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ISRO will definitely attempt another landing on the moon’s surface: K Sivan

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ISRO will definitely attempt another landing on the moon’s surface: K Sivan

Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) chief Kailasavadivoo Sivan on Saturday stated that the organisation is working on to attempt on a second landing attempt of the Vikram Lander.

Putting all the speculations to rest, the ISRO chief said that ISRO would definitely attempt another landing on Moon’s south pole. Sivan, who was in Delhi to attend IIT-Delhi 50th convocation ceremony said: “We want to demonstrate the technology for Vikram Lander landing. We are working on a plan of action about how to go ahead for Vikram Lander landing.”

Read: Chandrayaan 2: ISRO crosses a major landmark, successfully injects the spacecraft into the lunar orbit

The bold effort by Indian scientists to soft-land on the lunar south pole had suffered a glitch on early hours of September 7 after Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram module lost the communication with ground stations, just 2.1 km from the lunar surface during its final descent.

Read: There are no failures in science, only efforts and experiments: PM Modi to ISRO scientist

Had it been successful, India would have been the fourth country to land a spacecraft intact on the Moon’ surface.

Through this ambitious mission, India attempted to discover the dark side of the moon. The mission was to land at the south pole of the moon. While ISRO had managed to successfully place the Chandrayan-2 orbiter in its place, the Vikram Lander had lost contact with the ground stations at the last moment.

Vikram Lander was to launch India’s first moon rover ‘Pragyan’ at the lunar surface.

As explained by ISRO, the mission was to use the moon as a laboratory to better understand Earth’s history. The moon was believed to have been a part of the Earth at one point in time. The water held at the south pole of the moon might be 3-4 billion years old, containing clues of the atmosphere during the earlier days of the solar system.

Besides this, the water may also serve a utilitarian purpose as well in the distant future. Reports also suggested that ISRO would have hunted for Helium-3 as well.

However, the ambitious Chandrayaan 2, ISRO’s most challenging space mission till date, had already made India and its citizens proud. As a collective mission, Chandrayaan 2 had achieved 95 per cent of its objective.

PDP MP Nazir Ahmad Laway expelled from the party for attending swearing-in ceremony of Jammu and Kashmir LG

OpIndia Staff
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PDP MP Nazir Ahmad Laway expelled from the party for attending swearing-in ceremony of Jammu and Kashmir LG

Rajya Sabha MP Nazir Ahmad Laway has been suspended from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) citing anti-party activities. According to the party spokesperson, the disciplinary action was initiated against Ahmad after he subverted party leadership by attending the swearing-in ceremony of GC Murmu, the newly appointed Lieutenant Governor (LG) of the Jammu and Kashmir union territory. The PDP has been at loggerheads with the Union Government of India ever since the latter abrogated Article 370, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its separate status.

The spokesperson informed that the basic membership of Rajya Sabha MP Mr Nazir Ahmed Laway has been cancelled following Mr Laway’s participation in the Srinagar event was in violation of the party’s stand about the current political situation and annulment of Article 370. GC Murmu was sworn in as the Lieutenant Governor of the newly carved out union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.

Read: As Radio Kashmir becomes All India Radio, remembering Lassa Kaul, Doordarshan director who was killed by JKLF terrorists in February 1990

Many opposition leaders and trouble makers were put under preventive custody following the August 5 order of repealing Article 370. Mehbooba Mufti, the PDP chief, too was held under detention, as a part of security arrangement to contain the possible anarchy caused by the move. Other opposition leaders such as Omar Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah and Hurriyat leaders were also put under house arrest to control the backlash in the state.

This is not the first time that Laway had acted against the party directives. Prior to this, Laway had once again gone against the top leadership of the PDP when he abstained from voting on the controversial Triple Talaq Bill, which passed through opposition-dominated Rajya Sabha. Mehbooba had expressed her disappointment at her MPs failing to vote against the bill that sought to end the draconian practice of Muslim men instantly divorcing their wives by uttering “talaq” thrice.

