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After hitjob on Adani fell flat, George Soros-backed OCCRP Foundation targets mining giant Vedanta, calls a formal communication ‘lobbying’

OpIndia Staff
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After hitjob on Adani fell flat, George Soros-backed OCCRP Foundation targets mining giant Vedanta, calls a formal communication ‘lobbying’

After efforts to target the Adani Group were thwarted, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has turned its focus towards one of India’s leading mining companies, the Vedanta Group. In a report published on August 31, 2023, the George Soros-backed organisation claimed that Anil Agarwal-led company ‘covertly’ lobbied the Modi government to weaken key environmental regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Employing similar strategies it used while carrying out a hit job at the Adani Group, OCCRP accused the central government of bending and modifying environmental policies to profit Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal, whom the organisation went on to call ‘powerful people close to India’s government.’

Similar to the Adani-Ambani rhetorics that the Indian opposition, especially the Congress and both leftist Indian and International media have been overusing since Modi came to power, the report by OCCRP used terms like “a fan of Modi” for the Vedanta chairman to insinuate that the PM Modi-led BJP government was giving undue favours to the businessman.

It read that the central government approved the changes requested by the mining giant, without public consultation and implementing them using what experts say are illegal methods.

The OCCRP report read that in January 2021, when the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Group, communicated to former environment minister Prakash Javadekar that mining companies could enhance production by up to 50 per cent without requiring new environmental clearances, potentially boosting India’s economic recovery.

“The government could add “impetus” to India’s “rapid” economic recovery by allowing mining companies to boost production by up to 50 per cent without having to secure new environmental clearances, he (Anil Agarwal) wrote in a letter to the then environment minister Prakash Javadekar that January,” said the OCCRP report.

The George Soros-backed organisation claimed Vedanta’s oil business, Cairn India, also successfully lobbied to have public hearings scrapped for exploratory drilling in oil blocks it won in government auctions.

“The year before Agarwal wrote to Modi, one of the company’s subsidiaries, Cairn Oil & Gas, also started lobbying to scrap public hearings for oil exploration projects. As with mining, the government quietly amended the law with no public consultation. Since then, at least six of Cairn’s oil projects in the northern deserts of Rajasthan have been greenlit for development,” the report read.

Before continuing, we should first examine the veracity of the serious charge OCCRP has brought against the Vedanta Group and the central government. In its report, the organisation has tried to portray that Anil Agarwal, the chairman of Vedanta Group wrote a letter to the then environmental minister asking for a personal favour, which the latter immediately approved due to Modi’s ‘friendship’ with such big industrialists. It basically accused the Modi government of approving environmental clearance for Vedanta without public consultation due to the personal equation it shared with the likes of Anil Agarwal.

The report also went on to claim that previous industry initiatives aimed at encouraging similar change had failed. But Agarwal got his way around. 

However, this was no personal favour the Modi government granted to Anil Agarwal. This is, in fact, a government decision applicable to all miners not just Vedanta. It is normal for companies to write such letters to the ministry. These are official letters on record and do not suggest any scam.

In fact, an official press release by the Coal Ministry in August 2022, stated that in order to enhance coal production to meet the country’s energy requirement, the Ministry of Coal requested the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to consider expansion of mine without public consultation up to 50% of their production capacity.

In the press note, the Ministry of Coal mentioned the names of 10 such projects, undertaken by various companies, other than Vedanta, that were granted such environmental clearances.

List of clearance given to projects on May 7, 2022, by the Ministry of Environment (Source: PIB)

Here it becomes abundantly clear that the letter written by Anil Agarwal to Prakash Javedkar was a similar official communique that the aforementioned companies that undertook those 10 projects might have written to the ministry asking for environmental clearance to enhance coal production. In the given situation it is laughable that the Soros-backed organisation OCCRP is calling an official communication, lobbying. This appears to be a clear case of prejudice against the incumbent BJP government, a similar one which has deliberated the organisation to maliciously target the Adani Group.

Unfazed by the erroneous information it disseminated in its unrelenting contempt for the incumbent Modi government, the report continued its ad hominem attack on the Prime Minister. It claimed that while Modi vowed to reduce India’s carbon emissions by a billion tons by 2030 and reach net zero emissions within 40 years, he approved changes to environmental laws and policies to economically benefit specific corporate entities or sectors, even though he was aware of the negative effects those changes would have on the environment.

