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‘Lagbhag mana kar diya’: After Mamata Banerjee, UBT Sena expresses unwillingness to compromise on seat-sharing of INDI alliance

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‘Lagbhag mana kar diya’: After Mamata Banerjee, UBT Sena expresses unwillingness to compromise on seat-sharing of INDI alliance

The buzz over the seat-sharing formula of the opposition’s INDIA bloc hit a crescendo on Friday after a few partners within the alliance hinted at going all ‘alone’ in next year’s Lok Sabha elections or not willing to ‘compromise’ in their respective states.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has asserted that their party is the biggest in Maharashtra, hinting at no compromise over seat-sharing talks.

“This is Maharashtra, and Shiv Sena is the biggest party here. Congress is a national party. Uddhav Thackeray is having positive discussions with the decision-making leaders of Congress including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and KC Venugopal. We have always said that Shiv Sena has always been fighting on 23 seats in the Lok Sabha elections including Dadra and Nagar Haveli and that will be firm,” Raut had said.

Before Shiv Sena (UBT), Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed her desire to test Bengal waters alone in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

“INDIA alliance will be there across the country. In Bengal, the TMC will fight and defeat the BJP. Remember, in Bengal, only TMC can teach a lesson to the BJP and not any other party,” Mamata said while she was speaking at a gathering in North 24 Parganas.

However, the Trinamool Congress supremo said that the INDI alliance will contest all seats across the country.

Meanwhile, Congress has said that talks on the agreement with all the parties will be held with an ‘open mind’.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said, “Khule mann aur band muh se hi hum seat sharing pe baat aage challenge (We will carry forward seat-sharing talks with an open mind and refraining from public statements).”

The Congress leader added that different states would pose different challenges about advancing seat-sharing talks and the discussions, hence, be held, considering all aspects.

“The seat-sharing talks are ongoing and will continue. We will do what needs to be done. There are different conditions and challenges in different states. We will be having discussions on seat sharing, keeping in mind the different (political) realities there,” Ramesh said.

While the INDIA partners came together for their fourth meeting in the national capital recently, the potentially thorny issue of seat-sharing was left unaddressed.

The opposition parties have forged forces to put up a united front against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls under the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance umbrella.

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

Mohammed Zubair and ‘fact-checking’ website Alt News partially fact-check viral rape video: Fail to highlight the Muslim identity of perpetrators

OpIndia Staff
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Mohammed Zubair and ‘fact-checking’ website Alt News partially fact-check viral rape video: Fail to highlight the Muslim identity of perpetrators

‘Fact-checking’ website AltNews and its out-on-bail co-founder Mohammed Zubair are back at what they do best- serving as the propaganda wing of Islamists by lying outright, misleading its audience and whitewashing their crimes.

This time, Zubair—the ‘poster boy’ of ‘fact-checking’, according to left-leaning liberals—and his website once again showed their unwavering allegiance to Islamists by partially ‘fact-checking’ a 4-year-old rape video that went viral recently on social media. They fact-checked that the crime did not happen in Bihar but in Uttar Pradesh, and that the crime happened 4 years ago. The ‘fact-check’ by Alt News, which often serves as a surrogate for leftwing political parties and apologists for Islamists, clarified that the victim was not a Muslim but a Dalit girl but it failed to highlight that the perpetrators were Muslims.

On December 28, AltNews published an article on its Hindi website where it ‘fact-checked’ a 4-year-old viral rape video which was originally from Uttar Pradesh. It’s Hindi article’s headline read- “UP में दलित लड़की के साथ 2019 में हुआ था गैंगरेप, वीडियो बिहार का बताकर वायरल” which translates to ‘Dalit girl was gang raped in UP in 2019, video went viral saying it was from Bihar’.

SS of the AltNews report published on December 28, 2023

Mohammed Zubair also took to X to share the ‘fact-check’ done by his website. Tagging the AltNews journalist who authored the partial ‘fact-check,’ Zubair wrote in Hindi which translates to, “A horrifying video from Bihar has gone viral in which some boys are brutalizing a girl. The claim is that these are Hindu boys who are carrying out the incident by kidnapping a Muslim girl. This is not true. The video is from UP and is 4 years old.”

However, both the AltNews ‘fact-check’ report and Zubair’s post only presented half the truth. Though the AltNews report mentioned the name of the perpetrators towards the end of the report, it smartly framed the headlines of its report to mention how the crime happened 4 years ago in Uttar Pradesh and not Bihar but what it did not do was mention the names of the perpetrators who were Muslims in this case.

