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‘Unfortunate decision just to satisfy ego’: Devendra Fadnavis slams Udhhav Thackery for shifting Metro Car Shed from Aarey colony

OpIndia Staff
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‘Unfortunate decision just to satisfy ego’: Devendra Fadnavis slams Udhhav Thackery for shifting Metro Car Shed from Aarey colony

After the Uddhav Thackeray govt in Maharashtra decided to shift the metro car shed from Aarey milk colony to Kanjurmarg, BJP leader and former Devendra Fadnavis sharply criticised the move, saying the decision was taken just to satisfy ego. He also said that this decision will increase the cost of the project by at least Rs 4000 crore, which was estimated by a committee appointed by the current government, and the project will also be delayed by several years due to ongoing litigation and the condition of the new site.

Uddhav Thackeray claims new site will cost Rs 0

Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government had declared the area where the metro car shed was planed as forest land, and said that now the facility will come up at a government land in Kanjurmarg. “The Aarey car shed will be moved to Kanjurmarg. We have allotted government land for the car shed for Rs 0. We won’t spend a single rupee for acquiring this land,” he said.

Along with this, the state govt also dropped all the charges against the protesters who had tried to stop the car shed project. Almost 808 acres of land in the area has been proposed to be declared as a reserve forest. Aaditya Thackeray informed that the land at Kanjurmarg has already been handed over to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority last week. He said that it will cost Rs 0, and not more than Rs 10,000 core as it was told.

Last year before the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, the car shed at Aarey milk colony had become a major political issue, with left wing activists and Shiv Sena vehemently opposing it, saying that it is a forest area and the project will destroy the ecology. Even though the metro project will result in substantial improvement in environment by removing lakhs of fossil fuel guzzling vehicles from the roads, the project was opposed due to political reasons. Both Bombay High Court and Supreme Court of India had given go ahead to the project, rejecting multiple petitions against it. Accordingly, the Mumbai Metro Corporation had cut 2141 trees in the area, out of designated 2185, in October last year to clear the site.

After that the work on the shed had started, but after the assembly elections Shiv Sena broke the alliance with BJP and joined hands with Congress and NCP to form the govt, after which the new govt had immediately stopped the work, announcing that the facility will be built at some other place.

Devendra Fadnavis refutes the claims of CM Uddhav Thackeray

Devendra Fadnavis refuted the claim of CM Uddhav Thackeray that the new site will cost Rs 0, saying that actually it will cost at least Rs 4000. This is because, the site is under litigation, with a private party claiming its ownership. The former CM informed that the Kanjurmarg site was considered during his govt before finalising Aarey. The site was rejected because of the litigation.

The private parties had obtained a stay order from Bombay High Court on govt acquiring the land in 1996 itself. When the govt requested the court to lift the stay, the court also said that the govt has to deposit the amount before that, so that the amount can be paid to the private parties in the case the govt loses the case. Devendra Fadnavis said that the amount was Rs 2400 crore in 2015, which have increased now.

In addition to the litigation, the entire process will have to be restarted. Earlier tenders will have to be cancelled and a new process started. Moreover, DPR was also not prepared for the proposed new site, which will add significant time to the project.

The former CM also added that the Kanjurmarg site is marshy land, and it will take least two years to stabilise it. He also asked who will be responsible for the delay of the project if someone moves the Supreme Court against it.

“This means that the Metro project, which would have been in the service of Mumbaikars just next year, has now been postponed indefinitely. ₹400 crore was already spent for Aarey Car Shed, ₹1300 crore wasted due to staying of project & additional cost escalation of ₹4000 crore”, he added.

Fadnavis said that due to these reasons, the Metro project will be delayed indefinity. “What exactly does the state Govt want to achieve by blocking the seamless journey of Mumbaikars?” he asked.

