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Congress leader BL Mungekar spreads fake news that President Murmu was present when PM Modi filed nomination, claims someone else tweeted it after the lie was caught

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader BL Mungekar spreads fake news that President Murmu was present when PM Modi filed nomination, claims someone else tweeted it after the lie was caught

Congress leader and Former Rajya Sabha MP BL Mungekar has landed himself in trouble for sharing fake news. Notably, in a post on X (Twitter) which has now been deleted, the Congress leader claimed that President Droupadi Murmu was present when Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination papers for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. 

In the post peddling falsehoods, Mungekar had attacked the President claiming that by joining PM Modi’s nominations, she has brought disgrace to her position. He also urged ECI to take action in this matter. He posted a photograph, where PM Modi is seen handing over nomination papers to an officer, accompanied by Draupadi Murmu and a large number of NDA leaders.

(Congress leader later deleted the post that made false claims that President Murmu was present when PM Modi filed his nomination papers)

Bhalchandra Laxman Mungekar wrote in the tweet, “While filing the election nomination form of Shri Narendra Modi, the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu’s presence is a gross violation of the Election Code of Conduct. She too has brought a disgrace to her position. The Election Commission of India must take an appropriate action in the matter.”

However, the claims that President Murmu joined PM Modi when he filed his nomination papers are false and fake news. The picture and the incident that is being used to peddle the allegations date back to June 2022 when NDA leaders accompanied their candidate Droupadi Murmu to file her nomination papers for elections for the post of India’s President. Incidentally, Congress had opposed NDA pick Murmu’s candidature and had fielded Yashwant Sinha. 

On 24 June 2022, PM Modi shared several pictures from filing the nomination, one of which was part of the Congress leader’s post peddling fake news. 

Hours after sharing the false claims, Congress leader Mungekar claimed that someone else made the post from his handle and also extended an apology. 

Claiming that he has gained access to his Twitter handle, Mungekar wrote, “I’ve just got back the access to my Twitter account. A tweet with misinformation was published by someone from my handle. Sincere apologies.” With this, he gave the familiar excuse of ‘my account was hacked / my nephew tweeted that’ after he was caught peddling fake news.

It is notable that, PM Modi has not filed his nomination papers from his Varanasi constituency or any other constituency till now. In fact, nominations for the constituency have not even started. Varanasi will vote in the last and seventh phase of the polls on 1 June. The Election Commission will issue the gazette notification for the 7th phase elections on 7 May, and only after that, the candidates will be able to file their nominations for the 57 constituencies in the last phase, including Varanasi. As per reports, PM Modi is slated to file his nomination from Varanasi on 14th May, the last date for filing nominations.

Apart from being a Rajya Sabha MP and Congress leader, Mungekar is an Economist who has previously served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mumbai. He was also a member of the Planning Commission of India. 

The development comes at a time when Congress leaders, its IT cell, and its ecosystem are embroiled in legal troubles for sharing a doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and peddling fake news about BJP abolishing SC, ST, and OBC reservation if voted to power. While a few X handles have been withheld in India for sharing the fake video, Police have also arrested several Congress leaders and functionaries of its IT cell. 

‘Attack on IAF convoy stuntbaazi, pre-planned to help BJP’: Former Punjab CM and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi makes controversial remark

OpIndia Staff
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‘Attack on IAF convoy stuntbaazi, pre-planned to help BJP’: Former Punjab CM and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi makes controversial remark

On Sunday (5th May), Congress leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi stoked a fresh controversy after he alleged that the recent terror attack on an Indian Air Force (IAF) convoy was a pre-election stunt by the BJP. Notably, the terror attack on an IAF convoy unfolded yesterday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district and the security forces are carrying out a manhunt to neutralise the terrorists. 

Claiming that these are not terror attacks, the Congress leader described it as “Stuntbaazi” alleging that the BJP orchestrated such incidents to sway elections. He further alleged that such attacks are premeditated and executed to bolster the electoral prospects of the BJP. 

Speaking with reporters in Jalandhar, Punjab, Channi said, “This is stuntbaazi. When elections come, such stunts are done to make the BJP win. These are pre-planned attacks, there is no truth in them…” 

Similar attacks happened during the last general elections, Channi added, in an apparent reference to the falsehoods and opposition propaganda that the BJP conspired Pulwama terrorist attack to win elections in 2019. He went further to allege that the BJP knows how to kill people and then play politics on these killings.

