The intelligence agencies have warned that two ISIS-trained Islamic terrorists have entered the state. A high alert has been issued in Basti, Gorakhpur, Siddharthnagar, Kushinagar and Maharajganj among others district close to the border.
According to the Zee news reports, the ISIS terrorists are believed to be present in Uttar Pradesh. Basti IG range Ashutosh Kumar confirmed that they have received information that two terrorists have entered the state and are currently in Uttar Pradesh. The intelligence officials have stated that the terrorists may attempt to flee to Nepal via the bordering areas.
Ashutosh Kumar, IG, Basti Range: Two wanted terrorists have entered the state of UP and there is information that they may attempt to flee to Nepal. Therefore, alert has been issued along India-Nepal border in Siddharthnagar district. pic.twitter.com/Qp7YJ4eZDC
Reportedly, the two Islamic terrorists identified as Khwaja Moinuddin and Abdul Samad were last seen in West Bengal’s Siliguri. In September 2017, Khwaja Moinuddin was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Chennai. Moinuddin is associated with ISIS and has been active in south Indian states.
The NIA investigation had revealed that Moinuddin after returning from Syria had been brainwashing the youths in south Indian states and recruiting them for Islamic terror organisation ISIS.
The intelligence agencies had also claimed that he was in touch with top leaders of Pakistan-backed terrorist organization Indian Mujahideen.
Another terrorist Abdul Samad, who was active in south India, had been arrested in February 2018. Terrorist Samad is accused of providing Rs 3.50 lakh through hawala from a Gulf country to a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, who has links to Pune blast. He was also associated with banned Islamist organisation SIMI and was responsible for providing arms and ammunition for terror-related activities.
It is notable here that the India-Nepal border has been in the news recently after it was reported that the radical Islamists who had murdered Hindu Samaj leader Kamlesh Tiwari had also tried to escape to Nepal through the border in Uttar Pradesh.
Days after a Muslim mob surrounded the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara, the birthplace of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak in Pakistan, a Sikh youth, Ravinder Singh, was murdered in broad daylight in Pakistan’s Peshawar.
#BREAKING: Sikh man Ravinder Singh murdered in Peshawar Pakistan, body pumped with bullets by ‘unknown persons’. Usually ‘unknown persons’ in Pak means ISI/ISPR. Ravinder is brother of Pak journalist Harmeet Singh. He was in Peshawar to shop for his wedding. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/Hb8fWKW0mY
According to journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, Singh’s body was pumped with bullets by “unknown persons’. Singh was brother of Pakistan-based journalist, Harmeet Singh and was in Peshawar to shop for his wedding.
As per journalist Ravinder Singh Robin, the bullet ridden body of the 25-year-old was found near Chamkini Police Station the checkpoint of Khyber Agency.
— Ravinder Singh Robin ਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ راویندرسنگھ روبن (@rsrobin1) January 5, 2020
Singh’s brother could be heard saying that how few people belonging to the minority community are left in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan gets the funding to protect the minorities but in spite of that the fact is that I have to pick up the dead body of my brother.
— Ravinder Singh Robin ਰਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ راویندرسنگھ روبن (@rsrobin1) January 5, 2020
“Till the government of Pakistan brings to justice my brother’s murderers, I will not stop,” he says. “Today I have picked up the dead body. Tomorrow my other brothers of Sikh, Christian, Hindu community will have to face such a situation. You tell the world minorities are safe but we pick up dead bodies of our loved ones every year,” he said.
It is unfortunate that Pakistan treats its minorities as second-class citizens, depriving them of their basic rights and subjecting them to violence and brutality. It is to this end, that the Indian government enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act that intends to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities-Jains, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists and Hindus from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has attacked the opposition’s attempts to mislead and deliberate spreading of misinformation over the Citizenship Amendment Act. Addressing BJP booth-level workers in Delhi, the Union Minister has named Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kejriwal had instigated riots by misleading the public over the CAA.
Shah also added that the opposition has misled the people by trying to convey that the citizenship of the minorities in India will be lost even when the government has repeatedly clarified that nobody will lose citizenship in India because of the act.
BJP President & Home Minister Amit Shah: You are instigating country’s minority community that their citizenship will be lost. I want to tell the people from minority community that they will not lose their citizenship as #CAA as no such provision to take anyone’s citizenship https://t.co/Uj3kTv7EUqpic.twitter.com/84R0vaKZ5D
Addressing the Booth Karyakarta Sammelan in Delhi, the Home Minister stated that the sheer number of the crowd present, that merely represents the number of booth workers in Delhi, shows who is going to form the next government in Delhi. He also attacked the Kejriwal government saying that they have not fulfilled any of their promises. He added that the people of Delhi do not want riot mongers to govern them.
