On 18th October (Wednesday), the Union Cabinet approved a 4% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central government employees and Dearness Relief for pensioners. With this, the DA/DR has been increased to 46% from the existing 42%. While briefing reporters about the decisions taken by the Union Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told media that the release of the additional instalment of dearness allowance and dearness relief will be applicable from 1st July, this year.
During this season of festivities, the Central Government has taken the cabinet decision to increase the DA (Dearness Allowance) of Government officials and the Dearness Relief to pensioners by 4% from July 1, 2023
During the briefing, Thakur said, “Dearness Allowance for Central government employees and Dearness Relief for pensioners has been increased by 4 per cent. The DA hike will be implemented from 1, July 2023.”
The announcement comes in the festive season and is being hailed as a Diwali gift from the government. As a result of this Cabinet decision, central government employees will get increased salaries starting from November, in addition to arrears for the period between July and October.
The Union Minister Anurag Thakur stated that the decision has come during the festival season and will benefit both the central government employees and pensioners. Around 48.67 lakh Central Government Employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners will get benefit from this Cabinet decision. It would cost Rs 12,857 crore annually to the Union government.
The extra monthly income for Central government employees with a minimum basic salary of Rs 18,000 will rise from Rs 7,560 (at a 42% rate) to Rs 8,280 (at a 46% rate). Likewise, for employees with a maximum basic salary of Rs 56,900, their monthly earnings will increase from Rs 23,898 (at a 42% rate) to Rs 26,174 (at a 46% rate).
Notably, the government pays Dearness Allowance/Relief to its employees (DA) and pensioners (DR) to offset the impact of inflation. Taking inflation into account, the government revises the rates of DA and DR every six months.
This announcement comes a day after, the Union government on 17th October (Tuesday) approved ad-hoc (Non-productivity linked) bonuses for Group C and non-gazetted Group B rank central government officials, including paramilitary forces and armed forces. This is equivalent to 30 days of emoluments for the accounting year 2022-23.
In a notification, the Ministry of Finance stated, “The calculation ceiling for payment of ad-hoc bonus under these orders shall be monthly emoluments of ₹7,000/”.
To be eligible for the bonus, a government employee must have been in service as of 31st March 2023, and have worked continuously for at least six months during the fiscal year. Employees who meet these criteria will receive a pro-rata payment based on their duration of continuous service throughout the year.
On Thursday (18th October), the Saket court in Delhi convicted four accused persons in the murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. The fifth accused has also been convicted of other charges related to the case. The court found all of them guilty under the strict MCOCA law.
The court determined that Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar, and Baljeet Malik murdered the journalist with the goal of robbing her. They were found guilty under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC and also under MCOCA section 3(1)(i).
Ajay Sethi, the fifth accused, has been convicted under Section 411 of the Indian Penal Code for keeping a stolen car. He also supported the group and retained property generated from organised crime. The court found him guilty under sections 3(2) and 3(5) of MCOCA.
STORY | 15 years on, court convicts four for murder of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan
The murdered journalist’s mother commented on the verdict saying, “We’ve lost our daughter, but this (verdict) will act as a deterrent for others as well.” She said that all the accused convicted deserve life imprisonment as a punishment in this case.
"My daughter is gone but this verdict will act as a deterrent for others": Soumya Vishwanathan's mother.
5 people were today convicted in the 2008 murder case of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. pic.twitter.com/JVJfHwySNs
In September 2008, the journalist was assassinated in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area. She was killed in her car on Vasant Kunj’s Nelson Mandela Marg. Vishwanathan was working as a journalist with the then-newly launched news channel named ‘Headlines Today’. On September 28, 2008, she was shot and killed on her way home from work.
The Delhi police had invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) due to the accused’s prior involvement in other dreadful cases including the Jigisha Ghosh murder case.
The decision was made by Delhi’s Saket Court 15 years after the murder. The accused were arrested in March 2009, but it took the prosecution 13 years to bring all of the evidence in the case before the court. The trial began in February 2010 and ended today with the accused being found guilty.
