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Travancore Devaswom Board official arrested for stealing Gold from Sabarimala temple treasury

OpIndia Staff
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Travancore Devaswom Board official arrested for stealing Gold from Sabarimala temple treasury

On Monday, June 19, a 53-year-old man was arrested by the Pampa Police on charges of stealing a gold ornament from the treasury of Sabarimala temple, Kerala. The accused was identified as Rejikumar, a native of Kottayam. 

Reportedly, he is an employee of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB)’s Etumanur Vasudevapuram temple. 

In the CCTV footage, Rejikumar was seen stealing a gold bangle that was donated by a devotee to the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.

The theft came to light from CCTV footage

According to the information, this incident of theft took place on the 16th of June. An official of the Devaswom Board had deposited the gold in the temple’s treasury, but there was no record of it. Afterward, the executive officer of Sabarimala filed a complaint. 

Later, a CCTV footage investigation was conducted under the leadership of Vigilance SI Biju Radhakrishnan. During the investigation, it was revealed that the bangle had been thrown into the garbage by Rejikumar through the conveyor belt in the warehouse and then retrieved from there.

As per media reports, the accused Rejikumar stole a golden bangle weighing 10.950 grams that was donated by a devotee on June 16. The temple administration found out about the theft through the CCTV footage. The ornament had been offered after informing the TDB officials on duty but it was missing from the collection box.

The Bhandaram Special Officer recovered the missing ornament underneath the suspect’s pillow. Subsequently, he was taken into custody by the Devaswom Vigilance.

Official statement

An official said, “The main hundi at the temple sopanam is connected to a conveyor belt that takes the cash and ornaments to a box placed below. When the Devaswom vigilance team inspected the CCTV visuals, they found the accused standing near the box and concealing the ornament in a waste dump. The ornament was later discovered in his room during an inspection.”

Accordingly, the Police lodged a complaint in this matter and arrested the accused Rejikumar. Reports claim that the accused came to Sabarimala temple on a cash-counting duty for the Masa Puja.

A few days earlier, the Sabarimala temple was opened for Mithunamasa pujas. Led by the Temple Chief K. Jayaraman Namboothiri and under the guidance of Tantri Kantarar Rajivara, the Temple shrine was ceremoniously opened, and the lamp was lit. Following the completion of the five days of Puja, the Nata will be closed on the night of the 20th.

Bihar: Government awards Rs 1,600-cr ambulance contract to JD(U) MP’s kin despite Court’s warnings and several red flags

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Government awards Rs 1,600-cr ambulance contract to JD(U) MP’s kin despite Court’s warnings and several red flags

On the 31st of May this year, the Bihar government awarded the Rs 1,600-crore ambulance contract to Patna-based Pashupatinath Distributors Private Limited (PDPL). The contract was awarded to PDPL to operate 2,125 ambulances as part of the Dial 102 Emergency service. Reportedly, the company, PDPL is run by the relatives of JD(U) MP from Jahanabad, Chandeshwar Prasad Chandravanshi.

The State Health Society of Bihar (SHSB), an agency under the Health Department that handles the service, reportedly tweaked norms in the original Request for Proposals (RFP). These modifications were done to renew the 5-year ambulance contract with PDPL. 

The Bihar government conveniently overlooked all the red flags

Despite many red flags, the RJD-JD(U) government decided to renew the contract with PDPL for another five years. The contract allows PDPL to run emergency ambulances across the state. Apart from this, it was for the first time that the state government added a new clause in the contract. This new clause allows it to extend the contract for another three years. 

As per the Indian Express report, to renew PDPL’s contract, the Mahagathbandhan government brushed aside the cautious remarks of the Patna High Court. The coalition government also ignored a series of audits that had flagged irregularities with the company, like missing oxygen, giving expired medicine, allegations of “document leaks” and tweaking the norms of RFP.  

The Indian Express report highlights that the original Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued on the 5th of April, 2022. Afterward, several rules were changed or “tweaked” despite strong objections just to renew the multi-crore ambulance contrast to PDPL which has raised concerns of favouritism and malpractice. 

Several directors of PDPL are family remembers of JD(U) MP Chandravanshi. These include Sunil Kumar, his son; Neha Rani, his daughter-in-law; Monalisha, his daughter-in-law; and Yogendra Prasad Nirala, his brother-in-law. 

Allegations of changing rules, and Norms in RFP

According to the Indian Express report, the initial Request for Proposal (RFP) outlined certain requirements. In the case of a sole bidder, they were expected to have experience in operating and managing a minimum of 750 ambulances (in addition to 50 advanced life support ambulances). Another condition stated that the bidder should also be backed by a call centre with a minimum of 75 seats, operating continuously for three years since 2018-19.

Contrary to the conditions specified in the RFP, independently PDPL had no prior experience running ambulance services in Bihar. Also, it only had a call centre of 50 seats during the stipulated three years. 

