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TMC candidate Sujata Mondal threatens voters with ‘consequences’ before Lok Sabha elections, had earlier called Dalits ‘beggars’

OpIndia Staff
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TMC candidate Sujata Mondal threatens voters with ‘consequences’ before Lok Sabha elections, had earlier called Dalits ‘beggars’

On Thursday (21st March), Trinamool Congress candidate (Bishnupur constituency) Sujata Mondal courted controversy after she tried to intimidate villagers into voting for her party.

The incident took place during her election campaign in the Ondha Vidhan Sabha constituency in the Bankura district of West Bengal. While speaking to the local women, Mondal threatened them with consequences for casting their votes in favour of the rival BJP.

“You are casting your vote for the BJP during the times of elections. You are clicking on the Loutus (big flower). Let me say this straight,” she cautioned.

“I do not care if the media or other people are listening to this. If I see that Trinamool Congress did not get a lead from here, we will not come here to listen to your grievances,” Sujata Mondal threatened.

She further mocked the villagers, “This is the truth. I am telling it now. No one from our party is going to come here to listen to your problems. You figure it out with the BJP.”

“It cannot happen that TMC will work here when BJP keeps getting elected from this seat. Wherever Trinamool Congress will be in the lead, I will even come there even in the darkness of the night to listen to your problems,” the TMC candidate continued.

We will not come to listen to your problems: Sujata Mondal

Sujata Mondal was heard saying, “Where Trinamool Congress will not get any lead, forget about me, my party workers also will not come…As a TMC ‘soldier’, I will not tolerate that Mamata Banerjee will keep giving but only getting treachery in return.”

This is not the first time that a TMC candidate has issued threats ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Recently, party candidate (North Malda) Prasun Banerjee was heard threatening the central paramilitary forces and officials of the Election Commission.

When Mondal abused Dalits as ‘beggars’

Prior to the 2021 Vidhan Sabha elections, Sujata Mondal stirred the hornet’s nest by referring to the Dalit community as ‘beggars.’

While speaking to News 18 Bangla, Sujata Mondal claimed, “Even though Mamata Banerjee has helped the poor Scheduled Castes, yet their scarcity will never mitigate.”

Furthermore, the TMC leader remarked, “Mane ekta kotha thake na ki keu thake sobhabe bhikari aar keu thake obhabe bhikari. Ekhaner Scheduled Caste gulo holo Sobhabe bhikari. (There is a saying that some are beggars by nature while others are beggars by circumstance. The Scheduled Castes here are beggars by nature).”

She also accused the Dalit community of being ungrateful and siding with rival BJP. “Mamata Banerjee has done so much for them but they have now sold themselves to the BJP in exchange for money. And now, they are committing atrocities on us,” Sujata Mondal alleged.

It must be mentioned that the TMC candidate was thrashed by people of the Arambagh constituency, where she was fielded as a candidate in the 2021 Vidhan Sabha elections. She lost out to Madhusudhan Bag of the BJP by over 7,142 votes.

Trachea, skull cut, shoulder bone sliced: Postmortem report of Badaun double murder case reveals brutality executed by Sajid on two Hindu children

राहुल पाण्डेय
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Trachea, skull cut, shoulder bone sliced: Postmortem report of Badaun double murder case reveals brutality executed by Sajid on two Hindu children

The post-mortem report in the Ayush and Ahaan murder case in Badaun has been obtained by OpIndia which details how the children were slain mercilessly. As per the postmortem report, it is believed that the accused not only cut Ayush’s and Ahaan’s throats but also attacked them a further 23 times.

Several cut marks could be seen on the victim’s body. The postmortem report further added that the victim struggled a lot to save himself from being attacked by the accused. The postmortem for both children was performed on the morning of 20th March. Simultaneously, a post-mortem of the accused Sajid was also performed who was killed in a police encounter on the same day. 

According to the post-mortem investigation, murderer Sajid stabbed the three children, Ayush (13), Yuvraj (10), and Ahaan (8), in the neck with a knife. Meanwhile, Yuvraj managed to escape, but before anyone could intervene, he killed Ayush and Ahaan. Ayush’s body exhibited 14 wounds, whilst killer Sajid had attacked 8-year-old Ahaan on 9 parts.

