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Facebook page of DMK mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’ shares pornographic clips. Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Facebook page of DMK mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’ shares pornographic clips. Here is what happened

On Thursday (5th October), the official Facebook handle of DMK’s mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’ courted controversy after it shared porn clips on its stories. Murasoli is a Tamil newspaper, which was started by late DMK supremo M Karunanidhi in 1942.

Its Facebook page boasts of 16k likes and 21000 followers. On Thursday (5th October), Murasoli posted two stories, displaying women in sexually suggestive positions and exposing their private parts.

While highlighting the issue, the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu unit of BJP, SG Suryah, said, “DMK’s official newspaper #Murasoli uploads porn videos as Official Facebook status.Whats this Mr. CM @mkstalin & Mr.@Udhaystalin ?Video Credits – @itisatp !*Video blurred for profanity.”

In order to ascertain the truth behind the claims, OpIndia visited the official website of the Tamil daily ‘Murasoli.’ We found the social media handles of the newspaper on the top, right-hand corner of the site.

On clicking the Facebook icon, we were redirected to the official page of ‘Murasoli’ bearing the username ‘murasoli180.’ We found that it was the same page which had 16k likes and 21k followers.

On hitting the stories, we found the two porn clips that were uploaded by the DMK mouthpiece. At the time of writing, the links for both those disturbing stories were live (here and here). So far, no official statement, clarification or apology has been posted by the Facebook page ‘Murasoli’

While reacting to the development, one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, “Weird thing is, they still didn’t remove it…What kind of political party is this…Perverts following Periyar ideology. Not surprised.”

Another X user remarked, “Perverts following pervert Periyar ideology.” It must be mentioned that ‘Murasoli’ was started by DMK leader M Karunanidhi as an 18-year-old in 1942 at the time of World War II.

As per reports, he used the newspapers to advance the ’causes’ of Periyar such as the divisive Dravidian movement and nurturing DMK as a ‘political party.’ Karunanidhi referred to ‘Murasoli’ as his first child.

The paper became a daily on September 17, 1960. The DMK supremo used the party mouthpiece to reach out to its cadre.

PM Modi raises issue of Tamil Nadu govt looting, capturing Temples: Here is how temples are suffering in under the Stalin govt

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi raises issue of Tamil Nadu govt looting, capturing Temples: Here is how temples are suffering in under the Stalin govt

On 3rd October PM Modi while addressing a rally in Telangana’s Nizamabad remarked that the state government had captured the temples and that the temples were being looted through a conspiracy involving governments. 

“In the south, especially in Tamil Nadu, the state government has control of temples. The state government has captured temples. The temples are being looted through a conspiracy involving governments. Temples are being looted. Temples are being captured. But they will not touch the worship places of minorities. They don’t bring them under government control,” he was quoted as saying.

Slamming the state government for targeting the Hindu temples, PM Modi further said that the allies of the Congress party would never seize the place of worship of minorities. Refuting the factual statements made by the Prime Minister, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday (6th October) stated that the Prime Minister was speaking a lie.

Stalin said, “What is the need to create such a lie to depict as though after DMK came to power, we have taken control of the temple and misused the temple revenue? For whom is he speaking in such a manner? Whose voice is he reflecting?”

“The flaw is with the Prime Minister, and as far as the DMK regime is concerned, its regime is committed to the common good and the goal of ‘everything for everyone’,” he added. Further, the CM claimed that his government has scheduled rehabilitation work for 5,078 temples for the current fiscal year, including 1,250 shrines in areas inhabited by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and 1,250 village temples.

While Stalin did not name anyone, he did criticize those “who seek to exploit spiritualism for political gain.” He claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu could see the difference between politics and spirituality and that these approaches would not succeed in the state. However, given the policies of the Tamil Nadu state with regard to Temples, one would imagine that Stalin was perhaps talking about himself when he commented on exploiting spiritualism for political gain.

