Home Blog Page 1904

Rockefeller Foundation lambasts Washington Post over its misleading claims on solar power systems in India. Here is what happened

Dibakar Dutta
-
0
Rockefeller Foundation lambasts Washington Post over its misleading claims on solar power systems in India. Here is what happened

On Thursday (August 3), the US-based Rockefeller Foundation lambasted The Washington Post for a misleading report on India and its solar power systems.

The leftist propaganda newspaper published a contentious article titled, ‘India joins rush to renewables, but sites rural solar systems fall off the grid’ on July 31, 2023.

Written by one Karishma Mehrotra, the article claimed that India has severely failed in its transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as solar power.

“India’s experience is a cautionary tale for a world that is racing into renewables, installing solar energy systems at a breakneck speed with scant planning for how to maintain them in the years to come,” the article read.

Screengrab of the article by The Washington Post

The Washington Post claimed that out of 4000 solar mini-grids installed in India, 3300 are owned by a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation. It then went on to claim that only 5% of those grids, which are also financed by the Indian government, are in an operational condition.

“About 4,000 solar mini-grids have been installed in India, of which 3,300 are government financed and owned, according to information collected early this year by Smart Power India, a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, and provided to The Washington Post. Only 5 percent of the government grids are operational, the group found,” the paper alleged.

It then claimed that solar-powered villages in the Indian States of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha have failed miserably. “In Jharkhand, at least 90 percent of the state’s more than 200 mini-grids are defunct, according to a consultant for the renewable-energy authority, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment freely about the mini-grids,” the paper said.

The Washington Post had blamed the supposed failure of solar power systems on a lack of local technical expertise and funds for maintenance.

“Jharkhand, for example, holds onto 10 percent of the contract price after installation and releases the balance in annual installments to pay for maintenance. But this sum may not cover the cost of traveling to remote areas, so the technical crews often desert their contracts after installation,” the paper said.

“Moreover, the government, in trying to keep electricity affordable for its customers, often lacks the revenue needed to pay for upkeep. Private providers have a better record in maintaining the systems because their revenue models are stronger,” it concluded.

Response of Rockefeller Foundation

On Thursday (August 3), the Rockefeller Foundation slammed The Washington Post over its contentious piece and informed that the paper did not bother to respond to a letter sent to its Editor.

In a tweet, it said, “Two days ago, we submitted a letter to the editor about this article making clear it not only misses context but also the real facts. Unfortunately, the @washingtonpost has yet to print it or even respond.”

The American private foundation said that the 100% rural electrification achieved by the Modi government resulted in the redundancy of the first-generation solar systems.

“First, these first-generation solar systems were degraded because they were made redundant by an aggressive rural electrification effort launched in 2016 by the current government, that achieved almost 100% electrification,” it said.

The Rockefeller Foundation informed, “Second, the article incorrectly implies that mini-grid solutions have failed, without recognising that the improving electrification landscape & positive regulatory environment have actually paved the way for successful commercial mini-grid operators that complement the grid.”

It added, “Companies such as Husk Power System, OMC Power, Tata Power, and Hamara Grid, have raised over $150M of private capital, operating over 1,000 mini-grids that serve homes and entrepreneurs in rural India with reliable, productive-use clean energy.”

“Third, much was learned from the first generation of government funded mini-grids, like the need to be far more responsive to communities, and the importance of serving local businesses,” the Rockefeller Foundation said.

“Far from failing, India’s effort to provide electricity from both grid-based and distributed renewable energy is a success that should be replicated globally…Indeed it offers a model for public and private sector innovation that can put developing economies on a high energy, low carbon growth pathway,” it said.

The Rockefeller Foundation informed that it has been working on mini solar grids in India since 2009. “We’re proud to be a partner to those in India seeking to unlock opportunity for those often left behind without triggering climate catastrophe,” it concluded.

Jammu & Kashmir: 3 army jawans succumb to injuries after encounter with terrorists in Kulgam

ANI
-
0
Jammu & Kashmir: 3 army jawans succumb to injuries after encounter with terrorists in Kulgam

Three army jawans, who were injured during an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Friday, succumbed to their injuries, officials said.

“The three injured jawans succumbed to their injuries. Search operations are ongoing,” the Army said in a statement.

The jawans were undergoing treatment at a hospital, Jammu and Kashmir Police informed on Friday.

Earlier in the day, officials said the encounter broke out in the high reaches of the Halan forest area in Kulgam district.

