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‘Ignore media discussions, yet to gain experience under the guidance of PM Modi’: Yogi Balaknath on speculations linking him to Rajasthan CM post

On Saturday (9th December), Rajasthan BJP leader Yogi Balaknath shared a post from his X handle to put a stop to the speculations in the media about him becoming the new Chief Minister of the state. Yogi Balaknath said that he needs to gain experience under the guidance of Narendra Modi.

Yogi Balaknath posted, “Under the leadership of the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I got the opportunity from the people to serve the nation by becoming an MP first and now an MLA. Ignore the discussions going on in the media and social media after the election results came out. I am yet to gain experience under the guidance of the Prime Minister.”

Notably, on 6th December, a purported press release attributed to BJP claimed that the party had selected Mahanth Balaknath Yogi as the next Chief Minister and appointed two Deputy Chief Ministers to assist the CM.

It also stated that Senior BJP leader and MLA from Sawai Madhopur, Kirodi Lal Meena, and MLA from Rajsamand Diya Kumari, will be the two Deputy Chief Ministers. However, the Bhartiya Janata Party’s state unit took to X (formerly Twitter) and alerted that the press release claimed to be theirs was Fake. 

The statement of Mahant Balaknath, one of the speculated contenders for the post of CM, before the BJP Legislature Party meeting to be held in Rajasthan tomorrow, has intensified the political intrigue in the state. Political analysts are offering varied interpretations of Balaknath’s post. Some argue that the Yogi might be signalling his withdrawal from the race for the Chief Ministerial position, while others contend that the definitive decision on the CM candidate will only emerge after the legislative party meeting.

On Friday, Yogi Balaknath held discussions with senior leaders in Delhi, and it is speculated that he may have received indications suggesting that his chances of becoming the Chief Minister are slim. This could potentially explain the nature of the X post by the chief priest of the Rohtak Shrine of the Nath sect.

Names discussed in the Chief Ministerial race include Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Om Mathur, Diya Kumari, Kirori Lal Meena, and former CM Vasundhara Raje. The legislative party is scheduled to convene in Jaipur on December 10, and a comprehensive understanding of the situation is anticipated only after the conclusion of this meeting.

Mahant Balaknath

Mahant Balaknath, a spiritual leader and Alwar MP, defeated Congress candidate Imran Khan in the Tijara assembly constituency by a margin of 6,173 votes. he belongs to the Yaduvanshi community and is Chancellor of the Baba Mastnath University (BMU). His political career was shaped by his Guru, Mahant Chandnath, a former Member of Parliament from Alwar. 

Balaknath Yogi is one of the most influential leaders in the state of Rajasthan. He is known for supporting Hindutva and belongs to the Nath sect. He was nominated as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Alwar, Rajasthan, and he won in 2019 by a margin of 3 lakh votes over Indian National Congress candidate Bhanwar Jitendra Singh. BJP won 115 seats in the Rajasthan assembly elections of 2023 and secured a clear majority.

Samuel Paty beheading: Six teenagers convicted in the killing of French teacher over ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad

On Friday, a French court found six teenagers guilty in connection with the ‘blasphemy’ killing of teacher Samuel Paty in 2020, a gruesome murder that sent shockwaves throughout the nation and the globe and prompted a reckoning of the looming threat of creeping Islamic extremism.

The educator had presented caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad to his students during a lesson on freedom of expression, sparking discontent among certain Muslim parents. The discontent translated into online backlash, with the teacher targeted by Islamic fundamentalists who issued threats against him for what they considered an ‘unpardonable sin’ against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad as many Muslims refrain from portraying prophets, viewing such depictions as blasphemous.

One of the convicts was a teenage girl who the court found had cooked up a story that led to her teacher being decapitated by a teenage Jihadi terrorist. Five others were convicted for identifying Mr Paty to the attacker, who went on to stab the French teacher in the name of ‘blasphemy’.

Like many school truants, the 13-year-old girl was determined not to let her father know that she had been suspended from school for missing classes. As a result, she weaved a story featuring her teacher Samuel Paty. The girl told her father that Mr Paty had asked Muslim students to leave the classroom while he showed the cartoons from the satirical newspaper Charlier Hebdo during a lesson on free speech and blasphemy.

Soon after the girl narrated the fictitious tale, her father took to social media to launch a campaign, identifying Mr Paty and the school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. He also called Mr Paty a “thug” and demanded he be sacked. The claims made by the girl’s father triggered global outrage and led to death threats against Mr Paty. 10 days later, the teacher was dead—decapitated by an Islamist terrorist.

