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Saudi Arabia govt agents infiltrated Wikipedia to control content, imprisoned two independent Wikipedia administrators: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Saudi Arabia govt agents infiltrated Wikipedia to control content, imprisoned two independent Wikipedia administrators: Report

On Thursday, January 5, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and Social Media Exchange (SMEX), released an investigative report claiming that Saudi Arabia infiltrated Wikipedia and prosecuted Wikipedia editors who added critical information about the political detainees. According to the report, the Saudi authorities had recruited the organization’s highest-ranking administrators in the country to serve as government agents in order to gain control over the information about the country on the website. The report also states that earlier in September 2020, two high-ranking Wikipedia administrators were arrested by the Saudi government.

Democracy for the Arab World Now is a human rights group founded by slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while Social Media Exchange is a Lebanon-based group promoting digital rights in the Arab world.

Citing an internal investigation conducted in 2022 by Wikimedia, which is the parent company of Wikipedia, the report stated that Wikimedia terminated all of its administrators in Saudi Arabia in December 2022.

Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s Executive Director, said that the government agents acting as independent editors and imprisonment of non-complaint editors demonstrate the Saudi government’s use of spies in international organizations as well as the dangers posed by attempts to produce independent content in the country.

The Saudi government and Wikimedia, which provides free ‘educational’ content online through initiatives such as Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, and Wiktionary, have not yet commented on the report.

It is pertinent to mention that Wikipedia operates through volunteer administrators and editors known as “Wikipedia users” who have been approved by Wikimedia. These approved users are not employees of Wikimedia and are not renumerated. There are, however, Wikipedia community rules that grant them privileges as trusted, independent editors who regulate and administer Wikipedia content. Administrators have the exclusive authority to use tools to edit, delete, and protect content pages, as well as to block and unblock lower-ranking users and editors.

Citing unnamed sources with knowledge on the matter, the DAWN and SMEX report claim that the Saudi government in 2020 arrested two top-ranking Wikipedia volunteer administrators in Saudi Arabia, identified as Osama Khalid and Ziyad-al-Sofiani. The arrested administrators had access to edit fully protected pages. Both the administrators were awarded 32 years and 8 years jail sentences respectively. They were charged with “swaying public opinion” and “violating public morals.” 

The report states that sources close to the case informed DAWN that the two Wikipedia administrators were prosecuted “because they had contributed information deemed to be critical about the persecution of political activists in the country.”

Wikimedia took cognizance of the fact that several of its administrators have been jailed for their work on Wikipedia pages. Taking note of this, Wikimedia on December 6, 2022, announced that it has banned 16 of its administrators following an internal investigation conducted in January 2022. DAWN and SMEX claimed that the 16 banned administrators were from Saudi Arabia and were banned for “conflict of interest editing on Wikipedia projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.”

This report comes after a former Twitter employee Ahmad Abouammo was convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia by a US court. Abouammo was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. As per a release issued by the US Department of Justice, “the Court emphasized that defendant (Ahmad Abouammo) shared the user information with a foreign government known for not tolerating dissidents, and he did so while working with his even more culpable co-defendant Ali Alzabarah who fled to the KSA rather than face trial. This sentence sends a message to insiders with access to user information to safeguard it, particularly from repressive regimes, or risk significant time in prison.”

Delhi Police arrests 6th accused in the Kanjhawala hit and run case, says he tried to mislead investigation by lying about driver’s identity

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Police arrests 6th accused in the Kanjhawala hit and run case, says he tried to mislead investigation by lying about driver’s identity

In the wee hours of January 1, a girl named Anjali Singh died in a horrific road accident that took place in Kanjhawala, Outer Delhi. Five accused had been arrested so far. Delhi police Friday arrested the 6th accused, Ashutosh, the brother-in-law of the owner of the Baleno car that dragged 20-year-old Anjali Singh to her death.