Condition of temples under the TN government

With such mystifying statements coming from the state CM, it becomes important to note that the condition of Hindu temples in the state of Tamil Nadu has been terrifying with it facing deliberate attacks and zero protection being provided to it during such times by the state. In 2021, the rock-cut mountain temples on top of Aththri Hills in Alvarkurichi in Tirunelveli district were vandalized by the Islamists. Further Islamic symbols like a crescent moon, number 786, and also ‘Allah’ were written on the sacred rocks. Reportedly, the HR&CE Department of Hindu Religious Affairs is responsible for managing the administration of the Arulmigu Anusuyadevi Sameda Aththri Parameswar temple and Gorakkar temple on Aththri Hill in Tirunelveli.

Also, in the same year the deities of a Hindu temple in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, were found to be desecrated by miscreants. The idols of Goddesses Amman and Durga were found to be disrobed by the unknown miscreants, with semen ejaculated on the deities.

The HR&CE Department reportedly has failed to protect the Hindu temples and their dignity despite repeated attacks reported. At times the HRCE official has also denied visiting the Hindu temple post-attack saying that they have other jobs to do.

The Tamil Nadu government’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department has been time and again accused of interfering with the administration and taking over Hindu temple land in the state.

In a recent case, on June 27, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department official Velvizhi, accompanied by two female police personnel, entered the Kanagasabai amidst resistance from Dikshithars and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters. The development came days after a controversy erupted claiming Pothu Dikshitars of Chidambaram Natarajar temple declined permission to devotees to offer prayers from Kanagasabai during the Aani Thirumanjanam festival.

In March, T R Ramesh, an activist based in Tamil Nadu alleged that over Rs 400 crores had been missing from the Samayapuram Mariamman Temple fund. The activist filed an RTI requesting a 5-year income and expenditure statement of the Temple. He alleged that up until 2021, the funds looked intact, however, in December 2022, 92% (approximately Rs 422 crores) were missing from just this temple.

Tamil Nadu government’s HR&CE dept had, however, refuted the claim and said that the funds were safe.

Last year, the Supreme Court on Thursday demanded the Government of Tamil Nadu’s statement to a petition alleging that the administration indirectly had taken over the operation of over 38000 temples in the state of Tamil Nadu by recruiting executive officials but without nominating temple trustees. According to the petition, the act has resulted in the mishandling of the finances of large temples

HRCE labels attackers as mentally challenged

Tamil Nadu is a land of temples, the majority of which are ancient and have significant heritage significance. Unfortunately, the temples are now the target of criminals and the victims of indifferent authorities and bureaucrats.

The recent wave of vandalism events at Hindu temples in the state has been cause for great concern. The HR&CE department, which is in charge of temple management, and the Tamil Nadu police have adopted a casual approach to the crisis.

The police have conveniently labeled the attackers mentally challenged in several of the cases. This police version has received little interest as only Hindu temples are usually damaged.

Earlier this year, on (7th August), a miscreant smashed the murtis of Bhagwan Murugan and Valli and Devyani at the Dhandayudhapani temple around noon. The temple is situated atop a hill. When devotees saw the man damage the murtis, they handed him over to the authorities. However, he was declared mentally ill by the police.

Tamil Nadu govt’s HR&CE dept has taken over 38,000 Hindu temples

Notably, in June 2022, the Supreme Court of India had taken cognizance of the plea filed by the ‘Indic Collective Trust,’ which stated that the administration indirectly had taken over the operation of over 38000 temples in the state of Tamil Nadu by recruiting executive officials but without nominating temple trustees. According to the petition, the act had resulted in the mishandling of the finances of large temples. The SC then demanded an official statement to the said petition.

The petition stated that while the Conditions for Appointment of Executive Officers Rules, 2015 limit Executive Officer appointments to a maximum of five years, the Executive Officers recruited by the state authorities were nominated indefinitely with no conditions specified in their appointment orders.

The plea also contended that the state had violated Articles 25, 26, and 29 of the Constitution of India by appointing Executive Officers in the temples of Tamil Nadu. While listing various examples of mismanagement of temples by EOs, the Petitioner maintained that decisions related to projects and activities costing crores of rupees are left to be taken with such EOs, causing tremendous damage to the interests of the Deity and Temple Devotees.

It was reported that the EOs diverted temple cash generated by religious donations from worshipers for their wages and other non-religious uses. The petition further stated that there had been no known incident in the preceding 70 years where the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department had returned a temple to the trustee or the community involved after taking over temple administration.

