In the latest incident of love jihad, Ajith, a resident of Hosaguddadahalli in Bengaluru, Karnataka has charged that his friend Salman brainwashed his wife and “snatched” her from him. The couple has been married for three years.
The husband who is an employee at a private factory, informed that his wife has been a victim of love jihad, which brought the issue to light on 13 July, according to an IANS report. He mentioned that as a close associate of his family, the accused had stepped in and settled issues between the married pair. However, he used the opportunity to manipulate the woman and established a relationship with her.
The affair was revealed after Ajith received images of the two in a semi-naked position. He was startled at the shocking development as his wife was his childhood sweetheart. The duo got married against fierce parental opposition. Their marriage was registered at a sub-registrar’s office in August 2020.
Ajith had also known Salman since they were children and both of them had been companions as well as colleagues in a factory. When Ajith had gone to Tamil Nadu with Salman, he used to call his wife using Samlan’s phone. Furthermore, he also asked her to make calls on Salman’s phone.
Ajith complained that after this, Salman started calling his wife regularly and grew intimate with her. He started referring to her as his sister by him when he initially started visiting Ajith’s house.
His wife left for her parent’s home in April and later refused to return back to him. He pleaded with her to come back to him, and allegedly even thrashed her. After this incident, he found pictures of her pursuing an illicit relationship with Salman.
When Ajith questioned her about the photographs, she demanded a divorce from him instead. He further added that his wife is vocal about her desire to be with Salman. According to Ajith, she is now a victim of love jihad. He maintained that Salman befriended his spouse by first addressing her as his sister, afterwards, he brainwashed her and is now posting their private and intimate moments on social media.
When asked about the incident, the woman responded by saying that her husband had introduced her to Salman. She claimed that Salman has brought her peace of mind. Moreover, Salman insisted that he hasn’t brainwashed his friend’s wife. He remarked, “There is no such thing as love jihad in this case.”
Hindu organisations, on the other hand, have denounced the instance and urged the woman to get back with her life partner. They also declared that she was a victim of love jihad and forewarned her that she would later regret her choice. There hasn’t yet been a complaint made about the matter to the police and more details are awaited.
‘Sound of Freedom’ is a recent movie that became a success in the USA but has been mired in controversy. The film starring American actor Jim Caviezel is a cinematic depiction based on the life of Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security operative who is on a mission to end child sex trafficking. After quitting his job as a Homeland Security agent, Tim Ballard founded an anti-human trafficking organization, Operation Underground Railroad (OUR).
The Alejandro Monteverde directorial draws attention to the prevalent menace of child sex trafficking and exploitation in the West. The fictionalized depiction of Tim Ballard’s work as an anti-child sex trafficking crusader revolves around Ballard (Jim Caviezel) setting out on a perilous expedition to rescue a girl from child traffickers. To save the young girl trapped in a Colombian jungle, he quits his work and risks his life.
In simple words, child sex trafficking can be described as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a minor for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
Sound of Freedom has been a target of criticism and scrutiny by the leftist media which has accused actor Jim Caviezel of having ties with the QAnon conspiracy theorists and claimed that the movie also is linked to the alleged ‘conspiracy theory’.
QAnon, Jim Caviezel and the Sound of Freedom
Before moving ahead, it is pertinent to understand what QAnon is and why is ‘controversial’. The word “QAnon” refers to an assortment of internet conspiracy theories that claim that a group of pedophiles who worship Satan run the United States. These include Democrat leaders US President Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, George Soros, and many Hollywood celebrities as well, as per QAnon. QAnon first appeared in October 2017
It asserts that Donald Trump was “recruited” to run for president by the US military, which is said to be eager to see the deep state overthrown. However, the deep state, which controls the media, soon attempted to discredit him by spreading fake news and baseless claims of his collusion with Russia.
“The Passion of the Christ” actor Jim Caviezel, appeared on Steve Bannon’s podcast last month to promote “Sound of Freedom.”
In the podcast, Caviezel mentioned adrenochrome— a hormone that QAnon followers claim is harvested from young victims as a purported elixir for prolonging life. “Couple of years ago, I’m talking about adrenochrome, you can’t say that word,” Caviezel said.
Caviezel also talked about controversial billionaire George Soros saying that he owns companies like The Daily Beast—an American news website that had fun “tearing” him apart.
In the July 11 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, Caviezel refuted the allegations of the film Sound of Freedom aligning with the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Apart from Caviezel, Tim Ballard has also dismissed the allegations of the film’s QAnon connection.”I can’t explain it and neither can they. Every show I’ve seen they just like to throw the word out QAnon, they make zero connection to the actual story,” Ballard said.
Left media lobby’s denial and dismissal of child sex trafficking issue
A significant section of the American media has been desperately trying to downplay the issue of child trafficking and sexual abuse. Rolling Stone, a prominent American monthly magazine in a recent article called child sex trafficking as a “grossly exaggerated epidemic”. Rolling Stone also called the movie a QAnon-tinged thriller.
