India’s deal with the US of almost USD 4 billion, paving the way for the acquisition of 31 state-of-the-art MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones, will not only propel India’s defence capabilities but also ensure a 16-fold increase in the number of aircraft, significantly enhancing New Delhi’s maritime security beyond the current lease agreement.
In response to queries from ANI, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller shed light on the recently approved foreign military sale of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft to India.
He said, “I cannot give a timeline. This was the initial step today. Notifying Congress of the exact timeline of the delivery is something that we will explore with the government of India over the coming months.”
Highlighting the significance of the deal, Miller emphasised, “Almost USD 4 billion sale of 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardian aircraft will provide India with enhanced maritime security and maritime domain awareness capability. It offers India outright ownership and a 16-fold increase in the number of aircraft as compared to their current lease.”
The Biden administration has today notified the US Congress of its intent to sell nearly 4 billion dollars worth of arms, comprising mainly MQ-9B drones armed with Hellfire missiles.
The defence security cooperation agency, which is an agency within the US Department of Defence, said in a press release on Thursday that the sale helps in strengthening the US-Indian Strategic Relationship.
It added that New Delhi continues to be an “important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region.”
“The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale to the Government of India of MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification, notifying Congress of this possible sale today,” the Defence Security Cooperation Agency said in a statementThe Government of India has requested to buy 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardian aircraft: one 161 Embedded Global Positioning and Inertial Navigation Systems (EGIs); 35 L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suites; 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles; 16 M36E9 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM); 310 GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bombs (LSDB); and 8 GBU-39B/B LSDB Guided Test Vehicles (GTVs) with live fuzes, the US Department of Defence also said.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
A pro-Israel lawmaker from a predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood in London declared on 31st January that he won’t contest in the upcoming general elections in the United Kingdom. In a letter to the head of the Finchley and Golders Green branch of the Conservative Party, Member of Parliament and Justice Minister Mike Freer mentioned multiple “serious threats” to his safety since joining the legislature in 2010, but he did not provide a particular explanation for his decision not to run for re-election.
He stated, “I am writing to inform you that after considerable thought, I have decided not to seek the nomination as the Conservative Party Candidate at the next General Election. As you can imagine this has not been an easy decision. Having first being elected to serve residents of West Finchley in 1990 as a local Councillor, going on to be Leader of Barnet Council and then the Member of Parliament for Finchley & Golders Green, I have been in public service for our area for thirty-four years.”
He raised concerns of potential dangers to his safety and the arson assaults carried out by extremist Muslim elements. He emphasised that he cannot work in such circumstances. “Since my election as MP in 2010 I have sadly had several serious threats to my personal safety. The attacks by Muslims Against Crusades, Ali Harbi Ali and the recent arson attack (where the motives remain unclear) have weighed heavily on me and my husband, Angelo. These serious incidents are alongside the many ‘low-level’ incidents.”
He added, “No MP can operate effectively without the support of their spouse and wider family. Sadly the serious incidents place intolerable stress on them too. It will be an enormous wrench to step down, it has been the privilege of my life to serve the wonderfully diverse and vibrant area that is Finchley & Golders Green. Serving the constituents and getting things done is what makes the job worthwhile. I am also deeply grateful for the unwavering support from the local Association membership and of course, our Agent, Rachel Shawcross. You and they can be assured of my continued support for the Party locally and nationally.
A sitting MP in Britain is stepping down because of threats to his life from Muslim extremists. This is not ‘Diverse and vibrant’. Not at all. pic.twitter.com/AM942tCX9Z
The statement was made a few weeks following the arson attack at the politician’s constituency office in which police launched an inquiry in December last year. At the time, he noted the potential arson as “just one of the many threats” he had recently encountered. There are two people under investigation for the incident, which he remarked was sparked by his opinions and that he now believed was the “final straw” in his internal battle over whether to continue in politics.
Mike Freer belongs to the Conservative Friends of Israel group. He left his position as parliamentary secretary in 2014 in order to oppose a motion that would have recognized the state of Palestine. The two-state solution “should be the end, not the start of the process,” according to him at the time.
He was informed by the police in 2021 that Ali Harbi Ali, who later killed Southend West MP Sir David Amess and had plans to assassinate other Tory leaders, had been spying on him at work. The radical arrived at Mike Freer’s office one day when the latter was surprisingly not present there. The MP and his employees have carried panic alarms and donned stab vests ever since.
“There comes a point when the threats to your personal safety become too much. I was very lucky that actually on the day (of Ali’s attempted attack) I was due to be in Finchley, I happened to change my plans and came into Whitehall. Otherwise who knows whether I would have been attacked or survived an attack? He said he came to Finchley to attack me.” he highlighted.
Ali Harbi Ali was reportedly waiting with a knife outside his north London constituency office when the leader cancelled preparations for surgery in his Finchley and Golders Green constituency the following day and stayed in Westminster when Boris Johnson was pushing him out of the whips office.
Ten years prior, Muslims Against Crusades called on its adherents to assail him. The group uploaded a photo of him online along with the words, “Let Stephen Timms be a warning to you,” in response to the Labour MP Stephen Timms being stabbed by an Al Qaeda follower.
Although he is not blindly supportive of the Israeli government, he is persuaded that his position on the matter is what has caused the years of harassment and threats he has experienced. “I’m a strong supporter of the two-state solution. I’m not completely Israel, come hell or high water. But, yes, I do support the Israeli government on the eradication of Hamas, very firmly and very robustly.”
Furthermore, he felt angry about the anti-Semitism that many of his compatriots exhibited especially in the wake of the terror group Hamas’ 7th October onslaught on Israel. “I know of no other schools that need security other than Jewish schools. I don’t know places of worship that need security. I don’t know shops – shops might have security for shoplifting, but not to stop their shoppers being attacked.”
In a significant development, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency under the United States Department on 1st February announced the formal approval to sale 31 General Atomics MQ-9B drones along with a large number of missiles and other related components to India. In a statement, the agency said, “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of India of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3.99 billion.”
The statement added that the Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. As per the agency, apart from 31 Remotely Piloted Aircraft, the deal also includes several other equipment, costing the deal $3.99 billion.
Notably, the announcement comes just a day after propaganda outlet The Wire claimed that the US govt has blocked the deal over the alleged plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. In an article written by well-known defence propagandist Ajai Shukla claimed that the US govt has blocked the delivery of “MQ-9A Sea Guardian and Sky Guardian drones until the India govt carries out a meaningful investigation” into the alleged conspiracy to assassinate KPannun. US State Department had already rubbished the report earlier, saying that formal notification would be issued later.
Other than the 31 drones, the deal includes 161 Embedded Global Positioning & Inertial Navigation Systems, 35 L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suites, 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, 16 M36E9 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles, 310 GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bombs (LSDB) and 8 GBU-39B/B LSDB Guided Test Vehicles (GTVs) with live fuzes.
