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Harassment by police officials, threats and intimidation by local Muslims: Ranchi’s Richa Bharti and her family narrate their experience after the ‘Quran copies’ order

अनुपम कुमार सिंह
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Harassment by police officials, threats and intimidation by local Muslims: Ranchi’s Richa Bharti and her family narrate their experience after the ‘Quran copies’ order

Richa Bharti, the young girl from Ranchi who was ordered by a court to distribute copies of Quran last year, has been facing harassment Islamists and the Jharkhand state administration.

“I am afraid of staying in India. Has Jharkhand become another Pakistan? If we are harassed like this, then where should we go?”

These are the words uttered by Richa Bharti’s father in despair. The same Richa Bharti from Ranchi, who was ordered by a lower court in Ranchi to distribute copies of the Quran as a condition to secure bail in a case regarding her objectionable post on Facebook. However, Richa had refused to comply with the court order. Since then, she and her family are being continuously harassed. Richa and her family have alleged that the Jharkhand Police are doing this work at the behest of the Jharkhand government.

On Thursday (April 23, 2020), out of the blue, 5-6 policemen allegedly came to her house and seized her mobile phone. Despite repeatedly inquiring about the issue, reason or the complaint they were acting on, the Jharkhand police remained tight-lipped and did not reveal the reason why they had impounded Richa’s cellphone.

Richa Bharti’s father, Prakash Patel, humbly asked the police officials if they could furnish papers or order that authorised them to seize his daughter’s mobile phone but the police failed in showing anything. With no search warrant, the police barged into Richa Bharti’s house and started examining the mobile phones of other family members. Their private messages were also investigated. Richa’s brother’s mobile phone was also thoroughly scrutinised. When the family members questioned why they were being subjected to arbitrary investigation, the police officers remained close-mouthed about it.

The police just kept telling them that they had to take their mobile phones for inspection. This is not the first time that Richa Bharti’s family is being harassed by the police. A few weeks ago, the police came and took away Bharti’s mother’s mobile phone. Even then no reason was provided to the family. Prakash Patel kept visiting the police station to get his wife’s mobile phone back but to no avail. The police officers told him that a seizure list has been prepared. It was a Redmi A-1 handset.

On April 23, the police officers at Richa’s house were accompanied by the DSP of cybercrime, who said that they are ready to give in writing that the police are carrying their mobile phones. However, he did not reveal why were they being targeted or on whose complaint the police was acting. While talking to Opindia, Richa expressed apprehensions that a few Muslims on Twitter may have made filed complaints against her and tagged government leaders and police, after which the police suddenly started taking action against her.

Richa’s father Prakash gets emotional narrating his ordeal. He said that he and his family are being treated in such a way that they are now ashamed to live in India. He claimed that when the police confiscated the mobile phone, they scrambled towards the police station but when they reached there, they did not find anyone at the police station. Later, in the evening, a posse of 15-20 policemen again arrived at their house.

For about an hour, cybercrime officials checked all the mobile phones in the house. The family cooperated in the investigation by following the instructions given by the police. Richa’s mother is very ill. Amidst all this persistent harassment by the police, her health deteriorated further. She has been advised by her doctor to take complete bed rest. Recently, she underwent a tumour operation. In addition, she had also undergone another surgery.

During the police interrogation, her health suddenly worsened. She was quickly rushed to the hospital with the help of the police. She was treated there and later discharged when her health stabilised. Meanwhile, many fake Facebook accounts in the name of Richa Bharti have cropped up after the court order mandating Richa to distribute copies of the Quran. Her written complaint to the police station, requesting action against those fake Facebook accounts went unheeded.

A pertinent point to note here is that discussions about Richa have become a common thing among the Muslim members in the area. According to a medical store owner in the neighbourhood, a man named Shehzad made objectionable remarks against Richa and her family. When he heard the news of Richa’s house being investigated by the police, he sparked a rumour that the police had jailed them. He also said that they will all together beat up Richa and her family.

The medical store owner added that some of the Muslims in the neighbourhood were having discussions about thrashing Richa’s family. Wary of the retribution from Muslims, the family informed the police in this regard. It was only a few days ago when Richa’s family was sitting on the terrace and her cousin sister was standing near the terrace railing when 2-4 Muslim youth passing by their house beckoned towards Richa’s house and then spat on their door.