Zubair too, cleverly mentioned that the incident happened in Uttar Pradesh and not in Bihar as being circulated in the viral claim. He also mentioned that the claim that Hindu boys were carrying out the incident by kidnapping a Muslim girl was untrue. However, he avoided explicitly stating that it was Muslim youths who had carried out the heinous crime against the Dalit girl. What he essentially tried to do was meticulously word his post to provide enough room for speculation regarding the perpetrator’s religion while ‘fact-checking’ the footage.

If the circumstances had been reversed and Hindus would have been the perpetrators, this obviously would not have happened, but one would not expect any better from someone like Zubair, who has consistently put forth a lot of effort to spread the myth that Muslims are being persecuted because of their faith.

In 2020, during the peak of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, the Tablighi Jamaat had emerged as the main virus vector. Then, Zubair and his “fact-checking” website AltNews played a leading role in defending the Islamic Missionary organization against all legitimate criticism. They misrepresented Tablighi Jamaat’s awful conduct, twisted facts, and lied to their audience to give the misleading impression that Muslims are being persecuted because of their faith.  

Zubair does not even hesitate to politicise a matter as serious as rape if he could derive some political mileage from it. During the heinous Kathua Rape Case, OpIndia pointed out flaws in the claims being made by the Police and raised valid questions regarding the allegations being made against Vishal Jangotra. For merely asking questions, the Altnews cofounder had insinuated that Opindia was acting as an apologist for rapists. Ultimately, Vishal Jangotra was acquitted by the Court of all crimes.

Neither Zubair nor his website bothers to correct details even after being fact-checked

On December 29, popular X user @BefittingFacts quickly brought attention to the inherent bias of Md Zubair and his ‘fact-checking’ website Alt News towards radical factions of the Muslim community, which led them to engage in such selective ‘fact-checking.’

While sharing screenshots of Zubair’s post and the AltNews report, the X user wrote, “How @altnews does fact-checking. Claim1- Rape Video is from Bihar. Claim 2- Hindu boys are raping a Muslim girl. Altnews- This video is not from Bihar but from Uttar Pradesh and it is four years old. neither Altnews’ headline nor @zoo_bear mentioned that the boys were not Hindu but Muslims named Mohammed Nazim, Mohammed Aqib and Mohammed Chhotka. This is how Altnews Partially factcheck to protect muslims and takes donations from Hindus.”

However, even until this report was published, neither did Zubair rectify his post nor did his website modify its report’s headline to mention that the perpetrators were not Hindus but Muslims named Mohammed Nazim, Mohammed Aqib and Mohammed Chhotka. Selective and partial fact-checking has been Alt News’ forte, muddling the readers with fact-checks of inconsequential aspects of news and focusing only on those facets that help them bolster their propaganda.

Bangladesh: Islamists grab 8 acres of land belonging to Hindu family, assault and threaten them, police take no action

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: Islamists grab 8 acres of land belonging to Hindu family, assault and threaten them, police take no action

A group of Islamists, belonging to the ruling Awami League (AL) party, have grabbed 8 acres of land belonging to a Hindu family in Parulia village in Hatibandha upazila of Bangladesh.

As per a report by The Daily Star, the land grabbers include AL leaders Hafizul Islam, Abul Kalam, Hazrat Ali and Redwan Ahmed. Hafizul and Abul serve as the Patikpara Union Ward No.4 President and General Secretary respectively.

The victims, identified as Rathindra Nath Roy and his wife Sushila Rani, had filed a complaint with the local police but no action has been taken in this regard. They have accused the four land grabbers and their supporters of threatening them with dire consequences if they visited their own land.

Islamists assaulted the victims

He informed The Daily Star that large tracts of his ancestral land were lost due to erosion by the Teesta River about 40-45 years ago. But about 10 years ago, a char land was developed in the same place after a huge landmass emerged from the riverbed.

Following that, Rathindra Nath Roy had been growing crops on the remaining land. On 13th November this year, Hafizul Islam, Abul Kalam, Hazrat Ali and Redwan Ahmed went to the field where the Hindu man and his wife were sowing maize seeds.