“Publicly, Modi has pledged to reduce India’s carbon emissions by a billion tons by 2030 and reach net zero emissions within 40 years after that. But experts who reviewed OCCRP’s findings say they show his government has prioritized the interests of oil and mining companies over the fight against climate change,” OCCRP report read.

“Over the last few years, it is clear that most changes in environmental laws and policies have been largely guided in terms of the economic benefit it would bring to certain corporate entities or sectors,” it added.

Towards the end of the report, OCCRP quoted Vedanta’s response to its report. “One of the leading natural resources organizations in India” the company operated “with an objective of import substitution by enhancing domestic production in a sustainable manner,” it quoted Vedanta spokesperson as saying in an email response.

“In view of the same, continuous representations are submitted for consideration to the Government in the best interest of national development and India’s march towards self-reliance in natural resources,” the Vedanta spokesperson added in the email.

Well, here it becomes imperative to recall that OCCRP, following the footsteps of US-based short seller ‘Hindenburg Research’, recently did a hit job on the Adani group. Global left-wing media houses like the Financial Times and Guardian used the report by OCCRP to claim that the Adani family secretly invested in the Adani group shares, calling it a ‘family linked to PM Modi’.

The report by Financial Times claimed that Gautam Adani’s brother Vinod Adani was behind this and that the investment structures were “provided by an Indian financial group now called 360 One”.

The Guardian report, also based on the same report by OCCRP, didn’t mention the name of 360 One. It alleges that investments into Adani stock from two Mauritius-based funds were overseen by a Dubai-based company run by a known employee of Vinod Adani. It does not mention any involvement of any fund manager like 360 ONE.

No sooner, Rahul Gandhi rushed to address a press conference where he used these reports to resume his attack on PM Modi alleging links with Adani. He repeated already debunked lies, like the claim that Chang Chung-Ling is a Chinese national when the fact is that he is from Taiwan.

Mauritius-based fund 360 One denies allegations in OCCRP report

However, the allegations levelled by OCCRP and parroted by the leftist media and the Congress scion fell flat after yesterday (Thursday, August 31) 360 One came up with a clarification denying any links with the alleged transactions. 360 ONE made a filing with the BSE and NSE denying the claims made in the Financial Times report.

OpIndia also tried to delve into the ambiguity of the claims. We specified how it was not clear what the allegation was exactly as if the Vinod Adani company invested in stocks other than Adani, there is no question of buying Adani shares to inflate prices. It was also not clear why 360 One would pay money to an Assent subsidiary to advise on the investment. Ideally, it should get payment for investment advice.

Notably, just a few days ago, OpIndia also predicted that the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is planning a shakedown of India’s financial markets, following the footsteps of US-based short seller ‘Hindenburg Research’. OCCRP is funded by the likes of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF), the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, groups with a history of funding anti-India activities.

Saudi Arabia: Retired teacher, brother of prominent Islamic scholar sentenced to death for 5 tweets, 92 persons executed so far in 2023

ANI
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Saudi Arabia: Retired teacher, brother of prominent Islamic scholar sentenced to death for 5 tweets, 92 persons executed so far in 2023

 A Saudi Arabia court has sentenced a retired teacher to death over his comments online, CNN reported citing his brother as well as the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

The 54-year-old retired Saudi teacher, Muhammad al-Ghamdi, was sentenced “following 5 tweets criticizing corruption and human rights violations,” his brother Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi tweeted last week.

According to Human Rights Watch, Muhammad al-Ghamdi was arrested last year and given little access to a lawyer before his conviction in July “under Article 30 of Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism law for ‘describing the King or the Crown Prince in a way that undermines religion or justice,’ article 34 for ‘supporting a terrorist ideology,’ article 43 for ‘communication with a terrorist entity,’ and article 44 for publishing false news ‘with the intention of executing a terrorist crime.’”

Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, Joey Shea, said in a statement on Tuesday: “Repression in Saudi Arabia has reached a terrifying new stage when a court can hand down the death penalty for nothing more than peaceful tweets.”
According to the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Saudi Arabia has executed at least 92 people this year so far.

In 2022, UK-based human rights organization ALQST cataloged 148 executions in Saudi Arabia – more than twice the number of executions it recorded in 2021.

