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Jammu and Kashmir administration hands over Rs 20 lakh relief to the family of martyred sarpanch Ajay Pandita

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir administration hands over Rs 20 lakh relief to the family of martyred sarpanch Ajay Pandita

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday handed over an ex-gratia relief of Rs 20 lakh to the family of the sarpanch Ajay Pandita Bharti who was gunned down by terrorists in South Kashmir on June 8.

According to the reports, the Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Girish Chandra Murmu interacted with the family members of Ajay Pandita Bharti and extended his deepest sympathies to them.

The Lt Governor also paid homage to Ajay Pandita and observed that the supreme sacrifice made by him will always be remembered and hoped that perpetrators of such dastardly act would realize their follies and desist from committing a crime against humanity.

Assuring full support from the Jammu and Kashmir Government, the Lt Governor handed also over the ex-gratia relief to the family of martyred Sarpanch.

The relief amounting to Rs 20 lakh includes Rs 5 lakh from SRE fund, Rs 1 lakh from the J&K government, Rs 4 lakh from Lt Governor Relief Fund, and Rs 10 lakh out of Panchayat Welfare Fund.

Ajay Pandita shot dead by terrorists

A Kashmiri Pandit Sarpanch was shot dead on Monday by terrorists in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress Sarpanch of Lokbowan Larkipora, identified as Ajay Pandita, was fired upon by the terrorists who later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.

According to the police sources, the sarpanch had gone to work in his orchard when he was attacked by the terrorists. The area has been cordoned off soon after the shooting.

Do not consider offering asylum to Vijay Mallya: Indian government has told the UK

OpIndia Staff
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Do not consider offering asylum to Vijay Mallya: Indian government has told the UK

The Indian government has requested the government of the United Kingdom to refrain from giving asylum to fugitive liquor Barron Vijay Mallya. The spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava while briefing the media through video conference has informed that Indian authorities have been in touch with UK authorities for the earliest extradition of Vijay Mallya.

Srivastava said, “We have been in touch with the UK authorities for the early extradition of Vijay Mallya. We have also requested the UK side not to consider asylum to Vijay Mallya if requested by him.”

Vijay Mallya has applied for asylum in the UK in order to avoid extradition to India and face serious charges of fraud and money laundering.

Reportedly, the government has been in touch with the UK government in order to extradite the fugitive businessman who was disallowed in the month of may to appeal against his extradition to India to face the Indian judiciary.

Mallya’s appeal against extradition

Mallya has been fighting a legal battle in the UK against the India government’s efforts to extradite him. Last month, he had also filed an appeal in the United Kingdom Supreme court after he lost the appeal in London High court against his extradition orders to India by the Central government.

As per reports, Mallya has lost the application to appeal against his extradition to India in the U.K Supreme Court. The final decision on Mallya’s extradition will be taken by British Home Secretary Preeti Patel.

Vijay Mallya is wanted by investigating agencies in India on the charges of Money Laundering, Fraud, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). His Kingfisher airlines owes around ₹9000 crores of debt to creditors, and the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) has attached a significant amount of properties belonging to Vijay Mallya.

Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, major US papers received millions to run Chinese propaganda: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, major US papers received millions to run Chinese propaganda: Reports

China Daily, a propaganda outlet of the Chinese government, has reportedly paid $19 million to American newspapers in advertisement and printing charges in the past 4 years. The story came to light, amidst growing concerns about US dailies giving intellectual cover fire to Beijing.

As per the documents filed by China Daily with the Justice Department, the Communist party mouthpiece had paid over $6 million to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), $4.6 million to the Washington Post, $2,40,000 to Foreign Policy, $50,000 to the New York Times, $34,600 to The Des Moines Register and $76,000 to CQ-Roll Call.

Besides, spending $11 million in advertising on prominent US papers, China Daily shelled out an additional $7.6 million to The Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Boston Globe for printing copies of its own paper. For instance, the Los Angeles Times reportedly received $657,523 for printing services. The Communist party-mouthpiece had also spent $2,65,822 on advertising on Twitter.

US Newspapers push Chinese propaganda

As a part of its extensive media campaign to alter the global perception and silence the critics of the Communist Party of China (CCP), the State media has been covertly promoting its stories in foreign newspapers. In September 2018, US President Donald Trump questioned how China placed ‘propaganda ads’ in Des Moines Register and other US-based papers such that it resembled ‘real news.’ Reportedly, both Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal carried ‘paid supplements’ of China Daily titled China Watch.

