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Watch: Guard who killed a bank manager over ‘blasphemy’ in Pakistan greeted by Islamists with cheers and kisses

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Guard who killed a bank manager over ‘blasphemy’ in Pakistan greeted by Islamists with cheers and kisses

Videos have surfaced on social media where Islamists are seen cheering and greeting a Muslim in Pakistan guard after he allegedly shot a bank manager over a purported blasphemy allegation.

In one such viral video shared by Pakistani activist Rahat Austin, Ahmad Nawaz, the security guard who shot a manager of the National Bank of Pakistan branch in Quaidabad tehsil of Khushab, accusing him of blasphemy, is seen leading a fanatic crowd of supporters which greets him and raises slogans in his favour as they walk together on the street. Amidst loud cheers and slogans, one person appears from the crowd and kisses the guard.

In another video, the crowd greets him as they raise slogans in Urdu which means “Behead those who insult the Prophet”.

In yet another video, the accused Islamist is seen waving to his supporters from the roof of the local police station. The fanatic mob is seen clapping and chanting, “behead those who insult the Prophet”.

A video also surfaced online, where the guard could be heard saying that the deceased manager had “insulted the prophet (PBUH)”.

The incident had reportedly taken place in Khushab’s Tehsil Quaidabad on November 4 (Wednesday). One Ahmad Nawaz, a security guard posted at a bank branch, shot and fatally injured National Bank of Pakistan official Muhammad Imran Hanif. Nawaz said he had opened fire as Hanif allegedly committed blasphemy. However, Pakistani police confirmed the two had actually been engaging in a verbal spat for the past couple of days, which had turned sour after they could not reconcile their differences.

As the security guard was being taken into custody, a large crowd appeared and chanted slogans in his favour.

An unflattering reference to Prophet Muhammad or what is considered as ‘Blasphemy’ is often a rallying cry for the Islamists around the world to unleash their primaeval instinct of indulging in brute violence and communal riots against the ‘non-believers’. Be it the brazen shooting of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists or the brutal beheading of Former Hindu Mahasabha leader and the founder of Hindu Samaj Party Kamlesh Tiwari or the Bengaluru riots, ‘blasphemy’ is often used as an excuse by these rabid Islamists to release their harboured pent-up hatred and intolerance against those who dare to speak up uncomfortable facts.

Yes, every arrest is not the same for the non-Left, just like every death is not the same for you. Drop the hypocrisy

Editorial Desk
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Yes, every arrest is not the same for the non-Left, just like every death is not the same for you. Drop the hypocrisy

Arnab Goswami, by all accounts, is a marked man. It was in April 2020 that Arnab Goswami was first called for interrogation by the Mumbai Police. The saga began with Arnab questioning Sonia Gandhi’s silence on the brutal Palghar lynching where two sadhus were simply handed over to the crazed mob, to be beaten and murdered. The police at the time stood by and did nothing. In fact, they willingly handed the Sadhus over to be murdered. Arnab Goswami was not wrong. The silence of the top-echelons of power after two sadhus were lynched was deafening. The allegations of the probe being compromised were also getting louder.

However, the truth seldom sits well when those in power are hard-wired to be buttressed constantly. After Arnab Goswami questioning Sonia Gandhi, the saga of him being hounded began. First, there were over 200 FIRs filed against him. Then, he was physically assaulted while driving home from his studio and thereafter, the police refused to acknowledge that the attack was carried out by Congress workers. If that was not enough, after a long saga of witch-hunt, the Mumbai Police decided to take it to a whole different level.

While a Hansa Research Report and the FIR filed on the basis of it named India Today in a potential TRP scam, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh held a press conference naming Arnab Goswami and Republic TV. FIRs were filed against a 1000 journalists working in Republic, all his financials were summoned, allegations of witness tampering surfaced and the Mumbai Police declared war against Republic. In the meantime, Republic TV did a sting where leaders of the Maharashtra government were heard saying that Arnab will be trapped and eventually, he will commit suicide. They confessed on rape that an entire unit has been created for the specific purpose of hounding Goswami.

Yesterday, this witch-hunt reached its nadir. Tens of policemen armed with assault rifles and other weapons barged into Arnab Goswami’s house and assaulted him. The Mumbai Police had revived a 2018 suicide case, which was summarily closed by the same police, just to hound him. He was dragged off and arrested by the Alibaug police and Mumbai Police. The haste in which he was dragged off did not even allow Arnab Goswami to put on a pair of shoes.

Shoved into a police van, he was taken away to Alibaug police station, which comes under Konkan Range, of which, Parambir Singh was the Inspector General when Sheena Bora’s body was burnt in the area. Arnab Goswami mouthed from the police van while being taken to the court that he had been beaten and tortured. He showed a 6-inch long red mark on his hand. His lawyer said he was beaten on his lower spine. His bandage that covered several stitches he had received earlier, was allegedly ripped open by the police. In the re-opening of the case, nobody really knows what ‘new evidence’ has the Mumbai police suddenly discovered that would justify the re-opening of the case. Nobody really knows why Arnab Goswami had to be dragged and arrested, in-camera, instead of simply being summoned.

After this shameless state terrorist played out on national television, several fellow-journalists grudgingly came out to support Arnab. None of them from the Left, however, condemned the concerted witch-hunt without adding qualifiers. “You may not like his journalism.. but..”, “He is not a journalist.. but..”, “We condemn the arrest… however”. The format was mostly the same. Those who did not bother putting up the basic facade of decency, refused to condemn the arrest saying that they would have supported him if he were a journalist, however, in their worldview, he is not.

