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USA: Waiting for days to get a Covid test, thousands of wasted tests and a ‘testing company’ that is now facing investigation

OpIndia Staff
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USA: Waiting for days to get a Covid test, thousands of wasted tests and a ‘testing company’ that is now facing investigation

The United States of America reported 8.9 lakh new Covid cases on January 13. As the pandemic rages in the country, 8.4 lakh deaths have been reported so far, with over 2200 Covid deaths on January 13 alone.

On Monday, January 10, the USA had reported 1.35 million, (13.5 lakh) Covid cases on a single day. That was the highest single-day tally reported from one country so far in the pandemic.

As the cases rise, the USA is also facing an acute shortage of test kits. There are many posts on social media highlighting the long queues and delays in getting a test done. Some people have reported that despite paying hundreds of dollars for the tests and booking days, even weeks in advance, they are unable to have a test done.

Entrepreneur K Ganesh had shared that he has been waiting for over a week to get a test done and has paid 150$ for an RTPCR test.

The delay is not just in rapid result tests that cost a lot of money. Several reports have emerged highlighting how low-cost home tests are also becoming inaccessible to a large number of people. A woman in Texas and her family reportedly had to wait in line for hours and return home without a test for three days in a row, as reported by wkyt.com. On the 4th day, when they arrived at 5 am at the test site that opens at 8 am, they found 70 cars already waiting.

Soon after the holidays, it was reported that low-cost at-home tests had vanished from shelves in drug stores. People thronging to testing sites reported that they have to wait for days before they can get a test done. In a report by Kera, a woman in Dallas stated she waited for five days to get her test results from a testing site, but the result never came. Finally, she managed to find a home testing kit because her son had to produce a Covid negative report to return to school.

The same report stated that Harris County in texas had voted to immediately purchase 65,000 test kits at a cost of over 1.8 million$ for schools and county employees, highlighting the shortage.

Nationwide Covid testing company faces investigation

In another development, the Centre for Covid Control, a nationwide testing company, has been facing investigations from the Oregon Department of Justice. The company has recently announced that its testing sites spread across the country will remain shut for a week.

The company has testing sites across 300 locations in the USA and two locations, Massachusetts and Washington ordered a shut down on their testing sites following rampant complaints. The company is facing investigations over alleged violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The company has also been accused of giving false negative reports, providing incorrect directions for customers self-administering rapids tests, not reporting test results to state govts and failing to track complaints. Kelly Bauer, a journalist, reported that Akber Syed, who is reportedly the leader of the company, had posted images on social media flaunting the luxury cars that he had bought with ‘Covid money’.

The investigation also mentions that the Centre for Covid Control has wasted over 40,000 test kits in its labs.

Recently, US President Joe Biden had announced that his administration is ordering 500 million more test kits. The Biden administration stated that they will soon launch a website where citizens can order test kits online. However, it is not clear when the said site will be operational. Biden had also stated that 6 federal teams will be dispatched to help overwhelmed state hospitals.

Watch: BSP leader cries bitterly after being denied ticket despite allegedly paying Rs 67 lakhs as bribe, threatens suicide

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: BSP leader cries bitterly after being denied ticket despite allegedly paying Rs 67 lakhs as bribe, threatens suicide

The tussle and drama over party tickets in Uttar Pradesh have intensified with the release of the high-octane Assembly election dates. A video has now emerged on social media wherein a Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) leader is seen crying profusely in the city Kotwali for being denied a ticket from the Charthawal seat of Muzaffarnagar despite paying the party Rs 67 lakhs for the same.

Sobbing inconsolably in front of the Uttar Pradesh police, BSP leader Arshad Rana alleged that a senior party leader, namely Shamsuddin Raeen, the West UP Convenor, sought Rs 67 lakh from him for a ticket two years ago, but he was removed from his ticket without his knowledge.

The BSP leader threatened to commit self-immolation if he did not get justice.

Arshad Rana, a resident of the Charthawal assembly constituency’s Dadhedu village, has been involved in the BSP for a long time. His wife had also run for District Panchayat member on the BSP ticket. Rana has been planning to run for the BSP’s Charthawal seat for a long time in the hopes of securing a party ticket.

BSP supremo Mayawati, on the other hand, had tweeted the day before that the party has fielded Salman Saeed for the Charthawal assembly seat.

