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As Congress remembers 26/11, the ‘dark day’, social media users remind it of another dark fact

OpIndia Staff
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As Congress remembers 26/11, the ‘dark day’, social media users remind it of another dark fact

November 26 2008 is indeed a dark day in India’s history. 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist organisation based in Pakistan, carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai. While the terrorists were eventually killed, one of them was captured alive: Ajmal Kasab. In early 2009, Pakistan admitted that Kasab was indeed a Pakistani citizen.

A Washington Post report revealed that US intelligence agencies had evidence about Pakistan spy agency ISI’s involvement in the attacks. Indian authorities too found numerous evidences which pointed the finger solely at Pakistan. It was also reported that Pakistani investigators had told India they have found substantial, incriminating evidence that directly connects Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba to the attacks.

In remembrance of this day, Congress’s social media handle put out a tweet expressing solidarity with the victims:


While Congress remembered India’s dark day, social media users had not forgotten another dark day:


While the world was holding Pakistan responsible for 26/11, then Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh & close aide of Rahul Gandhi, had released the book “26/11 RSS Ki Saazish?” (26/11,An RSS Conspiracy?). The book was authored by Aziz Burney, Editor-in-Chief of Urdu Sahara newspaper.

Further, Singh had alleged that Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare had called him two hours before the 26/11 attack in Mumbai to say that his life was blighted by constant threats from those opposed to the ATS probe into the 2008 Malegaon blast in which Hindu extremists were accused. Thus, Singh had exonerated Pakistan and had decided to push the blame of 26/11 attack on RSS and Hindu extremists.

The Congress had rather timidly “distanced” from Singh’s remarks. No top leader (read from Gandhi clan) stepped out to condemn Singh. In fact, general secretary Janardan Dwivedi had this to say:

There is no question of agreeing or disagreeing. It is regarding a conversation between two individuals. Unfortunately one of them Karkare is no more with us. So Digvijay Singh will be in a better position to comment on his statement. Singh has made that private conversation public in a programme and the party has no role into it. Hence only he can comment on it

In the past, in the absence of the internet, history could be rewritten, edited and swept into the carpet. But in today’s world, there is just no place to hide.

After OpIndia report, DNA updates misleading story on Dr Kafeel Khan

OpIndia Staff
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After OpIndia report, DNA updates misleading story on Dr Kafeel Khan

Last night, social media was abuzz with the breaking story that former doctor at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College, Dr Kafeel Khan was “not a villain” anymore. These claims were based on a DNA story titled as below:

The story was used for political posturing by many. Liberal commentators, AAP propagandists, media personalities and others, united to use this story to make various claims. Some said that this was a virtual apology by the UP Government. Some asked the UP Government to take responsibility for the horrific tragedy. We had covered the reactions here.

We had also revealed that the above DNA story, mentioned how the “hero” Dr Khan, had still been charged under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide)and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) of the IPC. Only the charges under Section 7/13 of Anti-Corruption Act, Section 66 of IT Act and Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act have been currently dropped, as per the Investigative officer Abhishek Singh, due to lack of evidence.

In such a case it was not sure why and how DNA had claimed that he was now a hero. Interestingly, the same DNA and the same reporter had also broken the original story in August this year, which had first glorified Dr Khan. As of today, since investigations are on, it is unfair to either say he was a hero or a villain.

Now, after our above story, DNA has realized their obvious blunder, and has now updated the original story. The new headline is now far more balanced:

The opening paragraph of the original story has now been deleted, which earlier read as below:

Amid the Gorakhpur tragedy, DNA had reported Dr Khan’s story who was hailed as a hero for saving children. He had rushed to private hospitals to get oxygen cylinders for patients admitted at BRD Hospital. Gaurav Tripathi, an eyewitness, “While other doctors gave up hope, Dr Khan managed the situation well by arranging oxygen cylinders from private nursing homes. He saved many lives by his efforts and presence of mind.” However, he was subsequently charged with corruption and private practice.

Inspite of all the above, DNA’s original tweet declaring him a hero, is still available on their social media handle, and is still being retweeted.

Apart from retweeting it, many users have created screenshots of the same and are heading from pillar to post demanding “apologies”. If DNA really wants to make amends, it should delete the tweet and all related social media posts, and make it clear to all their readers, that their earlier headline was grossly misleading, and has been changed to make it factual.

While DNA has back-tracked, other media houses have posted stories which again have one-dimensional headlines, which do not give the full picture:

It remains to be seen whether these news portals eventually go the DNA way, or stick to this one-sided headline.