In 2018, both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran a sponsored news item titled, “Belt and Road align with African nations.” The same news story was accompanied with another story, critical of the Trump administration. It read, “Tariffs to take a toll on U.S. homebuyers.” The news item emphasised how rise in US tariffs on China would raise the cost of building homes in the US. China’s attempt to use foreign papers as a tool to further its interests had been pointed out by organisation such as the Freedom House, Hoover Institution, and other pro-democracy groups.

China Daily under watch by US Justice Department

As per reports, in the US, China Daily is registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as well as a Foreign Mission of the Communist regime. As such, it has been under the watch of the US Justice Department for years. China Daily had to compulsorily disclose its spending half-yearly under the rules of FARA. The recent filing done of June 1 revealed a detailed breakdown of expenditure incurred on advertising in US papers between November 2016 and April 2020.

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, China Daily has been the subject of fierce scrutiny. While the Chinese government officials had blamed the Coronavirus outbreak on the US, the Communist party mouthpiece had also parroted the same talking points. However, its advertising had decreased in recent months, as seen in the FARA records. While the last payment made to the Washington Post was in December 2019, China Daily had paid less than half of its average advertising charges to the Wall Street Journal since February 2020.

US papers spew hatred against India

The same US papers who had received funds from China Daily had also spread anti-India narrative through fake news and misleading op-eds. For instance, following the Balakot airstrike, the New York Times published an article titled, “After India Loses Dogfight to Pakistan, Questions Arise About Its ‘Vintage’ Military.” The writer Maria Abi-Habib had carefully omitted some facts and indulged in pushing a false narrative that projected Indian Armed Forces in a poor light.

From India’s economy to elections, politics and demographics, these American publications have been found running constant anti-India propaganda on several issues.

The Washington Post, run by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and repeatedly labelled as fake news by Donald Trump, had earlier made several sweeping statements about hate crimes in India. The publication argued that hate crime was rising in India since Narendra Modi came to power, and victims of such hate crimes were overwhelmingly Muslims, while the perpetrators are mostly Hindus. The story was not based on official data or primary survey but instead on a defunct fake hate tracker named India Spend.

Delhi: Mob attacks Inderlok police station, opens fire at police personnel, Sadkeen, Ashkeen and Shahrukh arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Mob attacks Inderlok police station, opens fire at police personnel, Sadkeen, Ashkeen and Shahrukh arrested

A police officer and a few others were injured at Inderlok in New Delhi after a violent mob attacked the police officials and also opened fired at the station. The station in-charge suffered injuries and was admitted to the hospital.

According to the reports, the incident took place on Wednesday night when the accused barged into the police station to see three of their aides who were detained by the police for looting a bakery in the area.

As per the Indian Express report, a person named Akhlaq, who runs a bakery in Inderlok was harassed by the shop owner’s son Sadkeen and his brothers on Wednesday night. According to Akhlaq, Sadkeen and his aides had some food but were not ready to pay. When Akhlaq refused to give him the food, the group looted the shop and thrashed the shopkeeper.

Following this incident, Akhlaq registered a complaint in the Inderlok police station, which stated that Sadkeen and his brothers beat him up and also looted his shop.

Mob barges into the police station, opens fire at police personnel

The police detained Sadkeen and his other brothers at the police chowki for questioning where the accused got aggressive and picked up a fight with the police personnel. Later, their associates came to the police station with sticks, batons and also pelted stones. A person identified as Naved open fired at the chowki.

The CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media on Thursday.

According to the police, the Sub-Inspector Pankaj also fired two rounds in the air in self-defence, to scare the violent mob away. One police official was injured during the incident. He was later rushed to the hospital.

The Delhi police, however, nabbed Sadkeen and his two aides Ashkeen and Shahrukh. Naved, who had opened fire managed to escape with five to six others. The police have begun the search to arrest the remaining accused, said Monika Bhardwaj, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), North district.

Fact check: Dalits beaten, tonsured, paraded with shoes around their neck by upper caste men in Lucknow’s Barauli? Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Fact check: Dalits beaten, tonsured, paraded with shoes around their neck by upper caste men in Lucknow’s Barauli? Here is the truth

A day after claims made by various media houses and ‘journalists’ that a Dalit boy was shot dead by upper caste men for ‘praying in a temple’ was fact-checked, social media was once again abuzz with reports of another caste-based atrocity story. On Thursday, there were some reports that three Dalits were tied up, beaten, forcefully tonsured and paraded around with shoes hung around their necks in Lucknow’s Barauli Khalilabad village after they were caught stealing from a house of a ‘Brahmin man’ on June 4.

