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Assam: Mystery of EVM in the car of BJP leader solved, EC suspends poll officials who had taken a ride in the car, orders repoll

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: Mystery of EVM in the car of BJP leader solved, EC suspends poll officials who had taken a ride in the car, orders repoll

On Thursday, a video had emerged where a private car was seen ferrying an Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in Assam. It emerged that the vehicle belonged to BJP’s Patharkandi MLA Krishnendu Paul. The vehicle was intercepted by ‘locals’ and thrashed the polling officials travelling in it, alleging that the EVM was being transported in a vehicle owned by a BJP leader to tamper with the votes stored in it. The vehicle was also badly damaged in the attack.

The incident came to light during the 2nd phase of polling for Assam State Legislative elections. Soon after the video went viral on social media, Congress started alleging that BJP is tampering with the EVMs in the ongoing elections. Now the Election Commission has come up with a detailed explanation of the events. The Commission has also suspended the officers involved in the case, and ordered a repoll for the concerned polling booth.

As per reports, the car was intercepted and then stopped by locals in Karimganj. In the video shared on social media, a man in the background could be heard saying, “Oi dekhun Krishnendu Pal er gadit Evm paowa gesa (Look EVMs have been found in the car of Krishnendu Paul)”. The passengers of the car were forced to get down.

When they tried to enter their vehicle, they were physically stopped by the locals. “Gaadi jaigat thakto (The car will stay in its place), warned one local to the passengers. The car bearing the number plate of AS10B0022 is registered in the name of Madhumita Paul, the wife of the BJP MLA.

After the video went viral on social media, Congress scion Priyanka Gandhi took to Twitter on Friday to cast aspersions about the credibility of the Election Commission (EC) and reignite the propaganda around ‘EVM tampering.’

In a tweet, she wrote, “Every time there is an election video of private vehicles caught transporting EVM’s show up. Unsurprisingly they have the following things in common: 1. The vehicles usually belong to BJP candidates or their associates. 2. The videos are taken as one off incidents and dismissed as aberrations. 3. The BJP uses its media machinery to accuse those who exposed the videos as sore losers.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Priyanka Gandhi

Priyanka Gandhi further added, “The fact is that too many such incidents are being reported and nothing is being done about them. The EC needs to start acting decisively on these complaints and a serious re-evaluation of the use of EVM’s needs to be carried out by all national parties.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Priyanka Gandhi

The Election Commission explanation

Following the series of allegations, the Election Commission issued a factual report on Friday. In its report, the EC clarified that a polling party comprising of a Presiding Officer and three polling personnel were returning in a convoy after the completion of polling at the polling booth at No 149- Indira MV School under the Ratabari constituency. They were being escorted by a constable and a homeguard. Since it was raining heavily, the roads had become muddy. Around 1300 vehicles were returning via National Highway (NHH)-8 after completion of the elections and it led to unprecedented traffic congestion.

In a sudden turn of events, the EC vehicle carrying the polling party from booth number 149 broke down while it was approaching Nilam Bazaar at around 9:00 pm in the night. “Due to the traffic congestion and the prevailing weather condition, the party became detached from its convoy. The party alighted from the vehicle and called the Sector Officer Sri Ajoy Sutradhar on his mobile and informed him. While the sector officer was arranging for an alternate vehicle, the polling party decided to arrange a vehicle of its own so as to reach the Material Receipt Centre faster since they were in custody of polled EVMs,” the Election Commission emphasised.

The EC stated that the polling party then hailed and boarded a passing vehicle along without the polled EVMs, without verifying the ownership details of the car. They then reached Kanaishil in Karimganj at around 10 pm but had to slow down due to the traffic jam. Suddenly, they were ambushed and attacked by a mob of 50 people. The miscreants pelted stones, hurled abuses and stopped the vehicle from passing.

“When they asked the leader of the mob, he replied that it was the vehicle of Sri Krishnendu Paul who is a contesting candidate of a neighbouring constituency (Patharkandi LAC-2) and he levelled allegations that the EVM was being taken to be tampered with. It was only then that they realised that something was amiss and alerted the Sector Officer,” the nodal election body added. It said that by then, a larger mob had gathered and accused them of tampering with the EVMs.