How DNA’s misleading headline tries to portray Dr Kafeel Khan as ‘not a villain’

OpIndia Staff
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How DNA’s misleading headline tries to portray Dr Kafeel Khan as ‘not a villain’

Dr Kafeel Khan’s image in the eyes of the public has alternated from Hero to Villain, from White to Black. In the aftermath of the horrific incident where 33 infants had died in Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College in August this year, conflicting reports emerged. In one of the earliest reports on him, DNA’s reporter Srawan Shukla had declared him a “hero”:

Within a few hours of this report, it was reported that the “hero” had been sacked from his post. An FIR was lodged under various sections of the  IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Medical Council Act. Meanwhile social media users had also dug up tales of his murky past.

Cut to today, 25 November 2017, Dr Khan had yet another “role reversal”. In a story again in DNA, again by the same reporter Srawan Shukla, Khan was now labelled as “Not a Villain”. The headline claimed that this was because charges against the “hero” were dropped:

No sooner did this story break, the usual suspects took to social media to make political statements. First, the executive editor of the DNA had this to say:


Self-proclaimed liberal commentator Salil Tripathi went so far to say that this was a symbolic apology to Dr Khan. NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan who is known for running entire debates based on fake news, Retweeted him:

AAP’s media manager also jumped in:


So did this propagandist for AAP, ironically calling others propagandist:


A filmmaker who is better known these days for tweeting only:


A journalist known for using fake pictures to stoke tensions in Kashmir, had this remark:


While the above and many like them are currently using this story to score political points, it is unclear as to how many have actually read DNA’s story. While the title so desperately wants to re-declare him as a hero, the story reveals that far from being a hero, he has still been charged under Sections 120-B, 308 and 409 of the IPC. Only the charges under Section 7/13 of Anti-Corruption Act, Section 66 of IT Act and Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act have been currently dropped, as per the Investigative officer Abhishek Singh, due to lack of evidence.

The charges which remain against Dr Khan are Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), Section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant). What sort of “hero” continues to be charged under the above sections. Can filing a case under the above sections be seen as an “apology” from the Government, as claimed by some commentators above?

Interestingly, the most accurate reporting in this case from the Hindi media, which is often vilified by the English speaking lutyens cabal, for sensationalizing news. There was no editorialisation, and no desperate hunger to portray Dr Khan as either a hero or a villain:

Times Of India, Lucknow edition too put out a balanced tweet, again without feeling the need to paint Dr Khan as hero or a villain:


In what could be signs of a late realization that the headline was grossly misleading, DNA’s executive editor who had earlier pompously broken the story, later issued a clarification tweet. Of course, this tweet got nowhere close to the attention his earlier tweet got:


For the time being though, the people who do not read beyond the headlines, will bask in the glory of their re-discovered “hero”.

It is interesting to note that in the original instance, and even today, it was DNA and the same reporter Srawan Shukla, who were desperate to paint Dr Khan as a “hero”. As the investigations are on, only time will tell who was the hero, and who was the villain. For tonight, DNA has proved to be the joker.

Five star journalists, their silence over threats to Rohit Sardana and their unbridled hypocrisy

Editorial Desk
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Five star journalists, their silence over threats to Rohit Sardana and their unbridled hypocrisy

It is rather tragic how the journalist fraternity, or rather, the five-star journalist fraternity mostly riddled with selectivity have either kept quiet about the threats received by Mr. Rohit Sardana or have laced their condemnation with ifs and buts. We have often spoken about the omertà in the Media. Where journalists don’t necessarily go hammer and tongs after their own for their follies. But the recent silence makes us wonder, what omertà are they possibly honouring now?

We wonder where the outrage went. What happened to all those introspective lessons learnt about Press freedom. We wonder what happened to all those Press Club meetings that condemned how the freedom of press was being thwarted. We wonder under which rock have the loudest proponents of free speech receded. We wonder why journalist Rohit Sardana doesn’t deserve the collective outrage, as some of the other journalists. We wonder if there are no awards remaining to be returned. No tears left to be shed. No outrage left to be poured. No words left to be said. No incredulous shrieks. No demands for justice. No protests for his rights.

We wonder if it is Rohit Sardana’s lack of political hate that forces the five-star journalists to practice stoic silence. Is it because he doesn’t necessarily toe the line of left leaning journalists? Is it because he isn’t ‘one of them’ since the intensity with which he is expected to espouse the left’s cause, doesn’t come naturally to him, as it would seem from his reportage?

These questions haunt us.