Without really saying a word about not just the arrest of Arnab Goswami, but also the organised witch-hunt against him since April, some went as far as to question why the non-Left was silent when other journalists, such as Prashant Kanojia were arrested.

Essentially, the Left said that the Right’s condemnation of the witch-hunt against Arnab Goswami was hypocritical while being completely silent on the witch-hunt themselves. Then, they blamed the BJP leaders for speaking out in favour of Arnab Goswami and even holding protests in Mumbai and elsewhere.

“Every arrest is not the same for BJP”, “they are supporting Arnab Goswami because he supports the BJP”, they said.

Well, yes. For the BJP and the non-Left in general, every arrest is not the same. We really won’t fight for those who want the Azadi of Kashmir, who shield Islamists, who keep quiet when Hindus are murdered, who twist a riot to call it an anti-Muslim pogrom when the violence by the Muslim community had created the riots, while they murdered Ankit Sharma and Dilbar Negi. We will not speak up when those who are accused of working as Chinese spies are arrested. We will not speak up those who fuel ant-Hindu violence are taken to task. We will not speak for those who rather piss on the dead bodies of Hindus than be honest about the malaise of Islamic terrorism. We won’t.

However, it is extremely peachy for the Left to start pontificating about hypocrisy now. It is indeed true that for the non-Left, not every arrest will be the same, just like not every death is the same for the Left.

Despite a girl being beheaded by her Muslim husband for not converting to Islam in Sonbhadra, Nikita Tomar being shot down by Tauseef for not accepting his advances and converting to Islam and several such cases, the Left looks away. Portals like The Wire publish articles after articles talking about how the phenomenon of Love Jihad is a mere myth. Muslim men simply fall in love with Hindu girls and live happily ever after.

They forget that in August 22, 2020, a 25-year-old Hindu widow was targetted by a Muslim man named Nizamuddin, who concealed his identity to lure her to convert her religion to Islam before marrying and impregnating her. When the woman got to know that the man, who identified himself as Goldie, was a Muslim she resented. Nizamuddin alias Goldie then started torturing her. He once stabbed her on the thigh and even tried to strangulate her. Goldie, along with his parents, threw the pregnant woman out of the house.

They forget that a Muslim man in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was accused of luring a 14-year-old Hindu minor girl by pretending to be a Hindu. The accused wore a Kalawa (Hindu sacred thread) around his wrist, sported a Tilak and frequently visited temples to fool the Hindu girl. As per the family’s complaint, the accused Fateh Khan had been pressuring the victim to adopt Islam and sexually exploiting her too. 

They often say that the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari by radical Islamists was his own fault, his own doing. Kamlesh Tiwari should have limited the exercise of his freedom of expression so Islamists would not get offended enough to murder him.

This, while they play up Hathras and even lie about it, simply to gain political points. When a Junaid is murdered, the Left sees a ‘beef-angle’ even though none existed. He was sadly murdered over a seat dispute, not for carrying beef, a narrative that the left had burnt India over.

For the Left, the fake Jai Shree Ram lynchings are real but Muslims murdering Hindus during Delhi riots, the Bangalore riots, the murder of RSS activists, BJP workers killed in Bengal and the hundreds of girls sacrificed in the name of Jihad do not exist. One recalls, that when Prashant Poojari was murdered by Islamists, Rajdeep Sardesai, the Patron saint of hypocrisy, had written a piece trying to whitewash the crime and assert that his murder had a “political context”. 

What is to be accepted here is that every side has its own set of biases. The journalists important for the Left aren’t important for the non-Left, in fact, they are despised deeply, mostly because of their own doing. The dead bodies that are important for the non-Left aren’t even talked about by the Left, in fact, they work extremely hard to justify the brutal murder of Hindus, whom the non-Left speaks up for.

The Left simply does not care about anyone who is remotely seen as an individual not towing their line. They rather have them dead. They rather see their head on a spike. They rather have them obliterated. While whitewashing even the death of the people they don’t agree with, it is a bit rich for them to expect the BJP or even the non-Left to support the very journalists who help them whitewash the murders of the non-Left. What the Left wants is to subjugate the very people who they expect to be fair.

It has long been established the playing field is not level for the non-Left and the Left. Had a journalist like Ravish Kumar or even Rajdeep Sardesai been held by his hair and dragged out of his home to be arrested even in a legitimate case, the nation would have been burnt by the Left. Heck, one remembers the loud moans when Prannoy Roy was being investigated for a financial crime and was simply asked to not leave the country. When NDTV was to be penalised by the central government just for a day for their coverage of the Pulwama attack, Ravish Kumar dramatised the situation and turned his screen black. Such is the power of the Left that even the central government went back on the levied punishment – NDTV never went off the air for a day.

In an uneven playing field, while Arnab Goswami was hounded for over 6 months, the Left remained stoically silent. They justified his interrogation. They wanted Republic to be shut. They hounded his advertisers and did everything they possibly could to not just encourage the hounding of Arnab, but even provide covering fire to the Maharashtra government that was blatantly misusing its power.

The rules of the game were set by the Left, not the non-Left. The selectivity with which the Left functioned gave rise to the sentiment against the very journalists that the Left is now whining about. The non-Left’s existence and its selective protection of Arnab Goswami is not the reason for the malaise, but a product of the Left’s hypocrisy.

