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UP: Education officer Babita Singh, accused of promoting love jihad and extorting money, removed from her post, inquiry underway

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Education officer Babita Singh, accused of promoting love jihad and extorting money, removed from her post, inquiry underway

Days after Block Education Officer (BEO) Babita Singh, posted in the Swar area of ​​Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh, was accused of corruption, extortion and promoting love jihad, the administration removed Singh from her position on Wednesday (29th January). She has not received a new posting and has been attached to the Headquarters.

BEO Neelam Rani Tamta said that serious allegations were made against Babita Singh. Serious complaints were being received regarding her work and the matter is under investigation. Due to this, the charge of the Swar area has been taken away from her. A complaint was made to the commissioner accusing Singh of extorting money from a female teacher. Alleged audio of the same had gone viral on social media.

Following this, a team has been formed by the commissioner to investigate this complaint and Babita Singh has been removed from her position of BEO to ensure that she does not influence the investigation in any manner.

As reported earlier, in the audio clip, a clerk working under Babita Singh in the Block Education Office was heard demanding a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a teacher named Sajid Ali. Similarly, bribe was demanded from another teacher named Raziya too. The District Basic Education Officer had issued a notice on these complaints, asking the concerned parties to be present before the officer.

Babita Singh has also been accused of telling her colleagues and other women employees that they should be marrying Muslim men. Additionally, she has been accused of demanding bribes for official work.

The District Magistrate and District Education Officer have ordered an investigation into the allegations made. Some women teachers in the Swar block have said that the Officer has been telling them that Islam offers more benefits and independence to women, saying that she is happy because she is married to a Muslim and that other women should also marry Muslims.

The complaint by the women teachers mentioned that Babita Singh is not only encouraging ‘Love jihad’ but also trying to spread communalism and casteism through her actions.

As per reports, the allegations of ‘Love Jihad’ and bribery are being investigated by different teams. The contents of the said viral audio clip are to be examined too, and further departmental action will be taken after confirming the authenticity of the voices in the clip.

Babita Singh has denied all allegations against her. She has stated that she had initiated action against some teachers for neglecting their duties hence they are trying to hurt her image and being vindictive against her.

Formulated in Vajpayee rule, implemented during Congress rule, but PM Modi finally used it to fight black money: ED gives details how PMLA strengthened them

अर्पित त्रिपाठी
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Formulated in Vajpayee rule, implemented during Congress rule, but PM Modi finally used it to fight black money: ED gives details how PMLA strengthened them

Under the Modi government, the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) actions against corruption have gained momentum. Since 2014, the ED has seized crores of rupees worth of assets that people had earned through corruption and in many cases, the amount has been returned to the victims or duped agencies. The ED has also achieved great success in getting convictions under the money laundering law in the past years. Some statistics regarding this have also come out.

95% property seized under the PMLA act was during Modi government’s tenure

According to a Hindustan Times report, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) implemented in 2005, the investigating agency ED has so far attached assets worth ₹ 1.45 lakh crore. In 2024 alone, the agency has attached assets worth more than ₹ 21 thousand crore.

Out of this ₹ 1.45 lakh crore, ₹ 1.40 lakh crore has been seized during the Modi government tenure. This means that 95% of the proceeds of corruption have been seized during the Modi government. Under PMLA, ED has not only seized properties, but has also succeeded in bringing people under the ambit of the law.

ED has convicted 100 people in 44 cases under PMLA so far. This action has gained momentum in the last one year. Out of 100, 36 people have been convicted in the first 9 months of Financial Year 2024-25. ED has arrested 911 people so far since the inception of the law.

The agency, which works on crimes related to financial matters, has been successful in nabbing big politicians, hawala operators, and even senior bureaucrats in the last few years. The working capacity of the agency has also increased in the last few years. It has got many new officers and employees. The agency has demanded that the capacity of its staff be increased three times further.

PMLA was implemented during the Congress government, but has been properly used by the Modi government

The PMLA law was formulated by the NDA-I government led by BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was passed by the Parliament in 2002. This law was made to stop money laundering, take back the property made from this money, and bring the culprits to justice.

The provisions of this law are very strict and the accused who fall foul of it cannot escape. It is also difficult to get bail under it. Before this law, there was no clear law regarding the money earned through corruption. In such a situation, people used to escape by finding loopholes in different laws.

However, after the new law, the powers of ED increased. The law was implemented by the Congress government in 2005. The Congress government also amended it twice. Under this law, some action was taken in the Congress government but there was no significant difference in the cases of corruption.

India’s Security Challenges, transfer of Islamic Radicals to Khalistan Movement, Internationalist Propaganda and Separatism

Parth Raman
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India’s Security Challenges, transfer of Islamic Radicals to Khalistan Movement, Internationalist Propaganda and Separatism

The destiny of Bharat, which is India, mirrors the life of Shri Ram. Despite facing immense challenges over time, he upheld the ideals of Ram Rajya, ensuring peace and prosperity. Similarly, Bharat has endured the trials of Mughal invasions, British rule, Partition, wars, and now the resurgence of the Khalistan movement within our motherland. Yet, through every challenge, we have continued to shine and remain resilient.