The article also bemoans that raising awareness of the issue will divert attention from issues like “mass shootings, a lack of healthcare, and climate disasters,” while criticizing the movie’s “hackneyed white savior narrative.”
REVIEW: 'Sound of Freedom,' the QAnon-tinged thriller about child-trafficking, is designed to appeal to the conscience of a conspiracy-addled boomer. https://t.co/69NBNFZYVe
While the issue of mass shootings definitely is a major concern in the US, it does not mean that other issues like child trafficking should be sidelined.
By presenting similar dubious allegations about connections between the film’s makers and QAnon, CNN tried to deter viewers from watching Sound of Freedom. The CNN anchor insinuated that the film has the “kernel of truth that feeds the QAnon conspiracy.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) July 8, 2023
In response to the QAnon allegations made during the aforementioned CNN show, Tim Ballard stated in one of the CNN shows that “It’s embarrassing and simply grotesque for this guy who knows nothing to start throwing out terms like QAnon and connecting it to a real story.”
Tim Ballard shreds CNN for slandering Sound of Freedom as a "QAnon film."
"It’s embarrassing and simply grotesque for this guy who knows nothing to start throwing out terms like Qanon and connecting it to a real story." pic.twitter.com/d9WwhBc93y
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) July 10, 2023
The Eduardo Verastegui-produced thriller was dubbed a “paranoid” new film by The Guardian, which claimed that while conspiracy theories “scaremongering” about Jewish and transgender communities do not appear in the film, they “lurk in the shadows around a film outwardly non-insane enough to lure in the persuadable.”
“Money leads back to a more unsavory network of astroturfed boosterism among the far-right fringe, a constellation of paranoids now attempting to spin a cause célèbre out of a movie with vaguely simpatico leanings,” The Guardian piece read.
Guardian’s article calling the Sound of Freedom a ‘paranoid’ movie
Apart from linking Sound of Freedom with QAnon, the leftist media has also been raising questions over the veracity of the work done by Operation Underground Railroad and Tim Ballard in battling child sex trafficking.
Whilst CBS News jumped on the “conspiracy theory” bandwagon in regards to Sound of Freedom, they had complimented Ballard’s efforts nine years earlier in a child-rescue mission remarkably similar to one of the scenes depicted in the film.
Taking to Twitter, one Melissa Tate pointed out that the same media which covered Ballard’s story of activism against child sex trafficking in 2014 now calls Sound of Freedom a ‘conspiracy theory’.
In 2014 CBS did a segment applauding Sound of Freedom ’s Tim Ballard’s work against child trafficking.
Almost 10 years later the same media is calling the film inspired by his work, “paranoid” “Qanon conspiracy Why? pic.twitter.com/I8Onud4sQ3
A Rolling Stonearticle citing anti-trafficking ‘experts’ asserts that Sound Of Freedom relied on dubious source materials insinuating that the film is far from true.
However, Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) on its website has specifically mentioned which incidents depicted in the film are real and which ones are a result of creative liberties taken by the makers. OUR also elaborated on characters in the film that are real and the ones that are fictionalized.
A Rebel Newsreport citing the moviegoers stated that there is a lack of coverage in the mainstream media regarding the child sex trafficking issue.
When asked about why the media is attacking the film Sound of Freedom, Tim Ballard said, “I cannot understand…the film was made, produced, written five-six years before anyone heard the name QAnon. I still don’t know what QAnon is, they are trying to connect it to a true story. These are real kids (victims) and it’s going to be weird when the media comes after them accusing them of being part of some conspiracy while they were rescued from a life of rape.
‘Leftist media does not want the issue of child sex trafficking discussed’
Ballard alleged that the media does not want to have a discussion on this burning issue of child sex trafficking. He also highlighted that over 85000 children are missing due to trafficking and illegal immigration over the past two years.
“These media outlets don’t want to have a discussion that this film is going to compel. A discussion about how 85000 children showed up unaccompanied at the border and sent into a country that is the highest consuming country for child exploitation material on the planet,” Ballard said.
He further slammed the media publications criticizing Sound Of Freedom saying that they are trying to normalize pedophilia by coining terms like “minor-attracted person” for pedophiles.
“This film is going to throw light on the atrocities happening to children so they are trying to discredit the film by lying about it,” Ballard added as he criticized policies sexualizing children.
It is understandable why the Leftists appear antagonistic toward concerns about child trafficking.
The left apparently fails to comprehend the issue outside of their own ideological filters. Recently, California Assembly committee members, mostly Democrats and one Republican blocked a bill aiming to make child sex trafficking a “serious felony”. Senate Bill 14 if passed would have incurred the death penalty and life imprisonment for those convicted of child sex trafficking.
