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34 Bollywood celebrities including Sonu Sood, Sonakshi Sinha and Sunny Leone come under ED scanner in Mahadev Betting App scam case

OpIndia Staff
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34 Bollywood celebrities including Sonu Sood, Sonakshi Sinha and Sunny Leone come under ED scanner in Mahadev Betting App scam case

As many as 34 Bollywood celebrities including actors, singers, dancers etc have come under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) scanner in connection with the Mahadev Betting scam case. The list of the names of these celebrities was shared by Republic TV on Friday, October 6.

The names in the list are as below:

  1. Raftaar 
  2. Emcee Deepti Sadhwani 
  3. Sunil Shetty (Reached venue but not appeared)
  4. Sonu Sood (Appeared)
  5. Sanjay Dutt (Appeared)
  6. Hardy Sandhu 
  7. Sunil Grover 
  8. Sonakshi Sinha 
  9. Rashmika Mandhana 
  10. Sara Ali Khan 
  11. Guru Randhawa 
  12. Sukhvinder Singh
  13. Tiger Shroff 
  14. Kapil Sharma 
  15. Nushrat Barucha 
  16. DJ Chetas
  17. Malaika Arora
  18. Nora Fatehi
  19. Amit Trivedi
  20. Mouni Roy
  21. Aftab Shivdasani
  22. Sophie Chaudhary
  23. Daisy Shah
  24. Urvashi Rautela
  25. Nargis Fakhri
  26. Neha Sharma
  27. Ishita Raj
  28. Shamita Shetty
  29. Preeti Jhangiyani
  30. Sneha Ullal
  31. Sonali Sehgal
  32. Ishita Dutta
  33. Elnaaz
  34. Giorgia Adriani (Arbaz Khan’s Girlfriend)

The Mahadev Online Book App made headlines last week when Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, who appeared in ads for the app, was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning. Subsequently, ED also summoned 4 others namely Shraddha Kapoor, Kapil Sharma, Huma Qureshi and Heena Khan for questioning.

The summons were sent about 19 days after the anti-money laundering agency revealed that several Bollywood celebrities including singers, dancers, and actors attended the 200-crore wedding ceremony of the scam-accused owner of Mahadev Betting App, Saurabh Chandrakar. The wedding took place in UAE in February 2023.

ED claimed that the actor was given a large amount of money in exchange for the promotions, which was from the proceeds of the crime. The celebrities attending the wedding of the scam-accused Saurabh Chandrakarincluded Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Asgar, Vishal Dadlani, Tiger Shroff, Elli AvrRam, Bharti Singh, Sunny Leone, Bhagyashree, Kriti Kharbanda, Neha Kakkar, Nushrratt Bharuccha and Krushna Abhishek.

This information was uncovered during ED’s probe in the scam worth hundreds of crores in which Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal are key accused. These two accused are the owners of the Mahadev Online Book Betting application which is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for allegedly enabling illegal betting websites.

Gold bars, jewellery, and cash amounting to a total of Rs 417 crore is what the Enforcement Directorate recovered last month when they conducted searches at 39 locations spanning Raipur, Bhopal, Mumbai, and Kolkata linked to the Mahadev betting app. 

ISIS terrorist Rizwan Ashraf was in contact with several clerics, mosques and madrasas, was forming a terror module in Prayagraj

OpIndia Staff
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ISIS terrorist Rizwan Ashraf was in contact with several clerics, mosques and madrasas, was forming a terror module in Prayagraj

One of the three terrorists arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, Mohammed Rizwan Ashraf’s connection to clerics, mosques and madrasas in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj has come to light. He was born in Fatehpur, studied in Ghaziabad and also stayed in Naini. He was apprehended from Lucknow.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist reportedly had a residence in Naini where he lived for a long time and the purpose of the network he was constructing there is a subject of investigation by security officials. His house has not been identified yet and a motorbike registered in Prayagraj was also recovered from him which he used for commuting.

Rizwan moved to Lucknow from Naini, but he continued to visit Prayagraj. He was in contact with multiple Muslim clerics along with the charge of many madrasas and mosques. Their relationship is also under the scrutiny of the agencies.

Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama and Mohammad Arshad Warsi are the other two perpetrators who were nabbed along with him. The trio was plotting to carry out terror attacks in different parts of the country including the under-construction Ram temple in Ayodhya which was surveilled by them.

