The Balapur police in Hyderabad, Telangana have arrested a 61-year-old man Mumbai based businessman identified as Syed Altaf Ali for trying to buy a minor girl for a sum of Rs 3 lakhs. The police have also arrested eight others including the 14-year-old victim’s mother and grandmother who were trying to sell the minor girl. The other arrested persons are Akeel Ahmed, Zareena Begum, Shabana Begum, Shameem Sulthana, Nasreen Begum, Zahaida Begum, Arshia Begum (mother) and Chand Sultana (grandmother).
All the accused were booked under IPC sections 370, 370 (A) r/w 511, Section 17 of the POCSO Act and Section 3 and 5 of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (PITA).
Speaking about the arrest, B Srikanth, Balapur Sub-Inspector said: “I got a tip-off about the minor girl being sold to a person from Mumbai. Upon receiving information, I informed my senior officers and after obtaining permission we informed the SHE teams and raided the house in Bilal Colony, Errakunta, Balapur and found that all the arrested persons were in the house brokering the deal for selling the girl.”
He further informed that he arrested people, initially claimed it was a family affair and attempted to avoid answering the questions posed at them by the police, but when the police confronted them and sought the truth, the minor girl’s mother admitted to selling her daughter to Syed for Rs 3 lakh.
The mother confessed that they had tried to sell off their minor daughter three months ago to the same Mumbai based businessman, Syed Altaf Ali, but the deal did not work out as he was not ready to pay the demanded amount of Rs 5 lakhs.
Arshia Begum further told the police that a few days earlier, however, her brother met with an accident and they needed money for his treatment. It was then that they contacted Syed again to renegotiate the deal.
Meanwhile, according to the police, Syed Altaf Ali, who is from Mumbai, had divorced his first wife and was looking for a young girl to stay along with. Some common friends introduced Syed to an auto driver Akeel Ahmed. Akeel Ahmed, who was also a broker from Quba colony in Shaheennagar, in turn, contacted Zareeena, Shabana, Shameem, Nasreen and Zahaida seeking help in finding a girl for Syed.
“Akeel with the help of others identified a minor girl who is a resident of Errakunta and convinced her mother to sell the victim for Rs. 3 lakh. After a deal was stuck, Syed Altaf Ali came to the city. On information, the police raided the house and arrested them,” informed Rachakonda Commissioner, Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat.
Other incidences of older men marrying minors in Hyderabad
The rising number of incidences of older men marrying minors is a source of concern for the police, particularly in Hyderabad. Several reports have come to light in the past about such incidents. In 2020, the Hyderabad police had booked seven people, including the parents of the girl they married off their 16-year-old minor daughter to a 54-year-old man identified as Abdul Lateef from Kerala. The accused had been staying in Hyderabad city.
In September 2017, the Hyderabad police had arrested 3 Muslim clerics and 8 Arab Sheikhs. These Arab Sheikhs were marrying minor girls with the help of Qazis, brokers and lodge owners. The girls were even sexually assaulted by the Qazis.
This crackdown had come close to a complaint by a woman in August against her husband for allegedly “Selling off” their minor daughter to a 70-year-old Omani national named Ahmed Abdullah.
Tennis Australia has lifted its ban on fans wearing t-shirts to the Australian Open to demonstrate support for Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. According to their CEO Craig Tiley, fans will now be able to wear t-shirts with inscriptions supporting Shuai. Tiley has maintained, however, that banners would remain prohibited from the tournament owing to the comfort and safety concerns of other spectators.
Tennis Australia is standing by its decision to order an Australian Open spectator to remove a shirt that featured a message supporting Peng Shuai amid ongoing concerns for the Chinese tennis star’s welfare.
Last week, on Friday, videos of supporters at Melbourne Park went viral, showing them being compelled to remove T-shirts addressing the Chinese athlete.
A group of volunteers for the Democratic Alliance Party have walked into the Australian Open donning “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-Shirts. It comes after Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley reversed his decision to confiscate them at the weekend. @australian#AusOpenpic.twitter.com/xqTBPnAGKp
Tennis Australia had stood firm in its decision to prohibit the wearing of clothing and the display of banners in support of missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. However, after wide criticism, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley stated “Where is Peng Shuai” T-shirts would be allowed as long as the spectators remained nonviolent.
“What we’ve said is that if anyone comes on-site with an intent to disrupt and use the Australian Open as a platform for themselves and really disrupts the comfort and the safety of our fans, then they’re not welcome. However, if someone wants to wear a t-shirt and make a statement about Peng Shuai that’s fine”, CEO Tiley was quoted saying by AFP.
