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Suspicious meat, bill for beef: NCPCR’s startling discovery after investigating Don Bosco Missionary in Bengaluru which houses several Hindu children

OpIndia Staff
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Suspicious meat, bill for beef: NCPCR’s startling discovery after investigating Don Bosco Missionary in Bengaluru which houses several Hindu children

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), on Tuesday (21st November), called out the ‘Don Bosco Missionary’ in Bengaluru after it learned that the wards in the Missionary’s children’s home were being fed ‘suspicious meat’. Attaching a rough bill highlighting the order for beef, NCPCR on Twitter (X) said, “The team found suspicious meat in the kitchen during an inspection at Open Shelter, a children’s shelter run by the Don Bosco Missionary Organization in Davanagere, Karnataka.”

“We also found this bill of beef in the garbage. Despite the large number of Hindu children in the home, all the children are being made to practice Christianity and beef is being cooked. Notice is being issued for necessary action,” the NCPCR exposed.

This is days after the Chairman of the NCPCR, Priyank Kanoongo, found several irregularities at the children’s home, which is run by the ‘Don Bosco Missionary’ in Bengaluru. During the inspection, the NCPCR chief discovered that a child from Jodhpur (Rajasthan), who lost his way and ended up in Bengaluru, was staying at the children’s home for several months. Priyank Kanoongo added that the child should have been sent home per the rules but the children’s home chose to not comply with them.

While highlighting the recurring issue of keeping children against their will at shelter homes, Kanoongo pointed out, “Out of greed for funding, some child shelters hold children against their will and keep them away from their families. All of this is done in cahoots with the local authorities.”

The NCPCR Chairman also raised alarm about the fact that the children kept in the shelter home of ‘Don Bosco Missionary’ are not sent to school. At the same time, he found that a Christian preacher was staying illegally in the children’s home for a long time.

The NCPCR is conducting a thorough investigation into the case and necessary action will be taken after the investigation.

Watch: No one to welcome Australian Captain Pat Cummins at Airport after World Cup win, video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: No one to welcome Australian Captain Pat Cummins at Airport after World Cup win, video goes viral

On 22nd November (local time), Australian captain Pat Cummins and his teammates arrived at Sydney airport after winning the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against India. Interestingly, no one was present at the airport to receive the champions except for some media personnel.

Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, and Shaun Marsh exited Gate B of Sydney Airport’s International Terminal to be welcomed by an ’empty airport’. The scene starkly contrasted what Indian cricketers would have experienced on returning had they won the cup abroad. Or even the amount of media and public attention the cricketers attract on a normal day while traveling.

The video of Cummins at the Sydney airport went viral on social media, with people expressing shock over how the winners were received in their country.

X user in_saaaaaan said, “This is Pat Cummins’ welcome at the airport. Looks like the cricket World Cup wasn’t telecasted in Australia.”

Another user, Idlebrain Jeevi, said, “This is how Pat Cummins welcomed in Australia at the airport. Imagine the chaos at the airport if India returns with a cup!”

Another user, Prayag, pointed out there was no over-drama or hero worship.

X user Diva Jain appreciated the way Cummins arrived at the airport and wrote, “In stark contrast to “Superstar” IND Cricketers. No entourage, no Louis Vuitton bags, no Tapori haircut, no Patek 5712/Rolex Daytona on wrist – just the World Cup in his list of achievements.”

X user Godman Chikna wrote, “The reception for the World Cup winning captain Pat Cummins looks like Australia are still stuck on 2 points.”

Another X user, Pakchikpak Raja Babu, said there would be more people to have a cup of tea at a stall at any given time.

X user Abhishek Ojha said Indian players would have been welcomed with ‘dhol nagade’.

X user Subrat Saurabh asserted in India, more people will gather to see a ‘JCB ki khudayi’.

Australia defeated India in the ICC Cricket World Cup on 19th November by 6 wickets. India put 240 runs on the board in 50 overs. Australia finished the chase in just 43 overs.