The group of Muslim men had spat on the door almost 4-5 times by the time the family members reached the entrance. As soon as the family members arrived at their gate, the youth ran away. The family says that they are constantly being instigated so that if they act in response, the other side gets a good-enough reason to create a ruckus. The family has also alleged that the local police is not cooperating with them at all. A day after the latest mobile phone seizure incident, Richa’s father, who had gone to the police station to submit an application was tormented by the station in-charge.

The police in-charge made him visit the police station thrice before refusing to take his application. In the application, the police kept pointing out trivial errors so as to discourage Richa’s father from submitting the application. Later, after a complaint was filed with the DSP, the local police officers accepted the application but made some changes to it. The application was tampered with without the consent of the complainant. This incident is from Kanke Pithoria Station area. The victim’s family has demanded intervention from Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is still silent on this matter.

Application submitted by Richa Bharti to the police regarding her multiple fake accounts on Facebook and Twitter

Richa’s father Prakash Patel narrated the harrowing tale of his harassment by the police officers. He said that when he went to the police station to file his application, the station-in charge screamed at him, asking if he wants him to shoot everyone. Exasperated by the routine police harassment, Prakash responded back saying it would be better if the police shoot his entire family instead of shooting others. Though Richa’s mobile phone has been returned but the family is still reeling under the shock of harassment at the hands of law enforcement officials.

Citing the incident from Jamshedpur where banners of fruit-sellers with Hindu written on them were removed by the police and the news of killings of Hindus in Bengal, Richa’s father said that it doesn’t appear like they are staying in a secular country. It is as if we are living in an Islamic country, he said. The family also fears that if any fabricated evidence is found against Richa, she will be lodged in jail yet again.

Richa Bharti’s family write to the police seeking protection

When asked why is he not outing the names of police officials who mistreated his family, Richa’s father said that he fears reprisal from the officers involved in the case for disclosing their identities in media. “When I haven’t taken their names, I am being subjected to relentless harassment, imagine, what will happen if I disclose their identities,” he said. Pithoria’s police station was also contacted by OpIndia, who denied the allegations. The police have claimed that the more the help they are extending to Richa’s family, the bigger the “drama” they are doing.

Pithoria police official said that when the health of Richa’s mother deteriorated, she was sent for treatment by the police car. The family, on the other hand, says that this was possible due to the support of DSP, who is a woman herself. Refuting the allegations of ‘fear’ raised by the family, the station in-charge defended the police saying the patrolling team passed through Richa’s house several times a day, ensuring that there is no untoward incident in the area. He also denied that the application was tampered with.

Richa Bharti has also released a video in which she alleges that on the basis of the tweets of some Muslims, the police came to her house repeatedly to check their mobile phones. Richa requested the police to take action against those who are throwing spit in various places and against those who disrespect our soldiers. She had alleged that the abuse of Hindus in the state started as soon as the government in Jharkhand changed.

When the family is repeatedly alleging that the movement of suspicious people around their house has increased and local Muslims are talking about killing them, then why is the police not taking any action or why is the government not taking steps to provide them security? On the contrary, to what extent it is correct to dismiss the allegations of someone as a ‘gimmick’? That too when the family is struggling with a host of other problems.

In July 2019, a Ranchi court had granted bail to Richa, who was arrested for allegedly hurting ‘religious sentiments’ by writing about Tabrez Ansari’s death on her Facebook account. However, while granting the bail, the court had put up a condition that she should distribute copies of the Quran to various Islamic organisations.

Bharti had refused to follow the court order saying that the order shows the duplicity of the court. Defending her Freedom of Expression, Bharti had questioned the courts that if any Muslim accused of sharing objectionable content online had ever been asked to perform a Ramayan or Durga path like she had been asked to distribute the Quran copies. She also stated that if she agrees to comply with the court order, tomorrow they might even be asked to embrace Islam too.

PM Modi’s meeting with CMs: Phased resumption of economic activities, an extended ban on public gathering and state border sealing discussed

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi’s meeting with CMs: Phased resumption of economic activities, an extended ban on public gathering and state border sealing discussed

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conference, the 4th meeting since March 20, with the Chief Ministers (CMs) of all States and discussed strategies to contain the transmission of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. While only nine CMs chose to spoke during the session, the others chose to provide their suggestions through written communication.