The deal also includes Certifiable Ground Control Stations, TPE-331-10-GD engines, M299 Hellfire missile launchers, KIV-77 cryptographic appliques and other Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment, KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminals (STT), AN/SSQ-62F, AN/SSQ-53G, and AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys, ADU-891/E Adapter Group Test Sets, Common Munitions Built-In-Test (BIT) Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE), GBU-39B/B tactical training rounds, Weapons Load Crew Trainers, and Reliability Assessment Vehicles-Instrumented, Portable Pre-flight/Post-flight Equipment (P3E), CCM-700A encryption devices, KY-100M Narrowband/wideband terminals, KI-133 cryptographic units, AN/PYQ-10 Simple Key Loaders, Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders, ROVER 6Si and TNR2x transceivers, MR6000 ultra high frequency (UHF) and very high frequency (VHF) radios, Selex SeaSpray Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) surveillance radars, HISAR-300 Radars, SNC 4500 Auto Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM) Systems, SAGE 750 ESM systems, Due Regard Radars (DRR), MX-20 Electro-Optical Infrared (EO-IR) Laser Target Designators (LTDs), Ku-Band SATCOM GAASI Transportable Earth Stations (GATES), C-Band Line-of-Sight (LOS) Ground Data Terminals, AN/DPX-7 IFF transponders, and Compact Multi-band Data Links (CMDL).
Apart from this huge list of weapons and components, the deal also includes initial spare and repair parts, consumables, accessories, and repair and return support, secure communications, precision navigation, and cryptographic equipment, munitions support and support equipment, testing and integration support and equipment, classified and unclassified software delivery and support, classified and unclassified publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, transportation support, warranties, studies and surveys, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support.
The statement said that the “proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the U.S.-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defense partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region.”
It adds that the “sale will “improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in sea lanes of operation. India has demonstrated a commitment to modernizing its military and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”
The statement further added that there will be offsets which will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will be the principal contractor.
Talking about the estimated value of $3.99 billion, the statement said that it is for the highest estimated quantity and the dollar value is based on initial requirements. “Actual dollar value will be lower depending on final requirements, budget authority, and signed sales agreement(s), if and when concluded,” Defense Security Cooperation Agency clarified.
Notably, the statement said that the deal is for 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardian aircraft, but earlier reports about the deal said that India is buying 16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian variants of the MQ-9B drone. It is not yet known whether it is an oversight in the statement or if the deal has been modified. The modification of the deal seems unlikely, as the Indian Navy is already operating two Sea Guardian drones taken on lease since November 2020.
On 30th January, three Rohingya men identified as Mohammad Ayas, Hafeez Ahmed, and Mohammad Yunus were sentenced to ten years of rigorous imprisonment for trafficking two Rohingya women from Bangladesh to Nuh, Haryana, in 2021 and raping them.
As the matter was related to Rohingya nationals, it was essential to dig deeper into the case to understand the background, where the accused lived, who represented them in the court and more.
FIR details
FIR was registered at City Nuh Police Station on 2 December 2021 under Sections 120B, 34, 342, 370 and 370A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Later, Sections 6 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act were added to the case as it was asserted that the victims were minors. However, when a medical test was done to determine the age of the victims, it was found that they were between the ages of 20-23. Hence, Sections 6 and 8 of the POCSO Act were removed, and Sections 376 and 354 of IPC were added.
Source: Haryana Police
As per FIR, police got information from reliable sources that two Rohingya women from Bangladesh were illegally brought into India in September. It was unclear who facilitated their entry into the country through the Mizoram/Kolkata routes. It was mentioned that both girls were charged Rs 25,000 for entry into India. Upon arriving in Kolkata, they were transported to Delhi by one Noor Kabir, son of a Rohingya identified as Mohammad Hasan residing in Shahpur Nangli Rohingya Camp.
Further investigation revealed that another Rohingya, identified as Mohammad Ayas, one of the convicts in the matter, brought the girls to Nuh district. Subsequently, they were kept hidden for five days in a house in the Ghaseda Police Station area. The matter took a shocking turn when Hafeez Ahmed, uncle of Ayas and second convict in the case, planned to sell girls for Rs 70,000 each in Kashmir.
During negotiations, Ahmed contacted the brother of one of the girls and told him he would release his sister if he paid him Rs 15,000. The brother was also living in a Rohingya camp in Hyderabad. He got concerned about his sister’s safety and paid Rs 15,000 to him in his bank account. However, Hafeez took a U-turn and did not release his sister.
Gurhasan was distraught by the situation and approached the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Nuh. CWC immediately got into action and recovered both girls on 30th September 2021. They were shifted to an orphanage in Taawdu under Sadar Police Station in Nuh. The FIR was registered on the complaint of SI Rajbir Singh, who asserted that there was the possibility of Rohingyas being involved in human trafficking of the girls, and the girls were subjected to physical and sexual exploitation.
Details of the court case
In 2022, the matter went to the court. As initially Sections under the POCSO Act, details of the main case, including judgment, are not available for public view as per the law. OpIndia, however, accessed bail applications and related documents to find more details. Between 2022 and 2024, till the judgment was passed, the accused appealed for bail multiple times in Nuh Sessions Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, all pleas were dismissed in both Sessions and High Courts.
While dismissing the bail pleas, the court noted that the accused’s advocate asserted the case filed against them was false and that his client did not commit the offence. Furthermore, the advocate said there was no chance of tempering with the evidence. However, the public prosecutor countered and said that the accused was involved in transporting the victims in a pre-planned manner to sell them in Jammu and Kashmir. PP further pointed out that the allegations against the accused were severe, and they were not entitled to bail.
The court pointed out that it was evident that the accused were involved in the trafficking of victims for their sexual exploitation, and it was found that the victims were sexually exploited when they were trafficked from Bangladesh to Nuh. While recording statements, the victims stated about the involvement of the accused to keep them confined in Nuh for several days. However, they did not mention rape in their statements in the court.
As the allegations against them were serious and they might have influenced the witness or absconded on release on bail, the bail plea was dismissed.
Involvement of Advocate Tahir Hussain Ruparya
During research, one name stood out that was Advocate Tahir Hussain Ruparya, who represented the accused in the leading case and the bail pleas in Sessions Court along with Tahir Hussain Neemka.
Ruparya is known for providing legal aid to Islamists who are accused of rioting, cow smuggling and cow slaughtering, among other cases. Notably, he represented 210 accused of Nuh violence in 2023, in which six people, including Hindu devotees, were killed by an Islamist mob. For those who are unaware, on 31st July 2023, Islamist rioters attacked Hindu devotees in Nuh of Haryana. At least six people died in the riots. Police officials, Home Guards, Hindu devotees and other officials were injured during the violence. Public and private properties worth crores were destroyed during the ensuing violence.
