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Kerala: Congress leader prevents hoisting of Indian Union Muslim League flag at UDF event, asks League leader to hoist it in Pakistan

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Kerala: Congress leader prevents hoisting of Indian Union Muslim League flag at UDF event, asks League leader to hoist it in Pakistan

On Saturday, a Muslim League leader named Vembaya Nazeer criticized a Congress party leader for disrespecting the Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) flag at a United Democratic Front (UDF) program in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Nazeer was prevented from hoisting the flag by the Congress leader and was asked to hoist the flag in Pakistan.

According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened at a protest event in Attipara in the state capital. The program was interrupted by the Congress block president named Sanalkumar who allegedly asked the Muslim league leaders to remove the party flag and asked them to go to Pakistan to hoist the flag.

The event was a United Democratic Front (UDF) program and flags of other alliance partners including that of the Revolutionary Socialist Party were also put up at the event. It is notable that Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, Revolutionary Socialist Party etc are constituents of the United Democratic Front in Kerala, which is currently in opposition. When League district committee member Vembayam Nazeer went on to put up the IUML flag, Sanalkumar blocked him and threw the flag. He also shouted at the Muslim league leader and asked him to go to Pakistan and hoist the flag there.

“It was a UDF event and the RSP flag was also displayed. When I placed the IUML flag, he threw it away and shouted at me. He asked me to take it to Malappuram. When I reminded him that the program was organized by UDF, he said Muslim League’s flag was not allowed”, Nazeer was quoted.

The argument reportedly escalated when Nazeer revolted against the Congress leader’s actions and said that League was the second biggest party in UDF. To this, Sanalkumar responded saying that Nazeer could take the flag to Pakistan. “I felt really bad. Not even BJP workers from the area will say something like that. Is this the culture of Congress”, Nazeer added.

However, commenting on the issue, Congress leader Sanalkumar denied having made any such statement. “It is true that I asked him to remove the flag. It was a Congress program. If they bring their flag, others too may follow. But I did not throw it away or make any such comments”, he said.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) is the Indian National Congress-led alliance of several political parties in the Indian state of Kerala.

Kerala: Professor TJ Joseph, whose right hand was chopped off by Islamists, wins Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for his autobiography

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Professor TJ Joseph, whose right hand was chopped off by Islamists, wins Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for his autobiography

On Friday, Kerala professor TJ Joseph, whose right hand was chopped off by the Islamists over the charges of blasphemy, was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for his autobiography named Attupokatha Ormakal, meaning memories that were not chopped off. The author wrote the book with his left hand after his writing hand was separated from his body by radical Islamists.

According to the reports, the author who worked as a Malayalam professor at Newman college at Thodupuzha in the Idukki district has been awarded for writing the best autobiography of the year 2022. The award was announced on Wednesday, July 27, by K Satchidanandan, president of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi. The award carries a certificate, citation, two-sovereign gold locket and a cash award of Rs 50,000.

On July 4, 2010, the PFI activists backed by other Islamist organizations had chopped off Joseph’s right hand, accusing him of blasphemy.

The saga began in March 2010 when Joseph had prepared a set of questions for the Malayalam language paper for 2nd-year BCom students. Reportedly, one of the questions asked students to punctuate a conversation between God and a character. The conversation was extracted from the book ‘Thirakathayude Reethisasthram‘, written by Malayalam Director Kunju Muhammed. The character in the passage was that of a man suffering from schizophrenia and having a constant dialogue with God.

Without thinking much about the consequences, he had named the man ‘Muhammed’ after the name of the Malayalam director. Islamists were quick to cry ‘blasphemy’ and interpret the question as a conversation between Prophet Muhammad and God. Soon, the matter became public resulting in violent protests by radical Islamic outfits such as the Popular Front of India (PFI), Campus Front of India (CFI), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and even the Congress party.

On July 4 2010, the Islamists trapped Joseph, who was returning home from church in his car at about 8 o’clock in the morning. He was accompanied by his sister and mother. A gang of 6 Islamists laid siege on his car. Armed with an axe, they chopped off his hand below the wrist and ditched the severed part in a nearby land. The assailants also stabbed the Professor in the leg and arm. Joseph was 52 when the incident happened.

The case was probed by the NIA, and in 2015, 13 people linked to PFI were convicted of the crime by an NIA court. The NIA had charge-sheeted 45 people, 35 of them had faced trial, out of which 13 were convicted. In 2020, NIA had framed charges against 11 more people in the case.

