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PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti refuses to unfurl the Indian flag, BJP demands arrest for her seditious remarks

OpIndia Staff
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PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti refuses to unfurl the Indian flag, BJP demands arrest for her seditious remarks

Days after being released from detention, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti denounced the Indian Tricolour, saying she won’t raise the flag until the former flag of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir is restored.

“Our relationship with India’s flag is linked to our relationship with Jammu and Kashmir’s flag. It’s not an independent relationship. The national flag is here only because of this (the Jammu and Kashmir) flag and constitution,” Ms Mufti said on Friday.

In her first press conference after she was released from her 14-month long detention, the former chief minister said that her fight is not restricted to reinstatement of Article 370 alone, but for the resolution of the longstanding Kashmir issue as well. 

BJP demands arrests of Mehbooba Mufti for her remarks on Indian Tricolour

While Mehbooba Mufti made a case for the restoration of Article 370, the BJP, on the other hand, demanded the arrest of the PDP chief, claiming her refusal to unfurl the Indian flag amounted to sedition. The Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina called for the arrest of Mehbooba Mufti for her defiance of the national flag.

“I request Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to take cognisance of seditious remarks of Mehbooba Mufti, book her for the seditious act and put her behind bars,” Raina said while adding, “We will sacrifice every drop of our blood for our flag, country and motherland. J-K is an integral part of our country, so only one flag can be hoisted in J-K and that is the national flag.”

Union Minister Jitendra Singh made critical remarks of the PDP chief for her statements on the Indian flag.

Referring to Mehbooba Mufti, Singh said that his party has maintained for last several years that Kashmir’s so-called politicians are sometimes more dangerous than the avowed separatists. 

Congress condemns Mufti’s statements as “unacceptable”

Mufti’s disobedience of the Indian tricolour also elicited a sharp response from the Congress party. The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday condemned her statements, saying such remarks are intolerable and unacceptable in any society. said her statement has hurt sentiments of the people. JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said that such statements will defeat the democratic and constitutional struggle for achieving any just right.

After Twitter, Amazon’s Alexa now claims Jammu and Kashmir is part of China, netizens fume

OpIndia Staff
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After Twitter, Amazon’s Alexa now claims Jammu and Kashmir is part of China, netizens fume

Days after microblogging platform Twitter labelled the Indian territory of Leh in Ladakh as part of People’s Republic of China (PRC), Amazon’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered virtual assistant Alexa has now embroiled in a similar controversy.

The social media backlash against the tech company began after a Twitter user uploaded a video where Alexa categorised Kashmir as a part of China’s territory. “Alexa, Kashmir kis desh ka hissa hai (Alexa, Kashmir is a part of which country?)”, the twitter user asked Alexa in Hindi. The AI-powered Alexa Echo replied, “Ya aapka sawal ka jawab ho sakta hai. Kashmir China mein sthit hai (This can be an answer to your question. Kashmir is located in China).”

Another Twitter user then tried finding the same answer about the location of Kashmir. Alexa replied, “This can be an answer to your question. Kashmir is located in China.”

Opindia has independently verified the claims made on social media about Alexa. However, the error is only limited to the Hindi version. When the language is changed to English, Alexa says that Kashmir is a part of Northern India.

How does Alexa work?

As per reports, Alexa uses a machine-learning algorithm and more than a dozen ‘question-answer techniques’ to determine the best response to a user query. The artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant relies on licensed data from sources, which it deems as high quality, to provide answers to questions. It is pertinent to remember that Amazon is not a search engine and has therefore limited access to information. Far from the common perception that Alexa uses Microsoft’s search engine Bing, their partnership is restricted to only ‘supplemental items.’

In 2019, Amazon launched a feature for Alexa called Alexa Answers to extend the corpus of its available information. Such answers to queries, generated from other users and not their reliable sources, were to have a statutory caution on it. However, just like user-driven content on YouTube and Reddit is marred by fake news and political agenda, it has left many wondering whether information on Alexa has similarly been vandalised.