Ruparya also represented Congress leader Mamman Khan in the matters related to Nuh violence. Not to forget, Mamman Khan’s name was categorically taken by Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij in Haryana Assembly on 28th August. Vij alleged that police found ample evidence against Khan in matters related to the Nuh violence.
He was hired to fight the cases by the controversial Muslim organisation Jamaat Ulama-i-Hind. He has a long association with the Congress Party. His father was a Congress leader and fought elections on a Congress ticket. As per the Dainik Bhaskar report, his father, Choudhary Wali Mohammed, was also a famous advocate. Once, he fought the Assembly election, and once, he fought the General Election on a Congress ticket but was defeated. When Rahul Gandhi was on his “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, Hussain met Gandhi in Nuh.
The Rohingya Camp in Nuh, where the accused lived
All three accused were residents of Shahpur Nangli Rohingya Refugee Camp in Nuh, Haryana. The Rohingya Camps often become the topic of headlines for different reasons, including recovery of illegal vehicles, open defecation and more.
In July 2022, Haryana Police conducted searches in 10 camps located in Haryana, one of which was in Shahpur Nangli. During the search, police recovered 50 illegal vehicles modified and used for selling fruits and vegetables and collecting scraps. The search operation was conducted after a dump truck driver killed DSP Surender Singh in July 2022. Reports suggested that 500 families of Rohingyas, comprising 1,771 persons, lived in those camps.
In September 2022, it was reported that these camps became a breeding ground for diseases due to a lack of sense of cleanliness among the residents. Following heavy rainfall, the camp was flooded, resulting in a health hazard as Rohingyas indulged in open defecation. Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed had come out to their support and met authorities to provide machines for drainage of water.
On 31st January 2024, left-wing propaganda portal and fake news peddler The Wire claimed that the US government has blocked the sale of 31 Predator drones to India. In an article written by well-known defence propagandist Ajai Shukla claimed that the US govt has blocked the delivery of “MQ-9A Sea Guardian and Sky Guardian drones until the India govt carries out a meaningful investigation” into the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Ajai Shukla also claimed that the US has also held back the proposal to sell six more Boeing P-8I Poseidon aircraft to the Indian Navy. The report was based on a “highly-placed source in Washington” who allegedly revealed it to Shukla.
Just a day after the report by The Wire, the Hindustan Times published a report saying that the US Congress has approved the sale of the drones to India. As per the exclusive report by HT, the US State Department informed Predator Drone manufacturer General Atomics that the US Congress has cleared the ‘tiered review’ of the 31 MQ9B drone sale to India and official Congressional notification will be submitted within 24 hours.
The report added that General Atomics informed the same to the Indian government.
Now, these are completely two opposite claims on the strategically important defence deal, which has created a lot of confusion. Therefore, it is important to see what is exactly happening with the deal, and what is the truth in the claims made by The Wire that the US govt will block a major defence deal over the subject of an alleged plot to kill an American citizen who is accused of terrorism by India.
During the regular press briefing of the US State Department, the matter was raised, and spokesperson Matthew Miller made it clear that there is no truth in reports that the deal has been blocked by the US govt. When a reporter asked him whether the report by The Wire was true or fake, the spokesperson laughed, and said “I love, nice try”.
The question asked was, “According to a media report, United States lost $3 billion drone sale to India until meaningful investigation of Sikh leader Mr. Pannun assassination conspiracy. Is it true or just a fake news?”
After dismissing the report as ‘nice try’, Matthew Miller said that he doesn’t have any comment on when the formal notification regarding the deal will take place. He said that the US Congress plays an important role in the U.S. arms transfer process. “We routinely consult with members of Congress with the foreign – on the foreign affairs committees before our formal notification to – so we can address questions that they might have, but I don’t have any comment on when that formal notification might take place,” He said.
"This is a proposed sale that was announced during PM Modi’s visit last year. We believe it offers significant potential to further advance strategic technology cooperation with India", US state dept on media report that US blocked $3-Bn drone sale to India pic.twitter.com/Asp1ULZIg2
Talking about the deal, Miller said, “I will say that generally the U.S.-Indian Defense Partnership has seen significant growth over the past decade. This is a proposed sale that was announced during Prime Minister Modi’s visit last year. We believe it offers significant potential to further advance strategic technology cooperation with India and military cooperation in the region.”
By using the words like ‘it offers significant potential’, the State Department spokesperson has made it clear that the deal is on, and there is no truth in claimed that it has been blocked by the Biden administration.
Later News18 also published a report making similar claims as the Hindustan Times report did, citing people familiar with the deal. The report stated that “US Congress this week cleared the ‘tiered review’ of the sale of 31 MQ-9B HALE UAVs/drones to India and the sale of the MQ-9B Predator drones to India will be notified today.”
Importantly, the News18 report says that the officials have quashed the claim by The Wire that the US govt has blocked the deal over the Pannun affair. “The people mentioned above said that the matter is irrelevant and hardly affects the important bilateral relationship between both nations,” the report stated.
From the US State Department spokesperson’s comments and other media reports, it can be concluded that there is no basis in Ajai Shukla’s report published by The Wire, and the deal has not been blocked over the allegation over Pannun. However, the spokesperson also said that the US Congress approval for the deal has not come yet, and he does not know when it will be done.
When the same topic was raised during the regular press briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs, the spokesperson said that the US has internal processes, and the Indian govt respects that. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal didn’t make further comment on the issue.
"US has internal processes, we respect that…" Says MEA Spox on report of US drone deal cancellation with India over Pannun issue pic.twitter.com/JMMt7bhY3L
Notably, the US State Dept press briefing was done on 31st January US time, and it is possible that US Congress may approve the deal on 1st February US time, as claimed by the Indian reports. If that happens, it will be known by early 2nd February in India.
Importantly, the Indian govt is purchasing 31 MQ9B Predator drones from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, 15 of which will be SkyGuardian drones for the Indian Air Force and 15 will be the SeaGuardian version for the Navy. But the Wire report called them “MQ-9A Sea Guardian and Sky Guardian drones”.
Screenshot of the Wire Report
This is a completely wrong nomenclature used by Shukla, because there are no 9A Sea Guardian or Sky Guardian drones. The 9A version of the drone made by General Atomics is called “Reaper”. India is not purchasing the 9A version, the deal is for the 9B version of the UAV with two variants for Air Force and Navy.
Screenshot of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems website
9B is an updated version of the MQ-9 drone, with two variants for Air Force and Navy, Sky Guardian and Sea Guardian. The website of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems makes it clear. Therefore, the ‘defence expert’ got basic things like the names of the drones ordered wrong in the article.
The claim that the US govt has blocked a proposal to buy six Boeing P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft also seems to be dubious, as the Indian govt itself is not pushing for the purchase at present. While the Indian Navy wants six more Boeing P-8I aircraft after acquiring 12 of them, and the defence ministry had issued a “letter of request” for six more P-8Is for around $1.8 billion, the ministry is now reportedly hesitant to go ahead with the purchase due to budgetary concerns and alternative options. India has already ordered 56 C-295 military transport aircraft from Airbus, 40 of which will be made in India.
