At least four people were injured in a blast reported at Bengaluru’s popular Rameshwaram Cafe outlet in Whitefield on Friday, according to initial reports.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Whitefield, confirmed the explosion.
Police teams and fire brigade teams rushed to the site and were seen analysing the after effects of the explosion.
Shattered glass and furniture were seen strewn on the floor of the cafe, which is a big draw among residents.
The area was secured by Police and Fire Brigade teams and the injured were hospitalised.
“We received a call of an explosion at the Rameshawaram cafe, we reached the spot, and analysed the situation,” a Whitefield Fire Station official said.
Police have begun an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the blast.
The Rameshwaram Cafe is one of the popular hangouts and is usually extremely crowded during lunch hours. Further details are awaited. (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)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a topic of discussion over its application, benefits, and dangers. AI has intrigued people especially the youth, given Generative AI’s massive potential to bring revolution in various sectors, particularly in a developing and ambitious country like India. It becomes crucial to know and understand if our political leaders see AI as a boon or bane. Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was asked about AI as he interacted with some IT professionals. While giving his ‘views’ about AI, the Congress scion tried very hard to appear like an expert on the subject since making sense was nearly impossible for him.
On Wednesday (27th February), speaking about Generative AI, Rahul Gandhi somehow brought in networks, Iraq, the Samajwadi Party and even caste. “Whatever AI you are generating, producing, it “sits on top of other networks”. So AI sits on top of a network. So AI is applied on top of a network. You can apply AI on a production network or in a factory. You can apply on consumption networks. So people are consuming something, people are distributing something you can apply AI on that. So AI sits on top of network,” Gandhi blabbered as ‘network’ remained the leitmotif of his ‘highly intellectual’ answer.
In a classic case of ‘when you don’t know the answer, tell a story and confuse them’ Rahul Gandhi narrated an absolutely unrelated story to the IT professionals to ‘demonstrate the power of this network’. “So I’ll tell you a story not directly related to AI. The United States attacks Iraq, within 25 days it has wiped out the entire Iraqi military and then six months later something happened. And suddenly US soldiers were dying every day and within a six month period the US lost over a thousand armored vehicles. So how did a country that couldn’t take on the United States at all and failed to take them on and suddenly six months later broke their back…” Rahul Gandhi said adding that Saddam Hussain asked his fellow Tikriti tribesmen to run away and he distributed 155mm artillery shells which they dug on the ground.
Pappu's Keyword this time is "Network" ??
Question is on AI Answer By Rahul Gandhi – AI "Sits on Top of a Network"… Network Network ??? And in between Iraq story ?♀️?♀️ pic.twitter.com/NXCjiKWTZo
Rahul Gandhi said that the Tikriti network, the cell phone network and the shells network that were disconnected came together and obliterated the United States. While the question was about generative AI and tools like ChatGPT etc and why India does not have a ChatGPT-like tool, Rahul Gandhi continued with his network gobbledegook.
According to Congress’s ultracrepidarian, the biggest problem in India is that its biggest networks are not connected. “So you guys are a tiny network. You are one per cent of the country…Networks are energy. Samajwadi Party network joined Congress network…now the network is lined up together,” Rahul Gandhi continued adding that 90 percent of India’s population is excluded from the talks of development and that the role of technology is to apply that understanding on those networks.
Emphasising the ‘necessity’ to connect the ‘networks’ Gandhi said that there are caste networks in India, business networks and agricultural networks are there. Sadly, none of the IT professionals sitting and listening to Rahul Gandhi’s blabbering did confront or question his absurd response to a question on generative AI.
While Congress’ lifetime Prime Ministerial candidate had such a vague and senseless opinion and vision about artificial intelligence, a similar question was posed before BJP’s popular leader K Annamalai whose sensible and visionary response left the audience impressed.
During a recent interaction with the students of IIT Madras, Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai was asked about the role of Artificial Intelligence in shaping the mindset of the people in social and political contexts. The leader was further asked about AI’s role in governance and the government’s position as a stakeholder in generative AI.
Responding to this, Annamalai talked about an IT professional he met who told him about how AI has disrupted everything saying that people write fancy things in the resumes using AI. The BJP leader said that AI is definitely going to be disruptive.
“For a country like ours which is just getting into the orbit of high growth…we are just warming up to getting into the orbit of getting ten thousand dollar per capita income from a thousand dollars now and we have an ambition to reach there. So India’s GDP is about 3.8 trillion…so China’s GDP is about 17.9 trillion dollars today…I hope it is a true figure from China…while America has 37 trillion dollars. The IIT guys are going to make India a developed country by 2047, so I was thinking how will you guys do it? I did a simple mathematics. If India is growing 13.5% today…for the next 25 years, America is growing 4 % today, at 4 per cent for the next 25 years. So in 2047, both will sit on the same table and say hello boss both our economies are the same..” Annamalai said adding that with a good prime minister, good policies with less politics and more governance, then India will maybe grow at 9.5 per cent.