Although Amazon has been optimistic about its new feature by filtering profanity and political questions automatically, use of an upvote and downvote system, it could not be ascertained whether the error about Kashmir’s location was due to Alexa answers or a flaw in their high-quality sources.

Amazon issues statement after social media backlash

Following the controversy, the official Twitter handle of Amazon Help reached out to the agitated netizens.

It tweeted, “Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We’ve forwarded this information to the appropriate team for research. Keep us posted if you need assistance in the future. We’re always available.”

Google Assistant provides the correct location of Kashmir

Meanwhile, a Twitter user tried to gather a response for the same query on his Google Nest Mini, which uses Google Assistant to provide answers to users. He asked, “Okay Google, Kashmir kis desh mein sthith hai?” The Google Assistant replied, “According to Wikipedia, Jammu and Kashmir was an Indian State till August 5, 2019 and was later bifurcated into Union territory of Ladakh and Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Google’s response marks a stark contrast to that of Alexa. It must be remembered that unlike Amazon’s virtual assistant, Google is a search engine with access to billions of web pages. It was, therefore, able to pluck answers from the web pages indexed on its site.

However, while Google answered this question correctly, a word of caution must be put as it sources this information from Wikipedia. And while this information by Wikipedia is correct, there have been innumerable instances where Wikipedia, a user-edited online resource, has put out misleading, biased and sometimes blatantly untrue information.

Twitter labels Ladakh as part of China’s territory

During a live session on Twitter, national security analyst Nitin A Gokhale found that Twitter has labelled the Indian territory of Leh in Ladakh as part of People’s Republic of China (PRC). Gokhale, the founder of Strat News Global, had marked his location as ‘Hall of Fame Leh’. However, the microblogging platform displayed the area as a part of PRC. The screengrab of the video read, “Nitin A Gokhale was live. Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Republic of China.

While slamming Twitter for its outrageous action, the national security analyst demanded immediate action from the Government of India against the microblogging platform. He urged netizens to flood Twitter with complaints so as to mount pressure on the micro-blogging platform to correct the error. Following a social media outrage, Twitter issued a statement claiming that the error was the result of a technical glitch.

On Tuesday, Nitin A Gokhale went live on Twitter yet again but this time from the Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport area in Leh. However, to his surprise, the national security analyst found that the microblogging platform had not fixed the technical glitch, despite being well aware of the sensitivity around it. Even though Twitter did not include Leh as part of the People’s Republic of China anymore, it, however, labelled the region as part of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

‘Kale Baba’ aka Nasir caught sexually exploiting women in Lucknow, Times of India gives it a Hindu spin by calling the accused as ‘Tantrik’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Kale Baba’ aka Nasir caught sexually exploiting women in Lucknow, Times of India gives it a Hindu spin by calling the accused as ‘Tantrik’

The Times of India on Saturday attempted to give a Hindu spin to a crime perpetrated by an Islamic cleric, who is an accused in the sex racket, by referring to him as a ‘Tantrik’.

On Thursday, a Mazar caretaker was arrested for allegedly running a sex racket. The caretaker of Jama Mazar situated at Hussainabad in Thakurganj area of Lucknow named ‘Kale Baba’ also identified as Nasir, allegedly used to sexually exploit women in the name of treatment.

We had reported on how the local people had been receiving complaints regarding some suspicious activities taking place in the Mazar. Some of the locals had caught a woman and a man in an objectionable condition in a room adjacent to the Mazar and had recorded the incident on cameras.

However, the Times of India, in its attempt to ‘secularise’ the crime, passed off the accused as a ‘Tantrik’, by giving an impression to its readers that the crime was actually committed by a Hindu person. Even though the report carries the name of the accused as ‘Nasir’ inside, Times of India in its misleading headline says arrested accused is a ‘Tantrik’.

Image Source: Times of India

Not just Times of India, another ‘feminist’ portal ‘Shethepeople’ too peddled the same propaganda by claiming that the arrested individual in Lucknow sexual assault case was a ‘Tantrik’ and attempted to hide that it was actually an Islamic cleric who was an accused in the case.

Image Source: Shethepeople

In general parlance, the ‘Tantrik’ is a practitioner of the “tantra vidya“, is mainly associated with Hinduism, leading to a perception that the crime was committed by a Hindu individual.

