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Arson, stone pelting, fatal attack in Jharkhand: Hindu processions targeted at many places for celebrating Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha

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Arson, stone pelting, fatal attack in Jharkhand: Hindu processions targeted at many places for celebrating Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha

While the Pran Pratishtha (consecration ceremony) of Lord Ram took place in Ayodhya on the 22nd of January and religious rallies were held throughout the world to commemorate the landmark event, a different level of Hindu hostility was observed in Jharkhand where processions were assaulted in several places by Muslim extremists who hurled stones at the Lord’s devotees.

Several incidents of assault in Giridih

Three incidents of conflict were reported in Giridih due to which many people sustained injuries. The first occurrence transpired in the city near the Line Masjid and the second one happened in Purnanagar which is under the jurisdiction of the Mufassil police station. Stone pelting took place between two communities in which several people suffered minor injuries. The wounded were admitted to Sadar Hospital Giridih for medical treatment. Giridih Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Kumar Sharma confirmed both instances and informed that heavy security force has been deployed at both places. Police responded swiftly and arrested a Muslim person named Mohammad Jabir.

Several cases of altercations were reported in Giridih. One such event involved the fatal attack on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker Rohit Mahato of Birni near Azad Nagar due to which he was gravely injured. Meanwhile, there was intense stone-pelting in the vicinity of Chunjka in the Mufassil police station area. It was reported that a procession was leaving from Purnanagar Ram temple and headed for the Chunjka Bajrang Bali temple. Multiple individuals were hurt when people from other community began throwing stones from the roofs of their homes when the devotees reached close to their destination. Numerous police personnel who arrived at the scene also sustained injuries.

Tension in Lohardaga’s Kairo

There have been accounts of violent encounters in the Lohardaga region of Jharkhand. The people were celebrating the inauguration of Ram Mandir on the night of 22nd January in Hanhat village of the Kairo police station area. People from both sides faced each other as the religious songs were being played in the temple and the throng ringed the building with sticks. SP Haris Bin Zaman confirmed the incident and stated that police had been called in because of the critical situation. An attempt was made to normalise things by holding meetings with people from both parties.

Riots at two places including Tundi in Dhanbad

After tensions erupted on 21st January at the Tundi police station area of Dhanbad, individuals from the opposing side emerged from their homes during an evening religious parade in Chhatabad the next day after which arguments and fights ensued between the two sides. However, the matter settled down after cops including Deputy Superintendent of Police Amar Kumar Pandey intervened. Simultaneously, a clash between two communities over the hoisting of a religious flag in Kadiya on 21st January resulted in many casualties. Each side submitted a written complaint to the authorities in connection to the incident.

Bengaluru: 12-yr-old girl allegedly jumps to death from 29th-floor flat, no note or message found

OpIndia Staff
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Bengaluru: 12-yr-old girl allegedly jumps to death from 29th-floor flat, no note or message found

In the early hours of Tuesday (23rd January), a class 7 student allegedly jumped from the balcony of her 29th-floor flat leading to her demise. The incident took place at Begur Road, southeast Bengaluru which falls in the jurisdiction of Hulimavu police station. 

The tragedy came to light when a security guard heard a noise in the corridor around 5 am. When he reached the spot, he saw the 12-year-old girl lying dead. Afterwards, he alerted the President of the apartment association and others.

A cop said, “By then, occupants in the lower floors reached the spot and identified the girl.”  

As per reports, the girl was studying at a private school on Bannerghatta Road. The Police said that she was the only child of the couple living in the rented flat. The police officer said, “The father, a software engineer, quit his job six months ago and was into stocks trading. The mother is a homemaker.” 

As per reports, no suicide note was found at the scene nor were there any messages on the phone and other gadgets of the child. 

According to her mother, she saw her daughter at 4.40 am when she came out of her room. When she inquired from her daughter why she was up so early, she gave a vague reply and returned to her room.

