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Six Lucknow police personnel suspended for negligence after gangster Sanjeev alias Jeeva, aide of Mukhtar Ansari, was murdered inside court premises

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Six Lucknow police personnel suspended for negligence after gangster Sanjeev alias Jeeva, aide of Mukhtar Ansari, was murdered inside court premises

As many as six Lucknow police personnel were suspended for negligence, a day after gangster Sanjeev alias Jeeva was fatally shot inside Lucknow court premises, police informed on Thursday. 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Lucknow Central, Aparna Kaushik, said that the police personnel posted to ensure security in court have been suspended. “Six police officials have been suspended for negligence, resulting in the murder of gangster Sanjeev alias Jeeva. The police officials posted to ensure security inside the court premises has been suspended,” said Kaushik. 

Jeeva was fatally shot by a man posing as a lawyer inside the Lucknow civil court premises on Wednesday. 

“According to the post-mortem report of gangster Sanjeev alias Jeeva, there were 16 bullet entry and exit points in the body showing that 8 bullets were fired.

Six bullets hit his chest and 2 his hand and he was brought dead to Balrampur Hospital,” stated King George’s Medical University, Lucknow. 

Meanwhile, the accused in the daylight murder of notorious gangster Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva was granted fourteen days’ judicial custody on Thursday, police informed. 

“Vijay Yadav, the accused in Sanjeev Jeeva’s murder was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody,” said Special DG Prashant Kumar. 

Jeeva was alleged to have been involved with several gangs and carried out several criminal activities for almost three decades. 

He is also said to have been a key aide of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari. Jeeva emerged as a notorious gangster after the murder of BJP leaders Krishna Nand Rai and leader Braham Dutt Dwivedi and was sentenced to life imprisonment. 

In the shooting incident on Wednesday, two police constables and a child also sustained injuries. 

After the incident, a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe the firing incident inside the Lucknow Civil Court, the UP Chief Ministers Office (CMO) informed on Wednesday. 

“A three-member SIT, including Mohit Agarwal, ADG Technical; Joint CP, Lucknow, Nilabja Chaudhary and Ayodhya IG Praveen Kumar, has been constituted to investigate the incident,” read an official statement from CMO.

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

‘Brij Bhushan didn’t sexually harass my daughter, was angry because he was biased against her’: Father of minor wrestler who filed case against WFI president

OpIndia Staff
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‘Brij Bhushan didn’t sexually harass my daughter, was angry because he was biased against her’: Father of minor wrestler who filed case against WFI president

On 8th June 2023, the father of the minor wrestler who levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India’s chief BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said that he filed a false complaint against the WFI president. He reiterated his statement dated June 5 that he gave before the magistrate in New Delhi.

According to reports, the father of the minor wrestler girl said that though Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh did not sexually harass the girl, he was partial against his daughter. He explained that the accusations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh were made due to intense anger, as his daughter had lost in the final of last year’s trials for the Asian Championship. However, the father of the young wrestler girl clarified that they had not retracted the previous complaint but had provided additional statements.

The girl’s father said, “The entire staff on match duty was from Delhi and the opponent girl also hailed from Delhi, which is illegal… I have changed my statement. Some allegations were true and some were false. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had not sexually harassed my daughter but his approach was biased against her… I had received threatening calls but I will not reveal their names. I had sold my house to bear the expenses of my daughter. Without anyone’s influence, I had re-recorded my statement.”

He further said, “We have no grudge against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. We had recorded fresh statements on June 5 and we changed a few of our earlier statements. I am a father of a girl, and I don’t want to get involved in this fight. I had not withdrawn the complaint but recorded fresh statements. In anger, we had levelled some false allegations, and my daughter had faced some issues but all those mentioned in the FIR were not true.”

The father expressed that their entire family is experiencing depression, and his primary objective is to help his daughter become a champion. Additionally, he mentioned that he and his daughter were recently away from New Delhi, visiting a religious site. Previously, the girl’s uncle had asserted that she is not underage. Subsequently, the Delhi Police initiated a second FIR based on a complaint lodged by the girl’s father.