Indian Navy has already decided to purchase 9 C-295 aircraft while the coast guard is acquiring 6 of them, making an additional purchase of 15 planes apart from 56 already ordered for Air Force. It is notable that Apart from military transport, the C-295 can work as a maritime patrol aircraft, parachute and cargo dropping, and electronic signals intelligence. Therefore, this aircraft will be used for maritime patrol, instead of buying more P-8I aircraft, which is much more expensive.
Reportedly, the transport aircraft would be equipped with the required radars and sensors and turned into a maritime patrol plane by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS).
Update: It didn’t take long to bust the fake news by The Wire, as the Defense Security Cooperation Agency under the United States Department on 1st February announced the formal approval to sale 31 General Atomics MQ-9B drones along with a large number of missiles and other related components to India. In a statement, the agency said, “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of India of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3.99 billion.” Apart from the drones, India will be buying Hellfire missiles, Laser Small Diameter Bombs, LSDB Guided Test Vehicles, Embedded Global Positioning & Inertial Navigation Systems and Communications Intelligence Sensor Suites, apart from a large number of components.
This is not the first time the so-called defence expert was caught peddling fake news, he has done it several times earlier. In 2019, Ayai Shukla claimed that the IAF Court of Inquiry constituted to investigate the Mi-17 V5 crash at Srinagar in February 2019 was put on hold due to upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Indian Air Force had clarified that it was false there was no link between the probe and the polls. “This is his imagination and IAF categorically denies this,” IAF had said responding to the claim.
In 2021, Indian Army said that Ajai Shukla’s claim of fresh clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh was baseless. In report on Business Standard, Shukla had claimed that Indian forces and China’s PLA troopers had once again engaged in skirmishes in Eastern Ladakh after the Galwan clashes. During the Galwan clashes, Shukla had made several false claims, and had misquoted defence minister Rajnath Singh. Before that in 2016, Ajai Shukla had raised questions on the Rafale deal, supporting Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against the deal.
Note: This report has been updated with additional details
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be conferred with the coveted ‘Shiv Samman Award’ on behalf of the Royal Family of Satara.
The decision was announced by BJP MP Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhonsle, who is the 13th descendant of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
राजघराणे व तमाम शिवभक्तांच्या वतीने देण्यात येणार मानाचा शिवसन्मान पुरस्कार पंतप्रधान श्री नरेंद्र मोदी यांना घोषित झाला आहे साताऱ्यातील सैनिक स्कूल मैदानावर दि. 19 फेब्रुवारी शिवजयंतीदिनी गौरवपूर्ण प्रदान करण्यात येणार आहे. या कार्यक्रमाच्या जागेची आज पाहणी केली.@narendramodipic.twitter.com/n4dDPHToNZ
— Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhonsle (@Chh_Udayanraje) January 31, 2024
The award ceremony will be organised on 19th February, same day as the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Bhonsle along with district administration inspected the Satara Sainik School ground where the ceremony will be held.
Bhonsle said that the award will be conferred upon the Prime Minister on behalf of all Shiv Bhakts, the followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis congratulated PM Modi and said that it was a moment of happiness and pride for all Shiva devotees.
जय भवानी, जय शिवाजी..!?
हिंदवी स्वराज्याचे सरसंस्थापक, आदर्श राजे, आमचे आराध्यदैवत छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज यांच्या नावाने राज घराण्याच्या वतीने दिला जाणारा मानाचा “शिवसन्मान पुरस्कार” भारताचे यशस्वी मा. पंतप्रधान श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी यांना घोषित झाला आहे. तमाम शिवभक्तांसाठी हा… pic.twitter.com/y9GJ0aKFMj
“The “Shiv Samman Award,” given by the royal family in the name of India’s illustrious and ideal Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, has been announced to be given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi this time,” Fadnavis posted on X on Wednesday (31st January).
He further said, “It is a moment of happiness and pride for all Shiva devotees. Hearty congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The award is instituted by the Satara royal family and Shivaji’s followers and would be conferred at a grand ceremony at the Sainik School Ground.
Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule wrote on X, “This is indeed a happy news. The award will be given by the family to which Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj belongs. The award will be presented to our PM at the Satara Sainik School ground on the occasion of Shiv Jayanti. I thank the royal family for selecting PM Modi for this award.”
The Enforcement Director’s noose on Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family is growing tighter as a result of the land-for-jobs case. The RJD supremo is already convicted in several cases related to the fodder scam and is out on bail on health grounds. Notably, his party’s rule in the state was notoriously referred to as the “Jungle Raj.” It is the term used to describe the 15-year rule of the RJD chief and his wife Rabri Devi when a reign of terror was unleashed which still makes people shudder when they think of it, all under the guise of empowering the ‘oppressed classes.’
On 5 August 1997, during the hearing of a petition, even the Patna High Court employed the same phrase to highlight the appalling state of law and order in the region. Numerous businesses abandoned the state in large numbers to avoid the armed extortionists and hundreds of doctors and engineers were kidnapped and kept hostage for ransom. Unprecedented caste conflicts also transpired in the state and Central Bihar acquired the moniker “killing fields.” Crime and killing flourished under state patronage. Some of the most infamous cases of the time were revisited by an X (formerly Twitter) user named ‘The Story Teller’ to recount the horror inflicted under Lalu Yadav’s jurisdiction.
The murder of Dalit IAS Officer G Krishnaiyyah
G Krishnaiyyah, a Dalit Andhra Pradesh native and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the 1985 batch was attacked by a crowd on 5th December 1994, while travelling to Gopalganj (location of his posting) from a conference in Hajipur. While driving through Muzaffarpur, his staff car was stopped by a mob comprised of people attending the funeral procession of the criminal-turned-politician Chhotan Shukla.
Only a day earlier, Chhotan, the elder brother of JD(U) MLA and convicted felon as well as baahubali (strongman) Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla who was very close to Lalu Prasad had been shot dead in a gang conflict in Muzaffarpur by a minister in the Lalu Prasad administration. His companions and allies believed that the district magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP) Muzaffarpur had a covert hand in his death.
All of the individuals found guilty in the case were leading the funeral procession, including Anand Mohan, an independent MLA at the time and his wife Lovely, an independent MP from Vaishali. Their speech inciting the mob against the Muzaffarpur DM and SP was captured on camera by the Bihar Police’s intelligence unit. The funeral procession which turned into a ferocious crowd began hurling stones at Krishnaiyyah’s car, as they mistook him for Muzaffarpur’s DM.
After exiting the car, Krishnaiyyah begged them that he wasn’t the DM of Muzaffarpur, but his submissions fell on deaf ears and he was virtually stoned to death. Afterwards, Bhutkun, a well-known criminal and younger brother of Chhotan fired three bullets at close range into the official’s wounded head. Bhutkun was later shot dead by rivals.
