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‘Hinduism is inferior. It will never develop’: Christian missionary arrested for attempting forceful conversions of villagers near Indore

OpIndia Staff
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‘Hinduism is inferior. It will never develop’: Christian missionary arrested for attempting forceful conversions of villagers near Indore

On 23rd March 2023, a 23-year-old Christian missionary named Rahul Bargunda was arrested from the Khudel area near Indore for attempting forceful conversions of more than 24 people living near the Kampel Chowki area. The arrested accused abused Hindu deities and lured the villagers with money and facilities for education and healthcare. the police arrested the accused missionary and registered a case of forced conversions and threats.

The case is from the Khudel area near Indore. On March 23, more than 24 people were gathered in a house in the Kampel Chowki area and forced to convert. According to the Khudel police, a case has been registered against Rahul Bargunda of village Selani, for converting and threatening. Rohit Gopal Kanosia, a resident of the village Telia Khedi, had complained in this regard. The accused missionary Rahul Bargunda is a local farmer in the village itself. The villagers brought Rahul to Khudel police station on Thursday.

The complainant, Rohit Kanosia, told the police that the accused Rahul Bargunda had been visiting the area for several days. He used to tell the villagers that he knows such rituals, by which he can cure the disease, and can make money, and bring happiness to all. The accused Rahul then gathered people at the house of Sandeep, a resident of the Dussehra Maidan area. Rohit Kanosia also reached there as part of the planning.

Addressing the people in this meeting, this missionary Rahul Bargundii said, “Hinduism is inferior. Hinduism will never develop. You will never be happy here. The Lord Jesus gave this message. Everything will be fine if you seek his refuge. Jesus is the truth. Come to his religion. Otherwise, you will die in agony. After some time there are going to be many diseases. The Lord Jesus sent the ladder of heaven for all. Everyone is welcome in Christian missionaries. Every family that converts to Christianity will get Rs 1 lakh, free education in a missionary school, and free treatment in a hospital.”

When complainant Rohit Kanosia tried to stop this preaching, missionary Rahul Bargunda opposed him. Rahul Bargunda’s associates also opposed Rohit Kanosia. Meanwhile, Rohit Kanosia informed his friends who came on the spot and took Rahul Bargunda to the police station. the police arrested him and te further investigations, in this case, are going on.

It is notable that the number of cases reported for forced conversions in the Indore area are constantly increasing in the last few months. Police are also checking if there are any foreign funding agencies involved in the conversion racket. A pastor of a church in the Jhabua district and his associates were arrested in January 2023 for attempting religious conversion under the garb of treatment.

NIA files chargesheet against Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and 12 others, charges them with criminal conspiracy to unleash terror and targeted killings

ANI
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NIA files chargesheet against Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and 12 others, charges them with criminal conspiracy to unleash terror and targeted killings

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against notorious gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar and 12 others having links with the proscribed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and several other pro-Khalistani terrorist outfits, in the second of the three terror-gangster nexus cases.

All the 14 accused have been charged with criminal conspiracy to unleash a wave of terror and carry out targeted killings of well-known social and religious leaders, movie stars, singers and businessmen, said the NIA. Besides having links with conspirators in Pakistan, the accused were also in contact with pro-Khalistani elements based in Canada, Nepal and other countries, NIA investigations have revealed.

Bishnoi, in custody since 2015, has been operating his terror-crime Syndicate from Jails in different States, along with Canada based Goldy Brar, who is an accused in the killing of Pradeep Kumar, a Dera Sacha Sauda follower, in Faridkot in November 2022, said the NIA.

Bishnoi terror-crime-extortion syndicate was also responsible for providing killers for the Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack case on Punjab State Intelligence headquarters at Mohali, which was carried out on directions of Harwinder Singh alias Rinda, a Pakistan-based BKI terrorist, the NIA investigations have revealed.

The anti-terror agency said Brar was found to have direct links with Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, another BKI operative working closely with Rinda.

“Landa is also an accused in the Mohali RPG attack as well as the December 2022 RPG attack on police station Sirhali in Tarn Taran, Punjab,” said the NIA, adding “Investigations against Landa and three others are continuing.”

NIA has seized a huge cache of nine illegal and sophisticated weapons, 14 magazines, 298 rounds of ammunition and 183 digital devices and other incriminating material in raids across 74 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Delhi in the case.

The investigating agency had conducted large-scale searches over a period of six months and examined around 70 members of different Organised Crime Support networks during the course of its investigations.

