To promote integration, Germany plans to train its Muslim clerics and is scheduled to phase out a training program that places Turkish imams in the country’s mosques. The decision was pronounced by the Interior Ministry on 14th December. A deal for the gradual dismissal of foreign imams has been reached with the Turkish-Islamic umbrella organization DITIB. The goal is to replace the existing imams in Germany by training 100 each year. The approximately thousand clerics who were trained and hired by the Turkish Diyanet will progressively be replaced by them.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated in a statement, “We need religious leaders who speak our language, know our country and stand up for our values. We want imams to get involved in the dialogue between religions and discuss questions of faith in our society. This is an important milestone for the integration and participation of Muslim communities.”
The German Islam Conference (DIK) estimates that 5.5 million Muslims or around 6.6% of the country’s total population consider Germany their home. About 2,500 mosque communities exist in Germany and DITIB is in charge of 900 of them. The largest Islamic group in Germany, DITIB is a branch of the Presidency of Religious Affairs in Ankara, although it has been charged with serving as an extension of the Turkish government.
The most recent DITIB scandal arose last month when an Afghan Taliban member gave a speech at one of the group’s mosques in the western city of Cologne. Following claims that imams sent by Diyanet had spied on behalf of Ankara in the wake of the attempted coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime, German officials called on DITIB to implement major reforms in 2017. Diyanet refuted any involvement and no charges were filed after the investigation was concluded.
In her 2018 speech to the parliament, former chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the training of imams on German territory “will make us more independent and is necessary for the future.” According to the ministry, the 100 imams who will be trained annually in Germany will be trained both through an additional program and as part of the current DITIB program. It claimed to be pursuing “cooperation with the German College of Islam” in Osnabrück to achieve this.
Osnabrueck, in northern Germany, is host to the Islamic College Germany, also known as Islamkolleg Deutschland. It was established in 2019 by Muslim community associations, scholars and theologians to give imams and religious personnel who speak German-speaking communities theological and practical training. The German government reportedly wishes to support courses that teach religious education and the German language to aspiring imams. Other courses that will be promoted include history, political science and German values.
More than 60 years ago, Turkish immigrants began to arrive in substantial numbers as West Germany began hiring “guest workers” from Turkey and other countries to support the nation’s economic development. The majority of the young males worked in the car sector, steel industry and coal mining. Large immigrant populations could be seen in Berlin and other western and southern German cities because many of the people who had originally arrived as temporary labourers chose to stay and bring their families.
The new imam training agreement was reached over prolonged negotiations with the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs or Diyanet, and the union of Turkish-Islamic cultural organizations in Germany also known as DITIB in Turkish.
The proposal of renaming the Mysuru airport after Tipu Sultan, a Muslim ruler, by Congress MLA Prasad Abbayya has drawn sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs in the Karnataka Assembly.
Abbayya who is MLA from Hubballi-Dharwad (East) came up with the proposal during a discussion about the state government writing to the Centre to change the names of airports.
Abbayya said, “I propose renaming Mysuru Airport to Tipu Sultan Airport.”
This left BJP MLAs angered and they stood up to protest and objected to the decision, triggering heated arguments between both sides.
However, the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution recommending the union government to name four airports after prominent personalities.
According to the resolution, the Hubballi Airport will be named after Kranti Veera Sangolli Rayanna, Belagavi Airport after Kittur Rani Chennamma, Shivamogga Airport after Rashtrakavi Dr KV Puttappa (Kuvempu) and Vjiayapura airport after Sri Jagadjyoti Basaveshwara.
Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil said the new names for the airports will be recommended to the union government for approval.
Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah spoke at an event on October 13 when he said that Kittur Rani Channamma and Tipu Sultan are inspirations to fight for self-respect.
“Kittur Rani Channamma and Tipu Sultan are inspirations to fight for self-respect. Kittur Channamma was a fierce queen who challenged the huge British army with her small army. Kittur Utsava and Jayantsova were started during my first term as Chief Minister, to introduce her courage and ideals to the youth and today’s generation,” the CM said.
Tipu Sultan has been a polarising figure in Karnataka, when he was Chief Minister in 2016 Siddarmiah decided to celebrate Tipu Sultan’s birthday as “Tipu Jayanti” on November 10.
This decision was scrapped after the BJP came to power in the state in 2019.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Actor Shah Rukh Khan and his family became the latest victims of Islamist wrath after a raft of Muslim fundamentalists targeted them for visiting the famous Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi.
Earlier this week, Jawan actor Shah Rukh Khan visited the Shirdi temple with his daughter Suhana Khan and offered prayers ahead of his upcoming theatrical release, Dunki. News agency ANI shared the video of the father-daughter duo entering the temple premises and later offering prayers inside the temple.
#WATCH | Actor Shah Rukh Khan and his daughter Suhana Khan offered prayers at Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, in Shirdi, Maharashtra today.
However, no sooner did visuals of SRK and his daughter paying their respects at the Shirdi Sai Temple appear on social media than a large number of Islamists took to X to castigate Shah Rukh Khan and declare him a murtad, kafir, etc. A barrage of despicable comments were made against the actor because he visited a Hindu temple despite being a Muslim.
It is worth noting that idol worshipping or idolatry is considered as an unpardonable sin as per Islamic texts and carries strict punishment. The Qur’an considers shirk as a sin that will not be forgiven if a person dies without repenting of it.
A Muslim fundamentalist who appeared visibly offended by SRK’s visit to Shirdi Sai Temple said the actor could not be considered as a Muslim but a Murtad and a Kafir.
Murtad is an Islamic term for ‘apostasy’, which means an abandonment of a religious belief. Kafir, on the other hand, is a word used as a pejorative for non-Muslims.
Another X user said Shah Rukh Khan is not a Muslim because if he believed in Allah, he would have never visited a temple and pray there. According to Islamic scriptures, Muslims are prohibited from indulging in idolatory and idol worshipping is considered as a sin, forbidden in Islam.
