Home Blog Page 4170

Cops recover 8 tonnes of explosives from abandoned truck in Nagpur: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Cops recover 8 tonnes of explosives from abandoned truck in Nagpur: Read details

On Friday (June 25), Rana Pratapnagar police recovered 8 tonnes of explosives from an abandoned truck at Chhatrapati Square in Nagpur.

As per reports, the vehicle was loaded with an ‘explosive’ consignment from Secunderabad in Telangana. The truck, bearing the number plate of Tamil Nadu, was heading to Raipur in Chattisgarh, West Bengal via Singroli in Madhya Pradesh. The consignment was to be delivered to a coal mine. However, the truck broke down near the newly constructed-double decker metro bridge in Chattrapati Square.

The driver, identified as one Dharmendra Pal, went out in search of a mechanic to repair the vehicle. However, instead of finding the mechanic, he started drinking alcohol. As such, the explosive-laden truck remained unattended. The city police found the vehicle, with the word ‘explosives’ written on its rear side. The Rana Pratapnagar police rushed to the spot but did not find anyone inside.

The officials then summoned the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) and alerted the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Reportedly, the police got in touch with the consignor and the consignee, based on the documents found inside the truck. They shared the driver’s details and the cops called Dharmendra Pal soon after. He explained the chain of events but soon switched off his phone. This raised suspicion of the cops.

Later, the driver showed up with a mechanic. The cops got the truck repaired and towed it to the Sonegaon police station. The ordeal lasted for about four hours and created a state of panic among the police and security officials. The police then booked Dharmendra Pal for abandoning the explosive-laden vehicle.

While speaking about the matter, senior police inspector Dinkar Thossar informed, “We have verified the consignments to be bonafide. The consignor was being summoned as the truck was being driven by a driver who was not accompanied by a cleaner or helper, which is dangerous and he was also found consuming liquor after leaving the truck on road.”

Twin blasts inside Jammu airbase

In an unrelated incident, averting a major terrorist attack, the Jammu Police on Saturday (June 26) nabbed two terrorists with arms, ammunition, and explosive materials from near the Wave Mall situated on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. As per reports, the Jammu Police had received specific inputs about the presence of two terrorists on the outskirts of the city.

Reportedly, the two had been carrying out a recce of prominent locations before carrying out a terror strike. Out of the two, one 20-year-old terrorist in possession of 5kgs of IED was arrested by the police. An investigation is underway to ascertain whether their other accomplices have managed to enter the city. Search raids were later conducted across the city. Indian Air Force on Sunday tweeted that two low-intensity explosions took place in the technical area of Jammu Air Force Station.

The blasts took place at around 1:42 AM on Sunday and were so powerful they could be heard till 1 km distance. One explosion caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other took place in an open area. A team of forensic experts and Bomb Disposal Squad reached the explosion site to determine the cause of the blast. No injuries or casualties have been reported due to the blast. The area was cordoned off and a probe was initiated.

As India shows downward trend in Covid-19, cases continue to rise in Kerala, Maharashtra remains worst affected state

OpIndia Staff
-
0
As India shows downward trend in Covid-19, cases continue to rise in Kerala, Maharashtra remains worst affected state

In the past few weeks, India has fought back and substantially reduced the number of new Covid-19 cases. However, a few states are still reporting a high number of positive cases. For the last three days, Kerala has been reporting the maximum number of cases. The state reported 12,078 new cases on June 24, 11,546 new cases on June 25 and 12,118 new cases on June 26.

Daily cases reported by Kerala. Source: Covid19India.org

Due to a large number of new cases being reported on a daily basis, the state is struggling to reduce the number of active cases. As of June 26, there are 1,01,110 active cases in the state. As per the data, the number of active cases was at 99,389 on June 23, which increased to 99,862 on June 24 and 1,00,110 on June 25. This is for the first time since May 16 that the number of active cases in the state is increasing.

