On Friday, the Delhi Court rejected the bail plea of Shahrukh Pathan, the anti-CAA rioter who opened fire at police personnel on February 24 after violence broke out in the North-East Delhi areas.
Dismissing the bail plea, Additional Session Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra said, “The right to protest is a fundamental right in a democracy but the right of peaceful protest and open criticism of government policies does not extend to disturb the public order.”
Earlier on May 6, the Karkardooma court had issued a notice to the Delhi Police and listed the matter for Friday.
During the proceedings, Special Public Prosecutor DK Bhatia appearing for Delhi Police vehemently opposed the bail application and submitted to the court that Pathan was the one who led the mob in the area. He urged the court not to grant bail as the investigation is still going on.
Counsel Asghar Khan representing Pathan had sought the bail contending that there was a delay in lodging of FIR and on the grounds that overcrowding in jails which posed a higher risk of catching coronavirus. Khan sought bail claiming that the accused has clean antecedents and charge-sheet has already been filed in the case.
Shahrukh Pathan – one of the first to be arrested in connection with anti-Hindu riots
On the 3rd of March, Shahrukh Pathan was arrested for his role in the riots. The Delhi Police had registered the first FIR in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots case and named Shahrukh Pathan for his role in the riots. Shahrukh was one of the first persons to be arrested during the anti-Hindu riots.
The police had also named Kaleem Ahmad and Ishtiyak Mallik for aiding Pathan on the spot and sheltering him. A weapon was also recovered from Pathan with two live rounds. The police have lodged 48 cases and two SITs constituted by the Crime Branch are probing into it.
The Delhi police had also established that the Islamist shooter was in constant touch with the members of the Chenu gang. The semi-automatic 7.65-bore pistol used by Shahrukh was made in Bihar and was procured by him about two years ago.
Reportedly, Shahrukh was given shelter in Bareilly by one of the friends of his father who is also allegedly a drug supplier.
Shahrukh, son of a drug peddler
The initial investigations had revealed that Shahrukh’s father, Shawar Pathan, who came to Delhi in 1985, is also a criminal and has several cases registered against him on charges of drug peddling and smuggling fake currency notes. He had, in fact, been released on bail just three days ahead of Shahrukh’s shooting incident during the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi’s Maujpur area in broad daylight on 24 February.
The father was reportedly born as a Sikh who had later converted to Islam for marrying a Muslim woman. According to reports, Shahrukh’s mother also is said to be a notorious drug peddler.
Anti-Hindu riots in Delhi
On the day of US President Donald Trump’s visit to India, the national capital had witnessed unprecedented violence. A Delhi police constable has lost his life in the riots that have ensued in the national capital in wake of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Another DCP has been injured during clashes in Delhi’s Gokulpuri.
The anti-CAA riots turned communal in Delhi resulting in severe violence on the streets of Delhi. The anti-Hindu riots that engulfed the streets of Delhi have resulted in deaths of around 53 persons and more than 250 people sustained injuries in the violence. An IB official, Ankit Sharma, was brutally murdered and his dead body was thrown in a drain.
An eyewitness to the blood-curdling lynching of two Palghar Sadhu’s and their driver has made shocking revelations, which throws the spotlight on the gross negligence of the Maharashtra police in handling the entire incident.
According to News Nation, the dead bodies of the 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maharaj and 35-year-old Sushil Giri Maharaj along with their driver 30-year-old Nilesh Telgade, lied unclaimed on the road, after the blood-thirsty mob lynched them brutally, for over 9 hours. The Sadhu’s and the driver had died at around 11-11.30 pm but the police took the bodies for post mortem only the next morning around 9 am, said the report. Moreover, the police escaped the crime scene after the lynching and did not return the entire night to check on the dead bodies of the two Sadhus and their driver, which lied on the road unattended for the entire night.
News Nation’s consulting editor Deepak Chaurasia has disclosed this by citing the statemnt of the Forest Guard present there at the time of the incident.
पालघर संतों की क्रूर और निर्मम हत्या के बाद उनकी देह 9 घंटे तक सड़क पर लावारिस पड़ी रही।दरअसल पुलिस वाले हत्या के बाद भाग खड़े हुए थे। रात भर ड्राइवर और दो संतों की हत्या के बाद भी पुलिस ने सुध नहीं ली। #PalgharLynching के चश्मदीद फॉरेस्ट गार्ड ने ये बात @NewsNationTV से कही है।
He claimed, “After the brutal and ruthless killing of Palghar saints, their bodies remained unclaimed on the road for 9 hours. Actually the police escaped after the gruesome murder.” The police did not come back to see what happened to the dead bodies. It kept lying unclaimed the entire night. They came back only the next morning to take the dead bodies for an autopsy”.