Vishwanathan was found murdered in her car on September 30, 2008. It was initially assumed that she died in an accident. However, forensic reports found that Vishwanathan died as a result of a bullet wound to the head. This sparked an investigation into a murder.
According to police investigations, she was followed on her way home and shot by another moving vehicle. CCTV footage tracked her movements and detected a maroon-colored car following her.
The police then conducted an investigation and arrested two people, Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla, for their involvement in another case. However, they confessed to having murdered Vishwanathan and described it as a ‘thrilling activity’. All the other accused were then identified and arrested.
The hearing of the case was completed in 2016, however, the verdict was postponed multiple times owing to legal issues.
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, his son Abdullah Azam, and Azam Khan’s wife Tanzeem Fatima have been sentenced to seven years in prison. The MP-MLA court in Rampur has found the three guilty and declared the sentence. All three convicts have been instructed to be immediately taken to jail.
Abdullah Azam, who won the 2017 Lok Sabha elections from the Swar constituency, was charged with using a counterfeit birth certificate since he hadn’t reached the required age during the election. He was also convicted of possessing two birth certificates.
Charges of possessing two birth certificates
Abdullah Azam’s date of birth, as per the birth certificate used for his 2017 election campaign, was stated as 30th September 1990. This particular certificate was issued from Lucknow in 2015. Also, a second birth certificate was issued from Rampur in 2012, indicating his birth date as 1st January 1993, which also matches the date of birth on his educational certificates.
The birth certificate from the Rampur Municipality lists his birthplace as Rampur, whereas the one from Lucknow states his birthplace as Lucknow.
Abdullah Azam Khan is accused of obtaining a passport and making foreign trips on the basis of one of the birth certificates and using the other certificate for filing election forms. Both the certificates were issued fraudulently and under a pre-planned conspiracy.
Abdullah Azam’s assembly membership was cancelled twice
In this regard, a case was filed on behalf of BJP leader Akash Saxena in Ganj Kotwali on 3rd January 2019. After this case, Abdullah Azam lost his assembly membership. But in the year 2022, he again won the Swar Assembly seat. In this case, the MP-MLA court found him guilty this year and again he lost his assembly membership. In this case, the court has sentenced the three people to seven years imprisonment.
The Azam Khan family received a jolt from the court on 16 October 2022 regarding this matter. The family sought additional time and filed a revision, but their plea was dismissed when the MP-MLA court of Rampur requested the ADJ First Court for a hearing. Following this, the MP-MLA court handed down a seven-year jail sentence to Azam Khan, his wife Tanzeem Fatima, and Abdullah Azam.
Azam Khan has also been convicted and lost his assembly membership
Azam Khan has been convicted in two cases so far. In December 2022, he was sentenced to three years in jail by the court, after which he lost his assembly membership. Earlier this year, Akash Saxena won the Rampur by-election and became the first Hindu MLA from the Rampur assembly seat. Azam Khan, Abdullah Azam and Tanzeem Fatima have been sentenced to seven years each on the complaint of Akash Saxena.
People of the Dalit community in Jharkhand’s Giridih district have charged that their land has been illegally occupied by members of the Muslim community in a letter submitted to the administration. Aggrieved families have been staging protests at the office of the Deputy Commissioner since 12 September in order to reclaim their property.
Furthermore, they are presently dealing with a financial crisis as well. The Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed the incumbent Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led state government over the development. A local party leader told OpIndia that the demonstration is still ongoing.
The incident is reportedly from the Jamua block of the Giridih area where Savitri Bharti, Jeera Devi, Gulabi Devi and other individuals belonging to Dalit families from Nawadih are protesting. They mentioned that the then-Bihar government had legally granted them 11,000 acres of property in the Jamua region in 1986–1987. They planted trees there and regular receipt of land was also collected.
Meanwhile, Abdul, Mashrafe, Khalil, Hamid and Alibakhsh among others seized the land by force. They drove away the Dalits by beating and abusing them. The latter complained to the police many times, however, no action was taken. The victims also highlighted that they had not been relocated there even after over 37 years after which they approached the court.