Repeated instances of media ‘Hindu-ising’ the crimes perpetrated by criminals of other faiths

To push their secular narrative, the media has been trying to shield the perpetrators by withholding complete details and leaving out the identities of the criminals altogether if the accused belonged to certain minority communities.

Last year, several media organisations attributed the death of a 10-year-old boy because of the rituals performed by a Muslim healer to a ‘Tantrik’. While the death of the child occurred due to a Muslim healer, PTI report gave it an obvious Hindu slant in the headline by referring to him as a ‘Tantrik’.

This headline was then carried by many media houses such as NDTV, India Today, The Tribune verbatim without changes.

NDTV passing-off Muslim ‘healer’ as ‘Tantriks’

India Today, in fact, went a step further and even used a rather ‘Hindu looking’ featured image for their story that appeared as if the ritual itself was Hindu.

Image Source: India Today

Not just this, there are several incidents in the past where media has resorted to such chicanery. As per a report in The Hindu, a woman had accused a “Tantrik” of raping her in Ajmer, after taking her there on the “pretext of offering prayers at a Dargah”. In the same month, Times of India had carried an article titled, “Tantrik gets 10 years in jail for rape and extortion”. Like the reports mentioned above, the name of the accused was ‘Warsi’.

The vernacular media seems to have learnt the same trick as Hindi-daily Dainik Jagran too had decided to call an accused in a harassment case as “Tantrik Sufi baba” in the headline. However, the perpetrator was identified as Aftab. In their article, Hindi News18 had carried the headline, “Tantrik arrested for committing misdemeanour with a minor, under the pretext of chasing away ghosts”. The ‘Tantrik’ was later identified as Hafiz Sajid.

NBSA orders AajTak to apologise live on October 27 for spreading fake news on Sushant Singh Rajput case

OpIndia Staff
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NBSA orders AajTak to apologise live on October 27 for spreading fake news on Sushant Singh Rajput case

The News Broadcasting Standard Authority (NBSA) has ordered AajTak, the Hindi-language news channel of the India Today group, to air an apology on live on October 27 at 8 PM for telecasting fake tweets relating to actor late Sushant Singh Rajput, reports Live Law.

The NBSA had earlier asked AajTak to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh and had asked the broadcaster to air an apology admitting on national television that it did not conduct the due diligence required prior to telecasting the tweets. The media network had telecast fake tweets attributing to late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and had passed off them as his last tweets.

NBSA order to Aaj Tak/Image Source: Live Law

In the earlier order, the NBSA after finding AajTak guilty of violating guidelines, had ordered AajTak to submit the proof of compliance of the telecast of the apology to the association within 7 days of telecast. However, the time and date for airing an apology was not notified by the NBSA then.

Addition to AajTak, the NBSA in its latest order has also directed Zee News, India TV, News24 to air apology for violating journalistic norms while reporting death of Sushant Singh Rajput.

AajTak spreads fake news on actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

The Hindi news outlet AajTak, part of India Today network, had peddled several such fake news related to Sushant Singh Rajput. It had published an elaborate piece on late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s “last tweets” on June 16, two days after the actor was found dead in his house in Mumbai.

AajTak had also tweeted the article from its official Twitter account. In the report, AajTak had claimed that the actor had tweeted thrice before his death before taking his own life. AajTak later took down its report without clarification. An archived link of the tweet can be viewed here.

Image Source: Aaj Tak

After that, the NBSA had taken the matter into cognizance and had ordered AajTak to remove the videos of the said programme, if hosted, from its website, YouTube or other links immediately and confirm to NBSA within 7 days.

Many websites like newstracklive.com, India.com, news4nation.com, and many others had carried the same news which AajTak had reported. While newstracklive.com later deleted its report, India.com altered its story into a fact-check.

Moreover, the channels like AajTak and India TV had also shared images of Sushant Singh Rajput’s mortal remains, which had gone viral on social media. It is pertinent to note here that OpIndia had then reported how these viral images may have been morphed to push suicide theory.

