On 12th December (Tuesday), the Bhartiya Janata Party appointed first-time MLA Bhajanlal Sharma as the CM-designate for Rajasthan. His name was unanimously accepted in the meeting of BJP’s newly elected MLAs. He is the MLA from the Sanganer assembly constituency. Additionally, Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa will be the Deputy Chief Ministers.
Addressing the media persons, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that Sharma’s name was proposed by Former state CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia which was seconded by many senior MLAs including Kirodi Lal Meena.
Earlier today, Rajnath Singh and other party observers Vinod Tawde and Saroj Pandey held a meeting in which Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Rajasthan BJP Election in-charge Pralhad Joshi was also present.
Rajnath Singh, Vinod Tavde and Saroj Pandey have been appointed as party observers for Rajasthan.
The election results in four states, especially the losses in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, came as a huge blow to the Congress’s hopes for 2024 as it is now out of power across a vast swathe of the Hindi heartland.
Rajasthan polls were conducted on 199 seats out of 200 assembly seats on November 25, as elections in the Karanpur constituency were adjourned due to the passing of the Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar.
In the recent Rajasthan assembly polls, the BJP secured 115 seats out of 199, leading to the ousting of the incumbent Ashok Gehlot government, while the Congress won 69 seats.
In 2018, the Congress won 99 seats, while the BJP won 73. Gehlot assumed the CM position with the support of BSP MLAs and independents.
On 12th December (Tuesday), temple management staff and police allegedly manhandled and assaulted devotees in the Trichy Srirangam Temple premises, in Tamil Nadu. The injured Ayyappa devotees have been admitted to Srirangam Government Hospital for treatment.
Notably, the Vaikuntha Ekadasi festival in Srirangam began today with the Tirunedum Thandakam festival and thousands of devotees visited Ranganatha in the morning. As per reports, an argument that turned violent broke out between Ayyappa devotees from Karnataka and Andhra and the temporary staff appointed by the temple administration.
Several devotees, including Andhra Ayyappa Bakhtar Chenna Rao, were assaulted. Following this, Ayyappa devotees filed a police complaint against three temporary employees Selvam, Vignesh, and Bharat who are accused of assaulting the devotees as well as against the temple administration.
As per reports, it is alleged that the police deployed in the temple premises, instead of supporting the assaulted Ayyappa devotees, supported the accused temple staff. They reportedly pushed the injured devotees out of the temple and tried to cover up the attack.
Subsequently, more than a hundred Ayyappa devotees protested at places like Karthikai Gopuram and Flagpole against the assault on devotees and mismanagement. However, the police reportedly stopped Ayyappa devotees who were protesting.
A video footage of the incident is going viral on social media which has created a stir among the devotees. Sharing the video of an injured Ayyappa devotee, BJP state president K Annamalai condemned the incident. He also launched a scathing attack on temple management authorities including Tamil Nadu’s Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department (HR & CE).
Annamalai asserted that a government that doesn’t believe in Hindu dharma has no business to oversee or control the management of Hindu temples.
Taking to X, he wrote, “A government which has no faith in Hindu Dharma has no business to be in Hindu Temples. The Iyyappa devotees who have had 42 days of Vrath, with all devotion, wanted to pray to Ranganatha Swamy after their return from Sabarimala. The Iyyappa devotees questioned the long wait in the queue and special treatment to a select few who were assaulted near the sanctum sanctorum & which resulted in bloodshed inside the Temple premises.”
A government which has no faith in Hindu Dharma has no business to be in Hindu Temples.
The Iyyappa devotees who have had 42 days of Vrath, with all devotion, wanted to pray to Ranganatha Swamy after their return from Sabarimala.
Annamalai added that the Trichy district unit will stage a protest against these assaults on devotees demanding strict action against the accused.
The post added, “This arrogance of the HR&CE department is one of the many reasons why the Tamil Nadu BJP has been wanting them out of Temple administration. Tamil Nadu BJP’s Trichy district unit will today hold a protest outside the Srirangam Ranganatha Swamy Temple against the TN HR&CE department, demanding the strictest action against those spoiling the sanctity of the Temple.”
