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Mother of M Lavanya, who committed suicide because of forced conversion by missionary school, blasts media for doubting her daughter’s dying declaration

OpIndia Staff
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Mother of M Lavanya, who committed suicide because of forced conversion by missionary school, blasts media for doubting her daughter’s dying declaration

The mother of M Lavanya, a student of standard 12th in Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Thirukattupali in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, who had committed suicide on January 20 has slammed the media for questioning the dying declaration of her daughter. In a video acquired by OpIndia, the deceased student’s mother has opened up about the torture perpetrated on her daughter by the missionary school authorities to convert to Christianity, that compelled her to take her life.

She is heard stating unequivocally that her daughter killed herself as a result of the treatment she was put to by the missionary school for refusing to convert to Christianity.

Miffed by the media trying to grill her over the ‘conversion angle’, the mother remarked angrily, “Do you want to say what she said in her dying declaration is false”. Her strong reaction came after the journalist told her that the police have maintained that the allegation that Lavanya was facing pressure to convert to Christianity from the school authorities was false.

Further explaining her deceased daughter’s plight which compelled her to end her life, the aggrieved mother said that they have lost their daughter today due to the torture and pressure exerted on her to convert by the authorities of the govt-aided Christian missionary school. “She was compelled and tortured and now she is no more…We want Justice, lamented the mother, as she revealed that her daughter was being pressured and coerced to take up Christianity for the last two years.

“She was asked to wash bathrooms and do other chores and was tortured…”, said the mother as she demanded the arrest and capital punishment for the two school wardens, identified as Sahay Mary and Rocklyn Mary who she said were responsible for the death of her daughter.

“We have lost our daughter but we do not want the same to happen with anyone else’s child…she should be the first and last to go through this torture”, said the mother demanding strict action against the school.

‘If she becomes like us she will get the respect and stature she deserves’, mother reveals how the TN missionary school was after her to let her daughter convert

M Lavanya’s mother recalled how the school had directly asked her to let the child convert to Christianity. “How are you going to make your daughter study, let her become like us. If she becomes like us she will get the respect and stature she deserves,” they had said. She added that she had a fight with the wardens regarding this but to no avail. “They continued to harass my daughter. They used to tell her that she is a bright girl and even threatened her that if she revealed these things to us they will spread rumours about her character. Probably that’s the reason why she did not reveal anything to us”, revealed M Lavanya’s mother.

She further added that they asked the school for a Transfer Certificate (TC) but the school was shut due to Covid. “We were waiting for the school to reopen and give us the TC so that we could apply to some other school. We approached the school after the Pongal holidays and asked for the TC which they denied. Our daughter was an excellent student. She placed first in the class. We wanted her to continue her studies. If something like this can happen to a student who use to come first in class imagine what would happen to the lesser bright students of the school”, remarked the irked mother.

Mother refutes police claims of no conversion angle

When the journalist tried to badger her with the police claims of no conversion angle being present in the suicide case, she lambasted, “Do you want to say what she said in her dying declaration is false”.

Notably, while speaking to News18, M Lavanya’s disgruntled mother reiterated their demands. “We demand that they be jailed and the school must be sealed immediately. We have three more children, we want them to study well. I hope that somebody helps us get justice for our daughter”.

Answering the same question posed to her regarding the police claims, she said, “we are ordinary daily labourers, so the police did not take our complaints seriously. Officials did not believe anything we said regarding the case.”

In an appeal to PM Narendra Modi, the aggrieved mother said: “We want to extend a request to PM Modi as well and say that please don’t let this happen to any other girl. All we want is justice for our daughter.”

Meanwhile, a massive row has erupted in Tamil Nadu following the death of the class 12 student. Many BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu has hit the streets demanding justice for the deceased class 12 student M Lavanya and her family and demanded stringent action against the missionary school which compelled the student to end her life.

Tamil Nadu police to probe suicide of student based on her dying declaration alleging ‘forced to convert’ by missionary school

It may be noted that only yesterday, the Tamil Nadu police had agreed to register the girl’s dying declaration in the case, where she alleged that the govt-aided Christian missionary school she went to had been pressuring her to convert to Christianity, and base the probe on it.