Read: Intelligence reports reveal ISI is planning to disrupt peace by killing non-residents in Kashmir

Laway had also torn a copy of the Indian Constitution along with PDP MP Mir Mohammad Fayaz, on August 5, after the Indian Home Minister Amit Shah tabled the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in the upper house.

Hapur, Uttar Pradesh: Severed head and other parts of dead cow found in drain, situation tense as police investigates

OpIndia Staff
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Hapur, Uttar Pradesh: Severed head and other parts of dead cow found in drain, situation tense as police investigates

A tense situation occurred in Hapur district, Kotwali Zilla, Rampur road village of Uttar Pradesh on Friday after the villagers of Rampur found the severed dead body of a cow in the drains, reports Jansatta.

According to reports, the villagers found the severed head and other parts of the cow in the drain on Thursday evening. As news spread regarding the dead body being found in the drains, many villagers soon assembled at the spot leading to a tense situation.

Read: Cow has become the cause of terror for some: Abhisar Sharma’s deranged rant on cows is also factually incorrect

The villagers also stated that there has been an increase in cow slaughter activities near the Rampur village and accused the police officers of being mute spectator despite villagers raising complaints against illegal cow smuggling.

Jai Bhagwan Sharma Pintu, the village head of Rampur also stated that the villagers have raised several complaints against illegal cow slaughter but police have not taken any action against it.

Read: Baghpat: While one village remains tense after the discovery of cow carcasses, Muslim family of the cow-smugglers attacks police team in another

Meanwhile, SP Yashvir Singh has said the incident of cow slaughtering is worrisome. Following the incident, an inquiry has been initiated against Chowki in charge Sarvan Gautam and a notice has been issued to Mahavir Singh Chauhan for their negligence.

SP Singh stated that the villagers have accused the police officers of being involved in the cow slaughtering mafia. He stated that a police team headed by Additional SP Sarvesh Kumar Mishra will be set up to investigate into the issue.

Maharashtra: Govt formation drama extends, while some Congress leaders want Sena alliance, Sena changes tune, again

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Govt formation drama extends, while some Congress leaders want Sena alliance, Sena changes tune, again

As the tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP continues in Maharashtra over the government formation and CM chair, the Congress party seems to have sensed an opportunity to form a government as senior leaders from Maharashtra met party chief Sonia Gandhi in the national capital on Friday.

According to the reports, the Congress party is likely to adopt a ‘wait and watch’ policy as negotiations between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena over power-sharing in the state appeared to have hit a roadblock.

Meanwhile, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar will also be meeting Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on November 4, where the issue of supporting a Sena-led government will be discussed.

The Congress state leadership are reportedly keen to form an alliance with the Sena and have alerted their leadership that they should be prepared with a response to scenarios that may arise soon. The Congress top leadership, however, is not currently keen to wade into the row between the BJP-Shiv Sena tussle.

A report in Times Now stated that some Congress leaders in Maharashtra have written a letter to Sonia Gandhi favouring an alliance with the Sena.


Reportedly, if Sena and BJP fail to reach a compromise, some of the state Congress leaders wants the party to form an alliance with NCP and Sena. However, some other leaders think it is for Sena to make the first move in this regard. Till now, Congress has not engaged with Sena, but its partner NCP has met some of Sena leaders.

Earlier, Shiv Sena had also hinted of an alliance with NCP-Congress alliance. Sanjay Raut, leader of Shiv Sena after his meeting with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, had said that the kind of situation that is prevailing in Maharashtra, all political parties are talking to each other, except Shiv Sena and BJP.

The Congress has been keeping its cards close to its chest. To discuss the political developments, Maharashtra Congress leadership on Friday met with party chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence 10 Janpath in New Delhi. The meeting held at Sonia Gandhi’s residence was attended by Ashok Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Manikrao Thackrey, Vijay Wadettivar, Prithviraj Chavan, KC Venugopal and Mallikarjun Kharge.

