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1 IAF pilot dies as a Sukhoi-30 and a Mirage 2000 crash in Morena in Madhya Pradesh, parts of the wreckage fell in Bharatpur in Rajasthan

OpIndia Staff
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1 IAF pilot dies as a Sukhoi-30 and a Mirage 2000 crash in Morena in Madhya Pradesh, parts of the wreckage fell in Bharatpur in Rajasthan

In one of the most worse tragedies involving Indian Air Force planes, two fighter jets crashed on Saturday during an exercise. At 5:30 in the morning, a Sukhoi Su-30 and a Mirage 2000 fighter jet from the Indian Air Force crashed near Morena in Madhya Pradesh while participating in a training exercise, officials announced on Saturday.

While there were reports of a third crash at Bharatpur in Rajasthan, now it has been confirmed that parts of the same planes that crashed in Morena fell in Bharatpur.

Defence sources reported that the Sukhoi Su-30 had two pilots while the Mirage 2000 only had one. According to Indian Air Force, two pilots who were able to evacuate are safe while one succumbed to his injuries. The survivors were taken to a hospital.

Initial reports indicated that the planes were training for a bombing exercise and they took off from the Gwalior air base. A court of inquiry will determine the accident’s precise cause. Reportedly, the two aircraft collided mid-air and then crashed to the ground. However, it was not head-on collision, the wings of the planes touched reached other.

SP Morena also provided information about the collision.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, said he has directed the local government to coordinate with the air force to conduct swift rescue and relief operations.

The administration immediately initiated an investigation to see whether the two accidents were related after hearing about the collision and the wreckage discovered at both locations. To determine whether the wreckage discovered in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur is related to the planes that crashed in MP’s Morena, an IAF also travelled there.

Defence sources reported that IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the two aircraft’s crash. They stated that the defence minister is closely observing the developments.

Along with the crashes in Morena, another crash was also reported from Bharatpur in Rajasthan at the same time. The local administration had said the crashed jet was a chartered aircraft. However, later the IAF officials said that it was also an IAF aircraft.

But there was confusion over the type of aircraft that crashed in Bharatpur. From earlier reported as a chartered plane, later it was said that it was an IAF helicopter.

Bharatpur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) who was on the spot stated that the plane was an Indian Airforce Force (IAF) fighter jet. “We can’t tell whether it’s a fighter plane or a conventional plane based on the wreckage. We are still unsure whether the pilot got out or is still inside (the plane)”, he had said.

“Prima facie it’s difficult to say whether it’s a defence fighter plane or helicopter as the intensity of the fire was so high that it crashed into air,” said Bharatpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Shyam Singh later in an interview with India Today.

The SP stated that the plane’s pilot had ejected, and searches are currently being conducted to locate him. “I have reached the spot. Officials from the defence unit are here. We are making the effort to trace the pilot,” added the SP.

However, the confusion was cleared later in the day, as it was revealed that there was no third crash. The authorities have said that the wreckage of two planes also fell in Bharatpur in Rajasthan, which is not very dar from Morena in Madhya Pradesh.

Morena Collector Ankit Asthana has confirmed that the wreckage found in Bharatpur is not from a separate crash. It has been speculated that after the collision with the Mirage 2000 over Morena, the pilots of the Sukhoi were able to stabilise the plane for some moments and they flew for some distance before ejecting, and therefore the wreckage of the Sukhoi Su-30 fell in Bharatpur.

Note: This report has been updated with relevant details

‘Why can’t Sanskrit be our official language?’, Former CJI SA Bobde asks, mentions that Dr Ambedkar also advocated for the same

OpIndia Staff
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‘Why can’t Sanskrit be our official language?’, Former CJI SA Bobde asks, mentions that Dr Ambedkar also advocated for the same

On Friday, January 27, former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Bobde said that he asks himself ‘why Sanskrit cannot be the official language of India’. Citing media reports from 1949, the former CJI said that even Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, hailed as the architect of the Indian constitution, had also proposed the same.

Bobde also said that Hindi and English are used as the official languages of government and courts in accordance with the law, and every chief justice receives requests to approve the introduction of the respective regional languages. The introduction of regional languages is already happening in some high courts and district courts, the former CJP mentioned.

While speaking at the Akhil Bhartiya Chhatra Sammellan, which was organized by Sanskrit Bharti, the former CJI made these remarks. Although many High Courts have had to allow applications, petitions, as well as documents in regional languages, he said, the High Court’s official language is English.

