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As Cirkus hits the screens, an old video of director Rohit Shetty roasting film critic Anupama Chopra goes viral on social media

OpIndia Staff
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As Cirkus hits the screens, an old video of director Rohit Shetty roasting film critic Anupama Chopra goes viral on social media

The Rohit Shetty directional comedy movie ‘Cirkus’, featuring actors Ranveer Singh and Varun Sharma hit the theatres on Friday (December 23).

Amidst the fanfare, an old interview of Shetty with ‘film critic’ Anupama Chopra has also been doing the rounds of the internet. The video was originally uploaded on the Youtube channel ‘Film Companion’ on Aug 7, 2014.

In the interview, Anupama Chopra asked director Rohit Shetty about his ability to maintain the common touch and live up to the expectation of the masses. The film director quickly seized the opportunity to take potshots at the host.

“Yes, the connect with the common man is very important. That’s what we are losing now. I am talking about the industry or the critics. You go to a Starbucks and you will meet like-minded people,” Shetty remarked.

“And then you’ll feel bad and you’ll support PETA and you’ll support stray dogs. But if a nariyal pani wala (coconut seller) is liking the film, then, you say it’s mass-y. This is hypocrisy. You guys look down upon mass-y films (referring to movies that appeal to the common people),” he further emphasised.

Rohit Shetty added, “Who is mass? They are poor people. So it is a bad film? It’s not…How you all escape? With due respect to Mr Yash Chopra, I saw your review of Jab Tak Hai Jaan.”

“You said where will a waiter fall in love with a multi-millionaire? Okay, it will fall in Yash Chopra’s world. Why can’t cars fly in Rohit Shetty’s world? So there is a kind of hypocrisy that ‘We are intellectuals.’ That is there. And it is sad,” he pointed out her glaring hypocrisy.

An embarrassed Anupama Chopra was left with no option but to nod in agreement. “Absolutely. No, your movies can (blow up cars in the air) and they do. Very successfully.”

Anupama Chopra and her controversial movie reviews

Earlier, this year, the ‘film critic’, while reviewing the Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri-directed film ‘the Kashmir Files’, had blatantly denied that genocide of Hindus ever happened in Kashmir.

The review had called the movie a bad attempt at propaganda or worse, a “revisionist drama” saying that the “film reimagines the exodus as a full-scale genocide – where every Hindu is a tragic Jew, every Muslim is a murderous Nazi”.

The review that was written by Chopra’s sidekick further read, “Even if I were to buy into the film’s dodgy worldview, the film-making is exploitative – geared towards riding the current wave of Hindu nationalism rather than empathizing with the displaced victims of history.”

Anupama Chopra had also published a piece decrying the popularity of SS Rajamouli’s recent release RRR in the USA, complaining that Americans were celebrating a toxic Hindutva movie that upheld caste hierarchy and Kshatriya pride.

Maharashtra:  State Intelligence Department to probe whether Uddhav Thackeray had directed police to add robbery angle in Umesh Kolhe murder case

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra:  State Intelligence Department to probe whether Uddhav Thackeray had directed police to add robbery angle in Umesh Kolhe murder case

On Friday 23rd December 2022, Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai said in the assembly session that the state intelligence department will investigate if former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray directed then-Amravati police commissioner Arti Singh to investigate the killing of Amravati resident Umesh Kolhe through a robbery angle. The Excise Minister of the state said this in response to a demand by independent MLA Ravi Rana seeking an SIT probe into the role of the previous govt in the investigation of the murder of Umesh Kolhe, who was killed by Islamists for supporting Nupur Sharma.

It is notable that immediately after the murder, Amravati police had said that it was a case of robbery gone wrong, and police admitted the Nupur Sharma angle several days later after several people including BJP leaders doubted the police version.

MLA Ravi Rana has urged that the SIT investigate former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s phone conversation with the Amravati police commissioner for purportedly putting pressure on police to divert the course of the investigations into the Umesh Kolhe murder case. Minister Shambhuraj Desai said that the state intelligence department will probe whether there was any pressure from the then CM to suppress the Umesh Kolhe murder case or divert it as a robbery case.

It is notable that Umesh Kolhe – a chemist in Amravati – was murdered by Islamists on the night of 21st June 2022 while returning to his home after closing his shop.

