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Karnataka: Mangaluru Urban Development Authority commissioner Mansur Ali accused of sexual assault, VHP’s Durga Vahini demands action

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Karnataka: Mangaluru Urban Development Authority commissioner Mansur Ali accused of sexual assault, VHP’s Durga Vahini demands action

A woman working at the Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has accused MUDA commissioner Mansur Ali of workplace harassment.

The woman complained to the Commissioner of Police that the officer had sexually, emotionally, and physically harassed her. A case has been filed at Urwa station under IPC sections 354 and 354(A). The commissioner stated that an investigation is currently underway. The woman is working as an outsourced employee at MUDA.

Meanwhile, the women’s wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Durga Vahini has demanded strict action in this case and demanded suspension of the accused officer. Swetha Adyapadi, the district convenor of Durga Vahini also said that massive protests will be organized at the MUDA office if action against the accused officer is not taken.

VHP leader Sharan Pumpwell also asked the government to take proper legal action against the official immediately. The complainant is a woman, an outsourced employee working as a typist at MUDA office.

The accused, Mansoor Ali, went to the Urwa police station on Monday and gave his statement to the investigating officer.

He claimed the woman filed the complaint out of personal enmity when he ordered her to file a full report on the MUDA general body meeting, which she had previously submitted with insufficient details. According to Ali, she was told to improve her work or risk losing her job.

Indian Navy gets first ‘Made In India’ long-endurance drone, Drishti 10 Starliner manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace 

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Navy gets first ‘Made In India’ long-endurance drone, Drishti 10 Starliner manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace 

On Wednesday (10th January), Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar unveiled the first indigenously manufactured Drishti 10 Starliner Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in Hyderabad. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has been manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace in collaboration with Israeli firm Elbit Systems.

Admiral R Hari Kumar (PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC), Chief of the Naval Staff, led the flag-off ceremony, praising Adani Group’s efforts in aligning its roadmap to the Navy’s requirements and establishing an ecosystem of partners and capabilities to enable ‘Atmanirbharta’ in defence and security.

“This is a momentous occasion and a transformative step in India’s quest for self-reliance in ISR technology and maritime supremacy. Drishti 10’s integration will enhance our naval capabilities, strengthening our preparedness for ever-evolving maritime surveillance and reconnaissance,” he said.

Minister of Industries and Commerce, IT, Electronics and Legislative Affairs of Telangana, D Sridhar Babu, congratulated the Adani Defence and Aerospace team for setting up a vibrant ecosystem for unmanned systems.

Speaking at the event, the Director General of Army Aviation, Lieutenant General Ajay Suri, said that the Indian Navy and Indian Army have placed orders for two of these Drishti-10 drones to meet the emergent requirement for satellite communication-enabled drones. He said the Adani Aerospace Park in Hyderabad is a world-class facility with a focus on innovation and indigenization, a testament to Indian ingenuity. This self-reliance immensely bolsters the nation’s confidence and strength.

Jeet Adani, VP, Adani Enterprises, said, “Recent geopolitical events have reinforced the convergence of physical, informational, and cognitive tactics underpinned by intelligence, information processing capabilities and the use of unmanned and cyber systems for dissemination of information and disinformation.”

“Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms across land, air and naval borders are a key priority for Adani to serve the armed forces and place India on the global map for exports. We are proud to be able to serve the Indian Navy,” he added.

Ashish Rajvanshi, CEO of Adani Defence and Aerospace, said, “The handover of the Drishti 10 Starliner UAV is a watershed moment in our journey towards self-sufficiency and indigenization of advanced technologies. Our on-time delivery to the Navy is a testament to our robust quality management processes and excellent support from our partners, who worked diligently over the last 10 months from contract to delivery.”

The Drishti 10 Starliner Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV is an advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform with 36 hours of endurance and a 450 kg payload capacity. The only all-weather military platform with NATO’s STANAG 4671 (standardised agreement 4671) certification for the UAV system’s airworthiness, it is cleared to fly in both segregated and unsegregated airspace. The UAV will now be taken from Hyderabad to Porbandar to be inducted into naval maritime operations.

