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Pakistani clothing brand apologises after sharing morphed picture of Hindu God, Hindu rights activist determined to take legal action

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani clothing brand apologises after sharing morphed picture of Hindu God, Hindu rights activist determined to take legal action

On Thursday (June 17), a popular Instagram page by the name of ‘Hindu Samata’ informed that a leading Pakistani womenswear brand, Generation, had mocked Hinduism by putting up a morphed image of a Hindu deity in their office. The clothing brand named ‘Generation’ has a following of over 1.2 million on Instagram.

In its post, Hindu Samata said, “This famous Pakistani brand put up a disrespectful poster mocking a Hindu deity in their office. Pakistan has blasphemy laws that only apply to non-Muslims. Hindus can be imprisoned under false charges for saying anything about Islam/Muslims. This page is using their large following to encourage marginalisation of minorities.”

In its Instagram story, Generation had morphed the image of the Hindu deity and replaced the ‘astras’ with laptop and other items. The desecration of the Hindu Goddess by a brand, founded by a Pakistani husband-wife duo named Saad and Nosheen Rahman, did not go unnoticed.

Hindu rights activist points out the dual standards of the Pakistani justice system

On Wednesday (June 16), Hindu rights activist Kapil Dev took notice of the matter and tweeted, “Just learned from a friend that @GENERATION_PK posted morphed image of a Hindu goddess on its Instagram handle, later issued an apology. “

He further added, “Just wondering if a mere apology is enough to get away from this? Tum karo tau apology, aur hum na karen tau bhi blasphemy (When you do it, then you can get away with an apology. Even when we don’t do it, we are still charged with blasphemy).”

On being reminded that the situation would be different if a Hindu was to desecrate the Islamic Faith, Kapil Dev emphasised, “Exactly! We live in a hypocrite society where principles matter only for personal gains and interests.”

Clothing brand tenders apology for oversight and insensitive image

Following the outrage on social media, Generation tendered an apology on Friday (June 18). In a statement, the womenswear brand said, “A few days ago a grave oversight occurred at the Generation HQ. An ignorant and insensitive image became public that was hurtful to our patrons, especially for those that represent the white in our flag (referring to minorities).”

It further added, “We are so so sorry! We pledge to strive to be better, to make better and more informed choices. We also pledge to conduct regular sensitivity workshops at the HQ to learn more about the people we share our country with. We hope you can forgive us, and that we can grow to be more sensitive and mindful as a community.”

Hindu rights activist warns Pakistani clothing brand of legal action

On Saturday (June 19), Hindu rights activist Kapil Dev took to Twitter to respond to the apology note by Generation. He said, “This apology is insufficient. We have spoken to the lawyers and considering legal action against the brand. You cannot get away with a mere apology.”

He pointed out that the presence of a morphed poster of a Hindu deity in its office was a reflection of the lack of Hindu employees in managerial positions. “This insensitivity shows the brand management lacks a diverse team. How many Hindu employees (management) does the brand have?” Kapil Dev inquired.

Under Section 295 (C) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), the blasphemy law states, ”Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.” But this law is selectively used to target religious minority communities and seldom invoked against Muslims for desecrating other Faith.

Exclusive details: Here are some of the points that the Parliamentary Standing Committee, headed by Shashi Tharoor, raised with Twitter

Nupur J Sharma
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Exclusive details: Here are some of the points that the Parliamentary Standing Committee, headed by Shashi Tharoor, raised with Twitter

As the conflict between the government of India and Twitter continues over the new Information Technology rules, the Indian officials of the microblogging site were questioned by the Parliamentary Panel on Information Technology on various issues.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had summoned the company officials to question them on “Safeguarding citizens’ rights and prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms including special emphasis on women security in the digital space.” Accordingly, Twitter India’s Public Policy Manager Shagufta Kamran and legal counsel Ayushi Kapoor appeared before the panel on Friday.

Several issues were brought to the notice of Twitter and according to sources in the know, the Committee was unanimous in its demand that Twitter adheres to Indian laws.

The issues that that Parliamentary Standing Committee brought up with Twitter ranged from adherence to Indian laws, to child porn videos on Twitter and its biased approach that has penalised by several countries across the world.

Adherence to Indian law brought up, Twitter remains brazen

When the committee asked what the company follows, Indian law or its own policies, the Twitter officials replied that they follow their own policies, as they are equally important. By this, they implied that they won’t follow Indian laws if they conflict with Twitter policies.

However, the committee members took a strong objection to it, and made it clear that the law of the land is supreme, not their policies.

Child pornography on Twitter

Another important aspect that was brought up by the Parliamentary Standing Committee was the issue of Child pornography. The Committee asked what Twitter does when it comes across posts promoting child porn and whether it alerts the Indian authorities regarding the existence of such content that goes against the POCSO Act.