Umesh Kolhe was killed for sharing a WhatsApp post in support of the former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma who had allegedly made insulting remarks against the Prophet Muhammad. Ravi Rana Rana, an independent MLA from Amravati, also urged that the SIT probe Thackeray’s phone conversation with the Amravati police commissioner for allegedly concealing the incident.

In response to a calling attention motion introduced by Rana in the state legislature, Minister Sambhuraj Desai remarked that the state intelligence department (SID) will produce a report on the issue in a fortnight.

Sambhuraj Desai said, “The SID report will be handed over to the Deputy Chief Minister (who holds the home department) and thereafter a suitable decision will be taken. Detailed information about the Umesh Kolhe case will be taken from Ravi Rana as he has objected to the functioning of the Amravati police commissioner.”

Desai added, “It will be probed as to who had called whom and the report will be presented to the state’s home minister.”

Rana, who has been critical of Uddhav Thackeray on a number of topics, including the prohibition on chanting Hanuman Chalisa in front of Matoshree, said that the then-CM, on the request of the Congress politicians, instructed the Amravati police to investigate Kolhe’s murder as a robbery case.

Ravi Rana said, “MP Navneet Rana and I went to Home Minister Amit Shah and told him that the Chief Minister of the state was trying to suppress the matter. Thereafter, the home minister handed over the investigation to the NIA and its probe revealed that Kolhe was killed because of posts in support of Nupur Sharma.”

Umesh Kolhe, the director of Amit Medicals, was riding his motorbike home after shutting his business on June 21 when he was stabbed to death in the Ghantaghar locality of Shyam Chowk in Amravati at around 10:30 pm. In this case, the Kotwali police in Amravati filed a murder case and detained six persons.

The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis administration transferred the investigation into the issue to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which submitted the chargesheet in the case earlier this month. 11 accused have been named in the charge sheet.

‘Knew Masood Azhar before hijacking of Indian Airlines IC 814, got an undertaking from his group for safety of passengers’: ‘Bikini killer’ Charles Sobhraj

OpIndia Staff
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‘Knew Masood Azhar before hijacking of Indian Airlines IC 814, got an undertaking from his group for safety of passengers’: ‘Bikini killer’ Charles Sobhraj

On Friday, the French serial killer, widely known as ‘bikini killer’, Charles Sobhraj was released from the Kathmandu jail after the apex court there ordered his discharge on the grounds of his age. Sobhraj is 78 and is expected to fly to France to see his family. In his exclusive interview with Indian Express, Sobhraj said he knew terrorist Masood Azhar and had negotiated with his then terror group Harkat ul Ansar for the ‘safety’ of passengers.

Sobhraj was imprisoned in Nepal since 2003 after he was arrested on allegations of murdering American tourist Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975 and has spent 19 years of a 20-year sentence. According to the reports he was also jailed by the Indian authorities and was sent to Delhi’s Tihar jail for poisoning a group of French tourists in 1976. He was in jail till 1997 after which he returned to his home in France.

However, in his interview with the Indian Express, Sobhraj mentions that he met Masood Azhar in Tihar and indicated that he was the one who ‘helped’ the Indian government at the time of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijack. He claimed to have secured the undertaking from Masood’s party that the hostages won’t be harmed.

The plane was hijacked in the year 1999, two years after Sobhraj was released. The terrorist group Harkat ul Ansar wanted Azhar out of jail in exchange for the safety of passengers on board. Sobhraj said that then Foreign Minister of India, Jaswant Singh, contacted him in Paris and asked him to talk to Azhar.

“Jaswant Singh was in direct contact with me. At first, he sent an envoy to meet me in Paris. Following that meeting, and my direct talk with Jaswant Singh, I contacted people in the Harkat ul Ansar, Masood’s party then. They, of course, refused to release the passengers but I succeeded in getting an undertaking from them that for 11 days, they would not harm the passengers, but after that, they would start executing,” he said in the interview.

He mentioned that India only had 11 days to negotiate and that the officers had no choice but to release Azhar. “Really, as the plane was in Kandahar, the Indian government had no choice but to release Masood to save the passengers,” he said.

According to him, in 1994, a Pakistani outfit in Kashmir, Al Faran had abducted and murdered six foreign persons after their demand to release Masood Azhar was not fulfilled. “A couple of months later, Al Faran went silent and until today, the whereabouts of those remaining foreign hostages remains unknown,” he added.

