In response to the recent spate of hoax bomb threats targeting various flights, including Indian airlines, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that necessary actions were being taken and ruled out any larger conspiracy behind these events.
Ram Mohan Naidu said, “Action is being taken on this. We can’t comment on any kind of a conspiracy but from whatever little bit we know these calls are coming from some minors and pranksters. These are all minor and isolated incidents. There is no kind of conspiracy that we can comment on. From our side, we are going to see what best we can do. We are talking to the airlines, security agencies, within the ministry also. Consultations are going on.”
Stating that such “mischievous and unlawful” actions are a matter of grave concern, the minister strongly condemned “attempts to compromise the safety, security and operational integrity of the aviation section.”
“I am deeply concerned over the recent disruptive acts targeting Indian airlines, affecting domestic and international operations. Such mischievous and unlawful actions are a matter of grave concern, and I strongly condemn any attempts to compromise the safety, security, and operational integrity of our aviation sector,” read a statement on the MoCA website.
Naidu chaired a high-level committee on Monday, stating that he is monitoring the situation regularly, and the law enforcement agencies are pursuing all the cases actively, the Union Minister said in the letter.
“In response, I chaired a high-level committee on October 14, comprising officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation,” the letter said.
In the letter, Naidu also informed that the Mumbai Police has apprehended a minor responsible for issuing bomb threats to three flights, and added that all others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted.
“I am monitoring the situation regularly, and our law enforcement agencies are pursuing all the cases actively. Mumbai Police has arrested a minor responsible for issuing bomb threats targeting 3 flights. All others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted,” the Union Minister said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police informed that an FIR has been registered under sections 217 and 351(4) of the BNS, as well as section 3(1)(d) of The Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, in connection with the recent hoax bomb threat concerning Akasa Air flight.
A detailed investigation is currently underway.
Additionally, after coordination with the concerned social media platform, all accounts responsible for spreading these false threats have been suspended to prevent further misuse and ensure public safety, the police added.
Earlier, an Akasa Air flight bound for Bengaluru from Delhi received a bomb threat on Wednesday, adding to a series of such threats received by multiple airlines in the past two days.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
In a tragic occurrence that has sent shockwaves throughout Uttar Pradesh, 22-year-old Ram Gopal Mishra was brutally murdered by an Islamist mob on October 13th, 2024, in Bahraich. The murder occurred after Mishra replaced an established green flag with a saffron one at Abdul Hamid’s home following a dispute during a religious procession of Durga Visarjan.
Tensions erupted near a mosque as the Durga Visarjan procession passed through the streets of Maharajganj on 13th October. According to the eyewitnesses, the incident occurred as local Muslims launched attacks on Hindus for playing the DJ system during the procession. The Muslims also pelted stones from the Mosque on the procession and injured several Hindus. In the subsequent confusion, the mob destroyed Maa Durga’s murti, further escalating the situation.
The post-mortem report of Ram Gopal Mishra has arrived in which it has been confirmed that the death of the deceased happened due to several gunshot wounds. The report further stated that Mishra had several injuries on his face, neck, and arm areas. The post-mortem report also states that the authorities recovered 7 pellets from the body of Mishra that had 40 entry wounds and 2 exit wounds.
The report mentions 29 entry wounds on the upper part of the chest extending to the neck, 2 entry wounds on the right upper arm, 3 entry wounds on the left upper arm, and a total of 6 entry wounds on the whole face. Apart from these, there were 2 exit wounds in the back of the neck, the report states. All the wounds had blackness around them.
A total of 7 pellets were recovered from the body. The cause of the death has been mentioned as shock and haemorrhage caused by gunshots.
The report from 14th October also reveals that Mishra had injuries on 8 spots in his body including his feet.
The postmortem examination was done by three doctors on 14 October afternoon, and it was video recorded. X-ray of the body was also done before the examination.
In the midst of this, the Chief Medical Officer of Bahraich, Sanjay Kumar stated that there were around 25-30 pellet injuries on the body of Mishra. “There are some injury marks on his left eye and on the toes. Some parts of the nails of both his feet are also missing,” he confirmed.
Earlier, there were reports that Mishra was tortured before his death, and his toenails were pulled out. However, the police had denied the claims. “There are social media posts that indicate that the body of the deceased was given electric shocks, was attacked with a sword, and that his toenails were desecrated. These posts are not true. The post-mortem report says that the death happened due to gunshots. No other reason for death has been mentioned in the reports,” the police had said.