Active cases trend in Kerala. Source: Covid19India.org

Notably, the positivity ratio is also on the rise. Though the difference is less than 0.5 percent, if the state keeps following the trend, it may report an alarming positivity ratio very soon. During the peak, the state was reporting over a 25% positivity ratio.

Maharashtra follows the suit

Maharashtra is still at the top position in terms of the total cases reported since Covid-19 hit India. So far, the state has reported 60,26,847 cases. On June 26, Maharashtra reported 9,812 new cases. On June 25, it reported 9,604 new cases, and on June 24, there were 9,844 new cases. With 1,21,251 active cases in the state, Maharashtra is reporting the highest number of deaths as well.

Trend in active cases in Maharashtra. Source: Covid19India.org

The state is reporting over 500 deaths per day, contributing to above 45% of the total tally. On June 24, Maharashtra reported 556 deaths, and on June 25 and June 26, the state reported 511 deaths.

High death rate in Maharashtra. Souce: Covid19India.org

Overall Covid-19 situation in India

According to the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India reported 49,823 new cases on June 26. There are 5,81,104 active cases in the state. 1,258 people lost their lives to Covid-related complications on Saturday.

Victim accuses William Dalrymple of inviting rapist Bollywood director to speak at JLF, ‘historian’ blocks her on Twitter for criticism

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Victim accuses William Dalrymple of inviting rapist Bollywood director to speak at JLF, ‘historian’ blocks her on Twitter for criticism

Christine Marrewa-Karwoski has said that William Dalrymple invited her rapist to speak at the Jaipur Literature Festival and then blocked her on Twitter when she criticised him over the matter. Karwoski was referring to Peepli Live co-director Mahmood Farooqui, who had his conviction for the crime overturned by the Delhi High Court in an extremely controversial verdict.

Mahmood Farooqui was one of the many speakers at the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2021. The event was held between the 28th of January and the 1st of February.

Source: JLF website

The Delhi High Court had overturned his conviction in 2017 after ruling that a “feeble no” can sometimes mean “yes” during a sexual intercourse. Justice Ashutosh Kumar had said that the appellant “had no idea that the prosecutrix was unwilling, and there are instances when a feeble ‘no’ on the part of a woman may mean ‘yes’ during the course of a sexual act”.

“In cases where the parties are known to each other, it could be really difficult to decipher whether a feeble ‘no’ – (accompanied by) little or no resistance – actually amounts to denial of consent,” he added. The judge also said that there were doubts whether the incident occurred in the manner narrated by the victim.

“And even if it did occur, (there is lack of clarity on) whether it was without the consent/will of the prosecutrix,” the verdict in favour of Mahmood Farooqui said. The judge claimed that “it may not necessarily always mean yes in case of yes or no in case of no” during “an act of passion, actuated by libido”.

The victim, a research scholar from Columbia University, had alleged that she was raped by the Bollywood Director at his Sukhdev Vihar residence in Delhi. A sessions court held him guilty in 2016, a conviction that was subsequently overturned.

During the ‘Me Too’ movement, numerous women had accused William Dalrymple as well of making them feel uncomfortable.

Propaganda outlet Alt News now uses ‘fact-check’ to discredit video that exposed AAP’s hypocrisy on ad spends

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Propaganda outlet Alt News now uses ‘fact-check’ to discredit video that exposed AAP’s hypocrisy on ad spends

Alt News, the propaganda outlet masquerading as a fact-checking website, came to the rescue of the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday by ‘fact-checking’ a satirical video that exposed the hypocrisy of the Aam Aadmi Party’s rampant misuse of public funds on newspaper advertisements. Earlier, the propaganda outlet would scrub Congress’ dirty linen.

Recently, Political Kida, a satirical Twitter account, had shared an edited video on its YouTube channel exposing the hypocrisy of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government over its huge spending on advertisements. The satirical account had shared a satirical video on the recent press conference held by Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia questioning the centre’s vaccination policy. This video was widely circulated on social media where users questioned the government of Delhi over COVID mismanagement.