According to sources, Twitter responded in the negative. It said that it does not alert the Indian authorities regarding the existence of such content but instead, alerts an NGO instead.

To this, the committee informed that this is against the law of the land and Twitter is required by law to inform the police about the existence of child porn content as it is prosecutable under the stringent POCSO law.

Twitter implicates itself? Talks about how algorithms promote specific content

Interestingly, Twitter ended up tying itself up in knots and implicating itself in front of the Parliamentary Standing Committee. During the hearing, the Twitter representative said that they ensure that they promote “good conversation” and suppresses “bad conversation”. To this, the members of the committee asked how they manage to do that.

Twitter responded saying that they have an algorithm that chooses which conversation they should promote and which they should not.

To this, the parliamentary committee retorted that with this, Twitter has effectively admitted that they function as a publisher and not as an intermediary. If Twitter does not function as an intermediary, the safety harbour net provided to intermediaries essentially means that they will not be held responsible for the content posted on their platform.

It is pertinent to note that one of the most significant provisions of these guidelines is that if the social media platforms don’t comply with the provisions prescribed in the guidelines, this will attract penal provisions as per the Information Technology Act. The new guidelines say that the social media intermediaries must follow the due diligence mentioned in it, and if any intermediary does not follow the due diligence, the safe harbour provisions will not apply to them.

Section 79 of the Information Technology Act defines this safe harbour, which basically makes them not liable for any content posted by users on their platforms. It says that an intermediary shall not be liable for any third-party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted by them, provided they themselves didn’t initiate such communication, and observes due diligence under the IT act.

Serving India since 2013, they say, but won’t adhere to Indian laws

Twitter told the Parliamentary Standing Committee that it has been functioning in India since 2013 and has always functioned in the best interest of India. To this, the Committee said that even though Twitter claims to work in the best interest of India, it has shown no interest to adhere to the laws of India.

India had asked Twitter to ensure that they appoint a grievance officer and a compliance officer in India. However, they have refused to do so. To this, Twitter said that they have appointed an interim compliance officer, however, the committee said that it was not the requirement posed by India.

In fact, the Parliamentary Standing Committee also pointed out that while Twitter claims to look out for Indian interests, it took 12 days to correct the mistake by Twitter that marked Ladakh as a part of China.

Many countries fined Twitter, why should India not

The Parliamentary Standing Committee told Twitter that several counties have imposed fines on Twitter for not adhering to their laws and in turn, asked them why India should not impose a fine on them as well.

It is pertinent to note that Twitter was fined €450,000 (£400,000) by the Data Protection Commission in Ireland for breaking Europe’s GDPR data privacy rules. It ruled that Twitter failed to notify it within 72 hours after identifying a data breach in January 2019, and it also did not adequately document what had happened. Twitter has accepted responsibility.

Fake news, manipulated media and bias

The Parliamentary Standing Committee also brought up the bias of Twitter and the double standard in dealing with the Capitol Hill insurrection in the USA after the victory of President Biden and dealing with inflammatory tweets during the Red Fort insurrection in India.

Pointing this out, it was also mentioned that the manipulated media tag was applied to tweets where a Congress toolkit was being exposed, however, in the Ghaziabad episode where fact-checkers like AltNews were creating a fake hate crime to implicate Hindus by muting the audio in the video, Twitter did not mark the tweets as ‘manipulated media’. To this, sources indicate that Twitter claimed that those tweets did not fall under the category of ‘manipulated media’ since it was not altered and did not pose a risk to peace and law and order.

To this, the panel did point out that the video had the potential to spark violence in the country given that it was being given a fake communal angle.

The Parliamentary Committee also questioned Twitter about how they partner with fact-checkers, AltNews for example, who was caught spreading fake news in the Ghaziabad case. To this, Twitter said that they were not in their payrolls, however, they had “advisors” for fact-checking.

Twitter is meant to get back to the committee about what the parameters are to appoint such “advisors” and who these “advisors” actually are.

Further, sources have indicated that Facebook too was supposed to be a part of this discussion, however, Facebook claimed that during the times of COVID, they are not physically being present for any engagement. The panel has, per sources, instructed Facebook to appear before the panel regardless.

Once Twitter and Facebook both get back to the panel with answers that they are meant to provide, the panel will submit its report to the ministry. According to sources, the panel is so far, unanimously unhappy with Twitter’s response as it is believed that the responses were scripted and did not satisfactorily explain Twitter’s biased stand and their insistence on not adhering to Indian laws.

Oxygen supply of patients not cut during mock drill in Paras Hospital, nobody died due to lack of oxygen, finds audit committee: Read full details

OpIndia Staff
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Oxygen supply of patients not cut during mock drill in Paras Hospital, nobody died due to lack of oxygen, finds audit committee: Read full details

The Death Audit Committee constituted to probe the Paras Hospital ‘mock drill’ case, has submitted its report, clearing the hospital from charges of cutting off oxygen supply leading to the death of 22 patients. It has, however, held the hospital accountable for misleading patients on grounds of lack of oxygen.