Suggestions by the Chief Ministers

Trivendra Singh Rawat, Uttarakhand Chief Minister suggested that business activities must commence in a phased manner while ensuring all precautionary measures. He emphasised that ‘economic revival’ was the key to move forward, amidst the Coronavirus crisis.

Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur informed that the country was in a position to resume economic activities and that the decision regarding lockdown must be made in consultation with other States. He further stated that sensitisation regarding the pandemic was created in the State through Anganwadi centres and that financial help was provided to the poor and needy.

According to Naveen Patnaik, the CM of Odisha, the lockdown should be extended and the ban on religious and the public congregation should be continued. He also urged the Centre to undertake initiatives that help boost the Indian economy. Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma said that the lockdown would be extended in the state beyond May 3 while relaxations would be provided for essential services.

While Mizoram’s CM Zoramthanga assured of compliance with Centre’s directives, Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy sought for immediate intervention from the Centre. He further requested the Union Government to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and financial aid to fight the Chinese virus.

Lockdown extension and economic crisis

While Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have stressed on slowly resuming normalcy, other states have stressed on carrying on with the lockdown. It is notable here that so far, several states, including Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura have reported zero fresh cases in the last few weeks. In Odisha, the coronavirus patients are mostly clustered in 3 districts. While many economic experts have suggested a gradual easing into normalcy, the final decision by the centre before May 3 is anxiously awaited.

Congress leader Udit Raj spreads misinformation about coronavirus test kits, ICMR calls out the fake news

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Udit Raj spreads misinformation about coronavirus test kits, ICMR calls out the fake news

Congress leader Dr Udit Raj on Sunday took to Twitter to claim that as many as 17 companies in India were ready to provide coronavirus testing kits for as low as Rs 500 but PM Modi gave the contract to one Gujarat-based company for Rs 4,500 per kit.

Udit Raj’s tweet on coronavirus kits

However, on Monday, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) called out Raj’s fake news and said that the price ranged approved by ICMR for PT-PCR is Rs 740-1150 while it is Rs 528-795 for rapid test kits.

The ICMR clarified that no test kit has been procured at Rs 4,500 and that if any Indian company wishes to supply the kits at a lower rate is welcomed.

Misinformation and falsehood regarding ICMR

Earlier this month, the ICMR had refuted the media claims that the Modi government did not consult experts before extending the nationwide lockdown till May 3 to contain the spread of Chinese coronavirus. Quoting anonymous member of the COVID-19 Task Force, the Caravan Magazine had claimed that the committee hadn’t met all of last week ahead of announcement of lockdown extension. Citing another nameless member of the Task Force, Caravan made further claims that the Task Force was also not kept in the loop of the developments.

Speaking to OpIndia, Vinod Paul, NITI Aayog Member and Chairman of the Task Force, said, “India’s scientific and health experts are playing an important role in the fight against COVID-19. The task force is leveraging the best minds and playing a leading role in decision making. In addition, I’m regularly briefing the PM and getting his inputs. The attempts to invoke sensationalism and create fissures where none exists are unfortunate. Such efforts by a media outlet damage our national endeavour to fight this pandemic.”

Coronavirus scare: 33 health workers infected, 145 people quarantined in Delhi’s Max Hospital, Pratapganj

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus scare: 33 health workers infected, 145 people quarantined in Delhi’s Max Hospital, Pratapganj

On Monday, 33 healthcare workers including a doctor have reportedly been diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus at the Max Super Speciality Hospital in Patparganj, Delhi. While the nurses’ hostel wing of the hospital has been sealed, 145 people have been quarantined.

On April 15, the said hospital had decided to test all its staff members. The authorities are now trying to determine the source of the Chinese virus as Coronavirus patients were not being treated at this branch of the hospital. As per reports, the hospital staff who had tested positive for the Chinese virus were not in-charge of infected patients.

“The hospital is being sanitised and the staff who were tested positive were moved to Max Hospital, Saket, East Wing, which is a COVID treatment facility. Also, 145 nurses working at the Patparganj hospital have been quarantined,” a hospital spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Increasing instances of healthcare staffers getting coronavirus infection

There have been many instances of doctors and healthcare professionals getting infected with the coronavirus. Several healthcare officials in Maharashtra have been put under quarantine after such incidents. The cases of doctors becoming infected with the virus represent a difficult situation because at the time of the pandemic, the health and well being of frontline warriors is crucial.