As per the report, the State Health Society of Bihar (SHSB) — an agency under the Health Department that handles the service, reduced the earlier specified numbers in RFP. Now, the minimum required capacity has come down from 50 Advanced Life Support ambulances to 40 and the call centre requirement from 75 seats to 50 seats.

IE report further highlighted that as per a corrigendum, a key term was changed in May 2022. In the RFP, the final selection parameter was changed from quality and cost-based selection to the least-cost selection method. 

The initial RFP said, “The final selection of the agency/ bidder shall be as per Quality and Cost Based Selection (a standard practice in hiring an agency with good experience).” 

The corrigendum said, “The final selection of the agency shall be as per the least cost selection method”. 

Resultantly, after the corrigendum, the path was made clear for the lowest bidder.

Allegations of document “leaks”

Earlier, in July 2022, three RJD MLAs, Mukesh Kumar Roshan, Rishi Kumar, and Bhai Virendra, wrote a letter to the then-Bihar Health Minister BJP’s Mangal Pandey. 

They alleged that the bidding documents got “leaked” and called for a fresh bidding process. However, on 9th August 2022, things changed and Nitish Kumar switched sides to form a grand coalition government with RJD and six other parties. Resultantly, Tejashwi Yadav became the Deputy CM and Health Minister of Bihar. Since then, no action has been taken in regard to their complaint.

When asked about the follow-up or action taken so far, RJD’s Maner MLA and party spokesperson Bhai Virendra told The Indian Express that he had done his part by raising the issue but now he has his own limitations as a politician.

Talking to Indian Express, JD(U) MP Chandravanshi said, “It (PDPL) is my relatives’ company and I have no personal say or stake in it.”

On the question of conflict of interest and allegations of favoritism in getting a government contract, he claimed that Nitish Kumar doesn’t favour anyone. 

He said, “We all know Nitish Kumar, he does not favour anyone. PDPL is an established company that was in the petroleum, liquor trading, and transport business and got Dial 102 contract purely on merit. We are now established in ambulance services.”

Court Proceedings in regard to the contract

On the 8th of December, 2022, a two-judge-divisional bench of Patna High Court asserted that since the court is hearing the grievances of the petitioner, the tender may continue but no final decision should be taken by SHSB without leave of the court. The two-judge bench comprised Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Sunil Dutta Mishra.

On the 10th of April, 2023, the state Advocate General PK Shahi requested the High Court to vacate its earlier order dated the 8th of December. AG Shahi also wanted the court to allow the contract to be given to the lowest bidder.

In response, the court inquired which of the two, PDPL or Samman, could carry out the new tender at a lower rate than the current one. Samman willingly agreed and submitted an affidavit affirming their willingness, whereas PDPL declined to do so.

Furthermore, on that very day, the court took notice of the complaint regarding document leaks. The court urged the SHSB to safeguard all the records. Additionally, the court asked the Administrative Officer to explain whether it was permissible for them to disclose specific material information.

A few days later, the court vacated its earlier order dated 8th of December. It stated that it stands modified to the extent that the lowest bidder is permitted to execute the work subject to the outcome of the present writ petition.

However, the consortium of BVG India and Samman went to the apex court and challenged this order. They claimed before the Supreme Court that Samman was not considered the lowest bidder despite its affidavit.

On the 15th of May, the SC bench of Justices A S Bopanna and C T Ravi Kumar made the ruling. It clearly stated that the High Court shall advert to all contentions and consider and dispose of the Writ Petition on its own merits and in accordance with the law.

The SC also directed the High Court to refer to its previous order dated the 10th of April in connection to awarding work to the lowest bidder. Furthermore, the Court mentioned that if the writ petition cannot be resolved immediately, the arguments presented by the petitioners should be taken into account after hearing all the parties involved.

Despite this, on the 31st of May, SHBS executive director Sanjay Kumar Singh wrote a letter to civil surgeons of all 38 Bihar districts. 

He said, “Following interim orders of Patna High Court and legal opinion from learned advocate general, operationalisation and management of a fleet of ambulances and mortuaries vans through an integrated centralized call centre in the state of Bihar under public private partnership (PPP) mode, the contract is awarded to L-1 bidder M/s Pashupatinath Distributors Private Limited, Patna”.

When questioned about why he went ahead with the contract despite the court’s instructions to wait for the petition to be resolved, Singh explained that the state was incurring substantial losses of over Rs 2.5 crore per month due to the delay. 

Singh said, “The state was running an estimated loss of over Rs 2.5 crore per month on account of the delay. So, we went ahead with PDPL, the lowest bidder. As for the SC order asking the Patna High Court to dispose of the matter, the order does not look clear. The SC order did not stay the HC order but asked to consider other aspects. Under these circumstances, we sought the opinion of the A-G and decided to award the provisional contract to PDPL. If the HC orders otherwise, we will comply accordingly.”

Everything about Dial 102 service and who covers the cost of it?

