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UP ATS arrests 2 persons for spying for Pakistan, Md. Haroon was working with Pakistani official declared ‘persona non grata’, Tufail in contact with Pakistani army officer’s wife

OpIndia Staff
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UP ATS arrests 2 persons for spying for Pakistan, Md. Haroon was working with Pakistani official declared ‘persona non grata’, Tufail in contact with Pakistani army officer’s wife

In a significant development, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested two men allegedly involved in espionage activities for Pakistan and being involved in illegal financial transactions. The two have been identified as Tufail Ahmad, a resident of Dhoopipur in Varanasi, and Mohd Haroon from Seelampur, Delhi.

As per a statement issued by UP ATS, Mohd Haroon works as a scrap dealer in Delhi, and he is involved in exploiting money from people in the name of help in getting Pakistani visa. He was working in connivance with Muzammal Hussain, an employee posted in Pakistan High Commission. Md Haroor is accused of being involved in anti-national activities by sharing security related information related to national interest with Muzammal Hussain.

Interrogation of Haroon revealed that as he visits Pakistan to meet his relatives, he came in contact with Hussain, a Pakistani national working at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. Apart from collecting money from people in the name of help in obtaining visa to Pakistan, he also shared important information related to India’s internal security with Hussain.

At the behest of Muzammal Hussain, Mohd. Haroon provided several bank accounts in which Muzammal Hussain got money deposited from his clients who received visas. Haroon used to take some commission and give rest of the money in cash to a place/person mentioned by Muzammal, which was used in anti-national activities, the ATS said.

Notably, Muzammal Hussain has been declared “persona non grata” by the Government of India and has been ordered to leave the country. “

The other accused Tufail Ahmad was apprehended following intelligence inputs suggesting his links with foreign-based operatives engaged in subversive activities against India, according to a press release issued by the UP ATS. He was found to be in contact with several Pakistan-based handlers. Tufail is allegedly working with the intention of harming the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India by forming an anti-national organization sponsored by Pakistan by joining WhatsApp groups.

He used social media platforms to communicate with individuals across the border and was found to be sharing vital information, including photos and videos of strategically important locations in India. Tufail used to share videos of Maulana Shad Rizvi, leader of Pakistan’s banned terrorist organization Tehreek-e-Labbaik, in WhatsApp groups, along with sharing messages related to carrying out ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, taking revenge for Babri Masjid and implementing Shariat in India.

Tufail had shared pictures and information related to various important places of India like Rajghat, Namoghat, Gyanvapi, Railway Stations, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Nizamuddin Auliya, etc. with Pakistani numbers. Tufail had also sent the link of these groups run by Pakistan to many other people of Varanasi and he was in contact with more than 600 Pakistani numbers.

The statement added that Tufail was in contact with a woman named Nafisa, resident of Faisalabad in Pakistan, through Facebook, whose husband is in the Pakistani Army.

Kerala HC directs Family Courts that Police stations can’t be involved in children’s custody arrangements

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala HC directs Family Courts that Police stations can’t be involved in children’s custody arrangements

The Kerala High Court ordered Family Courts to refrain from involving police stations in child custody arrangements, on 20th May. This ruling was pronounced by the bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and MB Snehalatha after they observed a family court judgment instructing the parents to exchange the child in police custody as a temporary custody arrangement.

“We take this case as an opportunity to state something that is far more important, particularly qua the mental and physical health of children, who are caught in the cross-fire of litigation between their parents,” the court stated.

Children involved in custody disputes should only be called to court in extreme cases, according to a previous verdict by the same bench. The court then remarked that children were experiencing trauma as a result of being called to court. Additionally, the bench mandated that the child be exchanged at a neutral location rather than on court property.

“However, in the case at hand, we see that when the learned Family Court made an arrangement regarding the interim custody of the child involved, the exchange was directed to be done at a police station. In our view, this is worse than the child being forced to court premises and spaces and are sure that it requires no further expatiation or restatement,” the court expressed and added, “We fail to understand how the learned Family Court could have directed the child to be handed over in interim custody from a police station. We certainly cannot find favour with this.”

The father was ordered to have temporary custody of the child from 2nd to 26th May. According to the contested ruling, the kid must be produced before the court at 11 am on 27th May in order for the mother, the appellant in this case, to receive him back. “Obviously, further custody arrangements with respect to her will have to be thought of and worked out by the learned Court in due course,” it added.