Committee set up by Uddhav Thackeray govt had said shifting car shed from Aarey would not viable

It may be noted that a committee set up by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in December had said that shifting the car shed site from Aarey would not be viable. The committee has cited issues such as increased costs, logistical issues and delays in the completion to rule out the option of shifting the project to another location. It had recommended lifting the stay on construction of the Mumbai Metro Line 3 car shed at Aarey Milk Colony. The high-level committee had also recommended that the state government should notify the unbuilt green areas inside the colony as a no-construction belt, preserving it like a protected forest.

The four-man committee was set up on December 11 headed by the Additional Finance Secretary of Maharashtra. The other members were Principal Secretary (Environment) Anil Diggikar, Managing Director (Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation) RS Khurana and Chief Conservator of Forest (Sanjay Gandhi National Park) Anwar Ahmed.

The committee had considered two alternative locations to build the metro car shed. One was the marsh at Kanjurmarg where the Line 6 (Jogeshwari-Kanjurmag) car shed was being built. The second site that was looked at was a State Reserve Police camp just outside Aarey at Jogeshwari. However, both were found to be not feasible.

The panel after conducting site visits ruled that the shifting of the car shed would involve logistical and legal challenges, bringing further delays in the commissioning of the Metro corridor. The committee also argued that shifting the car shed at this stage would lead to a further delay in the project’s commissioning and cause cost escalations. In 2015, the project was worth Rs 23,000 crore with the MMRCL, which was supposed to be funded by off-budget borrowings. As per MMRCL, delay of each day in the project’s commissioning increases the cost by Rs 4.2 crore.

French Open: Rafael Nadal defeats Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win 20th Grand Slam title, equals Federer’s tally

OpIndia Staff
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French Open: Rafael Nadal defeats Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win 20th Grand Slam title, equals Federer’s tally

Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic at the final of the French Open on Sunday to win his 20th Grand Slam and 13th French Open Title. In a dominating performance, Rafael Nadal defeated the Serbian in straight sets with a score line of 6-0 6-2 7-5. The Spaniard has now equalled Roger Federer’s record of the highest number of Grand Slam titles.

Going into the match, Rafael Nadal had 19 Grand Slams while Novak Djokovic had 17. The Serbian was competing to become the first player to defeat the ‘King of Clay’ in the final of the French Open. Djokovic failed to win a single game in the first set and there was never really a moment during the entire match where it looked Nadal may fail to win.

There was a phase in the third set where Djokovic looked like mounting a challenge when he broke Nadal for the first and only time in the match. However, that faded quickly as Nadal broke Djokovic’s serve at 5-5 to serve out the match in his next service game. The match lasted only 2 hour 41 minutes.

TRP Scam: Republic TV top officials questioned for 20 hours in total by Mumbai police, asked how they acquired the Hansa report implicating India Today

OpIndia Staff
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TRP Scam: Republic TV top officials questioned for 20 hours in total by Mumbai police, asked how they acquired the Hansa report implicating India Today

Continuing its vendetta against Republic TV, today Mumbai police questioned the CEO, COO and a senior officer of the distribution team of the channel for 20 hours in total. But shockingly, Mumbai police was more interested in know how Republic TV accessed the Hansa Research complaint that blew the lid off the lies peddled by Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

The police official had named Republic TV as the accused in the TRP scam case, accusing the channel of making payments to BARC panels homes to watch the channel. But the FIR filed in the case, and the complaint filed by Hansa Research, based on which the FIR was registered, had revealed that it was India Today which was named in both the documents, not Republic TV. But the Mumbai Police under the Shiv Sena led Maharashtra govt chose to shield India Today, and tried to Republic TV instead in the case, despite having no evidence.