Peng Shuai has been a focus of international attention since she accused a senior Chinese leader of sexual misconduct in early November last year. Former Czechoslovakian American tennis player Martina Navratilova called the Australian Open’s decision to prohibit fans from wearing shirts with words of support for Chinese doubles player Peng Shuai at the grand slam “cowardly.”
Recently, Tennis Australia was chastised by Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton for enforcing a ban on t-shirts and placards supporting Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. “It’s deeply concerning, and I think we should be speaking up about these issues.” Dutton was quoted as saying by Sky News. “I’d encourage not just celebrities but tennis organizations, including Tennis Australia, WTA’s been very good in relation to it, but other governments and other bodies, we need to speak as one voice on this,” he added.
As per reports, Peng Shuai disappeared after accusing former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of forcing her into sex at his home. In November 2021, she posted a long post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, which was quickly censored by the CCP. Fans were concerned about her safety and wellbeing after she had remained incommunicado for over 3 weeks. Though she did appear in public later, there are still concerns regarding her safety and freedom of movement. She is not participating in the Australian Open.
On January 24, a woman named Ankita from West Bengal posted a tweet with the screenshot of a post by a Reddit group ‘I_AM_Bengaalan’ whose photograph was misused. Ankita, who is a BJP worker, said wrote, “My photo is being misused on social media. I am feeling afraid. Posting proof of which was found on Reddit. A person named Radha Sheikh edited and posted my picture with heinous comments. I am requesting NCW, Rekha Sharma, Kolkata Police, to look into this matter.”
Screenshot of Ankita’s post. Source: Twitter. (image edited to protect privacy)
The user who posted the image deleted the post and his/her profile after the screenshot went viral on Twitter.
The user has deleted the profile after Ankita’s post went viral on Twitter. Source: Reddit
Speaking to OpIndia, Ankita said she came to know about the Reddit post after an unknown person on Twitter sent her the link in DM. “An unknown person on Twitter sent me that link after that I opened it and saw it’s none other than my own picture. I have talked to an advocate friend and will file a complaint today,” she said.
OpIndia further investigated the group in which the derogatory image was posted. The group’s description reads, “I am Bengali Hindu Girl having attracted on Muslim BBC.” The group is filled with highly objectionable posts and randomly picked photographs of Hindu women.
Screenshot of the group on Reddit. Source: Reddit
In one of the posts, a photograph probably picked from a social media account was posted with the caption that roughly translates to “Salim was very reasonable with your mom after she begged like this. He f**ked her after lifting her saree and ripped her undergarments that’s why the recording of Sharmaji can go viral.”
Source: Reddit (image edited by OpIndia to protect privacy)
Another post also looked like a photograph of a Hindu girl possibly picked from a social media account. The caption read, “Tell in comments where did Abdul took Sonia’s mother and why she has not returned yet.”
Source: Reddit (image edited by OpIndia to protect identity)
The users in the group used photographs of models and actresses as well. In another post, the caption read, “Your sister thought she was going through religious conversion process, but she loved Wasim too much and was ready to do anything… She doesn’t know the guy she thinks is moulana is just a pimp, and she is the newest in demand Hrandi of his brothel. Wasim has already moved on to other girls.”
Source: Reddit
In one of the most shocking posts, a nude photograph of a woman was posted with the caption, “Sister finally showed her true colours.” The text on the image read, “Tell me Atif, in whose room would you like to spend the night.”
Source: Reddit
In another post, the caption read, “My mom wants to show Mstuds how religious she is. Sometimes she comes very late to home when she goes to that temple. Probably, doing some extra worship to ignite Mstuds i guess.”
Source: Reddit
The group uses hashtag #hslut4mstud or “Hindu sl*t for Muslim stud”.
There was also a discussion section in the group filled with filthy language against Hindu women.
The group has a chat section as well. Source: Reddit
OpIndia had earlier reported that Reddit as a platform has been an underbelly for vile and bigoted propaganda as well as grooming jihad. Pornographic content is regularly shared on Reddit with an intention to cause communal tension and strife. The pornographic images often show Hindu women lusting for Muslim men.
Many, many such posts are posted on Twitter too, with same hashtags, sexually objectifying Hindu women for Muslim men.
Sexual objectification of Hindu women
In a now removed tweet, a Twitter user named Rashed shared about his ‘Hindu wife’ with crass and sexual remarks on an image of a woman.