The death sentence comes amid an “escalating crackdown” on free speech in the country, said Lina Alhathloul, ALQST head of monitoring and advocacy and sister of released Saudi political prisoner Loujain al-Hathloul.

“They are sending a clear and sinister message – that nobody is safe, and even a tweet can get you killed,” she said, as per CNN.

Al-Ghamdi’s brother Saeed, a well-known Saudi Islamic scholar and government critic living in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom, said he believes the severity of the sentence is designed to punish him as well.

He said: “The Saudi authorities asked me several times to return to Saudi Arabia, but I refused to do so. It is very probable that this death sentence against my brother is in retaliation for my activity. Otherwise, his charges wouldn’t have carried such a severe penalty.”

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

Nitin Sharma who became Khalid after conversion to Islam arrested in Vijayawada for sending multiple threats of bomb blasts in Nainital

OpIndia Staff
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Nitin Sharma who became Khalid after conversion to Islam arrested in Vijayawada for sending multiple threats of bomb blasts in Nainital

After 20 days of investigating, a Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) squad on August 28 apprehended one individual, who was planning bomb blasts, from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. The arrested man was planning and had threatened to carry out serial bomb attacks in several areas in Nainital.

According to the reports, the accused person has been identified as Khalid though his previous name was Nitin Sharma. He confessed during the investigation that he had converted his religion to Islam. The STF is interrogating Khalid who had warned to carry out attacks with bombs in the name of the terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen.

“On July 17 this year, the accused Nitin Sharma threatened the Nainital Media Cell police through Facebook Messenger that serial bomb blasts would take place in the next 24 hours,” Uttarakhand STF’s Additional Superintendent of Police Chandra Mohan Singh said to the media. 

On October 4, 2022, the Nainital Police Control Room received bomb threats over social media. The message sent on the official Facebook page of Nainital Police read, “We will blast bombs in different parts of Nainital district within 24 hours and Hizbul Mujahideen takes the responsibility.”

After the police took cognizance of the threat, a case was registered against Khalid at Tallital police station. However, on July 27, the police received a similar message on Facebook. After this, the case was transferred to STF’s cyber police in Dehradun.

Reports mention that the investigation led by the deputy superintendent of cyber police Ankush Mishra helped the police nab the accused from Vijayawada on August 28.

The ASP stated that no tangible evidence has been produced to prove that the accused has links to international terrorist gangs. However, the STF affirmed that bomb threat complaints have been filed against the accused in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala.

ASP also stated that the accused is 10th pass but was digitally clever. The accused, as per the police, did not leave any digital footprint that could help the police nab him easily. The arrested accused will have to appear before the Nainital court.

According to STF sources quoted by the New Indian Express, Nitin Sharma, a Delhi resident who completed Class 10, admitted during interrogation that he had converted his religion to Islam and that he goes to different mosques to pray. He also confessed that there was no one backing him.

“Preliminary interrogation and investigation has revealed that the accused Nitin Sharma alias Khalid used to visit mosques in different states and collect money from there,” ASP Singh informed. 

The ASP also revealed that though Nitin had converted his religion to Islam and changed his name to Khalid, all his IDs continued to identify him as Nitin Sharma. “He has not been talking much during the interrogation but has revealed that he has converted to Islam and is now called Khalid. However, all his IDs show Nitin Sharma as his real name. He has also not stated clearly why he sent those texts to the police. It appears that he did those texts for amusement,” the police added.

The Police also added that the accused had no psychological problems as learned from the investigation so far. “It is an ongoing investigation and police will gather more information about the case,” the ASP stated.

Pakistan: 9 soldiers killed, several others injured in suicide bomb blast by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: 9 soldiers killed, several others injured in suicide bomb blast by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

At least nine soldiers were killed and twenty others were critically injured, as per the latest accounts of a terror attack in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region on 31 August. The incident took place in the Bannu district when a suicide bomber exploded himself. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), according to the military, was responsible for the terror strike.

A press statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) read, “On 31 August 2023, a motorcycle-borne sui­cide bomber explod­ed himself on a mili­tary convoy in general area Jani Khel, Bannu District. Resultantly, nine soldiers including Naib Subedar Sanobar Ali embraced shahadat, while five soldiers were injured.”