Republic TV has issued a news release following the questioning of its officials by Mumbai police. The statement is reproduced below:

REPUBLIC NEWS RELEASE

Today our CEO, COO and senior member of our Distribution team were questioned by the Mumbai Police for 20 hours in all. *We are shocked to learn that in the course of questioning the Republic Media Network’s CEO Vikas Khanchandani, the Mumbai Police made multiple attempts to probe in detail as to how the Network accessed the Hansa Research Group Pvt Ltd. (‘Hansa’)  complaint. Specific, repeated and detailed questioning went on about how Republic accessed the Hansa complaint report which blew the lid off the lies peddled against Republic Media Network.*

As everyone is aware, the Hansa Complaint report made *multiple mentions of India Today without a single reference to Republic TV, Republic Bharat or any affiliate of the Republic Media Network. The report which was bereft of any mention of Republic was the very basis of the FIR, and was put into the public domain by Republic on 10 October, 2020.*

*We believe that the very fact that the Mumbai Police was continually probing for Republic Media Network’s editorial sources stands in complete breach of the freedom of the press in India. We believe that it is inappropriate to probe any media organisation for its sources.* The Mumbai Police repeatedly asked our CEO how, when and from where the Network accessed the Hansa Complaint report. Our CEO informed the Mumbai Police that it is an editorial matter.

*Republic stands against any strongarm tactics to try and access the sources of an independent media. We consider the attempt to probe for Republic’s sources a SERIOUS INFRINGEMENT and UTTER VIOLATION to the right to report in a country with a free media.* If there is an attempt to use state machinery to scrutinise the sources of an independent media network and bring back an Emergency-style editorial control into the Media, we will stand strongly against it.

*Republic Media Network officially reiterates that, at any cost, we will not disclose our sources to the Mumbai Police, or anyone thereof, and will protect our democratic right as journalists. Republic will go through endless hours of questioning, but will not reveal its sources in order to uphold our journalistic rights.*

*If the Mumbai Police is uncomfortable with the fact that the Hansa complaint report is now in the public domain and, with it, crumbles the false narrative that was built against Republic, that does not give them the right to infringe upon the freedom of the press. We will protect our sources based on principle and editorial integrity, no matter what.*

*What is happening in Maharashtra and in Mumbai specifically today is a shocking case, before the world, of the state trying to muzzle a free press.*  It is in complete contravention of the Constitutional right of a free press under Article 19 (1)(a) and serves as a terrible blot on the tenets of our great democracy. The Mumbai Police seems to be turning the freedom of the press in this great democracy upside down and we stand firmly against any such attempts.

The Republic Media Network will not give in to any endeavours to curtail editorial freedom, no matter who and how hard the attempt is on the other side.

Days after Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, in an explosive statement, accused Republic TV of ‘TRP manipulation’, Republic TV had accessed the 7-page Hansa research Group complaint, on the basis of which an FIR was registered in the TRP scam case. Contrary to the narrative put forth by the Mumbai Police, the complaint categorically mentions India Today on two occasions but does not make any reference to Republic TV or other channels.

The Hansa Research Group Pvt Ltd, the company that manages the Bar-o-meters of BARC that measures TV viewership, had filed the complaint against unknown persons and two of its employees, namely, Vishal Bhandari and Dinesh Vishwakarma. They were accused of making payments to households where the devices are installed to watch India Today for at least 2 hours a day.

The report matches with the FIR registered by the Mumbai Police on the complaint of Hans Research into TRP manipulation. The FIR, which came to hours after Mumbai Police Commissioner had named Republic TV, also mentions the name of India Today, accusing that money was paid to panel homes to watch the channel for 2 hours a day. Neither the complaint nor the FIR mentions the name of Republic TV, contrary to the claims of the commissioner.

But despite this revelation, Mumbai Police had continued to take action against Republic TV, while taking no action against India Today at all. Republic TV owner and editor Arnab Goswami had said that the channel will file a defamation case against Param Bir Singh for naming the channel in the case. The Chief Financial Officer of Republic TV, S Sundaram has also moved the Supreme Court challenging the summons issued to the network by the Mumbai Police in connection with the ‘Fake TRP’ case.

All eight Indian beaches recommended by Ministry of Environment and Forests awarded the prestigious International Blue Flag Certification

OpIndia Staff
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All eight Indian beaches recommended by Ministry of Environment and Forests awarded the prestigious International Blue Flag Certification

Weeks after Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests recommended the names of 8 beaches for International Blue Flag certification, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar informed on Sunday that all of them have been awarded the coveted certification. It is the first time that Indian beaches have been recognised for International Blueflag certification.