“We are waiting and watching the political drama in Maharashtra. Congress has not put forth any claim. Sena has not given us any proposal, nor has there been any dialogue with it,”  former CM Ashok Chavan said. Interestingly, Chavan pointed fingers at only BJP for the deadlock as he said BJP was responsible for this situation and said the BJP is apparently not fulfilling the promises it made to Sena.

Mumbai leader Milind Deora said, “Congress will not allow itself to be used as a bargaining tool. We have been given the mandate to sit in the opposition and will fulfil that mandate.”

The Congress party prefers that Pawar should take the lead to stitch an alliance in the state. Sharad Pawar is in open contact with Sena leaders, a situation that Congress cannot afford. Another senior AICC leader said that Congress has to be ready for any situation, but a partnership with Sena only meant that NCP and Sena will form the government, with outside support from Congress.

On Friday, Shiv Sena took a U-turn and refuted reports that suggested that it may join hands with NCP-Congress alliance. Sanjay Raut stated that the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance has fought the elections together as a coalition and will abide by the alliance till their last breath.

Pakistani singer Rabi Pirzada’s sex videos leaked a day after she criticised their army spokesperson Ghafoora on Twitter

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani singer Rabi Pirzada’s sex videos leaked a day after she criticised their army spokesperson Ghafoora on Twitter

Pakistani singer Rabi Pirzada’s private nude videos have been reportedly leaked soon after she had criticised Pakistani Army spokesperson Asif Ghafoor on Twitter.

Rabi Pirzada is the Pakistani singer who had gained social media attention in India by claiming to release snakes and crocodiles on PM Modi after the abrogation of Article 370 and recently had worn the popular Pakistani costume, the ‘suicide vest’ to ‘threaten’ PM Modi. She is apparently a pop singer with a considerable fan following in Pakistan.

Read: Pakistani singer Rabi Pirzada threatens snake attack against Indians, especially PM Modi, for the abrogation of Article 370

As per a report in India Today, Pirzada’s nude photos and videos were leaked in the early hours of Friday. Interestingly, Pirzada had criticised Pakistan Army’s spokesperson (DGISPR) Asif Ghafoor, popularly known on Twitter as ‘Ghafoora’, over the latter’s defence of a much-trolled item song in Pakistan Army sponsored movie ‘Kaaf Kangana’ by Pakistani actress Neelam Muneer.

The item song of the Pakistan Army sponsored movie was heavily criticised for its content and lyrics. However, Asif Ghafoor had come out in defence of the song claiming that in the movie’s context, it is an Indian girl dancing.

Asif Ghafoor on Twitter

Though it may sound extremely confusing to Indian readers as to why the official army spokesperson is funding, making and defending item songs in a movie, it is notable here that such things are usually what the Pakistani army does because they seem to have outsourced their actual jobs to Islamist terrorists.

Read: ‘Pakistani ‘pop singer’ Rabi Pirzada uploads picture wearing ‘explosives’, expresses her wish to ‘suicide bomb’ PM Modi

Nevertheless, the reptile-loving singer Rabi Pirzada apparently did not like the DGISPR’s style of defending cheap item songs and had posted on Twitter about it.


Pirzada had posted this on Thursday. However, early on Friday morning, her nude and intimate videos had apparently flooded Pakistani internet. Many of Pirzada’s fans and supporters had requested social media users not to share or discuss the nude videos. There were claims that since she had criticised DGISPR, Ghafoora may be behind the ‘leak’.

Via Twitter

Some users also expressed outrage wondering that how can Ghafoora leak videos of a woman who had been ‘doing his bidding’ all these years.

Via Twitter

However, very soon, Pakistani Twitter users also started claiming that the videos were leaked from Pirzada’s mobile phone by her ex-boyfriend who apparently had her iCloud password. Some handles were also claiming that she had sold her phone recently which contained some private videos and the leak might have come from there.

Via Twitter

Pirzada has, however, maintained silence over the issue so far.