Seven Look Out Circulars and five Non Bailable Warrants have so far been issued in the case by the NIA, which has also attached and seized seven immovable properties under Section 25 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and frozen 62 bank accounts.

The agency said the investigations further led the NIA to the hideouts set up across Haryana and Punjab, which were being used to harbour the gangsters and store weapons.

Besides Bishnoi and Brar, other chargesheeted accused have been identified as Jagdeep Singh, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikramjeet Singh, Sandeep Jhanjariya, Virender Pratap Singh, Joginder Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Raj Kumar, Anil, Naresh Yadav and Shahbaaz Ansari.

Earlier, on March 21, the NIA had filed its first chargesheet against 12 accused in the terror-gangster nexus cases under investigation. The accused in that case were identified as Arsh Dala, Gaurav Patyal, Sukhpreet Buddha, Kaushal Choudhary, Amit Dagar, Naveen Bali, Chhotu Bhat, Asif Khan, Jagga Takhatmal, Tillu Tajpuria, Bhupi Rana and Sandeep Bandar.

Today’s action takes the total number of accused chargesheeted by the NIA so far in these cases to 26.

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

Delhi HC seeks NCPCR’s response in PIL against Rahul Gandhi for revealing the identity of parents of a minor rape and murder victim

ANI
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Delhi HC seeks NCPCR’s response in PIL against Rahul Gandhi for revealing the identity of parents of a minor rape and murder victim

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a response from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on a plea filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with his tweet revealing the identity of the relatives of a minor who was raped and murdered in 2021.

The Bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Sachin Datta on Friday listed the matter for July 27, after issuing notice to the NCPCR. Earlier NCPCR counsel submitted that it wants to support and joint hand with the petitioner in the matter. The lawyer had requested the court to issue a notice in the matter so that it can file an affidavit “as we believe that the offence survives.”

The Delhi HC is presently examining a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to Twitter and the Delhi Police to take action against Rahul Gandhi’s tweet allegedly revealing the identity of the relatives of a rape and murder victim.

The predecessor bench had earlier issued notice to Twitter only made “explicitly clear” that no notice is being issued to other respondents.

Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya earlier appeared for Twitter had informed the Court that “nothing survived” in the petition as the tweet in question was taken down.

Earlier Twitter counsel had submitted that Rahul Gandhi’s tweet violated its policy also, we have already removed that tweet and his Twitter account was also blocked for some time.

The bench had also refused to issue notice to Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Police on the public interest litigation (PIL) at this stage.

The petitioner Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar claimed to be a social activist had approached Delhi HC seeking its intervention for appropriate legal action against Rahul Gandhi for allegedly disclosing sensitive information about a rape victim and her family members by publishing a photograph of her parents on his Twitter handle.

The Petitioner stated that Rahul Gandhi has violated Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and section 23(2) of the POCSO Act, 2012, both of which mandate that the identity of a child victim of a crime shall not be disclosed.

The law in this regard is very well-settled in a catena of judgments including in the case of Nipun Saxena vs Union Of India wherein it was held by the Supreme Court of India, that the name, address, school or other particulars which may lead to the identification of the child in conflict with law/victim cannot be disclosed in the media. No picture of such a child, or any such particular which can directly or indirectly disclose her identity, can be published.

A child who is not in conflict with the law but is a victim of an offence, especially a sexual offense needs this protection even more, plea read.

In August 2021, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met the family of the minor girl who was allegedly raped, murdered, and cremated without her parent’s consent in Delhi’s Old Nangal crematorium. After meeting with the family, he assured his support to the family. Rahul Gandhi also tweeted about his meeting and shared a picture of him with the victim’s parents on Twitter. 

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

J&K bars govt employees from publishing, sharing any political or ‘anti-secular’ content, criticising govt policies on social media

OpIndia Staff
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J&K bars govt employees from publishing, sharing any political or ‘anti-secular’ content, criticising govt policies on social media

On Friday, the government of Jammu and Kashmir issued a special notification barring all the government employees of the Union Territory from criticizing the government or engaging in any discussion against the government over social media. The authorities stated that no such discussion or criticism shall be conducted by government employees on social media pages, communities or microblogs.

According to the notification, any govt employee who would violate the directions shall be charged with the Information Technology Act, The Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1971 and the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) rules, 1956.