The Canadian Media not alone but predominantly consisting of five-eye nations continues publishing news concerning the rise of the Khalistan movement in the Indian subcontinent. This propaganda of Khalistan is highly supported by the Canadian government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even his politics is highly influenced by the Khalistani extremist leaders because understanding the demographic structure of the Canadian electoral system can easily give you a brief overview of why they are constantly supporting and encouraging the idea of Khalistan rather than submerging it.

Were these ideas of separation new to the Indian subcontinent? I believe the answer is no, because, for a long time when India was trying to emerge as an economic and global superpower, the West specifically, Euro-American allies tried to constrain it with intra-state elements. Long story short, firstly, the research will exclusively analyse the major security challenges faced by India in the last two decades (major parties), secondly, the aim of Canada-based Khalistani groups, and thirdly, even provocation of Indian intelligence can lead to the divide of Canada like Pakistan. 

Kalistan can be a new Jaish-e-Mohammed

Islamic organisations like Jaish-e-Mohammed and many more were a threat to Indian security majorly in the border states like Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, and to some extent in Gujrat. But the radical organisations were not limited to the border states, there have been incidents like the Indian Parliament Attack 2001 which was a most high profile terrorist act followed by the UP Attack Plot 2006 which targeted Sankat Mochan Mandir and Varanasi Cantt Railway Station, later Bengaluru Blast Links 2014.

Particularly organisations like Jaish-e-Mohammed which was established by radical Islamic practitioners led by Masood Azhar who was declared a terrorist in India. Most importantly India was not the only country to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed as a terrorist organisation Pakistan, Russia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The United Arab Emirates, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Nations have also designated Jaish-e-Mohammed as a terrorist organisation. Hypocrisy is there in the context of Pakistan where it has been highly established that Jaish-e-Mohammed was apparently created with the support of Inter-Services Intelligence – ISI which is the intelligence organisation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Importantly, Jaish-e-Mohammed also maintained a close ally with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. “Dar al-Islam” (abode of Islam) and “Dar al-Harb” (abode of war) were the main concerns of Jaish-e-Mohammed in the context of the province of Jammu and Kashmir. Therefore, multiple peoples were propagated by this Islamic ideology which was the direct plan of action by Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Here comes the comparison between Jaish-e-Mohammed and Khalistan, the protest of Khalistan has no locus standi in India, as the major pro-Khalistani organisations are operating it from the western lands, predominantly from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom diaspora. The first link between both organisations can be with the threat towards the Sanatan religious places, on the 10th of November 2024 pro-Khalistani leader and the founder of Sikh for Justice (SFJ), Gurupatwant Singh Pannu issued a threat targeting the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

In context to the faith of Hindu people in India, Ram Mandir has emerged as a sign of religious monument for them, therefore, directly targeting Ram Mandir can be a symbolic way of fighting a religious war. Secondly, the targeting of Hindu temples in Canada and the waving of the Khalistani flag on the temple premises has shown the dominant status of the counterpart in a foreign land. Through the analysis of the very beginning activities of Jaish-e-Mohammed, we discovered that bombarding was not their very prior act, very firstly they created the status of disturbance at the religious places like the similar activity which has been done by the Pro-Khalistani people in Canada.

What Pro-Khalistanis want?

With the discovery of literature, analysis can be drawn that the minor movements performed on foreign land grab the attention of sovereign powers who are not aligned with the perpetrator’s victims. So where did it start, in recent times the very founding stone was laid six months back during the Khalsa Day celebration in Toronto, Canada where the sitting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Leader of the Opposition attended the gatherings organised by the Sikh community in Canada.

During the address of Justin Trudeau, the crowd started shouting and chanting the slogan of “Khalistan Zindabad” slogan. It’s quite understood that Justin Trudeau knows the meaning of Khalistan because he’s very closely working with pro-Khalistani leaders, therefore, giving them the space to raise anti-India slogans is a fault of the Canadian administration from the very beginning, importantly during his visit to India on the occasion of G20, he addressed media, “action of few don’t represent Canada”!.

The strategy followed by the pro-Khalistani activists is quite influential, the new Democratic party which is led by Jagmeet Singh is also a Member of the House of Commons, Canada is constantly asked to recognise the 1984 Riots in the Canadian Parliament as a Sikh genocide in India which is quite vague and specifically he not asking for recognition but through motion he said; “direct attack to the cruel government” to be made.

Let’s explore one fun fact, Jagmeet Singh is banned from traveling in India because of his separatist intentions. Moving forward, whenever you see the definition of genocide you will find two terminologies which are “intention” and “idea of annihilation” should be there in the mind of perpetrators against the victim and that was not the scene in 1984 not specifically in the mindset of non-sikh individuals so the demand from Jagmeet Singh stands nowhere in the eyesight of any of the historians. Nevertheless, propaganda is the only way to achieve unstability and the same has been performed by the pro-Khalistani activists and the leaders in Canadian politics. 

According to the studies, we can derive that Khalistani leaders have been influenced by the strategic movement of Armenia. The Armenians have made propaganda against the Turkish throughout the whole world and internationalised the concern in managing to get hate against Turkey in geopolitics. So, the course of the plan which pro-Khalistani leaders and pro-Khalistani activists have to first recognise the Sikh Riots of 1984 as a genocide in the Canadian Parliament, which will not be shocking if they manage to get it done after that they will ask the five-eyes countries and fellow Commonwealth countries to get it recognised as genocide to make the hatred against India to set the narrative of Khalistan as a different sovereign state from India, but with limited literature analysis interference of Pakistan can also be traced in this movement, as no Khalistani activist is asking for the Heartland of Punjab which falls under the territory of Pakistan.