Additionally, the Former Punjab CM also alleged that the BJP wants to crush farmers to crush Punjab.

It is pertinent to note that Channi’s remarks are in stark contrast to those of Congress President Malikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.  

Yesterday, Kharge condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district and extended condolences over the death of one IAF personnel who lost his life in the attack. 

Taking to X, Kharge wrote, “Deeply pained by the cowardly terror attack on the IAF vehicle in Poonch, Jammu & Kashmir. We strongly and unequivocally condemn this dastardly terror attack and join the nation in standing together against terrorism.” 

Condemning the terrorist attack, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “The cowardly terrorist attack on our Army convoy in Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir is extremely shameful and sad. I pay my humble tribute to the martyred soldier and express my condolences to his bereaved family. I hope that the soldiers injured in the attack recover as soon as possible.” 

The terror attack on the IAF convoy

On Saturday evening (4th May), terrorists ambushed the convoy of the Indian Air Force at Sanai village in Surankote in Poonch district. One IAF personnel lost his life while four sustained injuries in the attack. According to the officials, one of the four personnel who were injured in the attack is said to be in critical condition, while the remaining three are stable. 


Meanwhile, the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police have launched a joint operation and are carrying out a massive search and cordon operation to locate the terrorists involved in the attack. As per reports, terrorists are believed to have fled into a forest after the attack.

Pulwama terror attack

On February 14, 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel to Srinagar via National Highway 44 came under a suicide bombing attack in  Pulwama. 22-year-old Adil Ahmad Dar, a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist from Kakapora in Jammu and Kashmir, rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the CRPF personnel. 40 of our jawans were killed in action in that cowardly terror attack.

The terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. They also posted a video of the Islamic terrorist Adil Ahmad Dar, who had joined the outfit a year before. In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that Pakistan was responsible for assisting terrorist attacks and that JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar had been “given the freedom to target India.”

However, the ghastly terror attack was not spared by certain opposition leaders and political parties who tried to give a clean chit to Pakistan and the terrorists involved.

The opposition leaders tried to pin the blame on Narendra Modi instead and tried to spin conspiracy theories around the attack. 

On 27th August 2023, the Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray alleged that the BJP conspired Pulwama terror attack to win the Lok Sabha elections 2019 in a rally in Hingoli in Maharashtra. 

Earlier, on 21st July 2023, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee tried to pass off the 2019  Pulwama terror attack as a ‘staged incident’ at her Martyr’s Day rally at Esplanade in Kolkata.

In her speech, Banerjee claimed, “I will tell the students and the youth that the BJP is planning to pull off staged events such as Pulwama (terror attack).” 

“They are planning to create fake, staged videos like in movies. They will stage dramas, shoot videos, and defame Bengal. This is their conspiracy,” she brazened it out.

Radhika Khera resigns from Congress, says she was locked in a room after Ayodhya visit: Read about the mistreatment and denial of justice to her

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Radhika Khera resigns from Congress, says she was locked in a room after Ayodhya visit: Read about the mistreatment and denial of justice to her

In another blow to Congress amid Lok Sabha elections, party leader Radhika Khera resigned from the primary membership of the party after she alleged mistreatment by party members.

In her letter to the AICC, the Congress leader alleged that justice was denied to her after the mistreatment by party members as she visited the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

“It is an established truth since ancient times that those who support religion have been opposed. Examples of this range from Hiranyakashipu to Ravana and Kansa. At present, some people are opposing those who take the name of Lord Shri Ram in the same way. For every Hindu, the birthplace of Lord Shri Ram holds great significance with its sacredness and while every Hindu considers his life successful just by seeing Ram Lalla, some people are opposing it.

The party to which I have given more than 22 years of my life, where I worked with full honesty from NSUI to AICC’s media department, today I have to face such intense opposition because I couldn’t stop myself from visiting Ram Lalla in Ayodhya,” she said in her letter.