Meanwhile, the search is on for the seventh accused, Ankush, accused of helping with the cover-up. 

The police revealed that Ashutosh was arrested for giving false information to the police and trying to cover up the indecent. Ashutosh had reportedly lied about who was driving the car when the incident occurred. He had told the police that accused Deepak Khanna was on the driver’s wheels when the accident happened, which was untrue, said the police.

The owner of the vehicle, Lokesh, had given his car to his brother-in-law Ashutosh, who subsequently gave it to Amit Khanna. “He (Ashutosh) lied to police that Deepak took the vehicle from him and that he was driving the car,” a senior officer said.

The police said Amit Khanna was driving the car when it ran over Anjali Singh and not his relative Deepak as the accused had claimed during questioning.

The police said that during the investigation it came to the fore that Deepak Khanna was not even in the car when the incident happened. Deepak’s phone location and call records showed he was at home all day.

In fact, CCTV footage from outside Deepak Khanna’s house showed him talking on the phone and pacing up and down outside his home just after the incident took place. He was allegedly on the phone with the men in his car, talking about what had happened and discussing ways to cover up the crime. 

Earlier, the police revealed that Deepak Khanna’s cousins and friends had urged him to tell the police that he was with them at the time of the accident as he was the only person with a driving licence.

“After the accident, Amit told his brother Ankush Khanna about it. Ankush then asked them to contact Deepak (their cousin), who has a licence, to take the blame. We are looking for Ankush and another man named Ashutosh. The two men are also involved in the case,” a senior police officer had said.

“During interrogation, the accused gave contradictory statements. CCTV footage was checked, but it wasn’t clear who was driving. We found that Deepak’s phone location was at his house that night. During sustained interrogation, Deepak broke down and confessed,” said the officer.

It is now learnt that unlike what was earlier believed, there were four men in the car, and not five. The police said that the car took several u-turns to dislodge Anjali’s body. After getting rid of the body, the accused parked the car outside Ashutosh’s residence and fled in an autorickshaw.

Meanwhile, new CCTV evidence captured the massive murder cover-up, which showed car owner Ashutosh with the other accused two hours after the murder at 4:16 a.m. Ashutosh took the car keys from the accused. At 4:52, Ashutosh could be seen returning home after parking the Baleno car that killed Anjali.

Notably, on Thursday, 5th January 2023, the Delhi Police shared essential updates related to the case. The police had denied the possibility of any murder charges on the accused in this case. Police had also revealed that there are 7 charged in the case, and not just 5.

The Delhi Police has also shared the exact time of the accident. Hooda said that the incident took place between 2.04 AM and 2.06 AM. He said that the road where the accident took place leads to Haryana and continues for almost 10-12 km. However, how far the body was dragged is unknown now.

“There is nothing that indicates sexual harassment,” the official also said.

Meanwhile, deceased Anjali’s friend Nidhi, who was in the pillion seat at the time of the incident, on Tuesday said that the men knew the girl has gotten stuck under their car, but still, they kept dragging her. 

While speaking to ANI, the eyewitness, said, “She was in a drunken state but insisted on driving the two-wheeler. After being hit by the car, she came under the car and got dragged with it. I was scared and went away and returned home, didn’t tell anything to anyone.” 

Bengal: Md Ansarul chops his wife Renuka into 2 pieces, drowns body parts in the Mahananda river canal

ANI
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Bengal: Md Ansarul chops his wife Renuka into 2 pieces, drowns body parts in the Mahananda river canal

One man was arrested after he allegedly admitted to killing his wife by chopping her body into two pieces and drowning them in the Mahananda river canal in West Bengal’s Siliguri, police said.

The accused identified as Mohammad Ansarul made this admission during police interrogation, ten days after his wife had gone missing. The family members of the deceased, Renuka Khatun lodged a missing complaint on December 24 last year.