The mother has contested the order, claiming that the child is not safe with the father for the duration specified. The bench declared, “However, since it is unreservedly admitted before us by both sides that the child has been with the father from 05.05.2025 until now; and since, as we have said above, the order itself provides that the child will be brought back to the court on 27.05.2025, we find little cause for us to intervene at this stage.”

The court noted that the Family Court will consider any further arrangements for the kid, including temporary custody, on 27th May, following notice to both parties.

The bench then concluded, “This appeal is thus dismissed; however, we deem it necessary that the learned Family Courts are directed not to create arrangements with respect to custody of children, be that permanent or interim, involving police stations in any manner. We direct the Registrar General of this court to ensure that these directions are made known to all the Judges of learned Family Courts peremptorily.”

Background of the case

The case stemmed from the custody of 9-year-old boy. At first, both parties agreed that the mother should have custody. Later, the father demanded full custody and accused the mother of breaking the arrangement. Afterward, the Family Court changed the decision, granting the father custody while providing the mother with limited temporary custody.

The mother approached the high court to argue that the child was experiencing emotional anguish and was not willing to go along with the father. The boy was taken to the judges’ room at one session, where he clung to his mother and avoided talking to his father. However, the father stated that the child’s aversion was a result of the mother’s tutoring.

The child, who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), had been particularly susceptible to emotional distress brought on by frequent court appearances, the court stated in the earlier ruling. His faith in the court system was further damaged when it was revealed that another bench made a promise that he would not be summoned again.

In the end, the mother’s appeal was granted by the high court, which also restored the original custody ruling in her favor. In order to lessen the emotional toll on the kid, it was also mandated that future custody disputes be held in Mahatma Mandiram rather than the Munsiff Court in Kannur.

Ansarul Ansari, Nepali cab driver in Qatar, becomes an ISI agent, starts spying on India after his training in Pakistan, arrested in a special operation

OpIndia Staff
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Ansarul Ansari, Nepali cab driver in Qatar, becomes an ISI agent, starts spying on India after his training in Pakistan, arrested in a special operation

Delhi Police and other Indian investigative agencies have carried out a major special operation and arrested two spies of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI. One of them is Ansarul Miya Ansari of Nepali origin, who was caught from a hotel in Delhi. The operation lasted from January to March 2025, and Ansarul was detained on February 15, 2025, as part of the operation on the basis of intelligence information.

Many confidential documents related to the Indian Armed Forces were recovered from Ansarul, which he was trying to send to Pakistan.

According to reports, Ansarul was working as a cab driver in Qatar since 2008. There he met an ISI handler, who lured him into his trap by appealing to his greed and provoking him ideologically. In June 2024, Ansarul was taken to Rawalpindi, Pakistan, where senior ISI officials trained him in espionage. He was specifically tasked with collecting confidential documents, photographs, and geolocation data related to the Indian Army. After this, he was sent to India via Nepal, so that he could plan the conspiracy of terrorist attack in Delhi.

Indian investigative agencies received intelligence in January 2025 that an ISI spy was going to enter Delhi via Nepal. Based on this, the Special Cell of Delhi Police and central agencies jointly started a secret operation. According to sources, it was a great example of espionage art, in which Indian agencies were ahead of Ansarul at every step. The investigation also revealed that a major terrorist attack was being planned in Delhi, in which confidential information of military bases was to be used.

The person who helped Ansarul in India was Akhlaq Azam, a resident of Ranchi, who was arrested in March 2025. Akhlaq helped Ansarul in logistical support and collecting documents. Investigation of the mobile phones of both found evidence of suspicious conversations with Pakistani handlers, which point to a big conspiracy. Delhi Police registered a case against both of them under the Official Secrets Act and filed a charge sheet in the court in May 2025.

Ansarul and Akhlaq have been kept in the high-security ward of Delhi’s Tihar Jail. The authorities have kept a close watch on their activities so that they cannot influence other prisoners in the jail. The investigating agencies are now searching for other people associated with this network.

100-year-old Shiv temple’s land illegally occupied in Sindh: Pakistan’s Hindu community appeals to govt save the religious place

OpIndia Staff
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100-year-old Shiv temple’s land illegally occupied in Sindh: Pakistan’s Hindu community appeals to govt save the religious place

On 22nd May, a representative of the Hindu community named Shiva Kachhi in Pakistsan said that land grabbers had illegally taken over the property where a 100-year-old Shiv temple is located near Tando Jam town in Sindh province. They even started construction around it. He urged the government to put an end to the unlawful development.