Therefore, the narrative I have mentioned above is not only drawn from my mindset but a few years back in 2017, the Ontario State Legislation of Canada passed a similar resolution categorising the 1984 riot as a genocide, incubated by the legislator Harinder Malhi which led to the founding stone of the intention from Jagmeet Singh to make it as the international agenda.

If India goes for “an Eye for an Eye”

In this contemporary world, the Research and Analysis Wing of India popularly known as R&AW holds dominant status in geopolitics and manipulating situations globally. Earlier it has been said that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US, the Committee for State Security (KGB) of Russia and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) of the United Kingdom, help their nation control the situations and even in the worst divide the sovereign states like the example of  Korean Partition, creation of Israel and Middle East Conflict, Partition of Cyprus, creation of South Sudan and many more. Additionally, no one can forget the role of the R&AW in helping Bangladesh against Pakistan.

On this note, the French-speaking Province of Québec in Canada has been asking for the status of a sovereign state for a very long time. Their culture, idea of nationality and their beliefs are not aligned with their Canadian counterparts. Way back in 1995, the province of Québec hosted a referendum to see the populous opinion of the locals for setting their way away from Canada. Still, there are large set of population demand for the sovereign status for the Québec and most importantly in the Canadian constitution, they have a special status for administration and legislation. To conclude, “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”. 

Syria: De-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed president to lead the country during its transition period

ANI
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Syria: De-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed president to lead the country during its transition period

Syria has entered a transitional phase with its de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, appointed as President, Al Jazeera reported, citing the state-run news agency SANA.

Al-Sharaa has been given the authority to establish a temporary legislative body that will function until a new constitution is implemented.

The announcement was made by Hassan Abdel Ghani, the spokesperson for the newly established military operations sector of Syria’s interim government.

“We announce the appointment of Commander Ahmad al-Sharaa as head of state during the transitional period. He will assume the duties of the president of the Syrian Arab Republic and represent the country in international forums,” Ghani had said in a statement on Wednesday, CNN reported.

He added, “The president is authorised to form a temporary legislative council for the transitional phase, which will carry out its duties until a permanent constitution is enacted and put into effect.”

Ghani also declared the dissolution of all armed factions within the country, stating they would be integrated into state institutions.

“All military factions are dissolved … and integrated into state institutions,” the state news agency quoted Abdel Ghani as saying. He also announced “the dissolution of the defunct regime’s army” and security agencies, as well as the Baath party, which ruled Syria for decades, Al Jazeera reported.

Al-Sharaa has committed to overseeing a political transition that includes organising a national conference, forming an inclusive government, and eventually holding elections–a process he estimated could take up to four years.

He has also proposed the establishment of a unified national military and security apparatus.

Al-Sharaa became a Syrian “foreign fighter” in his early 20s, crossing into Iraq to fight the Americans when they invaded the country in the spring of 2003. That eventually landed him in the notorious US-run Iraqi prison, Camp Bucca. Freed from Camp Bucca, he crossed back into Syria and started fighting against the Assad regime, according to CNN.

Earlier on November 27, 2024, Syria’s armed opposition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a large-scale offensive against government forces in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib.

By December 7, President Bashar Assad’s opponents had seized several major cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Daraa, and Homs. On December 8, they entered Damascus, forcing the army to withdraw from the capital subsequently Assad resigned and left the country.

It led to the end of more than 50 years of the al-Assad family’s iron-fist rule over Syria.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Despite being targeted by Hindenberg, Indian opposition, and even the Biden administration, Adani Group companies achieve increased profit

OpIndia Staff
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Despite being targeted by Hindenberg, Indian opposition, and even the Biden administration, Adani Group companies achieve increased profit

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Ltd. on Thursday (30th January) announced a growth of 32 per cent in its net profits during the first three quarters of the financial year 2024-25. In 2024, the company’s net profit for nine months, from April to December, was ₹8,038 crore while for the same period in 2023, the net profit was ₹6,089 crore.

“Strong growth across our incubating businesses, from energy transition to logistics and adjacencies, highlights the immense potential of our core plus portfolio. These results are a testament to our focus on execution. This exceptional nine-month performance underscores Adani Enterprises Ltd’s position as a powerhouse for nurturing transformative infrastructure and energy transition sectors,” said Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, in his statement in the press release.

APSEZ ranked among the top 10 companies

The group’s ports business recorded a profit of 14 per cent in the net profit at Rs 2518 crore in the October-December quarter of 2024. The company closed its Gopalpur and Astro Offshore transactions worth ₹4,600 crore in the same quarter. In the same quarter of 2023, the company’s net profit stood at ₹2,208 crore. Besides, the APSEZ was ranked among the top 10 most sustainable companies in the transport and transport industry infrastructure by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment.

