On January 17, Delhi police said they are hunting for four terror suspects ahead of Republic Day celebrations scheduled for January 26. Notably, two terrorists were arrested in the Jahangirpuri area of Delhi. ANI quoted unnamed sources of the Delhi Police Special Cell saying that the suspects received weapons from Pakistan using the drop-dead method. Furthermore, they used social media apps to stay in touch with their handlers in Pakistan.
The sources said, “Delhi Police looking for four other suspects. They received weapons from Pakistan through the drop-dead method and were in contact with handlers in Pak on the Signal app. They got weapons at an unidentified location in Uttarakhand, which is being verified.”
The two terrorists arrested earlier were also tasked with terror attacks in various states. They were allegedly tasked to kill rightwing leaders from Punjab and Delhi on January 27 and 31. By the time of their arrest, the terrorists had already received two targets and taken notes of their movement and schedule. The two suspects were identified as 29-year-old Jagjit Singh and 56-year-old Naushad. Patiala House Court sent them to 14-day police remand for further questioning.
They allegedly received Rs 50 lakh to kill the first target while Rs 1 crore was paid for the second and Rs 1.5 crores for the third killing. Rs 5 lakh as ‘token money’ had already been paid to them via hawala operators. They were booked under UAPA and relevant sections of IPC. Three pistols, 22 live cartridges and hand grenades were recovered from them.
The duo killed a Hindu man at their house and shared the video with their handler. Forensic Science Laboratory also visited the site and collected blood samples. Police said Jagjit Singh has links to Khalistani terrorist Arshdeep Dalla and is linked to the Bambiha gang. On the other hand, Naushad is linked to the terrorist organisation Harkat-ul-Ansar.
As per reports, Delhi police suspect the involvement of eight people in the module. Four of them could be present in India, the police sources said. Two terrorists provided weapons, while the other two sent the Google locations to the bosses where the weapons were kept. The police have recovered weapons from the terrorists hidden at unknown locations in Uttarakhand.
After 30 years on the run, Italy’s most-wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro was arrested in Sicily, police said.
Matteo Denaro was arrested from a private health clinic in Palermo possibly set to undergo plastic surgery, a CNN report said quoting prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia as saying on Monday. Denaro has been a fugitive since 1993 and was considered by Europol as one of Europe’s most wanted men.
Italy’s chief of Police, Lamberto Giannini, told CNN: “It is a victory for all the police forces that have worked together over these long years to bring the dangerous fugitive to justice.” He congratulated the Carabinieri, Italy’s military police, and the Palermo Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni tweeted: “A great victory for the state, which demonstrates that it does not give up in the face of the Mafia.” Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the arrest “a sign of a state that wins against Mafia.”
Meloni while speaking outside the prosecutor’s office, said that Italy had not yet won the “war” against the Mafia, this was a “battle that was fundamental to win” but “it’s a day we can celebrate and tell our children that the Mafia can be defeated”.
Messina Denaro is thought to have ordered dozens of Mafia-related murders and was given several life sentences in absentia for his many crimes, most notably in 1992 for his involvement in the separate murders of anti-Mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, according to CNN.
The CNN report also said that Denaro received his most recent life sentence in 2020 for fatal bombings in Milan, Florence and Rome in the late 1990s, and for the murder and torture of the 11-year-old son of an enemy who gave evidence against the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.
He was Cosa Notra’s longest-hiding fugitive, having been a wanted man for nearly 30 years.
Denaro was taken into police custody at around 10 am (local time) after a raid was carried out by more than 100 specialised agents with anti-Mafia Carabinieri in the early hours of the morning.
It is not known what treatment he was receiving. However, the Maddalena clinic where he was arrested is a private clinic known for plastic surgery and other elective surgeries, according to CNN.
Denaro is being held in a secret location, the Carabinieri press office told CNN on Monday.
