The Sikkim Government on Wednesday confirmed that 14 people have died so far in the flash floods that occurred in Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday. The 14 deceased are all civilians while 102 people are still missing.
Over 3,000 tourists are feared to be stranded in different parts of the State. 12-14 workers working in the Teesta Stage 3 dam in Chungthang are still stranded in the tunnels of the dam.
Injuries and persons missing have been reported from Chungthang in Mangan district, and Dikchu, Singtam in Gangtok district and Rangpo in Pakyong district.
As per the information shared by the Sikkim Chief Secretary VB Pathak, he informed, “The Lhonak lake received a cloud burst around 10:42 pm on Tuesday night. Thereafter the lake breached its embankment and made its course towards Teesta river. Soon different parts of the Teesta basin reported a rise in water, with particularly alarming levels in Chungthang where the Teesta Stage 3 dam was breached.”
“There are 12-14 workers still stranded in the tunnels of the dam. Collectively across the State, 26 people have been reportedly injured and rushed to the hospitals. While 23 Army personnel in Bardang are still missing. They had a convoy vehicle which was parked adjacent to the highway which got submerged in the sludge,” added Pathak.
The State government has asked for three (3) extra platoons of the National Disaster Response Force, which the Central government has approved. There is one platoon of NDRF already in service in Rangpo and Singtam towns.
One such upcoming platoon of NDRF will be airlifted to Chungthang for rescue operations. It is assumed that over 3,000 domestic and foreign tourists are stranded in the State currently. Similarly, food and civil supplies will be taken to Chungthang once the weather improves for air connectivity, as per the official report.
Meanwhile, the State officials feared ration shortages in the State. Necessities from Siliguri, Bailey bridges will be laid by the Indian Army and National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), informed the State Chief Secretary.
Even the police station in Chungthang has been destroyed. Chungthang and most of North Sikkim have disrupted mobile network connection as the fibre cable lines were also being destroyed by the flash floods in Sangkalan and Toong in Mangan district, according to the official report.
The State government has set up 18 relief camps in Singtam, Rangpo, Dikchu and Adarsh Gaon which have faced most of the damages. However, due to a lack of connectivity with Chungthang, the relief camps there are being set up by the Indian Army and other paramilitaries.
South Lhonark lake, situated in North West Sikkim, witnessed a cloud burst causing incessant monsoon rainfall on Wednesday morning. The flowing flash flood made its way through River Teesta sweeping Indreni Bridge in Singtam town, some 30 kilometres from Gangtok informed Gangtok District Administration. Another connecting bridge of Balutar hamlet was also swept away around 4 am.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
With the Lok Sabha 2024 elections in sight, Gandhi’s scion and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi have put the weight of the national party, Congress, behind the demand for a nationwide caste census. For this, he has been raising the slogan ‘Jitni Aabadi Utna Haq’, particularly after the release of the Caste Census report in Bihar. However, old Parliament records show that Rajiv Gandhi had vehemently opposed this idea, and if he had been alive, he would have lambasted his son for raising this demand, according to a report in News18.
Additionally, his late father had even accused the then PM VP Singh of trying to lead the country into caste wars with the Mandal Commission report, an exclusive News18 report highlighted. The report noted that in 1990, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had advocated for a “casteless society” and urged the house not to let one man’s obstinacy lead to a “caste war” in India.
However, following the route in the last two general elections, the Congress party – being stewarded by the Gandhi family has decided to turn towards the second edition of 1990s Mandal politics, an approach which their predecessors had opposed, the media portal highlighted based on old Parliament records over this issue.
Evidently, on 6th September 1990, addressing the Lok Sabha, Rajiv Gandhi said, “If you think back, it was in 1980 that the Congress under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, had raised the slogan ‘Na jaat par, na patt par’ (not on caste or creed).”
Apparently, the VP Singh government had accused previous Congress PMs of sitting on the (Mandal) report.
News18 reported that it reviewed the Parliamentary speech where the then Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Rajiv Gandhi retorted sharply to then PM VP Singh when he was aggressively pushing the Mandal Commission report.
In the speech, Rajiv Gandhi advocated for a casteless society and asserted that nobody in the house could deny that the removal of casteism was not part of the national goal. He also charged that VP Singh’s government revolves around caste and it is causing a rift in the society. He maintained that caste politics could harm and break India.
Rajiv Gandhi said, “It is extremely sad that the thinking in this government revolves around caste…VP Singh is causing a rift in our society.” He stated that the goal of the country must be a casteless society and one must avoid steps that take the country towards a caste-ridden society. He added, “Nobody in this House will say that the removal of casteism is not part of that national goal.”
In this 1990 speech in Parliament, Rajiv Gandhi shared a similar view that PM Modi has been warning about that the issue of caste census amounts to divide the people and the country.
The then LoP, Rajiv Gandhi said, “…the manner in which you have implemented the Mandal Commission, to me, it is breaking up my country. Even at this late hour, there is time to pull the country back from this caste division.”
He emphasised that the VP Singh government was creating a “vested interest in casteism and the country is going to pay a very heavy price for this”, the News18 report added, citing old parliamentary records.
Moreover, he also asked why the government accepted caste as the sole identifier. He noted that to remove backwardness and poverty, the house has to look at the root cause of the problem and give equal opportunity.