As per reports, the coveted certification is an ‘eco-label’ awarded to clean and hygienic beaches by the ‘Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark’. The agency takes into account 33 criteria, ranging from safety and services in beaches to conservation and bathing water quality. The Blue Flag certification helps promote tourism and provide information to beachgoers and tourists about the safety and water quality of a beach.

India had launched its own eco-label titled ‘Beach Environment and Aesthetics Management Services’ (BEAMS), which recommended a total of 8 beaches, for the Blue Flag certification. The beaches included Radhanagar beach (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Golden beach (Odisha), Rushikonda beach (Andhra Pradesh), Kappad beach (Kerala), Shivrajpur beach (Gujarat), Ghoghla beach (Daman and Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri beach (Karnataka).

An international jury from Foundation of Environment Education, FEE Denmark upheld a recommendation made last month by a national jury composed of scientists, environmentalists that had recommended India’s eight beaches for consideration for the coveted International eco-label.

India has also been awarded a 3rd Prize by the International Jury under the “International Best Practices” for pollution control in coastal regions.

India’s efforts praised by World Bank country director

India’s efforts to clean up its beaches found praise from World Bank’s country director Zunaid Khan. He said that the country’s efforts can work as a lighthouse for other countries to ensure sustainable coastal zone management.

“We, today, are taking a vow to clean up our beaches and I am very proud that we have started our highly acclaimed programme BEAMS. So we are cleaning the beaches and today our beaches are much cleaner and many are among the best in the world. Therefore, we all must vow to clean up our beaches,” Union Environment Minister Javadekar said in a video message on International Coastal Clean-Up Day.

India is also the first country in the Asia-Pacific region which has achieved this feat in just about 2 years’ time. Japan, South Korea and UAE are the only other Asian nations who have been conferred with a couple of Blue Flag beaches, however, they received it in a time frame of about 5 to 6 years.

Odisha’s Chandrabhaga beach was the first beach in Asia to get the Blue Flag Certification in 2018. 12 more beaches were being developed by Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) under the Environment Ministry for getting the certification.

11 incidents of brutal attacks on Hindu sadhus in 2020 in the country that failed to trigger any outrage

OpIndia Staff
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11 incidents of brutal attacks on Hindu sadhus in 2020 in the country that failed to trigger any outrage

In the last six and half years since BJP came into power, caste and religion-based attacks have become the highlight of the mainstream media. Everyone across the country and even on the foreign land knows about the cases where minorities were allegedly attacked for one or the other reasons. So much so, the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots of 2020 somehow became a pogrom against the Muslims, thanks to the narrative being instigated by several media houses, ‘intellectuals’ and political leaders. While any attack on people from minority or Dalit communities become international outrage instantly, several similar attacks on upper caste people, including Hindu priests, have taken place which has failed to invoke any major outrage even in India.

The attacks on Sadhus

In 2020, there have been several attacks on sadhus and priests in India over one or the other reason, but only a few, like the infamous Palghar Sadhu lynching, managed to make it to the headlines. Many attacks got buried under the pile of thousands of daily reports that the mainstream media think is more important than someone getting killed. Or, they got covered by a very small section of media houses with no follow-ups.

List of attacks on sadhus in 2020

On 16th January, Mahant Arjun Das of Balaji Temple in Chitrakoot was killed by miscreants. Police registered a case against Alok Pandey, Mangaldas, Raju Mishra and two unknown in the case. As per the reports, they attacked Mahant over a land dispute. The attackers did reiki of the area of three days before attacking Mahant. They shot him dead while his associates got injured in the attack.