G Krishnaiyyah’s wife with his picture (left) and Anand Mohan (right). (Source: OpIndia Hindi)
Champa Biswas rape case
BB Vishwas, a 1982 batch Dalit IAS officer was the Director of Social Security in the Labor Department of Bihar at that time. He had charged that his 30-year-old wife Champa Vishwas, her mother, her sister-in-law, two maids and a niece had all been sexually assaulted by a 27-year-old close aide of Lalu Prasad named Mrityunjay Kumar Yadav and his friends. The accused resorted to intimidation, greed, violence, and coercion in the act.
Champa Vishwas once had to have an abortion. Ultimately, she needed to get herself sterilized. She had to take action to avoid getting pregnant following multiple sexual violations. Furthermore, she feared that the perpetrator had murdered her niece Kalyani and the two missing maidservants. The Governor had forwarded the file to the Home Minister after taking cognizance of the situation. Mrityunjay’s mother, Hemlata Yadav who also persuaded Champa to marry him was an MLA as well as chairperson of the Bihar Social Welfare Advisory Board. Interestingly, Mrityunjay Yadav had written a biography of Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The Vishwas couple. (Source: The Story Teller)
Mohammad Taslimuddin – Lalu Prasad’s favourite crony
Mohammed Taslimuddin was an Indian politician and a veteran RJD leader. He even served as a union minister both under HD Deve Gowda and Manmohan Singh’s government. However, he had another prominent side which was that of a criminal. He terrorised the local authorities, ostensibly taking up issues of the oppressed, until they finally attached his land in Araria. Following the uproar, the Bihar assembly’s special committee looked into the accusations made against him and claimed that his property had been rightfully attached.
At least sixteen cases of rape, dacoity, arson, and robbery were submitted against him. An eyewitness disclosed that the MP and two associates brought a young Santhali girl home, drank wine and “then did the wrong things with the girl all night” in one of the unlawful detention files filed under Indian Penal Code 342.
He faced charges of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy (IPC 419, 420, 467, 468 471 and 120-b), rape and dacoity. However, all Bihar leaders with criminal records were protected by Manmohan Singh in his cabinet, who declared, “They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
Mohammed Taslimuddin with Lalu Prasad Yadav. (Source: India TV News)
Shilpi-Gautam rape and murder case
The incident transpired after Rabri Devi was announced as the new Chief Minister of Bihar, following Lalu Prasad’s conviction in the fodder scam. Rabri Devi’s brother Sadhu Yadav who was an MLA from RJD’s Gopalganj constituency gained more clout in Bihar politics after she took over the position.
Shilpi-Gautam murder shook the Bihar government of the time. The case was finally closed as double suicide, although many remain unconvinced with the investigation. Shilpi was the 23-year-old daughter of Ujjwal Kumar Jain, a clothes store (Kamla Stores) owner and Gautam was the 27-year-old son of a London-based doctor, B.N Singh. He was associated with the youth wing of Rashtriya Janata Dal and the two were believed to be in a relationship.
The two went missing on 2nd July 1999 and the next day their dead bodies were discovered in a semi-nude state inside a car in a parking near quarter number 12, Frazer Road, Patna. This quarter belonged to Sadhu Yadav. The police investigation and handling of this case came under serious questioning. Even before the police could secure the crime scene, the supporters of the MLA reached the scene and created a lot of ruckus.
Even the vehicle was driven to the police station by a constable instead of being towed, which rendered getting any fingerprint information from the steering wheel impossible. Cops initially declared this a case of suicide even before the Viscera report. Then later they reported the possibility of poisoning. The body of Gautam was cremated in a hurry without taking permission from his family members. Another inconsistency found in the police report was that the garage was locked from inside and the key was missing, so the person who called the police must have been aware of the bodies.
Shilpi’s family members came forward six days after the bodies were found and proclaimed that it was a murder and not a suicide. There was also a huge political uproar over the case due to the involvement of political personalities. All this combined with the botched-up investigation done by police till then, the state government was forced to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The agency sent off the vaginal fluid of Shilpi for DNA testing in Hyderabad. The test report suggested that multiple people had raped Shilpi before her death. The CBI asked for the DNA sample of an MLA, who refused to provide the sample. It is suspected that the politician was Sadhu Yadav. The case was closed by the CBI after four years and declared it to be a suicide case in their report that was turned in to the court. Her parents rejected the report and still feel it to be a case of murder and want a fresh investigation to be done. Prashant Jain, her brother was abducted from outside his house recently and subsequently set free.
Shilpi Jain (left) and Sadhu Yadav (right). (Source: The Generic Guy-YouTube)
A special court in Patna in 2018 pronounced RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav and five others guilty of luring and raping a 15-year-old girl in February 2016. The politician was convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act.
The victim, a resident of Bihar Sharif was reportedly abducted by a woman, Sulekha Devi to a location 15 kilometres away from district headquarters. According to reports, she and Raj Ballabh Yadav consumed alcohol and forced the minor girl to watch pornographic videos. He then directed the girl to imitate the lewd acts. The girl was raped and held captive all night when she refused to comply.
However, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi was caught defending him while campaigning for his wife, who was contesting from the Nawada Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general election. She claimed, “The way Raj Ballabh ji has been convicted and he has been set up by those who wanted to spoil his name, thus Vibha Devi (Raj Ballabh’s wife) is the candidate and we have to help her win. We have to make her win.”
He turned himself in to the police and after a brief hearing held in the Nalanda court, he was released on bond. RJD expelled the legislator after a major uproar to save itself from embarrassment, however, he immediately arrived at Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Patna home after bail to seek his counsel.
RJD leader Raj Ballabh Yadav. (Source: ETV Bharat)
Rohini Acharya’s mob-style wedding
Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi married off their second daughter, Rohini Acharya to the son of Rao Ranvijay Singh, a senior Mumbai-based income-tax official in 2002. The festivities, however, sparked intense controversy since Lalu Prasad’s relatives deployed their goons to inflict fear in the public and made sure the event would live on in the state’s collective memory as a magnificent show.
RJD supporters, who are considered miscreants by most, prowled the state capital’s streets, broke into car dealerships and fled with up to fifty brand-new, unregistered vehicles. Traders and businessmen had to close their shutters. One of the major car manufacturers shut down its Patna operations and moved its employees, including some top executives to Kolkata. The army of raiders commanded by Lalu Prasad also went after small-time tradesmen and merchants who were too scared to talk for fear of reprisals.
“We gave five cars voluntarily. But employees at the car showroom said 10 new air-conditioned vehicles, including Altos and Wagon Rs, were forcibly taken away,” mentioned A.C. Gupta, who owned a Maruti showroom on Boring Road. The story was similar to those told by other automakers. Most of the time, throngs had shown up, taken over the automobiles by force and driven off.