Also, today, SP Bahraich Vrinda Shukla stated that the death of the deceased had happened solely due to gunshots and any other injuries that were being claimed on social media were not mentioned in the post-mortem report.
ब्रेकिंग न्यूज़
"गोली लगी है लेकिन वो दोनो जीवित हैं"
बहराइच हिंसा, SP बहराइच, वृंदा शुक्ला ने कहा,
"…जब पुलिस टीम हत्या के हथियार की बरामदगी के लिए नानपारा क्षेत्र में गई थी, तो मोहम्मद सरफराज उर्फ रिंकू और मोहम्मद तालिब उर्फ सबलू ने हत्या के हथियार को लोड करके रखा था,… pic.twitter.com/didbMP9t4I
Earlier, a report by Jagran stated that Ram Gopal Mishra’s dead body was riddled with injury marks and that his fingernails were ripped off. He was shot after suffering horrific torment and agony from several blows and bullet pellets that tore apart his body from the chest to the neck, as per the report. Ram Gopal’s distraught mother also observed that her son’s toenails had been torn off when she saw his battered body.
Also, siblings of Mishra, Harimilan and Preeti had confirmed that their brother was brutally murdered by the Islamists. Harimilan said that Muslims murdered his brother by dragging him into their house. He also said that the police remained mute spectators while all this happened. Meanwhile, Preeti, sister of Ram Gopal Mishra said, “They killed my brother like an animal. They sliced his throat and removed his toenails. His entire body had been wounded by gunfire, and his stomach had many knife cuts. They shot him fifteen times.”
Ram Gopal was married only two months before the Muslim radicals killed him on 13th October during a visarjan procession of the Goddess Durga idol in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. Abdul Hamid, his two sons Sarfaraz and Faheem, and Sahir Khan, along with others including Talib have been named as accused in the case. Police on Thursday, 17th October shot two accused Sarfaraz and Talib as they attacked the police and attempted to flee to Nepal. The two have been shot in their legs and are undergoing treatment.
Two key accused in the murder of Ram Gopal Mishra, Sarfaraz and Talib, were shot in an encounter by UP police. They had attacked the police and were attempting to flee to Nepal.
The Muslim mob on Sunday, 13th October started pelting stones from Abdul Hamid’s residence after which the people in the procession also retaliated. Meanwhile, Ram Gopal allegedly went to the roof of that house, took down two green flags, and tied a wire to hoist the saffron flag. He was dragged inside the house by the perpetrators who then murdered him.
The cops present at the location meanwhile acted like mute spectators and lathi-charged the devotees, according to the eyewitnesses. They seemed helpless in front of the Muslim rioters. The people participating in the procession reached Ram Gopal quite late because of the stone-throwing and firing. He was already dead by then. The altercation was reportedly started by Muslim youths who were standing on the street under the pretext of gulaal (colored powder used in Hindu rituals and festivals including Holi). The police’s inaction emboldened the Muslim side who resorted to stone pelting.
Abdul Hamid who is the mastermind behind the attack has a son who resides in Nepal. He goes to a madrasa close to Fultekra in the Banke area where anti-India and anti-Hindu activities take place. Two of the accused persons have been nabbed by the police. Efforts are being taken to nab the other accused. Probe underway.
Sarwar Chishti, a member of the Anjuman Committee of the Ajmer dargah, notorious for his incendiary statements, has said justified the horrific murder of Hindu youth Ram Gopal Mishra in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich by Islamists for removing a green flag by climbing the roof of a house and replacing it with a saffron one. He said that if Muslims are abused, then flowers will not be showered but violence will take place the way it happened in Bahraich.
As per a Bhaskar report, Chishti said: “The flag of a particular religion is being hoisted after climbing the house and taking down the green flag. Then flowers will not shower, whatever happened was bound to happen.”
Instead of condemning the brutal murder of Ram Gopal Mishra by Muslim youths, Sarwar Chishti said, “Now this has become an everyday affair. Our religious scholars are insulted. No one has been caught to date. We take out processions, we do not abuse anyone. We take out processions peacefully, all this is happening from only one side.”
He also claimed that jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi kills prominent Muslims like Baba Siddique and Sikhs like Siddhu Moosewala and questioned how it could happen without the government’s involvement.