“The opposition to this noble work of mine reached such a level that justice was denied to me in the incident that happened to me in the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress office. I have always fought for the justice of others from every platform, but when it came to my justice, I found myself defeated in the party. Being a devotee of Lord Shri Ram and a woman, I am deeply hurt,” the Congress leader added.

She further said that she has taken this step after justice was denied to her even after informing all the top leaders.

“I have taken this step today as I am hurt by the fact that I did not get justice even after informing all the top leaders,” Khera said.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

75 delegates from election management bodies of 23 countries: Largest ever global delegation to witness India’s general elections

OpIndia Staff
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75 delegates from election management bodies of 23 countries: Largest ever global delegation to witness India’s general elections

75 international delegates from election management bodies (EMBs) of 23 countries have arrived in India to witness the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Election Commission of India invited them to India to foster a culture of transparency and reiterate its commitment to high standards of electoral practices amidst the democratic nations, CEC Rajiv Kumar said. Additionally, media representatives from Bhutan and Israel have also arrived.

The delegates will witness the world’s largest election as part of the International Election Visitors’ Programme (IEVP), which was inaugurated in Delhi on Sunday in the presence of CEC Rajiv Kumar and ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. The program seeks to familiarise foreign Election Management Bodies (EMBs) with the nuances of India’s electoral system as well as the best practices used by the largest democracy in the world. Among the 75 delegates, over ten are chairmen and the chief equivalent of chief election commissioners of the different countries.

“This is in line with our established policy of disclosing, working from the position of strength that we have nothing to hide. So we are inviting them,” Chief Election Commissioner Kumar said.

Sharing details of the event, the Election Commission posted on Twitter, “CEC Rajiv Kumar addresses over 75 international delegates from 23 EMBs at the inaugural session of International Election Visitors Prog held today at New Delhi. Delegates given an overview of various facets of gigantic election exercise in world’s largest democracy!”

The 23 countries from where the delegates have come are Bhutan, Mongolia, Australia, Madagascar, Fiji, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Moldova, Tunisia, Seychelles, Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Chile, Uzbekistan, Maldives, Papua New Guinea and Namibia. The delegates will visit 6 states to witness first-hand the conduct of Indian elections in the coming phase, the third phase.

The delegates will split into groups to visit six states—Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to observe polls and related preparedness in various constituencies. The programme will end on the 9th of May, 2024. The program will familiarise foreign EMB delegates with the nuances of India’s electoral system as well as the best practices in Indian election.

CEC Kumar said that more delegates may visit during the subsequent phases of the elections.

Rajiv Kumar while addressing the delegates, remarked that the contribution of the Indian electoral space and work done by the Election Commission of India, holds a significant portion of the world democratic space.  In terms of process and capacity it generates, what can be legitimately called, ‘democratic surpluses’ is of a huge significance in the otherwise growing concerns of shrinkage of or decline of democratic spaces worldwide.

Kumar further said that the Indian elections space is unique, as neither electoral registration is compulsory nor voting is mandatory.  Therefore, the ECI is required to operate in an entirely persuasive space, inviting the citizens to volunteer to become part of electoral roll and, thereafter, through systematic voter awareness programme, to motivate them to exercise their franchise.  He said “It would be axiomatic to say that the credibility of the processes that we undertake is validated through the sheer turnout at elections and the near saturation of electoral rolls in terms of Elector-population ratio.”

Commenting on the scale of the electoral exercise in India, he said that a 970 million strong electorate will be welcomed by over 15 million polling personnel at over 1 million Polling Stations spread across the country. Shri Kumar added that diversity of the nation’s electorate can be witnessed in its full expression by the visiting delegates at the Polling Stations. He added that India is a country of festivals and invited the delegates to experience the festival of democracy first-hand.

On the sidelines of the event, the Commission also held bilateral interactions with the Chief Election Commissioners of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Nepal along with their delegation.

Earlier in the day, delegates were briefed on various aspects of Indian General Elections 2024 including EVM-VVPAT, IT initiatives, role of media and social media. The briefing session chaired by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Dharmendra Sharma included an overview of Elections by R.K. Gupta, Deputy Election Commissioner followed by a presentation on EVM-VVPAT by Nitesh Kumar, Sr. Deputy Election Commissioner. A presentation on the IT Initiatives of the ECI by eeta Verma, Director General (IT) and Media and social media by Anuj Chandak, Joint Director (Media) was part of the session.