Kerala Church feud: Children made to write ‘Sathyam’ in own blood by Jacobites to protest against Orthodox faction

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala Church feud: Children made to write ‘Sathyam’ in own blood by Jacobites to protest against Orthodox faction

The feud between the Jacobite faction and the and the Orthodox faction over the ownership and entry into Church in Kothamangalam in Ernakulam, Kerala seems to now have taken a distressing turn with the involvement of children. Reportedly, small children were allegedly forced to write “Sathyam” (truth) in blood as part of its protest against the Orthodox Church allegedly by the Jacobite faction.

Children made to write ‘Sathyam’ with blood

Around 25000 Sunday school students from various parishes across the state had gathered at Kothamangalam to pledge their allegiance to the Patriarch of Antioch. Reportedly, the children’s index finger was pricked and rubber bands were tied around their finger to allow more blood to flow so they could use their blood as ink.

Read: Kerala: Orthodox-Jacobite Church fight over burial ritual, family donates body to Ayurveda medical college

This protest by the Jacobites has shocked and angered child rights groups. The Child Rights Commission has asked for a report from the District Administration, District Child Protection Officer, and the police chief about the incident where children were made to write ‘Sathyam’ in blood. “It is an offence if the act has been committed by children below 18 years of age. We have registered a suo motu case based on the news reports and action will be taken against organisers if any compulsion is reported,” said P Suresh, chairman of the Child Rights Commission. Based on the direction from the Commission, Ernakulam Rural SP K Karthik has sought a report from Muvattupuzha DySP about the incident.

The Vicar of the Jacobite Church, though, has resorted to obfuscation. The Jacobite vicar of the Kothamangalam church Fr Jose Paruthuvayalil said that the children were not forced to write in their blood and whoever did so, did so voluntarily.

Read: Kerala: Daughter blackmailed to join the Orthodox Church to ensure decent burial ground for Jacobite Christian mother

“Out of over 25000 students, only some were engaged in writing with their blood. We did not force anyone, they voluntarily came forward in pledging their allegiance to Patriarch of Antioch. People have several ways of expressing their faith, there are even those who are ready to sacrifice their life for the faith”, the Vicar said, as reported by the New Indian Express.

Read: Kerala: Feud between Orthodox and Jacobite factions over ownership of church heightens as police try to implement SC verdict

While the Vicar would have people believe that little children volunteered to write “Sathyam” in blood to protest against the Orthodox faction, it seems a little far-fetched that children came up with this idea on their own and even executed it.

The Kerala High court had in September directed the police to arrest the supporters of the Jacobite faction who had blocked the police the previous day from implementing the controversial Supreme Court 2017 verdict regarding the Church’s management. The supporters belonging to the Jacobite faction, under the leadership of a few Metropolitan priests, had locked the gates and assembled inside the St Mary’s Church in Ernakulam district’s Piravom in Kerala, barring supporters of the Orthodox faction to formally take over the administration of the church as instructed by the Supreme court in its 2017 verdict.

Read: Two Christian factions in Kerala fight over a Church, HC directs arrest of Jacobites preventing Orthodox entry

In a landmark judgement delivered on July 3, 2017, the Supreme Court had ruled on a centuries-old dispute between Jacobite and Orthodox factions of Kerala’s Malankara Church. The SC had ruled that 1100 parishes and their churches under the Malankara Church, which were until then controlled by the Jacobite faction should be controlled by the Orthodox faction, as per the 1934 Malankara Church guidelines.

The dispute between the two Christian factions are not new, in fact, it is about a century old. Last year, the situation at the Piravom Valiyapalli remained tensed after one member of the Jacobite faction threatened to jump off the Church building, while others poured kerosene over their heads and threatened to set themselves alight, as police then too tried to implement the SC verdict.

Essentially, the feud between the two factions is an ownership and property dispute. The dispute, if resolved, will decide who gets the ownership of about 1000 Churches – the Jacobite faction or the Orthodox Church.