After recovering from the injuries, the professor wrote an autobiography with his left hand that was well received by the readers. The book was also later translated into English titled ‘A thousand cuts’. Reports mention that the Kerala Sahitya Akademi awardee has also written another book titled Bhranthanu Sthuthi (Praise the Madman), which is based on the story of the madman he had referred to in the question paper.

Sa*li, m*darch*d, bh*nch*d: Leaked audio clip of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut abusing, threatening Swapna Patker goes viral, police complaint filed

OpIndia Staff
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Sa*li, m*darch*d, bh*nch*d: Leaked audio clip of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut abusing, threatening Swapna Patker goes viral, police complaint filed

On July 28, an alleged conversation between Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Dr Swapna Patker, a Marathi film producer and renowned psychologist went viral on the internet. In the leaked audio file, the voice of a man, allegedly that of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, can be heard using extremely foul language while threatening a woman, allegedly Swapna Patkar.

Patkar is the same lady who had in 2021 alleged that she is being harassed, tortured and abused by Shiv Sena MP and Editor of Saamana, Sanjay Raut, for the past eight years.

“Record this call and send it to the police, do whatever you want. Wait and watch. Transfer the property in either Sujit or my name”, said a male voice, using foul language with extremely rude mannerisms while speaking to a female. During the conversation, the male speaker is heard threatening the woman with veiled threats and calling her ‘Sa*li’, ‘madharch*d’ and ‘behench*d’.

The edited version of the audio clip was shared by Navbharat Times with claims that in the 70-second audio clip, the Shiv Sena MP was heard mouthing profanities against Swapna Patkar at least 27 times.

Meanwhile, Patkar in an interview that was posted by the YouTube channel SSR Warriors on July 29, is heard acknowledging that it was Sanjay Raut and her who were in conversation in the alleged tape. Though OpIndia could not independently verify whether the voice of the lady in the audio interview is that of Swapna Patkar, she was heard further claiming that she had received threats multiple times during the previous 18 months.

She added that on Thursday she filed a police complaint after receiving rape and death threats to withdraw her statements against Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Rs 1,034-crore Patra Chawl land scam case.

She said that she has submitted the threat letter and the audio clip as evidence to concerned authorities. She also said she has written a letter to Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar and the Enforcement Directorate regarding the threats issued to her. 

Swapna is further heard saying that she and Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha jointly held land parcels in Alibag which were attached by the ED during the investigation of the case. The property documents were found when the probe agency conducted searches at the residence of her estranged husband Sujit Patkar, a close aide of Sanjay Raut. Since the ED started questioning her in the money laundering case related to the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl project at Goregaon, she has been getting rape and death threats and is being asked to withdraw the statement given against Sanjay Raut, alleged Patkar.

Notably, last week Swapna Patkar also received a threat letter in which it was reportedly written that she will be raped if she reveals anything before ED, after which she filed a complaint with the Vakola Police.

The letter further stated that she should tell the media that she did all this on BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s instructions.

Reacting to this, the BJP leader Tweeted that he would be visiting the Vakola PS today (Saturday) at 4 pm “to pursue complaints of DHAMAKI, abuse, Letter, Audio Clips…. by Sanjay Raut… Supporters.”

It may be recalled that in April 2021, Dr Swapna Patker revealed in a series of tweets that Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut threatened her mother with dire consequences, tortured her family and trapped her friends in bogus cases.

After addressing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking justice and fearing for her life, Dr Swapna has released a 40-tweet-long thread detailing her complaint and allegations against Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut along with documented proof. In the letter to the PM, she alleged she is being harassed, tortured and abused by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut for the past eight years.

Dr Swapna informed OpIndia that she used to write columns for Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece publication Saamna from 2009-2014 and also took care of some of Sanjay Raut’s Rajya Sabha work. However, when she decided to get back to her profession from her passion, Dr Swapna alleged that Sanjay Raut was not happy with her decision and started to heckle, harass and torture her. 

Delhi Court finds enough evidence prima facie to prove Satyendar Jain and his aides used hawala funds to buy agricultural lands: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Court finds enough evidence prima facie to prove Satyendar Jain and his aides used hawala funds to buy agricultural lands: Details

On Friday, a Special Court in Delhi stated that there is prima facie substantial evidence against Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in the charge sheet submitted by the Enforcement Directorate to indicate that he and his colleagues used hawala cash to acquire agricultural property in and around the national capital.