News Nation claims that they have been investigating the Palghar mob lynching case very closely. The media house claims that the brutal murder of the Hindu sadhus wasn’t an act of spontaneity but was a part of a broader conspiracy to eliminate the Hindu saints. The Tribal inhabitants of the village were routinely ‘brainwashed’ by the leftists. This hatred for Hindu’s imbibed in the tribal inhabitant’s minds became the sole reason for this brutal lynching, claims News Nation.
Every day, new revelations are being made in the Palghar mob lynching case. Still, there are many questions which remain unanswered.
This disclosure, however, compels people to think- why the policemen who handed over the sadhus to the crowd did not take care of their dead bodies even after the murder? Why did they think of post mortem in the morning almost 9 hours after the gruesome murder?
Palghar Mob Lynching incident
On 16th April 2020, two Sadhus associated with the Juna Akhara, 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. At Gadakchinchale village, a wild and frenzied crowd of over more than 100 people attacked them. The villagers deemed them as thieves and started attacking them. The police claim that their team which had rushed to the spot to rescue the 70-year-old man also came under the attack of the violent mob.
But later videos emerged which completely debunked the claim of police, as it was seen that the sadhus were in the custody of the police, but the police personnel handed them over to the mob. The mob then proceeded them to beat them to death in front of the policemen.
A case has been registered against Jamia Millia Islamia University student Mahoor Parvez in Bulandshahr in UP on Thursday for referring the martyred Indian soldiers in Handwara encounter on Sunday as ‘war criminals’. According to the reports, the 22-year-old student was booked on the basis of a complaint filed by a Bajrang Dal office-bearer named Praveen Bhati. The case was filed in Bulandshahr’s Khurja police station.
The FIR stated that Mahoor Parvez, through her Instagram post last Sunday, “tried to sow seeds of acrimony among different sections of society.”
Praveen Bhati, a lawyer and Seh Sanyojak of the Bajrang Dal’s Bulandshahr unit said, “While our soldiers are laying down their lives for the country, some elements within our nation who have their vested interests to serve are maligning their sacrifice.We will not tolerate such anti-national activities and will take to the streets if she was not arrested by the police soon”.
Complaints against Mahoor Parvez were also filed by advocates Manoj Kumar, Dinesh Yadav, Aman Shokeen, Sakshi Goel, Suchitra Kaintura, Priyanka Singh, Jyoti Verma, Pranav Bhaskar with the Cyber Police station in Delhi, saying that the comments of Mahoor not only hurts sentiments of families of martyred soldiers and police personnel, but it is also a seditious act against the nation. The advocates asked to action against him under various sections of IPC and IT Act.
Complaint filed against Ms. Mahoor Parvez for insulting our martyred soldiers by calling them war criminals pic.twitter.com/KWHnflAA55
The police said that an FIR has been registered against Parvez under non-bailable IPC sections 505-b (Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the state or against the public tranquillity), 505-2 (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes) and the relevant sections of the IT Act.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Jamia Millia also wrote to the vice chancellor of the university against Parvez for refering to security forces as war criminals. They have asked for strict disciplinary action against the student immediately.
Anti-India posts by Jamia student Mahoor Parvez
After the tragic death of five soldiers of the Indian Army during an encounter with the terrorists, Mahoor Parvez had taken to social media to spew venom against the Indian Army soldiers by comparing with war criminals. Taking to Instagram, Parvez had claimed that the Indian forces had illegally occupied and committed human rights violations in Kashmir for over 70 years.
“Why are you all obsessed with glorifying war criminals? These forces have illegally occupied and committed gross human rights violations in Kashmir for 70+ years. And yet the one who picks up the gun to liberate Kashmir is a terrorist to you and these are martyrs? Make it make sense,” she said.
Parvez, fearing action against her, had deleted all her social media accounts.
Support pours in for Mahoor Parvez
Soon, support poured in for Parvez where Islamists joined in to defend her comments as ‘freedom of expression’. One Adil Saifudheen, a former Jamia student came out in support of Parvez and questioned whether it is wrong to demand accountability from the government for ‘human rights violation’.
