between Kappan and PFI General Secretary

During the investigation, the Police found WhatsApp chats between Kappan and General Secretary of PFI Kamal KP. The order read, “[The chats] also revealed about the alleged workshop having been conducted by the applicant and other co-accused persons. The said workshop is stated to have been conducted to incite riots across the country by raking up issues of CAA and Babri Masjid demolition.”

Kappan was in contact with PFI General Secretary. Excerpt from judgment. Source: Allahabad High Court Website

Kappan was arrested by UP Police on October 5, 2020, when he was travelling to Hathras with his co-accused. He was booked under relevant sections of UAPA, IPC and IT Act. Earlier, the Mathura court had rejected his bail plea in 2021.

Haryana: Suspended Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, whose cross-voting cost Ajay Maken a Rajya Sabha seat, joins BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: Suspended Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, whose cross-voting cost Ajay Maken a Rajya Sabha seat, joins BJP

Kuldeep Bishnoi, a former Haryana Congress politician, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday 4th August 2022 at the party’s head office in New Delhi. Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, welcomed him to the party. Kuldeep Bishnoi was expelled from the Congress party in June 2022 after he cross-voted in favor of a BJP-backed independent candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections held on June 10.

Manohar Lal Khattar, on this occasion, said, “Kuldeep Bishnoi supported PM Modi’s leadership, backed BJP candidate in Rajya Sabha poll. We welcome him.” Kuldeep Bishnoi’s wife Renuka Bishnoi, who was also a member of the Congress party, has also switched to the BJP.

On Wednesday, 3rd August 2022, Bishnoi announced his resignation from the Vidhan Sabha. Bishnoi, son of former Congress stalwart Bhajan Lal, was first ousted from Congress in 2007 when he went on to form his own party, Haryana Janhit Congress (BL). In 2016, he returned to Congress after merging his party with them. He spent six years on good terms with the Congress party before being dismissed in June.

In the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections from Haryana, the Adampur MLA cross-voted, which caused Congress nominee Ajay Maken to lose and opened the way for independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, who was supported by the BJP and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP). Bishnoi was fired from all party posts the next day.

Congress appointed Udaybhan as the Haryana State Congress President in April 2022. Since then, Bishnoi was angry and did not attend any congress event. He had said that he will take his next political decision only after meeting Rahul Gandhi. Everyone including Congress leader Ajay Maken and the state in-charge Vivek Bansal insisted that he should participate in party activities but things did not work out.

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