— இந்தா வாயின்கோ – Take That ? (@indhavaainko) March 1, 2024
In that case, Annamalai added that “there will be more IITs and intelligent Indians will not move to the United States, stay in India and work here then maybe 10.5…and Pakistan problem solved, China problem solved. And there is no political nuisance and everybody is sober then 11.5%…we are talking about 13.5. So now you are talking of Artificial Intelligence disruption, 3D technology, and traditional manufacturing practices going for a toss. America telling no more products from China, you have to manufacture in the US. Hello sir, manufacturing in US will be costly, to hell with it, you manufacture in the US. So if the US and Europe start manufacturing on their own, you need to understand that is the world you are entering tomorrow morning.”
The BJP leader cited the example of the coming US election wherein for the first time since 1776 the traditional whites will become a minority.
In the next presidential elections in the US, for the first time the traditional whites are going to be a minority going below 50 per cent he said adding that blacks including Hispanics and Asians etc will move about 50 per cent. Annamalai stressed that the next elections in the US are going to be defined by this thing. However, Annamalai added that “it will not be defined by the two 83-year-old candidates fighting the election but by the American who is scared that in my country for the first time the traditional whites are going below 50 per cent, my manufacturing is not there, I am not getting jobs, my per capita income is going below, if you look at the Hispanics, the Asians their per capita income is going up because they are more hard-working…there the Artificial Intelligence is entering.”
Annamalai outlined that AI is reshaping global politics and that it is reshaping the way people are voting. In this context, he mentioned the Dutch prime minister’s speech about Muslims in parliament, as well as Israel’s retaliation to Hamas’s terrorist attack in October last year to highlight the geopolitical tensions and how AI can be disruptive. Annamalai said “Tomorrow if America comes up with an AI regulation saying everyone has to follow it, I am not going to follow it. I will say who are you…no they will say…in 1950 I was a great superpower. I will say to hell with it. You are no more superpower…look at America they want to manage and control the whole world.”
Highlighting the significance of his point, Annamalai said questioned as to who is going to regulate the AI since Europe does not have a common regulation. He emphasised that more educated people who would understand AI should enter politics “There is no answer…it is going to disrupt. That is why we need smart guys like you in politics. Because…how many current politicians understand AI. 543 members in the parliament, they are very good in the traditional politics, this caste you divide, this caste you put there and win…Annamalai said taking a swipe at the conventional caste-based divisive politics.
The BJP leader lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “rewriting” the political equation by stressing on development and changing politics. Annamalai concluded by asserting that people of integrity and intelligence should join politics who understand what will shape the country’s future in the next 10 or 25 years. How the global demography is changing as well as understand the geopolitical tensions.
Furthermore, Annamalai talked about the background of AI as he said that AI is not Gautam Buddha rather there are powerful chips behind it. These chips are manufactured in Hong Kong, he said, adding that 52 per cent of these chips are manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). “I am really fearful, I am not hearing this conversation in politics but I want to hear this conversation, Annamalai said while pointing out the monopoly of certain players in the semiconductor market. He added that for these reasons the Modi government is talking about semiconductors, chips etc.
Truncating his answer, Annamalai reiterated that people of intelligence and integrity should enter politics and become active players in the arena instead of being just spectators. Such leaders would be capable of telling their generation that they understand the issues faced in the AI arena and are there to support them. They can tell the startups that the government will not harm rather collectively work for a solution. Coming back to a 13.5% growth rate, he said that it is indeed possible unless there is a complete disruption of the country’s mindset.
On one hand, the Congress party’s Prime Minister aspirant narrated an unrelated story while boasting his fixation with ‘network’, BJP’s Annamalai though admitted not to have an exact answer, explained the role of AI in the geopolitical arena. He also gave a clear vision of how intelligent and educated leaders can not only face the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence but also use AI to the country’s benefit in various sectors.
Generative AI and their biases
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a technology that allows machines and computers to approximate human intelligence and problem-solving abilities. AI-based technologies are playing a crucial role in the healthcare, education, and defence sectors and its role is likely to widen in the future.
Generative AI is a sort of artificial intelligence technology that broadly refers to machine learning systems that may generate text, graphics, code, or other types of material in response to a user input prompt.
Generative AI models are rapidly being used in online tools and chatbots such as ChatGPT, which let users enter questions or prompts into an input area and have the AI model generate a human-like answer.