Earlier, a railway station employee in Nizamuddin, New Delhi was found coronavirus positive. Eventually 15 healthcare workers, including doctors of the railway hospital were found infected too. A senior doctor working in the dedicated COVID-19 care facility in Pune’s Sassoon hospital was found infected too.

In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, 34 police personnel were found infected with the coronavirus, allegedly from coming in close contact of suspected Tablighi Jamaat members while performing their duty.

2 days back, 40 staffers in Delhi’s AIIMS, including doctors and nurses were put under quarantine after a nurse was found coronavirus positive.

Pakistani tweeps attack feminists for criticising Tablighi Jamaat Maulana Tariq Jamil who blamed women for coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani tweeps attack feminists for criticising Tablighi Jamaat Maulana Tariq Jamil who blamed women for coronavirus

Pakistanis on social media have come out in support of Maulana Tariq Jamil of Tablighi Jamaat who had blamed women for spread of Chinese coronavirus.

One Mir Mohammad AliKhan, who identifies himself as an author on social media, reminded the critics of Maulana that Pakistan is an “Islamic” republic and if ‘libtard’ women who think wearing bikinis and walking around with contraceptives ‘is their way of life’, then they should move to south of France.

Mir Mohammad AliKhan has been accused of financial fraud and reportedly a fugitive from justice in New York. He has various cases against him concerning security crimes.

Dawn News journalist Meher Bokhari, too, came out in support of Tariq Jamil whom she referred to as ‘Deen man’.

The bar is set so low that she felt that he should be forgiven because despite being a religious scholar, and not a scientist or a doctor, he ‘still apologised’ as it is something Pakistanis are not used to.

Another TV host and owner of a salon chain, Rabia Anum Obaid also wanted to praise the Maulana for apologising after blaming women for coronavirus.

Pakistan Prime Minister Iman Khan supporter Mohammad Usama even said that only 0.1% of ‘behaya feminist tola’ who are like ‘barking dogs’ are opposing the Maulana.

He also blamed feminists for making Islam ‘dirty’.

Pakistani actress Humaima Malick compared Maulana Jamil to father scolding their child.

Maulana Tariq Jamil on coronavirus

Maulana Tariq Jamil, a religious preacher of the Tablighi Jamaat and a scholar, was seen crying profusely on Pakistani television during a fundraising event attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan. During his address prior to the prayer, Maulana Tariq Jamil spoke about the plagues in earlier times and claimed that these were natural disasters sent by God and begging for repentance from Allah was the only way for humans to rid themselves of the calamity. He also offered sermons on the kind of clothes women should wear. Expressing dismay, he said, “Hamare betiyon ko kaun nacha raha hai? (Who is making our daughters dance?)” He said that when Muslim women and the youth indulge in shameless and immodest behaviour, then Allah inflicts pain and agony on humans.

Soon after his show, Pakistan’s “Human Rights Commission” tweeted that it was appalled that Maulana Jamil correlated women’s modesty to coronavirus.

Other Pakistanis also slammed Jamil for his distasteful comment.

However, now it seems he has managed to garner more support than criticism over blaming women for spreading coronavirus.

Challenges and recent advancements in the fight against Coronavirus: JNU organises a 2-day international webinar

OpIndia Staff
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Challenges and recent advancements in the fight against Coronavirus: JNU organises a 2-day international webinar

The Jawaharlal Nehru University organized an international webinar on the Coronavirus Pandemic to discuss the challenges and the recent developments on its preventive measures. Over 1000 participants across the globe registered, and hundreds of them successfully attended the webinar through online mode. 

The meeting was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar, who praised the initiative and discussed the role of digital medium in the modern-day education system. Prof. Kumar emphasized that digitization of the education system will gain further importance in the post-COVID era, and JNU will be leading the movement, which will be an efficient way to make education available to all. The organizing committee, comprising conveners Prof.  Gobardhan Das, Special Center for Molecular Medicine, JNU, Dr Arnab Bhattacharya, School of Computational & Integrative Sciences, and Coordinator Dr Saurabh Kumar Sharma, School of Computer & Systems Sciences of JNU ensured seamless two-days lectures of the webinar. Leading scientists across the globe, including from countries like China, Italy, the USA, and India, presented their research related to characterization and preventive measures for COVID-19.