BARC order holding India Today guilty of viewership malpractice

The NBSA’s order to India Today group to pay fine and apologise for the spreading fake news comes at a time when the media network has also been accused of manipulating viewership and accused in the ‘fake TRP’ scam.

India Today is in the dock after a complaint by Hansa Research, the company that manages the Bar-O-meters of BARC, alleged that the channel was bribing households with the meters installed to watch their channel for at least 2 hours a day. 

Addition to that, BARC – the television viewership rating agency, had also asked TV Today network to pay Rs 5 lakh for indulging in viewership malpractices. OpIndia was the first to expose the matter regarding the show-cause notice being sent to TV Today Network by BARC in April this year.

In an exclusive report by OpIndia, it was revealed that TV Today Network had failed to provide a satisfactory answer to the BARC Disciplinary Council (BDC) as to the “abnormal” and “inexplicable” increase in India Today’s TRPs.

The BDC had passed an order imposing a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the media network for viewership malpractice. India Today Group had had later issued a statement admitting that it was fined by BARC for viewership malpractice. In its statement, the Group had accused BARC of leaking confidential hearings.

Pakistan fumes over reports of Saudi denying permission for ‘Kashmir Black Day’ program after it voted against it at FATF

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan fumes over reports of Saudi denying permission for ‘Kashmir Black Day’ program after it voted against it at FATF

Pakistan is upset. After certain media reports suggested that Saudi Arabia had voted against Pakistan at the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) plenary keeping it in grey list, the Arab nation has now reportedly denied Pakistan permission to hold ‘Kashmir Black Day’ on 27th October.

According to a tweet by Executive Editor of Pakistani media Naya Daur, the Saudi administration has denied Pakistan embassy in Riyadh and consulate in Jeddah to hold the Kashmir Black Day programs on 27th October.

On October 22, 1947, Pakistan-backed tribal raiders invaded Kashmir, breaking the agreement it had with Maharaja of Kashmir. In the wee hours of October 22, 1947, scores of Pakistani Pashtun tribal militias, in connivance with the Pakistani state and army surreptitiously crossed the border from Garhi Habibullah into Jammu and Kashmir and attacked the town of Muzaffarabad, which is till now illegally occupied by Pakistan. Documented accounts state that hundreds of women were raped and abducted, houses looted and men slaughtered on the streets.

On 26th October, 1947, when Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession to India, the Indian Armed Forces were airlifted to the valley the very next day on 27th October. The Army launched an aggressive offence against the rampaging Pashtuns and stopped their march towards Srinagar. Pakistan observes this day, when Indian Armed Forces defended its very land from Pakistan’s invasion as ‘Black Day’.

This move comes days after Saudi Arabia, which Pakistan considers one of its close allies, had reportedly voted against Pakistan at FATF (Financial Action Task Force) plenary which kept the neighbouring country on grey list. There were multiple media reports wherein it was speculated that Saudi Arabia had voted against Pakistan which made the Pakistanis on Twitter fume.

Some Pakistanis were so triggered they referred to Saudi Arabia as ‘traitor’.

However, media reports in Pakistan later suggested that Saudi Arabia had no role in keeping Pakistan on the grey list. Pakistan government also released an official statement claiming that the reports are ‘false and baseless’.

Pakistan government had on Thursday claimed this was a malicious propaganda against Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, a country with which it enjoys ‘strong fraternal ties’.

However, eventually Pakistan was kept in the grey list for FATF till February 2021. The global terror watchdog said that Pakistan failed to address six items out of its 27-point action plan to check terror funding. FATF President Marcus Pleyer said that Pakistan needs to do more to check terror-financing.

Pakistan, over the years, has managed to keep itself out of the FATF blacklist with the diplomatic support of countries like China, Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and few other Middle East countries. However, because it has not managed to garner enough support, it has not been able to get out of the grey list.

ED summons Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh in FEMA violation case

OpIndia Staff
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ED summons Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh in FEMA violation case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly issued summon to Raninder Singh, son of Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh, to appear before the agency for questioning. The summon has been issued by the ED in relation to the ongoing investigation against him in alleged forex contraventions and holding of untaxed foreign assets. According to reports, Singh has been summoned by the ED at its office in Jalandhar on October 27. He is expected to be questioned by the ED in connection with the alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violation.