Maharashtra: 72-year-old shopkeeper Qamar Ansari rapes 9-year-old minor after luring her with a chocolate, threatens to kill her parents if she tells anyone

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: 72-year-old shopkeeper Qamar Ansari rapes 9-year-old minor after luring her with a chocolate, threatens to kill her parents if she tells anyone

On 30th April, a 72-year-old man identified as Qamar Ansari raped a 9-year-old minor in Thane, Maharashtra. As per reports, Ansari runs a bakery shop. The victim visited the shop to buy some items. Ansari lured the little girl in the name of giving chocolate and raped her. An FIR has been registered and Ansari has been arrested by the police. The incident took place in the Mahatma Phule Chowk Police Station Area in Thane.

Qamar Ansari has run the bakery for a very long time. On 30th April, a 9-year-old minor girl came to his shop to buy milk. Reportedly, Ansari first engaged her in conversation and then lured her in the name of giving her a chocolate. He took her inside the shop where she was raped. No one else was present at the shop at the time of the incident.

After raping the minor, Ansari gave her Rs 10 to keep her mouth shut and threatened to kill her parents if she tells anyone. When the girl returned home, she narrated the whole incident to her parents. The child’s 42-year-old mother took her to the police station, filed a complaint, and demanded strict action against Ansari. An FIR was registered in the matter on 1st May and Ansari was arrested.

Inspector Shailesh Salvi spoke to the media and confirmed the incident. He said that the accused Ansari has been booked under Sections 376, 376A, 376B, 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act. He was presented at the court where Ansari was sent to a two-day police remand. Later, he was sent to jail. The victim was sent for medical and counselling. Further investigation into the matter is underway.

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar uses SM Mushrif’s books to justify his controversial comment on Karkare’s death, read how Mushrif has been defending Islamists through his books

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar uses SM Mushrif’s books to justify his controversial comment on Karkare’s death, read how Mushrif has been defending Islamists through his books

On 4th May, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Assembly, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that the bullet that killed IPS officer Hemant Karkare was not fired by Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab but from the weapon of an ‘RSS-linked’ police officer. Karkare was one of the police officials who lost their lives during the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008. 

After facing massive backlash for his allegations, Congress leader Wadettiwar told reporters that he made the contentious remarks based on the book written by SM Mushrif. He said, “Those are not my words, I just said what was written in the book by SM Mushrif. Every information was there about the bullet by which Hemant Karkare was shot, it was not the bullet of terrorists…”

“Brahminists bombed, Muslims hanged”: SM Mushrif authored books to absolve Pakistani terrorists pinning the blame on ‘Brahminists’ for the terror attack

It is pertinent to note that SM Mushrif is a controversial former Inspector General of Police (IGP). He wrote a book titled ‘Who killed Karkare? The Real Face of Terrorism in India’, claiming that the then ATS chief Hemant Karkare was killed by “Hindu radicals”, and not the Pakistani terrorists who attacked Mumbai on 26 November 2008 after taking a boat from Karachi. Shamsuddin Mushrif had once claimed that ‘26/11 was planned to kill Hemant Karkare‘ but later issued a clarification that the Cama attack was planned to kill Hemant Karkare. 

(Media headlines stating that SM Mushrif had alleged that the Mumbai terror attack in 2008 was planned to kill Hemant Karkare)
(SM Mushrif later clarified that the Cama attack, one of the places Pakistani terrorists attacked, was planned to kill the then ATS Chief, stressing that earlier headline by the portal was “misleading” and “damaging”)

According to SM Mushrif, Muslim terrorism in India is a figment of imagination, a facade created by the Intelligence Bureau to cover up the ‘real terrorism’ in the country perpetrated by Brahminists to establish Brahminist hegemony. He went further to allege that RSS is ‘India’s number 1 terrorist organisation’. He also wants that the secularists of the country should approach the Supreme Court and challenge the UAPA which is used against terrorists, in other heinous crimes as well as anti-national activities.