As social media users pointed out that Parvez was a terrorist sympathiser, Islamist named Arshad, one of Parvez’s followers, referred to him as ‘gobar’ (cow dung). The cow urine and cow dung jibe are often used by Islamists and terrorists to spew venom on Hindus.
The Islamists within the country had joined hands with Pakistanis on Sunday to celebrate the death of five soldiers in the terrorist encounter in Handwara, Jammu & Kashmir.
Five Indian Army personnel including the Commanding Officer, Major of 21 Rashtriya Rifles unit along with three soldiers and one Jammu & Kashmir Police personnel were martyred in a terrorist encounter in Handwara in Jammu & Kashmir. As per Indian Army officials, two terrorists were also neutralised in the encounter.
The ‘Dictionary’ feature of Google throws up definitions of words that one wishes to understand and searches for. When one searched for the term ‘co-religionist’, while the definition says, “an adherent of the same religion as another person”, the sentence that accompanies the definition to put the word in reference to context was deeply problematic and Hinduphobic. Up until yesterday, explaining the reference to context, Google defined ‘co-religionist’ with the sentence, “Hindu fundamentalists are admired by many of their co-religionists as virtuous people”.
Google definition up until yesterday
After the widespread protest, however, Google seems to have taken cognisance of the blatant Hinduphobia and removed that sentence as an explanation for the definition of co-religionist from Google search in most countries. Currently, while Google is still drawing its definition from Lexicon by Oxford, the sentence does not appear in the ‘Dictionary’ feature. But this appear when one searches for the phrase in the USA. This means that while Google has removed the offending sentence for searches for rest of the world, it is yet to that for USA, where it is based.
Current definition of co-religionist as per Google
How do we know it was Google that took cognisance and not Oxford
The Dictionary feature of Google draws its definitions from Lexicon, which is an online dictionary offering by Oxford Dictionary. Earlier Oxford offered an online solution called Oxford Dictionaries Online (ODO), now simply called ‘Oxford Dictionaries’ which is a collection of online dictionaries produced by Oxford University Press (OUP), the publishing house of the University of Oxford, which also publishes a number of print dictionaries, among other works.
Essentially, Lexicon is an offering by Oxford itself and the definitions it contains thereof are the responsibility of Oxford.
Lexicon is offered in collaboration with Dictionary.com, which according to various sources, is based on the latest version of Random House Unabridged Dictionary, with other content from the Collins English Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary and others.
Since Google draws its definitions from Oxford, if it was not Google that had taken cognisance of the outrage regarding the definition of work co-relgionist and the attached Hinduphobia, then logic dictates that the definition should have been changed in the Lexicon dictionary itself.
However, that does not seem to be the case. When we checked Lexicon, we realised that the Hinduphobic statement is still added to the definition in Lexicon.
Definition on Lexicon
It thus stands to reason that it was indeed Google that took cognisance of the outrage and ensured that the Hinduphobic sentence was removed from the Google search.
How can we be absolutely sure?
To be absolutely sure, to ensure that the cache version was not interfering with our search results, and to ensure that Google is not playing tricks to provide a modified search result for users who search the word a second time around, we even masked our IP address using VPN and searched for the definition. Even with our IP masked, the Hinduphobic sentence defining the word ‘co-religionist’ does not show up on Google.
Even while searching through an ‘incognito’ window, which would clear the cookies of the browser, the result was the same.
Result via Incognito Window
But when did the same search setting the country as USA in the VPN tool, we found that the Hinduphobic term is still appearing in the search result.
In 2016, Google had removed autocomplete suggestions from its search engine that suggested the word “evil” at the end of these two phrases: “Are Jews…” and “Are women…” It left in place, however, the suggestion of “bad” when users type in “Are Muslims…”
Earlier, Google had deleted autocomplete suggestions as well, including when a court ordered it to stop suggesting the word “torrent” after the names of popular recording artists. Google removes autocomplete suggestions that include hate speech or sexually explicit or abusive language or that run afoul of the law, according to its policies.
Note: This report has been updated with additional information
On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass and Dharchula, a town in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh. The link road constructed at a height of 17,000 feet along the border with Tibet in Uttarakhand will now provide an option for faster access to reach Kailash Mansarovar, a pilgrimage site nestled in the Himalayas in Tibet.