The first speaker of the first day on 25th April was Prof Gobardhan Das, Special Center for Molecular Medicine, JNU. He discussed his ongoing research on BCG vaccine that can be effective to combat the current outbreak of COVID 19. He presented some interesting data analysis done by the group of Dr. Arnab Bhattacharya in support of his claim. Prof. Debprasad Chattopadhyay, Director, ICMR-NITM, then discussed the traditional medicine approach to counter the pandemic. 

Prof Yufang Shi from Shanghai, China, joined the webinar as a speaker and discussed the immune responses in COVID-19 patients. He explained how China handled the COVID-19 Pandemic and also explained specifically the importance of lockdown. 

Prof Arun Kharat from School of Life Sciences, JNU, discussed the Indian scenario of the coronavirus pandemic and possible means to halt the rapid progression. He explained the comparative study within the Indian state and How India is fighting with this COVID-19 in comparison to the whole world. Following it, Dr RK Brojen Singh from School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, JNU,  discussed the complexity in SARS-CoV-2 genome data through the price theory of epidemic by using  Mathematical Modelling.

The second day of the webinar commenced with a note from Prof. Rana Pratap Singh, Rector, and also the Pro Vice Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Prof. Singh, who is a distinguished cancer biologist, presented a compact overview of how coronavirus is causing death in humans. This has set the tone for the second lecture of the session given by Prof. Saumitra Das, who is a virologist of international repute and also the current director of the National Institue of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG). Along the line, Prof. Vibha Tandon, a professor at the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, JNU, discussed the experimental methods to identify small molecules as a potential drug of the coronavirus infection. Prof. Neel Sarovar Bhavesh (Group Leader, ICGEB) depicted various molecular biological aspects of in silico discovery of coronavirus drugs through an illustrative presentation. 

Prof. Enrico Bucci (Director, Research Integrity Solution), who joined the webinar from the USA talked about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic and its potential transmission from bats to humans

Prof. Gerry Melino, the Editor in Chief, Nature Cell Death, and Differentiation journal, was the last speaker of the session, who joined from Italy and presented an excellent lecture on a comparative study highlighting the differences in COVID-19 scenarios in Italy and China. 

The webinar ended successfully with a vote of thanks from the convener Prof. Gobardhan Das and Dr. Arnab Bhattacharya. 

Overall, the webinar received very positive response from its huge number of participants. Altogether, the organizers received over 1000 registrations for the two-day long webinar, among which around 300 were faculty. Approximately 800 students joined from the various 84 national, international universities and institutions such as JNU, IITs, DU, BHU, Canadian Institute for Genomics and Society, Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences, China, NPRC Texas, University of Rome, Italy etc.

The webinar was organised in collaboration with ‘Labify’ which is a web-based application and helps research labs to keep a record of project funds and compliance documents. 

Suicide bombings are permitted by Sharia Law: Grand Mufti Of Libya Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ghariani

OpIndia Staff
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Suicide bombings are permitted by Sharia Law: Grand Mufti Of Libya Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ghariani

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Grand Mufti of Libya Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ghariani has stated that the Sharia law allows suicide bombings provided they are carried out to rattle the enemy, demoralise them and cause great harm and losses to the enemy.

In a video that was broadcasted on Al-Tanasuh TV (Libya) on April 15, 2020, the Mufti said, “If blowing up oneself while carrying out a suicide operation unnerves the enemy and results in his crushing defeat, then it is permitted by the Sharia law. Even Prophet Muhammad’s associates hurled themselves from walls. They gave up their life in order to weaken the enemy.”

“If a person is confident that this act will cause grave damage to the enemy or have a significant impact on the result, and that this attack will cause extensive destruction and bring about crushing losses to the enemy, then it is allowed by Sharia law. However, it is not allowed to kill oneself,” Mufti added, as per a report in Memri.

Suicide bombings and terrorists

Suicide bombings are a recurrent feature of conflicts involving Islamic fanatics. The Islamic zealots have often taken the refuge of suicide killings as a pivotal instrument to further their asymmetric warfare against nations and organisations perceived by them as their enemies. The extremists routinely cite Islamic scriptures and laws and distort the concepts of ‘sacrifice’, ‘martyrdom’ and ‘jihad to justify suicide killings by their kin. This is the modus operandi followed by the Islamic State(ISIS), Al Qaeda and other Islamic terror organisations. It is by this doctrine that last year a Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist blew himself up by ramming his car laden with 300 kgs of explosives with one of the vehicles in the CRPF convoy, killing 40 CRPF personnel in India’s Pulwama. In April 2019, multiple suicide bombings in Sri Lanka had killed over 300 civilians.

