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‘Samajwadi Party cap is painted red with blood of Ram Bhakts’: Yogi Adityanath slams SP for withdrawing cases in terror attacks on kar sevaks

OpIndia Staff
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‘Samajwadi Party cap is painted red with blood of Ram Bhakts’: Yogi Adityanath slams SP for withdrawing cases in terror attacks on kar sevaks

On Saturday, UP CM Yogi Adityanath slammed the Samajwadi Party (SP) for giving tickets to criminals and supporting them ahead of the state assembly elections. In an election rally at Baghpat, Yogi Adityanath said that development has never been Samajwadi Party’s agenda.

Further hitting out at the SP candidates, he said that if criminals became MLAs, there would be an environment of threat all around. “SP has no development oriented thinking”, he said adding that before 2017, riots would take place everywhere in the state, development was stalled and anarchy was at its peak. “Look at their candidates from Moradabad, one of them had said ‘It’s good to see the Taliban in Afghanistan.’ Taliban means the opposer of humanity… You’re supporting it shamelessly and SP gives them tickets,” Yogi Adityanath said.

He also slammed BSP for giving tickets to criminals and said that the party is competing with SP in this regard. “There is a competition between SP and BSP to give tickets to the biggest criminal. If these criminals become MLA, they will produce guns, not flowers and there is only one way to treat them: JCB and bulldozer,” he said.

He also stated that in SP’s regime, the law and order in Uttar Pradesh were messed up, and slammed the party for withdrawing cases for attacks on kar sevaks during Ram Janambhoomi movement. “SP withdrew cases against those involved in the terrorist attack on Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. Their cap is painted with the blood of innocent Ram Bhakts”, he said. He added that ‘more than 60 Hindus were killed and over 1500 Hindus were put behind bars during in Muzaffarnagar riots’.

CM Yogi Adityanath added that SP had nothing to do with women safety, so much so that girls feared to go to schools. He reiterated there was a competition going on between SP and BSP to give tickets to the biggest criminal. “How was the (law and order) situation before 2017? Women safety was in danger, so much so that girls could not go to school and Mulayam Singh Ji would say: boys make mistakes. Their sympathy is not with women and youth,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath noted the developments undertaken by the state during the BJP’s regime. He said that BJP has respected the faith of citizens and constructed Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan in Ghaziabad with state of the art facilities at a cost of Rs 94 crore, while SP had built a Haj House in Ghaziabad.

He also highlighted waiving off farmers’ loans, restarting of the Ramala sugar mill in the western region and the beautification work of a Shiv temple in Ghaziabad.

The Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh from 10 February to 7 March 2022 in seven phases to elect all 403 members Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 10 March 2022.

How officer in Lakhimpur ADM office, Sajid Hussain, was pressurising man to convert to Islam when couple wanted to marry under the Special Marriage Act

OpIndia Staff
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How officer in Lakhimpur ADM office, Sajid Hussain, was pressurising man to convert to Islam when couple wanted to marry under the Special Marriage Act

On the 22nd of January 2022, Tarun Gupta finally got the marriage certificate. He had married a woman from the Muslim community (name withheld) under the Special Marriage Act 1954. Only a week after getting his marriage certificate, Tarun Gupta took to Twitter to post disturbing videos of how he was being forced to convert to Islam by an officer in the Lakhimpur ADM when the couple had approached him for the notice and the certificate after the notice period was over.

Taking to Twitter, Tarun Gupta posted a video, clearly taken in stealth. In the video, Tarun Gupta is seen talking to the officer, who was pressurising him to convert to Islam because he was marrying a woman belonging to the Muslim faith.

In the video, the officer was seen asking Tarun if he would be converting to Islam to marry his wife. To that question, Tarun is heard saying that he would not convert to the faith of his wife.

The officer further asks him how would they get married if he refuses to convert, to which, Tarun says that he has applied for marriage under the Special Marriage Act 1954, which gives him the right to marry whoever he wants without changing his religion. The officer then asks him if he knows about the law and order situation and that there have already been two such cases where the law and order worsened because of such marriages. Tarun says that he knows about the law and order, however, the Constitution gives them the right to get married under this act.

To this, the officer says that it is indeed his right and further questions him about whether the parents of both him and his wife have agreed to the wedding. Tarun says that the girl’s brother is already waiting outside and the parents of both him and the girl would be there soon. He says that his parents had come earlier as well but since they were told that they could not get the marriage certificate, they had left.

Towards the end of the video, he says that he is from Lakhimpur and he will obviously marry in this district itself. He further says neither will he be converting to Islam nor will his wife be converting to Hinduism.

According to Tarun Gupta, the officer’s name is Sajid Hussain.