The land dispute made its way to the Giridih Deputy Commissioner’s Court in 2016 where Khalil Mian led the Muslim side and Mohan Turi represented the Dalits. Both parties produced their documents and put forth arguments during the three-year trial. In 2019, the court of Rahul Kumar Sinha declared the Muslim claims to be invalid and ultimately decided in favour of the Dalits.
The complainants accused that despite winning the case the administration had been unable to return the possession of their land to them even after 4 years. They had now appealed to the Girdih Deputy Commissioner on 12 September of this year and asked for ownership rights of what is legally theirs. They requested that their land should be measured in police presence and illegal occupants should be evicted from there. However, they sat on a protest after their demands were not addressed.
The number of affected families is eleven. Following the 12 September demonstration after which no one paid any heed to them for almost a month, they started to work for their livelihood at the same place itself. They expressed that festivals like Durga Pooja, Chhath and Diwali are looming and they have encountered a critical economic crisis in these conditions.
The bereaved families started preparing soup, making brooms and knitting baskets, etc. at the Deputy Commissioner’s office from 10 October to make ends meet and asserted that they would continue their protest while they strive to support themselves monetarily.
यह अस्वीकार्य है !
एक बेहद ही संवेदनशील मामला संज्ञान में आया है : गिरिडीह के जमुआ में 11 दलितों की जमीन समुदाय विशेष के लोगों के द्वारा हड़प ली गई है। मिली जानकारी के मुताबिक इस मामले पर जिला प्रशासन ने भी शुरुआती जांच में दलितों का साथ ना देते हुए राज्य सरकार की मनसा को जाहिर… pic.twitter.com/SZOPURO6IO
According to Chandankiyari BJP MLA Arun Kumar, such occurrences are unacceptable. He emphasised that the district authorities should find the offenders and take appropriate action. He proclaimed that there had been an instance of the Mahadalit families being forcefully ejected from their houses by a particular community in Palamu.
OpIndia spoke to local Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kameshwar Paswan in connection with the matter and he disclosed that the police have been chased away multiple times from the area which the Muslim side has unlawfully taken control of by their community members, including women. They have built residences at that place without permission and openly issued death threats to anyone who talks about removing the construction.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condoled the loss of lives in an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, saying he was “deeply shocked” by the incident.
Also expressing concern over the mounting civilian casualties in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, those behind such deaths should be “held responsible”.
Taking to his official handle on X, PM Modi posted, “Deeply shocked at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and prayers for speedy recovery of those injured. Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. Those involved should be held responsible.”
Deeply shocked at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and prayers for speedy recovery of those injured.
Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern.…
Also responding to the attack on a Gaza hospital, US President Joe Biden said earlier on Tuesday that he was “outraged and deeply saddened” after learning of the incident, the White House said in a statement.
The White House statement quoted President Biden as saying further, “I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted.”
After learning of the incident, the US President called up Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. “Immediately upon hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and have directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened,” the White House statement quoted Biden as saying.
“The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy,” he added. French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the attack on the hospital, saying that the attack on civilians cannot be “justified”.
“Nothing can justify striking a hospital. Nothing can justify targeting civilians. France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which made so many Palestinian victims. Our thoughts are with them. All the light must be shed on the circumstances,” Macron tweeted from his handle on X.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, told CNN that the IDF “does not target hospitals.”
“We only target Hamas strongholds, arms depots, and terror targets,” he added. Heinrich made the remarks after Palestinian sources claimed that initial estimates suggest that attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City resulted in 200 to 300 fatalities.
An explosion at the hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday claimed the lives of hundreds of people, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, Reuters reported.
A Gaza civil defence chief claimed on Al-Jazeera television that over 300 people were killed in the explosion at the Gaza hospital.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On Tuesday (17th October) night, a total of 18 Nepali citizens were airlifted from war-torn Israel by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) under ‘Operation Ajay.’
The fifth batch of 286 passengers (including 268 Indian nationals and 18 Nepalis) arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday. They were welcomed by Union Minister L Murugan.