Prior to this, the initial FIR filed by the TN police had simply mentioned that the student was residing at the hostel and that on January 9, the warden reportedly compelled her to undertake household tasks. She apparently attempted suicide because she couldn’t stand the brutality any longer.

Speaking about this development, Thanjavur Superintendent of Police Ravali Priya Gandhapuneni had said that the girl’s parents’ initial statement was bereft of the conversion angle. She added that a new petition has been filed, in which the angle will be investigated as well.

It may be recalled that a video of Lavanya’s call for help was published on social media where she was seen talking about her torture. The video, originally in Tamil (translated by The Commune) says, “My name is Lavanya. They (school) had asked my parents in my presence if they can convert me to Christianity and help her for further studies. Since I didn’t accept, they kept scolding me.” She also named one Rachael Mary who had allegedly tortured her.

Times of India publishes story on cricketers who married cousins, includes Sehwag who didn’t marry cousin to ‘secularise’ the story

OpIndia Staff
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Times of India publishes story on cricketers who married cousins, includes Sehwag who didn’t marry cousin to ‘secularise’ the story

On January 19, Times of India did a web photo story on cricketers who married their cousins for its entertainment section. While the story contained cricketers from Pakistan and Bangladesh who have married their cousins, for some mysterious reason, TOI included Virender Sehwag and his wife Aarti Ahlawat in the story, who are actually not cousins. Not just that, they also used the photo of the couple as the cover photo for the story, completely misrepresenting facts.

The story titled ‘5 Cricketers Who Married Their Cousins’ includes 5 such couples, but actually, only 4 of them are true as per the title. The story mentioned the marriages of Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi with his maternal uncle’s daughter Nadia, Saeed Anwar’s marriage with his cousin sister Lubna, Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman’s marriage with his maternal cousin Samia Parvin, and Pakistani player Barba Azam’s upcoming wedding with his cousin.

As all the cricketers who married their cousins are from Pakistan and Bangladesh, and all of them belong to ‘a particular community’, Times of India felt the need to ‘secularise’ the story. But as they couldn’t find a suitable example of a similar wedding to ‘balance’ the report, they decided that being politically correct is more important than being factually correct.

Therefore, they included Virender Sehwag, even though his wife is not his cousin, mentioning that they are ‘distantly related’. The story itself mentioned that Sehwag’s Cousin had married his wife Aarti Ahlawat’s aunt, which means there are no blood relations between them, and no way they can be called be cousins, not event distant cousins.

The story also correctly mentions Viru had married his childhood love in 2004, as he had met her first when he was seven and she was five. In fact, they had met each other in the abovementioned wedding between their respective relatives. As Sehwag’s cousin had married Aarti’s aunt, it is evident that Aarti is not Sehwga’s cousin, and even if they are ‘distantly related’, it is completely wrong to include them in a story on cricketers who married their cousins. More importantly, there is no blood relation between the two like cousins, as the two became ‘distantly related’ only after the marriage between their relatives.

But not only did Times of India include them in the story, they even went to the extent of using their photo as the cover photo, making them the main focus of the story.

It is not that Times of India ran out of cricketers marrying cousins, and were forced to include the wedding of ‘distant relatives’. They could have included the examples of other cricketers, like Mosaddek Hossain from Bangladesh who had married his cousin Sharmin Samira Usha. But then, perhaps that would not be a ‘secular’ thing to do, hence TOI dropped Hossain to include Sehwag.

Netflix CEO anguished over its poor performance in India after shares plummet by 21%, netizens blame its ‘woke bullsh*t’

OpIndia Staff
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Netflix CEO anguished over its poor performance in India after shares plummet by 21%, netizens blame its ‘woke bullsh*t’

Popular video streaming and production company, Netflix, has recently witnessed a massive slump in the growth of its subscriber base. This has led to a slow start at the onset of the year and a fall of 21.79% in share value to $397.50 as of January 21, 2022.

As per reports, the investors have lost a whopping $45 billion in market value due to the aspersion that the company was going to enter a period of slow growth. Netflix is expected to add about 2.5 million subscribers to its user base in the first quarter of the year. In 2021, the company could add only 18.2 million customers, which was 50% less than that of 2020.