It is reported that there are 36,627 temples, 57 temples affiliated with the Holy Mutts, and 17 temples affiliated with Jains. 88.22% of these temples are under the authority of the HR&CE Department and have an annual income of less than Rs. 10,000.

The Hindu and how it is creating the North-South Divide: Repeatedly lying about devolution of funds and cheating their readers with misinformation

S. Sudhir Kumar
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The Hindu and how it is creating the North-South Divide: Repeatedly lying about devolution of funds and cheating their readers with misinformation

The Hindu published an article on 5th October 2023, with a very combative headline – “Retribution for the South, accolade for the North”. I think you got the gist just by looking at the headline. This article was a continuation of the oft-repeated argument by this ilk, that South India is superior to North India and yet the Government of India keeps rewarding North India and ignores South India.

This particular article discusses the divisive argument through two subjects – the Delimitation of Lok Sabha Constituencies and the devolution of funds through Finance Commissions. While discussing these two subjects, the article stands out for some really unique arguments. The first is how it changes our understanding of basic geography itself. Sample this core argument at the beginning of the article:

The authors, one of whom is a professor, have miraculously decided that the Gujarati-speaking Western state of Gujarat is actually a Hindi-speaking Northern State for the sake of their argument. I kept on thinking as to why they would make this fundamental error. Is it to bolster their argument that the 4% increase in population in a certain group of states is because of Gujarat? Turns out, it is not. Even if Gujarat is not included in this elite list, the core argument (a 4% increase in population share) will stay as strong. 

This is not the first time this ilk has tried to alter our fundamental understanding of Geography. Prashant Kishor, in an interview with Shekhar Gupta, enlightens us that “Hindi heartland has now extended to Western India in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka”. How does Karnataka remotely get classified as a “Hindi heartland” and more importantly a “Western state”? How do Gujarat and Maharashtra get into the bracket of “Hindi heartland” when crores of people in these states speak and take pride in their own languages? 

Can you imagine if powerful commentators (such as Shekhar Gupta) and publications (such as The Hindu) could lie like this in today’s day and age, what must they have done back then when they were even more powerful? It is perplexing that they think their reader will not see through this chicanery. This bogey of labelling random states as “Hindi speaking” and altering their geography, merely because they vote for the BJP is really a sad reflection of the mental state of these commentators. 

But why exactly are they altering the fundamentals of geography like this? The essence is captured in these two paragraphs – South Indian states will lose out on their share of representation in the Lok Sabha post delimitation. 

Recently, India Today also put up a graphic on their website giving out some numbers on how South’s representation will come down if population is the criteria. This was dutifully picked up by the divisive politicians from the South. All of them are making one fundamental assumption that the number of Lok Sabha seats will remain constant at 543. It has been discussed at various forums that the number of Lok Sabha seats will increase from the current 543. It doesn’t make sense for us to have the same number of seats when our population was 50 crores versus when it is 140 crores! The new Lok Sabha building can accommodate 888 MPs – surely, they have built it with the purpose of increasing the seats from the existing 545. Instead of telling the readers about these possibilities, the English media is purposely fomenting hatred by discussing only one remote possibility.  

Now, the authors of The Hindu could not fill up enough space with only one bogus argument, so they decided to repeat the lie about the devolution of funds through the 15th Finance Commission (FC). The core argument is just in one paragraph highlighted below:

From 1975 till 2015, all finance commissions (7th to 13th) took the 1971 census as a reference. You must actually be wondering what relevance would the 1971 census have in 2015. This statistic actually reflects the status quoist mindset of the Congress party. But we digress. The Modi government did the logical thing of mandating to partial use the latest 2011 census data from 2015-2020 (14th FC) and fully use it from 2020 onwards (15th FC). Ever since this gang started screaming that the South States “lost the advantage despite doing good on population control. Controversial website Wire even went to the extent of claiming that “It is becoming almost untenable for Tamil Nadu and Kerala to thrive in the Indian union as rational, self-interested sub-units.”

On peripheral reading, you would actually think that this is a logical argument and be wondering why I am being so banal about it. In fact, if you read the article snippet pasted above from The Hindu, you would also assume that the Modi government hasn’t incorporated this logical argument at all, and is, therefore, anti-South India, fascist and whatnot. 

