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‘I gave him tea & Rs 5000 which he asked for his wife’s delivery’: Bereaved mother narrates how Sajid & Javed emotionally blackmailed her before butchering her boys

OpIndia Staff
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‘I gave him tea & Rs 5000 which he asked for his wife’s delivery’: Bereaved mother narrates how Sajid & Javed emotionally blackmailed her before butchering her boys

Sajid and Javed cut open the throats of two minor boys in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district on Tuesday, 19th March sending a shockwave across the country. Sajid was killed in an encounter by the UP Police whereas a search for Javed is underway.

A third boy was also attacked, however, he escaped. The police are investigating the motive behind the spine-chilling murder.

The accused had entered the house of the victim fully prepared with weapons and their plan to butcher the innocent Ayush, 14 and Honey, 6.

Narrating the sequence of events, the mother of the deceased said that there were two accused and one had run away. Her account reveals that the accused laid an emotional blackmail trap by mentioning the delivery of his child and how he had lost several kids.

“One had shut shop early and he was waiting downstairs,” she said adding that both of them visited their house.

The mother added, “They first asked for clature, so I gave them 3 clature and they gave me Rs 50 and I returned Rs 5 and told them it’s Rs 15 each and Rs 45 total. They said ok. Then they said they have come for some work and need Rs 5000.”

The mother of the deceased said that she called her husband and told him that Javed and that (Sajid) are asking for money. “My husband said no issues, they are right kids, give them, they must have some issue,” she said.

The bereaved mother narrated that the accused told her that they were given the time of 11 AM at the hospital as his wife was to give birth.

“He said he lost 5 of his kids and that his kids don’t survive. I said it’s alright, everyone faces problems, you sit here. You go at 9 when you shut shop,” she told the accused not aware of their intentions.

The mother further narrated that she served them tea. “He ordered tea upstairs, I thought alright I’ll take the tea upstairs, maybe he is just passing time, he must be anxious. Then he called the children upstairs. He engaged the elder one and told the youngest to get water and told the middle child to get gutka (tobacco),” she said.

“My children never bring gutkah for anyone. When the child went with a glass, he held him and the glass fell from his (the child’s) hand. I asked but I didn’t hear back. I thought maybe he didn’t respond,” the mother narrated.

She said that the accused was heading downstairs with a knife and covered in blood when he grabbed the middle child too. “The knife fell from the hands of the accused so the child escaped and came down running,” she said.

The mother said that the second accused, Javed, was sitting downstairs throughout the murder. The mother added that the two accused shut their shop at 8 PM every day but on Tuesday they shut it at 6 PM.

Meanwhile, the father of the deceased said that two brothers were involved. He said that there were no ties of the family with the accused as such besides that sometimes he, the father, would get a haircut from the salon of the accused.

The father said he doesn’t know why this has happened or whether someone has made this happen. He said that the middle child who escaped is fine now.

While Sajid has been killed in an encounter, a search for Javed is underway. The police said that he will be arrested soon.

Umesh Kolhe, butchered for supporting ex-BJP leader Nupur Sharma, had also helped his murderer Dr. Yusuf Khan

Medical store owner Umesh Kolhe was brutally murdered in Amravati by Islamists for supporting ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Kolhe considered the instigator Dr. Yusuf Khan, as his friend. Khan was the eldest of the arrested accused instigated all the murderers for this murder.

Dr. Yusuf Khan was a good friend of Umesh Kolhe who had helped him many times. Dr. Yusuf Khan was the admin of the WhatsApp group in which Umesh Kolhe had shared a post supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma, which led to his murder.

Umesh Kolhe’s murderers were all closely related, as several of them worked with an NGO run by the key conspirator Sheikh Irfan, who was identified as the mastermind behind the crime.

Veterinary doctor Yusuf Khan and chemist Umesh Kolhe knew each other for the past several years, and they were good friends. Yusuf Khan often sought help from Umesh Kolhe who seldom disappointed his friend.