In a press conference, Manish Sisodia had ironically questioned the Modi government over spending money on advertisement and attacked the government for not spending the same money on procuring vaccines. As the video of Manish Sisodia went viral on the internet, several netizens had flagged the hypocrisy of the Aam Aadmi Party leader, saying it is not the centre but the Delhi government, which is spending crores of rupees of public money in PR activities to boost the image of Arvind Kejriwal.

Several citizens had slammed Arvind Kejriwal and his Delhi government for spending lavishly on newspaper advertisements to indulge in promotions at a time when Delhi was ravaged from the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. They slammed the Delhi government for wasting taxpayers money on wasteful expenditure to boost his image at a time when people were dying due to a lack of Covid-19 care in the national capital. In fact, the citizens had asked the AAP government to spend the advertisement money on procuring the vaccines for the people of Delhi.

Slamming Arvind Kejriwal for his incompetence and ineptitude in carrying out the Covid vaccination drive in the city, netizens had shared screenshots of full-page ads that the AAP government has invested in to create a false perception of its achievements.

AAP’s advertisements on the front page of leading dailies.

It is important to mention that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has spent Rs 150 crores from January 2021 to March 2021 on advertisements and publicity through various mediums instead of spending on setting up Covid-19 health infrastructure in the national capital. Kejriwal government has spent over 800 crores in advertisement expenses in the past two years.

After spending public money on newspaper advertisements, the AAP government had pushed the blame on the central government. In the press conference, Manish Sisodia had blamed the Centre for not providing vaccination or funds to Delhi when it had failed to contain the spread of the Covid-19.

In response to the same, Political Kida had published a satirical video questioning the hypocrisy of the AAP-led Delhi government, especially Manish Sisodia, for accusing the centre of allegedly spending on advertisements while his leader Arvind Kejriwal was spending crores to boost his own image. In the video, Political Kida exposed the dubiousness of AAP leaders by juxtaposing Manish Sisodia’s speech on the left and the Delhi government’s crores of rupees spending on PR activities during the pandemic.

Several social media users shared the satirical video published by Political Kida on various platforms, which went viral like a wildfire.

The video caused a massive embarrassment to Aam Aadmi Party as the viral video showed how AAP resorted to cheap politics by attacking the centre on advertisements despite indulging in a similar PR activity themselves.

Seeing an opportunity, Alt News rushed to ‘fact-check’ a meme video, which is obviously a joke. Alt News, then found the satirical video ‘edited’ and ‘fact-checked’ it.

On days when people associated with Alt News are not busy spreading fake news about so-called hate crimes which could lead to communal discord in the country, they ‘fact-check’ memes.

Nowhere in its ‘fact-check’ does Alt News mention that the said video is satirical even if it so desperately wanted to clean up AAP’s mess.

Several times in the past, the propaganda outlet has caught itself in embarrassing moments by ‘fact-checking’ memes, satirical videos that have been posted by common citizens.

Here is one such example:

In 2017, Alt News cofounder Pratik Sinha had ‘fact-checked’ a satirical video mocking Rahul Gandhi. It is worth mentioning that just recently, the propaganda website Alt News was caught red-handed giving a clean chit to Congress over the toolkit fiasco. Alt News tied itself in knots as it tried to discredit the Congress toolkit.

Meanwhile, before Alt News ‘fact-checks’ yet another video by Super Londay, let us put it out that it is satire. You can watch the video here:

Other dubious ‘fact-checking’ website flag Political Kida’s videos, Facebook says video is manipulated

Not just Alt News, even other dubious ‘fact-checking’ website such as Boom Live and far-left website The Quint fact-checked the videos posted by political video on AAP’s hypocrisy on advertisement spending. The two websites, recognised as ‘independent’ fact-checking website by Facebook, declared the satirical video as ‘doctored’.

In its alleged ‘fact-check’, The Quint claimed that the video of Manish Sisodia slamming Delhi CM is edited. Well, it failed to mention that the satirical videos are edited and published a non-serious content.

Quint report on Political Kida’s satirical video.

Similarly, another ‘fact-checking’ portal Boom Live declared the satirical video as ‘doctored’ without even mentioning that the video is a work of satire.