He said, “We, the Congress, are in favour of a comprehensive action plan, an affirmative action plan for the backward communities. We need that. The problem cannot be solved by playing politics or by limited politically motivated manipulations.”
He lamented the reality is that caste counts for a tremendous amount in this country. But what is our goal? Is our goal a casteless society?
Launching a scathing attack against VP Singh for dividing the society on caste line, Rajiv Gandhi asserted, “The PM does not have the guts to stand up and say whether he believes in a casteless society or does not believe in a casteless society. It is very sad, sir.” He further requested the house not to let one man’s obstinacy lead to a caste war in India.
He said, “I would like to appeal to this House, let us not have one man’s obstinacy holding India hostage, let that man’s obstinacy not lead to children getting killed, our children, Indian children getting killed on the streets.”
Concluding his speech, Rajiv Gandhi said, “Socially and educationally backward classes need all the help they can get including reservation and the Congress will support you in that. We would like that to be targeted to the poorest and the weakest in the socially and educationally backward classes this the Congress Party has outlined in the Working Committee’s Resolution on August 30 this year.”
Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal suffered a meltdown on Wednesday evening after the Enforcement Directorate arrested AAP leader Sanjay Singh Azad in connection with the liquor scam.
Addressing the media following Singh’s arrest, Kejriwal said, “AAP is a staunch honest party. We all know that the path of honesty is difficult. If we will become dishonest like them then all of our problems will be resolved…More than 1,000 raids have been conducted in this liquor case and several people have been arrested but they are not able to recover even a single penny… PM Modi is involved in corruption from tip to toe. I think after independence, PM Modi is the most corrupt PM of our country…”
#WATCH | After meeting the family of AAP MP Sanjay Singh, Delhi CM & AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal says, "AAP is a staunch honest party. We all know that the path of honesty is difficult. If we will become dishonest like them then all of our problems will be… pic.twitter.com/S7fSlTwBHt
It is noteworthy to mention that in his initial days in public life, Kejriwal had not only accused Congress, DMK, NCP, and other political parties of corruption but promised to bring a change in India’s politics. However, as the 2024 general elections approach, Kejriwal has joined hands with the same parties as part of the INDI alliance, a coalition of disparate opposition parties that are not ideologically compatible but are motivated to come together in their forlorn hope to defenestrate PM Modi.
Congress leaders have been accused of corruption in a plethora of cases, including the Coalgate scam, the National Herald scam, the VVIP chopper AgustaWestland scam, and several others. Similarly, political leaders of other INDI alliance partners are mired in many cases with corruption charges. One of the members of the INDI alliance is RJD, whose chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is convicted by the highest court of the land in fodder scam.
Terming the arrest of party leader Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate as “totally illegal”, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that it shows the “frustration” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that many more opposition leaders will be arrested till the elections.
“The arrest of Sanjay Singh is totally illegal. This shows Modiji’s frustration. They will arrest many more opposition leaders till the elections,” Kejriwal said in a post on X.
Sanjay Singh, MP, was taken into custody after a day-long interrogation by ED officials at his Delhi residence. He was later brought to the ED office.
Sanjay Singh’s party colleague and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was also arrested in the liquor policy scam case and is in jail.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam.
The central probe agency on Wednesday morning raided the residence of Sanjay Singh in connection with the now-cancelled liquor excise policy in Delhi. The development followed ED’s raid on the premises of Sanjay Singh’s close aides.
The Delhi excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge that has been strongly refuted by the AAP.
ED has so far filed five chargesheets in the case, including against Sisodia.
(This news report is published with inputs from the ANI syndicated feed.)
Several media associations have written to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud seeking the court’s intervention to put an end to the alleged “repressive” use of investigating agencies “against the media” and demanding guidelines on police seizures of the electronic devices of journalists.
The letter was written by 16 press associations in the wake of a raid by Delhi police’s Special Cell into the residences of journalists, editors and writers associated with the news portal ‘Newsclick’.
“Our fear is that State actions against the media have been taken beyond measure, and should they be allowed to continue in the direction they are headed, it may be too late for corrective or remedial steps. It is, therefore, our collective view that the higher judiciary must now intervene to put an end to the increasingly repressive use of investigating agencies against the media,” the letter stated.
The associations said that as journalists and news professionals, we are always ready and willing to cooperate with any bona fide investigation.
“However, ad hoc, sweeping seizures and interrogations surely cannot be considered acceptable in any democratic country, let alone one that has begun advertising itself as the ‘mother of democracy,” it added.
The letter has been sent by media associations such as Digipub News India Foundation, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Club of India, Foundation of Media Professionals, National Alliance of Journalists, Network of Women in Media, Chandigarh Press Club, Delhi Union of Journalists, Kerala Union of Working Journalists, Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists, Free Speech Collective Mumbai, Mumbai Press Club, Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists, Press Association of India and Guwahati Press Club.
The letter said that October 3 raids led to the arrest of two persons under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the seizure of mobile phones and computers without ensuring the integrity of their data–a basic protocol that is essential to due process.
“The invocation of UAPA is especially chilling. Journalism cannot be prosecuted as ‘terrorism’. Enough instances in history abound to tell us where that eventually goes,” it added.