Moviegoers allege desperate attempts to hinder the screening of Sound of Freedom in theatres
Several videos have gone viral on social media, implying that people were being pushed out of watching Sound of Freedom at AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas venues in various ways, Newsweek reported. One TikTok user claimed that her theatre was evacuated without explanation, while another reported that the air conditioner in their showing was damaged, making it “unbearably hot.” The claims, however, were denied by AMC CEO Adam Aron.
Popular Twitter handle Libs of TikTok shared a video saying that “weird things are happening in theatres while trying to see the Sound of Freedom movie.”
In a TikTok video that has received over a million views, a woman named Stephanie Smith stated on Tuesday that she “just experienced a conspiracy theory in person for the first time ever” as she attempted to watch the film at a theatre (name not mentioned).
Multiple reports of weird things happening in theaters while trying to see the Sound of Freedom movie.
Smith claimed that “after about 15 minutes, someone came in and they turned the movie off.”
Despite the Leftist media’s attempts to dismiss the movie, it has been a great success
Despite the attempts at hindering the screening of the film, Sound of Freedom is witnessing tremendous success by minting over $50 million ever since its theatrical release on July 4. A major contributing factor to the film’s success is the “Pay it Forward” campaign run by the film’s distributor Angel Studios.
At the end of the film, a short video featuring Jim Caviezel is screened wherein the actor appealed to the audience to make sure the film reaches the masses as he says, “God’s children are not for sale”.
MILLIONS OF CHILDREN ARE TRAFFICKED EVERY YEAR YET HOLLYWOOD DESPERATELY TRIED TO BLOCK THIS FROM THEATERS! Jim Caviezel's Message From The End of Sound of Freedom is EXTREMELY POWERFUL. No Other Way You Can Spend the Next 2 Minutes is More Important Than This! pic.twitter.com/gOlVdpxGHS
Donald Trump to hold a screening of Sound of Freedom
Former President Donald Trump will attend a screening of the film Sound of Freedom at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in the upcoming week. Trump will be accompanied at the screening by the film’s lead Jim Caviezel and producer Eduardo Verástegui and Tim Ballard, who inspired the film.
Verástegui was previously nominated to Donald Trump’s advisory panel on Hispanic prosperity in 2020, while Tim Ballard was invited to the White House in 2019 to discuss the significance of a border wall between the United States and Mexico.
Elon Musk backs Sound of Freedom
Twitter owner and CTO Elon Musk recently offered the film Sound of Freedom free promotion on Twitter.
“I recommend putting it on this platform for free for a brief period or just asking people to subscribe to support (we would not keep any funds),” Musk replied to the movie’s tweet on June 13.
I recommend putting it on this platform for free for a brief period or just asking people to subscribe to support (we would not keep any funds)
It is worth noting that Musk has prioritized eliminating child sexual exploitation content on the platform ever since he acquired Twitter last year.
The leftist media’s desperation in downplaying and demeaning a film raising awareness about child sex trafficking demonstrates not only their perverse mindset but also their intolerance for anything that contradicts their ideology and views.
In a horrific event, an Indian student was brutally beaten by a mob of Khalistani sympathisers in Sydney, Australia. The 23-year-old student was critically injured and was immediately taken to the Westmead Hospital where he is being treated now. Australia Today reported the incident, not disclosing the name of the victim on request.
The student confirmed that he was attacked by four to five Khalistani sympathisers. He mentioned that apart from studying, he is also working as a driver. When he got into his car on Friday morning, attackers arrived and started assaulting him. He was hit with a metal rod on his left face by one of the attackers who had opened the car door. After that other attackers struck him with sticks. Some of them, according to reports, recorded the event.
“Today, morning at 5.30 am when I was going to work some 4-5 Khalistan supporters attacked me. I work as a driver and my vehicle was parked just 50 metres from where I live. As soon as I sat in my driving seat these Khalistan supporters came out of nowhere,” the victim was quoted as saying.
“They opened the driver-side door and dragged me out of the vehicle and started beating me with iron rods. Two of them were doing video recording on their phones while 4-5 were hitting me from all sides,” he added. He also said that the mob was repeatedly raising the slogan “Khalistan Zindabad”.
The New South Wales (NSW) police were alerted to the occurrence by someone who witnessed the attack, and the police promptly arrived at the scene. The paramedics were promptly summoned by NSW Police, who rushed the victim to Westmead Hospital with critical head, leg, and arm injuries.
NSW Police spokesperson in the statement said, “Shortly after 5.40 am on Friday 14 July 2023, officers attached to Cumberland Police Area Command attended Rupert Street, Merrylands West, following reports of an assault.”
“The 23-year-old was allegedly kicked, punched, and hit with the metal pole repeatedly before the four men left the scene in a grey sedan. The man was taken to Westmead Hospital for treatment. Inquiries are continuing, anyone with information is urged to contact the police,” the statement by the police added.