APSEZ is the largest port developer and operator in India having seven ports and terminals on the West Coast and eight ports and terminals on the East Coast comprising 27 per cent of the country’s total port volume. The company’s ports and terminals on the West Coast are – Mundra, Tuna Tekra and Berth 13 in Kandla, Dahej and Hazira in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa, Dighi in Maharashtra and Vizhinjam in Kerala and on the East Coast are – Haldia in West Bengal, Dhamra and Gopalpur in Odisha, Gangavaram and Krishnapatanam in Andhra Pradesh, Kattuplli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu, and Karaikal in Puducherry. The company is also developing a transhipment port in Colombo, Sri Lanka besides operating the Haifa port in Israel and Container Terminal 2 at Dar Es Salaam Port, Tanzania.

The company registered growth on both the domestic and international front

Expressing excitement over the growth achieved by the company, APSEZ’s whole-time Director and CEO said, “excited to share the fantastic momentum we have achieved during 9M FY25, driven by exceptional execution across 3 key areas of our business – market share gains coupled with volume-price mix increase, traction in logistics vertical, and operational efficiencies along with technology-led gains.”

“Our domestic ports saw year-on-year revenue growth of 11 per cent, along with 80 point increase in EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes. depreciation and amortization) margin. Overall, India cargo market increased to 27.2 per cent, while the container market share went up to 45.2 per cent. Logistics revenue grew by 22 per cent, driven by double-digit growth in container and GPWIS volumes, “he added. Gupta further said that the company’s revenue registered double-digit growth in its international operations.

Opposition’s attack on the Adani group

Despite facing attacks from all sides including the Indian opposition, the Adani Group has managed to achieve remarkable financial growth. In January 2023, a so-called investigative report released by a US-based short-seller firm Hindenberg Research accused Gautam Adani of engaging in stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Following the accusation, the company shares had taken a dip.

However, Adani group denied all the allegations against the company in a media statement terming them as a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations”. An expert committee constituted by the Supreme Court found no regulatory failure. The court refused to order an SIT probe on the allegations made by short-seller Hindenburg. It added that there was no evidence that SEBI was negligent in taking action and no reason to suggest any conflict of interest on SEBI’s part.

After the Hindenburg report came out, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used the report to attack Prime Minister Modi by alleging that he gave undue favours to the company. In March last year, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York decided to investigate whether the conglomerate, along with its founder Gautam Adani, may have engaged in bribery.

ECI asks Arvind Kejriwal questions over his “Haryana poisoning Yamuna” claim, Kejriwal attacks Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in response

OpIndia Staff
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ECI asks Arvind Kejriwal questions over his “Haryana poisoning Yamuna” claim, Kejriwal attacks Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in response

Former Chief Minister of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has come at loggerheads with the Election Commission of India (ECI) over his recent “Haryana poisoning Yamuna” claim. On Thursday (30th January), the ECI issued another notice to Kejriwal for his incendiary remarks against another state as he accused Haryana of poisoning Yamuna River which is a major source of water for the national capital.

The Commission has granted Kejriwal another opportunity to explain why action should not be taken for his serious allegations promoting disharmony, the enmity between different groups, overall public disorder and unrest.

The ECI asked the AAP Chief to provide factual evidence with specific and pointed responses to type, quantity, nature, manner of poisoning of Yamuna and details of engineers, location and methodology of detecting the poison by Delhi Jal Board engineers by Friday, January 30, 11 am, failing which the Commission will take appropriate decision in the matter.

In response to this second notice, Arvind Kejriwal, in a press conference, resorted to launching personal attacks on CEC Rajeev Kumar and claimed that he is doing politics to get a job post-retirement.

“I would like to tell ECI, that they can’t see open distribution of money in Delhi…ECI is doing politics because Rajiv Kumar wants a job after his retirement. I would like to tell him that history will not forgive him. He has damaged the Election Commission unlike anyone else in the history of India. I know they will put me in jail within two days. Let them. I am not afraid. The country has never seen elections like this before,” Kejriwal said.

Earlier, in its first notice, the ECI said that Arvind Kejriwal should not mix issues of increased ammonia in the Yamuna River with his serious allegations of Yamuna poisoning with mass genocide, equating acts of war between two nations.

The poll body also highlighted in the notice that the availability of sufficient and clean water is a governance issue and that all concerned governments at all times should engage in securing this for all the people. It found no reason for anyone to dispute this noble position and will leave it to the competence and discretion of governments and agencies, abstaining from arbitration on long-standing water-sharing and pollution issues during the brief election period, particularly where agreements and legal directives from the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal already exist.

Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday, January 29, responded to the Election Commission of India (ECI) notice regarding his “poisoned water” remarks.

Kejriwal stated that the statements made by him were in “furtherance of an imperative public duty. Statements were made in furtherance of an imperative public duty to highlight the severe toxicity and contamination of raw water received from Haryana, which presents an imminent and direct threat to public health,” the letter signed by Kejriwal read.

Notably, both BJP and Congress have lodged complaints with the Election Commission against Kejriwal for making serious false allegations on Monday, January 27.

O Wednesday, January 29, the Haryana Government even lodged an FIR against Kejriwal over his controversial statement. Haryana Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Vipul Goel said that an FIR has been filed against Kejriwal for creating panic among the people of Delhi.

“An FIR has been sent to be registered under sections 2(d) and 54 of the Disaster Management Act for spreading misinformation and creating panic among the people of Delhi and Haryana”, Goel said.