On receiving information, the Data Entry Operator (DEO) of Karimganj reached the spot along with the Superintendent of Police (SP). The EC noted, “On arrival at the spot, it was observed that the crowd was pulling out the polling party and were about to assault them. The mob had turned violent and had damaged the glass of the vehicle by stone-pelting. During the course of the stone pelting, SP Karimganj sustained minor injuries on his collarbone and blank firing had to be resorted to disperse the mob. The first pollingofficer was found missing in the commotion, the EVM’s and the remaining polling party along were safely escorted from the area and taken into the control of the DEO at 2220 hrs.”

EVMs have not been tampered with

The EC examined the polled EVMs and found that the seals of VVPAT, BU and CU were intact. All the items were then deposited in a strong room. Meanwhile, a search operation was conducted to trace the first polling officer who had been hiding ever since the incident. He was traced on Friday (April 2) morning. The EC issued a show-cause notice to the Presiding Officer for violating the election body’s transport protocol.

Officials suspended, re-polling to take place in the concerned polling booth

The Election Commission has ordered the suspension of the four officials involved in the incidence for violating the transport protocol by travelling in an unauthorised vehicle. The poll panel has also announced repolling for the polling booth number 149, even though the EVMs were found no tampered with.

“Thereafter, the PO & 3 other officials have been placed under suspension. Although the seals of the EVM were found intact, it has nevertheless been decided to do a re-poll at No. 149- Indira M.V. School of LAC 1 Ratabari (SC) as added precaution. A report has also been sought from the Special Observer,” the EC statement said.

The four officials who have been suspended for violating the transport protocol of the EC are, Presiding Officer Sahab Uddin Talukdar, and Polling Officers Saurav Acharjee, Abdul Mumit Choudhury and Sahab Uddin Tapadar. Choudhury is a teacher at an Islamic elementary school, while the rest three are teachers at different schools.

5 incidents recently when cooks were arrested after their videos of spitting on food went viral: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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5 incidents recently when cooks were arrested after their videos of spitting on food went viral: Read details

In the last few weeks, there have been an increasing number of instances when cooks have been caught spitting on the dough while preparing rotis. The viral videos of their acts were invariably caught on camera and released on the internet, attracting widespread criticism from people who demanded police to bring to book such vile offenders.

Due to the gross nature of the incidents and the ongoing pandemic situation, the police have initiated deeper investigations into the case to see if these are isolated incidents or if there is a bigger nexus at play that indulge in such activities.

Here are 4 incidents from the recent past when cooks were arrested by the police after videos of them spitting on rotis had gone viral on social media websites:-

Mohsin, arrested for spitting on rotis, confesses he has been spitting in functions of non-Muslims from the last 5 years

In March 2021, the Ghaziabad police arrested one Mohammad Mohsin after a video of him making rotis while spitting on them at an engagement ceremony went viral on the microblogging site. The incident purportedly took place on March 11 in the Bhojpur area of Ghaziabad district. The cook identified as Mohammad Mohsin in seen making rotis and spitting on them.

According to media reports, the incident happened during the engagement ceremony of the nephew of one Shivkumar on Thursday, in one educational institute premises near Dausa Banjarpur falling under the Bhojpur police station limits. Mohammad Mohsin was making rotis at this engagement ceremony when he was caught red-handed spitting on the dough prepared for the rotis before putting it in the tandoor. He was also secretly filmed doing the same. The video of the incident went viral the next day.

On Friday, when Mohsin realised that the video of the incident has gone viral on social media, he fled from his village along with his family members.

After watching the viral video, Ghaziabad police sprang into action. The police approached Shivkumar to confirm whether the video was genuine. After verifying they spoke to the catering company which had hired Mohsin, to know his whereabouts.

On learning that Mohsin was a resident of Sahbiswa in Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, the police reached his house to arrest him but Mohsin had fled by then. The police immediately launched a manhunt and arrested the accused. Mohsin has been slapped with relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, along with sections under the Epidemic Act.