According to Australia Today, the victim’s arm was split at the elbow area, and he will undergo corrective surgery for the same.
Hinduphobic crimes by pro-Khalistani elements have significantly increased not only in India but all across the world in the name of the Khalistan Referendum. Hindus, their religious places and their religious festivals in countries like Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom are constantly under target.
In the past few months, Australia has seen several separate anti-Hindu attacks on Temples initiated by pro-Khalistani elements living in the country. Around 5 temples, Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple in Brisbane, Kali Mata temple in Melbourne, Hare Krishna Temple in Melbourne, Shiva Vishnu Temple in Melbourne and also BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Melbourne were attacked by Khalistanis.
Also, in January this year, the Khalistani supporters attacked the Indian diaspora in Australia during a referendum called by the banned Sikhs For Justice for the creation of an independent Sikh state.
Notably, PM Modi had taken cognizance of the event and had raised the issue in front of Australian PM Anthony Albanese, who was on a visit to India on March 10. He had said that the Indian community was worried about the attacks. PM Albanese then assured that the safety of the Indian community would be a priority for him.
Also, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement condemning the attack on the Indian community by the extremist Khalistani groups in Australia. The MEA had urged the local authorities to launch an investigation into the case and punish the perpetrators.
The wait is over as the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota as per the scheduled launch time.
The journey from Earth to the moon for the spacecraft is estimated to take about a month and the landing is expected on August 23. Upon landing, it will operate for one lunar day, which is approximately 14 Earth days. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth. Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, will make India the fourth country after US, China, and Russia, to land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon and demonstrate the country’s abilities for safe and soft landing on lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and eventually crashed on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3 will be inserted into the Lunar Transfer Trajectory after the orbit-raising maneuvers. Covering a distance of over 300,000 km, it will reach the Moon in the coming weeks. Scientific instruments onboard will study the Moon’s surface and enhance our knowledge.
Chandrayaan-3 is equipped with a lander, a rover, and a propulsion module. It weighs around 3,900 kilograms.
Moon serves as a repository of the Earth’s past and a successful lunar mission by India will help enhance life on Earth while also enabling it explore the rest of the solar system and beyond.
July 14, 2023 will always be etched in golden letters in the annals of India’s space sector history, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ahead of the launch of much-awaited Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission.
“This remarkable mission will carry the hopes and dreams of our nation,” PM Modi had tweeted earlier.
“Thanks to our scientists, India has a very rich history in the space sector. Chandrayaan-1 is considered to be a path breaker among global lunar missions as it confirmed the presence of water molecules on the moon. It featured in over 200 scientific publications around the world,” PM Modi wrote on Twitter.
“Till Chandrayaan-1, the moon was believed to be a bone-dry, geologically inactive, and uninhabitable celestial body. Now, it is seen as a dynamic and geologically active body with the presence of water and sub-surface ice,” he added, asserting it might be potentially inhabited in the future.
Chandrayaan-2 was equally pathbreaking because data from the Orbiter associated with it detected the presence of chromium, manganese and sodium for the first time through remote sensing. This will also provide more insights into the moon’s magmatic evolution, PM Modi stated.
The key scientific outcomes from Chandrayaan-2 include the first-ever global map for lunar sodium, enhancing knowledge on crater size distribution, unambiguous detection of lunar surface water ice with IIRS instrument and more. The mission has featured in almost 50 publications.
Extending best wishes for the Chandrayaan-3 mission, PM Modi urged people to know more about this lunar mission and the strides India has made in space, science and innovation. “It will make you all very proud,” he added.
Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission’s progress.
K Sivan, former director of ISRO, told ANI that the success of mission Chandrayan-3 will give a morale boost to programmes like Gaganyan, India’s first manned space mission.
Former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, who has been instrumental in the country’s space sector innovation, said on Thursday the Chandrayaan-3 mission is going to be successful and a game-changer event for India.
”Chandrayaan-3 will definitely be a game changer for India and I hope it will be successful. India will become an inspiration to the entire world. Let’s wait for the launch and pray for the best,” Nambi Narayanan told ANI.
“I’m assuming, and I hope that it will be a successful mission. Because whatever the problem in Chandrayaan-2, actually, we corrected the whole thing. From the failure, we have understood all mistakes (on our part),” Narayanan, the recipient of India’s third highest civilian honour, ‘Padma Bhushan’, told ANI.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has found itself in an embarrassing situation yet again, and this time it received a final warning from the Riyadh Airport Authority (RAA) for the non-payment of dues. This incident followed the detention of a Boeing B777 from its fleet at Kuala Lumpur Airport due to a leasing dispute.
The RAA delivered a letter to the PIA administration demanding payment of the six-month outstanding amount. The PIA has until 15 July to settle the 8.2 million Riyal balance that is owed for the charges and other services availed by the aircraft, according to the Saudi Arabian authorities.