It is worth noting that idol worshipping or idolatry is considered as an unpardonable sin as per Islamic texts and carries strict punishment. The Qur’an considers shirk as a sin that will not be forgiven if a person dies without repenting of it.
One of the Muslim social media users tweeted, “If you call yourself a Muslim and his fan at the same time, you need to evaluate your Iman.”
Many others too attacked the actor for his visit to Shirdi temple.
“Are actor Shah Rukh Khan and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan having a competition to see who can engage in more shirk? Absolute sellout fools,” wrote another Islamist fundamentalist.
While many Islamists abused and attacked SRK for his visit to the Shirdi temple, this is not the first time that the Kal Ho Naa Ho actor has raised the hackles of the Muslim fundamentalists. Every year, Islamists suffer a meltdown after SRK celebrates Hindu festivals, most notably Ganesh Chaturthi, when the actor installs an idol of Lord Ganesha at his home and offers prayers to Him. The actor shares a picture of the Ganesha idol every year, driving the Islamists up the wall who then resort to using familiar abuses to attack the Bollywood artist for indulging in ‘idol worshipping’.
Nikhil Gupta’s family members filed a habeas corpus petition with the Supreme Court, seeking relief on his behalf. Gupta faces accusations from the United States for conspiring to eliminate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The petition implores the Government of India to intervene in Gupta’s detention in the Czech Republic, arguing that his arrest in a foreign country at the request of the United States is considered illegal.
On Friday (15th December), the Supreme Court postponed the petition to 4th January 2024. At first, the bench, which includes Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti, indicated a reluctance to consider the petition, stating that the detainee should seek relief from the “appropriate court.”
The court said, “You have to go before the court which is outside India. Go over there. We are not going to have an adjudication over here. The person detained has not given the affidavit. If there is a violation of any law etc you have to go to court over there. We will have this on January 4 after vacations. We will decide on the next day. Serve copy to the central agency.”
Nikhil Gupta said in his petition that he was in the Czech Republic on a leisure and business exploration trip when he was illegally detained at the Prague Airport on June 30. Senior Advocate Aryama Sundaram, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, said, “The circumstances surrounding his arrest were marked by irregularities, with no formal arrest warrant presented, and the apprehension executed by self-claimed US agents rather than local Czech authorities.”
The plea provided a comprehensive account of the petitioner’s detention at the airport following his clearance at the immigration counter. According to the petition, upon exiting the airport, the petitioner was approached by individuals claiming to be law enforcement, who detained him without specifying any reason for his apprehension. Subsequently, he was compelled into a sports utility vehicle (SUV), and a device was affixed to his mobile phone.
It is crucial to highlight that the petitioner was not intercepted at the immigration counter; rather, his apprehension took place after completing immigration procedures when he exited the Prague Airport. The petition argues that the subsequent three-hour interrogation within the confines of an SUV was entirely unlawful, contravening both international and domestic legal principles.
The petitioner, a devout Hindu and adherent to a vegetarian lifestyle, was subjected to the coercive consumption of beef and pork while in Czech custody, directly infringing upon his religious convictions, as asserted in the petition. Additionally, the petition contends that he was deprived of consular access, the right to communicate with his family in India, and the freedom to seek legal representation.
Notably, Czech authorities have verified that Gupta’s detention was carried out at the request of the United States of America. U.S. prosecutors have accused Gupta of collaborating with an Indian government official in a thwarted plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu on American soil. Pannu, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada, was the target of the alleged conspiracy.
During his interrogation, Lalit Jha the main conspirator of the Lok Sabha security lapse divulged to the police that the attackers had an alternate strategy in case their initial scheme didn’t work out and they didn’t make it to Parliament, based on a report on India Today.
Jha revealed that Mahesh and Kailash would approach the Parliament from a different route and in front of the media cameras would release the color canisters and raise slogans if for whatever reason Neelam Singh and Amol were unable to get close to the Parliament. The two were instructed to finish the assignment outside the Parliament at whatever cost since Mahesh and Kailash were unable to make it to Vishal Sharma, alias Vicky,’s Gurugram residence where the group was lodging.
Lalit Jha had also planned to disappear following the deed. The idea was to assign Mahesh the task of assisting Lalit in hiding in Rajasthan. According to police sources, Mahesh used his Identity Card to book Lalit’s lodging at the guest house. Lalit Jha, Mahesh and Kailash were also busy watching TV to learn more about the violation.
On the 14th of December night, Lalit Jha and Mahesh entered the Kartavya Path police station and turned themselves in. All other main perpetrators are already in police custody. Lok Sabha secretariat has suspended eight security personnel over the incident.
Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D launched yellow gas canisters inside the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour on 13th December. Neelam Singh and Amol Shinde, two other of Lalit Jha’s associates, staged a protest outside the Parliament while shouting and releasing coloured gas from canisters on the eve of the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack. Sharma and Manoranjan were subdued by some parliamentarians.
The Delhi Police filed a case against the accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). A police team reached the house in Gurugram earlier in the day, where the offenders stayed briefly before the incident. The officials informed that the matter has been registered under Indian Penal Code sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 452 (trespass), 153 (wantonly giving provocation, with intent to cause riot), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act sections 16 and 18 at the Parliament Street police station.
Shahrukh Pathan, who pointed a gun at a policeman during the anti-Hindu riots in North-East Delhi in 2020, was refused regular bail by a Delhi court on 14th December. The court stated it observed no need to grant him bail and Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat of Karkardooma Court noted, “Considering the conduct of the accused Shahrukh Pathan in jail during his judicial custody, his conduct before his being arrested, conduct during court proceedings and most importantly, the allegations against the accused which are being supported by the eyewitnesses and also the video footage, on any of the counts on which bail can be considered, the court sees nothing to set him enlarged on bail.”
The case pertains to the infamous picture where Shahrukh Pathan was seen holding a gun to a police officer’s head during the Delhi anti-hindu riots. During the riot, on the 24th of February 2020, a confrontation broke out between Jaffrabad Metro Station and Maujpur Bridge. There were more than 5,000 people who came face to face in that area. The anti-CAA protestors (Islamist mob) were pelting stones and brandishing guns. When the investigation was carried out, 3 cartridges were found at the spot where Shahrukh Pathan brandished a gun, aimed at the head of a police officer in uniform.