When the Left refuses to treat dead bodies equally and even does a little twirl when the dead body is that of a Hindu, it is foolish for them to expect the non-Left to care for the very journalists who humiliate those they expect to stand with them now.

The Left icon and artist TM Krishna once said, “we are unable to empathise when an RSS member is killed”. While this comment leaves one jarred, one has to appreciate the un-intellectualised honesty in what Krishna said. The Left indeed feels no sympathy when Hindus are killed. It is time that they stop expecting the non-Left to feel any sympathy for those who feel exactly what Krishna does.

After allegations of widespread rigging in the US elections, ‘liberals’ accidentally reveal what Rahul Gandhi’s strategy in Indian elections would be

OpIndia Staff
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After allegations of widespread rigging in the US elections, ‘liberals’ accidentally reveal what Rahul Gandhi’s strategy in Indian elections would be

The Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi, during the ongoing Bihar assembly elections, had attempted to push the usual ‘EVM tampering’ bogey to question the integrity of elections in the country. Addressing a rally in Bihar’s Araria on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi described EVM as ‘MVM –  Modi Voting Machine’. 

Every time the Congress foresees a humiliating election defeat, the party and its ecosystem raise the mythical ‘EVM tampering’ theory to claim that the BJP and its allies emerge victorious in the elections through the process of rigging these elections.

The ‘left-liberals’, in their efforts to keep their masters happy, have time-and-again peddled the same fantasy theories of EVM hacking just as Rahul Gandhi and have often gone to the extent of demanding the Election Commission of India (ECI) to return back to the earlier ‘ballot-voting’ system.

Interestingly, just a day after Rahul Gandhi had raised his usual ‘EVM tampering’ rhetoric, the left-liberals have jumped on to the scene to push for the return of ‘ballot system’ in place of the existing system of EVMs.

Indian liberals take inspiration from ‘rigging’ in US elections

However, the major push for the Congress ecosystem to discredit the EVMs and weave another set of conspiracy theories against the current system came at the backdrop of the ongoing elections in the United States.

As we know, the ongoing US Presidential Elections have been marred by controversies. There have been shocking allegations of massive election fraud against the Democratic party, who according to their opponents have indulged in the act of ‘rigging’ elections through ballot papers to gain a lead in key swing states. The Trump campaign has alleged that there is serious voter fraud as they demanded a stop to the counting process in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan after several inconsistencies were found in the counting process.

The allegations of rigging in the US election process surfaced after several persons pointed out about the sudden halt of the vote count process on Tuesday night and the subsequent overnight increase in votes for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, especially in states like Michigan and Wisconsin without adding a single vote to President Donald Trump or to any other candidates.

Image Source: Millie Weaver

Even as the American voters point out the serious election fraud, especially the act of massive rigging in the ballot system, the Indian ‘liberals’ and the Congress ecosystem seems to have found it inspirational and are now glorifying the dubious ‘ballot system’ in the US, whose integrity is being currently questioned across the world.

Left-Liberals want Indian to return to ballot system

Influenced by the act of ‘rigging’ of elections through a ballot system in the US, the Indian liberals are in awe of the ‘ballot’ system and have now found a new way to create a pro-ballot system narrative in India. The liberals have now hailed the election process in the US by calling the ballot system as the ‘most-efficient’ election process.

Taking a cue from Rahul Gandhi’s recent rant against EVMs, the known Congress party sympathiser Sagarika Ghose took to Twitter to indirectly bat for the return of ballot papers. Calling the US elections as ‘transparent’, Sagarika Ghose hailed the US elections and asked Indians to learn from US regarding the citizen involvement, transparency in the US elections.

“It’s slow because it’s free and fair!,” said Sagarika Ghose suggesting that US election process are much better than India.

She, however, did not stop there. Sagarika Ghose also dreamt of India returning to a system where elections can be conducted with a combination of paper ballots and digital counting, which according to her made recounts possible and gives credible results.

MK Venu, the far-left ‘journalist’ notoriously known for spreading fake news on social media, echoed similar sentiments as other liberals advising India to retun to ballot papers even if its time consuming.

“India must have faith in her ability to return to the transparency of the paper ballot process,” said MK Venu adding that the use of ballot papers in the Indian elections will also create employment.

Another self-proclaimed intellectual – Nitin Pai was too impressed by the sophistication of the US constitutional setup and its election system.

“What you see is a feature, not a bug as many seem to think it is, ” he added.

DP Satish, another person claiming to be a ‘journalist’ questioned people for mocking the US elections over allegations of ‘rigging’. He said that one must understand that the system (ballot papers) is effectively working there. “A truly federal democracy function like this. Not like ours,” Sathish claimed to insinuate that the Indian election process was undemocratic.

Ironically, the Indian liberals are praising the US ‘ballot’ system at a time when several American citizens have themselves questioned the integrity of the process as they have made allegations of ‘rigging’ in the ongoing Presidential elections.

Apart from the allegations of rigging, the US elections are also highly complicated and confusing, with each state having its own rules on running the elections, where the state govts themselves run the elections, not an independent entity like the ECI in India. Instead of one presidential elections, there are actually 50 different presidential elections in the USA, each run with different rules and regulations. Opposed to that, India has one uniform election across the country with simplified rules.

Did left-liberals accidentally reveal Rahul Gandhi’s sinister agenda?