Union Minister issues stark warning on cryptocurrency-driven criminal activities, cites Binance and FTX incidents as a cautionary tale

Anurag
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Union Minister issues stark warning on cryptocurrency-driven criminal activities, cites Binance and FTX incidents as a cautionary tale

On 22nd November, Union Minister of State for Electronics & Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar issued a stark warning on cryptocurrency-driven criminal activities. Citing the examples of Binance and FTX, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Lesson to be learnt from Binance, FTX and other ‘crypto’ companies. “Using new technology to break the law does not make you a disrupter. It makes you a criminal. PM Narendra Modi ji govt’s approach since 2022 to deterring crypto speculation has saved countless Indians from crypto meltdown and losses.”

Indian government guidelines for crypto trade

In February 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government would earn 30% of every penny of profit earned by way of transfer of virtual money. Also, to minutely capture the crypto transaction details, the Union Budget 2022 introduced a 1% tax deduction at source (TDS) for every transaction beyond a threshold limit. However, that does not mean cryptocurrency is a legal tender in India. These are considered assets or property as per the law. Companies and individuals can transact in crypto assets as long as they abide by the existing laws. To tighten the laws around crypto assets, the Indian government imposed existing anti-money laundering provisions on them. That means the exchanges have to report the transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND) as per the law.

Notably, in October this year, OpIndia reported that ISIS was seeking funds using cryptocurrency. Our detailed report can be checked here. Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman has warned several times that cryptocurrency is being used for terror funding.

Binance’s CEO stepped down over money laundering activities on the platform

The minister was quoting Binance’s former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who stepped down from his position after Binance admitted to turning a blind eye to money laundering and other criminal activities happening on the platform. In a long post on X, Zhao said, “I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.” Notably, Binance has to leave the US market completely and appoint a monitor for five years who will oversee the compliance with the orders.

US Justice Department department imposed a USD 4 billion penalty on Binance

Zhao stepped down following the penalty imposed by the US Justice Department on the platform for turning a blind eye to criminal activities, including money laundering. In a press release, the Justice Department said that Binance admitted to engaging in anti-money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations.

Furthermore, as part of the settlement, Binance agreed to pay over USD 4 Billion to settle the investigation by the Justice Department. Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program on the platform. The penalties imposed by the Justice Department, including the financial penalty, are being seen as a “significant development in cryptocurrency regulation” in the US.

The penalties will be paid to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). While FinCEN has assessed a penalty of USD 3.4 Billion, OFAC has assessed a penalty of USD 968 Million.

US Treasury’s Secretary emphasised on ‘playing by the rules’

Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen said in a post on X, “Today we announced the largest enforcement action in Treasury’s history against Binance, the world’s largest virtual currency exchange.”

She added, “Binance let illicit actors transact freely on its platform, allowing money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers. It willfully failed to have an effective anti-money laundering program and executed over 1.6 million trades that resulted in sanctions violations.”

She issued a warning to the industry players: “If virtual currency exchanges and financial technology firms wish to realise the tremendous benefits of being part of the US financial system and serving US customers, they must play by the rules. And if they do not, the US government will act.”

She added, “Today’s actions hold Binance accountable for its wrongdoing by ensuring Binance leaves the US market and sending a clear message to bad actors in the virtual currency industry.”

Notably, a separate exchange called Binance.US is the operating name of BAM Trading Services, an affiliate of Binance. As it is a registered money services business in the US, Binance’s exit will not affect its functioning.

What happened at FTX?

FTX was once the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. It collapsed in November 2022 and caused a ripple effect in the crypto industry. CoinDesk revealed that FTX’s close-tied trading firm Alameda Research held assets primarily in speculative tokens, which led to the crisis and mass customer withdrawals. As a result of the fallout, the company filed bankruptcy, and both FTX and Alameda faced criminal and civil charges.

Founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned from the company and was later convicted on seven pre-extradition charges. The second trial in the matter is scheduled for March 2024. The FTX collapse was so intense that it affected other crypto services and triggered downsizing, leading to bankruptcy for lenders and banks.

The demise of FTX started a chain reaction, prompting the authorities to bring regulatory scrutiny and calls for greater oversight into the crypto industry.