He used to lend money to Yusuf Khan in hours of need. Umesh Kolhe had helped Dr. Yusuf Khan at the time of his sister’s wedding and his children’s admissions too. Despite such good relations, Dr. Yusuf Khan conspired to kill Umesh Kolhe.

Dr. Yusuf Khan is the eldest among the arrested accused. He was supposed to keep a watch on viral messages on social media and identify the targets. He was the admin of the group called Black Freedom in which Umesh Kolhe had shared a post supporting Nupur Sharma.

Dr Yusuf Khan shared this information with another group called Rahebariya and informed his friends Sheikh Irrfan and others, and created hatred in their minds for Umesh Kolhe.

Zomato says that its newly launched ‘Pure Vegetarian’ fleet will continue to wear red instead of green, as previously announced: Here is their statement

ANI
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Zomato says that its newly launched ‘Pure Vegetarian’ fleet will continue to wear red instead of green, as previously announced: Here is their statement

Popular food delivery and restaurant aggregator company Zomato has decided that its newly introduced ‘Pure Vegetarian’ delivery fleet will continue to wear Zomato’s trademark red instead of green as originally conceived by the delivery start-up. 

“All our riders — both our regular fleet, and our fleet for vegetarians, will wear the colour red,” Deepinder Goyal said on Wednesday in its latest update. 

“This means that the fleet meant for vegetarian orders will not be identifiable on the ground (but will show on the app that your veg orders will be served by the veg only fleet). This will ensure that our red uniform delivery partners are not incorrectly associated with non-veg food, and blocked by any RWAs or societies during any special days… our rider’s physical safety is of paramount importance to us. We now realise that even some of our customers could get into trouble with their landlords, and that would not be a nice if that happened because of us” Goyal said in his post on X. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Zomato said it had launched a ‘Pure Veg’ delivery fleet to serve customers with purely vegetarian dietary preferences. Zomato said this segment was introduced after getting feedback from purely vegetarian customers who are very particular about how their food is cooked, and how their food is handled. 

Zomato had said that the ‘Pure Veg’ delivery mode would consist of a curation of restaurants that serve only pure vegetarian food and will exclude all restaurants which serve any non-veg food item. 

“Our dedicated Pure Veg Fleet will only serve orders from these pure veg restaurants. This means that a non-veg meal, or even a veg meal served by a non-veg restaurant will never go inside the green delivery box meant for our Pure Veg Fleet,” said Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal in a post on his X timeline. 

In his comments on X, the Zomato founder said that the concept of a ‘Pure Veg’ fleet had drawn overwhelming response from customers. 

“I have received an overwhelmingly positive response on this launch from so many people. A lot of comments from young people who eat non-veg food saying “now my parents can also use Zomato”. I would like to repeat that this feature strictly serves a dietary preference. And I know there are a lot of customers who would never order food from a restaurant which serves meat, irrespective of their religion/caste” Goyal posted. 

“But why did we need to separate the fleets? Because despite everyone’s best efforts, sometimes the food spills into the delivery boxes. In those cases, the smell of the previous order travels to the next order, and may lead to the next order smelling of the previous order. For this reason, we had to separate the fleet for veg orders. Please note that participation in our Veg delivery fleet will not discriminate on the basis of our delivery partner’s dietary preferences” he added. 

“There’s an opinion that some societies and RWAs will now not let our regular fleet in. We will stay alert for any such cases and work with these RWAs to not let this happen. We understand our social responsibility due to this change, and we will not back down from solving it when the need arises. And I promise, that if we see any significant negative social repercussions of this change, we will roll it back in a heartbeat” he further said. 

To start with, Deepinder Goyal himself stepped out to deliver some pure veg orders with his delivery partners. This feature will see a phased rollout across the country in the next few weeks. 

Deepinder Goyal said Zomato also plans to add more specialised fleets for special customer needs. It said a special cake delivery fleet is coming up with hydraulic balancers which will prevent the cake from getting smudged during delivery. 