The order details how Shahrukh Pathan first fired a few rounds at the crowd and refused to pay heed to the warnings issued by the police officer. When he advanced, for the safety of the crowd, the police officer stood in his path and did not move. When Pathan was at a distance of 9-10 feet from the police officer, he fired his weapon aimed at the police officer’s head to kill him. The police officer dodged the bullet but continued to stand there in his path so he couldn’t advance further and kill the Hindus. As the police officer refused to move, Pathan pushed the officer and then aimed the gun at his head again. When the police officer issued another warning after being pushed, Shahrukh Pathan fired at the crowd and started retreating.
It was only after sustained interrogation that Shahrukh Pathan revealed his full identity and confessed to his involvement in the crime. The prosecution has also argued that Shahrukh Pathan was not only attempting to kill the police officer but was also leading the mob.
Interestingly, the order reveals how Shahrukh Pathan was not cooperative during the investigation and refused to reveal the identity of other rioters who were involved. During the investigation, it is detailed, that Pathan also tried his best to mislead the police. He has also displayed aggressive and remorseless conduct in jail.
The prosecution argued that if let out on bail, he could potentially influence witnesses and tamper with evidence. Also, given the fear of the 10-year jail term that could be handed to him, he could abscond. Taking into account his conduct inside the jail and during the investigation, the court agreed with the prosecution and refused to grant him bail.
The campaign about Shahrukh Pathan being beaten in jail and what his lawyer had claimed
On the 3rd of February, news emerged that Shahrukh Pathan had been beaten up in jail and feared for his life. There were several reports by Muslim-centric websites which were peddled by the usual suspects to drum up sympathy for Pathan.
Two days back I came to know about the life threat of #shahrukhpathan in the jail through his Advocate @ADVKhalidAkhtar . This is an enquiry and should protect shahrukh . —— Shahrukh Pathan assaulted and threatened with life in jail https://t.co/9GsWzN90fM via @Muslim Mirror
The “Muslim Mirror” reported the assertion of Shahrukh Pathan in detail. “Assistant Jail Superintendent by the name of Rajesh Dahiya slapped the applicant on his face and started threatening and abusing the applicant with dire consequences for having pointed his pistol at a person of his cast/(Gotra) and threatened the applicant that they would kill him before the trial concludes and that all this was done amidst the presence of all the other Jail officials,” the counsel said, in the application, seeking status report from the jail superintendent about the incident.
According to the application, Shahrukh “apprehends that this attack was a calculated attack to orchestrate a bigger and more severe attack based on the outcome of the result this attack as the perpetrator, The Additional Jail Superintendent has himself warned the applicant of dire consequences and has specifically used the word that ‘we would make sure to kill you but will never let you get out of jail’.
The counsel, in the application, said, “AS Rajesh Dahiya threatened applicant/accused for dire consequences but the applicant just ignored the threats and warnings but this present incident has instilled a fear of life and safety.”
Shahrukh Pathan demanded that action be taken against the police officer and a “proper inquiry” be set up to probe the incident.
There were few points that stood out in the application made by Shahrukh Pathan about this alleged attack:
Pathan claims that Rajesh Dahiya slapped and beat him up saying that he had attacked a police officer who belonged to his “caste/gotra”.
Threatened that he could be killed before the trial concludes.
The attack was a calculated one, testing waters for a larger attack.
Shahrukh Pathan was scared for his life and was living in fear, apparently.
While the attempt here was to create sympathy for Pathan which could assist in him getting bail, from the court order denying bail to Pathan, it is evident that Shahrukh Pathan and his lawyer blatantly lied in their application to the court.
What does the bail order say, proving that Shahrukh Pathan and his lawyer lied in their application to the court
After the application of Shahrukh Pathan, claiming he was beaten and tortured by Rajesh Dahiya, the entire CCTV footage of the day – 30/1/2023 was pulled out and examined. The footage was then played in court in front of the prosecutor and the defence counsel. According to the court document, on the day in question, after he appeared via video conference in court, without permission Shahrukh Pathan left the video conferencing room and hid in a cell for over 2 and a half hours. This was a clear violation of prison rules. Since Shahrukh Pathan has been considered a high-risk inmate, he is kept away from other prisoners.
The court document says that in the CCTV, it was seen that he voluntarily entered a cell and was seen mingling and having lunch with other dangerous inmates. The inmates that he was having lunch with included gangsters as well. Then, he went and met two convicts. One convict that he met was a death row convict involved in the Red Fort Bomb Blast case. After talking to him, he looked at him and gestured towards Assistant Superintendent Rajesh Dahiya. It was then that Dahiya approached him and slapped him.
The court observed that the entire demeanour of Shahrukh Pathan while he was talking to other convicts and breaking the rules seemed casual and comfortable and it was evident that he was under no threat.
The court document makes several other startling revelations about Shahrukh Pathan on that day.
The court order says that Shahrukh Pathan after meeting the Red Fort Blast convict made aggressive gestures towards Dahiya and tried to provoke him.
Excerpt of bail order
In court, another instance of Shahrukh’s abysmal conduct in jail was placed on record.
On 10/02/2023, CCTV footage shows that he was again outside and mingling with other hardened criminals, which he is not supposed to do since he has been labelled a High-Risk Prisoner. On this day, he purposely beat up an Under Trial Prisoner called Bunty. After that, he started to bandage him.
The very next day Pathan thrashed him. Bunty lodged a complaint to the Jail Inspecting Judge that he and Shahrukh Pathan had been badly beaten up, tortured and harassed by Tihar Jail Superintendent. The jail authorities then showed the CCTV footage and thereafter, the application was not pursued by the accused.
Excerpt of bail order
In several other CCTV footages, Pathan, the court document says, was seen arguing with the Jail Staff.
