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Bhima Koregaon case accused ‘Urban Naxal’ Gautam Navlakha owes Rs 1.64 crores for security during house arrest: NIA in Supreme Court

OpIndia Staff
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Bhima Koregaon case accused ‘Urban Naxal’ Gautam Navlakha owes Rs 1.64 crores for security during house arrest: NIA in Supreme Court

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently submitted before the Supreme Court that the Bhima Koregaon case accused Gautam Navlakha, the Urban Naxal, is required to pay Rs 1.64 crore as expenses for the security provided to him during his house arrest.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and SVN Bhatti heard the matter on Thursday (7th March). The Counsel for NIA, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju told the bench that 70-year-old Navlakha, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, has only paid an amount of Rs 10 lakh till now as part of expenses incurred for round-the-clock security.

ASG Raju said, “He must pay some amount.”

Appearing for the accused Navlakha, Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan disputed the figure of Rs 1.64 crore. She alleged that the agency’s calculation of the payable amount was wrong and went on to accuse the agency of “extortion”.

Ramakrishnan claimed, “They cannot demand one crore from citizens for keeping them in custody.”

Responding to her argument, the ASG replied that citizens are not entitled to house arrest and strongly objected to the use of the term “extortion”. 

The bench noted that the case required a detailed hearing and posted the case for April.

The Bombay High Court on 19th December 2023 had granted bail to Bhima Koregaon violence accused Gautam Navlakha. In its order, the division bench comprising Justices AS Gadkari and SG Dige noted that Navlakha merely intended to commit the terrorist act and did not attempt the same. However, the court stayed its order accepting NIA’s request to file an appeal before the Supreme Court. 

The NIA had opposed his bail application, submitting that he had been introduced to a General from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for recruitment, indicating his connection with the organisation.

Meanwhile, in the recent hearing, the Supreme Court has also extended this stay on HC’s order granting bail to the Urban Naxal, Gautam Navlakha.

Gautam Navlakha sent to House arrest despite strong opposition from the probing agency

The Urban Naxal Navlakha has been under house arrest at a public library in Mumbai since November 2022. On 10th November 2022, the SC had granted ‘house arrest’ of Gautam Navlakha on ‘medical grounds’ despite vehement opposition by the probing agency. Before the house arrest order, Navlakha was lodged in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case. 

While ordering his house arrest, the Supreme Court had directed Navlakha to deposit Rs 2.4 lakh as expenses to be borne by the state for deploying police personnel to effectively place him under house arrest.

Later, the Court again ordered Navlakha to deposit another Rs 8 lakh as expenses for providing police personnel for his security.

The case relates to the inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on 31st December 2017. A day after the inflammatory speeches, violence erupted near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city. According to the Police, the speeches had triggered the violence. 

Gautam Navlakha, having Maoist links, was arrested by Pune police from Delhi on August 28, 2018, in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case. Initially, he was kept under house arrest. However, following a Supreme Court order, he was sent to judicial custody in Taloja Central Prison in April 2020.

A total of 16 accused have been arrested in the case and around five of them are currently out on bail.

Apart from the Bhima-Koregaon case, the Urban Naxal Navlakha had reportedly visited the United States thrice in the period between 2010-2011 and written to a US district court judge seeking clemency for Pakistani ISI agent Ghulam Fai, who was arrested by the FBI in 2011 on the charges of accepting funds to the tune of several million from the ISI and the Pakistan government.

In another case, on 31st December 2023, the Delhi Police interrogated Navlakha in Mumbai in connection with the NewsClick funding case. He was questioned about his association with NewsClick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha, as well as his shareholding in the company, PPK NewsClick Studio Pvt Ltd.

Inderlok namaz row: How DCP North Delhi ended up being like ‘fact-checker’ Mohammad Zubair, and what police should learn from the fiasco

Amit Kelkar
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Inderlok namaz row: How DCP North Delhi ended up being like ‘fact-checker’ Mohammad Zubair, and what police should learn from the fiasco

On the 10th of March 2024, the Delhi Police came under scrutiny after it posted a “fact-check” after a video of an irate Muslim mob from Inderlok went viral. Several netizens had posted the video claiming that the mob was attempting to lynch SI Manoj Tomar – the brave officer who had stopped people from offering Namaz on the road, causing inconvenience to commuters.

Delhi Police took to Twitter to quote one such tweet to say, “This is fake news. No incident as mentioned in this tweet has happened”.

As soon as the Delhi Police tweeted, elements from Congress and those who habitually defend Islamists and their violent street veto jumped at the opportunity to whitewash the mob.

Pankaj Pachauri, who worked as the communication director of Manmohan Singh took to X (Twitter) to claim that no violent incident took place at Inderlok at all. He also demanded action against SI Manoj Tomar.

Several others toed the same line, demanding action against SI Manoj Tomar and those ‘spreading fake news’ about the violent incident in Inderlok.

The veteran Islamist ‘fact-checker’ from AltNews also jumped on the opportunity to whitewash the Muslim mob using the tweet by Delhi Police.

It is important to note that later, it was indeed confirmed that the video was of Inderlok and the Muslim mob had indeed become aggressive. Later, sensing the miscommunication, Delhi Police to their credit tweeted again confirming the incident.

