On July 26, a video of Rathore’s sister tying Rakhi on his lifeless hand went viral on social media. Rathore’s dead body was found on a railway track in Bhopal. Notably, before his dead body was found, a ‘sar tan se juda’ message was sent from his phone to his father. A similar story was uploaded on his Instagram account as well. Rathore’s last rites took place on Monday.
The investigation into the matter is underway. Police are investigating all possible angles in the matter. There are some reports that suggest Nishank had invested in the share market and cryptocurrency and faced losses. Furthermore, he also owed money to some of his friends. Some media houses are using the information to downplay his murder, and his family has objected to such reports.
Shiv Rathore, Nishank’s cousin, was quoted by Swarajya saying that his brother was brave and was not stressed about anything. He said, “Police are trying to divert the issue but this is a murder through conspiracy.” Shiv is Vibhag Mantri of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Nishank’s family has categorically said that he could not have committed suicide and that it was a well-planned murder. Also, the family members have denied having any financial crisis.
It is noteworthy that Nishank was vocal about his religious views and often took part in religious functions. Shiv further added that his family had prepared a memorandum on behalf of the Rathore community. The family is planning to submit the memorandum to officials and politicians. They want an in-depth investigation over the death of their son and will urge the authorities not to downplay the ‘murder for blasphemy’ angle.
20-years-old Rathore was a third-year college student. He was found dead on the railway tracks near Obaidullaganj town in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh on July 24. Before his dead body was found, his father, Uma Shankar Rathore, had received a message that read, “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki Ek saza, sar tan sey judaa.”
On Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CID) in Colombo, Sri Lanka arrested the protester who had aggressively invaded Sri Lanka’s official television, the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation on July 13. The protester identified as Danish Ali was arrested by the CID officers from the Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport while he was trying to escape to Dubai.
According to the reports, the Police arrested him after the Sri Lanka Court issued a warrant of arrest in his name. On July 13, Danish Ali who represents ‘Aragala Protestors’ had come on air along with one of his aides and disrupted the scheduled TV program. He had taken over the special broadcast talk show and had told the anchor and audience that they had taken over the station on behalf of the people.
#BREAKING | Sri Lankan protestor who halted state TV Programme to broadcast own message arrested aboard Dubai flight. Danish Ali had barged into premises of SL’s national TV network Rupavahini Corporation & stopped their program to broadcast own messagehttps://t.co/bbyaMwOij9pic.twitter.com/VLhW96l1WF
“Protesters are on the premises. We have not even aimed a stone at Rupavahini. We only requested to change the broadcast and join the arugula and not to join any leader than comes but to be independent. Now as aragala we took this over for the people we thank the staff for accepting us”, Danish Ali had said on air. The Sri Lanka Rupahavini Corporation (SLRC), the state-owned television network was heavily guarded as the demonstrators invaded the station.
A day after the protest, however, Ali, the ‘Gota Go Gama’ activist addressed a press brief and clarified that the protest led by the ‘Aragala Protestors’ was peaceful and that no properties were damaged by the demonstrators. “The ones who damaged the properties belonged to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa”, he said.
He had also mentioned that the protestors had vacated every building stormed except for the President’s Secretariat. “President’s secretariat is for the people. We want to show that we are capable. If we leave, we can come back the next minute if we want”, he had added. On July 9, the protesters forcibly entered the office of the President and the Prime Minister and his residence, and a fierce face-off between the protesters and security forces was reported from Colombo.
Following the fierce protest, former President Rajapaksa left Sri Lanka on July 13 and went to the Maldives and then to Singapore. Ranil Wickremesinghe was later appointed as the new President of Sri Lanka on July 21. The CID arrested the protester named Danish Ali after the Court orders. Investigations in the case are underway.
On Tuesday night, Supreme Court attorney Vineet Jindal received death threats and requested protection from the Delhi Police. “Allah ka paigham hai Vineet Jindal, tera bhi sar tan se juda karenge jald hi (It’s Allah’s message, Vineet Jindal; we’ll behead you soon)”, an unidentified letter stated.
According to the reports, Jindal seeking protection from the Delhi Police informed them that he received the anonymous letter after he got back home on July 26, at around 8:30 pm. His residence has CCTV, however, those who hurled the piece of paper with the threat on it were not caught by the CCTV.