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

Badaun Murder: Sajid had asked for tea before brutally killing Ayush and Honey, injuring Piyush inside their home

OpIndia Staff
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Badaun Murder: Sajid had asked for tea before brutally killing Ayush and Honey, injuring Piyush inside their home

On 19th March, Uttar Pradesh Police killed the main accused Sajid in an encounter in the Badaun murder case. Two minor kids, Ayush and Honey, were brutally murdered by Sajid. Shocking details of the incident have surfaced since the murder. As per reports, Sajid distracted the mother of the victims by asking her to prepare tea for him.

The victim and accused lived in Baba Colony. The mother of the victims runs a beauty parlour from home. She was alone with her children when the incident took place. Sajid, the accused in the case, owned a salon opposite the beauty parlour. He shut his shop early and went home. At around 7.30 PM, Sajid went to the house of Vinod Singh, father of the deceased kids. He asked the victims’ mother to prepare tea for him.

While the mother was preparing tea, he went upstairs where the children were playing. Suddenly, he attacked the three children of Vinod with his shaving blade. Two of the kids died on the spot, while the third one, Piyush, was injured. He was rushed to the hospital, where he is getting treated for the injuries. The incident occurred only a few meters from Mandi Police Station under Civil Lines Police Lines.

Deputy General of Police Prashant Kumar said in a statement that the accused was killed in an encounter hours after the incident. The locals were agitated following the incident, but the police managed to maintain law and order.

Badaun murder case: Two innocent minors killed by Sajid in Badaun

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in the Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, two minor Hindu children were murdered by accused Sajid after slitting their throats. A third child also suffered severe injuries on the neck, he is currently being treated at the hospital. Members of Hindu organisations, along with the relatives of the deceased, have gathered at the police station in protest after the murders. The victim’s family members say that the accused Sajid and Javed slit the throats of the deceased children. The family members have said that the accused even drank the blood of the victims after murdering them.

When the police tried to catch the accused, he opened fire at them. He was shot dead in the encounter. The family said Sajid’s brother Javed was with him. The police was looking for Javed at the time this report was published. Further investigation into the Badaun murder case is underway.

Uttar Pradesh: Sajid kills 2 Hindu children by cutting open their throats with a razor, tries to kill another child, killed in encounter

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Sajid kills 2 Hindu children by cutting open their throats with a razor, tries to kill another child, killed in encounter

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, two minor Hindu children have been murdered by accused Sajid after slitting their throats. A third child also suffered severe injuries on the neck, he is currently being treated at the hospital. Sajid was accompanied by his brother Javed, who is on the run and search for him is underway.

Members of Hindu organisations, along with the relatives of the deceased, have gathered at the police station in protest after the murders. The victim’s family members say that the throats of the deceased children were slit by the accused Sajid. The family members have said that the accused even drank blood of the victims after murdering them.

The accused Sajid and Javed run a salon. One of the accused Sajid has been killed in an encounter with police after the murders. A large number of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed at the location to maintain law and order.

This incident is being reported from Civil Lines area of Badaun. Vinod’s family lives on the third floor of a house in Baba Colony here. Vinod’s wife worked in a beauty parlor. Vinod works as a water tank contractor in Ghazipur. The couple was not at home at the time of the incident. Their three children were present at home. Sajid reached their house at 6 pm on Tuesday evening. He took the children inside the house on the pretext of feeding them something. After locking them inside a room, he slit the necks of all the children one by one using a razor.

The deceased children are 14-year-old Ayush and 6-year-old Honey. Javed also tried to slit the neck of the third child in the house, however, he somehow freed himself and ran away. The injured child is undergoing treatment in the hospital. Hearing the screams of the children, people started gathering at the spot. Seeing the gathering of people, Javed ran away.

The family members have said that Sajid even drank the blood of the children after murdering them. IG Range has said that a proper investigation will be conducted about the allegations.

Police started searching for the absconding accused after being notified of the crime. Ultimately, Sajid was caught by the police. Sajid attacked the police and tried to escape, after which he was killed in an encounter. Along with Sajid, another youth named Javed is also reportedly involved in this crime. Angered by the murders, people vandalised a salon in the city, which apparently belonged to Sajid.

Paramilitary forces have been deployed to handle the situation and maintain law and order.

