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Gujarat: Communal tension prevails in Radhanpur after Hindu woman attacked by a Muslim man in her own home

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Communal tension prevails in Radhanpur after Hindu woman attacked by a Muslim man in her own home

Communal tension prevailed in Radhanpur town in Patan district, North Gujarat, after a Hindu woman was reportedly attacked by a Muslim youth named Yasin Majikhan Baloch when she was alone at her home. As per a report by web portal DeshGujarat, Yasin arrived at her place and insisted on marrying her. However, when she refused he got angry and threatened to kill her.

A Jagran report says that the duo knew each other since past two years. A report in Divya Bhaskar states that SP Akshayraj Makwana has said that the attack could have been out of one-sided love from the man’s side or could be due to money matters.

Yasin reportedly made the death threat call to her father. In her complaint, the victim has stated that Yasin dragged her by her hair and with an intention to kill her, he hit her head on a wall and a glass showcase. She said that she was injured and blood oozed out from her wounds. However, when she raised her voice and shouted for help, her relatives came and locked Yasin in the house.

Subsequently, Police has arrested Yasin Baloch.

On Saturday, thousands from Thakore, Bharwad and Chaudhary communities protested for justice under various Hindu organisations.

Community leaders had gathered at Adarsh Vidyalay in Radhanpur and presented memorandum to the police over the incident.

State Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi, while interacting with media said that the state administration is carrying out the investigation and the culprit will not be spared. He also cautioned against misleading reports on social media and urged everyone to wait for official police communication.

Bihar: Thieves kill seven dogs before looting a Kali Mata temple in Kaimur, steal Rs 15,000 cash from donation box

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Thieves kill seven dogs before looting a Kali Mata temple in Kaimur, steal Rs 15,000 cash from donation box

In an incident of a ruthless crime in Bihar’s Kaimur, a few thieves have killed seven dogs near a Kali Mata temple before looting it in the night. The incident took place on 28th January 2022 late in the night when there was no one in the temple. In order to ensure unopposed and uninterrupted theft in the temple, the thieves had poisoned the seven dogs nearby this temple.

The thieves have crossed all limits of cruelty in this incident. After killing the dogs, the thieves broke the gates of the temple quite comfortably. The thieves broke the donation box kept inside the temple and took away cash of around fifteen thousand from the same.

When the priest came to the temple in the morning, he came to know of the theft. After this, it was informed to the GRP police station of Bhubhua road. The police from the GRP and Mohaniya police station went to the spot for investigation. GRP police station in-charge Jayprakash has said “The investigations are on and we will soon be able to reveal more details.”

The Kali Mata mandir is situated in Mohaniya which comes under the GRP police station of railways goods warehouse road. The secretary of the temple trust Dheerendra Pratap Singh has said “The thieves broke the doors of the temple and entered inside. They took away around 15 to 20 thousand cash from the donation box they have broken. They have poisoned and killed seven innocent animals living nearby. These dogs would regularly visit the temple at the time of daily rituals like Aarti. We used to feed the Prasad to them as well. The thieves have killed them. I demand the local authorities and police to come up with early explanations on this matter.”

This cruel act by the thieves has spread a wave of rage in the minds of the local people. There were earlier attempts made to loot the temple as well. But as the priest of the temple regularly feeds so many stray dogs in the surroundings every day, the animals would stay near the temple at night. This would automatically protect this temple from any theft incident. The dogs would make noise as soon as they would see any unsolicited visitor on the temple premises. But the thieves planned to get rid of these dogs and poisoned them through food on Friday late in the night.

Besides fast investigations and early arrests, the enraged local people have also demanded the post mortem of the dogs. Secretary of the temple trust Dheerendra Pratap Singh and Shiv Gupta have registered a complaint in this matter.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh shares clipped video to claim Yogi Adityanath feels pride being leader of only Kshatriyas, netizens expose his lies

OpIndia Staff
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AAP leader Sanjay Singh shares clipped video to claim Yogi Adityanath feels pride being leader of only Kshatriyas, netizens expose his lies

AAP leader Sanjay Singh recently shared a clipped video from his Twitter account to claim that Uttar Pradesh’s CM Yogi Adityanath feels pride in being the leader of only Kshatriyas. However, this effort by Sanjay Singh was destroyed in hours as the complete footage of the corresponding video was shared by netizens. Sanjay Singh, whose agenda and selective video sharing is thus exposed, is being criticized by netizens and supporters of Yogi Adityanath and the BJP.

