On Thursday, 15th December 2022, Delhi police sources revealed that DNA from skeletal remains found by the Delhi Police in the Mehrauli forest in connection with the gruesome Shraddha Walkar murder case matched with specimens from the victim’s father. While looking for Shraddha Walkar’s body parts, the police found 13 pieces of bones in the region. The pieces were then sent to Central Forensic Science Laboratory for DNA examination.
Shraddha Walkar’s murder case shook the national capital when it was revealed that she was killed by her live-in-relationship partner Aftab Amin Poonawala who chopped her dead body into 35 pieces and kept it in a fridge before disposing of it in parts.
According to a report by The Tribune, a police source said, “The police has received the DNA report of the bones found. The DNA of the bones matches with the DNA samples of Shraddha Walkar’s father.”
Shraddha Walkar murder shocked the country
After the Delhi Police detained Poonawala on November 12, the shocking revelations surrounding Shraddha Walkar’s murder stunned the whole country. The 28-year-old admitted during questioning that he killed Shraddha Walkar, dissected her body, and dumped the pieces about the nation’s capital.
The corpse of Shraddha, 27, who had been murdered, was sawed into 35 pieces on May 18 and kept in a 300-litre refrigerator at Poonawala’s home in Mehrauli, south Delhi, for over three weeks before being dumped throughout the city over a number of days.
Poonawala also underwent a number of sessions of polygraph testing, which was followed by a narcoanalysis test performed at Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital by specialists from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Rohini. Aftab Amin Poonawala is currently lodged in Tihar Jail and is in judicial custody till December 23.
On Wednesday, the Moroccan football players offered ‘Sajdah Al Shukr’ which means prostration of gratitude on the ground after France defeated them in a World Cup 2022 semi-final match. The image of their prayer went viral over the internet.
“Morocco’s players pray and thank their travelling fans for their support after losing to France. This Morocco team may have not won the World Cup, but they won our hearts,” tweeted ESPN FC sharing the pictures of players kneeling to Allah on the ground.
This Morocco team may have not won the World Cup, but they won our hearts ❤️?? pic.twitter.com/0xTkngqHZJ
The Moroccan players qualified for the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in history after they defeated Portugal, in the process, becoming the first Arab nation and first African nation to reach the last 4 of a World cup.
Earlier, after the team qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals following a win over Spain, the team members were seen asking their fans and people in general to embrace Islam. According to the reports, two players, Zakaria Aboukhal and Abdelhamid Sabiri, returned to their hotel after the match against Spain and broadcasted a live stream in which they invited the viewers to embrace Islam.
“Alhamdulillah. We have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup and this has happened for the first time in history. This is all because of Allah. Allah-hu-Akhbar. Join us. Join us. Join Islam. Come. Come to the peace,” the players could be heard saying in the video.
The duo also posted their photographs on Instagram later in which they raised their index fingers which signifies ‘oneness in God’ in Islam. Zakaria Aboukhal and Abdelhamid Sabiri also captioned the images they posted online and wrote, “Allah hu Akbar,” and “Freedom,” respectively.
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup matches, the host country Qatar had made all the arrangements to introduce Islam to the new non-Muslim visitors to the country. It had installed numerous digital boards at tourist destinations about the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings in more than 30 different languages. Also, books about Islam and Prophet’s teachings were distributed to the visitors.
Further, at the Katara Cultural Village Mosque in Doha, multilingual male and female preachers were chosen to convey Islam’s faith and ‘tolerance’ to tourists. Workers and preachers from the Qatar Guest Centre were posted at the mosque’s entry to greet visitors and answer questions about the mosque. Hadiths and Prophet Muhammad’s statements, behaviors, or habits were inscribed on the roads to attract non-Muslim tourists.
It was also reported that around 558 people visiting Qatar for the FIFA World Cup were allegedly converted to Islam. Following this, even several journalists in the Arab world criticized the country’s act of promoting Islam to World Cup visitors.
Liberal Egyptian journalist Khaled Montasser stated that the willingness to utilize the World Cup in this way indicated a sense of inferiority that leads Muslims to try to sell their faith to the public like cheap items at the market, which is narrow-minded and an insult to Islam itself.
The journalists asserted that the World Cup is not designed for the propagation of Islam and that the best way to develop the Islamic country is to engage in culture, science, industry, and technology rather than recruiting a large number of new Muslims.