More horrible tweetsImage with derogatory comments on womenTweet from January 8, 2021
Many posts on Twitter go way back since August 2020.
Tweet from August 2020
Many such posts are posted by accounts with names which sound like that of Hindu women. However, they frequently speak about sexual objectification of women and use offensive terms and vulgar language for them.
Objectification of Hindu womenHindu women sexually objectified
In fact, there are other channels on platforms like Tumblr where such sexual posts are made against Hindu women.
sexual objectification of women on Tumblr
Under the tag ‘interfaithxxx’ on Tumblr, one can see some of the most disturbing images of Hindu women being sexually objectified.
Tumblr
As of now, authorities have not intervened in the above harassment, despite the victim reaching out to them for help via social media.
On Monday, Mohammad Haroon, the key conspirator behind the murder of the RSS worker Sanjith in Palakkad was nabbed by the Kerala Police. Haroon is a native of Athikkode near Kozhinjampara and is reportedly associated with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Kerala.
According to the reports, Haroon was actively involved in planning the murder of a 27-year-old RSS worker Sanjith and there was already a lookout notice issued against him. Palakkad District police chief R Viswanadh said that he had selected the assailants for the murder and then also helped them to disappear.
Kerala | Main accused arrested in connection with the death of RSS worker Sanjith. Total 10 people arrested in the case: Palakkad Police https://t.co/rHNQefnKLC
Earlier in the month of November 2021, the Police had arrested three more accused named Subair, Salam and Isahak and had affirmed the role of SDPI and Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in the murder case of Pramukh Sanjith. However, Salam was granted bail by the local court.
As per reports, 4 more accused persons are yet to be nabbed by the police.
It is reported that the court has directed the state to file a report on the status of the investigation. This is after Sanjith’s wife, who had witnessed the gruesome murder of her husband in broad daylight, had moved to the Kerala High Court seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Earlier, Sanjith’s widow Arshika also had publicly narrated the incident of Sanjith’s death and said that she could identify the murderers as none of them were masked. On November 15, Sanjith who belonged to Elappully, Kerala was hacked to death by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) goons. The incident occurred at Ellapully in Palakkad district at 9:30 in the morning. He was travelling with his wife on a motorbike when he was brutally attacked by the SDPI members.
Reports suggest that the assailants came in a car. They stopped his bike and attacked him in broad daylight in front of many people, including his wife Arshika. Sanjith was rushed to the hospital in serious condition. He later succumbed to his injuries. On November 18, Police had recovered blood-stained swords suspected to have been used in the murder of the RSS worker.
The BJP and RSS had also pointed out the involvement of SDPI and PFI in the murder. While SDPI had rejected the allegations, the BJP State president, K Surendran had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi seeking a probe by the National Investigation Agency into the killing.
In a letter to the Home Minister, a copy of which was shared by Surendran, the BJP leader alleged that 10 RSS-BJP activists have been killed in Kerala by the Islamists in the state in last 5 years. He had further alleged that so far about 50 RSS activists have been killed by them in the State.
The police had then claimed the breakthrough in Sanjith’s case amid protests by the BJP and the RSS over the delay in arresting the culprits. With Haroon’s arrest, the total number of culprits in the case has reached 10.
On January 17, 2022, three fuel tanker trucks exploded in the industrial Musaffah region near the new Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following a drone attack by Houthi rebels of Yemen. Houthi is an Islamist political armed movement which is backed by Iran to fight the coalition of Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia.
During the attack, one Pakistani national and two Indian nationals lost their lives. Besides, six others had reported injuries ranging from light to media, said Dubai-based WAM news agency. “Initial investigations found parts of a small plane that could possibly be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion and the fire,” the police said in a statement.
#Yemen‘s Iran-aligned #Houthi movement claimed responsibility for an alleged #drone attack on the United Arab Emirates that occurred Monday morning.https://t.co/82AbSm8vAM
Four days later on January 21, 2022, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition retaliated by conducting an airstrike on a detention centre in Saada in Yemen. Reportedly, about 100 people were killed and wounded in the Houthi stronghold of Saada. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) chief Ahmed Mahat reported, “There are many bodies still at the scene of the airstrike, many missing people. It is impossible to know how many people have been killed. It seems to have been a horrific act of violence.”
Another airstrike was carried out by the Saudi-led coalition on a telecommunications facility in Hudaydah, which led to the death of 3 children. The incident led to a nationwide internet outage in Yemen.
BBC had reported that Saudi Arabia acknowledged the military action in Hudaydah but not the one in Saada.