At the time of the massacre, Ayush, the eldest child, had opposed aggressively but he was killed. According to the OpIndia ground report, blood was found on the walls at the murder scene, as well as fingerprints of minors were also discovered. Since Ayush continued to battle even after his throat was cut off, several attacks were made on his hand, shoulder, chest, neck, fingers, and wrist. Wounds ranging from 2 cm to 7 cm deep were located on his body, with wounds up to 15 cm deep on his neck. The post-mortem report very well describes the cruel treatment imposed upon Ayush.

The report further mentions that the injuries on the body of the victim were caused by a single stroke. However, some of the injuries are so wide and brutal that they don’t seem to have been caused by a single stroke attack. 

First mark: The biggest wound of 15cmx5cm on the neck from the front, due to which many organs related to the throat were cut off. The trachea also looked damaged. This particular attack was akin to that of a butcher butchering an animal.

Second mark: 6cm x 1cm wound on the back side of the right shoulder. Deep into the muscles.

Third mark: 7cm deep and 4cm wide wound on the right shoulder joint, deep inside the bones, as if multiple brutal attacks had been executed here.

Fourth wound: Injury on the upper side of the right hand, deep inside the muscles.

Fifth wound: 4cm x 2cm wound on the outside slightly above the right wrist.

Sixth mark: A 5cm x 3cm wound on the inside of the right wrist, deep inside the muscles that connect the wrist to the hand.

Similarly, the seventh wound has also been executed on the hand, in which a 4 cm cut has been discovered on the lower palm. The eighth attack is on the ring finger of the right hand, which is 2 cm deep. Ninth attack on the middle finger of the left hand, this finger was also almost cut off. The tenth attack was on the palm of the left hand, the wound was deep inside the bones.

The eleventh attack was on the inner muscles of the left shoulder, which is 6cm deep.

The twelfth one is a 3 cm deep wound that was found below the left ear up to the bones.

The thirteenth attack is 6cm deep and 1.5cm wide, on the back of the head.

The fourteenth mark was found in the form of a large wound of 6cm x 4cm from the back side of the right lung, in which the knife reached the inner muscles tearing it wide open.

Post-mortem report obtained by OpIndia

Javed arrested from Bareilly

Javed, who had been on hiding since the murder of two Hindu youngsters in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, was apprehended in Bareilly on 21st March. The UP Police had also announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for anyone who would find Javed.

Later, a video of the accused also surfaced on the internet in which he could be seen confessing that he had fled to Delhi after executing the murder. According to the FIR, Javed arrived on a bike with Sajid and attacked a child. However, the police are currently interrogating Javed, and further information will soon be revealed in this case.

It is important to note that on the evening of March 19, 2024, Sajid, who operated a barbershop in Badaun, murdered two Hindu youngsters, Ayush and Ahaan, with a knife. Sajid ran away after committing the murder however he was killed in an encounter by the UP Police. 

Sajid’s brother Javed, who was there during the incident, meanwhile managed to escape. Police teams carried out raids to look for him. The police also had offered a Rs 25,000 reward for Javed. However, he was eventually apprehended near Bareilly.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni sues creators of deep fake video for defamation, will appear in court to seek €100,000 in damages

OpIndia Staff
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Italian PM Giorgia Meloni sues creators of deep fake video for defamation, will appear in court to seek €100,000 in damages

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has filed a lawsuit and is seeking compensation to the tune of 100,000 Euros after deep fake videos of her were uploaded on a pornographic site in the USA and garnered millions of views for several months.

She is scheduled to appear personally and provide testimony on July 2 in a court in Sassari, in Italy’s Sardinia region, as reported by BBC.

Meloni’s face was reportedly swapped with a porn actress and pornographic videos were uploaded on an adult site. A 40-year-old man, and his 73-year-old father are currently under investigation in the case. They are facing charges that include defamation.

Meloni’s lawyer Maria Giulia Marongiu has informed that the pornographic videos with Meloni’s face morphed into an adult film actress were uploaded before she became the PM of Italy in 2022. They have been circulated in the US-based porn site for months and have garnered millions of views.