Two ISIS terrorists were captured from Prayagraj’s Kareli two years ago. He regularly travelled to the region even then. The security agencies are currently looking into his potential ties to the terrorists associated with Kareli.

Special Cell of Delhi Police had launched a massive operation earlier this week to arrest terrorists associated with the terrorist organisation. Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama a native of Delhi and an engineer by profession who had a reward of Rs 3 lakh was caught along with Arshad Warsi from Moradabad and Rizwan Ashraf from Lucknow.

All three have links with the terror outfit. Arshad Warsi is doing PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia and his name also appeared in the charge sheet of the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots where he was constantly in touch with Sharjeel Imam. He was involved in various unlawful activities including his association with ISIS (Pune module). He had provided safe haven to terrorist Shahnawaz who fled from Pune to Delhi after he managed to escape following his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Love Jihad in Gujarat: Rizwan of Surat pretends to be Karan to trap a Hindu girl and forcibly converts her to Islam, arrested after victim files complaint

OpIndia Staff
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Love Jihad in Gujarat: Rizwan of Surat pretends to be Karan to trap a Hindu girl and forcibly converts her to Islam, arrested after victim files complaint

A case of ‘love jihad‘ has come to light in Surat city, where a Muslim youth, who is named Rizwan Gaffar Shah but using the Hindu alias Karan, is accused of deceiving a Hindu girl. He lured her into a relationship and then forcefully converted her to Islam after taking her to Delhi. The victim eventually uncovered the truth, managed to escape the situation, and returned to Surat. With the support of her family, she filed a complaint with the local police. Currently, the accused individual, Rizwan Gaffar Shah, has been arrested, and legal proceedings are underway.

The Surat police took swift action, arresting the accused individual, Rizwan, following the registration of a case based on the victim’s complaint. Currently, he is undergoing intensive interrogation to gather additional information. Subsequently, he will be presented before the court, where a request for remand will be made. ACP MD Upadhyay of the Surat police provided further details to the media regarding this ongoing case.

Based on the information available, the victim girl initially crossed paths with Rizwan Gaffar Shah in the year 2018 when she was 17 years old. During this period, Rizwan assumed the identity of Karan. The girl was employed at a factory, and the accused Rizwan operated an autorickshaw, frequently providing transportation to her workplace. Over time, their acquaintance turned into a close friendship, eventually evolving into a love relationship.

Rizwan married the girl after she was caught in a love trap. The girl was a minor at the time of marriage. The two then went to Delhi. According to the complaint, after being taken to Delhi, the accused disclosed that he is a Muslim and his name is not Karan but Rizwan. But by then the victim had become pregnant, so she continued to live with Rizwan.

Rizwan forced the victim to wear a burkha, banned idol worship and going outside the house

The victim complained that Rizwan had told her that they (Muslims) do not believe in idol worship so the girl also should not worship idols. At the same time, the accused started pressuring her to convert to Islam. The girl was then forcibly converted to Islam and Rizwan took her to his family in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The victim went to UP and gave birth to a daughter. Rizwan is then alleged to have assaulted the victim saying he wanted a son. The girl also said in the complaint that in UP she was forced to wear a burqa and was also forbidden from stepping out of the house.

Meanwhile, the girl became pregnant for the second time and had a second child. The girl complained that she later came to know that Rizwan was also in touch with other Hindu girls. When questioned about this, Rizwan told the victim girl that the more Hindu girls are trapped by the Muslim youths, the more money is given to them. “I need more money right now and the more Hindu girls we bring in, the more the religion will be spread,” he said.

As the torture finally became unbearable, the girl informed the family and came to Surat and lodged a complaint at Pandesara police station, on the basis of which Surat police registered a case and arrested Rizwan Gaffar Shah, the accused in this case of love jihad.

Bihar: JD(U) MLA Gopal Mandal pushes and abuses journalists for asking questions about flaunting a pistol at a hospital

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: JD(U) MLA Gopal Mandal pushes and abuses journalists for asking questions about flaunting a pistol at a hospital

On Friday, 6th October, Janata Dal (United) MLA Gopal Mandal abused a group of journalists after being questioned about carrying a revolver at a hospital during his granddaughter’s treatment. He used abusive language for the reporters and indicated that they had no authority to tell him whether to carry or not to carry a weapon at the hospital.