On May 10, the girl recorded her statement before a magistrate in New Delhi, as per Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc), accusing Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The girl’s father claimed that the President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) forcibly pulled her towards him and subjected her to sexual harassment, resulting in her severe distress and subsequent health issues.

According to the filed complaint, the girl’s father alleged that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh pressed her shoulder and deliberately slid his hand beneath it. Allegedly, the WFI chief made inappropriate remarks, stating, “If you support me, I will support you. Stay in touch with me.”

Notably, the protesting wrestlers decided to temporarily suspend their agitation until June 15. This decision was made after receiving assurance from the government that a chargesheet would be filed against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh before that date and that elections for the federation would be held by the end of the month.

Union sports minister Anurag Thakur held a meeting with Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik to address the issue of the ongoing protests. This meeting took place three days after Union home minister Amit Shah met with the wrestlers and discussed their demands. The protesting wrestlers have been demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom they have accused of sexually exploiting female wrestlers, including minors.

‘Sikhs in Afghanistan had the faith of coming to India because of CAA’, says EAM Dr S Jaishankar after meeting Sikh refugees from Afghanistan

OpIndia Staff
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‘Sikhs in Afghanistan had the faith of coming to India because of CAA’, says EAM Dr S Jaishankar after meeting Sikh refugees from Afghanistan

On 8th June 2023, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the Guru Arjun Dev Gurdwara in Delhi and met Sikh refugees from Afghanistan and listened to their problems. He said that Sikhs in Afghanistan had the faith of returning to India because of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The external affairs minister referred to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) while assuring to address the issue of Sikh refugees. “What would have happened to these people if that law had not been there?” he said.

While speaking to the media after meeting the Sikh refugees from Afghanistan, Dr S Jaishankar said, “I met the Sikhs who came to India from Afghanistan. I came here to listen to the issues they might be facing here. They talked about multiple issues. Some of them expressed the wish to go back because their properties are there. Gurudwaras are also there. The people are worried about them too. We will figure out how can we enable their to and from movement. There are problems regarding visas. Because, nowadays, you know that problem has got its own reasons. People coming from Afghanistan don’t get visas easily.”

Dr S Jaishankar added, “I listened to their problems. I felt that they have a valid case wherein they go back and come here again. They shall get multiple entry visas. Maybe double or triple-entry visas. This is one issue. Among other issues, some of them are waiting to get citizenship in India. There are some other people who – for the sake of their children – have taken citizenship in India but they later faced some problems in that regard. It should not happen that rather than helping them out we end up burdening them in such a situation. This is a very practical thing. But for the common man, even the small things may become a big problem. We should see how can we help them with passports, visas, schools, etc.”

Dr S Jaishankar further said, “If we get per district details, we will be helping them out. We should help them. Because we have even helped out people abroad. Some of them have certain problems. Every problem is unique in its nature. In such a situation, it is our duty to take care of their problems including schooling, citizenship, visas, and all. I am trying to et all the details from the community organisations and we will take this issue ahead.”

Explaining more about the citizenship issue, the minister said, “We have to see who all want to get citizenship and passports. Not every one of them is willing to get citizenship. Some of them have applied for passports. Some others in the group have applied elsewhere. It differs from family to family. They too have all the choices and priorities. We shall also see who all get citizenship and passports according to the laws. It was because of the CAA that these people had the faith to come to India. And it was our duty to bring them here first. Had there been no CAA, what would happen to these people? One must ponder a thought on this. Sometimes people find a political angle in everything. This is not a political issue. This is an issue related to humanity. Who could have left these people in that situation? We have to prove ourselves true to the trust they have shown in us. We should address all their issues in the best ways we can.”

It is notable that the government of India ran Operation Devi Shakti to rescue Sikhs in Afghanistan and bring them to India in 2021 when the Taliban took over the country.

As Congress inches towards legalising cow slaughter and banning Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, they merge Bajrang Sena into the party in Madhya Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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As Congress inches towards legalising cow slaughter and banning Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, they merge Bajrang Sena into the party in Madhya Pradesh

The Hindutva organisation Bajrang Sena merged with Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, raising the political temperature in the state months before the upcoming legislative election. The former alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party had strayed from the right path and had cheated the electorate to gain power in the state.

