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‘DM my friend and double your money, earn 8-10k, 100% trusted’: How Instagram ‘influencers’ may be sending you to a scamster

Anurag
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‘DM my friend and double your money, earn 8-10k, 100% trusted’: How Instagram ‘influencers’ may be sending you to a scamster

If you are using social media accounts, there is a high chance that you might have come across handles promoting bitcoin trading promising unrealistic returns. For example, some accounts promise to double the money in just a few hours or days. OpIndia came across such accounts on Instagram and took a deep dive to understand how these accounts are functioning, often leading gullible individuals to financial losses.

Interestingly, many so-called influencers on these platforms promote these handles calling them “their friends” in exchange for money.

To understand what has been happening on Instagram, we targeted one specific set of scammers that go by different handles with “Neha Trading” in the usernames. With a simple search, we were able to spot at least 30 accounts of this scammers group. Some of the handles that the scammers use are neha.tradingg, neha__crypto__trader, nhea.tradingg1, neha__trading, nehatrading2023, nehatrading7, neha_tranding_, nehatrading7, tradingneha, neha.trading89, neha_trading_22 and others.

How do these accounts work?

During our investigation, we found that these accounts regularly publish stories, posts, videos and more luring victims to invest a large amount with them. In some cases, they return the money with profit to the victims to build trust and then run away once the victims make a second investment of higher amounts.

One of the accounts that go by the handle neha.tradingg has over 400,000 followers. Posts include messages like “A $500 investment in the right place can change your life”. This account has a lot of videos of so-called influencers from different platforms including Instagram, Sharechat and others, who made videos for them in exchange for money.

For example, in this video, a girl is telling the viewers that Neha’s account is trustworthy and they can earn Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 per day by taking advice from her.

In another video, the girl tells the viewers to DM Neha Trading to get information on investing and earning money. She said it is a “trusted place”.

There are several other videos mentioned below that use the same script and ask the viewers to DM Neha Trading to invest and earn money. Here are some more examples.

Influencer promoting scammer in a video. Source: Instagram
all the influencers used the same script to promote the scam. Source: Instagram

Now comes the interesting part. We reverse-searched some of the images and found that there are several prominent “influencers” who are promoting these services. One of the videos was on Anjali Joel and another of a Rajasthani singer Priya Gupta.

Screenshot of the video of Anjali Joel promoting the scammer. Source: Instagram.
Screenshot of the video of Priya Gupta promoting the scammer. Source: Instagram.
Screenshot of the video of Priya Gupta promoting the scammer. Source: Instagram.

In one of the stories that were posted 53 weeks ago on Priya’s profile, she wrote, “Disclaimer: If I’m promoting someone on my post or story about online earning and products. Do them DM’s on your own risk. I’m not responsible for any scam. Thank you.” The message was posted with a Halo emoji.

Screenshot of story published by Priya warning her fans that she will not be responsible for any scam. Source: Instagram

A similar note was found on Anjali Joel’s profile on Instagram.

Anjali Joel’s story stating she will not be responsible if any of her fans get scammed. Source: Instgram

Another influencer that we found was Rachna, who made headlines for uploading ‘inappropriate’ videos with her son. Netizens objected to the sensual content in her videos. We could not find any post on her profile warning viewers of to be vigilant while investing based on her video.

Screenshot of the video of Rachna promoting the scammer. Source: Instagram.

We also found the video on her profile.

Rachna promoting scammer on Instagram. Source: Instagram

Who is the person in the profile picture?

The scammers are using a photograph of Trading consultant Roberta whose Instagram handle is roberrtatraderoficial059. She runs a training program to “teach people how to trade”.

OpIndia is not claiming that Roberta is a genuine trader or coach. We were not able to verify her credentials either. It is highly recommended not to indulge with any of the accounts mentioned above including that of Roberta.

Victims exposed scammers

We came across several posts where victims said they lost money trusting the scammers. An account that goes by the handle neha_tradingggg_scammer wrote, “Biggestt fraud looted my 20k and block pls report”. It was posted 21 weeks ago. One of the comments mentioned that the scam was being run by the same group of person(s) who are making such profiles with different names and scamming people.