“He should be ashamed of himself for making such irresponsible statements…The Cabinet Ministers and Prime Minister of the country also drink the same water… The people of Delhi will expel him from politics in the coming days”, he added.

Lashing out at Kejriwal during a public rally on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi said that Yamuna water is consumed by everyone including himself. “Yamuna water is consumed by judges, diplomats as well as the poor. How can one think that Haryana will poison it to kill Modi”, the PM asked.

As reported earlier, Kejriwal recently accused the Haryana government of ‘playing dirty politics’ by attempting to commit mass genocide in Delhi by poisoning Delhi’s water supply. “The people of Delhi get water to drink from Haryana and UP. In Yamuna water flows into Delhi from Haryana. BJP’s Haryana government has poisoned the water in Yamuna. However, the Delhi Jal Board were vigilant enough to stop that water from coming to Delhi otherwise – that would have caused mass genocide in Delhi. The BJP government has mixed such kind of poison in the water that cannot be treated even by the water treatment plants”, Kejriwal alleged. He went on the compare this with the nuclear attack by the US on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

The BJP govt has mixed such kind of poison in the water that cannot be treated even by the water treatment plants. It has caused water scarcity in one-third of Delhi. Such politics is done by two enemy countries – like the USA bombed Japan with nuclear bombs. A few countries use biological weapons to poison river water. But, the same has been done by the BJP govt, ” Kejriwal said.

Madhya Pradesh: Imran places foot on Shivling, shoots video for Instagram in Ratlam; arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Imran places foot on Shivling, shoots video for Instagram in Ratlam; arrested

On Thursday, 30th January, the Madhya Pradesh Police arrested one individual identified as Imran Sukkha for insulting the Hindu God, Lord Shiva by placing feet on the Shivling. The accused shot an Instagram video by insulting the Shivling following which he was tracked down by the police and arrested.

As per the local reports, the incident is said to have happened in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh. The video has caused massive outrage among the Hindu community which is demanding the strictest punishment against the arrested individual.

The accused shot the video on Wednesday, January 29th, by putting a foot on the Shivling. He then uploaded the video on Instagram and made it viral. After this, an FIR was lodged at the Station Road police station, by the members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Hindu organizations told the police that the accused had deliberately insulted the Hindu God and was last located near the Polyground. The complainant said that the accused shot the video at the same location and uploaded it from his ID named ‘Sukkha Maharaj’. The screenshot of the reel was presented to the police after which disciplinary action against the accused was executed.

Police said that based on complainant Mahavir’s report, an FIR has been lodged at the Station Road police station under Section 299 of BNS, 2023. Sukkha, who has hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus has also been arrested. According to Station Road PI Swaraj Dabi, the accused will be presented in court and a remand will be issued. The police have also revealed that Imran alias Sukkha is a habitual criminal and many criminal cases have been registered against him in the past.

Delhi riots accused Sharjeel Imam moves Delhi HC against movie “2020 Delhi” based on the violence, court issues notice

ANI
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Delhi riots accused Sharjeel Imam moves Delhi HC against movie “2020 Delhi” based on the violence, court issues notice

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice on two petitions seeking direction to postpone the release of “2020 Delhi,” a film based on the 2020 North-East Delhi riots, scheduled to premiere on February 2, 2025.

The petition alleges the filmmakers deliberately circumvented legal processes, disregarded the Constitution, and presented a distorted account of the events.

The bench of Justice Sachin Dutta listed the matter on January 31, 2025, after issuing notice to the makers of the movie.

The first petition which is moved by Sharjeel Imam, accused in the larger conspiracy case claims that the film’s trailers depict Imam and other accused individuals as terrorists, despite the fact that formal charges have yet to be filed.

Imam, through his counsel Advocate Warisa Farasat, argues that such portrayals, before the framing of charges and the commencement of trial, are premature and prejudicial. The plea contends that allowing the film’s release would not only taint the ongoing legal proceedings but also irreparably damage the reputations and social standing of the accused and their families.

Imam’s plea stated that charges are yet to be framed and his bail application is still pending before the High Court. He asserts a “clear danger” that the court’s judgment could be influenced by the film’s potentially false and biased depiction of events.

Given the severity of the charges against him, which include offences carrying the death penalty, Imam stresses the critical importance of ensuring a fair trial, free from external influences.

In addition to seeking a delay in the film’s release, the petition requests the court to direct the filmmakers to conduct a pre-screening for the court’s review.

The plea further stated that the film’s poster and promotional videos claim to be based on true events, creating the impression that the depicted occurrences are rooted in reality. Furthermore, the promotional materials definitively assert that the petitioner incited unlawful acts and violence through his speeches. However, these allegations stem from the “Larger Conspiracy” Delhi Riots Conspiracy FIR and are yet to be adjudicated in a trial.

The petition requests the removal of all photos, posters, videos, teasers, and trailers associated with the film until the conclusion of the trial.

Another plea, filed by several accused individuals and victims of the Delhi riots, seeks to quash the film certificate issued by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and also calls for the postponement of the movie’s release. This plea has been moved through Advocate Mahmood Pracha.