They claimed to be the owners of the land and beat up the Hindu couple mercilessly. According to Sushila Rani, the accused men are coercing Rathindra to sign a non-judicial stamp paper, stating change of ownership from him to the 4 Islamists.

Accused men cite ‘conflicting’ land deal, police take no action

When The Daily Star reached out to land grabber Abul Kalam, he claimed to have purchased 8 acres land along with 3 other accused for Tk 80 lakh (~ ₹60.39 lakhs). Another land grabber Hazrat Ali claimed that the land had been bought for Tk 87 (~₹65.67 lakhs).

They claimed that since the land registry was not done in Char areas, they were asking the Hindu family to sign on non-judicial stamp.

While speaking about police inaction to The Daily Star, Officer-in-Charge (Hatibandha Police Station) Shah Alam acknowledged that he had received a complaint from Rathindra Nath Roy but instead asked the local UP Chairman to ‘resolve’ the issue locally.

Hindu families forced to sell their houses in Shailkupa

Ahead of the upcoming elections in Bangladesh, the Hindu community is facing the wrath of political violence. Several Hindu families have been forced to vacate their houses in Shailkupa upazila in the Khulna division of Bangladesh and sell them at giveaway prices to avoid religious persecution.

As per a report by Kalbela News published in November this year, the minority community is facing threats from Islamists and hence many Hindu families are migrating to other parts of the country. For instance, the residence of a deceased Hindu man named Satyendranath Saha was encroached and a 4-storeyed building was constructed in its place.

‘Jubo League’ Chairman (Shailkupa upazila) Shamim Hossain Mollah and his father Sabdar Hossain Mollah were accused of infringing upon the property of the Hindu family. It must be mentioned that the ‘Jubo League’ is the youth wing of the ruling Sheikh Hasina-led-Bangladesh Awami League party.

While speaking about the matter, the daughter-in-law of Satyendranath Saha informed that the ‘Jubo League’ leader had taken their house and a Kali Mandir by force. Despite complaints to the local MP Mohammed Abdul Hyee, no action has been taken against the accused.

Interestingly, Hyee is also a leader of the Bangladesh Awami League party from the Jhenaidah constituency. According to Kalbela News, the case of Satyendranath Saha is one of the countless stories of minority Hindu families who have lost their property to encroachment by local influential Muslim leaders.

Everyone involved in this organised form of ‘land jihad’ are politicians and political workers. In order to intimidate the Hindu residents of Shailkupa into selling their homes, the Islamists have resorted to threats, assault and even vandalism of Hindu temples.

Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda says BJP will win 400 seats if EVMs are not ‘fixed’, refuses to provide proof of ‘hacking’ when questioned

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda says BJP will win 400 seats if EVMs are not ‘fixed’, refuses to provide proof of ‘hacking’ when questioned

On Thursday (28th December), the Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda refused to provide proof of ‘hacking’ of EVM machines hours after he said that if EVMs are not fixed, the BJP may win 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In an exclusive interview with the anti-Modi propagandist Ajit Anjum, Pitroda instead asked the Election Commission to prove that the EVMs were tampered with.

Congress leader Sam Pitroda reaffirmed his concerns about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) on Thursday (28th December), claiming that if EVMs are not fixed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP will win 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Sam Pitroda, who recently drew criticism for his remarks about the Ram Mandir, stated a lack of trust in EVMs and even wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) about it.

“I waited for the Election Commission to respond but when it didn’t happen I decided to speak. It has nothing to do with the fact that elections in five states are over and the 2024 election is coming. I feel there is a trust deficit based on this report. And, the Election Commission must respond to rebuild the trust,” he was quoted as saying.

“More power to them if they think they can do it. Great. That is for the country to decide. EVM needs to be fixed before the next election. If EVM is not fixed, 400 may be true. If EVM is fixed, 400 may not be true,” he added.

Further, in the interview with Anjum, he said that the Election Commission should prove and expose that the EVMs are tampered with by the BJP. This is when Anjum referred to the 2017 Election Commission’s EVM Challenge named ‘hackathon’ in which the Commission invited the political parties to present proof regarding the tampering of the EVMs, if any. The Commission then reiterated its claim that voting machines were tamper-proof.

Responding to this, Pitroda, said, “Why are they asking us for proofs? They should prove that EVMs are not tampered with. You prove to me that my vote is counted as cast. You cannot prove that today with an attachment of VVPAT. EVM today is not a standalone machine.”