Sharing a report by The Quint, the usual suspects once again descended on the microblogging site and within no time, started sharing the ‘Dalit Lives Matter’ hashtag extensively.

Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan was amongst the first to join the bandwagon.

Kashmiri journalist Raqib Hameed Naik, who also writes for portals like The Wire and The Caravan too piped in, also claiming that there has been a ‘sudden surge’ in upper-caste brutalities against Dalits during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Many other people had too flagged the issue on Twitter, sharing the same source of course- The Quint.

The Quint’s report

The Quint, had, in its article dated June 11, titled: “Dalit Men Beaten, Paraded With Shoes Hung Around Their Neck in UP” quoted PGI police station in-charge KK Mishra as confirming that in the incident that happened on 4 June, three men – one belonging to the OBC and the other two belonging to Scheduled Castes were tied up, beaten, forcefully tonsured and paraded around with shoes hung around their necks in Lucknow’s Barauli Khalilabad village after they were allegedly caught stealing a fan from a house of a ‘Brahmin man’.

The article published by The Quint

The Quint mentioned that Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad had shared the video of the incident and tweeted saying “it was a reminder of the Una flogging incident.”

News18 Bengala also reported the same incident with the similar casteist angle.

Police clarify there was no caste angle, accused were from both upper and lower castes

However, like the Amroha incident, these claims are also not true. Lucknow police have clarified that the unfortunate incident had nothing to do with caste bias but it was a case of theft. The Lucknow police said that on that day there were two incidents reported from the village. In the first incident, some thieves were caught red-handed by the villagers with the stolen goods. The thieves were from both upper and lower caste, contrary to the claims made by these media portals that they were all Dalits.

The villagers who had caught them red-handed, had in a fit of rage, beaten them up and shaved off their heads. The Lucknow police confirmed that cases have been lodged against the accused as well as the villagers who tonsured and beat up the accused.

The police confirmed that two villagers, who were amongst those who have beaten up and tonsured the accused have already been arrested. The police were in the lookout for the rest of the villagers who engaged in the incident. The statement also stated that even the people who had beaten up and paraded the thieves were from multiple castes, contrary to what was reported in the above-mentioned reports.

Casteist spin in the Amroha incident

Yesterday, media had attempted to give another crime a similar casteist spin. Various leftist media houses had claimed that a Dalit boy was allegedly killed by upper caste men for praying in a temple.

In fact, The Quint has made reference to this particular Amroha incident in its today’s report as well, particularly to draw an equivalence between both the incidents. The Quint, in fact, wanted to prove that in both the cases the victims were Dalits, who had been tortured or attacked by upper-caste men, trying to create a narrative that the incidents were cases of caste-based atrocity.

The Amroha police had, however, dispelled the rumours yesterday and also taken to Twitter to call out the lies spread by ‘The Wire’ journalist Arfa Khanum and forwarded the matter to the cyber cell to initiate necessary action against her.

Journalist sent by Shekhar Gupta to Assam quarantined after testing Coronavirus positive, angry Gupta claims Assam has locked up journalists for ever

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist sent by Shekhar Gupta to Assam quarantined after testing Coronavirus positive, angry Gupta claims Assam has locked up journalists for ever

Responding to serious allegations levelled by senior journalist Shekhar Gupta against the Assam government, Assam senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has informed that one of the journalists working for The Print was kept in quarantine in Assam because she has tested positive for Coronavirus. The Finance, Health, Education and PWD minister of Assam informed the same to rebut claims of Shekhar Gupta that Assam has locked up two of the visiting journalists ‘for ever’.

Today Shekhar Gupta posted a series of tweets levelling serious allegations over handling of journalists in Assam. While responding to a tweet that Assam has much better rate of Coronavirus test than Kerala, the Editors Guild President claimed that “Assam’s counts have the same credibility as China’ if journalists coming from outside are systematically prevented from reporting in the state”.

screenshot of tweets by Shekhar Gupta

When one person asked why he is not grilling the man running the whole operation in the fight against Coronavirus in Assam, i.e., Himanta Biswa Sarma, Gupta replied that he had sent two reporters precisely for this, but both locked up forever, he claimed. “No part of the world follows these rules, not even China,” he added.