While speaking about the development, he said, “This is is the fifth flight, and we have already brought 1180 people back home. We are the first country to start the evacuation, and we are also bringing people belonging to our neighbour (Nepal) countries…”
Ambika, a Nepali citizen who was evacuated from Israel told ANI, “The situation in Israel is dangerous. We were scared, there were explosions. I want to thank the Indian Govt for bringing us back. Several Nepali citizens still stranded in Israel…”
While reacting to the development, the Ambassador of Nepal to India, said, “We would like to thank the Indian Govt for bringing Nepali citizens back from Tel Aviv to Delhi. They have arrived here safely.”
On 8th October, the media quoted an official of the Nepal Embassy as confirming that at least 10 Nepali students had been killed in Hamas invasion of Israel. “Around 10 Nepali students died in the ongoing situation in Israel,” news agency ANI quoted a Nepal Embassy in Israel official as saying.
Hamas terrorists' attack on Israel | Around 10 Nepali students died in the ongoing situation in Israel: Nepal Embassy in Israel official confirmed ANI
India, over the years, has been one of those countries that have been remarkably successful in executing its evacuation plans and bringing its stranded citizens back home. Operation Kaveri in Sudan, Operation Ganga in Ukraine, and Operation Devi Shakti in Afghanistan resulted in the evacuation of around 20,000 Indians combined.
Following an attack on Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza allegedly killing 500 people, the Israeli Defence Forces have categorically denied allegations that it was a result of an Israeli airstrike. The IDF officials emphasized that it was a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) that hit the hospital premises in Gaza killing civilians.
They also asserted that Hamas knew that the rocket launched by PIJ at around 6:59 PM (local time) (on 17th October) misfired and it coincided with the first reporting of an attack on the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza.
The IDF officials also revealed a phone call they had intercepted, establishing that Hamas immediately knew that the hospital was hit by a PIJ rocket fired from within Gaza, but it chose to launch a media campaign blaming Israel.
Transcript of the conversation between two terrorists in #GazaCity acknowledging that it was their own rocket that misfired & that it was launched from an area right by the #hospitalpic.twitter.com/CXkG4rGeEO
Addressing a press briefing, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, “According to our intelligence, Hamas checked the reports, understood it was an Islamic Jihad rocket that had misfired, and then decided to launch a global media campaign to hide what really happened.”
IDF spokesperson shares aerial pictures showing evidence damage was caused by a rocket misfire and not an IDF airstrike, and reveals a phone call exposing Hamas knew immediately that the hospital was hit by a PIJ rocket and chose to launch a media campaign against Israel pic.twitter.com/OMyxdG9tYu
In the press briefing, the IDF spokesperson also shared aerial pictures showing evidence that damage was caused to the adjoining structures by PIJ’s rocket misfire and not an IDF airstrike. He asserted, “Analysis of our aerial footage confirms that there was no direct hit to the hospital itself, the only damage is outside the hospital in the parking lot.”
During the presser, the IDF official also showed pictures of the hospital’s scorched parking lot. Regarding the damage in the parking lot, Hagari stated that the damage to the hospital’s parking lot was caused by the rocket impact and due to the large amount of rocket fuel that was still in the projectile as it fell short.
He pointed out that had it been an Israeli airstrike, “we would have seen craters and structural damage to the building, both of which were not identified in this incident.”
The IDF official also showed pictures of some Israeli airstrikes in which massive craters, having diameters in metres, could be easily seen. Whereas, in the Hospital attack in Gaza, there is no visible sign of formation of any crater or significant structural damage to the buildings.
(Image Source – Twitter, comparison of an airstrike above and pictures of the aftermath at Hospital in Gaza)
Further, Hagari, briefing the international media in English, read out a translated transcript of an intercepted call between two Hamas officials. As per the transcript, Hamas cadre talked about the failed Islamic Jihad rocket that hit the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, following a barrage launched from a cemetery in Gaza, The Times of Israel reported.
BREAKING: ?? IDF releases a recording of an intercepted phone call between two fighters discussing failure of Islamic Jihad rocket that landed on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.
Highlighting the evidence, the IDF spokesman accused the Hamas terror group of purposely misleading international media outlets on this issue.