He heads the Darawar Ittehad Pakistan, which works for the marginalised Hindu community in the Islamic Republic. He stated, “The temple is more than a century old, but these land grabbers have occupied and started illegal construction on the land surrounding the temple and obstructed the roads/entrances which lead to the Shiv Mandir.”

Kachhi conveyed that prior to the incursion, a committee oversaw the Shiv Mandir and the four acres of surrounding land in Musa Khatian hamlet, which is roughly 185 kilometers from Karachi. Last year, the Sindh Heritage Department refurbished the temple which has great religious and historical value.

“A cremation site for Hindus is also close to the temple where an annual religious ceremony is held. Hindu community members in the area recite Bhajans at the temple every Monday,” he added. Kachhi expressed alarm about the land mafias’ increasing power in the area. “The powerful land mafia has occupied many swathes of land surrounding the temple and has already started construction around it,” he complained.

He requested Pakistan’s government to halt the unauthorized construction near the sacred place. He maintained that the government had a responsibility to protect Sindh’s ancient Hindu temples. Kachhi provides legal assistance and humanitarian services to the dwindling population of Hindus of the region.

Pakistan’s war on Hindu temples

Pakistan is infamous for perpetrating atrocities against its shrinking minority communities, particularly Hindus. A historically significant Hindu temple in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border was destroyed last year. The property, which had been abandoned since 1947 when the initial inhabitants moved to India, became the site of a commercial complex. Once located in the Khyber district’s border town of Landi Kotal Bazaar, the “Khyber Temple” had gradually deteriorated over time as the Islamic state neglected its maintenance.

In 2023, two Hindu temples in Pakistan’s Sindh region were violated and desecrated in a single day. A group of criminals used rocket launchers to attack a Hindu temple in the Kashmore area of Sindh. According to reports, the attackers targeted the temple and the Hindu houses nearby, aiming at Hindu believers. They fired randomly at the temple and the residences next to it.

A Hindu temple in Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar that was more than 150 years old was destroyed. The local administration dismantled the ancient Mari Mata Temple. According to locals, the demolition was carried out by the authorities when in the absence of electricity in the neighborhood. They further mentioned that police vehicles were there to “cover” the individuals who were running the machines.

The whole temple was torn down by bulldozers and diggers with the exception of the main gate and the surrounding walls. “It is a very old mandir. It is said to have been built over 150 years ago. The temple covered about 400 to 500 square yards and there had been talk of land grabbers having their eye on it. But last night the Mari Mata Mandir was just flattened,” voiced priest of the nearby Shri Punch Mukhi Hanuman Mandir, Shri Ram Nath Mishra.

Panj Tirath, a 1000-year-old Hindu cultural monument in Peshawar had been involved in a court dispute for more than three years. The Hindu heritage monument, which the Pakistani government designated a National Heritage site in 2019, was illicitly occupied and utilized as an amusement park warehouse, according to reports from 2023.

The Chacha Younas Family Park company, based in Pakistan, was given a lease by the Peshawar government and started using the structure as godowns. The heritage monument, which includes a gateway and two temples, needs archaeological restoration because of its poor condition. However, armed thugs threatened the archaeologists whenever they attempted to enter the location.

S Jaishankar highlights link between Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir’s poisonous rhetoric and Pahalgam terror attack, says ‘extreme religious outlook’ the common thread

OpIndia Staff
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S Jaishankar highlights link between Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir’s poisonous rhetoric and Pahalgam terror attack, says ‘extreme religious outlook’ the common thread

According to Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, the terrorists who murdered tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22nd April were inspired by Pakistan’s Army Chief Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah’s “extreme religious outlook.” He called the deadly incident, which claimed the lives of 26 people, a “barbaric” act intended to undermine tourism and sow religious strife.

The terrorists, two of whom are believed to be Pakistanis and one local, executed Hindu men at close range after determining their religion. Jaishankar shared that the conflict between India and Pakistan was initiated by the Pahalgam attack.

“Twenty-six people were murdered in front of their families after ascertaining their faith. It was done in a way intended to harm tourism, which is the mainstay of the Kashmir economy, and to create a religious discord,” Indian External Affairs Minister highlighted while talking to Dutch broadcaster, NOS.