We at OpIndia request our readers not to indulge in trading activities based on the suggestions of shady social media handles and scamsters. Do not trust any influencer who suggests that you can earn Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 per day. If you are the victim of such a scam, please contact the nearest police station at the earliest.

Youth Congress workers in Kerala create ruckus, burn budget papers to protest against the cess on fuel: Here is what’s happening

OpIndia Staff
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Youth Congress workers in Kerala create ruckus, burn budget papers to protest against the cess on fuel: Here is what’s happening

On Tuesday, February 7, the Kerala police used water cannons and tear gas shells on Youth Congress workers who have been protesting in Kochi against the budget presented by the Kerala government.

In the video shared by the news agency ANI, the Youth Congress workers are seen shouting slogans against the state government and waving flags. The police, on their part, are using massive police barricades to keep the protestors at bay. Police can also be seen utilizing water cannons to disperse the group, but protestors continue to demonstrate. A few protestors can also be seen throwing stones at the police force that was deployed to regulate the crowd. According to ANI, police also used tear gas shells to disperse protesters and restore some order.

Reportedly, the youth Congress workers have been protesting in the state ever since a fuel cess was announced in the Kerala Budget 2023-24, presented by state Finance Minister KN Balagopal on February 3.

As part of the ongoing protest, the Youth Congress workers had on Monday, reportedly set a motorbike on fire in front of the Legislative Assembly. They also laid siege to the road in front of the Assembly complex. The scuffle ensued after the police tried to arrest and remove the Youth Congress activists from the area.

Last week, Congress youth wing workers gathered outside a guesthouse in Kochi, where Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was staying, and waved black flags.

Protests erupted on February 3 (Friday) too after the state presented its FY24 budget. On that occasion, Youth Congress workers burned the Kerala budget papers as a protest against the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s State Budget. Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Yuva Morcha also staged a protest in Thiruvananthapuram.

Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan said they will continue their protest till the government withdraws its proposal to impose a cess on fuel.

Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly, VD Satheesan, said, “Imposing numerous taxes, the government is trying to introduce tax terrorism in the state. We are already facing a debt situation and the government is now imposing more taxes on the common man. These tax hikes have been in effect for the last six years. A new burden of Rs 4,000 crore in taxation is being put on the people.”

Last week, Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal presented the budget for the 2022-23 financial year in the legislative assembly. The Budget allocated Rs 2,000 crore to check inflation. Petrol and diesel prices will be increased by Rs 2 per liter as per the new cess introduced in the budget.

The budget has drawn fierce criticism over the proposed ‘social security cess’ on the sale of fuel, motorcycles, liquor, and electricity.

Justifying its decision to impose a cess on fuel, the state finance minister said that such a measure was announced as the state was facing a huge financial crisis due to the policies of the BJP-led Union government.

Turkey earthquake- Death toll touches 4900, over 20000 injured

ANI
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Turkey earthquake- Death toll touches 4900, over 20000 injured

Nearly 4,900 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, according to officials, reported CNN.

Turkey’s death toll rose to at least 3,381 as of around 9:45 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Orhan Tatar, an official with the country’s disaster management agency, said in a televised briefing. At least 20,426 injuries have also been reported, according to Tatar.

Meanwhile in Syria, the death toll has risen to 1,509 across areas controlled by the government and by the opposition, officials said, reported CNN.

At least 3,548 people have also been reported injured in Syria, according to officials.

So far, 11,000 buildings have been reported damaged in Turkey, said Tatar. Nearly 25,000 emergency responders are working at scenes impacted, he added, reported CNN.

Rescuers are using at least 10 ships and 54 aircraft to transport the wounded and help with search operations, he said. The international community has been quick to offer assistance to Turkey and Syria as the full scale of the disaster becomes clear, reported CNN.

On Tuesday morning, planes carrying aid from Iraq and Iran, including food, medicines and blankets, arrived at Damascus International Airport in Syria, Syrian state media SANA reported.

Japan announced it would send the country’s Disaster Relief Rescue team to Turkey, and on Monday night, the first of two disaster relief teams left India for Turkey with dog squads and medical supplies.

Pakistan has also dispatched two search and rescue teams to the ravaged country, while Australia and New Zealand committed funds for humanitarian assistance.

The European Union activated its crisis response mechanism, while the United States said it would send two search and rescue units to Turkey.