Taking to X, the IDF stated, “A failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation hit the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City. IAF footage from the area around the hospital before and after the failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation.”
A failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization hit the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City.
IAF footage from the area around the hospital before and after the failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization: pic.twitter.com/AvCAkQULAf
It is important to note that Israel has deployed the Iron Dome defence system to neutralise the barrage of Hamas rocket attacks that lack precision and target residential areas. On account of cost disparity, Iron Dome lets a majority of these unguided Hamas rockets fall on barren lands rather than countering it mid-air. Historically, rockets misfired by Hamas have landed on their own enclave killing civilians.
Conspicuously, since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Israeli Defence Forces have been sharing video footage of precision airstrikes and in many instances, IDF had warned Gazans to evacuate the buildings/structures it planned to target minutes later.
(The damaged parking lot of the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City, Image Source – Twitter, @qudsn)
Based on the analysis of aerial footage available before and after the attack, particularly in the daylight, many experts have emphasised that it was most likely a case of a misfired rocket from within Gaza that damaged the hospital parking lot.
Notably, even clay tiles and scaffoldings in the immediate vicinity have been left undamaged, which is quite impossible in case of an aerial strike, many noted.
To back it up, they have highlighted that in the videos of the aftermath of the attack, several delicate structures like awnings, solar panels, etc are still standing, which would not have been the case if it had been hit by aerial ammunition. Due to greater impact and precision, the airstrikes cause significant damage to buildings and often demolish the target building completely.
⭕ LIVE: Israeli air attacks have killed hundreds of Palestinians in al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City where thousands are seeking medical treatment and shelter from heavy bombardment. https://t.co/w1rEnOjrRJ
Independent experts who have matched geolocations and timing data with the structures present in Gaza, have also confirmed that the blast in the hospital seems to have been from withing Gaza, not very far away from the hospital.
GeoConfirmed ISR-PAL.
A missile launched by Palestinian Groups exploded mid-air and one of the pieces fell on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital's yard.
Further, several community notes on Twitter had highlighted that footage captured during Al Jazeera reporting from that area caught a rocket misfire in Gaza at around 18:59 (local time) which is incidentally the time of the attack on Al-Ahli hospital being reported in all International media outlets.
Transcript of the conversation between Hamas terrorists, as revealed by IDF
The audio of the phone conversation by 2 Hamas members was shared by IDF.
Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza—the IDF did not.
Person 1: I’m telling you this is the first time that we see a missile like this falling and so that’s why we are saying it belongs to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Person 2: What?
P1: They are are saying it belongs to PIJ
P2: It’s from us?
P1: It looks like it!
P2: Who says this?
P1: They are saying that the shrapnel from the missile is local shrapnel and not like Israeli shrapnel
P2: What are you saying (Name)?
P1: But God Bless, it couldn’t have found another place to explode?
P2: Nevermind, yes, (Name), they shot it from the cemetery behind the hospital
P1: What?!
P2: They shot it coming from the cemetery behind the Al-Ma’amadani Hospital, and it misfired and fell on them
P1: There’s a cemetery behind it?
P2: Yes, Al-Ma’amadani is exactly in the compound
P1: Where is it when you enter the compound?
P2: You first enter the compound and don’t go towards the city and it’s on the right side of the Al-Ma’amadani Hospital
P1: Yes I know
It is notable here that Hamas and Al Jazeera were prompt to blame the hospital blast on Israel’s air strikes, drawing condemnation from around the world for the IDF. Jordan has canceled the scheduled meeting with US President Joe Biden with Jordan’s king Abdullah, Egyptian President El Sisi, and President of the Palestinian authority Mahmound Abbas after the news of the hospital tragedy broke. Hamas supporters in Lebanon also attacked the US embassy in Beirut.
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday (October 18) filed a chargesheet against Professor Afifullah of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) after a PhD student accused him of sexual harassment. The University had conducted an internal probe in this case to give a clean chit to the Professor. However, the police during the investigation found the Professor guilty.