The letter further said, “The fact is that today, a large section of journalists in India finds itself working under the threat of reprisal. And it is imperative that the judiciary confronts power with a fundamental truth–that there is a Constitution to which we are all answerable.”
It stated that there have been many instances over the past few years when assaults on the free press by the State have required judicial intervention, and we (journalists)continue to pursue such cases.
“But the developments over the past 24 hours have left us no option but to appeal to your good conscience to take cognisance and intervene before it is too late and an autocratic police State becomes the norm,” said the association to CJI.
The letter urged the judiciary to uphold the values of freedom of speech and expression enshrined in the Constitution.
The letter stated that wide powers of investigation are given to the State on the assumption of bonafide on the part of its agencies.
“Equally, a wide immunity against coercion must be read into the constitutional provisions of free speech, and methods must be devised against police overreach–especially given the repeated misuse of these powers,” it added.
It claimed that the country’s investigating agencies have been “misused” and “weaponised” against the press.
Sedition and terrorism cases have been filed against editors and reporters, and multiple, sequential and/or frivolous FIRs have been used as an instrument of harassment against journalists, they said.
The letter cited the case of Siddique Kappan who was arrested under UAPA and spent more than two years in jail before getting bail and also highlighted the death of father Stan Swamy, who died while in custody under UAPA charges.
“The tragic death of Father Stan Swamy in custody is a reminder of how indifferent the authorities seem to have become towards human life under the guise of combating ‘terrorism’,” it stated.
They urged the CJI to frame norms to discourage the seizure of journalists’ phones and laptops on a whim, as has been the case. Evolve guidelines for interrogation of journalists and for seizures from them, to ensure that these are not undertaken as fishing expeditions with no bearing on an actual offence, the association asked.
They further asked to find ways to ensure the accountability of State agencies and individual officers who are found overstepping the law or willfully misleading courts with vague and open-ended investigations against journalists for their journalistic work.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
In a comment that is bound to attract criticism from the LGBTQ and the woke community, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman, and it is just common sense.” It is notable that according to the woke community, people’s biological gender does not matter, and people can adopt any gender they want, with an ever-expanding list of genders.
Rishi Sunak made the comments on 4th October (Wednesday) during his inaugural address as the party leader during the Tory conference held in a packed hall in Manchester. At the party’s annual event, he was introduced by his wife Akshata Murty, where he referred to how society should deal with transgender people. Regarding this, he told his party leaders that they shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be.
During his address at the Conservative Party Conference, he asserted that a man is a man and a woman is a woman, and it is just common sense, adding that they will defend it. He further emphasised that parents have the right to know what their children are being taught in school about relationships and it shouldn’t be a controversial thing.
"We shouldn't get bullied" into believing that "people can be any sex they want to be"
"A man is a man, and a woman is a woman, that's just common sense," PM Rishi Sunak says
Regarding this issue, Tory leader Sunak said, “It shouldn’t be controversial for parents to know what their children are being taught in school about relationships. Patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women. We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can’t. A man is a man and a woman is a woman, that’s just common sense.”
Through his address, Sunak also laid out several new policies and presented himself as the man to deliver ‘difficult’ political change in the country.
Asserting that they would defend ‘common sense’, Sunak told the conference that “change is difficult, particularly for those who disagree”. He added, “Where a consensus is false, we will challenge it. Where a vested interest is placing itself above the needs of the people, we will stop it. And where common sense is under attack from an organised assault we will defend it.”
He also vowed to introduce legislation that would reduce the use of tobacco adding that there was “no safe level of smoking”.
He said, “I propose that in future, we raise the smoking age by one year every year. That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette, and that they and their generation can grow up smoke-free.”
Sunak also pledged that he would discourage cross-Channel migrants from arriving in the country on small boats. The UK PM added, “I’m confident that once flights start going regularly to Rwanda, that boats will stop coming. I am confident that our approach complies with our international obligations. But know this, I will do whatever is necessary to stop the boats.”
On 30th September, Taylor Swift was the star attraction on the viewers’ side at MetLife Stadium with her rumoured boyfriend, Travis Kelce, when the duo was seen enjoying the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the New York Jets. The celebrity box she sat in also had Sophie Turner and Hugh Jackman.
While her fans were pumped to see her ever-busy singing sensation enjoying some lively moments with Kelce at the game, critics suggest that her presence at the game could be a PR stunt. It is being discussed on social media that she specifically chose the “New York Jets” game to allegedly bury the reports of her CO2 emissions. Thanks to Search Engine Optimisation, if anyone searches “Taylor Swift Jet” in Google, the results will point towards links, photos and stories related to her and Kelce attending the game.
Taylor has been in the headlines multiple times for her extensive use of private jet for travelling. With the appearance at the game, there are rumours that Taylor’s PR team strategically pumped the search engines, burying the negative reports around the usage of private jets.
Taylor’s Eras Tour
Taylor’s Eras Tour, which commenced on 17th March this year and is set to conclude on 23rd November 2024, is the longest-running tour for the singing sensation. By the end of the tour, Taylor would have performed at 146 shows. The tour was originally supposed to end in August, but more dates and shows were added worldwide due to its success. Taylor moves with a large team, and the equipment used in the tour is transported using massive trucks. The other side of the very successful tour is that it is going to add to the allegations of her being the top celebrity in CO2 emissions.