With all their past efforts and propaganda to force the Election Commission of India to return back to the age-old system failed, the opposition parties and its ‘left-liberal’ ecosystem have now found a new enthusiasm in the form of US elections and its ‘clean’ postal ballots to influence ECI to return back a system where they can influence free-and-fair elections.

Essentially, the far-left and the opposition ecosystem want the country to return to the age-old system of voting by ballot, years after the Indian electorates discarded the highly-corrupt ‘ballot’ system to introduce EVMs.

Interestingly, the far-left and the intelligentsia aligned to the Congress party have come together to forward their pro-ballot paper theory just a day after Rahul Gandhi spoke against the EVMs and raised questions on the integrity of Election Commission of India.

Maybe, the ongoing elections in the US have given a much-needed impetus to the left-liberal lobby to further false propaganda on EVM, which has now led them to accidentally reveal the real sinister agenda of the Rahul Gandhi who has been busy in his ranting-spree against EVMs.

Perhaps, the likes of Rahul Gandhi and his ecosystem are aware that it is extremely tough for them to defeat Modi through an open and independent election process through EVMs and are now desperate to win it by other means. By hailing the US ballot systems and falsely presenting them as the most efficient system, the pro-Congress party ecosystem thinks that they could now pressurise the ECI by creating a narrative in favour of ‘ballot’ system in the country.

As we know, the ‘ballot’ system existed in the country before the introduction of much-efficient EVMs. The ‘ballot’ system was a symbol of a corrupt and undemocratic election system that was manifested through incidents such as booth captures, hijacking the voting booths, rampant violence during the elections.

However, with the adoption of technologies for electioneering in the country, especially with the introduction of EVMs in the country, the process of conducting elections has become much more transparent and effective. Today, it is almost impossible to resort to booth captures, burning of ballot boxes or hijacking the ‘ballot’ votes to create chaos and confusion among the citizens of the country, just as it is currently happening in the USA.

It seems that the Congress party and its ecosystem hopes that the country returns to the age-old ‘ballot system’ so that it enables them to create chaos and use undemocratic means to win elections. To enable this, perhaps the Congress party ecosystem has been aggressively pushing the idea of re-introduction of the ballot system of voting in the country and in doing so have unveiled Rahul Gandhi’s dangerous ploy.

‘Killed because she refused to convert and marry him’: Posters outside Nikita Tomar’s house seek death penalty for her murderer Touseef

OpIndia Staff
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‘Killed because she refused to convert and marry him’: Posters outside Nikita Tomar’s house seek death penalty for her murderer Touseef

21-year-old Hindu girl Nikita Tomar was shot dead by one Tauseef, who belongs to an influential family of Congress politicians, in broad daylight outside her college on October 26 Monday, allegedly after she refused his proposal for marriage. The family of the deceased, seeking justice for their young daughter who was brutally murdered by Touseef, have now put up posters outside their house stating Tauseef’s motive behind the murder and seeking justice for their daughter’s brutal killing.

According to the report by Swarajya journalist Swati Goyal Sharma, the family who has been mourning the untimely death of their daughter, have put up two large posters on the entrance of the house. One reads:  “Laado hum sharminda hain tere kaatil zinda hain. Haryana sarkar hosh mein aao. Hatyaron ko faarsi do. India wants justice for Nikita Tomar (Dear, we are ashamed that your killers are still alive. Come to senses, Haryana government. Hang the killers. India wants justice for Nikita Tomar”.)

While the other read: “Nikita Tomar (1999-2020). Shot dead by Tousif in broad daylite for refusing to convert and marry him.”

Posters fixed on the walls at the entrance of Nikita Tomar’s house

On October 26, Nikita had gone to the Milk Plant campus of Aggarwal College for writing the final examination for her Bachelors in Commerce (Honors) degree. The campus is around six kilometres away from her house in Sector 52 of Faridabad district of Haryana. Nikita’s brother Naveen, who was supposed to pick her up after the exam, was waiting at a relative’s house located quite close to the campus.

After her exams, Nikita was walking towards the relative’s house with her two friends when Tauseef stopped by in a car, emerged with a pistol and shot her in the head. CCTV footage had shown how two assailants had shot the 21-year-old student in broad daylight outside the Aggarwal college in Ballabgarh, Faridabad.

Moolchand, the aggrieved father of the deceased girl, speaking to Swarajya, revealed that one of the two friends accompanying Nikita immediately called up his son Naveen. Nikita was taken to Faridabad’s Manavta Hospital but was declared brought dead.

“That man (Tauseef) did not meet us even once. He never even approached us to tell what he wanted. He straightaway killed her,” he said.

“All these years, I and my wife have been spending every bit of our resources on children, in the hope that they would make something of themselves and uplift the family. I don’t remember even a day of vacation or self-indulgence,” said Moolchand, furthering that his family has seen extremely difficult times. Moolchand furthered angrily that the “madman” had reduced their sacrifices and investments, to provide Nikita a bright future, to zilch.

Nikita’s friend was quoted by Hindi daily Amar Ujala as saying that Tauseef befriended Nikita at school by posing as Ankit. However, Nikita soon learnt of his religious identity. However, Moolchand and his wife Vijaywati said that they were not aware about this.

In 2018, Tauseef reportedly abducted Nikita. A case was filed back then but after a Panchayat was held, it was withdrawn. Nikita’s family alleges that Tauseef’s family pressurised them into withdrawing the case as they are politically influential. Interestingly, the FIR filed in 2018 did not mention Tauseef in the suspect/accused column, reports Swarajya.