Andhra HC dismisses Christian man’s plea challenging his removal from temple job, says ‘only Hindus can work in Hindu temples’

OpIndia Staff
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Andhra HC dismisses Christian man’s plea challenging his removal from temple job, says ‘only Hindus can work in Hindu temples’

The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently ruled that individuals who are not Hindus and are followers of other faiths shall not be employed in Hindu temples. “Only those who follow Hindu religion are eligible to work in temples,” the court said.

The said order was issued by Justice Harinath Nunepally recently while rejecting a petition filed by P Sudershan Babu challenging his dismissal from service by the top executive of the Srisailam Devasthanam. The individual was removed from the service after the Devasthanam discovered that he had concealed his Christian identity to receive a compassionate appointment as a record assistant in 2002. 

Sudershan Babu in the year 2022 falsely claimed that he belonged to the Hindu faith and was a member of the SC (Mala) community. 

Later, in 2010, he tied the knot with a Christian woman in the Holy Cross Church. This led to several complaints being filed in his name for obtaining the job at a Devasthanam by concealing his original identity. The said complaints then prompted an inquiry by the Lokayukta.

Sudershan Babu claimed in his reply to the Lokayukta’s notice that he wasn’t hiding his faith and produced his caste and school certifications.

The Lokayukta however discovered that Sudershan Babu got the job by masking his religion after reviewing various documents. Following this, the EO of the Srisailam temple issued orders dismissing him from service.

Sudershan Babu in the year 2012 then filed an appeal with the High Court, challenging his expulsion from service.

After reviewing various documents during the hearing, Justice Harinath stated that the petitioner’s religion was listed as Christian in the Holy Cross Church register, and it bore the petitioner’s signature.

“If Sudershan Babu had married the woman without converting to Christianity, the marriage should have been registered under the Special Marriages Act, 1954, and the marriage certificate should have been issued per the Act. However, this was not done in Sudershan Babu’s case,” Justice Harinath was quoted as saying. 

Notably, in January this year, the Supreme Court also disallowed the state government from interfering in the temple management. “Why should not religious places be left to religious people?” Justice Kaul said while refusing to entertain the Andhra Pradesh government’s plea challenging the state High Court’s verdict, which stated that the state government’s decision to designate an “Executive Officer” to oversee and manage the affairs of the Ahobilam Temple in Kurnool was unlawful. 

The juvenile rants of Congress: The outlandish complaints against PM Modi, blaming him for the loss, TheWire whining about Gujaratis and more

S. Sudhir Kumar
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The juvenile rants of Congress: The outlandish complaints against PM Modi, blaming him for the loss, TheWire whining about Gujaratis and more

When major events (sports, elections etc) happen, newspaper and TV Editors typically keep two headlines ready for either result, to save time at the end of the event. When India lost to Australia in the World Cup cricket finals, there was an immediate outrage on two things – One, the crowd at the stadium and two, our Prime Minister! It’s like they had their posts ready before the match (just like the editors) because the speed with which they rolled them out clearly meant that they were waiting for our country to lose so that they could settle their meagre scores. 

The gist of their complaint about our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is captured in this Twitter post by someone from the Congress party. India won ICC titles (World Cup, Champions Trophies) when the Congress was in power and did not win a single ICC trophy (despite some events or the other happening every year). Now that they opened this box, it becomes essential that we remind this gang of the amazing strides India has made in international sports events after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India in 2014. 

India won her highest-ever medal tally in the Olympics in Tokyo 2021 (7 medals). India won over 100 medals for the first time in history at the Asian Games in 2023 (107 medals!). Not just this, India won her highest-ever medal tally at the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2021 (19 medals) and at the Asian Para Games in 2023 (111 medals). The list certainly doesn’t end here. We’ve won our first-ever gold at the World Athletic Championships (and also the highest medal tally). We’ve won the highest number of medals at the World Badminton Championships. India added 44 Grandmasters in Chess, in just these 9 years.

While this can be attributed to mere good luck or to Nehru by the Congress party, the medals in the Asian and Olympic games did not happen just like that. The Prime Minister placed a very special focus on sports and ensured that our sportspersons were provided with the best facilities and training. The unique scheme – TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) – gave the best possible training to these athletes. We have all seen how the Prime Minister personally meets all the participants and encourages them. We have all seen how he personally congrats each medal winner on social media. And more importantly, we have all seen how he personally connects with those who fought well but couldn’t make it to the podium. Even for this World Cup, we have seen how he went to the dressing room and interacted with our players. 