The Drishti-10 is an indigenously assembled version of the Elbit Hermes-900 MALE UAV.

Adani Aerospace Park is the country’s first final assembly line in the private sector for military-grade unmanned systems, tactical and loitering drones, seamlessly integrated with carbon aerostructures manufacturing unit, electronics and avionics unit, and EO IR (electro-optical/infrared) payloads thus contributing to more than 70 per cent indigenisation.

Adani Defence and Aerospace, part of the Adani Group, is a pioneer in the design, development, and manufacturing of state-of-the-art defence products.

According to Adani Defence’s website, the Drishiti Starliner UAV is highly autonomous and mission-effective. Multiple hard points and a modular internal installation bay weighing 250 kg. A value chain for high-level indigenization has been created. It is authorised to fly in civil airspace and is loaded with capabilities for multi-payload and persistent wide-area surveillance.

Maldives link emerges in ISIS module case, Maldivian woman was handler of arrested ISIS terrorist Shahnawaz, funding traced to al-Hawl camp

OpIndia Staff
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Maldives link emerges in ISIS module case, Maldivian woman was handler of arrested ISIS terrorist Shahnawaz, funding traced to al-Hawl camp

The investigation of an ISIS module busted in October 2023 has now revealed that a woman from the Maldives served as the handler for the arrested terrorist, Mohammed Shahnawaz. Shahnawaz, a former mining engineer turned ISIS operative, had contact with the woman through a Telegram channel named “Caged Pearl.” The woman purportedly worked to raise funds for women in the al-Hawl camp, a well-known ISIS refugee detention centre near the Iraq-Syria border.

Suspected ISIS terrorist Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama, wanted by NIA, was arrested by Delhi Police on 2 October 2023.

According to a report by the Times of India, Shahnawaz transferred Rs 1.4 lakh (proceeds of crime) using Google Pay through a teacher in Kerala. The investigation revealed that the woman had fled to Syria in 2015 and provided Shahnawaz with a contact (Maldives mobile number) of her brother, who then guided Shahnawaz on sending money to the al-Hawl camp.

The woman confirmed receipt of this money to Shahnawaz after two weeks. She also received Rs 40,000 in the next transaction. A police document read, “Following the transfers, Shahnawaz was put in touch with three IS-linked entities, viz., Qasim Khurasani (a Kashmiri), Huzaifa and Kashif (both Afghan nationals) on Telegram. After some time, Huzaifa and Qasim Khurasani’s IDs became non-functional but he continued remaining in contact with Kashif, discussing the expansion of IS in India.”

ISIS terrorist Mohammed Shahnawaz

On 2nd October 2023, Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama was arrested by the Delhi Police special cell from a hideout in Jaitpur, South Delhi. In the course of the operation, they also detained two other individuals who were wanted by the NIA. The security forces recovered bomb-making literature which was sent from Pakistan-based handlers, and other incriminating materials from Shahnawaz’s hideouts. 

Shahnawaz is an engineer by profession and was wanted in the ISIS Pune module case. According to media reports, he is originally from Delhi but had moved to Pune. Two of his associates were arrested in a raid in July 2023, while he managed to flee, returned to Delhi, and lived in a hideout. The module planned to carry out terror attacks across India on instructions from foreign-based handlers. Now, the Maldives connection of this terrorist has been revealed in the investigations.

Maldives is an ISIS hub

This Maldives connection of the ISIS terrorists has surfaced days after 3 ministers of Maldives were sacked for anti-India and anti-Hindu slurs and remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Maldives, a Sunni Muslim majority country spread over 1,200 islands, is located in the southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres from the mainland of the Asian continent. However, Maldives is as notorious for terrorism as it is famous for its beauty.

The world’s most barbaric Islamic terrorist organisations Islamic State or ISIS and Al Qaeda have taken root in the Maldives. Many terrorists in this Sharia-run country are on the radar of the world. There was a time when the rule here was in the hands of Buddhist Kshatriyas. Over time, the number of Muslims increased here and today more than 98 percent of the population is fanatical Sunni Muslims. Now most of the Buddhist stupas in this Muslim-majority country have either been broken or are in a dilapidated condition.