Yogi Adityanath had recently given an interview to Sunita Aron who is the senior resident editor of the Hindustan Times. In this interview, Yogi Adityanath was asked whether he is pained whenever somebody identifies him as the leader of Rajputs (Kshatriyas) only. In fact, Yogi Adityanath has answered this question in detail but as he had started his sentence with a ‘no’, Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party clipped the video at the very moment Yogi Adityanath said ‘no’ and shared it on Twitter.

With this clipped video, he wrote in his post, “See this. Yogi Adityanathji has cleared it that whenever somebody calls him a leader of Kshatriyas exclusively, he is not pained at all. Adityanathji, you must be the leader for 24 crore people. Is your ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’ call limited only up to the talks?”

In response to this claim of Sanjay Singh, ‘Only Facts India’ came up with a fact-check video that has complete footage of the answer given by Yogi Adityanath and shared it on its Twitter handle. In this video, Yogi Adityanath has explained in detail how does he look at the people calling him the leader of Rajputs exclusively.

In this video, Yogi Adityanath had said, “No. I am not pained at all when I hear any such thing. Is it a crime to be born in a Kshatriya caste? This is a caste in our country in which Gods have incarnated so many times. Everyone must be proud of his own caste. But when it comes to governance in the state, our government has served equally for all the people irrespective of their castes and religions. We did not differentiate and discriminate on any basis while serving the people.”

Yogi Adityanath further added “I believe that only those people make statements about castes who work for their own families exactly at the time when they are supposed to work for everyone. These people haven’t even worked for their own caste, leave aside the attempts of working for all.”

Explaining how the schemes of his government are meant for the poor and needy people, Yogi Adityanath said “I think if we have made 43 lakh houses for the poor, there will not be even one percent of Kshatriyas in that. Not even one thousand. These 43 lakh houses are given to someone who is either poor or backward or oppressed or from the minority community. We built 2 crores and 61 lakh toilets in the state. They are built for someone who is poor, backward, or oppressed. 15 crore people are getting free ration and the government does not discriminate on the basis of caste and religion while distributing it.”

Yogi Adityanath added “Services and facilities are not provided citing the specific identity but they are for all the people of the state. This is why we say that we work with the motto of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’. I think that this is the thing we should bring ahead with us in the future as well.”

Meanwhile, netizens have expressed outrage over this selective portrayal of the state CM by Sanjay Singh. Few other critics have also shared the same clipped video to peddle their own agenda and they are given a befitting reply by other Twitter users. Vijay Patel has tweeted “A few people are trying to defame Yogi Adityanathji by sharing a cut video. They are doing so only because he is a Hindu saint. This is an insult to the Hindus and Uttar Pradesh’s people will definitely give an answer to this.”

Another Twitter user has posted that “Master of blacking tickets and clipping videos Sanjay Singh does it again. Full video for context”

Kishan Bharwad murder: Police suspect involvement of six Muslim clerics in the case; accused to be booked under UAPA

OpIndia Staff
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Kishan Bharwad murder: Police suspect involvement of six Muslim clerics in the case; accused to be booked under UAPA

Hours after the Pakistan connection was reported in the Kishan Bharwad murder case, police have now suspected the involvement of a total of 6 Muslim clerics in the gruesome murder of the Hindu man, who was shot dead by assailants over an alleged social media post that Muslims found offensive. It is also reported that the accused would be prosecuted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

It has been revealed from the interrogation of arrested Maulavi Ayub’s interrogation and social media trails the police were probing that before Kishan Bharwad’s murder, there was a plan on the anvil to kill another youth from Jamnagar for committing “blasphemy” against Islam. Attempts were being made to build a network in order to teach a lesson to those who critical posts on social media as Kishan Bharwad did, a report published in TV 9 Gujarati said.

Big plan of target killings exposed

Two accused who have been arrested in this case earlier are put on a 9-days remand. Another Muslim cleric has been arrested in Ahmedabad. According to shocking information that was revealed during the investigation, the accused had planned to kill another youth from Jamnagar. The entire network was set up to teach a lesson to those who post on social media and preparations for the planned murders were also started. All the arrested accused will be tried under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime Act and UAPA Act.

Who provided the weapon to kill Kishan Bharwad?

In the Kishan Bharwad murder case, the police have informed that a person living in the Thorala police station area of ​​Rajkot had provided weapons. It is suspected that Azim Basir Sama, a resident of Dudhsagar Road, had given weapons. Azim Sama is absconding since last night. The team of Ahmedabad Police has also done a few investigations in Rajkot. Police sources said Azim and his two brothers were involved in criminal activities. Wasim alias Bacho Bashir Sama and Zubair Basir Sama are being investigated by the Rajkot crime branch in this matter.