Kerala government being accused of Sabotaging Sabarimala pilgrimage
Meanwhile, Ayyappa devotees and opposition parties have been accusing the state governments of sabotaging the Sabarimala pilgrimage. Apart from Tamil Nadu, in Kerala, the opposition leaders have alleged that the Kerala Police have been diverted to ensure the statewide trip of CM Pinnrayi Vijayan rather than providing adequate police security for management and crowd control at Sabarimala pilgrimage. The devotees have been waiting for more than 20 hours in long queues.
Several videos are doing rounds on the internet in which devotees have highlighted mismanagement for this year’s Sabarimala pilgrimage. In many cases, the police and temple management authorities have manhandled devotees for highlighting these issues. Reportedly, the devotees are facing an acute shortage of basic amenities like clean water and food, and one 11-year-old girl child died.
Fate of Ayyappa Devotees in Kerala !!!
As u all know sabarimala pilgrimage is a significant annual Hindu pilgrimage in Kerala attracting millions of devotees. Pilgrims journey to the Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, observing strict vows, including a 41-day period of… pic.twitter.com/OnB3kMhjxr
Usually we hear Swamy Saranam Ayyappa Nama japam in the queue lines but due to heavy rush and poor management pilgrims were chanting down down police and CM.
Sabarimala has a stark insufficiency of basic amenities. Lack of access to drinking water tops the list. In the name of plastic ban, bottled water is discontinued without making adequate alternative arrangements. Least consideration for man, full consideration for money.
State BJP president K. Surendran accused the LDF government of sabotaging the Sabarimala pilgrimage. He stated that the Vijayan government has ignored the Sabarimala pilgrimage for its own vested interests as the pilgrims are having a very tough time with facilities appallingly poor.
The neglect of basic facilities in Sabarimala by the Pinarayi government is appalling – lack of crowd control, no drinking water, inadequate amenities. @pinarayivijayan is putting political interests over devotees' safety. Even things have reached a level that led to the tragic… pic.twitter.com/LyhcJ17CiZ
He said, “The scene is such that the Vijayan government is only interested in the huge revenue being generated from the temple town and leaving the pilgrims in disarray. Another feature is the pilgrims from other states coming under duress from the police force. The Vijayan government is now showing its anger towards the believers for their combined efforts to ensure all the religious protocols in place in Sabarimala are intact, which they got from the court. Vijayan government has to change its attitude and ensure all facilities are there for the pilgrims.”
Shocking images of carcasses of butchered cows in an open parcel of land in Kheda’s Nadiad prompted a strong response from the Gujarat High Court. A devision bench of Justices AJ Shastri and Hemant Prachchhak was hearing a contempt petition regarding cattle nuisance and road conditions.
The petitioner submitted an affidavit on behalf of a Nadiad resident drawing attention to the carcasses of butchered cows that were left in the open. The images of the carcasses were also attached.
The HC bench expressed shock at the incident and directed authorities to examine the issue and submit a report.
Remarking the incident to be “shocking, very shocking”, Justice Shastri said, “We feel, under the guise of regulating and implementing policy, these innocent animals cannot be sacrificed…if this is happening, even God will not save all of us, forgive us. These innocent animals cannot be done away like this…Not a single innocent animal is to be sacrificed on account of public comfort. It is an urgent situation that has erupted.”
The Advocate General has reportedly promised action and informed that court that such acts are “at the behest of some miscreants”. He said that authorities will find out “who the miscreants are”.
Meanwhile the matter has been kept for 13th December. Authorities are expected to present details on the condition of cattle pounds’ and action taken concerning the Nadiad incident.
On 12th December (Tuesday), Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress party accusing it of pulling heists for more than seven decades. Taking to X, PM Modi argued that India doesn’t need fictional series like ‘Money Heist’ as it has the Congress party doing ‘legendary’ heists for 70 years and counting.
PM Modi said, “In India, who needs ‘Money Heist’ fiction, when you have the Congress Party, whose heists are legendary for 70 years and counting!”