According to the reports, the charge sheet was submitted before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on July 27, and the court has taken cognizance of it. In the charge sheet, the ED has named Satyendar Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and colleagues Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain, and Ankush Jain, as well as enterprises Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd, Manglayatan Developers Pvt Ltd, and J J Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd.

On May 30, the ED detained Jain, a minister without a responsibility in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi cabinet, in connection with the money laundering investigation. Before being arrested by the ED, Jain controlled several portfolios, including health, power, and a few others.

The ED in the investigation discovered that during 2015-16, Satyendar Jain was a public servant, and the above-mentioned four companies were beneficially owned and controlled by him. These companies had received funds via hawala to the tune of Rs 4.81 crore from other shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators via the hawala route.

The agency in the charge sheet mentioned that the Minister had used these amounts for the direct purchase of agricultural land or the repayment of loans taken for the purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi. When asked, the Minister said that he had lost his memory due to COVID. The accused were therefore found to be guilty under Section 3 of PMLA 2002.

To note, Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister, and AAP national leader had previously spoken out in favor of his minister, saying he was a “hardcore, honest, and patriot” who was being framed in a false case. Kejriwal had also hoped that Jain would come clean following the ED inquiry.

Delhi govt to go back to old excise policy amidst allegations of corruption, undue benefit given to liquor mafia by Manish Sisodia: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi govt to go back to old excise policy amidst allegations of corruption, undue benefit given to liquor mafia by Manish Sisodia: Reports

Days after a report of the Delhi Chief Secretary accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led-government of financial quid pro quo, the Delhi government has taken a U-turn on its new excise policy.

As per reports, the current Excise Policy 2021-22 is set to expire on Sunday (July 31). Amidst criticism, the Delhi government is now switching back to its old regime of retail liquor sales for the following 6 months.

Veteran journalist Kanchan Gupta asked, “If new excise policy of @ArvindKejriwal Govt was not a ‘mega scam’, why are they rushing to revert to old policy after CBI inquiry heat? So, who’s running scared in panic?”

Reportedly, an official direction was issued on Friday (July 29) by Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. “…Vide which it has, inter-alia, been directed to revert to the old regime of excise policy for a period of six months till a fresh excise policy is in place…” read one of the orders.

The order bore the signature of the Principal Secretary of the Finance Department, Ashish Chandra Verma. It directed 4 govt agencies to collect the names and locations of old vendors and the current status of their shops.

The agencies included Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store (DCCWS), Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (DSCSC), Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), and Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC).

Another order was issued by RP Singh, who serves as the manager of personnel at DSCSC. It directed the agency to reach out to the staff of the vends, prepare rent agreements with their landlords for reopening their shops.

Allegations of corruption and financial impropriety

Earlier, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had recommended an investigation into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 based on a report by the Delhi Chief Secretary.

The report alleged breaches of the GNCTD Act of 1991, the Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR) of 1993, the Delhi Excise Act of 2009, and the Delhi Excise Rules of 2010. It claimed that the liquor mafia was also granted a benefit of Rs 144 crores.

The Chief Secretary’s report, which was sent to both LG and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, “indicate substantively of financial quid pro quo at the top political level, wherein the Minister In-charge of the Excise Department, Manish Sisodia, took and got executed, major decisions/actions in violation of the statutory provisions and the notified Excise Policy that had huge financial implications.”

“Sisodia also allegedly extended undue financial favours to the liquor licensees much after the tenders had been awarded and thus caused huge losses to the exchequer,” the report further added.

After Adhir Chowdhury creates a storm insulting the President, he proceeds to shift blame, target Smriti Irani for insulting Droupadi Murmu

OpIndia Staff
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After Adhir Chowdhury creates a storm insulting the President, he proceeds to shift blame, target Smriti Irani for insulting Droupadi Murmu

A couple of days after BJP leader Smriti Irani slammed the Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for disrespecting the newly elected President Draupadi Murmu, Chowdhury tried to turn the table on Friday and wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker pushing allegations against Irani. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the letter alleged that Minister Smriti Irani had yelled the name of President Droupadi Murmu without using any prefix like Madame or Smt during her address in the House.