Shattered Hanuman idol, put shoes on Hindu deity during 2002 riots: Know Hindu-hate history of Rafiq who attempted to burn 12 labour families in Anjar

ભાર્ગવ રાજ્યગુરુ
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Shattered Hanuman idol, put shoes on Hindu deity during 2002 riots: Know Hindu-hate history of Rafiq who attempted to burn 12 labour families in Anjar

On Sunday (17th March), early in the morning, a contractor Mohammad Rafiq in Anjar of the Kutch district in Gujarat set ablaze 12 huts of daily wage labourers in an attempt to burn them alive along with their families. The accused torched the huts located in the Mochi Bazar near Khatri Chowk in Anjar because the workers refused to work for him unless he paid their pending dues for the earlier work.

While the police action against Rafiq is underway after his arrest, it has come to the fore that the accused is a history-sheeter and has been in jail previously for deliberately demeaning the Hindu religion. As per the reports, during the 2002 riots, Mohammad Rafiq and his associates smashed the eyes of the deity at Anjar’s Hanumanji shrine and dismembered it. Rafiq also put a necklace of shoes on Lord Hanumanji’s idol. He was then charged with offending Hindu emotions and for taking part in the 2002 riots after which the court sentenced him to three years in prison.

A copy of the court order of the Anjar court is available with OpIndia. According to the court order, on the night of April 2, 2002, the accused Mohammad Rafiq Kasam Kumbar and Dilawar Viram Raima had offended the faith of Hindus by breaking the idol at Hanumanji temple in Turiawad area of ​​Anjar. At that time the accused Mohammad Rafiq was only 19 years old. The court order stated that these two accused entered the Piplia Hanumanji temple at night. Further, both the accused together removed the eyes of Hanumanji’s statue and threw them away. Apart from this, the idol was damaged in many ways.

Not only that, but both of the accused had painted the idol of Hanumanji green and garlanded it with shoes. While all this was happening, the home guard Jawan present had left for some task. When he returned, he saw that someone had desecrated the Hanumanji temple. Later it was discovered that the act committed by the accused was part of the 2002 Gujarat riots which were still ongoing at that time. 

The police arrested both the accused and produced them before the court

During 2002 riots, there were serious tensions in Gujarat. Even this incident in Anjar was a shock to the Hindus. The members of the Hindu community then registered a police case in this matter and the Anjar Police booked the accused under sections 457, 295, 295-K, 153-K, and 120-B of the IPC. Later, the police also filed a charge sheet against the accused in the court.

Both accused parties denied having committed the crime when questioned by the court. The Hindu party’s representatives gave the court 28 pieces of evidence, including witness testimony. Many other people’s testimonies were also obtained in addition to this.

Attorneys for the prosecution, AK Tiwari, and for the accused, N.V. Rathore and SH Palan were locked in a protracted debate. Years of hearings were held in the interim period. On August 28, 2014, the Anjar Court issued the final ruling following the hearing of the parties’ closing arguments.

The court awarded three years of rigorous imprisonment to Rafiq

After rendering a final ruling, the court sentenced accused Dilawar and Muhammad Rafiq to three years in prison under Section 248(2) of the CrPC as well as Sections 457, 295, 295-A, 153-A, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In addition, a ₹5,000 fine was also imposed by the court.

The accused Rafiq was convicted of his role in the 2002 riots and sentenced to three years in prison in 2014. On Sunday, seven years after end of his jail term, Rafiq committed another crime. He attempted to burn alive 12 Hindu labour families who lived in Anjar’s slums. He used to carry out contracting jobs without paying the employees. When the workers sought payment, Rafiq became enraged and tried to burn the labourers.

OpIndia contacted the Anjar Police to get more information on the matter. We spoke to PI Sisodia of Anjar Police Station. Confirming the incident, PI Sisodia told OpIndia, “I came to know about the incident through a phone call at around 8:30 am. As soon as we were informed, we reached the spot along with a team of personnel from our police station.”

“Upon reaching there, we saw that all the huts were burnt to ashes,” the PI told OpIndia, “but it was a relief that there were no casualties. We immediately initiated action.”