In India, who needs 'Money Heist' fiction, when you have the Congress Party, whose heists are legendary for 70 years and counting! https://t.co/J70MCA5lcG
The video highlighted the recent IT raids on Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu. Notably, the counting of seized money from these raids on premises linked with the Congress leader is still ongoing on the 7th day. As per reports, it could breach the Rs 500 crore mark.
BJP’s tweet caption read, “Congress presents the ????? ?????!”. In the background, the video had the famous title track of the popular Spanish series ‘La Casa De Papel’ whose English spin-off ‘Money Heist’ has been among the most-watched series on OTT platforms. Incidentally, the series revolves around robbing banks.
Cornering the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi for their alleged closeness and support to party MP Dhiraj Sahu, the video shows the latter’s picture with Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge. BJP has been lambasting the grand old party for indulging in rampant corruption and asserting that it can’t run away from accountability for the recent disclosures of huge piles of unaccounted cash from the properties of its Rajya Sabha MP.
Notably, following the IT raids which unearthed hundreds of crores of cash from Sahu’s properties, Congress claimed that it had nothing to do with his businesses and only the accused could explain the source of such a huge pile of cash.
देशवासी इन नोटों के ढेर को देखें और फिर इनके नेताओं के ईमानदारी के 'भाषणों' को सुनें… ???
जनता से जो लूटा है, उसकी पाई-पाई लौटानी पड़ेगी, यह मोदी की गारंटी है।
Earlier, PM Modi had slammed the Congress party while referring to the reports of Income Tax raids on Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu. In a tweet that went viral, PM Modi had asserted that every penny looted from the public will be recovered.
On 12th December, former MP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra was reportedly issued a notice to vacate her official bungalow.
As per a report by Financial Express, the Housing Committee of Parliament forwarded the notice to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, asking Moitra to vacate her official residence.
The decision was reportedly taken after expulsion from Lok Sabha in a cash-for-query case. She was expelled based on the recommendations of the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha on 8th December.
A notice has been issued to Mahua Moitra to vacate the bungalow as she is no longer a member of Parliament.
Earlier, expelled Mahua Moitra moved the Supreme Court against her expulsion.
Moitra has already approached the Supreme Court to challenge her expulsion from Lok Sabha.
Mahuagate: TMC MP Mahua Moitra faces allegations of ‘cash for query’
On 8th December, Lok Sabha expelled Trinamool Congress’s MP Mahua Moitra based on the recommendations of the Ethics Committee in a cash-for-query case. Moitra was expelled hours after the Ethics Committee report was tabled in Lok Sabha.
On 14th October, the Indian political scene experienced a major tremor as BJP MP Nishkant Dubey wrote to the ethics committee seeking an inquiry against TMC MP Mahua Moitra in the ‘Cash for Query’ matter. He based his complaint on the letter written by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, who alleged that most of the questions asked by the TMC MP in Lok Sabha directly or indirectly benefit businessman Darshan Hiranandani. Dehadrai also accused Moitra of “kidnapping” his pet dog Henry, adding another layer of complications to Mahuagate.
Moitra filed a case against Dubey and Dehadrai but never denied accepting gifts. Interestingly, she has also been accused of sharing her Lok Sabha credentials with Hiranandani so he can post questions independently. Hiranandani has reportedly turned approver in the case and submitted an affidavit suggesting the allegations against Moitra are true.
The Ahmedabad Police have arrested Gujarat Congress leader Hiten Pithadiya for sharing an obscene picture of a porn hero, projecting him as the priest of the under-construction Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The Uttar Pradesh police have also initiated action against the leader for malicious posts against the Ram Mandir priest.
On 11th December, Congress party leader Hiten Pithadiya shared some inappropriate photographs on social media and claimed that the person in the photographs was Mohit Pandey from Ghaziabad, who has been recently appointed as the priest for the Ram Lalla Temple being built in Ayodhya. Notably, since Pandey’s appointment, a malicious campaign has been running against him on social media.
Source: X
Apart from Pithaidya, several other X handles shared the same fake photos.