The Background of the Yemen conflict
The modern State of Yemen came into existence in 1990 through the unification of the Yemeni Arab Republic (backed by the US and Saudi Arabia) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (backed by the USSR). Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the Yemeni Arab Republic in the North since 1978 became the leader of the unified nation. His autocratic tenure was marred by allegations of corruption.
The Houthi movement (also called Ansar Allah), an Islamist movement comprising of Zaydi Shiites from the Houthi tribe, began its political activism against Saleh in 2003 for supporting the US Invasion of Iraq. The Houthis were concentrated mainly in the northern part of Yemen and had remained a force of cultural/religious revivalism since the 1980s.
Interestingly, Houthis were against Saleh during his tenure as Yemen’s President. They carried out armed rebellion against him on 6 occasions between 2004 to 2010. After the Arab Spring of 2011 (anti-government uprising and armed rebellion) in Yemen, Saleh had to resign and cede power to his Vice-President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. He then joined hands with the same Islamist outfit that he fought as President of Yemen.
The decision was well-calculated since Saleh wanted to make inroads to the power corridors. The political transition to the new ruler of Yemen was distraught with challenges including corruption, unemployment, food security. Houthis took advantage of Hadi’s weakness and made inroads to the city of Sanaa in September 2014 and seized complete control by January 2015.
Territorial control and influence as of February 2021 in Yemen via Council of Foreign Relations
The intervention by Saudi Arabia -led coalition
Saleh had the support of members of Yemen’s security forces, the political establishment, tribal networks, which made it easier for Houthis to gain access to power. Ordinary Yemenis also supported the Islamists after being ‘disillusioned’ by the political transition process from Saleh to Hadi.
Houthis then attempted to take control over the entire country and forced President Hadi to flee in March of 2015. The Houthi movement had the backing of Iran, a Shia majority country and arch-rival of Saudi Arabia. Iran has been accused of providing military support to Houthis and using them as its proxy for shared geopolitical interests.
It implied an increasing threat to Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on its southern border. Yemen holds strategic importance as the Arab nation is situated on a strait that links Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. As such, it serves as the world’s pass for oil and gas shipments. The Kingdom thus formed a multinational coalition, comprising of 8 Sunni majority Arab nations including Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to put an end to the political impasse and restore Hadi’s government.
It must be mentioned that Hadi had written a letter to the United States, seeking permission to allow coalition forces to avert Houthi aggression. “(Authorise) willing countries that wish to help Yemen to provide immediate support for the legitimate authority by all means and measures to protect Yemen and deter the Houthi aggression,” read the letter by Hadi to UN Security Council. The then Yemen President also wrote to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab League, seeking intervention.
The Saudi-led coalition received intelligence and logistical support from European powers such as the UK, France and also the United States. In 2018, the coalition was expanded to include Pakistan and Eritrea. Saleh, who had supported the Houthis after his ouster as president, was killed by the same Islamist outfit for switching his support to the Saudi coalition in 2017.
In July 2018, President Hadi told the BBC that he did not regret seeking help from the Saudi-led coalition. He said, “I do not regret this decision at all. Otherwise, we would not have liberated parts of the country from Aden to [the eastern province of] Al-Mahra. Without the support of the coalition, these areas would still be under the control of the Houthis.”
He further added, “If Decisive Storm (name of the military operation) had not happened, it would have been the beginning of a major civil war lasting even longer than the conflict in Somalia [that began in 1991 and remains ongoing].”
The aftermath of Saudi intervention
Interestingly, the radical Islamist Houthi movement was designated as a terrorist group by Donald Trump prior to leaving the Oval office. The decision was, however, reversed after Joe Biden became the US President. Following the intervention of the Saudi-led coalition, it was expected that the political crisis would be resolved within a few weeks. But, the ‘military stalemate’ has lasted for over 7 years now.
The coalition helped free much of South Yemen in August 2015 but failed to regain territories of Saana and north-western Yemen. In 2018, major airstrikes were conducted to capture the city of Hudaydah. The forces were joined by the loyalist of former President Saleh. A ceasefire was declared by the warring sides after 6 months of intense fighting. In 2021, the Houthis carried out attacks in the Northern Marib, which is an oil-rich province under government control.
During the 7-year period, Houthis had targeted civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and drones. The ongoing crisis has provided a fertile ground to Islamist terror outfits such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State group (IS), who occasionally carry out attacks to further destabilise the region.