Raninder Singh had earlier appeared before the ED in July, 2016 for interrogation regarding the alleged movement of funds to Switzerland and the creation of a trust named Jacaranda Trust and some subsidiaries in British Virgin Islands. The ED had filed an application on September 14, 2020 seeking inspection of the I-T files in three cases filed against Singh. The central agency was initially allowed to inspect the files but was later stopped after Raninder Singh submitted a revised petition contending that the ED had no locus standi as he was not served any notice by the agency. Jaiveer Shergill, the advocate of Raninder Singh said that he would examine the summons and the put up their case.

According to a report of Indian Express, CM Amarinder Singh and his wife Preneet Kaur were sent notices after the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) received information from France that Raninder Singh was the settler of Jacaranda Trust, which was the beneficial owner of various British Virgin Islands (BVI)-registered entities namely Chillingham Holdings Ltd, Limerlock International Ltd, Mulwala Holdings Ltd and Allworth Ventures Holding Ltd.

A document had emerged in 2016 in the complaint of the Income Tax Department in a Ludhiana court claiming that an offshore company allegedly linked with the CM’s son bought a house in Knightsbridge in London for £1.8 million. CM Amarinder Singh had dismissed the document as false and fabricated. He had termed the complaint as motivated. Another document dated September 1, 2005 included in the I-T Department’s complaint showed a record of a meeting between an HSBC relationship manager with Raninder Singh and his father-in-law Kuldip Dhingra. The document reportedly gave out several details of the meeting including the details of the properties purportedly discussed in the meeting. Raninder had, however, denied the meeting.

CM Amarinder Singh had questioned the authenticity of this document and had presented two letters from the HSBC saying that neither Raninder Singh and nor Preneet Kaur ever held accounts in the bank. The letters were signed by Managing Director of HSBC. The letters were submitted to the Income Tax Authorities in 2011.

Delhi: Already married twice, e-rickshaw driver Dilbar Qureshi poses as Rahul to trap 13-year-old Hindu girl, calls the second wife his sister to deceive neighbours

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Already married twice, e-rickshaw driver Dilbar Qureshi poses as Rahul to trap 13-year-old Hindu girl, calls the second wife his sister to deceive neighbours

Though the so-called liberals and rabid communists have repeatedly rejected the phenomena of Love Jihad claiming it to be a figment of right-wing imagination, the cases which keep surfacing every now and then goes on to only prove that this menace not only exists but is also spreading throughout the country like wildfire. The latest being reported from the national capital- Delhi.

Love Jihad in Delhi

In this said case, an e-rickshaw driver named Dildar Qureshi entrapped a 13-year-old Hindu girl in a love affair posing as a Hindu. He then eloped with the minor on October 18. When the family of the minor Hindu girl came to know about the incident they lodged a complaint against the Muslim youth. Delhi police are currently in the lookout for Dilbar Qureshi.

According to the Hindi daily-Dainik Jagran, the 13-year-old victim lives in Delhi’s Chhatarpur area and is currently studying in class 8. The family of the victim informed the police that Dilbar, who lived in their colony, had introduced himself to everyone as Rahul. Besides, the police said that Dilbar had created many Facebook accounts under various names. The police said that the accused who originally hails from Shegupur village in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh was already married twice and also had children.

CCTV footage revealed minor girl fled from Delhi with accused Dildar Qureshi

The minor girl’s family said that they got suspicious when the girl did not return home on the night of October 18th. Worried about her well-being, the girl’s family started searching for her and reached one of her friend’s house, whom she had gone to see that day. The friend, however, informed that the minor girl had left her house in the evening. The footage from the CCTV camera installed near the friends’ house clearly showed her going towards Qutub Metro station with accused Dildar Qureshi.

Based on the CCTV footage and the complaint filed by the victim’s family, the police has now launched a manhunt.