The petition states that the movie presents a distorted version of events while several cases related to the riots–where the petitioners are involved as complainants and accused persons–are still pending adjudication. The release of the movie, it argues, is likely to cause severe prejudice to the pending cases and could interfere with the administration of justice.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Mahakumbh stampede: UP govt cancels all VVIP passes, while Opposition attacks Yogi govt for ‘mismanagement’, what caused the tragedy and how VIP movement affected the rush

Shraddha Pandey
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Mahakumbh stampede: UP govt cancels all VVIP passes, while Opposition attacks Yogi govt for ‘mismanagement’, what caused the tragedy and how VIP movement affected the rush

In a tragic turn of events, around 30 people lost their lives while 60 were injured in a stampede at Mahakumbh on 29th January. The stampede took place when a large number of devotees gathered to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya (new moon).

Following the tragedy, Uttar Pradesh government has now declared the Mahakumbh Kshetra a no-vehicle zone and cancelled all VVIP passes to ensure a swift movement of devotees.  

In a late-night video conference with senior police officers and officials from several districts, including Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mirzapur, Basti, Jaunpur, Chitrakoot, Banda, Ambedkarnagar, Pratapgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar, Bhadohi, Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued several new guidelines.

These guidelines include a restriction on entry of vehicles in the Mahakumbh area, in order to ensure the safety of devotees and for better crowd management. For this, all the VVIP passes have been cancelled and none of the vehicles will be allowed entry into Kumbh Kshetra based on any special pass. Besides a ban on VVIP snans and escort vehicles, CM Yogi said that only bikes, ambulances, fire brigade vehicles and those of municipal corporation will be allowed.

In addition, vehicles coming from districts neighbouring Prayagraj will be stopped at the district border. The government has imposed a blanket ban on entry of four-wheelers in the district till 4th February.

CM Yogi Adityanath directed the officials to ensure that at no point crowd pressure should build up and that police and administration ensure there are no traffic jams in the city. The Chief Minister instructed the officials to increase patrolling and make sure that the traffic on Ayodhya-Prayagraj, Kanpur-Prayagraj, Fatehpur-Prayagraj, Lucknow-Pratapgarh-Prayagraj and Varanasi-Prayagraj routes is not blocked.

The administration has also been instructed to shift roadside vendors to empty areas. CM Yogi also instructed officials not to stop devotees visiting the Mela unnecessarily. In addition, proper food and drinking water should be provided to devotees wherever they are halting in the Mela area. CM Yogi Adityanath also asked officials to make proper use of barricades for crowd management in the Mela area.

In the wake of lakhs of devotees visiting Varanasi, Ayodhya, Chitrakoot and Mirzapur, CM Yogi instructed the administration to enhance vigilance and set up holding areas at border points.

The Uttar Pradesh CM also instructed ADG and Prayagraj District Magistrate to ensure a smooth and secure departure for devotees at the railway station preparing to leave the city after taking a holy dip at the Mahakumbh. The Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police have also been instructed to inspect the arrangements ahead of the third Shahi Snan on Basant Panchami (3rd February).

CM Yogi mourns tragic death of 30 devotees in Mahakumbh stampede, Judicial inquiry ordered

On Wednesday, CM Yogi Adityanath got emotional while speaking about the devotees who lost their lives in the stampede and said, “The incident is heart-wrenching. We express our deepest condolences to all those families who lost their loved ones. We have been in constant touch with the administration since last night. The Mela Authority, Police, Administration, NDRF, SDRF and all other arrangements that could be made have been deployed there.”

Among the deceased, four are from Karnataka, one from Assam and one from Gujarat. Around 36 people are being treated at a local medical college. The Uttar Pradesh government has announced financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh for the families of the deceased. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also ordered a judicial inquiry and said that a judicial committee will submit its report to the state government within a time limit.

“A three-member judicial commission will be headed by Justice Harsh Kumar, former DG VK Gupta and retired IAS DK Singh. We have been monitoring the entire incident from the CM’s, Chief Secretary and DGP’s control rooms throughout the day,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reviewed the situation over a phone call with CM Yogi Adtiyanath. The Prime Minister asked CM Yogi to ensure immediate relief and expedite rescue efforts.

Some reports say that there was a second stampede just hours after the one that occurred at the Sangam Nose. This stampede reportedly happened on the Jhusi side, however, no casualties have been reported so far.

What caused the stampede

 29th January was the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, the new moon night of the Krishna Paksh of the Hindu month of Magh. The day holds special astrological significance since the Sun and Moon are in the same raashi of Makar or Capricorn. Taking a ritual bath on this occasion, especially at the Triveni Sangam washes away one’s sins. Due to the spiritual significance of the Shahi Snan on Mauni Amavasya, there was a huge crowd on the day the stampede happened. Reports say that about 10 crore people were heading to the Mela Kshetra to take a holy dip at that time. By 4 pm on Wednesday, around 5.7 crore people had performed the ritual bath.

The stampede unfolded at about 1-2 am when a massive crowd of devotees broke barricades and trampled on those sleeping on the ground waiting for the Brahma Muhurat at the festival. It must be noted that the crowd behind the barricade, who had just arrived, did not notice that there were people already sleeping on the ground and ended up trampling on them unintentionally.

These barricades, according to Vaibhav Krishna, Deputy Inspector General, Mahakumbh, were put up around the ghats gave way due to the sea of humanity trying to get through.  