Officials said that a case has been registered in this regard at the Hulimavu police station and the investigation is on. Police said, “it’s a suicide. We did not find any suicide note but we learnt that the child was depressed. The post-mortem has been done and we cannot reveal further details.”

Another tragic incident has been reported from Rajasthan’s Kota on Tuesday night (23rd January). As per reports, a student who has been identified as 18-year-old Mohammad Zaidi committed suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota. Zaidi was a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district. He was an engineering aspirant. Notably, last year in 2023, a total of 29 students reportedly committed suicide in Kota.

NCRB data reads 8% of suicide deaths comprised student victims

As per the Accidental Deaths and Suicides report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in the year 2021, around 8 percent of the total suicide cases from 1,64,033 deaths by suicide comprised of students. Of these, 14 percent were reported from Maharashtra (1,834 suicides out of 13,089), followed by 10 percent from Madhya Pradesh, 9.5 percent from Tamil Nadu and 6.5 percent from Karnataka.

According to an earlier India Today report, in the last 12 years, more than 150 students have died by suicide in Kota alone and the number has alarming shot up since then.  

Suicide prevention and mental health helpline numbers

If you need support or know someone who are in need, you may reach out to these helplines – Arogya Vani: 104, Sahay Helpline: 080-25497777. You can also reach out to regional organisations working for the prevention of suicide deaths in the country, a few of them have been listed below.

(Courtesy – India Today)
(Courtesy – India Today)

Former Australian PM Scott Morrison joins American consulting firm led by former US President Trump’s NSA

OpIndia Staff
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Former Australian PM Scott Morrison joins American consulting firm led by former US President Trump’s NSA

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to join a consulting firm headed by former US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. This comes after Morrison announced on Tuesday that he intends to leave politics and enter the private sector. Morrison is joining American Global Strategies LLC as non-executive Vice Chairman.

In a statement, Robert O’Brien, who served as Donald Trump’s hostage affairs envoy and then top national security advisor said, “Prime Minister Scott Morrison is widely regarded as one of the most consequential world leaders of the last decade, presiding over unprecedented changes to Australia’s foreign and defense policies. As American Global Strategies’ non-Executive Vice Chairman, Prime Minister Morrison will bring high-level relationships and unique geopolitical insights to our clients.”

Meanwhile, Morrison said that he is “looking forward to working once again with Ambassador O’Brien and the whole AGS team, especially here in the Indo-Pacific. Robert and I enjoyed a great working relationship when I was Prime Minister. Together we can draw on our combined networks and experience in the region to help clients navigate a highly dynamic geopolitical landscape that presents risks and opportunities.”

In addition to defence and security space, Morrison asserted that supply chains, technological change, resource security, energy transition, and new sorts of partnerships between the private and public sectors are all affected by the world becoming an increasingly more complicated place.

American Global Strategies comprises several former White House and government officials. Morrison’s hiring comes as the former US president Trump is widely expected to win the Republican nominee in the 2024 US election, as he aims at a comeback to the White House.

Notably, Morrison served as Australia’s Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, his Liberal-National alliance was defeated by the Labour Party, and Anthony Albanese became the Prime Minister.

During the course of his tenure, Morrison worked to foster the Quad alliance, which strengthened ties with India, Japan, and the United States. During his time as prime minister, he was seen as shifting Australia’s focus away from China, as evidenced by the Aukus nuclear submarine agreement with the US and the UK.

Reports say that Scott Morrison’s domestic popularity plummeted following a series of issues surrounding his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, including disclosures that he covertly swore himself into various ministries at the prime of the epidemic. When it came to light, members of his own party began calling for his resignation from parliament.

On Tuesday, Morrison wrote an emotional note on Instagram hinting at his post-politics career. “Just letting you know (especially everyone locally) that after more than 16 years as the Member for Cook, I have decided to leave parliament at the end of February to take on new challenges in the global corporate sector and spend more time with my family,” Morrison wrote.