Dialing 102 is like calling for an ambulance when someone is in dire need of medical assistance. When you dial 102, an ambulance is dispatched to transport individuals who are critically ill, pregnant women, and babies to a government hospital, completely free of cost.

Under this service, there are two types of ambulances – Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS). A BLS ambulance has two people on board i.e. a driver and an emergency medical technician. While an ALS ambulance has three people to provide more specialized medical care. These include a driver, an emergency medical technician, and an assistant. 

The ambulances are either owned by the Bihar government or by a consortium/private player. Between 2017 and 2022, the Bihar government provided 400 ambulances, while the PDPL-Samman consortium either rented or purchased 250 ambulances.

For government ambulances, the consortium receives a monthly payment of Rs 1.20 lakh, while for consortium ambulances, the government pays Rs 1.46 lakh per month. It is estimated that each ambulance generates around Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 in revenue per month.

Bihar: Toll plaza employee beaten to death and dumped onto railway tracks by bouncers over suspicion of stealing Rs 50, video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Toll plaza employee beaten to death and dumped onto railway tracks by bouncers over suspicion of stealing Rs 50, video goes viral

A toll plaza employee was beaten by bouncers in the Bhojpur district of Bihar on the suspicion of stealing Rs 50, an official said here on Monday. He added that the victim identified as Balwant Singh later died in his native place Gonda in Uttar Pradesh. He was employed at the Kulharia toll plaza for the last six to seven months.

In the video of the incident that went viral on social media, guard Balwant Singh is allegedly seen getting beaten and threatened by bouncers. The group of men are seen pinning the Arrah toll plaza and blowing punches at him. One man continuously thrashes the employee while the other beat him up mercilessly with a broom. While assaulting him, one of the bouncers takes out a few currency notes from the pocket of the victim.

“Take him back to the toll,” one person can be heard saying in the video.

According to reports, the attackers not only beat him but also threw him onto the railway track near Kulharia railway station.

“We have learnt about the death of a toll plaza employee, named Balwant Singh (35) in his native of Mankapur village in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh. He was deployed at the Kulharia toll plaza.

“A video went viral on social media showing some bouncers thrashing the employee after accusing him of stealing money from the toll kiosk. After the physical assault, Singh returned to Gonda where he died,” the SHO of Koilwar police station said.

“An FIR has been registered in Gonda and the post-mortem was also conducted there. We are waiting for the post-mortem report and FIR. Once we get it, we will analyze the actual cause of his death. If the post-mortem report and FIR puts fingers towards the alleged bouncers, we will take action against them,” he said.

Uttarakhand: Woman throws currency notes on Shivling in Kedarnath, temple authorities order investigation: Watch video

OpIndia Staff
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Uttarakhand: Woman throws currency notes on Shivling in Kedarnath, temple authorities order investigation: Watch video

A woman was seen throwing money at the Shivling in the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand. Officials from the temple have asked the police to take the necessary steps on this issue immediately. The woman’s identity is still unknown. The incident was recorded on camera and later released on social media attracting outrage from the devotees.

The footage not only showed the woman acting improperly inside the sacred premises as she disgracefully threw cash around, but it was also reportedly shot right next to the Shivling, where photography and videography are strictly forbidden.

In a press release that was formally released by the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, temple president Ajendra Ajay acknowledged the viral video and urged the authorities to take appropriate action. He communicated with the district magistrate of Rudraprayag and the superintendent of police to request that she be dealt with swiftly.

Badri-Kedarnath Temple Committee debunks claims of ‘Gold Scam’ at Kedarnath

Earlier, the temple committee of the renowned and revered shrine responded angrily to accusations made on social media that there has been a gold scam at the shrine. Officials from the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) described it as a conspiracy. A

On Thursday (June 15), a video of ‘Acharya’ Santosh Trivedi surfaced on social media wherein he accused the Badri-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) of engineering a ‘gold scam.’

Trivedi, who serves as the Vice-President of Char Dham Tirth Purohit Samaj, claimed that the gold plating inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple has transformed into brass.

Several news publications including Congress mouthpiece National Herald reiterated the allegations levelled by ‘Acharya’ Santosh Trivedi about a supposed gold scam at the Kedarnath temple.

The Committee, which manages the Kedarnath temple, has rubbished the claims of ‘Acharya’ Santosh Trivedi. In a press release on Thursday (June 15), it said, “The work of decorating the sanctum sanctorum of Shri Kedarnath Temple with gold plates was done in the year 2022 with the help of a donor.”

At present, a video is being circulated on social media by some people that gold worth ₹ 1,15,00,00,000 (One Billion Fifteen Crore rupees) has been placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Misleading information is being circulated without facts. Efforts are also being made to hurt the sentiments of the public,” the press release read.

It pointed out, “…The Shri Badri-Kedarnath Temple Committee would like to clarify that a total of 23,777.800 grams of gold has been placed in the sanctum sanctorum of Shri Kedarnath Temple with the help of a donor. The current value of the used gold, according to the market rate is approximately Rs ₹14.38 crores.”