Government junks report by IRS officials that suggested tax hike, orders probe against concerned officers for violation of code of conduct

OpIndia Staff
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Government junks report by IRS officials that suggested tax hike, orders probe against concerned officers for violation of code of conduct

On Sunday, the Finance Ministry had junked an unsolicited report titled ‘Force 1.0’ (Fiscal Options & Response to Covid-19 Epidemic) drafted by 50 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officers on the official Twitter handle of the IRS Association. The Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has also been directed by the Ministry to seek an explanation from the officers about their misconduct.

An inquiry has been initiated into the matter to check whether the “ill-conceived views” aired by the officers violate Extant Conduct Rules. While reiterating that CBDT did not ask the IRS officers to prepare any such report, it further stated that the unauthorised views of the officers did not reflect the official stand of the Finance Ministry of the CBDT.

The Contentious Report

In the contentious report, the IRS officers suggested introducing the ‘wealth tax’, over-burdening the rich, and charging an additional 4% cess to bridge revenue deficit caused due to the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. As per the 43-page report, the Government can earn up to ₹18,000 crores by implementing the suggested proposals.

One of the recommendations of the report was the introduction of the wealth tax to be charged to those with a net worth of ₹5 crores or more. Besides, the IRS officers suggested levying a one-time 4% ‘COVID Relief Cess’ on individuals with more than ₹10 lac annual income. Moreover, the document also proposed taxing individuals with more than ₹1 crore annual income at 40%, which is 10% higher than the current 30%. As such, the income tax liability on such individuals will be close to 56%.

Along with the above measures, the IRS officers also recommended increased surcharges for foreign companies in India, creation of an amnesty scheme to collect unpaid tax, sanctioning of ‘Coronavirus Savings Certificates’ for investments not more than ₹2.5 lacs for 5 years, taxation of multinational firms making royalty payments to their parent companies and 3% equalisation charge to e-commerce companies.

Finance Ministry miffed over the report

The report drew the ire of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for two primary reasons. First, the action of the IRS officers is in direct violation of the rules of conduct that prohibits them to air their personal views without the government’s permission. Second, the report has come to light at a time when the Central Government is trying to win over the trust of corporate houses and industrialists.

“Increased taxes or proposals are bad news to improve the confidence of the industrialists and corporates in the current situation. There is distress and the government is looking at incentivising businesses to restart the economy”, an MoF official was quoted as saying.

IRS distances itself

Soon after the so-called report received massive criticism on social media platforms, the IRS association distanced itself from the controversy. In a statement, the IRS association stated that the concerned paper prepared by young officers suggesting policy measures has been forwarded by the association for the consideration of the government. It does not represent the official view of the entire IRS or the I-T department.

Economic Measures announced in March

In a press conference held last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made key announcements amidst coronavirus crisis that has wrought havoc on the economic mood of the country. In a big relief to direct taxpayers, the Finance Minister extended the last date for filing personal income tax for FY 2018-2019 to June 30, 2020. Moreover, the interest rate levied on delayed payments have also been reduced to 9% from 12%.

The Central Government has also extended the deadline for filing Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns for March, April, and May 2020 to 30 June 2020. For companies with annual turnover less than ₹5 crores, no interest/late fee/penalty will be charged. For businesses with higher turnover than 5 crores, only the interest amount will be charged. Late fee and penalty have been waived.

Congress supporters compare Sonia Gandhi to Goddess Sita

OpIndia Staff
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Congress supporters compare Sonia Gandhi to Goddess Sita

Days after hailing and saluting their interim party president Sonia Gandhi with revered slogans like ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ and calling her ‘mother’, Congress supporters have now compared her to Goddess Sita.

A social media handle ‘With Congress’ which refers to itself as ‘biggest online initiative’ by volunteers at Congress, shared an image which stated that like Sonia Gandhi alias Antonia Maino, who has roots in Italy, Goddess Sita, too, had roots in Nepal. ‘With Congress’ stated that in Tretayug, a ‘rakshas’ (demon) had questioned Goddess Sita’s character and insulted her while in Kalyug, a ‘rakshas’ has questioned Sonia Gandhi’s character and abused her.