“Army and Kulgam Police are carrying out the operation. Three jawans were injured and shifted to a hospital for treatment,” an official said earlier.

Earlier, on Friday, the Kashmir Zone Police informed that the encounter had broken out in the Halan forest area of Kulgam district, adding that the Army and Kulgam Police were on the job.

“An encounter has started at high reaches of Halan forest area of #Kulgam district. Army & Kulgam Police are on the job. Further details shall follow,” the Kashmir Zone Police stated earlier in a tweet.

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

‘102 FIRs, over 200 arrested’: Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij say Nuh violence was the result of ‘big planning’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘102 FIRs, over 200 arrested’: Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij say Nuh violence was the result of ‘big planning’

On Friday, August 4, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said a “big game” was planned for Nuh violence. Minister Vij, however, added that the state government will not draw early conclusions without proper investigation. It is notable that violence erupted in the Nuh area after a mob attacked Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Jalabhishek Yatra on Monday. Anil Vij said that internet services will be reinstated in the violence-hit areas as the situation improves.

“There is a big game plan behind this. People climbed hills next to the temples, had lathis in their hands, and gathered at entry points, all this is not possible without a proper plan. Bullets were fire, some people had arranged weapons as well. All this is part of a plan. We will not rush to an early conclusion without a thorough investigation being done. Internet services will be restored after the situation improves,” Vij said.

The state home minister further informed that 102 FIRs have been registered and 202 people have been arrested in connection with the communal violence. In addition, 80 people are in preventive detention. Minister Anil Vij also said that the firing incidents were pre-planned adding that stones were collected for attack and rioters were firing bullets from hills. 

“A total of 102 FIRs have been registered. 202 people have been arrested and 80 are in preventive detention. We are getting information that firing incidents were pre-planned…stones were collected on the roofs and people went to the hills and opened fire. We are collecting information and taking action against the people responsible. We will run bulldozers as and when required. We will investigate if there was any prior input regarding the incident,” Vij said.

Notably, OpIndia earlier reported that the FIR specifically mentions that the Muslim mob was firing from the mountainside.

Minister Vij on Friday also hinted that there may have been a mastermind behind the communal violence. He added that the “culprits of the violence will not be spared and whoever masterminded the violence will also be made to pay.” The minister went on to say that the rioters will be made to pay for the damage caused to public property. He also assured “bulldozer action” as and when necessary.

Vij stated that police were taking statements and inspecting CCTV footage. He also requested media covering the Nuh clashes since Monday to send videos and feeds to police to assist them in their investigation. He made the same appeal to those who were in the Yatra procession where the violence commenced.

Nuh Superintendent and Deputy Commissioner transferred

According to official directives, Nuh Superintendent of Police (SP) Varun Singla and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Prashant Panwar were transferred on Friday.

Haryana government’s Posting/Transfer orders for Nuh SP and Deputy Commissioner (Image via IndianExpress)

Narendra Bijarniya, who previously had the additional charge in Singla’s absence, will be the new SP of Nuh, according to one of the orders. Meanwhile, Singla, who was on leave when violent clashes erupted in the district on Monday, will now serve as the SP of Bhiwani. Prashant Panwar, who was also the CEO of the Mewat Development Agency, will be succeeded by Dhirendra Khadgata. Panwar had been transferred to the Fisheries Department as a Special Secretary.

“Nuh was becoming the new Jamtara”

As reported earlier, a Cyber Police Station in Nuh was attacked and vandalised during the recent violence. The communal attack was allegedly used to erase cybercrime history from police records. Speaking about the incident on Friday, Minister Vij said that “the government has taken the incident seriously and a probe is on to find who attacked the police station and what all criminal records were destroyed.”

Minister Anil Vij further asserted that Nuh was becoming a new Jamtara, the Jharkhand district often dubbed India’s cyber crime hotspot. 

As part of a massive crackdown on cybercriminals in April of this year, the Haryana Police carried out numerous raids in the Nuh district. Over 5,000 police officers from 102 police units raided 14 villages in Nuh and apprehended 125 cybercriminals. During the raids, the police teams seized a sizable quantity of items, including card swipe machines, smartphones, computers, Aadhaar cards, and ATM cards.

“Now the cyber station that has been attacked, and the way attempts have been made to tamper with the files, has made us launch an investigation into whether cyber thugs attacked the computer systems also of the police station,” the Haryana Home Minister said as he recalled police action on cybercriminals in April.