“Bhakk Sala. I have the pistol. Should I point it at you? What do you want to say? I should not keep the pistol? Are you my father that I’ll listen to you, Bhaggo,” Mandal said as a couple of journalists asked the reason behind keeping a pistol. Mandal could also be seen pushing the journalists and manhandling the cameras.

This comes days after Mandal arrived at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JLNMCH) in Bihar’s Bhagalpur with a revolver in his hand. It is said that he had accompanied his granddaughter Avni for medical treatment at the hospital. He said that he carried the revolver in self-defence.

The video of the said incident went viral over social media in which the MLA can be seen flaunting a revolver in his right hand while waiting in the corridor of the hospital for his granddaughter.

MLA Gopal Mandal, meanwhile, had commented on the issue saying that he carries the revolver for his self-security and that he possesses the license of the said arm. He said that there are many criminals, people belonging to politics who pose a threat to his life. He also said that this is usual for him and that he has a habit of carrying a gun in his hands.

He said he carries the gun for self-defence, citing continuing political pressure and prior threats from criminals. He also had declared with certainty that he would shoot anyone who would threaten him. In announcing his intention to run for MP, Mandal cited a caste-based survey that highlighted the sizable voter demographic in his group. He still enjoys popularity among his supporters in spite of his contentious behaviour.

Mandla has previously threatened a doctor, and a DSP, and gained notoriety for taking an odd stroll on the Tejas Rajdhani Express while only wearing his pants. Last year, his video had also gone viral in which he was seen dancing to Bollywood item songs.

Canadian Senate Speaker to attend P-20 Summit in New Delhi amidst diplomatic tensions, India to raise Justin Trudeau’s remarks

OpIndia Staff
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Canadian Senate Speaker to attend P-20 Summit in New Delhi amidst diplomatic tensions, India to raise Justin Trudeau’s remarks

In the midst of an escalating diplomatic row over Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s allegations over the June killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada’s Senate Speaker is set to visit New Delhi. Raymonde Gagne will be visiting Delhi to attend the Parliament-20 meeting (P-20) of the presiding officers of parliaments of G20 nations in Delhi next week.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla confirmed Canada’s participation in the P-20 on Friday (6th October). “All countries have been invited, just now Canada’s Senate Speaker has sent confirmation to us,” the Lok Sabha speaker said. The summit will take place from 12th to 14th October.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla stated that during the next Parliament-20 meeting of the G20 nations’ presiding officers, India will raise all issues with the Canadian Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagne. He said that while all the matters listed in the agenda will be discussed formally, other issues will be discussed informally.

On being asked if the issue of Justin Trudeau utilising the Canadian Parliament for making accusations against India would be brought up with the Canadian Speaker, Om Birla replied, “We will discuss issues that have been listed for the summit. Other issues will be discussed informally.”

The P20 Summit will be attended by the presiding officers of parliaments of 25 countries, as well as 10 deputy speakers from G20 member nations and invitee countries, at the India International Convention and Expo Centre, Yashobhoomi in Dwarka.

Notably, over 350 delegates are anticipated to attend the three-day summit, which will include 50 members of Parliament, 14 general secretaries, 26 vice-presidents, the president of the International Parliamentary Union, as well as the president of the Pan-African Parliament.

The Lok Sabha Speaker while sharing details about the theme of the summit informed that with the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future’, India aims to provide consensus-based solutions to complex global issues towards a more inclusive, peaceful and equitable world.

It is pertinent to note that the P20 Summit will consist of four sessions: “Transformation in People’s Lives through Public Digital Platforms,” “Women-led Development,” “Accelerating SDGs,” and “Sustainable Energy Transition.”

“On October 12, a pre-summit event, the Parliamentary Forum on Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), will be held at Yashobhoomi.” A ‘Mother of Democracy’ exhibition will also be organised to promote India’s ancient and participatory democratic traditions,” Birla stated.

The P20 delegates will also be given a tour of the new Parliament building, which will be followed by a cultural event and dinner hosted by the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Haryana: Minor boy kills friend after he doesn’t let him play PUBG game, family alleges accused’s family killed boy to perform black magic rituals

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: Minor boy kills friend after he doesn’t let him play PUBG game, family alleges accused’s family killed boy to perform black magic rituals

On Thursday, October 5, Haryana’s Panipat police recovered the dead body of a 14-year-old minor boy identified as Saurabh, from a sugarcane field in the district. The body was found in a completely decomposed state with the hands and legs missing and hair uprooted. The police said that the minor was killed by his 13-year-old friend. It has been reported that he committed the crime under the influence of the PUBG game.