“This issue pertaining to official language shouldn’t, in my opinion, go unresolved. Since 1949, it has remained unresolved. Although this isn’t the place to discuss, there are serious dangers involved with miscommunications in the administration of justice and governance,” Bobde said.

“On September 11, 1949, newspapers reported that Dr. Ambedkar was the one who first proposed making Sanskrit the official language of the Union of India. Many of our languages share vocabulary from Sanskrit. I ask myself why Sanskrit cannot be the official language, as Dr. Ambedkar had proposed,” he added.

According to the former CJI, introducing Sanskrit would not be equivalent to introducing any religion because 95 percent of the language deals with topics related to philosophy, law, science, literature, phonetics, architecture, astronomy, etc. rather than having anything to do with any religion.

Ambedkar on Sanskrit 

Despite his belief that English could be kept as the nation’s official language for at least 15 years after independence, Dr5 Bhimrao Ambedkar supported Sanskrit as a national language in the Constituent Assembly.  The proposal to make Sanskrit as the national language was moved by the late LK Maitra in the Constituent Assembly, and was supported by Dr. Ambedkar.

Ambedkar recommended making Sanskrit the official language of the Union of India to the Council of National Languages, which was set up as soon as the nation gained independence. Ambedkar opined that there would be no dispute in the country around Sanskrit as the national language.

On September 11, 1949, several newspapers including The Hindu, National Herald, and others, reported about the then Law Minister strongly advocating for Sanskrit. Ambedkar was supported by Dr. B.V. Keskar, the then Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasiruddin Ahmad and T.T. Krishnamachari, V.I. Muniswamy Pillai, G. Durgabai, P. Subbarayan, and Dakshayani Velayudhan.

Newspaper reports about Ambedkar’s support to the Sanskrit proposal dated 11th September 1949
National Herald article on Ambedkar backing proposal to adopt Sanskrit as India’s official language.

When questioned by a PTI reporter about his choice, he answered, “Why? What is wrong with Sanskrit?” Ambedkar stated that the Legislative Council would discuss the amendment and consider the issue of the official language as well. 

All India Muslim Jamaat president gets upset after Baba Ramdev drops truth bombs in defense of Dhirendra Shastri, talks about religious terrorism

OpIndia Staff
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All India Muslim Jamaat president gets upset after Baba Ramdev drops truth bombs in defense of Dhirendra Shastri, talks about religious terrorism

After targeting Mahant Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Bageshwar Dham, All India Muslim Jamaat president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi has now turned his attention to Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. The Maulana has gotten miffed with Baba Ramdev after the latter presented some inconvenient facts while speaking in support of Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri.

Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi has lashed out at Baba Ramdev claiming that he has linked religion with terrorism. According to reports, Maulana Shahabuddin said that terrorism has no religion. “Many other Muslim organisations, besides me, have condemned terrorist activities and will continue to do so in the future,” said Razvi.

He added, “Adherents of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity are carrying out terrorist acts in countries like Burma, Denmark, and Sweden, so would it be wise to blame the entire church for their actions? That is why terrorism should not be associated with religion; it is like cancer that we must all work together to eradicate.”

People insulting great men of Sanatan tradition are Anti-India: Baba Ramdev

  • The statement by the Maulana came after Baba Ramdev told reporters on Thursday that religious terrorism is rising in India. He added the ones who are making inappropriate remarks and carrying out character assassination of “great men” of Sanatan tradition are all “anti-India” and should be opposed.

“Insulting remarks are being passed by many people against great men associated with the Sanatan tradition… They are all anti-India and are acting at the behest of international forces by showing disrespect to the country. They should be strongly opposed,” Ramdev told reporters in reply to a question about the controversy surrounding Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri.

Notably, earlier too, Baba Ramdev had come out in support of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri after the latter was accused of promoting superstition, an accusation that Shastri had vehemently refuted, claiming they were a part of a conspiracy against him.

All India Muslim Jamaat president accuses Bageshwar Dham chief of preaching against Islam

Notably, on January 26, All India Muslim Jamaat president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi accused Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of preaching against Islam and inciting hatred in India. The Maulana further said that Dhirendra Shastri is conspiring to weaken Islam and mocking it in his public events. He urged the Chhattisgarh government to take strict action against the Hindu guru.

The Maulana added, “I implore the Government of India that, if it has created a legislation against conversion, then legal action should be taken against such babas who slander Islam and they should be stopped.”