Palestinian civil defense and medical teams will also be sent to Turkey and Syria to help in rescue operations, reported CNN.

Meanwhile, 10 units of the Russian army with more than 300 soldiers are clearing debris and helping in search and rescue operations in Syria, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. Russia is the strongest foreign power operating in Syria, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has long allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said emergency response teams from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and WHO’s Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) are being mobilized to Turkey to assist in the humanitarian response.

However, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Syria, El-Mostafa Benlamlih, told CNN the search and rescue mission was being hampered by a lack of heavy equipment and machinery.

He said the UN’s supply of stock has been distributed and more medicine and medical equipment are needed, and especially freshwater or tools to repair damaged water tanks.

“Around 4 million people in northern Syria were already displaced and relying on humanitarian support as a result of war. Everyone is overstretched in that part of the world … there is an enormous amount do. People have fled their homes often standing around in bitterly cold conditions really without access to safe water. So water is key. Blankets, food, psychological support,” according to James Elder, spokesman for UNICEF.

Hospitals in the country are overwhelmed as victims seek help, with some facilities damaged by the quake. And there is particular concern about the spread of illness, especially among children, who were already living in extreme hardship, reported CNN.

“This winter had been particularly tough due to the freezing conditions and a cholera outbreak, Elder said.

The United Nations said the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey early Monday was the county’s most powerful quake in more than 80 years.

“This is Turkiye’s most powerful earthquake recorded since 1939,” a situational report released Monday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said.

At least 100 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or greater have occurred since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey on Monday morning local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.

On Monday, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 centered in the Pazarcik district jolted Kahramanmaras and hit several provinces, including Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis, as per the Anadolu Agency report.

Later in the day, an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude centred in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district jolted the region. The earthquake was also felt in several neighbouring countries, including Lebanon and Syria.

The third earthquake of magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale hit Goksun, Turkey on Monday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

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

Greater Noida: Babbar Ali lures a Dalit woman to gang-rape her; pressurises her to convert when the victim asks him to marry

OpIndia Staff
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Greater Noida: Babbar Ali lures a Dalit woman to gang-rape her; pressurises her to convert when the victim asks him to marry

A case of love jihad has appeared in Greater Noida of Uttar Pradesh. A Dalit woman living in a village in the Jarcha Kotwali area in Greater Noida was raped by her boyfriend Babbar Ali on the pretext of marrying her. The woman was then gang-raped by Babbar Ali and his friend. When the victim woman asked Babbar Ali to marry her, he started forcing her to convert to Islam.

According to a report by Jagran, the victim Dalit woman was trapped in love by a goon Babbar Ali in the village. On the pretext of marriage, he first had physical relations with the victim and then gang-raped her with his friend. It is alleged that when the victim insisted they get married, the accused said she must first convert to Islam to tie the knot.

The victim lodged a complaint with the police. The police did not file a report for 24 hours. After the complaint letter was circulated on the internet media, the police registered a report in a hurry.

Babbar Ali, a young man from the village, would frequently visit the house of the victim Dalit woman living in the village. The woman alleged that the accused expressed love to her and proposed to her for friendship. As time passed, the friendship between the two deepened. A few days later, the young man proposed to her to get married.

Meanwhile, the two were involved in a physical relationship. It is alleged that one day the accused Babbar Ali called the woman to his second house, where the friend and the accused himself were already present. The victim alleged in her complaint that these two gang-raped her.

The victim woman reported the matter to the police. The accused Babbar Ali threatened to kill her if she complained. It is alleged that the accused youth told the victim that he will get married only when she converts. The victim Dalit woman is not ready to convert. Additional DCP Greater Noida Dinesh Kumar Singh said that a report has been registered on the basis of the complaint and an investigation is underway in this regard.

‘For hire’ whitewashers now come to The Wire’s rescue to water down Varadarajan’s lack of editorial standards in The Wire’s Meta fiasco

Amit Kelkar
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‘For hire’ whitewashers now come to The Wire’s rescue to water down Varadarajan’s lack of editorial standards in The Wire’s Meta fiasco

Whitewashers of Islamist crimes, Alt News are back, this time to give a long rope to The Wire’s Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan and portray their columnist, Devesh Kumar, who is made the scapegoat in The Wire’s Meta saga as mentally unstable. After all, the elaborate profile of Devesh Kumar appears to be a ploy to prove him ‘mentally unstable’ as claimed in The Wire’s police complaint.