The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen is widely regarded as a part of an intense power tussle between the Sunni-majority Saudi and Shia-ruled Iran. Besides, Yemen’s strategic location, the strait connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, through which much of the world’s oil shipment passes, is also considered as a major reason for the continuing conflict.
In December 2020, it was estimated that over 2.33 lakh people died from both direct and indirect causes of the crisis in Yemen. As per the UN, about 3450 children have died so far. It has been described as the ‘worst humanitarian crisis’ in the world.
Islamists upset after Saudi Arabia vows to move away from extremism
Unlike his predecessors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quickly realised the need of the country to reduce dependency on oil and diversify it to other sectors such as health, education, recreation and tourism. In an interview with CBS News, he said, “(Before 1979) We were living a normal life like the rest of the Gulf countries, women were driving cars, there were movie theatres in Saudi Arabia.”
In December last year, the Kingdom organised a giant party in the middle of the desert. For the first time, men and women were allowed to assemble and dance together without segregation. Since the rise of the Crown Prince to the power corridors, women empowerment has been one of the primary goals of the Saudi regime. For instance, women were allowed the right to drive in June 2018, ending the decades-long prohibition on driving.
In December 2021, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs of Saudi Arabia directed the preachers of the mosques to dedicate the Friday sermon towards warning the Saudi people against the Tablighi and Da’wah groups. Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullatif Al_Alsheikh had given a direction to the Mosques in Saudi Arabia to reserve the Friday sermon for warning the people against the partisan groups of Tablighi Jamat and Da’wah existing in the country.
The progressive decision by the Saudi regime to distance itself from orthodoxy and extremism has not gone down well with Indian Islamists. On Saturday (January 22), controversial journalist Rana Ayyub had posted a tweet attacking Saudi Arabia for launching a military operation against Yemen. She was then slammed on Twitter by Saudi netizens in response to that, accusing her of supporting terrorism.
Yemen is bleeding and there is nobody to stop the bloodthirsty Saudis. These are people who call themselves the custodians of Islam. As a Muslim I am ashamed that these savages are guardians of the holy mosque. The world CANNOT stay silent thru this genocide #YemenUnderAttack
“Yemen is bleeding and there is nobody to stop the bloodthirsty Saudis,” Rana Ayyub had tweeted on Saturday, saying that as a Muslim she is ashamed that “these savages are guardians of the holy mosque”. After Rana Ayyub posted the tweet, several Saudi netizens responded to her saying that their govt is supporting a recognised government, while Ayyub was supporting an Islamist terror group trying to overthrow that government.
Saudi engineer Gassan called it fake news and said that Saudi Arabia has launched military operations in Yemen as part of a coalition of over ten countries in response to a direct request from the legitimate government of Yemen. “We supporting legitimate and you supporting terrorists”, he added. One Twitter user Abu Sultan called her a “fu**ing liar”, saying all she “said are bullshit”. The user noted that this is why Ayyub had disabled replies to her tweets.
On Monday (January 24), US President Joe Biden snapped at a Fox News reporter and made an expletive-laden remark when quizzed over inflation. The incident took place during an event at the White House after Biden had made a prepared speech about tackling inflation and addressing supply-chain issues.
As per reports, the event was organised in such a way so that the US President does not have to take questions after his speech. It became clear when Biden’s economic advisor Brian Deese said: ‘We’re going to give the press a moment to exit.’ However, several reporters shouted out the questions, hoping that they would be answered by the US Biden.
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked, “Do you think inflation is a political liability (ahead of the midterms)?” Instead of answering the question posed to him, Joe Biden went on to abuse the journalist. “That’s a great asset. More inflation. What a stupid son of a b**ch (SOB),” he was heard as saying.
#WATCH | US President Joe Biden appeared to be caught on a hot mic after a journalist asked him a question related to inflation at the end of his press conference
While speaking about the remarks of the US President, Peter Doocy pointed out how he did not hear the comment and only came to know after being informed by someone. “So I shouted…’Okay, what about inflation? Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms? I couldn’t even hear him because people were shouting at us to get out. But somebody came up to me in the briefing room a few minutes later and said Did you hear what the president said? And I said, ‘No, what? They said, ‘He called you stupid SOB.”
The Fox News team later joked about how Doocy might be known as the new ‘stupid SOB’ from thereon. While justifying his decision to not take questions from the press, Joe Biden said during the event, “The only reason I don’t like doing this is you never report on why I’ve called the meeting. This is really important. I had a very, very, very good meeting. Total unanimity with all the European leaders. We’ll talk about it later.’