(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’s Brahmapuri is currently the subject of discussion in the media and social media. The reason for this discussion is a report published on the leftist propaganda portal The Wire on Saturday, 14 January 2023. In this report, it is mentioned that a lawyer named Pradeep Sharma on Street No. 13 of Brahmapuri flagged a poster to appeal to Hindus not to sell their property to Muslims.
The report also quoted a doctor as claiming that Muslims had protected the homes of Hindus during the 2020 anti-Hindu riots and there was no violence in street number 13. At the end of the news, it was said that advocate Sharma was also contacted. To investigate all these claims, the Team of OpIndia reached Brahmapuri on Monday, 16 January 2023. What we found in Brahmapuri was blatantly denying The Wire’s claims.
‘The Wire’ put the Sharma family’s safety at risk
After reaching Brahmapuri, we contacted advocate Pradeep Sharma directly. Pradeep Sharma told that he is at the new Usmanpur police station and asked us to come there. It took us about 7 minutes to reach the police station crossing the dense traffic. Pradeep Sharma met us at the gate. When we asked him the reason for coming to the police station, he informed us about the threats he received after his news went viral on some media and social media, and said that he sought police protection because of the threats. Advocate Sharma accused ‘The Wire’ of conspiring against him by taking money from someone. He said ‘The Wire’ has put him and his family in danger.
The conversation stopped for a while due to Azaan in a loud voice
We were talking at the gate of the police station when suddenly two policemen who had just caught some accused passed by. The policemen asked us the reason for standing there. However, after knowing the media personnel, they left the place. During this time, Azaan started from the loudspeakers installed around the police station due to which we had to stop the interview for a while. Advocate Pradeep Sharma described those loud sounds of azaan as a very normal thing for the area.
‘I did not put up any poster’
After azaan’s noise was over, Advocate Sharma resumed the conversation. He told us that he did not put up the poster on which the controversy has arisen. According to Pradeep Sharma, he came to know about the posters with his name from social media. However, he has expressed suspicion that someone put up these posters in his name to stop the exodus of Hindus from the area, which is wrong. The lawyer also informed us that he had never discriminated between Hindus and Muslims while working in his own profession.
Hindus selling houses and migrating
Advocate Pradeep Sharma told us why he would stop others from selling their house when he was preparing to sell his own house. Referring to the condition of his area, he said that Hindus are constantly selling houses on his street. We were told that earlier there were Hindus around his house but now there are many Muslims there. We were also informed about Muslims buying a House of a Hindu Brahmin and building a mosque where people from outside the local street come to offer namaz. According to the advocate, the demographic balance in the area is changing rapidly. According to the lawyer, when the Muslim population crosses 50%, even he does not know what will happen.
Security concerns are the main reason for migration
According to Advocate Sharma, the main concern of him and other Hindus is security. He got emotional while saying that he should not be reminded of the Delhi riots. The lawyer said that rioters had entered his street and an attempt was made to attack the Shiva-Gauri temple at one end of the street. Posing as an eyewitness, Pradeep Sharma said that the rioters had fired bullets in front of his house. We were told that all the Hindus of Brahmapuri are no longer ready to face any such incident like the year 2020 again and that is why they want to move towards a safe place. Sharma mentioned as many as 50 Hindus around him who had sold their houses. This included a Hindu family whose house now has become a mosque. However, ‘The Wire’ has claimed in its report that there was no violence during the Delhi riots in Street No. 13.
Hindus were killed in Brahmapuri
Vinod Kumar, a resident of Brahmapuri, was killed by rioters in the 2020 anti-Hindu riots. He lived in palm street and was returning home with his son at the time of the incident. Apart from Vinod, Advocate Sharma said that a Hindu vegetable seller was also shot dead in street number 1. According to the lawyer, at least 4-5 Hindus were killed in Brahmapuri.
Muslims are safe because of Hindus
Stating that Brahmapuri Gali No. 13 has a 70% Hindu and 30% Muslim population, advocate Sharma said that Hindus protect Muslims in that street. Describing Hindus as tolerant, he said that despite suffering a lot in the 2020 riots, Hindus had protected the Muslims living among them and did not allow anyone to cause any harm to these Muslims.