The gang constantly jokes about the PM’s interactions with our sportspersons, but can you possibly imagine the huge impact the Prime Minister of the country makes on our sportsperson through all these personal interactions? Don’t we all always look for that word of appreciation or word of comfort from our leaders at work? Why then should the sportspersons be deprived of this connection? 

The second issue this gang had was with the crowd at the Ahmedabad stadium. Controversial website The Wire (known popularly as Liar the Wire) even went ahead and concluded that the crowd “diminished India in the eyes of the World”. I, for one, believe The Wire has exemplary courage. It takes real courage to talk and judge like this after perpetuating a big fraud like they have done! Anyways, we digress. 

The complaint against the crowd was varied – they didn’t cheer enough for India; they didn’t clap when Head hit a century; they chanted the wrong names of the players. The gang went on to compare this crowd to the Eden Gardens crowd, the Wankhede crowd, and the Chennai crowd. Crores of people in this world are passionate about sports and often react very strongly when the result doesn’t go their way. In India, we have seen how the Eden Gardens crowd disrupted the 1996 World Cup Semifinal, by even burning things in the stadium. There was an unsavoury incident in 1999 too, when we were losing to Pakistan and Sachin had to come onto the ground and appeal for peace. Did this not diminish our stature? The Wankhede crowd once booed Sachin Tendulkar. Srilankan players don’t form part of the Chennai IPL team because of issues some Tamilians have with Srilanka! Don’t these events diminish their stature? In contrast, what did the Ahmedabad crowd do to “diminish India”? They didn’t clap when the Australian player hit a century! 

This gang is an expert at normalising violence and boorish behaviour when it comes to making their point. They are expert at creating a divide when none exists. They are experts at linking everything to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and won’t hesitate in plunging to any depth to demean India and Indians. Well, this gang can continue their meaningless rants. India will march ahead like never before. 

PS: Nothing can still beat the coverage that NDTV gave for Rahul Gandhi when India won the semi-finals and finals of 2011 World Cup. Many examples here. But sample this: In a slide show titled “A billion voices thank men in blue” – 5 slides are dedicated to Rahul Gandhi’s moods! 

‘We are at war, will continue till Hamas is destroyed’: Netanyahu says after cabinet agrees for a pause to enable hostage return from Gaza

OpIndia Staff
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‘We are at war, will continue till Hamas is destroyed’: Netanyahu says after cabinet agrees for a pause to enable hostage return from Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the country will continue its war with Hamas even after the “pause to return our hostages,” until Israel achieves all its war aims.

Netanyahu made these remarks on Tuesday ahead of an expected Cabinet vote on a ceasefire proposal. “While this meeting is to discuss the return of our hostages, I would like to start with something/… there is a lot of nonsense out there to the effect that after the pause to return our hostages, we will stop the war. Then, let me make it clear. We are at war –and we will continue the war,” Netanyahu said, as reported by ANI.

As per a report in Jerusalem Post, the Israeli cabinet in a late-night decision approved a ‘partial hostage deal’ that includes a temporary pause in Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza in exchange for the release of around 80 people held hostage by Hamas. The 80 people include mostly children and women, and are among the 239 people taken hostage by Hamas on 7th October.

However, some other media reports from Israel say that the pause will see the release of about 12-13 hostages each day, totaling about 50 hostages. The Israeli government has stated that the release of every additional 10 hostages will earn Hamas another day of ‘pause’ in the war.

Times of Israel reported that the Israeli government has also agreed to release women and minor Palestinians lodged in Israeli prisons, mostly from West Bank and East Jerusalem. The number of Palestinians to be released by Israel is not confirmed yet.

“We will continue the war until we achieve all our war aims: To eliminate Hamas, return all our hostages and missing persons and ensure that there is no element in Gaza that threatens Israel,” he added.

Netanyahu, speaking further said that the return of the hostages is a supreme task and he is obligated to it.