The merger took place during an event on Tuesday evening at the Congress state office in Bhopal, in the presence of the president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee and former chief minister Kamal Nath. He was presented with a mace and other mementoes by Bajrang Sena members, who also raised “Jai Shriram” slogans on the occasion.

A Bhagwa (saffron) rally was held beforehand, with hundreds of young people wearing saffron scarves and waving saffron flags in attendance. Some of them even performed traditional martial art forms to the sounds of drums.

The union of the outfit with the Congress is credited to Deepak Joshi, a former minister who last month defected from the BJP to join the Congress. He reportedly shares a tight relationship with the leaders of the right-wing group.

Bajrang Sena was founded in Chhatarpur in 2013. Raghunandan Sharma, the outfit’s convener, is a founding member of the BJP and has ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The group has a history of supporting the BJP and has been actively involved in cow protection as well as efforts to “unify Hindus by breaking the caste system.” It is also known for protesting on religious and social issues.

The Bajrang Sena’s national president Ranveer Pateria and coordinator Raghunandan Sharma announced the merger in the presence of Deepak Joshi.

According to the former, they have embraced the political philosophy of the Congress as well as the viewpoints of the state party chief wholeheartedly.
Additionally, he stated that they were dedicated to overthrowing the BJP administration, which is known for its treachery, lying, and dishonesty, and establishing a Congress government led by Kamal Nath through the 2023 assembly elections.

Notably, Congress, which is currently cosying up to Bajrang Dal, has a long history of vehemently opposing Hindu nationalist organisations. The party went so far as to pledge to outlaw the Bajrang Dal in their election manifesto during the recent Karnataka assembly election. It attempted damage control with the aid of its senior leaders, including former Karnataka chief minister M. Veerappa Moily and incumbent state party head and deputy chief minister D. K. Shivakumar, after the move resulted in a significant backlash.

Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) also delivered a defamation notice to Congress for associating Bajrang Dal with banned terrorist groups and sought Rs. 100 crores in damages.

However, days, after the Congress government was formed in Karnataka, Priyank Kharge, the son of the national president of the Indian National Congress Mallikarjun Kharge and Minister for Social Welfare in the state cabinet, sparked controversy yet again by equating the RSS and Bajrang Dal with the PFI and threatened to ban the two Hindu outfits in the state.

Afterwards, chief minister Siddaramaiah rubbished the claim and clarified that any outfit disrupting social peace and harmony will face harsh punishment and pointed out that the party had not discussed outlawing RSS.

Following that, K Venkatesh, the minister of animal husbandry and veterinary sciences, made a comment about ‘reviewing’ the anti-cow slaughter law brought in by the previous BJP government and legalising the same. He mentioned that the government will discuss it. “If a buffalo can be slaughtered, why not cows,” he argued.

The minister claimed that farmers struggle with the maintenance of old livestock and the disposal of the dead in an effort to further support his assertion. One of the cows that just passed away at his property, he alleged, was difficult to dispose of.

However, senior Congress leader and Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy issued a different statement on the matter. He remarked, “The creator has given no rights to anyone to take life. I am against the killing of any animal. Every animal has a right to life,” while addressing reporters. He also proclaimed that he will share his opinion in the cabinet meeting as well.

Interestingly, on May 23, the newly elected Congress Government in Karnataka received a list of anti-Hindu demands from Amnesty India, a dubious outfit that shut down its office in India when multiple authorities started looking into it for possible Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) breaches.

The Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, was also the subject of a review appeal from the group which called on the administration to permit cow slaughter.

France: Syrian refugee stabs young children playing in a playground, leaves two children critically injured

OpIndia Staff
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France: Syrian refugee stabs young children playing in a playground, leaves two children critically injured

On Thursday, June 8, a man went on a stabbing spree in Annecy, France, injuring seven people, including six children. The accused, a Syrian asylum seeker, has been apprehended. Though officials have not disclosed the identity of the accused, The Mirror, citing sources, identified the attacker as Abdel Masih H.

The stabbing occurred at a park in Annecy at around 9:45 am (local time), where several children aged three to five were present as part of a school excursion. At least two of the children hurt in the incident are in critical condition.