Guess what? The 15th Finance Commission has reduced the weightage allotted to only the population and has added a new criterion to actually reward states that have done well on controlling the population. Take a look at the comparison table below (the highlighted portion indicates the new criteria).

Demographic Performance refers to how states have performed with respect to population control. Simply put, you will be rewarded if you control your population better – which is exactly what the article in The Hindu is arguing for! The “tax effort” incentivizes states that have done well in tax collection efforts. This parameter is back in the 15th FC (after not being considered in the previous 3 FCs). 

The moot question therefore is this – Why have the authors of The Hindu piece intentionally not told the readers about this most important piece of information? Why have the editors published this lie-filled article when the fundamental premise itself has no basis? What do these people gain by fomenting such hate between regions of India? 

If anything, the Narendra Modi government has revolutionized the manner in which funds are devolved to the states. The states used to get 32% of the central share until the 13th FC period (ends 2015). From 2015 onwards, the states got a whopping 41% share. The percentage increase in the share is one aspect. Because of buoyant tax collections, as part of this 41% share, the states received a whopping 69.60 lakh crores (2014 to 2023) as opposed to just 18.50 lakh crores in the 2004 to 2014 period. 

Instead of focusing on meaningful criticism, our English media has now been reduced to repeatedly lying and cheating their readers. It is tiresome to listen to their repeated lies but then it is also important to repeatedly counter their lies too. Thankfully, the citizens of our country are much more intelligent than these hate-mongers in the English media. 

‘Respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity’: India raises concern over US Ambassador’s visit to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir

OpIndia Staff
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‘Respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity’: India raises concern over US Ambassador’s visit to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir

The government of India has conveyed its concerns to Washington DC after the US ambassador to Pakistan recently visited Indan territories under illegal occupation of Pakistan. As per reports, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Armin Blome had recently visited Gilgit and Baltistan.

“I think our position on the status of the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of India is well known. We would urge the international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have raised our concerns about that visit by the US Ambassador to Pakistan with the US side,” stated Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in his weekly press briefing.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) projects and numerous recreational areas were part of the US envoy’s tour who also met with Rani Sanam Faryad and Sadia Danish, the deputy speaker and vice speaker, respectively of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.

The US representative has previously traveled to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and met with Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan then Prime Minister appointed by Pakistan in Muzaffarabad in October 2022. He laid a wreath in the memory of the victims of the 2005 earthquake and expressed, “During the 75 years of our partnership, the United States has always stood by Pakistan, particularly when it’s needed most.”

When questioned about the aforementioned issue, the US ambassador to India Eric Michael Garcetti drew a false equivalence and compared the American delegation’s trip to Kashmir for the G20 summit to David Blome’s journey to Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “Regarding Ambassador Garcetti’s remarks, we do not believe it questions our position. We don’t think the two situations are equal,” the MEA spokesperson responded.

“It is not my place to react. The US ambassador has visited there before. You have our delegation visiting Kashmir for the G20 as well,” the US ambassador alleged while speaking to the media at an event which was organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce on 26 September. He emphasised that the Kashmir dispute is a bilateral problem between India and Pakistan and needs to be resolved by both nations while reaffirming the US opinion on the matter. “This is an issue that must be resolved between India and Pakistan and not by a third party, including the US.”

The US ambassador to Pakistan went to Gilgit and Hunza valleys in the third week of September. Interestingly, it was objected to by the opposition leaders in the country. His visit was intended to “explore opportunities for strengthening the region’s climate resilience,” according to the American embassy in Islamabad. Jonathan Lalley, a spokeswoman for the embassy reported that Pakistan was one of the most vulnerable nations with regard to climate change.

The Gilgit Baltistan government was unaware of the six-day visit, per leaders of opposition parties who further claimed that “the mysterious activities” of the US ambassador in the area had caused concerns.

Republic Bangla reporter attacked in a live show by TMC Councillor Sukumar Mondal, team abused and camera destroyed

OpIndia Staff
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Republic Bangla reporter attacked in a live show by TMC Councillor Sukumar Mondal, team abused and camera destroyed

On Thursday (5th October), a reporter working for Republic TV Bangla was brutally attacked by TMC Councillor Sukumar Mondal and his aides during a live show outside Bengal Food Minister Rathin Ghosh’s residence in the north 24 Parganas district. The reporter identified as Saikat Pal along with VJ Raj Shekhar Das was reporting on the latest scam against the TMC government when the TMC councillor abused the team and even destroyed the camera.