The family of the deceased child alleged that the accused child’s family was complicit in the murder and that they killed their son to execute black magic rituals. Meanwhile, authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the body was preyed upon by dogs, which could explain the missing body parts.

On Thursday, October 5, when the police sent the deceased child’s body from Panipat Hospital to Rohtak PGI for post-mortem, his kins stood in front of the ambulance and protested. The police intervened and assured them that the case would be investigated thoroughly, only after which they allowed the body to be taken for post-mortem.

The police said that the accused at first was evasive during the interrogation, refusing to answer most of the questions, however, later when the police asked sternly, he started disclosing the truth. The accused confessed to strangulating his friend to death after he refused to give him his phone to play PUBG. After killing his friend, the accused fled from the crime scene, the police said, adding that the CCTV footage had helped them to narrow down on the accused.

The police said that on October 1 the victim went missing. When Rajpal, deceased Saurabh’s father returned home on October 1, he found his son Saurabh missing. He began looking for his son but was unable to locate him. He along with the police scanned the footage from the nearby CCTV camera was reviewed, Saurabh was seen leaving his school with the accused minor at around 11:55 a.m.

The police then scanned the footage of the CCTV camera installed near Peer in Babail village which again showed that the victim was with the accused in that area at around 12.40 pm. On the basis of the footage, the father along with the police went to the minor’s house at night and inquired about his kid, but received no response. His family members also continued to deceive the police.

Village Sarpanch Ved Prakash said that when suspicions increased, the police grilled the accused child again on Thursday after which he broke down and confessed to the murder.

Miscreant ate non-veg on ‘veg reserved table’, slapped with ₹10k fine for flouting mess rules: What happened at IIT-Bombay

OpIndia Staff
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Miscreant ate non-veg on ‘veg reserved table’, slapped with ₹10k fine for flouting mess rules: What happened at IIT-Bombay

On Sunday (1st October), the mess councils along with the Wardens and Associate Wardens of three hostels of IIT-Bombay imposed a fine of ₹10000 on an unnamed student for creating chaos and flouting mess rules. The amount will be deduced from his Semester Mess Advance (SMA). 

The development came three days after the said student, along with 2-3 others, deliberately ate non-vegetarian food in a reserved vegetarian section of the mess on September 28, 2023.

Thereafter, the mess councils of Hostel 12, 13 and 14 of IIT-Bombay held an online meeting with the Wardens and Associate Wardens of the three hostels and decided to penalise the student.

“The mess council reviewed the evidence available and determined that a resident of Hostel 12 deliberately instigated the incident during dinner on 28/09/23. This act was a premeditated attempt to disrupt the peace and harmony within the mess, in defiance of the advice provided by the associate dean SA, as evidenced in shared email communication,” it said.

“At least two other individuals were involved, whose identities are yet to be ascertained. It was unanimously agreed that (his) behaviour was contrary to the inclusive and peaceful atmosphere at Hostel 12-13-14 mess. The mess council resolved to impose a fine of Rs. 10,000.00/-(Rupees Ten thousand only) on him,” read the minutes of the mess council meeting.

While calling for the maintenance of peace, it further added, “The mess council resolved to enlist the support of student representatives from the Hostel 12-13-14 councils to assist in identifying the other two individuals involved in the incident. Once their identities are established, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against them as well.”

It must be mentioned that only 6 out of 129 tables in the dining area were reserved for vegetarian students while the remaining could be utilised by both vegetarian and non-vegetarian students. The decision was not taken by the administration of IIT-Bombay but by the students’ councils of Hostel 12, 13 and 14 along with elected representatives.

In an official mail on Thursday (5th October), it stated, “…Unlike some other institutions, IIT-Bombay does not have any separate vegetarian mess and does not plan to have one in the future.”

“There were reports of some students deliberately spilling non-veg food to cause discomfort to fellow students. Such provocative and insensitive actions are not acceptable,” the college administration noted.

Email by Dean of IIT Bombay

Backed by the support of a leftist student collective ‘Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC),’ an unnamed miscreant ate non-vegetarian food in the section reserved for vegetarian students on September 28, 2023.