Notably, this is not the first time that Sarwar Chishti has made such inflammatory remarks. Last month, a video featuring Chishti went viral wherein was seen inciting Muslims to hit the streets and create chaos under the pretext of opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill of 2024.
“It’s a matter of shame that our dignity is at risk. Our houses are being bulldozed, mobs lynching us and mosques, dargahs and mazars are being demolished,” he was heard saying.
Chishti lamented, “The Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 has been brought in by the government. We are asking Muslims to scan the QR Code and ensure the rejection of the bill. As of 10th September, only 40 lakh Muslims have scanned the QR code. Why are you sleeping, Miyan? You will have to hit the roads soon. You have already been late in retaliation by unnecessarily tolerating injustice. A person who tolerates injustice is worse than a cruel person. You are living in a democratic country at least use those rights. Why are you not doing it? I have said this before and want to say it again from my heart – Please acknowledge someone as your leader. I see Asaduddin Owaisi bravely raise his voice over issues (concerning Muslims).”
As reported earlier, On 6th July 2022, Sarwar Chishti provoked Muslims to act against those who make alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad. “The situation in the country right now, is such that people are committing blasphemy. They are doing mischief in the glory of the Prophet, in the glory of the Khwaja. We will not tolerate this at all. We will launch such a massive agitation that the whole Hindustan will shake,” he had threatened.
A few days later, an audio clip went viral on social media wherein the radical Islamic preacher was heard calling for an economic boycott of the Hindu community.
The Trudeau government is at the receiving end of backlash and plenty of embarrassment after it launched a fresh attack on the Indian government and diplomats accusing them of involvement in criminal activities against Khalistani terrorists in Canada without a shred of evidence.
While the diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have heightened since PM Trudeau first accused the Indian government of involvement in Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing, the Trudeau government has desperately been trying to convince its public that India is bad. Trudeau government has been implying that Indian media and social media handles ‘interfering’, ‘manipulating’ information in the context of Trudeau’s initial statement regarding India’s imaginary role in Nijjar’s murder.
On the 12th of September this year, the Canadian government’s Foreign Interference Commission released a report prepared as part of the Global Affairs Department’s Rapid Response Mechanism. This report titled Potential Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference following PM Statement on Killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar alleged that there is pro-Modi section of Indian media, which amplified ‘propaganda’ and spread ‘disinformation’ regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In June 2023, and the later statement issued by PM Trudeau in September last year accused Indian government of involvement in Nijjar’s murder.
The Canadian government labelled several Indian media outlets and social media influencers as ‘Godi Media’ alleging that they targeted PM Trudeau, Canadian High Commissioner in India, and the Canadian Sikh community. These baseless assertions made in the report itself expose the sheer bias of the Canadian government. Indian social media users criticising the Trudeau government and Canadian diplomats over the baseless allegations against India and PM Modi does not amount to disinformation. Indian influencers, particularly the ones listed in the RRM report indeed ‘targeted’ Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s ‘political beliefs’ since his beliefs directly challenged the territorial integrity of India.
One of the ‘key findings’ of the report was that influencers/commentators employed by ‘Modi-aligned’ media outlets accused Justin Trudeau of being an “enabler of terrorism”, “falling into the laps of Khalistani extremists,” or “treacherous against Bharat (India).” The only question that arises here is where is the lie? Has Canada not become a safe haven for Khalistani terrorists, are Khalistani terrorists not using Canadian soil to peddle their separatist agenda, conduct farcical referendums, deface Hindu temples, carry out frequent protests disparaging India, Hindus, the Indian Prime Minister and diplomats? When the Trudeau government is giving a free pass to Khalistani terrorists to carry out anti-India and anti-Hindu activities in Canada, what will Indians call him, “annihilator of Khalistanis”?
The report further lamented that the Indian media outlets enjoy “fourteen times” the following than major Canadian outlets including CTV and CBC News. Apparently, RRM Canada suggested that since Indian media has a wider reach online than Canadian media, the global audiences were exposed to “Modi-aligned” narratives. This is such a juvenile argument, since the Canadian people, except the Khalistanis, have consistently been criticising the Trudeau government for making outrageous allegations against the Indian government but not providing a single piece of evidence. In fact, Canadians were joined by Indians in mocking Trudeau over him asking Indian authorities to provide them with ‘evidence’ of their supposed involvement in Nijjar’s assassination.
