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Modi in Egypt: PM Modi meets Grand Mufti Dr Allam among other prominent Egyptian personalities during his two-day state visit

Shraddha Pandey
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Modi in Egypt: PM Modi meets Grand Mufti Dr Allam among other prominent Egyptian personalities during his two-day state visit

After a historic three-day state visit to the United States, Prime Minister Narendra is on a two-day state visit to Egypt. During his visit, on Saturday, June 24, PM Modi met the Grant Mufti of Egypt, Dr Shawky Ibrahim Allam. The Grand Mufti lauded PM Modi for his leadership in fostering inclusivity and pluralism. 

In addition to this, the discussions centred on combating radicalisation and extremism, and promoting social and religious harmony in society. Prime Minister Modi stated that India would set up a Centre of Excellence in IT at the Dar-al-Ifta under the Ministry of Social Justice of Egypt. The Grand Mufti also presented PM Modi with a special gift to mark the event.

Following his meeting with PM Modi, the Grand Mufti said that he was honoured to meet the Indian prime minister adding that PM 

“Today, I was honoured to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was a very nice and interesting meeting. In fact, he reflects a wise leadership for a country like India,” the Grand Mufti said.

The Grand Mufti also said that he had met PM Modi earlier in Delhi at a Sufi conference.

“Between the two meetings, I have noticed that there is a great development in India. It reflects that he is continuously working in India and it also reflects the wise policies being adopted by Prime Minister Modi bringing co-existence between various factions in India. At the religious level, we have strong cooperation between us and India and we are looking forward to further enhancing and deepening this cooperation,” the Grand Mufti said.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, PM Modi shared some pictures of his meeting the Grand Mufti and wrote, “Honoured to have met the Grand Mufti of Egypt, His Eminence Prof. Shawky Ibrahim Allam. Had enriching discussions on India-Egypt ties, notably cultural and people-to-people linkages.”

PM Modi wins hearts in Egypt as he engages in a candid interaction with the Indian diaspora

Being a people’s leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi never misses an opportunity to interact with his people. On Saturday, PM Modi interacted with the Indian diaspora in Cairo following a warm welcome by the community. PM Modi commended the community for their splendid contribution towards strengthening the relations between the two countries. 

The event was attended by over 300 members of the Indian diaspora, including students, professionals, and businesspersons.

Sharing his joy over meeting the Indian diaspora in Egypt PM Modi tweeted, “Deeply moved by the warm welcome from the Indian diaspora in Egypt. Their support and affection truly embody the timeless bonds of our nations. Also noteworthy was people from Egypt wearing Indian dresses. Truly, a celebration of our shared cultural linkages.”

PM Modi meets Tarek Heggy, renowned Egyptian author

On Saturday, PM Modi had a meeting with Tarek Heggy, a well-known Egyptian author and petroleum strategist. The two discussed themes like radicalism, gender equality, energy security, and global geopolitics.

PM Modi in a tweet expressed his admiration for Heggy’s rich knowledge of different cultures as he wrote, “It was a delight to interact with noted thinker @heggy_tarek. He shared his insightful views on global issues. I admire his rich knowledge on issues relating to different cultures.”

The Egyptian author also shared a picture with PM Modi on Twitter and wrote, “This picture was taken of me a few minutes ago when I was with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who is currently visiting Egypt, and he is one of the most important political figures in the world. Mr Modi was born on September 17, 1950, that is, he is 25 days older than me!”

PM Modi meets Egyptian Yoga instructors Reem Jabak and Nada Adel

Days after the world celebrated the International Day of Yoga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met prominent Egyptian Yoga instructors Reem Jabak and Nada Adel. The Prime Minister commended them for their dedication to yoga and urged them to visit India. The Egyptian Yoga instructors apprised PM Modi of the tremendous passion for Yoga in Egypt.

PM Modi also shared a picture with two on Twitter and wrote, “Nada Adel and Reem Jabak are making commendable efforts to make Yoga popular across Egypt. Had a wonderful conversation with them in Cairo.”

After meeting PM Modi, Egyptian Yoga instructor Reem Jabak said, “It is great to see that despite his busy schedule, he still had time to address Yoga and its importance to Egypt and all over the world.” I was very impressed that how he is very keen on the Yoga community in Egypt and how he aspires to bring more intellectuality and information to the Yoga community in Egypt. All religions in the world come from peace and this is something I have learnt from Yoga”

PM Modi meets CEO of Hassan Allam Holding Company

PM Modi and Hassan Allam, CEO of Hassan Allam Holding Company, one of the major Egyptian companies doing business in the Middle East and North Africa, had a fruitful conversation earlier on Saturday. The two leaders talked about how to work more closely with Indian companies to develop green hydrogen and renewable energy, infrastructure and construction sectors.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi commended Allam’s passion for preserving the cultural heritage of Egypt. 