Dr S Jaishankar subsequently outlined the ideological link between the Pakistani army and the terrorists behind the terror attack. “Deliberately, an element of religion was introduced and to understand that you’ve got to see that on the Pakistani side, you have Pakistani leadership, especially the army chief, who’s very driven by an extreme religious outlook. There is clearly some connect between the views that were expressed and the manner the attack was carried out,” Jaishankar stated.

The External Affairs Minister emphasized that The Resistance Front, a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba that claimed responsibility for the attack, was already reported to the United Nations by India many years ago.

“The TRF took responsibility for the attack. It has been on our radar for a number of years. Well before the 22nd April attack, we had drawn the attention of the United Nations and the global community to this outfit. We know the command centres and those areas we targeted,” the EAM mentioned.

He also reaffirmed that the truce was negotiated only between New Delhi and Islamabad, amid expressions of concern from other nations, including the United States. “It was the Pakistani army which sent a message that they were ready to stop firing, and we responded accordingly,” Jaishankar reiterated.

“We made one thing very clear to everybody who spoke to us, not just the United States but to everyone, saying if the Pakistanis want to stop fighting, they need to tell us. We need to hear it from them. Their General has to call up our General and say this and that is what happened,” he noted.

On 7th May, India initiated “Operation Sindoor” in response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and the union minister underscored that the action will persist. “The operation continues because there is a clear message in that operation, that if there are acts of the kind we saw on 22nd April, there will be a response, that we will hit the terrorists,” he warned.

The EAM further added, “If the terrorists are in Pakistan, we will hit them where they are. So, there is a message in continuing the operation but continuing the operation is not the same as firing on each other. Right now, there is an agreed cessation of fighting and military action.” Dr Jaishankar also shared that New Delhi has identified the terrorists responsible for the attack.

India demolished terror infrastructure at nine locations linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) on the intervening night of May 6-May 7. The action killed at least 100 terrorists, including family members of JeM founder Muhammad Masood Azhar Alvi. Afterwards, fighter jets, AWACS and multiple key airbases of the Islamic Republic were destroyed by India when the former tried to target civilian areas, temples and gurdwaras in the border states of India, especially Jammu and Kashmir.

Asim Munir, who was promoted to the position of Field Marshal after claiming victory despite being humiliated by Indian armed forces, provoked India over the Kashmir dispute on 16th April, a few days before the attack, referring to it as Pakistan’s “jugular vein.” Additionally, he asked Pakistanis to teach their children that they are “different from Hindus” and supported the two-nation theory.

Jaishankar is undertaking a six-day tour of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, during which he will emphasize Pakistan’s relentless support for cross-border terrorism in a desperate attempt to “bleed India by a thousand cuts.” He also held a meeting with his Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen in Copenhagen and conveyed his gratitude for Denmark’s robust solidarity and support in the fight against terrorism.

‘Not blood, hot Sindoor in Modi’s veins, Pakistan will pay a heavy price for any attack against India’: PM Modi in Bikaner

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‘Not blood, hot Sindoor in Modi’s veins, Pakistan will pay a heavy price for any attack against India’: PM Modi in Bikaner

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asserted that India, after Operation Sindoor, made it clear that Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack and said that “there is no blood flowing in Modi’s veins, but hot Sindoor.”

“Pakistan has forgotten one thing: that now Modi, the servant of Mother India, is standing here with his head held high. Modi’s mind is cool; it stays cool, but Modi’s blood is hot. Now there is no blood flowing in Modi’s veins, but hot Sindoor. Now there will be neither trade nor talk with Pakistan. If there will be talk, it will only be about Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK),” PM Modi said at a public rally in Bikaner.

“Now India has made it clear… Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack. And this price… will be paid by Pakistan’s army… will be paid by Pakistan’s economy… Ye shodh pratishodh ka khel nahin, ye nyay ka naya swaroop hai, ye Operation Sindoor hai. This is not just an agitation; this is the ‘Raudra Roop’ of a strong India. Ye Bharat ka naya swaroop hai. Pehle ghar mein ghus ke kiya the vaar, ab seene pe kiya prahar hai. (First, we entered their house and attacked; now we have attacked them on their chests)… This is the policy and the strategy to destroy the fangs of terrorism… This is new India,” PM Modi added.

The PM said that those who had shed the blood of innocent Indians had now been accounted for.