The entire incident was recorded on camera as the reporters were live for the Republic Bangla TV show ‘Jabab Chai Bangla’ at 8 pm. It is notable that yesterday the ED raided several locations linked to Rathin Das, including his residence, in connection to a municipal recruitment scam.

According to the information, the reporter was on duty, covering searches by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 12 properties associated with West Bengal Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh. He is being investigated by the ED for an alleged scam in the recruitment in state municipalities. Notably, the raids on Ghosh’s premises have been ongoing for almost 17 hours.

Irked by Republic Bangla’s reporter’s questions, the TMC councilor attempted to conceal the largest raid in Bengal at the time and pushed the crew around while attempting to steal the camera.

Several BJP leaders took cognizance of the incident and lashed out at the TMC government for attacking the media persons. BJP leader Priyanka Tibrewal said, “They attacked the reporter because they are nervous as the raids are underway. Why didn’t the police present there take action against the attacker?”

Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya also extended support to the media persons saying, “It is just another day in West Bengal. Republic Bangla’s reporter Saikat is beaten up by TMC goons, outside Bengal Food Minister Rathin Ghosh’s house. Saikat’s crime? He was covering the ED raid on Rathin. Shame on Mamata Banerjee for assaulting the media.” 

“What is more ironic is that none of the mandarins, who were shedding copious tears for Chinese-funded journalists, undermining India’s interest, will spend their ink for Saikat,” he added.

Similar comments were made by the national BJP spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla who said, “TMC means ‘Talibani mindset and culture.’ This is an attack on the fourth pillar of democracy. Those who stand with NewsClick will not utter a word on this incident.”

This is not the first time when a reporter from Republic TV has been attacked. Earlier, in June 2022, a female reporter associated with Republic Bangla was manhandled by a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker in Bhatpara city in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The video of the incident was caught on camera wherein the TMC goon could be seen pushing and assaulting the female journalist. 

The female journalist had spotted a woman who entered the polling booth without an ID card. On confronting her, the woman confessed that she was there to ‘watch over’ the polls. Soon after, the Trinamool Congress worker began heckling the journalist and then launched a full-blown attack.

In January 2022, Anupama Jha, a Noida-based journalist of Republic Bharat was attacked by a group of people in the city of Ferozepur, Punjab. This was on the very same day when the then Congress-ruled state of Punjab made a seemingly deliberate attempt to endanger Prime Minister Modi’s security by allowing the protesters to block the Prime Minister’s convoy during his visit to the state.

In the year 2020, it was also reported that Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and his wife were attacked by two Congress goons in the wee hours of the night. The Congress goons hurled bottles at the car and hurled abuses at Arnab Goswami for questioning Sonia Gandhi for being silent on the Palghar lynching case. The attack reportedly happened 500 meters away from Goswami’s residence in Mumbai. The assailants were then held at the NM Joshi Marg Police Station in Mumbai.

In the current case, Goswami has condemned the attack and has questioned whether reporting raids on the residence of a TMC leader in West Bengal is a crime.

Uttar Pradesh: Minor Hindu girl brutally attacked by ‘brother like’ Shauqeen with a sharp weapon, accused beaten by public and handed over to police

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Minor Hindu girl brutally attacked by ‘brother like’ Shauqeen with a sharp weapon, accused beaten by public and handed over to police

In a shocking incident reported from the state of Uttar Pradesh, a 15-year-old Hindu girl was brutally attacked with a sharp weapon by a person identified as Shauqeen in the Modinagar region of Ghaziabad district. The brutal attack resulted in 9 severe injuries on the body of the victim girl including serious injuries on her head, neck, and hands, as well as a fractured elbow.

According to the reports, the accused was closely associated with the Hindu girl’s father and stayed just across the street from the victim’s family residence.

The incident reportedly happened on the evening of Thursday, 5th October. The accused attacked the school-going girl with swords several times and later fled away from the spot after seeing neighbors approaching to help the victim girl. Some of the witnesses say that the accused also flaunted the weapon after launching an attack on the girl.