The US Department of the Treasury has said in a report that from 2014 to early 2018, more than 250 Maldivians went to Syria to join ISIS. This is the highest in the world in proportion to population. Many of these terrorists were killed, while most of the Maldivian women are in camps in Syria.

Noida: Techie suffers cardiac arrest while playing cricket, dies after collapsing on pitch

OpIndia Staff
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Noida: Techie suffers cardiac arrest while playing cricket, dies after collapsing on pitch

In a shocking incident, an engineer in Noida collapsed and passed away due to a heart attack while playing cricket. The tragic moment of the techie collapsing on the ground while taking a single was captured on camera.

Engineer Vikas Negi, attempting to take a run, collapsed midway on the cricket pitch. Observing his fall, the wicketkeeper and other players hurried to his aid.

He was promptly taken to a nearby hospital, where, upon arrival, a doctor declared him dead.

The police later transported his body for post-mortem, and the doctors in their reports confirmed a heart attack as the cause of death.

According to an initial assessment, Vikas, who was previously healthy but had been a COVID victim, maintained fitness by frequently playing cricket in Noida and Delhi.

Over recent years, there has been a surge in heart attack cases among the younger population. Globally, heart disease is a prominent cause of death, and its incidence has notably escalated in India over the last five years.

This increase in cardiac events is linked to our fast-paced lifestyles and evolving habits, analysts say. Previously associated primarily with older individuals, heart attacks are now impacting a significant number of people between the ages of 30 and 40.

Martyred Karsevak Sanjay Kumar Singh’s daughter invited for Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony, says ‘father’s dream fulfilled’

OpIndia Staff
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Martyred Karsevak Sanjay Kumar Singh’s daughter invited for Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony, says ‘father’s dream fulfilled’

The daughter of martyr Kar Sevak Sanjay Kumar Singh from Muzzafarpur in Bihar has been invited to the Ram Mandir Pran Pratistha ceremony scheduled to take place in Ayodhya on 22nd January. Karsevak Sanjay’s family is delighted to have received this invitation. The family had devoted themselves to the Ram temple for the previous 32 years. Sanjay Kumar’s wife also is said to have dedicated her life to Ram Mandir and died on Ram Navami in 2019. She wanted to see the Ram temple being built but now her daughters are happy to see their parents’ dream come true. 

In 1990, like other Kar Sevaks, Sanjay Kumar Singh also left his house with great enthusiasm with the dream of building the Ram Temple. But he did not know that he wouldn’t return home back to his family. Bullets were fired at the Kar Sevaks by the police on the orders of Mulayam Singh Yadav govt and one of those bullets hit Sanjay Kumar Singh, resulting in his death.

The family says that Sanjay Singh’s body wasn’t brought to their house for final rituals. His daughters were just 2 years and 45 days old at the time. After Sanjay Singh died, his wife struggled to raise her two daughters. Today, when Sanjay Singh’s daughter Kriti received the invitation, she was overjoyed. According to Bhaskar’s report, Kriti cried and claimed that her father’s desire had come true, thus she was extremely happy.

Kriti said, “Father gave his life for the temple. At that time I was only 45 days old and my elder sister was two years old. Mother brought us up with great difficulties. I had no idea our father was no longer alive. When we grew up, our mother told us that our father had sacrificed his life for the Ram temple. I was very sad to know this at that time. But our mother kept saying that his dream would be fulfilled. Mother also prayed for the Ram temple. She died on Ram Navami in the year 2019.”

Earlier, a detailed account of the struggle faced by Sanjay Kumar Singh for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was reported by OpIndia. The detailed report can be read here.

OpIndia is delivering ground reports about the Kar Sevaks who died for Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi. We recently reported about Karsevak Mahavir Aggarwal, who was shot in the chest and dragged into the car with other deceased while he was still alive. Similarly, in this series, we’ve discussed the atrocities committed against karsevaks such as Ram Bahadur Verma, Bhagwan Singh Jat, and Achal Gupta, as well as what happened to their families. Detailed stories about these people can be read here. 