While this can be a significant and quick source of information, there is a possibility that such AI-based chatbots and tools indulge in peddling specific narratives while they are expected to be objective and unbiased. Recently, a fitting example of the same was seen in the case of Google Gemini. Google’s AI chatbot received severe criticism over its malicious responses. The responses generated by the chatbot were found to be blatantly politically biased and peddling the dominant ‘Leftist’ narrative of Western media, to the extent of displaying radically Leftist views on sensitive issues such as paedophilia.
In one case a user asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy, and former US President Donald Trump were fascists. While Gemini gave a diplomatic answer in the case of Zelenskyy and Trump; the AI chatbot downright called PM Modi a “fascist” leader. AI thus, can be advertently or inadvertently push biased and malicious narratives based on what kind of people were employed to train the Large Language Model.
As we reported earlier, Google also drew the ire of users for its AI chatbot Gemini as it failed to generate images of White persons and generated distorted pictures of historical figures. Similarly, in January 2023, ChatGPT faced criticism when the platform happily made jokes about Hindu Gods but refused to do the same with Christianity and Islam.
On Thursday (29th February), pop singer Rihanna arrived at Jamnagar in Gujarat to attend the wedding ceremony of Mukesh Ambani’s son Anant Ambani. According to reports, she will be paid Rs 74 crores for her performance at the pre-wedding celebrations titled ‘An evening in Everland’ starting on 1st March. Notably, Rihanna had supported Khalistani propaganda against Indian businessmen Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani during the anti-farm laws protest by farmers from Punjab in February 2021.
According to reports, Rihanna, known primarily for her touring performances rather than private engagements, is commanding an extraordinary fee for her appearance at the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. Arriving in Gujarat’s Jamnagar on 29th February, the singer was seen as she exited the airport accompanied by her team.
Reports suggest that Rihanna’s performance will be extensive, featuring a medley of her hits along with solo renditions such as ‘Diamonds’. Much of the expenses for her performance are said to have gone towards transporting her stage equipment and providing multiple outfit changes for both herself and her background singers.
On 2nd February 2021, Rihanna had attempted to peddle false propaganda against India by expressing her solidarity with a bunch of protestors, who had unleashed riots on the streets of Delhi. As songwriter Rihanna, along with former porn stars and irrelevant protestors endorsed violence in the name of supporting ‘farmer’ protests, several citizens of the country took to social media platforms to condemn the unnecessary interference of foreign individuals in the country’s internal affairs. Issuing a stern warning to the foreign celebrities, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asked these foreign individuals and entities to ascertain facts and undertake a proper understanding of the farmers’ protest before rushing to comment on it.
Notably, the protesting farmers were opposing the farm laws brought in by the Modi government alleging that they do not benefit the farmers. The protestors further claimed that these laws only benefitted businessmen like Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. By supporting these protestors, Rihanna was essentially opposing Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. Now, she will be performing in the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika Merchant, daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant.
What were the farm laws?
One of the biggest factors plaguing the growth of the agriculture sector in the country is the inability of the farmer to find a market and to get a fair price for his produce. To address the issue, the erstwhile governments of different states enacted the Agricultural Produce Market Regulation Acts (APMC Acts), which authorized them to set up and regulate marketing practices in wholesale markets.
The objective of these markets was to ensure that farmers get a fair price for their produce. However, with each passing year, the APMCs turned out to be inefficient with increasing cartelisation of middlemen, ban on private players to enter the trade, increasing corruption etc.
The Modi government had introduced three bills to promote much easier trade for farm produce and to provide a competitive market for the producers outside the existing APMC system. The three laws were:
The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020: This law aims at creating additional trading opportunities outside the APMC market yards to help farmers get remunerative prices due to additional competition
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020: This law relates a framework for contract farming through an agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020: This law aims to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances.
Mostly middlemen from Punjab posing as farmers in cohorts with Khalistani elements had launched a violent agitation forcing the government to take the farm laws back. These farm laws were meant to cut through the middlemen and benefit the farmers, however, these middlemen claimed that it would benefit industrialists like Adani and Ambani, and therefore, the laws should be repealed.
Who was behind Rihanna’s tweet
It was suspected that Canadian top politician Jagmeet Singh, who is notoriously known for supporting Khalistan separatism, could be behind Rihanna’s anti-Indian propaganda. Hours after Rihanna posted a tweet intervening in India’s affairs, controversial Canadian lawmaker Jagmeet Singh took to Twitter to hail Rihanna for consistently ‘uplifting and empowering the voices of the oppressed’.
Jagmeet Singh, who is accused of terror funding and under the radar of Indian Intelligence agencies for sheltering pro-Khalistani sympathisers, shares a good relationship with songwriter Rihanna and had once openly bragged about it on a TV show. Now, after supporting Khalistani propaganda against Ambani, Adani in 2021, Rihanna is all set to perform in Anant Ambani’s pre-wedding festivities alongside renowned Indian musicians including Arijit Singh, Ajay-Atul, and Diljit Dosanjh.