Listing down the so-called ‘Modi-aligned’ narratives observed by the Canadian authorities, the report said that threats and accusations were levelled against Canadian diplomats in India. Moreover, another ‘narrative’ [read fact] that the report mentions is that Canada safeguards terrorists and extremist forces.
“Several Modi-aligned influencers claimed Canada has historically sheltered terrorist elements of the Khalistan movement. In one high-engagement post (29.5K engagements, 419K user views), frequent Times Now and CNN-Newsl8 commentator Anand Ranganthan claims former PM Pierre Trudeau allowed the 1985 Air India bombing suspected to “walk free,” and that “the apple never falls far from the tree,” suggesting PM Justin Trudeau has familial reasons for safeguarding Khalistan supporters,” the report stated.
The Foreign Interference Commission report, however, did not provide any counter to the ‘narrative’ it deemed misleading or ‘Modi-aligned’. From Khalistan terrorists like Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose Canadian citizenship remains questionable to this day, to Islamic terrorist Ahmed Ressam to Nazi war criminals, Canada has been a safe haven for all of them. In fact, Mikhailo Chomiak, the grandfather of the current Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland himself was a Nazi collaborator.
Some of the ‘narratives’ RRM Canada noted in its data sample
Furthermore, the report also attempted to negate Nijjar’s role as a Khalistani terrorist saying that the Indian media reports and social media posts aimed to ‘discredit’ Nijjar’s role as a ‘community leader’ in Surrey. Notably, OpIndia has reported earlier, how Nijjar not only ran a terror camp in Canada and was in contact with Khalistani terrorists but also visited Pakistan. Over the years, the Canadian government protected a designated terrorist, and the Canadian PM destroyed ties with India for him just to win political support from the Khalistanis, but Indian media and influencers talking about it amounts to ‘manipulation’ and ‘disinformation’.
The report also pointed out that several social media handles and Indian journalists including News18’s Amish Devgan shared a picture of Trudeau with regime change specialist George Soros to imply that somehow the Canadian PM has ties with Soros. While there may or may not be a direct link between Trudeau and Soros, the latter’s hatred for Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government is widely known. Such speculative social media posts do not amount to disinformation even if they may have rattled PM Trudeau.
In addition to several other points, the report listed several Indian journalists, social media handles of Indian news outlets including ANI, Zee News etc, and their reach as well as some posts critical of PM Trudeau in the context of his statement regarding Nijjar’s killing and the anti-India rant.
Notably, this report was published only weeks before Justin Trudeau launched his fresh attack against Indian diplomats and the Modi government, accusing them of being ‘persons of interest’ and being involved in criminal activities against Canadian citizens [read Khalistanis]. India rejected the allegations and called them “preposterous imputations” and part of the Trudeau government’s political agenda.
India recalled its High Commissioner to Canada following which the Trudeau government asked 6 Indian diplomats to leave the country. In a reciprocal move, New Delhi expelled 6 Canadian Canadian diplomats, asking them to leave the country before 20th October.
In an accidental moment of truth, Trudeau recently admitted that they had no evidence before accusing the Indian government of involvement in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In an interview, Trudeau said that they had no proof to pinpoint the killing of Nijjar to India when they had first accused New Delhi of orchestrating the assassination on Canadian soil.
“They(India) asked us to share the evidence and at that point, it was weak intelligence and not hard evidence,” said Trudeau, confirming that allegations of Indian involvement in Nijjar’s killing were not backed with proof.
While the Canadian government and its dubious reports suggest that the Trudeau government does not pander to Khalistani elements, designated Khalistani terrorist and SFJ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun admitted to being in contact with Justin Trudeau’s office for the last three years and having shared information with them.
The desperation to deflect the attention of the Canadian people from allegations of Chinese interference in the last two federal elections in Canada as well as to appease the Khalistani votebank, particularly since Trudeau has grown highly unpopular among the public for a plethora of reasons, has reduced PM Trudeau and his government into clowns making a mockery of themselves at a global level.
While RRM Canada has been worrying about Canadians coming across the so-called “Modi-aligned narratives” from Indian sources like Canada safeguarding extremists and terrorists, Hardeep Nijjar being an unsavoury individual and a member of Khalistan Tiger Force and Babbar Khalsa, Pakistan funding Khalistanis in Canada among others, most of these have been proven to be true. So, is the Trudeau government afraid that the Canadian people will learn the truth?