“Before Brahma Muhurta, between 1 am to 2 am, a huge crowd gathered on the Akhara Marg. Due to this crowd, the barricades on the other side broke and the crowd ran over the devotees waiting to take a holy dip of Brahma Muhurta on the other side. About 90 people were taken to the hospital through ambulances but unfortunately, 30 devotees have died. Out of these 30, 25 have been identified and the rest are yet to be identified,”  DIG Vaibhav Krishna said.

These include 4 people from Karnataka, 1 from Assam, 1 from Gujarat…36 people are being treated at the local medical college. At present, the situation is normal. Keeping in mind the convenience of the devotees, CM Yogi Adityanath has requested all the Mahamandaleshwar, Saints, and Akharas to take a holy dip with some delay…Amrit Snan of the Akharas have been concluded safely,” the officer added.

Besides, there were no separate entry and exit routes at Sangam Nose. Reports say that people were going back from the same route they were coming from. Due to this when the stampede occurred, there was hardly any chance to escape and the devotees kept falling on top of each other.

Most of the pontoon bridges out of 30 were closed due to Amrit Snan. Due to this, a crowd of lakhs gathered at Sangam. It is being said that since these bridges were closed, several devotees had to walk several kilometres and decided to stay and rest at the Sangam nose. This apparently led to crowd build-up.

Notably, some eyewitnesses have claimed that some anti-social elements with their faces covered and carrying red flags had deliberately pushed people.

Meanwhile, one witness Sarojini from Karnataka said, “We came in a batch of 60 people in two buses, we were nine people in the group. Suddenly there was pushing in the crowd, and we got trapped. A lot of us fell down and the crowd went out of control. There was no chance for escape, there was pushing from all sides.”

Another injured victim said, “There was nowhere to go. Some people who pushed us were laughing while we begged them for kindness towards the children.”

Meanwhile, some devotees who managed to come out of the stampede safely asserted that the administration was not at fault as they had built ghats at various locations, however, many among the devotees were adamant about taking the holy dip at the Sangam ghat.

Some of the survivors of the stampede also claimed that when the stampede occurred, the police and CISF officials took considerable time to reach and control the situation. Reports say that a CISF company was stationed in Sector Number 10 and when the stampede occurred, it took the team much time to reach Sector 3 from Sector 10.

As the politicisation of a tragedy begins, did the VIP movement cause the stampede?

On social media, several videos of devotees complaining about being stopped 15-20 kilometres away from the Mela area due to VIP movement compelling the common people to walk long distances for hours. The frequent VIP movements resulted in longer queues, reduced space for walking, and general inconvenience for the common people. The VIP visits of BJP MP Hema Malini, Yog Guru Baba Ramdev, some actors and bureaucratic VIPs are being widely criticised by the netizens.

The Mahakumbh stampede is now being used by the opposition parties as an opportunity to attack the state government which so far has managed the magnificent event quite well.

In this vein, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi insinuated that somehow the administration’s special focus on VIP movement caused the stampede. “The news of several people being killed and many being injured due to stampede at Prayagraj Mahakumbh is extremely sad. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and hope for the speedy recovery of the injured. Mismanagement, and administration’s special focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees are responsible for this tragic incident. There is still a lot of time left for the Maha Kumbh, many more Mahasnans are to take place. The government should improve the system to prevent a tragic incident like today from happening again. VIP culture should be curbed and the government should make better arrangements to meet the needs of common devotees…”

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav demanded that the Indian Army be handed over the administration and management of Mahakumbh instead of the state government. “In order to re-instil faith in the system among the saint community and devotees who have come to the Maha Kumbh, it is necessary that the administration and management of the MahaKumbh should be immediately handed over to the Army instead of the UP government and administration. Now that the truth behind the claims of ‘world-class system’ have been exposed, those who were making these claims and spreading false propaganda should take moral responsibility for the people killed in this accident and resign from their posts.”

Notably, When Akhilesh Yadav was the Uttar Pradesh CM during the 2013 Kumbh Mela, he had entrusted the Mela management to SP leader Azam Khan. That year, on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, 42 devotees died in a stampede at Prayagraj Railway Station. OpIndia published a detailed report on the SP government’s sheer mismanagement, underuse of Centre-allocated funds and rampant irregularities.

Similarly, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh also blamed the VIP culture as a major reason behind the massive crowd and stampede on Wednesday and said, “VIP culture is the main problem. Roads are being closed for VIP movement, causing chaos for the devotees.”

He claimed that the administration arrived at the Sangam Nose at about 1 am and began forcing people to take a holy dip adding that this created a stampede situation. “This created a stampede-like situation. My heart goes out to those affected. I appeal to the Chief Minister to immediately stop all VIP movements at the Maha Kumbh,” he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition-friendly ‘journalists’ also jumped on the bandwagon to attack the BJP government. In this vein, ‘journalist’ Sakshi Joshi wrote on X, “The administration was only busy serving the VIPs and Noida channels kept showing viral girl or IIT baba. If the media had not covered up the news of mismanagement, this stampede would not have happened and those people would have been alive today These are all the people responsible for their deaths.”

Similarly, ‘journalist’ Rohini Singh insinuated that the stampede happened due to ‘VIP management’ and said, “VIP vehicles will go, devotees will stay back. The VIPs will leave after taking a bath, the devotees will stay back, The media, which is calling the ‘VIP Management’ going on in the name of ‘traffic management’ as grand and divine, is still trying to cover up the tragic accident…This accident did not happen suddenly, the local residents present in Kumbh and Prayagraj were raising questions on this system every day.”