Muslim youth introduced his handicapped wife as his sister to deceive neighbours in his Delhi colony

The police said that Dilbar Qureshi lived with a physically handicapped girl named Soni, who he claimed was his sister. After he fled with the 13-year-old girl, it was found out that Soni was not his sister but his second wife. Sharing details, Soni’s sister revealed that on September 12, Dilbar had admitted Soni to Safdarganj Hospital in Delhi after she developed some health issues. He later got her discharged on September 24 and then ran away from home.

A few days later, on October 1, Soni’s health deteriorated again. Soni who was also 8 months pregnant with Dilbar’s child, kept trying to call him but Dildar did not come to see her, recollected Soni’s sister. On October 6, Soni and her unborn baby died. Dilbar did not even attend their funeral, revealed Soni’s sister, who also informed that their’s was a love marriage.

Dilbar had pretended to be madly in love with Soni and married her 18 months ago. The relationship started getting strained after Soni learnt that Dildar was previously married and he had left his first wife and two children. The sister said that after this was disclosed, Dilbar’s attitude towards Soni changed completely. He stopped taking care of her and started speaking to other women. He did all this despite Soni being pregnant with his child, lamented Soni’s sister.

Dilbar Quereshi has two children with his first wife

Dildar Qureshi’s brother also lives in Sangam Vihar Colony, also confirmed that Dildar had eloped and married a girl a few years ago. After the marriage Dilbar did not return to the village. The brother further confirmed that Dilbar has two children, a son and a daughter, from his first wife. Currently, Dilbar’s first wife, along with her children, is living with her parents in the village, said his brother.

OpIndia exclusive report vindicated: Bombay HC directs India Today to deposit Rs 5 lakh fine imposed by BARC for viewership data malpractice

OpIndia Staff
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OpIndia exclusive report vindicated: Bombay HC directs India Today to deposit Rs 5 lakh fine imposed by BARC for viewership data malpractice

In a plea filed by TV Today Network, which runs India Today channel, against an order of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) before the Bombay High Court, the court directed the media giant to deposit the fine of Rs 5 lakh imposed by BARC order in order to avail interim protection from possible coercive action. According to a report of Bar and Bench, TV Today had approached the court seeking directions to quash the order of BARC Disciplinary Council imposing fine on for ‘viewership malpractice’.

The plea was heard by a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Milind Jadhav yesterday. The court said that without prejudice to the rights and contentions of TV Today Network, the media group was directed to deposit the amount of fine in the registry of the Court. It further said that if the fine amount was deposited there would no coercive action against it.

In the plea, the BARC order was challenged on the ground that BARC had failed to show evidence to prove the allegations against TV Today and that the order was ‘unreasoned’. The plea further contended that BARC did not upload any report of an independent audit process that it might have carried out to detect viewership malpractice as was required under the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The court adjourned the matter till November 5 after Advocates Ashish Kamath and Thomas George, appearing on behalf of BARC, told the court that a similar matter against BARC was listed for hearing on the same day.

BARC order holding India Today guilty of viewership malpractice

OpIndia was the first to expose the matter regarding the show-cause notice being sent to TV Today Network by BARC in April this year. In an exclusive report by OpIndia, it was revealed that TV Today Network had failed to provide a satisfactory answer to the BARC Disciplinary Council (BDC) as to the “abnormal” and “inexplicable” increase in India Today’s TRPs. The BDC had passed an order imposing a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the media network for viewership malpractice. India Today Group had had later issued a statement admitting that it was fined by BARC for viewership malpractice. In its statement, the Group had accused BARC of leaking confidential hearings.

India Today named in current TRP scam

India Today is again in the dock after a complaint by Hansa Research, the company that manages the Bar-O-meters of BARC, alleged that the channel was bribing households with the meters installed to watch their channel for at least 2 hours a day. The matter had exploded after Mumbai Police Commissioner had revealed about the TRP scam earlier this month, but named Republic TV instead. But soon, the report by Hansa Research and the FIR filed based on it were accessed by Republic TV, which showed that India Today was named in the case, not Republic.