“During the interrogation, Md Ansarul, husband of Renuka admitted that he killed his wife, cut her in two pieces and threw her body parts in the Mahananda canal near Goaltuli more in Phansidewa block under Siliguri,” police said on Thursday.

According to the victim’s family, Ansarul killed his wife due to “family problems”. Selim, a relative of Renuka said, “We came to know that Ansarul, husband of Renuka Khatun killed her and threw her body parts in the Mahananda river canal. Four years ago they got married and from that time they had some family problems. We want him to be hanged”.

The local police has started a search operation with the help of civil defence personnel to locate and retrieve the body parts.

“We have not found anything yet till yesterday night. The team will start a search operation today again,” the police official said.

Meanwhile, similar incident of crime was reported from Delhi earlier last year. Delhi Police is currently investigating a case in which a man -Aaftab Poonawala allegedly killed his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar by strangling her. He then chopped her body into 35 pieces, which he stored in a refrigerator for weeks before disposing them. In a recent development, the DNA report has confirmed that the hair and bone samples recovered by Delhi Police were of deceased Shraddha Walkar.

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

US: Liberal arts professor fired for showing Muhammad paintings, President of varsity says respect for Muslim feelings should supersede academic freedom

OpIndia Staff
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US: Liberal arts professor fired for showing Muhammad paintings, President of varsity says respect for Muslim feelings should supersede academic freedom

A female Professor was reportedly fired for showing the picture of Prophet Muhammad to her students during a global art history class at Hamline University in Minnesota in the United States.

As per reports, the incident took place on October 6, 2022, during which the unnamed Professor was teaching Islamic art to her students. She had warned them in advance about her plan to show two historic paintings of the last Islamic Prophet Muhammad.

One painting dated back to the 14th century (created by Persian scholar Rashīd al-Dīn) while another painting was made in the 16th century (by Mustafa ibn Vali).

Soon after, several Muslim students took offence to the display of the historic paintings and claimed that the professor’s actions constituted Islamophobia.

The President of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), Aram Wedatalla, was allegedly present in the class when the paintings were displayed to the students. He claimed, “I’m like, ‘this can’t be real.’”

She continued, “As a Muslim, and a Black person, I don’t feel like I belong, and I don’t think I’ll ever belong in a community where they don’t value me as a member, and they don’t show the same respect that I show them.”

On October 7, 2022, she emailed the administration of Hamline University and also the leadership team of the Muslim Student Association. Aram Wedatalla also met with the varsity President Fayneese Miller and Dean of Students Patti Kersten.

Meanwhile, the female liberal arts professor apologised to Aram Wedatalla and other Muslim students in an email. “I would like to apologize that the image I showed in class on (Oct. 6) made you uncomfortable and caused you emotional agitation,” she wrote.

“It is never my intention to upset or disrespect students in my classroom. I (let) the class know ahead of time…I did not try to surprise students with this image, and I did my best to provide students with an out,” she further added.

The Professor continued, “I also described every subsequent slide I showed with language to indicate when I was no longer showing an image of the Prophet Muhammad…I am sorry that despite my attempt to prevent a negative reaction, you still viewed and were troubled by this image.”

On October 10, 2022, the members of the Muslim Student Associaiton and the Assistant Director of Social Justice Programs and Strategic Relations Nur Mood met with the administration of Hamline University.

On November 7 last year, an email was sent to undergraduate students at the liberal arts varsity by the Associate Vice President of Inclusive Excellence at Hamlline named Dr David Everett.

Without specifying any details about the case, the letter said that the administration condemned a ‘disrespectful, Islamophobic and undeniably inconsiderate’ incident that took place in one of its classrooms.

In an interview on December 2 last year, Assistant Director of Social Justice Programs and Strategic Relations Nur Mood said, “This (incident is) much deeper and it’s something that in a million years, I never expected that it would happen here at Hamline. I hope this is the last time I see something similar to this.”