In his other book Brahminists Bombed, Muslims Hanged, Mushrif claimed that Muslims were framed for bomb blasts done by ‘Brahminists’. SM Mushrif went to the extent of implying that Muslims were wrongly blamed for the July 2006 Mumbai local train blasts, which killed 187 people, and by extension, that those blasts were done by ‘Brahminists’ since the title of his book was ‘Brahminists bombed, Muslims hanged’. He had said that 13 Muslims were arrested for the July 2006 Mumbai blasts but the trial court did not give them a chance to present their side. 

Mushrif implied the same in the 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune when a little-known jihadi organisation had claimed responsibility for the same. Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Mohammed Ahmed Siddibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal, a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was arrested on the India-Nepal border in August 2013. Currently, a trial against him is ongoing before a special court in Pune in the German Bakery blast case. 

(Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Yasin Bhatkal, Image Source – OpIndia Hindi)

Additionally, in December 2016, a special court had awarded a death sentence to Yasin Bhatkal, Shaikh, and three other IM terrorists in the Hyderabad twin blast case.

(Media report and details about the German Bakery blast case, excerpt from Indian Express article)

SM Mushrif not only defended the Islamist accused in the case alleging that he was wrongly framed, but also he went on to imply that Brahminists carried out the blasts. 

Further, Mushrif directly alleged that the 2014 Pharaskhana bomb blast was done by Hindu radicals and not Islamists. This claim was strongly refuted by the Investigating Officer in the case, who called Mushrif’s allegations ‘baseless’ and said that no innocents were framed and the correct procedure was followed in the investigation.

In July 2023, the Bombay High Court directed a Pune special court to timely decide on a plea filed by a lawyer Tosif Shaikh seeking a reinvestigation into the Faraskhana bomb blast case, which was closed after all the accused were killed in police encounters.

(Details about the German Bakery blast case, excerpt from Indian Express article)

It is pertinent to note that in 2018, a decade after the Mumbai terror attack, Bombay HC had refused to order a probe into former ATS chief Karkare’s death and junked a petition alleging that his killing during the 26/11 terror attack was a conspiracy hatched by “Right Wing extremists”. Incidentally, the PIL relied on S M Mushrif’s book ‘Who Killed Karkare’. Additionally, he was also summoned by the Bombay High Court in 2010 in connection for his propaganda book.

We should accept that Hindu organisations carry out bomb blasts: Retired Justice Abhay Thipsay who joined Congress after meeting Rahul Gandhi

Incidentally, Retired judge Abhay Thipsay who joined the Congress party in 2018 after his retirement, launched SM Mushrif’s propaganda book titled: “Brahminists bombed, Muslims hanged” in Pune on 13th August 2019. 

Retired Justice Thipsay was the same judge who convicted 9 out of the 17 accused in the Best Bakery case, the Supreme Court had later directed a re-trial in the case and some of the individuals convicted by Justice Thipsay were later acquitted as they were framed based on the testimony of only one witness, Zahira Sheikh, who changed her statements multiple times.  

Congress leader Thipsay claimed that the Hindus carried out the 2008 Malegaon blasts despite the fact that nothing has been proven in this case yet and it is in the trial phase. Furthermore, Islamic radicals were initially suspected to have carried out the 2008 blasts. 

(Islamists were initially found accused in the case but they were allowed to go absconding to device Saffron terror theory, Excerpt from Indian Express article)

Congress leader Thipsay further ranted that we should accept that Hindu organisations carry out bomb blasts.

With the latest contentious remarks, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar has relaunched the boogie that furthers the ‘26/11 done by Hindus’ conspiracy theory devised by Pakistan. It is pertinent to note that the concocted theory was done and dusted when terrorist Ajmal Kasab and others responsible for the dastardly terror attack were delivered Justice after following due process of Indian Law. The same modus operandi of terrorists using fake identities of Hindus to give rebirth to the bogie of Hindu/Saffron terror has been exposed by the security agencies after busting several terror modules.

Furthermore, the propaganda book by SM Mushrif based on which the Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar relaunched the “RSS ki Sazish” conspiracy theory, was junked by the courts in the past. 