On 3rd October 2023, the Aligarh Judicial Magistrate approved the accusations and authorized the police to file a chargesheet against the professor. While exclusively talking to OpIndia, the victim student expressed gratitude to the Yogi government and the UP Police for conducting a fair and thorough inquiry. Furthermore, the AMU administration has also been accused of concealing the accused professor’s misconduct.
Aligarh Police had informed the victim that the charge sheet would be filed on 1st September 2023 itself, based on the information sought through IGRS. In the charge sheet, Aligarh Police stated that the student had submitted some pieces of evidence collected through WhatsApp or other electronic devices. These pieces of evidence according to the police prove the allegations of sexual harassment against the Professor.
The court of Judicial Magistrate, Aligarh had taken cognizance of the chargesheet on 3rd October 2023. Based on that, the court has given instructions to register a case against the Professor. The case has now been filed against Afifullah under section 354 (A) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code. The Professor is likely to face a maximum of 3 years imprisonment and a fine in this case.
Bail approved with the condition of not leaving the country
The FIR in the case was registered in May this year. However, the accused had sought anticipatory bail from the Aligarh Sessions Court on June 28, 2023. The police had opposed the anticipatory bail of the accused.
In his application, Afifullah tried to shift the blame on the victim and declared himself innocent. The Sessions Court had granted conditional bail to Afifullah on this petition. The conditions of bail, however, included cooperating with the police in the investigation, neither threatening nor pressurizing the victim or witnesses, not leaving the country without permission, etc.
Afifullah has been granted anticipatory bail on a Rs 1 lakh bond. The surety has been granted by Abrar Ahmed Khan who has put up his licensed revolver as surety.
AMU had given clean chit to the accused
Accused Professor Afifullah is the Chairman of AMU’s Wildlife Science Department. On May 2, 2023, the victim e-mailed the AMU administration complaining about Afifullah’s misconduct. According to the complaint, Afifullah has been making indecent offers, doing obscene activities, making ludicrous demands, and making offensive comments about the lipstick and clothes of the victim for the past five years. AMU had constituted an internal committee of eight people to investigate this accusation.
The committee formed by the University included Seema Hakim, Sangeeta Singhal, Fazila Shahnawaz, Subuhi Afzal, Adeela Sultana, Alvia Farheen, Maria Shahid, and Javed Saeed. All of them, in their investigation report dated 26 May 2023, had described Professor Afifullah as having good character. In the report, the victim was accused of being weak in English. The investigation team had said that the root of this dispute was a monetary transaction of Rs 25 thousand that is said to have happened between the duo. Mohammad Imran, Joint Registrar of AMU Administration, issued another letter on August 1 and justified the clean chit given to Afifullah on May 26.
FIR was filed on May 26 2023
After the AMU administration cleared Professor Afifullah, the victim filed an FIR with the Aligarh Police on May 26, 2023. This FIR was filed at the women’s police station in accordance with Section 354 of the IPC. After nearly 5 months of inquiry by Police Inspector Sarita Dwivedi, a charge sheet under IPC 354 (A) has been filed against Afifullah.
Victim thanks UP government, UP Police
The victim thanked Yogi Adityanath and the UP Police while exclusively talking to OpIndia. She informed that Aligarh Muslim University had attempted to conceal similar episodes of harassment not only against her but also against many other girls. According to the victim, the university management shields persons like Afifullah since the campus is full of people who embrace what he believes. After taking action on one, action must be taken on the others as well, she said.
The victim also mentioned that her studies were jeopardized. Despite repeated pleas, AMU management has refused to provide them with female academic assistance to finish their PhD. The victim additionally asserts that when terrorists are sponsored at AMU, the administration remains silent, but when a female demands justice for herself, everyone gang up against her.
Shiv Sena (UBT) member drug mafia Lalit Patil, who had been on the run for 15 days from Sassoon Hospital in Pune, was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch in Chennai on Tuesday (17th October). Evading both the hospital administration and the police, Lalit Patil managed to escape on 2nd October.