Further, Kuwaiti journalist Muhammad Al-Rumaihi contended that Islam deserves far more recognition and respect than that, while ‘Oraib Al-Rantawi, a Jordanian journalist and political commentator wondered how Muslims would react if efforts were made to convert Muslims to Christianity during a World Cup in a non-Muslim country.
Reports mention that Dr. Zakir Naik, an extremist Islamic preacher who is wanted in India, and Egyptian preacher Omar Abdelkafy had reached the capital Doha at the invitation of the Qatari regime, to engage in the propagation of Islam among World Cup attendees.
So-called child climate activist Licypriya Kangujam posted a thread of tweets yesterday narrating ‘the poor financial condition’ of her family. While the 11-year-old minor girl didn’t seek donations despite the tone of the tweets suggesting that she was seeking financial help, she added a cryptic phrase saying “What you heard from media is too different from the real life”. We could not find any media report on her that could have prompted her to post the tweets.
My name is Licypriya. I’m 11 years old. I live in a rented house in Delhi. I studied in a school with free merit scholarship till Grade 12. My mom runs a small street vendor shop. My family doesn’t own any property or a house or a car. I represented India ?? in over 7 UN events. pic.twitter.com/HkoIdawag7
However, what have raised questions is, the mismatch between her claims and her lifestyle that she herself documents on social media. She said that her family does not even have a bed to sleep on, as her father is jobless and her mother runs a small street vendor shop. She said that the expenses for her travelling to speak at various events are sponsored by organisers of such events, and that she has donated all the remuneration she receives for public speaking and awards to support children’s education and victims of climate change.
However, Twitter users were quick to point out that Licypriya Kangujam posted the tweets from an iPhone. It raises questions on how a family that can’t afford a bed can afford an iPhone.
Netizens soon dug out her earlier social media posts which suggests that her family is not so poor after all. On November 17, she had posted a photograph herself where she was seen sporting a wrist watch and ear buds.
While these may not be very expensive gadgets, these still seems totally unnecessary for a family that does not have a bed. After several people posted screenshots of that tweet, she deleted it, which proves that she does not have an explanation for it.
Licypriya Kangujam posted photographs from her house earlier, and it is clear that it is a decent house with all the necessary amenities and furniture. Some photographs she posted on Facebook show a couch, a TV, and a bookstand filled with various awards and citations she has received, along with other furniture.
Licypriya Kangujam’s house (Source: Her Facebook account)
Similarly, a photo from another room shows a study table with a desktop computer and wood and steel furniture. The house with painted walls and tiled floors do not match how she described her house in her tweets.
Licypriya Kangujam’s house (Source: Her Facebook account)
There are also photographs showing her visit to the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt along with her family, and other international tourist destinations. It is not sure if the organisers of the events where she is invited to speak also sponsor such trips for her family to tourist places.
It seems her mother travels with her to international destinations almost always, perhaps as a guardian as Lycypriya is a minor. As the girl visits lots of events for speeches, it means her mother’s ‘small street vendor shop’ remains closed for long periods of time. But that does not seem to affect their lifestyle, like having a large collection of clothes and visiting restaurants like KYLIN Experience, a chain of luxury oriental restaurants.
In her tweets, Lycypriya said that she is 11 years old and she “studied in a school with free merit scholarship till Grade 12.” This raises obvious questions, a 11 year old can’t be studying in grade 12. When people started to question her on it, she ‘clarified’ that it is was a typo and it should be ‘study’, not ‘studied’. She said that she is currently studying in class 5, and she meant that she has scholarship till class 12th.
Screenshot of Licypriya Kangujam’s tweets
While the girl claims her family does not have a house, property or a car, her father was arrested for collecting a large amount of money by duping students. Over 100 students from various countries had paid $300 for a fake youth exchange program run by Kanarjit Kangujam. He had collected at least $44,685 through this scam, more than ₹35 lakh. He had also collected crores of rupees through several seminars in the name of collecting donations for earthquake victims.
Lycypriya’s father was declared a fugitive in 2016 by a court in Manipur, and the Manipur police had announced a reward of ₹1 lakh for information on him. While he was on the run, he was finally arrested by Delhi police in May 2021. He was released on bail in February this year.
Kanarjit Kangujam had defrauded many people posing as officials of various organisations like UN, UNESCO etc. He ran an organisation called International Youth Committee with a fake address in Delhi. He used this ‘organisation’ to hold seminars and meetings to dupe people. He is also accused of selling property belonging to his landlord that he had pretending to be from ‘UNESCO Youth Foundation’ to two different persons.