Hindu organizations call a bandh in Dhandhuka on Sunday

There is outrage among Hindu organizations over the murder of a Hindu youth in Dhanduka, Ahmedabad. A bandh on Sunday has been announced in Dhandhuka in protest of the murder. Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Dholka branch has announced the ban. Local traders have also extended their support for this bandh. Similarly, a bandh has also been declared in the Barwala town of Botad by the local Hindu community.

Role of two maulvis involved in murder of Kishan Bharwad was reported earlier

On Thursday, the Ahmedabad Police arrested two persons and discovered links of two Maulvis in the murder case of 27-year-old Kishan Bharwad on January 25. Kishan was shot dead in Dhandhuka as he along with his cousin, was passing by the Modhwada locality on his two-wheeler.

According to the Zee News Gujarati, the murder was carried out on instructions of two Maulvis, one from Ahmedabad and another one from Mumbai. A Maulvi from the Jamalpur area of Ahmedabad had allegedly provided weapons to the murderers and Maulana from Mumbai had given the instructions.

Uttar Pradesh: Tension in Baghpat after Feroze critically injures his friend Sandeep by slitting his throat

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Tension in Baghpat after Feroze critically injures his friend Sandeep by slitting his throat

Tension gripped Faizpur Ninana village in Baghpat after a Hindu boy was brutally attacked by a Muslim youth from the village, seriously injuring him. Sandeep Dudhiya, a Dalit youth from the village, is battling for his life after one Muhammad Feroze slit his throat with a sharp knife.

According to reports, Sandeep Dudhiya, the son of Ombeer Dudhiya, had gone to the fields to fetch grass on Saturday, but after some time he returned to the village covered in blood. Blood was oozing out of his neck when he ran towards the village, after which he was immediately rushed to the district hospital by his family. But given the seriousness of his injury, he was referred to a better medical facility after giving him primary aid.

In the meanwhile, the family members of the victim have lodged a complaint with the police, accusing Muhammad Feroze of the crime. However, immediately after attacking Sandeep, Feroze fled the village. While police had reached his place to nab him, he had already disappeared.

A video has emerged on social media, which shows Sandeep reaching the village after he was attacked in the fields. His entire body was covered in his blood, and a cloth was placed at his neck to prevent further blood loss. In the video, the victim seemed to be unconscious.

Replying to such a tweet, Baghpat Police said that according to the complaint, Sandeep was attacked with a knife by one Feroze. They informed that Sandeep was rushed to the hospital immediately, and he is out of danger now as per the doctors. The police said that the complaint has been registered and the appropriate action is being taken.

However, as per social media users, Sandeep’s condition is still serious and he has been referred to Delhi for further treatment.

Baghpur Police inspector Tapeshwar Sagar told OpIndia that both Feroze and Sandeep are friends, and both had gone to the field together. But some arguments and fights must have taken place between the two, and in that fight, Feroze attacked Sandeep with a knife. The police officer said that a case under section 307 of the IPC has been lodged in the case, and assured that the accused will be nabbed soon.

He further informed at present the situation in the village under control.

Kishan Bharwad murder: Social media user exposes online “syndicate” of Islamists that targeted people for demanding justice for the slain Hindu man

Jinit Jain
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Kishan Bharwad murder: Social media user exposes online “syndicate” of Islamists that targeted people for demanding justice for the slain Hindu man

Earlier this week, a horrifying tragedy befell a 27-year-old Hindu man, Kishan Bharwad, when Islamists murdered him over a social media post that they believed was against Islam. In the wake of his murder, a social media user has narrated his ordeal of braving online attacks from Islamists for raising his voice for Kishan and demanding justice for him.

In an elaborate Twitter thread, a user who goes by the handle @lincolnsokhadia revealed how Islamists on social media platforms prowl for accounts that speak in favour of Hindus and gang up on them if the person refuses to mend their way. The user asserted that a “syndicate” of Islamists is active online that barges into the DMs of assertive Hindus and employs every trick, starting from deceit, gaslighting and ultimately threatening Hindus against taking a stand for their religion.

