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Pakistani actress Mahira Khan to feature in new Zee show two years after Pulwama attack

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani actress Mahira Khan to feature in new Zee show two years after Pulwama attack

Pakistani actress Mahira Khan will feature prominently in a new show by Zee. The first episode of the show, titled ‘Yaar Julahay’, will be aired on Tata Sky Theatre on the 15th of May. The show will appear on other DTH platforms as well. It has led to speculations whether the unofficial embargo on Pakistani artists have been lifted.

One central government source was quoted by reports as saying, “The embargo on Pakistani artistes was always a moral issue. At the time when hostilities were at their highest Bollywood filmmakers like Karan Johar were inviting actors from across the border to work in the country. The call to boycott Pakistani artistes was never legally binding.”

“Each episode of ‘Yaar Julahay’ features the immersive reading of a remarkable story that is as unique and complex as the subcontinent we live in. Each one of the featured writers has processed reality through characters that we can still identify with. It was a joy to work on these classic tales with Kanwal and Sarmad Khoosat because we have collaborated with them before and they always approach a project with a certain artistic sensitivity and deep respect for the material they are working with. Their sensibility was needed for a project as unique as this,” Chief Creative Officer – Special Projects at Zee Network, Shailka Kejriwal, was quoted as saying.

‘Yaar Julahay’ will have dramatic readings spread across 12 episodes. Stories by Gulzar, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Munshi Premchand, Amrita Pritam, Qurratulain Haider, Balwant Singh and others will feature on the show and readers will include Armad Khoosat, Sarwat Gilani, Nimra Bucha, Fawad Khan, Sania Saeed, Irfan Khoosat, Yasra Rizvi, Samiya Mumtaz, and Faisal Quresh, reports say.

Mahira Khan will read Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi’s story, Guriya, on the show. Actor and director Sarmad Khoosat said that the show was inspired by the story telling tradition of ‘Dastangoi’.

He said, “We have interpreted ‘Dastangoi’ in a contemporary way and there is also live and recorded music along with suggestive details articulating the theme of the story. For instance, when I directed Mahira Khan for the story ‘Guriya’, the set was strewn with dolls that in a way told their own story. They created an eerie atmosphere that augmented the narration and enhanced the inherent mood of the reading.”

“This series attempts to introduce a newer audience to literature through a format that blends ‘Dastangoi’ with the Chamber Theatre technique where a reader has an environment, a minimal stage setting to not just read in but to perform, interpret and deliver a story in. In each reading, we have tried to maintain the integrity of the author’s voice even as we amplify it through the digital medium to reach as many people as possible,” he added.

‘Yaar Julahay’ is the initiative of Zee Theatre. The name of the show was inspired by a Gulzar poem. Following the Pulwama terrorist attack, an embargo on Pakistani artists had been put in place by the film industry heeding to national sentiment. However, it is not clear whether any such ban was proposed for the entertainment industry as a whole.

Roopa Ganguly and other woman BJP leaders arrested in Kolkata for protesting against violence in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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Roopa Ganguly and other woman BJP leaders arrested in Kolkata for protesting against violence in West Bengal

While the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has unleashed carnage on workers of BJP and other opposition parties in West Bengal following their victory in the Vidhan Sabha polls, today three prominent BJP leaders were arrested by West Bengal police for protesting against the ongoing attacks.

As per reports, they were arrested while conducting peaceful protests at the Gandhi Murti in Mayo road crossing in Kolkata. The arrested BJP leaders include Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly, Asansol MLA Agnimitra Paul, and Coimbatore (South) MLA Vanathi Srinivasan. They were protesting against the violence unleashed by TMC goons against women in West Bengal.

Roopa Ganguly, Agnimitra Paul, and Vanathi Srinivasan were charged with unlawful assembly. This is despite the fact that only 8 people had gathered near the Gandhi murti, contrary to the limit of 20 individuals as set by the administration. Despite this, they were arrested and taken to the Lal Bazaar central lockup. However, later they were released on bail. ‘Actually they arrested us to prevent from protesting, not for violating Covid-19 protocol’, state BJP women wing chief Agnimitra Paul said.