After inaugurating the road through video-conferencing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said pilgrims going to Kailash Mansarovar will now be able to complete their journey in one week instead of up to three weeks. The Minister also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji.
The road originates at Ghatiabagarh and ends at Lipulekh pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar. Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet is just around 90 km from the Lipulekh pass. Kailash Parbat which is located in the vicinity of Mansarovar Lake is considered sacred in four religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon.
“Delighted to inaugurate the Link Road to Mansarovar Yatra today. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) achieved road connectivity from Dharchula to Lipulekh (China Border) known as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route,” Singh tweeted.
Delighted to inaugurate the Link Road to Mansarovar Yatra today. The BRO achieved road connectivity from Dharchula to Lipulekh (China Border) known as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route. Also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji through video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/S8yNeansJW
The new link road provides strategic advantage to Armed Forces
According to the Military officials, the new road connectivity will also help in the speedy movement of troops in the strategically key region bordering China. The opening up of the strategically vital road, over 80-km of tough Himalayan terrain, between the Mangti camp near Tawaghat and Gunji in the Vyas valley, and the security posts on the Indian side of the border, has become accessible.
The Defence Ministry has said the BRO in Uttarakhand has connected Kailash Mansarovar route to Lipulekh pass, which will provide connectivity to border villages and security forces.
The construction of the road began in 2008 and was scheduled to be completed in 2013, but it got delayed due to the tough terrain in the portion between Nazang to Bundi village.
“The 15-km long most challenging portion of the road from Nazang to Bundi was outsourced in 2015 to a private company under the technical guidance of BRO engineers, which completed the portion despite all odds before the set date by the minister last year,” Hindustan Times quoted a BRO officer.
Reduction in travel time
Shalu Datal, a social worker based in Dharchula said that the new road is a boon for residents of all seven villages in Vyans valley. The new road has reduced the travel time from five days to four hours to reach the high altitude villages from Dharchula and vice versa.
Earlier, after reaching Ghatiabgarh via Pitharogarh, it was 79 km or five days of foot trek to Lipulekh Pass. Pithoragarh is 490 km from Delhi. Lipulekh pass at 17,000 feet is close to the tri-junction of India, China and Nepal.
According to Datal, the new infrastructure will also help the winter and summer migration of tribal people to the upper Himalayan region. Overall it will strengthen border security and boost the economy in the bordering villages, said Shalu Datal.
At present, there are two more routes available to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The first one is through Sikkim and second option is to travel via Kathmandu. The Sikkim route involves taking a flight to Bagdogra, which is 1115 km from Delhi, thereafter 1665 km of road travel and 43 km of parikrama on foot. Out of total 1665 km from Bagdogra, only 175 km travel is in India.
The other route to Kailash Mansarovar involves taking a flight to Kathmandu and thereafter a combination of two flights with road travel of 1940 km from Nepal. The distance excludes 43 km of the foot to Parikarma in China.
The new road to Mansarovar is also the shortest and cheapest route and also one-fifth distance of road travel as compared to the other routes.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing disappointment over West Bengal government’s reluctance to extend support to help migrant workers reach home.
In the letter to Mamata Banerjee, Amit Shah has stated that the Centre is not getting the required support from the state government to handle the migrant workers.
According to the reports, the Home Minister has said that the Central government is operating Shramik special trains to facilitate the return of migrant labourers to their native places, but Mamata Banerjee-led state government is not co-operating. Home Minister Shah has also demanded an answer on the Mamata government’s inaction over the migrants’ distress in Bengal.
Amit Shah pointed out that the Modi government has facilitated the more than 200,000 migrant labourers to reach home and that workers from West Bengal are also eager to go back.
“West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrants reaching the state. This is injustice with WB migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them,” Amit Shah said in his letter to Mamata Banerjee.
The issue of migrant workers is the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the West Bengal government amid a row over the state’s efforts to control the coronavirus disease.
MHA writes to Mamata Banerjee for lack of transparency
Earlier, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla had written a letter to Mamata-led government asking it to not block the movement of trucks across Bangladesh border after it was alleged that the state government was stopping trucks carrying essential goods. Responding to it, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) had attacked the Union Home secretary and accused him of “trying to please his political bosses in Delhi”.
This comes days amidst the controversy regarding the failure of the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the handling of the deadly coronavirus pandemic in the state. The West Bengal government has come under severe criticism for its laxity in dealing with the crisis.