The Badri-Kedarnath Temple Committee added that copper plates along with gold have been used to decorate the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. “The total weight of the copper plates used is 1,001.300 kg, whose total value is ₹29,00,000,” it emphasised.

Greece: Polish woman found dead under a tree on the island of Kos; one Bangladeshi man arrested, his Pakistani roommate under probe

OpIndia Staff
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Greece: Polish woman found dead under a tree on the island of Kos; one Bangladeshi man arrested, his Pakistani roommate under probe

The body of a young Polish woman named Anastasia-Patricia Rubinska, who had relocated to Greece to work as a waitress for the holidays, was discovered yesterday under a tree, shrouded in branches and dried grass and in a naked condition. The Polish girl was wrapped in a sheet and found one kilometre away from the residence of the 32-year-old Bangladeshi man, near a wetland, by a volunteer participating in her search. The Bangladeshi suspect has been arrested since then and charged with kidnapping.

Due to marks on her neck, the forensic examiner is looking into the possibility that she was strangled. Police have identified the body, and her family, her mother, and her partner are expected to formally confirm the same.

The Bangladeshi man, who was the last person the victim encountered before going missing, remains the prime suspect in the murder investigation, which is focused on finding the assailant. DNA found in his residence has been matched to the victim.

Security footage showed her visiting his house with the culprit that fatal evening but not leaving it. Authorities believed that in order to avoid being recorded on CCTV camera, he removed the deceased’s body from the back door that opened onto the fields. He had also bought a ticket to exit the country. Officers searched his residence and recovered two knives, a flight ticket to Italy purchased after Anastasia disappeared, and a yellow jumper with stains and blonde hair.

The police are conducting inquiries into his Pakistani flatmate as well. Police suspected the latter was lying when he claimed that nothing of the sort ever occurred.

A man who works as a security guard spotted her mobile at about noon on Saturday at an abandoned building in Marmari. The SIM card had been taken out of the cell phone, according to the officials.

Anastasia-Patricia Rubinska attended a party on the island of Kos on June 12. She was last seen on Monday night in a little store in the Marmari neighbourhood. According to reports, she met with a group of males from Pakistan and Bangladesh while inebriated.

Later, she called her 28-year-old Polish boyfriend, confessing to having consumed too much alcohol. She informed him that she will take a lift on a motorbike to meet him. The boyfriend notified the police of her disappearance after she failed to show up and mentioned that she went missing on June 12.

A missing person page on Facebook posted, “Anastasia was last seen on the island of Kos before 11 pm. Most likely, she got on a motorcycle with a man from Bangladesh. He was only supposed to give her a ride to meet her boyfriend. The last location of Anastasia’s phone showed a different place where she had arranged to meet her partner from Poland.”

She was seen entering a barbeque business to purchase food last Monday in one of the tapes that the police officials viewed. She went to the counter to place her order and make payment. She was carrying a bag of personal items on her back while dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts.

Chinese tourist alleges she was raped by Usham, a hotel staff at Ritz-Carlton resort in Maldives, accuses police and hotel authorities of inaction

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese tourist alleges she was raped by Usham, a hotel staff at Ritz-Carlton resort in Maldives, accuses police and hotel authorities of inaction

On June 18, Sunday, a Chinese national took to Twitter to share a harrowing incident she encountered during her stay at Maldives’ luxurious Ritz-Carlton resort. In her long Twitter thread, the 26-year-old Chinese tourist accused a resort staff named Usham of sexual assault. She also accused the resort management and the Maldivian police of hushing the matter and taking no coercive steps to investigate her case.

The victim also shared pictures of her assault, a photo of the accused, Usham and a copy of the complaint filed with the Maldivian police to substantiate her allegations.

The victim, a Chinese national currently pursuing her studies in Australia, in a long Twitter thread wrote that she had reached Maldives on the 6th of June and was scheduled to return to China on the 10th but she decided to extend her stay and checked into the Ritz Carlton Fari Island resort, unaware of the horror that would befall her.

Ritz-Carlton Fari Island Resort, owned by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and a subsidiary of Marriott International, high-end resort known for its pristine beaches and world-class hospitality.

The Chinese tourist, however, revealed that the alleged perpetrator was not an outsider but an in-house butler of this lavish resort, assigned to assist the victim during her stay.

The victim recalled being assigned Usham as her butler soon after checking into the hotel. Usham assisted her in settling in and gave her the rundown of the hotel’s amenities once she checked into her room.

The victim added that the same day, she accidentally poured water on her phone, which resulted in her phone getting damaged. She said that she approached the front desk for assistance because she was worried and didn’t know how to contact her family. They sent Usham to assist her.

The victim recalled that Usham came to her room and offered her his phone. She inserted her sim card into Usham’s phone and spoke to her parents. Usham then sat on her bed and started making conversations with her, which at first were quite generic.