I am followed wherever I go, Sanjay Raut has threatened me and abused me: Patra Chawl case witness Swapna Patkar levels serious allegations

OpIndia Staff
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I am followed wherever I go, Sanjay Raut has threatened me and abused me: Patra Chawl case witness Swapna Patkar levels serious allegations

On 4th May, film producer Swapna Patkar, a witness in the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering investigation into the Patra Chawl redevelopment case involving Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut, wrote to Neelam Gore, the deputy chairman of the legislative council, accusing the Rajya Sabah MP of harassing her and her family. She stated that she stays with her mother in Mumbai’s Santacruz.

She charged, “Sanjay Raut is harassing me and my family. Even though I have written thousands of letters so far, I am suffering. I am followed wherever I go. I was chased at BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) on May 3 as well. I was attacked before and a police case was registered but no action has been taken so far.” She asserted that spies had been sent by the parliamentarian to keep an eye on her. She further stated, “One (spy) was also arrested but no action was taken against Raut. He threatened me and abused me, but no action was taken. He is not called to the police station. Threatening calls came from Dubai and Pakistan. My vehicle was attacked and threatened. Bottles of liquor were thrown at my house.”

Patra Chawl scam pertains to the Goregaon area of Mumbai and is of approximately Rs 1034 crore. This land parcel is owned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, also referred to as MHADA. Properties valued at Rs 2 crore belonging to Varsha Raut, Sanjay Raut’s wife, and Rs 9 crore of his own have been seized.

Pravin Raut, a real estate tycoon who is also a co-accused in the case, has been charged with defrauding Patra Chawl residents. This site was to be developed into 3000 apartments by a construction company. 672 apartments were to be provided to the residents of this area. Parts of this large plot were sold to other builders in 2011, while the remainder was supposed to be donated to MHADA. The original chawl inhabitants have not yet received their flats.

The PMC (Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative) Bank scam, which surfaced in Maharashtra in 2020, was being investigated at the time when Pravin Raut and his company, Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited, surfaced as significant players in the case. It was subsequently discovered that Varsha Raut obtained a sum of Rs 55 lakh from the builder’s wife’s bank account. Sanjay Raut is accused of using the same funds to buy a Dadar apartment. That flat is presently sealed by ED.

Sanjay Raut had previously claimed that a fabricated case had been made against him as a political retaliation. The ED, however, refuted the allegation of political vengeance and maintained that the leader was completely complicit in the money laundering case. The agency highlighted, “The role of Sanjay Raut’s proxy and confidant Pravin Raut has been comprehensively brought out in the supplementary charge sheet filed on September 15, 2022. In order to avoid trial Sanjay Raut has been operating behind the curtains and Pravin Raut being his front man.”

Daughter of Mani Shankar Aiyar peddles anti-India propaganda of George Soros-funded V-Dem, whines that her think tank cannot accept foreign funds

OpIndia Staff
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Daughter of Mani Shankar Aiyar peddles anti-India propaganda of George Soros-funded V-Dem, whines that her think tank cannot accept foreign funds

Amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Yamini Aiyar wrote a propaganda piece in the journal ‘Nature’ decrying the scientific temperament and academic freedom in India. Yamini is the daughter of controversial Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar.

The vicious piece was published on Tuesday (30th April) and was titled ‘Why doing science is difficult in India today.’

The article relied on rankings published by the Sweden-based institute, Varieties of Democracy (V- Dem), which put India in the bottom 20% of the list in academic freedom among 179 countries.

Screengrab of the article by Yamini Aiyar in the ‘Nature’ journal

For those unaware of V-Dem, it is funded by the likes of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) and has been involved in anti-India propaganda for several years. OpIndia has previously reported that Soros has been eyeing a colour revolution in India.

“India’s academic freedom has been in steady decline for a decade. This is well documented…Historically, academic freedoms were certainly not perfect in India. Yet even a cursory glance at the evidence reveals that the scale of restrictions and the misuse of laws to curb academic freedom has increased,” Yamini Aiyar claimed in her article.

She was shrewd enough to mention ‘decade’ (2014-2024) in her propaganda piece to suggest that the Modi government has been the reason for supposedly curbing academic freedom in India and that the country was the land of scientific temperament before 2014.

Yamini Aiyar whines about FCRA licence suspension

It must be mentioned that Yamini Aiyar was the former President of a New Delhi-based ‘think tank’ named Centre for Policy Research (CPR). In March this year, the Indian government suspended the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence of CPR for violating foreign funding norms.