He further alleged, “There’s a lot of apologies all happening, but the harm’s done. I think we should have started more focused about the healing process.”

The President of Hamline University, Fayneese Miller, has come under fire for justifying the disciplinary action against the professor of the liberal arts.

She said, “It is not our intent to place blame; rather, it is our intent to note that in the classroom incident—where an image forbidden for Muslims to look upon was projected on a screen and left for many minutes—respect for the observant Muslim students in that classroom should have superseded academic freedom.” 

“Academic freedom is very important, but it does not have to come at the expense of care and decency toward others. Our response to the classroom event does not disregard or minimize the importance of academic freedom,” she claimed. Meanwhile, the female Professor lamented how her intentions were mischaracterised.

“My perspective and actions have been lamentably mischaracterized, my opportunities for due process have been thwarted, and Dr. Everett’s all-employee email accusation that ‘undeniably… Islamophobic’ actions undertaken in my class on Oc. 6 have been misapplied,” she told Hamline Oracle.

‘Ram Mandir will be destroyed like 360 idols of Kaaba’: Al Qaeda’s Ghazwa-e-Hind magazine asks Indian Muslims to wage war against ‘Hindu’ rule.

OpIndia Staff
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‘Ram Mandir will be destroyed like 360 idols of Kaaba’: Al Qaeda’s Ghazwa-e-Hind magazine asks Indian Muslims to wage war against ‘Hindu’ rule.

Islamic terrorist organisation Al Qaeda has released the December issue of its radical magazine ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’. As per reports, the magazine says that it will one day blow up the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and build a mosque there.

The magazine released by the Islamic terrorist organisation has also spewed venom against the Modi government and UP CM Yogi Adityanath. It appeals to Indian Muslims to abandon their country and choose Islamic Jihad.

In a 110-page editorial appeal, it mentions, “The temple at Babri will be destroyed and a grand mosque will be built there. But all this demands sacrifice.

The translated text reads:

Thirty years have passed since the martyrdom of Babri Masjid in December. Ram Mandir is built on the ruins of Babri Masjid. There are idols, there are idols, this is polytheism, it is the worship of polytheists, and Delhi to Calcutta is the rule of these polytheists. Rather, if they go to Dhaka from Calcutta, they are under the indirect rule of those who call them Jaishree Ram. Ahl al-Tawheed are being suppressed, bhajans are being sung instead of adhans of la shriq la. But someone with pain said very encouragingly that three hundred and sixty idols were kept in the Kaaba of Allah, but the Kaaba was still the Kaaba, then those idols were thrown down and said to be pure and pure for the worship of Allah. was taken What happened to the Ram Mandir standing on the foundations of the Babri Masjid, it will also be demolished, India, which today has become a temple, here, God willing, the foundations of the Babri Masjid will be raised. Abraham and Ismail Ali, the heirs of the Prophets and the children of the last Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), will repeat the scene of Makkah Mukarramah more or less five thousand years ago. You are the All-Hearing and All-Knowing.

Do you think this night will pass by itself? The golden flag of the new dawn will emerge by itself?
no ! All this requires sacrifice, determination, sweat of the body, blood of the liver and strength of the arm. The people of India are well aware of the future direction of India. Every wordsmith, vegetable seller, daily wage laborer, member of Vidhan Sabha (State Assembly), Lok Sabha (National Assembly) and Rajya Sabha (Senate) in India, from Jamia Millia and Aligarh to Jamia Osmania and Dev. Hindus are sharpening knives, spears, swords in front of everyone. Sometimes Hindus are being taught how to wield sticks. The mouths and heads of the Mayas (Muslims) are being heard from the mouths of Hindu women. All this is not just talking, thirty years ago Babri Masjid was demolished, 1 year ago pregnant mothers were burned with chalk and their babies were sprinkled with oil in Ahmedabad, today there are bulldozers everywhere, J Shri Ram said that otherwise, he will remove his head from the market and then he will also give it. These people of India are oppressed and we too sit outside and cry this is not a roar, our forefathers came from Jaipur and Udaipur leaving gold mining lands, they lived in houses in Lucknow, they did not cry for Baans Bareilly, today. How many of our blood relatives live there? But La ilaha illa Allah is a relationship that is more than the relationship of blood and nation, this relationship draws us to you again and again in your love. All of you should believe in your mind today that the slogan of Hindu Muslim Bhai Bhai is near, it is a lie, it is a mirage. Every ism is an enemy of Islam and the people of Islam, the shadow of secularism is not heaven for the Muslims of India (the hell that is an example from the Ahmedabad riots to the Delhi riots), have we not seen the atrocities of the secular atheist Russians? Are we not seeing the oppression of the secular atheist Chinese on the Uyghur Muslims of East Turkestan?