Salman Saeed is the son of Sayeduzzaman, a Congress leader and former State Minister of State for Home. Rana was so upset by the news that he wrote about it on Facebook and afterwards travelled to the city Kotwali with his supporters. He claimed that party leaders made a spectacle of him and demanded that the money he gave as a bribe for the election ticket be returned to him.

Meanwhile, according to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, Arshad Rana has also filed a formal complaint against a BSP official. Inspector Anand Dev Mishra, in charge of City Kotwali, said the matter is being examined and that required legal action will be taken after the probe.

It may be noted, that the BSP is contesting in all 403 seats in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. However, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati will not contest the polls, party general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra said on Tuesday. Since elections are being held in several states, including Punjab and Uttarakhand, along with Uttar Pradesh, the BSP president will not contest the polls and help other party candidates win, Misra added.

Megan Fox and her boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly drank each other’s blood on their engagement

OpIndia Staff
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Megan Fox and her boyfriend Machine Gun Kelly drank each other’s blood on their engagement

Actress Megan Fox had announced recently that she has been engaged to her boyfriend ‘Machine Gun Kelly’. In a shocking revelation, the actress and model has announced that to make the engagement official they ‘drank each other’s blood’.

In an Instagram post on January 11, Fox has shared photos and videos of the proposal. Machine Gun Kelly was seen kneeling down to propose the actress under a banyan tree with lamps burning in the surrounding. She wrote that they drank each other’s blood.

The Jennifer’s Body actress wrote, “In July 2020 we sat under this banyan tree and asked for magic. We were oblivious to the pain we would face together in such a short, frenetic period of time. Unaware of the work and sacrifices the relationship would require from us but intoxicated off of the love, And the Karma. Somehow a year and a half later, having walked through hell together, and having laughed more than I ever imagined possible, he asked me to marry him. And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes…… and then we drank each other’s blood.”

Machine Gun Kelly designed the ring

The rapper Machine Gun Kelly has stated that he has designed the engagement ring himself with Stephen Webster. The ring has two parts, one emerald (Megan’s birthstone) and a diamond (Kelly’s birthstone), “set on two magnetic bands of thorns that draw together as two halves of the same soul forming the obscure heart that is our love”, the rapper wrote.

Fox was earlier married to Brian Austin Green. They have 3 sons named Noah, Bodhi and Journey. Soon after the rumours of Fox and Kelly dating started doing the rounds, they had appeared for an interview where Fox had told that she and Kelly are “two halves of the same soul”.

Kelly’s latest album has a song named ‘Banyan Tree’ and it reportedly describes the tree where they had first met and had fallen in love.

Under-19 girls’ singles badminton: Tasnim Mir becomes first Indian to rank No.1 in the world

OpIndia Staff
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Under-19 girls’ singles badminton: Tasnim Mir becomes first Indian to rank No.1 in the world

16-year-old badminton star Tasnim Mir from Mehsana, Gujarat has done what many sportspersons only dream of doing. Tasnim Mir, a junior category shuttler, has become the world’s number-1 badminton player in the women’s singles category of Under-19.

Tasnim has become the first junior female player from India to achieve this feat. When the junior world rankings started in 2011, Saina was not eligible, while Sindhu has been the world number-2 player.

‘My dream is to win an olympic medal for India’

After achieving this feat, Tasnim Mir said, “I am very happy today and I am going to try and follow in the footsteps of my role models PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. I am now concentrating on how the seniors play now and am trying to get to compete at that level. I am hoping to win a medal for India at the next Olympics.”

Making ways through financial crisis

Tasnim said that “There was a time when my father had stopped my game due to financial constraints, but after getting the sponsor, my game started again. said that That’s why I have reached this point today.”

She added that “I used to cry a lot after losing a match. I worked very hard to get to where I am today, train about six to seven hours a day. My parents have made a lot of sacrifices for helping me and my brother in our sport.”

Her father Irfan said that Tasnim started playing badminton at the age of six. There was a point when he had considered asking her to stop playing but she could continue after receiving sponsorship. “Now we hope that she becomes a senior champion as well and win for the country at the Olympics,” he said. He is a badminton coach and works for the Mehsana police.

Tasnim has so far won 22 tournaments in different categories. She has also been the Asian champion twice in singles.

Australian Hindu Council slams Islamic terror outfit HAMAS backed BDS’ anti-Jew boycott at Sydney Festival: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Australian Hindu Council slams Islamic terror outfit HAMAS backed BDS’ anti-Jew boycott at Sydney Festival: Read details

The Hindu Council of Australia has slammed the Sydney Festival disruptors after the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is backed by the internationally outlawed Islamic terrorist organisation HAMAS, asked for an anti-Israel, anti-Jewish boycott during the Sydney Festival.