The Wire threw Devesh Kumar under the bus after it was forced to retract the Meta and Fog stories, claimed that Devesh Kumar had defrauded them by supplying fake evidence, and also alleged that he is mentally disturbed. Devesh, however, has denied the allegations of being ‘mentally unstable’. So Alt News swoops in like a knight in shining armour to help The Wire build a case for them.

Alt News profiles Devesh Kumar of The Wire-Meta fiasco

The elaborate article starts with how The Wire had filed a complaint against Devesh Kumar over allegations of fabricating documents and evidences wherein it was claimed that BJP’s Amit Malviya had incredible superpowers to get posts removed from platforms owned by Meta, i.e. Facebook, Instagram.

Alt New conveniently forgets to mention their own cofounder had happily retweeted multiple tweets of The Wire on Meta story in all excitement believing every piece of fiction that was written in it.

Mohammed Zubair’s retweets of Meta story

In fact, Zubair had very aggressively retweeted The Wire’s counter allegations when they ‘fact-checked’ Meta after the Facebook parent company first called out The Wire’s ‘evidence’ fabricated.

Zubair retweeting The Wire

In fact, the flagbearers of ‘fact-checking’ never really bothered to fact-check The Wire’s claims on Meta controversy. Neither did they do so for their Tek Fog absurdity which also now stands withdrawn. Tek Fog absurdity which claimed BJP had super powers to hijack any platform, any social media account and ‘spread misinformation’ was also conjured up by The Wire in January 2022 and involved Devesh Kumar and one Ayushman Kaul, who was also involved in Meta ‘evidence’. In fact, Devesh and Kaul along with The Wire’s Naomi Barton had claimed how Alt News’ Zubair was ‘attacked’ online using Tek Fog, a super app which does not exist as evidenced later. The Wire had to withdraw all these stories, but Alt News did not bother fact-checking them.

After an elaborate profile where Alt News insinuates that Devesh Kumar could have been a pro at conjuring up imaginary and fantastical stories with zero substance in them they claim that it was Devesh who first approached The Wire with ‘evidence’ about Meta after they had published one basic report on Instagram user ‘cringearchivist’s private Instagram post was taken down. Often times, Instagram algorithm takes down pages or posts get taken down if they get mass reported. Sometimes after appealing, they even restore such pages or posts.

That Big Tech including Meta lack transparency is a given and there is no good reason to give them a clean chit. However, to use that point to conjure up fantastical stories to project the BJP, yet another enemy of the Left, as a biggest monster in the history of monsters without any proof is not just ‘editorial lapse’ but malicious move owing to confirmation bias.

Alt News claims that The Wire alleged Devesh reached out to The Wire after first report was published. In next report, which is referred to as first in four-part series of ‘investigation’, it was The Wire’s Jahnavi Sen who took byline. Sen, who wrote the technology has studied BA in Philosophy and has a Masters in ‘Development Studies’. Since then she has not worked in any technology related field. After Meta spokesperson said that the documents Jahnavi produced were fabricated, The Wire, instead of carrying out internal investigation, doubled down and in second report provided ‘proofs’ that Meta was lying. All these articles and claims were also retweeted and shared to a wider audience by Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair. This second report had Sen and their Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan’s bylines.

The Founding Editor, who took byline for technology related article making such enormous claims on Meta, which were amplified by Alt News itself, will later on claim he does not ‘understand’ technology much and then put all the blame squarely on Devesh Kumar and call him ‘mentally unstable’.

And even if he were ‘mentally unstable’ as Alt News’ extremely detailed profile on his other such seemingly false claims is no excuse for Varadarajan’s poor editorial call. He perhaps thought he’d win a Pulitzer for ‘taking on the Big Tech’ or get some appreciation from the fellow Modi haters who believe BJP is evil. Varadarajan knew he would get away with spreading lies, as he has earlier.

The Wire, instead of owning up that they goofed up or made a mistake or a judgement error or worst that they cooked it all up, they cried ‘attacked by all powerful BJP’ and seek more funds from gullible readers who like to live in their own echo chamber. This is also something Alt News does.

Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair, who dog whistled against BJP’s Nupur Sharma by sharing out of context video clip and accused her of ‘blasphemy’, never quite ‘fact-checked’ her. He did not tell what exactly Nupur was wrong about. She repeated what is written in Islamic scriptures. Zubair never pointed out what was the lie in Sharma’s comment. Zubair’s dogwhistling has led to riots and at least half a dozen murders.

This is what the mainstream media, especially activist journalism of left wing has been doing all these decades. They believe their own lies, not accept mistakes, steadfast with propaganda than truth. And even in face of mounting tech proof, they doubled down and brazened it out. Imagine what they would do with issues that are just about political or ideological narrative?

As India takes steps to fight the monopoly of ‘Big Tech’, foreign media targets it to claim surveillance and control

Gopal Tiwari
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As India takes steps to fight the monopoly of ‘Big Tech’, foreign media targets it to claim surveillance and control

India’s priority to become self-reliant has been more evident than ever under the Narendra Modi-led government during the last nine years. With deeper penetration of Aadhar-linked governance in India, wider acceptance of UPI-based digital payments across the world, and an ever-increasing global userbase of microblogging platform Koo, India0-based technology companies are rising. India has also taken firm steps toward fighting Big Tech companies and their monopoly over global operations and hence, international influence over policymaking.

It is hardly a surprise that foreign media is trying its best to undermine the Indian efforts by calling it a surveillance and control mechanism of the Indian government, rather than seeing it as an achievement of Indian technocrats. The advancing technologies that are seen as surveillance tools, have enabled India to cater to contemporary essentials like digital payments, social media, and unique identification to one and all. Recently, one such article was published by Reuters. The article titled ‘India push for digital sovereignty risks more online surveillance’, written by Rina Chandran of Thomson Reuters Foundation is published under the section titled ‘Analysis’; but it is nothing but subtle anti-India propaganda of the west-obsessed media afraid of the rise of a self-reliant new India.

The article was published on 6th February 2023, which is almost two years after the Nigerian president’s verified account appeared on the Indian microblogging website Koo. It is notable that the Nigerian government blocked Twitter in 2021 for removing a post by the country’s president Muhammadu Buhari. It was a significant accomplishment for Koo, which had started with an emphasis on Indian languages.

Koo has no conflict with the Indian authorities and is at ease with the compliances related to social media regulations in India. On the other hand, in the last few years, its larger rival Twitter found itself in an increasingly heated debate with Indian authorities over its content filtering practices. The article also took cognizance of India’s original mobile operating system Bhar OS which is seen as a potential contender to replace Google’s Android OS, one of the most widely used operating system for mobile devices.

Allegations of surveillance and control against India’s government

After hailing India’s leap in technology and allied services, the foreign media house arrived at its core agenda of undermining the foundation of a new self-reliant India against the Big Tech nexus. It says, “India’s push for digital sovereignty will have enormous consequences for the country’s 1.4 billion population, tech experts and rights groups warn, with a potential increase in state surveillance and tightening of freedoms in online spaces.”

Quoting Indians to make it appear authentic

To support this claim, and make it appear like an authentic piece of information, the article also quotes a few Indians. One such name is Prateek Waghre, policy director at the digital rights organization – Internet Freedom Foundation. Waghre says, “Digital sovereignty has roots in the intent to control, and is tied to nationalism. There are economic elements too, as data is valuable. The government has more leverage with local companies, which may not have the option of not complying – and that raises the concern that they won’t stand up to surveillance.”

Waghre further says, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which spurred many tech firms to sever ties with the former, was a wake-up call for many countries including India. It raised the question: can this happen to us tomorrow – and how do we protect ourselves? China is looked on rather enviously for standing up to big tech and creating its own ecosystem, and many countries have been trying to create something similar for years. Russia’s invasion only precipitated the process.”

Know other feats achieved by India that the west is annoyed with

The article also mentions DigiLocker, a cloud-based platform for storing and sharing documents – as well as the Aadhaar digital ID scheme, real-time payments system UPI, and MapmyIndia, a digital maps maker. However, the Reuters report has forgotten to mention CoWin portal – a technology India provided many other countries to monitor the COVID-19 spread and vaccinations.