Security officials estimated that 20 people had been injured, however, they were not authorised to speak to the media on the record. Hence, they consented to disclose the number on the condition of anonymity.

Security officers have sealed off the location and sanitization is underway to neutralize any terrorists who might have been present there. It further added, “Security forces of Paki­stan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sac­rifices of our brave sol­diers further strengthen our resolve.”

Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar expressed grief over the occurrence. He posted, “Heartbroken by the loss of 9 valiant soldiers in Bannu Division, KPK, to a cowardly terrorist act that injured many. Such acts are utterly reprehensible. My thoughts are with the families of the martyred and injured. Pakistan stands resolute against such terror.”

This is the second occurrence of this kind in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in more than a month. On 30 July, a suicide bomber detonated a device during a political party conference leaving at least 54 people dead and over 100 injured. There were more than 400 members and supporters of politician Fazal-ur-Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party present there.

Authorities mentioned that after the Taliban took control over Afghanistan, TTP grew more confident and discovered safe havens there and lived in the open. Bannu is close to North Waziristan, a former terrorist bastion that housed insurgents until the army claimed a few years ago that it had cleansed the area of both domestic and international terrorists.

There has been an upsurge in terrorism in Pakistan in recent months, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the TTP broke its truce with the government in November of last year.

The military’s media wing revealed last week that six soldiers perished on 22 August during a gunfight in the South Waziristan neighbourhood. There were up to 12 Pakistani Army soldiers killed during separate military operations in the Balochistan provinces of Zhob and Sui.

The military has never witnessed such a high number of terrorist attacks-related deaths in a single day. Before this, 10 soldiers lost their lives in a “fire raid” in Balochistan’s Kech region in February 2022.

According to research by the think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies which was released in July terror and suicide assaults increased progressively and dramatically in the first half of the current year.

A total of 271 attacks took place over the time period under consideration which claimed the lives of 389 people and wounded 656 others. 151 incidents occurred within the same time period last year and led to 293 fatalities and 487 injuries. These numbers show a startling 79% surge in militant attacks during the first half of 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

228 assaults, 246 deaths, and 349 injuries were documented in the second half of last year. As a result, the number of attacks increased by 18% in the first half of 2023 compared to the second half of 2022, along with a 58% increase in mortality and an 88% increase in injuries.

Protests erupt in Gilgit-Baltistan over arrest of Shia Cleric for his ‘blasphemous’ remarks, threaten with civil war, merger with India: Here is all you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Protests erupt in Gilgit-Baltistan over arrest of Shia Cleric for his ‘blasphemous’ remarks, threaten with civil war, merger with India: Here is all you need to know

Massive protests erupted on August 31 in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan over the imprisonment of a Shia cleric following Pakistan’s solidified blasphemy laws. The demonstrations are said to be the greatest in the region’s history, with slogans such as “Chalo, chalo Kargil chalo” being raised.

Local leaders in Gilgit have cautioned the Pakistan government of civil war, and some have even called for an association with India. According to the reports, Skardu locals protested after Shia cleric Agha Baqir al-Hussaini was booked and arrested for remarks made at a religious gathering.

Agha Baqir al-Hussaini was detained for his comments made at a Skardu Ulama Council meeting about Pakistan’s blasphemy laws being strengthened, ostensibly to target the Shia community. Islamic fundamentalism is shared by both Shia and Sunni Muslims, however, Shias do not revere religious personalities who challenged the fourth Caliph, Ali.

The majority of people in Pakistan are Sunnis, however, Gilgit-Baltistan contains a sizeable Shia population. Starting with Gen Zia-Ul Haq’s administration, successive Pakistani governments made an effort to change the ethnic composition of Gilgit-Baltistan by moving Sunnis there.

Baltistan, Diamer, and Gilgit are the administrative divisions of the Gilgit-Baltistan area. Gilgit and Skardu are the primary administrative centers.

Locals say will go to Kargil instead of Punjab, Sindh in Pakistan

Despite the fact that the protests in Gilgit have received no attention from the Pakistani media, several photos and video instances have emerged on social media, demonstrating the magnitude of the discontent.

Several reports suggest that the initial protest began on August 22 by Sunni community people who demanded the arrest of Agha Baqir al-Hussaini. The protesters in Daimer are said to have blocked the Karakoram Highway that connects the region to Pakistan.