आज जिहादियों ने मेरा भी सर तन से जुदा कर ने की धमकी दी मेरे घर पर भेजा गया ये ।मेरी व मेरे परिवार की जान को ख़तरा हे ये बात पहेले ही दिल्ली पुलिस मन चुकी हे @cp_delhi@DCP_NorthWest से आग्रह हे की इस पर करवाही करे । pic.twitter.com/y8eLYsgpY9
He took to Twitter to share the letter and urged DCP Northwest to look into the matter. He tweeted, “Today the jihadis threatened to separate me from my body and sent it to my house. This is a threat to my life and my family’s life, and the Delhi Police has already accepted that.”
Jindal also mentioned in the application filed to Delhi Police that earlier had received similar threat messages and calls. “Earlier as well, I have received threat messages and calls from the US, Taiwan and Canada, about which I had informed the Delhi Police. Please investigate the matter,” Jindal said.
सुप्रीम कोर्ट के वकील #विनीतजिंदल को मिली “सर तन से जुड़ा करने की धमकी” दिल्ली पुलिस दे दर्ज की एफ़आईआर।पहेले भी देश व विदेशी नंबरों से मिली थी जान से मारने की धमकी ।अजमेर दरगाह से जुड़े खादिम और अंजुमन कमेटी के सचिव अदील चिश्ती के खिलाफ DP में शिकायत दर्ज कराई थी| pic.twitter.com/vhCJhUD6f2
It is notable here that Vineet Jindal had lodged a complaint against the Khadim of Ajmer Dargah and Anjuman committee member Adil Chishty with the Delhi Police and the Islamist threat may have been because of that.
Reports mention that Vineet Jindal has already been given protection by Delhi Police, and a PSO has been assigned to him. Jindal claimed to have requested a PSO for his security a few days ago.
On July 26, a Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha worker Praveen 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. Nettaru, who ran a poultry business, was coming returning home when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Nettaru was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.
Karnataka | BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru hacked to death with lethal weapons by unidentified people on a bike in Bellare, Dakshina Kannada. Further details awaited. pic.twitter.com/98koHUdGxV
Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai expressed his deep condolences to Nettaru’s family and assured justice in the matter. In a tweet in Kannada, he said, “The barbaric killing of our party activist Praveen Nettaru from Dakshina Kannada district is condemnable. The perpetrators of such a heinous act will be arrested soon and punished under the law. May Praveen’s soul rest in peace. May God bless his family with the strength to bear this pain. Om Shanti.”
ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಕನ್ನಡ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಸುಳ್ಯದ ನಮ್ಮ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತ ಪ್ರವೀಣ್ ನೆಟ್ಟಾರು ಅವರ ಬರ್ಬರ ಹತ್ಯೆ ಖಂಡನೀಯ. ಇಂಥ ಹೇಯಕೃತ್ಯ ಎಸಗಿರುವ ದುಷ್ಕರ್ಮಿಗಳನ್ನು ಶೀಘ್ರವಾಗಿ ಬಂಧಿಸಿ ಕಾನೂನಿನ ಅಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಿಸಲಾಗುವುದು. ಪ್ರವೀಣ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಶಾಂತಿ ಸಿಗಲಿ, ಈ ನೋವನ್ನು ಭರಿಸುವ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ದೇವರು ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬಕ್ಕೆ ಕರುಣಿಸಲಿ. ಓಂ ಶಾಂತಿಃ pic.twitter.com/kCk3W6hVc5
It is unclear why Nettaru was killed. However, in a report in Manorama Online, it was mentioned that eyewitnesses alleged the assailants came on a bike with Kerala’s registration number. The location where the incident happened is close to the Kerala border. Times Now Navbharat also reported that the assailants were on a Kerala-borne bike.
Karnataka Police has registered the case, and an investigation is underway. Reports suggest two recent incidents, including the murder of a Muslim man and a matter related to a mosque, could have led to the murder of Nettaru. Heavy Police forces have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.
Zomato stock prices Tuesday plunged by approximately 13 per cent to Rs 41.20 apiece intraday, a new all-time low, as the one-year lock-in period for the pre-IPO investors ended.
On July 26, the Zomato stock price ended at Rs 41.60 from its opening levels of Rs 46.60, a sharp 12.61 per cent intraday decline. The stock has tanked 75 per cent from its all-time high of Rs 169.10 per stock, touched last year in November.