Essentially, CCTV footage has proven that Shahrukh Pathan was lying about Dahiya beating him up, threatening him and torturing him. The lie did not just stop there. He even lied about Dahiya saying that he was beating him because he had shot at a police officer who belonged to his caste/gotra. Further, Shahrukh Pathan had made a previous attempt to lie about jail authorities beating him up and that application had not been filed only because it was proven on CCTV that it was him who had beaten up another under trial and essentially, both of them had lied about the Superintendent.
It is evident that Shahrukh Pathan and his lawyer are lying in an attempt to game the system by not only claiming a threat to life but also creating a sympathy wave to influence the court proceeding.
How The Quint had tried to humanise Pathan and create sympathy for him
In August 2021, 18 months after the 25-year-old Delhi anti-Hindu riots accused Shahrukh Pathan was arrested for brandishing a gun at the police and threatening them, The Quint published a white paper on him watering down his crime and making him appear like a cherubic saint. The Quint started by describing his menacing march as ‘brazen confidence in his gait’. Then the writer of the ‘Shahrukh Pathan fan page’ romanticised his criminal act. “Unfazed by the policemen in riot gear, he shot bullets in the air while media persons captured his acts in astonishment.
The fact that the gym enthusiast, who was also a local, did not wear a mask to hide his identity, made his ‘bravado’ seem peculiar and odd,” the author wrote. The Quint then went on to explain how his friends described Shahrukh as someone who was into grooming and was interested in his appearance. He was characterised as someone who was a biryani-lover, liked to put gel in his hair, blow dry it, wear crisp, ironed shirts, good shoes and well, make TikTok videos. The author interviewed Pathan’s mother, who had glowing views about her son. She said her son was innocent and ‘simple-minded’.
Shahrukh’s mother also highlighted counterfactual scenarios to water down her son’s criminality. She told his fans at The Quint that she often wonders, “What if she had given him food when he asked? What if the timing was a few minutes before or after namaz?”
On 11th December, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reportedly questioned more than 20 terror suspects as part of its crackdown on the Maharashtra module of terrorist outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, commonly known as ISIS. The suspects were summoned from Thane, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Among those questioned was Areeb Majeed, a resident of Kalyan who defected to ISIS during his visit to Iraq and Syria in 2014. Areeb was arrested by the NIA upon his return in November 2014.
Areeb is currently out on bail thanks to a Special Court order dated 17th March 2020, which was upheld by the Bombay High Court in March 2021, which was further upheld by the Supreme Court on 27th August 2021. He has been free ever since even as the NIA has clamped down on the ISIS module running at a national scale across cities as recently as on 13th December this year.
Two years after the NIA’s repeated pleas challenging Areeb’s bail went in vain, the central agency has found itself questioning the terrorist once again.
Areeb Majeed (source: The Indian Express)
Interestingly, Areeb Majeed is the brother-in-law of Shamil Nachan, the terrorist who was amongst the members running the Pune ISIS module. Shamil Nachan was the sixth accused arrested by the NIA on 11th August 2023 for his involvement in the fabrication of IEDs in the Pune ISIS Module case.
This crucial link, which has the potential to investigate and even incriminate Areeb Majeed, further extends to Saquib Nachan, who is the father of Shamil Nachan. Saquib is the kingpin of the Maharashtra ISIS terror module and was arrested on 9th December 2023.
He had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a ‘liberated zone‘ and as ‘Al-Sham’; he administered ‘Bayath’ – an oath of allegiance to the ISIS Khalifa to the recruits; was recruiting youth from Padgha-Borivali and hatched plot to spread terror across India.
But the raids on 9th December revealed sensational details directly involving Areeb Majeed himself. In an exclusive report by Republic Media Network, it was revealed that Areeb had “hatched conspiracy to carry out terror acts”.
What’s more shocking is that shortly after his release on bail in 2021, Areeb, as per a report by Free Press Journal, married the younger sister of Shamil Nachan’s wife. On 25th December 2021, Areeb entered into matrimony with Madiha, sister of Afrar who is Shamil’s wife and Saquib’s daughter-in-law.
Shamil Nachan, part of Pune ISIS module, was arrested in August this year by the NIA (source: The Free Press Journal)
Moreover, the Afrar and Madiha are the daughters of Hasib Mulla, who was also arrested in the 9th December raids. Mulla is a close associate of Saquib Nachan.
It is thus clear that the out-on-bail Areeb has direct familial links with Maharashtra ISIS module mastermind Saquib Nachan and is most likely still very much radicalised as in 2014.
Journey to join ISIS
According to a report submitted by the NIA to the Special Court in 2016, Areeb Majeed was among the four Indian youth from Kalyan in Maharashtra who joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) Iraq and Syria.
As per the NIA, the group of four radicalised men left under the pretext of performing pilgrimage tour in Iraq under the Ziyarat Visa on 25th May 2014.
They reportedly boarded an Etihad Airways flight for Abu Dhabi and travelled to Baghdad along with a group of pilgrims. Areeb Majeed was accompanied by Aman Tandel, Fahad Shaikh and Saheen Tanki.
The four youth later separated from the group of pilgrims and joined ISIL. As per the NIA report, the accused “were actively involved in terrorist act in Iraq and Syria”.
Areeb Majeed (Source: India.com)
Areeb was pursuing civil engineering when he decided to take the drastic step. The family of the four accused filed a missing complaint in the city which led to a probe agencies including the Maharashtra police and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
After having spent some time with the terrorist group, Areeb, in July 2014, according to DNA, sustained bullet wounds on his back and shoulder. The versions in the media of how he sustained these wounds are vague.
Owing to lack of medication in the ISIS camps, he convinced his handlers for treatment, as claimed in one report.
However, another report by NDTV claims that Areeb was allowed to leave by ISIS and even “given $2,000” which he used to travel from Iraq to Istanbul.
He travelled to Turkey and contacted his family from there expressing his desire to return. He reportedly met Indian officials there who helped facilitate his return by which time his parents were in touch with the NIA back in India.