The current decline in Netflix’s growth is likely to continue for another quarter. The company is trying to identify key issues that have contributed to the slump. Although Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has been of the view that competition from rival streaming services is not a problem, company management has now conceded the impact of competitors, besides fall out of the pandemic and a tough economy in South America.

Stock performance of Netflix

On Thursday (January 20), Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings expressed his ‘frustration’ during an investor call over the slow growth of the video streaming company in the Indian market. He said, “In our experience in Brazil, it was brutal for the first couple of years. We thought we’d never break even. I know we’ve got this great business… The great news is that in every single other major market, we’ve got the flywheel spinning.”

“The thing that frustrates us is why haven’t we been more successful in India,” he also added. According to CFO Spencer Neumann, it was tough for the streaming platform to pinpoint the specific reasons as to why the subscriber acquisition did not recover to pre-Covid levels.

While speaking about the slash in Netflix’s pricing in India in December last year, COO Greg Peters noted, “We have been operating there and learning more about Indian consumers’ tastes, et cetera, and that’s broadening the offering of the service across many, many different dimensions. We felt it was the right time to decrease our prices there, to increase accessibility to all… we’re doing this through the lens of what’s the long-term sort of revenue maximisation.”

Annual subscriber acquisition by Netflix between 2015 and 2021, graphic via Bloomberg

Bloomberg reported that Netflix had achieved over 6000% growth in stock value between 2011 and 2021. During that period, the streaming platform acquired over 200 million subscribers. Given that markets in North America and Europe have become saturated, the company has shifted its focus to the Asia Pacific and Africa. Owing to the appreciation of the US dollar, it has become difficult for Netflix to break even in international markets. It is expected to lose $1 billion in sales in 2022.

Netizens pinpoint slump in Netflix’s growth to its ‘woke culture’

After CEO Reed Hastings expressed frustration over Netflix’s slow growth in the Indian market, netizens were quick to show the mirror to the streaming platform. “Meanwhile Netflix’s shows in India: Leila shows a Dystopian Hindu society, ‘Krishna & his Leela’, Vir Das keeps taking unfunny dumps on India. List goes on,” tweeted TFI senior Editor Shubhangi Sharma.

She added, “Maybe the Netflix India team needs a little reshuffling. It’s ridiculous how out-of-touch their content is with the Indian people. They keep facing boycott calls as well. Indians are already keeping alternatives. It’s not an easy market to woo while also peddling a woke agenda.”

Former Infosys Director, Mohandas Pai, blamed the slump in Netflix’s growth story in India on ‘anti-Hindu’ content of the company. “You insult the majority of Indians, hope to grow? Listen to your viewers,” he emphasised.

A Twitter user accused the streaming platform of being Delhi and Mumbai centric and thus failing to understand the pulse of the rest of the nation. “If you cast a Malhotra and a Dassani in a movie about Tamilians based out of Madurai, how will it pick up?” he added.

Another Twitter user stated, “This is because, India is still much sane for woke content which Netflix tries to serve. Even your non-woke content was for elites. The woke-heads at Netflix never promoted culturally relatable content.”

One Twitter user wrote, “They were too focused on Bollywood and best regional cinema went to rivals. Now it’s too late.”

Netflix has been under the scanner in India for peddling inappropriate content to users. In March 2021, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights took cognizance of online outrage after several Twitter users called out the OTT platform for wrongfully depicting children in the web series “Bombay Begums”. The apex child rights body had asked Netflix to stop streaming the web series, citing an inappropriate portrayal of children.

NCP MP Amol Kolhe faces backlash from his own party for playing Nathuram Godse in the film ‘Why I Killed Gandhi’

OpIndia Staff
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NCP MP Amol Kolhe faces backlash from his own party for playing Nathuram Godse in the film ‘Why I Killed Gandhi’

On Friday, a massive uproar erupted over NCP MP Amol Kolhe’s portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi’s killer, Nathuram Godse, in his new film ‘Why I Killed Gandhi.’ Kolhe’s party colleague and Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad has openly objected to Kolhe taking such roles, indicating the depth of the dispute. Awhad, angered by the trailer of the movie, has accused Amol Kolhe of ‘supporting’ Godse.