Maria Giulia Marongiu has also stated that the compensation Meloni is seeking will be ‘symbolic’, and the amount will be donated to charities that help women victims of male violence. The lawsuit is intended to encourage other victims to not be afraid and seek justice.

“The compensation was meant to send a message to women who are victims of this kind of abuse of power not to be afraid to press charges,” Marongiu said.

As per reports, under Italian law, defamation suits can also result in criminal charges and result in imprisonment.

In India too, several celebrities, including Rashmika Mandanna, Katrina Kaif and Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter Sara Tendulkar have been victims of deepfake videos. The menace has become all the more serious after the widespread availability of AI image editing and generative tools.

Judicial verdicts, if ill-conceived or plain wrong, can have serious consequences: Judicial activism, Electoral Bonds verdict and ramifications

Ganesh R
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Judicial verdicts, if ill-conceived or plain wrong, can have serious consequences: Judicial activism, Electoral Bonds verdict and ramifications

With all due respect, the Supreme Court led by our Hon. CJI, Justice Chandrachud, has created a serious situation by its activism on the Electoral Bonds issue. Before we get into the details of this case, let us agree that judicial verdicts, if ill-conceived or plain wrong, can have serious consequences. 

We all know the recent upheaval in Manipur – the rioting, civil unrest and numerous deaths that followed the local High Court’s decision. Quint, no fan of Modi or the BJP government called it the “tinderbox that led to the conflagration” It was withdrawn suddenly, and one can be 400% certain the judges involved won’t face any consequences. That is not our objective anyway. 

In economic matters too there are bad precedents. Renowned lawyer Harish Salve went to the extent of blaming the economic slowdown on the Supreme Court’s judgement on the 2G spectrum case. The court had wiped out, with one stroke of pen, all licences allotted. 

When it comes to matters involving the judiciary itself we have the NJAC saga where a law passed with a massive majority by duly elected Parliament and approved by state assemblies was cast aside in favour of an opaque system invented by judges with little accountability. And it’s been defended by the legal equivalent of “trust me, bro, don’t ask for details”. The contrast with the transparent process of selecting judges in the USA can’t be any sharper.

The point is not to blame individual members of the judiciary – they are after all human. But the point is, when judicial activism and the heady feeling of “making a difference”, “leaving a mark” or “showing them who is the boss” sentiments take precedence over all other considerations, disaster is usually the result. Unlike with politicians, we have no recourse. 

But most importantly, what sort of India are we building and what is the signal to foreign investors and others watching all this drama?

In the case of the Electoral Bonds (EB) issue, in my very humble opinion, the Supreme Court should have directed the Union to come out with a better law that fixes the issues identified. Make it time-bound. At worst, make any invalidations prospective, not retrospective.

Let me explain why and also some of the other points about this affair.

  1. First – it is a clear case of reversal of the usual 80-20 rule that good corporate managers follow – spend most of the time on the big stuff and forget the small ones. Lordships have done exactly the opposite. As the article in The Print by N Gopalswami explains quite nicely, cash expenses over and above the ceiling are much, much higher than “official” expenses, funded partly by EB. So if transparent funding of elections is the goal, SC has scored a self-goal.
  2. Second, some on the right see all this activism through the prism of party politics and judicial bias. That is not good. I don’t think the Court was out to “get Modi”. I am convinced their intentions were for the good. The joke is that, even if you assume that to be incorrect and attribute bias, the entire saga has created more problems for the opposition than the BJP. How can small regional parties get so much? Why is the funding not by genuine business that builds factories and provides jobs but something as undesirable as lotteries?! As the saying goes “is hamam mein sab nange hein”. Getting a few percentages less than BJP doesn’t make a party holy.
  3. Sections of Pidi media tried to focus solely on the fact that BJP got more than others. YouTube journalist Ravish Kumar Pandeyji even tried to argue that everyone should get the same! This is nonsensical and unprecedented in any democracy. Firstly BJP has far more MPs and rules more states. Secondly, businessmen are not fools. No one funded ABV’s BJP “equally” when IG/RG’s Congress was enjoying 300-400 seats in Parliament and BJP had all of 2 MPs. They will give more to the party they think will come to power in the Center and give somewhat less to others to keep everyone happy especially as they rule some states. This is exactly what happened. And will happen in future too, EB or no EB.
  4. Such was the shock of the Pidi ecosystem when they realised their long-awaited Brahmastra was a dud that they went completely unhinged and resorted to white lies and pathetic low-quality excuses when their lies were exposed. That made things far worse for the anti-Modi ecosystem. We saw that in the Tek Fog & Facebook sagas too. In a bizarre display of propaganda masquerading as journalism, a team of 25 anti-BJP “journalists” advised by another 10 “experts” pored over the EB data but didn’t find it fit to question the lottery tycoon’s donations to DMK. Lol.