“Self-radicalised” or a pre-planned conspiracy?
According to the NIA report from 2016, Areeb had “used his various social networking platforms for communicating with the members/propagators/associates and other like-minded people for exchanging his thought process to wage jihad by violent means against non-believers of Islam to attract the attention of like-minded Muslims and motivate vulnerable youngsters towards jihad by violent means”.
Moreover, it alleges that cyber data accessed by the agency clearly establishes that some of the social networking accounts of Areeb were created by the accused while he was in Iraq/Syria.
Shockingly, a report by Times of India claims that in October 2015, the then Twitter account of ISIS called “Magnet Gas @spamci17” tweeted a photograph of Areeb taken in Syria and claimed that the latter had returned to India to carry out a suicide attack on the Mumbai police headquarter.
The account was reportedly operated by Areeb’s friend Fahad Shaikh who had accompanied him to Iraq. The account was suspended several times in the past but managed to surface with a new handle every time. The account also claimed that Areeb was very much in touch with his family the entire time he was with ISIS.
In the image, Areeb was seen standing on a rooftop with two more ISIS terrorists, holding an AK-47. Another image showed him on a motorcycle with a rifle on his shoulder.
The DNA report claim that Areeb was self-radicalised after reading jihadi literature from about 20,000 websites he had accessed. He reportedly revealed during his interrogations that Areeb and six of his friends would often discuss ways of becoming devout Muslims during their evening prayers near a mosque in Kalyan.
“I was studying engineering but lost interest and began thinking about Islamic countries that followed the Shariat,” he reportedly said. Areeb was also keen in learning about the Palestine and Israel conflict around the time he began listening to radical Islamist speeches.
According to a report by India.com, Areeb claimed that he was also inspired from speeches by Akbaruddin Owaisi, brother of AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Extensive online search on the subject, material on ISIS had an impact following which he made multiple attempts to establish contact with the terrorist outfit. He then reportedly got hold of a phone number from one of the websites.
Through this number, Areeb got another number of a man residing in Bhiwandi, near Kalyan. This man arranged the money the four boys needed for their travel to Iraq.
Another report claims that Areeb contacted a woman named Tahira Bhatt on Facebook who claimed to be an ISIS recruiter and that she told the four youth to head to Iraq where they would meet a representative.
They booked their flights through a travel agency named Rahat Tours and Travels in Bhiwandi. They paid Rs 60,000 each and tickets were booked for 25th May. Areeb collected his visa and documents from Ajmeri Tours and Travel in Dongri.
The four left from Kalyan separately, travelled via the local trains and assembled at Mumbra station where their Bhiwandi contact gave them some more cash.
From Mumbra they travelled to Mumbai international airport, boarded an Etihad Airways flight to Abu Dhabi and headed to Iraq from there. On 27th May they arrived in Karbala and headed to Baghdad.
On 31st May, they separated from the group of pilgrims and escaped. Areeb’s friend Tanki was told by an ISIS point person to hire a taxi to Fallujah, close to Mosul.
In Mosul they contacted their Iraqi point person who sent his associate. This associate helped them reach the Hind camp where they were radicalised about the missions, ideology and aims of ISIS.
From there they were shifted to training camps and were told that the ISIS Chief “considers men from India to be physically weak and not fit for the battlefield”.
Tanki managed to clear the physical training and was given weapons training. Areeb and two of his friends were made to joined the ISIS social media team and were tasked with cleaning and collecting water.
The bench added that there is a likelihood of the trial being delayed for a considerable period. “Mr Majeed is an education person who was completing his graduation in civil engineering when he left for Iraq at the age of 21,” the court observed.
It added, “He categorically stated before us that as a 21-year-old, he was carried away and that he committed a serious mistake for which he had already spent over six years behind bars.”
The court highlighted and took into consideration how is family was an educated one.
“This shows that he comes from an educated family and that if stringent conditions are imposed upon him, with an undertaking to cooperate with the trial proceedings before the NIA Court, his release on bail may not be harmful to the society at large and it would not adversely affect the trial proceedings,” the court had ruled.
In the hearing in the SC, Additional Solicitor General Raju had argued that while Majeed was granted bail by the Bombay HC on the grounds of his behaviour in jail, his case was filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
This plea too was rejected, this time by the Supreme Court, ordering that Areeb had spent 6.5 years in jail and stringent conditions were imposed on him
However, Areeb’s case is far from close and scope for justice, however slow that might be, very much prevails. Areeb’s delaying tactics have been called out by the NIA.
In a recent development, a special court recently directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to produce a file related to the grant of sanction to prosecute Areeb Majeed.
The sanctioning authority had issued the sanction to prosecute Areeb under UAPA and is deposing in the case as the 67th witness.
The court has also said that Areeb will not be able to go through the documents as they are “privileged communication” between the witness and higher authorities.
The court said that the authority has to do a complete scrutiny and decide whether to grant sanction or not “strictly keeping in mind the public interest and protection available to the accused against whom the sanction is sought.”
It is noteworthy that Areeb had submitted an application in 2018 seeking to plead his own case. He reportedly cited the case of Saquib Nachan, who was convicted in connection with the 2003 blast case. As per reports, Nachan had studied while he was lodged in jail, eventually presenting his case on his own before the same court.
Areeb Majeed is on bail just like how 63-year-old Saquib Nachan has been out on bail for over a decade now
On 9th December, the NIA searched 44 locations in Maharashtra and Karnataka and arrested 15 people from Padgha in Thane district in the Maharashtra ISIS terror module case.
The leader of the module Saquib Nachan along with his kin Hasib Mulla, Kashif Abdul Sattar Balere, Saif Ateeque Nachan, Rehan Ashfaque Suse, Shagaf Safiq Divkar, Firoz Dastagir Kuwari, Adil Ilyas Khot, Musab Haseeb Mulla, Rafil Abdul Latif Nachan, Yahya Ravish Khot, Razil Abdul Latif Nachan, Farhan Ansar Suse, Mukhlis Maqbool Nachan and Munzir Abubakar Kunnathpeedikal were arrested.