“My meeting with Mr Hassan Allam, CEO of Hassan Allam Holding Company was a fruitful one. In addition to topics relating to the economy and investments, I really enjoyed hearing his passion towards preserving cultural heritage in Egypt,” PM Modi tweeted.

Meanwhile, Allam found PM Modi to be an unbelievable man. Talking about his meeting with the Indian leader, Allam said that it was informative and inspiring. He further lauded PM Modi saying that under his leadership, India’s private sector has witnessed spectacular growth. 

“PM Modi is an unbelievable man, he is wise and humble. I found the meeting with him to be informative, educational and inspiring. As a private sector company, we have a lot to learn from India’s private sector. Under the leadership of PM Modi, India’s private sector grew tremendously in the world of infrastructure, engineering and manufacturing. I had the privilege of meeting with PM Modi where he gave me a lot of valuable insights and advice,” Allam said.

PM Modi meets the “India Unit” of the Egyptian Cabinet 

On Saturday, Modi held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly and the “India Unit” comprising prominent Cabinet ministers to kick off his first official visit to Egypt. The talks focused on expanding trade ties and cementing the strategic alliance.

Prime Minister Madbouly and his Cabinet colleagues highlighted the activities of the India Unit and proposed new areas of cooperation.

PM Modi welcomed the establishment of the India Unit and the ‘whole-of-government approach’ to advancing bilateral with India, and expressed India’s willingness to collaborate closely with Egypt in an array of areas of mutual interest.

Notably, the India Unit is a group of high-level ministers formed in March by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to bolster India-Egypt relations.

MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated on Twitter that the discussions focused on deepening cooperation in a variety of areas such as trade and investment, renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, digital payment platforms, pharma, and people-to-people ties.

Significance of PM Modi’s state visit to Egypt

Prime Minister Modi is in Egypt at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. President Sisi was the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2023, and he extended the invitation to the Prime Minister.  The visit is historic because the last bilateral visit to Egypt by an Indian Prime Minister was in 1997.

Modi’s visit to Egypt comes at a time when Egypt has formally applied for membership in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) group and plans to reduce its reliance on the US dollar while aligning with the BRICS goal of promoting alternate currencies in international trade, which includes its own currency.

Uttar Pradesh: Cops injured after mob attacks them with stone for removing illegal statue of BR Ambedkar, 11 arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Cops injured after mob attacks them with stone for removing illegal statue of BR Ambedkar, 11 arrested

On Saturday (June 24), a frenzied mob pelted stones at the police for attempting to remove an illegal statue of BR Ambedkar. The incident took place in Musilatpur village in Bhadohi block in Sant Ravidas Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

As per reports, the statue was installed illegally overnight on a land, which was designated for a pond in the village. On receiving a complaint about the matter, the local police and district administration officials reached the scene.

They requested the locals to remove the statue, which was met with resistance. When the police tried to get remove it, a mob attacked them with stones. The cops had to resort to lathi-charge to control the law and order situation.

Reportedly, two police personnel were injured during stone pelting. They were rushed to a nearby hospital. A large contingent of police personnel was later deployed in the area to maintain law and order. A total of 11 people were arrested by the cops.

At the same time, a case was registered against 51 individuals under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 186 (obstructing public servant), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt), 336 (act endangering the life of others), 353 (assault against public servant) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke).

The illegal statue of BR Ambedkar was eventually removed and kept at the police station.

Pakistan: Sikh shopkeeper killed in Peshawar, second targeted attack on Sikhs in the city in two days

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Sikh shopkeeper killed in Peshawar, second targeted attack on Sikhs in the city in two days

On Sunday, June 24, two unknown assailants killed a Sikh man identified as 32-year-old Manmohan Singh in a targeted attack in Rashidgardhi Bazaar of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Manmohan Singh owned a cosmetic shop. This was the second targeted attack on Sikhs in two days in the city.

As per reports, a Sikh shopkeeper named Tarlok Singh was targeted on June 23. Unknown men shot him, but he managed to survive. On the other hand, Manmohan Singh died on the spot following the attack. He was survived by his parents, wife, son, and brother.

As per an Indian Express report, a local Sikh community member Balbir Singh said Manmohan was on his way home after closing the shop. Two motorbike-borne assailants followed him after he boarded an auto and shot him on his way home. The incident took place at around 8 PM. “He was on his way home in an auto when the assailants opened fire. He died on the spot,” said Balbir.

He added, “His body is now being taken to Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh, where the Sikh community living in Peshawar will pay their last respects and decide the further course of action on being targeted with impunity.” According to the Sikh organisation United Sikhs, Manmohan was the family’s sole breadwinner.