Source: NSE
Although the stock was in free fall for the last few months, the nosedive was stark in the past few days as the one-year lock-in period for pre-IPO investors drew to an end on 23 July 2022, exactly a year after Zomato Limited was listed on BSE and NSE.
The food aggregator’s paid-up capital of the one-year overhang is around 78 per cent, which means it had roughly 78 per cent of total equity. It is a company with zero promoter holdings, which as per the rules, makes it obligatory for it to lock the equity share capital it holds for a period of one year from the date of allotment of shares. During this period, these shareholders are barred from selling any equity.
The latest fall in the Zomato stock prices could, therefore, be attributed to the selling pressures spurred by the end of one-year lock-in period as sellers fell over themselves to dispose of their stock holdings in anticipation that the stock prices will plummet further more.
Back in July 2021, the listing of Zomato on stock markets was greeted with great euphoria among the investors. Ahead of its launch, the IPO was subscribed 38.25 times, with 7.45 times in the retail category, 51.79 times in QIB, and 32.96 times in the NII category, signaling the enthusiasm it had generated among the prospective buyers.
As expected, the Zomato IPO opened at at Rs 116, a premium of 53 per cent compared to the issue price of Rs 76. Over months, it rose to its all-time peak of Rs 169.10 as investors rallied behind the food aggregator service with the hope that it will provide them with windfall gains.
Causes behind the steady decline in the share prices of Zomato
However, in the intervening months, the enthusiasm among investors has evaporated, partly because of its weak finances, especially in the wake of its deal with Blinkit, formerly known as Grofers, and which analysts claim have elongated its path to profitability and achieving break-even.
Earlier last month, Zomato announced its acquisition of loss-incurring firm Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore. The payment will be settled through issue of around 629 million Zomatoshares (around 6.88 per cent equity dilution on fully diluted basis) at the prescribed preferential allotment price of Rs 70.76, and cash acquisition of Hands on Trades Pvt Ltd for Rs 60.7 crore.
However, the stock market and analysts alike felt the Blinkit deal was overvalued that reflected in the stock movement of Zomato after the announcement of the acquisition, tumbling more than 14 per cent in two days since then. Researchers believe acquiring Blinkit will add to the woes of Zomato which is already marred with high operating losses.
Following its deal with Blinkit, Punit Patni, Equity Research Analyst at Swastika Investmart, sounded alarm for Zomato, adding that the deal may bear down heavily on the company’s finances and it may take a long time for the organisation to figure out the unit economics and turn profitable. He also said that the current markets are not conducive for businesses that are witnessing profitless growth.
According to research agencies, several factors are responsible for Zomato stock’s current free fall. An increase in competition from new entrants, competition from existing competitors such as Swiggy, and the restaurants offering direct delivery are among the primary factors that have adversely impacted Zomato’s business.
Amidst dire finances, Zomato is facing stiff pushback from its existing partners as restaurants have started resisting the huge discounts imposed on them and severing their ties with the food aggregator service. So far, the company’s strategy entailed forcing restaurants to offer jaw-dropping discounts to tether customers permanently to its services.
But the strategy seems to have backfired as restaurants are resisting the huge discounts imposed on them, snapping their ties with Zomato and either going solo or platforming themselves on rival companies that have relatively less stringent requirements.
Slower than expected market growth has forced a reassessment among investors about Zomato’s overall potential. While most food delivery companies across the world witnessed a slump in the last two months, Zomato has underperformed its peers, said Ms Madhu Sharma, an independent market analyst based out of Mumbai. Most global food aggregators bottomed in May-June, Zomato continued its decline in July.
Strict regulations on platform businesses and challenges in expanding its business outside its core area are other headwinds facing Zomato, adding to its extant miseries and throwing questions at the company which it clearly does not seem to have answers to, at least for now. Taken together, these factors have contributed greatly to the current bout of decline in the Zomato share prices.
Zomato has a hard row to hoe as investor confidence wanes and company registers profitless growth
However, market observers and research companies believe that Zomato can turn the tide in its favour, given that it is the fastest-growing food aggregator company among its peers. In terms of order volumes and gross revenues, Zomato has outpaced all its global competitors, namely Just Eat Takeaway, Delivery Hero, DoorDash and others.
Restaurant food accounts for less than 10 per cent of overall food spending in India, as compared to close to 50 and ~45 per cent of food spending in the US and China, respectively. Those pinning their hopes on Zomato to stage a comeback are banking their hopes on the food aggregator’s ability to benefit from India’s expected growth in online food spending and turn profitable with it.