When Ms. Gauri Lankesh was murdered, Barkha Dutt wrote a moving article. She wrote :

Yes. Barkha Dutt learnt to never to take threats lightly. For herself and for other journalists.

Since we couldn’t find any statement from Barkha, we leave this space empty for her. A slate for her words of condemnation.


Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai, another veteran journalist is extremely sensitive to threats received by fellow journalists. So sensitive in fact, that he had once asked for monitoring cell:

We know Rajdeep is conscious of Rohit Sardana’s plight. He would never leave a colleague facing death threats in the lurch. We leave this space empty for him. A slate for his words of outrage:

Ms. Sagarika Ghose is an idealist. A crusader of Freedom of Expression and a flag bearer of Press freedom.


She worried about Press Freedom in India. Because Freedom=credibility=value. We urge Ghose to find her credibility. We leave this space empty for her. A slate for her words of value, condemning threats to Rohit Sardana.

Mr. Prannoy Roy was a flag bearer of Press Freedom when the government decided to ban NDTV for 24 hours. He urged the media to come together and rally against the fascist state penalizing a media channel. And the media did.

Today, when a member of the very same fraternity is fighting for his right to speak, for his right to live, Mr. Roy seems to be incommunicado. We hope he finds his voice. We leave this space empty for him. A slate for his pleas to unite.

Some journalists though did speak up for Rohit Sardana:


While some spoke up, many have chosen to stay silent about one of their own being threatened by radical Islamists for exercising his Freedom of Expression. The threats even translated to mobs attacking India Today’s Bengaluru office. The ones who scream the loudest, have donned a cloak of nonchalance, while their colleague lives in fear.

As in politics, for some in the Media too, it is all about keeping up appearances. While some chose to stay completely mum, Nidhi thought, it was perhaps a good opportunity to use Rohit Sardana to make a different point, one that she felt more passionately about.


One would expect Nidhi to be rather happy that a politician was condemning the threats of violence against one of her own. But it would indeed be a tragedy, if the condemnation was taken at face value without conflating it with a totally different issue. It is said that everything said before a ‘but’ is in all probability insincere. And that adage certainly seems to hold true for Ms. Nidhi Razdan.

This ghastly ongoing incident where Sardana has received threats continuously, has not only exposed how unfree free speech really is, but also the chinks in the Media armour. Their now-a-crusader-now-a-spectator modus operandi is for the world to see. ‘We support you if you are useful to our narrative, if not, you are on your own’ seems to be the latest Press mantra.

Celebrations reported in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur after the release of terrorist Hafiz Saeed

OpIndia Staff
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Celebrations reported in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur after the release of terrorist Hafiz Saeed

The city of Lakhimpur bore witness to tense scenes after it was reported [1][2] that some of its residents were found celebrating the release of terrorist and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

Due to a Lahore court not extending his house arrest, Hafiz Saeed was released from his so called detention. The Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) head has a $10 billion bounty on his head and was under detention since January.

India was predictably outraged at this act of the Pakistani establishment and called it an attempt by Pakistan to mainstream proscribed terrorists and a reflection of its continuing support to non-state actors. What aggrieved people even more was the fact that Saeed was released so close to the 26/11 anniversary.

But some residents of Lakhimpur didn’t share this outrage. On Friday morning the Kotwali police received information that 20-25 youths belonging to the Begum Bagh and Lakshminagar area were celebrating the release of Saeed.

These youths had allegedly affixed green flags outside their homes and chanted slogans like “Hafiz Saeed Zindabad” and “Pakistan Zindabad”. Another report claimed that the release also saw the bursting of firecrackers near a religious shrine.

The issue as a result was brought to the notice of District Magistrate Akashdeep after which a police force was rushed to that area.

As per reports, the celebrations began from Thursday afternoon. The reports claimed that the flags were affixed near the home of a RSS worker. He as a resulted investigated the matter and later protested in the evening after finding out the reason why they were hoisted.

He later briefed a few BJP leaders about this matter. Later the Sadar Kotwali police reached the spot and removed those flags.

The DM has as a result constituted a probe to investigate this matter and has assured that action will be taken against the accused after the report is filed. He also instructed the police to maintain peace in the city and the situation is currently being considered under control.

UPDATE: As per a report in The Hindu, a ‘spokesperson’ of Kheri Superintendent of Police has dismissed the claims of celebrations as ‘rumours’ and the cyber cell reportedly is looking into the source of the rumour.