He asked things like ‘Why did you come alone, where do you live, etc,’ the girl recalled, adding that later he started asking her some personal questions like what she did last night and if she slept outside by the room pool. “And that’s when I realized he watched me. And I wanted to change the topic. He left the room for a brief moment and came back because my mother had sent a WeChat,” she wrote.

The victim said that this time while chatting with her again, Usham took a chewing gum in his mouth and asked her whether she would like to kiss him. The girl felt uncomfortable and told him that she did not like “physical contact.”

“And he was chatting with me again, asking questions. And he took a chewing gum and started chewing and asked me if I wanted to kiss, which left me numb. I was blank. I said no I don’t like physical contact. I took my computer and translated it to him in case he didn’t understand.”

The victim recalled in her subsequent tweet, how the resort staff tried to coerce her into having sex with her by saying “yoly no need to be ashamed sex is ok,” but when she resented he forced his tongue into her mouth.

The girl, here, recounted how Usham at first tried to mock her by asking her if she is gay since she was not showing interest in him. He also told her that he would be a gentleman while he continued to force himself on her. He then pushed the victim to the bed and began assaulting her.

“I was in my pyjams. He started forcing his tongue into my mouth and said I will be a gentleman. He then pushed me to bed and started removing his pants and he put his pen*s in my mouth twice. He then went ahead and touch me down in my pvt part and tried to intercource,” the girl recounted the horrific incident.

“I was forcing and trying to stop him but he wouldn’t. His tries to have sex with he was not working that’s when he stretched his fingers inside my pvt part. I then got up and ran and wrapped myself in a quilt. He then asked me if he can touch my breasts to cum. I refused,” the hapless victim added.

She then said that the accused ejaculated on her computer screen then used a towel kept in the bathroom to clean the screen and left saying, “you need time to open up” and that he would come back again.

The girl recalled how she managed to gather herself after the terrible incident and told the resort managers what had happened, but they showed up at her room and pretended that everything was normal. She urged the resort staff to call the police.

Further explaining how the resort management tried to cover up the crime, the victim said that the staff members told her that they would contact the police. Meanwhile, two staff members went to her room and confiscated her laptop and the towel, which had the accused’s semen smeared on it. She recounted telling the resort staff that those were important pieces of evidence and should be handed over to the police.

After some time, the police arrived at the crime scene and recorded her statement. The victim added that the police took the sample of her mouth and told her that it would take a week to get the result. They told her that she should leave Maldives before the results come. The police, also trying to hush the matter, further told the victim that they had no reason to arrest the accused at that point.

The victim added that she went ahead and did a medical examination as well. “I had bruises all over my body,” the victim wrote, lamenting how the Maldivian police did nothing more than ignore the obvious evidence.

“I was then asked to leave the hotel at the earliest. And that it’s a case between police and Usham and nothing ti do with the hotel. And that they can no longer arrange my accommodation. I left the hotel and there wasn’t even an apology,” she bemoaned.

The victim concluded her long Twitter thread by lambasting the Ritz-Carlton management which, she revealed, accused her of concocting the story for a free stay.

“you only train your housekeepers to ask for tip @RitzCarlton I was raped in your hotel and you did nothing. You told me I did this to get a free stay. I paid the full amount to the hotel. I’m a chines living in Australia my family is well reputed and rich,” the Chinese student wrote, as she concluded her post with pictures of her assault.

Local media reported the Maldivian police as saying that they have launched an investigation into the accusations. They confirmed that they have collected the necessary samples required for the investigation. The police further said that no arrests have yet been made in relation to the case.

The Chinese national, meanwhile, in undergoing treatment at the Health Center in Thulusdhoo island of Kaafu Atoll in Maldives.

After his Gaumutra jibes earlier, Uddhav Thackeray now follows Western propaganda by equating Nazi Hakenkreuz to Swastika

OpIndia Staff
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After his Gaumutra jibes earlier, Uddhav Thackeray now follows Western propaganda by equating Nazi Hakenkreuz to Swastika

On Sunday, June 18, Shiv Sena (Uddhav camp) chief and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray launched a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. While addressing a conclave of his party leadership a day before Shiv Sena foundation day, Thackeray criticised the PM and HM. However, during his speech, Thackeray also backed Western propaganda and equated the Nazi Hakenkreuz to the Hindu Swastika.

Thackeray equated PM Modi to Hitler and claimed that his rule pushed the country towards dictatorship in the same way Adolf Hitler pushed Germany in the 1930s. Equating BJP to Hitler’s Nazi party, Thackeray said, “Our ruling party is acting in the same way as Hitler’s party [the Nazi party]… It is silencing all Opposition, unleashing Central agencies on them, seizing control of the media. Remember, Hitler’s symbol too was the Swastika.” He claimed that the “authoritarian” rule of the PM and the BJP was threatening to “split the country into pieces”.