But for now, Zomato has a hard row to hoe, reflected in deflating investor confidence and declining stock prices. Until it pulls its act together, its share price may continue with the free fall.
On July 26, the Ministry of Home Affairs shared in Lok Sabha during Question Hour that between 2019 and 2021, 1811 FCRA licenses were cancelled while 783 NGOs were denied renewal for the same.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai was answering the questions asked by Indian Union Muslim League’s leader ET Mohammed Basheer regarding the cancellation and denial of FCRA licenses from 2019 to 2021. Basheer had asked about the total number of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act (FCRA) registrations cancelled and denied renewal, and had also asked for state-wise data. He also asked the ministry if a show cause notice was issued by the government to the concerned institution to explain their stand or not.
Source: Lok Sabha
Replying to Basheer, Rai said that during the three years that were 2019, 2020, and 2021, registration certificates of 1811 associations were cancelled under the provisions of the Foreign contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA 2010). He further added that all the associations were provided with the reasonable opportunity of being heard as per the terms of Section 14(2) of FCRA 2010. Furthermore, 783 applications for the renewal of the FCRA licenses were rejected during the same period.
Source: Lok Sabha
As per the data provided by MHA, the maximum number of NGOs that lost their FCRA licenses were from Tamil Nadu. 218 licenses were cancelled in three years in the state. In Madhya Pradesh, 206 licenses were cancelled, followed by 193 in West Bengal, 168 in Andhra Pradesh, 122 in Bihar, 115 in Uttar Pradesh, and 109 in Odisha.
Source: Lok Sabha
Speaking about denial of renewal, MHA informed that the maximum number of NGOs that were denied renewal were from Maharashtra, and the number stood at 110.
Source: Lok Sabha
84 associations in Andhra Pradesh, 66 in Tamil Nadu, 65 in West Bengal, 59 in Uttar Pradesh, and 57 associations in Karnataka were denied renewal.
A supplementary persecution complaint (equivalent to a charge sheet) has been filed against the former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah, Mir Manzoor Gazanffer, and others by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its money laundering investigation into the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) case.
A special court in Srinagar took cognizance of the charge sheet on Tuesday after it had been presented on June 4. The defendants have received court summons, and they must show up on August 27. The chargesheet was preceded by three provisional attachment orders dated 28.02.2020, 18.12.2020, and 25.02.2022, which attached Dr Farooq Abdullah, M/s Mirza Sons, Mir Manzoor Gazanffer, and Ahsan Ahmad Mirza’s moveable and immovable assets totalling Rs. 21.55 crore.
The case involves the misappropriation of funds from the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association through transfers to several personal bank accounts of unrelated individuals, including those of JKCA office holders, and by mysterious cash withdrawals from JKCA bank accounts. It is alleged that money to the tune of Rs 50 crore was misappropriated from the JKCA coffers between 2002 and 2011.
Although JKCA already had a bank account, the agency stated that six more bank accounts were formed in order to allegedly park and syphon off funds from that account. ED alleges that Farooq Abdullah abused his power as president of the organisation by making appointments in the sports body to launder funds.
The ED launched the money laundering investigation in response to a chargesheet presented by the Central Bureau of Investigation against the association’s officers in 2018. The CBI filed an FIR in this respect in 2015.
Farooq Abdullah had previously been questioned several times in the matter, the most recent occasion being in May of this year. The ED has attached properties worth Rs 14.32 crore belonging to Mirza, Gazanffer, and Abdullah in the case by 2020. The agency had temporarily attached assets worth Rs 7.25 crore belonging to another accused in the case in March of this year.
A 22-year-old rich British tourist named Jack Fenton died in Greece after being hit by helicopter blades while attempting to take a photo as he alighted from the aircraft. Jack was struck when he walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engines were still running. Rescue services were dispatched to the private heliport, but the person reportedly died in the spot.
The pilot then made a call to his colleague on another chopper, which was carrying the man’s parents, to raise the alarm. To avoid the man’s parents from watching the fatal accident, the pilot of the second helicopter decided to divert from the private airstrip in Spata and instead made an unplanned landing at Athens International Airport.
According to some media reports, Jack was snapping a selfie when he was knocked in the head by the high-speed rotor. The details of the accident are being investigated, but the pilot might face criminal charges if it is found that he advised the passengers to vacate the helicopter before the engine and rotors had shut.