Amol Kolhe, a Lok Sabha MP from Shirur, is seen recreating Godse in the film’s trailer, which depicts Godse’s trial following Gandhi’s assassination, justifying his actions.

NCP Minister Awhad took to Twitter to say, “It is apparent from the trailer of Amol Kolhe’s film that Amol Kolhe has played Nathuram Godse. Nathuram Godse is endorsed his work, despite the fact that it is done as an artist. In the garb of an artist, you cannot applaud Gandhi’s killing “. He pointed out that actors Vinay Apte and Sharad Ponkshe had also received backlash for their portrayals of assassins, and hence he would reject the film.

The film ‘Why I Killed Gandhi’ will premiere on Limelight OTT on January 30th, Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary.

Kolhe, the film’s main character, has been acting since 2008 and has worked in a number of historical-themed films and TV shows. In past TV programs, the actor has played roles like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji. Later in life, he became active in politics and was a prominent Shiv Sena campaigner in 2014. The film was made in 2017, but it is just now being released. Kolhe played Godse in the movie while being a Shiv Sena member. In February 2019, he joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and beat Shivajirao Adhalarao Patil of the Sena in the Shirur Lok Sabha constituency.

Kolhe issued a video statement on Friday in which he clarified the position. ‘It appears that many individuals have been hurt as a result of my part as Godse in the Hindi film ‘Why I Killed Gandhi,” Kolhe stated. I never agreed with Godse’s acts or his anti-Mahatma Gandhi ideas. I never even promoted the movie. As an actor in 2017, I hoped to acquire a role in a film,’ he added, saying that it must be understood and viewed in that light.

Given the fact that the NCP leader has clarified its position following the protest, party head Sharad Pawar has stated that Amol Kolhe has taken the role as an artist. “Even Gandhi film has become quite famous,” he remarked. The actor who played Godse in the film was also a talented artist.”

US extends military assistance to Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion soar, includes ammunition for front line defenders

OpIndia Staff
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US extends military assistance to Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion soar, includes ammunition for front line defenders

On Friday, Ukraine received its first shipment of 2 lakh pounds of lethal assistance recently directed by US President Biden amid soaring fears of a Russian invasion. The shipment also included ammunition for the front line defenders of Ukraine and US commitment to bolster the defence.

The American Embassy in Kyiv in its tweet said that ‘the shipment – and $2.7 billion USD since 2014 – demonstrates US commitment to helping Ukraine bolster its defences in the face of growing ‘Russian aggression’.

This comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Ukraine this week and approved military assistance of $200 million as part of American efforts to help Ukraine protect itself. Committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the official had said that the US would continue to provide Ukraine with the support it needs.

On January 19, Russia deployed more than 1,27,000 servicemen at the border with Ukraine with intentions to expand aggression towards Ukraine. The assessment by Ukraine had defined the situation in the region as ‘difficult’ and had said that Russia was trying to split and weaken the European Union and NATO.

The US also in its assessment report had mentioned that Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine at any point in time now. As reported earlier, the Russian troops have made their permanent camps in the Central and Eastern parts of the country and support around 35,000 rebels in eastern Ukraine.

According to the reports, Blinken yesterday met its Russian counterpart and tested Russia’s willingness to resolve the crisis diplomatically. Russia had has denied withdrawing its troops from the border and said that it has a right to deploy its forces wherever it likes on its own territory.

Reports mention Ukraine’s fear of being attacked with medium-range missile weapons named Iskander as 36 of them have made their base already by the border. Ukraine’s assessment comes as it attempts to get the whole world united against Putin seeking to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 2014, NATO unanimously decided to suspend all practical co-operation with the Russian Federation, in response to the Ukraine crisis, but the NATO-Russia Council still remains intact.

‘Swear to Allah, I am a soldier of my community’: Punjab Congress chief Sidhu’s aide Mustafa threatens violence if Hindus hold events near his. Watch

OpIndia Staff
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‘Swear to Allah, I am a soldier of my community’: Punjab Congress chief Sidhu’s aide Mustafa threatens violence if Hindus hold events near his. Watch

A video has surfaced in which the former Punjab DG Police Mohammad Mustafa, who is also the principal strategic adviser to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, is heard blatantly threatening Hindus of dire repercussions if they dare to hold their events near his event during a public meeting on January 20, Thursday.