Press Release- Update 2 NIA Swoops Down on 44 Locations in M’ Rashtra & K’Nataka, Arrests 15 Operatives of ISIS Maharashtra Modules pic.twitter.com/YvIheDUrJx
Guns, knives, swords, huge amount of cash, firearms, incriminating documents, smartphones, laptops, hard disks, CDs, magazine books and Hamas flags were seized during the raids.
This and more details that have emerged prove that Saquib Nachan is a seasoned terrorist and the fact that he has been able to expand his terror network across state borders raises serious security concerns.
Saquib has been at the helm of carrying out 3 bomb blasts within a span of 4 months (6th December 2002 to 13th March 2003).
He targeted busy railway stations and markets to maximise the impact of his terror plots. The first blast took place on 6th December 2002 at a McDonald’s joint in the Mumbai Central railway station. Although no one was killed, a total of 25 people sustained injuries.
Saquib Nachan (Image Source: TV9 Gujarati)
Saquib Nachan orchestrated the second attack in a market in Ville Parle (East) on 27th January 2003. In that blast, one person and 25 others were injured. The third attack, which was carried out by Saquib inside a train coach at the Mulund station on 13th March 2003, was the deadliest of all.
A total of 11 people were killed and 82 others were injured in the blast. Saquib was arrested by Mumbai police on April 10, 2003, and served 8 years in jail. He was thereafter released on bail on a bond of ₹1 lakh.
The Maharashtra police arrested the terrorist yet again on 4th August 2012 in connection to an attempted murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activist Manoj Raicha. He was released on bail in August 2014.
His conviction in the blast case finally came in March 2016. Saquib spent less than 2 years as a convict before being freed in November 2017. His release came 5 months earlier than expected on account of being ‘disciplined’ in jail.
On being released from jail, he remarked, “I respect the judiciary system and after my release I wish to spend quality time with my family members…The prison authorities and conditions in the jail are proper. Now, as a grandfather, I would bring up my grandchildren.”
He has been accused of fighting alongside other Mujahideen during the Afghan Jihad and sending Indian Muslims to receive training in terrorism from Pakistan.
Saquib Nachan holds a B.Com degree and has served as the general secretary of the banned Islamic terror outfit, SIMI. He was part of the radical Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in his formative years.
Terrorist Saquib Nachan, image via Navbharat TImes
A CBI chargesheet dating back to 1992 read, “During 1990, he visited Pakistan twice. His real purpose was to meet Salahuddin Sudani and Abdur-Rahim-Rasool Sayyef to discuss ways and means to train Muslim youths in arms, ammunition and explosives. Till 1991 he was sending Sikh youths to Pakistan for military training.”
Saquib Nachan was accused of being involved in the murder of 2 Hindu lawyers and a Muslim for supposedly working against the ‘Muslim community.’ He is believed to be a part of Pakistani ISI’s plan to strengthen the Khalistani separatist movement in India.
In mid-1992, he was convicted by Gujarat court and then the Supreme Court for involvement in terrorism.
The above developments beget some pertinent questions.
Did Areeb’s marriage into the Nachan family right after his bail release not sound an alarm? Was Saquib’s activity not monitored over the years which has allowed him to expand his terror network across Maharashtra and Karnataka at least?
Who is to say that Saquib Nachan and his network did not have a hand in radicalising and facilitating the recruitment of Areeb and his three friends into ISIS in Iraq and Syria? Who is to say that Areeb has returned and comfortably become part of the Nachan ISIS terror network only to take their work forward?
On Thursday (14th December), a Kerala court acquitted 24-year-old DYFI worker Arjun who was the sole accused in the rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl in Vandiperiyar town in the Idukki district of Kerala in 2021. The court acquitted the 24-year-old accused citing lack of clinching evidence and “glaring lapses” in the investigation of this case.
The judgment of the POCSO court
A bench of special judge Manju V in the POCSO court in Kattappana said that the prosecution failed to prove the case against the accused and was based solely on circumstantial evidence which could not be established to prove the accused guilty.
The court said, “In the result, the accused is found not guilty for the offences punishable under sections 449 (house trespass to commit an offence punishable with death), 376(2)(n) (punishment for committing rape repeatedly on the same woman), 377 (unnatural offences), 376A (punishment for causing death by rape), 376AB (punishment for rape on woman under 12 years of age), 302 (punishment for murder) of Indian Penal Code and under sections 5(i), (j)(iv), (l) and (m) (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) read with section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and he is acquitted under section 235 Criminal Procedure Code.”
Agony of the victim’s family
The victim’s family members had an emotional breakdown after listening to the judgment. Outside the court, the child’s grandmother said, “The girl was born to her parents after a 14-year wait. However, he (Arjun) killed her ruthlessly and hung her in our prayer room. How can we forgive him? If this happened to your child, would you be able to endure the pain? Where is the justice?”
The victim’s mother said, “It remains a reality that my child was killed, but she is devoid of justice. We were not having a child for 14 years. She was killed, right? People in the locality know things he has done. He is acquitted. He is going to have a happy life. We lost our child, right? We will not go for appeal and will seek justice in our ways.”
The incident took place in June 2021
On 30th June 2021, the dead body of a six-year-old girl was discovered, strangled, in Vandiperiyar’s Churakkulam estate. During the tragic incident, the parents were away at work. A post-mortem examination unveiled that she had endured sexual torture before her death. Accused Arjun was apprehended by the police, who asserted that he had been subjecting the young girl to abuse since she was three years old.
Heading the investigation was Vandiperiyar Circle Inspector TD Sunil Kumar, and the chargesheet was officially filed on 21st September 2021. Arjun was charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The trial commenced in May 2022, involving the scrutiny of 48 witnesses and the submission of over 69 documents and 16 pieces of evidence. According to reports, the trial encountered a setback when a new judge assumed control, impacting the prosecution’s momentum.