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins has reported that Biden’s expletives are included in the official White House Transcript.
President Biden’s hot mic moment is included in the official White House transcript. pic.twitter.com/alytNf4UfL
This is however not the first time when Peter Doocy and Joe Biden had a verbal spat in the White House. In August last year, the US President appeared visibly frustrated on being asked about the death of 13 US Marines in a deadly terror attack at the Hamid Karzai International airport in Kabul.
Without mincing any words, Doocy asked Biden whether he was willing to take any responsibility for the Afghanistan crisis. “Mr President, there had not been a US service member killed in combat in Afghanistan since February of 2020. You set a deadline, you pulled troops out, you sent troops back in, and now 12 Marines are dead. You said the buck stops with you. Do you bear any responsibility for the way that things have unfolded in the last two weeks?” he inquired.
Joe Biden, who kept Doocy waiting till the end, fumbled as he was pressed with a tough question. The US President managed to get his act together and said that he bore responsibility for everything that had occurred ‘of late’. However, he blamed former President Donald Trump for setting May 1 as the final date of exit for all US troops from Afghanistan.
“This was a year before. In return, he was given a commitment that the Taliban will continue to attack others but not attack the American forces. Remember that? I am being serious,” he engaged in rhetorics.
After having comprehended the US President’s tactics to avoid answering hard questions, Peter Doocy emphasised, “Donald Trump is not president right now.” Biden tried to interject and stop the Fox News correspondent halfway.
At about 1:27 minutes into the conversation, he went on bend his head, close his eyes and rest his hands on the podium. It was evident that Biden was irritated with Doccy’s line of questioning. His gesture was widely criticised by the netizens for showcasing the US government’s weakness and incompetence in dealing with the situation.
On January 24, at around 2:30 PM, a man attempted sacrilege in the famous Kali Maa Mandir, Patiala, Punjab. The incident took place during prayer time. The cameras placed for live telecast captured the whole incident.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media platforms. In the video, a man identified as Rajdeep Singh jumped into the enclosure where Maa Kali’s Swaroop is installed. He allegedly attempted to deface the Swaroop. The priest present in the enclosure got into action immediately and overpowered him. The priest pushed the man where he was caught by two devotees.
As per reports, the man has been handed over to the Police. Hindu organisations have called for a bandh in Patiala on Tuesday in protest of the sacrilege attempt. Punjab Lok Congress chief and former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh condemned the incident. He urged Election Commission to take stock of the incident and take strict action to ensure peace in the state. He said, “Strongly condemn the disturbing incident of attempted sacrilege at Shri Kali Mata Mandir in Patiala. Repetitive attempts to disturb peace in Punjab will not be tolerated. I urge Election Commission to take strict action so that the atmosphere in the state is not disturbed.”
Strongly condemn the disturbing incident of attempted sacrilege at Shri Kali Mata Mandir in Patiala.
Repetitive attempts to disturb peace in Punjab will not be tolerated. I urge @ECISVEEP to take strict action so that the atmosphere in the state is not disturbed.
Shiromani Akali Dal Sukhbir Singh Badal strongly condemned the sacrilege incident at Kali Maa Mandir. In a tweet, he said, “Strongly condemn sacrilege at Kali Mata mandir, Patiala. We feared & warned against conspiracy by forces from outside Punjab to spread communal hatred among Hindus and Sikhs shrines. Worst fears coming true. Let’s all stay united against them to preserve peace & communal harmony.”
This is just one more of the countless acts of sacrilege in Punjab under Congress rule. Complicity in these heinous acts or utter failure to maintain law & order and preserve harmony? Come clean @CHARANJITCHANNI
He further added, “This is just one more of the countless acts of sacrilege in Punjab under Congress rule. Complicity in these heinous acts or utter failure to maintain law & order and preserve harmony? Come to clean CM Channi.”
Earlier, Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi blamed people with ‘some vested interest’ for the incident. In a tweet, he said, “Today around 2.30 PM, a person arrived at Sri Kali Mata Mandir in Patiala and climbed on the threshold where the Idol of Sri Kali Mata Ji was installed. Following this, he was caught and handed over to the Police.”
Some vested interests are continuously trying to destabilise the social harmony of Punjab in view of the upcoming elections, but I will not let them succeed in their malicious motives. (2/2)
He further added, “Some vested interests are continuously trying to destabilise the social harmony of Punjab in view of the upcoming elections, but I will not let them succeed in their malicious motives.” Channi said he has ordered a probe into the matter.