The report by the four-member committee confirmed that no evidence was found to prove that the oxygen supply was cut off on the said day leading to the death of 22 patients. It said that the information that circulated on social media, putting Uttar Pradesh’s Paras Hospital under scrutiny, was misleading.

However, the committee, which consisted of three doctors from SN Medical College and an official from the Agra Medical Department, found that the hospital administration misled patients on grounds of lack of oxygen and discharged them. This is against the Epidemic Diseases Act protocols and the police have been instructed to take necessary action in this regard, read the Death Audit Committee report.

Excerpt from the Death Audit Report

The investigating team, in their report, said that the claim, which did the rounds that Paras Hospital snapped the oxygen supply for its patients, was unfounded. Had it been the case then all the 22 patients would have died on the same day, which did not happen.

The committee said that the hospital owner in his statement clarified that he had said that during the mock drill 22 patients who were critical were segregated from the rest. This statement was misconstrued as 22 died in the mock drill, which is completely untrue.

“It is completely untrue that 22 patients died. No mock drill was conducted after cutting off oxygen supply. Nobody’s oxygen supply was cut off and there is no evidence of this. The rumour is misleading, otherwise there would have been 22 deaths at 7 am on April 26,” the committee said.

Excerpt from the Death Audit report

The report prepared by the four-member team said that they found that 16 deaths took place at the hospital concerned between April 15 and 25, and none died due to a shortage of oxygen but because of co-morbidities or some other health-related complications. The Committee attached the summary of the death audit report of all the 16 patients, who died in the hospital in the span of 10 days, to confirm the same.

Summary of death audit report of Paras Hospital
Summary of the death audit report of Paras Hospital

“The death audit committee found during its probe that all patients had been treated as per Covid protocol and the details of their oxygen status and supply have been listed. It also found that the oxygen supply of any patient was not interrupted. Patients who died had comorbidities and (died) because of their critical condition. The hospital had been given adequate oxygen supply,” the report prepared by a 4-member committee stated.

According to the committee’s report, the investigating officer found that the hospital was given 149 oxygen cylinders with 20 in reserve on April 25 and 121 cylinders with 15 in reserve on April 26. This was found to be sufficient for the patients admitted there. The committee also found during the inquiry that attendants of some patients had reached the hospital with oxygen arranged from alternative sources.

Excerpt from the Death Audit report

The hospital had oxygen, but there were issues with future supply. Through the mock drill, a clinical assessment was conducted to ascertain which patient is in actual need of oxygen. The hospital monitored symptoms of hypoxia and oxygen saturation levels to assess how to function if oxygen supply is limited. A bedside analysis of every patient was conducted and found 22 of the admitted patients to be in very serious condition.

The committee report further said that the video of the owner of Paras Hospital Dr Arinjay Jain which circulated on social media did not have the full conversation. When the committee probed the audio they heard Dr Arinjay Jain desperately urging people to arrange for oxygen. He was heard saying “Paise lelo, Gaadi le lo, Bhopal-vopal jahan se mile le lo, jitne paise chahiye, kaise bache 96 zindagi, career bache, sone ka bhav laga lo, tanker uthao oxygen ka, kaise bhi milta hain”, roughly translated as (take the money, take the car, get it from Bhopal or from anywhere it is available, take it for whatever it costs, 96 lives need to be saved anyhow, my career is at stake, I am ready to buy at the rate of gold, procure tankers of oxygen or in any form its available).

The committee said it must be established that when was this tape-recorded and who all were present at that time. It also said that the full audio must be heard before drawing a conclusion. According to the report, the owner of the hospital has said that the particular conversation in question happened on April 28 at around 5-6 pm. He said that some of the statements in the audio were not made by him and also indicated that the audio was manipulated to sensationalise the issue. 

It may be recalled that on June 9 in an interview to news agency ANI, Dr Arinjay Jain, the owner of the Paras Hospital, had also refuted all the allegations.

Reports had suggested that 22 patients had lost their lives due to a ‘mock drill’ conducted by the hospital to ascertain which patient is in actual need of oxygen. The hospital authorities, however, suggest that the news of deaths are baseless.

“There was mock drill. We conducted a clinical assessment to check how we can maintain a patient at minimum level of oxygen. News of 22 deaths are baseless,” informed Dr Arinjay Jain. 

On June 8, Agra District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh had also said there were no deaths due to lack of oxygen on the day the alleged video was recorded. 

However, in a video tweeted by Livehindustan on May 7, the owner of Paras Hospital could be heard telling some people that the drill was conducted because of an acute shortage of oxygen and the patients’ family members were not ready to discharge their patients despite multiple requests.