Expected to join in the celebrations are a host of distinguished business leaders, including Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick, Disney CEO Bob Iger, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Adnoc CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, and EL Rothschild chair Lynn Forester de Rothschild.
Among the esteemed guests are Yasir Al Rumayyan, Chairperson of Saudi Aramco; Vivi Nevo, Founder of NV Investments; Nitin Nohria, Former Dean of Harvard Business School; Dr. Brian Levine, Founding Partner of CCRM New York; Kenichiro Yoshida, CEO of Sony; Joe Bae, CEO of KKR & Co.; Mark Carney, Chairman of Brookfield Asset Management; Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO & MD of Mubadala; Mark Tucker, Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings Plc; Anuj Ranjan, Managing Partner of Brookfield; Bill Ford, Chairman & CEO of General Atlantic; Carlos Slim, Investor; Jay Lee, Executive Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Howard Marks, Co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management; James Dinan, Founder of York Capital Management; and Richard Hilton, Chairman of Hilton & Hyland.
Guests can expect to immerse themselves in India’s vibrant culture and heritage during the festivities. They will also receive traditional scarves crafted by women artisans from Kachchh and Lalpur in Gujarat.
The Congress party has yet again shared a clipped video to further its propaganda by disseminating misinformation against the BJP government. This time it has shared a 19-second clipped video from Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s interview on 1st March. In this video shared by, Nitin Gadkari was shown saying “Today the villages, poor, labourers and farmers are unhappy. The villages do not have good roads, there is no pure water to drink, there are no good hospitals, and there are no good schools.”
आज गांव, गरीब, मज़दूर और किसान दुखी हैं.
गावों में अच्छे रोड नहीं, पीने के लिए शुद्ध पानी नहीं, अच्छे अस्पताल नहीं, अच्छे स्कूल नहीं हैं.
Sharing this video, Congress showed as if Nitin Gadkari is saying that villages and tribal areas under Modi government are in distress as they are lacking basic amenities and access to improve their economy. The reality of this video and the petty act of Congress gets exposed after watching the entire interview in ‘The Lallantop’. In this video of 1 hour 42 minutes, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari can be seen talking about this after 15 minutes.
Between the timestamps of 15:20 and 15:45 in the video, journalist Saurabh Dwivedi poses questions to Nitin Gadkari concerning farmers, to which Gadkari responds accordingly. In the same video, after the 18-minute 07-second slot, he explains, “The population dependent on agriculture is 65%. When Gandhiji was there, 90% of the population lived in rural areas. Eventually, 30% of the people migrated of villages. Why did that happen? This happened because the village is poor; labourers and farmers are unhappy. The reason for this is that water, forest, land and animals… This is a rural economy. There are no good roads, no water to drink, no good hospital, no good school, and no good price for the farmer’s crop. It is not that there is no development here. But the development that has taken place elsewhere has not taken place here. We have been doing a lot of work on this after our government came to power. Over 550 aspiring blocks and 120 aspiring districts we have identified where changes are happening.”
Now it is clear from this video that the lies being spread on Gadkari’s statement are misleading. The Union minister was saying that the exodus from villages happened because they did not get good resources and his government was working on this issue significantly. He did not say that this is the condition of the country under the Modi government.
After this lie by Congress, the party is getting a lot of flak on social media. Users are calling them a party spreading fake news. Some social media users have also pointed out that the context of distressed rural areas in the video is about the time period after Gandhi, when Congress was in power. Therefore, the Congress should assess themselves before questioning the Modi government.
BJP legal cell sends notice to Congress for sharing Gadkari’s clipped video
In a latest development, the legal department of Maharashtra BJP has sent a notice to Congress party, asking them to take down the malicious video from all platforms and apologise for it.
Team Social Media Legal Department of @BJP4Maharashtra have sent a legal notice against @INCIndia for false and Misleading edited video of @nitin_gadkari ji.
The narrative of achieving political advantage through misinformation and deception has to purged from its roots and… pic.twitter.com/aPd66Tmkga
— ADV. ASHUTOSH J. DUBEY ?? (@AdvAshutoshBJP) March 1, 2024
The BJP has also asked the Congress to share the full video of the interview.
On 15th July 2023, a dedicated Irish catholic man identified as James Donnelly, 45, was brutally murdered by a 22-year-old Islamic convert identified as Leo Pryce for being a ‘kafir’. The accused back then was reported to have carried a Quran and yelled ‘Allah-hu-Akhbar’ while murdering the victim in West London. He shot the video and also boasted about the murder to the workers of the Darussalam Masjid Mosque which he had visited immediately after murdering the victim.