Boom Live’s fact-check

As two Facebook-certified fact-checkers declared that the satirical video was ‘doctored’, the social media platform Facebook has now flagged the video as ‘misleading’.

Facebook flagging satirical video as ‘misleading’

This is not the first time the propaganda outlet has ‘fact-checked’ a meme. In July 2020, after the clash between Indian and Chinese forces at the Galwan valley along the LAC in Ladakh, one video had emerged on social media claiming that it showed Apache helicopters of the Indian Air Force flying low over the Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, another site of conflict between the two countries. After it was widely shared, many on Twitter pointed out it was an old video from USA.

While Alt News ‘fact-checked’ it correctly, in later part of the article they failed to see a joke and ended up ‘fact-checking’ that as well.

Submerged for 60 years under water, remains of an ancient Shiva temple resurfaces in Balimela Reservoir in Odisha

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Submerged for 60 years under water, remains of an ancient Shiva temple resurfaces in Balimela Reservoir in Odisha

Nearly 6 decades after remaining submerged underwater, an ancient Shiva temple has surfaced in Damguda village in the Chitrakonda area in the Swabhiman Anchal region in the Malkangiri district of Odisha.

As per reports, the shrine was submerged during the Balimela Dam project construction in 1961 but it resurfaced following the drying up of the reservoir. Besides the ancient temple, several idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses were also discovered. According to historian Debashish Patra, the temple was built towards the end of the 1400s during the growth of the Mattamayura sect. The shrine had surfaced after the reservoir was emptied by the dam authorities.

The temple was constructed during the rive of Saivism in the State. Several temples, dedicated to Lord Shiva, was built around the same time. However, other historians have opined that the said Shiva temple was constructed by Jeypore Mallik Mardan Singh Deo to expand his kingdom. The newly emerged shrine is considered the second largest structure in Odisha. Some historians also argue that the shrine was built by the rulers of Nandapur in the Udadi area in 1500s. Reportedly, Sri Chaitanya had also visited Chitrakonda during the Odisha tour of 1510.

While speaking about the matter, a Panasput villager Jagannath Hantal informed, “After remaining underwater for more than six decades, the shrine along with a five feet idol of Lord Ganesh and ‘Pakhiraj Garuda’ has resurfaced, bringing the ancient history of the region to the fore. Our forefathers used to tell us that there was a temple in Damguda which was constructed by the kings. The resurfacing of the shrine is an indication that finally good time has arrived for the inhabitants of this region.”

T Padmanav Dora, the Tehsildar of Chitrakonda, said that he would contact the Department of Culture on Sunday (June 27) and will urge them to preserve the shrine and the idols. Meanwhile, the devotees have lined up to offer Puja and see the idols.

Wife of constable who died of Covid-19 approaches HC after Kejriwal govt fails to provide promised ex gratia of ₹1 crore even after a year

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Wife of constable who died of Covid-19 approaches HC after Kejriwal govt fails to provide promised ex gratia of ₹1 crore even after a year

A year after the Arvind Kejriwal government had announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 crore for the family of Constable (Late) Amit Kumar who died due to Covid-19, the family yet to received any money from the Delhi govt. As a result, the wife of Constable Amit Kumar, who was the first policeman in the national capital to fall prey to the coronavirus, has approached Delhi High Court to get the promised compensation.

Pooja, the wife of the constable, filed a writ petition at the High Court seeking the release of ex gratia amount of Rs 1 crore as promised by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in May 2020. 

Screenshot of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Tweet promising compensation to the kin of constable Amit Rana

Relying upon the tweet made by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Pooja’s counsel contended that the sacrifice made by the petitioner’s husband had been noticed and an announcement of compensation was made a year ago.

After not receiving the promised amount, an instant petition was filed to seek a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to release the aforesaid ex gratia amount of Rs 1 crore as promised by the state government. 

The counsel of the Delhi govt told the court that the compensation payment had been delayed due to administrative reasons. The counsel didn’t dispute the CM’s tweet, and he said that the Delhi government was taking steps to disburse compensation to various people.