The warning letter issued by Riyadh Airport Authority to PIA. (Source: ARY News)
The notice further emphasized the importance of fulfilling financial commitments on time and maintaining a clean record with the airport authority. The carrier’s winter flying schedule could potentially be affected if the deadline is not adhered to.
The warning letter issued by Riyadh Airport Authority to PIA. (Source: ARY News)
Additionally, the Jeddah Airport has warned PIA for failing to pay liabilities. The latter reportedly earned a warning from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) as well.
#BreakingNews: Saudi Arabia issues a final warning to Pakistan airlines; Riyadh Airport Authority issues warning regarding the non payment of dues
It is notable here that Pakistan has been facing a crippling economic crisis.
PIA aircraft seized at Malaysia airport
The non-payment of $4.5 million in debt led Malaysia to seize a Pakistani airliner in May this year. The passengers were left stranded when a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777 was seized at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Later, a different aircraft was used to accommodate the flight’s passengers. The Southeast Asian nation had leased the aircraft to PIA with the registration number BMH.
Similarly, another Boeing 777 was impounded by Malaysian officials for two weeks in 2021 because of an identical issue. Afterward, with 173 passengers and crew members on board, it was released and brought back to Pakistan on 27 January of the same year after receiving a diplomatic guarantee from the country over the settlement of the obligation.
Pandemonium in the Bihar Assembly continued for the fourth day, with BJP MLA Sanjay Singh being thrown out of the house during the session on July 14, Friday. In a video posted by the news agency ANI, several police personnel can be seen picking him up and dragging him away from the Assembly.
Reportedly Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary ordered the Marshalls to evict the BJP MLA as he raised his voice against the high handedness of the Bihar police who had yesterday (July 13) used brute force at the gathering in which BJP leader Vijay Kumar Singh, died at Dakbangla Chauraha in the city.
Speaking to the media after being thrown out of the house, the BJP leader said that he was thrown out on Speaker’s orders when he was condemning yesterday’s incident.
BJP MLA Sanjay Singh said that he was denouncing what happened yesterday, the Speaker suddenly asked the marshals to throw him out of the assembly building and they complied with the order. He added that he was wounded in the incident. Slamming the Nitish Kumar-led Government in Bihar, the BJP MLA lamented how the ruling dispensation was stifling the voices of opposition party members, be it in the Assembly or on the streets. He lamented that Bihar was currently in a state of emergency.
#WATCH मैं कल की घटना का विरोध कर रहा था। मैं पीठ दिखाकर ये बता रहा था कि देखिए कैसे आपकी सरकार ने हम लोगों पर बर्बरतापूर्ण तरीके से लाठी चलाया। मुझे बस ये दिखाना था कि तुरंत अध्यक्ष ने मार्शल को बाहर करने का निर्देष दिया और मुझे जबरन उठाकर बाहर फेंक दिया गया: बिहार विधानसभा से… pic.twitter.com/kHreVFAhpR
Sanjay Singh was not the only BJP MLA who was hauled by the Bihar Assembly Marshalls. In fact, Marshals evicted a couple of BJP MLAs from the Bihar Assembly on Thursday too.
On Thursday, July 13, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders took out a march to protest against the Bihar government over the posting of teachers and the employment issue in the state. Patna police used lathi charge at the gathering in which BJP leader Vijay Kumar Singh, died at Dakbangla Chauraha in the city. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
The police also physically assaulted BJP MP from Maharajganj, Janardan Singh Sigriwal, who suffered grave injuries to his head. The demonstrators were subjected to severe lathi-charge due to which they received multiple injuries.
The BJP MLAs were protesting against the new recruitment policy for teachers when the police unleashed brutality on them. The police also used water cannons and tear gas shells on the protesters while trying to disperse them.
The police in its defence, claimed that they tried to stop the march at the Dak Bungalow crossing, which inflamed the situation. The protesters were stopped from heading towards the restricted VIP area by the police using force.
Notably, the new recruitment policy introduced by the Bihar government has met with a lot of criticism from not only members of the opposition parties but also from teaching job aspirants in the state.
Patna Police lathi-charge CTET aspirants for protesting against state government for ending domicile rule in recruitment
On July 1, the Bihar Police lathi-charged some of the Central Teachers’ Eligibility Test (CTET) candidates as they were protesting against the state government in Patna over the recruitment process. The Bihar police acted against the protesters saying that the protesters were taking to the roads causing traffic jams, stopping school students, and causing damage to the property.
Earlier on June 27, Tuesday, after a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the state government announced that eligible candidates from all states can apply for teaching jobs in the state’s government-run schools.
Before implementing this, there was a rule which mandated that applicants with the domicile of Bihar could only apply for teaching jobs in the state’s government-run schools.
The Central Teacher Eligibility Test, abbreviated to CTET, is a nationwide exam held in India by the Central Board of Secondary Education to ascertain a candidate’s suitability for employment as a teacher.