The controversy around Bageshwar Dham

Notably, the entire row started some days ago when Mahant Dhirendra of Bageshwar Dham travelled to Nagpur for Ramkatha. Reportedly, Dhirendra Shastri brought 300 people back into Hinduism fold during a Gharwapsi program on Christmas last year.

After the Katha concluded, Shyam Manav, the national convenor of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, accused Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of promoting ‘superstition’. Shyam Manav has also filed an FIR against Shastri.

Later, in a video shared on the official Instagram page of Bageshwar Dham, Dhirnedra Shastri addressing the Nagpur controversy said that he is being targeted since he started raising the issue of Gharwapsi. He also asked Shyam Manav if he has ever questioned people of other religions over the alleged superstitions. 

Twitter Files: ‘Hamilton 68’ funded by a neo-liberal NGO falsely labelled right-wing accounts as Russian disinformation bots

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter Files: ‘Hamilton 68’ funded by a neo-liberal NGO falsely labelled right-wing accounts as Russian disinformation bots

Democrats and their lap-dog media had unilaterally relied on an online dashboard called ‘Hamilton 68’, published by a national security advocacy group ‘Alliance for Securing Democracy’ (ASD) to further their claims of a Russian disinformation campaign. This has been revealed in the 15th episode of Twitter Files, the initiative by new Twitter owner Elon Musk to expose the previous management of the social media platform.

On Friday (January 27), independent journalist Matt Taibbi revealed internal communications that showed how top Twitter executives could see through the bluff of ‘Hamilton 68’.

The ASD manages the Hamilton 68 dashboard, which tracks 600 Twitter accounts said to be under Russian government control, and has garnered the attention of leftist publications such as Politico, The Washington Post and CNN.

When Yoel Roth, ex-Head of Trust and Safety at Twitter, reviewed those accounts, he discovered that they weren’t Russian as claimed by Hamilton 68. The said Twitter handles also did not lean towards any particular political party but only had right-leaning biases.

He said, “As of yesterday, this looked like the right-leaning hashtag about the shutdown, which only got the label of ‘Russian’ because the Hamilton dashboard falsely accuses a bunch of legitimate right-leaning accounts of being Russian Bots.”

“How we publicly push back on Hamilton is a bigger question…Virtually any conclusion drawn from it will take conversations in conservative circles on Twitter and accuse them of being Russian,” he added.

Yoel Roth also shared his findings in an email saying, “In terms of substance this is truly a nothingburger. It’s just a problem of journalists continuing to lean on deeply flawed tools pushed by people looking to capitalize on the bot media frenzy.”

“The selection of account is bizarre, and seemingly quite arbitrary…They appear to strongly preference pro-Trump accounts (which they use to assert that Russia is expressing a preference for trump … even though there’s not good evidence that any of the accounts they selected are or are not actually Russian),” he said.

“It’s so weird and self-selecting, and they’re so unwilling to be transparent and defend their selection that I think we need to just call this out on the *** it is”, Yoel Roth concluded.

Despite finding corroborating evidence against Hamilton 68’s approach, Roth ultimately decided not publicly call them out due to fear of bad press. When asked for comment, ASD stated more information can be found on their website regarding their methodology.

In addition, the organization’s advisory council consists mainly of former members from both the Clinton and Obama administrations including John Podesta who served as White House Chief of Staff under Barrack Obama.

Revelations made by Twitter Files 14.0

Earlier this month, Matt Taibbi revealed internal communications that show how Twitter employees (who are mostly Democratic Party supporters) had failed to gather any evidence that could lend credence to the Russiagate conspiracy theory.

Yoel Roth, former Global Head of Trust & Safety at Twitter, pointed out, “I just reviewed the accounts that posted the first 50 tweets with release the memo (hashtag) and…none of them show any signs of affiliation to Russia.”

‘Twitter Files 14.0’ revealed how attempts made by top executives to stop Democrats from posting unverified claims about Russiagate were in vain.

Pakistan finance minister says, “If Allah has created Pakistan, then Allah will take care of its development and prosperity.”

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan finance minister says, “If Allah has created Pakistan, then Allah will take care of its development and prosperity.”

As Pakistan struggles with its worsening economic crisis, its finance minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar has put the onus of reviving the economy on Allah. Ishaq Dar said that the government is praying, that Allah will bring prosperity back to Pakistan.

The senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader was speaking at the Green Line Express Train service’s inaugural event in Islamabad. He expressed his confidence that Pakistan would advance because it was founded in the name of Islam.

The finance minister said that they are trying their best to improve Pakistan’s condition under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s leadership.