Sharing the purported video, BJP’s national spokesperson Shazia Ilmi accused Sidhu’s aide of trying to incite violence and disturb communal harmony by giving provocative statements ahead of the Punjab assembly polls.

The video of the hate speech was first shared by Chiranshu Rattan, the spokesperson of the BJP Punjab youth wing. Soon it started doing rounds on social media. Ilmi captioned the video with a section of the Congress leader’s inflammatory statement made during an event held in the Baghwala Mohalla in Malerkotla district late on Thursday evening.

She Tweeted in Hindi which roughly translated to: “Swear to Allah, I am a soldier of my community, I want to tell the district administration, that it will not be good if Hindus are given a place next to my” PS of Malerkotla @sherryontopp while campaigning for his wife.”

‘I swear on Allah I will enter their houses and beat them up’, Punjab Congress leader blatantly threatens Hindus

In the video, Congress’ Mohammad Mustafa is heard threatening of creating a situation that cannot be controlled if Hindus were allowed to hold events near his event. Amidst loud cheers and claps, the Congress leader said: “Allah ki kasam kha ke kheta hoon inka koi jalsa nahi hone denge. Main quami fauji hoon, main quami sipahi hoon, mein RSS ka agent nahi hoon jo dar ke ghar mein ghus jaonga (I swear by Allah that I would not allow them to organise any event. I am a warrior and soldier of my community, I am not an RSS agent who will hide in fear.)

He added: “Agar dobara inhone aaisi harkat ki, khuda ki kasam inke ghar mein ghus kar marunga. Aaj mein sirf warning de raha hoon. Mein voto ke liye nahi lad raha…mein kaum ke liye lad raha hoon. Main zila police aur zila prashasan ko bhi batana chahata hoon…agar dobara aisi harkat hui…mere jalse ke barabar mein agar Hinduon ko ijaazat di gayi, toh mein aaise halat paida kar doonga ke sambhalne mushkil jo jayega” (If they again try to do something like this, I swear on Allah I will enter their houses and beat them up. I am not fighting for votes but for my community. I warn the district administration and police that if in future they allow Hindus to hold gatherings next to ours, I will create such an environment that it will be difficult for them to control.)

What transpired

The former Punjab DG Police Mohammad Mustafa’s hate speech came in the wake of a verbal spat between supporters of Congress candidate Razia Sultana and AAP candidate Jamil-ur-Rehman. Tension started when stages of AAP and Congress were set up in the same lane within 20-25 feet in Baghwala Mohalla, which is near Sirhindi Gate and both programmes were scheduled to be held simultaneously on January 20 (Thursday) evening.

Reportedly the AAP workers raised slogans against police and even Navjot Singh Sidhu’s aide Mohd Mustafa.

Speaking about the incident Waseem Sheikh, the secretary of Muslim Sikh federation Punjab said: “DJ of Congress was causing disturbance to AAP’s function and speakers of AAP were also not audible. AAP supporters raised slogans from their venue and didn’t go near Congress’s stage.” When the tensions between the Congress and the AAP erupted, Waseem Sheikh was present at the venue.

BJP’s national spokesperson Shazia Ilmi asks EC to take cognisance of the Punjab Congress leader’s hateful speech

Responding to the same, BJP’s national spokesperson Shazia Ilmi said: “Our team and Chiranshu got video and it was a speech given by Mustafa while campaigning during the election in Malerkotla, which is a Muslim-dominated area. This is a hate speech and he is trying to incite violence and disturb communal harmony by giving such provocative statements ahead of the Punjab election.”

“The Election Commission should take cognisance of this video and should not allow Razia, who is an MLA from Malerkotla, to contest the election,” Ilmi added.

Who is Mohammad Mustafa

Notably, Mohammad Mustafa is the husband of Razia Sultana, the Congress candidate representing the Malerkotla constituency in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He is also the former Punjab DG Police, In August last year, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu had appointed former IPS officer Mohammad Mustafa as his principal strategic adviser.