Earlier the CTET aspirants and State Teacher Eligibility Test (STET) aspirants had launched a protest in March this year urging the government to immediately release the notification for their recruitment under the seventh phase. The protesters had raised slogans against the government and had warned the system to face dire consequences in the forthcoming elections.
Further, in the year 2022, the Patna police had lathicharged and deployed water cannons on hundreds of aspiring teachers protesting against a delay in their recruitment. Several Bihar Teacher Eligibility Test (BTET) and Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) candidates were reported injured and detained during the protest.
The incidents of road rage constituting unnecessary brawls and also serious accidents in some cases are continuing to spring up every day, especially in big cities like Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, etc. After one such incident was reported from Bengaluru, Karnataka the city police have suggested that vehicle owners install dash cameras in their vehicles as a deterrent against miscreants.
This is after a video went viral over the internet from Bengaluru in which the car owner could be seen suffering due to a road rage incident. The car owner was abused, thrashed and also his vehicle was damaged by 3-4 bike riders who initiated the scuffle and then provoked the vehicle owner to engage in a brawl.
Road rage basically means showing aggression on the road. It has become quite common these days. Numerous cases of unnecessary brawls and serious accidents due to road rage are reported these days. In the recent one, a Twitter user happened to share his dreadful experience that happened at Queens Road, Bengaluru in the first week of July.
On July 2, one resident identified as Pranay Kotasthane said that he was attacked by two bike riders while he was in the car at the Queen Road signal. Later the same bike riders attacked him on July 4 below his building. The resident stated that this was a new kind of fraud and that the offenders were identified only because he had a dash camera installed in his car.
Screenshot from Twitter
“We were waiting for the traffic signal to turn green on the Queens Road signal, turning towards Alliance Francaise. After turning, one guy on an Activa stopped us aggressively and started accusing us that our car had gone over his leg. I am a cautious, slow driver, so I was surprised. In any case, I apologised profusely, thinking that I might have made an inadvertent mistake. As soon as I did that, he got more aggressive and started shouting expletives. He clearly wanted me to get out of the car and confront him. But somehow, I maintained my calm and just went ahead. After some distance, he took another route and let us go,” the resident said sharing his experience on Twitter.
He added that on July 4 (Tuesday) at around 5.30 pm, the same thing happened to him, this time on Wheeler Road near Thom’s Bakery. He also happened to identify the attacker and confirmed that he was the same person who had attacked him on July 2 at the Queens Road Signal. “On July 4 (Tuesday) at around 5.30 pm, the same thing happened to me. And guess what. It was the SAME guy again. What are the odds!” he tweeted.
He swerved ahead of my car. And he let another accomplice of his, on another two-wheeler, try the same trick. The guy started banging the car windows and made the same accusation.
Now I was sure that this was a fraud. Luckily, there were quite a few traffic policemen nearby.
Further in the series of tweet he added, “He swerved ahead of my car. And he let another accomplice of his, on another two-wheeler, try the same trick. The guy started banging the car windows and made the same accusation. Now I was sure that this was a fraud.”
The resident then stopped the car near a place where the traffic police were ceasing the vehicles for traffic rule violations. The two two-wheelers seeing this ran away from the spot. On explaining the entire scene to the traffic policeman, Kotasthane was advised to register a police complaint but he could not identify the number plates of the bikes who attacked him.
However, he recalled that he had dash cameras installed in his car which helped him obtain the bike plate numbers and a police complaint was filed. “I had a dashcam on my car and was able to identify the number plate of one of the two fraudsters. Sharing this in case you notice something similar on the roads,” the user wrote.
The Bengaluru Police is said to have taken cognizance of the incident. Following the incident, many Twitter users shared their similar experiences of road rage in Bengaluru.
Please share your contact number via DM.
— ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ BengaluruCityPolice (@BlrCityPolice) July 10, 2023
A few policemen confirming the incident said that the incidents of road rage have increased in the city. “It happens at signals where police are rarely deployed. The miscreants confirm that no police is around before staging these incidents,” the officer was quoted as saying.
Police have also warned residents from confronting strangers or rolling down their windows in their cars during such situations. Instead, they advised making a complaint by driving to the local police station. As a preventative measure against such miscreants, they also have recommended installing dash cameras in cars.
Having video evidence will help catch and then punish the miscreants. The footage will be vital in proving that the car driver was not at fault, and the bikers caused the confrontation intentionally. Moreover, if the goons spot the camera, they may refrain from attacks also. In Western countries, dashcams have become a common feature. Footages of accidents and other such incidents caught on such dashboard cameras routinely go viral on social media.
Banesingh Bapu (84), a former sarpanch and seasoned Congress leader, was assassinated by dacoits in Kacharia Purohit hamlet, Madhya Pradesh, which is at a distance of 6 kilometres from Sarangpur police station. The incident took place late on the night of 13 July.