I never talked to ‘The Wire’
While ‘The Wire’ has claimed to have spoken to Advocate Sharma in its report and claimed to have sided with him, Pradeep Sharma is denying this claim outright. He said that before his news went viral, he did not know any media outlet called ‘The Wire’. Pradeep Sharma also accused ‘The Wire’ of adding his statement published in its article without permission.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Anup Gupta managed to defeat his rival Jasbir Singh Laddi from Aam Aadmi Party in the election for the post of the mayor of Chandigarh. Anup Gupta managed to scrap through by a margin of 1 vote. A total of 29 votes were polled with Gupta getting 15 votes and Laddi ending up with 14.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress chose to abstain from the voting that was held today, January 17. The city beautiful continues to have a BJP mayor as they had won last year’s election as well. At that time, BJP’s Sarabjit Kaur had defeated AAP’s Anju Katyal by the same margin of 1 vote.
Both BJP and AAP have 14 councillors each in the House, while Chandigarh MP also has a vote being an ex-officio member of the municipal corporation House. BJP’s Kirron Kher is the current member of parliament from the city. Congress has 6 councillors while SAD has a single member. However, both those parties chose to abstain from the voting, leaving it as a direct fight between BJP and AAP once again.
“I thank my party leadership for their faith in me as they chose me as the candidate for this post. I will run the House with the same dignity that our previous mayor did,” Gupta said after winning the election.
Anup Gupta had served as the deputy mayor after the previous election. 38-year-old businessman Gupta is the councillor from ward 11, which covers sectors 18,19, and 21. He was first elected as a councillor in 2021.
The elections for the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor will be held later in the day.
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film Pathaan is scheduled for release later in January. The action film is SRK’s first film in a lead role since 2018. The film will hit the theatres first and OTT platforms months later once the buzz around theatre cools down. The filmmakers have not given an official date for the OTT release, but it was recently revealed during a court hearing.
On January 16, Yash Raj Films informed the court that the film is scheduled for OTT release on Amazon’s Prime Video on April 25. That means the makers have scheduled the OTT release three months after the theatrical release. During the hearing, the court directed the production house to prepare subtitles, close captioning, and audio descriptions of the film in Hindi and get it recertified from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The orders were passed to facilitate hearing and visually-impaired individuals who want to see the film on OTT platforms.
The court therefore directed the producers to submit the close captioning, subtitles and audio description to CBFC for the movie’s OTT release by Feb 20. CBFC will take a decision on the same by March 10. The movie is set to release on @PrimeVideo on April 25.
The court was hearing a petition filed by a group of lawyers, law students, and visually impaired individuals seeking directions from the court to YRF to make arrangements so that disabled individuals could also enjoy the film. Justice Prathiba M Singh, however, did not pass any similar directions for screening in the theatres as the film is scheduled for January 25 release.
However, Justice Prathiba M Singh refused to pass any directions wrt to Pathaan’s screening in theatres noting that the movie is set to be released on Jan 25 and there are very few days left. #DelhiHighCourt@yrf@iamsrk
During the hearing, the court said that the authorities are obligated to ensure visually and hearing-impaired individuals have content available for their entertainment. The court also added that special measures need to be taken so that such individuals can enjoy films in the theatres as well.
The court asked the producers to complete the process by February 20 and asked CBFC to issue a certificate by March 10.
Pathaan is an upcoming action film produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF). It is part of the YRF Spy Universe that includes the Tiger series featuring Salman Khan and War starring Hrithik Roshan. SRK, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Ashutosh Rana, and Dimple Kapadia are playing lead roles in Pathaan. The film has already faced multiple controversies, varying from picking up frame-by-frame scenes from other films to hurting Hindu sentiments in the ‘Besharam Rang’ song and reusing music in another song from an old composition by music composers Vishaal-Shekhar.
On Monday, Lalit Modi apologised to Mukul Rohatgi, a former Attorney General, for a previous statement in which Modi said he could buy and sell Rohatgi a million times and requested that Rohatgi not refer to him as a “fugitive.”