The Police took cognizance of the incident and arrested the accused under the relevant sections of the law. “The enraged crowd bashed the accused for launching a deadly attack on the victim girl. The police, however, reached the spot and arrested the accused,” one of the officers said.

He also added that the accused tried to flee when he was being taken for medical examination, but was nabbed. “He grabbed an opportunity and tried to attack the police with their service gun while he was being taken for medical examination. He fired at the police officers. In retaliation, the Modinagar Police also fired at his leg and nabbed him. He has been taken to the hospital and is being treated,” the police added.

One of the neighbors who witnessed the incident said that the accused was ‘friends’ with the father of the victim girl. “They stay close by and have good relations. The girl is suffering today. The accused should be strictly punished. He should be hanged to death for attacking the innocent girl. He has ruined her life completely,” Bheem Singh said.

One of the witnesses demanding justice for the girl (Jagran news)

Meanwhile, one woman identified as Rajbala said that the accused usually used to eat food at the victim’s place. “They (accused and the victim’s father) had good relations. For the past two years, the accused used to have food at his place. Sometimes the girl only used to serve him. She looked at him as her brother. She also tied Rakhi to his wrist on Rakshabandhan. But this incident shows the accused’s hatred towards the girl,” she added.

The victim’s father also commented on the issue and said that the accused used to object to the girl attending school. He also imposed pressure on her to change the school. “Shauqeen wanted the girl to change her school. A few days ago some girl from her school ran away with her boyfriend. So he wanted the victim to change the school. A minor argument also happened between me and him over this issue. He then also pressured us to change her tuition. He used to torture her and never used to leave her alone,” he added.

Several local Hindu organizations have also taken cognizance of the incident and extended support to the family of the victim girl. They have demanded strict punishment against the accused.

The reason behind the attack is not yet known. The police have nabbed the accused and also booked him under the relevant sections of the law. The girl meanwhile has obtained severe injuries on her body. She is undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Further investigations into the case are underway.

Chennai: Fans of Actor Vijay turn violent, tear theatre seats during the screening of the trailer of his upcoming film Leo

OpIndia Staff
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Chennai: Fans of Actor Vijay turn violent, tear theatre seats during the screening of the trailer of his upcoming film Leo

The trailer of the upcoming film “Leo”, starring Tamil actor Vijay (popularly known as Thalapathy) was released on Thursday (5th October). Some fans of the actor resorted to vandalism at the ‘Rohini Silver Screens theatre’ in Chennai during the fan-organised special screening of the film’s trailer.

The crowd rushed inside the premises as soon as the gates were unlocked. However, due to overcrowding and overzealous fans, the Rohini Theatre was left in a mess. Vijay’s fans smashed many seats beyond the scope of repair.

The entire theatre was packed with excitement, with hundreds of enthusiastic fans thronging the theatre to catch a glimpse of the Leo trailer. However, as the trailer showed on the large screen, some fans turned violent, tore apart seats and kicked them.

The visuals of the vandalism caused by the fans of actor Vijay have been doing rounds on social media. As seen in a video shared by trade expert Manobala Vijayabalan, the theatre hall was left in a mess and many seats were torn apart.

Several pictures also indicated that the space was covered in confetti remnants. “Rohini Cinemas completely thrashed by Joseph Vijay fans after #LeoTrailer screening,” Manobala posted on X.

The trailer depicted Vijay as a family man living in Kashmir with his wife (Trisha) and daughter. His past, however, haunts him as vengeful enemies seek him out. They set fire to his clothes and thrashed him but as the trailer continues, the actor is seen thrashing the goons. 

Film Leo is an action thriller starring Vijay Joseph, Trisha Krishnan, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Sarja, Gautham Menon, Mysskin, and Priya Anand. Sanjay Dutt.

The script of the film is co-written by Rathna Kumar, Deeraj Vaidy, and Lokesh Kanagaraj. Anirudh Ravichander composed the music for the film. Leo will be released in theatres on October 19.

NewsClick founder and HR head, arrested under UAPA in connection with Chinese funding, move Delhi HC challenging their arrest

OpIndia Staff
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NewsClick founder and HR head, arrested under UAPA in connection with Chinese funding, move Delhi HC challenging their arrest

On Friday (October 6), NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha and the website’s Human Resources (HR) head Amit Chakraborty moved the Delhi High Court challenging their arrest in the case of Chinese funding and seeking quashing of the FIR registered against them under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Ex-Congress loyalists and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal will be appearing before the bench of the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court on behalf of Amit Chakravarty and Purkayastha. The Court has agreed to hear the matter today.