A Bench of Justice Amit Bansal has issued a notice to the Delhi Government and listed the matter for further hearing on July 23. The respondents have been ordered to file their counter affidavit within four weeks.

Letter to the CM

Pooja knocked the doors of the High Court after her letter to the Chief Minister demanding her compensation went unnoticed. 

Pooja in a letter dated May 25 reminding the CM of his commitment, wrote in Hindi, “My husband was a martyred corona warrior, and succumbed to the pathogen while serving the people of Delhi. I was filled with sorrow and dejection. In that hour of grief, acknowledging the sacrifices made by my husband, you assured me financial help of Rs 01 crore. You announced the same on Twitter and in front of the entire media. That gave me some hope. However, we never received that amount.”

Pooja Rana’s letter to the Chief Minister. (Source: News18)

“Some families received help within 10 days then why this discrimination with me? I have a four-year-old son and a four-month-old daughter. I am worried about their future. If a Chief Minister doesn’t fulfil his promises, I might never be able to trust anyone else. Waiting for justice,” added the grief-stricken Pooja, expressing her disappointment in the CM.

AAP Government rejects Police Constable Amit Rana’s file but compensates three others

In January this year, Pooja, Amit Rana’s widow, said that the family was recently informed that Amit’s file had been rejected by the Delhi government because it did not meet their requirements. 

On the other hand, the kin of Dr Anas Mujahid, a junior resident doctor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Delhi’s GTB hospital, and a few others have been provided with the financial assistance of Rs one crore from Arvind Kejriwal.

Apart from Pooja, the Delhi government reportedly rejected claims filed by 12 out of 15 families of police personnel in December 2020 who died of coronavirus while on duty.

Mass conversion racket: Case of forced conversion reported from Prayagraj, ATS takes arrested accused to 4 districts to gather evidence

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Mass conversion racket: Case of forced conversion reported from Prayagraj, ATS takes arrested accused to 4 districts to gather evidence

The extensive investigation being carried out by the Uttar Pradesh ATS in the mass conversion racket has brought to fore the first incident of forced conversion from Prayagraj. As per a report, Jyotika Rai- a young girl from Prayagraj was allegedly converted to Islam after her stay in Delhi.

A B.Tech and M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering, Jyotika Rai is currently pursuing a further degree from New Delhi. An investigation is on to determine the cause and reason behind her conversion. 

Another case of a Rucha from Kanpur who also pursued her education in Prayagraj and shifted to Delhi for further studies has reportedly been converted to Islam. Rucha completed her MBA and secured a job in Jaipur. However, as per her father Satish, she quit the job in a few months and shifted to Delhi.

Satish, during a media interaction, informed that Rucha used to often talk about her professor Shahid from Allahabad University. Shahid who was accused of giving shelter to Jamatis was arrested by the UP Police. 

Prime accused Umar Gautam is also said to have completed his education from Prayagraj. 

Officer from Ministry of Women & Child Development collected data of children

As per a Dainik Bhaskar report, an officer working in the Women & Child Development department has been nabbed who passed on the information of orphaned and differently-abled children to the Islamic Da’wah Centre. The officer is said to be a convert himself. 

Based on such data, conversion racket leader Umar Gautam used to approach such children and get them to his centre. The ones who refused to convert were lured with admission into the Noida Deaf Society or similar institutes. 

The ATS found the names of some children in the Islam Da’wah Centre’s list of conversions for whose help their parents had applied to the Ministry of Child Welfare. It is due to this list that the ATS discovered that it was an officer from the department who provided these names to Umar Gautam’s Centre. The officer is said to be a close aide of Umar Gautam.

The Uttar Pradesh government had sought help from certain NGOs to prepare a list of children orphaned due to Covid. However, with the involvement of dubious NGOs in the conversion racket, the government has taken most NGOs off duty. A team of few trusted officers has been appointed instead.

ATS takes Umar Gautam to 4 districts

The ATS on Saturday took the prime accused Umar Gautam and Mufti Kazi Jahangir Qasmi to four districts near NCR which they frequented for conversion purposes. 