On 16th April, two Sadhus associated with Juna Akhara were killed by a wild and frenzied crowd of over 100 people at Gadakchinchale village, Palghar. The victims, identified as 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maharaj and 35-year-old Sushil Giri Maharaj, along with their driver, 30-year-old Nilesh Telgadewere, were on their way from Mumbai to Gujarat to give Samadhi to another Sadhu. The villagers deemed them as thieves and started attacking them. Videos that emerged later showed how police personnel handed them over to the mob instead of saving them. They were beaten to death in the presence of the police. Later it was revealed that it was an intentional killing and was done due to political reasons. It was also suspected that Christian missionaries backed by NCP, left parties, were behind the lynching of two Hindu Sadhus. This was the only case that got some amount of national attention, mainly due to the fact that the attack was recorded on camera.

On 28th April, two priests were found murdered at Bulandshahr temple. Their bodies were mutilated and were found in temple premises. The two priests were identified as Jagdish alias Rangi Das (55) and Sher Singh alias Sewa Das (45). According to the reports, the murderer Murari alias Raju from Pagona village in Bulandshahr was caught by the two priests while stealing from the temple premises. He attacked the priests in a fit of anger using a sharp weapon and killed them. SSP Bulandshahr Santosh Kumar Singh said, “Villagers also spotted him walking out of the village with a sword in his hand. He was nabbed two kilometres out of village, in half-naked and inebriated condition.” At the time Raju got arrested, he was still intoxicated.

On 23rd May, two Sadhus were found murdered in Nanded, Maharashtra. The victims were identified as Balbrahmachari Shivacharya Maharaj guru, and Bhagwan Shinde, a disciple of Sadhu Shivacharya Maharaj. As per the reports, the bodies of the Sadhus were found near the bathroom of the house. The police report suggested that at least two accused entered the mutt to rob the place. When the Sadhus confronted them, they strangled them to death with a charging cable. The criminals looted Rs. 69,000, his laptop and other valuables from the sadhu’s bedroom totalling around Rs 1.50 lakh, along with his car keys. Police arrested one Sainath Shingade in the case.

On 23rd July, a Hindu saint was found hanging from a tree in the temple premises in Uttar Pradesh. As per the reports, 22-year-old Balayogi Satyendra Anand Saraswati Maharaj Naga Baba had come to Sultanpur from Himachal Pradesh. He was living in the Veer Baba Mandir in Chhatauna village for the last several years. The police learnt about his unnatural death and took his body into custody. The locals alleged that he was murdered and left hanging to the tree to make it look like a suicide.

On 13th July, the Hindu caretaker of Shiv Temple in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, was beaten to death after he protested against remarks on his saffron attire. As per the reports, Anas Qureshi alias Janaleva passed objectional remarks on the attire of the victim identified as Kanti Prasad while he was coming back after paying the electricity bill. When Prasad objected to the remarks Anas passed, he started beating up the priest in the middle of the road. He somehow escaped and went to Quereshi’s house to appraise his family about the incident. Anas came from behind and again beaten him mercilessly. When Prasad’s family came to know about the incident, they rushed to Qureshi’s house to rescue him. They all went to the police station to file a complaint against Anas, where Prasad’s health started deteriorating. He succumbed to his injuries the next day.

On 23rd August, Naxals kidnapped a pujari, Neeraj Jha, and killed him a week later in Bihar’s Lakhisarai. They demanded a ransom of Rs.1 crore from his family. When the body of the priest was found, it was so badly mangled that the family members couldn’t recognize him. Later, his brother Pankaj Jha recognized him from the Janeu he was wearing.

On 11th September, three priests were found murdered at Sri Arakeshwara Temple at Guttalu on the outskirts of Mandya city. Police found the dead bodies of three priests identified as Ganesh, Prakash and Anand in a pool of blood. As per the reports, their heads were crushed with boulders. The attackers robbed the temple hundi boxes and stole only cash leaving behind the coins. After the attack was reported, the police got into action and filed FIR against the culprits. Later on 15th September, all five attackers were apprehended. Police nabbed Abhijit and Raghu from Gamanahalli village and gave up the location of the other three miscreants named Viji, Manja and Gandhi.