Punjab and incidents of sacrilege
In recent times, the incidents of sacrilege have increased in Punjab. In 2021 itself, four people were killed on the pretext of attempted sacrilege. The incident of Golden Temple on December 18 where a man tried to attempt sacrilege at Akal Takht and that of Kapurthala on December 19 where a mentally challenged man was killed for the alleged sacrilege of Nishan Sahib caught a lot of media attention.
On January 24, Monday, a woman tried self-immolation in front of the convoy of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav near the Samajwadi Party office in Lucknow, but the SP chief apparently ignored her and drove away. The incident reportedly took place when Akhilesh Yadav’s convoy left for his residence from the party office in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
The woman, alleging that the party has been shielding the Unnao Samajwadi Party leader Rajol Singh who kidnapped her daughter almost two months ago, poured kerosene on herself when the car came in front of her.
As per reports, police personnel present at the spot restrained her just as she poured kerosene on herself. The SP chief’s car sped away as soon as the mishap took place.
The mother, who lives in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, claims that Unnao SP leader Rajol Singh kidnapped her daughter two months ago, but no action has been initiated by the police or the state administration so far. The woman further noted that she had raised the issue in the local police station, but no action was taken to address the issue. She also tried to meet Akhilesh Yadav earlier as well but was denied a chance.
Rita Devi, the wife of one Mukesh, a native of Kashiram in the Unnao Sadar Kotwali district, had filed an application with the SP of the concerned police station the day before. In it, she stated that her 22-year-old daughter Pooja was kidnapped on December 8, 2021, while she was on her way to the market, by SP leader Rajol Singh alias Arun Singh.
Rajol Singh is a Samajwadi Party leader from Unnao. He is the son of Fateh Bahadur and a native of Kalyani Devi in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Rita Devi alleged that though the police had filed an FIR based on her complaint, they neither arrested Rajol Singh nor did they put in any efforts to find her daughter who is missing for the past 50 days. She claimed that because Fateh Bahadur Singh is a former minister, the police are not taking any action in the case.
The victim’s father Mukesh revealed that they have been constantly visiting Unnao CO Kripashankar and pleading for justice, but to no avail. He said that every time the CO calls Rajol Singh he keeps postponing his visit to the PS by a week. Because of Singh’s political clout and connections, the police do not intervene and instead ask them to return the following week.
Mukesh further claimed that the police were not even trying to find their missing daughter. “Whenever we ask them they say that we will get her back in a week, but she has not been found until today. In fact, today also we called and the police said that we would find her in a week’s time,” rued Mukesh.
The mother said that they have been regularly meeting police officials but all in vain. Today, she went to the Samajwadi Party office with the hope of meeting Akhilesh Yadav and asking for help, but when she was not allowed to enter the office, the distressed mother tried to commit suicide in front of the convoy of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Notably, this is the second such case reported within a week. On January 16, Sunday, a Samajwadi Party worker named Aditya Thakur had also attempted self-immolation in front of the Samajwadi Party office in Lucknow. He was seeking a ticket from Aligarh and tried to end his life after he was denied a ticket. Aditya Thakur sprinkled petrol on himself and tried to set himself on fire. But the Police present there were able to save him, and later detained him.
The Samajwadi Party has ‘silently’ allotted at least 10 seats to Muslim Candidates for phase 2 of elections, including Gangster Nahid Hasan who was responsible for the migration of Hindus out of Kairana in 2016. According to a report by News18, the party has allotted seats to Muslim candidates with criminal charges for Phase 2 of the upcoming UP assembly elections but it has consciously refrained from officially declaring them. The party has already announced tickets for 13 Muslim candidates in Phase 1 of the Uttar Pradesh Elections of 2022.
Nahid Hassan, who is accused of conducting the exodus of Hindus from Kairana was given a ticket by the Samajwadi Party. The SP MLC was arrested under the gangster act a day after filing his nomination from SP. Hindu families were reportedly forced to flee due to repeated threats and attacks from Muslim locals in Kairana, which is a Muslim-majority town. After criticism rose, the SP replaced Hasan’s candidature by giving a ticket to his sister
While the Samajwadi Party has not declared lists of contesting candidates officially, it has released statements about 10 Muslim candidates in Phase 2 and one candidate contesting in Phase 3 who happen to face criminal charges. Muslim candidates who were given tickets from Amroha, Meerganj, Behat, Sishamau, Bhojipura, Baheri, Chamruha, Dhampur, Shahjahanpur, Chandpur and Thakurdwara seats face criminal charges. It is directed as per the rules of the Election Commission for a party to declare officially about the criminal cases faced by its candidates before elections.