Taylor Swift topped the list of CO2 emissions
In July 2022, Yard released a list of celebrities with the worst CO2 emission ranking. Taylor topped the list with 170 flights from January to July. She spent 22,923 minutes in the, which equals 15.9 days, leading to a total of a whopping 8,293.54 tonnes. It was 1,184.8 times more CO2 than the average person’s annual emissions.
Celebrities, world leaders, climate change and hypocrisy
Celebrities and world leaders are often seen as hypocrites as they travel in their private jets and mega yachts to attend climate change summits. In July 2019, top names like Barack Obama, Prince Harry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Katy Pary and others participated in a three-day event to focus on the fight against climate change. The intentions could be good, but they all travelled in there, waiting for private jets to reach the venue. The attendees showed up at the event using at least 100 private jets, and 114 first-class seats were booked to arrive at Palermo, Italy, from Los Angeles alone to attend the event.
In January 2023, world leaders met at Davos to discuss climate change. 118 private jets were used to ferry these leaders to the venue.
Celebrities use SEO to hide dark past
Taylor is not the only celebrity rumoured to have used SEO to bury negative news around them. For example, Rob Lowe was part of the 2014 comedy “Sex Tape” that overshadowed her earlier career in the 1980s. Lindsay Lohan is rumoured to have used her single “Xanax” to bury the reports of her drug usage history.
What is SEO and its evil use?
SEO or Search Engine Optimization can be defined as a digital marketing strategy aimed to improve a website’s visibility in the results on search engines. There are tons of techniques and practices to enhance a website’s ranking for searches related to specific phrases or keywords. With time, SEO experts have developed techniques to confuse the algorithms developed by Search engines and gain top rankings despite the quality of the content.
SEO can be evil when it’s used to dishonour search results or deceive users. The unethical ways to gain ranking or to bury news about an individual are often discouraged by search engines, and tech companies like Alphabet (Google) keep upgrading their algorithms to find their way around the unethical practices.
China reportedly censored a photograph of two Chinese hurdlers embracing after a race because their lane numbers formed an accidental reference to the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, CNN reported.
In the image, Lin Yuwei, from lane 6, and Wu Yanni, in lane 4 can be seen hugging following the women’s 100-meter hurdles final at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
As they stood together, stickers showing their lane numbers formed “6 4”, a pairing widely seen as a reference to June 4, 1989, CNN said.
Notably, on that day Chinese military tanks rolled into the capital Beijing during a bloody crackdown to clear students protesting for democracy in Tiananmen Square.
Beijing tightly controls references to the event, scrubbing all mention of it from the internet within China, and moving quickly to erase any reference to it on social media, including even seemingly innocuous moments when the numbers 6, 4 and 89 appear together and are entirely unrelated to Tiananmen, CNN reported.
The race took place on October 1, China’s National Day, a delicate occasion when the authorities are more vigilant against any signs of dissent that may distract from celebrations, the news report said.
State broadcaster CCTV originally posted the photograph on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media service, on Sunday night, but removed it from its account about an hour later, CNN reported.
A search on Weibo no longer yielded results of the same image, though scattered postings of another photograph showing the two athletes crossing a hurdle with their lane numbers on display – though in a less conspicuous manner – can still be found, the resort said.
The photograph cannot be found on Baidu, China’s popular search engine and Google services are blocked in the country.
The image can be seen in an article published Monday by state news agency Xinhua but the numbers have been cropped out of the photo, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, China imposes stringent censorship not just on criticism of the Communist Party but also on matters it deems sensitive and incongruous with the party’s values and ideology.
The rules have in the past led to the censorship of what might appear to some to be innocuous images, such as women’s cleavage and men modelling in lingerie as a gimmick on social media to boost sales, CNN reported.
(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 3rd October 2023, several members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal gathered at the Manchar police station to file a case against the Muslim goons who attacked the house of a local Bajrang Dal activist Suraj Chakradhar Dharam on the night of 29th September 2023. This attack took place after a brief scuffle erupted between Muslims and Hindus during the Ganpati Visarjan procession in Manchar on September 28. The Muslim goons attacked Suraj’s house even after the scuffle was pacified and both sides had compromised a day before the attack.
Initially, the police administration was not ready to file an FIR against the culprits based on the complaint filed by the mother of the victim Hindu youth in this case. The members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists then joined together and visited the police station. After hours of pursuance, the police acknowledged that the attacking Muslim mob was at fault and realising the grave consequences, the goons themselves came ahead and furnished an unconditional apology to Suraj Dharam, his mother, and other family members. They also gave a written apology which said that they would not harm the Hindu youth in the future by any means whatsoever. The ordeal in the police station which started in the evening lasted till around 12 to 12:30 in the night.
Local members of Bajrang Dal and VHP took the lead in Manchar
Santosh Khamkar (Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad – Pune District), Ganesh Raut (Communications Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad – Pune District), Akshay Jagdale (Block Head of Bajrang Dal – Manchar), Chinmay Mahajan (Head of Bajrang Dal – Manchar City), senior Hindu activists Chetan Thorat and Mahesh Thorat along with hundreds of other Hindu youths accompanied Suraj Chakradhar Dharam to the Manchar police station on 3rd October evening to file a case against the attackers.