The development followed a day after Mustafa, the husband of Punjab Cabinet Minister Razia Sultana, had turned down Sidhu’s invitation to designate him as one of his four advisers.

“Mohd Mustafa is hereby appointed as the principal strategic advisor to the PPCC president, the undersigned, Navjot Singh Sidhu with immediate effect,” a statement issued by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee said.

“He would act as a PCC coordinator with the AICC on issues pertaining to his domain and any other matters that the president may deem fit,” it added.

“Love to be associated with Razia Ji and Mustafa sahib,” Sidhu said in a tweet.

Malerkotla is an assembly constituency in Punjab. The Muslim-dominated district has 3.24 lakh voters. In 2017, this constituency was won by Razia Sultana of the Indian National Congress. She had defeated Mohammad Owais from Shiromani Akali Dal with a margin of 12702 votes.

The 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections will be held in Punjab in a single phase on 20 February 2022 to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly and the results will be announced on March 10.

Delhi Police nabs arm supplier Hazi Shamim for planning to kill Kashmiri Pandit activist Sushil Pandit, Khalistani, Pakistani links emerge

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Police nabs arm supplier Hazi Shamim for planning to kill Kashmiri Pandit activist Sushil Pandit, Khalistani, Pakistani links emerge

On Friday, the Delhi Police arrested a notorious arms supplier named Hazi Shamim from Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh in a conspiracy to kill a prominent Kashmiri Pandit Social Activist in New Delhi. The Police has also exposed the Khalistani and Pakistan links in the case and recovered 5 pistols, 20 live cartridges from Shamim.

55-year-old Hazi Shamim, popularly known as Shamim pistol was involved in an assassination plot on a human rights activist Sushil Pandit last year. He was arrested by the Police on Friday after they confirmed Shamim’s role as the supplier of weapons, that emerged during an investigation.

According to the Delhi Police Special Cell DCP Pramod Kushwah, two contract killers Sukhvinder Singh and Lakhan Rajput were arrested in February last year for planning to kill Pandit. During the investigation, the two disclosed that they were hired by Prince Kumar alias Tooti and were promised Rs 10 lakh each. The police had then registered a case against Tooti and arrested two more accused, Jagdeep alias Kaka and Rohit Chaudhary.

The investigation further revealed that Chaudhary’s brother Rahul who is an expert in drone handling was arrested by the Punjab Police for his alleged role in smuggling narcotic drugs into India from Pakistan using drones. “When Rahul was in jail, Chaudhary was contacted by some persons from Pakistan through one Randeep alias Romi, a member of banned terrorist outfit Khalistan Zindabad Force”, DCP Kushwah said.

Reports further mention that Romi assigned the task of killing the Kashmiri social activist to Chaudhary, who asked his associate Jagdeep alias Kaka to arrange someone to do so, and offered him ₹50 lakh. Kaka had already murdered someone in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on Chaudhary’s instructions.

Kaka wanted to execute the operation but agreed to Chaudhary who suggested the murder be committed by someone else so that they are not linked to the killing. Kaka sought Tooti’s help, who hired Sukhvinder and Rajput. The two came to Delhi and were provided with firearms and ammunition and a photo of the target. “The two were arrested before they could finish the job”, the police said.

The Delhi Police confirmed that the weapons and bullets were supplied by Hazi Shamim and had attempted anticipatory bail after learning about the arrest of Chaudhary. The bail was however rejected. “Shamim went on the run and a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. He was arrested on January 19,” added the DCP.

Pertinently, Hazi Shamim has been supplying illegal arms for more than 15 years and deals in sophisticated arms including foreign make arms. He has been arrested several times in several cases for operating an illegal venture.

Kushwah said that Police had recovered 30 pistols, one rifle from Shamim in 2014 and also 84 pistols in 2018. It is reported that Shamim procured raw material from Munger in Bihar and assembled the weapons in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra does a swift u-turn after she declared herself Congress’ CM candidate for UP: All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra does a swift u-turn after she declared herself Congress’ CM candidate for UP: All you need to know

A day after Congress party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra declared herself the Chief Ministerial candidate of Uttar Pradesh in the 2022 State Assembly elections, she reversed her stand, claiming that it was a “statement made in irritation.”