In a recent article on the Hindu Council of Australia (HCA) website titled, “No Place for Messages of Intolerance,” written by their vice president Surinder Jain, he stated that while messages from intolerant organisations such as BDS Australia may appear to be messages of peace, there is nothing peaceful about anything that embraces exclusion.

He wrote stressing the inclusive nature of Hinduism. “The Hindu faith and community has a rich artistic history. Hindu spirituality is expressed in many ways, including dance, drama, painting, architecture, sculpture and music. As a community, we embrace the artistic expression of all cultures, religions and backgrounds. We welcome the Sydney festival that embraces and exhibits the talents, cultural influences and artistic expression of so many diverse artists on an international scale. We cannot let messages of intolerance, such as those coming from BDS Australia, be masked as messages of peace – there is nothing peaceful about exclusion. We plead with such forces to refrain from actions that affect the cultural diversity of the festival.”

Reiterating the Sydney Festival’s commitment to inclusivity, he added that for 45 years, the festival has brought some of the world’s best artists to Sydney, and in turn, has showcased some of Australia’s best talent to an international audience to celebrate diversity, an eclectic gathering of the hundreds of communities and cultures that make up Australia’s multicultural identity.

Hindus are unhappy to see the Sydney Festival organisers under scrutiny for their unwavering commitment to pluralism and diversity, he said. The festival’s organisers have stayed steadfastly impartial, reaffirming their commitment to celebrating Australia’s rich diversity.

What is BDS?

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) is an anti-Israel movement backed by Islamic terrorist organization HAMAS that opposes the concept of Israel as the home state of Jewish people. Some of their leaders have been trying to bring in the conflict there in Australia by boycotting the Sydney Festival which provides a popular platform for local and international artists to showcase their talent.

Many artists and politicians have reportedly been misled into supporting BDS under the guise of advancing Palestinian human rights, and thus, indirectly supporting a terrorist organisation.

Though many artists and intellectuals have criticised the boycott movement, many participants of the festival have been misled into the boycott movement, making them believe that by boycotting a vibrant multicultural event in Sydney, they are doing something for the ‘human rights’ of people in Gaza.

The Israeli embassy Australia had shared a statement by senator Eric Abetz on the issue. Abetz stated that the “sponsored by Israel” claims stem from the fact that the Israeli embassy has provided a fund of 20,000 dollars for a dance performance by Israeli choreographer Chad Naharin.

“When you have terrorists backing your argument, you know that you have lost the argument”, the senator said for the BSD movement’s boycott call for the Sydney Festival.

Response of Australians

In light of this, the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) is pushing for anti-BDS legislation to be introduced in Australia. The fact that the Sydney Festival has been overshadowed by a particularly aggressive BDS campaign emphasises the need, they say. AJA has received support from federal lawmakers, including ministers.

A Twitter user named Sarah L gates wrote, “How to normalise anti-Semitic activists in bed with Hamas. Boycott the Greens.”

Some reports also suggest that some Greens Party leaders in Australia are also supporting the boycott. The Greens call themselves to be working to make the world and Australia a better liveable place. After their endorsement of the boycott campaign, people are questioning their intent as to why they are concerned more about external wars and not the inclusivity portrayed by the Sydney Festival. Local residents are also venting their frustrations on social media and boycotting anyone who supports BDS and similar movements.

‘Anti-woman, anti-OBC’: Read why Mahila Congress leader called Priyanka Gandhi’s ‘Ladki hoon, Lad Sakti hoon’ UP campaign a sham

OpIndia Staff
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‘Anti-woman, anti-OBC’: Read why Mahila Congress leader called Priyanka Gandhi’s ‘Ladki hoon, Lad Sakti hoon’ UP campaign a sham

Dr Priyanka Maurya, the state vice-president of Mahila Congress, Uttar Pradesh since 2019 and the face of the party’s women’s manifesto “Shakti Vidhan,” has made some stunning allegations against the grand old party. Speaking to TV9 Bharatvarsh, the Uttar Pradesh State Convener called Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s election campaign- ‘Ladki hoon, Lad Sakti hoon’ a sham. She said it was a “lollipop” that was given to her by her party which she said, in reality, is anti-women and anti-OBC.