Pune: Hand grenade found near Railway station parking facility, sent for forensic analysis after being destroyed by bomb disposal squad

OpIndia Staff
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Pune: Hand grenade found near Railway station parking facility, sent for forensic analysis after being destroyed by bomb disposal squad

A hand grenade was found near the parking facility of Pune railway station on Friday afternoon. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) was immediately rushed to the spot, who destroyed the grenade, police said.

According to the reports, an employee working in the railway station alerted the Pune police after he saw a grenade near the premises. The Pune police soon informed the bomb disposal unit, who carried out the operation for over four hours. The object was taken to the nearby RPF Ground and neutralised and then sent to the forensic laboratory for further tests.

The activity was carried out in a subtle manner to make sure that passengers did not panic after the grenade was found.

“We got a call at 12 noon after which the area was evacuated and the BDDS was deployed. We have intimated defence establishments in the vicinity to see if they can provide further information on the grenade-like object,” the police official added.

Read: 36 sexually assaulted students rescued from Pune Madrasa, Maulana arrested

Railway Protection Force’s Assistant Senior Inspector Santosh Bade said, “After spotting the hand grenade we immediately vacated the entire parking space and covered the area. We further called the bomb squad and handed over the operation to them. The case is now being followed up by the officials of Bund Garden Police Station and will have better details about the same”.

Reportedly, the hand grenade was found to be a dangerous one and it has been sent to the forensic laboratory by the bomb disposal squad. The Pune police have started their investigation to nab the culprits. So far, both the RPF and the police have no leads and are talking to people around the station for any information there was no CCTV at the railway station.

Delhi’s garbage monument: Ghazipur landfill’s mountain of waste to be taller than Taj Mahal by next year

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi’s garbage monument: Ghazipur landfill’s mountain of waste to be taller than Taj Mahal by next year

India’s tallest garbage mountain in Ghazipur, New Delhi is on course to rise higher than the Taj Mahal in the next year, reports Hindustan Times.

The Ghazipur landfill site has already accumulated over 14 million metric tonnes of garbage, pushing it to the brink of another massive environmental disaster. The steep slopes covered with trash makes it dangerous for men and machinery.

The place is reportedly full of hawks, dogs, rats and stray animals who wander the area in search of food. The total garbage in the area can fill up to more than 40 football pitches. Ghazipur rises by nearly 10 metres a year with increasing pollution in the region.

According to East Delhi’s superintendent engineer Arun Kumar, the pile of garbage is already more than 65 metres (213 feet) high. If the dumping continues to grow at this rate, it will be taller than the iconic Taj in Agra by 2020, which is 73 metres high.

Reportedly, Ghazipur landfill facility was opened in 1984 and has already reached its capacity in 2002. However, it was not closed but was allowed to function with more trucks arriving each day with tonnes of garbage.

“About 2,000 tonnes of garbage is dumped at Ghazipur each day, ” said a Delhi municipal official on condition of anonymity.

 In 2017, 50 tonnes of waste had come hurtling down like an avalanche over a group of people, killing two and injuring 5 others. Police and NDRF team had taken three hours to rescue the injured persons and recover the bodies. A ban on dumping waste was imposed but it could last only a few days because authorities could not find an alternative. Currently, there is no alternative site to dump rubbish, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation has continued to use the site for the last 16 years.

The Ghazipur landfills have become extremely hazardous as fires, sparked by methane gas coming from the dump, regularly break out and take days to extinguish. Shambhavi Shukla, a senior researcher at the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi, has stated to Hindustan Times that methane belching from the garbage can become even more deadly when mixed with atmosphere. Leachate, a black toxic liquid, is also leaking from the dump into a local canal.

“It all needs to be stopped as the continuous dumping has severely polluted the air and groundwater,” said Chitra Mukherjee, head of Chintan, an environmental advocacy group.

Residents say the dump often makes breathing virtually impossible. local residents have reported that people there fall sick all the time. Protests have not worked and people have also been leaving the area with their families.

A local plant that treats the waste also reportedly adds to the misery as it emits smoke.

Kumud Gupta, a local doctor said that more than 70 people, including babies, visit her each day who are mostly suffering from respiratory and stomach ailments caused by polluted air.