On 8th October, six persons tried to encroach upon temple land in the Bokna village, Sapaotra division of Karauli district of Rajasthan. When a 50-year-old temple priest named Babulal Vaishnav attempted to stop them, they poured petrol over him and set him on fire. He was admitted to the SMS Hospital in Jaipur in a critical condition. On the 9th morning, he succumbed to his injuries.

On 10th October, a priest of Ram Janki Temple in Tirre Manorama village of Etiathok police station area, Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, was shot. As per the police, the miscreants shot him over the years old land dispute. He is undergoing treatment in Lucknow trauma center. The reports suggested that Samrat Das, the priest of Ram Janaki temple, had a dispute over land ownership with the land mafia. They had attacked him last year as well. Police have registered FIR against four miscreants and started an investigation. The dispute between the two parties is over 25 acres of land (100 bighas) that belong to the temple. Superintendent of Police Shailesh Kumar Pandey said in a statement that the police had arrested two people, and the search for the other two was still on.

Ex-Armyman Balwinder Singh, whose turban was removed by West Bengal police, sent to 8 days of police custody by court

OpIndia Staff
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Ex-Armyman Balwinder Singh, whose turban was removed by West Bengal police, sent to 8 days of police custody by court

Ex-Armyman Balwinder Singh, who was assaulted by West Bengal police along with pulling off his turban, has been sent to 8 days of police remand by a local court in Kolkata. Even though there was a nationwide outrage against disrespecting the Sikh religious headgear by police, the Mamata Banerjee govt had arrested him on the charges of carrying firearm illegally.

Akali Dal leader and President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Manjinder Singh Sirsa informed that the security officer has been sent to police remand, and said that Akali Dal is monitoring the situation minutely.

Balwinder Singh was taken into custody by police during the Nabanna Chalo protests by BJYM and BJP on Thursday. Singh is the personal security officer of BJP leader Priyanshu Pandey, who was also detained by police. Balwinder Singh was arrested from the Howrah Maidan by the WB police, as the on-duty Sikh security official was carrying a loaded gun. Speaking to the media from inside a police vehicle, BJP leader Priyangu Pandey said that Singh held a proper licence for the gun he carried.

The WB police had argued that Singh’s licence was valid only in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir as it was issued there. However, the BJP leader asserted that Balwinder Singh’s arms licence has a stamp of an all India permit and can be used anywhere across the country. The BJP leader said that after working in Assam, Balwinder Singh had joined him in Kolkata. Pandey said that despite having an all India Arms licence, the way WB police snatched the gun from Singh’s hand, the way they assaulted the ex-army officer was disgraceful.

Balwinder Singh speaking to the media also confirmed that his arms licence had been issued from Rajouri but had an all India permit. He said that he was just standing in one corner when the police officer suddenly attacked him. He was dragged and his turban was ripped off in full public view.

Balwinder Singh is a Black Cat commando and a veteran of the Kargil war. According to the bio-data of Balwinder Singh, tweeted by BJP leader Kailash Vijaybargiya, he was with the Special Forces (6 Para) and had taken part in multiple military operations including Operation Vijay during the Kargil war.  

A delegation led by Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee President Manindar Singh Sirsa submitted a representation to the West Bengal governor. Calling the act of West Bengal police a grave insult to entire Sikh Community, the delegation demanded justice for Balwinder Singh.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar assured the delegation that all steps would be taken for such outrage. He said that in no civilised society such blatant abuse of police power can be countenanced or condoned, and it is in disregard of Supreme Court directives.

Winner of Penguin Random House’s Harvill Secker Young Translators’ prize calls for Brahmin genocide on social media

OpIndia Staff
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Winner of Penguin Random House’s Harvill Secker Young Translators’ prize calls for Brahmin genocide on social media

Subha Prasad Sanyal, winner of Penguin Random House’s 2018 Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize, gave a call for a genocide of the Brahmin community in a comment on Facebook. Since then, he appears to have deleted his account. His comments created quite the furore on social media for the incendiary bigotry it reflected.