Shekhar Gupta claimed that article 370 has moved from Assam and Telangana, and both the states are making their own rules. He said this while quoting a tweet by reporter Jayanta Kalita, associate editor of Hindustan Times and former associate editor of Shekhar Gupta’s The Print, where he informed that he has been asked home quarantine for 14 days after he spent 8 days institutional quarantine. Kalita asked what is the logic behind the 22 days quarantine, claiming that the norm is 7 days institutional quarantine and 7 days home quarantine.

Based on this claim, Shekhar Gupta went on to compare Assam with China and made serious allegations of locking journalists for ever and saying that Assam’s Coronavirus numbers are not credible.

But soon it turned out that the claims made by Shekhar Gupta and his journalists are fake, as Himanta Biswa Sarma took to Twitter to inform that one of the two journalists who visited Assam was ordered quarantine because she tested positive for Coronavirus. And the other journalist was allowed after due diligence.

Sarma informed that his government can’t let the journalist who has tested Coronavirus positive go before the mandatory quarantine period as notified by the govt. ‘If a small state like Assam is trying to protect its citizen from COVID, why are you angry Shekhar Gupta Ji’, the minister asked.

It may be noted that Shekhar Gupta’s claim that Assam’s coronavirus numbers are not credible because one Coronavirus positive journalist was ordered mandatory quarantine has no base. The fact that Assam is handling the Coronavirus extremely well is even acknowledged by his political rivals like Badaruddin Ajmal, and the left-oriented section of the local media which was vocal against the BJP government over CAA has not questioned the numbers.

Assam’s total Coronavirus cases were under 100 before the migrants were allowed to travel to home states over demands by states like Maharashtra and Delhi. Since then, the number has crossed 3000, but the majority of them, over 90%, have been reported from migrants kept in quarantine centres. This means, over 90% of coronavirus cases in Assam came from outside the state, as the samples of the migrants were collected at the time registration before sending them to quarantine centres. Because Assam govt is imposing the quarantine rules very strictly, the pandemic has not spread widely in the community level like some other states.

The claim that quarantine rule is 14 days and there is no rule for 22 days quarantine is also not correct. Assam is following a 28 days quarantine rule for contacts of known positive cases, as they are in the high-risk group. The same is followed by several other states too. Therefore, the health authorities decide the quarantine period for an individual based on the risk assessment of that person, and it is not uniform for all people.

Till now neither the opposition parties nor the traditional anti-BJP media questioned Assam’s handling of Coronavirus, but today Shekhar Gupta went on to compare it with China claiming the numbers are not credible just because the state govt followed the rules to contain the spread of Coronavirus by quarantining a Coronavirus patient, who happens to be a journalist working for Shekhar Gupta.

Delhi University professor Wali Akhtar dies of coronavirus, family and colleagues allege he was denied bed by many hospitals

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi University professor Wali Akhtar dies of coronavirus, family and colleagues allege he was denied bed by many hospitals

A professor of the Delhi University succumbed to coronavirus on Tuesday evening. Wali Akhtar used to teach Arabic at Delhi University, and was a former head of the department. His family and colleagues at the university haves alleged that the professor could not get a bed in any of the Delhi and Noida hospitals despite showing Covid-19 symptoms.

As per reports, he was finally admitted to a hospital in Jamia Nagar where he succumbed to the disease. The elder brother of Akhtar said that the professor complained of breathlessness and chest pain. He said, “We took him to a prominent hospital in Noida. My brother was in pain, but the hospital refused his admission claiming lack of beds.”

Wali Akhtar’s colleague and former president of Delhi University Teacher’s Association, Professor Aditya Narayan Mishra told media that Akhtar had gone to seven prominent hospitals in Delhi, and all of them had denied him admission despite having Coronavirus symptoms. Had he received treatment on time, he would be alive today, he said.

Sharma said that Wali Akhtar was finally admitted at a hospital at Jamia, and his report came at 4 PM informing that he is Coronavirus positive, and he died at 6.30 PM. ‘What is the point of such testing,’ he asked.

On being asked about the allegations, the hospital simply denied and said, “It is impossible that we wouldn’t cater to any patients who came to us.” Akhtar was also allegedly denied testing in some of the South Delhi hospitals.

Public relations officer of AlShifa hospital, Marghoob Zaidi said that the patient was admitted under the suspicion of coronavirus infection as he was also suffering from pneumonia. He was confirmed positive of the coronavirus but hours later he died.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal reserved state and government hospitals for residents of Delhi

In a controversial decision, the chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal has announced that the Delhi Government hospitals will only treat patients that are residents of Delhi. He added that private hospitals, except those hospitals where special surgeries are performed which are not available in other parts of the country, have also been ordered not to admit patients from other states.