“Today, with your blessings and the valour of the country’s army, we have all lived up to that pledge. Our government gave a free hand to all three forces… Together, the three forces created such a Chakravyuh that Pakistan was forced to kneel down. Today, from the land of Rajasthan, I want to humbly tell the countrymen that those who had set out to wipe off the Sindoor have been reduced to dust. Those who shed the blood of India have been accounted for every drop. Those who had thought that India would remain silent are hiding in their homes today. Those who were proud of their weapons are buried under a pile of rubble,” he said.

In reference to the abeyance of the Indus Water Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack, PM Modi said, “India has made it unequivocally clear that Pakistan will bear a heavy cost for every terrorist attack. This cost will be paid by Pakistan’s military and its economy. If Pakistan persists in exporting terrorism, it will find itself begging for every last penny. Pakistan will not receive a single drop of water from India’s share. The days of playing with the blood of Indians are over – it will now come at a steep price. This is the policy; this is the method to crush terrorism. This is India, the new India,” he added.

Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Supreme Court stays ED investigation against Tamil Nadu’s TASMAC, asks agency to look at individuals instead of corporation; earlier Madras HC had allowed the investigation

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court stays ED investigation against Tamil Nadu’s TASMAC, asks agency to look at individuals instead of corporation; earlier Madras HC had allowed the investigation

On Thursday (22nd May), the Supreme Court rebuked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for raiding the headquarters of Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC). The apex court stayed the money laundering case linked with TASMAC.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said that the Enforcement Directorate crossed its limits and violated the constitution as well as the federal structure by acting against a government body.

The apex court had issued a notice to the ED after the Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court order allowing the ED to investigation to proceed in the alleged Rs 1000 crore scam in TASMAC.

Appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, senior advocate Kapil Sibal that the State itself has lodged 41 FIRs against liquor outlet operations in connection with allegations of corruption from 2014-21. The ED, however, entered the picture in 2025 and raided TASMAC’s headquarters and seized phones and other devices of the officers.

“This is a corporation giving liquor outlets. And we found some of the people to whom outlets have been given are actually taking cash. So, the State itself filed 41 FIRs from 2014-21 against individuals, not against the corporation. The ED comes into picture in 2025 and raids the corporation (TASMAC) and the head-office. All phones taken, everything taken. Everything cloned,” Sibal said.

Regarding this, the court questioned Additional Solicitor General SV Raju about how the offence was made against TASMAC.

“How can this offence be against the corporation? You may register against individuals.. A criminal matter against the corporation? Your ED [Enforcement Directorate] is crossing all limits,” CJI Gavai said.

Granting a stay on the proceeding, the top court asked the Enforcement Directorate to explain the predicate offence.

“Stay on the proceeding. When there are FIRs against officers, why is the ED coming here? Where is the predicate offence?? You (ED) put an affidavit,” the court said, adding that ED totally violated the federal structure of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju told the court that he will file a response.

As reported earlier, the ED created its ECIR in the TASMAC case by combining data from 40–50 smaller FIRs submitted by the State Anti-Corruption Bureau. These FIRs deal with charges of bribery, anomalies in the way distilleries were given tenders and inconsistencies in the way TASMAC regional offices issued bar licenses. The ED emphasised that their conclusions are supported by current data and point to dubious financial activity.

The agency asserted that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) principles are violated and that the lack of cooperation and compliance with ED probes is a severe problem. They highlighted that in other states, the police readily share FIRs with the ED for money laundering investigations. This case, according to the ED, is a component of a broader probe into financial irregularities at TASMAC, which has generated legal and political turmoil in the state.

Media spreads fake news claiming singer Sonu Nigam asked to stop dubbing Kannada movies into Hindi, uses tweets of a different person with similar name

OpIndia Staff
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Media spreads fake news claiming singer Sonu Nigam asked to stop dubbing Kannada movies into Hindi, uses tweets of a different person with similar name

In a ridiculous act, several prominent mainstream media outlets ended up spreading fake news after they attributed remarks made by a different person to singer Sonu Nigam. The media outlets, including India Today, the Times of India, and the Indian Express, claimed that singer Sonu Nigam has said that Kannada movies should not be dubbed into Hindi, and Kannada movies should not be released all over India.

The news reports shared a tweet saying, “Don’t dub Kannada movies in Hindi! Don’t release Kannada movies pan-India! Do you have the guts to say this to Kannada film stars, Mr. @Tejasvi_Surya, or you are just another language warrior?” Notably, Sonu Nigam is already embroiled in controversy over his remarks at a concert after a fan asked him to sing in Kannada.