Explaining the reason behind the fire, the PI said, “There was a rift between the complainants and the accused Rafiq, because of that, he committed this act. Within two and a half hours of filing the complaint, our team of Anjar Police arrested Rafiq from the railway station. Proceedings in this matter are ongoing as per the norms.”

Princess Kate Middleton’s picture of Queen Elizabeth II flagged as edited: The British royal family’s PR fiasco explained

OpIndia Staff
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Princess Kate Middleton’s picture of Queen Elizabeth II flagged as edited: The British royal family’s PR fiasco explained

In a fresh PR setback for the United Kingdom’s Royal family, another picture earlier released by them has turned out to be ‘photoshopped’. Notably, a global picture agency highlighted that the late Queen Elizabeth’s picture with her family, released on 21st April 2023, was “digitally enhanced at source”. 

In the picture, now called out as “digitally enhanced at source”, late Queen Elizabeth II was surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was reportedly taken by the Princess of Wales at Balmoral in August 2022. Later, Buckingham Palace released it on 21st April 2023 to mark what would have been the late Queen’s 97th birthday.

However, after review, Getty Images’ spokesman said, “Getty Images has reviewed the image in question and placed an editor’s note on it, stating that the image has been digitally enhanced at source.”

(The second photo of Royal family that has been called out by global photo agencies for “digital alterations”, Image Source – Telegraph)

According to reports, upon closer examination of the image, various irregularities become apparent. These include a vertical line where the tartan pattern on the late Queen’s skirt fails to align, a noticeable dark shadow behind Prince Louis’s ear, and a similar small black mark behind Prince George’s shirt collar. Additionally, there are indications of digital duplication in Mia Tindall’s hair.

The backdrop of the ‘critical review’ by Global picture agencies and the chronology of Royal blunders explained

Conspicuously, the Royal Family in the United Kingdom is currently embroiled in a PR fiasco. Their efforts to put conspiracy theories about the health of Princess Catherine at rest have only ended up having the opposite effect – fuelling them and giving more credence to speculations. Notably, Princess Catherine aka Princess of Wales (maiden name Kate Middleton) underwent abdominal surgery at the London Clinic on 16 January, this year. 

However, details of her condition have been kept private and reports suggested that she was not expected to return to official duties until after Easter (end of March). 

At a time when speculations were rife about her health status and whereabouts, a series of events and “doctored” digital evidence of Kate’s recent appearance have left the Royal family in ignominy. 

After two months of hiatus post-surgery, the Royal family, through their official X handle, released a photo that was intended to be Kate Middleton’s first photo after surgery. The now-reducted photo was released to mark Women’s Day in the United Kingdom. Soon it was published on the front pages of media outlets. However, after it was published, several inconsistencies were noticed in the photo. As per reports, several news agencies issued a “kill notice” because of the extent to which the Princess’s Mother’s Day picture had been manipulated.

(The reported irregularities in the Mother’s day photo, Image Source – The Guardian)

Following the critical review and embarrassment, Princess Catherine (Kate Middleton) issued an apology on 11th March and accepted the responsibility for an editing error in her Mother’s Day picture. Kate Middleton aka Princess Catherine held her amateur photo editing skills responsible for the ‘confusion’.

Her admission of digital ‘alteration’ escalated has led to a ‘critical review’ of several past images released by the Royal family. As part of it, Getty Images pointed out ‘digital flaws’ in the aforementioned Queen Elizabeth’s photo. 

The public and news agencies’ trust in the UK’s Royal family has taken a hit. Evidently,  global news director of Agence France-Presse (AFP) Phil Chetwynd recently said that his publication will no longer view Kensington Palace as a “trusted source”. 

Chetwynd said, “At this moment in time, AFP’s trust in handout pictures from the (Kensington) Palace has been compromised. We cannot say they are a trusted source for handout pictures. We still require further explanations.”

Amid the prolonged absence of Princess of Wales Kate Middleton from the public eye, rumours have also intensified around the alleged affair of Kate’s Husband Prince William with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The rumoured affair gained strength after a TV show. 