In his interrogation with the police, the accused Mohsin confessed to committing such acts for the last five years. He informed the police that he moonlighted as a painter, besides preparing rotis/naan at functions and events. However, one of the shocking revelations Mohsin made in his interview was that he spat on the dough only in events organised by non-Muslims. Never for once has he spat on rotis/naan at Muslim festivals.

Mohammad Khalik arrested from Delhi after video of him spitting on rotis goes viral

On the last week of March, another man named Mohammad Khalik was arrested from the national capital after a video of him spitting on the dough while preparing rotis in a tandoor had gone viral on the internet. The Delhi Police took cognisance of the viral video and arrested the cook named Mohammad Khalik.

Investigation revealed that it was from Madeena hotel in North East Delhi’s Bhajanpura area. In the video, the cook was seen spitting on rotis before putting them in the tandoor. The police registered a case against the culprit under sections 269, 270, 272 of the IPC and the Pandemic Act. Khalik had reportedly come to Delhi from his native village about 9-10 years ago in a search for a job. He got a job at the Dhaba in Bhajanpura and has been working there since then.

Delhi Police arrest Mohammad Ibrahim and Anwar after social media was abuzz with a video of them spitting on rotis

In yet another case of a cook spitting on rotis, Delhi Police arrested two persons named Mohammad Ibrahim and Anwar after a video of them spitting on rotis had gone viral on the internet. In the video that had gone viral, one of the two men was seen spitting on the rotis before putting them in a tandoor. It was then reported that the video was from a hotel in Seelampur in Delhi.

Apparently, the video was shot by a customer who had caught the duo spitting on rotis. The customer had also recorded the video and later uploaded it on the internet. The police took cognisance of the video and arrested the two men. An FIR was filed against the accused under IPC sections 269, 270, 272, 273 and 34 at Khayala Police Station, New Delhi.

Naushad alias Sohail caught spitting on rotis in Meerut in February

On February 20, Meerut Police arrested one Naushad alias Suhail for spitting on the food while working as a cook at a wedding. On February 18, a video started to go viral on social media platforms in which a man was seen spitting on uncooked roti before putting it in tandoor. The video was shared by several netizens.

The location was identified as Aroma Garden, Meerut. Sachin Sirohi of Hindu Jagran Manch registered an FIR against the person who was identified as Naushad.

As per the Meerut Police statement, a case under several sections, including 269, 270, 188 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of Epidemic Disease Act, was registered against Naushad.

During interrogation, it was reportedly revealed that Naushad worked as a cook in wedding ceremonies for the last 15 years. A video had surfaced in which he allegedly confessed to spitting on food for at least ten years.

Similar incident happens in Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, police takes accused into custody

Another video went viral on the internet that shows a man spitting on the dough as he prepares to make Rotis at Shamli in Uttar Pradesh. Shamli Police said on Twitter that the accused has been taken into custody and appropriate action under the ambit of the law will be taken. Although the accused were not named, all the men working in the kitchen can be wearing skullcaps.

The Wire, Scroll contributor blames ‘Hindutva paranoia’ for IMA President’s wish to convert patients to Christianity, uses anti-Hindu slur in the process

Jinit Jain
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The Wire, Scroll contributor blames ‘Hindutva paranoia’ for IMA President’s wish to convert patients to Christianity, uses anti-Hindu slur in the process

Kiran Kumbhar, a writer for leftist online rags The Wire, Scroll, spoke in the language of Islamic terrorists to defend Dr JA Jayalal’s proselytising proclivities and understate his penchant for converting people into Christianity. This comes days after OpIndia highlighted the problematic utterances of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) President Dr JA Jayalal regarding the use of hospitals as a springboard to convert people into Christianity,

In a string of tweets, Kumbhar normalised IMA president Dr JA Jayalal’s extremely problematic opinions and his wish to convert doctors, students and patients to Christianity. Instead, he blamed “Hindutva paranoia” for faulting the IMA president of harbouring missionary zeal to convert people into Christianity.