Notably, Scott Morrison was elected to the House of Representatives in 2007 after winning preselection for the Cook seat. He was named Minister of Immigration and Border Protection in 2013, and then Minister of Social Services in 2014 and 2015. Morrison was treasurer for almost three years, from 2015 to 2018, before taking over as prime minister.

Mani Shankar Aiyar’s daughter ends her 3-day-long fast held in protest of Pran Pratishtha. Read all about her meltdown

OpIndia Staff
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Mani Shankar Aiyar’s daughter ends her 3-day-long fast held in protest of Pran Pratishtha. Read all about her meltdown

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. While Mani Shankar Aiyar was thumping his chest Kerala over the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha saying that the event will “prove costly” for PM Modi, his daughter went a step further.

On 19th January, two days before Pran Pratishtha, Suranya Aiyar posted a lengthy rant on Facebook along with a video reading out the same rant.

Suranya began a fast on 20th January in protest against Pran Pratishtha and ended it on 23rd January.

Her haranguing address began with the words, “With the forthcoming event in Ayodhya on January 22, the atmosphere here in Delhi, already famous for being polluted in a material sense, has thickened to a spiritually poisonous and unbreathable concentrate of Hindu chauvinism, malice and bullying. I am deeply anguished by all this as an Indian and as a Hindu.”

She said that she is protesting “first and foremost as an expression of my love and sorrow to my Muslim fellow citizens of India. I cannot let this moment pass without saying as loud as I can to my Muslim brothers and sisters that I love you and that I condemn and repudiate what is being done in the name of Hinduism and nationalism in Ayodhya.”

She then went on to shower her love on “her Mughal heritage” to gaslight Hindus to sell the “Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb” theory. She uses her mixed “Tamil Brahmin and Punjabi Sikh” background to gain credibility for her hateful argument.

Suranya then makes the point that Akbar was a kind Mughal emperor like Ashoka. She attempts to push the same “Hindus Vs Hindutvavadis” using her vile narratives.

Then she uses the Shankaracharya controversy to malign Pran Pratishtha. And then follows it with a long tirade about how she is as much a Hindu.

After this, Suranya goes all out to deny the Mughal invasion. “Again and again we are reminded by the Hindutvavadis that the Mughals invaded us,” she says. She follows this with another lecture on what the Mughals did and didn’t do to drive home her point.

She says atrocious things like “the Mughals were also not enemies of the Rajputs for all the 500 years that they ruled here”.

She calls the Ram Janmabhoomi movement a “lie”. She begins to sound frustrated when talking about Babri Masjid demolition trying to separate “saffronites” from Hindu devotion and Gods.

“It was never about devotion to Lord Ram. It was all only and only about Hindu chauvinism and insulting Muslims,” she says.

She audaciously misconstrues the Shlokas from The Bhagavad Gita to paint the picture that Hindus violate their revered scriptures. She uses the word “orthodox” for such Hindus who chant mantras and shlokas, she uses the word “taboos” for Hindu religious fasting.

Suranya’s sister Yamini Aiyar also joined in on the meltdown of Leftists and Islamists who were expressing their outburst against Pran Pratishtha by sharing an image of the Indian Constitution.

Hamas terrorists turned girls into ‘sex dolls’, raped several times: Released captive women recall the horror, call it ‘hell’ of the earth

OpIndia Staff
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Hamas terrorists turned girls into ‘sex dolls’, raped several times: Released captive women recall the horror, call it ‘hell’ of the earth

In the midst of the continuous conflict between Israel and Palestine, the Israeli Parliament, or Knesset, held its first session on Tuesday (January 23rd), to address sexual and gender-based violence. According to YnetNews, an Israeli publication, the conversation included the horrible details disclosed by the women who witnessed what they described as the “hell” of the earth. They expressed concern over individuals being held captive by Hamas terrorists following the October 7th event.

Chen Goldstein-Almog, one of the women who was fortunately liberated by Hamas terrorists, described the appalling conditions of the women who have become a “sex doll” for the terrorist group.