After the video went viral, the Uttar Pradesh government had not only given orders to seal the facility but also asked authorities to register an FIR against the hospital under the Epidemic Diseases Act. 

Days after Rahul Gandhi foul mouths Modi govt over increased dose gap for Covishield, AstraZeneca chief investigator backs the decision

OpIndia Staff
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Days after Rahul Gandhi foul mouths Modi govt over increased dose gap for Covishield, AstraZeneca chief investigator backs the decision

In a major embarrassment to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the chief of AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine clinical trials has backed the Modi government’s decision to increase the gap between the 12-16 weeks gap between the two doses of Covishield in the country.

Based on the additional data, particularly real-life experiences in the UK showing increased advantage with a higher interval between shots, the union government in May had decided to extend the gap between two doses of Covishield vaccines. Accordingly, the gap between Covishield doses, developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford University and manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, was changed from the earlier six to eight weeks.

In response to the government’s decision, on June 14, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had taken to Twitter to attack the government over its recent decision to extend the gap between two doses of Covishield to 12-16 weeks from six to eight weeks.

Attacking the Modi government, the Gandhi-scion had claimed that India needed quick and complete vaccination and “not the BJP’s brand of lies and rhyming slogans” to cover up the vaccine shortage caused by the government’s inaction.

“India needs quick and complete vaccination- not BJP’s usual brand of lies and rhyming slogans to cover-up vaccine shortage caused by Modi Government’s inaction. GOI’s constant attempts to save PM’s fake image are facilitating the virus and costing people’s lives,” the Congress leader said on Twitter.

Gandhi had also attached a news report that claimed the government doubled the gap between the two doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine without the agreement of the scientific group that it said had recommended the increase.

In response to Rahul Gandhi’s misleading claims, Union Health Minister had launched a scathing attack against the Congress MP, accusing him of making mythical claims without checking any facts. In a sharp retort, Mr Vardhan said, “Signor @RahulGandhi continues to remain lost in a mythical land furthering mythical claims without checking any facts! Protecting family’s name and crown is @INCIndia’s business.”

“GoI is dedicated to serving the people and safeguarding lives and livelihoods during this pandemic,” he added.

The Health Minister categorically stated that the decision to increase the gap between administering two doses of Covishield was taken in a transparent manner based on scientific data, contrary to the claims of Rahul Gandhi.

AstraZeneca chief investigator of trials backs Modi govt on the increasing gap between two doses

Two days after the Government of India defended its move to increase the gap between two doses of AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine, the chief investigator of the AstraZeneca vaccine clinical trials has backed the Indian government decision saying that the level of protection provided by one dose of the preventive significantly increases in the second and third months after the jab.

In an interview, Professor Andrew Pollard said the immunisation policy in Britain and India should not be compared because of the different circumstances in the two countries.

“An immunization policy that aims to vaccinate the largest number of people in the quickest possible time with at least one dose makes sense in the present circumstances in India,” Pollard, who is also the Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said.

Andrew Pollard, who is also Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity at Oxford University in the UK, noted that AstraZeneca is not working on a single-dose vaccine. Two doses are needed and one may be good but the second is needed to boost protection, the scientist added.

The UK-based scientist said they are not planning or working on a booster or a third jab, saying it may not be “necessary” currently.

Situation in India and United Kingdom are different, says AstraZeneca scientist

Explaining the rationale behind the need for an increased gap between two Covid-19 vaccine doses, Pollard said that in a situation of vaccine shortage, it makes sense to ensure a measure of protection for the widest number of people rather than provide a better level of protection for a smaller number of people.

He explained this by saying that one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, known as Covishield in India, provides above 70 per cent protection against serious illness and hospitalisation, which has to be the main concern.

“One should not be deterred or deflected by the fact that one dose provides only 30 per cent protection against symptomatic illness,” the scientist said. “What we need to focus on is a high level of continuing protection against serious illness and hospitalisation,” Pollard said.

Referring to the UK reducing its Covishield doses gap just as India increased its, Pollard said that Britain reduced the gap after inoculating a substantial proportion of its population.

“In India, the converse is the case. The vast majority of people are unvaccinated and unprotected. Therefore, you need to ensure that as many as possible are protected against serious illness and hospitalisation, even if that means a large number will have lower levels of protection against symptomatic infection,” the scientist explained.

Till Friday, India has administered a cumulative number of 26,89,60,399 (26.89crore) Covid-19 vaccine. The country is currently administering three Covid-19 vaccines – Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, Serum Institute-AstraZeneca manufactured Covishield and Russian vaccine Sputnik-V.

Entire Rapid Response Team of Portland Police resigns after jury indicts officer for stopping rioters during George Floyd protests

OpIndia Staff
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Entire Rapid Response Team of Portland Police resigns after jury indicts officer for stopping rioters during George Floyd protests

The entire crowd control unit of Portland police resigned from the service a day after a grand jury in Oregon indicted an officer for allegedly using “unlawful force” on a protester.