Slamming the opposition leaders for opposing the CAA, the Home Minister stated that the opposition would have Indians believe that no atrocities are being committed against the minorities in Pakistan, but the violence in Nankana Saheb recently shows how Pakistan is terrorising minorities in its territory.
Shah also mentioned the social media rumours of a toll-free number that many had claimed as the number to obtain a free Netflix subscription. Shah added that the rumours are false and the concerned number 8866288662 does not belong to any entertainment channel but it is the official toll-free number to gather support for CAA.
Asaduddin Owaisi has always used a particular schtick to attack those who question and criticize his Islamist brand of politics. He often says that they rejected Jinnah’s Pakistan, or the two-nation theory, and that they are proud Indian Muslims and they will remain so forever. This statement is most often made when Owaisi is demanding special privileges for Muslims in the country or to prove that the Muslim community secular while the followers of Hindutva are communal bigots.
The supremo of the AIMIM made this comment again after the Prime Minister of Pakistan shared a fake video to accuse Uttar Pradesh of torturing Muslims. Owaisi said, “We are proud Indian Muslims and, Inshallah, till the day of judgment, will remain as proud Indian Muslims.”
Imran Khan, stop worrying about Indian Muslims. We rejected Jinnah’s two-nation theory.
We are proud Indian Muslims and, Inshallah, till the day of judgement, will remain as proud Indian Muslims. – @asadowaisipic.twitter.com/7aXmauh51l
However, Owaisi’s words cannot be taken at face value. For instance, his brother had infamously demanded that the Police be removed for 15 minutes in the country so that Muslims could show Hindus who is the boss and he suffered no consequences for his incitement.
After Modi’s election as Prime Minister, much of that false bravado has simply vanished into thin air. Since we cannot take Akbaruddin Owaisi’s words at face value, we can’t take Asaduddin Owaisi’s words at face value either. We have to ask ourselves, is he really speaking the truth?
As it turns out, we can safely say that Asaduddin Owaisi is lying when he says that his ancestors rejected the two-nation theory and Jinnah. While there are Indian Muslims who did reject Pakistan, we can never be sure of the exact numbers, there is enough evidence to prove that Asaduddin Owaisi’s family did not reject Pakistan. In fact, he comes from a family that has one of the worst records of communal harmony and tolerance in the history of Independent India.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is the legacy of the Razakars, a Jihadist terror group that committed innumerable atrocities against Hindus in the Nizam’s kingdom before it was crushed by the Iron Man of India, Sardar Patel. Founded in 1927 as the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the MIM was a pro-Nizam party that did not want the Nizam’s Hyderabad to be merged fully with the Union of India. Instead, in line with the Nizam’s wishes, the MIM wanted a ‘Muslim dominion’ rather complete integration with the Indian Union. It was either that or being a part of Pakistan.
To achieve its objective, the MIM floated the Razakars headed by one Qasim Rizvi. The Razakars were basically the Jihadist mob that the MIM used to perpetrate violence on the streets in order to ensure that the Nizam’s wishes were fulfilled. Rizvi, a student of the Aligarh Muslim University, was elected the President of the MIM in 1946 and it was he who led the Razakars when they perpetuated the most heinous crimes against Hindus in the region. The Razakars molested and raped women and children, slaughtered Hindus indiscriminately and engaged in the mutilation and massacre of Hindus.
Sardar Patel soon entered the fray and put an end to the madness. He brought the Nizam to kneel and forced him to accede to the Indian Union. Operation Polo was launched by the Indian government and the Razakars were overwhelmed by the Indian Army. After they surrendered meekly, Laik Ali, the Nizam’s Prime Minister, and Qasim Rizvi were arrested and sent to jail. Rizvi eventually served a nine-year prison sentence and was released only under the condition that he will leave for Pakistan, which he did.
Before leaving, however, in a meeting of the MIM, Rizvi entrusted the leadership of the MIM and the revival of the party to Abdul Wahid Owaisi, the grandfather of Asaduddin Owaisi. The MIM the rebranded itself as the All India MIM and went on to contest elections. Thus, quite clearly, Asaduddin Owaisi’s family was entrusted with the leadership of the AIMIM by a genocidal maniac who wanted Hyderabad to either remain independent or accede to Pakistan.