The article also raises concern over data access compliances by the Indian government. However, Indian entrepreneurs look comfortable with the policies. Aprameya Radhakrishna, Koo’s co-founder and chief executive has dismissed such allegations. He said, “We have never faced a situation related to control from any government. Our platform has transparent and strict disclosure processes. Indian technologies are going global because India is known for its excellent engineering talent and a lot of these products are sophisticated and relevant to global markets.”

Essentially, the western world is on the cusp of witnessing major geopolitical changes in Asia and it is losing control over the new developments with every passing day. With India, which is practically one-sixth of humanity, steering its Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign at full throttle, it is time for every Indian to come together and stand tall and firm against such attempts to undermine Indian technology.

‘PM Modi got emotional talking about the Turkey earthquake as he has witnessed the 2001 tragedy in Kutch’: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari

OpIndia Staff
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‘PM Modi got emotional talking about the Turkey earthquake as he has witnessed the 2001 tragedy in Kutch’: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari revealed how PM Narendra Modi became emotional while discussing the massive earthquake that jolted the southern parts of Turkey on Monday, killing over 3,800 people. The BJP MP told a CNN News 18 correspondent outside Parliament that Modi could empathise with the people of Turkey because he has witnessed the tragedy of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake firsthand.

Manoj Tiwari said that PM Modi became emotional while informing party members about the disaster in Turkey during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary party meeting held today (February 7, Tuesday) in Parliament.

The BJP MP stated that the Prime Minister’s eyes got teary when speaking about the Turkey earthquake because, he, as the state’s chief minister, had witnessed the massive earthquake that rocked Kutch in Gujarat in 2001, killing over 13000 people. Tiwari added that the PM could empathise with the people of Turkey because of this.

2001 Gujarat earthquake

On 26th January 2001, while the entire nation of India was all set to celebrate the 52nd Republic Day, a devastating earthquake measuring 7.7 in magnitude struck Gujarat. Kutch’s Bhachau was the epicentre. The shockwaves were felt in about 70% of the country’s regions, and the tremors were felt even in Nepal and Pakistan. It resulted in a loss of over 13,000 lives and left behind around 1.7 lakh people injured.

Moreover, it caused severe damage to the physical infrastructure and left over 229 villages damaged beyond repair. In fact, the entire Kutch region was devastated and converted literally into a huge expanse of nothingness.

Eight months after it, Narendra Modi took over the reins from Keshubhai Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat. After taking over the reins of Gujarat, Narendra Modi was dedicated to uplifting the earthquake-hit Kutch and the district as seen today is an example of rehabilitation after a natural calamity. 

Massive earthquake hits several regions in Turkey, PM Modi promises all possible help

Turkey recently found itself in a similar predicament, with three major earthquakes striking the country on Monday, causing massive damage to infrastructure and killing over 3,800 people as per latest figures. The 7.8 magnitude quake was followed by dozens of aftershocks that destroyed huge areas of major Turkish cities in the region, which was home to millions of refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war and other conflicts.

PM Modi has stated that India will extend all possible help to Turkey in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake that struck the Southern parts of the country in the early hours of February 6.

The PM’s office has announced in a press release that 2 NDRF teams with 50 personnel each with trained dog squads for rescue operations, relief materials and necessary equipment will be immediately despatched to Turkey. In addition, medical teams with trained doctors, paramedics and essential medicines will be sent too.

Keeping the promise, an Indian Air Force plane had already landed today in Turkey carrying NDRF personnel, dog squads and specialised equipment to help in rescue efforts. As per reports, another C-17 plane will be on the way soon.

Maharashtra: Hindu woman gang-raped, forced to accept Christianity, and her son assaulted; a pastor among 4 arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Hindu woman gang-raped, forced to accept Christianity, and her son assaulted; a pastor among 4 arrested

On Monday, the Maharashtra Police arrested four persons for raping a 35-year-old Hindu woman, torturing her family, and forcing them to convert their religion to Christianity. The FIR in the case was registered on February 4 against five persons of which, four have been identified as Butti, Prerna, Bhausaheb Dodke, and Pastor Rahul. The identity of the fifth accused is not yet known. The FIR has been filed under IPC sections 323, 328, 344, 376D, 504, 506, 34, and 76(1) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

According to the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the incident is said to have happened in the Davat Mala area of the Sinnar, Nasik in Maharashtra. The victim, in the complaint, mentioned that the accused had been torturing her and her family since November last year. They had trapped the woman and raped her several times since November 2022.