The dacoits entered the house after midnight and brutally assaulted Banesingh Bapu and his wife with sticks. The Congress leader died in the attack on the spot, as he was hit on his head multiple times. Ladkunwar Bai (82), his wife, also suffered critical injuries in the attack. The attackers then looted jewellery, cash and firearms kept in the house and fled from the spot.
The pair’s son Rajendra Singh said that the accused robbed their residence of roughly 234 grams of gold, 5 kg of silver, two 12-bore guns and around Rs 10 lakh in cash.
Banesingh Bapu, his wife Ladkunwar Bai, their son Rajendra Singh and their daughter-in-law live in a house built on the farm, while their other family members live in a nearby village. On Wednesday night, the son and daughter-in-law were sleeping on the first floor, while the elderly couple were on the ground floor. When in the morning next day the daughter-in-law went to their room with tea at around 6 am, she discovered both her father-in-law and mother-in-law were lying unconscious on the floor.
Police at the deceased Bana Singh’s house. (Source: Nai Dunia)
Seeing this, she started to scream, and Rajendra Singh rushed to the room. He informed the police, who sent the couple to the hospital. However, the doctors declared that Banesingh Bapu was brought dead, and referred Ladkunwar Bai to Bombay Hospital, Indore after initial treatment.
Ashutosh Upadhyay, the police station in charge, Rajgarh District Superintendent of Police Virendra Kumar Singh and several other senior officers arrived at the scene and an investigation is presently underway. In addition to the police team, the crime branch’s special task force, dog squad and forensic team also probed the area’s access points.
SP Virendra Kumar Singh revealed that the perpetrators accessed the house from the back side between 2 am to 3 am and attacked the elderly couple with heavy sticks. It is believed that the gate of the house was open when the latter entered as no evidence of forced entry has been discovered. After hitting the couple with sticks, the dacoits looted gold, cash and guns kept in the room.
The police have now organised various teams to apprehend the thieves. They first thought it to be the work of an outside gang. However, they are confident of arresting them soon.
The teaser of the film ‘Ajmer 92’ is released on 13th July. This hard-hitting movie, produced by Reliance Entertainment in collaboration with U&K Films Entertainment, Sumit Motion Pictures, and Little Crew Pictures, will be released on 21st July 2023.
Based on true events, Ajmer 92 tells the story of the grim plight of as many as 250 girls who were trapped, sexually exploited, and blackmailed for years by many influential men, including Congress leaders and the caretakers of Ajmer Dargah, in the city of Ajmer in Rajasthan in 1992.
The teaser of the film directed by Pushpendra Singh opens with a phone call received by one of the the victim girls of the case. It then runs through the distressing visuals of the atrocities on the victim, tensed families, police officials, and politicians trying to comprehend the breadths and depths of the issue. The teaser spans slightly above one minute and gets hold of the viewer attracting him to the core subject handled in this movie. The film stars Karan Verma, Sumit Singh, Sayaji Shinde, Manoj Joshi, Shalini Kapoor Sagar, Brijendra Kalra, and Zarina Wahab, among others.
The Youtube description of the teaser reads, “The gripping teaser encapsulates the suicides of several minor girls who are raped, leading to widespread panic and hysteria. The story revolves around how grief-stricken girls are blackmailed by powerful men. Ajmer-92′ aspires to ignite a sense of empowerment within women, encouraging them to break their silence and bravely speak out against any form of atrocity.”
The plot of the film uncovers one of the largest rape scandals India has ever witnessed, in which hundreds of girls were blackmailed into being violently raped by influential people with political connections. Many of the girls were from affluent homes, even the daughters of government officers, but the perpetrators kept escaping justice for years.
We have seen many cases of rape, gang rape and exploitation in our country. But the sheer scale and brazen impunity in the Ajmer scandal is something very unusual and had shaken the conscience of the entire country.
The 1992 Ajmer Rape and Blackmail Scandal
In the year 1992, it was revealed that over 250 girls were raped and blackmailed in Ajmer, Rajasthan. The news of the scandal broke after a local paper, ‘Navjyoti’ published some nude images and a story that spoke about school students being blackmailed by local gangs.
It all started with Farooq Chishti grooming a female student of Sophia Senior Secondary School and raping her. He took objectionable photographs of the minor and threatened her to introduce other girls to him. Later, those girls were raped and blackmailed too.
Farooq Chishti was the president of the Ajmer Youth Congress while two other accused, Nafis Chishti and Anwar Chishti were the vice-president and joint secretary respectively of the city Congress unit.
Some of the Chishti Khadims (caretakers) of the Ajmer Dargah were among the accused in this case. The accused Chishtis included Anwar Chishti, Farooq Chishti, and Nafees Chishti.
Numerous girls were trapped, sexually exploited, and blackmailed for years by Farooq Chishti and his gang, including many influential men in the area with political connections. Since the main culprits were associated with the Khadims, the religious caretakers of the Ajmer Dargah, and had power and political links, the matter was suppressed by the police. Reports mention that over the years, many victims had even committed suicide.