‘He supplies drugs and girls’: Estranged wife of Mahesh Bhatt’s nephew Luviena Lodh alleges harassment by nephew-uncle duo

OpIndia Staff
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‘He supplies drugs and girls’: Estranged wife of Mahesh Bhatt’s nephew Luviena Lodh alleges harassment by nephew-uncle duo

Film director Mahesh Bhatt has been at the epicentre of controversy ever since the unnatural death of 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Now, in a shocking revelation, actress Luviena Lodh has slammed the director for constantly harassing her family members. It is important to mention that Luviena, who acted in several South Indian films, is married to the director’s nephew, Sumit Sabharwal.

In a 1.48 minute long video posted on Instagram and Twitter, the actress made shocking revelations about Mahesh Bhatt and Sumit. At the very onset, Luviena Lodh stated that the purpose behind making the video was to ensure her safety and that of her family.

Luviena Lodh accuses nephew of Mahesh Bhatt of human trafficking

“I was married to the nephew of (film director) Mahesh Bhatt, Sumit Sabharwal. I had filed a divorce case against him because I got to know that he was supplying drugs to other actors such as Amyra Dastur, Sapna Pabbi etc. His phone contains pictures of several girls whom she shows to directors,” she alleged. After that she said, “Vo ladkiya bhi supply karta hai. Inn saari baaton ki jaankari Mahesh Bhatt ko hai (He is also involved in supplying girls. Mahesh Bhatt is well aware of all these things).”

Bhatt has destroyed several lives, alleges the actress

Luviena emphasised, “Mahesh Bhatt is the don of the industry. He controls everything that goes on in the industry. If you don’t play by his rules, then, he will make your life miserable in the industry. Mahesh Bhatt has destroyed the lives of several people, including directors, actors and composers. People lose work just with one phone call by him and they don’t even get to know about it. He has done this to many people. And since I had filed a complaint against him, he is after me.”

Mahesh Bhatt is responsible if anything happens to me, claims Luviena Lodh

The actress stated, “He is trying his level best to throw me out of my house. And when I go to file an NC (non-cognisable complaint), then, it is not registered. Even if my complaint is lodged, then, no action is taken. If anything happens to me or my family, then the ones who should be held responsible are Mahesh Bhatt, Mukesh Bhatt, Sumit Sabharwal, Sahil Sehgal, Kumkum Sehgal.” She concluded, “Atleast people should now know what happens behind closed doors and how he has destroyed the lives of so many people. He is extremely powerful and influential.”

Luviena Lodh alleges her society secretary is harassing her

Luviena Lodh has also alleged that her society secretary and watchman are harassing her for the last 6 months. She said They are not allowing my essentials to reach her, robbing and destroying my food, medicine and personal items. She added that she has called police at 100 number, filed complaining at Versova police station, but she has not got any help.

She also alleged that her milkman was stopped from delivering milk to her, and was threatened by the watchman. When informed police about the same, the cop started shouting at her instead of taking action against the watchman.

Bhatt accused of threatening Jiah Khan’s mother

Rabia Khan, the mother of deceased actress Jiah Khan, had earlier revealed that film director Mahesh Bhatt had tried to intimidate her during the funeral of her daughter. Rabia Khan said that Bhatt had tried to convince her that Jiah Khan was mentally depressed at her funeral.

However, when she refuted his claims, the director said, “Tum chup hojao varna tumhe bhi injection deke sula dege (Shut up or else you will also be put to sleep forever using an injection).” Further accusing Bhatt of being a ‘mouthpiece’ of Bollywood mafia, Rabia Khan emphasised, “He is so pathetic that I have no words to express. He was intimidating when my daughter worked for him at the age of 16.”

Mumbai Police registers FIR against the entire editorial team of Republic TV alleging incitement of disaffection among Mumbai police and defamation

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai Police registers FIR against the entire editorial team of Republic TV alleging incitement of disaffection among Mumbai police and defamation

The clash between Mumbai Police and Republic TV has worsened as an FIR has been filed against the TV news network by the police. After sending a notice seeking details of every single employee and journalist working for the Republic TV and details of every transaction made by the channel since its inception, the Mumbai Police has now filed an FIR against the entire editorial staff of the channel, a report by Republic TV said. The FIR has been filed against the entire editorial team of the channel allegedly for broadcasting the Hansa Report on TRP scam.