Let us get back to the question of retrospective changes. Let me be clear – the judiciary is not the only one that does such things – our tax laws are often changed retrospectively causing mayhem and chaos.

Nani Palkhivala, the eminent jurist who passed away recently, used to refer to Indira Gandhi’s decision to cancel the privy purses of Maharajas in his post-budget speeches. His point was that Governments can’t go back on their words. Whatever the justification. It signalled that GOI can’t be trusted. That’s what cheats and unreliable small-time businessmen do. One expects better from a democratic state.

On this Electoral Bonds matter, I do hope the Lordships ponder over this simple fact – combined with the 2G judgements and various others, what exactly does this signal to the sincere donors who thought their privacy was secure because the law said so? 

That India is a banana republic where nothing is ever certain and everything is up for change on whims? That even passage of time is no guarantee that something won’t be raked up years after?

How will an overseas investor look at this? Can he trust any law, contract or winning bid? And invest on that basis? Can a board of directors answer shareholders that point to all these retrospective verdicts, laws, notifications and ask why they’re throwing good money into this casino roulette wheel? Can he book any revenue as final? Any assessment order or tax paid as a closed chapter? Or assume some profits because costs are paid for, hence immutable? Will he have to get them all validated by the Supreme Court as well as signed off by all political parties? Or worry that some street “action” will make even that pointless, like it happened with farm laws?

Remember, the requirement of privacy cuts both ways – it also protects the weaker parties. After all, if I were to donate to the underdog because I strongly believe in their ideology, I do not want the party in power to punish me for that. That is exactly what EB delivered. Now the baby has been thrown out with the bath water. 

In this chaos, one big casualty is the genuine, patriotic donor – who will never again trust the system or Parliament’s laws and will resort to safe, secret cash funding, along with all the ills that go with it. After all, to donate cash illegally, you must raise and store that cash illegally and outside the books. There is no other way. Which also means no tax is paid on that. That culture seeps through the entire supply chain and business ecosystem – negating all the gains of UPI, GST, demonetisation etc. Everyone gives you unsigned bills written with pencil on plain paper, not formal invoices. There are two or three sets of books – one for the lala, one for the taxman and one more for the bankers. 

Or as our liberals love to say, the India we all grew up in. 

Now who is going to square this circle and how? I don’t know and no one does. Who pays the price? – we know. It is us the citizens. A huge opportunity for genuine reforms is lost in theatrics and virtue signalling.

It is not mine or anybody’s case that EB is perfect. It is also obvious 100% cash is far worse. There are dozens of things the Hon. Court could have done, and brought us closer to real change – let me just throw one. Why not a committee or empowered advisory team like they did for the BCCI saga? Alas, no. It had to be thrown out lock stock and barrel, without any replacement and that too retrospectively.

We are destined to suffer even more under the table deals. Assuming reasonable inflation over the figures cited in The Print article mentioned earlier, close to ONE LAKH CRORES will likely be spent on GE 2024. EB’s issued over several years cover hardly 20% of that. And we are not even counting the numerous state polls which will add to even bigger numbers. In any democracy, corrupt or otherwise, elections are expensive. That is not going to go away.

The more things change the more they stay the same – or in this case, regress.