He further stated that on Singh’s repeated overtures for him to speak to Azhar, he proposed to convince Harkat ul Ansar that the Government of India would provide an official undertaking, endorsed by Parliament, for the release of Masood Azhar within six months. “Jaswant Singh told me he will discuss it with the Cabinet. But finally, they chose the option to release Masood. You can ask for confirmation from Jaswant Singh,” he asserted in the interview which was taken in 2016, but released today, after his release.

In the interview, Sobhraj also says that after the incident, he met terrorist Masood Azhar several times between 2000 and 2003.

As reported earlier, Sobhraj was imprisoned in Nepal since 2003 after he was arrested on allegations of murdering American tourist Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975 and has spent 19 years of a 20-year sentence. He denied murdering the American woman, and his defenders said the accusation was based on speculation. Sobhraj was also convicted guilty of murdering Bronzich’s Canadian acquaintance, Laurent Carriere, some years later. However, he was suspected of many more crimes, including one in Thailand, where police said he reportedly drugged and murdered six women in the 1970s, some of whom were discovered dead on a beach near the Pattaya resort.

He was also imprisoned in India for poisoning a group of French visitors in the city of New Delhi, in 1976, before facing accusations in Thailand. It is said that Charles has murdered around 20 women from countries like India, Thailand, Nepal, Turkey and Iran. After his release today, he says he wants to go to France and meet his first family.

Puducherry: Karaikal temple authorities lodge a complaint for theft of 8 antique idols six decades ago, 2 traced to a museum in New York

OpIndia Staff
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Puducherry: Karaikal temple authorities lodge a complaint for theft of 8 antique idols six decades ago, 2 traced to a museum in New York

In an interesting turn of events, the temple administration of an ancient Hindu temple in Puducherry has filed a complaint about 8 antique idols that were stolen 60 years ago.

M Elangovan, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sri Varathraja Perumal temple in Melakasakudi, Nedungadu in Karaikal district, stated in his complaint filed at the Nedungadu Police Station that he took over as chairman of the board of trustees in 2015. He claimed that ex-board members informed him that eight antique idols of Hindu deities Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Narsimha, Sakkarathalvar, Thirumangaiazhvar, and Ammbal went missing from the temple between 1959 and 1962.

He also stated that no formal complaint was filed back then and till now and that the stolen idols were replaced with replicas in order to maintain the continuity of Pooja rituals and services for the devotees. Elangovan added in the complaint that the current members of the board were also unaware of the theft and that they recently got to know about the same.

The Nedungadu police filed a case against unidentified people under Section 379 (punishment for theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and initiated an investigation after the complaint was registered.

Vijay Kumar, the co-founder of India Pride Project (IPP) told the Times of India that IPP has been working on this case for over four years. He also expressed joy over the complaint filed by the board of trustees. 

Notably, two of the stolen idols have been traced to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City by the India Pride Project. The US museum acquired those idols after the 1970 UN convention on the means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Reportedly, the other idols are also in the USA.

In a series of tweets, Vijay Kumar shared pre-theft in situ pictures of the stolen Hanuman and Narsimha idols and matched them with those displayed in the Metropolitan museum. 

“wheels of justice finally…@metmuseum matched to theft at Mel Kasakudi temple Karaikkal,” tweeted Kumar.

Vijay Kumar urging the Metropolitan museum to return the idols of Hindu deities to India said, “Since the United States is also a signatory of the 1970 UN Convention, we expect the museum to do the right thing and restore the idols back to India.”

Pakistan’s ruling coalition leader cancels India trip amid tensions after Bilawal Bhutto’s remarks against PM Modi: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan’s ruling coalition leader cancels India trip amid tensions after Bilawal Bhutto’s remarks against PM Modi: Report

Days after India took strong offence to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s remark disparaging PM Modi, reports have emerged that Jamiat Ulema-e- Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazal ur Rehman, a key leader of the Pakistan coalition government, cancelled a planned 4-days trip to India this week.

According to reports, Fazal was scheduled to attend a religious event in Uttar Pradesh. However, the visit was cancelled as a result of Bilawal’s remarks, which not only sparked a new diplomatic spat but also sparked protests across India over Bilawal’s unwarranted and baseless allegations against PM Modi.

Notably, the already strained relations between India and Pakistan heightened after Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari made a personal attack on PM Narendra Modi.