The search for him involved both the Pune and Mumbai Police departments. Now that Lalit Patil is in police custody, it is expected that the involvement of several prominent individuals in the drug case will come to light.
Mumbai Police detained drug mafia person Lalit Patil. Mumbai Police took him into custody from Chennai. He had escaped from a hospital in Pune and Police were searching for him: Mumbai Police
Lalit Patil fled from Sassoon Hospital in Pune on 2nd October triggering the deployment of multiple search teams. His drug factory in Nashik was busted by the Mumbai Police.
While being held at Yerawada jail since 2020 for drug possession, Lalit Patil was transferred to ward number 16 of Sassoon Hospital for medical treatment. Shockingly, it was discovered that Patil had been involved in the illicit trade of mephedrone, aided by two individuals in the canteen. Subsequently, the crime branch police apprehended the two culprits on the hospital premises, confiscating mephedrone valued at approximately Rs 2 crore.
Despite these developments, Patil managed to escape at around 8 p.m. on 2nd October, eluding the police while being taken to an X-ray testing appointment. As of now, the police authorities have apprehended four major drug traffickers in connection with the case.
After Lalit Patil escaped, police busted his factory and arrested his brother
For the last 15 days, Mumbai, Pune and Nashik police were on the lookout for Lalit Patil. However, Lalit Patil was evading the police. Meanwhile, drugs worth crores of rupees were seized during a raid at Lalit Patil’s factory in Nashik. Lalit Patil’s brother Bhushan Patil and his factory manager Abhishek Balkawade were nabbed. Police were looking for Lalit Patil.
A week ago, the police arrested Lalit Patil’s brother Bhushan Patil from the Nepal border. He was also brought to Nashik for investigation. The Pune Police raided the house of Bhushan Patil in suburban Nashik. Bhushan was also taken for investigation at the drug factory in Shinde village where the raid was conducted and drugs worth 350 crore rupees were seized. After completing the investigation, a team of Pune Police took along Bhushan Patil.
How did the police trap the drug mafia?
Following a tip-off about Lalit Patil’s presence in Chennai, the Mumbai Police’s Crime Investigation Department set up a trap resulting in his arrest. Lalit Patil has been transported to Mumbai and is set to be produced in court shortly.
Lalit Patil is an international drug trafficking syndicate member. Despite an extensive search operation conducted by the police to locate him, Lalit Patil remained elusive. However, a crucial error led to his eventual capture as he fell into the police’s grasp.
Lalit Patil was followed by 10 teams of Pune Police, 3 teams of Mumbai Police and a team of Nashik Police. Meanwhile, Sakinaka police were on the lookout for Lalit from the beginning. However, he was evading the arrest. Meanwhile, Sakinaka police laid a trap. Sakinaka police had one of the accused in their custody. Lalit Patil called the accused and failed. Lalit Patil was in touch with the accused. Sakinaka police were getting information about where Lalit Patil was roaming.
After escaping, the drug mafia Patil first went to Gujarat with two of his accomplices in a travel company car. From there, he reached Dhule, then Karnataka and then Bangalore. Sakinaka police received information that he was in Chennai. Accordingly, the team left. A trap was laid where he was hiding and then he was arrested at night.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) connection
During this time, there were accusations of connections between Lalit Patil and political figures. Currently, it is to be seen whether the police will uncover all these associations during the investigation and what revelations will surface as a result.
उद्धव ठाकरेचे निकटवर्तीय ड्रग्स माफिया ललित पाटील याला मुंबई पोलिसांनी चेन्नई येथून अटक केली. @OfficeofUT ठाकरे नेहमीच माफिया लोकांच्या हातात गंडा का बांधतात?
Lalit Patil’s most prominent political connection is with Shiv Sena (UBT). In an undated photograph, he is seen tying Shiv Bandhan from Uddhav Thackeray. Shiv Bandhan is considered as a mark of loyalty of the Shiv Sena (UBT) members.