After several cases were filed against him and police started to looking for him, his seminar activities vanished, and at the same time, Licypriya Kangujam started to appear on media as a child activist.
Interestingly, during the period her father was in jail, social media accounts of Licypriya Kangujam went silent. And after he was released, she started to post updates on social media. This seemed to confirm what was already suspected by many, that her social media accounts are actually run by her father.
It is notable that Licypriya Kangujam was turned into a climate activist by her father using fraudulent means. He had got her fake awards from fake organisations he had created, and managed to got the news of such ‘awards’ on the media, which established her as a child activist, with many calling her India’s Greta Thunberg.
Many of her claims of speeches at the UN are also fake. For example in 2019, she had claimed that she was selected to address the United Nations (UN) in the sixth session of Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2019 at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. However, ahead of the event, she claimed that she decided not to attend the program as she was ‘in depression’.
However, when the organisers of the UN event were contacted by media, they had confirmed that Licypriya was not invited to speak at the event. The ‘invitation letter’ that she had displayed turned out to be a letter confirming registration to attend the event as a member of the audience.
On Thursday, December 15, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar sparked outrage after he said “Jo Piyega Wo Marega’ in response to media questions regarding the Hooch tragedy wherein at least 39 people have died and several fell ill after consuming spurious liquor.
“We took action against liquor consumption. Bihar is a dry state since 2016, people should understand this. Last time, when people died after drinking toxic liquor, someone said they should be given compensation. When someone consumes alcohol, they will die, the example is before us (Jo Sharab Piyega Wo Marega). We should express grief and tell people that liquor is bad and it should not be consumed”
LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan stated that CM Nitish Kumar is saying that “Jo Piyega Wo Marega but what about those who are selling toxic liquor, Jo Bechega Wo Bachega (those who sell liquor will be saved), the state government is protecting those involved in this business. In Nitish Kumar’s rule, those who drink liquor are Mahapaapi but those who sell liquor are Maha Gyani,” the LJP leader said.
Bihar Industry Minister Sameer Mahaseth on Wednesday claimed that in order to ‘tolerate’ liquor, body strength needs to be improved. During an interaction with the media at Hajipur, the Minister said “Poor quality of liquor is reaching Bihar. This poor quality liquor is working as a slow poison for the people.”
#WATCH | Bihar CM Nitish Kumar enters the State Assembly in Patna through a gathering of BJP MLAs who are protesting against the State Govt over the Chapra hooch tragedy.
The Minister who had come to attend a Badminton tournament asserted that bodybuilding and strengthening the immune system can help tolerate toxic liquor. “If you make yourself stronger by playing sports, you could tolerate the liquor.”
The RJD leader also questioned the government’s responsibility over the issue and said, “If the government can take credit for prohibiting liquor in the state then who takes responsibility for the deaths caused by consumption of toxic liquor’ Mahaseth questioned.
“When the ministers know that poisonous liquor is coming to Bihar, who will take responsibility for the lapse of administration? he further asked.
Notably, a ruckus was caused in the Bihar assembly over deaths caused by drinking toxic liquor. In the assembly, CM Nitish Kumar took out his frustration on BJP MLAs who questioned his failure in stopping sales of illicit liquor in the state.
In 2016, @NitishKumar completely banned Liquor in Bihar.
But, illegal liquor is found everywhere. Now, 20 dîed in Chhapra.
When questioned in Assembly, he arrogantly said: Kya ho Gaya, jehrili sharab, halla kar rahe ho tum log, Sharabi ho gaye tum log?pic.twitter.com/Zpuv6MIqZB
CM Nitish Kumar shouted at the BJP MLAs saying “Sharabi Ho Gaye Ho Tum Sab ( you all are alcoholics).” This sparked outrage as the BJP MLAs led a demonstration outside the assembly.
On December 14, Karnataka Legislative Council Member N Ravikumar sought permission to introduce a private bill during the upcoming winter session of the assembly seeking a ban on Halal certification issued by several Muslim organisations. Notably, Halal certification is not limited to meat products but has expanded its reach to vegetarian food products, cosmetics, medicines, and construction businesses.
Ravikumar is the state general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a statement on December 14, he said that several organisations charge money for issuing the certification without any authorisation. Notably, the word Halal is Arabic, which translates to “permissible”. It is in contrast to Haram, which translates to “forbidden”. Any food or product is Halal only if it is prepared as per Islamic law.