Suraj’s mother had mentioned several culprits in the complaint including Riyaz Jamadar, Israr Shahbaz Khan Pathan, Azam Momin, Qayyum Pathan, Meeran Anees Inamdar, Aaqib Rehman Attar, Aman Rehman Attar, Mohammad Sartaj Ali Jamadar, Tarbez Mukhtar Qureshi, Danish Siraj Momin, Tauqeer Mohammad Matin Jamadar, Adnan Mohammad, Javed Shaikh, Mohammad Sabir Rizwan Ali Syed, Irfan Tahjan Mandal, Azhar Siraj Momin, Atiq Wasim Inamdar, Uzef Wasim Inamdar, Asif Khan, Zia Ahmed Imtiaz Jamadar, Rehan Rizwan Inamdar, Shahbaz Ali Inamdar, Saqlain Sarfaraz Inamdar, and Mohammad Fazal Shaikh.
Initially, the Manchar police were reluctant to file an FIR
The API Balwant Mandge posted in the police station Manchar initially did not file any case against the accused on 2nd October 2023. He apparently ignored the request of Suraj’s mother to file the case by citing that the scuffle on the Ganpati Visarjan occasion was pacified on the same day. When OpIndia inquired the police station about why the FIR was not registered, the police personnel in the office said that the officer would only explain the situation. When OpIndia contacted the officer, he could not give details of the action taken in this case, as he was busy in some meetings. In this case, the fact that the attack took a day after the said compromise was apparently disregarded. Therefore, the Hindu activists reached the police station with Suraj on 3rd October.
When the Hindu activists reached the police station, many Muslim leaders in the city were called upon leading to a large congregation of people at the police station. Listening to both parties, the police opined that they would take cases of both sides if they wanted to file the cases. In response to this, the Hindu activists explained to the officers that the two incidents were different and the later incident of the attack on the Hindu activist was deliberately done to incite violence and threaten the victim and his family – which amounts to a separate case altogether.
The attackers furnished a written unconditional apology and begged pardon with folded hands
DySP Sudarshan Patil of the Pune Rural Police was also present at the police station. He then asked all the people to wait aside and listened to the whole case from Suraj Chakradhar Dharam and one member from the Muslim side separately. By this time the people from the Muslim side also agreed that the attack on the second day came after pacifying the earlier incident.
Realising the legal consequences, the Muslim side offered unconditional apology to the victim Suraj Chakradhar Dharam, his mother, and other family members. The people involved in the attacking mob also visited the victim’s house along with the Hindu activists in the night and begged pardon with folded hands in front of Suraj’s mother. They also gave a written apology at the police station and assured that such an incident would not repeat and that they would not harm any activist again.
What Hindu activist in Manchar told OpIndia?
OpIndia talked to Ganesh Raut (Communications Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad – Pune District) in this regard. He said, “3 days ago, some anti-social elements from the local Muslim community orchestrated a cowardly attack on the house of our fellow Bajrang Dal activists Suraj Dharam and Santosh Dharam in the night when they were not at home. The attackers threatened his family members. Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal held a massive protest against this and visited the police station along with the victim demanding strict action against all the accused in this incident.”
Ganesh Raut further said, “Community leaders from both sides were then called to the police station. We brought it to the notice of the police officers that the incident of a scuffle in the Ganpati Visarjan was immediately resolved but this attack on the later day was a deliberate attempt to cause violence. The officers also acknowledged the fact. The culprits from the Muslim community who had a criminal mindset were strictly warned by the police authorities and realising the consequences of the case, they furnished an unconditional apology to the victim’s family.”
Ganesh Raut added, “This step of mutual understanding was taken at the end of a long confrontation in the police station in the presence of police officers who helped to pacify the situation. The accused people also assured that none of Suraj’s family members will be harmed and no unlawful activity or attack against the Hindu activist will be committed by them. Besides, they have also furnished a written apology for the incident that took place on the night of September 29.”
Ganesh Raut added, “Through this incident, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal assure that we will not leave any of our Hindu activist brothers and sisters alone in such a situation of crisis. For this purpose, we actively pursued this case and stayed at the police station until the situation reached a solution. We insisted on registering the case, but later the Muslim side apologised. Although we have taken a stand of mutual understanding this time, it is for maintaining social harmony considering the larger interests of the people in the town. We expect that all communities should take equal responsibility to maintain this peace and harmony. If any such incident repeats, we will answer it in a way the attacker better understands. We are thankful to OpIndia for the continued follow-up of the incident in order to raise this concern to a level where it could be heard. It is the kind of support we expect from all media on issues where we actually face such unnecessary problems.”
He said, “There was one other victim who was targeted by the Islamists in this incident. But considering his local businesses, he opted not to lodge the complaint. Our young activist Suraj Chakradhar Dharam lives in a Muslim-dominated area. He is our fellow activist who looks after his family through his courier delivery business. He visits various homes in the town for the sake of home delivery. His modest nature has earned cordial relations in local society. Along with this, he does various activities for upholding Dharma. He is a vocal activist who works for Gauraksha and raises his voice against social problems like love jihad.”