Annecy is a scenic town in the French Alps close to the border with Switzerland popular with tourists.

Eyewitnesses told French news outlet Le Dauphine that the accused attacked the children while they were playing at a small playground in the French town.

“He wanted to attack everyone. I moved away and he lunged at an old man and woman and stabbed the old man,” NDTV quoted former professional footballer Anthony Le Tallec, who was running in the park, telling the local Dauphine Libere newspaper.

Meanwhile, a video reportedly showing a man fleeing after stabbing five people on Thursday has gone viral. A freelance journalist posted the video, which is gaining popularity on Twitter. The six-second video shows a man in black shorts and a sweatshirt racing through a park while locals chase him. The man is also wearing a cap. In the background, some people can be heard screaming.

French Interior Minister Darmanin, meanwhile, took to Twitter to condemn the incident. “Several people, including six children were injured by an individual armed with a knife in a square in Annecy. The individual was arrested, thanks to the very rapid intervention of the police,” he tweeted. 

French President Emmanuel Macron called it an “attack of absolute cowardice”.

“The nation is shocked. Our thoughts are with (the victims) as well as their families and the emergency services,” he tweeted.

“Nothing more abominable than to attack children,” French national assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on Twitter.

The French parliament observed a minute of silence to mark the incident and roads are blocked around the scene of the attack.

A police spokesman, meanwhile, informed that the attacker was a 31-year-old Syrian asylum seeker who carried Swedish identity documents and a Swedish driving license. He entered France legally and was not known to security agencies.

His motives were unknown, according to an investigative source, who added that anti-terrorism officials had not been asked to lead the inquiry at this point.

According to reports, the accused had entered France illegally. According to The Telegraph UK, the individual applied for asylum at the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) on November 28, 2022. On April 26, 2023, the accused claimed to have gained refugee status in Sweden. As a result, his appeal for asylum in France was futile because he was lawful under EU law, according to the French news source Libération.

1984 Anti-Sikh riots: Special MP-MLA court to hear CBI’s supplementary chargesheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on June 30

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1984 Anti-Sikh riots: Special MP-MLA court to hear CBI’s supplementary chargesheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on June 30

A special MP-MLA court on Thursday listed the matter related to the supplementary charge sheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler for a hearing on June 30.

The CBI filed the charge sheet on May 20 in Rouse Avenue Court. This case is connected with the killing of three Sikhs in the Pul Bangash area on November 1, 1984. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Vidhi Anand Gupta took up the matter after receiving the case file.

ACMM Gupta said, “The file is received shortly and needs time to go through it. Thereafter an appropriate order will be passed.”

On the last date of the hearing, the CMM transferred the case to the special MP-MLA court since it is a case involving a former MP.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on May 20 filed a chargesheet against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in a case related to Anti-Sikh riots in 1984 following the assassination of the then Prime Minister of India, on 31 October 1984.

Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, then Member of Parliament has been named as accused in the chargesheet.

In a statement, CBI mentioned that the agency had registered the instant case in November 2005 on an incident wherein Gurudwara Pul Bangash at Azad Market, Bara Hindu Rao, Delhi was set on fire by a mob and three persons namely Sardar Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Gurcharan Singh were burnt to death on November 1, 1984, near Gurudwara Pul Bangash.

Justice Nanavati Commission of Inquiry was set up in the year 2000 by the Government of India to enquire into the incidents of Anti-Sikh riots of the year 1984 in Delhi.

After consideration of the Commission’s report, the Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) issued directions to CBI to investigate the case against the then Member of Parliament and others.

During the CBI investigation, evidence came on record that on November 1, 1984, the said accused allegedly instigated, incited and provoked the mob assembled at Gurudwara Pul Bangash at Azad Market, Delhi which resulted in the burning of Gurudwara Pul Bangash and killing of three Sikh persons by the mob, apart from burning and looting of shops.

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

CBI files chargesheet against Congress-era lobbyist Deepak Talwar and his NGO, says he misused non-profit funds for business and personal purposes

OpIndia Staff
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CBI files chargesheet against Congress-era lobbyist Deepak Talwar and his NGO, says he misused non-profit funds for business and personal purposes

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against Congress-ear corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar and his non-profit organisation, Advantage India, for breaching the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). The chargesheet claims that the accused Talwar misappropriated funds intended for non-profit activities, redirecting them towards multiple business endeavours in violation of the FCRA.