Ravikumar added, “The Halal certification, which was earlier restricted to meat, has now been extended to various products like cosmetic goods, and food items, among other things.” Furthermore, he questioned, “The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the government agency which gives the certification. But who permitted these Muslim organisations to certify halal products? They are not a certified authority to do this. They charge lakhs of rupees to give halal certification. Where does this money go?”
He added that the private bill he plans to introduce in the legislature would seek amendments to the Food and Safety Standards Act 2006. Ravikumar said it would help the government to take action against the illegal certification.
India has no legal body to give Halal certification like Arab countries. The certification in India is obtained on a voluntary basis by the businesses. Several private bodies are comprised of Muslim clerics, religious groups and others who provide such certifications.
Notably, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) has been raising voices against Halal certification for a long time. They recently announced that the organisation would restart a state-wide campaign against the certification. On Tuesday, the members of HJS reportedly met several leaders of the BJP and submitted a memorandum seeking a law to ban the certification. The leaders who HJS approached included National Secretary of BJP CT Ravi and State Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar.
Mohan Gowda, the spokesperson of HJS, said in a statement, “In the name of halal certification and religion, there is a huge conspiracy and mafia to sell halal products across India. Muslim organisations are collecting crores of rupees using halal certification, and the money is being used for anti-national activities.”
He added, “This why we are giving our memorandum to all the legislators, including the chief minister and the home minister, to ban halal products. In the upcoming Winter Session, the halal products should be banned, and the state government should bring in a Bill in this regard.” Calling the certification illegal, he questioned the usage of money collected in the name of Halal certification.
Furthermore, the Ugadi festival is only three months away. Keeping it in mind, the organisation has sought a ban on Halal meat and urged Hindus to ban Halal-certified products. The organisation alleged that the money collected for certification was used for “anti-national activities”.
In a statement, CT Ravi said, “They submitted a memorandum yesterday. I will talk to the chief minister, and then we will decide this. We don’t identify Halal certification in our country. But it is recognised in some other countries. We will have a discussion and then take a call.” Notably, in a previous statement, CT Ravi linked Halal to “economic jihad”. In April this year, he said, “It means that it is used like a jihad so that Muslims should not do business with others. It has been imposed. When they think halal meat should be used, what is wrong in saying it should not be used?”
What is Halal certification?
Halal is a method of slaughter and packaging of meat that is in tune with Islamic sensibilities and religious practices. Halal can only be performed by a Muslim man. Thus, non-Muslims are automatically denied employment at a Halal firm. There are certain other conditions that must be fulfilled that makes it quite clear that it is intrinsically an Islamic practice. Guidelines are available on the official website of a certification authority of Halal in India which makes it clear that non-Muslim employees cannot be employed in any part of the slaughtering process.
On 15th December 2022, the Supreme Court of India granted bail to Farook Bhana who is sentenced to life in the Godhra carnage case. It is notable that Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud headed the bench that passed this order.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, for Gujarat Govt opposed the grant of bail, saying "it's the most heinous crimes. people were locked in bogey and burned alive".
The carnage had taken place when scores of ‘Kar Sevaks’, who were returning in Sabarmati Express from Ayodhya after attending a religious ceremony, were burnt in a train near Godhra. On 27th February 2002, coach number S-6 of the Sabarmati Express was set on fire near the Godhra railway station in Gujarat. The victims were mostly Hindu and official figure reports that 59 people had died in this incident.
While announcing this verdict, the Supreme Court considered that the convict has undergone 17 years sentence. The apex court also noted that his role was stone-pelting at the train. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appeared in the court on behalf of the Gujarat government. He strongly opposed this and said, “It’s the most heinous crime. people were locked in a bogey and burned alive.”
Farook was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018
It is pertinent to note that the appeal against the conviction of the culprit is pending in the Supreme Court since 2018. On 27th August 2018, a special trial court sentenced Farook Bhana and Imran alias Sheru Batuk, to life imprisonment in relation to the case of burning the Sabarmati Express train in 2002 at Godhra railway station that led to communal riots in Gujarat. Three more accused, Hussain Suleman Mohan, Kasam Bhamedi, and Farook Dhantiya who were arrested by different agencies in 2015 and 2016 were acquitted.
Special judge H C Vora awarded the life sentence to Farook Bhana and Imran Sheru after the prosecution proved their role in the burning of the two coaches. Another accused Sabir Abdul Gani Pataliya died during the pendency of the trial.
Interestingly, one of the convicted Farook Bhana, was the sitting corporator of the Polan-Bazar area of the Godhra municipality in February 2002 when the train was set on fire, killing 59 Hindu devotees. It is reported that on the eve of the incident, Farook Bhana held a meeting at the Aman Guest House to incite people to burn down the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express.