When the Trudeau government calls a Khalistani terrorist like Nijjar, who fraudulently stayed in Canada, and indulged in anti-India activities a “community leader”, strains bilateral ties with India over baseless claims to consolidate anti-India votebank only to admit it eventually that there was no evidence against India, the Canadian government is left with no option but to blame Indian media, Indian social media users for not falling for the theatrics of PM Trudeau.
Kangana Ranaut starrer ‘Emergency’ has been finally passed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
On Thursday, Kangana on X handle to share the news with her fans.
“We are glad to announce we have received the censor certificate for our movie Emergency, we will be announcing the release date soon. Thank you for your patience and support,” her post read.
We are glad to announce we have received the censor certificate for our movie Emergency, we will be announcing the release date soon. Thank you for your patience and support ??
Earlier in September, Kangana Ranaut, in an interview with ANI, had opened up about the repercussions being faced by the makers of the ‘Emergency’ due to delay in the release of the film.
“I know how I made this film… I did not get any support from the film industry. It’s made on a huge budget. I along with Zee and other partners created Emergency, and now with the release delay, everyone is bearing a huge loss. Delay release is a loss for all. I think the Censor Board should take the responsibility to release this film at the earliest,” she said.
The film, a biographical political thriller, delves into the life of Indira Gandhi, who imposed a 21-month emergency period from 1975 to 1977.
‘Emergency’ has been embroiled in controversies for some time now including facing backlash several Sikh groups.
Produced by Zee Studios and Manikarnika Films, the film is set against the backdrop of one of India’s most tumultuous political periods and promises to be a portrayal of historical events.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
The accused of the Bahraich incident, Sarfaraz and Mohammad Talib were shot in the leg by Uttar Pradesh Police while trying to flee to Nepal, the police said on Thursday.
Amitabh Yash, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Special Task Force, Uttar Pradesh said that five accused in the matter have also been arrested.
“A total of five people who are the main accused in the case have been arrested. A short exchange of fire took place in which two people were injured. The injured are Sarfaraz and Mohammad Talib. There is no death and the injured have been taken to the hospital,” Amitabh Yash said.
ADGP (Law and Order), STF Uttar Pradesh said that two people were injured in the encounter and were admitted to a hospital for treatment.
SP Bahraich, Vrinda Shukla said that “5 people have been arrested. Two of them have been injured in police firing. I am here to assess their condition. One of the injured is Md. Sarfaraz, the other other is Md. Talib.”
Ramgopal Mishra was killed while several others were injured after a clash erupted between two communities during the Durga idol immersion procession in the Mahasi area in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
Earlier today, Bahraich Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Sanjay Kumar Sharma said that Ramgopal Mishra, who was killed in a clash that erupted between two communities during the Durga idol immersion procession in Bahraich, died due to “excessive bleeding”, officials said.
The CMO said, “The information that we have – that man died of excessive bleeding due to 25-30 pellets injuries. There are some injury marks above his left eye and on the toes. Some part of the nails of both the feet is also missing.”
Appealing to not spread misinformation on social media, Superintendent of Police (SP) Rural, Pavitra Mohan Tripathi said, “To disturb the social harmony, misinformation is being spread on social media – there’s been a single death in the incident and the reason for death is also clear in the post-mortem report which is bullet injuries. I request people not to spread misinformation and also not to believe in any of such misinformation. The situation is peaceful in the district.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that providing justice to the family of the victim of the Bahraich violence is the government’s top priority, and the culprits will not be spared at any cost. He said this after meeting with family members of the deceased of the Bahraich incident in Lucknow.
The family has been provided Rs 10 lakh, a house under the PM Awas Yojana, and an Antyodaya card.
On October 16, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led state government also initiated action against police officials.
The SHO of Hardi police station and in-charge of the Mahsi area was removed along with CO Mahsi Rupendra Gaur. CO Ravi Khokhar of Rampur was given charge of CO Mahsi in Bahraich.
According to the police, the procession was passing by a Muslim area when the two groups argued over some issues.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Hyderabad police have filed a case against well-known motivational speaker Munawar Zama of Mumbai and two other people for inciting hatred and stirring religious sentiments in the wake of the recent vandalism incident at the Muthyalamma temple in Kummariguda, Secunderabad. Abdul Rasheed Basheer Ahmed and Rehman, the manager and proprietor of the Metropolis Hotel in Regimental Bazaar, are the other two people booked in the case.