Source: Twitter

Though Kumbhar stated that he did not agree with Dr Jayalal’s interviews, he also mentioned that he did not get the impression that the IMA president was endorsing conversion of medicos to Christianity. Instead, he downplayed the view that Dr Jayalal was supporting conversions as a mere “hallucination”.

If this was not enough, Kumbhar then went on to share a list of people who have served as IMA presidents in 90 years to allege that the medical council body was an “out-an-out” Hindu dominated organisation. He then alleged that the concerns regarding the religiosity of Dr Jayalal are misguided as the IMA is largely a Hindu-dominated association, in a Hindu majority country.

Source: Twitter

These are straw man arguments raised by Kiran Kumbhar to undercut Dr JA Jayalal’s overt endorsement for Christian proselytisation. According to Kumbhar’s absurd logic, since the Indian Medical Association comprises mostly Hindu doctors and had largely Hindu presidents in the past, having a Christian who wishes to lure people into his faith is completely acceptable.

What Kumbhar conveniently fails to mention here is that the Hindu doctors in the organisation and Hindus who served as chiefs of the organisation in the past 90 years did not share the same zeal in converting non-Hindus to the Hindu fold as displayed by Dr Jayalal in converting non-believers into Christianity.

This spurious defence that Hindus are in majority and therefore do not face any threat of conversion is often peddled by Islamists and their sympathisers to term the concerns raised by Hindus as unfounded and blown out of proportion while refusing to acknowledge the alarming radicalisation among them and their singular zeal to either convert or destroy the non-believers.

The point here is that Hindus do not fetishise religious conversions as demonstrated by the dogmatic believers of the Abrahamic faith, who consider it as their religious duty to bring non-believers into their fold. Therefore, Kumbhar’s defence that the IMA is predominantly a Hindu organisation and is insulated from Christian proselytisation is a shallow argument, made with the express purpose of defending Dr JA Jayalal’s problematic assertions.

The Wire writer also claimed that the IMA president was targeted not for his inclination to spread Christianity but for his critical views on Ayurveda. Here, Kumbhar tried to whitewash Dr Jayalal’s passion for Christian evangelism by falsely asserting that he is being targeted because of his public opposition to Ayurveda.

Quite clearly, Kumbhar here is gaslighting Hindus all the while as he uses vile Hinduphobic slurs such as ‘cowdung cake’. He is using the language of Islamic terrorists in order to absolve the IMA President of his sins.

He blames Hindus for correctly interpreting what the IMA President himself wished to convey. His usage of the ‘cowdung’ slur makes it evident that his whitewashing of the statements is a consequence of the deep seated anti-Hindu bigotry in his heart.

Dr Jayalal’s desire for using Hospitals to spread Christianity

In his recent interviews, Dr Jayalal expressed his desire to use his professional qualifications and his recently acquired position as the head of the Indian Medical Association to further Christian evangelism that is carried out by Christian missionaries. Dr Jayalal said that the coronavirus outbreak is an opportunity that can be leveraged to convert medical students, patients and fellow doctors into Christianity.

Dr Jayalal regards the platform of the Indian Medical Association as a springboard for him to share the “love of Jesus Christ” and be a “living witness to God and encourage young medical students and doctors to receive Jesus as their personal saviour”.

According to Dr Jayalal, it was “Christian compassion” and Christian doctors and churches who relieved the world from lethal maladies such as leprosy, cholera and other pandemics in the past. He believes the coronavirus pandemic has provided “the urgent need of the proclamation of the Gospel to people who are suffering from the virus has allowed us to share the Gospel even in secular institutions”.

In his presidential address after being anointed as the chief of the Indian Medical Association, Dr Jayalal did not flinch from expressing his Christian evangelism and hailing controversial characters such as Mother Teresa, regarded by many as a predatory Christian proselytiser responsible for industrial-scale conversions of the indigenous people to Christianity.