A government survey conducted between 2013 and 2017 stated that Delhi saw 981 deaths from acute respiratory infection while more than 1.7 million residents suffered from infections.

With India’s garbage issue becoming a bigger issue now, it will only cause more hazards in the future. Reportedly, Indian cities are among the world’s largest garbage producers, generating 62 million tonnes of waste annually. It could rise to 165 million tonnes by 2030, according to government figures.

Another arrest in Kamlesh Tiwari murder: Yusuf Khan arrested for providing pistol to murder accused Ashfaq and Moinuddin

OpIndia Staff
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Another arrest in Kamlesh Tiwari murder: Yusuf Khan arrested for providing pistol to murder accused Ashfaq and Moinuddin

The Gujarat ATS and Uttar Pradesh ATS is a joint action has arrested another accused in the Kamlesh Tiwari murder case. 24-year-old Yusuf Pathan has been arrested for providing pistol to the murder accused, Ashfaq and Moinuddin.

Yusuf Pathan was arrested from Kanpur by a joint task force of the Uttar Pradesh ATS and Gujarat ATS. Pathan is currently being interrogated by the police.

“On October 18, the president of Hindu Samaj Party Kamlesh Tiwari was murdered by two persons. The prime accused in the case, Ashfaq, alias Moinuddin, and Fareed Pathan has been arrested and sent to jail. Yusuf Khan, who provided the pistol, which was used in the murder, has been arrested from Kanpur in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat ATS,” the Uttar Pradesh ATS said in a statement, adding that detailed interrogation was on.

Read: The Wire interviews Umar Khalid to whitewash Kamlesh Tiwari murder, Umar says ‘Muslims must mobilise’

Yusuf Khan, who provided a pistol to the killers of Kamlesh Tiwari was arrested around 6 pm from Ghantaghar which comes under Harbansh-Mohal Police Station in Kanpur,” the UP Police added in a statement.

The Uttar Pradesh police have also said that two mobile phones have been seized from the accused Yusuf Pathan.

On the 18th of October, Hindu activist and leader of the Hindu Samaj Party, Kamlesh Tiwari, was brutally murdered by Jihadis at his residence in Lucknow. He was shot and his throat was slit by the murderers. Since then, the investigation has seen numerous developments and various people have been arrested for their involvement in the murder.

Read: All you need to know about the Kamlesh Tiwari murder investigation so far: Jihad, a well-hatched plan and plain brutality

The Uttar Pradesh Police recently also arrested one more person from Bareilly in connection with the murder case of Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari. The accused, identified as Kamran, allegedly helped the assailants – Moinuddin and Ashfaq, in trying to escape to Nepal. He works in the travel agency of Naved, another accused who has been arrested after it was revealed that he had harboured the two killers, Ashfaq and Moinuddin, and had helped them cross the border into Nepal.

The two main accused, Moinuddin, along with Ashfaq, were arrested by Gujarat ATS on October 22 after being on the run for four days. While Moinuddin worked as Zomato delivery boy, Ashfaq, second man arrested for the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari, worked as a medical representative in a pharma company. He had forged his colleague’s Aadhaar to pose as Rohit Solanki, a Hindu rights activist, to gain the trust of Tiwari.

Read: Jamiat Ulem-e-Hind extends legal and financial support to Islamists who brutally murdered Hindu activist Kamlesh Tiwari

During the interrogation which lasted over six hours, the two radical Islamists had given away their malicious intention and gory details of the gruesome murder of the former Hindu Mahasabha leader who was assassinated at his Lucknow office on October 18, 2019.

It has also been revealed now that Ashfaq and Moinuddin wanted to video record the murder of Tiwari and use it to send a message to warn anyone who dares to ‘Insult Islam’.

Recently, it was also revealed that the murderers were in touch with 72 radicals through WhatsApp who played an equally important role in hatching the well-plotted conspiracy.