Leaders of Bangladesh’s ruling party accused of occupying properties of minority Hindus

OpIndia Staff
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Leaders of Bangladesh’s ruling party accused of occupying properties of minority Hindus

Rana Das Gupta who is the general secretary of Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist & Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) has made a stunning claim that many leaders of the ruling Sheikh Hasina led Awami League, are involved in occupying properties of Hindus, who constitute a minority population in Bangladesh.

Gupta while speaking at the tri-annual conference of BHBCUC in Pirojpur on Friday, claimed that the leaders are involved in occupying those properties via various MPs and Ministers. He as a result requested Prime Minister Hasina’s intervention in the matter.

He also claimed that oppression against the Hindus has been going on since 1991 and justice hasn’t been delivered in connection with such crimes.

Such alleged instances of property occupation are dwarfed by the other persecutions which the Hindus are facing in Bangladesh.

We had recently reported how a violent mob set ablaze 30 Hindu homes at Thakurbari village in Rangpur Sadar upazila of the country. The mob was supposedly angered by an allegedly “defamatory” Facebook post by a Hindu resident of that village.

Gupta has alleged that local Awami league leaders were involved in this attack. He also claimed that another Awami league leader was involved in an attack on a Buddhist temple in Cox’s bazaar.

The Hindus who now comprise a mere 10.7% of the total population, have seen various kinds of atrocities heaped against them in recent years.

Reports have claimed that about 98 Hindus were killed, 357 injured and 1,109 received death threats in 2016 alone. It also claimed that 711 Hindus left the country, 209 idols were damaged and 22 were stolen.

In October, 2016 there were reports that at-least 15 Hindu temples in Bangladesh’s Brahmanbarhia district were vandalised and 100 houses were looted over allegations that disrespect was shown towards Islam on Facebook.

2013 also saw immeasurable atrocities against Bangladeshi Hindus. In the aftermath of the International crimes tribunal sentencing Delwar Hossain Sayeedi to death for war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war, Hindu houses and temples were attacked by radical elements. This prompted the Bangladesh High Court to instruct the government to provide adequate security to the Hindus and repair the damage caused.

Twitter users slam Javed Akhtar for his hypocrisy on condemning radicals

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter users slam Javed Akhtar for his hypocrisy on condemning radicals

The upcoming Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie Padmavati has really touch the nerve of a section of Indian society.

On one hand radical elements are announcing bounties against Bhansali and Deepika Padukone amounting to Rs 5 crores and on the other hand, a body was found hanging in a Jaipur fort, with a message warning “Kafirs” who are protesting against Padmavati.

Yesterday well known lyricist Javed Akhtar took to twitter to put forth his views on the whole “bounty business”:


After Javed Akhtar raised a question about the alleged lack of condemnation against the radicals, a twitter used asked him whether he (Akhtar) had done the same when singer Sonu Nigam went through a similar ordeal after protesting against early morning Azans:


During his ordeal, a radical Imam had issued a fatwa and announced a prize of 10 lakh rupees for any person who shaves the head of Sonu Nigam. Later Rizwan Malik a leader of some obscure political party named National Future Party had announced a Rs 51 crore bounty on Sonu Nigam’s head.

After being questioned, rather than replying with proof about his condemnation of the aforementioned incidents, Akhtar decided to brazen it out:


This intolerance of Akhtar against those questioning him, miffed a lot of people who as a result reacted:


One user slammed Akhtar using his own dialogue:


This isn’t the only time Javed Akhtar has been cornered for his hypocrisy.

We had reported how he was slammed by people after he was seen absolving Rohingya terrorists of the mass murder of 28 Hindus whose mass grave was found in the conflicted Rakhine state.

He has also made demeaning and condescending remarks about sports persons just because he did not agree with their views. He had also posted an offensive ‘joke’ on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s estranged wife, which he later deleted.

He had once also asked for the sacking of a female police officer who had written a passionate poem blasting the Azaad Maidan rioters.

Congress elections : Rahul vs Gandhi, but the winner will be Rahul Gandhi

Abhishek Banerjee
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Congress elections : Rahul vs Gandhi, but the winner will be Rahul Gandhi

As I come out of the airport and my taxi drives off, I ask the driver, “Kya lag raha hai? Kaun jitega?”

My driver is a thirty something year old Congress worker. He shows me a Whatsapp message on his phone and tells me, “The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has been ruling the Congress for so many years. This time, we will vote for change. We will vote for Rahul Gandhi.”

Everywhere I go, the anti-incumbency sentiment against the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is palpable. Sonia Gandhi has been Congress President for almost twenty years. A whole generation of Congress workers, journalists and intellectuals have grown up knowing no other rule.