However, the reports used the tweet of Sony Nigam Singh, a different person with the word ‘swayamsevak’ in the bio, assuming it to be the X account of the singer. They did so without verifying the identity of the X user making the comments, including the surname Singh in the name.

Notably, singer Sonu Nigam has clarified earlier that he does not have an account on X. In fact, he had shared screenshot of the X account of Sonu Nigam Singh on Instagram, saying that a a single controversial Post from this Sonu Nigam Singh can put his or his family’s life in danger.

The X user had posted several comments regarding the recent controversy about the imposition of the Kannada language on non-Kannada-speaking people working in Karnataka. In one of his posts, the X user called out BJP MP Tejasvi Surya for condemning an SBI manager working in Karnataka for refusing to speak in Kannada.

The X user’s comments were quickly picked up by the media outlets, believing that it was singer Sonu Nigam calling out Surya. In no time, the media outlets published reports claiming that the singer lashed out at the BJP leader.

India Today published a report with the headline, “Don’t dub Kannada movies in Hindi: Sonu Nigam slams BJP leader over language row”. However, on realising that the remarks were not made by singer Sonu Nigam, the media house removed the report.

Sceenshot showing the India Today headline

Similarly, the India Express also attributed the X user’s remarks to singer Sonu Nigam and published a report.

Screenshot of the Indian Express report

The Times of India also jumped on the bandwagon and published a report misrepresenting the X user’s remarks as the singer’s remarks without verifying.

Screenshot of the TOI report

Interestingly, none of the media portals bothered to verify the identity of the X user before publishing the misleading reports.

Coincidentally, Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam was recently embroiled in a controversy regarding the Kannada language after he called out a fan who was trying to disrupt the singer by asking him to sing in Kannada during his concert. The controversy erupted during a music event held in April at East Point College of Engineering and Technology in Virgonagari, where the singer performed. During his performance, a person from the audience interrupted him and kept pestering him to sing a Kannada song. Nigam perceived the person’s behaviour as rude and exhibiting linguistic chauvinism. The singer schooled the person, saying that he had been singing Kannada songs since much before the fan might have been born. He also urged people not to create differences based on language, caste, or religion.

However, the singer issued an apology after he was hounded with FIRs and was banned from the Kannada film industry.

Supreme Court grants bail to leader of banned Islamist outfit PFI, Abdul Sathar, in the murder case of RSS worker Sreenivasan who was brutally killed inside his shop

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court grants bail to leader of banned Islamist outfit PFI, Abdul Sathar, in the murder case of RSS worker Sreenivasan who was brutally killed inside his shop

On 21st May, Abdul Sathar, the former secretary general of the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the 2022 murder case of RSS worker SK Sreenivasan in Kerala’s Palakkad.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that although not directly involved, Abdul Sathar recruited cadres and conducted their arms training as the secretary general of PFI. The NIA also said that Abdul Sathar has been in conflict with the law in around 75 instances. However, Sathar’s counsel, Aditya Sondhi, contended that these antecedents were mostly related to ideology-related hartals and strikes.

Granting bail to the accused PFI Islamist, the Supreme Court bench comprising justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said that a person cannot be put in jail for their ideology.

“For ideology, you cannot put someone in jail. This is the trend we find. It is because they have adopted a particular ideology (they are put in jail),” Justice Oka said while hearing a special leave petition against the denial of bail by the Kerala High Court.

As the NIA said that it kept Abdul Sathar in custody to prevent further offences, the apex court objected to this approach and said, “That’s the problem with the approach… The approach is we will keep the person behind the bars”.

“Subject him to trial, punish him. The process cannot become the punishment,” Justice Bhuyan remarked.

When asked about Abdul Sathar’s role in multiple murders and the conspiracy to kill RSS worker Sreenivasan in 2022, his counsel said that Sathar was the decision-making authority and Sreenivasan’s photo was found on his mobile phone, suggesting that Sathar had no overt role in the RSS worker’s killing.

“As far as the assassination of victim Srinivasan is concerned, there is no direct role attributed to the appellant. The allegations of antecedents are in almost all cases regarding the protests which took place in September 2022.” On this basis, the Court granted bail to Abdul Sathar.