The arguments
The prosecution contended that the accused had been engaging in sexual exploitation of the girl since she was three years old, enticing her with chocolates. The perpetrator, closely associated with the girl’s family, subjected her to abuse during the times when both her parents were away for work.
As per the police, the accused admitted to molesting the girl and causing her death by hanging when she lost consciousness. The investigative team further asserted that he had a porn addiction and had subjected the girl to molestation on multiple occasions over a three-year span.
Defense attorney SK Adityan asserted that the police deliberately arrested and charged an innocent individual solely due to his affiliation with DYFI. He said, “Due to improper probe by the police, a youngster lost two precious years of his life. He was ill-treated, assaulted and forcibly made accused.”
Adityan argued that as Arjun was not the actual culprit, the prosecution failed to present compelling scientific evidence, leading to a favorable verdict in his client’s favor. He said, “We will demand a detailed probe to nab the real culprit and seek compensation for the physical and mental hardship Arjun faced.”
Public prosecutor Sunil Maheswar Pillai said, “The accused got enough time to destroy evidence. There was a dearth of DNA samples to ascertain he committed the crime. There were no lapses by the probe team.”
Observations of the court
The Court dismissed the notion of suicidal hanging, emphasizing that a victim of such tender age could not have contemplated suicide. Additionally, the Court highlighted that the injury on the victim’s private parts provided evidence of recent sexual assault. It affirmed that the prosecution successfully demonstrated the victim’s death as a result of homicide.
However, the court pointed put that the prosecution relied solely on the circumstantial evidence and could not prove that the accused killed the victim. The circumstances cited by the prosecution were about the accused luring the victim using chocolates, statements given to police and subsequent discovery, scientific evidence, and past conduct of the accused.
The Court determined that the prosecution failed to establish that the accused had bought chocolates to offer to the victim on the purported day of the incident. It observed that the accused’s statement did not reveal any new admissible facts under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. Furthermore, the Court remarked that the scientific evidence gathered in the case was insufficient to substantiate the guilt of the accused.
The Court clarified that the statements made by the accused to the prosecution witnesses alone did not qualify as relevant conduct under Section 8 of the Evidence Act. It underscored that the actions of the accused were insufficient to establish guilt and prove his involvement in the alleged crime.
Reactions by political parties
BJP and Congress protested against the verdict. Both the parties alleged that the ruling CPM attempted to save its worker Arjun. Even the CPI, an ally of the ruling LDF alongside the CPM, expressed astonishment at the verdict. The CPM pledged to offer the necessary legal assistance to the family of the girl.
BJP district general secretary B S Ratheesh said that the CPM was trying to save the accused right from the beginning. He said, “CPM MLA Vazhoor Soman intervened initially to prevent the child’s autopsy. The verdict shows the prosecution failed to produce necessary scientific evidence, which hints at political intervention to protect the accused.”
In response to this allegation, CPM MLA Vazhoor Soman said that some people were spreading false news against him. He said He mentioned that on August 2021, he wrote to the CM, urging the appointment of a public prosecutor, leading to the designation of Sunil Maheswar Pillai on 31st August. He said, “The verdict has come against expectations. I have written to the CM again demanding re-investigation.”
UDF district chairman Joy Vettikuzhy said, “The police could not file the FIR properly due to political pressure. The leaders and cops who worked to protect the accused do not deserve forgiveness from the public.”
Former DYFI Peermade block secretary Ramaraj said that the accused Arjun was never an active member of DYFI. He said, “He only took part in some relief works held under the leadership of DYFI Churakkulam unit in 2018. The party, be it DYFI or CPM, will never support someone who did cruelty to a girl child.”
CPI Idukki district secretary K Saleem Kumar expressed that the verdict was shocking. He said, “Even before the court pronounced the verdict, the girl’s parents and defence lawyer had said the accused will be acquitted. There is mystery in their statements and the court’s verdict. We demand the HC’s intervention and a re-investigation to ensure justice to the family.”
CPM district secretary CV Varghese said, “The court acquitting the accused was unfortunate. We will do whatever is possible for a re-investigation.” He said that the party will provide all legal support to the girl’s family.
High court has sought clarification in this case
The High Court demanded an explanation for the serious lapse on the part of the police in preparing the charge-sheet for the case involving the torture and subsequent strangulation of a six-year-old girl. It noted that the police had neglected to charge the accused under the Scheduled Castes – Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Harassment Act and sought clarification from the government regarding the deficiency in the police’s investigation.
Suspicions arose due to the omission of certain clauses in the charge-sheet, which are crucial for securing the maximum punishment for the accused. Furthermore, the police disregarded the plea from the girl’s family to include Section 325 of the SC-ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, which should have been applied in cases of rape against a Scheduled Caste girl. Consequently, the family of the girl has forfeited the financial assistance they were supposed to receive from the government.
In a shocking incident, a Bengaluru-based techie lost Rs 68 lakh while attempting to sell an old bed for Rs 15,000 on OLX. A 39-year-old engineer gave his OTP (one-time password) to scammers acting as customers and lost Rs 68 lakh over three days. According to Bengaluru Police, this is the biggest loss resulting from this sort of fraud ever.
According to the Times of Indiareport, Aadish (name changed) recently submitted an ad on OLX looking to sell an old bed. He quoted Rs 15,000 and was immediately approached by a man claiming to be Rohit Sharma. On December 6, Sharma called Aadish and expressed interest in acquiring the bed.
Following the pricing negotiation, Sharma informed Bengaluru-based Aadish that the money would be transferred via a digital payments app. He contacted the techie again a few minutes after to report he was unable to send the money.
The buyer asked the techie to send him Rs 5, for which the latter sent Rs 10. Subsequently, he was asked to send Rs 5,000, for which he received Rs 10,000 in return. Later he was asked to provide Rs 7,500, for which the person said he accidentally sent Rs 30,000. The fraudster then insisted that the techie repay the money via a link and share the OTP. After falling into the OTP trap, the engineer started losing money from his account to the amount of Rs 68 lakh. All the transactions took place between December 6 and 8.