The other convict, Sheru Batuk has been awarded life imprisonment, was part of the conspiracy to burn down the Sabarmati Express. Special Additional Public Prosecutor N N Prajapati said, “While Bhana was the mastermind of the attack, Batuk was actually leading the mob”. Judge Vora, in 2018, awarded the sentence after considering the statements of 37 witnesses and other evidence provided by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT.
A woman has accused a ‘Pir’ (Muslim saint) of kidnapping, rape, and forced conversion in Haryana’s Sonipat district. The accused has been identified as one Babulal. As per a report by Surya Samachar, the girl’s family used to visit Sonipat where they came into contact with the ‘Pir’.
According to the girl’s statement, she is a resident of Delhi. She often frequented the accused ‘Pir’ with her relatives on Gannaur’s Badshahi road, where he ran his fake ‘healing’ business. The accused convinced the victim’s family that she was possessed and needed exorcism. On December 7, Babulal went to Delhi to visit the victim and gave her water mixed with some drugs, and asked her to visit him at night. He asked her to bring money and jewellery from her house along with her.
The victim further said that Babulal and some of his aides raped her repeatedly in the name of exorcism. Despite being married, Babulal married the victim in court and then started pressurising her to convert to Islam.
On Tuesday, December 13, Babulal and his friend Sahil were taking her in an auto from Ganaur GT Road towards Sonipat, when the girl’s relatives from Ganaur saw her and caught hold of them. Babulal was able to flee amid the scuffle, but Sahil, his accomplice, was apprehended. When the Hindu groups learned about this, they also rushed to the scene and, after hearing the girl’s side of the story, they took Sahil to the Ganaur police station.
According to Vishva Hindu Parishad Ganaur block minister Narendra Panchal, who described the incident as a typical case of love jihad, the accused admitted to being a member of a syndicate that has been running this racket for a while. Allegedly he also said that they have thus far converted many such vulnerable non-Muslim girls to Islam.
The police, meanwhile, have recovered drugs and several materials used for exorcism from the victim. The arrested individual and the victim are both being interrogated by the police. Members of VHP and Bajrang Dal, have, meanwhile, launched a protest, demanding prompt action in the case.
The Kerala Government is all set to vouch for the legal and Constitutional validity of the Sharia law. Reportedly, the Government has stated that Islamic law is the “real expression of the Prophet”. Furthermore, as per the Kerala Government, Sharia Law upholds the significance in every aspect of Muslim Personal Law, especially regarding the law of inheritance.
According to The Hindu, the state government will file an affidavit in the Supreme Court that all the branches of the law linked to the Muslim Personal, including the law of inheritance that are part of the Sharia law, are in accordance with the provisions given in the Constitution of India.
As per reports, the Khuran Sunnath Society and others have recently filed a Special Leave Petition in the apex court to challenge an order passed by the Kerala High Court where it rejected the plea to declare practice followed by Muslims regarding the inheritance of Muslim women was violative to the principles of the Constitution.
The petitioners argued that the Muslim Personal Law discriminated against women. They further added that it violated the rights given to women by the Constitution of India in terms of equality, prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste and sex and freedom of speech and expression.
As per the Hindu’s report, their legal source informed the media house that the Kerala High Court rejected the plea and left the matter to the legislature for consideration and framing of the law as per the regulations. The State government then chaired a high-level meeting of the stakeholders, including the religious leaders and decided not to legislate the matter and urged the parties to continue following existing procedures and practices.
In another report by The Hindu, it was mentioned that VP Zuhra, President of NISA, a Kozhikode-based progressive Muslim women’s forum approached the Supreme Court and demanded equal rights for women, including the right to offer prayers in all mosques in the country. She further demanded that women should be allowed to become Imams. Notably, Zuhra was one of the petitioners in the triple talaq judgment. Two more petitions were filed by Zuhra in the apex court demanding equal property rights for Muslim women and a revision of the Muslim marriage laws.
The Kerala Government has planned to argue that those who belong to the Muslim community cannot complain about discrimination based on the principles recognised in Islam. Furthermore, the state would argue that as it is bound by the principles of the classic Muslim law, even if the petitioners feel the Sharia law discriminates, they cannot approach the court to enforce regulations against Islamic laws.
Also, the Government would argue that the belief that Islam discriminates against women in terms of inheritance is incorrect and unsustainable.
What does the Muslim law say about inheritance?