She claimed that several ladies in captivity had been raped more than once. In fact, she claimed that a lot of ladies had not had a monthly cycle in a long time, which could indicate that they were pregnant.

“There are women in captivity who haven’t had their menstrual cycle for a long time, and maybe that’s what we should pray for – that their bodies will protect them, and they won’t be subjected to pregnancy. We need to do everything to bring them back. There are difficult physical conditions of food and hygiene, and also harsh conditions of danger that we don’t know if their captors will receive orders to harm them. I am very worried about them,” Almog was quoted as saying.

“The terrorists bring inappropriate clothes for the girls, doll-like clothes. They turned the girls into their dolls, that they can do whatever they want with. And it’s unbelievable that they’re still there. I can’t breathe; I can’t cope with this, and it’s too difficult. We are closing in on four months, and they are still there,” she added. 

Another woman, Aviva Siegel, 62, said, “I was there 51 days and there wasn’t a moment that we didn’t go through abuse of any kind. They had turned both women and men hostages into dolls on a string that they can do with them what they please, whenever they please. I saw it with my own eyes. I didn’t just see, I felt the women as if they were my daughters.”

Notably, earlier Monday (22nd January), a group of relatives of Israelis held prisoner by Hamas terrorists interrupted a parliamentary committee meeting in Jerusalem, asking that lawmakers do more to liberate their loved ones. One woman handed up photos of three family members who were among the 253 persons captured in the cross-border Hamas raid on October 7th, which provoked the deadliest violence in decades. Following a November truce, over 130 people are still being imprisoned in Gaza.

Big jolt to INDI bloc: TMC chief Mamata Banerjee snaps ties with Congress, says will fight 2024 LS elections alone

OpIndia Staff
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Big jolt to INDI bloc: TMC chief Mamata Banerjee snaps ties with Congress, says will fight 2024 LS elections alone

In yet another indicator that the INDI alliance is struggling to forge a cohesive unit, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced that her party will go solo into the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“Will fight LS polls alone,” said Mamata Banerjee, snapping ties with Congress and putting paid to weeks of speculations on the fate of INDI alliance in West Bengal.

“I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we will alone will defeat BJP.” the TMC supremo said, as quoted by ANI.

“I gave many proposals but they rejected them from the beginning. From then, we have decided to fight the elections in Bengal alone,” Ms Banerjee said.

The Bengal Chief Minister also claimed she had not been informed of Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra passing through Bengal, contrary to claims by the Congress that they had invited INDIA bloc parties to join the Yatra.

“They did not even bother to inform me that they will be coming to West Bengal as a matter of courtesy even though I am a part of the INDIA bloc. So there is no  relation with me as far as Bengal is concerned” Mamata Banerjee said.

“We will decide on what to do at the all-India level. We are a secular party. We will do whatever we can to defeat the BJP. The alliance does not comprise any one party. We have said that they should fight in some states and the regional parties should be left to fight alone in the other states. They should not interefere,” she said.

Notably, the announcement also illustrate the expectation mismatch and internal distrust among the INDI alliance partners. A day ago, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tried to reassure his suppprters, claiming everything is hunky-dory and the two parties will fight the elections collectively.

The breakdown in Trinamool and the Congress came after state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdury continued his attack on the Bengal Chief Minister.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Adhir Chowdhury claimed that in the 2011 elections, Mamata Banerjee came to power with the mercy of Congress.

“This time, the elections will not be fought at the mercy of Mamata Banerjee. The Congress defeated the BJP and TMC in the two seats that Mamata Banerjee is leaving. The Congress party knows how to contest the elections. Mamta Banerjee is an opportunist; she came to power in 2011, with the mercy of Congress,” the Congress MP said.

Rahul Gandhi who is in Assam as part of his Nyay Yatra tried to quell the damage been done by the state unit chief’s repeated attacks by insisting that he had a good relationship with the TMC supremo.