The issue of EVMs is not new, as opposition parties have repeatedly claimed that the electronic voting machines are rigged in favor of the BJP. All such allegations have been dismissed by the ECI, which has even challenged political parties to prove their claims. The BJP has also targeted opposition parties over the issue, claiming that it is their justification for losing elections. 

Odisha: Bajrang Dal encounters violent confrontation with cattle smugglers from ‘Samuday Vishesh’, 10 members injured

OpIndia Staff
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Odisha: Bajrang Dal encounters violent confrontation with cattle smugglers from ‘Samuday Vishesh’, 10 members injured

At least ten Bajrang Dal members suffered wounds when cattle smugglers who were transporting livestock to West Bengal had a violent dispute with them early on the 28th of December in the Balasore region of Odisha. According to police, the activists from the Salepur neighbourhood of Cuttack pursued at least three vans containing cattle for around 200 km before attempting to halt them in the Fuladi area on the outskirts of Balasore town on National Highway 60.

The vehicle soon came to a stop and a scuffle broke out between the two sides. A police official of Balasore Sadar police station revealed, “As a fight ensued between the Bajrang Dal workers and the men carrying cattle, the latter sought help from local villagers.” He stated that at least ten of the Bajrang Dal members were assaulted when the nearby villagers targeted them with bamboo sticks along with other weapons. Three of them suffered severe injuries including head gashes and fractures. Furthermore, the two automobiles carrying them incurred substantial damage. The Balasore Sadar police station has submitted a case in the matter.

The people of a ‘particular community’ wanted the cows to be transported to West Bengal. Nevertheless, Bajrang Dal workers persisted in preventing the unlawful activity. The two parties then argued about the same and soon the issue escalated into a major fight. The injured were brought to the Baleshwar District General Hospital and immediately referred to the Cuttack General Hospital for treatment given their critical condition.

A substantial police force has been deployed in the region because of the tense environment, however, no arrests have been made so far. Sadar police station in-charge Jayant Behera disclosed that two trucks full of cows have been seized and more than fifty cows have been recovered out of which forty-seven are alive while four are dead. In addition, two further four-wheelers have been apprehended but nobody has been taken into custody.

After a string of similar instances involving hundreds of animals throughout the state, in September an enraged crowd set fire to a vehicle transporting cattle in the Keonjhar region believing that it was being used for cattle smuggling. The same month, when they discovered three vans transporting about 100 animals to West Bengal in three separate vehicles, residents of the Balasore district set fire to three of the vans hauling livestock along the Kamarda-Baliapal route.

The Odisha Crime Investigation Department (CID) informed the Orissa High Court in an affidavit last year that throughout the previous five years, there has been a gradual increase in cases of cow transportation that fall under the category of animal cruelty. According to the document, the number of instances of illicit cow transportation has grown by 217% since 2017.

Rajasthan: Driver Sameer Khan murders former Congress councillor Lakshmi Purohit for refusing to marry him, used to threaten her husband for firing from job

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Driver Sameer Khan murders former Congress councillor Lakshmi Purohit for refusing to marry him, used to threaten her husband for firing from job

On 25th December, a woman from Rajasthan’s Bikaner was brutally murdered by one Sameer Khan. The accused was employed as a driver to the victim who was a former Congress councillor. Khan slit the throat of the woman and later attempted to commit suicide. However, later it was revealed that the accused pretended to commit suicide immediately after the murder to escape from the police action.

This case is of Naya Shahar police station area of ​​Bikaner. Former councillor Lakshmi Purohit owned a beauty parlour near her house. According to media reports, Lakshmi had left the house on Monday (25th December) evening saying that she was going to the temple but did not return. At around 10 pm, the woman’s husband Rajesh Purohit lodged a missing report in the police station.

In the meantime, the body of the woman was discovered on Ganganagar Road. Rajesh Purohit was summoned by police to identify the woman. The body was later identified as that to be of Lakshmi.

Rajesh Purohit, the husband of the deceased woman registered a complaint in the case and mentioned Sameer Khan as a suspect. Purohit stated that Khan used to keep a watch on Lakshmi and that he wanted to marry the woman. 

Police investigation revealed that Sameer Khan already knew 47-year-old Lakshmi, as he had worked as her driver 6 years ago. Rajesh Purohit, Lakshmi’s husband, works for the government in the education department. He purchased a car six years ago and hired Sameer Khan as his driver. At first, everything was fine, but later complaints about his misbehaviour started to emerge, and he started to harass Lakshmi Purohit. As a result, he was fired from the job a few years ago.