Violence on West Bengal by TMC goons

Meanwhile, SOS calls and messages continue to emerge from the state where certain party workers have been crying for help. The Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan who was on his way to meet the families of BJP karyakartas and supporters who lost their lives in the incidents of violence were attacked by the TMC goons. Hundreds of BJP party workers and supporters, along with their families were forced to flee their village along with their families to Assam. It is not just the BJP but even CPI(M) which has accused the TMC of killing its workers. Reports of attacks on BSF jawans have also emerged in the media.

Mamata govt denies extension of stay to NCW chief

On Thursday, National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma announced that she was refused a one-day extension of her West Bengal visit which sought to help women affected by the post-election violence in the state. The official reason for this refusal was the recently introduced partial lockdown measures in the state. The NCW chief had been on an official visit to Kolkata since May 5 in order to hear the grievances of women going through post-election violence. In order to better access the situation, the NCW chief had extended her visit for another day, however, this extension was quickly refused by the West Bengal TMC government.

Meet AAP’s ‘Delhi ke Nirmata’: Who is Navneet Kalra, the businessman on the run after oxygen hoarding scandal was busted

OpIndia Staff
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Meet AAP’s ‘Delhi ke Nirmata’: Who is Navneet Kalra, the businessman on the run after oxygen hoarding scandal was busted

After recovering 419 oxygen concentrators from a business establishment on Thursday, Delhi Police recovered 96 more a restaurant at Khan Market on Friday. And it has been found that all the business establishments from where the machines were found are owned by the same individual, entrepreneur Navneet Kalra.

On Thursday, Delhi Police had seized over 450 oxygen concentrators in multiple raids across the city. Among this, as many as 419 machines were recovered from businesses owned by well-known businessman Navneet Kalra. During the raids on Thursday, 32 oxygen concentrators with 9 and 5 litres capacity were found at the Nege & Ju bar, owned by Kalra. After police arrested three persons from the bar, they led the police to Khullar Farm in Mandi Village, where 387 more units were seized.

On Friday, Delhi Police raided other businesses owned by Kalra and recovered more oxygen concentrator. They seized 9 concentrators from Town Hall restaurant and bar at Lodhi Colony, and 96 units were found at the popular Khan Chacha eatery in Khan Market. Thus, a total of 524 units have been seized from restaurants owned by Kalra so far.

The first raid was conducted after the police received a tipoff from a WhatsApp message where Navneet Kalra had sent his account details to his acquaintances in lieu of a concentrator. According to police, during their raid at Nege & Ju bar yesterday, they found one person orking on a laptop and handling orders of oxygen concentrator by ‘Xpect Everything online portal’. Police have said that for oxygen concentrators were taken via the online portal as well as through WhatsApp groups.

Navneet Kalra imported the oxygen concentrators from China at around Rs 20,000-25,000, and sold them in Delhi for at least Rs 70,000, making a huge profit when the demands for the machines are very high in the city due to the shortage of oxygen for Covid-19 patients. Reportedly, they have sold around 50 units so far.

Navneet Kalra owns several eateries in Delhi, and owns the retail chain Dayal Opticals, which was founded by his father Dayal Dass Kalra. His restaurants among the most well known in Delhi, and are frequented by VIPs like celebrities and politicians.

The most famous eatery he owns is the kebab and rolls shop Khan Chacha in Khan market, which retained the name despite the change of ownership from the Khan family to Kalra. It was founded in 1972 as a small stall by Haji Banda Hasan, known as Khan Chacha. Later, his two sons Mohammad Saleem and Mohammad Javed were running the operations.

In 2009, the Khan family entered into a partnership with Navneet Kalra for expansion of the business. But the venture ended in 2016 and for reasons not clear so far, Navneet Kalra took over the ownership of the iconic restaurant along with its branding. While Kalra claims that he was assigned the rights of the brand through an agreement in 2012, the Khan family denies it saying that agreement is forged and fabricated. This resulted in a split in the partnership in 2016, and the Khan brothers started their own eatery named Rule The Rolls, located adjutant to Khan Chacha.

Khan Chacha has been popular with celebrities for decades, and Kalra’s other restaurant Town Hall is also not less popular. Run in partnership with restaurateurs Randeep Bajaj and Navneet Bajaj, the eatery is so popular with politicians that according to Vir Sanghvi, Rahul Gandhi is often seen waiting patiently for a table at Town Hall.

Navneet Kalra was felicitated by during the oath taking ceremony of Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi govt in 2020. He was among the 48 personalities honoured as ‘Delhi ke Nirmata’ by the AAP govt after it returned to power.