The Razakars and the MIM were forced to abandon their delusions only by the Indian Army and the Iron Will of the Iron Man of India. For Asaduddin Owaisi to claim that his ancestors rejected Pakistan and the two-nation theory is a blatant lie of the highest order. Moreover, his grandfather, quite clearly, was a trusted aide of the genocidal maniac that led the Razakars while they committed a host of atrocities against Hindus. Furthermore, the conduct of his brother, Akbaruddin Owaisi, proves abundantly that their ideology has changed very little since the time of the Razakars. It’s only their tactics that have changed.
A month after the formation of a Maha Vikas Agadi coalition government in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government on Saturday finally cleared allocation of portfolios to its ministers and also emerged as the biggest loser after it had to concede important portfolios to its alliance partners – Congress and NCP.
According to the reports, Shiv Sena had to cede important portfolios such as Home and Finance to its alliance partner NCP. Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has been allocated the finance ministry while NCP leader Anil Deshmukh is the Home Minister of the state.
The other important portfolios such as Revenue and PWD have also been given to the Congress party. Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat has been allocated the revenue department while former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan will handle the public works department.
Meanwhile, Thackeray-scion Aaditya Thackeray, who is also an MLA, will be responsible for the tourism, environment and protocol ministry. CM Uddhav Thackeray will hold the charge of Ministry of General Administration, Information and Technology, Information and Public Relations, Law and Judiciary and other departments which have not been allocated to any other Minister.
On December 31, 36 leaders of the Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party were sworn in as Cabinet ministers, taking the total strength of the Cabinet to the maximum of 43. In the 288-member assembly, Shiv Sena has 56 seats, NCP has 54 and Congress has 44 seats.
The portfolio allocation shows that the balance of power in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi has already tilted in the favour of the NCP and Sharad Pawar. The NCP has been successful in not only getting 16 ministerial posts but also retained the most crucial ministries.
However, Shiv Sena seems to have been reduced to a non-significant alliance partner in the coalition as even Congress got crucial departments like revenue and PWD out of its tally of 10. Besides the CM post, Shiv Sena has managed to get 14 other ministerial posts while it obtained urban development, agriculture and industries.
The allocation of portfolios has come at a time when the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government is being severely attacked by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the non-allocation of ministries even over a month after the installation of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Former Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa said that the outcome of the February 2019 dogfight involving Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and Pakistani Air Force could have been different had the IAF got the Rafale jets sooner.
“If Abhinandan was flying a Rafale and not a MiG-21, the equation in that air battle would have been different. Why was he not flying a Rafale, because you took ten years to decide which aircraft you want to buy,” Dhanoa said at an event on Saturday.
Following Balakot airstrikes by Indian Air Force in February 2019, Indian fighter pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had engaged Pakistani Air Force in a dog fight and had landed inside Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. He had shot down a Pakistani F-16 before his MiG-21 Bison was hit by an AMRAAM missile. He was captured by Pakistan and was later released.
Questioning the politicisation of defence acquisition deals, BS Dhanoa added, “If you politicise the defence acquisition system, the whole system goes behind. Other files also start moving at a slow pace. When could artillery get a new gun after Bofors? Bofors is a good gun but was mired in controversy, same way Rafale was questioned.”
Dhanoa also termed the S-400 missile system as a ‘game-changer’ and stressed the need to speed up the defence acquisition process. “I have always said that S-400 is a game-changer. It is a very good deal by the government to get S-400,” Dhanoa said.
After a huge political slugfest, aided by certain media establishment, there were apprehensions about India’s acquisition of Dassault Aviation’s Rafale jets. However, the first Rafale aircraft was delivered in October 2019. The deal that began during the UPA era in 2007 was highly politicised in the run-up to last year’s general election.
The Congress had repeatedly attacked the Modi government over a renewed Rafale deal of acquisition of 36 jets to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of crony capitalism. However, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions seeking an investigation.
Following the anti-CAA riots in Uttar Pradesh, the ‘liberal-secular’ media seems to have joined hands with Islamists and ultra-left wing propagandists. Soon after the riots in UP where policemen were subjected to stonepelting by the violent Muslim mob, various media houses and propagandists had spread that UP Police subjected those arrested in the anti-CAA riots were subjected to brutality and many were suffering from rectal bleeding.
The media had reported that students of the Saadat madrasa, who were picked up by police after an anti-CAA protest on 20 December, returned with bruises, fractured bones and even rectal bleeding. However, these reports have turned out to be false as victims have themselves refuted such allegations.
The Telegraph, the ultra-left wing rag, which has a rich history of pushing false propaganda, reported a story on December 29 in which it claimed that during the anti-CAA riots, the Uttar Pradesh police had detained and assaulted almost all 100-odd students from Saadat hostel-cum-orphanage in Muzaffarnagar town.