Rajiv Gandhi had his palm bleeding due to handshake with thousands of poor Indians with rough skin, Sam Pitroda reveals

OpIndia Staff
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Rajiv Gandhi had his palm bleeding due to handshake with thousands of poor Indians with rough skin, Sam Pitroda reveals

On 10th December, in an interview with 4PM, a YouTube-based news channel, Chief Of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda claimed that Rajiv Gandhi “had his palms bleeding” due to handshake with thousands of poor Indians with “roughened skin” during his visit to Amethi.

Sanjay Sharma, the editor of 4PM, and Sam discussed the upcoming Bharat Nyay Yatra of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a sequel to the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Sanjay questioned if Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi’s father, was also fond of “yatras” just as the junior Gandhi. Sam, who was friends with Rajiv Gandhi, affirmed that Rajiv Gandhi was also fond of Yatras.

Recounting an incident during one such Yatra to his constituency Amethi, Pitroda said that he met Rajiv after the Yatra and noticed his hands were bleeding. When asked what happened, Rajiv told him that during Yatra, he shook hands with nearly 5,000 poor people. As their hands were rough because of the labour work, his hands got hurt and started bleeding. Pitroda asserted that Rajiv was not worried about bleeding hands, but was happy after meeting the poor people.

Rajiv said it was his duty and job, “I feel perfect meeting them.” Pitroda said, “Despite being the Prime Minister, he would meet many people. He used to come with us to Amethi, and we went with him. Sometimes we were in the same car, and sometimes in a different one. The crowd was always overwhelming.”

Congress lost family seat Amethi in 2019

Rajiv Gandhi fought the election from Amethi in 1981, 1984, 1989, and 1991. Satish Sharma of the Congress Party then took over the family bastion. Later, Sonia Gandhi contested the election from Amethi in 1999 and won. In 2004, 2009 and 2014, Rahul Gandhi fought the election from Amethi and became Lok Sabha MP. However, Congress lost the family seat to BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani, who won the 2019 elections from Amethi, snatching the long-held Congress fortress and forcing Rahul Gandhi to flee to Wayanad.

Bharat Naya Yatra

Congress announced Bharat Naya Yatra on 27th December 2023. It will commence from 14th January to 20th March 2024 across 14 states, covering 6,200 kilometres and 85 zillas. The Yatra will cover the East to West distance from Manipur to Mumbai. It is the sequel to Bharat Jodo Yatra, where Rahul Gandhi “walked” across several states from September 2023 to January 2024. Interestingly, the next couple of months are peak for preparations for the upcoming General Elections, and during that period, the Budget Session will also take place in the Parliament. It seems the Congress Party’s possible PM face will miss the Budget Session and the party meetings for Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

Welcome to India my brother: PM Modi welcomes UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as chief guest of Vibrant Gujarat Summit

OpIndia Staff
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Welcome to India my brother: PM Modi welcomes UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as chief guest of Vibrant Gujarat Summit

On Wednesday (10th January), Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 in Gandhinagar. PM Modi welcomed United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the chief guest of the event.

As the UAE President arrived in Gujarat on Tuesday (9th January), Prime Minister Modi gave him a grand welcome calling Sheikh Nahyan his “brother”. The UAE President was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour upon his arrival.

“Welcome to India my brother, HH @MohamedBinZayed. It’s an honour to have you visit us,” PM Modi wrote on X as he shared some pictures of him welcoming the UAE President.

The images captured the camaraderie between the two leaders. The photos showed the two leaders hugging and holding each other’s hands at the airport. One of the pictures captured the two leaders conversing, following the guard of honour to the visiting dignitary.

Taking to X, President Nahyan shared pictures from his Gujarat visit and said that his visit aims at further cementing the strong ties between India and the UAE. He added that his talks with PM Modi focused on ways to further collaboration to boost economic growth and sustainable development for the benefit of the Indian as well as UAE citizens.

“Today I met with Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi in Ahmedabad to further cement the strong ties that unite our two nations. The partnership between India and the UAE continues to flourish and our talks today explored ways to boost collaboration that will support economic growth and sustainable development for the benefit of our people,” the UAE President posted.