The direction further asks the government employees to stop posting or sharing any content that is political or anti-secular and communal in nature. It also asks them not to follow or subscribe to pages, communities, Twitter handles and blogs that share or post political or anti-secular content.

“No government employee shall publish in his name or any other person’s name an opinion that might create embarrassment between the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Government of India or Government of any other state. No opinion shall be criticism of any policy or action of the state or national government,” the notification reads.

It adds that any government employee found posting illegal content on social media shall be liable to imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years with fine under the IT Act. Also, the employee may face the risk of pre-mature retirement or lower increments or demotion to lower post under the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) rules, 1956.

As per the official statement, the notification applies to all the government employees of the UT using any social media platform like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram or any other Instant messaging application.

Biological men who medically transitioned into “women” after puberty banned from female events to protect future of female category: Rules World Athletics

OpIndia Staff
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Biological men who medically transitioned into “women” after puberty banned from female events to protect future of female category: Rules World Athletics

On Thursday, March 23, World Athletics, the international governing organisation for athletics, banned transgender women (men who have transitioned to women) from competing in the female category at international events. It said that transgender women who have been through male puberty will not be able to compete in female events starting March 31.

The governing body of the organisation stated that men who became women after puberty as male have been banned from women’s events to “protect the future of the female category” in sports.

Speaking about the decision, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said that they know that the decision would be contentious, but it was necessary. He added that it was guided by the “overarching principle” of fairness, as well as the science around physical performance and male advantage.

“Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations. We believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount,” he said.

However, he added that the body will be open to any new research findings in the future. Coe said that he would set up a working group that would consult with transgender athletes and review any fresh research that emerged. “We’re not saying no forever,” he said.

The governing body also stated that it had tightened testosterone restrictions for other athletes. It has cut down the testosterone plasma to 2.5 nanomoles per litre, which was earlier 5 nanomoles per litre.

Now, it requires DSD athletes to have a blood testosterone level of 2.5 nanomoles per litre for a minimum of 24 months across all events to compete, double the previous time.

Several women who were formerly men will be unable to compete at the World Athletics Championships in August due to the new restrictions.

Notably, this is not the first time that trans women had to face restrictions in elite competition. Last June, the World Aquatics Federation voted to prohibit transgender women from the elite competition if they had gone through any stage of male puberty. A scientific panel discovered that transgender women had a considerable advantage even after lowering their testosterone levels using medication.

The vote was approved by 71% of the national federations.

Tension in Leicester due to Muslim enclaves and their majoritarianism: Report submitted in House gives 4 key recommendations to protect Hindus

OpIndia Staff
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Tension in Leicester due to Muslim enclaves and their majoritarianism: Report submitted in House gives 4 key recommendations to protect Hindus

On Thursday (March 23), the Centre for Democracy, Pluralism and Human Rights (CDPHR) tabled a fact-finding report [pdf] on the anti-Hindu violence, which took in Leicester last year, before the UK’s House of Commons. The report, prepared by activist Rashmi Samant and political analyst Chris Blackburn, highlighted how the Leicester attack on the Hindu community was a direct assault on “democratic institutions and rule of law.”

It pointed out how the Islamists weaponised misinformation to undermine freedom of expression, committed human rights violations by targeting practitioners of Hinduism and attempted ethnic cleansing that resulted in the temporary displacement of Hindu families.

To ascertain the reasons and key circumstances that led to the anti-Hindu Leicester violence, CDPHR sent a team of researchers to ground zero. In their report, Rashmi Samant and Chris Blackburn found that the unrest took place primarily in the East Leicester area.

The findings reveal that East Leicester is a Muslim-dominated area with a minority presence of the Hindu community. The report noted that the attack on Hindus was a direct fallout of territorial tensions and localised majoritarianism (of the Muslims in East Leicester).

“Symptoms of territorial ethnic cleansing were found through the analysis of the different slogans and speeches made by the majority community of East Leicester and the temporary displacement of Hindu community as a result of the unrest,” CDPHR said in its report.

Screengrab of the CDPHR report

The report also found that a concerted attempt was made to defame the Hindu community as ‘Hindutva nationalists’ and nationwide mobilisation outside of Leicester (only succeeded in Birmingham)

“There was an increased misuse of law enforcement and security measures and appropriation of public good by false reporting to the police and local media bodies regarding the actions of the Hindu community,” CDPHR emphasised.

“Institutional Hinduphobia and bias was deduced through the analysis of the reporting of the Leicester unrest by the media houses BBC and the Guardian when compared to the verified police reports, witness accounts and corroborating reports from think tanks,” it added.