The Old Bailey Court in London on 29th February 2024 pronounced punishment to the accused in the case who admitted to manslaughter. During the hearing on Thursday (29th February), the court affirmed that the accused had boasted about the murder to the mosque workers and had shown them the recorded video of the murder.
“An Islamic convert alarmed workers at a local mosque by boasting about a video he had shot of a dedicated Catholic’s body after stabbing him to death. The body of James Donnelly, 45, was discovered by his elderly aunt with slash marks on his neck and a cross on his chest in July 2023,” the court noted.
As per the reports, the accused, Leo Pryce, 22, admitted to manslaughter, charges of assaulting emergency personnel, and possessing a weapon or point. He told mosque staff that Donnelly, a brilliant musician, was a ‘Kafir’ (infidel) and a ‘Dajjal’ (anti-christ). The killer also yelled “Allahu Akbar” as police used weapons to arrest him.
However, Pryce contested the murder, claiming diminished culpability owing to his mental state, and his pleas were accepted. Donnelly, from County Tipperary, fought in the Irish Army and was a member of Ireland’s UN Peacekeeping Force. He found peace in his faith and led group visits to the Lourdes shrine. Last summer, police were called to his home on Station Road in Hayes, West London.
Here’s how James was murdered last year
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC stated in court that James Donnelly was originally from County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland. He had been living with his 87-year-old aunt, Winnie Corrigan, in Hayes for some years. On July 15, 2023, the accused murdered the victim at his Station Road address.
Winnie Corrigan discovered her nephew’s murdered body on the floor of his bedroom at around 9 am the next day. James was dressed and lying face up on his bedroom floor with a deadly knife wound across his neck. He was also stabbed in the eye.
A crucifix had been placed on his chest, and a knife was held in his left hand. Corrigan devastated, ran out into the street to inform a neighbor that her nephew had been slain, and then the police were called.
She told the court that Pryce, who had recently converted to Islam, was spotted in the victim’s garden at 12.45 am on the day of the murder, covered in a long white robe, and that his car was seen leaving the property at 7.40 am via Ring doorbell road.
He had been observed visiting the property in the weeks before the murder, and “it would appear that the defendant and James were relatively recent acquaintances.” Following evening prayers at the Darussalam Masjid Mosque on the day of the death, Pryce informed workers of the incident and showed them a video on his phone.
“The video depicted James Donnelly pinned to the floor with wounds to his neck, his eye, and his head,” Carberry said. “He was clearly deceased,” she added.
Copy of Quran was recovered from the accused
When the police were contacted at 2.45 am the next morning, some of the workers at the Mosque had videotaped the accused discussing the killing and had given those clips along to the cops.
In those clips, the defendant speaks about cutting the man’s throat and staring at his soul. He alludes to “Kafir,” which means infidel, and claims that the man has “one eye,” possibly referring to the stab wound to one of his eyes, and that he has “Kafir written on his forehead.”
He said he murdered the “Dajjal,” which means anti-Christ. He also branded James a “Shaitan,” which means evil spirit, and claimed that God was assisting and guiding him. The prosecutor stated that when police detained Pryce in his car at 3.30 am on July 16 last year, they discovered a ‘cleaver-type knife’ and a copy of the Quran next to him on the passenger seat.
The accused repeatedly uttered ‘Allah-hu-Akhbar’
When police discovered him, he was sleeping in the driver’s seat of his car parked on Hayes Road near the mosque. Carberry went on to say, “He was removed from the car but resisted arrest, prompting the use of Tasers.” He was heard repeatedly uttering “Allahu Akbar” and “God is great”.
The prosecutor stated that after being taken to the Acton Custody Suite, he appeared ‘agitated’ and rocked back and forth while repeating Quranic passages. After being treated for minor injuries, he hit two officers in the head as they returned him to his cell.
She told the court that one of the cops “punched back in self-defense,” but described the defendant as easily dominating him with a degree of aggression he had never seen before.
Pryce claimed that he came across Donnelly at Asda when he was performing and tried to convince him to convert to Islam. He directed him to pray and drove him home in his car. However, he denied visiting the victim’s home and stated that ‘he would not have touched a crucifix since it’s a symbol of idolatry.
Carberry stated that Pryce was schizophrenic and suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. “He continues to experience psychotic symptoms despite receiving treatment,” she stated “Experts unanimously conclude that but for his paranoid schizophrenia, he would not have carried out the brutal attack on James Donnelly.”
In a victim impact statement delivered in court, the victim’s sister, Fiona Ryan, stated, “We have had a son and brother taken from us before his time. The cruelty with which he was killed will leave a lasting impression on our thoughts and hearts.” She concluded by saying, “Our lives will never be the same again since James was taken from us.” All we seek is for the justice that JJ deserves.