The Israeli Prime Minister said, “Yesterday evening I met with the members of the war cabinet, members of hostages’ families, I listened closely to their plight. With shaking voices, with sometimes tears, they described the nightmare they were in.”

“I told the dear families: Returning our hostages is a sacred and supreme task. and I am obligated to do it together with my colleagues…There is no greater precept than redeeming captives until we redeem them all. We will not relent in our efforts until we redeem them all,” the Israeli PM said.

Reiterating that the war with Hamas will continue, Netanyahu further added by saying, “The war will continue until we achieve all our goals. Eliminating Hamas, returning all our hostages and assuring that the day after Hamas, Gaza will no longer threaten Israel, that there will be no longer an element that supports terrorism, and threaten the state of Israel.”

In a stern warning to the Palestinian authority following their denial of Hamas’ involvement in the October 7 assault on Israel, Netanyahu on Sunday said that the day Hamas is eliminated by Israel, it will not allow whoever runs the civil administration in Gaza to support terrorism.

The conflict in Gaza escalated after the October 7 attack by Hamas, where about 2,500 terrorists breached the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, leading to casualties and the seizure of hostages.

Hamas terrorists seized about 240 hostages during the assault when they surged across Gaza’s militarised border into southern Israel to kill around 1,200 people, mostly civilians who were massacred at their homes and fleeing a music festival amid brutal atrocities, The Times of Israel reported.

The hostages are of all ages and include young children and elderly people, as well as Thai and Nepali nationals.

( With inputs from ANI)

‘If I give a signal, you will have to run’: AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi of the ’15-minutes’ fame threatens cop in Hyderabad

OpIndia Staff
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‘If I give a signal, you will have to run’: AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi of the ’15-minutes’ fame threatens cop in Hyderabad

On Tuesday, November 21, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, notorious for his inflammatory speeches, threatened an on-duty police officer who asked him to follow the model code of conduct during a poll rally in Lalitabagh, Hyderabad.

The AIMIM leader warned that the police inspector better leave the venue, indicating that a “signal” from him to his supporters would be sufficient to ensure that he had to “run” from the site.

Akbaruddin Owaisi, who is contesting from the Chandrayangutta Assembly seat in the assembly elections, was enraged when a police inspector from Santoshnagar arrived and requested his party leaders to end the meeting on time.

“Goliyaan chaku ki baat sunke samjhe hum kamzor hogye haan? (Do you think I became weak after facing knives and bullets?). Abhi bhi bohot himmat hai (I still have a lot of courage in me). Paanch minute hain, bolunga panch minute (Five minutes are remaining, and I’ll address the crowd). Koi maai ka laal paida nahi hua mujhe rokne ke liye (No one is born yet who has the guts to stop me). If I give them [crowd] a signal, you’ll have to run; should we make him run? This is what I mean when I say they come like this to weaken us,” Owaisi harangued.

Notably, Akbaruddin Owaisi has a history of making inflammatory and inciteful speeches. Back in 2012, Akbaruddin Owaisi made an inflammatory speech against Hindus. In his speech, he was seen taking many jibes at Hindu Gods and Goddesses while making an open challenge to Hindus for their survival if the police were to be removed for 15 minutes.

Akbaruddin Owaisi, who is running for reelection in Chandrayangutta, is the wealthiest candidate in his party. According to the latest affidavit, the AIMIM legislator has immovable properties worth approximately 4.50 crore, and those of his spouse are worth approximately 4.95 crore. Their respective liabilities are 2.89 crore and 5.96 crore. Four separate FIRs have been filed against Owaisi at different police stations.

UN expert says jail sentences for ‘Just Stop Oil’ protesters who disrupted traffic for 40 hours are against international law

OpIndia Staff
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UN expert says jail sentences for ‘Just Stop Oil’ protesters who disrupted traffic for 40 hours are against international law

In October 2022, two protestors of the UK-based group ‘Just Stop Oil’ Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland disrupted traffic for almost 40 hours on one of the busiest bridges in the United Kingdom. In support of the Just Stop Oil ‘activist’ group, they climbed the cables supporting the Queen Elizabeth II suspension bridge in Dartford, Kent, and stopped the traffic flow. Both of them were convicted of causing a public nuisance. 