What Tarun Gupta told OpIndia about the officer in the ADM Lakhimpur’s office, Sajid Hussain, trying to force conversion upon him

After Tarun Gupta took to Twitter to post the video of his encounter with the officer, OpIndia spoke to Tarun to understand what happened. Tarun told OpIndia that this process of harassment and pressure to convert has been ongoing since October 2021. While he does not remember the exact date, it was first on the 7th or 8th of October when Gupta had approached the officer to issue a notice of 30 days before marriage, which is required under the Special Marriages Act 1954.

The law says that before interfaith couples marry, a 30-day Notice Under the Special Marriage Act is required to verify the credibility of the people involved and also to ensure that the couple is not getting married under pressure.

Tarun Gupta is a 23-year-old man and his wife is 24 and both hail from Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh. He says that he went to the ADM office to get his marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act and that for a long time, they kept harassing him and not issuing the notice period.

Tarun claims that the officer, Sajid Hussain, told him that in Islam, it is necessary for the non-Muslim individual to convert to Islam and therefore, kept pressuring him to convert. When it became clear to him that Tarun would not convert, he suggested that if Tarun does not want to convert to Islam, his wife should convert to Hinduism.

He first approached the ADM in October 2021, Tarun says. For a long time, Sajid Hussain kept harassing the couple and refused to issue the notice period. From October to about 19th December, the officer refused to issue a notice to the couple and kept harassing Tarun to convert to Islam. In the end, in December, Tarun decided that he had to do something.

On the 19th of December, Tarun took his video and clicked a video of the line of questioning. He made the video, he says, that in Uttar Pradesh, there is a law that there can be no forceful conversion for the sake of marriage. Even if he had converted to Islam, the UP government would put him in jail. After this, the video was shown to the higher officials by Tarun. It was only then that the officer processed his notice and marriage certificate.

Tarun says, however, no action has been taken against Sajid Hussain for his actions of attempting to forcefully convert Tarun to Islam as a prerequisite to marriage. It was the higher authorities who had warned Sajid after watching the video that if he does not issue a marriage certificate to the couple, he will be suspended.

Tarun says that there were several incidents of harassment right from October to December, however, he could not record them. Talking to OpIndia, he said that after this video was clicked, the officer barred him from entering the office with his mobile phone.

He says that it is by luck that he could at least get one video as evidence, otherwise he would not be able to talk about the harassment he faced.

Evenjhough he has now got his marriage certificate, Tarun decided to post the videos on social media and talk about the harassment he faced because he feels that if Sajid Hussain is doing this with him then he must be harassing many other couples of change their faith.

A perusal of the marriage certificate issued shows that indeed both families had appeared as witnesses for the couple and that the marriage was completely consensual.

Tarun said that his expectation from talking about his ordeal was merely that Sajid Hussain should be acted against since he cannot legally force anyone to convert their faith to Islam since the Special Marriage Act gives interfaith couples the right to marry while retaining their faith.

‘Umar Khalid was remotely supervising the Delhi riots like 9/11 conspirators,’ prosecutors cite US terror attack to oppose Khalid’s bail plea

OpIndia Staff
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‘Umar Khalid was remotely supervising the Delhi riots like 9/11 conspirators,’ prosecutors cite US terror attack to oppose Khalid’s bail plea

On Friday, January 29, while opposing the bail plea of Anti-Hindu Delhi Riots accused Umar Khalid before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat, Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad compared the planning of the February 2020 riots to that of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US.

To counter Umar Khalid’s claim that he only sent five messages on a WhatsApp group and was not present at the site, Amit Prasad, appearing for the Delhi police, cited the example of the 9/11 terror attack in the USA. Prasad stated, citing the chargesheet, that Khalid and others were remotely supervising the protest sites, akin to the 9/11 conspirators who never visited the United States.

“Just before 9/11 happened when all people were involved, they reached a particular place and took training. A month prior to that, they moved to their respective positions. That is what is relevant in this case also,” Prasad told the court.

“The person who was behind 9/11 never visited the US. The conspiracy meeting happened in Malaysia. They were no WhatsApp chats available at the time. Today we have documents available that he was part of the group,” Prasad disposed before the court, adding that on February 17, there were indications of the protest turning violent. Such messages were sent in the group. Khalid was in the group, but he remained silent.

He also told the court that the objective of the 2020 anti-CAA protests was not CAA or NRC, but rather embarrassing the central government and drawing the attention of international media. “Issue was not CAA-NRC. The issue was you had to somehow embarrass the government. In the process of embarrassing the government, you take steps which will reflect in the international media,” SPP Prasad said.

Prosecutor points out the connection between Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam

While arguing before the court, the SSP also pointed out the connection between Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.

He maintained that claiming there was no relationship between Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid is incorrect because they attended the same meeting. Prasad backed up his claim by sharing a photo of a meeting between the two at Jangpura.

“The first place for Chakka Jam was Jafrabad where Umar Khalid met Pinja Tod. The presence of these people was not natural,” he said.

Anti-CAA protest sites were deliberately picked close to 25 mosques and Madarsas

The prosecution had also told the court that organizers of anti-CAA protests allegedly built 25 protest locations near madarsas and mosques, but gave them a different name to give it a ‘secular facade’.