The people of Ahmedabad gave a warm and rousing welcome to the UAE President on Tuesday (9th January) as the two leaders held a grand roadshow in the city.

During the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Ahmedabad, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan addressed the event today saying words of appreciation for host India before leaving to attend some emergency.

Speaking at the Summit, Group Chairman and CEO of Emirati multinational logistics company DP World, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said, “…DP World is planning in the next 3 years to invest in addition to that $3 billion. We will continue to support Gujarat’s economy by building state of the art container terminal at Kandla Port with a capacity of 2 million containers. Looking ahead, we foresee deeper trade, employment and cultural collaboration between India and the UAE. DP World has signed a strategic MoU with the Government of Gujarat on the sideline of the Summit which reiterates our commitment to the state of Gujarat and India. We are proud to partner with the government for the development of India’s logistics sector and we will continue to support the manufacturing industries of Gujarat and the rest of India to make India goods globally competitive and accessible…”

Earlier in the day, PM Modi met with the heads of state/government including UAE Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala, Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, and Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat posed for a group photograph.

Notably, bilateral relations between India and the UAE have strengthened in the recent past. PM Modi was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the UAE in 34 years in 2015. In 2017, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day festivities in New Delhi. 

It is also worth recalling that Prime Minister Modi was conferred with the Order of Zayed, the UAE’s highest civilian honour, in August 2019. PM Modi’s visits to the UAE in 2022 and 2023 resulted in joint statements on an array of global issues. Last September, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India for the G20 summit.

About Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit

The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, started in 2003 by then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi, has emerged as a key global forum for business collaboration, knowledge sharing, and strategic partnerships for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The tenth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is taking place in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from January 10 to 12, 2024. According to an official press release, the theme of the event is ‘Gateway to the Future’. This Tenth Edition of the Summit will celebrate “20 Years of Vibrant Gujarat as the Summit of Success”.

This year’s Summit has 34 Partner countries and 16 Partner organisations. Furthermore, the North-Eastern Development Ministry will use the Vibrant Gujarat platform to showcase investment opportunities in the North-Eastern regions.

The Summit will host seminars and conferences on global topics such as Industry 4.0, Technology and Innovation, Sustainable Manufacturing, Green Hydrogen, Electric Mobility and Renewable Energy, and Transition to Sustainability.

Companies will showcase products made with world-class, cutting-edge technology at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show. The Trade Show’s focus sectors include e-mobility, start-ups, MSMEs, blue economy, green energy, and smart infrastructure.

Suchana Seth tried to slit her wrist after killing her son, doctors say she may have smothered the 4-year-old with a pillow

OpIndia Staff
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Suchana Seth tried to slit her wrist after killing her son, doctors say she may have smothered the 4-year-old with a pillow

In a distressing turn of events, the CEO of a Bengaluru-based AI startup allegedly killed her 4-year-old son in a hotel in Goa. Suchana Seth was arrested by Goa Police on 8th January. According to the doctors at Hiriyur Hospital in Karnataka’s Chitradurga, the accused probably smothered her son with a pillow causing his death due to suffocation. The doctors said this after a preliminary examination of the body as it was sent for postmortem.

“The child was smothered. He could have probably died after being suffocated by a pillow or some other object. The child doesn’t seem like he was killed by strangulation using hands. The killing took place over 36 hours ago. His face and chest are swollen due to suffocation. And the child’s nose was bleeding,” Dr Kumar Naik, who was in charge of the postmortem examination said.

Meanwhile, accused Suchana Seth was produced before Mapusa court in Goa. The court remanded the accused into a six-day police custody.

Speaking about the murder on Tuesday, Nidhin Valsan, North Goa Superintendent of Police told the media, “A woman asked the hotel staff to arrange a taxi for Bengaluru. After the checkout, when the hotel staff went to clean the room, they found red-coloured stains which they assumed to be blood. The staff immediately informed the police. The police reached the hotel and tried to contact the woman through the driver. The police inquired about the woman’s son to which she said that the child had been staying at a friend’s place. However, the police found the address provided by the woman to be fake. The driver was asked to take the car to the police station and on checking the luggage, the police found the body of the boy. An FIR was registered and the woman was arrested.”