Delhi Police tweeted, “This is wrong information. The mentioned SI is not present in this video. The video is not of yesterday (Saturday) but of Friday, 8th March, when protestors had gathered in Inderlok. Locals escorted police officers to the police post after which a scuffle took place”.

Though the Delhi Police’s tweet confirmed that the incident did take place, it did leave a lot to be desired with Netizens questioning why the police were reluctant to admit that the Muslim mob indeed became aggressive, chanting for violence against the police.

Columnist ad commentary Divya Soti responded to the tweet by the Delhi Police noting that the police have accepted that the video is indeed from the Inderlok area and that it showed the mob manhandling the police. However, he commented on how the police had protested years against against lawyers manhandling the police but had no comment to offer when being heckled by a Muslim mob.

Muslim mob called to attack the police

In the viral video shared by Mishra, a large mob was seen pushing the police personnel towards the police post. One of the persons present at the scene was heard abusing the police saying, “This is the one. This is the one. Beat them. This is the one.” Soon after the mobsters started beating the police personnel which was visible in the video. Towards the end, a couple of the persons present at the scene were seen pushing police personnel in the opposite direction.

The irate Muslim mob was also seen abusing the police personnel while getting aggressive. In the video that has gone viral, one can hear some in the Muslim mob yell, ‘Yehi hai be*en ke lo*de. Maaro be*en ke lo*do ko. Maaro iski be*en ki ch*t. yehi hai la*di ka.’

DCP dismissed the post by Anupam Mishra claiming that the SI mentioned was not there. The DCP categorically avoided commenting on the attack by the Muslim mob against the police personnel present there. The dismissal by the police shocked netizens who in turn questioned the police about their stand.

How Delhi Police inadvertently ended up employing the whitewashing techniques of Mohammad Zubair to whitewash Islamist mob

The Delhi Police was on the backfoot ever since the video of SI Manoj Tomar dealing with Muslims blocking the road for Namaz surfaced. Almost immediately, there was a backlash from the usual suspects questioning the conduct of the police officer. Even though later, a longer video surfaced where it was evident that Tomar had first repeatedly asked people to move and not block the road and only when his warnings were ignored, did he resort to lightly kicking them essentially doing his job.

The backlash by Islamist allies resulted in the suspension of SI Manoj Tomar. It was largely seen as a move to placate the Liberals and Islamists who were irate at the police officer doing his job. It is plausible that their next tweet after the video of the Muslim mob from Inderlok went viral was also a move to placate the misplaced criticism being directed their way by the usual suspects. However, in doing so, they ended up inadvertently employing the very strategy used by Mohammad Zubair to whitewash the crimes of his co-religionists.

In their initial tweet, the Delhi Police essentially branded the video of the mob at Inderlok as “fake”, saying that no such incident had taken place. Thereafter, they focussed on calling it fake news based on inane details like SI Manoj Tomar not being there in the crowd and that the video was from 8th March instead of 9th March.

Debunking comparatively unimportant details to discredit the incident of mob violence by the Islamists themselves is a ploy that is often used by Mohammad Zubair to shield his co-religionists and the crimes they often perpetuate while exercising their rampant street veto. This classic gaslighting technique has been used by Zubair and AltNews in the past.

For example, during the COVID-19 outbreak, when a Muslim vegetable vendor’s video applying saliva to his produce had gone viral, Alt News carried out a fact check saying the video was old as if it was an acceptable social norm to spit on vegetables and fruits a couple of months before COVID-19 hit India. In another example, when Organiser journalist Nishant Azad got Sar Tan Se Juda threat and the perpetrator turned out to be someone with a Hindu sounding name, Zubair used that to whitewash the beheading threats issued regularly by Islamists – threats that have led to actual beheadings like that of Kanhaiya Lal, Umesh Kohle and many others. Here too, Zubair seeks to undermine the threat of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ by focusing on how non-Muslims are involved in issuing threats.

“Gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi saza, sar tan se Juda, sar tan se Juda”, which translates to “There is only one punishment for being disrespectful to Rasool (Prophet Muhammad), their head separated from their torso, their head separated from the torso”, an Islamist clarion call, had become a staple feature of violent protests that erupted in the wake of Zubair’s dog whistling against Nupur Sharma. 

From Kanpur in India’s northern plains to the southern metropolis of Bengaluru, from Kolkata in the east to Hyderabad in Deccan, protests in the name of blasphemy erupted in almost every corner of the country as Islamists took to the streets running amok and shouting “Sar Tan Se Juda” chants over the perceived belief of blasphemy against the Prophet. 

At least 6 Hindus were reportedly killed in the name of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. But Alt News and Mohammed Zubair have neither published a fact-check on whether Nupur committed blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad nor have they made their position clear on whether blasphemy should be punishable by death. Instead, they have leaned on stray incidents as Nishant’s case to provide intellectual cover fire for their rampaging Islamist brethren whose bloodlust only seemed to be satiated by killing innocent Hindus.

In this case, the Delhi Police ended up using the same gaslighting technique that Mohammad Zubair and AltNews use to shield Islamists. Essentially, the police focussed on inane details such as SI Manoj not being present at the site and the video being of an incident from the 8th and not the 9th. By doing so, the Delhi Police ended up allowing the likes of Zubair to claim that the Muslim mob at Inderlok had not become violent and aggressive at all and that any conversation against the Islamist street veto being exercised even in this incident against police personnel but nothing but propaganda – this – when the truth is far from it.