In his Instagram post, Lalit Modi said, “Dear Mr Rohatgi, on reviewing the post I wrote on my Instagram account, I realized I owed you an apology for something said in anger. I have been deeply frustrated by the tactics by which my mother has sought to bring me and my family financial grief, by appropriating the assets belonging to the Modi family under the farce of keeping up my fathers legacy.”
“The shares were in Sammy’s [my brother Samir] and my names [as was common in the Modi family] and to keep up my fathers legacy, we gave up our shares and put them in the trust which she now has expropriated. Her behaviour has caused me and my family tremendous emotional trauma over the years, and I have reached a point at the end of my tether, and I cannot deal with it anymore. This has taken a huge toll on my mental health and also on my physical health and in order to preserve my sanity and rebuild my physical health, I have decided to distance myself from this agony and handed over the reins to my son Ruchir,” he further said.
Lalit Modi added, “However, my complaint against you was that you without any basis or justification repeatedly called me a fugitive. This is a false – allegation either knowingly or otherwise you have been persuaded to malign me in this fashion. The words of a former attorney general of India should be carefully chosen – you know that very well given your experience. I must therefore assume that she has befooled you into making this false allegation. I wanted to lodge my protest at your carelessly agreeing to make this false allegation against me. I said things that I should not have especially the bit about buying and selling judges etc. These are matters of gossip and should not have been alleged. I made this allegation because of my state of mind. I have had a near-death experience and was in a deep depression realizing that after me this lady [my mother] will destroy my family and render my children destitute. It was the cry of an anguished father for which I deeply apologize.”
Lalit Modi said in his post, “However, I do beseech you not to make such false allegations about her prompting you to have stature on account of having held the highest-law office in India. I have complete faith in the judges and courts of India. I have been involved with litigation which has changed the course of the BCCI-purged it out of all its flaws. The courts also came to my rescue when the congress regime illegally sought to impound my passport. I have the greatest respect for the Indian judiciary and any comments made were only in a bad state of physical and mental health for which I express unconditional regret and apology. I have handed over the reins of the litigation to my son Ruchir and I am sure once again, the courts will give me and the family justice and relief from this dishonest attempt to appropriate the Modi family property by an outsider. Sorry for any anguish that I may have caused you.”
Earlier, Lalit Modi had threatened senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi. Lalit Modi wrote in that post, “You will be doing justice to your client by buying a judge overnight. But, I can buy and sell you a million times. No matter how much you can fight for your client, you will refer to me as ‘Mr. Modi’. You’re like an ant to me. But, you’re lucky, I like ants. So I won’t crush you. However, if I find out that you have spoken about me in print or electronic media, I will follow you to court. Jai Hind.”
Lalit Modi, the former chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL), who was in the news for dating Sushmita Sen in July 2022, recently announced on Instagram that he has been placed on continuous exterior oxygen support after experiencing double COVID in the previous two weeks.
On Monday, the Pimpri Chinchwad Police registered a complaint against 14 persons including a minor for attempting to forcefully convert a few Hindu people from the Khed region of Pune to Christianity. The accused also are charged with causing religious hatred and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.
According to the FIR copy attained by OpIndia, the complaint has been registered by a Hindu person named Prasad Salunkhe on January 15. The accused booked in the case have been identified as Pradip Waghmare, Prashant Waghmare of Charholi, Ronak Shinde, Ashok Pandhare, Tejas Chandne, Mukesh Vishwakarma, Lakshman Naidu, M B Yun, J Yun, and Ishal Salve. Three women and a 17-year-old boy have also been named in the FIR.
Salunkhe, a resident of the Markal region in Khed complained that he was being harassed by the accused persons who forced him and his family members to convert their religion to Christianity. “On January 15, two persons Pradip Waghmare and Prashant Waghmare came into our locality and asked me if I knew anything about Christianity. They also asked me to read Bible and convert my religion to Christianity for a better life.”