Ganesh Raut further informed, “Suraj is an important member of our local organisation. His mother and other family members were threatened by the goons. They lodged the complaint not out of any enmity but in fact to seek the safety of the family and Suraj himself. Suraj is a Hindu who comes from a scheduled caste family. Possibly attackers might have thought that no one would care for him. But that is not at all the case here. The whole Hindu Samaj of Manchar is with Suraj. We all went to the police station, expressed our concern, and eventually, the Muslim side apologised.”
What was the original issue?
On Friday, 29th of September, the house of one of the Bajrang Dal workers was attacked by a mob of Islamists in Manchar near Pune city of Maharashtra. The victim Hindu worker was identified as Suraj Chakradhar Dharam. The Islamists attacked the victim’s house and also abused the female members of the house. The crowd attacked Suraj’s house for allegedly stopping Maulana’s car during Ganpati Visarjan.
Suraj, on the other hand, had videotaped the incident in which everyone gave way to the vehicle that belonged to the Maulana. Suraj’s complaint was not investigated by the police. Suraj told OpIndia that he was the target of extremists because he has been vocal about cow protection and against love jihad.
This case comes from the Manchar police station region of Pune’s Ambegaon region. Suraj’s motherfileda police report on Monday, 2nd October, 2023. According to the complaint, a gathering of 150 to 200 Muslims gathered at his residence on 29th September.
The enraged crowd had arrived at Suraj Chakradhar’s residence but Suraj, by chance, was not at home. As they couldn’t find Suraj, the mob started messing with the women present in his house. Suraj’s mother reported that during the incident, a Muslim mob threw stones at their house. They smashed the doors and abused the women in the house. A copy of this complaint is with OpIndia.
Additionally, the mob inquired as to whether Suraj was associated with Bajrang Dal. “Wherever he is found,” Suraj’s mother was told, “his hands and legs will be broken.” This video has also gone viral on social media.
Mob including hundreds of Islamists led by PFI members launched an attack on the residence of Hindu activist Suraj Dharam in Manchar, Pune, Maharashtra.
Attackers have been identified as Riyaz Jamadar, Israr Pathan, Azam Momin, Qayyum Pathan among others. pic.twitter.com/Qn81NPovTS
Suraj’s mother stated in the complaint that a Ganpati immersion procession was taking place outside their house at around 11:50 PM the day before the incident, on September 28. Eventually, several people tried to crush the crowd by ramming a four-wheeler through the middle of the procession.
The Hindu procession participants, on the other hand, gave way to the Muslim vehicle without a struggle or disagreement. Regardless, after a while, members of the Muslim community assembled at the police station to file a complaint against those involved in the Ganesh Visarjan Yatra. OpIndia has a video in which Hindu organisations freely give way to the vehicle of the Muslim community.
Suraj’s mother has requested police protection, claiming that her entire family faces a threat. In addition, after reviewing the CCTV and video of the incident, she expressed hope that harsh action would be taken against all of the perpetrators. Now, the Islamist goons have apologised to Suraj, his mother, and the whole family after Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad intervened.
It must be noted that Manchar in the Pune district made it to the news in May 2023 for the shocking case of love jihad. On 20th May 2023, Maharashtra Police filed an FIR and arrested one Muslim person named Javed Sheikh (22) for abducting a minor Hindu girl, sexually assaulting her and then forcefully marrying her in the Manchar city of Pune, Maharashtra. The accused has been booked under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 4, 6, 8, 10 of the POCSO Act. The victim was 16-years-old when she was abducted and raped. A detailed report of this incident can be read here.
Pune Police issue a statement on Manchar issue, stay situation is peaceful, but some elements spreading rumours
In a statement, the Pune Rural police stated, “After the Ganapati Visarjan procession (September 28) was over, a minor altercation took place between a Muslim youth driver and the Ganapati Mandal workers who were passing by while the Mandal workers were leaving. After that, the workers of Ganapati Mandal and the workers of the Muslim community came to the police station and discussed among themselves. Both the boards agreed that this was a misunderstanding. They have settled the dispute by apologizing to each other. There is absolute peace in Manchar City.”
They added, “Someone on social media is spreading a rumor that stone pelting and verbal abuse has taken place in Manchar city on purpose. However, as there is complete peace in Manchar city, senior police officers of Pune Rural Police Force have held a meeting of the people of both communities and guided them. Guidance has been given to the concerned regarding maintaining law and order. Strict action will be taken against those who spread such wrong posts on social media.”
In the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim girl named Shabana has embraced Hindu Dharma and married her Hindu lover Arvind. After Pandit KK Shankhdhar performed a purification ritual, Shabana became a Hindu and adopted a new name ‘Shivani’. The couple got married as per Hindu rituals at the Agastya Muni Ashram in Madhinath.
According to reports, Shabana originally hails from the Bhagwantapur area in Faridpur while Arvind is a resident of neighbouring Kairuwa village.
Following her marriage with Arvind, 21-year-old Shabana aka Shivani opened up about Islam. She asserted that in Islam women are treated as nothing more than a baby-producing machine. She added that her own mother died giving birth to babies. Shabana said that she has eight brothers.
She opined that Islam has many evil practices such as Triple Talaq, Halala, polygamy, Burqa and Hijab. Shabana went on to say that in Islam women are mandated to wear a Hijab and Burqa, however, Hindu Dharma does not impose any such rules. She added that, unlike Islam, women are respected in Hinduism.