Blaming their predecessors, Ishaq Dar said that the current administration had inherited a number of issues from Imran Khan’s government, adding that it was working around the clock to resolve them.

“The team is trying to improve the situation ahead of the elections”, he said while asserting that the “drama” that began five years ago is still creating problems for the nation. He claimed that the economy was robust during the 2013–2017 administration of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

According to Dar, the Pakistan Stock Exchange was the best-performing capital market in South Asia and rated fifth globally during the rule of Nawaz Sharif, and international institutions had their eyes on it.

He claimed that the “Panama saga,” the overthrow of the PML-N administration, and other problems Pakistan had to deal with over the previous five years were now having an impact on the country. “Pakistan was on the growth track during Nawaz’s tenure, but it was derailed,” he said. “People can see the destruction the country suffered in the last five years, and they know who has delivered in the past,” he added.

The comments garnered backlash online as users criticized the finance minister for failing to address the nation’s economic problems.

A Pakistani journalist, Rauf Klasra, asked Dar to owe up to his “utter failure to handle the economy.”

Another Pakistan journalist, Hamid Mir, asked sarcastically who will claim “credit” as Pakistani Rupee depreciated to a historic low against the US Dollar.

Pakistan is in dire need of a bailout due to its severe balance of payments crisis, as its foreign exchange reserves, which plummeted by USD 923 million to USD 3.68 billion, only cover less than three weeks’ worth of imports.

Shah Rukh Khan not a Muslim, go and kill him, but don’t use objectionable words against Prophet Muhammad: Raza Academy cleric Khalil-Ur-Rehman

OpIndia Staff
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Shah Rukh Khan not a Muslim, go and kill him, but don’t use objectionable words against Prophet Muhammad: Raza Academy cleric Khalil-Ur-Rehman

Pathaan starring Shah Rukh Khan was released in theatres on January 25. Prior to its release, the film was met with fierce opposition in several parts of the country. During the widespread protests, a Muslim cleric from Mumbai’s Raza Academy stirred controversy by calling on the protesting groups to kill the actor.

According to Raza Academy cleric Khalil-Ur-Rehman, the film has nothing to do with Muslims, and neither Bollywood is Muslim. He stated that if the Hindu outfits like Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) truly want to protest against the film, they should go to the Bollywood megastar’s home and shoot him dead. However, he warned them against using objectionable words against Prophet Muhammad.

“You do whatever you want to do with Shah Rukh Khan, but if you utter objectionable words against our Prophet Muhammad, then we will not tolerate it,” the Raza Acadamy cleric reportedly told Times Now.

“Former BJP leader Nupur Sharma was responsible for all of this and had she was arrested, there should not have been such an environment of tension,” Khalil-Ur-Rehman added, over reports of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans chanted in Indore against alleged derogatory words uttered against Islamic Prophet.

It has been alleged that during protests against the movie in Indore in Madhya Pradesh by Bajrang Dal, some protestors had raised objectionable slogans against Prophet Muhammad. Following these protests, many Islamists had gathered outside the Badwali Chowki and the Khajrana Police Station in Indore and raised the contentious Islamist slogan ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’.

On Wednesday, January 25, Vishwa Hindu Parishad national spokesperson Vinod Bansal took to Twitter to share two videos wherein Muslim men, including young children, were heard shouting “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi saza, sar tan se Juda, sar tan se Juda” (call for the beheading of those who allegedly disrespect Prophet Muhammad) and “Allah ho Akbar” slogans.

Raza Academy and its role in inciting communal violence

Meanwhile, for the uninitiated, Raza Academy, to which the cleric who called for the Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s death belongs, is a hardline Muslim organisation that has been responsible for multiple violent incidents in Maharashtra.

In 2012, it came to light that the organisation did not have any registration. The most surprising aspect of Raza Academy is that its founder and President Saeed Noori did not even receive a formal Islamic education. The organisation has led several protests, which often led to violence, injuries and deaths. 

Raza Academy was involved in the violent riots at Azad Maidan in Mumbai in 2012 when several Muslim rioters indulged in vandalism, attacked police officials and had broken the war memorial honouring fallen Indian soldiers.

On July 3, 2021, Raza Academy and VBA MLC Kapil Patil announced that they would table a private member bill against ‘blasphemy’. 

In September 2021, Raza Academy ran a campaign on social media platforms, urging King Salman of Saudi Arabia to impose a ban on cinema halls in Madina Shareef.