Source: X
Source: X
Pithadiya is the head of the Scheduled Caste Morch of Gujarat Congress. In his post on X, he posted photographs of a person seen in an objectionable position with a woman. He wrote, “Is this the priest of Ayodhya Ram Temple?”
The assertions were made based on the fact that the person in the photographs was wearing tilak and sandalwood. Earlier, real pictures of Pandey were shared on social media where he was wearing tilak and sandalwood. Pithadiya and others made fake claims based on the common factors of tilak and sandalwood. In reality, the person in the photograph was not Pandey.
Following the controversy, Hindus on social media shared screenshots of the objectionable tweets. They urged police in Ayodhya and Ahmedabad to take strict action against those spreading the disinformation against Mohit Pandey.
प्रभारी निरीक्षक साइबर सेल को आवश्यक जॉच व नियमानुसार विधिक कार्यवाही हेतु निर्देशित किया गया।
It was evident that Pithadiya shared the photographs because of his bias against the Ram Temple and the newly appointed priest Mohit Pandey. Following the backlash, Pithadiya deleted his tweets. However, by that time, the damage was done. Both Ayodhya Police and Ahmedabad Police initiated action against Pithadiya.
Journalist Janak Dave said in a post on X that Ahmedabad Cyber Cell arrested Pithadiya under Sections 469, 509, 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant IT Act.
The Cyber Crime Branch of the Ahmedabad police apprehended the Congress leader on charges of disseminating manipulated images featuring a woman and the Ayodhya priest on various social media platforms.
Verifying the information, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime, Ajit Rajian informed Deccan Herald that Hitendra Pithadiya has been arrested on charges of sharing deepfake images of the woman. The charges include 469 (forgery), 509 (intending to insult the modesty of a woman), 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), and relevant sections of the Information and Technology Act.
Who is Mohit Pandey
Mohit Pandey is a young priest selected to serve at the Ram Lalla Temple built in Ayodhya. Pandey studied at the Dudheshwar Vedic University in Ghaziabad for seven years. He earned his Shastri degree, equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree, from Shri Venkateshwara Vedic University, associated with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam in Tirupati. He completed his master’s degree while studying Samaveda. Furthermore, he is also a scholar of the Ramanandi tradition and has expertise in Vedas, Shastras and Sanskrit.
“Narendra Modi and Uddhav Thackeray met in June 2021. At that time, Uddhav Thackeray had promised Modi that he would leave the Mahavikas Aghadi and form the government with the BJP,” revealed Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar, the Shinde faction MLA while the Shiv Sena MLA disqualification hearing was underway. Deepak Kesarkar was cross-examined after Uday Samant in the Assembly on 11th December. He brought up the behind-the-scenes events that took place to form the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance at that time.
The hearing of the Shiv Sena MLA disqualification case is underway before Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar. Uday Samant was cross-examined on Monday morning (11th December) and after that, Cabinet Minister Deepak Kesarkar was cross-examined.
“I raised the issue of Shiv Sena Party’s objectives and ideology. I had changed Uddhav Thackeray’s mind by saying that BJP is a like-minded party and we should go with the alliance,” Kesarkar said while in the Assembly.
As per the Minister, Uddhav Thackeray, the then-chief minister, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on 8th June 2021. Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister, and Ashok Chavan, a Cabinet Minister, were both present. The three leaders’ meeting with Prime Minister Modi came to an end. Following that, Modi and Thackeray had a meeting.
Uddhav Thackeray was going to join hands with the BJP and leave the Maha Vikas Aghadi. He had also sought 15 days after his meeting with Prime Minister Modi. However, he arranged to send a message to Prime Minister Modi through me to ask for more time. He wanted some time to explain the decision to the alliance members. I arranged for his message to reach Delhi. Most of the Shiv Sena leaders wanted to be in alliance with BJP, Kesarkar revealed.
Kesarkar further asserted that Uddhav Thackeray took a lot of time in making the decision and hence, he disclosed the information to some senior party leaders including Subhash Desai, Anil Desai and Eknath Shinde. “I asked them to request Uddhav Thackeray to decide at the earliest”, Kesarkar said in cross-examination.