Nuh Shobha Yatra attack

On 31st July 2023, violence broke out in Haryana’s Nuh district during the ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra,’ which was organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. As Islamist mob attacked the Hindu procession, triggering clashes, arson and firing. The death toll from the clashes has now reached 6, including two personnel from the Haryana home guard. The deputy commissioner urged people to stay indoors, venture outside only for essential tasks, and disregard any circulating rumours.

Vehicles were burnt and stones pelted at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Jalabhishek Yatra as Islamists unleashed violence against thousands of Hindus in the Muslim-dominated region of Nuh, Mewat in Haryana.

‘Lappu sa Sachin hai, jhingur sa ladka’: How the neighborhood woman’s comments became a viral meme spin-off in Seema Haidar’s love story

Sanghamitra
-
0
‘Lappu sa Sachin hai, jhingur sa ladka’: How the neighborhood woman’s comments became a viral meme spin-off in Seema Haidar’s love story

Seema Haidar from Pakistan literally crossed mountains and rivers and complicated borders to reach India, to meet her online boyfriend Sachin. The love story has been ruling the Indian news space for weeks now. However, the story now has a meme spin-off. And the star of that spin-off is neither Sachin nor Seema. It is the random neighborhood Bhabhi.

For weeks now, media personnel have been swarming around Seema Haidar as if she is not an ordinary human but a fairy descended from heaven, to marry a mere mortal. Well, the whole world has been strangely fascinated with cross-border love stories ever since movies came into play. Be it Veer Zara, Refugee, Gadar Ek Prem Katha etc in Bollywood or Crash Landing On You in Korea, lovers crossing dangerous borders to meet the love of their life gets just everyone excited.

Though Seema Haidar has been dominating Indian news media at a level that only Modiji can do, her boyfriend Sachin has literally been in the background. In front of the beautiful, vivacious Seema, Sachin just stays silent, shy, and behaves as if he is still trying to believe what he sees.

As media personnel have been thronging the humble residence of Sachin’s father in Greater Noida, they found Sachin’s neighbours and asked them for their reactions on the filmy love story.

It turns out, Sachin’s neighbours are not very happy about the couple. They have been saying all the mean things about Seema, commenting on her age, and her ‘audacity’ in coming to India leaving behind a husband in Pakistan.

The feisty UP ladies in the neighbourhood did not mince words while expressing their displeasure over the strange love story.

As the reactions started going slowly viral, a good samaritan on Twitter collected all the videos and posted them together.

Here are some of the most popular reactions from Sachin’s neighbours. Apparently, body weight is a serious issue for the neighbourhood ladies and they had already dismissed Sachin as a non-significant person. They are utterly shocked and surprised how the non-significant Sachin, who apparently does not even speak much, managed to ‘patao’ a woman like Seema, and made her cross the borders from Pakistan to India via Nepal.

‘Pav bhar ka Sachin, 5 kilo ki Seema’

“Wo Sachin ki kya ho jayegi? Pao bhar ka toh Sachin hai, 5 kilo ki Seema hai. Kisi din daba ke baith gayi toh Sachin ki awaz bhi na nikle”, said one neighbourhood Bhabhi sneering. It roughly translates as “How can she become Sachin’s partner? He barely weighs 250 grams, Seema weighs 5 kgs (in comparison). If she sits on him someday, the poor boy won’t be even able to speak out for help. “

Pyar ne Seema ko Seema Paar karwa diya?

Another neighbourhood bhabhi was suspicious of Seema’s intentions. She was curious how did she manage to cross the borders and come to India. “Can you cross the border with just love? Why don’t any of you people try it? Why did not Sachin go to Pakistan if love is the only thing one needs to cross borders? Can any of our young men enter Pakistan?”

Mr. Doval and the BSF should contact this Bhabhi for any available job offers.

‘She has been married twice, Sachin is a punctured tire’

Another Bhahi was the personality development specialist. She opined that considering Seema’s wide experience in romantic relationships and marriage, Sachin was no match for her. The reporter asks if she is disapproving of the relationship because Seema is beautiful and Sachin does not have a good ‘personality’. To which the woman kindly replies, “Sachin is half her age, He is barely an adult. How will it look ok if some woman of my age runs away with a boy half her age?”

The most viral of all: ‘Lappu sa Sachin, Jhingur sa ladka’

Among the plethora of caustic remarks against Sachin and Seema, came a blockbuster. One Bhabhi in a green saree, with formidable oratory skills, shared the most viral dialogue of the last few weeks in the Indian social media space.