Delhi riot key conspirators were like entertainers who resorted to ‘damrubaazi’ to attract crowd: Delhi police said while opposing bail application of Umar Khalid

The anti-CAA protesters’ key conspirators were like entertainers who resorted to “damrubaazi,” organising protests across Muslim-dominated neighbourhoods and using poor people as cannon fodder, said Prasad while strongly opposing the bail application of Umar Khalid.

“When you do announcement from the masjid, you identify the place, you make sit-in protest, you… try to show a secular face by performing puja there and making a pandit give a speech. What is the activity you have done? You are creating protest sites in Muslim-dominating areas, in the poorest localities in Delhi, wanting to create a secular facade. When that message is going to the public at large, you want to change the narrative,” Prasad told the court.

Speaking about the anti-CAA protests, Prasad submitted before the court, “You bring in artists from outside, do this damrubaazi, it’s like a gathering when they get monkeys to dance, do some kind of activity and they (locals) will get attracted…They are not interested in your civil society or agenda-based protest. But at the same time, each one of us gets attracted to some entertainment.”

It may be noted that after hearing the arguments presented by the SSP, the Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat had said that the Court would continue hearing Umar Khalid’s bail plea in connection with Delhi Riots larger conspiracy case involving charges under IPC and UAPA Saturday, January 29.

Khalid and his role in Delhi Riots

Khalid was arrested by the police on September 14, 2020, and booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a stringent anti-terror law, for allegedly masterminding the horrific Northeast Delhi riots which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. He was summoned by the police for investigation and was later arrested.

In a charge sheet filed by the Delhi police and admitted by the court, it is alleged that Khalid had hatched the conspiracy of the anti-Hindu Delhi riots along with his friends during the visit of US President Trump to India. Khalid had allegedly met the former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain and another accused Khalid Saifi to assure logistical support during the riots through his contacts in the PFI.

Rahul Gandhi and Congress party relies on NYT, twists their story to target the Modi govt on Pegasus yet again: How they are wrong

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi and Congress party relies on NYT, twists their story to target the Modi govt on Pegasus yet again: How they are wrong

On January 28th, The New York Times published a detailed investigative report on the controversial Israeli spying software Pegasus. The over 7000 words report details how the Israeli govt had used the software in defence deals and for diplomatic leverage over other countries, like how it allowed renewal of its licence to Saudi Arabia against the right to fly over the country. The article also details the use of the software by the FBI in the USA, and subsequent blacklisting of the tool by the Biden administration.

The New York Times article mentions how various countries had purchased the software from its maker NSO, which included India. The report says that Pegasus was part of the $2 billion defence deal India had signed with Israel in 2017 during PM Modi’s Israel visit. Unlike the previous allegations regarding the software, the New York Times article does not make any allegations about its misuse. The article’s focus is on how the Israeli govt is using the software to obtain diplomatic benefits from various countries in exchange for a licence of the software. It is notable that the Israeli govt allows the sale of Pegasus software only to governments and government agencies, it is not allowed to be sold to private parties.

After the NYT article came up, the Congress party has started attacking to govt over the issue, led by Rahul Gandhi. The former Congress president has alleged that Modi govt has used the software to spy on primary democratic organisations, political leaders and members of the public. He alleged that the govt has targeted everyone including govt functionaries, opposition leaders, armed forces and judiciary by tapping their phones.

Rahul Gandhi has been alleging that Modi govt has been using the Pegasus software against opposition leaders, Supreme Court judges and others, including himself. After the NYT article, the Congress party has again jumped in to attack the Modi govt on the issue. Party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala called it a damning truth that Modi govt had purchased the software along with other military equipment and technology from Israel.

However, unlike what Rahul Gandhi and his party are alleging, the New York Times article does not mention anything about how the Indian govt used the software. It just mentioned that along with dozens of other countries, including the USA, India also had acquired the Pegasus software in 2017.

Ever since a consortium of media houses had published a report last year alleging that the Pegasus software was being illegally used by “authoritarian regimes”, including India, to spy on activists and citizens, govt of India has been denying the charges. Although the govt has neither confirmed nor denied purchasing the software, it has categorically denied any unauthorised use. “The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever”, the union govt had said. After several people had filed a petition at the Supreme Court alleging use of the software by govt of India to snoop on them, govt of India had said that the allegations are based on conjectures and surmises, or on other unsubstantiated media reports or incomplete or uncorroborated material.

“The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever,” the govt had said, adding that the allegations were “based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions.”

The Supreme Court has already formed a committee to investigate the allegations regarding the use of Pegasus. The court has also asked the people, who had alleged that their phones are hacked by the govt using the tool, to submit their phones to the committee for forensic analysis of the devices. Several people have submitted their phones accordingly, and their phones were returned after making a copy of the same for analysis. However, it is not known whether Rahul Gandhi has submitted his phone or not.