He criticised the PM and HM over Manipur violence and attacked the scheduled US visit of the PM while violence is still persistent in Manipur; he said, “If you [PM Modi] want to show your strength, then first go to Manipur and try and get things under control… No one even cares about Amit Shah there, such is the fury of the locals at the moment. PM Modi is willing to go to America and advise but cannot visit Manipur. He brags about allegedly stopping the Russia-Ukraine war, but I want to see if he can calm Manipur down.”

Pointing out his intentions to attend the opposition parties’ meeting on June 23, he said, “We are not merely Opposition parties who are getting together just to oust the BJP at the Centre. We are patriots who seek to protect our country’s freedom and save democracy.”

Hakenkreuz is not Swastika

Thackeray, who claims to be a devout Hindu and speaks volumes on Hindutva, followed the same template that the West followed by claiming Swastika was the symbol used by Nazis. However, in reality, it was Hakenkreuz, or the Hooked Cross, that the Nazis used, which is a Christian symbol. It is worth mentioning that this is the tactic used by Hindumisic propagandists who intentionally link ‘Swastika’ to the Nazi Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) in order to indicate that Hindus draw their inspiration from Nazis.

In fact, it has been debunked several times that Hakenkreuz and Swastikas are very different. Hindus and Hindu leaders worldwide are working hard to change the perception people have created towards Swastika. Interestingly, there is documented evidence that Adolf Hitler never used the word Swastika in his autobiography ‘Mein Kampf’ but used Hakenkreuz. However, when it was translated from German to English, the translator used Swastika, which has been propagated ever since.

Uddhav Thackeray’s history of using Gaumutra jibes

This is not the first time that the CM of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, has used anti-Hindu jibes while attacking his political opponents of BJP and RSS. He habitually uses Gaumutra jibes to attack both BJP and RSS. In April 2023, he said, “Every time I am accused of going with the Congress and leaving Hindutva, is there no Hindu in the Congress? There (RSS-BJP) Hindutva is Gaumutradhari Hindutva.” Irked by the reports that Gaumutra was sprinkled in Sambhajinagar, where MVA conducted a public meeting, he said, “They recently sprinkled cow urine at the place in Sambhajinagar where we conducted our public meeting. They should have drunk some cow urine; they would have become wiser; our Hindutva is about nationalism.”

In March 2023, Thackeray said, “Did our country get freedom by sprinkling cow urine? Did it happen that cow urine was sprinkled, and we got freedom? It was not so. The freedom fighters had made sacrifices, and then we got freedom.”

The cow urine jibe

Cow urine jibe is one of the most popular to abuse Hindus and Indians. Sadly, this was not the first time Uddhav used the cow urine jibe. In October 2020, he attacked BJP with crass, Hinduphobic references to Gaumutra (cow urine) and gobar (cow dung). The Shiv Sena supremo made derogatory remarks while addressing the annual Shiv Sena Dusshera Mela.

Not to forget, in 2019, a Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist in a suicide attack, killed as many as 40 CRPF soldiers in Pulwama, Kashmir. Following the attack, a video was released in which the terrorist could be heard saying he wanted to punish and kill the ‘cow urine drinkers’ in the name of Allah. The terrorist, identified as Adil Ahmed Dar alias Waqas was seen admitting that he had joined the Jaish-e-Mohammad a year ago. In the video, he referred to Indians as “Gae ka Peshab Peene Wale” (People who drink cow urine).

Masturbation, images of private parts, sex manuals: Children, as young as 9, are groomed in UK schools in the name of Relationships and Sex Education

OpIndia Staff
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Masturbation, images of private parts, sex manuals: Children, as young as 9, are groomed in UK schools in the name of Relationships and Sex Education

Schools in the United Kingdom are teaching pre-adolescent children about masturbation, orgasm and anal sex under the guise of ‘Relationships and Sex Education (RSE).’

As per a report by MailOnline, colouring books, cartoon drawings and word searches are peddling narratives about gender fluidity, distinctions between gender and sex, transgenderism and scientifically false claims about biology.

Relationships Education has become mandatory for primary school kids in the UK since September 2020. Around the same time, RSE has made compulsory in secondary schools. But even before the advent of RSE, lessons meant for pre-teens contained disturbing graphic teaching material.

According to MailOnline, the situation has been worsened now by ‘activist teachers’ and with the intervention of charity groups such as Coram Life Education, Brook and Sex Education Forum (SEF). Reportedly, they are at the helm of preparing teaching material on ‘biological sex’ and underage sex.

Coram Life Education also helps organise PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) workshops, which reach as many as 6 lakh children each year. On its website, Sex Education Forum boasts of its long history of ‘successfully influencing policy.’

MailOnline pointed out how lesson plans, which are meant for children as young as 9 years old, contained explicit images of masturbation. This is despite the fact that the UK government’s directive on teaching RSE for secondary school kids and Relationships Education for primary school kids do not mention ‘masturbation.’

Lesson plan for children as young as nine, image via Mail Online

Nonetheless, it is being taught openly in several schools across the United Kingdom. Coram Life Education even defended its decision to expose 9-year-olds (Class 4 students) to the concept of ‘masturbation.’