After the recovery of the oxygen concentrators in his restaurants, Navneet Kalra is in hiding, and Delhi Police has launched a manhunt to nab him.

AAP MLA Imran Hussain asked to appear before Delhi High Court following allegations of oxygen hoarding

OpIndia Staff
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AAP MLA Imran Hussain asked to appear before Delhi High Court following allegations of oxygen hoarding

AAP MLA Imran Hussain has come under the scanner over allegations of hoarding oxygen from the allotted quota to the Union Territory for making personal profits. Notably, he is the same Delhi cabinet minister who was caught last year flouting COVID-19 protocols and defying lockdown.

A Delhi High Court bench comprising of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli have issued a notice to the AAP cabinet minister Imran Hussain in this regard, seeking a reply from him over allegations of hoarding of oxygen. The bench was hearing a plea alleging hoarding of oxygen by political leaders.

The court order came after the petitioner’s counsel showed a Facebook post referring to the distribution of oxygen by Hussain and contended that there is hoarding at the back. The court then asked the AAP MLA to respond to the claim of distributing oxygen to the public for COVID-19 patients.

The court opined that it would have to be investigated from where the MLA was getting oxygen as even gurudwaras are distributing it.

“He may be getting it from Faridabad, you can’t really have a problem if he is not eating away from the allocated source and he has arranged his own cylinders,” the court observed while directing the cabinet minister to be present during the next hearing on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government counsel assured the court that whether it is BJP leader Gautam Gambhir or AAP MLA Imran Hussain, strictest possible action will be taken if any violation is found out.

It is pertinent to note here that Gambhir and his foundation have been working in Delhi to provide assistance in the battle against Covid-19. The cricketer-turned-politician had earlier tweeted that some crucial medicines for COVID-19 patients were available at his offices and those in need, can take it from there. He had also tweeted that he has arranged oxygen concentrators and those in need can avail the facility.

AAP govt opposes centre’s proposal to conduct an Oxygen audit in Delhi

Meanwhile, the AAP government in Delhi objected to the Union government’s request to the Supreme Court to carry out a detailed audit of oxygen utilisation in the national capital.

It may be noted that for all this while the AAP govt has been cribbing of receiving less than half of the oxygen supplies it needs. Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the centre has already supplied 730 MT of oxygen to Delhi on Wednesday, which was more than the Supreme Court’s order asking them to supply 700 MT of Oxygen. SG Mehta also insisted that there was a need for carrying out a simultaneous audit of oxygen utilisation in Delhi.

The Delhi government, however, continuing it’s blame game, objected to the audit and said that the Supreme Court should instead order an audit to look into the centre’s arbitrary allocation of oxygen and mismanagement of transportation to Delhi and other states.

Uttar Pradesh govt launches testing campaign in rural areas, 5% positive out of 69,000 individuals tested so far

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh govt launches testing campaign in rural areas, 5% positive out of 69,000 individuals tested so far

The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a massive testing campaign in rural areas of the State, amidst the rising Coronavirus cases. It has now come to light that only 3,551 individuals (about 5%) tested positive during the rapid antigen test conducted on 69,474 people, reported The Times of India.

The Yogi Adityanath government has initiated a 5-day door-to-door testing campaign in 97,000 revenue villages. Teams have been dispatched to visit every single home, check individuals for Coronavirus-related symptoms, conduct rapid antigen tests, isolate individuals who test positive and provide the necessary medicines.

At the same time, the team deployed by the Uttar Pradesh government has been asked to arrange for telephonic conversation of Coronavirus patients with doctors. The team has been directed to provide necessary medical facilities to Coronavirus patients. Besides, they have been tasked to check oxygen saturation using an oximeter and conduct other tests to determine the health condition of the villagers.

Screening and testing done by monitoring committees: Govt spokesperson

While speaking on the development, a government spokesperson informed, “To prevent the spread of novel coronavirus in rural UP, a mass testing drive has been launched in villages. Teams are going to all houses to provide treatment and counsel patients. Door-to-door screening and testing are being done by monitoring committees.”

He further added, “Members of the monitoring committee and rapid response teams are starting work from early morning itself. The five-day campaign aims at identifying people with Covid symptoms in villages and getting them hospitalized. For this, members of the monitoring committees and OPTS have been provided medical kits and antigen test kits.”