‘Suchana Seth tried to commit suicide after killing son’: reports

After allegedly murdering her four-year-old son in a service apartment, Suchana Seth attempted suicide by slitting her left wrist, IndiaToday reported. According to police, Suchana Seth changed her mind and left for Bengaluru with her son’s body stuffed in a bag in a tourist cab.

The question arises as to why a mother would kill her son. The accused allegedly committed the crime to keep her estranged husband from visiting their son as part of his visitation rights. The couple’s divorce is currently underway. According to reports, Seth was upset after a court order allowed her estranged husband, who is from Kerala, to see their son every Sunday. She then allegedly planned to murder her son just a day before the scheduled meeting.

“This is what she told our investigators.” The motive has yet to be determined. “Before making any further statements, we need to review the court order,” said North Goa SP Nidhin Valson.

According to police, Suchana Seth’s estranged husband Venkat Raman returned to India from Jakarta on Tuesday evening after learning of his child’s murder. Venkat Raman arrived in Chitradurga, Karnataka, and consented to the local authorities conducting a post-mortem on his son’s body. Following the postmortem examination, the body of the deceased victim was handed over to Raman. 

Following Seth’s arrest, police went to her company’s listed address and found a co-working space rather than a specific office. She used to live in Thanisandra, Bengaluru, but when police arrived, they found that she had vacated the apartment about four months ago, as reported by IndianExpress.

As reported earlier, Seth checked into the Hotel Sol Banyan Grande’s service apartment number 404 with her son on 6th January. She vacated the room on the morning of the 8th of January. Seth requested the hotel staff to arrange a taxi. When the hotel staff suggested she should take a flight as it would be easier, and possibly cheaper too, Seth insisted on taking a cab back to Bengaluru. A local taxi was hired for Seth by the hotel staff.

During the routine cleaning after Seth’s departure, the hotel staff noticed blood stains in the room. The hotel management was informed, which promptly informed the Calangute Police at 11 AM. The police reviewed the hotel’s CCTV footage and noted that Seth left without her son.

Sensing something was wrong, Police Inspector Naik took the taxi driver’s number from the hotel staff and called him. When he questioned Suchana about her son, she told the inspector that she left him with a friend at Fatorda. Police checked the address given by Suchana in Fatorda and found it fake.

Police called back the driver and spoke to him in Konkani, asking him to take the cab to the nearest police station without the knowledge of Suchana. The taxi driver followed the instructions and took the taxi to Aimangala Police Station, without informing Suchana about it. By the time the taxi reached the police station, PI Naik already informed the Aimangala police inspector about the matter and requested him to check the bag. When the bag was opened, the police found the dead body of the four-year-old child.

Suchana Seth is one of the leading names in the AI ethics industry. She founded Mindful AI Lab in 2020. Seth was named among the top 100 women in AI Ethics in 2021. Seth is a data scientist and was a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Centre at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Press freedom goes for a toss in Trudeau’s Canada, journalist arrested for asking tough questions to Deputy PM

OpIndia Staff
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Press freedom goes for a toss in Trudeau’s Canada, journalist arrested for asking tough questions to Deputy PM

On Monday (8th January), a journalist named David Menzies was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on dubious charges of ‘assault’ after he asked tough questions to the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland.

Menzies is the Mission Specialist at Rebel News, a Canada-based independent news outfit that has been hounded several times by the Justin Trudeau-led-Liberal Party government.

In a video that has now surfaced on social media, David Menzies was seen asking Chrystia Freeland about the government’s inaction against rising Islamo-nationalism in the country. “How come the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is not a terrorist group?” he had inquired.

An RCMP officer, standing in the vicinity, blocked the path of the Rebel News journalist, resulting in Menzies bumping into him. The enraged cop then manhandled Menzies and arrested him for ‘assault.’ The journalist was mobbed by other officers and taken away in a paddy wagon.

The incident took place in the Richmond Hill suburb of Toronto city in Ontario province of Canada. While speaking about the matter, Menzies said, “I came here to do my job, and now I’m handcuffed. Welcome to (Justin Trudeau)’s Canada. This is what they do to journalists.”