Like thousands on social media, @lincolnsokhadia also vigorously demanded justice for Kishan Bharwad after he was killed by Islamists over a post that Muslims found offensive. However, shortly after he posted tweets to protest against Kishan’s murder, he was accosted by a person on Instagram who goes by the handle @farid_miya_47. This Instagram user tried to reason with @lincolnsokhadia over his support for Kishan Bharwad and added him to a group with over 30 Islamists, many of whom were discussing ways to teach supporters of Kishan a lesson. The group’s name was “AK47” and the profile photo was provocative.

After being added to the group, the participants of the group targeted Lincoln, made several obscene comments against him and issued death threats against him. However, the user took screenshots of the messages and shared a long thread on Twitter explaining how Islamists are targeting Hindus who are standing up for their fellow co-religionist and demanding justice for Kishan Bharwad.

Detailing the method adopted by online Islamists, the user said when Hindus on social media extend their support to Kishan Bharwad, some Islamists would intrude into the Direct Message of such Hindus, trying to persuade them to relinquish their support for him. Instead of condemning the killing, the Islamists would try to guilt-trip Hindus by questioning their support for Kishan and accusing them of whipping up hatred against Muslims. They would try to manipulate Hindus into believing that the fault was of Kishan to have spoken against their religion.

The user then claims that if a Hindu falls into this trap and concurs with the Islamist’s worldview, declaring himself secular and affirming his brotherhood with them, the Islamists will have succeeded in the task of emasculating one Hindu man. This would, the user argues, make the work of the Islamist easy, who would then proceed to find another prey he can target with his manipulative ramblings.

But if Hindus don’t fall for the manipulation attempts made by the Islamists and instead provide logical counters to them, they then try to provoke Hindus into making controversial statements, which can be used against them, the user said.

In a subsequent tweet, the Twitter user shared screenshots from an Instagram group and alleged that those who remain stubborn in their beliefs and refuse to give in have their profiles shared in a “syndicate” of Islamists, who then launch a coordinated attack against such persons.

“They will share your profile in the syndicate, send it to different groups and unleash a barrage of attacks against you. They will try to find you and your family members’ details that are available online and launch a coordinated attack against you,” the user said.

Shortly afterwards, Hindus who had run afoul with them and voiced their support for Kishan would start receiving calls, messages laced with abuses and threats, and plans of dastardly attacks made against them, the user surmised. He also shared pictures from the Instagram chat group he was added to, to provide an example of how Islamists planned systematic online attacks against Hindus who refused to toe their line.

The user, who claimed he was one of the victims of the well-coordinated attack by Islamists, said Hindu gods, Goddesses and Hinduism are routinely abused on online forums run by Islamists. In addition to this, the participants of such forums also discuss and deliberate on ways and means to attack Hindus whose thoughts and beliefs do not harmonise with theirs.

Sharing abusive messages made against Hindu Gods and Goddesses, the user said this was but one forum where he had encountered Islamists who were raring to attack Hindus. He conjectured that there might be several other online forums and social media groups where Islamists would be freely strategising ways to target those who dare to extend their support to Hindu victims and demand bringing culprits of hate crimes against Hindus to book.

Towards the end, the user tagged MoS-Home Harsh Sanghvi and the official Twitter handle of Gujarat, stating that if anything happens to him, they could refer to the screenshots attached in the tweet above to identify the culprits.

Kishan Bharwad murder: Hindu man murdered over an SM post that Muslims found offensive, 2 maulvis arrested

The thread assumes profound significance, especially in the wake of the gruesome murder of Kishan Bharwad, who was shot dead in broad daylight by two bike-borne men over a social media post that Muslims found offensive. According to sources, the video shared by Kishan on social media had an image of the Prophet Muhammad. Usually, those who share such posts meet violent ends as Islamists go on a rampage against them, trying to teach those who “blaspheme” a lesson.

As per reports, the police had taken action against Kishan over the post as some people were outraged over it. Following the police intervention, both sides had reconciled, however, Kishan Bharwad was killed a few days after the incident.

Later, on Thursday this week, the Ahmedabad Police arrested two persons and discovered links to two Maulvis in the murder case of 27-year-old Kishan Bharwad on January 25. Kishan was shot dead in Dhandhuka as he along with his cousin, was passing by the Modhwada locality on his two-wheeler.

 According to the Zee News Gujarati, the murder was carried out on instructions of two Maulvis, one from Ahmedabad and another one from Mumbai. A Maulvi from the Jamalpur area of Ahmedabad had allegedly provided weapons to the murderers and Maulana from Mumbai had given the instructions.

Further reports by News18Gujarat state that the police have formed 7 different teams to investigate the matter. Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi reviewed the investigation process by the Police and collected all the details of the case.

‘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.

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