The Supreme Court on 30th October ordered Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide on the disqualification petitions against Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and MLAs supporting him by 31st December. Earlier to that, the court had pulled up Narwekar for delaying the adjudication of the disqualification petitions. The court said it would fix a timeline if the speaker fails to submit a revised schedule expediting the process.
The court also issued a warning that a decision on the disqualification pleas should taken before the next assembly elections, otherwise, the whole process would become pointless.
After Shinde and 39 MLAs broke away from the parent party and sided with the BJP to form the government in 2022, the Sena factions filed an abundance of disqualification petitions against each other.
In July, the speaker summoned 40 MLAs from the Shinde-led Sena and 14 from the Thackeray faction to respond to disqualification petitions filed against them. A total of 54 MLAs were served with the notices.
On May 11, this year, the Supreme Court determined that Shinde would remain as Maharashtra’s chief minister. It also stated that it could not reinstate Thackeray’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government because he chose to resign without facing a floor test in the aftermath of Shinde’s rebellion.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) however accused Narwekar of purposefully delaying a decision on the disqualification petitions.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea filed by former Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah against a family court order denying him a divorce from his wife Payal Abdullah.
Delhi’s Patiala House Court on August 30, 2016 dismissed his petition seeking divorce on the grounds of cruelty. He filed the plea in 2013.
They got married In September 1994 but have been living apart since 2009. The couple has two sons.
The division bench, comprising justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan, upheld the family court order and dismissed the appeal challenging it.
While dismissing the appeal, the division bench said it found no infirmity in the family court order denying divorce to him.
The high court also said the allegations of cruelty by Omar Abdullah against Payal are vague.
The bench noted further that the appellant failed to prove any act of cruelty, whether physical or mental, by Payal Abdullah.
The high court dismissed the appeal, finding it without merit.
The family court had dismissed his petition, stating that he failed to prove the claims of cruelty or desertion. (ANI)
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
A day after The Washington Postcarried out a hit job on Indian OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) handle ‘Disinfo Lab’, it has come to light that some of the outlandish claims made by the American newspaper bear an uncanny resemblance to conspiracy theories peddled by a Pakistani website.
In an attempt to de-legitimise ‘Disinfo Lab’, The Washington Post claimed on Sunday (10th December) that the OSINT handle is run by an Indian Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer named Lt. Col. Dibya Satpathy.
Although it relied on word salad, insinuations, ‘source-based’ allegations and dubious ‘experts’, the American newspaper failed to provide any empirical evidence that could dispute any claims of ‘Disinfo Lab.’
Screengrab of the article on ‘Pakistan Defence’ website
Interestingly, a large part of the purported ‘investigation’ by The Washington Post on the Indian OSINT handle appears to be based on conspiracy theories peddled by a website named ‘Pakistan Defence.’
In an article titled ‘Disinfo Lab – A Disinformation Project of Indian RA&W’, published by the website in February 2022, a staff writer Amaa’n relied on outlandish claims made by ‘journalist’ Aveek Sen to draw links between ‘Disinfo Lab’ and Indian Intelligence.
The ‘Pakistan Defence’ article made references to Lt. Colonel Dibya Satpathy, Ajayendra Tripathi, and BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga – all of whom appear prominently in the propaganda piece of The Washington Post.
Screengrab of the propaganda piece in The Washington Post
Aveek Sen – The primary source of disinformation
The Pakistani website presented the accusations of Aveek Sen, an abusive troll, as the ‘gospel truth.’
In the tweet from 2013 that went viral, Aveek Sen was seen quoting TimesNow, saying that Mamata Banerjee had called the Barasat rapists ‘CPIM supporters’. To that, Aveek Sen had responded saying “Its high time these cpm supporters rape Mamata!”
Aveek Sen makes disgusting comment
Prior to deleting his account, Aveek Sen had made several dergatory comments targeting women. A few of his archived misogynist tweets can be seen here –
Screengrab of the tweets
Screengrab of the tweets
In several of his tweets, Aveek Sen was seen referring to women as ‘prostitutes.’