Another local Sikh told Indian Express that seven bullets were fired at Tarlok Singh, who was attacked on Friday. He sustained an injury on his leg. Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) took responsibility for the attack on Tarlok Singh, as per the local news portal The Khorasan Diary.

In the past couple of years, the Pashtun Sikh community has been living under constant threat. There have been multiple reports of attacks on them. At present, around 300 Sikh families are living around Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh in Peshawar.

Previous incidents of attacks on Sikh community members

In March 2023, a Sikh man identified as Dayal Singh was shot dead by unknown assailants at his shop in Dir Colony Market. The assailants escaped after killing Dayal Singh. On May 15, 2022, two Sikh men, identified as Ranjit Singh and Kuljit Singh, were shot dead while they were sitting at their shops at Batta Tal Chowk. On September 30, 2021, a Sikh man identified as Satnam Singh was shot dead while he was at his shop in Fariqabad, Peshawar. Besides the recent attack on Tarlok Singh, ISKP also took responsibility for killing Satnam Singh.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin negotiates deal after armed rebellion against Putin, moves to Belarus and evades prosecution. Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin negotiates deal after armed rebellion against Putin, moves to Belarus and evades prosecution. Here is what happened

Hours after launching an offensive against the Putin-led government in Russia, the chief of the ‘rebel’ paramilitary organisation Wagner Group brokered a deal with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had earlier vowed to overthrow the Russian premier, called off the march of Wagner fighters to Moscow and instead asked them to move out of the fallen city of Rostov.

As per his deal with Alexander Lukashenko, the Wagner chief will move to Belarus. In exchange, all charges against Yevgeny Prigozhin will be dropped. The Wagner fighters will also not face prosecution.

The development was confirmed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who thanked the Belarusian President for de-escalating the situation. He informed that Vladimir Putin had given his word about the safety of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his private militia.

Peskov also said that the Wagner fighters who did not take part in the armed rebellion would be offered contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry. While speaking about the matter, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said that he agreed to the deal to prevent the spilling of Russian blood.

“Realising all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed from one side, we will turn our convoys around and go in the opposite direction to our field camps,” he emphasised.

In the meantime, Vladimir Putin reportedly flew out of Moscow to an unknown location. Before the Belarus deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy seemed to approve of the armed rebellion against Kremlin by the Wagner Group.

“Everyone who chooses the path of evil destroys himself. Whoever throws hundreds of thousands into the war, eventually must barricade himself in the Moscow region from those whom he himself armed,” he had said.

The Background of the Controversy

The long-running internal feud between Russia’s private military company- Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over the war in Ukraine is now in the open.

On Saturday (June 24), Yevgeny Prigozhin vowed to topple the Russian military leadership, whom he accused of launching strikes on his men. Subsequently, the Russian authorities called for the arrest of Yevgeny Prigozhin after, in his audio message, he called for an armed uprising against the country’s military.

Vladimir Putin issued a statement condemning the actions of the ‘rebel’ Russian paramilitary organisation. In a televised address, he said, “What we are facing is precisely treachery… excessive ambitions and personal interests led to treason (against) their country and people, and to the cause for which Wagner fighters and commanders fought and died side by side with our other units and divisions.”

“Those who organised a military mutiny… who took up arms against their comrades… betrayed Russia and will answer for it. This is a blow to Russia… our people. Our actions to protect the Fatherland from such a threat will be harsh,” Putin warned.

While responding to the statement of the Russian President,  Yevgeny Prigozhin said, “Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the President was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland…We do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy.”

Union Minister Prahlad Joshi rubbishes Jairam Ramesh’s claims that Congress leader Ibobi Singh was not allowed to speak during all-party meeting on Manipur

OpIndia Staff
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Union Minister Prahlad Joshi rubbishes Jairam Ramesh’s claims that Congress leader Ibobi Singh was not allowed to speak during all-party meeting on Manipur

On Saturday, June 24, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi exposed Congress’s General Secretary in charge of Communication, Jairam Ramesh’s lies in Manipur. In a tweet, Ramesh had claimed former Chief Minister of Manipur and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh was not allowed to speak during all-party meetings on Manipur violence.

Refuting his claims, Joshi called out Ramesh for using the Manipur tragedy for political gains. He added that Ibobi spoke for 30 minutes during the meeting and was offered two hours by Home Minister Amit Shah to talk over lunch. He tweeted, “It is unfortunate that Jairam Ramesh is politicising Manipur’s tragedy. This is not the time for petty politics. Okram Ibobi Singh spoke for 30 minutes and concluded. He asked for a separate time to meet, and HM Amit Shah Ji offered to give him 2 hours separately over lunch. Don’t spread lies.”