Recommendations given by the fact-finding report

The fact-finding report by Chris Blackburn and Rashmi Samant gave 4 recommendations to prevent unrest and targeted violence, as witnessed in Leicester between August and October 2022.

  1. The report emphasised the need to tackle misinformation on social media by promoting media literacy among the general public and increasing collaboration between social media platforms, governments and civil society organisations.
  2. It further stated that biased media reporting must be curtailed by holding media outlets accountable, supporting independent media that report facts, enforcing regulations to promote impartial reporting and encouraging transparency.
  3. CDPHR sought curtailing sentiments of majoritarianism and transnational political externalities by promoting tolerance, and pluralism and educating the public about democratic values and the dangers of majoritarianism.
  4. Lastly, the report highlighted the need to stop growing Hinduphobia and secure the vulnerable mico-minorities by developing laws that prohibit hate speech, and discrimination, providing legal recourse to victims and adopting the definition of Hinduphobia.

Think tank found no evidence of RSS, or Hindutva gangs in Leicester

In November 2022, a UK-based think tank debunked the false claims made by Islamists about the presence of ‘RSS terrorists’ and ‘Hindutva extremist organisations’ in Leicester city.

The disinformation was peddled by Islamists to rationalise their targeting of the Hindu community and camouflage their acts of aggression as violence perpetrated in self-defence.

The Henry Jackson Society (HJS), founded in 2005, released a 39-page report [pdf] on November 3 and concluded that the false allegations had exposed the Hindu community in Leicester to hate, vandalism and assault.

“Contrary to press reports at the time, the investigations did not find Hindutva extremist organisations operating in Leicester, but instead discovered a micro-community cohesion issue falsely presented as an issue of organised Hindutva extremism and terrorism,” the summary of the report read.

HJS emphasised, “It finds that false allegations of RSS terrorists and Hindutva extremist organisations active in the UK has put the wider Hindu community at risk from hate, vandalism and assault.”

“Some members of the Hindu community in Leicester imposed a voluntary curfew, some relocated to stay with family or friends until they felt safe to return, while still others were unable to return to work owing to fears for their personal safety,” it further added.

India seeks deportation of Khalistani separatists involved in the attack on the High Commission in London: Report

OpIndia Staff
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India seeks deportation of Khalistani separatists involved in the attack on the High Commission in London: Report

The Indian government has told the UK administration that people involved in the acts of attack and vandalism against the Indian High Commission building in London last week should be deported, as per a report in news 18.

Some of those have Indian passports and had applied for asylum in the UK under the pretext of ‘political persecution.’ They are implicated in attacks on people from the Indian diaspora in the UK and elsewhere and are members of the Khalistani movement.

Avtar Singh Khanda, one of the Khalistanis, has lived in the UK for several years and is a significant leader of the separatist movement. He requested sanctuary in the UK, claiming political harassment in India.

Khanda was arrested in London for attacking the Indian High Commission building. Khanda, on March 19, climbed onto the balcony of the Commission, brought down the Indian national flag and tried to install the Khalistani flag.

He is a close associate of Khalistani terrorist Parmjit Singh Pamma and is behind the radicalisation of Sikh youths overseas. It also said that he is the ‘main handler’ of ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief and radical Sikh leader, Amritpal Singh. He is in fact, the link between Amritpal and Pakistan’s (Inter-Services Intelligence) ISI, as per reports.

Harjeet Singh, Manroop Singh, Mandeep Singh, and Rajinder Singh are recognised by British authorities in London. These four also hold Indian passports in addition to their British ones, and have lived in the country for some years while actively supporting the secessionist agenda, the News 18 report said.

They have OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) cards, which are issued to Indian citizens living abroad.

They were instrumental in planning the most recent demonstrations and encouraging violence against the Indian government.

They have been teaching live classes in Glasgow and Brihimgam on how to construct improvised explosive devices (IEDs) using common chemicals with the intention of carrying out IED explosions to garner international attention.

The government wants to hold them accountable and bring them back to India to probe their involvement in the protests. It has urged the UK counterpart to repatriate them back to India as soon as feasible.

Delhi Police files case in IHC vandalism case

in the meanwhile, the Delhi police have registered a case and started an investigation against the individuals who were involved in the vandalization and attack against the Indian High Commission building in London. As per reports, the case has been filed under relevant sections of the IPC, UAPA and PDPP Acts. The government is set to proceed and eventually cancel passports and OCI cards held by the offenders.