Pakistani foreign minister’s personal attack on PM Modi

Last week, in New York, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called PM Narendra Modi the‘ butcher of Gujarat’. He also accused India of carrying out terror attacks in Pakistan and denied that Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism. He made the comments responding to remarks of Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar at the UNSC, where he had pointed out that Osama Bin Laden was found hiding in Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference after S Jaishankar directly slammed Pakistan for being a pro-terrorism country, Bilawal Bhutto said, “I will like to remind the honourable minister of external affairs of India, that Osama Bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of India lives. And he is the prime minister of India. He was banned from entering this country until he became the Prime Minister. This is the Prime Minister of the RSS and the Foreign Minister of the RSS. What is the RSS? The RSS takes inspiration from Hitler’s SS.”

India strongly condemns Pakistani foreign minister’s comments on PM Modi

The Pakistan Foreign Minister came under fire after he resorted to a personal attack against PM Modi and hit out at the RSS. The government of India strongly reacted stating that the comments of Bhutto are new low even for Pakistan. Calling it an uncivilised outburst of the Pakistan foreign minister, the statement said, “Pakistan FM’s uncivilised outburst seems to be a result of Pakistan’s increasing inability to use terrorists and their proxies.”

The visit by the JUI-F chairman would have been the first by a prominent Pakistani politician in more than four years. In 2018, a caretaker federal minister visited New Delhi to express Pakistan’s condolences on the death of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The BJP has also condemned the “highly shameful and derogatory” remarks of Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announced to hold nationwide protests against the same.

Ajmer Dargah cleric lashes out at Pakistani minister for a personal attack on PM Modi

Notably, Hazrat Syed Naseeruddin Chishty, chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanshin Council and the successor of the spiritual leader of the Ajmer Dargah, had also slammed Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the ‘venomous language’ he used against India’s PM Narendra Modi.

Hitting out at the Pakistani minister for having the temerity to disparage India’s PM, Chisty warned the Pakistani minister against comparing “great country” India with his “unstable country”, stating that the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of religion to all. He reminded him how Muslims in India are “far more secure” and in “much better condition” than those in Pakistan.

It is important to note that the visit by the JUI-F chairman would have been the first by a prominent Pakistani politician in more than four years. In 2018, a caretaker federal minister visited New Delhi to express Pakistan’s condolences on the death of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

NIA raids 14 locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Over Ground Workers of Pakistan-sponsored terror outfits targeted

ANI
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NIA raids 14 locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Over Ground Workers of Pakistan-sponsored terror outfits targeted

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday carried out searches at 14 locations in Jammu and Kashmir against people involved in the spreading of terrorist activities by various proscribed terrorist outfits in the Union Territory (UT) by targeting minorities and security personnel. The search operation was conducted by the NIA in Kulgam, Pulwama, Anantnag, Sopore and Jammu districts.

Various incriminating materials such as digital devices, SIM cards and digital storage devices have been seized from the searched premises, the NIA said in a statement.

The agency said that the case pertains to the criminal conspiracy for carrying out terrorist and subversive activities hatched by the cadres and Over Ground Workers (OWGs) of various proscribed organizations and their affiliates and off-shoots, operating under various pseudo names, at the behest of their Pakistani commanders and handlers.

“They are involved in carrying out terrorist attacks by using cyber-space in Jammu and Kashmir, targeting of minorities, security personnel and spreading communal disharmony,” NIA said.

The case had been suo-moto registered as on June 21 this year by the NIA’s Jammu branch. The NIA’s raid is part of its operation against such outfits targetting minority communities as the government has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed the Rajya Sabha recently giving a reply to a written question, saying a total of “Fourteen persons belonging to minorities, including three Kashmiri Pandits, have been killed in the Union Territory till November 30 this year.”

He also said that 180 militants, 31 security personnel and 31 civilians have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in 123 terror incidents so far this year.

The Minister, however, mentioned that the security situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir, and that there has been a substantial decline in terrorist attacks, from 417 in 2018 to 229 in 2021.

Sharing details on the issue of threats to journalists working for local news organisations, Rai also said eight journalists working in Kashmir have received threats from militants and four of them have quit their jobs.