FIR copy obtained by OpIndia

The woman and her husband are labourers and moved with their three kids to Sinnar from Raytewadi, Sangamner, in search of a labour job 2-3 years ago. They kept on doing temporary jobs for survival and also kept on searching for permanent employment side-by-side. The saga began on November 30 last year when the woman stepped out of the house in search of a job. She was suddenly stopped by the accused while she was on her way to Musalgaon for a job inquiry.

“The women stopped me. They asked me where I was going and why I was looking tense. I told them that I was going to Musalgaon for a job inquiry. On this, they asked me to accompany them and assured me that they would provide me with a job in the locality. The women introduced themselves as Butti and Prerna. They took me to their home where I saw another man in there (Bhausaheb). The three of them then asked me that did I know anything about Jesus and Christianity. They also asked me to convert my religion to Christianity and told me that all my financial problems would be solved by accepting Christianity,” the victim said.

She added that after some time, Pastor Rahul arrived on the spot, offered her a ‘red drink’, and showed her the picture of Jesus. “I was forcefully made to drink some red water. After that, I started losing consciousness. Later I was trapped in the room by Butti and Prerna where Bhausaheb established sexual relations with me without my knowledge and permission,” the victim stated in the complaint.

All the accused named in the FIR

According to the complaint further, Butti and Prerna on December 2, then took the victim’s gold necklace (Mangalsutra) and tied a black thread around her neck to signify that she had been converted to Christianity. The woman was brutally tortured while she was trapped in a room by the accused. The victim woman also said that Pastor Rahul and Bhausaheb arrived with a 40-year-old unidentified man and the three raped her on December 2.

The woman tried to tell about the sexual assault to Prerna and Butti but was brutally manhandled by the accused men. They physically assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she attempted to tell anyone about the rape. “Meanwhile, Butti and Prerna got another man in the house and told me that he would be my owner. I realized that these people were trying to sell me. I strongly protested and began yelling in the room. I also used abusive language for the man who fled from the spot then,” the victim woman stated in the complaint.

Complaint by the victim

On December 17, the husband of the victim, who had been searching for her since her abduction, happened to reach the spot. He was accompanied by his younger son. The duo was threatened and asked to leave. On refusal, Bhausaheb caught the little boy and trapped him. He hit the kid and forced him to beg for them on the streets. “My husband was also threatened to be killed so he did not come again to the house where now I and my son were trapped,” the woman said.

The husband of the victim, however, sought help and managed to save his wife and his kid on December 29. The accused then asked the victim and her family to leave Sinnar immediately and keep their mouth shut. According to the FIR copy, the victim returned to Sangamner and sought the help of a social worker who guided them to file a police complaint. The complaint in the case was registered on February 4 and all the accused have been booked in the case.

According to the local reports, the accused have been arrested by the Police and will be kept in the custody till the 8th of February before the court proceedings begin. OpIndia tried to contact the Police for confirmation but the line remained unestablished.

Local reports confirming the arrest of the accused

The FIR in the case has been filed under IPC sections 323, 328, 344, 376D, 504, 506, 34 and 76(1) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Further investigations into the case are underway.

Kolkata Literature Festival cancels Tuhin A Sinha’s participation, author says organisers caved in to pressure from TMC

OpIndia Staff
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Kolkata Literature Festival cancels Tuhin A Sinha’s participation, author says organisers caved in to pressure from TMC

On February 7, Author Tuhin A Sinha said on the social media platform Twitter that his scheduled participation at Kolkata Literature Festival for February 10 has been cancelled at the last minute allegedly due to pressure from All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).

In a tweet, he said, “My presence at @kolkataboimela on 10 Feb has been suddenly cancelled under pressure from @AITCofficial govt. This, was after the organisers, had posted about the event yesterday on social media platforms. This gross intolerance n Taliban mindset towards a political adversary is shameful.” Sinha is the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

As per the author, his participation was scheduled for February 10, 2023, and it was confirmed via email on January 10, 2023. The Kolkata Literature Festival is scheduled for February 9 to February 11 as part of the Kolkata Book Fair or Boi Mela. His tickets were also booked by the organisers that he received via email on February 4.