The authorities informed that under the pretence of holding a month-long session on personality development, they were encouraging hatred towards Hindus among the participants. Salman Salim Thakur was one of the 151 attendees of the workshop that took place at the hotel. They came from various parts of India, according to the police. Salman who stormed into the temple and vandalised the idol of Goddess Durga on 14th October became radicalised after watching videos of Islamic preachers including fugitive Zakir Naik was arrested on 16th October.
Locals caught him in the act and beat him up before turning him over to the police. He is receiving treatment at a hospital in the city at present. Police are currently looking into the backgrounds of Zama and the participants. “We are also scrutinising the conference recordings, material distributed to participants, and several other details,” a senior city police officer overseeing the investigation unveiled. He added that all 49 of the hotel’s rooms were reserved for the attendees.
Motivational speaker Munawar Zama, who is based in Mumbai, provoked people to start riots has addition to fomenting animosity between different communities based on religion, according to the complaint. L Suresh, sub-inspector of Gopalapuram police station revealed, “He also provoked Salman to damage the idol of the goddess at Muthyalamma temple.” Police added that Zama organized the session with assistance from Basheer and Rehman, but he did not have permission to conduct it.
A senior official earlier stated, “Salman came to Hyderabad in early October this year to attend a month-long personality development workshop conducted by popular Mumbai-based motivational speaker Munawar Zama, his associate Md Kafeel Ahmed, and their followers at Hotel Metropolis, in Regimental Bazar. Zama is the owner of English House Academy.” The hotel’s premises were illegally rented without official permission in order to host the event.
Sections 299 (deliberate insult or outrage of religious feelings), 192 (malicious or wanton provocation with the intent to incite a riot), 196 (promoting enmity and hatred between different groups based on various grounds), 223 (disobeying orders from public servants that can lead to obstruction or danger) and 49 (abetment to commit a crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were invoked after police took suo motu action against the three accused.
Zama is the founder of English House Academy and describes himself as a motivational speaker and personality development trainer, the ongoing probe discovered. Cops stated, “The key features of the workshop, as claimed by the organisers, included functional grammar, communication skills, vocabulary enhancement, pronunciation, public speaking, confidence building, and character building.” He has over 3.63 million subscribers on YouTube, more than 742K followers on Instagram and nearly 2.7 million followers on Facebook.
On 17th October, Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu appealed to people not to create a North-South divide while responding to a post slamming the centre for “excluding Bengaluru” as one of the places to set up the AI Centre Excellence. On 15th October, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated AI Centres of Excellence at three prestigious institutions including IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Ropar, and a joint centre at IIT-Delhi and AIIMS. Bengaluru’s absence raised concerns among some sections about why the government did not choose the IT hub as one of the locations for an AI Centre of Excellence.
Padma Shri awardee and former Infosys Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mohandas Pai expressed his reservation on social media and questioned Minister Pradhan and Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnav. He accused the Centre of ignoring the south, especially Bengaluru. “Bengaluru voted for NDA (National Democratic Alliance) but all we get is stepmotherly treatment. Citizens here are very angry and upset at you folks repeatedly ignoring us in the South! Are we children of a lesser God here,” he charged.
Pai added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) should step in and hand over their share to them. “What are our MPs doing? For voting NDA our state govt too is ignoring us. Not investing enough in Bengaluru,” he questioned while tagging BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and NDA leaders including Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister Of Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy and National President of BJP Yuva Morcha and Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya and Lok Sabha MP from Bangalore Central PC Mohan.
Minister @dpradhanbjp nothing in Bengaluru, the technology capital of India? Why are you and @AshwiniVaishnaw ignoring the South in IT, ignoring Bengaluru? Are we not part of Bharat too? Bengaluru voted for NDA but all we get is step motherly treatment. Citizens here are very… https://t.co/31dQ9V3Ois
Controversial Congress spokesperson Lavanya Ballal Jain also attacked Tejasvi Surya and the Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shobha Karandlaje for being “incapable of demanding anything from the union government.”
A Rahul Gandhi supporter alleged that the technologically advanced South has been overlooked. “Is this a way just to push more money of the diligent “taxpayers” into the northern BJP states,” she asked.
So basically…. The South which excels in technology is IGNORED!!!
Another detractor declared that “the agenda of PM Modi and Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal is out.” He accused that they harbour deep envy for Bengaluru and Karnataka and that the entire south should unify and exit the GST (Goods and Services Tax) system.