Further, the Royal family courted another controversy when netizens raised questions about Kate Middleton’s recent purported visit to Windsor Farm for shopping alleging that the woman was someone else.  

The British tabloid, The Sun published a photo and video claiming that the people in them were Kate Middleton and her husband Prince William at a farm market in Windsor. Reacting to the post, famous UK presenter Piers Morgan expressed happiness that Kate’s shopping trip will put conspiracy theories at rest claiming that the picture depicted that she was ‘recovering’. 

However, Morgan was quick to take a U-turn when netizens raised doubts about the identity of the woman in the photo and video. Taking to X, Morgan updated, “Nobody on here believes it’s them (it is…) so the conspiracy theories have increased.”

However, several celebrities and netizens have claimed that Kate is recovering and the rumours about her health status and whereabouts are mere “conspiracy theories”. 

Taking to X, Former English batter Kevin Peterson rubbished such reports as “conspiracy theories”. He even claimed to have met with Kate on most days and in the last couple of days too! 

He wrote, “The conspiracy theories around Kate are absurd! We see W&K most days and in the last couple of days too! It beggars belief that people would be so ridiculous and cruel in writing BULLSHIT on this platform that is out and out lies! W&K are the most wonderful parents and as normal/humble as they come. Let K who is recovering from an operation recover. Leave her and her beautiful family alone!!!! (sic)” 

However, the repeated PR fiascos from the Royal Family have failed to quash the ‘conspiracy theory’ and put an end to the rumours. 

‘It’s a cow, we can eat its meat’: GD Goenka School in Kutch promotes consumption of cow meat among children, apologise after protests from Hindus

OpIndia Staff
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‘It’s a cow, we can eat its meat’: GD Goenka School in Kutch promotes consumption of cow meat among children, apologise after protests from Hindus

The GD Goenka English Medium School in Gandhidham, Kutch, is mired in a controversy. A text that insulted Hinduism was included in the school’s study materials printed for the students which sparked protests from the Hindu community. The students were given study materials by the school in which some controversial and disagreeable information about the cow was mentioned. A statement in the school’s study materials stated, ‘We can eat its (cow’s) meat,’ sparking outrage and prompting an apology from the school administration.

The incident took place at GD Goenka Private English Medium School in Gandhigam, Kutch. As per the reports, the school administration has made attempts to negatively influence the young minds of the school children. Controversy erupted as a photo of a cow was accompanied by the caption in the study material of the school children. “This is a cow. It is black and white. It says Mooo. It likes to eat grass. We love to drink its milk. We can eat its meat. It has two horns on its head and likes to live in the field,” the material read.

The people of the Hindu community protested strongly and demanded an apology from the school administration. OpIndia made efforts to contact the school. But contact could not be established.

The school has issued a letter and apologized to the people of the Hindu community. The school in the letter has written that it had no such intention to demean and insult the Sanatan Dharma. The school also stated that the content published in the study material was taken from Pinterest.

“We understand and respect the cultural and religious values of Sanatan and we apologize for any offense or misunderstanding caused by our campaign. It was not our intention to disrespect or disregard any beliefs or practices,” the apology letter read.

Absurd and baseless: India dismisses Chinese claim on Arunachal Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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Absurd and baseless: India dismisses Chinese claim on Arunachal Pradesh

On Tuesday (19th March), India rejected the “absurd claims” and “baseless arguments” made by China on Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the northeastern State of India is an “integral and inalienable part of India.” The Ministry of External Affairs said that the people of Arunachal Pradesh will continue to benefit from India’s development plans and infrastructure projects.

“We have noted the comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity,” said the official spokesperson of MEA, Randhir Jaiswal.

“Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects,” the statement added.

Notably, on the 15th Match, the Chinese defence ministry again tried to claim the Indian state, referring to it as “Zangnan- an inherent part of China’s territory”.

“Zangnan is China’s inherent territory, and China never recognizes and firmly opposes India’s illegal establishment of the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’,” spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defence, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said.

The Chinese military’s comments came a few days after India sent out a strong rebuttal to China for the latter’s comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

In an earlier statement, MEA noted that China’s objection to visits by Indian leaders or India’s developmental projects “does not stand to reason”.