“I am not saying that I am the (CM) face (of Congress in the Uttar Pradesh elections)… I said that (you can see my face everywhere) in irritation because you all were asking the same question again & again” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told ANI.

The Congress party presented its manifesto for Uttar Pradesh ahead of the assembly elections on Friday, claiming that only the Congress could provide a fresh vision to the state’s youngsters. Besides that, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had clearly hinted that she would be the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh.

When asked by a journalist about who would be the Congress’ CM face in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi responded, “Can you see any other face?” “If I am the one who is seen everywhere, why is that question even being asked?” She also added that her party in Uttar Pradesh prefers that the focus is on development rather than the negative propaganda based on caste or communalism that is currently circulating.

Interestingly, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has now made a u-turn. While her connotation was extremely evident when she implied that since it is only her face that is seen everywhere, then naturally she would be the CM face for Uttar Pradesh, she has now said that she made that statement out of “irritation”. One also has to wonder why she would get “irritated” when asked a question that is a natural inquisition given that Congress has not announced a CM face for Uttar Pradesh while for BJP, it has clearly been Yogi Adityanath. In fact, even for SP it is clearly Akhilesh Yadav.

Priyanka Gandhi has been spotted aggressively campaigning for the forthcoming state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. She is leading the Congress campaign for the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, which begins on February 10. Because of Covid, the Election Commission has prohibited political parties from holding rallies and roadshows, but it has permitted door-to-door and virtual campaigning.

While Priyanka Gandhi is busy engaging with women and promising to improve women’s status in society, Dr Priyanka Maurya, the state vice-president of the Mahila Congress in Uttar Pradesh since 2019 and the face of the party’s women’s manifesto “Shakti Vidhan,” has made serious allegations against Congress. She claimed that the party’s ticket allocation in the state was manipulated and that Congress denied her an election ticket because she refused to pay a bribe.

DSLSA moves Delhi HC for recovery of Rs 20 lakh fine imposed on Juhi Chawla, 7 months ago, for 5G lawsuit: What happened

OpIndia Staff
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DSLSA moves Delhi HC for recovery of Rs 20 lakh fine imposed on Juhi Chawla, 7 months ago, for 5G lawsuit: What happened

The Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) has filed a plea with the Delhi High Court asking it to instruct Bollywood actor Juhi Chawla and two others to pay up the fine of Rs 20 lakh imposed on them for filing a case opposing the rollout of 5G technology. The fine was imposed on the actor and two others by Delhi HC in June last year after it dismissed the petition filed by actor Juhi Chawla against the 5G rollout in the country calling it a publicity stunt.

DSLSA’s lawyer, Saurabh Kansal, argued that though the order imposing the fine was issued in June it is yet to be implemented. Kansal argued before the court that the appeal against the order was filed only after the DSLSA issued a notice of recovery and that the division bench had not granted a stay.

In its execution petition, DSLSA asked the court to assist in the issuance of orders to attach and auction moveable and immovable properties for recovery of fine or directions for civil imprisonment of Juhi Chawla and others.

“More than 7 months have passed since this Hon’ble court had imposed cost upon Plaintiffs (Chawla and others), which was directed to be paid within seven days to DSLSA, but the Plaintiffs have failed to deposit the cost imposed by this Hon’ble Court,” the plea filed through DSLSA’s lawyers Saurabh Kansal and Pallavi S Kansal submitted.

Meanwhile, the Bollywood actress’s lawyer informed Justice Amit Bansal that an appeal against the single judge’s judgement is pending before a division bench and will be heard on January 25, and begged the court to postpone the execution petition for the time being.

“Let us see what happens before the division bench,” said the Delhi HC court while deferring the hearing on the execution petition until February 3.

Delhi HC imposes fine of Rs 20 lakh on Juhi Chawla and 2 others for abusing the process of law 

On June 4, 2021, the Delhi High Court had dismissed the petition filed by actor Juhi Chawla against the 5G rollout in the country, adding that the lawsuit was filed to garner publicity.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakhs on actor Juhi Chawla and others who had filed the petition, observing that the petitioner had abused the process of law by circulating the web link of the hearing on social media websites that had led to the hearing being disrupted by unknown miscreants who sang songs from the actress’s movies. 