It was later reported that the girl’s father was in touch with Paty’s killer, Abdoullakh Anzorov. The prosecutor even claimed that there was a “direct causal link” between the online campaign and Mr Paty’s brutal murder. The murderer had reportedly also a sent text message to the girl’s father before he beheaded Mr Paty with a kitchen knife.

The other five defendants were guilty of staking out Mr Paty and identifying him to the killer, Abdoullakh Anzorov, though the court said they were not aware of his intentions to kill Mr Paty.

All sentences from 14 months to two years have been suspended or commuted.

Samuel Paty beheading and the menace of ‘blasphemy’ killings

Samuel Paty was beheaded in October 2020 by an Islamic terrorist in the French capital Paris for allegedly showing caricatures of the Prophet of Islam to his students. A Muslim youth stabbed a 47-year-old teacher in his throat while shouting “Allahu Akbar”. The attacks occurred in the suburb of Conflans-Saint-Honorine, northwest of Paris on Friday. Abdoullakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old Muslim youth, was a native of Chechnya, Russia. Shockingly, the attacker had also taken to social media to post images of the victim’s severed head, which was later removed by the authorities. 

Friday’s attack comes amidst the ongoing trial against the terrorists responsible for the January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo. In January 2015, Islamist terrorists had gunned down 12 people in and around the Charlie Hebdo offices for publishing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, had published cartoons that depicted Muhammad, which is strictly prohibited in Islam. Offended by Charlie Hebdo’s actions, two Islamic terrorists attacked the office of Hebdo in 2015 and killed 12 people. The terrorists had stated that the attack was an act of revenge for depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Accused in Gauri Lankesh case, languishing in jail for 5 years, gets bail: Here are the details of the order and what Karnataka HC said

On Thursday (7th December), the Karnataka High Court granted bail [pdf] to one Mohan Nayak, who has been in custody for 5 years in connection to the Gauri Lankesh murder case.

It must be mentioned that Gauri Lankesh, a controversial ‘journalist’, was killed at her Bengaluru residence by assailants on 5th September 2017. Soon after, the Karnataka police launched a probe into the case.

Mohan Nayak was arrested on 18th July 2018 and thereafter booked under the stringent Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act (COCA). He has been languishing in jail ever since and his bail application has been rejected on 5 different occasions.

Only 1 witness examined by trial court since 2017

Although there are 527 witnesses mentioned in the case chargesheet, only 90 of them have been examined since 2021. Mohan Nayak is accused by the police of ‘conspiring’ to murder Gauri Lankesh, attending meetings to that effect and harbouring assailants in a rented house.

A total of 23 witnesses have given testimonies about Nayak renting a room in Kumbalagodu town on the outskirts of Bengaluru in August 2017 with two other accused. Out of them, only 1 has been examined before the trial court to date.

It must be noted that the Karnataka High Court in 2019 rejected the bail application of Mohan Nayak and asked the trial court to expedite the trial in the Gauri Lankesh murder case. Due to a delay in trial, Nayak suffered 5 years of incarceration.

No evidence on record that shows Mohan Nayak part of organised crime

On Thursday (7th December), a single-judge bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty of the Karnataka High Court noted –

Though charges were framed in the present case on 30.10.2021, for the last more than two years, only 90 witnesses have been examined. There are more than 400 charge sheet witnesses who are yet to be examined in the case. Even if it is assumed that all the witnesses who are cited in the charge sheet may not be examined in the case, considering the fact that only 90 witnesses have been nexamined for the last more than two years, it can be safely presumed that any time soon, the trial of the case may not be completed.

The court pointed out that the evidence on record does not show that Mohan Nayak is in a member of organised crime. as claimed by the prosecution.

Though he is alleged to be a member of the syndicate committing organized crime, the material on record would go to show that he is not arrayed as co-accused in any of the cases registered against the other accused persons for committing organized crimes.

No witness testified that Mohan Nayak held meeting with assailants

The Karnataka High Court noted that Nayak did not offer financial assistance to the other accused. It added that no witness testified about him being a part of a meeting that planned on killing Gauri Lankesh.

From a perusal of the statements recorded under Section 161 Cr.PC of the 23 charge sheet witnesses who have spoken about the role of the petitioner in the
present case, it is seen that none of these witnesses have stated that the petitioner was a part of the meeting of the accused persons, wherein the accused had conspired to murder Gouri Lankesh. Most of the aforesaid charge
sheet witnesses have only spoken about the petitioner taking a house on rent at Kumbalagodu in the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Accused gets bail with conditions after 5 years

While taking into consideration previous Supreme Court judgments, undue delay in trial, and custody of 5 years, Justice S Vishwajith Shetty granted bail to Mohan Nayak.