From the video, it is evident that the mob was irate and baying for blood. As mentioned earlier, it is evident that even if the Delhi Police is right and SI Manoj Tomar was not present at the incident, the crowd certainly thought he was there. It is that notion that led to the crowd shouting ‘Yehi hai be*en ke lo*de. Maaro be*en ke lo*do ko. Maaro iski be*en ki ch*t. yehi hai la*di ka.’ Further, the aggressiveness displayed by the crowd and the incitement to violence also makes it clear that the mob was ready to use violence against the police owing to SI Manoj merely doing his job. That the video is from the 8th and not the 9th does not change that fact. What also does not change the actions of the Muslim mob is whether SI Manoj was present at the time or not.

To the Delhi Police’s credit, they did end up confirming that the violent incident had indeed taken place, however, by focusing on only certain aspects of the news – which is the date and the presence or lack of it of SI Manoj – the Delhi Police ended up giving the likes of Zubair to opportunity to whitewash the aggression by the Muslim mob – something that the Delhi Police themselves ended up doing by “fact-checking” selectively.

Zubair often clutches on to straws like pointing out how an image is old even if it is a representative image, to whitewash – not serve the truth. The police is meant to serve the purpose of truth and not assuage fragile emotions of the aggressors and therefore, must not go down the same route as Islamist allies like Zubair.

Lessons for Delhi Police

One must give credit to the Delhi Police. After their initial “fact-check”, they could have simply ignored the issue and continued to let the likes of Zubair spread their propaganda. Instead, they tweeted against confirming that the incident indeed was from Inderlok. One can debate the other details they added to the tweet, saying that they have essentially bent to Islamist street veto, however, we must acknowledge that they at least admitted that the incident did take place. We have seen several other police forces do exactly what Zubair does. For example, Bengal police for example summarily dismissed the allegations of rape by the Sandeshkhali women claiming that they have received no complaints about rape.

However, that assertion by them was selective and certainly did not serve the truth. The truth was that several women from Sandeshkhali had on video spoken out about how Sheikh Shahjahan and his men would rape the women of the area. Later, it was also confirmed by the women’s commission delegation that the police were not taking complaints regarding rape. Also, one of the women came out on record to claim that they had been trying to file complaints of rape for the past several years, but the police had not paid heed.

However, despite their second tweet, there are lessons that the Delhi Police must draw from this incident. The police is meant to serve the cause of truth and ensure that their communication throws light on the truth instead of obfuscating it. In this case, the initial tweet by the Delhi Police and the unnecessary details they chose to ‘fact-check’ later did not serve the truth – it instead obfuscated. The communication by the police was seen as a repeat of the strategy deployed by the likes of Mohammad Zubair and rightly so.

In the future, perhaps the Delhi Police must remember that it is not very difficult for people to discern the truth and any attempt to monkey balance only ends in them losing their own credibility – a catastrophic outcome for the police force. Their monkey-balancing essentially gave the ammunition to Islamists like Zubair to whitewash the Islamist attack against Delhi Police despite videographic evidence – a rope that the police force must certainly not give the extremist elements simply owing to bad communication.

‘How do we know those claiming to be victims are actually victims’: Actress casts aspersions on Sandeshkhali women after getting election ticket from TMC

OpIndia Staff
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‘How do we know those claiming to be victims are actually victims’: Actress casts aspersions on Sandeshkhali women after getting election ticket from TMC

Hours after being declared the Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate from the Hoogly Lok Sabha constituency, popular Bengali actress Rachna Banerjee on Sunday (11th March) cast aspersions on the sexual violence faced by women in Sandeshkhali village of West Bengal.

While speaking to the media about the unrest in Sandeshkhali, she remarked, “The ordeal faced by people and their testimony is more important than the opinion of politicians.”

“The politicians who are making a big deal out of Sandeshkhali must listen to what the women there are saying. Take the interview of those women. Listen to them first,” the actress further claimed.

On being pointed out by reporters that women in Sandeshkhali had already narrated the tragedy that befell upon them, Rachna Banerjee brazened out, “Not everyone is saying that. How do we know that those who are claiming to be victims are actually victims?”

“I will have to first go and verify those (testimonies) and find whether such incidents (referring to sexual violence against Sandeshkhali women by TMC goons) have actually taken place,” she dismissed the complicity of the TMC leaders in the unrest in Sandeshkhali.

“And if these incidents have really happened, then, we have Didi (Mamata Banerjee) to fix those,” the actress concluded. Interestingly, the West Bengal Chief Minister had herself tried to downplay the Sandeshkhali case as ‘minor incident‘, amplified by the BJP and media.

BJP MP from Hooghly, Locket Chatterjee, reacted strongly to the remarks made by Rachna Banerjee. In a tweet, she said, “Trinamool’s candidate from Hooghly dismisses women’s harassment claims in Sandeshkhali, casting doubt on their credibility. Despite numerous testimonies of abuse from mothers, wives, and daughters, Trinamool leaders turn a blind eye, feigning ignorance.”

“Shockingly, victims recount how Trinamool leaders, under the cover of night, commit heinous acts of sexual assault with impunity. Yet, the party shamelessly denies any wrongdoing. Why then was Sheikh Shajahan suspended if nothing happened? The hypocrisy is staggering,” the BJP MP added.