Therefore, the allegations regarding the misuse of the tool by the govt are already being probed by a Supreme Court-appointed committee. The New York Times article brings nothing additional for the Congress party to raise its allegations again. Because the report only says that the Indian govt had purchased the software, it does not say that the Indian govt used it against its political opponents.

From the beginning, the Indian govt has been vague on the question of whether it has purchased the software or not, understandably so. While it has categorically denied misuse of Pegasus on opposition leaders, it has neither confirmed nor denied using the software for national security purposes, its intended purpose.

The Israeli govt allows licencing the software to foreign govts for use in their national security programs. All countries have intelligence mechanisms to keep the countries safe from foreign invaders, terror attacks etc, and all govt intelligence agencies use various kinds of surveillance programs to collect information on potential threats. For example, as Snowden had revealed, the NSA in the USA uses elaborate global surveillance programs to spy on potential threats.

Similarly, Indian security agencies also use various means of intelligence gathering. And with India facing threats from both external and internal enemies, it is important to keep a tab on all of them. Not just enemy countries, Indian intelligence agencies also need to keep surveillance on domestic terror groups like the Naxals, Jihadi terror groups and separatist groups. And not just the terror groups, their overground supporters are also subjects of concern, as some of them have direct links with the terror organisations, and may be involved in planning violent operations, and help in their executions.

Therefore, just because New York Times has suggested that the Indian govt may have purchased the Pegasus software, it does not become something illegal. Govt has every right to use such surveillance tools against enemies of the nation. It will be illegal only if it is used against those who are not working against the nation, and till now there is no such proof. There are allegations about it, and a Supreme Court-appointed Committee is already probing those allegations.

From Rafale to Ambani-Adani jibes, Rahul Gandhi has a habit of making baseless allegations against the Modi govt, and the Pegasus is also likely to be same. Even in the original allegations published by The Guardian, it was said that Rahul Gandhi was “selected as candidates for possible surveillance”, it didn’t say he was snooped.

In fact, entire allegations were of similar nature, the publications which had published the report had just randomly listed critics of the govt, saying they are ‘potential targets for snooping’. The reports didn’t even claim Rahul Gandhi or others named in the report were actually spied on. The report itself had clarified that merely the fact that a number appears in the list does not mean that the phone was hacked or that any NSO client even intended to hack the phone.

The NSO has also completely denied the allegations already, saying that they don’t even maintain a list of targets of their software, as that is done by the clients only. The company had refused to identify the governments and government agencies that have purchased the software citing contractual and national security considerations.

The Pegasus issue seems similar to the Rafale issue, where a completely legitimate govt acquisition was questioned by the opposition for political benefits. Just like Rahul Gandhi made some baseless and outrageous allegations regarding the Rafale deal and its associated offset clauses, the issue of Pegasus is also similar. That is, the govt may have bought the software for legitimate uses, and Rahul Gandhi and left-liberal media are alleging its unauthorised without any evidence.

Madhya Pradesh: 3 ‘sevadars’ of Bhaiyyuji Maharaj get 6 years in jail for blackmailing and pressuring him to commit suicide

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: 3 ‘sevadars’ of Bhaiyyuji Maharaj get 6 years in jail for blackmailing and pressuring him to commit suicide

The Madhya Pradesh Court on Friday sentenced three sevadars of spiritual leader Bhaiyyuji Maharaj to 6 years in jail. Bhaiyyuji Maharaj had committed suicide three years ago. The court of additional sessions Judge Dharmendra Soni held Sevadar Vinayak Dudhade, caretaker Palak Puranik and driver Sharad Deshmukh guilty of abetment of suicide.

The court in its judgement revealed that the three of Maharaj’s sevadars had tortured him mentally and pressured him to commit suicide. According to the reports, the sevadaars had also threatened Bhaiyyuji Maharaj for money.

In 2018, Bhaiyyu Maharaj had shot himself dead with his personal licensed revolver at his residence in Indore. Maharaj who had followers among film stars and politicians was blackmailed by his trusted sevadars who abused him and forced him to quit life.

The detailed verdict by the court further revealed that caretaker Palak had entered the spiritual guru’s life even when his first wife was alive. The two were in a relationship and Bhaiyyu Maharaj had told his sister that he wanted to get out of it.

In the 56 page ruling, judge Soni mentioned that Puranik was influencing Maharaj and had started taking hold of his decisions. She also was providing Bhayyuji Maharaj with sleeping pills or sedative drugs. Vinayak and driver Sharad had helped Palak in the entire plot.

According to the Police, Palak had also forced Bhayyuji Maharaj to marry her when he was already married to Ayushi Sharma after the death of his first wife, Madhavi. She forcefully shared a shelf, closet and even her room with Maharaj.

The forged suicide note found during the Police investigation read that Bhaiyyuji Maharaj was committing suicide due to stress and that his financial rights and assets be accorded to the three accused.