After the meeting, BJP’s Manipur in-charge Sambit Patra said in a statement that not a day had passed when Home Minister Amit Shah did not talk to the PM about the Manipur situation. He added that the government is making all efforts to restore peace in the state on instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking to ANI, he said, “Before the meeting started, a detailed presentation was presented on the situation of Manipur, such as what caused the violence, what measures have been taken to control it to date etc. Members of all the parties gave their suggestions positively.”

He added, “After listening to everyone, Union Minister Amit Shah assured everyone to have a discussion on suggestions made by all party members. All the members also appreciated the efforts made by the home minister regarding Manipur. They appreciated how the HM spent three days and three nights in the state which is witnessing ethnic clashes. Home Minister has assured that we will move towards peace as soon as possible with the co-operation of everyone.”

Congress claimed former CM was not allowed to speak

In a tweet, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that Okram Ibobi Singh was not allowed to present his points on Manipur violence during the all-party meeting. He further added that the people of Manipur were not allowed their representation during the meeting.

He wrote, “The all-party meeting organised by the Home Minister today was just an eye-wash and a formality. As the principal Opposition party, our representative, the senior leader from Manipur, 3-time elected CM Okram Ibobi Singh, was not allowed to present his points representing the pain and anguish of the people of Manipur. He was the only leader from Manipur in the all-party meeting today, and it is an insult not only to the former CM and the Congress party but the people of Manipur that their representative was not allowed to fully put forth his point of view. We are sharing the 8 points on behalf of Congress, which includes the immediate removal of the CM of Manipur, without which no progress can be made towards peace and normalcy in Manipur.”

After the meeting, Singh made similar claims during a press meeting. He said, “More than 50 days after the violence in Manipur started, the home ministry organised an all-party meeting today. I was nominated by the AICC. I barely had 7-8 minutes to share my views. Manipur is my home state. I asked for additional five minutes to express my opinions, but it was denied. This is unfortunate.”

So far, over 100 people have lost their lives in Manipur violence, and over a thousand have been reported injured. Several hundred Manipur residents were displaced and moved to safer places because of the violence triggered after the High Court’s order to consider including the Meitei community in the Scheduled list that is being opposed by the Kuki community.

A rail-road tunnel under the Brahmaputra in Assam to become a reality, DPR tenders for the ₹6,000 crore project to be opened next month

OpIndia Staff
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A rail-road tunnel under the Brahmaputra in Assam to become a reality, DPR tenders for the ₹6,000 crore project to be opened next month

A tunnel under the mighty Brahmaputra River will finally become a reality, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Friday. He said that the centre has approved the project, and tenders will be invited to prepare DPR for the project soon. He informed that a tunnel will be constructed under the Brahmaputra at an estimated cost of ₹6000 crore.

Addressing a public rally at Biswanath Chariali in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma said he thought that a tunnel under the river was just a dream, and it will not become a reality. But he was surprised during a recent visit to Delhi, where the union govt told him that the project has been greenlighted. He said that after much deliberation, it was decided that the tunnel will be constructed between Gohpur on the north bank and Numaligarh in the south bank. It will be a road cum rail tunnel.

Assam CM said that the first tenders for Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be opened on 4th July. ‘If everything goes as planned, we may be able to start the construction during the current tenure of my govt,’ he said. Sarma further said that PM Narendra Modi has already signed a file to connect the north and south banks of Brahmaputra through a tunnel. The tunnel will connect NH 15 on the north with NH 715 on the south.

The centre has entrusted NHIDCL (National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.) with the project. The NHIDCL has floated tenders to prepare DPR and will start pre-construction activities for the construction of the tunnel soon. 4-lane approach roads on both ends of the tunnel are part of the project.

Tunnel Boring Machine will be deployed for the main tunnel under the river, while the open cut and cover method will be used for the sections of the tunnels on both ends. The length of the main tunnel will be 11.4 km, with a total length of around 15 km.

Artificial islands are also proposed on the northern and southern sides of the river Brahmaputra, and the construction zone will be created within the islands to facilitate the construction of the tunnel and also during the operational phase. The islands will act as bunds to prevent flood water from entering the tunnels.

NHIDCL has already prepared a Pre-Feasibility Report for the tunnel project. However, the report is only for a two-lane road tunnel and does not mention a rail tunnel. Therefore, significant changes in the DPR is expected from this report.

At present, there are six bridges over the Brahmaputra, which include twin bridges at Guwahati and Tezpur. Three more bridges at Dhubri, Guwahati and Majuli are under construction. Construction of two more bridges in Guwahati, on its eastern and western ends, will start soon, and Railway will build two bridges at Guwahati and Tezpur. Several other bridges are under the pipeline connecting the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra river across the state.