Genocidal comment by Subha Prasad Sanyal

Since then, people on social media have demanded that his award be revoked in light of the recent comments he has made. The comment said, “time for brahmin holocaust”. Another user said, “hell yeah!”

The comment made by Sanyal went viral on social media on Friday.

As per the announcement by Penguin, Sanyal is a 20-year old student at Jadavpur University, Kolkata studying English Language and Literature. He is also a “notorious biryani enthusiast” and “dreams of one day becoming a professor of English at Oxford”.

Finally a Hindu-Muslim union that can be called “interfaith”, and it’s fictional

OpIndia Staff
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Finally a Hindu-Muslim union that can be called “interfaith”, and it’s fictional

On Friday, Tanishq Jewellery released a new ad of an ‘interfaith’ couple where the woman, decked up in jewellery, is getting ready for a ‘god-bharai’ (baby shower) function.

The woman can be seen dressed in traditional saree, jewellery and bindi, as people around her, dressed up like traditional Muslims, sans the bindi, are taking her to a garden for a ‘surprise’. There are deepmaals, and a statue of the Natraj in the background as the lady playing role of mother-to-be sits for the ‘godbharai’.

She asks her mother in law how this ritual is not even followed in their (Muslim families) home. To that, the mother in law replies how keeping the daughter happy is a universal ritual.

This advertisement came on a day 18-year-old Rahul Rajput was killed by the family members of the girl he was in love with. According to the reports, the Muslim girl’s family, particularly her brother, were opposed to their inter-religious affair. Further, in reality, there have been innumerable cases where Hindu women are forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men. Recently, family members of a 20-year-old girl has alleged that one Salman entrapped their daughter, forced her to convert to Islam and marry her. In September, an aspiring model Pooja committed suicide after her husband allegedly forced her to adopt Islam.

Accusations of prolonged unexplained leave and possible ‘Fake Mausi’ in 2018 Sanjali case: More skeletons tumble out about Hathras ‘Fake Bhabhi’

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Accusations of prolonged unexplained leave and possible ‘Fake Mausi’ in 2018 Sanjali case: More skeletons tumble out about Hathras ‘Fake Bhabhi’

The Hathras murder case has taken several twists and turns over the last few days. Amidst all the political controversies surrounding the case, in a sensational disclosure, it was revealed that a Naxalite from Madhya Pradesh was masquerading as the Bhabhi (sister-in-law) of the victim, who had stayed with the family of the deceased after the death of the 19-year-old girl.

The ‘fake bhabhi’, who was identified as Rajkumari Bansal, worked as a physician at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Dr Bansal had apparently visited the family of Hathras victim to coach the victim’s family into peddling a particular political narrative. 

A day later, her connection with Bhim Army had also come out after it was reported that a young woman from Jabalpur was planted by the group as one of the members of the outfit to hijack the case and to push a caste-conflict in the state.

Dr Rajkumari Bansal – the ‘Fake Bhabhi’ took long unexplained leaves from work: Reports

More shocking details have now emerged in the case highlighting that Dr Rajkumari Bansal has been indulging such impersonations for a long time now in a bid to take advantage of tragic incidents that occur in various states by claiming to be their family members. In addition to these charges, Dr Bansal is also accused of taking unexplained long leaves from her work during her tenure as medical officer to carry out such conspiracies.

It has now come to notice that Dr Bansal, during her tenure as a medical officer in Dindori, Madhya Pradesh, took long leaves and failed to carry out her work as a medical officer for at least eight months. The Madhya Pradesh health department authorities had even issued notices to Bansal for her repeated absence from work.

There are serious allegations against Dr Bansal by the district health officials, who have accused her of being absent or irregular to work during her tenure as the medical officer. The authorities had alleged that she did not fulfil her duty as a medical officer for at least eight months after being appointed to the post of medical officer in August 2013.

A complaint, dated 29-May-2014, was also registered against Dr Bansal by Dindori’s district surgeon notifying her long absence from the medical duty.