He said that the BJP leader had degraded the stature of the highest office. “The manner in which Smt. Smriti Irani was taking the name of Hon’ble Madam President in the House was not proper and in consonance with the status and position of the Hon’ble President. She was yelling ‘Droupadi Murmu’ repeatedly without prefixing Hon’ble President or Madame or Smt. before the Hon’ble President’s name”, the letter read.

“This clearly amounts to degrading the stature of the office of the Hon’ble President. Therefore, I demand that the way Smt. Smriti Irani was addressing the Hon’ble President may be expunged from the proceedings of the House”, Chowdhury who earlier had denied to apologize for his statement wrote in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Meanwhile, referring to the issue (Rashtrapatni comment) that sparked BJP demonstrations in the Parliament complex, Chowdhury, who had called the event a “slip of the tongue,” stated that the blunder occurred because he is not fluent in Hindi. “I regret to say that this controversy erupted because of a mere slip of the tongue on my part. This error occurred because my mother tongue is Bengali and I am not well versed in Hindi. It is really very sad that Madam Rashtrapati Ji’s name is being unnecessarily dragged to gain cheap publicity and political one-upmanship by the ruling party,” he wrote.

Smriti Irani on July 28 led the protest in the Lok Sabha against Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Sonia Gandhi over the ‘Rashtrapatni’ remark. Smriti Irani also slammed Congress and demanded an apology for maliciously targeting President Droupadi Murmu and said that the country knows that the opposition party is anti-tribal, anti-Dalit, and anti-women.

During the protest, a war of words also broke between Smriti Irani and Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi when the latter outraged at Irani and said, ‘You don’t talk to me’. Amid the protest, Sonia Gandhi who was present in the house approached the protesting BJP MP Rama Devi and asked ‘What is my fault? Why is my name being dragged in this?”. Seeing this, Smriti Irani intervened to know what was the matter that was being discussed when Sonia Gandhi outraged and said, “you don’t talk to me”.

Later Rama Devi talked to the media and said that Gandhi’s fault was that she had selected Chowdhury as the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha. further said that Sonia Gandhi had delivered her statement in anger, which she should not have spoken. “She should have asked Congress’ leader instead that how he dared call the President as ‘Rashtrapatni’, that too not once but twice”. She also cleared that Smriti Irani was not angry, but Sonia Gandhi was angry and walked out of the Parliament but then returned.

After initial flip-flop, Bihar Govt seeks report on state-run schools in Muslim-dominated areas observing Friday off as BJP insists on uniformity

OpIndia Staff
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After initial flip-flop, Bihar Govt seeks report on state-run schools in Muslim-dominated areas observing Friday off as BJP insists on uniformity

Taking cognisance of media reports about as many as 500 government schools in Muslim-dominated districts in the state observing Friday as weekly offs, Bihar education minister and JD (U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary has asked district education officers to submit a detailed list of schools which are following this practice.

“As we learnt about it, we have asked these four districts to submit a report,” said the JD(U) minister.

On July 26, OpIndia reported that more than 500 government schools in Bihar’s Seemanchal area, which has a sizable Muslim population, have been observing Friday as their weekly off instead of Sunday, despite no official mandate to that effect. This practice has been followed for years, by the schools located in the eastern part of Bihar including districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar, and Purnia.

According to the 2011 Census, the eastern part of Bihar has a Muslim population varying from 30 per cent to 70 per cent. The Jokihat block of the Araria district houses most of these schools, with 229 out of 244 government schools having their weekly break on Friday.

We reported how the Bihar Education Minister had earlier claimed ignorance when questioned about this long-standing practice followed by many government schools in Bihar’s Muslim-dominated regions. “Once we receive formal notice from the district involved, we’ll respond by the applicable procedures,” the JD(U) leader had said.

In fact, when asked about this old practice in Bihar, the party’s parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha called it a “non-issue” and alleged some people are unnecessarily spoiling the cordial atmosphere in the state.

In a Twitter post in Hindi, he said, “Is weekly holiday provision in Urdu schools a real issue and an attempt to create an unnecessary controversy? Those who object to a Friday holiday in Urdu schools should know that Sanskrit universities also declare a day off on Pratipada and Ashtami every month.” He posted a holiday calendar of the Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University for reference.

Meanwhile, BJP, which is JD(U)’s ally in the state has strongly opposed the observance of weekly off on Friday and said that rules suitable to one religion cannot be allowed as per the Constitution.