The Patna Police were either hand in glove with them or just turned a blind eye, allegedly because they were obeying Lalu Prasad’s orders and were hoping that once the cars were returned after the wedding, the storm would subside. The proprietors of many furniture businesses, from which at least 100 sofa sets and luxurious chairs were removed to embellish six enormous pandals, the centrepiece of which was a mannequin of Mumbai’s Taj Hotel also suffered severe losses.
Mohammad Shahabuddin was a politician and former Member of Parliament from the Siwan constituency in the state of Bihar. He was a former member of the National Executive Committee of the Janata Dal and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. He was disqualified from contesting elections following his conviction for the kidnapping and disappearance of Chote Lal Gupta, an activist of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation for which he was serving a life sentence. He was also accused of killing 15 other Communist Party activists, including the former student leader Chandrashekhar Prasad.
He faced around 40 criminal cases, including murder and kidnapping crimes. He was described as a convicted gangster, a baahubali in the Siwan district, and a close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav. On 16th March 2001, the police were executing a warrant on the president of the local RJD unit, when Shahabuddin objected and slapped the arresting officer Sanjiv Kumar while his men beat up the police. The police then re-grouped in strength and a pitched battle was launched on Shahabuddin’s house, with help being sought from other police units in the vicinity, including one from Uttar Pradesh.
By the early 2000s, Shahabuddin was presiding over a parallel government in Siwan, resolving family and land conflicts through khap panchayats, setting the costs for medical consultations and mediating marital disagreements. The Siwan District Magistrate labelled him a persistent offender in 2005.
Shahabuddin’s home in Pratappur village was the target of a police raid in April 2005, which was spearheaded by the then-SP of Siwan district Ratn Sanjay (IPS) and supported by the DM of Siwan district C. K. Anil (IAS). The search operation turned up illegal weapons like AK-47s as well as other military hardware that could only be obtained by the army, such as night-vision goggles and laser-guided guns. A report by the then Chief of Police divulged that Shahabuddin had connections to the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence, as several of the weapons had the marks of Pakistani ordnance companies. Eight non-bailable warrants were then issued to apprehend Shahabuddin.
The Delhi police and a special team sent from Bihar could not arrest him for over three months due to his political clout, despite living in his officially assigned quarter in Delhi and attending parliament. Police were finally able to arrest him from his official residence in November 2005. Subsequently, he was refused bail by the Supreme Court of India.
A special court in Siwan in 2015 pronounced Mohammed Shahabuddin and three other people guilty of kidnapping and killing two brothers by dousing them with acid eleven years prior. Sheikh Aslam, Shahabuddin, Rajkumar Sah, and Arif Hussain were proven culpable of murder, kidnapping, forcing evidence to vanish and criminal conspiracy.
Mohammad Shahabuddin succumbed to Covid-19 in 2021. (Source: India Today)
Messiah of underprivileged people who exploited them
Funding for projects controlled by the state government was discontinued by Lalu Prasad. Its department employed around 35,000 people who had not received their wages. The period of nonpayment ranged from three months to nine years. Many families were financially destroyed and as a result, they were forced to live in abject poverty with nothing to eat or income. When parents could not afford the school fees, their children quit attending. Some even took their own lives because they were unable to handle the constant pressure.
Twenty-two-year-old Chandan Bhattacharya was one such individual who immolated himself near Patna High Court on 15th August 2002 and died on 19th August 19, in protest of non-payment of salary to his father Parijat Bhattacharya, who was employed in agro-industries development corporation.
He stated, “The financial condition of all the families is bad. I have not been able to take competitive examinations because there is no money to fill up the forms. I felt that the life I was leading was not worth living and decided to immolate myself in front of the Patna HC to highlight the situation facing the employees and their family members.”
The Patna police were aware of two other people’s possible attempts at self-immolation on Independence Day. A Bihar State Road Transport Corporation worker named Sudhir Kumar had threatened to commit himself because he did not receive a salary. One of the other laid-off employees had threatened to follow suit. A staff member of the Bihar State Industries Development Corporation committed suicide a few months earlier.
“Many of us are on the verge of starvation. Suicides cannot be ruled out,” unveiled a public undertakings employee. Employees of Patna Municipal Corporation and Biscomaun reportedly ended their lives as a result of not receiving their paychecks. Out of the 54 public undertakings, only the Bihar State Warehousing Corporation turned a profit, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report.
The 54 public undertakings had liabilities of Rs 7,558 crore and an investment of Rs 8,168 crore as of March 2000. According to the CAG audit, 32 of these endeavours have reportedly been in the liquidation process for the previous 14 years.
Chandan Bhattacharya. (Source: Quora)
Supaul gang-rape case
The court of additional and district judge-III Ravi Ranjan Mishra’s ruling in the case in 2020 ended the 25-year wait for justice for the survivor of the Supaul gang-rape case and her family. It convicted former Janata Dal MLA Yogendra Narayan Sardar, his son Uma Sardar, Shambhu Singh and Bhupendra Yadav, also known as Bhupen Yadav of violating Sections 376 (rape), 366 (kidnapping), 458 (home trespass), and 324 (voluntary inflicting pain) of the India Penal Code and sentenced them to life in jail. Each of the four convicted individuals was additionally fined Rs. 1 lakh.
The prosecution noted that on 16th October 1994, at around midnight, the Dalit girl who was sleeping with her mother in the residence under the Triveniganj police station area was visited by the former MLA from Triveniganj. She was taken prisoner by the accused, made to sit in a Jeep and then subjected to gang rape. However, in the midst of the crime, she castrated the then-lawmaker. The ex-MLA was taken to a hospital after suffering serious injuries. Meanwhile, the victim described her ordeal at her home after managing to break free from the grip of her abusers.
Yogendra Narayan Sardar. (Source: Oneindia Hindi)
Conclusion
It is crucial to remember that these incidents represent only a small portion of the Lalu-Rabri tyranny that prevailed in Bihar. Lalu Prasad spearheaded the assault on law and order both during his tenure in Janata Dal and following its dissolution when he founded the RJD. The police were scared to even file a complaint against the criminals because they enjoyed his patronage as he turned a blind eye to their misdeeds.
The state economy and administration of Bihar fell apart. Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad got embroiled in the Rs 900 crore fodder scandal in 1996 after which he was put behind bars and Rabri Devi was appointed as the “puppet” chief minister by him. However, her administration was eventually overthrown in 2004 with a resounding majority to the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United) coalition which ended the era of the “Jungle Raj.”
Now, as the Yadav family is being held accountable for their actions, many leftists and Islamists including Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Ravish Kumar and Rohini Singh among others have jumped to defend them and are crying ‘victimhood’ merely because the former are relentless in their opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party. These supporters are willing to overlook one of the darkest periods in the history of Indian democracy in their hatred for the BJP which only further exposes their nefarious mindset and perverse objectives.