Dr Jayalal not only promoted Christianity in his capacity as the President of the Indian Medical Association, but he also criticised the ancient Indian traditions and Ayurvedic medicine. Elaborating on his critique that “the Hindu Nationalist government wants to destroy modern medicine saying it is ‘western medicine’,” Dr Jayalal said that the government has faith in Ayurveda because of their cultural value and traditional belief in the Hindutva.

While he dismissed Ayurveda and other Vedic medical treatments as “quackery”, Dr Jayalal was unabashed enough to claim that Christian doctors are blessed with a special ability to provide “holistic healing”, which includes spiritual, mental and social healing.

Gujarat: Newborn twins test positive for COVID-19 after parents also test positive for the infection, babies stable

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Newborn twins test positive for COVID-19 after parents also test positive for the infection, babies stable

The Wuhan coronavirus has been impacting the well-being and health of families across the country for more than a year now. Today it was reported how a set of newborn twins have been infected with the infection in Vadodara, Gujarat. The babies were brought back to the hospital, 15 days after being discharged, with severe diarrhoea and dehydration. On being tested, they turned out to be COVID-19 positive.

“The babies were brought back to the hospital after 15 days of being discharged with severe diarrhoea and dehydration. We initially looked for all the normal causes of infections, but later when we got them tested for Covid-19 infection, and their reports came positive,” senior doctor Sheel Iyer said on Thursday.

Both parents of the twins tested positive for COVID-19: Gujarat doctor

She further informed that the newborn twins to the Gujarat couple are currently stable. They are being given supportive treatment in the hospital. Doctor Iyer also confirmed that both parents of the newborns had also been tested positive for the coronavirus infection and were being treated for the same.

“Both their caregivers also tested positive for Covid-19. Now both babies are stable. We are giving supportive treatment for the babies,” Dr Iyer said.

COVID-19 in neonates and infants

So far the research studies suggest that all age groups are susceptible to the Chinese virus, but people with comorbidities or the elderly are more likely to develop a severe form of the disease. Although children seem to have less severe clinical symptoms when infected, the potential harm of this novel disease remains largely unknown in neonates.

Current evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infections in neonates are uncommon. If neonates do become infected, the majority have either asymptomatic infections or mild disease. Severe illness in neonates, including illness requiring mechanical ventilation, has been reported but appears to be rare. The recovery rate in neonates is also reported to be far better thus far.

Reported signs among neonates with SARS-CoV-2 infection include fever, lethargy, rhinorrhea, cough, tachypnea, increased work of breathing, vomiting, diarrhoea, and poor feeding.

As per studies, the incubation period for children is the same as in adults. The time between exposure to COVID-19 and when symptoms start is commonly around 5 to 6 days, and ranges from 1 to 14 days.

Saudi media report praises the Indian government’s development and public welfare programmes in Jammu and Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
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Saudi media report praises the Indian government’s development and public welfare programmes in Jammu and Kashmir

Taking note of the positive initiatives taken by the Modi government in Jammu and Kashmir, the Saudi Gazette, a newspaper based out of Saudi Arabia, had praised the Indian government for carrying out various development activities and public welfare initiatives, in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370.

The Saudi daily stated that the youth in Kashmir have positively reacted to the decisive steps taken by the Modi government and have expressed the desire to become a part of the progress of the country. It also noted that terrorists who were earlier disenchanted by the central government have given up their arms after 5 August 2019 and have become a part of the national mainstream.

It said the local leaders of Kashmir who harped on the state’s separate status and alleged that no one in the Valley would be holding the tricolour following the abrogation have been proven wrong.

The Saudi newspaper highlighted how the Centre’s scholarship schemes for Jammu and Kashmir students had helped people from poor background to get admission to top colleges across the country.

“Many of the students have completed their graduation and taken up jobs with big corporate firms within and outside the country. The Indian government has remained steadfast in its decisions to ensure that the region is pulled from the quagmire of uncertainty,” the Saudi Gazette said.

“The government departments were asked to ensure that the benefits of the centrally sponsored schemes trickle down to youth so that they are enabled to choose a progressive path in life. In addition to the great scope being offered by the high potential tourism industry in the region, many Kashmiri youths have been imparted training under the “Himmayat” scheme and have been benefitted in terms of getting jobs in companies across the country,” the daily read.