However, the bridges are seen as vulnerable in case of a war or major terrorist activities in the region, and the security establishment was considering a tunnel as an alternate route. Connectivity across the Brahmaputra is vital for the defence of the frontline on the border with China, and a tunnel is considered much more secure compared to a bridge over the river.

According to previous reports, there will be three separate tunnels, one for road, the second one for rail, and the third one for emergency use including military transport. The tunnels, including the 11.4 km long main tunnels, will be around 15 km long and will be around 32 meters below the riverbed.

The proposal for a tunnel was originally floated by the Border Roads Organization (BRO), considering its strategic importance. BRO started surveys for the project in 2014 and selected two sites, Tezpur-Nagaon and Gohpur-Numaligarh. In 2020, the centre gave in-principle approval for the project, after which detailed studies were conducted, including an airborne electromagnetic survey.

Initially, the Tezpur site was favoured, as the river is narrower there, and Tezpur is home to the headquarters of the GOC 4 Corps of the Indian Army. However, later the Gohpur-Numaligarh location was selected.

There are already two road bridges over the Brahmaputra at Tezpur, and a Railway bridge has been planned. That could be the reason for not selecting the site as both banks of the river are already well connected there. With the tunnel coming, the plan for a bridge between Gohpur and Numaligarh will be scrapped. In fact, the project was delayed because the centre was deliberating between the tunnel and the bridge, which would have been a cheaper option. The tunnel was approved after several cabinet ministers supported the plan, considering its strategic importance.

The project will be undertaken under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP-NE) of the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.

‘Punishment for pre-marital sex is 100 lashes in Islam’: Allahabad HC refuses protection to an interfaith live-in couple as they don’t intend to marry soon

OpIndia Staff
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‘Punishment for pre-marital sex is 100 lashes in Islam’: Allahabad HC refuses protection to an interfaith live-in couple as they don’t intend to marry soon

On the 24th of June, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a plea for police protection filed by an Interfaith Live-In couple. The couple had come to seek the court’s protection against alleged harassment by the Police. While dismissing the plea, the High Court observed that in Islam, any sexual, lustful, affectionate acts such as kissing, touching, staring, etc before marriage is prohibited. 

The court observed that the couple, a 29-year-old Hindu woman and a 30-year-old Muslim man, did not show any intention to marry soon. Subsequently, the two-judge bench comprising Justices Sangeeta Chandra and Narendra Kumar Johari stated that according to Muslim law, sexual relations outside of marriage are not recognised.

The court said, “Zina which has been defined as any sexual intercourse except that between husband and wife includes both extramarital sex and premarital sex and is often translated as fornication in English. Such premarital sex is not permissible in Islam. In fact, any sexual, lustful, affectionate acts such as kissing, touching, staring, etc. are “Haram” in Islam before marriage because these are considered parts of ‘Zina’ which may lead to actual ‘Zina’ itself.”

The bench added, “The punishment for such offence according to Quran (chapter 24) is a hundred lashes for the unmarried male and female who commit fornication together with the punishment prescribed by the ‘Sunnah’ for the married male and female that is stoning to death.”

The Petitioner’s claim and major observations by the Court

Essentially, the petitioners claimed that they are facing harassment from the police. Claiming that they come under the ambit of the Apex Court’s ruling in the case of Lata Singh vs. the State of UP (2006), the couple claimed that they should be given protection by the Court.  

The court remarked that the Supreme Court’s opinions on ‘live-in’ relationships “cannot be considered to promote such relationships”. Referring to previous cases which touched on the subject of Live-In relationships vis-a-vis laws of the land, the court titled its remark in favour of the institution of marriage.  

The Court stated, “The Observations of the Supreme Court as aforesaid however cannot be considered to promote such relationships. Law traditionally has been biased in favour of marriage. It reserves many rights and privileges to married persons to preserve and encourage the institution of marriage. the Supreme Court is simply accepting a social reality and it has no intention to unravel the fabric of Indian family life.”

The Court stated that on several occasions, the Supreme Court observed that section 125 CrPC is not meant for granting maintenance to the “other woman” – a case where a man, having a living lawfully wedded wife, either marries for a second time or starts living with a concubine. 

The Court further noted that the apex court refused to broaden the definition of the term “wife” mentioned in section 125 of the CrPC to include live-in partners seeking maintenance claims.

The court’s ruling highlighted the importance of raising awareness among young individuals about the emotional, societal, and legal challenges that can arise from being in a live-in relationship.

The court observed that in this particular instance, the petitioners have only claimed that, since they are of legal age, they have the right to live with whomever they choose. However, the mother of one of the petitioners had expressed her dissatisfaction with this relationship. The Court remarked that writ jurisdiction is not made out in such matters of dispute between two private parties. 

The Court observed, “Writ jurisdiction being extraordinary jurisdiction is not made to resolve such type of dispute between two private parties. We believe that it is a social problem which can be uprooted socially and not by the intervention of the Writ Court in the garb of violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India unless harassment is established beyond doubt.”