Khalistanis living abroad have resorted to assaults on Indian High Commissions after Indian law enforcement agencies initiated action against Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh.

As the 2024 general elections draw closer, opposition parties start whining about EVMs preemptively

OpIndia Staff
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As the 2024 general elections draw closer, opposition parties start whining about EVMs preemptively

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the opposition parties have started the familiar attack on electronic voting machines (EVMs). On Thursday, 23rd March 2023, the opposition parties held a joint meeting and decided to approach the election commission to raise their concerns over using EVMs to conduct elections. The concerns were particularly regarding the election commission’s plan to allow remote voting for migrant voters.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh, Independent Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) member Anil Desai, and BRS member K Keshav Rao were among those who attended the meeting of leaders of opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, which was called upon by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. Trinamool Congress didn’t send a representative to the meeting.

In the media interaction after this meeting, Sharad Pawar said, “We just raised certain questions and we expect a reply from the Election Commission.” Congress leader and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijay Singh said that all opposition parties have opposed the Election Commission’s idea to use remote EVMs to enable migrant voters to vote in elections.

Digvijay Singh said, “The opposition parties had even turned down the EC’s plans to make a demonstration about the remote-EVMs. There is doubt among voters about EVMs. Earlier they used to say that this is a standalone machine but now they accept that it is not a standalone machine because the candidate’s name and symbol are inserted through the internet. They used to say that it has a one-time programmable chip. But now they accept it has multiple programmable chips.”

He added, “Citizens Commission on Elections chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur had raised doubts about EVMs and petitioned the Election Commission but had received no response from the Commission. All political parties present here agree that we need to ask this from the EC and that the suspicions in our mind should be done away with”

Kapil Sibal said, “It is a fact that no other country in the world uses EVMs for voting. Then why are these machines being used in our country? The foundation of democracy is at stake if the ‘one man, one vote’ can be manipulated.” However, Sibal and Singh dodged media questions about whether they doubted the electoral victory of opposition parties in jurisdictions where EVMs were used for the election process.

Kapil Sibal said, “We have decided to move the Election Commission one last time. We want to hear from the Election Commission on our concerns. If the EC does not address our concerns, we will take political action.” It is notable that the opposition parties have often blamed EVMs for the electoral defeats in various polls in the recent past.

It is notable that while the Election Commission has developed a Remote EVM to enable people living outside their constituencies to vote, the term is misleading, as the EVM is not connected to a network, as the word ‘remote’ usually denotes. The EVM for remote voting is similar to the existing EVMs, the only difference being that one single machine can be used for several constituencies.

Just like the regular EVMs, RVMs are also standalone, non-networked voting machines, they do not have any network interface and can’t be connected to any network. While EVMs are used for voting in a single constituency, RVMs can run elections for several constituencies, up to 72. Using RVMs, people from different constituencies in a state living in a different state can cast their votes during elections. The details about how remote EVMs work can be read in our previous report.

Opposition MPs protesting at Vijay Chowk detained by Delhi police after warning issued to cease protest owing to imposition of Sec 144

OpIndia Staff
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Opposition MPs protesting at Vijay Chowk detained by Delhi police after warning issued to cease protest owing to imposition of Sec 144

On Friday, Delhi Police detained the opposition MPs after it issued a warning not to carry out the protest march citing the imposition of section 144 in the Vijay Chowk area of Delhi. The opposition parties such as the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), JD(U), and Aam Aadmi Party held a protest march against the ruling BJP government and demanded Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) inquiry on the Adani-Hindenberg issue in the parliament.

According to the reports, the prominent opposition leaders including Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge marched in the protest and raised slogans against the ruling government. The leaders also held placards with ‘We demand JPC’, ‘Save LIC’ and ‘Democracy in Danger’ written on them. The opposition also meanwhile condemned the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 defamation case.

The videos of the protest march went viral over the internet in which the MPs could be seen marching at Delhi’s Vijay Chowk while carrying signs and pamphlets that advocated for a JPC enquiry into the Adani matter. A police officer could also be heard imploring the political leaders to put an end to the protest in the meanwhile, citing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which prohibits gatherings, rallies, and unrest in the region.

Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge commented on the issue and said, “We’re fighting for JPC into Adani issue for months. They have a majority but the BJP is scared as there’s something fishy. Centre has a clear majority then why are they fearing the JPC probe? We’ll keep fighting unitedly for it.”