“We reject the comments made by the Chinese side regarding the visit of the Prime Minister to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other states of India. Objecting to such visits or India’s developmental projects does not stand to reason,” MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 12th March.

“Further, it will not change the reality that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. The Chinese side has been made aware of this consistent position on several occasions,” the spokesperson added.

PM Modi on 9th March this year virtually inaugurated the strategic Sela Tunnel during an event held in Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. The tunnel has been constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at an altitude of 13,000 feet on the road connecting Tezpur, Assam, to Tawang in the West Kameng district near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

India has time and again denied China’s territorial claims on its Northeastern state, stating that the state is an integral part of the country. New Delhi has also criticised Beijing’s move to give “invented” names to the territory, claiming that it does not change the facts. Notably, despite having no legal claim over Arunachal Pradesh, China has ‘named’ the territory “Zangnan”.

(With inputs from ANI)

‘Promoting Brahminism and casteism’: Zomato faces attack from ‘wokes’ after it announces ‘Pure Veg’ fleet for vegetarians

Jinit Jain
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‘Promoting Brahminism and casteism’: Zomato faces attack from ‘wokes’ after it announces ‘Pure Veg’ fleet for vegetarians

Food aggregator Zomato on Tuesday was at the receiving end of an online attack after it launched a new service, ‘Pure Veg Mode’, to serve its pure veg customers. Soon after Zomato made the announcement, a legion of social media users best identified as ‘leftists’ and ‘wokes’, who routinely prowl on the internet all day long in search of the next issue to outrage, attacked the food aggregator company for its business decision to serve a niche market.

As predictable as clockwork, some of the detractors absurdly linked Zomato’s decision to cater to the Pure Veg market—a set of users who religiously follow vegetarianism and are particular about ordering their food from a vegetarian-only restaurant—to a move that empowered and encouraged Brahminism and casteism.

Such claptrap is, of course, not new to ‘wokeism’ and ‘left-leaning liberalism’, which have long thrived on manufacturing issues and continuing their ostracisation of communities that they viscerally hate, in this case, Brahmins and those who follow vegetarianism, a dietary choice that is common among individuals of various religions and castes.

However, these nuances are lost on those who have made it their profession to outrage on everything under the sun, even on business decisions that corporations make after thoroughly analysing market demand and existing solutions.

One social media user quoted Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s tweet about the latest announcement and accused his company of openly promoting casteism. The user also likened the company’s move to launch a ‘Pure Veg’ fleet to the preservation of untouchability in urban India.

Such preposterous extrapolations to create a fear psychosis among the society is a hallmark of the leftwing and woke ideology. 

Many others too furthered the argument that Zomato’s ‘Pure Veg’ fleet would promote untouchability with its distinction between non-veg and pure-veg, ignoring the fact that there have been several incidents in the past when vegetarians were served non-vegetarian food owing to restaurant negligence or food aggregator’s carelessness.

A social media user insinuated that Zomato’s decision to launch a ‘Pure Veg’ service would lead to the next level of neighbourhood policing.

Yet another X user postulated that such a move by Zomato will stop some societies from delivering non-vegetarian food to residents who order it. This, again, is ludicrous reasoning, given that it is illegal to stop food delivery partners from fulfilling their jobs, besides the fact that not opting for a ‘Pure Veg’ fleet does not mean that the existing food delivery partners will dedicatedly serve only non-vegetarian food. 

Zomato brings ‘Pure Veg Mode’, and ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ for vegetarians who do not like mix-ups

Food delivery aggregator Zomato has often faced criticism from ‘pure veg’ users who have sometimes found non-veg items on their food orders. On March 19, CEO Deepinder Goyal announced that Zomato has brought a new service ‘Pure Veg Mode’ to serve its pure veg customers. 

“India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world and one of the most important feedback we’ve gotten from them is that they are very particular about how their food is cooked, and how their food is handled. To solve their dietary preferences, we are today, launching a Pure Veg Mode along with a Pure Veg Fleet on Zomato, for customers who have a 100% vegetarian dietary preference”, Deepinder Goyal announced today.