Other remedial measures available

The Court also stated that if a live-in couple faces genuine issues with their parents or relatives who interfere with their live-in relationship, to the extent that their lives are threatened, they have the freedom to take certain actions. These actions include filing a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 154 (1) or Section 154 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) with the Police, submitting an application under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC to the appropriate Court, or initiating a complaint case under Section 200 of the CrPC.

The Honourable High Court made these observations while dismissing the protection plea (against police harassment) filed by an interfaith couple. They had alleged that the mother of the woman was unhappy with their Live-In relationship and lodged an FIR against them. 

Maharashtra: Isaak Sheikh, Amer, Mujahid & Mujemir arrested in the Gorakshak murder case in Nanded district

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Isaak Sheikh, Amer, Mujahid & Mujemir arrested in the Gorakshak murder case in Nanded district

The incident involving an armed attack on Gorakshaks and the murder of a Gorakshak in the Apparaopeth village of the Nanded district of Maharashtra has garnered significant attention. Following the incident, the police arrested four accused Muslim individuals in this case and placed them in custody. Currently, efforts are underway to locate the remaining accused in various states. Notably, reports suggest the alleged involvement of a prominent political leader from Himayatnagar in this matter.

Around midnight on June 19, near Apparao Peth village under Islapur police station in Kinwat taluka, the suspected Volero pickup vehicle came to a halt near a bridge at Malakjav Tanda. At that time, Gorakshak activists from Shivni, who had just returned from an event, intercepted the vehicle and proceeded to question its occupants. Subsequently, a group of approximately 10 to 12 individuals from the vehicle, along with some others, launched an attack on the cow protection activist. Tragically, Gorakshak activist Shekhar Rapelli lost his life in the incident, while six others sustained severe injuries.

During the search operation, the police arrested Sheikh Isaak Sheikh Chand (38), Sheikh Amer Sheikh Alim (30), Sheikh Mujahid Sheikh Isak (22) and Sheikh Mujemir Sheikh Fayaz (23). A Kinwat court sent the four to four-day custody on June 23.

The Gorakshak murder issue has taken a different turn with a debate. It is suspected that henchmen of a prominent political leader from Himayatnagar were involved in the case.

As per the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO), the accused persons are cow and gutkha smugglers and are members of the Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob gang. However, the same is yet to be confirmed by the authorities. Locals and activists told OpIndia that Sheikh Rafiq Mehboob has a huge hold on illegal gutkha trade in the city and around the Shivni area. He also is said to be associated with the PFI organization which has been banned by the Indian government.

The entire police force in Nanded is on the lookout for the accused and a team of police officers is camping in the neighbouring state of Telangana.

Cow protection has been painted as a ‘communal’ issue where Gorakshaks are depicted as rogue groups that attack ‘innocent’ Muslims transporting cows to slaughterhouses. Cattle are a source of livelihood for millions in rural India and are loved as their family members. Cows, especially, are also considered holy by Hindus and slaughtering them is considered to be a sin.

The government has imposed a ban on cow slaughter as per the Animal Welfare Act. In spite of this, numerous cows, bullocks, cattle, and other animals are smuggled across Telangana state at night in both large and small vehicles from the state of Maharashtra

‘The elephant is now wide awake, and don’t you dare to manipulate it now as you did for decades’: Bhima-Koregaon petitioner Tushar Damgude writes to world leaders

OpIndia Staff
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‘The elephant is now wide awake, and don’t you dare to manipulate it now as you did for decades’: Bhima-Koregaon petitioner Tushar Damgude writes to world leaders

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi rocks his visit to the USA, gets a grand welcome from the political class, and warmly meets with various American business leaders, India’s increasing importance in the contemporary world is highlighted in front of the nation and the world. However, it becomes necessary to make the Western world – especially the colonisers and the ones who bully the world and change various regimes under the garb of establishing democracy in order to suit their own interests – aware of the view a common Indian has today about the recent history and the progress made by the country that became free in 1947 after centuries of rules by the foreigners.

Tushar Damgude, better known as the prime petitioner in the Bhima-Koregaon and Elgar Parishad case of 2018 that initiated the decisive crackdown against the urban naxals has therefore written a letter to the chiefs of these nations. He has written an open letter to the presidents of USA, Canada and the European Union. The letter is given below:

To the Presidents,

(America, Canada and European Union.)

Respected Sirs, Greetings from an ordinary citizen from a country that has been constantly under attack from foreign nations and was colonised for more than a thousand years.

The reason for the letter is that looking at the instances in the recent past, I decided to put forth the sentiments of 1.4 billion Indians in front of you as you are in the position of representatives of your respective nations.