“Sachin? Kya hai Sachin main? Lappu sa Sachin hai, bolna usko aave na, bolta toh vo hai na. Jhingur sa ladka hai, usse pyar ho gaya isko”

The short 9-second clip has now gone viral all over Indian social media.

Lappu is a local version of ‘Pappu’ while jhingur means cricket. We are not sure why the poor boy is being compared to an insect.

Someone swapped the Bhabhi’s face with Smriti Irani’s face, and used the legendary remarks for Rahul Gandhi.

A woman found therapy in the statement. She shared that ‘Lappu sa, jhingur sa ladka’ can be totally used to tell oneself to get over an ex.

Someone decided to go graphic and provided a sample of a jhingur.

One of the wittiest posts came from the handle ‘EducatedMoron, which reminded us that this is exactly how NASA had revoked the planet status of Pluto back in 2006.

Music producer Yashraj Mukhate, who immortalized ‘Rasode main koun tha’, has gone a step ahead and has created a song out of it. Yes. Lappu sa Sachin, jhingur sa ladka’ is now a catchy song.

Seema Haidar has been showered with gifts and as per reports, has even been offered a role in a movie. Amid all this, the super-talented bhabhi in Sachin’s neighborhood has proven that she is no less a star.

There is a philosophy in all this. A jhingur sa ladka should never be underestimated, and neither should the demure Seemas. The way things are going, however, it won’t be surprising if political parties flock to hire the green saree Bhabhi ji for election campaigning. ‘Lappu sa toh candidate hai, jhingur sa’, sounds like a very effective jibe against a political opponent.

Though we are not experts in Urdu poetry, Googling ‘jhingur’ took us to Rekhta, where there is a Shayari on jhingur, yes, jhingur.

ilm meñ jhīñgur se baḌh kar kāmrāñ koī nahīñ
chaaT jaatā hai kitābeñ imtihāñ koī nahīñ

Apparently, this means that the ‘jhingur’ is the most fortunate in matters of study because it consumes book after book but never has to write an exam. We are not sure what this exactly means. But since it is Urdu poetry, it must be heavy philosophical stuff.

Seema Haider was arrested on July 4 from Palwal in Haryana by Noida Police in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh police had also registered an FIR against Seema Haider’s boyfriend Sachin and Sachin’s father Netrapal under Section 120B of the IPC and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 for conspiracy.

Seema Haider grabbed headlines after she was arrested on July 4, for illegally entering India. She was later released on bail on July 7. The Pakistani woman had entered India via Nepal around a month ago with her four children to be with her lover, Sachin Meena, in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida.

West Bengal: NIA arrests TMC worker Islam Chowdhury – the key conspirator in the 2022 Bengal Explosives Seizure Case in Birbhum

OpIndia Staff
-
0
West Bengal: NIA arrests TMC worker Islam Chowdhury – the key conspirator in the 2022 Bengal Explosives Seizure Case in Birbhum

On Friday, 4th August 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a Trinamool Congress worker named Islam Chowdhury in connection with the case involving the illegal consignment of explosive materials. According to the probe agency, Islam Chowdhury played a crucial role as a key conspirator and facilitator in the supply of explosives in the 2022 incident.

Islam Chowdhury was arrested after the NIA conducted a raid in West Bengal’s Birbhum district. The raid was based on information obtained from another arrested TMC leader, Manoj Ghosh. Manoj Ghosh had won during the recently-concluded panchayat elections in the state. Ghosh was arrested by the NIA for possessing illegal explosive materials and firearms in his godown.

According to a spokesperson of the NIA, during the raid in Birbhum, the agency seized Rs 1.50 lakh in cash, bank transaction documents, paper slips with mobile numbers, SIM cards, three mobile phones, and incriminating documents. In a statement, the NIA revealed that the arrest of Islam Chowdhary was a result of the interrogation of two other accused individuals, Merajuddin Ali Khan and Mir Md Nuruzzaman. They had been nabbed earlier by the NIA.

According to the NIA, its investigations have unveiled the significant involvement of Islam Chowdhary as a conspirator and facilitator in the supply of explosives in the case. The agency registered the case in September 2022, after the seizure of a substantial cache of electric detonators and explosives.