The comparison with Goddess Sita comes soon after Sonia Gandhi’s silence over Palghar Sadhu lynching was questioned. Sonia Gandhi’s party, Congress, is in power in Maharashtra in alliance with NCP and Shiv Sena. Last week, two Sadhus were lynched by a mob in Palghar, Maharashtra.

The ‘With Congress’ social media account is followed by verified Twitter handles such as official Congress account, Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, Alka Lamba, journalists like Rahul Kanwal, Gargi Rawat and also Aam Aadmi Party leaders like MLA Raghav Chadha.The ‘With Congress’ social media account is followed by verified Twitter handles such as official Congress account, Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, Alka Lamba, journalists like Rahul Kanwal, Gargi Rawat and also Aam Aadmi Party leaders like MLA Raghav Chadha.

People following ‘With Congress’

The same image was also posted on its Facebook page which has over a million ‘likes’.

Facebook post comparing Sonia Gandhi to Goddess Sita

Arnab Goswami attacked by Congress goons

Last week, referring to Sonia Gandhi by her maiden name, Republic TV’s Editor in Chief Arnab Goswami had questioned Congress Interim President’s silence over Palghar lynching. Following the debate, many Congress leaders and supporters took to social media and attacked Goswami for the same. They threatened with legal action for ‘insulting’ Sonia Gandhi. Hours later, Goswami and his wife were attacked by two men, associated with Youth Congress near their residence in Mumbai.

On Monday, Mumbai Police sent two notices to Goswami in a span of 12 hours for immediate interrogation. Goswami then issued a statement that he will make himself available for interrogation with Mumbai Police on Monday morning.

Karnataka: CRPF COBRA commando beaten, humiliated and tied up in chains by police, was assaulted for cleaning his bike in front of his house

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: CRPF COBRA commando beaten, humiliated and tied up in chains by police, was assaulted for cleaning his bike in front of his house

In a shocking incident, Sachin Sunil Savant, a CRPF COBRA commando was beaten, abused, humiliated and dragged to the police station in Belgavi district, Karnataka.

A twitter user Mithanshu had shared the story of the COBRA commando in a post, detailing the incident. The CRPF staffer was seen tied up in chains in the police station.

In a note, Mithanshu had informed that the CRPF jawan was on leave and in his home in Yaksamba village in the Chikkodi Taluk in Belgavi district. On 23 April, the jawan was cleaning his bike in front of his house when he was approached by the police and accosted for not wearing a mask. Sachin Sawant was then allegedly beaten by the police personnel, without any warning.

Despite informing the police personnel that he is a CRPF commando and is currently on leave, and since he was cleaning his bike in front of his own house and not going anywhere, and thus he did not need to wear a mask, the police personnel allegedly kept beating and abusing him.

Mithanshu’s post added that Sachin Savant then was paraded to the police station in handcuffs and was put under custody. The SHO of the police station had allegedly registered an FIR under section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty),504 & 505 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of IPC. Mithanshu has informed that the FIR has been registered without informing the controlling authority of the CRPF commando.

As per a report in News 18, Belgavi SP Laxman Nimbargi stated, “An argument started regarding central police versus state police, the CRPF jawan then held the collar of our constable and started kicking him, the head constable then had to rescue his colleague, that’s when you see him using the lathi, based on which the FIR was registered”.

The police have also stated that during interrogation, the CRPF staffer has admitted that he was in a foul mood because of a fight in his household.

In a video of the incident shared by journalist Soumyadipta, the commando is seen standing near a bike (his service bike, as per reports), while multiple police personnel argue with him. One police official is even seen holding the pants of the CRPF jawan in a humiliating manner, in an apparent attempt to stop him. The police officials repeatedly push and shove the jawan.

In the video, after some argument, the jawan is attacked with a lathi by the police. After that, the jawan also retaliates.

As per Soumyadipta’s post, Sachin Savant is posted with the 27 COBRA commando Battalion and was on leave. However, he was reportedly tying to explain to the police officials that he was servicing his bike, because the COBRA commandos have to always remain on standby for any emergency. As per the post, since he was neither loitering or roaming around, he was not violating the lockdown rules in any manner.

Soumyadipta has further informed that the Belgavi police has now written to Sachin Savant’s commanding officer in Bengal, informing about the Jawan’s arrest. The letter, however, states that Savant has abused and attacked the police officials first.

The images of the jawan being tied up in chains and the video of the incident have created a furore on social media.

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