In July 2020, the Islamist outfit forced the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to write to the Centre, seeking a ban on the online streaming of the Iranian movie ‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God.‘ 

In October 2020, the radical outfit demanded that Muslim countries issue a fatwa against French President Emmanuel Macron after cartoons on Prophet Mohammed by Charlie Hebdo were projected onto government buildings

Delhi anti-Hindu riots: Shamim and Kafil charged with rioting, arson, court says it was done specifically because it was a ‘Hindu owned school’. Read details

Nupur J Sharma
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Delhi anti-Hindu riots: Shamim and Kafil charged with rioting, arson, court says it was done specifically because it was a ‘Hindu owned school’. Read details

The court filed charges in a case of Delhi anti-Hindu riots against 2 accused, Shamim Ahmad, Mohammad Kafil (Kapil) and Faizan for arson and vandalisation of a school called Arun Modern Public Senior Secondary School in Brijpuri during the peak of violence on 25th of February 2020. The third accused who was a part of the mob, Faizan, is absconding and has been declared a PO (proclaimed offender). In the order framing charges, the court categorically said that it is apparent from the facts of the case that the three joined the riotous mob with the specific intent to damage property belonging to Hindus.

Passing the order framing charges in the case of Delhi anti-Hindu riots, the court said:

I find that sufficient material is there to show that all the 3 accused persons and other unknown members of the mob comprising of more than 5 persons formed an unlawful assembly with a common object. In pursuance to their common object, they attacked and forcibly entered into Arun Modern Public Senior Secondary School with common object to cause maximum damage. It is also apparent that this school was chosen, because it belonged to Hindu and the common object of aforesaid mob was to cause damage to the properties of Hindu. The mob was equipped with different weapons. Thus, this mob committed riot. They burnt the computer lab and library of this school apart from above mentioned vehicles and other articles of the school.

Facts of the case: Arun Modern Public Secondary School and Delhi anti-Hindu riots

On the 25th of February 2020, a call was received by PS Dayalpur after a mob of 150-200 people had entered the Arun Modern Public Secondary School and started vandalising the school and indulging in arson. When the ASI reached this school, he found that the school had been completely vandalised and charred. He also found that other vehicles were also set on fire.

The court order says that because the police was busy maintaining law and order, further action could not be taken immediately on the DD entry. A DD entry is a daily entry, where every complaint received by the police is recorded. On the following day, Jyoti Rani, the Principal of the school, made a formal written complaint about the attack on the school.

According to the order, “In her complaint, she alleged that on 25.02.2020 at about 4 p.m., around 150-200 persons forcibly entered into the school. They vandalized various articles of the school as well as various vehicles parked inside the school campus. They set the vehicles on fire apart from various other articles viz. Generator, almirahs, numerous documents. Computer systems, items of chemistry lab, furniture etc. This mob also burnt the computer lab completely. They also burnt the school library. The school suffered a loss of Rs.1-1.25 crores due to such incident”.

The order says that after the registration of the case, several other complaints came to the fore. While 2 Hindus complained of their vehicles being burnt, there was one Muslim man as well, Gayyur Ali, who complained of his Honda Amaze being burnt by the mob. These vehicles and centre were inside the campus of aforesaid school or parked around it, which were burnt by the mob. The police officer who was on duty in the area attested to identifying the three accused and his version was corroborated by other witnesses as well.

The first chargesheet was filed in the court on 13.06.2020 and then there were two supplementary chargesheets that were filed in the case.

What was the case of the defence and what the court said

The defence counsel for the three accused made the following three claims:

  1. The witnesses who identified the accused were planted by the police.
  2. There was a variation in the complaint filed and the FIR registered by the police.
  3. That the FIR was registered much later (belatedly).

The prosecution countered the contention of the defence on all these counts. The court agreed with the prosecution that at this stage of the case, the court was not supposed to look at whether witnesses were planted or not. Further, the court held that there was no variation between the complaint filed and the FIR registered by the police. On the question of the delayed filing of the FIR, the court said, “IO has given reason for the same in the chargesheet and credibility of such reason shall be appreciated at the final stage”.

The court therefore ordered, “Thus, on the basis of above-mentioned discussion, I find that accused persons namely Shamim Ahmed and Mohd. Kafil @ Kapil are liable to be tried for offence u/s 147/148/427/435/436 IPC read with Section 149 IPC and Section 188 IPC”.