Goyal further explained that Pure Veg Mode will consist of a curation of restaurants that serve only pure vegetarian food and will exclude all restaurants that serve any non-veg food item.

“Our dedicated Pure Veg Fleet will only serve orders from these pure veg restaurants. This means that a non-veg meal, or even a veg meal served by a non-veg restaurant will never go inside the green delivery box meant for our Pure Veg Fleet”, he added.

Goyal added that anyone who prefers pure veg food can avail the service and this Pure Veg Mode, or the Pure Veg Fleet doesn’t serve or alienate any religious, or political preference.

Goyal further added that Zomato is planning more specialised fleets for special customer needs. “For example, there’s a special cake delivery fleet coming up with hydraulic balancers that prevent your cake from getting smudged during delivery”, he explained.

AAP govt left red-faced as New Delhi tops the list of National Capitals with the worst air quality

Dibakar Dutta
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AAP govt left red-faced as New Delhi tops the list of National Capitals with the worst air quality

New Delhi has topped the list of the world’s regional capital cities with the poorest air quality. The revelation was made in a 45-page report [pdf] titled ‘2023 World Air Quality Report’ and published by IQAir on Tuesday (19th March).

The Swiss air quality technology company found that New Delhi ranked No.1 in Particulate Matter (PM 2.5) concentration compared to the national capitals of 114 countries.

“The Central and South Asia region reports data from ten nations. All four of 2023’s most polluted countries in the world are hosted in this region, including Bangladesh, India, Tajikistan, and Pakistan,” the report stated.

creengrab of the 2023 World Air Quality Report on India, graphic via IQAir

It further added, Ranking as the third most polluted country in the region and world in 2023, India continues to struggle with drastically poor air quality. Annual average PM2.5 concentrations rose slightly in 2023 to 54.4 µg/m3 compared to 53.3 µg/m3 in 2022.”

IQAir pointed out that PM 2.5 levels rose by 10% in Delhi last year, with November rated as the month with the poorest air quality. According to the Swiss air quality technology company, India’s National Capital witnessed an average of 255 µg/m3 PM 2.5 concentration in November.

“It is estimated that 1.36 billion people in India experience PM2.5 concentrations exceeding the WHO recommended annual guideline level of 5 µg/m3; furthermore, 1.33 billion, or 96% of the population, experience PM2.5 levels more than seven times the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline,” the report emphasised.

Screengrab of the 2023 World Air Quality Report on India, graphic via IQAir

IQAir noted that while India has an extensive air quality monitoring network, it is home to 13 of the 15 most polluted cities in South Asian region.

It stated, “Northern India and Delhi struggle with smoke from crop burning, vehicle emissions, coal burning, waste burning, and biomass burning for heat and cooking. Annual crop burning in northern India and neighboring Pakistan regularly results in Delhi experiencing emergency-level air quality days.”

The Swiss air quality technology company pointed out that vehicular emissions contributed to 40% of PM 2.5 emissions in New Delhi.

Screengrab of the 2023 World Air Quality Report on India, graphic via IQAir

Misplaced priorities and Delhi’s deteriorating air quality

Air pollution in Delhi is a non-issue in both public and political discourse until the festival of Diwali in late September-October each year.

Politicians and the left-liberal ecosystem channelise their energy into shaming Hindus for burning firecrackers while remaining indifferent to the major contributors of air pollution. A 2017 IIT-Kanpur report had revealed that construction dust was the biggest culprit for deteriorating air quality in Delhi, followed by vehicular pollution and bad infrastructure.

Experts had observed that the air quality of the NCR deteriorated despite no firecracker being burnt at the time of the study. The air was the cleanest in the week of Diwali suggesting that the rise in pollutant values was observed during the peak of the winter season.

Until February last year, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was seen browbeating about the fact that Delhi was not included in the world’s top 10 cities in air pollution.

Although the 2021 World Air Quality Report by IQAir has left bare the claims of improving air quality in the National Capital, past record suggests that the Delhi government is unlikely to act on it anytime soon.

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