In addition to Deepak Talwar and his non-profit organisation, Advantage India, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has included Girish Vaid, Krishna Kumar Nair, Tarun Kumar Kapoor, Archana Kapoor, and Pran Nath Monga as co-accused in the charge sheet. It is worth noting that the CBI initiated a case against Deepak Talwar and Advantage India in 2017 based on a complaint by the Home Ministry, alleging violations of the FCRA.

According to the CBI, Advantage India is accused of receiving ₹ 90.72 crores in foreign contributions from various sources from 2012 to 2016. Additionally, the organisation allegedly received donations from defence companies Airbus and MBDA.

According to a report by NDTV, the investigation has revealed that the non-profit organisation misused foreign contributions, intended for Deepak Talwar’s personal and business activities, thereby violating the provisions of the FCRA, sources said.

Quoting the source, NDTV reported, “The NGO (non-government organisation) spent ₹ 30.37 lakhs between May 2015 and January 2016 as expenses for the foreign travels of Deepak Talwar.”

Furthermore, the investigation has uncovered that the non-profit organisation acted as a guarantor, utilising its fixed deposits to secure overdraft facilities for Wave Impex, a company controlled by Deepak Talwar and his family. The funds from the non-profit were subsequently used for the business operations of the said company.

The source said, “The association had also submitted bills claiming to have purchased medicines worth ₹ 26.97 crores for various medical camps from two entities, Aastha Pharma and Hind Pharma, but during the investigation, both these entities have clarified that they have not dealt with the association.”

According to the CBI, the non-profit organisation was located within the premises of Deepak Talwar and allegedly paid rent of ₹ 80 lakhs to him between 2012 and 2015. This payment is claimed to constitute the utilisation of foreign contributions for personal gains.

Following the authorisation granted by the Home Minister to investigate FCRA violations, Advantage India became the first case registered by the CBI in 2017 regarding such violations. Deepak Talwar, in addition to this, faces charges by the CBI in the Air India case. In this case, he is accused of assisting multiple foreign private airlines in obtaining advantageous routes and schedules, resulting in financial losses for Air India, the national airline at the time.

North India’s first Tirupati Balaji Temple inaugurated in the scenic Shivalik hills in Jammu: Details

OpIndia Staff
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North India’s first Tirupati Balaji Temple inaugurated in the scenic Shivalik hills in Jammu: Details

The grand temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy, built in the picturesque Shivalik forests in the Majeen area of Sidhra on the outskirts of Jammu city, opened its doors for devotees on Thursday, June 8.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, along with Union Minister of State in the PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, dedicated the temple to the devotees amidst the chanting of religious mantras and the beating of dhol and nagaras in the morning.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy through video conferencing. Shah addressed the devotees and congratulated them on the grand opening of the temple. He added that he will visit the shrine whenever he goes on a state visit next.

Union Minister G Krishna Reddy and other leaders and officials were also present on the occasion of the inauguration.

Speaking on the auspicious occasion, L-G Sinha said, “The dedication of Lord Venkateswara temple will strengthen the religious tourism circuit in J&K, give a boost to spiritual tourism and a major fillip to the economic development and employment opportunities in the Union Territory.”

“Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Shri Kailakh Jyotish & Vedic Sansthan and many other organizations are making immense contributions to promote Vedic culture & traditions. I am confident Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams will develop a Ved Pathshala & Health Centre on priority,” he added.

The temple, built on 62 acres of land on a similar pattern to the famous Tirupati Balaji temple in the hill town Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, is the sixth built by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) outside the southern state — the others being Hyderabad, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Kanyakumari, and Delhi.

It is also one of Jammu’s largest temples and is expected to boost religious and pilgrimage tourism in the union territory.