Shias have now begun putting out demonstrations as a reaction to those protests and the arrest of cleric al-Hussaini, videos of which are currently being circulated on X.

In the videos, protesters can be heard yelling anti-Pakistan slogans and also slogans criticizing Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir.

Local leaders also appear in videos saying that if the route remains closed, people will make their way to Kargil rather than Punjab or Sindh of Pakistan, referring to merging Gilgit with India. They also threatened civil war if their demands for the release of al-Hussaini and the opening of the roadway were not met.

Blasphemy law targets Shia; What Hussaini said?

In January, Pakistan amended its already stringent blasphemy laws, extending them to penalize anyone who offends persons associated with Prophet Muhammad. The change now makes insulting the Prophet Muhammad’s associates, which included many early Muslims, a crime. One of them is Yazid, the source of controversy in this case.

In his speech, Al-Hussaini allegedly insulted Yazid, son of Muawiya, which led to the blasphemy allegations against him. At Yazid’s command, Hussain (the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson) was killed in the Battle of Karbala.

Shias do not hold figures like Yazid in the same regard as Sunnis do because they mourn Hussain’s martyrdom in the month of Moharram. That is the reason why Moharram is a sensitive topic in places where Shias and Sunnis live together.

The minimum punishment for insulting prominent figures of Islam in Pakistan has recently been doubled under an amended law from three to ten years in prison and a fine of one million Pakistani rupees. Further blasphemy is an offense that cannot be banished on bail under the most severe punishment, which is a life sentence.

Protesters say Hussaini will never apologize for his statement

The blasphemy laws had already been altered to specifically target Ahmadis, who had already been labeled as non-Muslims. However, now the protesters say that the laws have been amended to specifically target the Shia community. 

The protesters demanded the withdrawal of the FIR against Hussaini and also stated that he would not apologize for his statement.

The cleric previously had claimed that he would never seek forgiveness, no matter how many FIRs are filed against him, or if he gets detained or assassinated. The demonstrators stated that if the authorities cannot make the highway to Punjab accessible, they will not travel there and instead requested that the road to Kargil be opened.

Following communal tensions, the administration has decided to keep all educational institutions in Skardu closed. Many tourists have been stranded as a result of KKH’s closure. The highway is being reported to be open on social media, but it is still not fully operational, and the situation remains tight.

After India, now Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, and Malaysia reject distorted map released by China, dismiss its claims over South China Sea

OpIndia Staff
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After India, now Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, and Malaysia reject distorted map released by China, dismiss its claims over South China Sea

Three days after India, four more countries have slammed China for publishing a map showing their territories as its own. On Tuesday evening (29 August), India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) hit back at China hours after it had released the 2023 edition of its territorial map as per its imagination. In regard to media queries regarding China’s bizarre claims, the MEA issued an official statement rejecting the so-called 2023 “standard map” of China.

The distorted map released by China shows Indian territories including Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of China. (Source: X)

Now, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam have joined India in rejecting the “standard map” released by China showing territories of these countries as its own. Vietnam reportedly said that the map violates its sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel Islands and jurisdiction over its waters.

A spokesperson for Vietnam’s foreign affairs ministry, Pham Thu Hang, said in a statement on the government’s website that “Vietnam resolutely opposes all China’s claims in the South China Sea based on the dotted line.” The Philippines too has issued a strong statement on the issue.

“This latest attempt to legitimize China’s purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” a statement by the Philippines government read.

China released the latest version of its imaginary territorial map in which it claimed the Indian territories such as Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Ladakh (Aksai Chin region) as its own. Apart from Indian territories, China also included Taiwan and the contentious 9-dash line in the South China Sea but this time it expanded the same to 10-dash line extending its claim further into the South China Sea; much of this area includes the West Philippines Sea.

The 9-dash line map by China has been rejected by Vietnam and the Philippines time and again. (Source: Business Insider)

The official Philippines News Agency quoted Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza saying, “(the 2016 Arbitral Award) categorically stated that ‘maritime areas of the South China Sea encompassed by the relevant part of the ‘nine-dash line’ are contrary to the Convention and without lawful effect to the extent that they exceed the geographic and substantive limits of China’s maritime entitlements under the Convention.”