In the Md Bazar Police Station area of Birbhum, a team of the Special Task Force (STF), West Bengal, conducted a raid and initially seized around 81,000 electric detonators from a vehicle, leading to the arrest of the driver, Ashish Keora. Following this operation, subsequent searches were carried out, uncovering an additional 2,525 electric detonators, 27,000 kg of ammonium nitrate, and 1,625 kg of gelatin sticks. Among the findings were also one pistol with a magazine and 4 live rounds of ammunition, 16.25 kg of gelatin sticks (totalling 130), and a bag containing 50 kg of ammonium nitrate from illegal godowns. As a result of these searches, law enforcement apprehended additional suspects. The NIA continues its ongoing investigation into the case.

AAP leader who instigated the Islamist mob to kill Pradeep Kumar during Nuh violence has links with Nikita Tomar murder accused and Congress: Read how

राहुल पाण्डेय
-
0
AAP leader who instigated the Islamist mob to kill Pradeep Kumar during Nuh violence has links with Nikita Tomar murder accused and Congress: Read how

Earlier in the day, OpIndia accessed the FIR filed in the brutal killing of Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Kumar. Kumar was the third Hindu who fell prey to Islamist violence that convulsed Haryana on July 31 following an attack on a Hindu precession in the Nuh district.

The FIR was filed by Pawan Kumar, another Bajrang Dal activist who was accompanying Pradeep Kumar when he was attacked and killed. Pawan Kumar, in his complaint named one Javed Ahmed as the prime accused. OpIndia in its report gave ample evidence to prove that the accused Javed Ahmed is a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Now, according to new details that have emerged in the case, Javed Ahmed, the AAP leader, also has links with Tauseef, the prime accused in the Nikita Tomar murder case. Javed Ahmed is the uncle of Tauseef alias Sajeed, who was caught on camera shooting Nikita Tomar.

It may be recalled that in October 2020, a 21-year-old student named Nikita Tomar was shot dead in full public view by two men outside the Aggarwal College in Ballabgarh, Faridabad. The brutal murder made national headlines after CCTV footage of the murder emerged. The family of Nikita Tomar had alleged that Tauseef was forcing her to convert to Islam and marry him.

The accused had allegedly started hounding her and pressuring her to embrace Islam. The relative confirmed that the accused initially wanted to abduct her but killed her when she resisted his demands.

As the investigation into the case progressed, details of Tauseef’s political connections came to the fore.

OpIndia had then, in one of its reports on Nikita Tomar’s murder case detailed how Tauseef’s uncle Javed Ahmed had out rightly denied the allegations of Love Jihad and said that there was no angle of religious conversion in the matter. That time, Javed Ahmed had contested the election from Sohna on Bahujan Samaj Party’s ticket.

In fact, a report published by Dainik Bhaskar in the year 2020, when the Nikita Tomar murder happened, also identified Javed Ahmed, who was then a Bahujan Samaj Party leader, as Tauseef’s uncle. The report shared the picture of Javed Ahmed and carried the headline in Hindi, which roughly translated to “Nikita Tomar murder: Tauseef’s uncle BSP leader Javed Ahmed joins investigation, records statement.”

Screenshot of the Dainik Bhaskar report published in 2020, soon after the murder of Nikita Tomar

Another report published by Newstrack also identified Javed Ahmed as Tauseef’s uncle. Since he was associated with the Bahujan Samaj Party then (in 2020), these reports mention him as a BSP leader.

On March 14, 2022, however, Javed Ahmed who was previously Sohna assembly’s BSP candidate joined AAP during an event held at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headquarters in Delhi.

While searching, OpIndia also came across a press note released by the Aam Aadmi Party, Haryana unit on August 2, 2022, which announced Javed Ahmed’s appointment as the state coordinator of AAP’s minority cell.

AAP leader Javed Ahmed’s link with Nikita Tomar’s murder accused Tauseef and the Congress connection

Interestingly, OpIndia also accessed a photo where AAP leader Javed Ahmed is seen sitting with his brother and Congress leader Zakir Hussain.

AAP leader Javed Ahmed with brother and Congress leader Zakir Hussain

It may be noted here that while covering the Nikita Tomar murder case, OpIndia had detailed how Tauseef, the prime accused in the case, reportedly belongs to a family of influential Congress politicians.

Here it would be interesting to note that Zakir Hussain, whom you can see sitting beside AAP leader Javed Ahmed in the picture above is the father of Tauseef, accused of killing Nikita.

According to reports, Tauseef is the grandson of Kabir Ahmed, a Congress leader who was elected as an MLA from Haryana’s Nuh constituency in 1975 and from the Tauru constituency in 1982. He continued to be Khanpur and Raisika village sarpanch for almost 20 years. Khanpur and Raisika are located in Nuh Tehsil of Mewat district in Haryana.