“The negotiations on seat-sharing is underway, I don’t want to comment here. But Mamata Banerjee is very close to me and our party. Sometimes our leaders say something, their leaders say something, and it goes on. It’s a natural thing. Such comments won’t matter and these are not things that are going to disrupt things,” Rahul Gandhi had said on Tuesday.

The Trinamool Congress reportedly was willing to offer the Congress a maximum of three Lok Sabha seats of the 42 seats in Bengal. In the 2019 elections the Congress had won two Lok Sabha seats while the TMC had won 22 seats.

Earlier this week, Mamata Banerjee slammed the CPI-M for engaging in activities against the INDI alliance, fearing that it could inadvertently empower the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“I suggested the name INDIA, but when I attend its meetings I see the Left controlling them and I don’t get the respect I deserve there,” Banerjee said at a public meeting at the Park Circus Maidan on Monday.

Nevertheless, by snapping ties with Congress and going alone, by Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday it appears that the doors are closed for the Congress in Bengal. For the INDIA bloc stitching together alliances has proven as stumbling block and it appears that now the alliance may not be able to put together a united front against the BJP.

(written with inputs from ANI syndicate feed)

“I decline to appear in court because it is a useless notice”: Odisha man writes to Supreme Court in response to contempt of court case, non-bailable warrant issued

OpIndia Staff
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“I decline to appear in court because it is a useless notice”: Odisha man writes to Supreme Court in response to contempt of court case, non-bailable warrant issued

On Tuesday (23rd January), the Supreme Court ordered a non-bailable warrant against a defendant identified as Upendra Nath Dalai who refused to deposit previously ordered fees and then called the notice of contempt proceedings against him “useless” and “disrespectful.”

A bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal opposed the language used by litigant Upendra Nath Dalai, and directed the Balasore district Superintendent of Police to present him before the court on 13th February.

The ruling was issued after the bench read the litigant’s response to the notice of contempt proceedings against him. Justice Ravikumar remarked that the contemnor responded by stating, “Sir, I decline to appear in Court because it is a useless notice from you to me. It is a disrespectful act from you to me.”

“Contempt again in reply to notice also … We do not want to read it again”, the bench added. It then proceeded to order, “Despite notice of bailable warrant, the alleged contemnor has made a communication. Issue Non-Bailable Warrant to be executed through District Superintendent of Police, Balasore, Odisha, to ensure contemnor is present in court on 13th February.”

The bench was hearing a suo motu contempt of court action against Upendra Nath Dalai, a public interest litigation (PIL) petitioner who failed to submit fees of Rs 1 lakh to the court.

These fees were levied on him for filing a PIL to declare Satsang founder Sree Sree Thakur Anukulchandra a ‘paramatma‘. The court had dismissed the petition and imposed a fee of ₹1 lakh for the frivolous petition. The Supreme Court clarified in December 2022 that India is a secular country, and such ‘misconceived’ pleas cannot be lodged through PILs. The court had said that the petitioner cannot be permitted to appeal that the citizens of India may accept Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra as a paramatma (supreme spirit).

The court had said that the petitioner may consider Thakur Anukulchandra a paramatma, but it can’t be enforced on others. In the December 2022 order, Dalai was directed to pay ₹1 lakh cost within 4 weeks, saying that the petition was a “publicity interest litigation”.

However, instead of paying the cost, Upendra Nath Dalai filed a miscellaneous application (MA) to waive the expenses, which was later dismissed by the court. After this, a contempt of court case was registered against him for ‘wilful disobedience’ of court order as he still failed to pay the amount. The Court issued a bailable warrant against Dalai in September 2023, but he has not appeared in court since then.

When the matter came for hearing on 23 January, the court noted that Dalai did not appear before the court despite the bailable warrant in his name. Moreover, he committed further contempt of court byb saying “I decline to appear in Court.”