“Later, they saw photos of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in our home and began abusing them. The duo said that I should go to Church and worship Jesus. I told them that I am a Hindu and I read only Shiv Charitra Parayan. Then they said that reading Hindu scriptures were of no use and that worshipping Hindu Gods would never do any good to us,” Salunkhe complained.
FIR copy obtained by OpIndia
Accused called Hindu Gods ‘beggars’
He further mentioned that the duo also abused the Hindu Gods and called them ‘beggars’. “They saw Vasudev avatar on the street in the morning and asked me who was he. I told them that he is our God and he was seeking ‘Bhiksha’ from the Hindu residents. On this, the duo said how will your God protect you when he is begging for food. I could not tolerate the insult and called two of my friends who informed me that many similar people were targeting Hindus and forcing them to convert their religion to Christianity. We later called the Police who verified the complaint and identified 14 accused persons who were luring Hindus for money and asking them to convert their religion to Christianity,” the complaint read.
14 accused persons named in the FIR filed on January 15
A similar incident was reported from the Alandi region of Pune on January 1 where three Christian persons were caught red-handed while attempting to forcefully convert people from the Matang community to Christianity. The accused visited the Sathe Nagar area of Alandi and asked a few Hindu families if they read Bible. Later the accused persons began informing the Hindu persons about Christianity and forced them to convert their religion to Christianity.
The video of the incident went viral over social media platforms in which one of the women could be seen praising the religion of Christianity. The accused persons also reportedly used hurtful language against the Hindu religion. Later one of the women tricked the Hindu persons by offering them red grape juice and made them believe that it was the blood of Jesus Christ. She told them that all their health problems and worries would vanish upon consuming the ‘blood of Jesus Christ.’
The incident came to the fore after one of the local Hindu persons named Uddhav Nagnath Kamble filed a complaint at Alandi Police Station. He said that the accused persons were luring the Hindu persons for money and were forcing them to convert their religion to Christianity. He mentioned in the complaint that accused Sudhakar Suryavanshi and his pals entered the Sathe Nagar locality on January 1 and attempted to convert him and other Matang community people to Christianity.
FIR copy obtained by OpIndia
According to the information attained by OpIndia, the Alandi Police initially ignored the complaint but later took cognizance of the incident and verified that the Hindu persons, residents of Sathe Nagar in Alandi were offered red grape juice and were forced to convert their religion to Christianity. The Police on January 4 then filed an FIR against three persons, one of whom has been identified as Sudhakar Baburao Suryavanshi.
The Police said that Suryavanshi along with his two pals targeted the Hindus and told them that converting their religion to Christianity would solve all their financial and health-related problems. “You start worshipping Jesus. All your health problems will vanish. Leave the Hindu religion and accept Christianity,” Suryavanshi told the Hindus.
Red grape juice offered to Hindus as the ‘blood of Jesus Christ’
Shedding more light on the incident, one of the members of Hindu Dharma Jagran Manch from the Nigdi region of Pune, N Kamble said that the accused persons were caught red-handed while they were offering the red grape juice to Hindus. “We had gone to Alandi to invite people for Matang Melava which was supposed to be conducted in Bhosari, Pune. As we went to the Sathe Nagar area of Alandi, we saw that some of the people were luring the Matang community people and were asking them to read Bible and convert their religion to Christianity.”
“Upon exposing their attempt to convert Hindus to Christianity, one of the women who was offering the red juice to Hindus as the blood of Jesus Christ began ranting against us and the Hindu religion. She said that we were disturbing their religious prayers and that we were committing a sin,” Kamble said while talking to OpIndia.
He said that the Alandi Police also did not respond appropriately to the incident initially unless the Dharma Jagran Manch people along with Uddhav Nagnath Kamble repeatedly complained against the accused. “The Alandi Police filed FIR against three persons after requesting them several times,” Kamble added.