While it is undeniable that political and non-political VIP movement has caused significant distress to common people and resulted in crowded conditions in the Kumbh Kshetra, it was not essentially the reason behind the late-night stampede. In fact, DIG Vaibhav Krishna said that on the day of Mauni Amavasya, neither any VIP protocol was in place nor special passes were issued to any VIP.

The Mahakumbh stampede occurred at around 1-2 am, and at that time, there was no VIP movement ongoing and the crowd present at the Sangam nose, including those already sleeping, were waiting for the auspicious Brahma Muhurat to take the holy dip. The crowd of devotees there was not pushed or diverted to the Sangam Nose to facilitate any VIP movement.

In fact, a special zonal plan was brought up by the Prayagraj Mela Authority. It was decided that devotees would take holy dip at the nearest ghats within the Kumbh Kshetra instead of rushing to the Triveni Sangam Nose.  

For better crowd management on Mauni Amavasya, specific ghats and routes were designated for devotees in specific regions. Pilgrims coming from Kanpur were to be allowed to the Sangam Nose, those from Lucknow and Prayagraj were to bathe at Dashashmedh Ghat and others were to be directed to Nagvasuki, Rasulabad, and Phaphamau Ghats. Devotees from Mirzapur and Madhya Pradesh were to bathe at ghats near Arail Triveni Pushp and their movement to Sangam Nose was restricted.

Most importantly, nearly a week before the Mauni Amavasya, the Uttar Pradesh government had declared that the Mahakumbh area in Prayagraj would be a no-vehicle and no VIP zone from 27th to 30th January.

In this regard, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Vaibhav Krishna had said, “No vehicle movement will be allowed in the Kumbh area from January 27 to January 30. Also, no VIP protocol will be followed on these days.”

While the exact reason behind the deadly stampede will only be discovered in the findings of the judicial inquiry when the stampede happened there were No VIPs present and no VIP movement was scheduled. The unfortunate incident unfolded due to the overwhelming crowd size and desperation of the devotees to bathe at the auspicious muhurat rather than due to the administration’s supposed ‘special focus’ on VIPs. This, however, does not absolve the authorities of their responsibility for the tragedy that claimed around 30 innocent lives.

The Congress party, Samajwadi Party and the anti-BJP ecosystem’s swift pivot to blame the stampede on the administration’s supposed unwarranted focus on VIP visitors despite the stampede’s occurrence at a time when there was no VIP activity, comes across as an opprobrious tactic of exploiting tragedies for political gains. This political opportunism, however, adds to the panic caused by the tragedy rather than serving any genuine purpose of helping those affected.

Rajasthan HC directs State and Central authorities to set up competent authority for registration of live-in relationships

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan HC directs State and Central authorities to set up competent authority for registration of live-in relationships

The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and the State legislatures to formulate a procedure for the registration of live-in relationships. A single-judge bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand issued direction in this regard to the state government and the Union Social Welfare and Justice secretary seeking compliance by March 1.

“Let the copy of this order be sent to the Chief Secretary, State of Rajasthan, Principal Secretary, Department of Law and Justice as well as to the Secretary, Department of Justice and Social Welfare, New Delhi to look into the matter for doing the needful exercise for compliance of the order/direction issued by this court. They are further directed to send a compliance report to this court on or before 01.01.2025 and apprise by this court about the steps being taken by them”, the court directed.

In the absence of legislation, the court directed the establishment of a competent authority for the registration of live-in relationships

Justice Dhand issued the direction during the hearing of a writ petition filed by a married woman in a live-in relationship from Fatehabad, Haryana seeking protection. The judge suggested the establishment of a competent authority for the registration of live-in relationships till legislation is introduced by the government in this regard.

“The live-in relationship agreement is liable to be registered by the competent authority/tribunal, which is required to be established by the Government. Till the enactment of the appropriate legislation by the Government, let competent authority be established in each district of the state to look into the matter of registration of such live-in relationships, who will address and redress the grievances of such partners/couples who have entered in such relationship and the children being born out therefrom. Let a website or web portal be launched in this regard for redressal of the issue arising out of such relationship,” Justice Dhand said.

The court noted that conflicting views have been expressed by various single benches in similar matters. Therefore, the judge referred to a larger bench of the High Court to decide whether married persons entering live-in relationships without dissolving their marriage are entitled to seek protection orders from the court.

Female partners suffer in such relationships: HC

Noting the growing number of live-in relationships in the country, the court emphasised the requirement of legislation to deal with such relationships. “The need of the hour is to take a step to bring out a law or enact new legislation which would look into the matter of live-in relationships and would grant rights and impose obligations on the part of the couple in such relationships. A separate legislation should be competent enough to grant assistance to the children and female partners who become sufferers in such relationship,” the court remarked.

The Uttarakhand UCC provides for the registration of live-in relationship

The Uniform Civil Code recently implemented in Uttarakhand lays down the framework for the registration of live-in relationships in the state. Twelve sections from sections 378 to 389 in Part -3 of the Uttarakhand UCC deal with matters relating to the registration of live-in relationships and the status of children born out of such relationships.

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