The Court expressed extreme displeasure with the conduct of Dalai and considered it disrespectful to the court’s earlier order. Therefore, the Supreme Court issued a non-bailable warrant against his name this time, and directed the Balasore SP to produce him before the court on the next date of hearing scheduled on 13th February 2024.

South Africa: Man confesses to starting building fire that killed 76, wanted to hide a body after committing murder

OpIndia Staff
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South Africa: Man confesses to starting building fire that killed 76, wanted to hide a body after committing murder

On 23rd January (local time), a man was arrested by the police for starting a fire in a building, leading to the death of 76 people, including 12 children. The culprit confessed to the arson and said he was trying to get rid of the body of someone he had strangulated in the basement on the orders of a drug dealer. The fire incident occurred in an apartment building in downtown Johannesburg in August 2023. It was termed as one of the worst disasters in South Africa.

During the inquiry into the causes of the fire, the accused confessed to starting the fire. The agencies did not reveal the identity of the 29-year-old accused. During the inquiry into the fire, he told the investigation agencies that he killed a man in the basement of the building by beating him and strangulating him. Later, he poured gasoline on the dead body and set it alight with a match. The fire started by the accused to dispose of the dead body engulfed the whole apartment building, killing 76 persons.

He said in his testimony that he was a drug user and was told to kill the man by a drug dealer who lived in the same building. Following his confession, he was arrested by the police. The accused will face 76 counts of murder and 120 counts of attempted murder, along with a charge of arson. Interestingly, his testimony was a surprise as he was not giving a statement in a criminal proceeding. The inquiry was to investigate the fire’s causes and what safety failures might have resulted in the disaster. As the accused was a building resident, he was being questioned by the police in a routine inquiry.

The panel in charge of the investigation ordered his identity to be concealed following his testimony. As it was not a criminal proceeding, his testimony would not be used against him—the accused has been referred to as “Mr X” by the South African media. The investigation agency will present him in court soon.

The fire that killed 76 in August 2023 brought attention to the long-running problem of highjacked buildings. These structures were abandoned due to bad living conditions but were later taken over by squatters. Hundreds of such buildings in the old center may lead to similar disasters in the future.

The city administration owned the building. However, illegal landlords took over it and rented out the apartments to poor people who were unable to find places to live. Illegal immigrants also reside in such buildings.

In his testimony, the accused confirmed that the building housed criminals and drug dealers. When emergency services reached the building for rescue, it was found that most fire escapes were locked or chained, making it difficult for the authorities to rescue people living inside. Several people reportedly jumped out of the windows to save themselves, leading to more deaths and injuries. Children and babies were thrown out, hoping people standing below the building would catch them.

‘We are not living in a Western country where live-in relationship is popular and common, Indians believe in culture and traditions’: Allahabad HC

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‘We are not living in a Western country where live-in relationship is popular and common, Indians believe in culture and traditions’: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court recently noted that, in contrast to Western nations, live-in relationships are not common in India and that people should respect the traditions and culture of the country. On January 11, Justice Shamim Ahmed made the observation while dismissing a habeas corpus petition submitted by a 32-year-old petitioner Asish Kumar, who claimed that his partner, a 29-year-old woman, was being confined forcefully by her family members.

However, the Court was unconvinced by the petitioner’s account of events. Concerning certain points made by the petitioner’s lawyer, the judge stated that live-in relationships are not common in India.

“This Court is of the view that we are not living in a Western country where this type of relationship is very popular and common among the citizens. We live in a country where people believe in culture and traditions, which is the crown of our country and we are proud of it, therefore, we have to respect the traditions and culture of our country,” the Court said.

The Court further held that the habeas corpus petition was solely intended to defame the girl and her family in society. Justice Ahmed noted that the petition was solely filed to extract a compromise from the woman’s family by placing them under pressure and fear of humiliation.

“This Court does not find any justification to entertain this type of petition and to frustrate this type of petition filed by any such person in future only to defame the image of a girl or her family members, who are living in a society and if the Court entertains this type of petition, the image and reputation of family as well as of the girl will certainly be demolished and it will be very difficult for a family who has been roped in these type of cases to solemnize the wedding of their girl in future to any other family of their choice,” Justice Ahmed observed.