The newspaper also pointed out the decline in the number of youth taking part in stone-pelting mobs because of an increase in new employment and earning opputunities.

“In the past one and half year, hundreds of youth have been placed and they are living decent lives. Recruiting agencies that had almost become defunct in Jammu and Kashmir advertised posts for the unemployed educated youth and the process to employ them was expedited,” the Gazette said.

The daily said that government initiatives have provided a new life to Kashmiri youth, who during the last three decades were being misguided by “evil forces to take up arms in a proxy war against a welfare state”.

Maharashtra: Critical Covid patient protests at Nashik Municipal Corporation office over lack of beds, dies same day

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Critical Covid patient protests at Nashik Municipal Corporation office over lack of beds, dies same day

Distressing news has come to the fore from Nashik, Maharashtra, which is currently grappling with a resurgence of coronavirus cases in the state. According to reports, a 38-year-old critical COVID patient succumbed to the infection while protesting outside the Nashik Municipal Corporation on Thursday night. The man identified as Babasaheb Kole had reached the corporation office with his oxygen mask on after he was refused admission by multiple hospitals in Nashik. 

He sat on a dharna outside the municipal office, with a mask and his oxygen cylinder, to protest against the pandemic apathy of the Maharashtra government. An hour later, he was taken to a municipal hospital by the corporation officials, where he breathed his last at 1 AM on April 1. Kole’s family claimed his oxygen level dropped to 40 per cent from a normal level of 95 per cent or higher around midnight.

Patient was denied bed at multiple hospitals, says family

Speaking about what provoked the patient to sit outside the municipal building in protest, his wife said: “Two-three days back he was taken to a Bytco hospital. From there, he went to another hospital, from there to the government medical college. Medical College said it has no bed. We then went to other hospitals. Nobody admitted him. Then we came back to civil (hospital) and got oxygen for him and put him on it. Nobody heard us.”

The Maharashtra police and the civic body has said that they have launched an investigation to find out who “instigated” the patient to picket the municipal building.

Sadly, just when India breathed a sigh of relief that the pandemic curve has finally flattened, Coronavirus in Maharashtra witnessed a sudden spike in daily cases. Maharashtra has once again become the worst-hit state in the country, reporting nearly 40,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

Last month, Aaditya Thackeray, son of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray was found Covid-19 positive. Two days after, his mother Rashmi and wife of CM Uddhav Thackeray was also tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus.

Amidst the surging cases of Covid-19, it was being speculated that a statewide lockdown may be announced by the Maharashtra Chief Minister. However, instead of going for a lockdown, Uddhav Thackeray was to release a standard operating procedure (SOP) on April 1. The new SOPs are expected to impose more restrictions and guidelines for the people of the state and curb public movement.

Pakistan flag hoisted on polling day in Assam, locals burn it down chanting ‘Pakistan Murdabad’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan flag hoisted on polling day in Assam, locals burn it down chanting ‘Pakistan Murdabad’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’: Details

On Thursday (April 1), locals burnt down a Pakistan flag that was hoisted by miscreants in the Gorkuchi area in Rangia town in the Kamrup rural district of Assam. The Pakistan flag was hoisted in Rangia town on the day it went to the polls.

As per reports, the flag was discovered at around 9 AM in the morning. It was hoisted on a bamboo stick on a mud hill along the roadside. Soon, several people gathered to catch a glimpse of the flag. They have accused unidentified miscreants of destroying the unity of Rangua.

A local informed, “I was coming from my home at around 9 AM when I noticed the flag…In Rangia, we are all living in unity but some vested people are trying to break it.” A video of the flag has now surfaced on social media.

Later, several people pulled down the flag and tore it off. They then set the flag on fire with resounding chants of ‘Pakistan Murdabad’, ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. The police have taken cognisance of the matter but no case has been registered so far. Given that voting for the 2nd phase of Assam State Legislative elections took place on Thursday in Rangia, political parties accused one another of leveraging the incident for political gains.