However, the court imposed five conditions on the undertrial, which include furnishing personal bond of ₹1 lakh, regular appearance in trial court hearings, restriction on travel beyond trial court jurisdiction, non-repetition of similar offences and avoidance of witness tampering.

Navi Mumbai: Beggar Hussain Imam hits girl with a glass bottle on the head and then stabs her with the broken bottle, arrested

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A young college student Nisha Kumbhar (age 21) waiting for a bus at a bus stop in Nerul in New Mumbai was attacked by a stranger on Monday (4th December). The police have arrested the accused, identified as Hussain Imam Hasan Shamshu (age 26).

Hussain Imam Hasan Shamshu is a beggar in the Nerul area and he attacked Nisha with a glass bottle. The accused has been arrested for the offence of attempt to murder. After hitting her head with a bottle, he tried to stab the broken bottle into her stomach. The young woman was injured in this. She is currently under treatment in a nearby hospital.

Nisha Kumbhar is a resident of Airoli and her semester examination centre is allotted in a college in Nerul. On 4th December, she came to Nerul for an examination in that college and after that, she was waiting for a bus at the bus stop along with her friend Khushi Kadam.

When both of them were discussing the examination as they waited for the bus, suddenly at around 1.30 pm, a man came with a glass bottle in his hand and he started beating Nisha on her head with the bottle. The bottle broke as Nisha resisted. However, the stranger tried to dig the broken bottle into Nisha’s stomach. Nisha somehow resisted this blow but was severely hit in the waist and lower abdomen.

During the incident, two individuals hurried to help Nisha, prompting the assailant to flee. The Nerul police soon arrived at the scene, and Nisha was immediately taken to a nearby private hospital. The police launched a search for the accused and identified him with the help of nearby CCTV footage. The accused was arrested and identified as Hussain Imam Hasan Shamshu.

Senior Police Inspector Tanaji Bhagat from the Nerul police station reported that the police team quickly located and apprehended the attacker. He is a beggar in the Nerul vicinity. According to some local witnesses, he behaved like this because he was paranoid and mentally ill.

Mumbai: 42-year-old Moinuddin Ansari kills 26-year-old wife after she refused to give him money for alcohol

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On Thursday (December 7), Borivali railway police arrested a man named Moinuddin Ansari in Malwani for allegedly murdering his wife over refusing to give him money for alcohol. The 42-year-old accused reportedly hit his 26-year-old wife Parveen Ansari with a bamboo stick. The dead body of the victim was found with multiple injuries at her home. A TOI report, however, says that the victim’s body was found near the railway tracks at Goregaon East.

The police said that the accused Moinuddin Ansari is an alcoholic adding that he was tracked down to Malwani in the Malad area and arrested. To nab the accused, police had formed three teams.

“Her husband Moinuddin Ansari was untraceable. Our probe found he used to fight with her over money for alcohol. On Thursday, he picked up a fight with her on the same issue and thrashed her,” the police said.

The couple got married in 2005 and had two children and were residing in Malwani with a relative.

Reportedly, Moinuddin Ansari’s wife used to work, and he would take money from her to buy alcohol. He brutally assaulted his wife late on Wednesday as she refused to give him money to consume alcohol. He allegedly hit her with a bamboo stick before fleeing the illegal shanty. When the neighbours found her body, they called the police at around 7:30 pm. The victim had her face, throat, and legs were covered in various injuries.

Marital rape not an offence if the wife is above 18 years of age: Allahabad High Court

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The Allahabad High Court has stated that marital rape cannot be deemed a criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) when the wife is over the age of 18. This observation was made during the acquittal of a husband accused of committing an ‘unnatural offence’ against his wife.

In its ruling, Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra’s bench also highlighted that in the anticipated Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, intended to replace the Indian Penal Code, there is no equivalent provision to Section 377 IPC.

The High Court further observed that given the ongoing petitions seeking the criminalisation of marital rape are awaiting consideration by the Supreme Court, there is currently no legal sanction for marital rape if the wife is 18 years of age or older, pending a decision from the highest court.

What is the current case of marital rape under consideration

In the current case, the complainant had alleged that her marriage was nothing but an abusive relationship. She accused her husband of verbal and physical abuse and coercion, including acts of sodomy. The husband was convicted under sections 323, 498-A, and 377 of the IPC in the lower court.

However, when the case went to the High Court, he was acquitted of the charge under section 377 of the IPC. The court found the accused individual guilty under sections of cruelty by the husband or relatives of the husband (498-A) and voluntarily causing hurt (IPC 323) while absolving him of the charges under Section 377. The court noted that the medical evidence in the case was not supportive of allegations of commission of unnatural sex.