However, the decision was turned over by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal. He instructed departments and officials of NCT of Delhi to ensure that no patient is denied treatment on the grounds of his/her domicile so that people who approach Delhi hospitals seeking treatment from outside the national capital are not turned away. The move is set to bring relief to patients and their families from outside Delhi who are seeking treatment during the coronavirus pandemic.

West Bengal: Video of ‘unclaimed decomposed dead bodies’ dragged by KMC goes viral, authorities claim they did not die of coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Video of ‘unclaimed decomposed dead bodies’ dragged by KMC goes viral, authorities claim they did not die of coronavirus

A video has gone viral on social media with claims that the civic workers of the Kolkata Municipal corporation were dragging out decomposed bodies from the Garia crematorium after local residents protested of bad odour. Social media users have also alleged that these rotten bodies seen being pulled out with ropes, were those of Covid patients.

Video of unclaimed decomposed body being dragged in Kolkata goes viral on social media

Sharing the un-dated video on the microblogging site Twitter, ABP News journalist Vikas Bhaduria also claimed that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation brought 13 decomposed bodies to Garia crematorium to burn them, but they had to take them back after locals objected due to the foul smell these rotten dead bodies were emitting.

Locals claimed that there is only one chimney inside the premises and burning so many decomposed bodies at a time the city is facing Covid-19 outbreak could be detrimental.

NRS called the subject of viral video fake, writes to Kolkata Police Commissioner

Soon after this video went viral, West Bengal Government-run NRS medical College Principal wrote to the Kolkata Police Commissioner calling the subject of the video in circulation “fake”. In the letter, Saibal Kumar Mukherjee, the Principal of NRS medical college said that he was writing the letter to bring to the notice of Kolkata Police that “a video clip has gone viral on social media showing “decomposed bodies being disposed of NRS morgue and the video claims that these are bodies of Covid patients being disposed of furtively.”

NRS called the subject of viral video fake, writes to Kolkata Police Commissioner (image courtesy: Times Now)

Calling the subject of the viral video, fake, Mukherjee wrote: “The fact is 14 unclaimed bodies were being handed over to the KMC authority as per list given by different Police Stations of our Morgue’s jurisdiction. NRS principal added, “none of these bodies was of Covid patients.” Although the letter didn’t refute the claim that bodies were decomposed and were emitting foul smell.

Times Now has quoted Joint CP (Crime), Murli Dhar, as saying: “We have received a letter from Health Department where they have informed us that bodies were basically unidentified/unclaimed bodies. Hospital, as per protocol, sends such bodies for cremation after a period of 15 days if no claimant comes forward.”

“In an order dated 29th May, Kolkata Municipality had given directives to cremate unclaimed dead bodies in Garia Adi Mahasasan furnace number 4, while Dhapa will be exclusively used for cremating Covid-19 Hindu corpse”, read the Kolkata Municipal Corporation order dated May 29, 2020.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation order copy (image courtesy: Times Now)

West Bengal Minister and KMC Board of Administrators’ Chairman Firhad Hakim said the bodies were not of Covid patients. He added that, so far, unclaimed bodies were being cremated in Dhapa but since that infrastructure is being used for COVID-19 fatalities, crematoriums in Kalighat and Garia are being used for unclaimed bodies.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar who had earlier sought a report on the issue from the Home Secretary and expressed anguish at disposal of dead bodies, has now slammed the West Bengal government for misusing the state police for ‘teaching a lesson’ to those who exposed it rather than “booking those responsible for such inhuman criminality”.

Days after Aakar Patel gave call to violence asking Muslims and Dalits to carry out US like protests in India, his Twitter account is withheld

OpIndia Staff
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Days after Aakar Patel gave call to violence asking Muslims and Dalits to carry out US like protests in India, his Twitter account is withheld

Days after journalist and ex-Amnesty India head Aakar Patel gave a call to violence on Twitter, his account is withheld by the social networking giant.

Aakar Patel account withheld

“Aakar Patel’s account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand” the landing page of his profile said. Earlier this week, an FIR was filed against him for saying that Muslims and Dalits should do protests like the ongoing protests in the USA againat George Floyd killing.