The Opposition parties have accused the ruling BJP of ‘mischief’ and diverting the public discourse from supposedly ‘real election issues’. “This is the handiwork of the ruling BJP which is trying to malign the Mahajot,” accused a member of the grand Opposition alliance. On the contrary, the BJP has accused the Opposition of spinning narratives against it and derail its momentum through such failed attempts.

USA: Month after ‘de-Hinduised’ bill to end Yoga ban was cleared in Alabama, State Senate stalls bill after Christian conservatives object

OpIndia Staff
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USA: Month after ‘de-Hinduised’ bill to end Yoga ban was cleared in Alabama, State Senate stalls bill after Christian conservatives object

The Alabama Senate, wary of the Hindu roots of Yoga, has stalled even a de-Hinduised bill that would have reversed a 28-year ban on practising yoga in public schools in the southeastern US state. During a hearing by the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, two conservative Christian groups objected to the bill, citing concerns about yoga’s roots in Hinduism.

The Bill was put forth before the Senate by Democratic Rep. Jeremy Gray of Opelika, in February, in hopes of overturning the age-long ban on the practice of Yoga in Alabama schools, which has been in place since 1993. Lawmakers in Alabama’s state Senate voted on the proposal and decided against it.

According to reports, the bill came to a split, with 4 votes going in favour of the bill while 4 going against it. However, Senator Tom Whatley, chairman of the committee, decided to carry the bill over so it wouldn’t die in the committee. Responding to the Senate’s decision, Gray said he was disappointed but hopes the bill will pass the next time it comes before the committee.

Meanwhile, the constitutional lawyer Eric Johnston, who works with Christian advocacy groups that have spoken out against the measure said: “If you pass a law that says you can do stretches and sit in positions and so forth, that’s fine. But to say you can teach yoga is an entirely different thing because yoga is an exercise of the Hindu religion.”

Johnston said that they don’t object to adults participating in yoga but they feel children are impressionable.

Meanwhile, arguing in favour of introducing Yoga in public schools, Jeremy Gray said the bill is about exercise and not religion. “I can give you a ton of reasons why yoga is beneficial and those reasons are backed by studies and data,” he continued. “There is no study to my knowledge that says doing yoga exercise converts people to Hinduism.” He said if the bill is not passed, it would do a disservice to the children who really need it.

For the uninitiated, Alabama is the only state with such a rule. The text of the ban says “school personnel shall be prohibited from using any techniques that involve the induction of hypnotic states, guided imagery, meditation or yoga” and additionally banned the use of the word “namaste.”

Last month, the Alabama House of Representatives had approved the bill that would have enables K-12 school systems to teach Yoga if they so desire. The bill was passed by the Alabama House of Representatives with a vote of 73-25.

It is pertinent to note here that even the bill that reversed the ban on Yoga was de-Hinduised. This is to say that it asserted teaching Yoga could not include chanting of Mantras and even, the teaching of ‘Namaste’.

Though the bill cleared the Alabama House of Representatives it has again reached a deadlock as it could not get through the Alabama Senate.

Ujjain: Mahid becomes Mohit to befriend a minor and gang-rapes her with friends, threatens with acid attack

OpIndia Staff
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Ujjain: Mahid becomes Mohit to befriend a minor and gang-rapes her with friends, threatens with acid attack

A 15-year-old minor Hindu girl, residing in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, has fallen prey to an incident of alleged ‘Grooming Jihad‘. One person named Mahid had allegedly befriended her posing as a Hindu and thereafter gang-raped her. Mahid who had introduced himself as Mohit to woo the girl, took her to Delhi, Pune and Uttar Pradesh, where he got his friends to also physically assault her. When the minor became pregnant, Mahid had sent her to her sister’s place.

As the news of the incident spread, the activists of Hindu Jagran Manch approached the victim’s family and extended help. As per reports, they contacted the accused over the phone and asked him to come to Ujjain, where he was accosted, beaten up and handed over to the Ujjain police.