Replying to Kushwaha, BJP spokesperson Arvind Singh said, “Be it an Urdu school or Sanskrit school, both must run as per the Bihar government’s rules. Holidays in schools should not be decided on the basis of religion. This country should have one flag, one rule and one constitution.”

BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan also weighed in on the issue, “There is a rule of law and every institution must follow the constitutional framework. We hope the state government will sincerely look into this.”

Earlier, BJP state spokesperson Nikhil Anand had also asserted, “India is a secular country and making rules to suit one’s religion is not permissible under the Constitution. If the schools are closed on Friday to suit Muslims, Hindus may demand to close the schools on Tuesday. This kind of practice should not be promoted for religious appeasement.”

UP: Sameer Siddiqui threatens to bury RSS worker alive on Instagram for supporting Nupur Sharma, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Sameer Siddiqui threatens to bury RSS worker alive on Instagram for supporting Nupur Sharma, arrested

On July 28, the Kashganj police in Uttar Pradesh arrested a youth identified as Sameer Siddiqui for issuing death threats to an RSS worker named Dushyant Gupta for supporting the former BJP leader Nupur Sharma. According to reports, the accused took to Instagram to threaten to bury the RSS worker alive.

Kasganj Police took to its official Twitter handle to inform the same. In a video byte, Kashganj SP BBGTS Murthy informed that on July 25, Dushyant Gupta, a resident of the Gandhinagar locality in Kashganj, Amanpur, saw a threatening Instagram post from Sameer Siddiqui in which the latter threatened to bury Gupta alive for voicing his support for the ex-BJP spokesperson. “Dushyant Kumar, you will be buried alive,” read the message, which was later deleted.

Gupta approached the Amanpur police with a complaint against Sameer Siddiqui. Owing to the gravity of the situation and the delicate situation in the country engendered by Islamists’ fury over Nupur Sharma’s remark, SP BBGTS Murthy stated that the police immediately took cognisance of the complaint and formed two police teams to investigate the matter. On July 27, the Amanpur police filed an FIR against the accused under IPC section 507 (Criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) and Section 66C of the IT Act. Later, after going through all the evidence, the police also invoked IPC Section 505(2) in the case.

Kasganj Police press release

On July 28, at around 9.05 am, the police teams apprehended Sameer Siddiqui from the Sidhpura Circle in Kasganj district, Uttar Pradesh, said SP BBGTS Murthy, adding that the mobile phone which the accused had used to send the threat message to the RSS worker has also been recovered by the police.

It may be recalled how AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair’s dog-whistling about Nupur Sharma’s comment to Islamists, set off a chain of events that culminated into a constant barrage of threats at Sharma and attacks on those who dared to speak out in her support, many of which turned out to be extremely brutal. Recently, OpIndia chronicled a series of incidents wherein in the last few months, rabid Islamists, who have been using Nupur Sharma just as an excuse to show muscle power and challenge state forces, have brutally executed, attacked and threatened a number of people for voicing their support for the former BJP leader on social media.

Delhi Police denies permission for Islamist PFI’s ‘Save The Republic’ rally in the National Capital, VHP had written a letter against it: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Police denies permission for Islamist PFI’s ‘Save The Republic’ rally in the National Capital, VHP had written a letter against it: Details

In a major development, the Delhi police turned down a request by the Popular Front of India (PFI) to conduct a rally in the National Capital on Saturday (July 30).

The programme was scheduled to be held at Ambedkar Bhawan in the Jhandewalan area of Delhi. The event was titled, ‘Save the Republic.’ The police have warned action against the Islamist outfit if it tried to organise the rally in the absence of required permission.

Poster of the PFI rally

Earlier on Friday (July 29), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) wrote a letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner and sought action against the Popular Front of India.

“This organisation (PFI) is running suspicious activities across the whole country. The investigation of its involvement in several violent incidents in the country is going on in many states. On the occasion of Independence Day, such activities can spoil the atmosphere in the National capital,” the letter said.

“That’s why we are requesting you to stop this immediately. Please take the right action and also inform the same to us,” the Hindu organisation concluded.

Screengrab of the letter by Vishwa Hindu Parishad

This is not the first time that the Popular Front of India had conducted its flagship event of ‘Save the Republic.’ One such rally was organised in the Alappuzha district of Kerala on May 21 this year.