On 31st May, while quoting a tweet by Colorado Times Recorder featuring a video of thousands of people protesting in Capitol in Colorado, Aakar Patel had tweeted that India Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, women and poor also need to do protests like these. “We need protests like these. From Dalits and Muslims and Adivasis. And the poor. And women. World will notice. Protest is a craft,” he had tweeted.

Aakar Patel’s tweet

The complaint filed by Nagaraja said that Patel called on minorities, backward, poor and women to stage protests like the one seen in the video. He said that several people had objected to Patel’s tweet.

Aakar Patel has been booked under IPC sections 505(1)(b) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility), 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 117 (Abetting commission of offence by the public or by more than ten persons).

Although the video posted by Aakar Patel showed a peaceful protest, the ongoing protests in the United States have been marked by widescale violence, rioting, arson and looting. The killing of African American George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis had led to nationwide protests, which soon descended into violence and riots. Protesters have attacked police teams and burnt police vehicles, looted retails stores, and burnt down houses and public places, including historic places. Several left-liberals have been calling for similar violent protests by Muslims in India. As a result, security agencies have become vigilant about such posts promoting violence in India in the line of violence in US.

Amnesty India

Amnesty India, an organisation Patel headed till some months back, defended the violent mobs and rioters of anti-CAA protests and even started a petition claiming India is curbing ‘freedom of expression’. Similarly, one Karthik Navayan, a human rights activist who was associated with Amnesty International India as per his Twitter bio back in 2018, had advocated violence against Brahmins in a tweet.

Amnesty India is currently under scanner for violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) laws.

Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party leader Javed Siddiqui and 34 others arrested over setting Dalit houses on fire in Jaunpur, CM Yogi invokes NSA

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party leader Javed Siddiqui and 34 others arrested over setting Dalit houses on fire in Jaunpur, CM Yogi invokes NSA

Samajwadi Party leader Javed Siddiqui and 34 others have been arrested over setting ablaze the houses of Dalits in the Dalit Basti of a village in Jaunpur. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the authorities to invoke the stringent National Security Act against the perpetrators.

As per reports On June 9, a minor argument among the children turned into a deadly communal clash in a village of Jaunpur, that led the destruction of more than a dozen houses that were owned by Dalits after they were was set blazed. Massive damage was caused to the scheduled caste community. Even the domesticated animals were not spared. Reportedly, three goats and one buffalo were burned alive.

Cause of the communal clash

As per reports, children from the scheduled caste community in the Bhadethi village took their buffalo to graze in a field near a pond where the children from the Muslim community were also grazing their goats. Reportedly, while grazing the buffalo hit the goat that led to a minor quarrel among the group of children.

The children get back to their homes and narrated the story to their parents. As a result, the people from the Muslim community went to the Dalit locality armed with sticks and rods. After the exchange of words, three men Nabib, Lareb and Habib got injured. At the same time, Aftab aka Hitler, who is also the husband of the Village head, came to resolve the argument.

Around 8 pm, some 100 people from the other village raided the Dalit locality again and attacked the locals in which three Dalit men- Ravi, Atul, and Pawan were injured. The assailants started burning the houses. Many people including Nandlal, Nebulal, Rajaram, Jitendra, Sewlal lost their belongings along with their shelters.

On being informed, the Sarai Khwaja police station house officer reached the spot along with his personnel. The SHO called more cops later sensing that the trouble is big.

Jaunpur DM DK Singh and SP Ashok Kumar reached the spot and later other senior officials including Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Deepak Agarwal and IG range VS Meena came to review the situation.

The police force surrounded the Dalit Basti and admitted the injured people to the district hospital. A 16-year old boy was rushed to the Varanasi hospital after being reported as a critical case.

CM Yogi took cognizance

UP CM Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the incident and ordered the police officials to invoke the Gangster Act and slam NSA on the culprits- Noor Alam and Javed Siddiqui. The CM also called for strict action against the SHO of the local police station as he failed to control the situation.

According to Varanasi IG VS Meena, 35 people were arrested in connection with the clashes including Samajwadi Party leader Javed Siddiqui. A heavy police force is deployed in Dalit Basti while a team of police has camped inside the village to assess the amount of loss.

The local police registered FIR against 58 people of the Muslim community under the sections of the Indian Penal Code and SC/ST atrocities act. A case is also lodged against 100 unidentified people in connection with the arson.

Adityanath directed the concerned authorities to compensate the victim with the financial assistance of 1 lakh each to those whose houses and belongings were burnt. They are also ordered to allot accommodation to them under the CM housing scheme to the victim.

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