Thus Sirs, in medieval times, the so-called European traders who were in search of resources were the greatest crisis brought upon the already crushed people of Asia and Africa under several monarchs and dictatorships. It is already infamous how, in the name of trading of Neel (Indigofera tinctoria), cotton, gold, silver, opium, rubber, sugarcane, muslin, spices, timber and various such things, the European traders entered the Asian continent and just till fifty years ago they immeasurably looted each and every citizen of the country and the natural resources. This wasn’t enough of the misfortune, almost every European country has on themselves the sin of tying human beings with iron chains and trading i.e. buying and selling as if they were animals. ‘The most sorrowful era’, is how this period can be described!

Along with the passage of time, the events which took place after the First and the second world wars, because of those, many countries in the Asian and African continents became free. Many of these countries have British-french-dutch or of such kind of cultural, academic, and political influence. India is one such country! A country of crores of poor people who never had got an ideal opportunity in any field. Now, it’s been seventy-five years since this country got independent. What did not happen in this country in seventy-five years? Education, medicine, military, finance, politics, art, technology, take any field… the people who never had experienced freedom, equality, fulfilment for centuries, those thousands and lakhs of poor people made the fifth largest economy in the world, the fourth largest military in the world, the democracy which can never be overthrown, acquired technology which orbits the Mars. Yes! in the small span of seventy-five years, a modern, solid India which is on the stage of the world in front of you all.

But then, when India started orbiting in space, the habitual offender and the racist newspaper New York Times showed a prying, illiterate, vernacular man with a cow trying to enter the elitist group. You all, who have taken the baton to teach the world the lessons of liberalism; are such racist and casteist people that a person of Indian origin, Rishi Sunak, who is a prime minister in a European nation, reads a few pages from your holy book, it makes you feel like a Skyfall.

If it was only this much, it could have been ignored but then again, the American representative who recently entered India, openly assures the American Senate that “I will go to India and pay attention to the human rights issues and better the conditions by doing appropriate arrangements”. Further, our minds are baffled and it makes us furious when America, Canada or the European nations openly support and give asylum to those who do bomb blasts, and terrorist attacks in our country and support the organisations like Khalistan who demand a separate country. It is the epitome of shamelessness when later in the name of freedom of expression, the Canadian government willingly gave support and liberty to those who supported and exhibited the assassination of Indira Gandhi who was the prime minister of our country.

Respected Sirs, are you still under the impression that the Asian continent is still a colony ruled by you? When will you realise that neither your representatives nor ambassadors nor you have the right to interfere in the internal matters of our nation? Have you checked your own conscious before putting us in the cage of a criminal when your own hands are full of the blood of people murdered by you? You all white supremacists, who in the name of human rights, rights of journalists, religious freedom and many other such things think you can declare the countries criminal according to your whims and fancies, will you dare to show the atrocities and exploitation put on the world through private, religious, financial institutions? The fuel which is used in your lavish cars and the blinding wealth is the aftermath of the loot that has been done to the Asian and the African people. Does your thick skin realise this?  You are the people who destroyed many animal species just for fun, those who massacred people, iron chained, bought and sold humans for money, do you have any shame that not once you have apologised for these atrocities and sins and shamelessly you have become bastion holders of human rights. Are you even ashamed a little? For your hunger for colonisation and racism, you put the whole world into the abyss twice through world wars which caused immeasurable loss of human and economic wealth. Will it ever be compensated? Just to satisfy your thirst for blood and to keep your continent safe, you became such a monster to attack an Asian country twice with nuclear weapons. Have you even once apologised to those innocent people who were uncalled-for victims of your atrocities?

Further, if we think of letting this go as it’s past, even now you create terrorist organisations, overthrow regimes and rules which you do not want, and rule the countries with weapons of thousands of tonnes except in the countries in Europe. Do you remember humanity then? Do you have any shame when you do this? – The answer to this is NO, NO and NO.

Yes, respected nation-heads, yes! We still have many problems of our own in our country. We may not have fulfilled all those dreams of those lakhs of freedom fighters who martyred themselves to get us independence from your inhuman clutches, but, BUT, the ‘tryst with destiny’ which was made by the first prime minister of the country is being modulated with the changing times and we are marching forward to create a remarkable nation and the society.  While we march forward, the racist, colonisers, expansionists countries, organisations, and people will become impediments in our path, they will defame us, slander us, but Sirs, this is a nation of Sant Dnyaneshwar who proclaims ‘जो जे वांछिल तो ते लाहो (each one in this world will get whatever he wants) it is also a nation of Sant Tukaram who tells ‘नाठाळाच्या माथी सोटा हाणणाऱ्या’ (to hit back those who are cunning and evil.) You should definitely keep this in mind. The enormous elephant who was deep lying in the darkness of illiteracy, poverty, superstitions, diffidence, ignorance and lethargy is now wide awake and this, you should definitely remember.