In the newly-released distorted map by China, it has displayed its expansionist agenda in the 10-dash line map staking claims further into parts of South China Sea. Philippines news network ANC claims that the 10-dash line map covers most of West Philippines Sea. (Source: ANC digital/Youtube)

Malaysia and Taiwan too came out criticising China’s aggressive expansionist display. Malaysia reportedly said it will send a protest note to China. “This has been our practice (when dealing with issues like this)…and based on the statement issued by Wisma Putra (foreign ministry) yesterday, the next step includes sending a protest note,” the Bernama news agency quoted Foreign minister Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

Taiwan said it has never been ruled by the People’s Republic of China. “Taiwan, the Republic of China, is a sovereign and independent country that is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC has never ruled Taiwan. These are universally recognised facts and the status quo in the international community,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jeff Liu told Taiwan News.

The controversy came to light when the mouthpiece of the Chinese government, The Global Times carried a post. In the post, it stated that the Ministry of Natural Resources launched China’s latest ‘standard map’ on its website on 28th August. This is marked as the latest edition of the ‘standard map’ of the country.

It is notable here that Chinese President Xi Jinping just recently met PM Modi during the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, asserting that the two nations should hold comprehensive talks to ease border tensions. Against the backdrop of that discussion, and just days before the G20 Summit, China’s belligerent behavior in claiming Indian territories as its own displays a lack of sincerity on its part to resolve tensions at the LAC.

Arnab Goswami’s Republic Media Network forays into Karnataka, takes over Kannada news channel Dighvijay 24×7

OpIndia Staff
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Arnab Goswami’s Republic Media Network forays into Karnataka, takes over Kannada news channel Dighvijay 24×7

Republic Media Network, a leading media house owned by Arnab Goswami, is set to foray into Karnataka after reports emerged that the Republic Media Network has taken over Bengaluru-based Kannada news channel Dighvijay 24×7 formerly owned by Dr Vijay Sankeshwar. Republic Media Network, however, has not issued an official statement yet.

Taking to X, the Editor-in-chief of Kannada daily Vishwavani, Vishweshar Bhat, welcomed Arnab Goswami to the arena of Kannada news informing that Goswami will be doing a show for Dighvijay 24×7 from his Republic studio.

“Side Please… Arnab Goswami is coming.. Renowned journalist and broadcaster Arnab Goswami of Republic Channel has taken over Digvijay Kannada channel started by businessman Vijay Sankeshwar. It is learnt that from today, Arnab will be in the saddle of Digvijay. Certainly, it will change the broadcast scenario in Karnataka. Welcome Arnab!,” Bhat posted.

He also attached a note to the said post on X, which read, “Dighvijay channel owned by Vijaya Sankeshwar has been bought by Arnab Goswami of ‘Republic Channel’ fame. It is certain that Arnab’s entry into Digvijaya Channel will create new excitement in the world of Kannada News Channel which was suffering from poverty, monotony, depletion and lack of new experiments. Welcome Arnab!”

According to a newspaper cutting posted by Kishor Narayan, who hosts the India Rising podcasts pertaining to geopolitics, the necessary procedure pertaining to the Kannada news channel’s take was completed last week. Moreover, Arnab Goswami will participate in Republic TV’s night program from the studio of Dighvijay channel on Friday evening.

It has come to light that the name of the channel will be changed later. It is notable that Dighvijay News was previously owned by Vijay Sankeshwar’s VRL Media which also owns Vijayavani, another popular Kannada news channel. The channel was launched in April 2017 in the presence of former Karnataka CM Yediyurappa and now CM Siddaramaiah.

With Republic Media making its inroads into the Kannada media, the network continues its pursuit to expand its reach across regional news. In March 2021, Republic Media Network launched its news channel in the Bangla language named “Republic Bangla”.

It may be recalled that the news network’s Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami had in December 2020, said that he has plans to launch Republic channels in every language in the next few months and also announced that he would be launching an international media project soon.

Scam 2003: The Telgi Story on Sony Liv sets the stage for a gripping tale of the massive stamp paper scam that once rocked India

Anurag
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Scam 2003: The Telgi Story on Sony Liv sets the stage for a gripping tale of the massive stamp paper scam that once rocked India

On September 1, filmmaker Hansal Mehta’s Scam 2003: The Telgi Story was released on Sony Liv. The series is based on the life of Abdul Karim Telgi, the infamous con artist who shook the stamp paper market with a fraud worth Rs 30,000 crore. The scam was started in the 1990s and came to light in 2003. The first season of the series has five episodes.