Moreover, Tauseef’s late uncle Khurshid Ahmad was a Congress MP of Haryana and was an ex-Cabinet minister of Haryana. Khurshid Ahmed’s son and Taufeeq’s cousin brother Aftab Ahmed was elected as MLA from Nuh, Mewat on the ticket of the Congress Party and has been a Minister as well.

Report published by Zee News in 2020 explaining Nikita Tomar’s murder accused Tauseef’s Congress connection

So with the information shared above, it is evidently clear that the AAP leader Javed Ahmed, who is currently the prime accused in the Pradeep Kumar murder case is a close relative of Tauseef, the prime accused in the Nikita Tomar murder case and belongs to a family of Congress veterans and leaders.

AAP leader Javed Ahmed led the Islamist mob which killed Pradeep Kumar during Nuh violence: What does the FIR say

Notably, the FIR filed in the Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Kumar’s murder case, whom Islamists ruthlessly killed him on the intervening night of July 31 (Monday) and August 1 (Tuesday), while he was returning from the police station during the Nuh violence, the complainant, Pawan Kumar, stated that the mob had launched the vicious attack on Pradeep Kumar and other Bajrang Dal members accompanying him, on Javed Ahmed’s orders.

Pawan Kumar further stated that Javed Ahmed, who was leading the mob shouted- “Kill them all, I will take care of the consequences.”

“Responding to the clarion call made by Javed Ahmed, 20-25 Islamists armed with iron rods, stones, guns and other weapons rushed towards us and started thrashing us,” he added in the FIR.

Since the FIR only mentioned the name of the accused, OpIndia, in its effort to try and get some more information about him, spoke to the complainant Pawan Kumar.

Pawan Kumar confirmed to OpIndia that Javed Ahmed in no other than the Aam Aadmi Party leader from the Sohna constituency in Haryana. He said that he was the one who had orchestrated the crowd and instigated them to launch a murderous attack on Pradeep Kumar and other Bajrang Dal activists.

Pawan Kumar continued, “The Islamist mob responded to his clarion call and charged at us and other defenceless Hindus present there while shouting ‘Allah hu Abar’ and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.”

When we asked Pawan Kumar if he was certain that the AAP leader was leading the Islamists, he responded in the affirmative. He claimed that he recognises him very well since he has often seen him and his family members moving around through the lanes of Haryana’s Sohna district.

Maharashtra police register abetment of suicide case against 5 persons over death of art director Nitin Desai

ANI
-
0
Maharashtra police register abetment of suicide case against 5 persons over death of art director Nitin Desai

Raigad police officials have registered a case against 5 people in art director Nitin Desai’s suicide case.

Raigad police said in a statement that a case has been registered on the basis of the complaint of Neha Desai, wife of Nitin Desai.

Police said Neha Desai told them that Nitin Desai died by suicide due to mental pressure from the officials of ECL Finance Company and Edelweiss Group regarding debt recovery.

“Based on the complaint, the police registered a case under sections 306 and 34 of the IPC against 5 people, including officials of ECL Finance Company and Edelweiss,” as per the Police statement.

The Khalapur police are probing the matter.

Desai was found dead on Wednesday in his studio in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, police said on Wednesday. According to the police, Desai’s body was found hanging in his ND Studio in Karjat, some 80 km outside Mumbai. 

The preliminary findings in the postmortem revealed that the cause of death is hanging.

“Postmortem of art director Nitin Desai has been conducted by a team of four doctors. As per preliminary findings, the cause of death is hanging. Further investigation is underway,” police said. 

On Thursday Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that all possible angles will be investigated in the Art Director Nitin Desai’s death case.

While replying to a question in the Maharashtra state assembly, Devendra Fadnavis said, “We will investigate all angles– whether he was pressurised. We will see if any thing can be done for him as far as the studio is concerned. At present we can’t make any announcement on it. We will also investigate the people whom he used to meet too.”

Desai, 57, had worked as an art director in several big-budget films such as ‘Devdas’, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’, ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbai’, and ‘Panipat’. 

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

BJP issues whip to MPs to attend parliament till 11th August, no-confidence motion to come up next week

ANI
-
0
BJP issues whip to MPs to attend parliament till 11th August, no-confidence motion to come up next week

Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday issued a three-line whip to its Lok Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House from August 7 to August 11 as some bills apart from the no-confidence is due to come in the House next week. 

The debate on the no-confidence motion against the BJP-led government is likely to take place on August 8 and 9 in the Lok Sabha and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to give a reply on August 10.