The gang and its territory kept growing, adding more pain and suffering. As per reports, all the girls were between the ages of 11 to 20. When the scandal got exposed, the police initially stalled the matter because of political pressure. However, the protests spread rapidly in the region, and eventually, police arrested several accused in the case. After years of investigation, eight of the accused were convicted, including Chishti.
Further investigations led to 18 men in total being charged and tensions ran high in the town for several days. Most of the accused were Muslims, many from the families of Khadims, and most victims were young Hindu girls.
What followed next was another saga of political influence and administrative incompetence. There are speculations that the matter was suppressed to the point that many witnesses and victims turned hostile, and many details got buried. The witnesses and victims were threatened and blackmailed as well to stop them from coming forward. Some of them turned hostile due to social stigma. The case is often compared to the infamous Rotherham Child Sexual Exploitation Scandal in the UK.
The social stigma ran to such an extent that for years after the incident was exposed, people looking for prospective brides in the area used to ask if the girl was one of “those victims”.
The era of telling untold stories
It is notable that in the recent few years, the film fraternity is witnessing the courage of filmmakers to take up less-discussed topics as the core subject of their movies. These filmmakers are addressing the issues which otherwise could never be discussed in the secular liberal establishment during the age-old Congress regime post-independence.
In fact, the whole essence of the way Bollywood portrayed Indic values and awareness can be known from a simple fact that the villains in most of the films were shown as ardent devotees of Hindu deities while any Muslim character was usually shown as an epitome of loyalty. The minority appeasement policies of the Congress governments were rooted so deep even in a creative field like cinema that a separate genre of films called Muslim Socials arose in a country as Hindu in practice as India, if not on paper. Interestingly, there are no Christian Socials or Parsi Socials.
In the past few years, we have seen filmmakers like Vivek Agnihotri, and Sudipto Sen, and producers like Vipul Shah and Abhishek Agrawal who put in their creative efforts and monetary resources to make films that address the uncomfortable realities faced by Indians. Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Tashkent Files’ discussed the mystery behind the death of India’s former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. His next film ‘The Kashmir Files’ was a superhit film. It was based on the Islamic terrorism and genocide of Hindus in Kashmir, a topic that the ‘secular-liberal’ establishment tried its best to dismiss.
Sudipto Sen’s film ‘The Kerala Files’ depicts the issue of sexually profiled religious grooming of non-Muslim young girls in Kerala and their subsequent use as terrorists and suicide bombers and sex slaves in ISIS. Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s film ’72 Hoorain’ was recently released. It discusses the idea of 72 hoors preached by Muslim religious figures to attract Muslim youths to join terrorism. Now, with ‘Ajmer 92’ director Pushpendra Singh is all set to tell the story of the heinous crime that took place in Ajmer in 1992 and was largely ignored by the media and the ‘secular-liberal’ system.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) trial court in Kerala’s Ernakulam has pronounced a life sentence for three of the six Popular Front of India (PFI) cadres convicted a day ago in the 2010 case of attempted murder of a professor by chopping off his palm, the agency said on Friday.
The court pronounced its judgment on Thursday awarding life sentence to Sajil, Najeeb and MK Nazar along with fine of Rs 50,000 each. Other three convicted on Thursday are MK Nausha, PP Moideenkunu and PM Ayoob. They were sentenced to three years imprisonment.
The court also ordered compensation of Rs 4,00,000 to be given to the victim from the fine amount collected.
All the six accused had been convicted under Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act. They were found guilty of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and carrying out terrorist acts.
The National Investigation Agency is still hunting for chargesheeted accused Savad, who was part of the barbaric attack and is currently absconding, and is also a cadre of the banned PFI.
The accused had conspired to kill Professor TJ Joseph by chopping off his right palm over his alleged derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammed in a question paper prepared for the Malayalam examination for B. Com students in Newman College, Thodupuzha in Kerala’s Idukki district.
The accused had deemed the question as provocative and had carried out the barbaric daylight attack on the professor in the presence of his family members on July 4, 2010, said the NIA.
The accused had attacked the professor while the family was returning from church after the Sunday morning mass. The assailants had also hurled a bomb to terrorise the public and escape from the scene.
Kerala Police had, on January 10, 2011 filed a chargesheet against 27 accused persons.
Subsequently, the NIA took over the case and, following extensive investigations and large number of raids, arrested and chargesheeted another 20 accused, in a classic example of 360 degree investigation by the agency.
NIA’s investigation has been focused on uncovering the various facets of the conspiracy and bringing every single conspirator and criminal to face the consequences of his terror and criminal acts in the court of law, while concurrently bringing some solace, succor and closure to the victim’s family.
In April 2015, the NIA special court had convicted 13 accused persons.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