Recently, a heart-wrenching case of love jihad came to the fore from Bengaluru, Karnataka. An innocent Hindu girl, originally a native of Odisha, fell victim to the love jihad trap laid by Taha Razi, a youth from Bihar, whom she considered to be her soulmate until reality hit her in her face. The victim Neha (name changed), completely daunted and cowed down by the betrayal of her once-loved partner, broke down as she shared her jarring experience with OpIndia.
Taha Razi had, eight years ago, trapped the girl in his love by posing as a Hindu. Days passed by and he made her believe that she was his one true love and did everything to make her feel special. This, however, lasted until the victim got to know that he was a Muslim and had hidden his true identity to woo her. What followed was a nightmare of coercion, threats and assaults, once again throwing light on the dangerous phenomena of Love Jihad plaguing the society.
Love Jihad- a phenomenon in which Muslim men prey on helpless Hindu women, entice and deceive them, convert them to Islam against their will, torture and rape them, and then either kill or leave them.
Taza Razi introduced himself as Taha, a Hindu to Neha. When she inquired about his last name, he said nonchalantly that he dislikes using it. The victim told OpIndia, “Since Taha is such a unique name, I could not understand his religious affiliation.” She also mentioned that at first, Taha would support her during her Thursday fast and go with her to the Mandir on Mondays, though he would not go inside, claiming he does not believe in visiting temples. He would recite verses from the Gita, accompanied by translations, emphasising the concept of a singular divine entity.
He argued in favour of a common belief in a single god while demonstrating his mastery of the Ramayan and Mahabharat. Taha criticized adherents of Hinduism, accusing them of pervasive dishonesty and straying from Sanatan Dharma’s purity.
In the first six years of their relationship, Taha Razi posed as a devout lover, giving all the love and care any girl could ask for, however, things changed towards the end of 2021 when Neha stumbled upon Taha Razi’s driving licence and his true identity laid exposed before her.
When confronted, Taha cried and begged before Neha and pledged his allegiance to her. He made her believe that he had no problems with her continuing to follow her faith. In fact, he also expressed willingness to change his religion for her.
Some days passed and Neha proposed that they should get married only after which Taha started showing his true colours. At first, he subtly broached the topic of conversion, insisting on how Allah was supreme and Islam was the latest version of Sanatan Dharma. Neha objected to this sudden demand, asserting that her faith was non-negotiable.
Now, gradually, the discreet attempts to persuade her to accept Islam were becoming overt and outrageous.
One day, Taha dropped a bombshell on Neha. He told her that his family had fixed his marriage in Bihar as they were opposed to him marrying her since she didn’t belong to their community. Neha was shocked to learn about this. She asked Taha what had caused his family members to reconsider their choice, given that they had been aware of and accepting of her faith from the start. Taha feigned helplessness, claiming that her conversion to Islam was the only thing that could have persuaded his parents to approve of their marriage.
Bhagwan ko bhul jayegi…beef khaegi: How Taha Razi used coercion to compel the victim to convert in return for marriage
Aware that Neha, was desperate to marry him as she was madly in love with him and more importantly she had no one to go to as her family had severed all ties with her given her love affair with a Muslim individual who had deceptively hidden his identity, Taha began to emotionally blackmail her.
Sharing screenshots of her Whatsapp chats with the accused, Neha recalled how he used to emotionally manipulate her. He said that he would only marry her if she quit Hinduism and started consuming beef. “Bhagwan ko bhul jayegi…beef khaegi,” Taha wrote to Neha when she implored him to get married to her.
Screenshot of the Whatsapp chat between Taha Razi and the victim
In essence, Taha employed every tactic in his playbook to emotionally blackmail Neha into accepting Islam, but she was certain that she would not give up her faith or religion. However, when Taha discovered that none of this was working, he turned to unimaginable acts of violence and torture.
The victim, recounting her horrific ordeal, told OpIndia how Taha used to beat her up and force her to watch Zakir Naik’s videos. “One day, Taha stuffed a cloth in my mouth and gagged me before physically and sexually assaulting me. He ripped my hair when I disapproved of watching Zakir Naik’s video,” Neha said.
Taha Razi ripped the victim’s hair and assaulted her when she refused to watch Zakis NAik’s video
Taha Razi empathised with Aftab Amin Poonawala, threatened me with Shraddha Walker’s fate: Victim tells OpIndia
Taha Razi, who had spent the previous six or seven years trying his hardest to persuade Neha that he was the ideal life partner, had now turned into a monster. “He used to abuse me and beat me up black and blue every time I refused to accede to his demands of conversion. While beating me up ruthlessly, he would often tell me that I was pressuring him to provide me with Shraddha Walker’s fate.”
She further recalled how Taha often empathised with Aftab Amin Poonawala, the man accused of killing and chopping off his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar’s body into 35 pieces, and said that he was convinced that Shraddha Walkar must have been as stubborn as her which is why ‘poor’ Aftab had to do what he did.
She quoted Taha Razi as threatening her in Hindi, “Bechara Aftab. Mujhe pakka pata hai who Shraddha bhi teri tarah ziddi hogi. Nahi mani hogi conversion ke liye, isliye bechare Aftab ko who kadam uthana pada. S**li…tujhko doosri Shraddha banna hai kya. Nahi mane gi toh there saath bhi wohi karoonga.” (Poor Aftab. Shraddha was undoubtedly just as obstinate as you are. Aftab was compelled to do what he did since she would not have also consented to the conversion. Would you like to be the second Shraddha? S**li.. If you disagree, I shall follow suit).
Taha Razi’s sudden behavioural changes
Neha observed notable changes in their relationship after Taha’s true identity was revealed. She recalled how one day she went to a neighbouring Ganesh temple when she was in Bangalore and, as she had done previously, brought back Khichdi and Sambhar as Prashad for Taha. But this time, he snapped, declaring that eating prashad was prohibited (haram) under Islam.
Neha also mentioned some of Taha’s odd habits such as not washing his hands before eating. She said that whenever she raised objections to this, he justified by citing Islamic teachings which apparently state that the bacteria on one’s palms benefits digestion.
She further told OpIndia how one day, upon her return home, she discovered Taha placed a pack of cigarettes in front of her idol in her Mandir. She opposed saying he was disobeying her faith. Taha pleaded for forgiveness. She ignored it, assuming Taha was unaware and that he might have accidentally left the cigarette package in front of her idol. The next day, Taha put a bottle of alcohol in her Mandir. The victim felt agitated this time. When she went to confront Taha, he became aggressive. He said angrily, “S**li, mere ko batayegi. Mein rakhonga, tu kya kar legi” (I will do what I want, what can you do?). Saying so he picked up the idols and smashed it on the floor.