The duo was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on Tuesday (October 3) and subsequently remanded to seven days of police custody by a Delhi court on October 4th.

The arrest came after the Delhi Police conducted raids on the homes of several journalists and employees linked to NewsClick. The Delhi Police had registered a fresh case under UAPA, other than the ED case, as per reports. UAPA is related to charges under terrorist activities and terror funding.

As per reports, some of the evidence uncovered during the ED investigation demanded premises of investigation that are beyond the authority of the ED. Hence a fresh case has been filed under UAPA and a Delhi Police investigation has been initiated.

It is pertinent to note that NewsClick has been under the scanner for illicit foreign funding since the year 2021 – when Abhisar Sharma was working for the portal as well. Teesta Setalvad and Gautam Navlakha were also accused of taking funds from China that were obtained through newsClick.

Crackdown on NewsClick

On 3rd October (late at night), a Delhi court sent Newsclick founder and editor Prabir Purkayastha to a 7-day police remand. HR head of the controversial news portal, Amit Chakravarty, has also been sent to police custody for seven days after being quizzed for hours.

The Delhi Police arrested both of them on 3rd October under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The special cell of the Delhi Police had registered an FIR in the matter on 17th August under Sections 13, 16, 17, 18, and 22 of the UAPA and Sections 153A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the news portal.

On 3rd October, the NewsClick office was raided and sealed by Delhi Police in connection to the case regarding foreign funding from China to propagate anti-India narratives. Apart from locations linked to NewsClick, the residences of 40 journalists were also raided by Delhi Police across the country as they were connected to the news portal. Teesta Setalvad, Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yetchury, Sanjay Rajoura, and others were among those who faced action by the Delhi Police.

Reports suggest that around 46 people were questioned by the Delhi police, and their electronic devices and documents were seized during the raids for examination. The investigation against Newsclick for allegedly receiving funds from China started in 2021. In August 2023, a New York Times investigation also revealed that the portal received funds from China via businessman Neville Roy Singham.

MP: Auto driver Javed Mansoori rapes minor tribal girl in Omkareshwar, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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MP: Auto driver Javed Mansoori rapes minor tribal girl in Omkareshwar, arrested

In the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, a nine-year-old girl was brutally raped by an autorickshaw driver named Javed Mansoori. The horrific crime was committed in the holy city of Omkareshwar wherein the accused auto driver raped a minor girl belonging to the tribal community on Tuesday, October 3rd. The matter came to light after an FIR was registered at the Mandhata police station. Meanwhile, the accused has been arrested.

According to the police, the girl was residing at the Omkareshwar temple rehabilitation centre in Khandwa when she was kidnapped and raped at a secluded location within the premises. According to reports, the minor victim’s mother is mentally unstable, and her father died many years ago. The minor used to beg along with her mother to survive.

According to some media reports, the Kelwa village resident Javed Mansoori lured the girl on the pretext of providing food and drink. He took her to his home, where he held her captive for two days and sexually assaulted her.

SP Khandwa district Satyendra Kumar Shukla notified the press that the 35-year-old accused had been apprehended. According to the SP, the incident came to light when the local residents heard the victim crying and called the police. SP Shukla added that after the girl was rescued, she informed the police about the crime committed by accused Javed Mansoori.

According to Mandhata TI Baljeet Singh, police carried out a search and arrested Javed Mansoori from Sanawad. TI Singh added that they have filed a rape case against the perpetrator under POCSO and the SC/ST Atrocity Act. Meanwhile, the victim has undergone a medical examination and is in stable condition.

Upon receiving information about the crime, several Hindu organisations gathered outside the police station in Omkareshwar and demanded that accused Javed Mansoori be hanged to death. Meanwhile, the police have assured that strict action will be taken against the accused.

Notably, a similar case was reported in Ujjain recently, wherein the Ujjain police had arrested three persons, including the auto driver after they examined the CCTV footage of the last 72 hours and saw the auto driver talking to the girl. The accused was charged with rape in accordance with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government bulldozed the illegal house of the accused auto driver.