“The boys were denied access to the toilet at times, and some of them suffered rectal bleeding from the torture,” reported the ultra-left wing newspaper Telegraph.
Telegraph report on Muzaffarnagar incident.
It was followed by National Herald, the mouthpiece of the Congress party, which also published a report stating that the minor students of Madarsa were arrested and some were allegedly tortured which led to ‘rectal bleeding’.
National Herald
Even British daily – The Guardian jumped into the bandwagon to peddle half-truth about the incident, which claimed that the police rounded the cleric and 35 of his students, 15 of whom were allegedly minors and orphans and took them to a nearby police barracks, where they were stripped of their clothes, beaten up. The report claims that the police shoved up rods into cleric’s anus, causing rectal bleeding.
The Guardian report.
As media published concocted stories on the Muzaffarnagar incident, the left-wing trolls, self-proclaimed journalists, members of Congress ecosystem also took to social media to further the false propaganda.
Ultra-left wing radical elements like Kavita Krishnan, who is known for her anti-India propaganda, continued to spread fake news against the UP Police. She claimed that Madarsa schoolboys were tortured by the UP police leading to rectal bleeding.
Krishnan alleged that the madarsa children were raped by UP Police and hence they were suffering from rectal bleeding.
Zainab Sikander, another Islamist troll known for her fondness towards the Congress party, claimed that there was an incident of sexual harassment on Saadat hostel minors and demanded that the UP police who are found guilty of the charges should be sentenced to at least 20 years under POCSO act.
To the BJP-led GOI,
Since you should be proud of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act that you passed in 2019, will you be giving AT LEAST 20 years of imprisonment to any of the cops found guilty of raping orphan boys from Saadat hostel cum orphanage? pic.twitter.com/VTEPd2iC93
Junior Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker also made similar statements claiming that ‘alleged’ rape had happened in Muzaffarnagar and blamed UP police for the incident.
The alleged rape of children in Muzzafarnagar by @Uppolice cops- This Allegation NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED like NOW!!!!!!! @PMOIndia surely surely this needs your most urgent attention! Peeps We must raise our voices for this no matter what side of the CAA-NRC debate we are on! https://t.co/kJNS7hVXMH
Even Islamists troll were not far behind their ideological comrades in spreading fake news on social media regarding the Muzaffarnagar incident.
Kids suffering from rectal bleeding is r@pe. How long are we going to watch as another 2002 unfolds before us, are orphaned Muslims not Indians? Beating & sexually assaulting kids is what we have turned into? Speak up NOW https://t.co/qUvWaeYz0G
Amidst all these propaganda, a report by The Print has clarified that the minor boys of the Saadat hostel have themselves claimed that the reports of rectal bleeding are untrue. Irfan Haider, 21, who hails from Sitapur, told ThePrint that reports that some madarsa students “suffered rectal bleeding from the police torture” were false.
“This isn’t true. Neither the children nor maulana sahab suffered rectal bleeding. They were beaten brutally, which in itself was a horrible experience. We don’t need to make up any allegations,” Naved Alam, a relative and confidante of Hussaini, said to ThePrint.
Another relative, Mohammad Azam, said, “We have to show our faces to God after all. So there’s no point in lying. What happened was a big deal in itself.”
Abhishek Yadav, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Muzaffarnagar, speaking to the Print, said that the allegations of rectal bleeding were based on “one person’s quote, who has political affiliations”. However, some students claimed that the police denied them water and alleged that they were asked to drink their urine.
The Uttar Pradesh saw unprecedented communal riots after Muslim mobs following the Friday prayers resorted to extreme violence against police officials during the anti-CAA protests. The Uttar Pradesh administration had to resort to lathi-charge to take control of the situation. The Muslim mobs also fired bullets in those ‘peaceful protests’ and pelted stones at the police officials.
In the aftermath of the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act, riots, violence, arson and vandalism by Muslim mobs in the name of ‘protests’ against the enactment of the law have taken place across the country.
US President Donald Trump today took to Twitter to send out a message to Iran after it called for a revenge on the assassination of their top military leader general Soleimani by US drone controlled air strikes on Friday.
The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation!
President Trump tweeted that the United States of America just spent two trillion dollars on military equipment and that the US military is by far the best in the world. “If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation!” he tweeted.