Earlier, the Supreme Court consented to consider pleas advocating the criminalisation of marital rape. The central government had conveyed to the apex court that such criminalisation could lead to “social ramifications.”

“Ho gayi galti ab kya mar jaaun”: Aftab Poonwala, who chopped his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar’s body into 35 pieces, says- Report

Aftab Amin Poonawala, the man accused of killing and chopping off his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar’s body into 35 pieces is now spending his days in Tihar Jail reading the 6629-page long chargesheet filed against him.

It is worth recalling that accused Aftab killed Shraddha in May 2022, six months before his arrest. He allegedly killed her and chopped her body into 35 small pieces. He then bought a new fridge and stored her chopped body parts for days. Over the next few weeks, he disposed of Shraddha’s body in different locations across Delhi. Aftab chopped her body into pieces, he also allegedly ground her bones into powder to scatter on the road.

Aftab, however, has never shown a sign of regret or remorse for murdering his live-in partner mercilessly. According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, Aftab remains quiet most of the time in cell number 15 of jail number 4 in Tihar Jail, reading his chargesheet. He often demands bottled water in jail.

Dainik Bhaskar reported that on December 5, Aftab was produced before the court of Additional Sessions Judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar. The court was to record the testimonies of three witnesses, including the doctor who conducted the postmortem of Shraddha Walkar’s body parts recovered during the police investigation. It is said that Aftab has lost nearly 15 kgs since he was lodged in jail. An official at Saket Court’s lockup room told Bhaskar that Aftab fears that someone would mix poison in his food and due to this fear he does not even eat food provided in the court, he brings his own packet of biscuits. The official said that Aftab often asks for packaged drinking water and new clothes in jail. However, none of his demands is fulfilled and is provided with the same items as provided to other prisoners.

When asked about why Aftab fears that someone would poison his meal and kill him, the official said that when Aftab arrived at the court for the first time, several lawyers had attacked him. Since then, he feels that he is not safe in the court.

Interestingly, back in April last year, it was reported that Aftab’s jail inmates had thrashed him while being transported to Delhi’s Saket Court for the case hearing. The court had then ordered the jail administration to ensure Aftab’s safety.

Furthermore, the lockup room officials said since the first day to this date Aftab has never expressed any regret over his horrific crime. They said that Aftab’s body language has remained the same since day one, he even believes that he would be acquitted. The officials also said that nobody comes to visit Aftab in jail, not even his family members.

Speaking to Bhaskar, the Investigation Officer in the case Ram Singh said that until the filing of the chargesheet, he used to meet Aftab for one hour regularly for investigation in Mehrauli Jail. IO Singh said that Aftab has a tough mind adding that when Mumbai Police interrogated him for two days, Aftab did not reveal anything, “not even a word”.

IO Singh further stated that Aftab is quite temperamental. He once said “Yes, I made a mistake. I did make a mistake, should I die now?”, however, he never explicitly regretted his actions.

The investigation officer also said that apart from having a telephone conversation with his father once, Aftab has not been in touch with his family. Neither his family members come to meet him nor does he try to contact them.

When asked about the delays in the case, advocate Seema Kushwaha said that even though the matter is being heard in a Fast-track court, it is not time-bound, thus there has been a delay in the filing of chargesheets and other procedures. She further pointed out that Aftab is “playing tricks”. Kushwaha said that Aftab has changed three lawyers so far in a year and now a new lawyer Akshay Bhandari is appearing for him. “Sometimes the accused uses various tactics to delay and divert the case. When a new lawyer comes he says that he needs time to read chargesheet etc…,” Kushwaha said adding that Aftab’s lawyers often miss the hearing.

Shraddha Walkar murder case

On November 14, the Delhi Police solved the six-month-old murder case of Shraddha Walkar and arrested Aftab Poonawalla for murdering her, and then chopping her into 35 small pieces. Aftab executed the murder on May 18 and stored her body parts in the refrigerator. He then disposed of the body pieces in Delhi’s Mehrauli forest during the next 18 days.

The accused was arrested based on the complaint filed by Shraddha’s father on November 10. He stated in the complaint that the accused and the deceased had rented an apartment in Delhi and were staying in an unhealthy live-in relationship. He said that he had always opposed their relationship as Aftab used to physically assault Shraddha. The accused has been arrested and a case under IPC section 302 (murder) has been registered against him.