The magazine goes on against secular government, and democratic rule and calls the USA government a pro-Modi government. It insists that unless entire India is under Islamic rule, all other measures are futile and is shameful for Muslims to live under the rule of those who worship idols.

It also tells Indian Muslims not to be worried about material loss because they have been suffering the loss of property and lives for decades. Instead, the magazine tells them, to use their lives (and properties) for Islamic jihad.

Calling the Indian governance system a ‘hell of secularism’, it urges Indian Muslims to abandon the ideas of co-existence with non-Muslims.

As per reports, the magazine has also issued threats against the governments of Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Islamic nations. It has praised the Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan and has called for the ‘fall of Dhaka’. It has also criticised the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and has heaped praises on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

‘Divorced Muslim women are entitled to maintenance beyond Iddat period until remarriage’: What the Allahabad High Court said

OpIndia Staff
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‘Divorced Muslim women are entitled to maintenance beyond Iddat period until remarriage’: What the Allahabad High Court said

On Wednesday, January 4, the Allahabad High Court held that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to maintenance from her ex-husband for the rest of her life until she remarries and not only till the completion of Iddat period.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Mohd. Azhar Husain Idrisi while hearing the appeal filed by a Muslim woman named Zahida Khatoon, against a Ghazipur family court order which ruled that she is entitled to receive maintenance from her former husband Narul Haque only till the Iddat period which lasts for three months and thirteen days from the date of divorce.

Zahida Khatoon got married to Narul Haque on May 21, 1989, however, after 11 years of marriage, Haque divorced Zahida Khatoon on June 28, 2000, and married another woman in 2002.

Setting aside the family court order dated September 12, 2022, the Allahabad High Court cited Section 3 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, and said that the payment of maintenance is not confined only to the Iddat period.

The High Court bench observed that “the principal judge of the Ghazipur family court has committed a manifest error of law to hold that the appellant is entitled to maintenance only till the period of iddat.”

The High Court stated that the family court “misunderstood the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Danial Latifi vs Union of India (2001)”. The ruling in the 2001 case stated that a Muslim husband is obligated to make reasonable and fair provisions for his divorced wife’s future, which certainly includes her maintenance. The husband must make such a reasonable and fair provision (maintenance) that extends beyond the iddat period within the iddat period.

Following that, the High Court remanded the case to the family court to determine the amount of maintenance and return of properties to the appellant by her former husband in according to the law within three months.

It is pertinent to mention that the Iddat period in the case of divorced women means if the Muslim woman is menstruating at the time of her divorce, three menstrual courses after the date of divorce. Three lunar months after her divorce if she is not menstruating; and if she is pregnant at the time of her divorce, the period between the divorce and the delivery of her child or the termination of her pregnancy.

Uttarakhand: Landslide scare in Joshimath as 561 houses develop cracks, CM Dhami to hold a high-level meeting on Friday

ANI
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Uttarakhand: Landslide scare in Joshimath as 561 houses develop cracks, CM Dhami to hold a high-level meeting on Friday

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said that in the wake of the land subsidence at Joshimath in Chamoli district, he would hold a high-level meeting in Dehradun this evening.