“What prevented you from arresting him?” Delhi High Court asked ED after examining proof provided against Arvind Kejriwal. Details

OpIndia Staff
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“What prevented you from arresting him?” Delhi High Court asked ED after examining proof provided against Arvind Kejriwal. Details

Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal late on Thursday,21st March, night followed the Delhi High Court’s refusal to grant protection to Kejriwal from arrest.

The two-judge bench headed by Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain on Thursday refused to grant interim protection to the AAP Chief from arrest saying that the court is not inclined to grant relief to Kejriwal at this stage.

Kejriwal had moved court after refusing to appear before the ED in the wake of the ninth summons that he was served in the liquor policy scam case. Kejriwal refused to appear citing various excuses.

Appearing on behalf of the ED, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju said that Kejriwal’s petition is not maintainable. “The petition is not maintainable that was our main ground. And according to us, it’s not maintainable, it’s a desperate attempt for him to file the petition. Delhi HC stated that we are not inclined to grant an interim relief.”

The Delhi High Court asked the ED to provide it all the proof it has against the Delhi Chief Minister. Upon examining the same, the court refused to grant interim protection to Kejriwal.

“What prevented you (ED) from arresting him, why are you issuing summons back to back?” the court asked ASG SV Raju. He responded saying, “We never said that we are going to arrest. The power is there. You come join the investigation, we may or may not arrest you.”

Representing Kejriwal, advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi sought that no coercive action should be taken against him submitting that summons did not reveal whether he was summoned as a witness or suspect or accused.

“I have apprehension that my arrest would be for political purposes,” Singhvi said. ED alleged in its statement that arrested BRS leader K Kavitha in the case conspired with top AAP leaders including Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia to get favours in the Delhi Excise policy formulation and implementation.

“She was involved in paying Rs 100 crore to AAP leaders,” ED said further claiming that illegal funds as kickbacks from wholesalers was generated for AAP.

“Kavitha and her associates were to recover the proceeds of crime paid in advance to AAP and to further generate profits/proceeds of crime from this entire conspiracy,” the central agency alleged.

Merely hours after the HC’s order refusing interim protection, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Kejriwal from his residence on Thursday night.

As Congress creates furore over arrest of Arvind Kejriwal in liquor policy scam, here is how the party sought investigation against him in 2022

OpIndia Staff
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As Congress creates furore over arrest of Arvind Kejriwal in liquor policy scam, here is how the party sought investigation against him in 2022

Hours after the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal in connection to the liquor policy scam on Thursday (21st March), it came to light that the Congress filed a police complaint against the Delhi Chief Minister in 2022.

The development was confirmed by the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC).

In a tweet (archive) on 3rd June 2022, it said, “This is the complaint letter handed over to the Delhi Police by DPCC President Anil Chaudhary and other senior Delhi Congress leaders. Kejriwal’s fraudulent liquor policy must be reversed immediately!”

Screengrab of the 2022 tweet by the All India Professionals’ Congress

In its complaint, the Congress said, “Aam Aadmi Party lead (sic) Delhi govt. bring out New Excise policy 2021-22, through said policy govt. promised citizen of Delhi that the priority of the government is keeping in check the emergence of monopolies and cartels.”

“Although Excise policy enumerates several checks and balances to curtail emergence of monopolies and cartels. But During the tendering processes and license distribution several shell companies violating the terms and conditior has been able to get licenses in collusion with high level officers of Excise department and ministers by ignoring the mandatory conditions,” the grand-old-party had claimed.

It further emphasised, “Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal ji with nexus with Former Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Shri Deep Malhotra has formed cartels and created monopolies in Delhi by illegal tendering.” The Congress had sought thorough investigation into what it called a ‘multi-crore scam’.

In the meantime, a 2023 video of veteran Congress leader Ajay Maken explaining the role of the AAP-led-Delhi government in the liquor policy scam went viral on social media.

“It is now established that at least a bribe of ₹100 crore was taken,” he had said a year ago. Maken had also claimed that AAP and Arvind Kejriwal made 6% kickbacks on sale of liquor and used it against the Congress party during the Goa elections.

“Kejriwal has executed a scam of ₹100 crore just to defeat the Congress party,” he stated while seeking the resignation of the Delhi CM and his deputy Manish Sisodia.