An ATS official informed, “We found documents of some individuals in NCR, who were forcefully converted. “Umar Gautam and Mufti Kazi Jahangir Qasimhad visited these areas several times. All these details are being scrutinised,” said the officer.

The official also said that the duo had resided in Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr and Meerut in the past to convert women and youth.

The ATS officials additionally informed that they have got links of the arrested duo with a suspicious society based in Assam. “The credentials of the society are being verified and its details will be shared with us by the Assam police,” added the officer.

Non-Muslim girls from rural areas targeted

The ATS had confirmed that during their interrogation the duo revealed yet another modus operandi of their mass conversion racket. They have revealed that they targeted girls in the rural areas as they were easier to prey on.

The ATS recovered a list with names of 31 non-Muslim girls who fell into their conversion trap and most of these girls belonged to the rural areas. On questioning, the accused reportedly told the ATS officials that it was easier to brainwash girls living in villages into embracing Islam. They are mostly uneducated and belong to lesser privileged families. So it becomes easier to lure them with jobs and financial aids, which was what Umar Gautam exactly did to lure his target into embracing Islam.

Drone attack was carried out at Jammu airbase to target IAF’s strategic assets: Reports

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Drone attack was carried out at Jammu airbase to target IAF’s strategic assets: Reports

Two low-intensity blasts took place inside the technical area of the Air Force Station in Jammu within a five-minute gap on Sunday.

According to the reports, the terrorists used two drones to attack the Air Force base in Jammu on Sunday. The bomb blasts occurred in the premises of the technical area of the Jammu airbase. The two blasts were heard within a gap of five minutes, the first blast sound is captured in the CCTV at 1.37 am while the second at 1.43 am.

A team of Jammu and Kashmir police, security agencies and forensic experts have rushed to the spot to probe the drone attacks.

“There is no damage to any aircraft in the blasts. Two personnel suffered minor injuries,” the Indian Air Force sources said to ANI. The India-Pakistan border is about 14 kms from the Air Force station and as per reports, previously weapons have been dropped as far as 12 kms within Indian territory with the help of drones.

As per CNN News18, this is the first time such a drone attack has been carried out against the country’s defence establishment. The IAF patrol team saw the ammunition being dropped.

The drone dropped the bombs at a location close to the Helicopter hangar. The IAF suspect that these attacks were intended to target the strategic assets of the Indian Air Force located inside the airbase. However, the forces managed to intercept and thwart the second attack minimizing the damage successfully. 

The other blast caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other exploded in an open area. There was no damage to any equipment, the IAF said.

The Indian Air Force has begun an investigation into the matter is in progress along with civil agencies. The technical area has been sealed.

Two Sikh girls abducted and converted to Islam in Kashmir: What we know

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Two Sikh girls abducted and converted to Islam in Kashmir: What we know

Two Sikh girls from Kashmir have been reportedly abducted and converted to Islam. Of these, one girl who was married off to the Muslim boy is still missing.

Details about Sikh girls from Kashmir

On June 26, a case of forced conversion came to light from Jammu & Kashmir. As per reports, an 18-year-old Sikh Girl from Badgam district was lured and forcefully converted to Islam. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) have also raised the issue on social media platforms urging the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to intervene.

Another case is of a girl from Mehjoor Nagar in Srinagar who attended function of her Muslim friend. As per Bali, she was married off to a boy who attended the function. While the girl was not a minor, she is still missing.

The case of handing over girl to a Muslim family

According to Sardar Santpal Singh, President Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee-Budgam, who narrated the whole incident, the girl was mentally unstable. A Muslim man lured her on the pretext of love and marriage to convert her. He said, “A girl from Sikh community has been forcefully converted to Islam. She is not mentally stable. The man lured her on the pretext of love. It is not a love affair but a clear case of Love Jihad. The government is acting negatively against us.”