Fuming at the Mumbai Police, Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami said that a criminal case has been lodged against about 1000 employees of the channel.

The FIR has been filed for allegedly inciting disaffection among Mumbai police and for defaming them. According to reports, the complaint was been filed by PSI Shashikant Pawar of Special Branch-1 at NM Joshi Marg Police station. Based on the complaint, an FIR has been filed under various sections including Police (Incitement to Disaffection) Act 1922, read with section 500, 34 of IPC.

The complaint names several editorial staff at Republic including Deputy News Editor Sagarika Mitra, Anchor and senior Associate Editor Shivani Gupta, Deputy Editor Shawan Sen, Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanswamy. Apart from them the entire editorial staff and newsroom in-charge for the concerned report getting aired, and others are also named as accused in the FIR.

The complaint filed by the PSI said that the channel has committed offences amounting to incitement to disaffection among members of the Police Force and defaming Mumbai Police by airing the concerned reports.

“I have been informed just now that in the first time in the history of India, Mumbai Police has filed an FIR against 1000 members of the editorial staff. There is an FIR against all Republic TV editorial staff because we cited Hansa Research report on our show exposing the TRP scam,” Arnab said.

It may be noted that the report by Hansa Research had exposed the lies of Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, as it had shown that India Today was named in the TRP scam complaint, not Republic TV as alleged by Singh.

Bombay court legitimises Republic TV’s use of Hansa Research report in its broadcast on TRP case

While the Mumbai Police filed a criminal complaint against the entire editorial team of Republic TV for citing Hansa Research report in its broadcast of TRP scam, the Civil Court of Greater Bombay today legitimised the Republic TV’s use of Hansa complaint in the course of its coverage on the alleged TRP manipulation case.

A statement in this regard has been released by the Republic TV earlier today. “It was natural for the media house to use its news channel to defend itself against the charge of manipulation of TRP ratings and disclosing the documents which support their case of innocence,” the court observed as per the statement released by the Republic TV.

The Court also noted that the claim that the mention of Hansa Research report by the defendants (Republic TV) in their broadcast will damage the reputation of the plaintiff (Hansa Research) is untenable and therefore unacceptable. The court had also noted that the document was already published by other media houses and circulated on social media, hence stopping Republic to broadcast will not prevent the circulation of the report.

Mumbai Police seek details of every transaction made by Republic TV since its inception

Earlier today, Republic TV reported that the Mumbai police Crime Branch has sought details of every financial transaction made by the channel in the past 4 years. Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sundaram S have been asked to submit the details at the police station. Despite being well aware that collecting information of such transactions may take months, the Mumbai police have provided just 12-hour window to Republic TV for submitting the details.

As per Republic TV, the fresh demand for financial transactions is a part of the witch-hunt of the Mumbai police against the news network, carried out on the behest of the Maharashtra government. The channel has claimed that the cops have sought for petty and trivial transactions including the cost of toilet paper, coffee vending machines, makeup kits, stationery, furniture and so on.

Arnab Goswami at loggerheads with the Maharashtra government

Arnab Goswami and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government are at loggerheads since the prime time show aired on Republic Bharat over the lynching of Hindu sadhus in Palghar. Several FIRs were filed against the news anchor and he was called to the police station in Mumbai where he was grilled for more than 11 hours. A case was also filed against him and his channel Republic TV for broadcast on April 14 and 15 regarding the Bandra migrants incident.

Arnab had also alleged that one of his reporters and the camera person was unlawfully detained by the Maharashtra government when they were on a trail of an investigative story in Navi Mumbai. Another Republic TV journalist Pradeep Bhandari was recently encircled physically by the Mumbai Police and was detained illegally. It was alleged that Pradeep was assaulted as well and was not provided with access to lawyers.

A few days back, Republic TV was also targeted in a TRP manipulation case when the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh convened a press conference and insinuated that Republic TV paid bribes to manipulate its TRP. However, hours later Republic TV cited Hansa Research’s report to allege that the complaint of TRP manipulation carried the name of India Today and not Republic TV.

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