“The incident is from January 1. The Christian Pastor had already lured some of the Hindus from the area and had told small children that Hindus are devils,” Kamble said. He said that after January 1 they went to the Sathe Nagar area of Alandi but were made to run off by small children who called them ‘devils’. “The Pastor has converted some Hindus to Christianity. He has made the poor Matang community people in Alandi believe that all their health problems have vanished because they have started worshipping Jesus. This is a total sham,” he said while speaking to OpIndia.
“One converted woman from the Matang community told us that she had spent Rs 6 lakhs on her medical treatment but recovered only after she prayed to Jesus. Another one also said that earlier she had spent Rs 3 lakhs on her husband’s treatment but he recovered only by praying to Jesus. Meanwhile, their children have started to believe that Hindus are devils. This should stop at any cost,” Kamble said.
Massive protests organized in Pune demanding anti-conversion law
After the incident massive protest was organized by the Hindu community in Pune on January 14. Around thousands of Hindus from nearby areas including Alandi, Nigdi, and Pimpri Chinchwad joined the protest against forceful conversion and demanded the implementation of anti-conversion laws across the state of Maharashtra.
However, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar wrote a letter to the Maharashtra CM demanding protection for the Christian people. In a letter dated January 13, he said that the Christian people were unnecessarily being harassed and that the government needs to do justice to the community.
In the current case, Salunkhe stated that the 14 accused reportedly enticed individuals to attend church by paying them money to manage their businesses. The suspects have been charged under Sections 153 (a), 298, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. According to the reports, the accused had come for ‘Dharmaprasar (religious propagation)’ in the Markal region of Khed district. No arrests have been made yet, but notices have been sent to the accused for inquiry.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for “serious and sincere talks” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on “burning points like Kashmir.” In an interview with Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV, Sharif said that Pakistan has learned its lesson after three wars with India and stressed that now it wants peace with its neighbour.
“My message to the Indian leadership and Prime Minister Modi is that let’s sit down on the table and have serious and sincere talks to resolve our burning points like Kashmir. It is up to us to live peacefully and make progress or quarrel with each other and waste time and resources,” Sharif said. In an interview with Dubai-based Arabic news channel, Pakistan Prime Minister said, “We have had three wars with India, and they have only brought more misery, poverty, and unemployment to the people.”
“We have learnt our lesson, and we want to live in peace with India, provided we are able to resolve our genuine problems,” Sharif said in the interview that was aired on Monday.
Pakistan, which is battling a severe economic crisis, public discontent against the ruling regime due to flour crisis and fuel shortage among others is also faced with rising instances of terror attacks by the proscribed outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which had ended a ceasefire with the country’s security forces late last year.
“India is our neighbour country, we are neighbours. Let’s be very blunt, even if we are not neighbours by choice we are there for ever and it is up to us for us to live peacefully and progress or quarrel with each other and waste time and resources. That is up to us,” Sharif said in the interview to Al Arabiya.
Sharif also brought up the subject of Kashmir and said “Pakistan wants peace but what is happening in Kashmir should be stopped.”
The Pakistan leader in the interview that was also uploaded on Monday on the @AlArabiya_shows Twitter handle said that both the countries have engineers, doctors, and skilled labourers. “We want to utilise these assets for prosperity and to bring peace to the region so that both nations can grow.”
“Pakistan does not want to waste resources on bombs and ammunition. We are nuclear powers, armed to the teeth, and if God forbids, a war breaks out, who will live to tell what happened?” he said.
India in November last year had lashed out at Pakistan for raking up the issue of Kashmir during a United Nations debate terming it as “desperate attempts to peddle falsehoods”.
“As we meet today to discuss UNSC reforms, a representative of Pakistan has yet again made unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir remains an integral and inalienable part of India irrespective of what Pakistan’s representative believes,” said Pratik Mathur, Permanent Mission of India to UN, in the right to reply during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meet on UN Security Council.
“Pakistan’s desperate attempts to peddle falsehoods and a bad habit of abusing the sanctity of multilateral forums deserves collective contempt and perhaps sympathies as well,” he added.