The development came a day after the new mess rules, reserving 6 out of 129 tables in the dining area, were communicated to the students by the mess councils of Hostels 12, 13 and 14.

In a bid to ‘protest’ the decision, the unnamed miscreant vowed to eat non-veg food in the ‘reserved vegetarian area’ and create chaos. Despite being persuaded by the Dean of IIT-Bombay against doing any such thing, he went ahead with his plans and violated the mess guidelines in the process.

As a punishment, ₹10000 was deducted from his Semester Mess Advance (SMA). Usually, each student of IIT-Bombay pays around ₹25,000- ₹30,000 in advance as a mess fee. The mess council is now seeking help to identify the miscreants with the help of other students.

Earlier in July this year, a few students put up a poster in the canteen of Hostel 12, which read, “Vegetarian only are allowed to sit here.” Even though IIT-Bombay has no official food segregation policy, different seating arrangements are followed by students based on their food preferences.

While speaking about the matter, the warden of the hostel said that although there was a Jain food counter, there was no designated place for such students to consume Jain food.

At that time, the leftist student collective ‘Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) had dubbed the poster as a manifestation of caste discrimination. It also declared that an exclusive Jain sitting space was unacceptable and not allowing non-veg food there somehow violated values of ‘tolerance’ and ‘mutual respect.’

Uttar Pradesh: Married Hindu woman and her baby go missing after Insta friend Mahi Khan takes them to visit her house, rescued by police

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Married Hindu woman and her baby go missing after Insta friend Mahi Khan takes them to visit her house, rescued by police

An incident like ‘The Kerala Story’ has come to light in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh where a married Hindu woman has been successfully recovered by the police after she was taken away from her house by her female Muslim friend following which they went missing. The Muslim woman had told the victim Hindu woman’s husband that the two were going to her house in Delhi and would return by evening. However, they disappeared for several days along with the six-month-old baby of the Hindu couple.

The incident reportedly took place in the Gandhi Park police station area where the authorities received a complaint from a resident of the Nagla neighbourhood named Deepak Sharma that his spouse Bhavna Sharma and their half-year-old daughter Rishu had been missing since 29 September. There was no news of them for the last six days.

He informed that his 23-year-old wife had befriended a woman named Mahi Khan on Instagram around two months ago, after which the two women began talking regularly. On 28 September, Mahi Khan came to Aligarh and stayed at their house. The next day she said that she was going to take his wife and their daughter to her residence and took the duo with her. She stated that she would put both of them onto a bus to Aligarh in the evening and they would come back, but it didn’t happen.

The complainant mentioned that he and his family believed the woman because she spent a night in their home and behaved decently. They thought of her as a good friend of his wife but became worried when the mother and baby didn’t show up till evening and her mobile phone was also switched off. He then submitted a report and notified the cops of the development.

He charged that his wife had come in contact with a Muslim guy through her social media pal. He was worried that they had been duped and his wife was brainwashed with meticulous conspiracy and that she could potentially be in harm’s way. He pleaded with the police to find his wife and daughter as soon as possible. The police started their inquiry and scanned nearby CCTV cameras as well as dispatched multiple teams to locate the pair.

Now, the woman has returned home according to Aligarh Police. The Superintendent of Police revealed that they were informed that a woman had gone missing from her home on 29 September. They took immediate cognizance of the matter and lodged a First Information Report under relevant sections. A preliminary probe disclosed that she had left for Delhi with one of her acquaintances. She had travelled with her kid and was found safely yesterday.

According to former Mayor Shakuntala Bharti, Mahi Khan runs a gang of brainwashing Hindu women and taking the targets with them, as shown in the movie Kerala Story. She added that there are 3-4 other women in the gang, including one Muskan Khan.

Asian Games: Indian hockey team beats Japan 5-1 to clinch gold and qualify for Paris Olympics 2024

OpIndia Staff
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Asian Games: Indian hockey team beats Japan 5-1 to clinch gold and qualify for Paris Olympics 2024

The Indian hockey team’s dream run culminated in a gold medal as they registered a thumping victory over Japan in the finals at the Asian Games. With this victory, the Indian hockey team has sealed its berth for the next Olympics, scheduled to take place in Paris in 2024.

This marked the fourth gold medal for the Indian men’s hockey team at the Asian Games, following their victories in the 1966 and 1988 editions held in Bangkok and Incheon in 2014.