The Police had then nabbed Vinayak Dudhade, caretaker Palak Puranik and driver Sharad Deshmukh exactly seven months after his murder. The charges imposed by Court on three are under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 306 (abutment to suicide) and 384 (extortion) of IPC.

Hindus protest in Gujarat after reports claim that the Kishan Bharwad murder case may have roots in Pakistan: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Hindus protest in Gujarat after reports claim that the Kishan Bharwad murder case may have roots in Pakistan: Details

Kishan Bharwad’s murder case took a far more sinister turn on 29th January 2022 when a Pakistani political party’s link, in this case, was revealed. Earlier on 28th January 2022, the police had arrested a Maulvi from the Jamalpur area of Ahmedabad, who had provided weapons to the murderers of 27-year-old Kishan Bharwad. Kishan Bharwad, a young boy from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad was killed on 25th January 2022 in the morning when he was passing by the Modhwada locality on a two-wheeler.

According to a report by Zee24Kalak, Kishan Bharwad’s murder case has links to a Pakistan-based organization Tahrik-E-Namus-E-Risalat. This organization was earlier known as Tahrik-E-Faroukh-E-Islam. This Islamist outfit is reportedly directly attached to Pakistani political party Tahrik-E-Labbaik, which is known for its extremist Islamic ideology.

Tahrik-E-Labbaik’s leader Khadim Rizvi is a Pakistani Islamist who promotes the fundamentalist doctrine of the Barelvi sect. The organization is allegedly involved in executing the Pakistani agenda of Jihad in Gujarat and Kishan Bharwad’s murder is seen as one such incident.

Abiding by the Jihad cry ‘Gustakh-E-Rasul ki ek hi saja, Sar tan se juda’, the murder of Kishan Bharwad was executed because he had allegedly shared a post about Muhammad on social media which Muslims considered blasphemous.

Several citizens and activists in Gujarat have come out on the streets in big numbers in different cities like Ahmedabad’s Dhandhuki, Ratanpur, and Vadodara to protest this Jihadi agenda taking place in Gujarat and to demand justice for the murdered Hindu youth. People are also demanding the central government take serious note of this matter and investigate the case in order to restrict such activities which are allegedly done with the help of funds from Pakistan.

VHP leader Ashok Rawal said, “Vishwa Hindu Parishad has been creating awareness among people about such cases for a long time. All major countries in the world are aware of the fact that how does this nexus of Jihadis operate across the countries. Wherever in the world, the criminals of such cases have been arrested, there has been enough evidence to prove this fact.”

Speaking about the murder that took place in Dhandhuka on 25th January, he said “The police have arrested the Muslim clerics who supplied the pistol and bullets to the murderers and also funded them. Overall these people operate in the same fashion. They have created such problems all over the world. I have requested the minister yesterday to say that this is not a temporary time-bound incident but there is a thought behind this. The government may look at it like one person has killed another person. But there is a thought behind this that makes them do so. Let there be a fast-track court where the case will be heard on continuous dates and let the criminals be hanged as early as possible.”

Citing similar incidents in the recent past he added, “There was one such incident earlier too. Somebody said something about Mohammad and he was beheaded by Islamists using a sword. This is not just limited to India but such incidents are happening all over the world. So this is a worldwide conspiracy. It is called Jihad. So many of the youth go mad for this thought and commit murders of the innocent. This will lead to major bloodshed in the country in the future.” Ashok Rawal underlined that there is a need to think beyond party lines and address this issue.

Outraging people were freely expressing their anger and were seen expecting similar bold actions from the government. One of the protesters said, “Pakistan knows very well that every nationalist man in India will inspire a thousand others. Modi government is the biggest threat to such Jihadi mentality and its peddlers. This is why they are executing such target killings by providing funding and weapons to Islamist goons.”

L*nd daal muh mein: As videos of assault, gangrape and shaming of a woman emerge from Shahdara, here is all you need to know about the horrific case

OpIndia Staff
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L*nd daal muh mein: As videos of assault, gangrape and shaming of a woman emerge from Shahdara, here is all you need to know about the horrific case

On Wednesday (January 26), a 20-year-old woman was kidnapped, gang-raped, shaved and paraded on the streets of Kasturba Nagar in Shahdara district of Delhi. As per reports, the victim’s face was blackened and she was coerced into wearing a garland of slippers. The heinous crime was orchestrated by her neighbours over a case of personal enmity.

In a video that has now surfaced on social media, the victim was seen being assaulted with a stick and a leather belt. One of the women proceeded to chop the victim’s hair. Another woman in the background yelled, “L*nd daal muh mein (Put your pen*s into her mouth).” A minor boy, who had earlier hit the victim with a belt, then proceeded to shove his private part into her mouth.

The face of the 20-year-old was blackened and her head was tonsured. She was garlanded with shoes, shamed and paraded on the streets of Kasturba Nagar. As the women surrounding the victim continued to throw blows at the her, their actions were cheered on by the spectators.