The no-confidence motion moved by opposition parties belonging to I.N.D.I.A was accepted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla last week.

The opposition had given notice for the no-confidence motion after days of protest over their demand for a detailed discussion on violence in Manipur and a statement from the Prime Minister.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi had given notice for a no-confidence motion on July 26 on behalf of opposition parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) alliance.

After the motion was admitted, the Speaker said that the day and time of the debate will be decided later.

The government has said it is ready for debate on the no-confidence motion. The monsoon session will conclude on August 11. 

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

Nuh violence: How The Quint’s Fatima Khan remembered Imam but turned non-Muslim victims into nameless, unknown ‘locals’

Amit Kelkar
-
0
Nuh violence: How The Quint’s Fatima Khan remembered Imam but turned non-Muslim victims into nameless, unknown ‘locals’

Days after Islamists executed a sinister pre-planned conspiracy to attack Hindu devotees of Jalabhishek Yatra in Haryana’s Nuh, their intellectual allies among the Left ecosystem, who are always ready to shield Islamists, made a beeline to soft-pedal their role and portray Muslims as the predominant victims of the violence. The Quint, in its recent article authored by one Fatima Khan, slyly tried to push the propaganda of Muslim victimhood concerning Nuh violence.

While reporting about the victims of the violence that engulfed Nuh, a Muslim-majority region in Haryana’s Mewat district and known for cow smuggling, love jihad, and assorted criminal activities, The Quint writer deviously mentioned the identity of the lone Muslim victim while describing the other dead as mere “locals” and “home guards”.

“A total of five have been reported dead in the state so far, including two home guards and two locals in Nuh and one Naib Imam in Gurugam’s Sector 57,” read The Quint article that also sought to deny Yatris were held hostage at the temple by Islamists.

OpIndia debunked the claim here, referring to the temple priest who said that his statement was misused by the leftists to spread propaganda.

It is worth noting that while Naib Imam was named as a victim, the others killed due to violence were reduced to being just ‘home-guards’ or ‘ locals’ as if they had no names and no religious identities.

The Quint and Fatima Khan perhaps did not bother mentioning the religious identities of two home guards and the two locals killed due to the Islamist violence because, after all, they were not Muslims and citing their identities would puncture the narrative of Muslim victimhood that they had been assiduously pushing ever since violence first broke in Nuh on July 31.

In fact, they even got the count of victims wrong. Not 5 but 6 people perished in the violence after Islamist mobs, as per a preplanned conspiracy, attacked a Hindu procession that was on its way to Nalhar Shiva Temple.

But since none of the others killed in the violence were Muslims, The Quint and Khan probably did not bother to verify the numbers first, much less reveal their identities.

For the unversed, here’s the lowdown of the remaining 5 non-Muslim victims of Nuh violence

Among those killed by the Islamist mob include two home guards, Neeraj and Gurusewak. Gursewak sustained an injury on his liver which led to his death, as per the post-mortem report. The cause of his injury was blunt force impact as the officials were attempting to control the Islamist mob which went on a killing spree following an attack on a peaceful Hindu Shobha Yatra.

Another Homeguard Neeraj Khan lost his life while trying to do his duty. His autopsy report mentions blunt force impact as the cause of death. Several large-scale injuries were also found on his body indicating the severity of the attack launched at him by the jihadis.

Abhishek Rajput, a Hindu devotee who participated in the Jalabhishek Yatra, was another victim of the bloodthirsty mob of Islamists that not only shot at him but also slit his throat and crushed his head with stones, a stark resemblance to the methods Taliban and ISIS terrorists to kill their victims.

Not just Hindu devotees who participated in the procession but local Hindus, too, were caught in the crosshair of the Islamists, who remained indiscriminate in killing and attacking Hindus regardless of whether they took part in the Jalabhishek Yatra or not. A sweet seller Shakti Saini was also killed by the Islamist mob. As per eyewitness accounts, Saini was abducted from the shop and taken elsewhere and later killed and then the dead body was dumped at the same Badkali square around which his shop was located.

Similarly, Pradeep Kumar, a Hindu devotee and a Bajrang Dal activist, was the sixth victim of the violence that Islamists had planned as an interrogation of the arrested youth has revealed, who confessed that WhatsApp groups were created as early as July 21 to July 23 and responsibilities assigned to group admins to gather stones and collect glass bottles to attack Hindu procession scheduled to take place on July 31.