While the state government claimed that they are transparent on their coronavirus data, the centre has time-and-again accused Mamata Banerjee administration is hiding the grave situation of the pandemic in the state.
On Wednesday, the Union Home Ministry had once again written to the Mamata Banerjee government, slamming the West Bengal government for not enforcing coronavirus containment measures effectively.
In a stern warning, the Centre asked the state chief secretary to ensure that lockdown measures were strictly implemented as its two teams had found “specific groups” in “specific localities” of Kolkata and Howrah violating the lockdown as well as attack police and healthcare workers.
IMCT slammed West Bengal government for its handling of coronavirus crisis
The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) had expressed concerns over the “extremely high mortality rate” of coronavirus in the State of West Bengal, besides highlighting the lack of transparent and consistent reporting of the pandemic.
Slamming the State Government, the IMCT chief Apurva Chandra had stated that 105 people have lost their lives to the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic out of 816 reported cases in West Bengal. As such, the Mamata Banerjee-led-State accounts for the highest mortality rate (12.8%) in the country.
Highlighting the lack of transparency and vicious attempts to downplay the outbreak of the Chinese virus in West Bengal, IMCT emphasised on the need for consistent reporting and daily surveillance of patients in hotspots.
IMCT had also pointed out the discrepancy in data released by the State Government about the status of the pandemic in the State. At one time, the West Bengal Government put the number of infected patients at 744.
On Friday, Gopal Rai, AAP leader and Labour Minister of the Delhi Government claimed on Twitter that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would bear the cost of 1200 migrant labourers, travelling via Sramik Express from Delhi to their hometown in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, amidst the coronavirus lockdown.
Gopal Rai tweeted that a train has already started for Muzaffarpur in Bihar, and the Delhi govt is paying for the fare of the all 1200 people travelling on the train.
श्रमिकों को लेकर दिल्ली से मुज़फ़्फ़रपुर, बिहार के लिए रवाना हुई ट्रेन। ट्रेन में सवार सभी 1200 लोगों का किराया देगी @ArvindKejriwal सरकार। pic.twitter.com/yzOhAMb7S7
A statement issued by Delhi govt had said that government ensured safe travel, social distancing, food and water for all the passengers who were returning to their native places from Delhi. “Most of these states are yet to respond on the matter of bearing the travel costs of these stranded people. The Delhi government has taken the decision to bear the cost to avoid any further inconvenience to stranded workers,” the statement issued by Arvind Kejriwal led AAP government had added.
What is the Truth?
On Friday night, Janata Dal (United) leader, Dr. Ajay Alok took to Twitter to slam Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for misleading migrant workers about paying their train fares for the Shramik Express. He has shared a letter from the Department of Social Welfare of the Delhi Government wherein it becomes clear that the State is only facilitating the travel of migrant workers but not ensuring a “free journey.”
The Bihar Government had earlier informed that the migrant workers need to buy tickets and would be compensated after they reach Muzaffarpur from Delhi, in a letter, dated May 6. In the letter fated 7th May to the Bihar govt, the Delhi govt says that due to logistical issues, the inability of several workers to make an advance payment, difficulty in maintaining social distancing guidelines, the Delhi Government will pay for the tickets for the migrants going back to Bihar. But the letter also asks the Bihar govt to pay back the amount to Delhi govt. “You are requested not to reimbursement the fare to passengers but the same may be reimbursed to GNCTD (Govt of National Capital Territory of Delhi).
The letter further mentions that the approximate dare for one train to Muzaffarpur is Rs 6.5 lakh, and the actual fare will be indicated shortly.
Bihar water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha also slammed the Delhi for lying. He tweeted to Arvind Kejriwal that his minister is claiming that Delhi govt is paying the train fare, and after that sent letter to Bihar govt asking for money.
“Delhi government is lying that it is buying tickets for Shramik special trains in bulk for sending back migrant workers from Bihar and seeking reimbursement from us. In adherence to the Centre’s guidelines, CM Nitish Kumar has already announced that each migrant worker will be reimbursed the train fare, whether they have actually paid for it or not. Besides, another Rs 500 would be given to each migrant worker returning from other states by special trains. Both these amounts, with a clause of minimum Rs 1000, will be reimbursed at the quarantine camps set up in districts and block headquarters,” Jha told Times of India.