The girl, a resident of Palghar, was adamant about continuing her relationship with accused Aftab and shifted to Delhi with him. Three days after they shifted to Delhi, they engaged in a quarrel and Aftab killed Shraddha. He confessed to his crime on November 14 and stated that they used to fight a lot. He said that he murdered Shraddha on May 18 as she was forcing him to get married to her. They also fought over who would manage the domestic household expenses.

Shootout in posh Vasant Kunj area in Delhi, 2 sharpshooters of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang arrested

On Saturday morning (9th December), there was a shootout between the Special Cell of Delhi Police and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in the high-end Vasant Kunj area of national capital Delhi. Two sharpshooters of the Lawrence gang were caught in the encounter and one of them is a minor. Many old cases are registered against these shooters.

On Saturday morning, the capital Delhi echoed with the sound of bullets as an encounter took place between the special cell of the Delhi Police and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. According to reports, fierce firing was seen from both sides in the Vasant Kunj area. Two shooters were arrested in this shootout, out of whom, one is a minor. Both shooters have a history of being involved in several criminal cases in the past.

Notably, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police had earlier arrested two shooters of Goldie Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi gang on Friday as the crackdown on these gangs continues. These are the same shooters who were involved in the firing incident at the Punjabi Bagh house of a former MLA of Punjab on 3rd December 2023. The names of the shooters are Akash and Akhil, who are from Sonipat and Charkhi Dadri in Haryana.

The police investigation has revealed that both the shooters were involved in firing at the house of former Punjab MLA Deep Malhotra. This attack was carried out at the behest of gangster Goldie Brar. Goldie had sent voice notes threatening the ex-MLA and later also made calls for extortion. At Goldie’s behest, his henchmen had also burnt liquor vends of the former MLA in Punjab.

Madhya Pradesh: Javed Khan mercilessly beats his sister-in-law in Sehore for voting for BJP, Hindu neighbour comes to the rescue

On Monday (4th December), a Muslim woman was mercilessly beaten by her brother-in-law (husband’s brother) Javed Khan for voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party during the Madhya Pradesh assembly election.

The incident took place in the Barkheda Hasan village in Sehore district of the State. As per reports, the victim was identified as Samina.

While speaking to the media, she informed that the accused threw slaps and punches her before assaulting her with a stick.Samina was reportedly inspired by the ‘Ladli Behna Yojana‘ of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led-BJP government and thus voted for the saffron party.

After the BJP secured a landslide victory in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday (3rd December), she was celebrating along with her children on the following day.

At around 5 pm on Monday (4th December), the accused charged at the victim for voting for the BJP. On being told by Samina that she would vote as per her preference, Javed Khan mercilessly assaulted the victim.

He was aided by his wife. After Samina started screaming for help, a neighbour by the name of Pandit Vidya Sagar came to her rescue. Following the incident, the victim filed a complaint at the Ahmedpur police station.

She was accompanied by her father. Due to the inaction against Javed Khan by the police, Samina met the District Collector Praveen Singh on Friday (8th December).

Copy of the police complaint, image via ETV Bharat

A case was thereafter registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 34 (common intention), 294 (punishment for obscene acts or words in public), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation).

The development was confirmed by police-in-charge Vikram Adarsh. A medical examination was also done on the victim. The accused Javed Khan is reportedly absconding since the incident.

The police have initiated a probe into the matter and efforts are underway to nab the accused. On learning about the matter, Rashtriya Pansamada Muslim Mahasangh President (Madhya Pradesh unit) Naushad Khan condemned the incident.

Maharashtra: Mohammad Adil Azamali Sheikh kills watchman Prasad Khadka for refusing to give a matchstick

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In the Sanpada area of New Mumbai, Maharashtra, in the early hours of Friday (8th December), 22-year-old Mohammad Adil Azamali Sheikh killed a 53-year-old watchman Prasad Bhanusingh Khadka for refusing to give a matchstick.

The accused Mohammad Adil Azamali Sheikh is a resident of Turbhe Naka and he hit the watchman with a heavy stone for not giving him a matchstick. The victim watchman Prasad Bhanusingh Khadka died on the spot.

The incident took place in New Mumbai’s Sanpada area around 1.45 AM. The victim died on the spot and his body was later sent to a government hospital for postmortem, the police officer informed.

The police also told the media that the accused has been arrested and a case has been registered against him under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The police are further investigating this case.

Giving details of the incident, a police officer said, “When Sheikh was passing by a rickshaw stand on Belapur Road, he asked for a matchstickfrom the 53-year-old victim Prasad Bhanusingh Khadka, but the latter did not provide him. Accused Mohammad Adil Azamali Sheikh got angry over not getting the matchstick. He picked up a big stone and hit it on the victim’s head.”