Yogi Adityanath exhibits proactiveness in conducting 3rd phase of the vaccination

On May 1, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the state has received about 1 crore Coronavirus vaccine doses to kickstart the third phase of the vaccination drive. The development comes days after the government had placed the order for vaccine doses following the Centre’s decision to immunise individuals between the age of 18-45 years.

While speaking to the media, Yogi Adityanath informed, “We ordered 1 crore vaccines. We have received vaccines for the 45+ category too. We have purchased directly from the companies. We have also floated global tenders for 5 crore vaccines in the state. I am sure that we will be able to take this forward successfully.” On April 19, the Centre had announced that individuals above the age of 18 years will be eligible for the Coronavirus vaccination programme from 1st May. The Union government had also permitted states to directly procure vaccines from the manufactures.

USA: Separatist group ‘Black Hammer’ acquires 200 acres of Colorado Land to create independent Communist city

T Waraich
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USA: Separatist group ‘Black Hammer’ acquires 200 acres of Colorado Land to create independent Communist city

Black Hammer, a Black separatist, communist group, has acquired 200 acres of land in Colorado, the USA to establish an “ethnostate” i.e a sovereign state where citizenship is restricted to members of a particular racial or ethnic group, for “colonized people”. “Thanks to all of you, Black Hammer has successfully liberated 200 acres of land to build our city. FOR COLONIZED PEOPLE ONLY! We are located high up in the mountains, 10,000 feet in the air with RICH soil! We have one lake and three rivers on the land!”, the communist group announced the news on Twitter.

Announcement of the communist ethnostate on Twitter

The Black Hammer organization has its own website, where they state that their ethnostate, named Hammer City, will create a “city for all people of color to be free” with no “discrimination of nationality, gender, age or mental/physical differences.” By their own description, “Hammer City” will exclude all White people based on their race. According to Black Hammer, the communist ethnostate will provide residents with “jobs, housing, food, and healthcare” while retaining a “no cops, no rent, no Coronavirus” and “no white people” policy.

Black Hammer has a GoFundMe page for people who wish to fund Hammer City where they have accumulated over $64,000 in donations. In a justification for the fundraising through GoFundMe, Black Hammer wrote:

“On top of fighting against the police and horizontal violence, Black and Colonized people are battling coronavirus. The US government is exposing Black and Colonized people to the disease. Their negligence to our communities as well as pushing this narrative of ‘essential workers’ are killing us at alarming rates … Enough is enough. The Democrats and Republicans’ answer to our problem is to vote, while they continue to poison, cage, and murder us. The so-called “white left’s” response to us is recycled movements that continue to fail … It’s time we turn to each other and design, plan and build what we need to protect our families and communities. Hammer City is being built by Colonized people, governing ourselves, and designing our own city from a decolonized mindset.” 

The Black Hammer organization has also been called out for its overt anti-Semitism. In a now-deleted tweet, Black Hammer’s Twitter account addressed critics who asked how the group would “keep warm in the mountains.” The tweet, which stated “don’t y’all already know it just takes a good book to burn and some nice wood … best believe we have plenty of copies to keep us warm all season long,” exhibited two pictures; one of a campfire and the other of holocaust victim Anne Frank’s biography. 

Black Hammer’s tweet regarding Holocaust victim Anne Frank

This isn’t the only time the organization has referred to Anne Frank. On Tuesday, Black Hammer claimed that Anne Frank’s father “went abroad and killed African people everyday”, calling him a “bleach demon”.

On the Black Hammer website, there is a section titled “Reparations”. Here, the organization gives ‘White’ people the opportunity to be a “good person on the right side of history” by allowing people to join the so-called ‘Reparations Corps’, making monthly reparation payments or offering skills to the Hammer City project. The organization advertises three distinct levels of reparation payments, beginning at the $40 ‘Che level’, named after the communist leader Che Guevara, and ending at the $199 minimum ‘Mao level’, named after Mao Zedong.

On their website, Black Hammer promises to give “poor and working-class colonized people full control” over their lives. The organization defines “colonized people” as “people of color,” who according to the organization had “suffered through generations of Colonialism: slavery, war, and poverty.” 

Mocked online

The group’s efforts to establish a communist ethnostate for “colonized people” have been relentlessly mocked online. Many commentators online have noted that the land purchased by Black Hammer is not arable land and thus not suitable for agriculture. Commentators also noted the issue of water rights in Colorado, and how Black Hammer would need a permit to divert the water from the river, or to dig a well.