Background of the case
Neha belongs to Odisha, and the accused, Taha is from Bihar. The duo are believed to have met during an internship in Hyderabad. The accused introduced himself as Taha to Neha but hid his surname. On being asked about his full name, the accused smartly said that his family had a tradition of not employing the surnames.
The accused then made the girl believe that he was a Hindu. He used to visit temples, read Bhagwad Gita, respect the fasts held by the girls, and exclusively worship Lord Krishna. He then proposed to her and immediately introduced her to his mother. As per Neha, the mother of the accused liked her and referred to her as ‘beta’. The accused also showed respect towards Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Neha recovered the ‘driving license’ of the accused while they were on a trek. She confronted the accused as she saw the identity card after it accidentally fell from his pocket during the trek. The accused then confessed the truth and said that he had hidden his identity fearing that she would leave him. He then convinced her that he followed Sanatan Dharma and also read the Bhagwad Gita. He also said that he was ready to convert to Hinduism if his religion mattered to her so much.
Neha however refused to keep ties with him after knowing the truth. She began distancing herself from the accused. The accused then convinced her saying, “My family is a modern family, we live in an all-Hindu colony and my great-grandfather had to convert to Islam under pressure, my family believes in Hindu Dharma. I am not a Muslim and will never force you for anything. I have already accepted you as my wife. Have you ever seen my mother and sister wearing burqa? We are modern. I will never force you to convert.”
The girl happened to fall for him and told her family about Taha. The family of the girl then severed all ties with her given her love affair with a Muslim individual who had deceptively hidden his identity.
The accused and the victim girl then relocated to Banglore and began living together. They bought a new home and decided to settle in the city. However, the horror began here as the accused began assaulting the victim and justifying it by giving reference to the Quran.
On the 30th of January, a self-styled Muslim godman was booked in Mumbai for cheating several people in the name of curing their severe diseases, helping secure a US visa and solving marital issues. The RAK Marg Police in Sewri booked the accused Abubakar Mohammad Ali Shaikh on the complaint of one of Abubakar’s victims. The accused also performed animal sacrifices in exchange for a huge amount of money on the pretext of solving the problems of his victims.
According to the FIR copy accessed by OpIndia, the victim, a Muslim woman from RAK Marg, suffered from severe body pain and despite undergoing treatment in various hospitals her health did not improve. One day the accused Muslim ‘godman’ came to her house and claimed that he could cure her pain in just 40 days by performing some ‘black magic’ rituals. However, Abubakar demanded Rs 4 lakh and gold in exchange saying that he would sacrifice a goat and offer donation at Dargahs.
The complainant further claimed that accused Abubakar again ‘cast some spells’ on 2 white Taweez and gave them to her and told her to keep 1 taweez under the cupboard in her house and another under the stone in the gallery. The victim also gave him 2 tolas of gold including a pair of earrings and a mangalsutra, and a sum of Rs. 50,000 to the accused on 23rd March last year.
The complainant added that she approached the accused again to perform some ‘black magic’ to bring peace in her house as her daughters-in-law and their families often had disputes now and then. Moreover, the complainant referred her relative to the accused for getting her son a job in the United States for which he took Rs 1.70 lakh from the relative to perform black magic. The complainant mentioned that the accused did not fulfill his promised commitments despite taking the money.
The fraudster also offered a cure for one of the friends of the complainant woman who suffered from cancer. Accused Abubakar told her that she would die in 12 days if she failed to perform the rituals suggested by him. He also took money from a friend of the complainant for performing rituals to stop her baby from crying. The police said the victims have lost Rs 6,12,000 and 230 grams of gold worth Rs 11,50,000.
The 32-year-old Muslim ‘godman’ has been booked under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and section 3 of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.
The police stated that after the complaint received no relief even after the ‘black magic’ rituals were performed, they confronted accused Abubakar, who offered them a written assurance that he would return their money shortly. He, however, began evading them. The police added that an investigation has been initiated into the matter and they are gathering evidence.
Hindustan Times publishes misleading headline, calls Muslim accused as ‘Tantrik’
On February 1, Hindustan Times published a report (archive) about the filing of an FIR against accused Muslim ‘godman’ Abubakar with a misleading headline: “Tantrik booked for duping women by offering a cure for cancer, helping secure US visa”. The publication did not mention the name of the accused in the headline and simply wrote ‘Tantrik’ to perhaps ‘secularise’ the crime and give the impression that the accused is a Hindu man who duped the complainant in the name of ‘Tantra-Mantra’.
Hindustan Times report with the misleading headline
Netizens were quick to call out the publication for supposedly trying to cover up the religious identity of the accused Muslim man pretending to be a ‘godman’.
Name of the fraudster: Abubakar Mohammad Ali Shaikh
Taking to X Supreme Court lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha wrote, “Name of the fraudster: Abubakar Mohammad Ali Shaikh. Shame on you @HindustanTimes for calling him a Tantrik. This article by @htTweets isn’t only anti-Hindu propaganda but a defamatory hate speech against Hindu community.”
The Rouse Avenue Court granted four-day custody of Jagdish Arora and Anil Agarwal to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This case is related to irregularities in awarding a Delhi Jal Board tender for the supply of electromagnetic flow meters.
Special judge Bhupinder Singh granted custody to ED after hearing the submissions of ED’s counsel and the counsels for the accused persons.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) produced retired chief engineer Jagdish Arora and contractor Anil Agarwal and sought seven days of custody. They were arrested on Wednesday.
It was submitted by the ED’s Special Public Prosecutor, Manish Jain and advocate Ishan Bainsla that the custody of the accused is required to confront them with the digital data recovered during the investigation.
It was also submitted that some other people are being summoned. They need to be confronted with the accused.
It is alleged that the accused awarded the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) contract for supply, Installation, Testing and commissioning (SITC) of electromagnetic flow metres and corresponding O&M operations for five years to M/S NKG Infrastructure Ltd on September 20, 2018 for a total negotiated cost of Rs. 38,02,33,080, despite the fact that the company did not meet the technical criteria.
It is alleged by the ED that accused received an illegal gratification to the tune of Rs. 3 crore from M/S NKG infrastructure limited and M/S Integral screws Industries and awarded the contract of DJB worth Rs. 38 crores for Supply, Installation, Testing and commissioning (SITC) to M/s NKG infrastructure Ltd. Thereafter, NKG Infrastructure Limited subcontracted the work to M/S Integral Screw Industries, the proprietorship firm of Anil Kumar Agarwal.
Accused Anil Aggarwal was represented by advocate Nagesh Behl.
Counsel for the accused submitted that Alka Arora purchased the flat in 2014 and the contract was awarded in 2018. It was stated that the FIR and ECIR were lodged in 2022 and the bribe was paid in 2023 after retirement. It is very strange. Nothing has been recovered.
The counsel argued that this tender was awarded at a lesser price. They are misleading the court. There is no charge sheet in the schedule offence by the CBI unless they are not in picture.
They should have waited for the charge sheet, counsel argued.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