On Saturday, Iran unfurled a red flag on top of the iconic The Holy Dome of Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, which is an old Shi’ite tradition symbolising bloody revenge. The words ‘Those who want to avenge the blood of Hussein’ were written across the war flag. As per Shi’ite tradition, red flags also symbolise ‘blood spilt unjustly’ and also serves as a call to avenge the person who is slain.
Iran had earlier on Saturday pinpointed 35 key American assets which could be targeted to take revenge after the recent attack where Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force head General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated.
In his earlier tweets during the wee hours of Sunday morning (India time), President Trump had said that Iran has been nothing but problems for many years.
Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently….
Referring to Soleimani as ‘terrorist leader’ President Trump talked about how Iran is ‘boldly’ talking about targeting US assets as revenge for ‘ridding the world’ of Soleimani.
….targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!
He further warned in capital letters Iran that if Iran strikes any American or American assets, the US, which had earlier targeted 52 Iranian sites representing 52 American hostages taken by Iran years ago, some important Iranian assets will be ‘will be hit very fast an hard’. “The USA wants no more threats!” he tweeted.
Former Indian pacer, Irfan Pathan, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Saturday. Pathan played a vital role in India’s win in the inaugural World T20 in 2007. He also happens to be the second Indian to take a Test hat-trick.
Irfan Pathan made his debut for India in Adelaide Test in 2003. He was regarded as one of the most talented swing and seam bowler, and an Indian version of Wasim Akram. Irfan played 173 matches for India in which he took 301 International wickets. Here are the top 5 moments from his cricketing career.
Dream delivery to Adam Gilchrist
In the 2nd test of his career, Irfan bowled an absolute ripper to dismiss Aussie star batsman Adam Gilchrist. There was a glimpse of Wasim Akram in that delivery. A perfect example of the banana swing and Gilchrist had no answer to it.
Three in Three. A rare sight in Test cricket. Irfan became only the second Indian to take a Test hat-trick. He also became the first bowler to take a Test hat-trick in the first over of a Test match. Despite his sensational opening spell, India lost the Test by 341 runs.
In 2005, the new appointed Indian coach Greg Chappell wanted Irfan Pathan to take his batting seriously and promoted him at number 3 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. Pathan didn’t disappoint him and scored a magnificent 83 (off just 70 balls with eight fours and four sixes) and added 164 with Tendulkar for 2nd wicket. India piled up a score of 350 and comfortably won the game by 152 runs.
4. When Irfan won the World T20 for India
This is probably the highest point in Irfan’s career. In the inaugural World T20 tournament final against Pakistan, India was defending a low score of 157. Irfan bowled a brilliant spell of 4-0-16-3. He dismissed the dangerous Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi off consecutive balls. Irfan was adjudged Man of the Match for his heroic performance. (In the below video he talks about his plan to dismiss of Afridi).
It was another performance that stood out for not only Irfan but also his elder brother Yusuf. The two brothers from Gujarat snatched the victory from the jaws of defeat for India. Chasing 172 against Sri Lanka in a T20I match in Colombo, India was struggling at 117 for 7 in 15.1 overs. With 57 runs required off just 29 balls, Irfan joined his brother Yusuf in the middle. They both went berserk, Yusuf started by scoring 17 runs in one over, and then Irfan smashed 33 runs off 16 balls. India won the match by three wickets with four balls remaining.
What are your favourite moments from Irfan Pathan’s career?
In Kota, Rajasthan’s JK Lon Hospital, as many as ten children have now died in the first four days of January, taking total death toll to 110 since the beginning of December, 2019.
As reported by Times of India, the ICU in the hospital where a father brought his infant had no window panes. This when the temperature in the night fell to as low as 3 degrees with strong gust of freezing winds passing through which may have led to death of the child. A state government report has confirmed that many infants died from hypothermia. Hypothermia is a situation when the body temperature falls below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Not only the ICU had no windowpanes, oxygen cylinders in the hospital were also empty, because of which a lot of children lost their lives. Meanwhile, when Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot went to JK Lon Hospital on Saturday, two groups of Congress clashed with each other and tore clothes when they were stopped from entering the hospital. As reported by Patrika, Pilot had reached the hospital with his supporters when they were stopped. Congress workers lost their cool and started creating a ruckus. Not only that, Pilot’s supporters clashed with supporters of another Congress leader Naimuddin Guddu, having total disregard for the deaths of the children.
JK Lon is the biggest government hospital for children and receives as many as 200-300 patients in the OPD every day. Following the deaths of the children, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had issued a show-cause notice to the Chief Medical And Health Officer of Kota District, BS Tanwar, to look into these deaths. The hospital was in very poor state and pigs were found roaming on the campus.