He further added that despite written assurance by the SP who was handling the case that she would be handed over back to the Sikh family, the court orders came against them. He said, “The police inspector had assured in writing that the girl would be handed over to them after presenting her in the Court. However, the judge gave the judgement in favour of the Muslim man and handed over the girl to him.”

The family of the girl was not allowed in the Court

Santpal Singh further said that the parents and relatives of the girl were sitting outside the Court as they were not allowed inside due to Covid regulations. He said, “The Police asked the family members of the girl to sit outside to avoid the crowd in the Court. However, all the relatives of the Muslim man were allowed in the Court. The judge recorded the statement of the girl in the absence of her family members and took note of the statements of the relatives of the Muslim man. No one from the family of the girl was called in the Court during the proceedings.”

He further added that the judge should have handed over the girl to the Sikh family at least for a week. If the girl still wanted to go to the Muslim man, no one would have stopped her. “But at least for a week, the girl should have been given to the Sikh family,” he added. Santpal urged the majority community (Muslims) to come in support of them. He reminded them how the Sikh community helped them in bringing girls back from cities like Pune and Mumbai and supported them in their time of need. “Can’t you help us now? Come forward and support us. The brotherhood should remain intact in the Kashmir valley,” he asked.

He urged the government and LG to hand over the girl for at least a week. They will not interfere if the girl decides to go back to the Muslim family after one week. Someone in the background could be heard saying that the Muslim man has already married 2-3 times.

‘What kind of system does not allow girls family to enter the court?’

Another Sikh man who was present at the scene said, “What kind of system is functioning in the Court that passes the judgement without hearing the girl’s family? Why was the judgement passed in a day? Why girl’s family was not allowed in the Court?” He urged the central government to intervene. He added that the girl was kidnapped around four days ago. She was recovered by the Police from Chandoosa. “She was kept in remand for two days and presented in the court on Saturday,” he said.

Those aware of the case said that the judge did not even ask about the girl’s parents. “What kind of judge was he who did not even care to inquire about girl’s parents?” A Sikh man asked.

‘Pass a law against Love Jihad like UP’

Another Sikh man present outside the Court said that Jammu and Kashmir needs a law against forceful conversions just like Uttar Pradesh. The girl should not be handed over to the man without the signatures of the girl’s parents. The Sikh community urged the government to initiate an investigation in the case.

The incident attracted criticism from all sections

Akali Dal’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “Urging J&K LG to address this issue of Srinagar. A Sikh girl (mentally disturbed) has been given to the family of a Muslim guy by the Court. The family of the girl wasn’t even allowed to attend the Court’s proceedings while the boy’s whole family was inside the Court.”

He further called it a biased action towards the minority. Claiming it was not the first case of conversion in the valley on the pretext of love, he said, “The girl’s family seeks her custody for a week & after that, she can choose to make the decision as she wants. It is important that the girl is given freedom.”

Tejinder Singh Sodhi, Reporter CNN News 18, said, “Sikh community in Kashmir is treated as second class citizens, nothing has changed for the community in the past 70 years. Why not a single person from the majority community is standing with Sikhs right now when the same Sikhs have always stood to protect their daughters.”

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also raised the issue. They said, “It is reported #Sikh Sangat is protesting at Srinagar Judicial Complex allegedly for ‘biased’ decision related to a case of ‘forced conversion’ of a Sikh girl who is reported to be mentally unstable.” They urged LG and J&K Police to ensure the safety of Sikhs in J&K.

They further added, “Sikhs in Kashmir alleges that family of a boy given custody of girl by Court, was present inside the Court, while the girl’s family was not taken into confidence. This is a clear case of biased action towards minority #Sikhs, and this is not the first such case,” and urged the authorities to take action. The man who lured the girl is reportedly 60-years-old.

Police promised to hand over the girl to the family

United Sikh Forum, Jammu And Kashmir, posted several videos in which Sikh community members were seen protesting outside the court premises.

In one of the videos, SP was heard saying that they would hand over the girl to the Sikh family. He said that the girl caused a drama in the Court and told the judge that Police was harassing and torturing her.