Statement by Moolchand Tomar in the FIR filed after her kidnapping in 2018, image via Swarajya

Moolchand who did not wish to speak much about the 2018 case, said that Nikita was recovered after two-three hours the same day. “What we learnt later was that Tauseef had offered to drop Nikita home in his car after an exam. She had agreed. But instead of dropping her home, he took her elsewhere,” he says. “When he got our girl back, we told the police we do not wish to pursue the case. Tauseef comes from an influential politically-connected family whereas we are a middle-class family. We decided it was best to end the matter,” he says. The family gave an affidavit in local court that there had been a misunderstanding.

Tauseef’s Congress connection

According to reports, Tauseef is the grandson of Kabir Ahmed, a Congress leader who was elected as an MLA from Haryana’s Nuh constituency in 1975 and from the Tauru constituency in 1982. He continued to be Khanpur and Raisika village sarpanch for almost 20 years. Khanpur and Raisika are located in Nuh Tehsil of Mewat district in Haryana.

Further, Tauseef’s late uncle Khurshid Ahmad was a Congress MP of Haryana and was an ex-Cabinet minister of Haryana. Khurshid Ahmed’s son and Tauseef’s cousin Aftab Ahmed was elected as MLA from Nuh, Mewat on Congress ticket and has been a Minister as well.

Nikita’s distressed mother told Swarajya that about a week before the murder, Nikita has revealed to her that Tauseef was harassing her over the phone. The family told Nikita to stay at home and not step out alone. Even on October 26, her mother had accompanied her brother to bring Nikita back home from college.

Nikita’s mother and relatives in mourning

“He was pressuring her to convert and marry her,” reiterated  Vijaywati, informing tha Nikita had wished to join the police or the Army and was working hard to attain her goal. “She wanted to don the uniform. That was her burning desire,” revealed her mother.

Earlier too, Nikita’s family had revealed how it was not only Tauseef but even his mother was forcing Nikita to convert to Islam. Tauseef’s mother reportedly called Nikita several times and asked her to convert to Islam.

Nikita took the Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) in October. “I only brought her the form. She was unsuccessful but told her that she is confident that she would clear the exam in 2021 with a bit more preparation,” says Moolchand.

Now when the family is gradually trying to come to terms with the loss and move ahead, Moolchand said that he fears for the safety of his son and himself. “Fighting for justice is not easy. These policeman will be gone in a few days and we will be left all alone. His is a powerful family. We have been forced into this battle against them,” he says.

After Nikita Tomar’s murder, her father, mother and brother had been provided with seperate 24-hours security cover.

Several former and serving legislators, ministers and members from all political parties in the state including Congress and BJP have visited him, says Moolchand, but adds that “in the end, I only have promises and assurances”.

Brother of Nikita Tomar demands strict and swift punishment for her killers

Soon after the brutal murder, Nikita bereaved brother Naveen had come on camera to demand swift and strict punishment for her killers. Expressing his fury over the state administration for slackening the investigation into the perpetrated crime, the brother of the deceased had demanded immediate action against the accused. “Hindu ki beti hain toh koi kuch bhi karenge kya”, lambasted Nikita’s brother alleging that had it been a Muslim victim and a Hindu perpetrator, the entire administration would have been on its feet to punish the criminals.

Meanwhile, pointing to a table where a woman is sitting with equipment to test Covid-19, Nikita Tomar’s father said that it was the administration’s ploy to make sure that not many people gather to protest against the laxity of the state administration in handling the case.

Meanwhile, security personnel have been deployed outside Aggarwal college and around the spot outside the college where Nikita was shot. One college student, speaking about the horrific incident said: “Everybody is stunned. Even our families are not allowing us to return from the college alone,” she says.

Haryana government mulling new legislation to curb ‘love jihad’

After the incident came to the fore, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar’s government in Haryana announced that they are also planning to introduce a new law to put a restraint to the menace of ‘love jihad’ afflicting the state. This move came after the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh announced strict measures to curb the rampant love jihad cases reported in the state.

Murky history of Konkan Range, under which Alibaug police station comes, where Arnab Goswami was taken after arrest: Sheena Bora and Parambir Singh

OpIndia Staff
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Murky history of Konkan Range, under which Alibaug police station comes, where Arnab Goswami was taken after arrest: Sheena Bora and Parambir Singh

In the early hours of Wednesday, 4th of November, the country woke up to the editor-in-chief of the largest news network in the country being dragged, beaten, and arrested by the Alibaug and Mumbai Police for a 2018 case that had already been closed. After the 12-minute chilling video where the police were seen forcing Arnab to leave his house early in the morning, Arnab Goswami was taken to Alibaug police station, that comes under the Konkan Range, Raigad, where after hours of his arrest, the police produced him in court.

The Magistrate court hearing Arnab Goswami’s case made some rather scathing comments while granting 14 day judicial custody. The police were pushing for Arnab’s police custody and the refusal of the court to grant police custody, was seen as a big win for Arnab Goswami.

The court made the following 3 observations:

  1. The 2018 suicide case was opened by the police without sanction from the court.
  2. Chief Judicial Magistrate observed that there was no connection in the chain of suicide in the case in which Arnab was arrested, which was earlier closed in 2018 and now reopened, and Arnab Goswami’s role. 
  3. The CJM also observed that there is no ‘justifiable ground’ for the police custody sought as he pronounced the judgment. 