Shivani expressed her admiration for Hindu Dharma, saying that she adores Hinduism and is a devotee of Mahadev, adding that she regularly performs Lord Shiva’s Jalabhishek. Talking about her husband Arvind, Shivani said that she met him around a year ago and the two soon fell in love. Shabana alias Shivani, sadly, has lost both of her parents.
In contrast to her brothers, Arvind’s parents were supportive of their relationship and welcomed Shabana with open arms, according to Shabana. Furthermore, Shabana said that her brothers had forbidden her from stepping out of the house. However, Shabana said that she and Arvind managed to meet secretly.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria murder case, the district administration is mulling to take bulldozer action against the illegal properties of Premchand Yadav, the former district panchayat member who was killed in the massacre that happened as an apparent act of retribution following a longstanding land dispute between the families of Prem Yadav and Satya Prakash Dubey. Satya Prakash Dubey and 4 other members of his family were also killed in the incident that occurred on October 2, 2023.
While the police have arrested 16 people in connection with the case, sources say that the district administration, led by SDM Judicial Seema Pandey, spent a full day examining the property surrounding Premchand Yadav and the homes of the other accused. According to the probe, a portion of Yadav’s newly built house is located on agricultural land, raising the possibility of bulldozer action.
Administrative officials have been quoted by media as saying that if any irregularities are found after inspection of the disputed properties then bulldozers will be used on Premchand Yadav’s house.
The decade-old land dispute that led to the Deoria tragedy
On October 2, Monday, a decade-old land dispute between the families of a former zila panchayat member named Prem Yadav and Satya Prakash Dubey in the Fatehpur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district claimed the lives of half a dozen people, including women and minors. The massacre that happened in broad daylight, that too in a span of less than 30 minutes, sparked tension in the region leading to heavy deployment of police force in the village and adjoining regions.
For a long period, the village strongman, Prem Yadav, and Satya Prakash Dubey in the Deoria area had been embroiled in a property dispute.
According to Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma, a preliminary investigation revealed that Prem Yadav purchased 10 bighas of land from Satya Prakash’s elder brother Gyan Chand Dubey in 2014. Satya Prakash opposed the sale and filed a lawsuit. Gyan Chand left the state a few years after selling his farm.
Although the case is still pending in court, things turned ugly on Monday (October 2) at about 7:30 a.m. when Prem Yadav went to inspect the land he purchased near Satya Prakash’s residence.
According to the police, Satya Prakash also arrived at the scene and made some remarks against Prem Yadav. He then went back home. Prem Yadav arrived at Satya Prakash’s house a few minutes later, and the two had a furious altercation. The situation quickly deteriorated, and a woman from Satya Prakash’s family attacked Prem Yadav with blunt instruments, killing him instantly.
When word of Yadav’s death circulated throughout the hamlet, a horde of his supporters stormed Dubey’s home and bludgeoned him and four other members of his family, namely Satya Prakash Dubey’s wife Kiran Devi (52), his son Dipesh (known as Gandhi, aged 15), and his daughters Saloni (17) and Nandini (10) to death. Anmol (8), one of the Dubey children, survived the assault and is currently receiving critical medical care in a local hospital.
The police said that Dubey’s family members tried to save themselves by locking the house from the inside but the frenzied mob broke the doors open, barged into the house, and killed them.
Incidentally, Dubey’s family is the only Brahmin family in the entire hamlet. Sarvesh Dubey, the 18-year-old son of Satya Prakash Dubey, who was out when the incident occurred, told the media, “It was my brother’s birthday. I didn’t know that this would happen. I went to the Katha and told him that I will give him whatever I get from it.”
“We ask the government that strict action must be taken against the culprits,” he added and broke down.
Satya Prakash Dubey’s son also alleged that Premchand Yadav came to their residence and threatened his father before proceeding to beat him. He further said that Premchand Yadav also misbehaved with his sister. He further said that his father was encircled by the mob before being assassinated. The older of Prem Yadav’s two surviving sons voiced his anguish and said that the mob murdered his father in front of everyone.
Premchand Yadav’s wife Sheela Yadav, meanwhile, stated that her husband had received a call on Monday morning after which he left alone in haste on his bike. “He was not aware that the Dubey family had assimilated a group of people in their house to attack him. He went all alone. The people at Dubey’s house attacked and killed him. When we received a call from there, I asked my father-in-law to go there but we don’t know what actually happened.”
The wife of the deceased Premchand Yadav further added that her family wishes death for the entire Dubey family.
Since the news of the incident was reported by the media, it has generated a lot of buzz on social media.
BJP Deoria MLA calls it a fight between the land mafia and a poor family
Amidst all the allegations and counter-allegations, Deoria MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi called the incident a retribution of a family tussle between the strong land mafia family of Premchand Yadav and a poor and destitute family of Satya Prakash Dubey. He also shared local newspaper clippings as proof of this.