To end the letter, I just want to reiterate that you should do self-inspection, express your good qualities and remove defects. Taking care of the rights of the people of your country is your right but I hope that henceforth you’ll differentiate between the need of your people and greed. I further hope that the sin of selfishly quenching your monstrous thirst by snatching the food, liberty and esteem of others will not happen henceforth.

Yours,

Tushar Damgude

P.S. – In the extant letter the words ‘dear sirs’ or ‘respected sirs’ are used not because you may be entitled to it but because it is ingrained in our culture to show respect even to those who do not deserve it. Do take note of the same.

Rajasthan: Married Hindu Woman converts to Islam after one Taiyyab Khan brainwashed her through an online game

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Married Hindu Woman converts to Islam after one Taiyyab Khan brainwashed her through an online game

On the 24th of June, another case of religious conversion through online games has come to light, this time from Rajasthan’s Sikar district. Reportedly, an Aligarh-based man Taiyyab Khan approached a married Hindu Woman from Sikar through the online game, Free Fire. 

Reports add that the accused Taiyyab brainwashed the married woman to follow Islamic practices and pressured her to convert to Islam. Subsequently, the victim stopped performing Hindu rituals and refrained from applying Sindoor and bindi. Later, she left her in-law’s house and started living with her parents. 

Apparently, she also bought gowns that looked like burqas and changed her name from Harshita to Haniya.

Religious conversion through online gaming

As per media reports, the incident took place in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, specifically at the Sadar police station. It is reported that the victim’s husband resides overseas, and in order to pass the time and alleviate boredom, she began playing an online game, Free Fire. 

While playing the game, she became a member of a group named ‘Love Life’. From there, she got acquainted with Taiyyab Khan, who has a clothing shop in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. Subsequently, they started chatting on Instagram where he constantly brainwashed her into embracing Islam.

After a few days, the woman left her in-laws’ house and started living with her parents.

Talking to Bhaskar, the victim Harshita shared that Taiyyab Khan used to threaten her to commit suicide if she did not accept Islam. She asserted that after gathering information about her family, Taaiyab tricked her into loving him and asked her to accept Islam and offer Namaz. Afterwards, he slowly started telling her about Islam. 

When she said that she did not know Urdu and Arabic, he sent her online methods of reciting Namaz and Dua. This went on for several days. When she also started taking an interest, then she learned how to read Namaz and Dua. Resultantly, following his words, she bought gowns that looked like burqas. At the same time, she changed her name from Harshita to Haniya.

She further asserted that he brainwashed her and even took a photo of her Aadhaar card but declined to give a photo of his own Aadhaar card. 

Harshita’s family was completely unaware of these happenings. But one day, his brother got suspicious when he saw a burqa among the clothes. When he had a conversation about this with the family, they came to note that she had also stopped applying bindi and sindoor. 

Furthermore, she not only ceased visiting the temple but also displayed negligence toward her son. Subsequently, when her brother checked her mobile device, he discovered content relating to Islam. When the family tried to persuade her, she started quarreling with everyone and asserted to remain connected to Islam. 

As per media reports, Harshita’s brother filed a Police complaint against Taiyyab Khan and his accomplice Sabir. As per a report in Bhaskar, Sikar SP Karan Sharma said, “A youth has given a complaint that his sister is in contact with a youth from Aligarh on social media who is tricking him to convert. Police will try to trace the suspected youth on the basis of mobile numbers.” Reports also claim that the accused used to operate seven different ids.

According to the police, they are actively tracing and conducting searches for the suspects based on their mobile numbers.

Ghaziabad online religious conversion through a gaming app

Earlier, a case of brainwashing of a 17-year-old boy from a Jain family was registered in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Apparently, he was also brainwashed through an online gaming app. The boy had even started visiting mosque to offer Namaz, 5 times a day. 

When the family came to know about this, he confessed to converting to Islam after being influenced by fugitive Islamist extremist Zakir Naik.

Subsequently, the victim’s father lodged a case at the Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad on charges of brainwashing and trying to forcefully convert his son to Islam. Afterward, the Ghaziabad police arrested the Maulvi and made several revelations in regard to this case of conversion through the gaming app. 

It is claimed that the strings of this racket of fast-spreading forceful and lured conversion have been found connected to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Maharashtra.

In light of the Ghaziabad online conversion case, the central government took immediate action to review all gaming applications. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for IT, emphasized the need to ban betting, as well as harmful and addictive games in India. 

Apart from this, the Ghaziabad police arrested Khan Shahnawaz Maqsood, believed to be the primary culprit behind the syndicate. He was arrested in Maharashtra’s Thane district.

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