According to the reports, the Portland Police Bureau said that members of its Rapid Response Team (RRT) resigned as a group on Wednesday following the indictment of a fellow officer. Nearly 50 officers, detectives, and sergeants have resigned from their posts, said acting Police Chief Chris Davis at a press briefing.

The members of the RRT, who are on a voluntary assignment, receive advanced specialized training to respond to incidents such as public-order policing as well as man-made and natural disasters. Their primary role is to provide crowd control at events including protests.

The officers, who resigned from the team, will now return to Portland police to continue their regular assignments, the bureau said in a statement.

The mass resignation came one day after officer an officer identified as Corey Budworth was charged by a Multnomah County grand jury for allegedly assaulting and “unlawfully” causing physical injury to a protestor at a rally on August 18, 2020, near the Multnomah Building in Portland. Budworth, who was a member of the RRT, has been placed on administrative leave.

Following the indictment of officer Budworth, District Attorney Mike Schmidt claimed that there was no legal justification existed for Officer Budworth’s deployment of force and that the deployment of force was legally excessive under the circumstances.

The indictment marked the first time that a Portland police officer faced prosecution for striking or firing at someone during a protest.

Portland police slam jury for indicting a police officer

Meanwhile, the Portland Police Association has slammed the judgement of the jury saying it as a “politically driven charging decision.”

In a Facebook post, the Portland Police Association said, “Unfortunately, this decorated public servant has been caught in the crossfire of agenda-driven city leaders and a politicized criminal justice system”. The association said that Budworth was trying to restore order during a chaotic night of burning and destruction when he was knocked to the ground while trying to clear demonstrators.

As an officer attempted to arrest one of the demonstrators, other protesters allegedly interfered. In his defence, Budworth used his police-issued baton to “push” a demonstrator, causing the person to fall to the ground, the union said.

“Thinking the person was going to get back up to re-engage, Budworth allegedly tried to push the person again with his baton but accidentally struck the person in the head,” the union said in its post.

Portland – the epicentre of left-wing riots in the US last year

Last year, Portland saw a series of riots following the death of George Floyd, an African-American who allegedly died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

The left-wing protestors unleashed riots in the city, which became the scene of unrest for months. The left-wing groups, anarchist, and Antifa protestors attacked police officials and supporters of the then US President Donald Trump during these riots. The Portland police had declared a riot in multiple such demonstrations and arrested several people during the course of those months.

During the riots that took place in Portland in August last year, police had said that the rioters had blocked traffic was blocked, who vandalised and set the Multnomah Building on fire. As police tried to disperse the crowd, they were struck with projectiles, the department had said in a release.

During the riots, a rioter identified as Teri Jacobs had claimed that she was hit by Budworth’s baton. She later filed a civil lawsuit saying that she was working as a photojournalist when the officer knocked her to the ground. The city had paid the lady a compensation of $50,000 early this year.

Punjab: Five ministers strongly object to CM Captain Amarinder Singh’s decision to give government jobs to children of MLAs

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab: Five ministers strongly object to CM Captain Amarinder Singh’s decision to give government jobs to children of MLAs

Even as the crisis in Punjab Congress continues, five Cabinet ministers have expressed stern disapproval to Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s decision of tweaking the rules to provide government jobs to sons of party MLAs. The ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa, Sukhbinder Sarkaria, Charanjit Channi, Tript Rajinder Bajwa and Razia Sultana expressed their objection to the decision of the CM during a cabinet meeting held on Friday.

For at least half an hour, a source quoted by Times of India says, the ministers questioned the appointment of the sons of party MLAs and the unusual relaxation allowed to accommodate them. The case pertains to the appointment of sons of legislators Fateh Jung Bajwa and Rakesh Pandey as Inspector and Naib Tehsildar, respectively, on compassionate grounds by altering rules.

However, despite facing stiff resistance from his ministers, Captain Amarinder Singh nevertheless had his way and appointed the sons of the party MLAs to government jobs. The Punjab cabinet gave its approval to appoint Arjun Partap Singh as Inspector (Group B) in Punjab Police, Bhisham Pandey as Naib Tehsildar (Group B) in the revenue department. He had even reportedly asked the disgruntled ministers to move the court if they were unhappy with the appointment. Defending his move, CM Captain Amarinder Singh is believed to have pointed out that jobs were offered to deserving sportsmen and ex-servicemen too.

The ministers were against the arbitrary “pick and choose” for political considerations and demanded that the state government formulate a policy for such appointments instead. The ministers contended that such appointments set a wrong precedent. “What kind of message will this send to the youth of the state? The public perception is already against the Congress party. Such appointments only add to the public discontent. It will further dampen the prospects of the party in the upcoming elections,” a minister said.