The Centre for Policy Research has been the subject of income tax raids in September 2022. The tax exemption status of Aiyar’s think tank was also revoked in July last year. The daughter of Mani Shankar Aiyar thus made it a point to whine inconsolably about the government’s crackdown on CPR.

“Given that public funds have many competing priorities, much of our research relies on international philanthropic funding. That is becoming increasingly difficult to come by, owing to a tightening of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), which controls licences to access foreign funding,” she claimed in her article in Nature journal.

Yamini Aiyar then lamented about the strengthening of the FCRA Act in 2020, which was also upheld by India’s apex court, and the suspension of licences of ‘civil society organisations’ required for obtaining foreign funds.

“For instance, after amendments to this law in 2020, recipients of foreign funding cannot give subgrants to other organizations, making collaborative research impossible. And since 2014, nearly 17,000 civil-society organizations have lost their FCRA licences altogether. For those that still have a licence, the renewal process is onerous. Many organizations receive temporary extensions of three to six months, rather than the full period of five years allowed under law,” she wrote.

Daughter of Mani Shankar Aiyar floats conspiracy theory

Aiyar insinuated that the lack of updated data on the decennial census, household expenditure survey, poverty reduction etc are somehow part of the Modi government’s strategy to prevent objective analysis of its economic policies.

She also suggested that the Indian government somehow had an invisible hand in the recall of a critical paper on ‘declining toilet usage in rural India’ albeit without evidence.

“In my view, it has now become increasingly common for technocrats in government to seek to discredit researchers and suppress research. In late 2023, for instance, the World Bank removed from its website an important study that highlighted reversals of progress recorded under a flagship sanitation programme. The bank cited procedural issues, but was presumably under government pressure,” Yamini Aiyar brazened out without furnishing any proof.

Towards the end of her propaganda piece, the daughter of Mani Shankar Aiyar attempted to portray a doomsday image of procedural regulations in India and pleaded for an alliance of sorts to uphold ‘scientific freedom’

“To reverse these trends, researchers must make their voices heard and be willing to defend the principle and value of academic freedom in the public domain. Research bodies should engage more effectively with philanthropists in India and find ways to preserve the space for civil discourse. An alliance with broader civil society is also required to push back against draconian regulations that undermine scientific freedoms,” Yamini Aiyar concluded her rant.

Recently, the controversial United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also raked up the case of CPR in its 2024 annual report to cast aspersions on India’s democracy.

Delhi Excise Policy Scam: Court sends Vinod Chauhan, accused of sending 25 Crore to AAP Goa via hawala, to ED custody

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Excise Policy Scam: Court sends Vinod Chauhan, accused of sending 25 Crore to AAP Goa via hawala, to ED custody

On 4th April, a Delhi Court sent Vinod Chauhan to the Enforcement Directorate custody in the Delhi Excise Policy Scam case till 7th May. Chauhan is the 18th person arrested in the matter. He is accused of transferring money via the hawala route for the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Goa elections funds. Chauhan was arrested by the investigating agency on 3rd May for his alleged involvement in the case. 

Special counsel Zoheb Hossain appearing for ED sought four days of custody from the court. He informed the court that, “Chauhan had transferred money through the hawala route for AAP’s Goa elections. He was in regular touch with members of the ‘South Group’… was part of a deep nexus with major conspirators such as K Kavitha and certain AAP leaders.”

Hossain further added that during searches at Chauhan’s office, ED recovered Rs 1,06,00,000. Hossain said, “He could not explain its source. He was holding the cash given by the members of the ‘South Group’ for the AAP.”

ED informed the court that Chauhan allegedly transferred proceeds of crime worth Rs 25.5 crore in the matter. The custody was sought to unearth further material in the case.

On the other hand, Chauhan’s counsel said in the court there was no need to send him to custody. He said, “I have always joined the investigation. Why have I been arrested?”, adding that audited statements regarding the cash recovery had already been provided to the agency.

Countering him, Hossain said, “The Rs 1 crore seized was what was left. The rest of the proceeds of crime were already transferred, consumed, and used up.” He added that the responses provided by Chauhan were “vague and unsatisfactory”.