She further emphasised, “Bengal’s Chief Minister acknowledges the harassment but conveniently overlooks her party’s role, leaving victims sidelined and justice denied. Under Trinamool’s reign, Bengal’s women endure relentless harassment, while Trinamool leaders shamelessly offer mere 500 rupees as compensation. Hooghly’s women, alongside all of Bengal, vow to retaliate against the anti-women Trinamool, ensuring their swift exit from power.”

It must be mentioned that Rachna Banerjee is the host of the popular Bengali show ‘Didi No.1’. Before declaring her as a TMC candidate, party supremo Mamata Banerjee made a guest appearance on her show on 3rd March 2024.

Sandeshkhali horror

On 8th February this year, hundreds of women in Sandeshkhali took to the streets to protest against land grabbing, non-payment of wages and sexual violence committed by Trinamool Congress goon Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.

The women attacked Shahjahan’s illicitly obtained properties and set fire to a poultry farm owned by Shiba Prasad Hazra. They also surrounded the Sandeshkali police station and demanded the immediate arrest of the trio. The agitation in the village lasted for 3 days.

During that time, the TMC goons retaliated and the police acted as mute spectators. In several cases, the cops themselves resorted to harassment of the women. It had come to light that the residents were the subject of sexual violence by the TMC for a long time.

In a bid to pacify the angry villagers of Sandeshkhali, the TMC leadership suspended Uttam Sardar from the party for six years. The suspended TMC leader and Zilla Parishad member was subsequently arrested in the Sandeshkhali police station area on 10th February 2024.

On 17th February, the police arrested TMC leader Shibu Prasad Hazra over land grabbing and sexual exploitation of women in Sandeshkhali. 

After large-scale protests and intervention of the Calcutta High Court, the primary accused Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested on Thursday (29th February).

Bihar: Shafiq Ansari slits Hindu girlfriend’s throat with a knife and pushes her body down from a hill, was ‘upset’ because she was not talking to him

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Shafiq Ansari slits Hindu girlfriend’s throat with a knife and pushes her body down from a hill, was ‘upset’ because she was not talking to him

In the Kaimur district of Bihar, a Hindu woman had to pay a dear price, with her life, for being in an interfaith relationship. A Muslim youth named Shafiq Ansari killed his Hindu girlfriend by slitting her throat with a knife and pushing her body from Manjhar Kund hill in Rohtas district. The horrific murder took place on February 18th this year, while the body of the deceased victim was recovered 20 days later. The accused was reportedly ‘upset’ because the girl stopped talking to him for the past few days, which is why he killed her.

Taking to X, Bihar Police informed about the accused person’s arrest and wrote, “The accused involved in the kidnapping and murder of a woman was arrested under Bhabhua police station area of ​​Kaimur district. The knife used in the incident was also recovered from the arrested criminal.”

On Sunday (10th March), Bhabua SDPO Shivshankar Kumar also informed that the accused Shafiq had been arrested and sent to jail.

According to the police, the victim had arrived at her cousin’s house in Rohtas on 17th February for her high school exams. The 21-year-old accused took the victim first to his rented house in Sasaram and then to Manjhar Kund Hill and brutally murdered her with a knife. The accused is a resident of Gangwalia village in Bhabua.

Reports said that the family of the victim had lodged a missing person complaint after the 17-year-old victim did not return home. After no initial success, the police probed the love angle and found out about Shafiq Ansari’s link with the victim. Subsequently, the police constituted a team and Shafiq was taken into custody and interrogated by the police.

In a press note, the Kaimur police said that during the questioning, accused Shafiq told the police about his horrific crime. The accused said that he was in love with the deceased but for the last few days, she had not been talking to him, because of which he was upset. On the day of the incident, the accused called up the victim and asked her to meet him. He took her to Manjhar Kund in Sasaram. On the way, he bought apples and a fruit-cutting knife. When they reached the spot, he stabbed the Hindu girl with a fruit-cutting knife and fled after pushing down her body from Manjhar Kund Hill.

The police have retrieved the girl’s body, clothes, and the knife used in the murder based on the accused’s information and have begun further investigations.

Congress throws Shama Mohammad, one of the most vociferous defenders of the party, under the bus after she questions lack of women representation in LS lineup: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Congress throws Shama Mohammad, one of the most vociferous defenders of the party, under the bus after she questions lack of women representation in LS lineup: Details

On 10th March, Congress’s Kerala state chief K Sudhakaran called Congress National Spokesperson Shama Mohamed a “nobody” in the party. His comments against Shama came when reporters asked him for comments on her statement expressing disappointment over insufficient women’s representation in the first list of Lok Sabha candidates in Kerala issued by the Congress party. Reacting to the report’s question, Sudhakaran said, “Go and ask her. She is nobody in the party”.

Shama Mohammed expressed disappointment over the candidate list for the General Elections

On 9th March, Congress National Spokesperson Shama Mohamed expressed disappointment over the insufficient representation of women in the Lok Sabha candidate lineup for Kerala. Speaking to the media after Congress issued its first list of candidates, Shama said, “You should give representation to women. Last time (in 2019), there were two women candidates (from Kerala). But after the passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill, there is only one this time. That is my greatest disappointment.”

Notably, Congress issued the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections out of which 16 were from Kerala. Interestingly, only one woman, Ramya Haridas for the Alathur constituency in Palakkad district, made the list. In the last Lok Sabha elections, there were two women candidates for Congress.