Earlier in 2020, the first installment of the ‘Scam’ franchise, Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, was released and touched a 9.3 rating on IMDB, the highest ever for an Indian web series.

Scam 2003: The Telgi Story is directed by Tushar Hiranandani. It is an adaptation of a Hindi book named Telgi Scam: Reporter Ki Diary by Sanjay Singh. Actor Gagan Dev Riar played the lead character of Abdul Karim Telgi.

The series begins with Riar’s monologue, expressing the significance of dreams. If left unfulfilled, life remains barren.

The episode shows Telgi getting a narco test in the beginning, where a doctor is seen asking him about the politicians involved in the scam. Later, the story moved to 1982, when young and educated Telgi was seen selling fruits on a train. He was invited by a man named Shaukat to work in Mumbai for him. After working for a few months for him, Telgi married his daughter and later went to the Gulf to earn money for a few years.

Upon returning in 1991, Telgi started sending people to the Gulf by making fake documents. He was caught by the police and sent to jail, where he met Kaushal Zaveri, his future partner.

In the later episodes, they together got into replacing original stamp papers with fake ones and moved ahead in the business. At one point, Zaveri and Telgi parted ways, and Telgi built political connections and eventually got entrapped in a political drama that evolves around the scam.

The characters were added seamlessly as the story moved ahead in the series. Speaking about performance, Riar aptly fits Telgi’s character. The ordinary looks, yet strong performance, will keep you hooked to the story. Towards the end of season 1, a series of events starts turning against Telgi, and its consequences are to be revealed in the later episodes.

Several dialogues leave an impact on the viewers. “Life mein neeche se upar chalang marni ho toh daring karna padega na darling,” is one of them.

The second volume of the series is set to be released in November 2023.

Now, coming to the problem with the series. Hansal Mehta habitually inserts unnecessary communal or Leftist tropes in the series. In his last series, Scoop, he showed pro-Naxal so-called journalists as victims of the system in the end just before the credits. In Scam 2003, ideally, there was no need to add the issue of a disputed structure that Hindu Karsewaks demolished in the 1990s. Leaving this part aside, the series is watch-worthy.

Gujarat: Hindu man attacked by Nawaz, Azim and 3 others for asking why they did not stand up for the national anthem

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Hindu man attacked by Nawaz, Azim and 3 others for asking why they did not stand up for the national anthem

In a shocking incident, a Hindu youth was attacked by a group of people for asking them to stand up during the national anthem at a theatre in Jetpur near Rajkot in Gujarat. The victim man saw a group of people in the theatre not standing in respect of the national anthem and he asked them to stand up.

After a verbal confrontation, the man named Mayank Teraiya was allegedly attacked by the others. Police have arrested five including Nawaz and Azim in this case. The incident took place on 30th August 2023.

A man named Mayank Teraiya, who had gone to watch a film with his family, reportedly addressed Nawaz and his friend who did not stand up during the national anthem played before the movie. Provoked by this, the two men called their friends and beat up Mayank during the film’s interval and fled after threatening to kill him. An FIR has been lodged at Jetpur city police station in this regard, a copy of which is available with OpIndia.

A young man named Mayank Teraiya from Jetpur had gone to watch the film with his family at Balaji Cineplex in the city on Wednesday, 30th August 2023. Before the film started, the national anthem was played, during which the audience stood up to honor it but the two accused men sitting in front of Mayank Teraiya did not stand up. One of them is identified as Nawaz. After the completion of the national anthem, Mayank addressed them both and asked them to respect the national anthem. The two accused started abusing Mayank. But both of them sat down as the people around them also supported Mayank.

According to the complaint, during the film’s interval, Nawaz and his friend reached out to Mayank and started verbally abusing him. Mayank was then called outside the theatre as the assailants said, “There is a lot of public here, you come out”. Outside of the cinema hall, three other men also rushed to join Nawaz and his friend. These five men started fighting with Mayank and hurled abuses at him. They eventually ran away as people around also rushed in to save Mayank. But while fleeing, they threatened to kill Mayank again by saying, ‘You survived today, but if you meet again, we will kill you’.