While his lawyers have already moved court for Arnab Goswami’s bail and the High Court is to hear a petition to quash the 2018 FIR today at 3:00 PM, the court’s observations were scathing and pointed towards the high-handedness and vindictiveness of the police.

Interestingly, while seeking remand of Goswami and the others, police said that during the latest investigation it was found that there were loopholes in the investigation carried out in 2018-2019 to benefit the accused. Further, police said that the deputy inspector general of police, Konkan Range, had ordered a departmental enquiry against the then Investigation Officer S H Varhadkar, who was then a police inspector at Alibaug police station.

Police high-handedness as far as the Mumbai Police is concerned is not really new or shocking. The current Commissioner of Mumbai Police, Parambir Singh, was accused of dereliction of duty during the 26/11 terror attack and has been directly accused of torturing Sadhvi Pragya in the fake ‘Hindu terror’ case. Encounter specialist Sachin Vaze, who was seen in the 12-minute video arresting Arnab Goswami in his own house, was dismissed from the police force after being accused in a custodial death case. After his dismissal, he had joined the Shiv Sena, the current ruling party of Maharashtra and was all set to become a politician. However, magically, earlier in 2020 he was reinstated in the police force after Parambir Singh felt that they needed more police officers to fight the COVID pandemic.

While all of this points towards a troubling trend, there is another interesting fact about the Konkan range, Raigad, where Arnab Goswami was taken for custody.

The Sheena Bora murder case

One of the most shocking murder mysteries of recent times has been the Sheena Bora case. Four years after Sheena Bora mysteriously ‘disappeared’, Indrani Mukerjea, her mother who made everyone believe she was her sister, was arrested for her murder.

On 24 April 2012, Sheena took leave of absence from Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd, the company that runs Mumbai Metro through an e-mail. Indrani is former CEO of INX Media. Soon after her ‘leave of absence’, she ‘resigned’ via email. She was in a relationship with Rahul Mukerjea, son of Indrani Mukerjea’s husband, Peter Mukerjea. Indrani, who was her mother in reality but told everyone she was Sheena’s sister, did not approve of the relationship. Peter is the former CEO of STAR India.

Sheena was never seen by anyone after 24th April. She was believed to have been killed the same night itself. Indrani had reportedly teamed up with her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna killed her. Prior to her murder, Indrani had reportedly carried out a recce of location site where the body would be dumped. After killing Sheena, Indrani reportedly the body to their home in Worli where it was stuffed inside a suitcase. Next day, Sheena’s body was taken out, propped up as passenger and taken to Raigad near Mumbai. 

There, she was again stuffed into a bag. The bag was then set on fire.

On May 23, 2012, villagers of Pen Tehsil, Raigad complained of foul odour and found a body. There was no identification mark and no one linked it to Sheena Bora. 

Three years later, when Indrani’s driver, Shyamvar Rai, was arrested in some other case, the details of Sheena Bora murder case emerged. Rai has since then turned approver.

The link to Konkan Range where Arnab Goswami was taken after being arrested: Param Bir Singh knew Sheena Bora was missing

As per reports, when Sheena went ‘missing’ on 24th April 2012, Rahul Mukerjea, her boyfriend and Indrani’s stepson had reached out to Param Bir Singh. Singh was then Inspector General of Police and he had reportedly asked Rahul to file a missing person report. Interestingly, a missing person report was never filed for Sheena. 

Param Bir Singh was also the Inspector General of the Konkan Range when Sheena’s body was dumped in Raigad.

Fears for well-being of Arnab Goswami after his arrest

Several people were extremely worried for the well-being of Arnab Goswami after he was arrested by the Alibaug and Mumbai Police. After the video of him being dragged from his home surfaced, Arnab Goswami’s wife had alleged that the police had held Arnab Goswami from the scruff of his neck and even pulled his hair. Further, she had alleged that the police had also beaten up Arnab Goswami’s teenager son during the process of arresting him.

After the arrest, when Arnab Goswami was seen in the police van on his way to the court, he held up his hand and showed to the cameras the injury mark on his hand. Giving a brief sound byte to the media, he said that he was beaten and tortured by the police while he was in custody.

With such visuals and the now famous feud between Parambir Singh, Sachin Vaze and Arnab Goswami, fears were strife about his safety had the court granted police custody of Arnab Goswami.

Hounding of Republic TV by Mumbai Police

In an interview given to the Editor of OpIndia Hindi, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar had criticised the action of Mumbai police against Republic TV. “What Mumbai Police is doing, no one will endorse this”, the Minister said. Mumbai police had falsely implicated Republic TV in the TRP scam on the basis of an FIR naming India Today. The police had also reportedly coerced witnesses into naming Republic TV in the TRP scam. Mumbai police had also sought details of all financial transactions of the channel ever since its inception. Now, the Mumbai police has opened another front against Arnab Goswami, which is the 2018 suicide case which was closed back then.

NGT wants to ban Diwali firecrackers in 18 states and UTs, issues notices citing ‘poor air quality’

OpIndia Staff
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NGT wants to ban Diwali firecrackers in 18 states and UTs, issues notices citing ‘poor air quality’

The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday sent notices to 18 states and union territories to expand the scope of hearing cases on pollution by firecrackers during Diwali. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel has already issued notice to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. The bench also observed that Rajasthan and Odisha have already issued a notification to ban the sale and use of firecrackers this year.