On Saturday, Congress National Spokesperson Shama Mohamed expressed disappointment that the Congress party, which was the first to introduce the Women’s Reservation Bill, fielded only one woman candidate from Kerala for the upcoming LS polls even after the legislation was recently passed in Parliament (but not been made operational yet).

Furthermore, the daughter of Congress leader and former Kerala CM K Karunakaran, Padmaja Venugopal, alleged neglect by the Congress party. Though Shama said she was not making a complaint and only requesting the party leadership to give more representation to women, it is evident that Congress has failed to do what it has attacked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) repeatedly.

Shama said that the women’s votes have been going to the other parties and if women candidates were chosen, the grand old party could get them back. Shama added that Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has called for more women representation in the politics. In February, during a Mahila Congress programme that was held in Kochi, Gandhi had said that within 10 years 50 per cent of the Chief Ministers in the country should be women.

“Women should be given strength. They should be given representation. They should be given seats they can win from as women need to come forward. There are competent women also in the party. They should be brought forward,” she said.

BJP fielded three women candidates in Kerala

Interestingly, while Congress fielded only one woman candidate from Kerala, BJP fielded three women candidates out of a total of 12 candidates and LDF fielded two out of a total of 20 candidates.

Congress’s MP IT Cell vice president targetted BJP for women candidate percentage in the first list

On 7th March, days before Congress released the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, Madhya Pradesh Congress’s vice president of IT Cell targeted the BJP for giving only four tickets to women candidates in Madhya Pradesh out of 24. He called out the BJP for saying in Lok Sabha that the Women Reservation Act would come into force in 2029.

Notably, when the Women’s Reservation Act was passed in the parliament, the BJP-led central government clearly said that it would take some time to bring the Act into force. At that time Congress and other opposition parties targeted BJP by saying that the Reservation Act was only for show-off. Congress leaders challenged BJP leadership to give tickets to 33% of women candidates for Lok Sabha elections. However, it appears that Congress would itself fail to give 33% of tickets to women candidates for the upcoming General Elections.

Congress leader Arunesh Yadav posts offensive morphed pic of Union Minister Smriti Irani on social media, says it was done by mistake after getting booked

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Arunesh Yadav posts offensive morphed pic of Union Minister Smriti Irani on social media, says it was done by mistake after getting booked

On Saturday, March 9, Congress spokesperson for their OBC department, Arunesh Kumar Yadav, shared a morphed photo of Union Minister Smriti Irani via his X (formerly Twitter) account. In his post, Arunesh Yadav wrote, “The photo is old, but recognise this ‘apsara’, those who give correct answer, their ID will be promoted (by me).”

The image in question is actually of a belly dancer on a Turkish BBQ night. In the image Congress leader Yadav shared, the Turkish belly dancer was replaced by Union Minister Irani.

Following this post by the Congress leader, an FIR was registered against Arunesh Yadav for posting the objectionable picture of Smriti Irani.

Notably, Ms Irani is currently the Minister of Women and Child Development and Minister of Minority Affairs.

After a complaint was filed against Arunesh Yadav, the Congress leader deleted the offensive post and claimed that he posted it by mistake.

In his half-hearted explanation post, Yadav posted, “Two days back, from my Twitter ID, a morphed photo was posted by mistake. I deleted that when I came to know about it. If that tweet has hurt anyone’s sentiments, then I regret it.”

Notably, this is not the first time Smriti Irani had to face cheap and sexual attacks from Congress leaders and its associated ecosystem. Ever since Smriti Irani defeated the Congress scion Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, she has been subject to several sexual slurs and personal attacks from Congress leaders.

In 2023, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi blew a flying kiss towards Union Minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha. As always, Congress loyalists and party cadre came out to defend their beloved prince. Neetu Singh, Congress MLA from the Hisua constituency in the Nawada district of Bihar said, “Our leader, Rahul Gandhi, has no dearth of young females. Why would he blow a flying kiss to a 50-year-old woman and not a young girl.”

Earlier in 2023, Congress leader Srinivas BV while speaking at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to protest against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in defamation case tried to take a dig on Union Minister Smriti Irani. Srinivas, while trying to attack the BJP on inflation, mocked Irani, and said how prior to 2014, she would talk about things being expensive. However, now, the ‘mehengai daayan (reference to the song from the film Peepli Live) ko darling bana ke bedroom mein bitha diya hai‘ (you have made the inflation your darling and kept her in your bedroom).

Back in 2022, Congress leader Ajay Rai made misogynistic comments about the Amethi Lok Sabha MP. Ajay Rai, who is mainly identified as a Gandhi family loyalist, said that the Amethi MP comes to her constituency only to show ‘latke and jhatke’.

In 2021, the official Twitter handle of the UP Congress shared a 20-second video where two women talking to media were abusing Irani with expletives in an unacceptable language and manner. The video was filmed just after Amethi rally of Congress scion Rahul Gandhi.

In 2020, A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Shashank Bhargava, the Congress MLA from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, for making derogatory comments against Smriti Irani. “In the past, Smriti Irani would roam around with a lot of bangles in her hand. She is close to the Prime Minister and can give her bangles and a lot many other things. I will request her to gift the Prime Minister her bangles and whatever else he wants and ask him to roll back the price hike”, Bhargava was seen saying.