The move came after the BSP allotted 23 seats to Muslims for Phase 2, while the party has already allotted 17 seats to Muslim candidates for Phase 1. For the first two phases of the elections, the Samajwadi Party has given tickets to over 20% of Muslim candidates, while the BSP has given up to 35% of total seats to Muslims by now.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already levelled allegations against the Samajwadi Party-led alliance for giving tickets to ‘history-sheeters’ and ‘gangsters’. Last week, Yogi Adityanath fired fresh salvos at the Akhilesh Yadav’s party, calling it ‘riot-lover’ and ‘tamanchawadi’ over the party’s first list of candidates for the upcoming state assembly polls.
“Those whose basic character is undemocratic, criminal dynastic, talk of democracy and development from them is laughable. The list of assembly election candidates confirms that the SP is a ‘rioter lover’ and a ‘tamanchawadi’,” tweeted Yogi in Hindi.
Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, the political atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh is all charged up, especially by sharp remarks made by the chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who has launched a blistering attack against his opponents, most notably the Samajwadi Party.
While addressing a public meeting at the foundation stone laying event of the ATS centre in Deoband Yogi remarked, “Earlier Government used to neutralise charges on terrorists, and we are building an ATS (Anti-Terror Squad) centre to hit back at them”. Deoband, which houses the seminary school of Darul Uloom, was also on the radar of the state government due to suspected terrorist activities. In a move to strengthen the intelligence apparatus, the foundation stone of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Commando Training Centre was laid on January 04 at Deoband in the Saharanpur district.
Talking about the centre in his speech, Yogi Adityanath added that his government has a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy towards crime and the new centre at ATS in Deoband will be a strong base for ensuring the security of Western Uttar Pradesh.” “The 56 commandos deployed will dig out terrorists the way Osama Bin Laden was hunted,” he added.
संदेश साफ है, तुम जितने आतंकवादी और तमंचावादी पैदा करोगे हम उतने एटीएस बनवाएंगे। अपराधियों और अपराध का समूल नाश करना ही हमारा संकल्प हैं।#फर्क_साफ_हैpic.twitter.com/e6UAODBsIF
However, this was not the first time he has lashed out at his critics while making political appearances. Last year on December 31, he had launched a scathing attack at the Samajwadi party saying, “If you ask someone about the SP, they would say any car which holds the SP’s party flag, the person sitting inside will definitely be a goon.” The reaction came after the Uttar Pradesh police had arrested Samajwadi Party workers from Kanpur trying to create disruption during PM Modi’s visit to the city. “SP’s flag is a symbol of anarchy” he added.
Earlier in the month, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav had claimed that Lord Krishna comes to his dreams to tell him to establish Ram Rajya in Uttar Pradesh”. The next day, with a Mahabharata jibe, Yogi Adityanath accused the previous SP government of creating a ‘Kans’ which resulted in the killing of 29 people on the Jawahar Bagh incident in 2016 when police had forcibly tried to evict squatters who were backed by Ram Vriksh Yadav. The CM hit out at Akhilesh Yadav saying, “Lord Krishna would be cursing him for unleashing riots during his rule, firing on Ram devotees by his party”
जिनका मूल चरित्र ही अलोकतांत्रिक, आपराधिक वंशवादी हो, उनके मुंह से लोकतंत्र और विकास की बात हास्यास्पद है।
विधान सभा चुनाव प्रत्याशियों की सूची सपा के ‘दंगाई प्रेमी’ और ‘तमंचावादी’ होने की पुष्टि करती है।
In a tweet on January 21, Yogi Adityanath took on Twitter to write, “It is hilarious to listen about democracy and development from those who are undemocratic, criminal dynastic by character. The list of assembly election candidates confirms that the SP is a ‘riot lover’ and a ‘Tamanchawadi’ (the one with guns). Accusing the SP of having a ‘criminal mindset’, this time the CM had a new name for the party.
While inaugurating developmental projects at Rampur – the home turf of SP leader Azam Khan, CM Yogi had remarked, “The famous Rampuri Knife became a tool for capturing the land of the poor during the SP govt. wrong people misuse it for looting and capturing the properties of the poor and downtrodden.” He then added, “We follow the ‘guru Parampara. Good people use the tool to protect the country and religion,” The famous Rampuri knife has also been included in the one-district-one-product scheme of the government.
The 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 of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 10 March 2022.