Speaking to TOI, the victim said that Sharma continued asking him to pay money claiming that he couldn’t receive them because of technological difficulties. “I assumed he was a trader with little knowledge of online payments. The following links he shared were in the thousands. When I started losing money through IMPS transfers from my account, I asked him to return it,” Aadish explained.
“Sharma managed to keep me engaged by claiming that he was making every effort to return my money, so I continued to send money to him. Sharma subsequently gave me a new account number, this time in the name of Rajesh Mishra. I sent Rs 15 lakh twice and Rs 30 lakh once, all and all I lost Rs 68.6 lakh” the victim continued.
The police have registered a case based on the victim’s complaint under the Information Technology Act and IPC sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property). Meanwhile, the police said that they have written to the banks to freeze the accounts of the scamsters.
Asim Sarode, a lawyer from Pune, plans to help Amol Shinde, a youngster from Latur, Maharashtra who has been arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the security breach at Parliament.
Shinde (25), a job seeker, is from Zari Budruk village in Chakur tehsil in the district of Latur. Sarode clarified that although Amol’s actions were wrong, the circumstances that made him do this need to be heard.
“I believe that Amol Shinde and others involved in entering the Parliament and using smoke canisters have done wrong as the Parliament is a symbol of pride and elected members across India sit there.. they should be punished for that but the law provisions being charged against them are wrong I feel, that’s why I’ll stand with Amol Shinde and help him in legal aid,” Sarode said while talking to media.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Advocate Asim Sarode says, "I believe that Amol Shinde and others involved in entering the Parliament and using smoke canisters have done wrong as the Parliament is a symbol of pride and elected members across India sit there…they should be punished for that… pic.twitter.com/znmIxfui9M
“I will see whether the charges under the FIR are right or not…What Amol Shinde and others tried to bring forward is the issue of unemployment and inflation,” he added.
Amol’s mother Kesarbai and father Dhanraj Shinde meanwhile stated in Latur that they had no idea what had gone wrong. Santosh and Rahul, his brothers, are equally clueless. However, Amol’s parents acknowledged experiencing financial strain.
“He wanted to go to Latur for further studies for preparations (for recruitment in armed forces and police). However, we were not able to support him financially,” they said.
It is important to note that Advocate Asim Sarode who has extended legal aid to the accused who jumped into the Parliament on 13th December and smoke-attacked the ongoing Parliament session, has been an ardent supporter of Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
He had earlier participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra and had showered praises for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. “Uniting people is very difficult but dividing them is easy…. Rahul Gandhi talks about uniting hearts, he talks about uniting India… We love India and that is why we are with Rahul Gandhi!” he said as he shared a video of his participation in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi.
Notably, he had also extended his support to Gandhi when he was reinstated in the Parliament as the Wayanad MP after the Supreme Court’s relief in the Modi surname defamation case. “The parliament will see the high voltage discussions around valid questions again as a man with democratic values Rahul Gandhi will be back in action. If he is a ‘pappu’ then let the ‘pappa’ show the courage to remain present in the Parliament and answer the questions being raised by him,” Sarode was quoted as saying.
Further, when CM Eknath Shinde and 39 other MLAs ‘rebelled’ against the then-MVA government, seven citizens filed a PIL demanding action against Shinde and other rebel MLAs saying that they had caused political turmoil and instigated internal disorder. Advocate Asim Sarode who was representing the seven citizens was slammed by the Bombay High Court for filing ‘an absolutely politically induced litigation.’
The petitioners were fined Rs 1 lakh while the court said Prima facie, “We are of the view that this is a politically induced litigation. The petitioners have not made requisite research. We direct the petitioners to deposit Rs 1 lakh as security within two weeks.”
Also in the year 2021 whenIndia was facing the second wave of COVID-19, Sarode had made anti-Hindu statements targeting the organization of the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. Sarode made statements targeting the Hindu community and said that the Kumb Mela would escalate the spread of Corona virus. Reportedly, Hindus then happened to counter the statements made by Sarode saying that Kumbh Mela was an age-old tradition and an old religious practice. To this, Sarode had raged controversy saying that it was Akbar who began the Kumbh Mela and that he was the first one to take the religious bath so it was called ‘Shahi Snan’.
Meanwhile, it has also come to the fore that Sarode has connections with Teesta Setalvad, a controversial ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad, who is known for the fabrication of evidence in cases concerning the 2002 Gujarat riots. “Adv Asim Sarode, (offering to defend those involved in the breach), an active participant in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is also associated with Teesta Setalwad,” BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua said on X.
Teesta Setalwad link emerges to the breach of Parliament security !!!
Adv Asim Sarode, (offering to defend those involved in the breach), an active participant in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is also associated with Teesta Setalwad. pic.twitter.com/dweLGbrYQE
As reported earlier, on December 13th, in a major security breach in the Parliament, two men jumped into the Lok Sabha well from the visitors’ gallery while the proceedings were ongoing. A video from the Lok Sabha showed the members of Parliament assaulting one of the two perpetrators who burst into the chamber during proceedings and tossed canisters emitting yellow smoke. The MPs could also be seen plucking the hair of the intruder, hurling shoes at him, and landing punches at him before encircling him.
In the latest update to the case, the Delhi Police on Thursday (14th December) arrested all four accused who launched a smoke attack in the Parliament.
According to the Delhi Police, the accused persons had purchased special shoes from Lucknow and canisters from Mumbai. This was a well-planned conspiracy and attack on the Parliament of India.
Police lawyers further submitted that the accused carried a pamphlet and declared Prime Minister Modi as a missing person and said the person who found him would be paid with money from the Swiss Bank.
The accused persons showed the Prime Minister like a proclaimed offender. Police informed the court that it had registered the FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and had also added sections of stringent 16 (terrorism) and 18 (conspiracy for terrorism) of the UAPA Act.
Meanwhile, police sources on Thursday (14th December) said the four persons arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament have taken common responsibility for the incident, adding that they were giving “rote answers” to the investigation team of the Delhi Police Special Cell in the matter.