Prakash Gade of Maharashtra state BJP IT cell posted on X, “Uddhav Thackeray’s close drug mafia Lalit Patil was arrested by the Mumbai Police from Chennai. Why does Thackeray always connect with mafia people? Sachin Waze, Pradeep Sharma, Lalit Patil, Betting accused Singhani. During the tenure of deputy chief minister of the state Devendra Fadnavis Ji, the police have never given a free pass to Naxalites, drug mafia and terrorists. Look at the history.
The initial arrests in 2020
Lalit Patil was initially apprehended under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act related to a notable drug confiscation incident in 2020, recorded at the Chakan police station. The matter unfolded when the Pimpri Chinchwad police detained 22 individuals after the discovery of 20 kilograms of mephedrone, valued at Rs 20 crore, in Chakan in October 2020. Further inquiries unveiled a significant network engaged in the production and distribution of narcotics, indicating that a biotech firm in Ranjangaon had manufactured mephedrone exceeding the value of Rs 130 crore.
Furthermore, the police asserted that Patil’s engagement extended beyond drug acquisition; he was accused of receiving significant amounts of money from various individuals apprehended in the Chakan case. Allegedly, these funds were utilized to procure legal representation and to negotiate with authorities. Additionally, Patil had contested in the previous Nashik civic polls.
‘Please don’t kill him in an encounter’, says the family
Lalit Patil’s parents have expressed fear of their son’s encounter. Both of them have pleaded, “Take action against our son, but please do not kill him in an encounter.”
“The police have arrested Lalit, now they should consider and make further decisions, we have nothing more to say than this. Currently, we are not in the right state of mind,” Lalit’s parents stated.
Lalit’s father said, “We did not know that our children used to run such a big drug racket. If we knew this, we would have told him not to do it as that was wrong. Meanwhile, a person told us that political leaders had ordered the police to kill our son in an encounter. So we are afraid of Lalit’s encounter.”
He added, “Never in our wildest dreams did we think our children would do something like this. I was a government employee. I retired after 38 years of service. Lalit has been in jail since 2020. But we never went to see him. We had let him go. It’s better for such children to die. All of this is hurting us. If anything happens to us, our grandchildren will be helpless. So now the police should not harass us.”
On Wednesday (18th October), Pakistan’s national carrier PIA was forced to cancel all its flights due to a shortage of fuel. As per a report by Dawn, the non-payment of dues and certain ‘operational’ issues have hit their national air carrier.
The non-availability of fuel has continued to affect the flight operations of the PIA, forcing the loss-making state-owned entity to cancel at least 24 flights (11 international and 13 domestic) and delay 12 others on Tuesday (17th October).
Additionally, the PIA also cancelled over two dozen flights including 16 international and eight domestic flights for Wednesday (18th October) while a lot of other flights are expected to suffer delays.
PIA spokesman says 13 domestic and 11 international flights were cancelled on Tuesday due to the non-availability of fuel.
Read more: PIA cancels 48 flights amid fuel shortage
A PIA spokesman announced that due to a limited fuel supply for PIA aircraft on a daily basis and for operational reasons, the flights were cancelled while the departure of some flights had been rescheduled.
Apart from the domestic flights, PIA also cancelled flights that were scheduled to fly to Dubai, Muscat, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Kuwait. However, the PIA officials added that they were trying to accommodate passengers on alternate flights and urged them to contact the PIA call centre, PIA offices, or their travel agent before arriving at the airport.
The fuel supply for PIA aircraft has been severely restricted as Pakistan State Oil (PSO), a government-owned entity, suspended its supplies over unpaid dues.
Pakistan govt turns down PKR 23 billion aid to struggling PIA
The loss-making national carrier, PIA was already on the brink of collapse due to accumulated debts and the non-availability of fuel and flight cancellation has made the future of the airline uncertain.
Earlier, the Pakistani government refused to grant PKR 23 billion in support for operational expenses to PIA, despite requests by their national airline. To cover the cost of fuel supplied by PSO, PIA needs to make daily payments of Rs 100 million.
However, the airline hasn’t met PSO’s requirement for upfront cash payments, forcing the national carrier to ground dozens of its domestic and international flights. This comes at a time when Pakistan is facing its worst economic crisis and Inflation in the country touching a record high of 21.3%.