The Ujjain police, in turn, have registered a case against the accused and are investigating the case with the help of the police in all 3 states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

Mahid had assaulted, threatened the minor girl with acid attack

The victim is a resident of Barwani in Madhya Pradesh. She was working in Malegaon, Maharashtra, where she met Mahid, a resident of Auraiya district in the state of Uttar Pradesh. As per the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, the Hindu girl fell into the trap laid by Mahid, who changed his name to Mohit to lure the girl.

Majid had allegedly taken her with him to Pune, Delhi and Auraiya, where he along with his friends raped her multiple times. According to the victim, when she resisted, Mahid had assaulted her and warned her with dire consequences. He reportedly threatened to kill her by pouring acid on her.

When the victim got pregnant, Mahid had made her sit in a bus and sent her back to Ujjain to her sister’s place. Here, the victim gave birth to a child who had birth complications. The child soon died.

The incident came to the fore when the victim narrated her ordeal to a member of the Hindu Jagran Manch, whose one acquaintance was also hospitalised in the same room where the victim was recouping after giving birth to her child. When the Hindu outfit activist went to meet his acquaintance, the victim narrated her ordeal to him. Thereafter, the members of the outfit called up Mahid and had convinced him to come to Ujjain. When the accused arrived in Ujjain, he was accosted and handed over to the police.

According to a report by Patrika, Mahid was running a racket where he along with his friends, trapped young girls by concealing their real identity. Once the girl fell into their trap, they raped and assaulted them and pushed them into prostitution.

Speaking about the case to the media, ASI Rashid Khan said that the matter is being investigated.

Antilia bomb scare: ‘Mystery woman’ seen with Sachin Vaze detained, was used to whitewash Vaze’s black money, says NIA

OpIndia Staff
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Antilia bomb scare: ‘Mystery woman’ seen with Sachin Vaze detained, was used to whitewash Vaze’s black money, says NIA

Days after it surfaced that the tainted cop Sachin Vaze had met a mystery woman during his stay at Mumbai’s Trident Nariman Point, the National Investigation Team (NIA) has detained the woman on Thursday evening. Vaze is an accused in the Antilia bomb scare case and is under the custody of the central agency till April 3.

As per reports, the NIA has carried out searches at the residence of the mystery woman and interrogated her in connection to the case. Her home remained locked for over 2 weeks. According to the investigative agency, the woman (whose name has not yet been disclosed) was an aide of ex-assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze. She would ‘whitewash’ his black money using two IDs. The woman also had a note-counting machine in her possession, which was seized from Vaze’s Mercedes car in March this year.

Furthermore, the NIA conducted searches at a hotel/club in Babulnath and seized documents, pertaining to the eight SIM cards, that were found on the tainted cop and used in the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiren. Reportedly, the hotel searched by the central agency had also employed a co-accused named Naresh Gor on the instructions of Sachin Vaze. Gor had bought the SIM cards from Gujarat on the behest of Sachin Vaze and passed it on to him through another accused named Vinayak Shinde (constable). Interestingly, one of the SIM cards were used to call deceased Manuskh Hiren, one day prior to his death on March 4.

Sachin Vaze, mystery woman and the bomb scare

Sachin Vaze met a mystery woman during his stay at Mumbai’s luxury 5-star hotel Trident, Republic TV reported on March 23. As per its sources, the woman carried a cash counting machine with her. NIA also examined the CCTV footage from Trident hotel to search for the woman who visited Vaze from Gujarat.Sachin Vaze had checked into Trident Nariman Point at 7:30 pm on February 16 as ‘Sushant Sadashiv Khamkar’ and produced a fake Aadhaar card as ID proof.

The picture on the Aadhaar card produced by Vaze is from his younger days and mentioned ‘June 15, 1972’ as the date of birth whereas Sachin Vaze’s original date of birth is February 22, 1972. It was also reported that Vaze carried five bags with him at the time of check-in with one containing a jelly-like substance suspected to be gelatin, while the other bags were full of currency. The x-ray images of the bags retrieved from the hotel confirm the presence of currency, Times Now has reported.

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