However, Sameer Khan then started to harass the family and used to threaten them. He used to visit their house and misbehave with them. He also used to call Rajesh Purohit to threaten that he would abduct his wife.

Rajesh said that on Monday evening, his wife left the house saying that she was going to the temple. But when she didn’t return after an hour, he started to have concerns. When he called her, he found that her phone was switched off. Then he started to look for her in the nearby areas including the temple, and enquired with relatives. When she was not found, he approached the police station to register a complaint.

Rajesh Purohit alleged that Sameer Khan kidnapped his wife, as he was continuously harassing them, and had threatened several times that he would abduct Lakshmi.

During the police probe, it was found that Sameer had called Lakshmi to Urmul Circle, where they had arguments over some issue. After this, he took Lakshmi to a desolate place RCP Colony. It is believed that he committed the murder at the same place and then threw the dead body.

SM Tejashwini Gautam said that Sameer has confessed to several things during the interrogation. He believed that Lakshmi would marry him, and the argument was over this issue. When he found that she had no intention of marrying him, he slit her throat. He assaulted her with such force that the wound was 2 inches deep. The murder took place between 8 to 9 pm, as per police.

Sameer Khan fled the scene after slitting the throat of Lakshmi, and tried to commit suicide. He then reached the PBS hospital with injuries in his hand and head. However, he started a commotion at the hospital due to a delay in treatment. When police reached the hospital as a result, he narrated a false story, claiming that he was hit by a train. But when police didn’t find any report of a train hit, they took him into custody and interrogated him.

Police said that he is still being questioned, and the murder weapon is yet to be recovered.

Lakshmi Purohit and her husband Rajesh Purohit are natives of Nagaur, Rajasthan. According to the report, while living in Nagaur, Lakshmi headed the city council elections on a Congress ticket and won the councillor election. Lakshmi and her husband then moved to Bikaner. Lakshmi’s political career had nearly ended when she arrived in Bikaner from Nagaur.

UP: Fatehpur’s Shabia reverts to Hinduism and becomes Sita, marries a Hindu man despite opposition from her family

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Fatehpur’s Shabia reverts to Hinduism and becomes Sita, marries a Hindu man despite opposition from her family

A 20-year-old Muslim girl named Shabia has reportedly married her 22-year-old Hindu partner Sanjay in the Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Furthermore, she has converted to Sanatana Dharma and changed her name to Sita. The two tied the knot on 27th December in a temple according to Hindu rituals and traditions despite opposition from her family members. However, the occasion was attended by members of Hindu organisations including Bajrang Dal.

Shabia is a resident of Nartauli village in the Bahua block of the district, while Sanjay is from the neighbouring Sonbarsa village. The couple was in a relationship for three years, but her family was against their union. The pair decided to have a court wedding earlier, but they reached the location and created a ruckus there. Afterwards, the young lovers were married in the Tambeshwar Shiva temple by people associated with Bajrang Dal.

Sanjay met Shabia in her hamlet which he visited often. They intended to make their relationship official after filing their statement with the court, but her family caused quite a stir and derailed their plans. Individuals from Hindu groups then arrived at the scene as soon as they received the information about the development. The duo were then taken to the temple where they took seven rounds around the sacred fire and married per Hindu customs amid the chants of the Vedic mantras.

“I have been having an affair with Sanjay since I was 17 years old. It has nothing to do with religion. Now I am 20 years old. I am an adult and I have full right to decide my life,” Shabia declared after her wedding ceremony. The members of the Hindu organisations also gifted a cheque of Rs 10 thousand to the newlyweds to ensure they had no trouble starting afresh. The couple departed for Delhi following their marriage.

‘Islamic law allows multiple wives, but all wives must be treated equally’: Madras High Court cites Sharia to annul Muslim marriage

OpIndia Staff
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On December 22, 2023, the Madra High Court upheld the annulment of a marriage, holding that while Islamic Law allows polygamy, equal treatment of all wives is essential and failing to do so amounts to cruelty.

The bench comprising Justices Rmt. Teekaa Raman and Justice PB Balaji dismissed an appeal filed by the Husband against the Family Court’s judgement and order dissolving the marriage between the parties under Section 2(ii)(iv)(viii)(a)(d) of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 (Act). The Court stated that the wife convincingly demonstrated that the husband treated her unfairly in comparison to his second wife, refused to provide care and support, and neglected marital commitments after their separation while she lived with her parents.