The Indian team showcased a dominant performance, netting a total of five goals while their opponents only managed to score once. This is one of the most dominating performances by the Indian hockey team in the finals of a multination tournament.

India’s leading scorer was Harmanpreet Singh, efficiently converting two penalty corners in the 32nd and 59th minutes. The first goal, however, was credited to Manpreet Singh in the 25th minute. Amit Rohidas added another goal from a penalty corner in the 36th minute, and Abhishek secured a field goal in the 48th minute.

India commenced its journey in the Asian Games with a commanding victory over Uzbekistan, triumphing with an impressive 16-0 scoreline. The momentum continued as they secured wins against Singapore with a score of 16-1, Japan with 4-2, and arch-rivals Pakistan with a dominant 10-2. Subsequently, they vanquished Bangladesh with a decisive 12-0 victory and proceeded to conquer South Korea in the semi-finals, emerging victorious with a score of 5-3 against their Asian counterparts.

Wrestler Bajrang Punia faces crushing defeat at Asian Games semifinals with 8-1 score, was allowed exemption from trials

OpIndia Staff
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Wrestler Bajrang Punia faces crushing defeat at Asian Games semifinals with 8-1 score, was allowed exemption from trials

Iranian Rahman Amouzadkhalili defeated Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia 8-1 in the Asian Games semifinals on Friday in Hangzhou, China. Two-time world champion Bajrang Punia’s preparedness for the competition proved less than ideal as a result of protests against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and controversy concerning his selection in the games.

Despite having two straightforward victories to start the day, Bajrang struggled against the tough Iranian opposition and was unable to advance to the finals. According to the reports, Bajrang easily defeated a Filipino wrestler in his opening match to earn a technical victory.

He then competed against a Bahraini wrestler, whom he easily defeated with a score of 4-0. Rahman Amouzadkhalili, the current Asian champion and the global champion in 2022, was the opponent he faced in the semifinals. The Iranian wrestler defeated Bajrang, gaining the lead right away with a four-pointer, and won the match 8-1 in the end.

Bajrang Punia still has a chance to win a bronze medal after losing in the semifinals because participants of the semifinals can go on to play for third place. Whether Bajrang will secure a medal at the 2018 Asian Games will depend on how well he performs in the bronze medal match.

Netizens sharply commented on Punia’s loss and said that this was ‘Politician Bajrang Punia’ who lost the match. “Wrestler Bajrang Punia will play for Bronze Medal match,” said one of the users.

It is notable that Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat were exempted from trials for the Asian Games in July this year. The Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) ad-hoc committee granted exemptions to Punia and Phogat from the trials for the men’s freestyle 65 kg and women’s 53 kg categories. This decision was met with stiff opposition from coaches, current and former athletes, and their parents.

The Delhi High Court had dismissed the plea filed by ace wrestlers Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalkal against the decision. The plea had challenged the exemption granted to wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat which allowed their direct entry into the Asian Games 2023. The duo demanded fair trials however their plea was dismissed by the Court.

Bajrang Punia was part of the Wrestelers group who protested against the WFI head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In April 2023, they went to Jantar Mantar and demanded an investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment of female wrestlers by Bharatiya Janta Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh during his tenure as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India.

The Delhi Police then filed two FIRs and ten complaints against the politician regarding the case. The FIRs and complaints were registered at Delhi’s Connaught Place police station. The complaints were registered on April 21, and the FIRs were filed on April 28.

According to the FIRs, he was charged with requesting sexual favours. Ten molestation accusations were also brought against him. The claims included specifics about his attempts at inappropriate contact, which comprised of placing his hand over the girls’ chests and moving it to the back, among other things. The first of the two filed FIRs contained the assertions made by the wrestlers, while the second described complaints presented by the parent of a juvenile.

In the meantime, BJP leader refuted all of the charges and stated that he had complete confidence in the country’s legal and judicial systems. One of the relatives of one of the victims also was quoted as saying that the wrestlers were plotting to trap WFI chief for political gains.

It is to be noted that several derogatory slogans were raised in the midst of the wrestler’s protests. It was reported that slogans like ‘Modi Teri Kabar Khudegi’ and also anti-India ‘Azadi’ slogans were raised during the protests.

It is notable that similar slogans were raised by protestors in many protests in the past. Anti-CAA protests, Shaheen Bagh protests, farmers’ protests, and various other protests in JNU are known for these Azadi slogans.

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