Sanjay Jha added, “Delhi government has been creating confusion from the very beginning of this lockdown. They first sent migrant workers on buses without any communication with us and now they are trying to create an issue over money for special trains”.
It is clear now that Arvind Kejriwal-led-Delhi Government did not “bear the cost of migrant labourers” as reported in the media and claimed by minister Gopal Rai. It has paid the train fares initially as ticket sell to individual travellers will create problems, and in fact, that is against the Union Home Ministry guidelines, and later the Delhi govt will collect the amount from the concerned state governments.
Earlier, the Delhi government, in a controversial move, had issued a circular for all the health professionals and paramedic staff on coronavirus duty in the national capital, through which they had been cautioned to refrain from flagging their problems, related to duty, on any social media platform.
A report published in the Indian Express today claims that the Delhi police suspects that the video where the Markaz Nizamuddin head Maulana Saad Kandhalvi of the Tablighi Jamaat was heard asking Muslims not to follow social distancing norms amidst the Coronavirus pandemic may be ‘doctored’. However, the claims made in the report don’t seem to add up.
What the Indian Express report claims about the video of Maulana Saad of Tablighi Jamaat
The Indian Express report first and foremost claims that the video may have been “doctored” by a Tablighi Jamaat member himself. Attributing their assertions to ‘highly placed sources’, Indian Express claims that the Delhi Police recovered a laptop from a Markaz member where they recovered over 350 audio clips. These 350 audio clips were purportedly in three forms – raw clips of Markaz events, audio clips sent to their followers, and ones uploaded on their YouTube channel.
In the audio clip that had gone viral, Maulana Saad had claimed that there was no need for social distancing since it was not mandated in their religion (Islam). However, according to the Indian Express report, the Delhi Police have found ‘no such audio’ in the laptop and asserted that the viral audio could have been the result of over 20 audio clips being ‘stitched together’.
The report also claims that the original viral audio and all the other audio clips found have been sent to the FSL for further forensic analysis.
By this logic, most videos on YouTube is ‘doctored’
It is entirely possible, that like many videos and audios uploaded on YouTube, the one by Delhi Markaz of Maulana Saad was ‘edited’ before uploading as a routine procedure, to make the video more cohesive for viewers. It is usual practice for there to be various takes and then, ultimately, a video being pieced together from the various audios. It is not exactly a complicated process or even a novel discovery. Unless the video is streamed live on youtube of any other platform, videos uploaded on to any platform may go through the basic phase of editing before it is finally presented to the audience. That the video of Maulana Saad was ‘edited’ and a product of audio clips ‘stitched together’ does not prove that Maulana Saad did not say what he was heard saying in the viral video.
Even by the Indian Express’ own report, the police found several ‘raw files’ in the laptop of the Markaz member and that indicates that the Tablighi Jamaat member was going through the normal process of editing before uploading the video for final consumption.
The video of Maulana Saad was uploaded on Delhi Markaz’s official YouTube page
It could be termed a bit of a stretch of the imagination when one claims that the video, which was uploaded on the official, verified page of Delhi Markaz on Twitter was somehow ‘doctored’ to implicate the Markaz Nizamuddin head Maulana Saad Kandhalvi. The connotation that is now being peddled is that, somehow, it was some elements who wanted to see Maulana Saad implicated falsely, probably individuals from the other side of the ideological spectrum who had doctored the video. However, even as per the Indian Express, it was not “doctored” or uploaded by anyone else, but Tablighi Jamaat members themselves on the official Delhi Markaz page.
In fact, that video uploaded on the official page is still there.
The insinuations that Maulana Saad was trapped and set-up by elements against the Tablighi Jamaat, Maulana Saad, Delhi Markaz or even Muslims is a long stretch that is now being furthered by many based on the headline of the Indian Express article, without any understanding of the issue at hand.
The Police Probe has said that the Tablihi Jamaat tapes were doctored. All those news channels that completely castigated them will they , should they now on AIR NOT apologize? https://t.co/uf4UT7otEe
— Tehseen Poonawalla Official (@tehseenp) May 9, 2020
The audio clip mentioned in the FIR against Maulana Saad had suggested that he had asked Tablighi Jamaat members not to follow social distancing norms https://t.co/hb7VZm3dqb via @IndianExpress
If the video was doctored by Tablighi Jamaat itself, why is Maulana Saad on the run?