Dr Priyanka Maurya revealed how the women were ill-treated and misbehaved with during the marathon organised by the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh as part of its “ladki hun, lad sakti hun (women can fight)” election campaign. She alleged that the party created a lot of fuss while distributing two-wheelers as promised in the manifesto. The Congress had promised its women members that only those who get the maximum number of women to participate in the marathon would stand a chance to get an election ticket, but all that was a mere pretence, alleged Priyanka Maurya.

The state VP added that the ticket distribution was all pre-planned and the party is actually averse to its women candidates. “We were asked to work hard for the party and we did. However, the party came out as anti-women and anti-OBC when it came to ticket distribution”.

Further explaining her stance, Dr Priyanka Maurya said that 24 candidates applied for the Sarojini Nagar seat in Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. One of the 24 aspirants- Rudra Daman Singh, applied for the election ticket after the date of submission of the application was over. The party brought him with an intention to give him the ticket for the constituency. It was all pre-planned, but we kept working hard on the assurance of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who coined the slogan ‘Ladki ho, Lad Sakti ho’. Eventually, all women candidates were convinced that the Congress is only focussing on Rudra Daman Singh and he will only be getting the party ticket from the Sarojini Nagar seat in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. We all drafted a letter to the party higher authorities questioning their biases. We explained that the party is being unfair to the women candidates…,” rued Dr Priyanka Maurya.

The party has used my face to attract women and OBCs voters: Mahila Congress leader Dr Priyanka Maurya

When questioned on being the cover face of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s women’s manifesto for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls titled ‘Shakti Vidhan’, the miffed state vice-president of Mahila Congress Priyanka Maurya called it a “lollipop” given to her by the Congress party. The party has used my face to attract women and OBCs voters, but when it came to ticket distribution they chose a non-OBC candidate over me, said Priyanka Maurya.

Congress party’s women manifesto for UP polls with Dr Priyanka Maurya as its cover face

Irked by the Congress party’s double standards, Priyanka Maurya questioned why the party went through the drama of screening other candidates if it was pre-decided that Rudra Daman Singh would be given the ticket. “We were told a committee of 37 members would be tasked with the screening process. Observers will be called to evaluate the candidates. The survey was done and my name appeared at the top of the list. Then why the discrimination, asked Maurya.

The Mahila Congress leader further revealed that they were constantly nagged by the party leaders to get the maximum number of women participants for the marathon and assured tickets based on their contributions. She said that they worked very hard but gathered as many participants, ‘but all in vain’.

Speaking about the marathon organised by the Congress in Bareilly, Priyanka Maurya said that it was very badly organised. There were no refreshments kept for the women who were made to run a distance of 5 km. They were in very bad shape. Many fell while running. To top it off, Congress leaders engaged in widespread fraud when it came to awarding promised prizes such as two-wheelers, watches, and smartphones to winning participants confirmed Priyanka Maurya.

Women chant Modi-Yogi at Priyanka’s marathon in Uttar Pradesh, viral video shows them getting assaulted

It may be recalled that several videos had emerged from Priyanka Gandhi’s Marathon in Jhansi where a group of girls that were attending the marathon were heard raising slogans favouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. It was revealed that Congress workers misbehaved with the girls that led to the chants of Modi-Yogi at the rally. 

Shweta Bhattacharya, Journalist, Times Now, had then said in a tweet: “These pictures are of Priyanka Gandhi’s Marathon in Jhansi! when Congressmen misbehaved with them, the girls told them ‘Ladki hain lad sakti hain’ and protested against Congress by raising slogans Modi-Modi, Yogi-Yogi.”

Besides, BJP leader Priti Gandhi had also shared a video where the girls were seen being trashed. A man could be seen snatching some bands from the girls in the video.

Notably, Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi, desperate to win the upcoming UP Assembly elections, is focusing her campaign on women centric issues and has coined the slogan “Ladki hun lad sakti hun (I am a female, I can fight)” for her UP campaign.         

Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a 44-year-old nun, acquitted by Kerala Court, NCW asks victim to approach High Court

OpIndia Staff
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Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a 44-year-old nun, acquitted by Kerala Court, NCW asks victim to approach High Court

On Friday, Kerala Court acquitted Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Catholic Church in the nun rape case. The Additional Sessions Court, Kottayam, presided over by judge G Gopakumar delivered the verdict in the presence of Bishop who was accused of raping a 44-year-old nun at her convent several times.