A video of the incident was shared by the Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Swati Maliwal. She tweeted, “I am issuing a notice to the Delhi Police. All criminals (both men and women) should be arrested and the girl and the victim’s family should be given security.”

The Background of the Shahdara gangrape Case

A teenager by the name of Ayush Nahariya (15-16 years old) was supposedly in love with the victim. He used to stalk her regularly. In a bid to get the attention of the woman, he had even proposed to her. However, his proposal was turned down.

While speaking to Newslaundry, the victims’ 18-year-old sister informed, “My sister got married in 2018. Ayush fell in love with her. He used to keep calling and asking her to leave her husband and be with him. She would always refuse.” Dejected, the boy committed suicide by jumping in front of a train on November 12 last year.

A police official informed, “We have been told that one of the family members of the accused, aged around 15 or 16 years, was stalking the woman and also proposed to her, which she rejected. On November 12 last year, he left home and allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. The family blamed the woman and wanted revenge.”

Ayush’s family thereafter began blaming the victim for his death. Four relatives of the deceased namely Lucky, Manjeet, Akshay and Karan began threatening her. They also issued rape threats to the victim’s 18-year-old sister. Forced by circumstances, she informed the police about it.

“I have called the police two to three times when this happened. I went to the Vivek Vihar station and filed a complaint also once. Once the police came and warned the men but nothing happened. I never thought they would do this to us,” the victim’s sister recounted.

A week prior to the abduction and rape, the four men sabotaged the livelihood of the victim’s father by setting fire to the auto-rickshaw that he rented for ₹300 a day. Her aunt was also assaulted by relatives of Ayush. Manjeet, who was apparently in ‘love’ with the victim’s sister, had also threatened of dire consequences over phone calls.

“These people say that they aren’t scared of policemen… They sell liquor and that’s how they run their house… I am in danger. They give me death threats… I stay in fear and don’t step out of my house,” read the complaint by the victim’s sister to the police.

What happened on January 26, 2022?

On January 26, 2022, the victim was at her house with her 2-year-old child. Manjeet, Karan, Akshay and Lucky barged into the house and kidnapped the victim in an auto. Her 18-year-old sister, who had come to hand over a sack of wheat, was a witness to the abduction.

She told NewsLaundry, “When I reached (her house), my sister came down. Immediately, the men put her in their auto and sped away. They snatched my phone as well. I grabbed my sister’s baby and rushed back home.” On returning to her own house, she saw her sister being beaten publicly on the other lane of the street.

After witnessing her sister in such a helpless state, the 18-year-old went to her neighbour’s house to call the police. According to her, the cops arrived in 10-15 minutes, rescued the victim and escorted her to the Shahdara police station.

“I spoke to my sister for a few minutes before they took her away. In that time, she told me mere saath galat hua hai (They have ‘wronged’ me)“, the victim’s sister narrated.

Police action in the Shahdara gangrape case

The victim told the police that a group of men locked her inside a room and gang-raped her after being instigated by other women. She recounted being assaulted with sticks, garlanded with slippers and paraded in full public glare.

While speaking about the matter to The Indian Express, the Shahdara police informed that they received a call about the incident at about 1 pm on January 26. “Our team rushed to the spot and found that a group of people were parading a woman on the streets and beating her up. We rescued the woman and took her to the police station, where her statement was recorded,” stated DCP R Sathiyasundaram.

He added, “They put their private parts on her mouth to defame her…The men did this to her in front of their mother, aunt and other women in the family.” A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against 11 people under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections pertaining to physical and sexual assault, illegal confinement, abduction and gangrape

The cops conducted a medical examination, recorded the statement of the victim and shifted her to a ‘safe house in Delhi.’ So far, the Delhi police have arrested 11 people in the case including 9 women and 2 underage boys.

NCW takes cognisance of the matter, demands action

After the videos went viral on social media, National Commission for Women (NCW) took cognisance of the matter. NCW chief Rekha Sharma wrote to the Delhi Police Commissioner, seeking immediate arrest of the accused and providing security to the victim.

“The Commission has prima facie observed that the crime attracts following provisions of the IPC, 1860: Section 376D (gang rape), 506 (criminal intimidation), 352 (assault), 509 (word/gesture to outrage modesty of a woman),” read the letter.

It added, “The Commission is distressed with the abysmal alleged incident and the cruelty perpetrated on the victim is highly condemnable in strongest possible words. You are, therefore, required to look into the matter and ensure that all the accused are arrested immediately and booked under the relevant/appropriate (above-mentioned provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 along-with other relevant provisions of the law.

“The victim must be provided with best medical treatment and also, necessary measures must be taken for safety and security to the victim and her family. As per provision 357-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the victim is entitled to compensation as per the Victim Compensation Scheme of the State. Therefore, the process of compensation must be expedited so that the victim can get financial assistance as per her requirement,” Rekha Sharma added.