Vinod Chauhan linked to ‘South Group’

Reportedly, Chauhan recieved money to send to AAP from the ‘South Group’. It is a group of individuals from South India. As per ED, it has secured uninhibited access, undue favours, attained stakes in established wholesale businesses, multiple retail zones and paid Rs 100 crores to AAP leaders for the same. BRS leader K Kavitha is part of the South Group. She is currently in judicial custody in Delhi Excise Policy Scam.

Delhi Excise Policy Scam

In November 2021, the AAP-led Delhi Government introduced the Delhi Excise Policy replacing the old excise policy claiming it would benefit Delhi. However, in July 2022, Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar submitted a report to LG VK Saxena pointing out that there were alleged procedural lapses in the formulation of the Delhi excise policy 2021-22. In the same month, the policy was scrapped.

In his report, Kumar pointed out that Sisodia’s decisions taken in regards to the policy were arbitrary and unilateral leading to financial losses to the exchequer estimated at over Rs 580 crore.

Central Bureau of Investigation initiated a probe into the matter. Later, ED also initiated a separate case. Manish Sisodia and others were arrested in the matter. In March 2024, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by ED after he failed to appear in eight consecutive summons by the investigating agencies.

Kejriwal tried escaping the ED summons via court but the court rejected his plea and said he had to appear before the ED. Since then, his custody has been extended multiple times. Currently, AAP is using Kejriwal’s stint in Tihar as a political campaign hoping they would get some votes because a “sitting chief minister” has been jailed.

Madhya Pradesh: Shahnawaz brutally kills his sister-in-law and two toddler nieces over a minor argument; puts the girls’ bodies in sacks and throws them in a pond

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Shahnawaz brutally kills his sister-in-law and two toddler nieces over a minor argument; puts the girls’ bodies in sacks and throws them in a pond

On 4th May (Saturday) a shocking case of a sensational triple murder came to light in the Govindgarh police station area of Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh. Shahnawaz Khan killed his 25-year-old sister-in-law Hasina Khan, and two nieces 2-year-old Alia and 3-year-old Anabiya. Shahnawaz then put the bodies of the children in a sack and discarded them in a pond. A police team including the Superintendent of Police reached the spot after receiving information about the crime and started searching for the corpses with the help of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers. The police have arrested the accused and he is under interrogation.

The triple murder that transpired in ward number three, close to Idgah, caused widespread concern. The husband of the deceased woman resides and works in Visakhapatnam as a worker, and she stayed with her in-laws. The accused reportedly got into a minor argument with his sister-in-law and he killed her by striking her with a steel rod and then stabbed her with a knife. Her daughters witnessed the murder, so he then attacked them and ended their lives to hide his crime.

Shahnawaz left Hasina’s body, which was soaked in blood, in the house while the bodies of his nieces were stuffed in a sack and dumped into a pond. The rest of the family members were not at house during the murders. They had gone to Jabalpur (Gurh per some reports) to attend a wedding ceremony. Shahnawaz exploited the opportunity and killed the three victims in their absence. The police squad arrived at the location accompanied by Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Singh and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anil Sonkar and recovered the body. They gathered the evidence and began their investigation as the authorities continued to search the pond for the remains of the two girls.

According to Anil Sonkar, Shahnawaz and his sister-in-law Hasina got into a fight late last night. He killed the woman by strangulation after hitting her head with a steel rod out of fury. Sonkar stated, “Hasina Khan lived with her children, mother-in-law and two brother-in-laws in ward number 3 of Govindgarh town, while her husband is employed outside. Hasina’s elder brother-in-law had gone to Jabalpur for a wedding with her mother and the younger brother-in-law Shahnawaz Khan was at home. There was a dispute between the brother-in-law and the sister-in-law on Saturday evening. The brother-in-law used a steel rod to hit Hasina in the head during this altercation. He then used a knife to cut her throat.”

Police added, “Hasina’s two daughters, who were present, started crying when they saw what had happened. Subsequently, the perpetrator also murdered them and disposed of their corpses in the pond. He is being questioned by police after being brought into custody. Divers are assisting the police team in their hunt for the girls’ bodies. The conflict between the brother-in-law and the sister-in-law is being ascertained.”

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