Rekha Sharma, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women has said that she is shocked to learn of the judgement pronounced by the Kerala Court and that the victim nun must appeal to the High Court. “The Victim Nun must go to the high court. National Commission for Women is with her in this fight for justice”, she tweeted.

According to the reports, the Kuravilangad Police in 2018 had registered a case on the basis of a complaint filed by a nun against Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar Diocese. According to the complaint the nun was raped several times by the bishop at Missionaries of Jesus convent between 2014 and 2016.

Following the complaint, several nuns from the convent had protested against the Bishop and requested the Vatican’s ambassador in Delhi, Giambattista Diquattro and the Pope to dismiss the Bishop from his position. The sisters during the ‘Save Our Sisters’ protest had also called for Franco’s arrest.

In September 2018, the Bishop was arrested for interrogation and was remanded to judicial custody. According to the nuns who stood in support of the victim, several such complaints against the Bishop were overlooked by the authorities. Sister Lucy Kalapura, one of the protester nuns also was permanently expelled from the Church.

The Bishop had then denied the charges as he called the complaint by nun baseless and formulated until the Kerala High Court in 2020 ruled that he must face trial in the case.

The legal charges addressed against the Bishop are under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 376 (c)(a) sexual intercourse by a person in authority), 376(2)(k) (sexual intercourse by exhorting authority), 377 (unnatural sex) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Jharkhand: Bangladeshi woman arrested for Naxal connections, PLFI extremists found using expensive cars

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Bangladeshi woman arrested for Naxal connections, PLFI extremists found using expensive cars

Jharkhand Police has arrested a Bangladeshi woman from Delhi in the Naxal funding and arms supply case. The accused woman is Kaneez Fatima, a native of Khulna who illegally came to India about seven years back and changed her name to Anjali Patel.

As per reports, the Bangladeshi woman primarily worked at a massage parlour in Bangalore and then came to Delhi where she joined another massage parlour. Here she came in contact with one Nivesh Kumar whom Jharkhand police arrested for supplying weapons and making investments on the behalf of Dinesh Gope, the chief of the banned Naxal outfit PLFI.

A week back, Ranchi police had arrested some PLFI operatives and on their disclosure, police arrested one Nivesh Kumar along with some associates from Buxar in Bihar. Nivesh is a native of Bihar but he was settled at Dhurwa in Ranchi. He was earlier arrested in cheating cases.  

“From his possession, we recovered two SUVs, Rs 71 lakh cash collected as a levy, around a dozen sleeping bags and tents used in the jungle warfare. Both SUVs BMW and Thar are very costly,” a senior official of Ranchi police have informed.

SUV Thar seized from the possession of Nivesh Kumar. Police said that the vehicle was modified so that it could be used in the forest area.
Police seized tents and sleeping bags which Nivesh Kumar had procured for the supply to PLFI.

Police said that the forensic examination of his mobile phones revealed the detail of sophisticated weapons and some of the suspicious chats with arms smugglers. Here police came to know about a Bangladeshi woman who was reportedly his ‘right hand’. The Bangladeshi woman, arrested from Delhi, has been brought to Ranchi.

“We will seek her police remand for questioning since she knows many dirty secrets of PLFI funding and investment. It can’t be ruled out that Nivesh may have links with arms smugglers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China,” said the official.

Nivesh had bought a hotel for the Bangladeshi woman Fatima

Police said that Nivesh regularly visited Delhi, Kolkata, and other cities for merrymaking and to invest on behalf of Gope. Here he came in contact with Fatima whom he gave the name Lily. Nivesh brought a three-star hotel in Delhi in her name and asked her to manage it. The said hotel is situated under the Basant Kunj police station area.

Ranchi police said that this Bangladeshi woman Fatima, while illegally living in Delhi, was providing accommodations to PLFI extremists at her hotel in Delhi. During the questioning, she told the police that Nivesh had married her and used to introduce her as his wife so that people don’t doubt them. Police have seized a fake AADHAR card from her possession. Another senior official of Ranchi police who questioned the woman said that she has a daughter who lives in Bangladesh.

“She had a daughter from her first husband whom she deserted and came to India. She was actively involved with Nivesh in Naxal activities.

Police also arrested Subhash Paswan and Praveen Paswan who are father and brother of Nivesh for their involvement in Naxal activities.