Judgement by the Court
“The unopposed conclusion of the experts suggests there is an inextricable link between the defendant’s illness and the offenses. There is in my view a significant reduction in the need for punishment. If Pryce had not been ill he would not have committed these offences. This illness arose suddenly and without warning,” Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC was quoted as saying.
“I am satisfied you are suffering from a mental disorder, namely paranoid schizophrenia, and this disorder is of such a nature that makes it appropriate for you to be detained in hospital for medical treatment,” she added sentencing Pryce.
She also stated that due to the risk of significant harm he posed to the public, she was adding a further condition to the hospital order, which would require him to be closely watched if and when he appeared fit to be removed from the hospital. He has been put under an indefinite hospital order with restrictions under sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983. Doctors now will determine when, if ever, he should be released.
The Gujarat High Court recently pronounced that building a temple was an additional method of seizing public land, in response to a plea to save a temple that was in proximity to a road’s development. On 29th February, the Chief Justice of the high court stated that “this is how people emotionally blackmail everyone” in response to the passionate pleading of the residents to spare a temple from demolition in order to make space for a public road under a town planning project in Chandlodia in Ahmedabad.
Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal further said, “Building a temple is another way of grabbing public land in India.” The case centres on a challenge filed by ninety-three Chandlodiya households against the proposed Town Planning (TP) project which aims for the construction of a public road. They appealed before the division bench after one judge bench rejected their opposition to the plan.
The appellants’ submission was to preserve a temple along the proposed road as they highlighted their emotional attachment to the holy place because the entire community had contributed to its construction. Notably, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation had already promised them that no homes would be destroyed. The court noted that the land on which the temple is situated is not owned by the appellants, it was built on public land.
The chief justice remarked, “I must stay that this is how you emotionally blackmail everyone. You encroach upon public property. And this is happening everywhere.” She noted that the petitioners are not in possession of the property where the temple is located and added, “By saying that the temple will be removed, you are trying to cash in on emotions (claiming that people will be affected).”
The judge then went into further detail about how to defend unauthorized buildings by attempting to turn homes into temples. “You put up some signs outside the house and make it a temple. This is another way of land grabbing in India.” The panel of Chief Justice and Justice Aniruddha Mayee upheld the temporary protection against demolition in its interim ruling. The date of the next hearing is scheduled for 14th March.
The court further suggested that the deity has high significance for the appellants, the deity can be shifted to some other place, including their houses. “Deity would be shifted somewhere. Deity can be kept in a temple with all dignity, all decorum which is needed for the deity. Then you give one room in your house for the temple if you have so much of … you must spare one room. Temple does not belong to you,” the court said.
The appeal was filed by the residents of Raykanagar society in Chandlodia, challenging the decision to demolish a part of a temple in the society to construct a public road.
On Wednesday (28th February), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) published an intelligence assessment, according to which a scientist dismissed from Canada‘s leading infectious disease laboratory purposefully shared scientific data with China, possibly endangering public health. The termination of Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, has remained veiled in secrecy since the couple was escorted from Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory in 2019 and officially dismissed two years later. According to the documents, CSIS conducted multiple security screenings of the couple.
The experts and their students worked at the Level 4 virology facility at the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg, capable of dealing with the most dangerous and lethal human and animal infections. The dismissal of this couple triggered concerns about Chinese espionage and led to heated demands in Parliament for more information.
According to the records, the service had a more optimistic initial evaluation of Qiu’s motive, stating in the spring of 2020 that she may be “susceptible… based on the belief in the power of science to help humanity.” But, as the probe progressed, CSIS’s fears grew. A few months later, CSIS reported that Qiu was utilising the level 4 facility in Canada “as a base to assist China to improve its capability to fight highly pathogenic pathogens” and had “achieved brilliant results.”
Qiu gave Beijing “the Ebola genetic sequence, which opened a door of convenience for China,” according to CSIS. CSIS accused Qiu of being involved in many “talent programmes” run and sponsored by various Chinese businesses. These programmes “boost China’s national technological capabilities and may pose a serious threat to research institutions, including government research facilities, by incentivizing economic espionage and theft of intellectual property,” according to the assessment by the CSIS.
CSIS wrote, “The service assesses that Ms. Qiu developed deep, cooperative relationships with a variety of People’s Republic of China (PRC) institutions and has intentionally transferred scientific knowledge and materials to China to benefit the PRC Government, and herself, without regard for the implications to her employer or Canada’s interests.”
It added, “Because of her extensive knowledge of the harmful effects of dangerous pathogens on human health, Ms Qiu should have been aware of the possibility that her efforts to engage clandestinely with the PRC in these research areas could harm Canadian interests or international security.” Qiu appeared for interviews with CSIS. When asked about her ties to China, the intelligence service claimed she “repeatedly lied” during those conversations.