“Thereby, he has not treated the first wife and the second wife equally as required under the provisions of Islamic Law. Under Islamic Law, the husband is entitled for Polygamous marriage, however, he has to treat all the wife equally,” the court observed.

Advocate K. Abiya appeared for the Appellant Mukmuthu Sha and Advocate C. Jeya Indira Patel appeared for the Respondent Afrin Banu.

The first wife described harassment from her husband, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law, alleging neglect during pregnancy, food allergies, and cruelty following a miscarriage.

“Without considering that the plaintiff is pregnant, the mother of the husband/defendant scolded her for not properly draping the saree, and the husband also took photos of the plaintiff and the defendant while they were intimate position.” A child was born to the parties when the plaintiff/wife went to Chennai to live with her husband in September 2016. However, the child died the following day. On that score, the husband’s sister “abused the wife by stating that she could solemnise another marriage of the defendant/husband since the plaintiff/wife has no child,” the wife alleged.

She went on to accuse her spouse of unfair comparisons and emotional abuse, prompting her to leave the matrimonial home.

While the husband denied these allegations, the court’s examination of the evidence proved his cruelty and neglect towards his first wife and failure to fulfil marital obligations to her. The ruling emphasised his lack of effort to support her while she was with her parents, which contributed to the dissolution ruling.

The High Court upheld the Tirunelveli Family Court’s verdict, concluding that the husband’s unequal treatment and failure to support his first wife justified the couple’s separation. The Bench, thus, dismissed the husband’s appeal, upholding the initial decision.

Karnataka: School teacher makes male student hug and kiss her in ‘romantic photoshoot’ during educational tour, parents demand strict action

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: School teacher makes male student hug and kiss her in ‘romantic photoshoot’ during educational tour, parents demand strict action

The headmistress of a government high school in Murugamalla village, Chintamani taluk of Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur has come under severe criticism for doing a photoshoot with her male student during an ‘educational study tour’. The incident caused disgust among parents, prompting calls for the teacher to be fired immediately.

During the tour, Pushpalatha, the head teacher of the school, displayed inappropriate behavior with a minor boy studying at SSLC, documenting intimate photographs with him on her mobile phone. The photos, which have gone viral on social media, show the headmistress in romantic poses with a teenage male student. The images show the student attired in a kurta and jeans, kissing, grasping, and also tugging at the teacher’s saree. In one photo he is lifting the teacher in his arms.

After learning of the incident, the parents of the impacted student confronted Pushpalatha at the school, horrified. Outraged by the incident, they filed a complaint with the Block Education Officer (BEO) and demanded that the headmistress’s behavior be thoroughly investigated.

Parents are calling for immediate action against Pushpalatha, emphasizing the importance of accountability in the educational system. The case has also raised concerns about students’ safety and well-being while on educational trips.

Surprisingly, this is not a rare occurrence. Similar cases of inappropriate behavior by teachers have been reported in the past. In 2022, a video of a teacher dancing in the classroom to a Bhojpuri song went viral, drawing criticism from social media users.

The video showed a teacher in a saree dancing to the song ‘Patli Kamariya Mori,’ with students waving and jumping in the background, further fueling the debate about the ongoing challenges related to professional conduct in the education sector.

Fake rent agreement, house of a dead woman and police oversight: Cops bust racket in Maharashtra which helped over 70 Bangladeshis secure Indian passports

OpIndia Staff
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Fake rent agreement, house of a dead woman and police oversight: Cops bust racket in Maharashtra which helped over 70 Bangladeshis secure Indian passports

A case of illegal immigration has emerged from Pune in Maharashtra, where the local passport office issued passports to multiple Bangladeshi nationals who had unlawfully entered India. These individuals secured the passports using counterfeit rent agreements from a slum area.

This revelation has caused a significant stir within the Pune passport office. About 6 individuals had furnished a rent agreement with a dead woman to produce address proof for the passport. The Pune Police Commissioner has declared that appropriate actions will be taken against any staff or officials of the passport department found to be complicit in this matter.

The issuance of passports to six Bangladeshi nationals at a slum address in Pune came to light following their arrest by the Mumbai Police. Investigations revealed that these individuals had obtained passports using rental agreements in the name of a slum house located in Yashwant Nagar, Yerawada, Pune.