Shahdara – Hotbed of bootleggers and criminals

The Indian Express reported that Shahdara has become a hub for petty criminals, smack sellers, and bootleggers. Despite the best efforts of the Delhi police to maintain the law and order situation in the area, they are often attacked by locals.

Retired DCP LN Rao informed the newspaper about the lawlessness in the area even during his tenure. “We tried to arrest criminals but they have attacked my colleagues many times. Women are at the front and don’t fear the law. Most of the houses there have members who are involved in bootlegging. It is difficult. I also feel that the district police should have been more active in this case and increased deployment,” he said.

While speaking about the Shahdara gang rape case, a woman from the locality informed that the family of the accused hold a lot of influence in the area. “Everyone fears them because they sell liquor and drugs. The police booth here is always vacant and officers don’t take our complaints,” she said.

Shilpa Shetty cleared of obscenity charges 15 years after 2007 Richard Gere kiss: Details

Siddhi Somani
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Shilpa Shetty cleared of obscenity charges 15 years after 2007 Richard Gere kiss: Details

On Friday, the Indian court cleared the ‘obscenity’ charges against Indian Actress Shilpa Shetty that dated back to a 15 year old incident at a charity event. In 2007, at an Aids awareness event in India, Hollywood star Richard Gere had publicly kissed Shetty on the arm and on both her cheeks.

As they were being shot on camera on stage, a section of the society had briefly outraged against the public display of affection and had particularly criticized Shetty for not resisting at that moment. They had said the act was an insult to India’s culture.

According to the reports, case was registered and arrest warrants were issued by the court to Gere and Shetty on charges of public indecency and obscenity. The case against Gere was swiftly dropped after he issued an apology and was allowed to return to India.

However, the Mumbai court only last week dismissed charges against actress Shilpa Shetty calling the entire case as ‘groundless’. Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate Ketaki Chavan approved the written submission by Shetty’s lawyer, Madhukar Dalvi, who argued that the case was baseless as it rested on the fact that ‘she did not protest when she was kissed by the co-accused’.

Reports mention that the event in which the incident happened was organized by Truckers Corporation of India Foundation and HIV-AIDS advocacy organization Heroes Project, to help create awareness on unsafe sexual practices among the truckers community and prevention of the spread of HIV-AIDS.

Actor Richard Gere in an apology issued had claimed that the act was his way to show off that kissing was safe and that it could not lead to the transmission of HIV. He had labelled the Hindu community as ‘conservative’ and said that they often do such protests. Shetty had also defended Gere and said that he was enacting a scene from his film ‘Shall We Dance’ just to entertain the audience.

Rana Ayyub’s lies on Gujarat Riots comes crumbling down yet again as Madhu Trehan reveals how she refused to hand over mythical ‘tapes’

OpIndia Staff
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Rana Ayyub’s lies on Gujarat Riots comes crumbling down yet again as Madhu Trehan reveals how she refused to hand over mythical ‘tapes’

The edifice of lies surrounding Gujarat Riots that controversial journalist Rana Ayyub had assiduously built, presumably to sell her book ‘Gujarat Files’, came crashing down yet again as a fellow journalist revealed how Rana had passed up her offer to publish her much-vaunted ‘tapes’ that she routinely bills as authoritative proof of Gujarat Riots conspiracy. 

Madhu Trehan, a journalist for Tehelka, the same organisation with which Rana Ayyub was earlier employed, recently took to Twitter to inform that the author of ‘Gujarat Files’ had refused her offer to publish the tapes in the interview conducted by Trehan for Newslaundry.

“Rana Ayub repeatedly says she has offered her tapes to every single website and they have refused. In her interview with me for @newslaundry it is on video record I offered to publish her tapes and she refused,” Trehan responded to a tweet which carried a snippet of an old video from Rana’s interaction with Sadanand Dhume on a show hosted by Mehdi Hasan on Al Jazeera. 

In the snippet, Rana could be seen lamenting that she had approached all news organisations one can think of and all websites one can reach out to in order to get a platform to upload her so-called damning ‘tapes’ on Gujarat riots. However, this does not seem to cut ice with journalist Sadanand Dhume, who claims that Ayyub’s proclamations are suspect since all she had to do was to get a website and dump all her tapes on them. 

It is pertinent to note here that this is not the first time that doubts have been casted on Rana Ayyub’s claims of possessing ‘incriminating tapes’, which she alleges would prove the administration’s role in inciting the riots. The journalist has also published a book called ‘Gujarat Files’ to reinforce her fiction about the riots that rocked the country in the wake of Godhra train burning incident, in which 59 Hindus, many of them children and women, lost their lives after a bogey of Sabarmati Express returning from Ayodhya was set on fire by miscreants near Godhra station. 