“I will hold a high-level meeting with top officials in Dehradun this evening regarding landslides in Joshimath and cracks in houses,” Uttarakhand CM said while talking to ANI. Apart from the officials of the Disaster Management, Irrigation, Home Department, Commissioner Garhwal Mandal and District Magistrate Chamoli will also participate in the meeting.

Dhami further said that he would visit Joshimath on Saturday and take stock of the situation. “A team from BJP has also been sent there,” he added.

Notably, the BJP state unit has also formed a 14-member committee, under the coordination of the party’s state general secretary Aditya Kothari to assess the land subsidence incident and the damages being reported.
Joshimath, in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, is seeing severe landslides. Currently, all of the wards in the area have been affected by landslides.

Cracks have reportedly developed in as many as 561 houses in Joshimath as a result of continued land subsidence in the town, stated the District Disaster Management Department.

Following the appearance of cracks in the houses, a total of 66 families are reported to have migrated from Joshimath as of now.

Residents of Joshimath, a sacred town in Uttarakhand, have become alarmed after noticing fissures in the town’s houses and roadways and have been evacuated and shifted to night shelters of the municipality by the administration.

The affected people, their families, and children are currently living in night shelters, officials said. The locals said that the people affected by the landslide, have been assured by the government that they will get pre-fabricated houses. However, they are worried about when the houses will be allotted to them.

The Uttarakhand government has formed a team of scientists to find out the reason behind the occurrence of land subsidence in Joshimath and the resultant damage reported to the houses.

The team will be visiting the spot and investigate the reason behind the land subsidence, said an official statement from the government.

According to an official statement, engineers from the Geological Survey of India, Wadia Institute, and IIT Roorkee have been included in the team formed on the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Cracks have reportedly developed in as many as 561 houses in Joshimath as a result of continued land subsidence in the town, stated the District Disaster Management Department.

Following the appearance of cracks in the houses, a total of 66 families are reported to have migrated from Joshimath as of now.

“Now the process of increasing cracks in Singhdhar and Marwadi has started. Badrinath NH near Singhdhar Jain locality and JP Company Gate in Marwadi, near the forest department check post, is continuously cracking. This crack is increasing every hour which is worrying,” said Joshimath Municipal Chairman Shailendra Pawar.

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

‘99% of us are good people’: Actor Suniel Shetty urges UP CM Yogi Adityanath to help stop the ‘Boycott Bollywood’ campaign

OpIndia Staff
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‘99% of us are good people’: Actor Suniel Shetty urges UP CM Yogi Adityanath to help stop the ‘Boycott Bollywood’ campaign

On Thursday, January 5, Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty urged the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath to help eradicate the stigma around Bollywood. He also asked CM Yogi to do something about the Twitter trend ‘#BoycottBollywood’.

During an interactive session with UP CM Yogi Adityanath who was on a two-day visit to Mumbai to discuss shooting and investment prospects in Noida Film City, actor Suniel Shetty took the opportunity to lament about the impact the boycott campaign has made on Bollywood. He also stressed the need to bring audiences back to theatres as well as change the perception of Bollywood/Hindi cinema people that they all indulge in wrong activities.

“I’d want to talk about this hashtag #BoycottBollywood. If you say something about it, this would stop. It is important to tell people that we have done a lot of good work also,” Shetty said.

The 61-year-old went on to say that Bollywood has made some good films as well, but people now have developed a negative perception of Bollywood, which needs to be changed.

“There is one rotten apple everywhere, but you can’t count all of us like that only. People nowadays believe that Bollywood is a bad place, but we have produced some good movies here. When I did Border, I was also a part of one such film. I’ve been a part of a lot of good films. We need to come together and figure out how to get rid of the Boycott Bollywood hashtag. We have to figure out how we can remove this trend, Shetty added.