“Complete rubbish. Even those IIT’ans have to come to Bengaluru to complete the work they start in those CoEs,” wrote Naresh, CEO of Kensaltensi (technology services company) and added, “Not including Bengaluru (India largest software exporter) is exactly the same as the UN security council not including India (world biggest democracy) as a permanent member,” tweeted Naresh, CEO of Kensaltensi.
Complete rubbish. Even those IIT'ans have to come to #Bengaluru to complete the work they start in those CoE.
Not including Bengaluru(India largest software exporter) is exactly the same as the UN security council not including India(world biggest democracy) as a permanent…
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu responds to the allegations
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu, who co-chaired the panel responsible for determining the AI hub locations, took to the microblogging platform to refute the charges and explained that the committee was comprised of many members from the south. He also clarified that the decision-making was independent of government influence and that it was a unanimous decision. He further clarified that while several institutions from south India were shortlisted, the three selected institutions stood out in the end.
“The committee itself had plenty of us from the south (probably the majority). Most of us came from the private sector and the government did not tell us who we should select. We in the committee (again with so many of us from the south and so many from the private sector) made the selection based on a very thorough evaluation of actual projects done,” he highlighted.
I want to add that the consortiums selected include southern institutions. For instance the AI CoE on Health led by the AIIMS consortium includes IISc Bengaluru and IIT Chennai.
“The responsibility for this decision on the AI Centres of Excellence should be with us in the committee and personally with me as co-chair,” he asserted and implored people not to bring in North-South politics into this choice regarding the development. He further informed, “IISc Bengaluru, IIT Chennai, NIT Calicut, IIT Hyderabad, and IIT Mumbai all presented very strong proposals but the ones we selected stood out in the end. The committee was unanimous in this decision. We stand by our judgment.”
In another tweet, Vembu added that southern institutions are part of the chosen consortiums. IISc Bengaluru and IIT Chennai, for example, are members of the AI CoE on Health, which is headed by the AIIMS consortium.
I want to add that the consortiums selected include southern institutions. For instance the AI CoE on Health led by the AIIMS consortium includes IISc Bengaluru and IIT Chennai.
Meanwhile, Manish Gupta, Director at Google DeepMind who was also part of the selection committee backed Sridhar Vembu and said, “As a member of the committee that made the selections, I fully stand by our collective decisions. We made our decisions based on what we felt was good for India.
I fully endorse @svembu's views on this matter. As a member of the committee that made the selections, I fully stand by our collective decisions. We made our decisions based on what we felt was good for *India*. https://t.co/KOIzg9474E
The Ministry of Education stated that the three AI-CoEs would concentrate on three important industries including sustainable cities, agriculture and healthcare. Each of these sectors will be driven by eminent universities in collaboration with startups and industry players. The initiative, which would cost a total of Rs 990 crore and take five years to accomplish, from FY 2023–24 to FY 2027–28, aims to improve India’s standing in the world of AI-driven research and innovation. The creation of these centres was announced under Paragraph 60 of the Budget Announcement for 2023–24, as part of the goal to “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India.”
The CoE for healthcare will be led by AIIMS and IIT Delhi, the CoE for agriculture by IIT Ropar, and the CoE for sustainable cities by IIT Kanpur. Dharmendra Pradhan spoke at the function and expressed optimism that the three AI-CoEs would become major international hubs for the common good. He voiced that the opening of these centres was a big step toward enhancing India’s standing in the international AI community. Pradhan pointed out that these CoEs will eventually become important components of international public policy and suppliers of solutions to the world given Bharat’s potential and zeal.
He complimented the apex committee, under the direction of Sridhar Vembu, for their painstaking work in putting the AI CoEs into practice at India’s best universities. Pradhan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his vision of making India a hub for artificial intelligence. He declared these CoEs will significantly strengthen the nation’s startup ecosystem, fostering the emergence of a new generation of wealth and job creators as well as the establishment of new paradigms for the global public good.
Sridhar Vembu said that these projects will holistically benefit villages, cities, and the people of India. He emphasized the importance of nurturing the country’s talent pool to ensure they flourish and serve the nation in the coming decades. The CoEs will create companies, nurture talent, and generate opportunities for India’s talent pool, the Zoho CEO said.