(Convicted Just Stop Oil protestors, Image Source – The Standard)

Decker was served two years and seven months jail term while Trowland received a three-year sentence. As per British media reports, these were the longest sentences passed on ‘non-violent protesters’ in the UK.

Earlier in the day (21st November), a UN expert while defending both the protestors slammed the UK government. He argued that these long jail terms violate International law adding that this could have a follow-on effect on civil society. 

The UN expert said that long sentences handed to two Just Stop Oil protesters for scaling the M25 bridge over the Thames are a potential breach of international law and risk silencing public concerns about the environment, as reported by The Guardian.  

The UN’s rapporteur for climate change and human rights, Ian Fry said that he was “particularly concerned” as according to him the sentences were “significantly more severe than previous sentences imposed for this type of offending in the past”. He defended them noting that Decker and Trowland have the right to peaceful protest.

He said, “I am gravely concerned about the potential flow-on effect that the severity of the sentences could have on civil society and the work of activists, expressing concerns about the triple planetary crisis and, in particular, the impacts of climate change on human rights and on future generations.”

Rishi Sunak slams UN expert

Hours after the UN expert raised questions on the UK government, UK PM Rishi Sunak slammed him for arguing that lengthy sentences for climate protesters could curb freedoms in the UK. Sunak asserted that it was “entirely right” to hand “tough sentences” to “selfish protestors” who cause misery for the general public.

Taking to X, he wrote, “Those who break the law should feel the full force of it. It’s entirely right that selfish protestors intent on causing misery to the hard-working majority face tough sentences. It’s what the public expects and it’s what we’ve delivered.”

UN’s rapporteur for climate change and human rights Fry had also sought an explanation from the UK government asking, “why, in light of the current climate crisis, it was necessary to introduce and pass the Public Order Act and how both the Public Order Act and the sentencing of Mr. Decker and Mr. Trowland are compatible with international norms and standards.” 

He demanded that ministers should highlight “what steps have been taken … to ensure that non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, and all human rights defenders can carry out their peaceful work free from threat, violence, harassment or retaliation or any sort”.

However, the UK government has not given any reply to Fry’s letter, which was reportedly sent on 15th August. His letter dated 15th August, also highlighted that a  letter was also sent on 22nd December in which he demanded an explanation of how provisions in the Public Order Act could be reconciled with international human rights law. The earlier letter was signed by Fry and four other rapporteurs which also remained unanswered by the UK government, Fry’s second letter noted.

Just Stop Oil

In the meantime, there has been no response from the UK Home Office to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said, “Our politicians are planning to kill countless million souls and destroy the rights and freedoms that we have struggled to achieve. That is the brutal reality of climate collapse, hinted at by Dr Ian Fry.”

Calling people to hit the street, the Spokesperson of the ‘activist’ group added, “If the government is willing to ignore a letter from the UN what chance they will listen to ordinary people writing letters to their MPs? We need to get on the streets, we need to resist and stand with those political prisoners jailed for defending their future. Slow march with us in London, from Trafalgar Square … 12 noon every day.”

As per the activist group, ‘Just Stop Oil’ is a nonviolent civil resistance group. It wants the UK Government should stop licensing all new oil, gas, and coal projects in the country. On their website, the group provokes people to hit the street stating “When petitions don’t work we hit the streets,” amplified multiple times. They appeal to them to join its ongoing ‘Slow March’ luring protestors with two options. If they skip the protest they would have to spend their own money whereas the protestors will enjoy “Free” Breakfast at the Police station and get ‘media attention’ as well. 

(Incentives for Slow March as per the group’s Website – Free Media publicity)
(Electricity generation bucket for UK, Image Source – BBC)

As per a BBC report, around 40% of the Electricity generation of the UK is powered by these resources. i.e., Coal, Oil, and Gas. 

ED attaches properties worth Rs 751.9 crore in National Herald case

ANI
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ED attaches properties worth Rs 751.9 crore in National Herald case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has issued an order to provisionally attach properties worth Rs. 751.9 Crore in a money-laundering case investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 against Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and Young Indian (YI), a release said.