Supreme Court trashes Rana Ayyub’s book ‘Gujarat Files’ as based on surmises, conjectures and suppositions

Significantly, the Supreme Court of India has also trashed Rana Ayyub’s account in ‘Gujarat Files’, rubbishing the book as based upon surmises, conjectures, and suppositions. The court was hearing the matter of conviction granted to 12 accused in the Haren Pandya murder case. The top court overturned the Gujarat High Court’s order, observing that book ‘Gujarat Files – Anatomy of a coverup’ written by journalist Rana Ayyub in support of its case has no evidentiary value.

The bench said, “The Book by Rana Ayyub is of no utility. It is based upon surmises, conjectures, and suppositions and has no evidentiary value”. Implying that the arguments made by Rana Ayyub in her book are her opinions, the court said that “The opinion of a person is not in the realm of the evidence.”

Most importantly, the judgement says that there is a likelihood of it being politically motivated, which cannot be ruled out. “The way in which the things have moved in Gujarat post-Godhra incident, such allegations and counter-allegations are not uncommon and had been raised a number of times and have been found to be untenable and afterthought”, the court noted.

Well, this is not the only occasion when Rana has taken to deceit and lies. There are countless instances when Rana has been caught peddling news that have little to do with reality. The litany of lies that Rana has championed over the years could be read here.

Yogi remains the first choice as next CM for voters of all castes in the state except Muslims and Yadavs, says new poll: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi remains the first choice as next CM for voters of all castes in the state except Muslims and Yadavs, says new poll: Details

As all parties gear up to contest the crucial upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, ABP News C Voter Survey conducted a snap poll to learn about the top choice for the Chief Minister’s post by peering into the minds of various castes. In the survey, Yogi Adityanath emerged as the clear favourite for the position of Chief Minister.

Apart from Muslim and Yadav voters, Yogi Adityanath resurfaced as the clear frontrunner of people of all other castes that took part in the poll. Be it the Brahmins, Yadavs, the Kurmi, Kushwaha or Jatts, all declared Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath as the next CM of the state.

According to the poll, 67 per cent of Brahmins said Yogi Aditanath was their first choice for the state’s next CM. While 16 per cent of Brahmins consider Akhilesh Yadav worthy of the post only 6 per cent chose Mayawati as their preferred CM face.

The Jat community of western Uttar Pradesh who had rallied strongly behind the BJP in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections have also placed their bets on Yogi Adityanath as the next CM of the state. Though some people of the communities are still upset with the central govt over the farm laws, 37 per cent of them felt that Yogi is still the perfect option as the next CM of the state. The other CM candidates in descending order of preference include Akhilesh Yadav (28%). others (21%) and Mayawati (14%).

Swami Prasad Maurya may have defected from the BJP to join the Samajwadi Party, but Yogi Adityanath still remains the Maurya and Saini community’s preferred option for CM. Yogi’s re-election as CM is supported by 52% of the voters in these two communities. At the same time, Akhilesh Yadav is the preferred candidate of 28% of those surveyed. Mayawati, on the other hand, is the first pick of 13% of those polled. On the other hand, 7% of people prefer the other to be the CM.

In Purvanchal, which is dominated by castes like Kurmi and Kushwaha, 53% want Yogi Adityanath to return as Chief Minister. At the same time, 27% of people want Akhilesh Yadav to be the next Chief Minister. Apart from that, Mayawati is the preferred candidate of 10% of the electorate.

When Rajputs were questioned, 71 per cent said they want Yogi Adityanath to be the next chief minister. Akhilesh Yadav is the preference of 17 per cent of Rajputs. Mayawati is the preference of 5% of Rajputs. Apart from that, 7% of respondents prefer someone else to be the CM.

Speaking about the Yadav caste, Akhilesh Yadav seemed to be their first option. 70% of Yadavs want Akhilesh Yadav to become Chief Minister. At the same time, Yogi has the support of 20% of Yadavs while 5% of Yadavs prefer Mayawati to be the next chief minister.

Despite the fact that Yogi Aditynath has never been a favourite of the Muslim community in the state, 4% of the Muslim population wants him to return as CM. Akhilesh Yadav, on the other hand, is the most popular candidate among Muslims for Chief Minister. Akhilesh Yadav has the backing of 78% of Muslims. Mayawati is supported by 13% of Muslims who want her to be the next chief minister. On the other hand, 5% of Muslims would like someone else to be the next Prime Minister.

It may be noted that most of the opinion polls that have been conducted ahead of the upcoming UP Vidhan Sabha polls have predicted that BJP would return to power with a comfortable majority, with around 230 seats, well over the 202 seats it requires in the 403-seat assembly.

In September 2021, the ABP-CVoter survey had released its pre-poll survey for the upcoming Assembly elections in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. According to the ABP-CVoter survey, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win in four of the five states going to the polls in early 2022.

The elections for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly will take place in seven phases from February 10 to March 7. The major political parties in the fray are the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Indian National Congress and debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, BJP had won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was considered as a vote of confidence in PM Modi because the BJP had not announced a candidate for CM, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise choice for the position.

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