During the event, a short video with the theme “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India,” was also screened. These three AI CoEs will be led by eminent academic institutions in association with business partners and startups to realize the “Viksit Bharat” goal. They will work on cutting-edge applications, scalable solutions, and multidisciplinary research in these fields. The objective of this project is to cultivate top-notch human resources in these vital disciplines and to galvanize an efficient AI ecosystem. An industry-heavy apex committee, co-chaired by Dr Sridhar Vembu, has been established to oversee the initiative’s implementation.
On Thursday, 17th October, the Supreme Court refused to halt the oath-taking ceremony of the BJP government in Haryana led by CM Nayab Singh Saini. A bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra took serious note of the plea and stated that it may impose costs on the petitioner for filing such a plea.
As per the inputs by Live Law, the petition was filed by one of the Congress leaders.
#BREAKING | Plea moved by Congress Leader Challenging the Haryana State Elections
“Do you want us to stall the oath-taking of an elected government? We are putting you on guard. We will impose costs. Circulate the papers. We will see,” the CJI said as the plea was scheduled for an urgent hearing ahead of the event. “How can we restrain the elected government from taking oath,” the CJI asked.
The bench directed the petitioner to circulate three copies of the petition to the three judges and warned of a fine.
Nayab Singh Saini, the BJP leader, took oath as Haryana’s chief minister on Thursday, 17th September along with Ambala Cantt MLA Anil Vij, Israna MLA Krishan Lal Panwar, Badshahpur MLA Rao Narbir Singh, and others taking oaths as ministers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister and BJP National President JP Nadda, and other NDA alliance officials attended the oath-taking ceremony.
Overcoming all odds, including anti-incumbency, exit poll forecasts, and the three-term curse, the BJP staged a spectacular comeback in Haryana, forming government for the third time in a row, a state record. Apart from increasing its vote share to 40% from 36% in 2019, with 48 wins, the BJP has also won the most seats in the last three Assembly elections while Congress won 37 seats.
According to media reports, some government employees and police officers (bureaucracy) connected to ‘journalist’ Mahesh Langa of The Hindu have expressed concerns following his arrest in the GST fraud case. Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also got involved in the probe of the multi-crore scandal and the agency is still in the early stages of its investigation. A Times of India report stated that Mahesh Langa’s connection has also emerged with some government IAS-IPS officers, who used to pass him some sensitive information, which Langa used to deliver to opposition parties and some industrial groups.
There are concerns over possible money laundering after the Ahmedabad police crime branch discovered a complex network of illegal activities involving 220 fictitious companies. Additionally, the police discovered “sensitive” messages that were exchanged between Mahesh Langa, who is currently in custody for ten days in connection with the probe, and senior IAS and IPS officials. The necessity to sort through the web of shell corporations and follow the money trail might have prompted the ED’s entry.
State officials are worried about this move because they believe that the agency’s involvement could expand the investigation’s scope. A police officer stated, “We have shared details of the case with the ED and the Income Tax department, as the accused individuals have floated dummy firms possibly to launder money.” An enforcement case information report (ECIR) will probably be registered by the central agency.
According to insiders, Langa’s communications with bureaucrats and senior police officers caught the government’s top brass off guard. Some of the bureaucrats reportedly utilised the journalist’s network to pass on confidential material to opposition parties and corporations. A source aware of the situation disclosed, “Most of these babus and cops hold important positions in the state govt. We will scrutinise whether benefits were exchanged for trading this information since no articles related to the documents were published.”
On 14th October, officials were shocked to learn that Ahmedabad police commissioner G S Malik had personally questioned Langa a day earlier. A source mentioned, “This is unusual in a GST fraud case. Malik is learnt to have grilled Langa over his information trade-offs with bureaucrats, top cops and businessmen.”
Meanwhile, on 17th October, the ED searched several cities in Gujarat as part of the investigation. According to reports, the raids occurred at roughly 23 locations in the cities of Rajkot, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, and Veraval following the filing of a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). After receiving a complaint from the Central GST regarding the scam involving shell companies set up to defraud the government through fictitious input tax credits and fraudulent transactions, the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch filed the First Information Report in the case against a number of individuals and entities.
On 9th October, Langa and three other individuals were taken into custody and placed under 10-day police custody after 13 businesses and their owners were accused of committing an input tax credit (ITC) scam. The allegations were made in response to a complaint submitted by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). Manoj, Langa’s cousin, and Vinu Patel were the names on file for DA Enterprise, one of the companies that was the subject of the inquiry. Later, Langa’s wife took Patel’s place as a partner in the company. Four more people were taken into custody in relation to the case on 13th October.