Aligarh Muslim University suspends student for raising “Allah hu Akbar” slogans on Republic Day, investigation team formed for further probe

OpIndia Staff
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Aligarh Muslim University suspends student for raising “Allah hu Akbar” slogans on Republic Day, investigation team formed for further probe

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has suspended a student for shouting “Allah hu Akbar” slogans on Republic Day. The incident of some NCC cadets raising slogans during Republic Day celebrations had come to light on Thursday. The video of people shouting the slogan at the program had gone viral on social media. The management of AMU has now acted upon it by suspending the student involved.

Dr. Wasim Ali, vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, provided information on this by stating that an NCC student raised religious slogans during the Republic Day programme. He stated that after the incident’s footage has come before us and we suspended the student in question. He revealed that the student is a first-year BA student by the name of Wahidduzzaman, a resident of West Bengal. He said that the student was residing at the dorm since he had not been assigned a room on campus.

Although just one individual was seen in the viral video, a three-person team has been assembled by the university administration to further probe the matter. The committee is directed to review the evidence and submit a report with suggestions within five days. The probe will be followed by additional action, according to the Proctor.

The Aligarh police contacted the university administration shortly after the video was shared on social media, asking them to take cognizance of the situation. The sloganeering started immediately after the vice chancellor departed the area.

Wahidduzzaman’s mobile had been turned off after the incident was first reported, and it wasn’t until Friday evening that the university administration was finally able to get in touch with him.

UK: Student nurse Mohammed Farooq arrested for planning an attack on an airforce base

OpIndia Staff
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UK: Student nurse Mohammed Farooq arrested for planning an attack on an airforce base

On Friday, January 27, a student nurse named Mohammed Farooq who was arrested on January 20 outside the maternity unit at St James’s university hospital in Leeds, was presented before a British court. The accused has been charged with planning to attack a Royal Airforce base. During the arrest, accused Farooq was found with a pressure cooker bomb containing 13.7 kilograms (30 pounds) of a homemade low-explosive mixture which he took to the maternity ward of the hospital.

Farooq allegedly conducted “hostile reconnaissance” of a Royal Air Force base in northern England earlier this month after being urged online to attack it, according to the prosecution.

According to the prosecutor Mark Luckett, Farooq allegedly had instructions on how to assemble a homemade explosive device, purchased supplies, and made the bomb, as well as conducting online research about the RAF base and conducting its recce.

He is accused of conspiring to prepare a terrorist act in relation to the air base plan, which the prosecution claims was inspired by Islamic extremism between 12 July last year and January 20, 2023.

Farooq is also accused of possessing an explosive substance and a replica firearm a Gediz 9mm PAK semi-automatic pistol. Farooq was carrying the imitation firearm to spread fear of violence on January 20. According to the prosecution, Farooq was acting out of resentment toward another staff member.

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Farooq appeared via video conferencing. He was told to remain in custody until his next court appearance on February 3 at London’s Central Criminal Court.

Teacher, from school managed by Sikh Committee in Delhi, suspended for organizing Saraswati Puja, management says ‘no tradition of idol worship’

OpIndia Staff
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Teacher, from school managed by Sikh Committee in Delhi, suspended for organizing Saraswati Puja, management says ‘no tradition of idol worship’

On Friday, a teacher from a school in Delhi was suspended for performing Saraswati Puja on the occasion of Vasant Panchmi. The teacher who is employed by the Guru Harkishan Public School in Delhi to teach music to its students happened to organize Saraswati Pujan on January 25.

According to the reports, the school is managed by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee which opposed the event and issued a suspension order against the teacher. Also, a separate committee has been formed by the management to investigate the matter after several Sikh leaders criticized the act.

Former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Harvinder Singh Sarna, and other Sikh leaders, including Parminder Pal Singh, general secretary of Jag Asra Guru Ott, opposed the execution of Saraswati Puja in the school. Funds should be spent on the promotion of the Sikh religion, the leaders opined.

“There is no tradition of idol worship in the educational institutions run by the committee. The school is attended by students of every religion. But, the school is run with the money provided by the management. The amount received from the Sikh management should be spent on preaching the words of Sikhs and their Gurus,” Sarna said.

He also alleged that the DSGMC has failed to follow the Sikh code of conduct. “Many cases which challenge the Sikh dignity have come to the fore,” he noted. DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka blamed the music teacher and stated that the event was not organized by the school management but by the music teacher at her own level. “Sikh dignity is fully followed in the educational and other institutions related to the committee,” he maintained.

The teacher has been suspended with immediate effect. A three-member committee has been constituted for an impartial inquiry into the matter. Next action will be taken after the report of the committee is submitted to the authorities.

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