ग्राउंड ज़ीरो से सैकड़ों मील दूर बैठे जो लोग देवरिया की घटना का आँकलन अपने अपने हिसाब से कर रहे, उनके लिए प्रस्तुत है स्थानीय अखबारो की ये खबरें,ये जंग भूमाफ़िया बनाम एक बेहद गरीब परिवार की है, लिहाज़ा इंसाफ की जंग हर हाल में लड़ी जाएगी !! pic.twitter.com/QWUMmDMcYT
— Dr. Shalabh Mani Tripathi (Office) (@Shalabhoffice) October 4, 2023
Legal cases add to the misery of Satya Prakash Dubey’s family
According to media reports, Satya Prakash Dubey’s family was financially weak. Satya Prakash Dubey used to drive a private vehicle to support his family. One of his daughters Shobita was married and the other one Saloni was teaching in a private school so that she could support her father in the family expenses. His older son Gandhi used to work in an electrical shop in Pakri Bazaar while the second son, Devesh, used to support the family by conducting pujas and religious functions in Deoria.
Satya Prakash Dubey’s house was in such disarray that even covering one’s head in the rain was difficult. The entire family practically resided in a shed. To make matters worse, Satya Prakash Dubey’s family was embroiled in numerous court proceedings and lawsuits.
Prem Yadav’s Samajwadi Party connection; allegations of being a land mafia
It was also reported in the local version of another newspaper that Prem Yadav had ties with the Samajwadi Party. Prem Yadav was frequently involved in land-related controversies. He utilized money and political influence to gain control of the land. He has been accused of forcing his way into purchasing several expensive lands at low prices. He had purchased three kathas of disputed land in the Rudrapur stretch, and the issue was currently being heard by the Gram Panchayat.
According to locals, Prem Yadav usurped the land of a government educational institute and Gram Sabha and built a posh building on it. He had acquired one acre of land in the village while serving as the District Panchayat member. A plot of land in the village is registered in the name of Manas Vidyalaya, however, it is owned by Prem Yadav. He also owns the land registered in the name of GS School and Barn. He used his political clout and influence to illegally acquire the forest department’s land, as well as the school and the one-acre land in the village.
It has also been alleged that Prem Yadav used to perpetrate these crimes with the help of Revenue Department officials. According to Ramashish Nishad, village head representative, despite multiple appeals to the Revenue Department, no action was taken to remove the illegal encroachment.
Locals also revealed that Prem Yadav’s mother was the village chief in Deoria’s Fatehpur village. Satya Prakash Dubey’s brother Gyan Prakash Dubey had no family, thus by providing him shelter, Prem Yadav gained his trust and usurped Gyan Prakash’s land and transferred it in his name.
It may be noted that in her complaint, Satya Prakash Dubey’s elder daughter, Shobita Dwivedi, had referenced a prior incident in 2014 when Prem Prakash Yadav allegedly kidnapped her uncle Gyan Prakash Dubey and forcibly made him transfer his agricultural land, subsequently leading to a protracted legal dispute.
In response to these allegations, BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi stated, “For those who are sitting hundreds of miles away from ground zero and are assessing the Deoria incident on their own, here are these local newspaper reports.” Because this is a battle between the land mafia and a very impoverished family, the fight for justice will be waged at whatever cost.”
The BJP MLA confirmed that he went to Satya Prakash Dubey’s house and met his son. He also learned about the incident from local villagers. He has assured cooperation to Satya Prakash Dubey’s bereaved family.
Samajwadi Party uses the incident to hit out at Yogi Govt
Leader of Opposition in UP Assembly and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav jumped to use the incident to gain political brownie points. Reacting sharply over the incident, the SP chief called for a high-level investigation into the murder, alleging the killings were a result of ‘governance failure’.
“The Deoria incident happened due to the failure of governance and negligence or involvement of the administration somewhere. I wish the Chief Minister’s expression of grief would bring back people’s lives. Only a high-level investigation can uncover the secrets of this murder and provide justice. This investigation should be done immediately,” wrote Yadav on X (formerly Twitter).
UP police files FIRs against 83 people, arrest 16 people
Late on Monday night, police registered cross-FIRs at the Rudrapur police station. The first FIR, filed by Dubey’s daughter, Shobhita Dwivedi (27), named 27 individuals and nearly 50 unidentified individuals in connection with her family’s killings. In a second FIR, Prem Prakash’s uncle accused Satya Prakash Dubey and four of his family members (who later died) of murdering his nephew.
Deoria SP Sankalp Sharma provided an update, stating, “All five persons booked for the murder of Prem Prakash are dead. So far, we have arrested 16 people for the murder of Satya Prakash and his family members. Of those arrested, 12 were named in the FIR, and the role of the remaining four came to light during the investigation.”
Police efforts are currently underway to locate the suspects.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath orders impartial probe into the Deoria incident
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, meanwhile, personally visited Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur on Tuesday, October 3 to meet eight-year-old Anmol Dubey, the sole survivor of the devastating attack on his family. The Chief Minister instructed hospital authorities to ensure that Anmol receives the best possible medical care.
Yogi Adityanath also ordered the State police to take the strictest action in the case. “The unfortunate incident in Deoria district is extremely sad and condemnable. My condolences are with the bereaved family. After reaching the spot, the Additional Director General (ADG)/Commissioner/ Inspector General (IG) has been instructed to take the strictest action and district administration officials have been instructed to provide proper treatment to the injured. The culprits of this incident will not be spared at any cost,” the CM said.
Senior police officer Prashant Kumar, meanwhile, said action would be taken against those who took the law into their hands. “A police force has been deployed and all senior officers are present,” he said.