On Wednesday (June 7, 2023), Lord Venkateswara’s eight and six-foot idols were installed in the temple after the pran pratishtha pooja was done on May 6, 2023, by 45 priests and saints from Andhra Pradesh. The main sanctum of the temple houses an 8-foot-tall idol of Lord Venkateswara. Additionally, a 6-foot-tall statue has been erected outside the sanctum sanctorum. According to reports, these idols have been made from granite stone and brought from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

Image source: The Indian Express

Besides several pilgrimage facilities like amenities complex and kalyana mandapam (wedding stage), the project includes educational and developmental infrastructure like Veda pathshala (Vedic teaching classrooms), hostel building and staff quarters.

From the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum to a gold-plated tower, the temple is the replica of the original Tirupati Balaji temple in Tirumala, built following the Dravidian style of architecture. However, some works within the temple premises are still in progress.

Image source: The Indian Express

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthan Board built this temple. In June 2021, the temple’s foundation stone was laid. Following that, more than 50 artisans from Andhra Pradesh began constructing the grand temple. The temple of Lord Balaji, as well as lodging and parking for the board’s priests and officials, were built in the first phase.

In the second phase, a Ved Pathshala, spiritual centre, and other facilities will be erected.

The construction had begun in 2021 after the government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir approved the proposal to allot the required area of land to build a replica of the famous Tirupati temple near Jammu.

In April 2021, the Administrative Council (AC), which is headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, met and approved the proposal to allocate 496 kanals of land on lease for 40 years to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for building a temple and allied infrastructure.

In February 2021, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir agreed to allocate land to TTD near the Jammu-Katra highway for constructing a temple of Sri Venkateswara Swamy. TTD will be constructing a temple along with a Vedic school and hospital in a minimum span of two years.

Besides Jammu and Kashmir, TTD has also planned to build the grand temples of Lord Venkateswara, on the lines of the famous Tirupathi temple, in the sacred city of Varanasi and Mumbai.

Construction of temples in Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, and Bhuvaneshwar is underway. The TTD has constructed Sri Venkateswara Swamy temples in Hyderabad, Kurukshetra, and Kanyakumari which are functional and attract impressive pilgrim populations.

Instagram algorithms promoting accounts creating and purchasing child-sex content – find a report, Meta says it is working on the issue

OpIndia Staff
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Instagram algorithms promoting accounts creating and purchasing child-sex content – find a report, Meta says it is working on the issue

Instagram is drawing criticism after a recent report revealed that its algorithms are actively pushing networks of paedophiles who commission and sell child sexual abuse content on Meta-owned popular image-sharing app.

In a joint investigation by the Wall Street Journal, Stanford University researchers and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, it has been found that Instagram algorithms not only host but also promote a “vast paedophile network” that advertises illegal “child-sex material”. 

“Its algorithms promote them. Instagram connects paedophiles and guides them to content sellers via recommendation systems that excel at linking those who share niche interests,” the joint investigation by WSJ and the academic researchers found.

The report claimed to have found that Instagram allowed users to search for explicit hashtags such as #pedowhore and #preteensex, which led them to profiles that featured menus of content pertaining to child-sex material for sale. Such accounts frequently claim to be controlled by the children themselves and have explicitly sexual handles such as “little sl*t for you.”

Furthermore, it was found by the Stanford Internet Observatory that some accounts allowed buyers to “commission specific acts” such as children harming themselves, and performing sexual acts with animals etc. Such accounts also offered to arrange paid “meet-ups”.

In response to the findings of the investigative report, Meta has acknowledged the problem within its enforcement operations and stated that an internal task force has been set to address the issue. 

“Child exploitation is a horrific crime. We’re continuously investigating ways to actively defend against this behaviour,” Meta said.

Meta stated that in January alone, it removed 490,000 accounts that violated its child safety regulations and that it has removed 27 paedophile networks in the last two years. The company further stated that it has blocked thousands of hashtags connected with child sexualization and removed these terms from search results.

When researchers’ test accounts accessed a single account in the network, they were bombarded with “suggested for you” suggestions of alleged child-sex-content dealers and purchasers, as well as accounts referring to off-platform content trade sites. Following only a few of these recommendations was enough to overwhelm a test account with child-sexualizing content. Upon using child-sex-related hashtags, the researchers found 405 sellers of “self-generated” child sex material. The report further suggested that many such accounts were run by children as young as 12.