Repeated personal attacks on Smriti Irani since 2019 from Congress leaders confirm only one thing, they are yet to recover from the defeat of Rahul Gandhi at the hands of Ms Irani in 2019 elections.

‘No need to match donors with parties’: SC dismisses SBI’s extension plea in Electoral bonds case, directs it to furnish details by tomorrow

OpIndia Staff
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‘No need to match donors with parties’: SC dismisses SBI’s extension plea in Electoral bonds case, directs it to furnish details by tomorrow

The Supreme Court dismissed the State Bank of India’s (SBI) plea for an extension to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties before the scheme was scrapped last month, in its verdict on Monday.

The court noted that the SBI need not complete the matching exercise to link donors with the political parties and simply reveal the data of how much different political parties received in donation and who donated through electoral bonds.

“The submissions of the SBI sufficiently indicate that the information is readily available. The Application filed by the SBI seeking an extension of time until 30 June 2024 is dismissed,” ruled the apex court. The court directed SBI to disclose the details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties before the scheme was terminated last month.

The court directed SBI to disclose the details by the close of business hours on March 12. It further instructed the ECI to compile the information and publish the details on its official website no later than March 15, 2024, by 5 PM.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing the SBI, stated that the bank was in the process of gathering the information, which involved reversing the entire procedure. “As a bank, we were informed that this was supposed to be kept confidential,” he mentioned.

Salve then stated that the bank possesses full details on the bond purchasers, including information on the source of the money and the amounts tendered by each political party. “I now have to include the names of the purchasers. The names need to be collected and cross-checked with the bond numbers,” he explained.

The SBI counsel mentioned that the work is progressing meticulously, form by form, and it will require an additional three months to share the details. “I cannot afford any mistakes, as I could potentially face lawsuits from donors, among others.”

On February 15, the Supreme Court deemed the electoral bond scheme “unconstitutional.” It instructed the SBI to provide details of all electoral bond purchases since April 12, 2019, to the Election Commission by March 6. Additionally, the court directed this information to be published on the Election Commission’s website by March 13.

Congress moves Delhi HC after Income Tax tribunal dismisses stay plea on Income Tax notice for recovery of over Rs 105 crore in outstanding tax

ANI
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Congress moves Delhi HC after Income Tax tribunal dismisses stay plea on Income Tax notice for recovery of over Rs 105 crore in outstanding tax

The Indian National Congress (INC) on Monday moved the Delhi High Court seeking a stay on the Income Tax notice for recovery of more than Rs 105 crore as outstanding tax.

On Friday, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order dismissed the stay plea against the Income Tax Department proceedings of recovery and freezing of their bank accounts.

The matter is mentioned by Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha, who appeared for INC before the bench headed by of Acting Chief Justice. The Court allowed the matter to be heard today itself.

While mentioning the matter, Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha said that the country is at the peak of general elections, and how can the party fight elections, if it doesn’t have the money?

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on Friday dismissed the plea moved by the Congress Party which sought a stay against Income Tax Department proceedings of recovery and freezing of their Bank accounts and said the Stay Application is without merit.

ITAT bench of GS Pannu, Vice President and Anubhav Sharma, Judicial Member on Friday passed the order and said, “We do not find that the recovery notice under Section 226(3) of the Act issued by the Assessing Officer on February 13, 2024 is lacking in bona fides, so as to require us to intervene.”

At this stage, we may also refer to the reliance placed by the Senior Counsel on various judgments of the Coordinate Benches in order to support the proposition that it was an accepted practice at the level of the Tribunal that the taxpayer is entitled to a stay on the recovery proceedings on payment of 20 per cent of the demand during the pendency of the Appeal before the Tribunal. The aforesaid argument, in our view, is too general and does not merit acceptance, the bench said.

Moreover, as we have already discussed in each application for a stay has to be decided on its own facts and circumstances, and there can be no generalized approach. The Stay Application is without merit and, it is dismissed accordingly, said the bench in order.

The Bench in its order further stated that even after the rejection of the Appeal by the CIT (Appeals) on March 28, 2023, no recovery action seems to have been initiated by the Assessing Officer to recover the demand by February 13, 2024.

On the other hand, the assessee has also not demonstrated its keenness to expeditiously settle the issue inasmuch as the Appeal of the assessee pending with the Tribunal had come up for hearing on three occasions, viz., 21st September 2023, 28th November 2023 and 5th February 2024 and, on each of the occasion, the record of proceedings reveal that the appellant- assessee was not prepared and sought adjournment, the bench said.

Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha who appeared for Congress on Friday also requested the bench to keep the order in abeyance for 10 days so that the Indian National Congress (INC) can approach the concerned High Court.

However, the bench declined the same saying that it has no such provision or prayer before it.

Zoheb Hossain, Vipul Agrawal, Sanjeev Menon and Vivek Gurnani, Advocates appeared for the Income Tax Department in the matter before ITAT.

During arguments earlier, Congress’s senior lawyer submitted that the hardship created for the assessee, which is a National Political Party, in view of the forthcoming Parliamentary Elections, alleging that the initiation of the recovery proceedings under section 226 (3) of the Act on 13th February 2024 are so timed that the assessee would not be left with enough resources to contest the Parliamentary Elections.