It is a reminder of the CHAZ, or the ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’ established by a large group of BLM (Black Lives Matter) protestors last year in Seattle, Washington, USA. The BLM protestors had occupied a roughly four-block area in Seattle’s Capitol Hill had declared it autonomous and ‘police free’. They had placed barricades and had been squatting on public areas, and looting local businesses to carry out the protests. After a few weeks of media glorification, the area was finally cleared by the Seattle police, as per the mayor’s orders. During the few weeks of CHAZ’s existence, violent crimes, especially crimes against women had been rampant in the area.

Shahbuddin redux: Media reports death of Chhota Rajan due to Covid, media says he is still alive

OpIndia Staff
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Shahbuddin redux: Media reports death of Chhota Rajan due to Covid, media says he is still alive

Media reports had stated that underworld don Chhota Rajan died at AIIMS New Delhi on Friday after he was infected with Covid-19.

However, soon after, ANI quoted AIIMS staffers saying that Rajan is still alive and is being treated for Covid.

Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan was admitted to AIIMS on 27th April after testing positive for Coronavirus in Tihar jail. He was lodged in the Tihar jail in New Delhi since his arrest after he was deported from Bali in Indonesia, in 2015.

On April 27, an assistant jailor of the Tihar jail informed a sessions court in Mumbai that they could not produce Rajan via video conference before the judge for hearing in a case, as Chhota Rajan has tested positive for Covid-19 and he has been admitted to the AIIMS in Delhi.

He was facing several criminal cases which were shifted to the CBI, and a special court was constituted to try them. The former underworld don is facing as many as 70 criminal cases relating to various crimes like extortion, smuggling, drug trafficking, murder etc in Mumbai. In 2018, Rajan was convicted in the 2011 murder case of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. In March this year he was also sentenced to 10 years in jail in attempted murder case of bookie-turned-builder Ajay Goslia.

Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje had started his criminal career as a black marketeer of cinema tickets in Mumbai. Later he joined the joined the Bada Rajan gang in 1982. After Bada Rajan was shot dead, Chhota Rajan took over the gang. He had worked for Dawood Ibrahim who had fled to Dubai.

During the gang ward between Arun Gawli and Dawood’s gangs, Chhota Rajan had become the right-hand man of Dawood. But he had left the D-Company in 1993 and had formed an independent gang, and had regularly clashed with his former gang.

In 2000, Dawood Ibrahim’s men had attempted to kill Chhota Rajan in Bangkok, but it was not successful.

In October 2015, Rajan was arrested in Bali in Indonesia acting on a tip-off from Australian police. He was extradited from Bali to India on 6 November 2015 after 27 years on the run, and was awaiting trial in several cases against him.

This only hurts nation: Several CMs, including YS Jagan Mohan Reddy slam UPA’s Jharkhand CM for petty politics over call by PM Modi

OpIndia Staff
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This only hurts nation: Several CMs, including YS Jagan Mohan Reddy slam UPA’s Jharkhand CM for petty politics over call by PM Modi

On Thursday (May 7), Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the latter had called to inquire about the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic in the State.

Since then, several Chief Ministers of States have come forth to condemn the petty politics that was played by Jharkhand CM and Congress ally Hemant Soren.

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jaganmohan Reddy took to Twitter to condemn the tweet by Hemant Soren. He tweeted that such politics only harms the nation and while he considers Soren his brother, it is the time to put aside petty politics and come together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

He further said that in this war against COVID-19, it was not the time to point fingers but come together to strengthen the hands of PM Modi to effectively combat the pandemic.

N Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur too tweeted condemning the politics by UPA CM. He said that whenever PM Modi called, he had always been reassuring.

Prema Khandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh said that it was time to stand together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are not safe, unless all are safe”, he said.

The Chief Minister of Mizoram too to Twitter to say that everyone was lucky to have a responsible and attentive Prime Minister like PM Modi.

Chief Minister of Nagaland said that he disagreed with Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and hoped he would retract his statement.

And finally, the CM of Assam too slammed the UPA CM.

PM Modi today, had rung Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, besides the Chief Ministers of Telangana, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh to review the ongoing vaccination drive and increase production of vaccines in the upcoming months. Following that, UPA CM of Jharkhand had decided to play petty politics.