In March 2023, Congress spokesperson had boasted about the party kickstarting an investigation into the liquor policy scam. He had said, “It was Congress which had made the complaint about the scam.”

Congress defends Arvind Kejriwal

Soon after the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday (21st March), Congress scion Rahul Gandhi came to his rescue.

“A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy. While capturing all the institutions including the media, breaking up the parties, extorting money from companies, freezing the account of the main opposition party was not enough for the ‘devilish power’, now the arrest of the elected Chief Ministers has also become a common thing. INDIA will give a befitting reply to this,” he brazened out.

Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely had said, “They (BJP) are doing this kind of thing as they are afraid of the elections…Congress’ accounts were seized, Hemant Soren was arrested and today in Delhi, just before the elections, the arrest has been done. Using the agencies is shameful.”

“We want to make this clear that Congress will not be afraid of all these things and we will strongly fight the elections. AAP is the partner of the alliance (INDIA alliance), we are strongly standing with them and we support them…”

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor claimed, “Shocked by the news of the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Coming hard on the heels of the crippling freeze on Congress’ bank accounts, it is clear that a systematic effort is on to subvert Indian democracy during our general elections.”

He pleaded the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.

Sandeep Dikshit, who was seen accusing Kejriwal of running the liquor scam until last year, also alleged that the BJP was killing democracy by arresting the Delhi Chief Minister.

The grand-old-party, which accused the Delhi government of orchestrating the liquor policy scam, has now thrown its weight behind the party in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Liquor policy scam explained

The Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022 was first proposed in September 2020 but came into effect only in November 2021. It changed how alcohol was being sold in the National Capital. Introduced private players in the market and marked the exit of government-owned liquor vendors.

Delhi was divided into 32 zones and a total of 27 private vendors were to ply in each zone. Every municipal ward had 2-3 liquor vendors operating in the area. Proposals such as home delivery of liquor, allowing liquor vendors to offer unlimited discounts, opening of stores till 3 am were also tabled before the Delhi Cabinet.

The drastic policy change resulted in a 27% increase in government revenue to ₹8900 crores. At the same time, it marked the complete exit of the Delhi government from the liquor business. While the objective of Excise Policy 2021-2022 was to end black marketing and the liquor mafia, the Delhi government soon came under fire over allegations of corruption.

Chief Secretary of Delhi, Naresh Kumar, found irregularities and procedural lapses in the new liquor policy. Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a CBI probe on the recommendation of Naresh Kumar. Manish Sisodia waived off ₹144.36 crores on the license fee, to be paid by the private liquor vendors, under the garb of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Incurred loss to the Excise Department and benefitted liquor licensees by waiving the import pass fee of ₹50 per beer case. All these changes were made without the final approval of the Lieutenant Governor and thus considered illegal under the Delhi Excise Rules of 2010 and Transaction of Business Rules of 1993.

Thus, the Delhi government made a U-turn on its new excise policy in July 2022. A month later, CBI booked Manish Sisodia, ex-Only Much Louder (OML) CEO Vijay Nair and 13 others in an FIR for irregularities in the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022.

Sisodia was arrested in February 2023 while Kejriwal was arrested on 21st March 2024. Not until long ago, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was out with all guns blazing against corruption, trying to portray himself as an anti-corruption crusader in this process.

Lucknow Super Giants players visit Ayodhya Ram Mandir ahead of IPL 2024

OpIndia Staff
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Lucknow Super Giants players visit Ayodhya Ram Mandir ahead of IPL 2024

Lucknow Super Giants spinner Keshav Maharaj reached the holy city of Ayodhya and offered prayers at Ram Janmabhoomi Temple here on Thursday (21st March).

The South African player posted a photo on social media with folded hands from inside the temple with the caption, “Jai Shree Raam. Blessings to everyone.”

Along with Maharaj, head coach Justin Langer, fielding coach Jonty Rhodes, and Ravi Bishnoi also visited the Ayodhya Temple.

During their visit, the Lucknow Super Giants players and coaching staff had the privilege of participating in darshan and paying their respects at various sacred sites in Ayodhya, immersing themselves in the rich spiritual heritage and traditions of the city.