Attributing malice to the action of the Assessing Officer in exercising his power of recovery under Section 226(3) of the Act, the Senior Counsel Vivek Tankha further submitted that the intention is not merely to recover the outstanding demand, but to bring the activities of the assessee to a standstill, as it would not be able to meet out even the basic maintenance and establishment expenditure, noted the bench.

“If a stay is not granted then the party would be under a grave financial crunch ahead of the General Elections. So we need a protection order at this moment of time. Parties and elections will come and go but Revenue is a department of Govt of India, it has to go by law. If there’s only one party then how will democracy survive?” asked Advocate Tankha.

Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha had also submitted that the compliance requirements have been met.

“Wrong interpretation has been given by Income Tax. Our bank account has been frozen and on February 16 our accounts were made lien. Last evening, they went and withdrew Rs 65 crore. We are one of the largest parties and we are on the eve of the election. If our accounts are frozen like this, how a democracy will survive,” he said.

Advocate Zoheb Hossain appeared for the Income Tax Department had submitted that this is a regular recovery proceedings and no propoganda ahead of polls. IT Department also argued that the conduct of Congress is not correct as they have not paid these dues from several.

The counsel for the Income Tax Department defended the decision to recover the amount and submitted that there has been a breach of rules by Congress and, in such a scenario, the entity must be treated as a normal assessee.

He submitted that on July 6, 2021, the first notice of recovery was given. He said the Congress party filed an appeal for a complete stay on October 28, 2021, but for this, they had to deposit 20 per cent of the dues as per the IT Act. He said they were requested to pay 20 percent of the demand but it was not done.

The Income Tax Department further submitted before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) that they acted with responsibility and their action was fully in line with the law to obtain demand drafts of Rs 65 crore from the bank accounts of the Congress party.

The Income Tax Department had recovered Rs 65 crore from the accounts of the Indian National Congress out of the total outstanding tax dues of Rs 115 crore.

The Congress has recently approached the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) against the recovery and has filed a complaint and sought a stay against Income Tax Department proceedings of recovery and freezing of their Bank accounts.

In the complaint, Congress said the Income Tax Department has enforced its law by encashing some of the balances lying with the banks without waiting for the outcome of the hearing scheduled before the bench. Congress appealed that the department should not proceed further till the disposal of the stay application. (ANI)

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

Rajouri Garden, Delhi: Mob attacks police team during raid to nab goon Mohammad Adil, Muslim women gherao police to ‘rescue’ the goon. Read full details

OpIndia Staff
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Rajouri Garden, Delhi: Mob attacks police team during raid to nab goon Mohammad Adil, Muslim women gherao police to ‘rescue’ the goon. Read full details

Shocking scenes emerged from West Delhi where a team of personnel from Mohan Garden Police Station was attacked by the residents and aides of a goon named Mohammad Adil, whom they tried to nab during a raid late on Sunday (10th March) night in Rajouri Garden area.

Around 2 to 3 police personnel were injured in the incident, officials said. According to reports, the police were on the lookout for Adil for a long time. Several police teams from Dwarka’s Mohan Garden police station were trying to catch Adil. So when the police got the information that he was in Rajouri, they went to arrest him there, but his supporters and relatives came out with weapons when they caught Adil in the area.

The incident occurred in the Raghuvir Nagar area. Locals from the Muslim community, as can be seen in the video, including women, got into a confrontation and attacked a police team from Mohan Garden Police Station, which was searching for a criminal identified as Mohammad Adil.

Officials said that when the police team reached the area and started searching for the goon, locals, including women, came out in large numbers and started arguing with them.

The argument soon turned heated, resulting in a chaotic scene of pushing, shoving, and resistance between police personnel and locals.

Visuals from the spot showed locals, including women, dragging the police personnel, pushing, and attacking them. Videos show hysterical women confronting police personnel who are pleading with the locals to cooperate. In the video, the goon Adil can be seen attempting to flee with the help of women trying to separate him from the police’s hold.

In the video, a red-haired woman can be seen making gag sounds as she gets closer to the police who is holding the goon Adil strategically by the neck. It appears that the women around were trying to make it look like Adil is choking.

The very next second, another woman says that Adil is choking. Notably, despite the police’s repeated assurances that the arrested accused will not be hurt, the women around kept trying to create the spin that he is being hurt. In the video, a man part of the mob can be heard abusing the cops. “Choro choro behen ke l*****,” a mobster yells.

As per reports, several policemen were attacked with sticks and knives. Many cops suffered injuries in this attack. The glass windows of a police car was also broken.

Even as the police kept a tight hold of Adil, the men and women surrounded the police vehicle and tried to free Adil.

Upon receiving information, the Station House Officers (SHOs) of Rajouri Garden and Tilak Nagar Police Stations responded with the local staff and dispersed the crowd, officials said, adding that the situation has been controlled.

Heavy police force has been deployed in the area after the incident.

Bajrang Punia left stadium in huff, refusing to play another match and the dope test after losing semi-finals of Paris Olympic Qualifiers: The fall and fall of the wrestler

Shraddha Pandey
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Bajrang Punia left stadium in huff, refusing to play another match and the dope test after losing semi-finals of Paris Olympic Qualifiers: The fall and fall of the wrestler

Arrogance is the last trait a sportsman should exude. However, when arrogance takes over a sportsperson’s mind, it has dire repercussions. A classic case of this was seen on Sunday (10th March) when wrestler Bajrang Punia was eliminated from the Paris Olympics qualification race. For the last few months, Punia has been engaged in everything other than wrestling. The star wrestler was a prominent face of the Wrestlers’ protest last year against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and its former Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Sharma accusing him of sexual harassment.