Moreover, Suniel Shetty also asked CM Yogi to discuss the anti-Bollywood campaign with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that “99% of the people” in the industry are good.

“Today, if I am Suniel Shetty, it is because of UP and the fans from there. This is very likely if you take the initiative. It is important that we remove the stigma that has been placed on us. It’s a very strong feeling for me. It pains me to tell you that we have this stigma but 99% of us are not like that. We don’t do drugs all day, and we don’t do not do wrong work. We are associated with good work. Bollywood music and our stories have connected India with the rest of the world. So, Yogi ji, if you take the initiative and speak with our beloved Prime Minister about it, it will make a significant difference,” he added.

Notably, UP CM was on a two-day Mumbai visit to promote Uttar Pradesh as the “most film-friendly state in India”. On Thursday, he wrapped up his trip by meeting Shetty, Subhash Ghai, Jackie Shroff, Rajkumar Santoshi, Manmohan Shetty, Jackie Bhagnani, and Boney Kapoor.

It is worth noting that the BoycottBollywood hashtag first became mainstream following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020, which sparked debate about the industry’s nepotism and the gate-keeping attitude of top production houses.

CJI Chandrachud recuses himself from hearing a contempt case against ‘comedian’ Kunal Kamra: Here is what we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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CJI Chandrachud recuses himself from hearing a contempt case against ‘comedian’ Kunal Kamra: Here is what we know so far

On Thursday (January 5), the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud recused himself from hearing a contempt case against ‘comedian’ Kunal Kamra.

Citing that Kamra had made comments about one of his cases, the CJI said that the case would be placed before a different bench of Judges. “We will place this before a bench which I am not a part of because the comments were made on an order I passed. List after two weeks,” the order read.

The Contempt Case against Kunal Kamra

On November 11, 2020, Kunal Kamra went on an unhinged rant against the Supreme Court of India after it granted bail to ‘journalist’ Arnab Goswami in the ‘abetment of suicide’ case of interior designer Anvay Naik.

Arnab Goswami had challenged a Bombay High Court order of November 9 which had rejected the bail plea while asking him to move to the Sessions court for regular bail.

The ‘comedian’ took offence to the decision of the Supreme Court to grant bail to the journalist and thus cast aspersions on the integrity of the institution and the Judges. The Supreme Court of this country is the most Supreme joke of this country,” Kunal Kamra tweeted.

In another tweet, he wrote, “The pace at which the Supreme Court operates in matters of “National Interests” it’s time we replace Mahatma Gandhi’s photo with Harish Salve’s photo.”

“DY Chandrachud is a flight attendant serving champagne to first-class passengers after they’re fast-tracked through, while commoners don’t know if they’ll ever be boarded or seated, let alone served.*Justice*,” Kunal Kamra said in another tweet.

In one tweet, the ‘comedian’ pleaded with lawyers to stop referring Judges with the prefix ‘Honourable.’ He remarked, “All lawyers with a spine must stop the use of the prefix “Hon’ble” while referring to the Supreme Court or its judges. Honour has left the building long back…”

Soon after, multiple petitions were filed against Kunal Kamra for ‘criminal contempt of court’ under the Article 129 of The Constitution of India,1950 and the Contempt of Courts Act,1972.

The then Attorney General KK Venugopal granted his consent to filing petitions against the ‘comedian.’ On December 18 of that year, the Supreme Court issued a show-cause notice to Kunal Kamra for his tweets.

Kunal Kamra downplayed his derogatory remarks against the Judiciary as ‘jokes’ that are intended to make people laugh. “Just as the Supreme Court values the faith public places in it, it should also trust the public not to form its opinions of the Court on the basis of a few jokes on Twitter,” he said in January 2021.