Taking to X, LSG shared a video from the Ayodhya visit in which South African star cricketer Keshav Maharaj said, “The feeling you get when you walk into a mandir or temple, I suppose you feel the vibration of Lord Rama upon you. As you enter there’s good energy and aura around everything.”

Meanwhile, LSG’s head coach Jonty Rhodes said, “It was quite emotional. Something I will remember for a long time. Jai Shree Ram!”

Earlier, following the Ayodhya Ram Mandir’s Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22, the seasoned South African cricketer shared a special message for his Indian fans on social media. He also mentioned his wish to offer prayers at the temple. The Super Giants will kick off their 2024 campaign against the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Last year KL Rahul led LSG only in the first half of the season as he was ruled out of the tournament midway due to injury. Later on, Krunal Pandya captained the team with LSG showing a stunning performance by reaching the playoffs and finishing third in the points table. Ahead of the campaign, Langer said that the LSG skipper KL Rahul has worked very hard to make his return in the T20 tournament. Langer added that it will be great to have KL Rahul in the squad.

“Everyone’s looking forward to seeing him. We know he has worked very hard to tick off all his return-to-play protocols. He’s worked very hard. He’s been practicing, he’s been hitting lots of balls. He’s hopefully ready to go. It’s going to be nice to have the captain with us,” Langer said in a virtual press conference.

LSG squad for IPL 2024: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph (replacement for Mark Wood), Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, David Willey, Mohd. Arshad Khan.

(With inputs from ANI)

Supreme Court to hear Kejriwal’s application against ED arrest today after refusing to grant urgent midnight hearing

ANI
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Supreme Court to hear Kejriwal’s application against ED arrest today after refusing to grant urgent midnight hearing

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, moved to the Supreme Court. However, he did not receive any special hearing late at night.

According to sources, no special bench was set up on Thursday night to hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.

Meanwhile while addressing the media, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi informed that, “We have filed an application in the Supreme Court against the illegal arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. It will be mentioned in the Supreme Court tomorrow morning. We hope that the Supreme Court will protect democracy.”

Atishi also questioned the timing of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, saying that for two years, neither the CBI nor the ED has found a single penny in two years of investigation.

Describing the arrest of Kejriwal as an assault on democracy, Atishi said that the BJP is aware that Kejriwal is the most popular leader who has the potential to challenge PM Modi in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

“Today, we all have seen an attempt to murder democracy. After the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, Arvind Kejriwal, a popular CM of Delhi and a prominent leader of the opposition has been arrested on false charges. This investigation has been going on for two years, but neither the CBI nor the ED has found a single penny in two years of investigation. But as soon as the election is announced, Arvind Kejriwal is arrested. Why? Because PM Narendra Modi knows that if there is one leader who can challenge him, it is Arvind Kejriwal,” she said.

A team from the Enforcement Directorate arrived at Kejriwal’s residence to interrogate him regarding the liquor policy case. During a search operation conducted at his home, Kejriwal was arrested amidst dramatic circumstances, as the AAP convener failed to obtain interim protection from arrest in the liquor policy case from the Delhi High Court. The Enforcement Directorate took him to the agency’s headquarters later. (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)

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested by ED in Delhi liquor police scam case after he ignored 9 summons

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested by ED in Delhi liquor police scam case after he ignored 9 summons

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after his house was searched and he was questioned this evening. Reportedly, ED was forced to arrest him as he was not cooperating with the investigation, and refused to go to the ED office for questioning. The Delhi CM was insisting that ED question him in his residence only, after which he was arrested.

Arvind Kejriwal is being taken to ED office for further proceedings. This comes after Delhi High Court refused him interim protection from arrest as he ignored nine summons issued by ED in relation to the Delhi Excise Police scam case. He is also wanted for questioning in the Delhi Jal Board bribery case.

The team reportedly searched the residence for evidence related to the cases under probe. As per reports, several electronic devices, including as many as five phones, have been seized by the ED.