Ministers unhappy over granting relaxations to accommodate affluent family members of MLAs

Both the MLAs had lost their respective fathers to terrorist attacks. Fateh Bajwa’s father, Satnam Singh Bajwa, was killed in a terrorist attack in Amritsar in 1987. Pandey’s father, Joginderpal Pandey, was also killed by terrorists in Ludhiana in 1987.

The dissenting ministers were particularly opposed to the appointment of Bajwa’s son, Arjun Partap Bajwa. They referred to the content of the FIR filed in 1987 and whether it goes against the proposal. They also highlighted four major relaxations in the case to accommodate the MLA’s son. Questions were also raised about the relaxations being granted after a period of 33 years as the applicants belonged to affluent families and the appointment of the inspector is not from the ‘D’ class of employees.

Shortly after the appointment of his son as Inspector, Fateh Jung Bajwa spoke in the favour of the Punjab Chief Minister. Bajwa is the younger brother of Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Singh Bajwa, who has opened a front against the Punjab Congress. On the other hand, Rakesh Pandey has also aligned with the rebel faction and extended his support to them. In political circles, the appointment is seen as a move to woo the leaders and undermine the rebel faction.

Applications for government jobs received after former CM Beant Singh’s son was appointed as DSP in Punjab Police

According to the sources, the applications for the government jobs were received shortly after Punjab Government in 2017 appointed former Chief Minister Beant Singh’s grandson as DSP in the Punjab Police on compassionate grounds by tweaking rules. The Punjab government had then drawn flak for promoting VIP culture in the state and appointing relatives of the ministers and MLAs to plum posting while shunting away the meritorious candidates.

First FIR in Gujarat under new law: Muslim man pretends to be Christian, blackmails, hurls caste abuse, forces woman to convert to Islam after marriage

OpIndia Staff
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First FIR in Gujarat under new law: Muslim man pretends to be Christian, blackmails, hurls caste abuse, forces woman to convert to Islam after marriage

Gujarat police have registered the first FIR in the state in a case of grooming jihad, under the newly-notified anti-conversion law and detained six people in connection with the case. The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, which prohibits forcible religious conversion by marriage, came into force on June 15. The Act provides stringent penal action against any individual or institution for forced religious conversion through marriage.

Based on the FIR, Gotri police station in Vadodara arrested a man from the Tarsali area named Samir Qureshi on Friday. The police have taken action based on a complaint filed by a 24-year-old Dalit woman for blackmailing, forced conversion and rape. According to the police, Qureshi had also hurled casteist abuses at the woman.

The woman alleged that she met the individual in February 2019 on a social media platform where he used a fake identity and lured her into a relationship. Police confirmed that Samir Qureshi had made his social media accounts under a fake name, Sam Martin.

Qureshi persuaded the victim into marriage by promising a ‘modern life’ post marriage. Later, he raped her on four occasions at a hotel as well as in the flat of a co-accused, police said.

The Dalit victim was also verbally abused with casteist slurs

The accused allegedly clicked her intimate pictures without her knowledge and then used those photos to blackmail her to marry him in a “nikah ceremony” and convert to Islam.

The woman, who was under the impression that Qureshi is a Christian, got to know about his faith a year back when a nikah ceremony was organised instead of a Christian wedding, the official said.

The police added that after the marriage, Qureshi first changed the victim’s name and then started forcing her to convert. He also verbally abused the victim with casteist slurs.

Based on her complaint, the police arrested Samir Qureshi and detained six people including his parents, sister, uncle as well as one of his accomplice who facilitated the alleged sexual assaults against the complainant. 

Gujarat brings its stringent anti-conversion law into force

It is pertinent to note here, that Gujarat, along the lines of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and a few other states, brought into force the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021 on June 15, after Governor Acharya Devavrata gave his consent to the Bill.

The new anti-conversion law would invite a jail term of five years and a Rs 2 lakh penalty on the forced conversion of young women. In case of a minor girl being converted, the punishment would go up to seven years in jail and a Rs 3 lakh penalty. Also, the religious conversion of women from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe will invite a jail term of seven years. Any marriage done only with the purpose of religious conversion will be declared null and void by the court having jurisdiction under the provisions of the Act. 

Netizens trend #SuspendUrbanDictionary, UP police takes cognisance of the insulting ‘definition’ of Mayawati by one Nazia Khan: What happened

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens trend #SuspendUrbanDictionary, UP police takes cognisance of the insulting ‘definition’ of Mayawati by one Nazia Khan: What happened

On Friday (June 18), Urban Dictionary sparked a furore on Twitter after it described Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati as an “unmarried pornstar”.