Murder of Sreenivasan

On April 16, SK Sreenivasan, a senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader, was hacked to death in broad daylight in Kerala’s Palakkad. He was a former Physical Education instructor of the RSS. Reports suggested he was murdered by a group of 5-6 assailants who arrived on three bikes. They hacked him to death inside his shop in the Melamuri area of Palakkad with sharp weapons. According to eyewitnesses, the attackers were armed with machetes and attacked him several times, inflicting multiple fatal injuries.

Last month, the NIA apprehended the prime accused Shamnad E K, also known as Shamnad Illikka. Shamnad had been absconding for nearly three years. He was arrested in Ernakulam after a sustained manhunt by the central agency.

As reported earlier, the NIA officials stated that the murder was not an isolated act. It was part of a broader conspiracy hatched by PFI leaders and operatives aimed at fueling communal unrest. During the investigation, the agency found that the radical outfit had been radicalising vulnerable Muslim youth across the country with the long-term goal of establishing Islamic rule in India by 2047.

Ban on PFI

PFI, along with its eight sister organisations, were banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs on September 27 under UAPA for five years. In its notification, the MHA said, “The PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect”.

Trump raises the ‘white genocide in South Africa’ issue during his meeting with President Ramaphosa, shows video of opposition leader calling for killing of white farmers

OpIndia Staff
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Trump raises the ‘white genocide in South Africa’ issue during his meeting with President Ramaphosa, shows video of opposition leader calling for killing of white farmers

After a showdown with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the Oval Office in February this year, US President Donald Trump pulled a similar stunt during his meeting with the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Wednesday (21st May). In the meeting that was supposed to improve the relations between the US and South Africa, Trump raised the issue of persecution of white minorities in the country.

Trump also confronted President Ramaphosa with a video clip to claim that a ‘White genocide’ was taking place in South Africa. The video clip showed a far-left opposition leader, Julius Malema, singing with protestors, “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer”, a slogan that was popular during the apartheid-era fight against white-minority rule in the country.

In a room full of reporters and government officials, President Ramaphosa was taken by surprise when President Donald Trump unexpectedly played the video. However, maintaining his calm amid flaring tensions, he explained to the US President that the remarks made in the video did not represent the policy of the South African government.

“Our government policy is completely against what he was saying, even in the Parliament. And they are a small minority party, which is allowed to exist in terms of our Constitution,” said President Ramaphosa, to which Trump responded, “But you do allow them to take land. And then when they take the land. They kill the white farmer. And when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them.”

Refuting Trump’s allegations, Ramaphosa said, “No, no, no, no, nobody can take land. There is criminality in our country. People who do get killed, unfortunately, through criminal activity are not only white people. Majority of them are Black people.”

Notably, the incident comes days after the US government granted asylum to 54 white Afrikaner South Africans. While Donald Trump suspended the US refugee settlement programme in January on his first day in office, later he signed an executive order to grant refugee status to Afrikaners, the descendants of Dutch and French colonisers. The white people in South Africa allege that they are facing discrimination in the country.

President Ramaphosa calls the White genocide a false narrative

Ahead of his visit to the Oval Office, the South African President outrightly dismissed the allegations of a White genocide taking place in South Africa as a “false narrative”. On 16th May he wrote on X, “The false narratives about a genocide are not a reflection of who we are as a nation, and during our working visit to the U.S., we will be advancing a proudly South African message”.

Persecution of minorities in South Africa

Donald Trump has been alleging persecution of the White minority in South Africa. While he suspended the US refugee settlement programme in January on his first day in office, later he signed an executive order to grant refugee status to Afrikaners, the descendants of Dutch and French colonisers in South Africa. They have been alleging that they are facing discrimination in the country. Earlier this month, the US government granted asylum to 54 white Afrikaner South Africans.

In February, Trump issued an executive order suspending foreign aid to South Africa, alleging that the South African government under President Ramaphosa “radically disfavored landowners”. The South African government had criticised the US executive order.

More than 26 years since the end of apartheid, once South Africa’s system of legal segregation, the country continues to remain marred with the scourge of racism. The oppressor and the oppressed simply have swapped places. The unrest escalatted after President Ramaphosa announced in 2018 that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) planned to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation. 

The party began the process of expropriating land from white farmers for redistribution to black farmers. It followed the “willing seller, willing buyer” model whereby the government buys farms owned by white farmers and redistribute them to black farmers. White farmers opposed the proposal as deeply unjust and approached the courts against it. However, this opposition to the expropriation plan proved costly for white farmers, many of whom were murdered in targeted killings, presumably because they had opposed the African National Congress’s party redistribution plan. 

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