After sustaining injuries, Mayank promptly headed to the government hospital where he received the necessary medical attention. Accompanied by family members, the injured individual and the police then proceeded to the Jetpur city police station to file a formal complaint. This complaint led to the registration of a case against Nawaz Paleja, Azim, and three other individuals. The charges filed against them include sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (misbehaviour and abusing), 506 (2) (threatening to kill), and 114 (presence as abetment at the time of the crime) of the IPC. The law enforcement swiftly apprehended all five accused within a matter of hours.

Immediately after the incident was reported, members of Hindu organizations arrived at the police station. They raised slogans and demanded strong action against the accused. Leaders from the Hindu community emphasized that any form of disrespect towards the nation would not be endured. They asked the police to apprehend and detain individuals involved in such activities.

The victim, Mayank Teraiya, also spoke to OpIndia. He said, “The two youngsters were sitting and joking when the national anthem was being played. After the completion of the national anthem, I asked them why they did not stand up and told that they should be ashamed of their disrespectful behavior. Due to this both of them were enraged but they sat down as the people around us also supported me. But then they called up their other friends and asked them to come to the theatre.”

Mayank Teraiya further said that during the interval, the two youths, along with their other three friends, abused him, attacked him and threatened to kill him. It is learned that after the arrest, the five accused have expressed their readiness to apologize and assure that this will never happen again, but Mayank Teraiya has stated that he is not ready for a ‘compromise’.

Fake TRP scam: Crime Branch finds flaws in probe conducted by Sachin Vaze, says the malice is evident in the investigation against Arnab Goswami

OpIndia Staff
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Fake TRP scam: Crime Branch finds flaws in probe conducted by Sachin Vaze, says the malice is evident in the investigation against Arnab Goswami

In the Fake TRP scam case, a new twist has come up as senior state home department officials have found flaws in the probe conducted by dismissed cop Sachin Waze and his team. This comes after Arnab Goswami, the managing director and editor-in-chief of Republic Media Network, approached the Mumbai police a few months ago, alleging errors in the investigation, in a case lodged against him for alleged manipulation of Television Ratings Points (TRP) in October 2020. In June 2021, a charge sheet was submitted in the case.

According to a Hindustan Times report, senior officials in the state home department recently got documents pertaining to the case from Mumbai police, and upon re-examination detected significant errors as well as evident malice in the previous probe conducted by dismissed police officer Sachin Waze and his team. Vaze was the head of the crime intelligence unit (CIU) that looked into the case. 

Notably, Vaze is also a prime accused in the Mansukh Hiren murder and Antilia bomb scare cases. According to the crime branch, allegations of demands for bribes had stymied the investigation.

According to a senior home department official, the file will be sent to the law and judiciary department soon. He stated that police examined the papers from the earlier case as well as investigations conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) adding that both the agencies had registered cases involving alleged TRP manipulation.

Reportedly, previous authorities requested to register an offence when there were specific provisions in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (TRAI) meant for dealing with the charges. According to the HT report,  in such a case, the state government has the authority under section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to discontinue criminal cases.

‘Fake TRP’ scam

In October 2020, Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh, in an explosive statement accused Republic TV of ‘TRP manipulation’. In a witch hunt attack against Republic TV and Arnab Goswami, the Mumbai Commissioner had claimed, that the channel had illegally paid some households to keep some channels on even if they were not at home to boost their TRP.

The Mumbai Police had filed a complaint against three channels namely Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema, and Republic-TV for manipulating television rating points (TRPs).

However, by the end of the day, it was revealed that in the original FIR, Republic TV did not find a mention anywhere. In fact, it was India Today that had been named in the original FIR. Later, the Joint Commissioner had to admit even India Today was named in the ‘Fake TRP’ FIR. In September last year, the Enforcement Directorate filed a charge sheet before a special court in Mumbai in which it confirmed that no evidence was found against Republic Media Network in the fake TRP case.

Republic TV’s alleged participation in bribing/influencing panel households to watch Republic TV or Republic Bharat channels was thoroughly investigated. The charge sheet stated that it became clear that the Mumbai police probe was ‘at variance’ with the ED investigation. The panel households back then had denied taking money to watch Republic TV or Republic Bharat.

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