The crowd-sourced online dictionary had made the contentious tweet in response to a Twitter user (@Tenzin_21). According to the website, the top definition of Mayawati is “An unmarried pornstar. A woman who can do everything for power. Kanshi Ram’s secret wife and ex-girlfriend of Mulayam Singh.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Urban Dictionary

The definition was added by one Nazia Khan on May 4 last year.

Screengrab of the definition of Mayawati on Urban Dictionary website

Netizens demand action against Urban Dictionary

The tweet sparked outrage on social media, with netizens calling for the suspension of the online dictionary. The Print columnist Dilip Mandal, who has found himself surrounded by controversies in the past, tweeted, “Dear RS Prasad, this is very serious. Take strong action against the culprits. Twitter India, this is unacceptable. There must be some Indian guy behind this bot. Must be arrested. #SuspendUrbanDictionary.”

Hindu Ecosystem official wrote, “Political differences doesn’t mean you will abuse a women…Delhi Police, will you arrest the person behind this cheap mentality? #SuspendUrbanDictionary”

Another Twitter user emphasised, “Not surprised by the name, a woman named Nadia Khan has submitted the definition in urban dictionary, such a disgraceful comment on a woman by urban dictionary, jai bheem, jai meem is a meme in reality, see how much hate a muslim woman has for dalit woman.”

A user tweeted, “This is a very condemnable talk for a woman (Mayawati ji) #ArrestNaziaKhan #SuspendUrbanDictionary.”

One Shruti Gautam wrote, “If their mentality is so bad then how bad will these people be… #SuspendUrbanDictionary.”

One Karamjot Singh tweeted, “This is too much bad language to describe a lady. This is Intolerable and we Shame on @urbandictionary for this bad behaviour. #SuspendUrbanDictionary”

UP Police registers FIR, directs Twitter India to take action

Following the upheaval on the microblogging site, UP Police took cognisance of the matter. In a tweet, it said, “ADG Cyber Crime, UP Police has been directed to immediately register an FIR against urban dictionary for the derogatory & demeaning tweet. Twitter India is being notified for action against the handle at their end.”

At the time of writing the article, Urban Dictionary neither deleted the tweet nor issued any clarification.

Kerala Congress President K Sudhakaran hatched a plan to kidnap my children says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan: Here is the full story

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala Congress President K Sudhakaran hatched a plan to kidnap my children says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan: Here is the full story

In a sensational disclosure that could spark a major political row in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has claimed that the newly-coronated Kerala PCC President K Sudhakaran had once planned to kidnap his children.

According to the reports, speaking to reporters on Friday, Vijayan revealed that a former Congress local leader and Sudhakaran’s close friend had called on him at his house in Kannur many years back to warn him about a plan hatched by K Sudhakaran to kidnap his children. The Congress leader had cautioned Vijayan to be careful in the coming days.

The Kerala Chief Minister said that he did not tell anyone, including his wife, as it would frighten her, given his children were still going to school then.

“A Congress leader once met me and said that Sudhakaran was planning to kidnap my children. Sudhakaran’s colleagues themselves have levelled a number of allegations against him. TK Ramakrishnan, the former DCC president, had openly exposed Sudhakaran’s true character to Kerala,” he added.

Vijayan’s statement came after K Sudhakaran in a recent interview had attacked the two-time Kerala Chief Minister. Both Vijayan and Sudhakaran share a long history as they started their political career in the same city Kannur.

Vijayan was beaten up during college days, says Congress leader

In a recent interview, Lok Sabha MP and Kerala Congress President K Sudhakaran had said that during tensions at Brennen College at Thalassery in Kannur, the then Communist leader Vijayan was roughed up by them during a political clash in the campus. Both Vijayan and Sudhakaran were alumni of the Brennen College at Kannur.

However, Vijayan has denied Sudhakaran’s claim that the Congress leaders beat him in the past. Sharing his side of the story, Vijayan said that he was at the college to write exams during the said incident, and following his intervention, Left student workers pulled away Sudhakaran.

“Sudhakaran said things that were factually incorrect. I went to the college to put an end to the clash between KSF and KSU. I was not a student of Brennen college then. That was why that clash came to an end,” Pinarayi Vijayan added.

Vijayan also recollected another incident saying Congress leaders had made some adverse remarks against K Sudhakaran in the past.

Meanwhile, K Sudhakaran has refuted the allegations and said that he would be coming out with his fresh versions in a day or two.

The Congress-strongman from Kannur was recently appointed as the president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee in a bid to revive the party, which was humiliated by the Communist Party-led Left Democratic Front in the recently held assembly elections. Sudhakaran, who hails from Kannur just as Vijayan, is pipped to challenge the two-times Chief Minister in the coming days.