“As reported, eight journalists working for Srinagar-based local newspapers received threat through terror blog ‘Kashmir Fight’. Four media persons have reportedly resigned. The media persons who resigned belong to the media house ‘Rising Kashmir’. In this regard, a case has been registered in Shergari police station in Srinagar,” Rai had said.

On steps to up security measures, Rai stated, “Proactive security arrangements wherein security grid which includes police, Army, CAPF and intelligence agencies remain deployed across J&K to thwart any threat/attempt at the hands of terrorists or their handlers, proactive operations to seek and arrest/neutralise the terrorists and put them on the run and proactive steps wherein police/other security agencies are providing a reasonable level of security to protect lives of the media persons.”

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

Kerala government unconditionally apologizes to the High Court for delay in seizing assets of PFI leaders

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala government unconditionally apologizes to the High Court for delay in seizing assets of PFI leaders

On Friday, 23rd December 2022, the Kerala state government furnished an unconditional apology before the Kerala High Court for stalling the recovery of 5.20 crores in losses from the Popular Front of India (PFI) for a flash strike organized by the banned Islamist outfit on 23rd September 2022.

It is notable that the bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohammed Nias CP had previously stated on Monday 19th December 2022 that the state government’s conduct was completely inappropriate and disrespectful to the court’s directives. On Friday, December 23, the court summoned the additional chief secretary of the Kerala state’s Home Department. He was asked to present a signed affidavit mentioning the timeline for recovering the estimated damages.

In accordance with the high court’s order, the Additional Chief Secretary, Dr V Venu, arrived in court. The HC raised concerns that the state government has delayed the action of recovery of damages from PFI. The additional chief secretary guaranteed in his affidavit that the confiscation procedure would be finished by January 15. The government’s affidavit was accepted by the high court. The high court deemed the occurrence of property destruction to be severe.

The court had said in its order on Monday, “We find the attitude of the State Government, as discernible from the averments in the paragraphs of the affidavit extracted above, to be wholly unacceptable, and per se disrespectful to the directions of this Court. The State Government cannot adopt such a callous attitude when called upon to implement the directions of this Court, especially in matters of public interest and involving destruction of public property.”

The PFI had called for a strike on 23rd September without the mandatory 7-day notice. Suo Motu contempt proceedings were started by the Kerala High Court on September 23. Later, the KSRTC filed a petition with the High Court asking for compensation from the PFI in the amount of 5.06 crores for the harm done to its buses during the strike, during which several protesters had pelted stones and engaged in other destructive activities.

The State Government stated in its affidavit on Monday that the Revenue Department had notified it that the auction and requisition process for the PFI and Abdul Sathar’s properties would take more than a month. It further claimed that the District Collector had notified them that there wasn’t enough staff at the Collectorate to cooperate, and there wasn’t enough room in the offices for the Claims Commissioner. However, the affidavit stated that other arrangements were being made to assist the same in collaboration with the District Collector of Ernakulam.

Earlier on 18th November 2022, the court observed that the State Government had informed it that the Revenue Department, and the District Collector received the correct instructions and a Claim Commissioner was also appointed. The Court held that the State government could not take such a callous stance, particularly when it came to issues of public importance and the damage of public property. The Court additionally stated that the period allotted for compliance with the prior directives would not, under any circumstances, be extended past January 31, 2023.

Abdul Sathar, a former state secretary for the Popular Front of India who is charged in the case, will be brought before the court via video conference. In various police stations, more than 140 cases have been filed against him.

DMK MP Kanimozhi, who was arrested during UPA government in the 2G scam, joins Rahul Gandhi in ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’

OpIndia Staff
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DMK MP Kanimozhi, who was arrested during UPA government in the 2G scam, joins Rahul Gandhi in ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’

On Friday, Tamil Nadu MP and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) Deputy General Secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Haryana.

On the third and last day of its first phase, the yatra commenced on Friday from Kherli Lala in Sohna. Senior Congress officials from the state took part in the pedestrian march that entered from Rajasthan to Nuh in Haryana on Wednesday.

Among those who marched beside Rahul were former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as well as senior politicians Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja. DMK MP Kanimozhi joined Gandhi in Haryana’s Faridabad and said that she was happy to be part of the march that celebrates India’s diversity.

“I was delighted to take part in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which celebrates our diversity, in Haryana today. Mr Rahul Gandhi’s vision of uniting India is an idea which will be taken forward by the people of India,” the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader wrote on Twitter. She also posted three pictures of her in the march with Gandhi.