Screengrab of the tweets
Source: Twitter
Despite his questionable character and dwindling credibility, Sen’s misleading tweets on ‘Disinfo Lab’ became the primary fodder for both ‘Pakistani Defence’ and ‘The Washington Post’. Interestingly, he had also collaborated with the likes of propaganda outlets such as Newslaundry.
The uncanny resemblance between claims by ‘Pakistani Defence’ and The Washington Post
“And the making of Indian fake disinfo lab, copying the famous eu disinfo lab that exposed hundreds and thousands of fake Indian websites (By author Aveek sen),” read a line from the article on ‘Pakistan Defence.’
Coincidentally, a similar language is used in the report published by The Washington Post. “Another person, a former employee, said the Disinfo Lab named and modelled itself after groups such as the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab and the EU DisinfoLab, a Brussels-based nonprofit that researches disinformation targeting Europe,” it claimed.
It claimed, “Some of the fronts, setup by Colonel Dibya Satpathy, per Aveek Sen’s revelation, include: Root N Wings Media, situated at B-3, Bali’s, Near BSES Office, Arya Samaj Mandir, Lajpat Nagar 2, Delhi. Flat A-20, Lajpat Nagar 3, near Ring Road, Delhi.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Aveek Sen
Interestingly, the claims made it to the report of The Washington Post as well. “The Disinfo Lab, which at one point consisted of about a dozen private contractors working out of a four-story whitewashed building on a leafy street in New Delhi,” the leftist newspaper wrote.
In another paragraph, it said, “The office operated under the name Root and Wings Media.” Based on Aveek Sen’s tweets, the shady Pakistani website alleged that Lt. Colonel Dibya Satpathy had been campaigning against the country on the behest of R&AW and BJP.
Both websites targeted a social media company
OpIndia found yet another uncanny resemblance in the report of The Washington Post where it said, “The Disinfo Lab itself was headed by Satpathy, whose work has focused mostly on countering Pakistan.”
“The Disinfo Lab’s activities show how the online propaganda campaigns waged by the BJP and its allies have been expanding beyond their traditional, domestic aims of shoring up popular support and denigrating opposition parties — and now seek to influence attitudes far beyond India’s borders,” the American newspaper claimed in another part of the article.
Both The Washington Post and ‘Pakistan Defence’ made specific references to ‘Root Wings Media’ and characterised it as a ‘social media marketing company/ campaign agency.’
“The company has no more than ten employees, typical of an intelligence front,” the Pakistani website said. And this is what the American newspaper claimed – “The Disinfo Lab, which at one point consisted of about a dozen private contractors.”
Washington Post and Pakistan Defence ‘fixated’ on USCIRF criticism
Both The Washingon Post and ‘Pakistan Defence’ targeted targeted the ‘Disinfo Lab’ for exposing the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and its biased reporting on India, which is often used to cast aspersions on Indian democracy.
“Some of the investigative reports published by this website include one aiming to discredit the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,” wrote ‘Pakistan Defence.’
“The Disinfo Lab often cites publicly available U.S. lobbying and campaign finance records and produces complex flowcharts to illustrate alleged relationships. But the group draws tenuous connections, claiming, for instance, that a USCIRF commissioner was influenced by Islamists because she once worked on a conservative fundraising committee alongside a lobbyist who went on to represent Muslim American groups,” claimed The Washington Post.
In February this year, OpIndia reported in detail about the ties of former USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava to far-left billionaire George Soros. We also exposed how the controversial body has relied on the dubious ‘Tek Fog’ story to make insinuations about India.
‘Pakistan Defence’ goes one step ahead
The Washington Post ensured to not include all conspiracy theories to set its ‘investigative article’ apart from that of ‘Pakistan Defence.’ The Pakistani website had even dubbed popular member and dermatologist Neelam Singh aka ‘The Skin Doctor’ as an aide to R&AW officer Lt. Colonel Dibya Satpathy.
“The Evil nexus of Col Dibya Satpathy Indian ex-military intelligence officer and bjp troll farms. To (sic) manufacture and spread propaganda and misinformation with the help of Major Neelam “Neel” Kumari alias “The Skin Doctor”, Major Gaurav Arya,” it claimed.