The slum house, as per police reports, was associated with a woman named Suman Tujare, who has already passed away. These fraudulent documents were used to secure the passports. Four other passports were similarly issued for an address in the Hadapsar area of Pune. The total number of passports issued to illegal Bangladeshis using such fake documents in the last few months is estimated to be 70.

The investigations revealed that these illegal Bangladeshis wanted to travel to Gulf countries using Indian passports. Following preliminary investigations that uncovered significant fraud, the police have announced their intention to take disciplinary action against those involved in the passport section. Further police inquiries have confirmed that all the suspects are Bangladeshi citizens who had unlawfully entered India.

Pune police commissioner Retesh Kumaar said on Wednesday, “An inquiry has been conducted and action is being taken against five police personnel from the passport section for lapses in verification.”

The dead woman’s family says they never rented the house

According to a report by The India Express, a family member of the deceased woman Suman Tujare said, “We never rented the house to anybody. It was shocking to know that multiple passports were issued to our address using fake rent agreements. We have given Suman Tujare’s death certificate to the Mumbai police team that visited us for investigation.”

Serious lapses in the police verification process before issuing the passport were also noted in the investigation. The Pune police issued a verification report endorsing the passport applicants without conducting an on-site visit to Tujare’s residence to verify their actual residence at the stated address. Investigations disclosed that the passport office, relying on this police verification report, subsequently issued Indian passports to the Bangladeshi migrants.

The probe initiated in Mumbai

Over the past two and a half months, a team from the Borivali police in Mumbai, led by Sub Inspector Pramod Nimbalkar from the Anti Terrorist Cell (ATC) and Senior Inspector Ninad Sawant, apprehended 20 Bangladeshi migrants and two Indian nationals involved in a racket that provided passports, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and other documents to undocumented individuals.

The police reported the seizure of 10 Indian passports, all issued from Pune, along with counterfeit rent agreements, falsified Indian birth certificates, Aadhaar and PAN cards, Indian voter ID cards, Bangladeshi currency, and additional items. These were recovered from those arrested in Mumbai and Pune.

According to Sub Inspector Pramod Nimbalkar from the Anti Terrorist Cell (ATC), two individuals, Rahul Singh, also known as Shahrukh Khan, and Salman Ayub Khan, aged 34, both originally from Bangladesh, are accused of facilitating the illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals into India by crossing the international border unlawfully. Rahul, who had been living in Pune, is now believed to have escaped to Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Salman has been apprehended.

Sub Inspector Pramod Nimbalkar said, “On reaching West Bengal, the racketeers in India provided fake Indian birth certificates to the Bangladeshi migrants. Then they were sent to Mumbai and Pune, where they got Aadhaar cards and PAN cards using the birth certificate. The suspects then applied for Indian passports, by submitting details of Pune addresses. The agents provided fake rent agreements from Pune as address proof, even though the Bangladeshi migrants never stayed at these places. Some lawyers in Pune prepared these notarised rent agreements without verifying facts.”

Who facilitated to getting of the fake documents?

Sainath Yeilwad, currently evading capture, allegedly supplied counterfeit rent agreements using the address of the late Suman Tujare to six illegal Bangladeshis. Nimbalkar added, “It is being probed how and why Tujare’s address was chosen for the scam. Also, four illegal migrants got fake rent agreements on a Hadapsar address through an agent identified as Kusum Gaikwad. We have arrested her. She was booked in four cases of cheating in the past. She prepared fake rent agreements in the name of her former driver.”

Detailing the Gulf plans of these illegal Bangladeshis, he said, “There seems to be a big racket where Bangladeshi citizens were brought to India illegally and then sent to Gulf countries as Indian citizens for employment by accepting amounts to the tune of Rs 7 lakhs from the migrants. We found a website that is being used for such rackets.”

70 Bangladeshis got Indian passports through such fake documents

Sub Inspector Pramod Nimbalkar said, “Our probe revealed about 70 Bangladeshi intruders were sent to Gulf countries using Indian passports in the last few years. Even those whom we arrested were found with Indian passports and had the same plans. It seems the Bangladeshi nationals believed it was easy and cost-effective for Indian citizens to get a job in the Gulf. Hence they came to India illegally, instead of trying for jobs in the Gulf from Bangladesh.”

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