Punjab Vigilance Bureau registers criminal case against Congress leader and former minister along with IAS officer and 10 govt officials: Here is why

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab Vigilance Bureau registers criminal case against Congress leader and former minister along with IAS officer and 10 govt officials: Here is why

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Thursday registered a criminal case against former minister Sunder Sham Arora, Neelima, IAS, and 10 government officials for transferring an industrial plot to a realtor company and allowing it establish township by dividing plots. 

Three owners of a realtor firm, Gulmohar Township Private Limited have also been booked in connection with this case. The VB has arrested seven officials of PSIDC which included Ankur Chaudhary Estate Officer, Davinderpal Singh GM Personnel, JS Bhatia chief general manager (Planning), Ashima Aggarwal ATP (Planning), Parminder Singh Executive Engineer, Rajat Kumar DA and Sandeep Singh SDE for conniving with each other to provide undue benefit to the realtor firm. 

A spokesperson of the state VB on Thursday said that aiming to promote the industry, the Punjab Government had allotted 25 acres of land to Anand Lamps Limited through a sale deed in the year 1987 which was later transferred to a firm named Signify Innovations. 

This plot was then sold to Gulmohar Township through a sale deed by Signify Innovations after procuring a no-objection certificate from the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC). 

In March 2021, the then Industry and Commerce minister Sundar Sham Arora forwarded a letter to then MD PSIDC received from Gulmohar Township for further bifurcation of plots. 

He further informed that the MD PSIDC has constituted a departmental committee to examine the proposal of this realtor firm which included SP Singh Executive Director, Ankur Chaudhary Estate Officer, Bhai Sukhdeep Singh Sidhu, Davinderpal Singh GM Personnel, Tejveer Singh DTP, (deceased), JS Bhatia chief general manager (Planning), Ashima Aggarwal ATP (Planning), Parminder Singh Executive Engineer, Rajat DA, and Sandeep Singh SDE. 

The committee headed by SP Singh had approved the proposal of above said realtor firm to bifurcate plots from 12 plots to 125 plots without taking notice of the proposal report, project report, articles of association, and memorandum of association in this regard. In addition to this, the said committee had recommended the proposal of Gulmohar Township without consulting the Punjab Pollution Control Board, Municipal Corporation, Electricity Board, Forest Department, State Fire Brigade etc. 

During the investigation by the Forensic Science Laboratory, it has also been found that two pages of the noting on file didn’t match with the rest of the pages attached in the file. 

It was found that the above-said committee members have attached fake documents and did not scrutinize the said application/proposal thoroughly. 
The spokesperson further added that according to the deed of 1987, this plot was to be used for industrial purposes only and the said Gulmohar Township has no such background. 

He further added that according to the rules of the PSIDC, the fee for plots was to be charged at the rate of Rs. 20 per yard and Rs. 3 per year from the year 1987, which was a total fee of Rs.1,51,25,000 for a total of 1,21,000 square yards. It was astonishing that the accused firm had already attached a pay order of Rs 27,83,000 with the application while no one from the PSIDC had demanded it. 

Due to this, the Punjab Government has incurred a financial loss of Rs. 1,23,42,000. 

He informed that during the probe it was found that if this plot was to be sold as per the instructions/rules of the state government, the government would have got an income of 600 to 700 crores. At the time of the sale of 125 plots by Gulmohar Township, no proposal report, project report, articles of association, or memorandum of association were demanded from any buyer and sold all the plots illegally. 

He informed that by doing this, the above committee members including Mrs Neelima, then MD, and former minister Sundar Sham Arora colluded with each other and misused their official positions to give an unfair advantage to the owners/directors of Gulmohar Township Company Jagdeep Singh, Gurpreet Singh, and Rakesh Kumar Sharma. 

In this regard the VB has registered a case under section 13 (1) (a), 13 (2) of the prevention of corruption act and 409, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of IPC at VB police station Mohali, Punjab against all the above mentioned accused officers/officials of committee members of PSIDC, Neelima and former minister besides three directors of Gulmohar Township. The role of other persons would also be investigated during the investigation, he 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)

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