As reported earlier, the girl was helped by a Hindu priest identified as Rahul Sharma. The victim girl was scared and walking on the streets of Ujjain seeking help. She had injuries on her private parts and was bleeding. She walked for around 8 km in the city seeking help but to no avail. Finally, when she reached near Dandi Ashram on the Badnagar road in the city, where Rahul Sharma offered her clothes and called for emergency medical service. He informed the police, who recovered the girl and took her to the hospital.

ISIS mouthpiece calls for donations in Monero (XMR): Here is how ISIS funds terrorist activities using cryptocurrency and what FM Sitharaman said about it

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ISIS mouthpiece calls for donations in Monero (XMR): Here is how ISIS funds terrorist activities using cryptocurrency and what FM Sitharaman said about it

Around 3rd October, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State, released the 29th issue of its propaganda magazine, Voice of Khurasan, published by its media front al-Azaim Foundation. For the first time in this particular magazine’s history, ISIS has called for donations via cryptocurrency using Monero (XMR). The current price of 1 XMR is 149 USD.

Notably, Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman has warned several times that cryptocurrency is being used for terror funding.

ISIS called for fundraising using cryptocurrency. Source: Voice of Khurasan volume 29

Page 61st of the 62-page issue was dedicated to the call for donations titled ‘Please Donate For Waging Jihad With Wealth’. The magazine further pointed out that the money collected would be used for “financing those who are waging the same [Jihad] with their lives”.

Cryptocurrency and terror funding

It is a well-established fact that extremists and terrorist organisations like ISIS widely use cryptocurrency to raise funds for terror activities. Before 2020, Bitcoin was the first choice of ISIS in virtual money space. However, in 2020, it was reported that they shifted to a lesser-known cryptocurrency, Monero.

Experts believe that the main reason to shift from Bitcoin was that the transactions are Public with Bitcoin. On the other hand, Monero is a privacy coin, which means the information of both the sender and receiver of the transactions will remain anonymous by default. The anonymity linked to Monero has raised concerns, and several countries, including Japan, South Korea, and Australia, have already banned the privacy coins. However, privacy coins remained valid in several countries.

In countries like India, the future of privacy coins is uncertain. As it is evident that terrorist organisations are openly asking for donations via Monero, the Government of India need to bring some rule to ensure privacy coins cannot be used to fund terrorist activities in India.

The technology used by privacy coins is often called ‘mixing‘ as they deploy a third-party service (known as ‘mixer’) to disrupt the connection between the sender and the receiver. It provides anonymity at a large scale, which is problematic, especially when law enforcement agencies want to investigate the transactions.

Notably, the US Internal Revenue Service has already offered a bounty of USD 6,25,000 for anyone who could hack Monero’s privacy protocols.

Social media used to ‘encourage’ pro-ISIS elements to donate Monero coins

In June 2023, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) found that pro-ISIS elements were trying to purchase phone numbers using Monero cryptocurrency to bypass social media verification. CEP further found that pro-ISIS elements were recommending donating Monero coins to an ISIS propaganda website that contained videos, magazines, articles and other material related to ISIS. They were using VPN and Lokinet, an anonymous onion router, to avoid tracking. TikTok, Twitter and other social media platforms were found to be used by ISIS terrorists to raise funds and spread propaganda.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman raised concerns over the use of cryptocurrency in terror funding

In April 2022, the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, addressed the Government’s stance on cryptocurrency transactions. The focus was on the potential use of cryptocurrencies in funding terror activities. She emphasized the importance of tracking such transactions to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and prevent any terror funding support. The Finance Minister also expressed concerns about the global use of un-hosted wallets, highlighting their potential misuse for illicit purposes. She called for a collective international effort to regulate cryptocurrencies, as every case may require a unique approach.

While digital currencies backed by central banks have the potential to enhance cross-border payments, transparency, and efficiency, FM Sitharaman highlighted the need for caution as technology keeps evolving at a swift pace. Regulating cryptocurrencies requires a global approach and a comprehensive understanding of the latest technologies. She added that the Government’s primary role is to monitor cryptocurrency transactions to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorist activities. It does not involve any direct interference in the functioning of cryptocurrencies.

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