At the chaupal in front of the District Congress Committee office, a group of elderly Congress workers are sitting around smoking from a hookah.

“There is some craze for Rahul Gandhi among the younger cadres,” they admit to me. “But our vote is firmly with Sonia Gandhi’s son,” they insist.

On Monday, the Congress Working Committee ended all speculation by finally announcing the schedule for the elections for the post of Congress President. The last date for receiving nominations is Dec 4 and polling will be held on Dec 16. The counting of votes is scheduled for Dec 19.

For years now, the Congress Working Committee has been facing accusations from Rahul Gandhi, the opposition candidate, of delaying the polls. This has allowed the incumbents the opportunity to woo Congress workers with more sops. However, with Monday’s announcement, the model code of conduct has come into effect across the party.

The nervousness of incumbent Sonia Gandhi became clear when she stepped aside, instead of nominating her son Rahul Gandhi (and incumbent Vice-President) for the party’s top post. However, this has not reduced the sharpness of the anti-incumbency sentiment, which is visible in the relentless attacks by opposition candidate Rahul Gandhi.

In recent weeks, Rahul Gandhi has been crisscrossing Congress offices across the country. His rallies have drawn eager crowds. At a rally in Amethi, the crowd whistles and cheers as Rahul delivers his punchlines.

“What has Rahul Gandhi done for Amethi? How many seats could the Congress win in Amethi in recent Assembly elections?” he thunders. The crowd of Congress workers roars in agreement.

At another rally in Lucknow, Rahul asks, “Rahul Gandhi went into an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav. His ideas have delivered just six seats for the party.”

Opinion polls, while showing Rahul Gandhi still in the lead, show that Rahul Gandhi is gaining momentum.

“The popularity of Rahul Gandhi is up nearly 10% since the last time we surveyed. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi is seeing a comparable dip of 9% in vote share, which is bad news for the incumbent,” says Prof. Sanjay Kumar of CSDS before adding, “We are the Sachin Tendulkar of psephology, so you can take us at our word.”

In an article for the Quint, Prof. Sanjay Kumar writes, “If the momentum for Rahul Gandhi continues for another week or two, there is a solid chance of him overtaking Rahul Gandhi.”

Here are the findings of the CSDS survey among the several caste groups that make up the vote base of the Congress party.

Untitled

“Rahul Gandhi has seen a sharp rise in popularity among journalists, intellectuals and Award Wapsi Brigade,” explains Prof. Sanjay Jha, a political analyst based in NDTV studio, “The strategy of Rahul Gandhi to create a rainbow alliance against Rahul Gandhi is working.”

The illegal betting market has been seeing a lot of activity. At the ABP Bazaar, the odds of Rahul Gandhi winning the election are 88 paise for every rupee, while the odds of Rahul Gandhi winning have been placed at 1 rupee 25 paise.

Whatever the eventual result, the mood on the ground is near unanimous that the Congress is poised for its closest election in decades. While Rahul Gandhi may not win, he has made a significant dent in Rahul Gandhi’s votebank. And with his demi-god like following among Congress workers, Rahul Gandhi better watch out.

One thing is for sure in this election. Rahul Gandhi will be a winner even if he loses.

IT Department ups the ante to check for ‘black’ money deposited during demonetization

OpIndia Staff
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IT Department ups the ante to check for ‘black’ money deposited during demonetization

Naysayers and so-called experts have already buried the exercise of demonetization, writing it off as a failure. One of the arguments being used since most of the money came back and was deposited in banks, there was very little black money in the system, or the system was gamed. Some even claimed that since the black money was deposited in banks, it had turned white at that very instance.

However, the Income Tax Department seems to have just started their investigations. Earlier this year, the Department had launched Operation Clean Money, involving e-verification of large cash deposits made during 9th Nov to 30th Dec 2016. In only the “first batch”, about 18 lakh persons had been identified in whose case, cash transactions don’t appear to be in line with the tax payer’s profile.

Data from banks, regarding accounts of companies whose names had been struck off by the Registrar of Companies, was also obtained last month. We had covered how the data showed some shocking irregularities, and how it is expected that the Income Tax Department would further investigate this matter.

Earlier this month, the IT Department had stated via LETTER [F.NO.225/363/2017-ITA.II], DATED 15-11-2017, that a list of people was being generated, who had deposited substantial Cash in bank account(s) during the demonetisation period but had not yet filed Income-tax returns. Officers were told to issue notices to such people, in order to compute the tax payable by them.