‘He has a right to voice opinions’: Ex-Muslim Aneesh gets bail, was arrested in Tamil Nadu for ‘insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad’

OpIndia Staff
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‘He has a right to voice opinions’: Ex-Muslim Aneesh gets bail, was arrested in Tamil Nadu for ‘insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad’

A Tamil Nadu court Wednesday, January 12 granted bail to Aneesh Jasy, reports TOI. Jasy, a resident of BK Pudur in Coimbatore, describes himself as an ‘ex-Muslim rationalist’. He had been arrested by Tamil Nadu Police on December 29th, for posting alleged ‘anti-Islamic posts’ on Facebook.

While granting bail, Judge R Sakthivel of the Principal District and Session court opined that there is no prima facie evidence against Jasy and the charges are yet to be ascertained.

Judge R Sakthivel remarked, “The court is unable to find prima facie evidence that the petitioner is generating public disturbance.”

“He has the right to voice his thoughts on religion and God’s existence under the Indian Constitution,” said the Judge.

On December 29th, Aneesh, who is a popular ‘rationalist’ among atheist groups in Tamil Nadu was arrested and taken to the Kuniyamuthur Police station. According to Aneesh’s friend, his arrest on December 29th was made without a warrant while he was being taken to the police station asking for his presence concerning an inquiry about his colleague. Aneesh’s friend had alleged that an FIR was made only after his arrest. 

Aneesh charged and arrested for posting memes

Sub-Inspector V Ganesh Kumar has stated that he was made aware of the ‘anti-Islamic’ posts by Aneesh insulting Islam, the Prophet and the Holy Quran. He confirmed that he has gone through the Facebook posts and copies of them have been attached in the FIR. According to a report by The News Minute, one of the posts included in the FIR is a meme saying ”people cry crocodile tears over a book that they insist is holy.” Featuring an ex-Muslim, the meme says “he is ashamed when he reads the Hadith.” Another post on Aneesh’s profile can be seen him comparing prophet Mohammad to a self-styled Godwoman.

After assessing the posts, the rationalist had been charged under 295A (deliberate and malicious acts meant to outrage religious feelings), 153A1c (promoting enmity between different groups of religion, race place of birth etc.) and 505-2 (statement conducing to public mischief) by the Kuniyamuthur Police station.

Aneesh, who is now in the Coimbatore Central Jail, was initially sent to the Perundurai sub-jail. A bail plea submitted by his friend was rejected on January 5, before he was granted bail on January 12.

Jawed Habib’s company CEO defends spitting on woman’s hair, says it was meant to make people laugh during seminar

OpIndia Staff
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Jawed Habib’s company CEO defends spitting on woman’s hair, says it was meant to make people laugh during seminar

A week after hairstylist Jawed Habib tendered an apology for spitting on a woman’s hair during a seminar, his company’s CEO has come out in his defence saying that the act was only meant to create some laughter during the seminar. Venkata Raveendra Ravi, CEO of the Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty Ltd, reportedly stated to Republic TV that Habib often does such things to keep the trainees entertained.

“Jawed Habib is one of the famous hairstylists in the country. Many people from the industry come here for months of courses or day-long workshops. These seminars are attended by at least 100-800 people and last for 4-8 hours. People tend to get bored due to the long duration, so in order to maintain the concentration of the people, he creates humour,” Ravi was quoted.

The Jawed Habib spit debacle gained momentum when a hairstylist named Pooja Gupta lodged an official complaint against Habib for humiliating her in public. Pooja had attended Jawed Habib’s seminar in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh and was invited by him on to the stage dias for a haircut demonstration. While styling her hair, Habid spat on the woman’s hair, saying that when water is scarce, he uses his own saliva, which has “jaan”.

Defending the act of spitting then, Jawed Habib had issued a strangely worded apology, for hurting the sentiments of the people. “What do I say now? I want to say this straight from my heart – If you are hurt by my actions, then, forgive me. Saying ‘sorry’ from the bottom of my heart”, he had said in his Instagram video.

Habib further stated that he had spat on the lady’s hair to create some humour and engage the audience. The outrageous act of spitting on a woman’s hair was criticised strongly on social media.

According to the Republic TV report, Venkata Ravi, CEO of Habib’s company is also of opinion that the spitting act was solely meant to make people laugh. “He did not do anything intentionally. He personally apologised to everyone as it was a mistake from his side.”

Referring to the protests and demonstrations outside the Jawed Habib salons following the incident, the CEO stated that though everyone has a right to protest in a democratic country, the negative publicity and public outrage is causing a loss to their business and franchise partners. He said that over 20,000 people are employed under the Jawed Habib brand.

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