Based on the complaint, the Madhya Pradesh health department had issued a notice to Dr Bansal under ‘The Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1966’, asking her to clarify on her long absence from the duty.

A notice issued to Dr Rajkumari Bansal aka ‘fake Bhabhi’ by Health Department after receiving a complaint by District Surgeon over her long absence from duty/ Image Source: Prashant Patel

The notice issued by Madhya Pradesh health department says that Bansal had not visited the hospital since 6-September-2013, at least eight months before a formal complaint was registered by the district surgeon. The health department had also warned Dr Bansal of a departmental enquiry if she fails to respond to the notices issued by the health department.

Another notice issued to Dr Bansal demanding her response over unexplained long leaves from work/ Image Source: Prashant Patel

‘Fake Bhabhi’ had also impersonated as ‘Mausi’ during the Agra Sanjali Murder case

According to another report, Dr Rajkumari Bansal, who was caught for faking as ‘Bhabhi’ of the Hathras victim, has a long history of impersonating as relatives of victims of tragic incidents.

A Jagran report states that two years ago in 2018, Rajkumari Bansal had visited Agra by impersonating as an ‘aunt’ of a 15-year-old girl Sanjali, who was burnt to death by her cousin brother Yogesh and two of his relatives for not reciprocating to his feelings. Interestingly, Bansal had claimed to be the ‘Mausi’ or maternal aunt of the deceased victim.

She had even accompanied the dead body of the victim from Delhi to Agra and had created a ruckus in the village by opposing the cremation of the dead body on the pretext of seeking justice. However, OpIndia could not independently verify the claim made by Jagran in its report.

Reportedly, Bansal had allegedly impersonated as an aunt of the victim and had incited a few people from the family to stage a protest and not to cremate the body till the Chief Minister visited them. Bansal had also claimed that the Chief Minister would have visited the victim’s family if they had belonged to an ‘upper caste’ community.

Strangely, neither the police nor the family of the victim could figure out who really Bansal was and why she was staging a protest. Later, Bansal allegedly escaped from the place a few days after the dead body of Sanjali was cremated. Reportedly, Bansal never visited the family of the deceased Sanjali again.

As images of Dr Rajkumari Bansal went viral on the social media after the Hathras fiasco, the relatives of Sanjali, including the villagers and the policemen who investigated the case, have now confirmed that it was Bansal who had impersonated as victim’s aunt in 2018.

Petition filed at Rajasthan High Court seeking intervention of a central investigation agency into immolation of temple priest case

OpIndia Staff
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Petition filed at Rajasthan High Court seeking intervention of a central investigation agency into immolation of temple priest case

In a letter to the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, a petitioner has sought for a transparent, free and fair investigation by a central agency into the murder of a 50-year-old temple priest named Babulal Vaishnav in the Bokna village, Sapotra division of Karauli district of Rajasthan. The said priest was burnt to death by 6 people, who were eyeing to encroach upon the temple land.

The petitioner has sought for the probe to be transferred to a central investigative agency from the Rajasthan police. While seeking for an urgent hearing of the case, the letter read, “It is humbly prayed that (the Court) may initiate appropriate proceedings on this letter petition excursing inherent powers and list for urgent hearing before the appropriate bench.”

The petitioner has sought for protection of the victim’s family, who are living under constant threat. “It is humbly prayed that (the Court)provide the victims (with ) immediate protection as they are under immense and constant threat.” The letter had also asked for a restraining order against the accused and others who might be causing harm or damage to the victim’s family.

The Background of the Case

Babulal was the head priest of the Radha Govind temple in the Bokna village, Sapotra division of Karauli district of Rajasthan. On Thursday, October 8, 6 persons who were allegedly trying to encroach upon the temple land and were resisted by the priest, had poured petrol over him and set him on fire. Babulal Vaishnav was admitted in the SMS Hospital in Jaipur in a critical condition and he succumbed to his injuries on Friday morning. Meanwhile, Sadhus in the state had hit the streets to protest against the killing of the temple priest.

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