“I was merely trying to scrum Minister Freeland and the RCMP officer blocked me, and evidently this is a trumped-up charge of assault, folks. I came here to do my job and now I’m handcuffed,” he added.

“Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is not a terrorist organization, and these Liberals have the audacity to show up at a vigil where Canadians were killed…It’s against the law to ask impolite questions,” the Rebel News journalist emphasised.

Justin Trudeau and his disdain for Rebel News

This is however not the first time that Justin Trudeau hounded Rebel News through government agencies. In April 2022, the Canadian government denied ‘journalism licence’ to Rebel News, claiming that only 1% of its content is news.

In September 2021, the independent news outlet was also denied accreditation for covering 2021 federal election debates but it managed to get a ruling in its favour from a federal court.

Justin Trudeau has been upfront about his disdain for Rebel News. On being asked about his attempts to censor the news outfit, he justified, “The reality is, organizations – organizations like yours – that continue to spread misinformation and disinformation on the science around vaccines…”

He blamed Rebel News for fuelling mass protests by truckers against his government. “Frankly your – I won’t call it a media organization – your group of individuals need to take accountability for some of the polarization that we’re seeing in this country,” the Canadian Prime Minister brazened it out.

Justin Trudeau has been the blue-eyed hero of the global left-liberal ecosystem for supposedly championing the cause of ‘free speech’ and ‘press freedom.’ As is often the case with such ‘liberal leaders’, the Canadian Prime Minister’s crusade in support of freedom of speech is based on political convenience.

Hindu man Borun Ghosh hacked to death in Bangladesh post-poll violence, Islamists suspected in targeted attack

OpIndia Staff
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Hindu man Borun Ghosh hacked to death in Bangladesh post-poll violence, Islamists suspected in targeted attack

A 42-year-old Hindu man, Borun Ghosh, was hacked to death in Bangladesh on Tuesday (9th January) night in a suspected case of post-electoral violence against minorities in the country. The incident occurred around 7 p.m. in the Ghoshpara area of Jhenaidah district, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was re-elected for a fifth term.

According to local police, Borun Ghosh was an activist and supporter of the ruling Awami League (AL) party candidate Tahzeeb Alam Siddique Sami who lost the election for the Jhenaidah-2 constituency. Independent candidate Nasser Shahrear Zahedee was declared the winner in that seat.

Shahin Uddin, Officer-in-Charge of the Sadar Police Station said that “an activist of AL has been hacked to death by ‘miscreants'”. While the motive is still unknown, the manner of the targeted killing indicates it was likely a hate crime against Hindus.

Sami confirmed that Borun campaigned for him and was one of his party workers. He condemned the murder and demanded immediate police action. Locals said Borun was ambushed, dragged out of his home and attacked with sharp weapons leading to his death due to excessive bleeding. One of his legs was amputated in this attack. Locals rushed Borun Ghosh to the Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital after the attack, but doctors there declared him dead on arrival.

Mir Abidur, an additional superintendent of police said, “I cannot say whether Barun was actively involved in politics. However, we have started the investigation.” However, various leaders of the Awami League confirmed that he was politically active. District Awami League Vice-President Abdul Khalek said that Borun was a supporter of Tahzeeb Alam Siddique Sami.

According to Kanak Kanti Das, a joint general secretary of the ruling Awami League party unit, Borun’s elder brother Arun Kumar Ghosh is a local leader of the opposition Workers Party. Meanwhile, Binoy, a leader of the Jhenaidah District Puja Celebration Council, said that the Awami League had organised a protest procession in town to demonstrate against Borun’s murder.

Attacks on religious minorities, especially Hindus, are unfortunately common in Muslim-majority Bangladesh with Islamist groups regularly targeting temples, priests, monks and homes in rural areas. While Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government has cracked down on extremist forces, violence against minorities continues around important national events.

Borun’s murder closely mirrors previous anti-Hindu attacks to spread fear and intimidate minority communities. The Hindus in Bangladesh expect stringent measures to curb violence and ensure the safety of minority citizens who overwhelmingly voted for the secular Awami League.

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