In a tweet, Hemant Soren alleged that PM Modi did not listen to him and chose to give a ‘monologue’ instead during the telephone conversation. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called today. He only spoke his mind (Mann ki baat). It would have been better if he had talked something useful or listened to something useful that I had to offer.”

While Prime Minister Modi had called the Chief Ministers personally to take stock of the ongoing pandemic and the problems faced by the states, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren seems to have taken this opportunity to play politics instead and indulge in public grand-standing. 

While opposition parties have targeted the Prime Minister in the most uncouth manner on several occasions, turning an administrative call into a public spectacle can be considered a new low. 

Watch: Police personnel attacked by mob in Sangamner, vehicles damaged, employees of Zubair hotel booked

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Police personnel attacked by mob in Sangamner, vehicles damaged, employees of Zubair hotel booked

Some videos have gone viral on social media wherein a mob of 100 to 150 people are seen chasing, hurling bricks and beating up a police officer in Sangamner in the Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra. The unruly mob attacked the officer when he tried to enforce the lockdown. Two policemen were injured in the incident of stone-pelting. 

In one of the videos, the mob is seen chasing a police officer while he runs for his life. According to reports, the crowd not only chased the policemen and threw bricks but also vandalised two police vehicles and a police post set up under a tree in the area.

According to local media, the violence broke out when the police team stopped some youths wandering on the Tinbatti Chowk in the Delhi Naka area, Sangamner on Thursday evening amidst the lockdown. Most in the crowd were not wearing masks. Social distancing was not being observed.

When the police personnel chased the youths and ordered them to go home, they started to argue, and the heated exchanges soon led to a scuffle. A large mob then poured on to the streets and attacked the police personnel.

As the tension spread, police reinforcements were rushed in, and the Rapid Action Force personnel deployed in the area.

Based on a complaint lodged by police officer Salman Sheikh, a case was registered against several unidentified people and the driver of one Zubair Hotel and all its employees namely Nisar Khichdiwala, Zakir Khan, Mohammad Hanif Rashid Sheikh and Arbaaz Sheikh. They have been charged for obstructing a public servant from discharging his duties, damaging public property and rioting.

Indic Collective writes twice to Supreme Court to list petition on Bengal violence for urgent hearing, court pays no heed

OpIndia Staff
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Indic Collective writes twice to Supreme Court to list petition on Bengal violence for urgent hearing, court pays no heed

On May 3, 2021, a day after the results of the Assembly elections were declared, the Indic Collective Trust (ICT) had moved the Supreme Court through advocate Suvidutt Sundaram over the post-poll violence that has erupted in West Bengal. The ICT had sought directions for the deployment of central forces to restore law and order in the state. Four days on, the Supreme Court is yet to hear the petition.

Today, Indic Collective Trust, through a thread of Tweets rued that its repeated efforts to get it’s petition listed for urgent hearing failed, as the apex court is yet to hear their petition which was filed on May 3.

ICT informed that though by the afternoon of May 4, 2021, they had addressed and cleared all queries raised by the SC Registry, yet the matter was not listed on May 5th.

It furthered that it requested the apex court to list the matter urgently citing the grim situation in Bengal. Accordingly, ICT’s arguing Counsels Senior Advocate Ms Pinky Anand and Mr J Sai Deepak along with the Advocate on Record Mr Suvidutt Sundaram sought to orally mention the matter before Justice UU Lalit on May 6, 2021. “However, the said request too was not allowed by SC Registry despite being informed of the grave urgency in the matter”, wrote the Indic Collective Trust.

ICT shot the second letter of urgency on May 6th, which was also turned down by the Registry.

Saying so, ICT asserted that since today is the last working day of the Supreme Court before it shuts for summer until June 28, 2021, they would seek its urgent listing once more before a vacation bench, adding that it was also working on alternatives as they have ample proof of the ghastly targeted post-poll violence in West Bengal.

Indic collective moves SC citing deliberate inaction by Mamata Banerjee

We reported that ICT through its petition had sought directions for the constitution of a Special Investigative Team (SIT) to investigate the involvement of politicians in the current spate of post-poll violence that is underway. It also seeks directions for the immediate prosecution and arrest of those responsible for the spate of violence.

It had also requested the Supreme Court to declare that the constitutional machinery in the state has broken down within the meaning of Article 356. President’s Rule is imposed on a state through Article 356 if the President is satisfied that the governance of the state cannot be carried according to the provisions of the Constitution.

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