Pradeep Kumar, as per an eyewitness account, was rescued safely from the Nalhar temple, where several Hindus were hiding to save themselves from the Islamist mob, and brought to the Nuh police lines. The Islamists, however, ruthlessly killed him on Tuesday, August 1, while he was returning from the police station. 

Kapil Tyagi, another Bajrang Dal activist who was accompanying Pradeep Kumar when he was attacked and killed, spoke to Opindia. Recalling how the murderous Islamist mob launched a vicious attack on their car while they were returning from Nuh police lines in the early hours of Tuesday, Kapil Tyagi said that it appeared as if these Islamists were waiting in ambush the entire night. “When they saw our car, they launched a murderous attack on us. Pradeep Kumar, who could not defend himself due to being badly injured, died.” Kapil Tyagi also suffered a lot of injuries in this attack and is undergoing treatment.

The duplicity of leftwing media when victims are Hindu and perpetrators are Muslims

Ever since PM Modi ascended to the country’s highest office, the leftwing media has been consciously driving a narrative of Muslim victimhood—to allege that Muslims are perpetually facing the threat of persecution under the BJP government. This narrative demands the dehumanising of Hindu victims of Islamist violence while whitewashing Islamists of the religious fanaticism they routinely indulge in.

Last year, when Mohammed Zubair’s dog-whistling against Nupur Sharma triggered Sar Tan Se Juda violence by Islamists across the country, leading to the deaths of at least 6 Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal, Umesh Kolhe, etc., the left-leaning liberals invested all their energies in painting a target behind Nupur Sharma and accusing her of making derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad without once fact-checking her comments. The victims such as Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe hardly featured in their discourse. And when they did talk about them, it was only to blame Nupur Sharma for their deaths, conveniently giving a clean chit to Zubair and the Islamists who were responsible for their brutal murders.

Apparently, for the Indian Left, Hindu victims of hate crime, be it Kanhaiya Lal, Kishan Bharwad, Umesh Kolhe, Abhishek Rajput, Pradeep Kumar, or Shakti Saini, are just a mere statistics, whose deaths do not evoke the same degree of poignancy as someone like Naib Imam’s death does, because they are kaafirs after all.

Karnataka: BJP delegation meets governor urging SIT probe into the Udupi college washroom video case

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Karnataka: BJP delegation meets governor urging SIT probe into the Udupi college washroom video case

As Karnataka Police tries to bury the Udupi washroom video case calling it a ‘prank’, BJP today urged the governor to intervene in the matter. A delegation of BJP MLAs met Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Friday and requested him to order the state government to conduct an SIT probe into the matter.

Senior BJP leader Kota Shrinivas Poojari, who led the delegation said, “Unfortunately, the government is conducting an investigation by a Deputy Superintendent level officer. If there is pressure from the government, a proper investigation by a Deputy Superintendent level officer is impossible. Therefore, we have demanded an SIT probe.”

Poojari said that the home minister of the state have taken the issue as a joke, and CM Siddaramaiah has also not taken the case seriously. “As the government was hesitant on the issue, today we met the Governor, and requested him to direct an SIT probe”, he added.

The BJP leader said that the governor was told about deteriorating law and order situation, chaotic atmosphere in Karnataka and the bail given to the girl students who filmed the video. He  also appraised the governor about the possibility of connections of the accused girls with banned group PFI. “We have requested to issue directions for a SIT probe, for a comprehensive investigation,” he said.

In response, the governor assured that he will issue appropriate directions, he added.

However, responding to the protest by BJP, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “Nobody had lodged the complaint– either parents of the so called victim or the so called victim. The police had registered the case suo-moto against the three accused persons, they are out on bail now. The case is entrusted to a DySP level officer, who is investigating it.”

“Whoever has committed an offence will be punished in accordance with law. We have already taken steps, the investigation is on by a DySP level officer. Let the chargesheet come, let the investigation complete, we will take action,” the CM added. 

Notably, in Udupi, videos of Hindu girls were recorded in the women’s washroom of Netrajyoti College in Udupi by 3 Muslim women. The college management supposedly conducted an inquiry into the matter and concluded that the video had been deleted, closing the case. However, the case assumed massive proportions after several social media users, including Rashmi Samant and Shefali Vaidya, raised the matter and demanded an impartial inquiry into the matter. Following the public outrage, two suo moto cases have been registered at the Malpe Police Station in the Udupi district. The FIR was registered against the 3 Muslim women and the college administration also for the destruction of evidence and for not providing information to the police.

1...1,9031,9041,905...7,600Page 1,904 of 7,600