Therefore, the Court dismissed the habeas corpus petition and imposed costs of ₹25,000 on petitioner Ashish Kumar.

In his appeal, Ashish Kumar claimed that he had been in a relationship with a woman since 2011. It was also alleged that, despite the couple’s desire to marry, the woman’s family opposed the union, and she was forced to stay at home and forbidden from meeting Kumar. Kumar additionally submitted photographs and a letter allegedly written by the woman to back up his accusations.

The State opposed these submissions, claiming that the entire case was bogus, contrived, and intended to harm the woman and her family’s reputations in society. The Court saw merit in the State’s position. The judge concluded that the pictures submitted by the petitioner appeared to be modified and altered and that the letter allegedly written by the woman appeared to be forged.

Furthermore, the Court questioned why the couple did not marry after supposedly being in a relationship for thirteen years. The Court also noted that Ashish Kumar’s writ petition made no mention of any live-in relationship, leading the Court to assume that the petitioner’s arguments before the Court were meticulously laid out to secure a favourable court ruling.

In dismissing the plea, the Court stated that allowing such petitions may make it more difficult for the families involved to arrange marriages for their daughters in future. 

Hijab is must for Muslim women, uncovered hair is devil’s thread: AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal says women IAS, IPS should wear hijab

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Hijab is must for Muslim women, uncovered hair is devil’s thread: AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal says women IAS, IPS should wear hijab

All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) president Maulana Badruddin Ajmal who is notorious for his contentious statements stirred another major row after his controversial recommendation that Muslim women in prestigious professions like IAS, IPS and the medical field should be obligated to put on the hijab during a recent rally in the Karimganj region of Assam on 23rd January.

He maintained that a hijab must be worn by women in these sectors to be acknowledged for their Muslim identities. “If Muslim women do not know how to wear hijab or cover their hair, how will they be recognized as Muslims,” he questioned and added that hijab is compulsory and not an option for Muslim women. He proclaimed, “Hijab is a must. Hair is the devil’s thread, and makeup is the devil’s work.”

He proclaimed, “I’ve seen young women in the other areas go to study with their heads covered in the hijab. They walk with their eyes lowered and head downcast. Nonetheless, girls must continue to wear the hijab in Assam. Our faith requires us to wear a headscarf and keep our hair covered.”

He placed the cornerstone for a mosque and cemetery in Karimganj. Ajmal has courted controversy in Barak before. He previously gained headlines for wearing a lungi, an unusual piece of clothing at the North Karimganj constituency’s foundation stone-laying ceremony.

On 27th October last year, the politician declared that he would repeal the proposed law in Assam that prohibits polygamy if his party were to attain power. He urged, “Those with the ability should consider marrying two wives. I am elderly and unable to take on two wives at this point in my life. They (Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government in Assam) will not stay in power forever. At some point, we will come into power and overturn the restrictions imposed on second marriage by the government,” while addressing the media.

A few days earlier on 20th October, he bemoaned that Muslims rank “number 1” in terms of committing crimes like robbery, rape, murder, eve teasing and jail time. The businessman-politician-cleric attributed the high crime rate among Muslims to their lack of education. “Crimes like robbery, dacoity, rape, loot we are No.1 in all. We are also No.1 in going to jail. Our children find no time to go to schools and colleges, but find enough time to gamble, to cheat others. For all such wrong things, ask who’s involved. It’s Muslims and that’s sad.”

He further lamented, “People are going to the moon and the sun, and we are doing a PhD on how to go to jail. Walk into a police station and you would know who’s in absolute majority, Abdur Rahman, Abdur Rahim, Abdul Majid, Badruddin, Sirajuddin and Fakruddin. Isn’t it a sad thing,” while speaking at an event at the Dalgoma Anchalik College, a private institution in Assam’s Goalpara district.

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