A team of the Enforcement Directorate reached his residence this evening, hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant interim protection from arrest by ED. The ED officials reached the official residence of Arvind Kejriwal this evening reportedly with a search warrant.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused interim protection from coercive action to Kejriwal and said at this stage the court is not inclined to grant interim relief. The court was hearing a plea by Kejriwal seeking protection from coercive action against him in connection with the excise policy case. During the hearing, Kejriwal’s lawyers stated that they have apprehension that the ED will arrest him and that he is ready to appear if he is given protection.

But the High Court refused him interim protection from arrest. Kejriwal’s lawyers have already moved the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order. After the arrest, they again moved the apex court, asking to quash the arrest. They have sought an urgent hearing by the Supreme Court tonight itself.

ED on Sunday issued two fresh summons to Kejriwal in connection with two different cases – a liquor policy case and a case linked to the Delhi Jal Board. This was the ninth summons to the Delhi Chief Minister in a money laundering probe related to irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case, asking him to join the investigation on March 21. The fresh summons to the Delhi Chief Minister followed the eighth summons, which he had skipped on March 4.

Last week, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal on two complaints filed by ED for non-compliance with summons issued by the agency. During the hearing, Kejriwal appeared physically before the court.

According to the ED, the agency wants to record Kejriwal’s statement in the case on issues like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalized, and allegations of bribery.

Javed brought Sajid to my house, question him before us: Parents of Badaun victims demand capital punishment for Javed, refute his claims of innocence

OpIndia Staff
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Javed brought Sajid to my house, question him before us: Parents of Badaun victims demand capital punishment for Javed, refute his claims of innocence

On 20th March, Javed, brother of accuse Sajid, was taken into custody from Bareilly in connection with the murder of two Hindu boys in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. The authorities had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on him. He was also seen defending himself in a viral video. However, Sangeeta, the mother of the deceased, has asserted that he was the one who brought Sajid to her place and was now lying to save himself.

She charged, “Javed is saying all this to protect himself. He is not telling the truth. Javed was the one who brought Sajid to our house on a bike. Sajid called someone from my house after the murder. Police should obtain his phone records to identify the person he contacted.” She demanded that Javed should be interrogated in front of her.

“Javed knew everything. How long they were planning to do the crime should be questioned of him. Why did Javed come to my residence? Our children didn’t use to go anywhere and only played at home,” the grieving woman revealed to Aaj Tak. Munni Devi, the paternal grandmother of the victims pointed out that Javed needed to answer queries regarding the killings of the minor boys.

Sangeeta mentioned that Sajid first time came to her house at 6 pm on the fateful day and requested Rs 5000 from her in the name of his wife claiming she was pregnant which was unveiled to be a lie. He went to the roof after taking the money where her two sons were playing and murdered them brutally. She cried, “We want justice. Interrogate him before us.”

“We also have to ask why he killed our children. Did they do it under someone else’s influence because we had animosity with them? Police should bring Javed before us and assassinate him,” she remarked according to an ABP report. The weeping mother disclosed that she underwent major operations to deliver her sons and now only one is left of them.

Vinod, her husband demanded that Javed should be executed by hanging and his house should be bulldozed. He has also asked for the protection of his remaining family members. He stressed that this was not a solitary incident and highlighted that Javed should be questioned about who else was involved in the crime.

“Our kids knew him and called him ‘bhaiya.’ He used to cut their hair. Even a little child can tell who is Sajid and who is Javed. Javed is lying to save himself. He is also guilty. He has helped his brother. Goons used to frequent their shop. He should be asked if these individuals were paid or if they did it out of resentment,” he voiced.

Sajid and Javed, who ran barbershops in Badaun, murdered two Hindu boys Aayush and Ahaan alias Honey on the evening of 19th March. After the murders, Sajid fled the scene and was eliminated in an encounter with the state police the same day. The accused also tried to kill Piyush, the brother of the victims, but he managed to escape with injuries.

The two kids were repeatedly attacked with sharp weapons on their backs, chests and legs after being attacked in the neck. “According to the postmortem report, the younger child suffered nine stab wounds, while the older child sustained fourteen attacks.” The victims endured twenty-three stab injuries in total.

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