According to MailOnline, Merrywood House Independent Special School in Surrey is teaching 9-year-olds about ‘sexual feelings’, ‘wet dreams’ and ‘masturbation’ using lesson plans developed by Sex Education Forum (SEF).

Another school in West Yorkshire named ‘Calverly Primary School’ is exposing 9 and 10-year-olds to ‘wet dreams’ and ‘masturbation’ under the guise of ‘Relationships and Sex Education (RSE).’

‘Vagina Matters’ book by Brook, image via Mail Online

Similarly, Rotherham School Improvement Service has listed ‘masturbation’ in the list of approved words for Class 6. One school in Surrey, named Westfield Primary School, has extended the list to include words such as ‘clitoris’ and ‘wet dream’ for the same Class.

Brook, one of the charities involved in the development of RSE material, has a free teaching resource on its website called ‘Vagina Matters.’ The material, which is targeted at 12-14-year-old girls, is a hands-on sex manual on masturbation.

“Listen to your own body and find out how you like to be stimulated,” the description of the study material read. It also talked about clitoral stimulation, experiencing sexual pleasure, and squirting – all of which are directed at pre-pubescent girls.

Students are fed with ‘LGBT curriculum’

One of the lesson plans, developed by Brook, claims that people can identify with a range of gender identities and sexual orientations. Besides sexual grooming, the RSE material for schools in the United Kingdom also tries to indoctrinate young minds with trans propaganda.

A school in Dorset teaches Class 10 students that there can be differences between one’s body and gender from a young age. MailOnline found that a school plan for 9 and 10-year-old students teach them that biological sex is different from gender identity.

A London secondary school indoctrinates its Class 10 students into believing that gender is not the same as sex. The news website also found a lesson plan from one of the PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) workshops, which makes false assertions about biological sex and the Y chromosome.

It alleges that ‘XXY’ chromosomes (as observed in Klinefelter’s Syndrome) can be male or female or neither. But in reality, such individuals are always male.

Colouring books of children fed with LGBT propaganda, image via MailOnline

MailOnline pointed out that primary school children, as young as 5-year-olds, are indoctrinated with ‘trans terminology and LGB community’ through colouring books.

One such colouring book, created by LGBT Foundation, claims that a man named Zoe ‘identifies’ as non-binary and hence he is neither a boy nor a girl. Similarly, the book introduces another character named ‘Mia’ who was supposedly assigned the wrong character at birth,

“This is Mia. When she was born, people thought she was a boy. Mia is a woman who is trans,”

Study material contains naked pictures of toddlers

A school in Norwich by the name of Mulbarton Primary School uses teaching material developed by one Norfolk County Council’s Educator Solutions. It contains graphic cartoons of toddlers, which are used to help 5-6-year-olds, identify penis and vulva.

The material states, “If pupils correctly identify that their genitalia are different but use incorrect terminology, do not say that this word is ”wrong” or ”naughty”, congratulate them for noticing the difference and say we are going to learn the scientific word.”

Teaching material made by Norfolk County Council’s Educator Solutions, image via Mail Online

A spokesperson of the Norfolk County Council’s Educator Solutions defended the disturbing material and said, “The characters (cartoon of naked toddlers) are featured within a lesson plan for primary-aged school pupils. Schools may choose to use this as part of a broader developmental curriculum.”

“The lesson aims to help children learn scientific terms for the private parts of their body and normalise the appropriate use of these as part of good safeguarding practice,” he added.

Experts share concerns about children being exposed to sexual content

While speaking about the matter to MailOnline, the Director of the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists Ray Freeman said, “We need to let children be children. What I fear is more of a political movement, where we have classes of girls saying they are a different sex.”

“I think it is psychologically damaging and it can be physically damaging for a young person to be told they are or can be the opposite sex. We have a duty to protect our children. How can we if you don’t know what they are being taught?” he added.

Lucy Marsh, representing ‘The Family Education Trust’ told MailOnline, “It’s an overarching mission to sexualise children in the name of inclusion. If you normalise underage sex to children, it’s grooming and exposing them to sexual abuse. It’s a mission to sexualise children and people don’t understand there’s a huge safeguarding risk in that. It is child indoctrination.”

After being exposed to sexual content in schools, her child asked Lucy whether she was asexual. She sought a public inquiry into the matter by the Uk’s Department of Education and a temporary cessation of RSE lessons.

Political activist Laurence Fox told the news website, “Disgusting ideologues are trying to put children down an irreversible path of manipulation. The fact they want to hide what they are doing is disgusting. It should alarm every parent. This is entirely anti-scientific dribble. It’s total warfare on the family in the name of inclusion and kindness.”

Opindia exposed a similar menace in India

In July 2020, Tagore International School in Vasant Vihar in Delhi came under fire for hosting a session on gender identity politics in order to brainwash children.