In addition, he also criticized J P Nadda, the president of the BJP, for allegedly blaming Congress for comparing OBC people to robbers and accused the BJP instead of engaging in “caste politics.” Sanjay Singh of the AAP also claimed that Gandhi’s conviction in the defamation case demonstrates the government’s intention to silence the opposition by bringing legal charges against them. Several Youth Congress members also raised slogans in support of Rahul Gandhi.

On Thursday, the Surat Court convicted Rahu Gandhi of criminal defamation and sentenced 2 years of jail. However, the leader was immediately granted bail and the ruling was postponed for 30 days so that he could file an appeal with a higher court.

The defamation suit was filed by Purnesh Modi after Gandhi made derogatory remarks against ‘Modi surname’ at a Lok Sabha election rally in Karnataka’s Kolar on April 13, 2019. “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names,” the leader had said during the rally. However, today the Congress leader was qisqualified from the lower house of the parliament owing to the case from 2019.

To note, section 144 was imposed in the Vijay Chowk of Delhi on March 15 after opposition began their march to the Enforcement Directorate office. The Opposition leaders called for the protest march to hand over a complaint to the probe agency on the Adani issue.

Jack Dorsey loses $526 million in a single day after Hindenburg publishes report alleging fraud in Block Inc

OpIndia Staff
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Jack Dorsey loses $526 million in a single day after Hindenburg publishes report alleging fraud in Block Inc

Hindenburg Research on Thursday released a report on Block Inc., formerly known as Square Inc., which is a $44 billion market cap company that claims to have developed a “frictionless” and “magical” financial technology with a mission to empower the “unbanked” and the “underbanked”. The Publishing of the report was bad news for Jack Dorsey as it led to a dip in his net worth.

According to Bloomberg, Dorsey lost wealth amounting to $526 million in a span of one day.

Jack Jorsey’s wealth plummeted by $526 million after the short seller published its report. His net worth now stands at $4.4 billion after an 11 per cent fall.

Hindenburg’s 2-year investigation into Block.Inc claimed that Block has systematically taken advantage of the demographics it claims to be helping. The “magic” behind Block’s business has not been disruptive innovation, but rather the company’s willingness to facilitate fraud against consumers and the government, avoid regulation, dress up predatory loans and fees as a revolutionary technology, and mislead investors with inflated metrics.

The report says “CEO Jack Dorsey has publicly touted how Cash App is mentioned in hundreds of hip-hop songs as evidence of its mainstream appeal. A review of those songs shows that the artists are not generally rapping about Cash App’s smooth user interface—many describe using it to scam, traffic drugs or even pay for murder”.

The report further claims, “Beyond facilitating payments for criminal activity, the platform has been overrun with scam accounts and fake users, according to numerous interviews with former employees.

Examples of obvious distortions abound: “Jack Dorsey” has multiple fake accounts, including some that appear aimed at scamming Cash App users.  “Elon Musk” and “Donald Trump” have dozens.

To test this, we turned our accounts into “Donald Trump” and “Elon Musk” and were easily able to send and receive money. We ordered a Cash Card under our obviously fake Donald Trump account, checking to see if Cash App’s compliance would take issue—the card promptly arrived in the mail.”

Former Block employees estimated that 40%–75% of the accounts they reviewed were fake, involved in fraud, or additional accounts linked to a single person, according to the US short-seller, who was responsible for a market cap collapse of over $100 billion for India’s Adani Group.

Hindenburg report claims that Block obfuscates the number of users on the Cash App platform by submitting false “transacting active” metrics that contain duplicate and fictitious accounts. Hinderburg added that as the company’s stock price soared during the pandemic, co-founders Jack Dorsey and James McKelvey collectively sold over $1 billion of stock. The report also stated that other executives, including the head of finance Amrita Ahuja and the lead manager for Cash App Brian Grassadonia, sold millions of dollars worth of stock.

In sum, the Hindenburg report claims that Block has misled investors on key metrics, and embraced predatory offerings and practices in order to fuel growth and profit from the facilitation of fraud against consumers and the government.

The report states that Jack Dorsey has built an empire and amassed a $5 billion personal fortune—professing to care deeply about the demographics he is taking advantage of. With Dorsey and top executives already having sold over $1 billion in equity on Block’s meteoric pandemic run higher, they have ensured they will be fine, regardless of the outcome for everyone else.

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