After the audio clip went viral, Maulana Saad went into hiding. While the Delhi Police had booked Maulana Saad on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (IPC Section 304) for going ahead with a gathering of around 2,000 people at the mosque in the Capital’s Nizamuddin West in late March despite warnings from authorities, Maulana Saab continued to abscond.
The Delhi Police crime branch sent multiple notices to Maulana Saad under Section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The police had asked Maulana Saad to provide some documents. There were reports that the head of the Tablighi Jamaat, Maulana Saad, who claims to have quarantined himself in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, was reportedly using his time to gather support and mobilise the Jamaatis. Saad, a resident of Zakir Nagar is allegedly hiding on the outskirts of Delhi at a supporter’s house. Reportedly, the Islamic cleric had hidden in a densely populated area, knowing well that it could help evade arrest.
it is pertinent to ask here that if the video was doctored, why is the Maulana on the run, evading questioning by the relevant authorities. Maulana Saad in his own right is a highly placed cleric and it is obvious that he had no fear of physical harm coming to him after the arrest. Thus, one has to ask the question whether he was scared of the Epidemic Act being imposed on him in the light of his video. If he knew the video was doctored, he could have simply returned and demanded that the video be analysed forensically to prove his innocence. Or, he could have asked the police to question his own Tablighi Jamaat member who is not being thrown under the bus for “doctoring” the video.
However, none of this was done. Maulana ran and wilfully absconding from the police and continues to do so.
An attempt to save Maulana Saad?
The Markaz, Nizamuddin in Delhi is at the heart of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak in the country. Hundreds of potential infections have occurred during a religious event organized at the place earlier this month. Moreover, around 2500 people were housed at the Masjid as late as the 22nd of March and after 1,500 of them left on the 23rd, around a thousand people were still holed up inside.
The whole episode escalated when 163 people who were present at the Markaz, Nizamuddin were admitted to the Lok Nayak Hospital after showing symptoms of the Wuhan Coronavirus. At least eight people who attended the event have died of the virus thus far. The Delhi Police on Monday announced that it will request the Delhi Police to register an FIR against the Maulana of Markaz, Nizamuddin. Since then, an FIR has been registered against the Maulana and others under Section 3 of The Epidemic Diseases Act (1897) for organizing the Islamic event at Markz, Nizamuddin amidst the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic.
Ever since the Tablighi Jamaat event exploded, spreading the Coronavirus in the country, a concerted attempt has been underway to shield Tablighi Jamaat members, the Markaz and even Maulana Saad. Anyone who questioned the conduct of the Jamaatis was branded Islamophobic and ostracised for assigning religion to the pandemic, completely ignoring the fact that it was indeed the Jamaatis who wilfully spread the virus in the country.
With the media playing an active role in the “save the Jamaatis” project and politicians playing along by replacing ‘Nizamuddin Markaz’ in their Coronavirus updates to ‘Single source event’, the entire narrative of the video being doctored seems to be yet another attempt to exonerate Tablighi Jamaat and Maulana Saad of the grave crimes against humanity they seem to have committed by willfully risking public health in the midst of a pandemic.
In yet another attack on police personal during the Coronavirus pandemic, a Muslim mob attacked a police team after they went to enforce lockdown in Ahmedabad city on Friday evening.
According to the reports, the incident took place in the Shahpur area of Ahmedabad when an agitated mob pelted stones at policemen who were at the spot to disperse a gathering of people. A police inspector RK Amin was injured in the stone-pelting. The police team had to use tear-gas shells to disperse the violent Muslim mob at Shahpur.
Reportedly, the stone-pelting began after a team of Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel asked people to follow the lockdown rules. A few locals were allegedly beaten up by RAF personnel as they had stepped out of their house to procure food commodities despite a complete shutdown observed in Ahmedabad.
A local team of Shahpur police station arrived at the spot and a mob of over two dozen resorted to stone-pelting in which five police personnel were injured. They were rushed to a nearby primary health centre (PHC) for treatment.
Muslim-dominated Shahpur under ‘Red Zone’
It is pertinent to note that Shahpur is a minority community-dominated area. The area falls under ‘Red Zone’ category as several coronavirus cases have been found in the locality.
The Ahmedabad police have now detained 15 persons in connection with the stone-pelting incident.