According to the CSIS paper, Qiu was “reckless” regarding the lack of proper scientific processes for transferring pathogens “and in working with institutions whose goals have potentially lethal military applications that are manifestly not in the interests of Canada or its citizens.” The report also stated that she admitted two employees from a PRC university “whose work is not aligned with Canadian interests” to the National Microbiology Lab.
The report said, “Because of adverse features of character — dishonesty, reckless judgement and lack of respect for accepted rules and norms — Ms Qiu has acted, may act and may be induced to act in a way that constitutes a threat to the security of Canada.”
Health Minister of Canada Mark Holland stated that China’s impact on Canada’s scientific community “was not known to the extent it is today.” He said, “These were eminent scientists whose research and work were well known. They were leaders in their field, some of the brightest known scientists.”
He added, “I think there was a nascent understanding of the extent to which foreign actors in the most direct sense — China we’re talking in this instance, in other instances Russia and other foreign entities, foreign governments — were attempting to influence Canada.”
Meanwhile, Carleton MP Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre who is also running to be the Prime Minister of Canada accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of covering up this information. In an X post, he wrote, “Shocking documents reveal Trudeau covered up massive PRC infiltration of his government’s top virology lab.” Along with this, he also shared the video of the document release.
LIVE: Shocking documents reveal Trudeau covered up massive PRC infiltration of his government’s top virology lab https://t.co/CfZLHci67U
Pierre Poilievre called the case “a massive national security failure by Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government.” He said, “This is a massive national security failure by Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government, which he fought tooth and nail to cover up. He cannot be trusted to keep our people and our country safe.”
On Friday (1st March), the Indian Overseas Congress stirred the hornet’s nest after it tried to pass off old images of Congress scion Rahul Gandhi as recent pictures from his ‘address’ at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
In a tweet (archive), the official handle of the ‘Indian Overseas Congress’, wrote, “Indian National Congress MP Rahul Gandhi ji at Cambridge University in conversation with Shruti Kapila.”
“It is indeed a moment of pride that an Indian leader has been invited to address and interact with the students in Cambridge University. We have the father of the Telecom revolution in India Sam Pitroda ji with Rahul Ji,” it further claimed.
Screengrab of the tweet by Indian Overseas Congress
The ‘Indian Overseas Congress’ shrewdly attempted to give the impression that Rahul Gandhi was recently invited by the University of Cambridge.
In order to substantiate its dubious claims, the X (formerly Twitter) handle posted images from May 2022 featuring Rahul Gandhi, Congress-friendly ‘journalist’ Shruti Kapila and Sam Pitroda.
The Indian Overseas Congress attached an image that read ‘India at 75’, clearly highlighting that the year in which the picture was clicked happened to be 2022.
OpIndia also found the complete recording of the event, which was held at the Corpus Christi College of the University of Cambridge on 22nd May 2022, on the official YouTube channel of the Indian National Congress.
In the video, Rahul Gandhi was seen speaking to Shruti Kapila, who had previously suggested the Congress party to hold scripted interviews for maximum impact.
It must be mentioned that the Congress scion has put a halt to his ambitious ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ to travel to the United Kingdom and give lectures at the University of Cambridge, although no proof exists of any official invite from the esteemed varsity.
With growing suspense around Rahul Gandhi’s yet another mysterious foreign visit, the Indian Overseas Congress took it upon itself to share old images and mislead the public into believing that the Congress MP got a grand welcome at the University of Cambridge.
When its bluff was called out on social media, it was quick to delete the tweet without citing any apology or clarification.
Police have finally exposed the conspiracy behind the shocking death of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shailendra Jaiswal in the Lormi police station area of Chhattisgarh’s Mungeli district. On 29th February, a 32-year-old woman Sonia Lakra was taken into custody by the police in this case. She reportedly used to blackmail the deceased as well as pressurise him to convert.
The 44-year-old Shailendra Jaiswal was found hanging from an electric pole on 15th July last year. He was the representative of former Lok Sabha MP from Bilaspur Arun Sao and an alderman of the Nagar Panchayat (town council). He also ran a kiosk close to Ramhepur along with being active in politics. On 14th July, Shailendra Jaiswal’s family members started searching for him when he did not return home. His phone was turned off when someone tried to call him. Afterwards, his body was discovered hanging from a pole in the middle of a field the following day on 15th July around half a kilometre from his kiosk centre.