As reported earlier, Punia suffered a crushing 1-9 defeat against Rohit Kumar in the men’s freestyle 65kg semifinal. Earlier, Punia had barely managed to avoid elimination in the opening bout itself. He won his first bout against Ravinder (3-3 on criteria) after the latter had conceded a caution point in the bout. 

Notably, the ongoing selection trials are being organised by the IOA ad-hoc panel. The winners at the ongoing selection trials will get the opportunity to compete at the Asian and World Olympic Qualifiers. So far, India has earned only one quota for the Paris Games through Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg).

From seeking exemption from trials to losing by a huge 1-9 margin, Bajrang Punia’s performance dwindles

It is pertinent to mention here that Punia for the last few months has been training in Russia on his own money. However, his defeat against Kumar by a huge margin suggests that the wrestler has failed to regain fitness since he has largely been engaged in protest, not practice.

Frustrated over his elimination, Punia left the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in haste. Moreover, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) officials tried to collect the sample for a dope test, however, the wrestler did not stay back even for a third-fourth place bout.

It is worth noting that wrestler Rohit Kumar who defeated Bajrang Punia lost to Sujeet Kalakal in the final match. Interestingly, Kalakal contested the decision to grant Punia direct access to the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games without trials in court last year. However, he lost the case.

In July last year, the Delhi High Court dismissed the plea filed by ace wrestlers Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalakal. The plea had challenged the exemption granted to wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat which allowed their direct entry into the Asian Games. In an interview last year, wrestlers Vishal Kaliraman and Antim Panghal said that while she was working hard and training, wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat were busy in protests while raising questions over ‘trial-free entry to Phogat and Punia in the Asian Games.

Justice Subramonium Prasad claimed that the unanimous decision of the ad-hoc committee was not arbitrary or perverse. Claiming that the two athletes are among the top 10 wrestlers in the world, it is not arbitrary to classify them as ‘elite athletes’. 

Months later, Iranian Rahman Amouzadkhalili defeated wrestler Bajrang Punia by a significant 8-1 margin in the Asian Games semi-finals raising questions over the Indian wrestler’s preparedness for the crucial tournament.

In the bronze medal match at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October 2023, India’s Bajrang Punia was defeated by Japan’s Kaiki Yamaguchi 10-0 owing to technical superiority. The Indian wrestler was allowed to represent his country in the Asian Games without any tryouts, and his 10-0 defeat dashed India’s bronze medal hopes.

The Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) ad-hoc committee granted exemptions to Punia and Phogat from the trials for the men’s freestyle 65 kg and women’s 53 kg categories. This decision was met with stiff opposition from coaches, and current and former athletes.  

On the one hand, the wrestler is alleged to have regularly sought exemptions from trials for important championships; on the other hand, his disappointing showing demonstrates his critics’ point that Punia was seeking exemptions out of fear of failing to win the qualifiers. The wrestler’s alleged tantrums, such as not playing the match for third place or staying back for a dope test, highlight why he was unwilling to engage in the trials against wrestlers who were constantly practising rather than engaging in protests and politics.

Bajrang Punia was a member of the Wrestlers group that protested against the then WFI head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In April 2023, they went to Jantar Mantar and sought a probe into charges of sexual harassment of female wrestlers by Bharatiya Janta Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh while serving as head of the Wrestling Federation of India. Later, the Delhi Police filed two FIRs against Singh.

While the protesting wrestlers had claimed that their protest had nothing to do with politics, it was seen that several Congress leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Deepender Hooda and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda assured absolute support to them. In May last year, Brij Bhushan Singh had claimed that a “conspiracy” was hatched against him by Deepender Hooda and Bajrang Punia.

Moreover, several disparaging slogans were raised during the wrestlers’ protests last year. During the protests, slogans such as ‘Modi Teri Kabar Khudegi’ and anti-India ‘Azadi’ were reportedly raised.

It should not be forgotten that similar outrageous slogans have been used by protestors in several previous protests. Azadi slogans are commonly used at anti-CAA protests, Shaheen Bagh protests, farmers’ protests, and other JNU protests.

As the protesting wrestlers were continuously accused of seeking exemptions from trials, hundreds of junior wrestlers gathered at Jantar Mantar on 3rd January this year to express their discontent with losing a critical year in their careers.

The protest was aimed at rebel Indian wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia, whom the junior wrestlers blamed for ruining a year of their lives. As we reported earlier, the protesting wrestlers raised slogans against Malik, Phogat, and Punia. Junior wrestlers, like Antim Panghal, have consistently asserted that only the best wrestlers from India should represent the country in the world championships including the Olympics and that this should be determined by selection trials rather than offering trial exemptions to certain wrestlers.

Bajrang Punia’s defeat in trials suggests that the wrestler should redirect his focus from protests and politics to practice. Moreover, given his recent tantrums, he also needs to work on his attitude as a sportsman. Fortunately, Punia had to compete in trials rather than being granted an exemption this time; otherwise, he could have repeated his previous devastating defeats at the World Olympic qualifiers.

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