Speaking to OpIndia, Tuhin said he was informed about the cancellation via phone call. He further said, “I have had to cancel another event because of the sudden change.” He was scheduled to speak at the School of Media and Communication, Kolkata, on February 10.

The poster of the event was published on the official page of the Festival. Source: Facebook

Expressing his dismay over the sudden cancellation, Tuhin A Sinha said, “This was not a political event. This was a purely literary event and that too to promote a specific work of mine which is the ‘Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat’. The book is of great relevance to our Tribal community and by abandoning this event, Mamata Banerjee has shown her anti-Tribal mindset. Because, these were the same people who were opposed to Draupadi Murmu ji, the first Tribal lady to become the President and now once again it has exposed the anti-Tribal mindset of the Mamata Banerjee government.” “I will now go to Kolkata for a public event only after TMC is packed off from power,” he added.

Netizens react to the cancellation

Following the tweet by Sinha, several netizens reacted to the cancellation. Editor-in-chief of Jan Ki Baat Pradeep Bhandari said, “Intolerance & Cancel culture at the display.  Had this happened in any Saffron Ruled state, the entire global community would have shouted Fascism.”

Author Ratan Sharda said, “Are we surprised? Afterall #MamataBanerjee & #TMC is known for their love for #FreedomOfExpression”

Author Aabhas Maldahiyar said, “Where the mind is without fear & the head is held high, Where knowledge is free, Where the world has not been broken up into fragments, By narrow domestic walls… here the clear stream of reason has not lost its way… There lived a Tagore where now lives Mamata Banerjee.”

OpIndia has mailed to the organisers for comments. We will update the story accordingly.

Mumbai: Iranian thief Mohammad Zakir Sayyad caught by police, Iranian women pelt stones at cops to save him

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: Iranian thief Mohammad Zakir Sayyad caught by police, Iranian women pelt stones at cops to save him

On Sunday, February 5, a special squad of 26 cops, ambulance drivers, and police informants worked together to help nab an Iranian serial chain-snatcher in the Ambivli area of Kalyan in Maharashtra. The arrested accused has been identified as Mohammad Zakir Sayyad (27) and has been charged with 27 offences throughout Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The charges posed against the accused include robbery, deceit, theft and impersonating a police official. 

According to police, three cases that were reported to the MHB Colony police station in Borivli have been solved as a result of Sayyed’s arrest. Some team members in Ambivli suffered minor injuries as some Iranian women, associates of the serial chain snatcher, pelted stones at the police vehicles to save the accused from the police arrest. The area is a Irani settlement, as per reports.

Senior inspector Sudhir Kudalkar, MHB Colony police station confirmed the incident and said, “In the past, cops who tried to pick up offenders from the settlement faced a challenge. We drew up a strategy in advance, including a Plan B,” as per a report in Times of India.

Reports mention that the only way into the area is through a bridge across a river, and any outsider or strange vehicles that cross the bridge raise suspicion and alert the people. “So, we travelled in two ambulances and private cars, instead of official police vehicles,’ added Kudalkar. 

The Police were informed that Sayyed would show up at a particular tea shop between 11 am and 5 pm. An ambulance and rickshaw were stationed at a fish market with a team led by assistant inspector Suryakant Pawar. The second team was led by sub-inspector Akhilesh Bombe who stationed another ambulance and a private vehicle in the Koliwada area. As suggested by the police informant, the third team, commanded by assistant inspector Bhushan Thoke, continued to move about.

“The informant signalled that Sayyad had reached the tea stall in a white shirt. The moment a team started to move towards him, he sensed trouble and tried to flee. Locals too came out in his support. One team blocked the accused’s path with their car and got him in. By then, locals encircled the vehicle and started to pelt stones,” Pawar was quoted.

Police units began to fight back and disperse the masses with lathis. Sayyad was dragged 800 metres to one of the ambulances with locals in tow. The driver was however taken out and assaulted by locals and Iranian women. Sayyad was then taken in the second ambulance after another police team managed to get it to the spot.

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