Investigation revealed that Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) is in possession of proceeds of crime in the form of immovable properties spread across many cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow to the tune of Rs. 661.69 Crore and Young Indian (YI) is in possession of proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs. 90.21 Crore in the form of investment in equity shares of AJL.

ED initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of a process issued by the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate of Delhi after taking cognizance of a private complaint vide order dated June 26, 2014.

“The Court held that seven accused persons including Young India, prima facie committed offences of criminal breach of trust under section 406 of IPC, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property under section 420 of IPC, dishonest misappropriation of property under section 403 and criminal conspiracy under 120B of IPC,” the release added.

The Court held that the accused persons hatched a criminal conspiracy to acquire properties worth hundreds of Crores of AJL through a special purpose vehicle, Young Indian. AJL was given land on concessional rates in various cities of India for the purpose of publishing newspapers. AJL closed its publishing operations in 2008 and started using the properties for commercial purposes.

“AJL had to repay a loan of Rs. 90.21 Crore to All India Congress Committee (AICC), however, AICC treated the said loan of Rs.90.21 Crore as non-recoverable from AJL and sold it for Rs.50 lakhs to a newly incorporated company—Young Indian without any source of income to pay even Rs.50 lakh. By their action, the shareholders of AJL as well as donors of Congress Party were cheated by the office bearers of AJL and Congress Party,” the release said.

ED investigation revealed that after purchasing the loan of Rs.90.21 Crore from AICC, Young India demanded either repayment of the loan or allotment of equity shares of AJL to it. AJL held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) and passed a resolution to increase share capital and issue fresh shares worth Rs.90.21 Crore to YI.

“With this fresh allotment of shares, shareholding of more than 1000 shareholders was reduced to a mere 1% and AJL became a subsidiary company of YI which also took control over properties of AJL,” the release added.

Further investigation is under progress.

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

‘Will impose Rs 1 Crore fine on every product claiming false cure’: SC slams Patanjali Ayurved for ads against modern medicines

OpIndia Staff
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‘Will impose Rs 1 Crore fine on every product claiming false cure’: SC slams Patanjali Ayurved for ads against modern medicines

On 21st November (Tuesday), a two-judge Supreme Court bench pulled up Patanjali Ayurved for “publishing misleading claims and advertisements against modern systems of medicine”, Live Law reported. The bench also issued a stern warning to the company stating that it would impose a Rs 1 crore fine on every product if the company made false claims that the product ‘cures’ a particular disease. 

The two-judge bench hearing the matter comprises Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra. Justice Amanullah said, “All such false and misleading advertisements of Patanjali Ayurved have to stop immediately. The Court will take any such infraction very seriously, and the Court will also consider imposing costs to the extent of Rs. 1 crores on every product regarding which a false claim is made that it can “cure” a particular disease.”

The bench directed Patanjali that it must refrain from making casual statements in the press and shall not make any such advertisements in the future. 

However, the bench asserted that it did not wish to make the issue an “Allopathy v. Ayurveda” debate rather it wanted real solutions to the problem of misleading medical advertisements. 

The bench has asked the Union government to come up with a viable solution to solve the problem of misleading medical advertisements. The next hearing in the case will now take place on 5th February 2024. 

Notably, the bench is hearing a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against misleading advertisements. In its writ petition, the IMA has raised concerns which according to them are a “continuous, systematic, and unabated spread of misinformation” regarding allopathy and the modern system of medicine. 

IMA accuses Patanjali of making disparaging remarks on allopathy

According to the IMA’s petition, Patanjali’s misleading advertisements disparage allopathy and make false claims about curing certain diseases. The IMA has also accused Patanjali of spreading false rumours about COVID-19 vaccines and contributing to vaccine hesitancy.

Last year, the Supreme Court pulled up the company’s founder Baba Ramdev for making statements against modern medicine systems like Allopathy while while issuing notice in this matter. 

The then Chief Justice of India NV Ramana had said, “What happened to Baba Ramdev? He can popularise his system, but why should he criticise other systems? We all respect him, he popularised yoga but he shouldn’t criticise other systems. What is the guarantee that his system will work? He cannot refuse the doctor system. He must exercise restraint in abusing other systems.” 

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