He further assured the protesting Sikhs that the girl would be soon handed over to the Sikh family and urged the protesters to leave the premises outside the Court.

Former NDTV Editor accused of plagiarism by K-drama podcasters

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Former NDTV Editor accused of plagiarism by K-drama podcasters

On Saturday (June 26), a group of Korean drama enthusiasts sparked a controversy after they accused Former NDTV Editor Puja Talwar of plagiarism.

‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’, a group of 4 women who conduct podcasts on Korean drama, was miffed with the former NDTV journalist for allegedly lifting content from the 6th episode of their podcast without due credits.

In a tweet, they informed, “Daebak (That’s awesome)! Puja Talwar has given a visual representation of what we 4 gals discussed in the 6th episode ‘Dash of Kimchi’ of our podcast.” Talwar is currently Executive Editor Entertainment and Lifestyle with My Good Times.

The background of the controversy

The podcasters had uploaded the episode ‘Dash of Kimchi’ on their Spotify channel on March 24. During the episode, the four women discussed about the significance of food in K-dramas and how it provided an insight into the Korean culture. They talked about Kimchi (a traditional Korean side dish of fermented vegetables), the peculiarity of a Kimchi slap (slapping someone with Kimchi) and Soju (Korean alcoholic beverage). For every Korean dish, the podcasters had recommended dramas and food shows.

Spotify podcast of ‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’

The 43-minute long podcast talked about food shows such as ‘Oh my Ghost’, and ‘My name is Kim Sam Soon’, dramas such as ‘What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’, ‘Crash Landing on You’ and talked about the cuisine that is featured.

About three months after the podcasters had released their episode, ex-NDTV journalist Puja Talwar uploaded a YouTube video on Korean cuisine and dramas on Friday (June 25). The theme of the video was similar to that of the podcast of ‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’. Talwar, too, had cited several examples, that matched the ones of the podcasters. It included ‘Oh my Ghost’, ‘My name is Kim Sam Soon’, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’, and ‘Crash Landing on You.’

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/ Puja Talwar)

Clarification by the NDTV journalist on plagiarism charges

As such, the podcasters accused the journalist of plagiarising their original content without giving them credits. After the controversy erupted, Puja Talwar responded to the accusations and claimed to be unaware of any such podcast. She wrote, “Oh really. Was unaware that there was a podcast like, will give it a listen.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Puja Talwar

‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’ was quick to point out that Puja Talwar was ‘well-aware’ of their podcast as early as May 7. The group had posted a screenshot, where the Talwar was seen responding to a tweet on a different episode of the podcast. Talwar had then appreciated the group.

Screengrab of the tweet

Talwar fired back, “So what are you implying here that my concept and scrpit has been influenced by your podcast? Pl understand k dramas and food have documented by all. Also i have been watching these dramas for years and also have u seen the video what’s the similarity.”

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Screenshot-2021-06-27T095209.159.png
Screengrab of the tweet by Puja Talwar

Puja Talwar further claimed that she did not listen to any of the episodes of the podcast and that her comment was just a ‘courteous’ response. She added that her comment did not imply anything more than a polite gesture. “And let’s not make incorrect allegations and demanding credits,” the journalist tweeted.

Calling it a sad state of affairs, Talwar further said, “Sure it may have been but if you read articles and watch other shows these are the iconic moments ..and i don’t know why do i need to justify myself to you all..but fine you made an observation but the trolling you are promoting alongside.. is just uncalled for.”


Screengrab of the tweet by Puja Talwar

Response of the podcasters

‘Crash Landed on Kdramas’ emphasised, “We did see the video & the content was strikingly similar. A lot of content is available on KDramas and food – absolutely agree, but not once has there been so much similarity in the concept order & scenes.”

Screengrab of the tweet by the podcasters

Reiterating that the episode was aired on March 21, the podcasters said that the striking similarity between their content was the only observation that they made. Many listeners of the podcast also noticed striking similarities and expressed disappointment that due credit could have been given to the content creators.

1...4,1694,1704,171...7,656Page 4,170 of 7,656