The police then began looking into the matter. Six separate suicide notes were uncovered by them in Shailendra Jaiswal’s kiosk centre. He had mentioned the name of Sonia Lakra in them. She was allegedly forcing him to convert along with intimidating him with blackmail. Shailendra Jaiswal also mentioned that he provided her with 20,000 rupees in the suicide letter. The police forwarded the same to a handwriting expert to confirm its authenticity. The note was examined for seven months and the researchers concluded that it was accurate.
The police then filed a case against the accused female for aiding and abetting his suicide based on the suicide note. She was arrested by authorities from her residence close to the former Lormi bus terminal after they booked her under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). She works for a private company and lives in Vangram Jamunahi.
According to Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Madhuri Dhirhi of Lormi, Sonia Lakra has been apprehended following a review of the suicide note. Extortion and conversion cases are addressed under section 306. She was placed in judicial custody after the arrest.
The police in West Bengal ‘found’ the absconding TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and arrested him on 29th February, after weeks of protests by the local women and unsuccessful attempts by the ED team. The West Bengal Police arrested Sheikh Shahjahan from the Minakhan area in North 24 Parganas. His arrest came after weeks of protests by the local women who have been voicing their outrage against the institutionalised sexual exploitation, rape, property encroachment, and corruption they have suffered at the hands of the influential TMC leader and his goons.
Now, satellite images of land grabbing allegedly done by his men have emerged in the media where it is seen how large land mass has been converted from agriculture fields to fishponds and other establishments over the years, reportedly by Sheikh Shahjahan and his goons.
According to a report by India Today, satellite data reveals that starting from 2013, vast expanses of agricultural land in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, were transformed into ponds. The report also claims that according to the villagers, the arrested local TMC strongman, Sheikh Shahjahan, and his associates forcibly occupied and repurposed the land for their use.
Land parcels where villagers used to grow rice, the staple food grain, in this delta region of North 24 Parganas district are seen in these images. Boyermari, Hatgachi, Nalkara, Sarberia, and Rajbari areas of Sandeshkhali Block 1 are majorly affected. Similarly, Trimoni Bazaar, Jhupkhali, Majherpara, and Bermujur areas in Sandeshkhali Block 2 have also seen large-scale land grabbing.
Hundreds of acres of land were converted to ponds for fishfarming. The farmers and original landowners were forced to give away their belongings for five to six thousand rupees per year as leases. When the locals opposed this, the land was forcibly acquired by these goons and turned into ponds of saline waters.
Rupadasi Sardar, a tribal woman in his 60s said, “Uttam Sardar (a close aide of Sheikh Shahjahan) took my 3.3 bigha of land on lease but never paid the offered sum. We could not refuse because others had also agreed to give in their lands.”
People in Sandeshkhali who once cultivated their food grains, rice and other staple food in these lands are now forced to purchase grains from shops at exorbitant prices in the market. Additionally, they do not own their land anymore.
While the exact total area of converted land remains uncertain, conservative estimates suggest it exceeds 1000 acres. This estimation is based on observations of a relatively small area from space, which spans approximately 100 acres.
Further support for this estimate comes from a Google Earth flythrough tour. Additionally, Google Street View data uploaded in 2023 depicts numerous bheris (fish ponds) stretching across the landscape in many areas, although not all of these mapped areas are necessarily linked to Sheikh’s operations.
According to villagers, Sheikh’s fish farming activities are overseen by his brother Jiauddin, along with aides Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar. They allege that the appropriation of land under the guise of lease agreements began in 2013-14 and intensified significantly after Sheikh was elected deputy chief of the gram panchayat in 2018. Officials state that 147 cases of land grabbing have been resolved following protests. Reports indicate that only 200 bighas of land have been returned as a result.
Allegation of land grabbing arise in Minakha block, adjacent to Sandeshkhali.
Local people alleges TMC leaders have grabbed around 300 bigha land forcefully and converted it into Brackwish water.
No action taken against the alleged TMC leaders despite several complaints filed… pic.twitter.com/Zuv6T1w6s2
Allegedly, Sheikh took possession of a playground owned by Shri Aurobindo Mission and rebranded it as the “Sheikh Shahjahan Fan Club” ground, with the new name prominently displayed on its main gate and walls. Local authorities have recently declared the ground liberated amid protests, arson, and violence that erupted in the area following allegations of rape against Sheikh’s associates. According to Google Earth imagery, the ground spans approximately 2.86 acres of land in Singhpara. Last year, the TMC leader organised the ‘Sheikh Shahjahan Fan Club Football Tournament’ on this ground.
Both Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar have been arrested now after protests by the Sandeshkhali women.
Now, that the people in the area are voicing their resentment against his atrocities, the land-grabbing crimes by this TMC leader are openly talked about. As the protests turned violent, people even ransacked properties like poultry farms and brick kilns set up by his accomplices on such grabbed lands. His key aides are also attacked and cases are registered against them. Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested on 29th February.