Compared to Instagram, the report found that other social media platforms are less tractable to such child abuse networks. 

As per the WSJ, the Stanford investigators identified “128 accounts offering to sell child-sex-abuse material on Twitter, less than a third the number they found on Instagram” despite Twitter having significantly fewer users, and that such content “does not appear to proliferate” on TikTok. According to the investigation, Snapchat did not actively promote such networks since it is primarily used for direct messaging.

The report further noted that Instagram permitted users to search several terms that its algorithms were aware to have a connection with illicit material. On such search terms, a warning popped up which read, “These results may contain images of child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse or viewing sexual imagery of children can lead to imprisonment and other severe personal consequences. This abuse causes extreme harm to children and searching and viewing such materials adds to that harm. To get confidential help or learn how to report any content as inappropriate, visit our Help Center. Get resources. See results anyway”. The “See results anyway” option, however, was removed later without any explanation regarding why it was offered at the first place.

A screenshot taken by the Stanford Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Center shows
the warning and clickthrough option when searching for a pedophilia-related hashtag on Instagram.

Meanwhile, Twitter owner Elon Musk shared the said WSJ report on Twitter and termed it as “Extremely concerning”.

Notably, in January this year, Meta announced that it would offer end-to-end encryption on its platforms. However, the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) comprising 15 law enforcement agencies including the FBI and Interpol had criticised Meta’s decision in April stating that the company’s plans to expand end-to-end encryption on its platforms were “a purposeful design choice that degrades safety systems” adding that increasing end-to-end encryption would blindfold them to child sex abuse.

“The abuse will not stop just because companies decide to stop looking,” the VGT statement said.

Apart from promoting child abuse, Instagram has also been criticised for its other “biases” as OpIndia reported in December last year, that a comment saying that the “genocide of Hindus is not a crime” was not found in violation of Instagram’s Community Guidelines and no action was taken back then.

Uttar Pradesh: Javed traps two Hindu sisters, one of them minor, in love affairs, tries to convert them to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Javed traps two Hindu sisters, one of them minor, in love affairs, tries to convert them to Islam

A unique case of Love JIhad has come to the fore from Aligarh region of Uttar Pradesh in which the accused identified as Javed trapped two Hindu sisters in a love affair and tried to convert them to Islam. The accused is also reported to have assaulted the sisters, one of whom is a minor.

According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened in the Aligarh Kotwali area where one of the victims, a married Hindu girl was working in a factory. She got introduced to Javed at her workplace who trapped her in a love affair and got her divorced from her husband.

The woman then began living with Javed. This happened around 6 years ago. As per the complaint filed by the girl’s mother, Javed then tried to force the woman to convert her religion to Islam. Upon refusal, he then trapped her minor sister and took her away with him.

He expressed his willingness to marry the minor girl and again attempted to convert her religion to Islam. However, the minor girl and her mother refused saying that she was a Hindu and would marry only a Hindu family. The minor was then physically attacked by the accused.

The incident came to the fore only after the mother of the victim girl filed a police complaint after the accused took the girl away with him. He also said that he was ready to leave the elder sister and would stay only with the minor one.

The mother of the victim girl remarked that Javed first kept her elder daughter with him and now he has taken the younger daughter and wants to convert her. “We refused this and said that we are Hindus, we will ensure our daughter gets married in a Hindu family only,” the mother said.

The accused is a resident of Bhujpura. Upon the complaint of the victim’s mother, the police recovered the girl after registering a missing complaint. The victim girl also said that she was assaulted and beaten by Javen for refusing to convert religion to Islam.

One of the local BJP leaders commented on the matter and confirmed that the entire case is of Love Jihad. “A poor girl working in a factory was coaxed and taken with him after divorcing her husband, when she did not agree to change her religion, he left her and her younger sister, whose age is only 14 to 15 years, he took her with him,” the leader was quoted as saying.

“She was assaulted, left behind because she refused to convert to Islam, the entire family suffered, her mother was ill and had to be hospitalised; BJP members assisted her, and the daughter was then able to safely return home”, he added.

The police has launched a manhunt to nab the accused.

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