‘Pakistan Defence’ accused ‘The Skin Doctor’ of carrying out the ‘evil nexus’ of supposed ‘Disinfo Lab’ founder and Indian Intelligence officer
Other ‘sources’ of Washington Post
The Washington Post did not copy-paste the outrageous claims about ‘Disinfo Lab’ only from ‘Pakistan Defence’ but another Pakistani-based website named ‘Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR).
Interestingly, CSCR published another misleading piece on ‘Disinfo Lab’ a year before that of ‘Pakistan Defence.’ Habitual fake news peddler and anti-Hindu activist CJ Werleman had made similar insinuations about the Indian OSINT handle in February last year.
First, the claim of our association with Govt agencies/ RAW. The report is essentially a recycle of previous reports published by Pakistani ISPR/ Info-war machinery. The report is periodically recycled, last by known fake news peddler CJ Werleman.
In November 2021, CJ Werleman had appealed to boycott Indian products to supposedly ‘save’ Muslims in India and Kashmir. Before that, he had tweeted a video of Pramod Muthalik, the chief of the Hindu activist group Shri Rama Sene, to allege that he called for violence against Muslims and the demolition of a mosque in Karnataka.
Earlier, he claimed Indians had destroyed a Muslim graveyard in Himachal Pradesh, which was also fake news. In August 2021 when the Islamist group Taliban took over Afghanistan, Werleman was caught spreading Taliban propaganda. In September 2021, he called for ‘regime decapitation’ strikes against India.
The Print, run by Shekhar Guptahad eulogised Werleman in a profile describing him as a ‘bigot-turned-crusader against ‘Islamophobia’ who is taking on the Indian state’.
Since every anti-India propagandist is a potential source of The Washington Post, there will surely be no dearth of more anti-India hit pieces ahead of the 2024 elections.
Response of Disinfo Lab on the Controversy
While hitting out at The Washington Post, ‘Disinfo Lab’ pointed out that the only difference in its article and past hitjobs against it is the addition of unnamed sources.
“The only ‘upgrade’ the WaPo did was to make this Pakistani allegation ‘anonymous’. And whatever is in addition to that is again attributed to ‘anonymous’ sources. Hence, literally, every fact claimed is ‘anonymous’. The report has more than 10 anonymous sources,” it added.
As pointed out earlier by OpIndia, The Washington Post failed to refute any assertions made by ‘Disinfo Lab.’ It also noted, “While, in their questions to us and other people, WaPo journalists have themselves noted that our claims are factually correct! (thanks for acknowledgement), they alleged that we make ‘tenuous claims’, and cited a few examples.”
While calling out the bluff of the leftist newspaper, Disinfo Lab concluded that The Washington Post is overrated. “It is not surprising that people who don’t understand OSINT are baffled by our reporting. It is especially hard for legacy media journos – Indian and foreign alike, who have known journalism only as handouts from sources. Agencies are overrated. OSINT is underrated,” it emphasised.
Three policemen have been killed and 16 injured as terrorists rammed an explosive-laden car into a police station in Dera Ismail Khan, ARY News reported on Tuesday.
ARY News is a Pakistani news channel.
According to the police, the rebels rammed a car full of explosives at the main gate of DI Khan’s Daraban police station. As a result, three cops named Havaldar, Riyasat and Sepoy Zulfiqar were killed.
Meanwhile, the police also shot two terrorists during an exchange of fire as they tried to enter the premises.
The police station’s roof collapsed as a result of the attack.
The injured were shifted to DI Khan Hospital, the police said, adding that Daraban Tehsil has been completely cordoned off. Heavy contingents of police have reached the spot, as per ARY News.
Scheduled papers at schools and colleges in Tehsil Draban have been cancelled following the terror attack.
As per ARY News, this is not the first time that a police station in Dera Ismail Khan has been attacked. Earlier in October, a police station in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district came under attack in which terrorists also used hand grenades and rockets.
An attack was carried out on Dera Ismail Khan’s Hathala police station from two sides, leaving two cops wounded. However, the police repulsed the attack and forced the attackers to flee.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