John Fenton with his mother. (Image: Dailymail UK)
“He was the first to disembark the Bell 407 helicopter in Athens and as he moved to the back, he was hit in the head by the aircraft’s small rear rotor,” a senior police officer told The Times. “There was no chance of him surviving. His death was instantaneous,” he continued.
The pilot of the chopper and two members of the ground crew have reportedly been detained while authorities conduct their investigation. The trio reportedly provided testimony regarding the incident to a judge. Friends of John testified as well.
The family was supposed to arrive at the Superior Air helipad and then be taken to Eleftherios Venizelos airport to board the family’s private aircraft for the flight back to the United Kingdom. Miguel Fenton, Jack Fenton’s father, is the head of marketing, sales, and public relations at The Hop Farm, a 400-acre country park in the UK.
The central government on Tuesday informed that in the last 5 years, as many as 2399 Bangladeshi nationals have been intercepted and found to be using fraudulently obtained Indian documents. Having said so, the government said it has written to all states and Union territories to take prompt steps to identify illegal Bangladeshi migrants staying in India and initiate a process to deport them as per the provisions of law.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, said, “The central government has issued instructions to state governments and Union Territories for taking appropriate prompt steps for identification of illegal migrants, their restriction to specified areas as per provisions of legislation, capturing their biographical and biometric particulars, cancellation of pretend Indian paperwork, and authorized proceedings together with initiation of deportation proceedings as per provisions of legislation.”
Furthermore, the states/UTs have additionally been suggested to share the particulars of these unlawful migrants who’ve wrongfully obtained Aadhaar cards with the UIDAI for appropriate legal action. State governments have additional been suggested to cancel any identification paperwork obtained fraudulently by unlawful migrants, like voter cards, driving licenses, ration cards and so forth, he added.
It may be recalled that last month, OpIndia reported how authorities in Uttar Pradesh have been on high alert because of the rise in Rohingya Muslim infiltration from Myanmar, the majority of whom have affiliations to pro-Pakistan terror organisations.
The authorities have tightened the noose to nab these intruders, who have reportedly established a large network in the western districts of the state including Meerut, Aligarh, Bulandshahr and Deoband.
The Uttar Pradesh ATS, based on the interrogation of arrested Rohingya Muslims, revealed that hundreds of Rohingyas have crossed over illegally into the country and are working in slaughterhouses in the state.
Moreover, in states like Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, etc, where there is a heavy demand for labourers, these Rohingya Muslims take up these jobs and start living like any other local Muslim. They also bring others from Myanmar and Bangladesh and help them get similar low-wage jobs. They manage to get forged identity documents as well which makes it difficult to identify them.
On Tuesday, a magnificent Hindu temple was inaugurated in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar, a vast island in the Indian Ocean with a population of over 26 million people. The occasion was attended by Abhay Kumar, the Indian ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros.
Devotees flocked to the temple’s inaugural event, which included the unveiling of sculptures of several Hindu deities, aarti, and the singing of devotional songs. Sanjeev Hematlal, president of the Hindu Samaj, spoke on the occasion, saying that the opening of the majestic temple is a source of great pride for the Hindu community in Madagascar.
The freshly constructed temple is Antananarivo’s first Hindu temple. The long-awaited temple by Madagascar’s Hindu diaspora was under construction for a long time. Earlier, in Antananarivo, a magnificent Hindu temple hall was also opened on the occasion of Navratri in 2020. Over 20,000 individuals of Indian origin, primarily from Gujarat, are settled in Madagascar.
The Gujarati diaspora in Madagascar is widely dispersed. Many of them practise Hinduism, and the Hindu Samaj has constructed a beautiful Hindu temple in Antananarivo for the first time. Small Hindu temples may be found in Madagascar’s other main cities, including Mahajunga and Antsiranana.
Indians, particularly those from Gujarat, arrived in Madagascar in small boats in the late 18th century to partake in Indian Ocean region commerce. Since then, they have significantly aided the expansion of trade and business both inside Madagascar and between India and Madagascar.
India is Madagascar’s major trading partner, with two-way commerce expected to reach 400 million USD in 2020–21. The two Indian Ocean neighbours’ partnerships are expanding in many areas. The two nations have healthy and strong connections that are deepening, and multiple MoUs in crucial sectors such as health, education, culture, information, and travel have been inked.