The NGT wants responses from the above mentioned states and the Ministry of Environment and Forests on whether the usage of firecrackers be banned from November 7 to 30.

As per reports, the panel has sought replies from Assam, Chandigarh, Bihar, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal as the air quality in these state is poorer than the permissible limits. The Tribunal has sought replies from these states on an urgent basis by November 5.

The plea on which the court issued notice suggested that green crackers will not solve the problem and the smoke from firecrackers will create gas chamber like situations.

The tribunal said, “The scope of proceedings may need to be extended beyond NCR so as to suggest that in all the concerned states where air quality is not satisfactory may consider taking action on the pattern of action taken by the states of Odisha and Rajasthan.”

It further added that the states might have to consider banning the use of firecrackers to protect the health of the vulnerable groups in 122 cities in 18 states with bad air quality. “To all other States/UTs where the above cities fall, notice may be issued by e-mail to the concerned Chief Secretaries returnable for tomorrow,” it said.

Several PILs against the use of firecrackers

The tribunal has received a plethora of pleas seeking a ban on firecrackers to curb pollution in the festival season as the air quality of several states is reportedly unsatisfactory. The NGT had issued notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and four state governments to sought replies on a possible ban on firecrackers from 7th November to 30th November in the interest of public health and environment. The pleas have also suggested that the poor air quality may lead to the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Targeting Diwali and firecrackers

In the last few years, so-called environment-lovers have submitted pleas every year to ban fireworks around the Diwali festival. It has been noted in several reports that fireworks are not the main reason behind air pollution in states like New Delhi etc. In 2017, Supreme Court banned firecrackers for some time considering ‘air quality’ though there was no report to suggest fireworks were the main culprit. According to a report submitted by TERI in 2018 [PDF], fireworks are not among the top contributors.

In fact, it had mentioned vehicular emissions, construction dust, and stubble burning among the main reasons. The states surrounding Delhi have categorically failed to take any decisive steps to stop stubble burning that causes a massive fall in air quality every year. Despite several announcements by the states and center, farmers continue to burn stubble, causing severe damage to the environment. Unfortunately, such aggressive and propaganda-led approach against fireworks on Diwali has destroyed the famous decades-old fireworks industry of Sivakasi and many other places.

Madras HC wants India to follow China and North Korea while deciding punishment for corruption: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Madras HC wants India to follow China and North Korea while deciding punishment for corruption: Read details

The Madras High Court, on 2nd November, said that the centre should consider the death penalty like China or North Korea to curb corruption. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate AP Suryakrasam where he expressed concerns over bribe demands made by government officials at paddy procurement centres. The Madurai Bench of the High Court said that there is a need for amendment in the Prevention of Corruption Act to impose more stringent penalties.

The Bench comprising of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice B Pugalendhi said, “The Central Government may consider imposing punishment, such as, ‘hanging’ or ‘death penalty’, for corrupt practices or for demanding and accepting bribes, like in China, North Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Morocco.” The court further added that though there are laws to prevent corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, corruption is still prevalent in the country.

The court further observed that people are compelled to accept corruption as normal. It is deep-rooted in the system and has spread like a Cancer. “Every day, it is reported in the media that many officials are caught red-handed while taking bribes. Hence, the punishment needs to be enhanced. Therefore, this Court is of the view that there should be a re-visit, and the Act should be strengthened, and stringent penalties should be imposed to curb the menace of corruption,” the court said.

The court has suo motu impleaded the Union Home Affairs Minister, the Union Law Ministry, and the Ministry of Parliamentary affairs to consider and act upon the suggestion.

What was the case?

The court was hearing the PIL submitted by advocate AP Suryakrasam. He alleged that the officials at the Paddy Procurement Centres were asking for bribes from the farmers to initiate the procurement process. They were making farmers wait for days, and when they approached the centres to find out why there was a delay, the officers demanded bribes. The petitioner also alleged that the officials were procuring paddy from private traders instead of the farmers.

The court further said that it was reported in media that a large sum of money was seized during the inspection of the Procurement Centres. It was recently reported that when a raid was conducted in the Pullarambakkam Procurement Centre, Tiruvallur District, Rs. 2,00,000/- were seized from the officials. “These raids and the seizure of amounts would only support the contention of the petitioner that a sum of Rs.30/- to Rs.40/- is being demanded by the officials as a bribe from the Agriculturists, who bring their produce to the Procurement Centre.”

The court asked the concerned authorities to submit more details on the action taken against corrupt officials and called for a report on the actions taken by the government based on a report by MS Swaminathan. The Bench noted that the State government had accepted a recommendation for fixing the accountability of the government officials at every stage based on the report submitted by a committee headed by retired Madras High Court judge, Dr. Justice AK Rajan. The court asked if the government to any steps in this direction and impleaded the State Chief Secretary, Vigilance Commissioner, and the Director of Vigilance and Anti-corruption as a party in the case.

The next hearing in the case is on 9th November.

Karnataka: Former minister and Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni taken into CBI custody over BJP leader’s murder case

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Former minister and Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni taken into CBI custody over BJP leader’s murder case

Former Karnataka minister and Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni has been taken into CBI custody and interrogated by CBI officials in Dharwad on Thursday morning in connection with the murder of former Zilla Panchayat member Yogeesh Gowda in 2016.

According to the reports, the CBI officials took Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni into their custody from his residence and detained him at the Dharwad town Police Station for further questioning in the case. Kulkarni was a minister in the erstwhile Siddaramaiah government in the state.