A day after the murder, the Gujarat ATS had nabbed the main conspirators named Rashid Pathan, Faizan Pathan and a Maulvi named Mohsin Sheikh from Surat. They had confessed after an interrogation that they had planned Tiwari’s murder for his 2015 comments on Prophet Muhammad’s sexuality which they considered was ‘blasphemous’.

Walayar rape case: Kerala High Court dismisses plea for CBI probe, Kerala govt to appeal against accused’s acquittal

OpIndia Staff
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Walayar rape case: Kerala High Court dismisses plea for CBI probe, Kerala govt to appeal against accused’s acquittal

A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case of two minor Dalit sisters who were raped and killed at Walayar in Palakkad in 2017. Last Friday, a POCSO court in Kerala had acquitted all three accused in the case.

The bench of Chief Justice S Mani Kumar and Justice CT Ravi Kumar indicated that there were legal opportunities available for the petitioners to approach higher courts against the trial court ruling.

The petition, seeking CBI probe into the rape case, was filed in the Kerala High Court by a Thrissur-based activist who complained that there were several irregularities in the Kerala Police investigation. But the high court pointed out that the petition was based on newspaper reports and asked how a re-probe could be ordered when the trial court has ruled on the matter.

The state government has also informed the court that it plans to appeal against the special POCSO court verdict acquitting three accused in the case on October 25.

Alleging justice had been denied, yesterday, the victim’s parents had met Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and pressed for a CBI inquiry into the murders. However, the CM had told the parents that while it is practically not possible for the Kerala government to seek a CBI probe in the case, the government will not oppose the same if the parents move a petition for it.

Also Read- Nirbhaya rape case convicts could be executed soon, handed notice: Tihar Superintendent

The mother of the victims has earlier expressed apprehension in the probe saying that she does not trust the Kerala Police officers probing the case. “They collected documents and evidence during each phase of the investigation but nothing happened. We don’t have any evidence now. The investigation should be conducted in a way that serves justice to our daughters”, she had said.

After facing massive outrage over the handling of Walayar Rape case, the Kerala government had decided to file an appeal against the trial court order acquitting the accused in the Walayar rape case. In the high-level meeting chaired by Pinarayi, it was also decided to replace the public prosecutor.

On Monday, the civil society members across the country, especially in Kerala had expressed massive outrage against the Kerala government following the acquittal of all four persons in the rape and death case of two minor Dalit girls in Walayar in Palakkad district in 2017.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) had also found lapses from investigating officials in the case. Following this, CM had said in the Assembly that it would be decided after examinations whether a CBI probe or a re-probe was required or not.

Also Read- Kerala Nun Rape case: Kerala court summons Bishop Franco Mulakkal even as a nun alleges mental torture by him

Two years after two minor sisters in Walayar in Palakkad district were found dead in mysterious circumstances, a court in Palakkad on Friday acquitted three persons who were accused of abetment of suicide and rape of the two minor Dalit girls.

It is being accused that the Kerala police allegedly helped the accused evade the conviction by weakening the case under political pressure. Ironically, the accused in the case are CPI(M) workers and the defence lawyer was a local CPI(M) leader.

The two minor Dalit girls, who were sisters, were found hanging after being sexually assaulted in January and March 2017 in Attappalam in Walayar, near Kerala’s border with Tamil Nadu. According to the postmortem reports, the girls were subjected to sexual assault. The autopsy report in the case of the younger girl even suggested the possibility of homicidal hanging.

However, the police did not investigate the murder charges and the final report was submitted against four accused – V Madhu, M Madhu, Shibu and Pradeep Kumar for offences of abetment of suicide, rape and unnatural sex under the Indian Penal Code and penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act.

Another accused is a juvenile and proceedings against him are progressing in the Juvenile Justice Board.

The Special POCSO Court, Palakkad had acquitted one of the accused Pradeep Kumar on September 30. On Friday, the First Additional Sessions Judge (Special POCSO Court) of Palakkad district acquitted three accused in the case, V Madhu, Shibu and M Madhu, citing that the prosecution was not able to prove their involvement in the case.

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