Notably, DMK MP Kanimozhi who is the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi was arrested in the year 2011 leading to a strained alliance between the DMK and the Congress at that time. The MP was arrested in the 2G scandal and it was alleged that she had taken around Rs 200 crore in bribes in the case. Congress-led UPA-II government was in power at that time.

DMK and Congress were strong allies of each other until Kanimozhi got arrested in 2011 during the UPA government and the Congress party had restricted itself from doing enough to contain troubles for the DMK chief’s jailed daughter. Congress underplayed the arrest as it projected it as a purely legal matter. “We don’t think it is necessary for a political party to comment on the ongoing judicial proceedings involving merits of individual cases. All parties have legal rights and recourse. It is not for Congress to comment on the issue. You can rest assured that this being a legal matter there is no impact on the alliance which continues as before,” Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi was quoted saying then.

However, the troubles for DMK made the party more vulnerable in its dealings with Congress and the allies announced separation during the local body elections in Tamil Nadu around 2011. The DMK MP was charged with criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420), and forgery (Sections 468 and 471), and was booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act. She was arrested by the CBI on 20 May 2011, granted bail on 28 November 2011 and was acquitted by the Special CBI Court in 2017.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which began on September 7, has so far crossed Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

The pedestrian march, which will spend the night in Faridabad, is scheduled to enter Delhi on Saturday at the Badarpur border, near the Badarpur metro station. After a brief pause beginning Saturday night, it will restart on January 3 and travel to Uttar Pradesh, then to Haryana, then to Punjab, and ultimately to end the journey in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gurugram: Muslims gather for namaz at a public place in sector 69, Bajrang Dal activists retaliate

OpIndia Staff
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Gurugram: Muslims gather for namaz at a public place in sector 69, Bajrang Dal activists retaliate

The issue of namaz in public places has returned again after several months. On 23rd December 2022, a group of Muslims in Gurugram sparked controversy as they started offering namaz in public places. Muslim people who had gone for Friday prayers at the ground in Sector 69 were retaliated against and forced away by Bajrang Dal activists. Tension prevailed in the locality even after the incident.

The incident took place in sector 69 where a group of Muslims had gathered to offer namaz. However, soon some Bajrang Dal activists reached the spot, and then protested against offering namaz in the open spaces. They then asked the Muslims not to offer namaz in public places. As the Muslims did not listen to this, the Bajrang Dal activists chased away the Muslims and did not allow them to hold Friday prayers on the ground.

Bajrang Dal activists said, “In all, six prayers held in open public places were stopped. Namaz in the open should be banned. All public places are being occupied in this way. Namaz in public places means that the land will be occupied in the coming few years. Activists have objected as to why people from other communities do not go to their mosques and offer namaz.” The Bajrang Dal activist said that namaz should not be allowed in the open.

The police force has been deployed at the spot after the incident was reported. The police controlled people from both sides. Law and order situation has been restored on the spot. Additional police forces are being deployed to prevent disputes and violence from erupting.

Namaz in open is not a new thing for the people residing in Gurugram. Haryana’s chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has taken a resilient stand in the past against namaz in open. Khattar had said, “If someone offers Namaz at his place we have no problem in that. Such programs should not be held in the open. This practice of offering Namaz which has been done in the open will not be tolerated at all.”

It is notable that the incidents of namaz in public places were reduced after the CM took its cognizance. Now, the issue has arisen again as the Muslims in gurugram offered namaz in sector 69.

Sikkim: 16 soldiers lose their lives as Indian Army truck falls into deep gorge

OpIndia Staff
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Sikkim: 16 soldiers lose their lives as Indian Army truck falls into deep gorge

On Friday, December 23, an Indian Army truck met with a tragic accident in Zema, North Sikkim. 16 Indian Army soldiers have reportedly lost their lives after the truck fell deep inside a gorge.

As per reports, the truck was a part of the three-vehicle convoy of the Indian Army that had started from Chatten to Thangu in Sikkim in the morning of December 23. While negotiating a sharp turn, the truck lost balance and skidded down a steep slope into a deep gorge.

A rescue effort was launched immediately. 4 soldiers were rescued and airlifted for treatment. However, 16 soldiers, including 3 JCOs lost their lives as the truck was crushed in the gorge.

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