Images of the visuals that the children were exposed to have shocked people on social media across the board. The sessions at the school were conducted by Nazariya- Queer Feminist Resource Group (Nazariya QFRG).

Another shocking post of Nazariya QFRG showed the organisation advertising a planner/colouring book for students, which had the image of a nude woman wearing a dildo (a female sex toy).

Screengrab of Nazariya’s facebook post

The colouring book also had the image of a nude woman masturbating in the bottom left corner. And the caption read, “Discount for students Rs.100”. Given the dangerous activism Nazariya QFRG was engaging in, we decided to investigate its background.

And we discovered that these are not fringe elements but are quite mainstream within the domain of LGBT activism.

Bhopal: Faizan, Sahil, Sameer who tied up Hindu man Vijay on a leash and made him bark like a dog get arrested, houses to be bulldozed

OpIndia Staff
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Bhopal: Faizan, Sahil, Sameer who tied up Hindu man Vijay on a leash and made him bark like a dog get arrested, houses to be bulldozed

On Monday, June 19, a distressing video surfaced from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, wherein five men were seen brutally assaulting and harassing a man named Vijay with communal slurs, and lewd, abusive comments. As the video went viral, the police had registered a case and begun an investigation.

The victim was identified as a Hindu man named Vijay. Vijay was tied up on a leash and was forced to bark like a dog.

As per the latest reports, 3 of the men who harassed and assaulted Vijay have been identified and arrested.

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan has taken cognizance of the issue and has stated that the administration will take strict action against the culprits and their illegal residences will be bulldozed. Reports say the NSA will be slapped against the culprits who are wanted criminals.

Speaking to the media, MP home minister Narottam Mishra has stated that such incidents won’t be tolerated. He added that he had promised exemplary action within 24 hours, but the police arrested the accused within 4-6 hours. He added that NSA has been slapped against the accused.

Mishra added that such incidents are a result of a disgusting criminal mindset and the action will be so severe that it will send a message to all criminals in the state. He also added that bulldozers will be brought to demolish the houses of the culprits.

In the video that went viral on Twitter, the five accused made the victim kneel down like a dog and tied a noose around his neck. They forced him to bark like a dog and seek forgiveness. The accused are also used abusive slurs for the victim’s mother and sister and thrashed him mercilessly.

Madhya Pradesh: Couple murdered, dead bodies thrown into crocodile-infested Chambal river in horrific ‘honour killing’ case

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Couple murdered, dead bodies thrown into crocodile-infested Chambal river in horrific ‘honour killing’ case

In a horrific incident, a man named Rajpal Singh Tomar murdered his 18-year-old daughter Shivani Tomar and her 21-year-old partner, Radheshyam Tomar, on June 3 in a case of honour killing at Ratanbasai village in Morena, Madhya Pradesh. The dead bodies of Shivani and Radheshyam were then dumped into the Chambal River after being weighed down with heavy stones.

A case has been recorded in the Ambah police station regarding the murders. The incident occurred about two weeks ago when Shivani’s family along with some relatives allegedly shot the duo dead and disposed of their bodies.

Shivani’s family objected to the fact that the two were from the same caste and strongly opposed their relationship. The boy was a native of the neighbouring village of Balupura. When his father filed a report that the pair is missing for several days with the suspicion that he may have been murdered, the police started looking into the complaint and eventually learned about the horrific incident. Meanwhile, Rajpal Singh Tomar, on June 3, lodged a missing complaint at the Ambah police station about his daughter as well.

The young couple was missing since June 3, which prompted the boy’s family to repeatedly accuse the girl’s family of killing them. People linked to the latter were apprehended by police and interrogated in-depth. Rajpal Singh Tomar and a number of female accomplices later admitted that their daughter and Radheshyam Tomar had both been shot dead on June 3 and that their bodies had been dumped in the Chambal River in the dark.

“Sustained probe and questioning of both families finally saw the girl’s father Rajpal Singh Tomar spill the beans about having murdered Shivani and Radheyshyam, after catching them together. Both bodies were subsequently dumped in the Chambal river,” informed Sub-divisional Officer Police (SDOP) in Morena district, Parmal Singh Mehra.

Radheyshyam Tomar’s family claimed that he eloped with the girl last month and that they were later discovered in the state of Uttar Pradesh. They were forewarned by the girl’s father to convince their son to ‘rectify’ his behaviour and find another place to live when he called them on June 1.

According to Morena Superintendent of Police Shailendra Singh Chouhan, divers are being used to locate their bodies in the areas identified by the accused family. “We have not yet discovered anything. The search is on”, the police officer said. After learning of the crime, police sent out a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team and divers to look for the deceased in the river.

Police maintained that unless the bodies are discovered, they cannot conclusively prove the murder. Additionally, police disclosed that there is no proof of the use of guns by the perpetrators. They also proclaimed that due to the likelihood of predation by aquatic animals like fish and crocodiles, it is growing harder to obtain the bodies after 15 days since they were discarded in the river.

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