Prior to the start of the event, PFI had shared that a grand people’s conference will be held in Alappuzha as part of a nationwide campaign. “People from all over the State are expected to take part in the program, which is beginning shortly,” PFI had tweeted.

In a Facebook post, the radical organization had informed that the event would be inaugurated by Chairman Oma Salam. Former Rajya Sabha member Obaidullah Khan Azmi was invited as the Chief of the ‘volunteer march.’

PFI, SDPI extremist outfits indulging in serious acts of violence

Earlier on May 5, the Kerala High Court observed that the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) are extremist organisations, which have not yet been banned in India.

The court made the remarks while hearing the petition of the wife of deceased RSS worker A Sanjith, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “No doubt, SDPI and PFI are extremist organisations indulging in serious acts of violence. All the same, those are not banned organisations,” Justice K Haripal had stated.

The Kerala High Court further noted that both SDPI and PFI have a history of attacking members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It added, “It is the common case that activists of the SDPI/PFI were behind the attack.”

Another theory emerges in the Praveen Nettaru murder: Did Jihadis kill him because he asked people to buy meat from Hindus? Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Another theory emerges in the Praveen Nettaru murder: Did Jihadis kill him because he asked people to buy meat from Hindus? Read details

Praveen Nettaru, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member, was hacked to death on July 26. Two Muslim men have been arrested in the case so far – Mohammed Shafiq Ballere and Zaqir Savanuru. While the two accused are linked to PFI and SDPI, another troubling detail emerged in the case – accused Shafiq Ballere and his father worked in the poultry shop of Praveen Kumar Nettaru. This was revealed by Shafiq’s father Ibrahim himself while talking to the media. Ibrahim told India Today,  “I work at Praveen’s shop. My son and Praveen used to talk there.” There are also reports that Shafiq and Praveen Nettaru were good friends.

Earlier, two theories had emerged about the murder of Praveen Nettaru. One is that he was killed because he posted on social media supporting Kanhaiya Lal, who was beheaded by Jihadis recently for supporting Nupur Sharma. The second theory was that he may have been murdered as retaliation for the death of a Muslim man, who had been beaten up by Hindus after he had beaten up a Hindu youth.

Now, another theory has emerged, that could possibly be the reason behind the murder of Praveen Nettaru. It is pertinent to note here that the police are still investigating the motive behind his brutal murder by Jihadis.

A report published in Prajavani says that the chicken shop that Praveen Nettaru had opened, where accused Shafiq and his father worked, had overtaken the meat shops run by Muslims in the area and had become an object of hatred for the Islamists there.

9 months ago, Praveen opened his poultry shop called “Akshay Farm Fresh Chicken” in Bellary. Ranjith, Praveen’s father-in-law’s son, has said that the Islamists of the area had become envious of the shop over time. Praveen was a nationalist and a Dharmic who used to share several posts on social media, which were in the national interest. He had got several threats because of his posts and the police had been approached, however, no action was taken. Only days before his murder as well, Praveen had got threats.

In the South Karnataka district, there was a growing campaign to boycott Muslim meat sellers. Praveen had reportedly taken lead in this campaign and had started to create awareness about Hindus buying meat from Hindu shops and encouraged those who could, to start poultry and meat shops.

‘The chicken meat business in Bellare is under the control of non-religious people. Praveen had started a chicken meat business himself and they had threatened him. No matter how many obstacles he faced, he became successful in this industry. Inspired by him, Hindu youths started such businesses in many places in the district,’ he said.

The report also says that Praveen’s meat shop, in a mere 9 months, had overtaken the Muslim-owned poultry shops in the area. This is being pointed at as a possible motive for Praveen’s murder, coupled with the fact that he was spearheading the campaign to buy from Hindu shops.

The murder of Praveen Nettaru by Jihadis

On July 26, Nettaru was hacked to death by unidentified assailants. As per reports, the killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Praveen Nettaru, who looked after a poultry business, was returning home when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Praveen was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.

Massive protests erupted after Praveen’s death in the city of Bellare and Sullia. While the outraged BJP Yuva Morcha members started to furnish mass resignations, the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh concerning the safety of Hindus in the state of Karnataka.

The Police have arrested two accused named Zakir and Mohammed Shafiq in connection with the murder. According to the reports, Shafiq and Zakhir are the conspirators, but the assailants are yet to be apprehended. Investigations in the case are still underway.

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