Pakistan Foreign Affairs Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had spoken about alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. India’s response to Pakistan’s claims came during a key UN General Assembly meeting on the United Nations Security Council.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
During questioning by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in September last year, Dawood Ibrahim’s nephew revealed the personal details of the absconding terrorist. Dawood’s late sister Haseena Parkar’s son, Alishah Ibrahim Parkar, told the anti-terror investigation agency that the wanted criminal has married for the second time to a Pakistani woman and is staying in Pakistan’s Karachi’s defence area near Abdulla Gazi Baba Dargah.
#TimesNetwork Exclusive | #DawoodIbrahim’s nephew has disclosed shocking details about the fugitive underworld don during an interrogation by the National Investigation Agency.
He also stated that Dawood has not divorced his first wife, Mehjabeen, who he claims is still in contact with relatives in Mumbai.
According to India Today, Shah said that he believes Dawood’s second marriage may be a ploy to divert investigators’ attention away from Mehjabeen. Ali Shah stated that he met Dawood Ibrahim’s first wife in Dubai in July 2022, when she informed him of Dawood’s second marriage.
He further alleged that Mehjabeen Shaikh communicates with Dawood’s relatives in India via WhatsApp calls.
Dawood Ibrahim formed a special unit to target India, reveals NIA
Notably, last year, the National Investigation Agency revealed that Dawood Ibrahim was planning to launch terror attacks on India using explosives and lethal weapons. He had formed a special unit with the aim of inciting violence in different parts of the country.
This was after the ED conducted raids in South Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case against Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. Close to nine places in Mumbai and one in Thane were raided by the ED including the residences of Dawood Ibrahim’s late sister Haseena Parkar and brother Iqbal Kaskar.
The agency has also learned that Dawood has been using various social media platforms to communicate with his network. He has also helped them financially and logistically to create a riot-like situation in various parts of India deliberately.
A case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) has already been registered against Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.
On Saturday, January 14, unknown gunmen shot dead a former female Afghan MP Mursal Nabizada, and one of her bodyguards at her residence in Kabul. Mursal Nabizada was one of the few female lawmakers who remained in Kabul following the Taliban’s takeover of power in August 2021. She refused to leave Afghanistan and chose to remain with her people.
According to the local police commander, Molvi Hamidullah Khalid, Nabizada and her guard were shot dead in the same room at 3 a.m. on Saturday. He stated that her brother and a second security guy have also been injured in the attack. A third security guy fled the scene carrying cash and jewelry.
Reports mention that she died on the first floor of her house, where she worked. While the Police stated that the investigation in the case is underway, the probable motivations behind the murder are unclear.
Abdullah Abdullah, a former top official in Afghanistan’s Western-backed administration, expressed sadness over Nabizada’s murder and expressed hope that the criminals will be punished. He described her as a “representative and servant of the people”.
Former lawmaker Mariam Solaimankhil also condemned the incident on Twitter. “A true trailblazer – a strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger. Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people. We have lost a diamond, but her legacy will live on. Rest in peace,” she said.
A true trailblazer – a strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger. Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people. We have lost a diamond, but her legacy will live on. Rest in peace. https://t.co/g0HjMPicl5
Afghan Entrepreneur Sara Wahedi said that Afghanistan is hell on earth for women. “Mursal Nabizada was a member of the Afghan parliament. She stayed in Afghanistan. She did not leave after the Taliban took over the country. MP Nabizada was shot dead in her home today. Afghanistan is hell on earth for women,” she tweeted.
Mursal Nabizada was a member of the Afghan parliament. She stayed in Afghanistan. She did not leave after the Taliban took over the country.
Nabizada, from the eastern province of Nangarhar, was voted into Kabul’s parliament in 2018 and remained in power until the Taliban took over. She worked at the Institute for Human Resource Development and Research and was a member of the parliamentary defense panel.
Reports mention that several women who had influential positions in Afghanistan left the country once the Taliban reclaimed control. However, Mursal Nabizada was one of the few female lawmakers who remained in Kabul despite being offered a chance to leave.