Now, the IT Department has issued a fresh salvo against those who may have tried to cheat taxes on “black” cash deposited in banks. Technically, this cannot be called a “fresh” attack since via a press release dated 14 December 2016, the Department had warned tax payers about this.

The release had stated that some taxpayers may misuse the provision to revise old income tax returns, for manipulating the figures of income, cash-in-hand, profits etc. with an intention to show the current year’s undisclosed income (including the unaccounted income held in the form of demonetized currency in current year) in the earlier return, to avoid heavy taxes. In such cases, the department said, detailed scrutiny may be required so as to ascertain the correct income of the year and may also attract penalty/prosecution in appropriate cases as per provision of law.

Acting on the above, the IT Department now has issued detailed guidelines to tax officers, which are to be considered while ordering scrutiny assessments pertaining to filing of revised/belated returns by assessees, post-demonetisation period. Scrutiny assessments refer to the cases which are picked by the IT Department for detailed investigation, and verification with supporting documents.

The guidelines list out some of the possible methods used by tax evaders:

i. Unsubstantiated reduction in closing stock in the revised return vis-a-vis the figures in original return;

ii. Reporting of higher sales in the revised return;

iii. Cash-in-hand as on 31.03.2016 or 31.03.2015 was enhanced in the revised return;

iv. Additional cash inflow claimed to be out of earlier year savings, receipt of loans/advances /gifts/repayments/sale of capital assets;

v. In some cases, cash outflow might have been reduced by paying some of the liabilities in cash;

vi. Significantly lower closing stock as on 31.03.2015 or 31.03.2016 as compared to the earlier years in a belated return;

vii. Significantly higher cash-in-hand as on 31.03.2016 or 31.03.2015 compared to the preceding year in a belated return.

They communication further prescribes methods to investigate the above anomalies. Thus, the Income Tax Department is slowly shutting the doors for all the people who might have tried to play smart during the demonetization period. While critics of demonetization may turn a blind eye, the IT Department is not backing off.

Vir Lachit : Remembering the ‘North Eastern Shivaji’ on his birth anniversary

Guest Author
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Vir Lachit : Remembering the ‘North Eastern Shivaji’ on his birth anniversary

At a time when the entire nation is debating Rani Padmavati and the version of history that would do justice to her legacy, the state of Assam in particular and the North Eastern region in general today only remembers one of the great sons of the soil, Lachit Borphukan.

Under Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire saw its greatest ever expansion. However apart from Deccan, the Kamrup region of India had always alluded the Mughals and it was no different during Aurangzeb’s rule. The Mughal emperor therefore decided to launch an attack in order to annex Kamrup and make it a part of the glorious Mughal Empire.

At that time, Kamrup was ruled by the Ahom king Pratap Singha. His trusted Lieutenant was Lachit Borphukan who was asked to thwart the Mughal attack.

The battle lines were drawn at Saraighat.

The Mughals were led by Ram Singh and Mir Jumla and the Ahome forces where under the command of Lachit Borphukan and his trusted Muslim friend Ismail Siddiqui popularly known as Bagh Hazarika.

Although the Ahoms were lesser in resources and strength of numbers, the inexperience of the Mughals gave the Ahoms an upper hand. Still due to superior resources and firearms the Mughals managed to come to the borders of the Ahom kingdom. Lachit Borphukan instructed his Army to build a mighty wall across the Saraighat to prevent the Mughal forces from crossing over. The responsibility was entrusted to his maternal uncle who was himself suffering from high fever during that period.

On the night before the battle, when Lachit came to inspect the progress of the work, to his utter dismay he found his uncle sleeping under the stars. Out of rage, he took out his sword and severed the head of his uncle in one stroke, exclaiming “dexh t ke mumai dangor nohoi”. It literally meant “my uncle is not greater than my motherland”.

As the Mughals inched closer to victory, Lachit Borphukan, despite his ill-health bravely led the forces and what followed was a fierce battle in which the Ahoms finally emerged victorious owing to their superior diplomacy, intelligence and a weak Mughal navy.

The North Eastern region of India owes a lot to the Ahoms and Lachit Borphukan. It was because of his valor that the North Eastern region stayed free from Mughal rule until being finally annexed by the British. It was because of the efforts of Lachit Borphukan that the holy land of Kamakhya and Pua Mecca did not fall to the brutal Mughals.

Assam will forever be indebted to her greatest son after Srimanta Sankardev.

(This article was written by @manashsarma343)

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