The Sharia law does not distinguish between ancestral and self-acquired property. As per the law, a Muslim woman is entitled to 1/8th of the share of the husband’s property if the couple has kids. If there were no children, she would get 1/4th of the share. In case the parents of a Muslim woman die and she becomes a legal heir, a Muslim woman is entitled to half of the inheritance compared to the male child. It is said that as a Muslim woman gets Mehr, which includes dower, which is payment for nikah documents and maintenance from the husband, it is justified to give her a lesser share. On the other hand, a Muslim man has only ancestral property for inheritance. Compared to Muslim women, Hindu women get an equal share in ancestral property as per the law.
The National Investigation Agency informed the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that E Abubacker, the former leader of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI), is perfectly alright and is receiving treatment.
“We have filed a status report along with the report of AIIMS,” said special public prosecutor Akshai Malik, arguing for the agency before a division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh.” He is absolutely fine… and under treatment. As and when required he is taken there (to the hospital)”, Malik added.
Meanwhile, Adit Pujari, Abubacker’s attorney, requested time to obtain directions on the NIA’s status report. The High Court listed the matter for hearing on December 19 and aid, “The counsel for the appellant prays for and is granted time to obtain instructions qua the further prosecution of the present appeal.”
On the previous trial, the court had passed an order to the NIA on Abubacker’s plea for interim bail on health grounds and had requested the agency to file a status report integrating “the medical opinion of specialist authored by AIIMS hospital qua the ailment and treatment advised therefore…in terms of the directions issued by a special judge of NIA”.
Pujari previously admitted that his client underwent adenocarcinoma (cancer) surgery in 2019, in addition to undergoing multiple cycles of chemotherapy and that he also had Parkinson’s disease. He contended that his client is 70 years old and that his medical test has been planned for January 2023.
The Court earlier stated that Abubacker was seriously ill. When briefed about Abubacker’s brain MRI scan, it stated, “What is their diagnosis, and what is the treatment recommended? Surely he can’t wait for a scan till 2024. It is completely unacceptable. He is incarcerated for an offence, that is a different matter but doesn’t mean we will wait till 2024, that too for an examination.”
The high court ordered Malik to submit a status report on the case. Malik said that Abubacker is a member of the PFI, a prohibited organization. The court stated that it was not the NIA’s argument that he was not entitled to treatment, to which Malik responded that the hospitalization/treatment could take place while he is in jail. In response to the court’s question, Malik stated that the chargesheet had not yet been filed.
The NIA apprehended Abubacker on September 22 as part of a national operation to crack down against the now-banned organization. The agency charged him with violating the provisions of the Indian Penal Code Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The FIR in the case was registered under sections 120B and 153A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and section 17, 18, 18B, 20, 22B 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
Within 24 hours of the Dwarka acid attack incident wherein a 17-year-old girl was attacked with acid by two bike-borne persons on her way to school, the Delhi Police arrested the three accused in the case. Police has also revealed the motive behind the dastardly attack.
According to the police, the motive behind the attack was ‘revenge’ as the main accused Sachin Arora (20) wanted to take revenge from the minor girl for calling off their friendship a few months ago. After she ended her friendship with him, the victim showed no interest in talking to Sachin. Subsequently, the accused Sachin, along with his friends Virendra Singh (22) and Harshit Agarwal (19), planned to throw acid at her.
As seen in the CCTV footage of the incident, the person riding the bike was Harshit and the one who threw the acid at the girl was Sachin. Later on, Virendra took Sachin’s mobile phone and scooty so that the police cannot trace Sachin’s location.
#BreakingNews : A 17-year-old girl was allegedly attacked with some acid-like substance by a man on a bike around 7:30 AM in Dwarka Sector, #Delhi. Treatment is underway, at Safdarjung Hospital. A police investigation is underway. #AcidAttackpic.twitter.com/7TTztCt53L
In a shocking revelation, Special Commissioner of Police, Sagar Preet Hooda informed that the acid used in the attack was bought from the e-commerce platform Flipkart. Flipkart is yet to respond on the matter.
In order to verify if acid is actually available on Flipkart, OpIndia did a simple google search. In our search, we used various keywords related to acid available on Flipkart, upon searching Nitric Acid, which may have possibly been used in the attack, a page showed up saying “Something’s not right,”
Screengrab of Flipkart page showing results for Nitric acid.
The acid and mobile phones of the three accused have been sent to a forensic lab for testing. All three accused will be presented in the court on Thursday.
The victim is currently undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital.