As per reports, Vinay Kulkarni, and his brother Vijaya Kulkarni were taken into CBI custody and were questioned at the Dharwad Town Police Station.

Before taking the Congress leader into the custody, the CBI officials questioned the younger brother of the former minister, his close aids, few Congress leaders and also wife of the slain ZP member.

The former Congress Minister is arrested for allegedly plotting the murder of BJP leader Yogesh, a Zilla panchayat member from BJP who was hacked to death in his gym in Dharwad in June 2016. The BJP leader’s family had alleged a conspiracy by rivals and had accused Vinay Kulkarni and others of plotting to kill him.

Congress minister, officials threatened family to settle the case

The brother of the BJP leader, Gurunathgouda, had filed a plea demanding the transfer of the case to CBI for investigation. Gurunathgouda had made several allegations against top officials and a former minister saying that they had met and threatened him, asking to ‘settle’ the case. He had also alleged that the accused had attempted to tamper evidence in the case.

The BJP leaders had demanded a CBI inquiry against Vinay Kulkarni, who was then the minister in the Congress government led by Siddaramaiah. While the then Congress government had declined to refer the murder case to the CBI, the BSY-led BJP government had later handed it over to CBI after coming to power.

Haryana: Priest attacked by goons with a cricket bat, admitted to Mathura hospital in a critical condition

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: Priest attacked by goons with a cricket bat, admitted to Mathura hospital in a critical condition

A shocking video of a priest being brutally assaulted with a cricket bat has gone viral on the internet. The incident was reported in Dhabi Kalan village in the Bhattu Kalan block, Fatehabad District, in Haryana.

According to the reports, a 26-year-old priest identified as Kailash Sharma, a resident of a village in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, lived with his cousin Ramji in Bhattu Kalan for the last two years. Six months ago, Sharma was appointed as a priest in a temple of village Dhabikalan. 

On Monday, some youths from the village attacked the priest. Shockingly, the attackers even recorded the brutal attacks on the priest that has now gone viral on the internet. In the video, a man is seen brutally and relentlessly assaulting the priest with a heavy cricket bat while the priest whimpers in pain and keeps pleading for his life.

Reportedly, the villagers rushed into the spot after hearing Sharma’s screams and rescued him from the clutches of the attackers. The villagers later informed the family of the priest. On receiving the information, the priest’s cousin and father Charandas arrived at the village and took him back to his village in Madhya Pradesh. 

The family of the priest were horrified after seeing the video of the incident. The father of the priest decided to get him admitted at a hospital in Madhya Pradesh instead of getting an immediate treatment in Haryana. However, as Sharma’s condition deteriorated on his way he was admitted to a hospital in Mathura. 

Charan Das, the injured’s father, said that his son has been attacked in a brutal manner and they want strict action to be taken against the attackers. He added that a complaint will be registered based on the medical report. 

Meanwhile, Police in-charge Rajpal said that they have not received any complaint yet. The police is investigating the case on the basis of the video that has gone viral.

Alibaug Court rejects Mumbai Police plea seeking custody of Arnab Goswami, grants judicial custody and asks to keep bail papers ready

OpIndia Staff
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Alibaug Court rejects Mumbai Police plea seeking custody of Arnab Goswami, grants judicial custody and asks to keep bail papers ready

A Mumbai court rejected the Mumbai police plea seeking 14 days of police custody of Arnab Goswami, who was arrested today morning in an old closed case. After a hearing that went into the midnight, the Alibaug Court granted 14 days of judicial custody for the Republic TV editor-in-chief, which means the Mumbai police won’t be able to interrogate him in its custody.

Arnab Goswami was arrested on Wednesday morning by a large team of police wielding AK-47 Assault rifles. After he was initially presented before the court, the court had ordered his medical examination as he was injured in the assault by the police. After the medical exam, he was presented before the court again at around 4.45 PM by the Mumbai police, which sought police remand for 14 days.

The senior journalist was arrested after Mumbai police reopened a 2018 case which was earlier closed after police found no evidence against Arnab Goswami. In that case, one Anvay Naik had committed suicide in 2018, and had left a suicide note saying that Arnab Goswami and two other persons owed him money which they were refusing to pay, and due to resultant financial crisis, he is ending his life. But Republic had rejected the claim, saying that it has made the payments as per the contract.

The Mumbai police had claimed that they have obtained fresh evidence in the case which was closed by a court in 2018, and had argued that they need Arnab Goswami’s custody to further probe the case.

But after a marathon hearing of more than 6 hours, the court rejected the demand of police custody, and send him to judicial custody of 14 days.

The court said that there is no justifiable ground to ask for police custody in the case. The court observed that there is no chain showing nexus between the suicide and the role of Arnab Goswami. Most importantly, the judge also observed that the closed case was re-opened by police without consent from court.

After the midnight verdict by the court, Arnab Goswami said, ‘The Police has lost’.

According to Republic TV reports, the court also asked the lawyer of Arnab Goswami to keep his bail papers ready tomorrow. The Alibaug Court will hear his bail plea tomorrow morning.

In the meanwhile, the Bombay High Court will hear a petition of Arnab Goswami seeking to quash the case in the 2018 abetment of suicide case. The court will also hear the petition or Republic TV against Mumbai police trying to implicate in the TRP manipulation case by shielding the India Today channel, which was originally named in the complaint and the FIR in the TRP case.

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