Moreover, the court had also noted that the plaint was defective and not maintainable. It ruled that Chawla did not comply with the mandate under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure. It additionally said that the plaint was not verified.

Actor clarifies her stance on the much-talked-about 5G lawsuit initiated by her

Following the court order, Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla had finally broken her silence clarifying her stance on the much-talked-about 5G lawsuit initiated by her. Chawla who was fined Rs. 20 lakh fine by the Delhi High Court for abusing the process of law has released a video on Instagram asking people to decide ‘if it was a publicity stunt’.

FBI slammed for trying to downplay motives behind Texas synagogue siege where Islamic terrorist was heard ranting about ‘f*cking Jews’

Dibakar Dutta
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FBI slammed for trying to downplay motives behind Texas synagogue siege where Islamic terrorist was heard ranting about ‘f*cking Jews’

Days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tried to downplay the anti-Semitic nature of the terror attack at a Texas synagogue, its Director Christopher A. Wray has now conceded that it was an act of terrorism against the Jewish community.

On Thursday (January 17), Wray informed, “This was not some random occurrence. It was intentional, it was symbolic and we’re not going to tolerate antisemitism in this country.” He made the remarks during a webinar organised by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

It must be mentioned that the FBI had earlier tried to trivialise the actions of slain terrorist Malik Faisal Akram, who took 4 Jews hostage at the Texas synagogue for 11 hours before being gunned down.

While speaking about the matter on January 16, FBI officer Matthew DeSarno had claimed, “We do believe from our engagement with the subject that he was singularly focused on one issue and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community. We are continuing to work to find the motive and we will continue on that path.”

Criticism of FBI for trivialising anti-Semitism of Islamist

The attempt by the FBI to dismiss the ‘anti-Semitic’ angle irked several politicians and members of the Jewish community. Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard had pointed out, “Instead of trying to be “woke”/politically correct and targeting parents who care about what schools are teaching their children, the FBI/Dept of Homeland Security should focus on actual threats like the jihadist who terrorized the Texas synagogue.”

Journalist Todd Starnes remarked, “The FBI says they have no idea why a Muslim man, who pledged allegiance to a jailed Muslim terrorist, would take Jews hostage inside a Texas synagogue. Yes sir – it’s a genuine headscratcher.”

Fox News journalist Lucas Tomlinson also highlighted the U-turn of the flip flop of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Viral audio clip reveals how terrorist wanted to kill Jews

During the hostage situation, Malik Faisal Akram dialled his brother Gulbar in Blackburn in the United Kingdom and talked about ‘f*cking Jews’ before being gunned down by FBI officials. The Jewish Chronicle revealed how the Islamist had plans to import terrorists from the UK to the USA.

“I’m opening the doors for every youngster in England to enter America and f*** with them…Live your f***ing life bro, you f***ing coward. We’re coming to f***ing America. F them if they want to f*** with us. We’ll give them f***ing war,” Akram was heard as saying.

He announced, “I’ve asked Allah for this death, Allah is with me, I’m not worried in the slightest.” The radical Islamist further inquired, “Why do these f***ing motherf***ers come to our countries, rape our women and f*** our kids? I’m setting a precedent… maybe they’ll have compassion for f***ing Jews.”

His brother Gulbar tried to persuade Akram to surrender but it was in vain. “(I have been) praying to Allah for two years for this. I’d rather live one day as a lion than 100 years as a jackal. I’m going to go toe-to-toe with [police] and they can shoot me dead … I’m coming home in a body bag. I promised my brother on his deathbed that I’d go down a martyr.”

The Islamist expressed happiness that his actions drew the attention of the world to the Muslims in the US, who according to him were being oppressed. He also demanded the release of Pakistani neuroscientists cum Al-Qaeda terrorist Aafia Siddiqui. “I’m bombed up, I’ve got fucking every ammunition,” he had announced.

It must be mentioned that Akram, a Tablighi Jamaat member, had entered the synagogue by pretending to be a homeless man. Despite the existence of ample evidence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation initially tried to downplay the Jewish hatred in the mind of the terrorist.

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