Mamata Banerjee wants Nandigram results re-evaluated even after winning state, calls Judge ‘BJP member’ to cast doubts on Judiciary as well: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee wants Nandigram results re-evaluated even after winning state, calls Judge ‘BJP member’ to cast doubts on Judiciary as well: Details

Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal won with a thumping majority in the elections that took place in the year 2021. One would expect TMC to raise hell had they lost, but it seems that Mamata Banerjee is hell-bent on doubting the electoral process even after a victory. Only recently, Mamata Banerjee had filed a petition in the court demanding that the Nandigram results be re-evaluated.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has fired off a letter to the Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Rajesh Bindal objecting to the listing of her petition before Justice Kaushik Chanda. The petition pertains to the re-evaluation of the voting results in the Nandigram constituency, where she lost elections to her rival Suvendu Adhikari.

The counsel for the West Bengal CM, Sanjay Basu, claimed, “My client has the utmost faith in the Judicial system and the Majesty of this Court, however, there is a reasonable apprehension in the mind of my about the likelihood of bias on the part of the Honorable Judge for the following reasons.” The letter alleged that Justice Kaushik Chanda was an ‘active member of BJP’ and that the petition of Mamata Banerjee will have political ramifications. Basu urged the Court to reassign the case to another Judge to resolve the apprehension of bias against the West Bengal CM.

“Further, Justice Kaushik Chanda is yet to be confirmed as a permanent Judge of Calcutta High Court. My client’s (CM Banerjee) views were sought by the Chief Justice on the confirmation of Justice Chanda as a permanent Judge of the HC. My Client had conveyed her objections and reservations to such confirmation,” the letter added. Sanjay Basu said that the case ought to be reassigned to ensure public confidence in the Judiciary so that it did not appear that Justice Kaushik Chanda was a ‘Judge in his own case.’

TMC casts aspersions on the credibility of the Judge

During the hearing on Friday (June 18), Justice Kaushik Chanda fixed the date of the hearing to June 24 and directed the Chief Minister to be present. The Court had also sought information on whether the petition filed by Mamata Banerjee was in line with the Representation of People Act. Meanwhile, the official Twitter handle of the Trinamool Congress had shared two pictures of the Judge with BJP leader Dilip Ghosh.

“Justice Kaushik Chanda is seen sharing a stage with BJP’s Dilip Ghosh. Unsurprisingly, he’s also the judge who has been assigned to hear the Nandigram case. As the Indian Judiciary system gets murkier day by day, will there be any justice in this case? Only time will tell,” the tweet read. TMC leader Derek O’ Brien had also highlighted 10 cases wherein Justice Chanda allegedly represented the BJP.

“See what we found. Matters where Justice Kaushik Chanda has appeared for the Bharatiya Janata Party before the Calcutta High Court. And now he has been assigned to hear the Nandigram election case. One big coincidence?” the tweet by Derek O’ Brien pointed out.

At the same time, TMC State General Secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed, “We have full faith in the judiciary… We don’t question Justice Chanda’s competency… but it raises questions regarding his neutrality.”

Interestingly, the TMC seems to not understand that before being the Judge, Kaushik Chanda was a senior advocate at the Calcutta High Court. If he had represented BJP in any matter, he did so in his capacity as a lawyer. After becoming a Judge, for a party to target him because of the cases he took up as an advocate reeks of either ignorance, malice, or both.

BJP rubbishes claims levelled by Mamata Banerjee

Dilip Ghosh, BJP West Bengal Chief and MP, pointed out, “Being a senior advocate at the Calcutta High Court, he was invited, and he attended programmes of our legal cell. I am not sure about the date, but it may be around 2015. What is wrong with it? Thereafter, he became the Additional Solicitor General. Being a senior advocate, he may have represented our party in cases. What is wrong with that? There are many advocates who attend programmes of political parties and fight cases.” He added that questioning his ‘neutrality’ as a Judge was wrong.

Ghosh emphasised, “Does this mean that a senior advocate can never be a Judge. The Speaker in the State Assembly is from Trinamool Congress, but we respect him for his position and neutrality.” BJP State legal cell President Partha Ghosh said that he was unsure whether the tweeted photograph was original or not. He refused to comment until the pictures are authenticated. Member of the legal cell, Priyanka Tibrewal, added that Justice Kaushik Chanda was never in the party or held any post within the BJP.

CPIM hits out at TMC for questioning the ‘neutrality’ of Calcutta High Court judge

While speaking about the matter, advocate and senior Communist Party MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya stated, “When one becomes a Judge, he has to take oath under the Constitution. The point is not what cases he fought as an advocate, but his role as a Judge. No one should question the neutrality of the Judge.”

It must be pointed out that Justice Chanda graduated from law college in 1997 and registered as an advocate on December 18, 1998. He was assigned the designation of ‘senior advocate’ on June 10, 2014. Between April 2015 and September 2019, Justice Satish Chanda served as the Additional Solicitor General of India. Thereafter, he was elevated to the Calcutta High Court as an Additional Judge on October 1, 2019.

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