Hooligans were nabbed today evening in Shahpur area of wall city Ahmedabad after yet another incident of stone pelting on police who were enforcing lockdown. AMC has time and again said that only some percent of people are not cooperating and therefore lockdown is getting longer. pic.twitter.com/tdU4nkqu8U
The AMC authorities have time and again said that only some per cent of people are not cooperating and therefore lockdown is getting longer.
“A police team visited Shahpur after learning that locals were coming out in large numbers despite lockdown. When police asked them to stay indoors, people got angry and started throwing stones,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Patel.
Attacks on frontline workers continue unabated
Despite their untiring efforts and unmeasurable contributions, the attacks and assaults on frontline health workers and police personnel by Muslim mobs continue unabated. The attacks on the frontline workers by Muslim mobs have continued ever since the reports that Tablighi Jamaat is the primary sources of transmission of coronavirus in the country emerged.
In addition to the nuisance created by Muslim mobs, the Tablighi Jamaat members, who have emerged as the sole reason for the sudden spike in the number of coronavirus cases in India, are turning out to be quite a headache for the authorities. The anti-social behaviour of attendees of Tablighi Jamaat has left the authorities and medical teams completely distraught.
Rahul Gandhi has started a series of media interactions during the Coronavirus lockdown in India, which seems to be yet another attempt at image makeover by the Congress party and their media sympathisers. So far, there have been two interactions by Rahul Gandhi where he expressed his views on the Coronavirus pandemic and even took questions from certain journalists. After the second press interaction by Rahul Gandhi, hailing this move by the Congress scion, Rajdeep Sardesai appreciated him for the ‘unscripted’ media interactions.
Tweet by Rajdeep Sardesai on press interaction by Rahul Gandhi
On the 8th of May, Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted, “Agree with his views or not, appreciable that @RahulGandhi does these unscripted press conferences, takes qs from all reporters, young and ‘old’. Q and a, transparency, accountability are at heart of a democracy. In age of Zoom, ALL netas should be open to free-wheeling Qs”.
Rajdeep claimed that transparency and accountability are at the heart of a democracy and that Rahul Gandhi took questions from all reporters, young and old, and also, that other politicians should be open to ‘free-wheeling questions’ in the age of Zoom.
However, Rajdeep Sardesai and his lies were soon exposed by a journalist who belongs to his ecosystem. While Rajdeep tried extremely hard to claim that the interaction with Rahul Gandhi was ‘free-wheeling’ and ‘unscripted’, Sheela Bhatt asserted that it was, in fact, heavily monitored by Randeep Surjewala.
Response by Sheela Bhatt to Rajdeep Sardesai on Rahul Gandhi interaction with journalists being unscripted
Sheela Bhatt, who belongs to the very same ecosystem as Rajdeep Sardesai said that it was a good press interaction, however, it was in no way ‘free-wheeling’. She said that journalists were required to submit the questions beforehand to Rajdeep Surjewala, senior Congress leader and the journalists who could ask questions were also hand-picked by the Congress party.
However, as she said this, she also shielded Rahul Gandhi by saying that it is better to have a press conference with “some restrictions” than having none at all.
One has to wonder why Rajdeep Sardesai would go out of his way to claim that the press interaction by Rahul Gandhi was ‘unscripted’ when he too would clearly know that not only were the journalists hand-picked, even the questions were submitted to the Congress party beforehand.
Rahul lies during the press conference
On Friday, Congress MP from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi claimed has that the demarcation of Coronavirus-affected areas into the red (high number of cases), orange and green (no cases) is being done on a national level. He asserted that the power to decide these zones should have rested with the State and the District Magistrates, insinuating that the union government has taken unilateral decisions when deciding on zones.
While the lockdown was extended in India to further 2 weeks starting from May 4, significant relaxations were allowed as per the specific zones. The press note said that the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into Red (hotspot), Green, and Orange Zones.
The MHA circular clearly states that the zones are decided as per feedback from districts. It also stated that weekly review of the zones will be conducted with state authorities regarding the classifications.
The green zones are ones with zero confirmed cases to date or no confirmed cases for the last 21 days. The circular also said that the classification of districts as Red, Green, and Orange zones will be reviewed every week by the Ministry of Health with the States and Union Territories, as required. It also states that the states can add additional red and orange zones if they deem it necessary.
Moreover, the decisions of lockdown and subsequent steps have been taken after multiple meetings between the PM, home ministry and CMs of states. So claiming that the government’s decisions have been unilateral is a blatant lie.
