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India does not welcome the G7 cap on Russian oil: All you need to know about the oil price cap and Indian stand on it

OpIndia Staff
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India does not welcome the G7 cap on Russian oil: All you need to know about the oil price cap and Indian stand on it

On December 3, the G7 and European Union finally agreed upon capping the price of Russian seaborne oil at $60 per barrel. In an obvious reaction, Russia rejected the oil price ceiling and warned the West of retaliation.

Following the imposition of the price cap, G7, and European Union-based insurance and reinsurance companies that provide services for tankers carrying Russian crude oil, as well as institutions financing Russian crude transactions, will not be allowed to handle such cargoes unless the oil is bought at or below the price cap. Shipping companies will not be allowed to provide tankers for the transport of Russian crude as well unless the oil is sold at or below the $60 price cap.

The price cap came into effect from the 5th of December, aimed at reducing Russian revenue as it looks to finance its war against Ukraine.

Impact of the price cap on India

India has emerged as the second biggest importer of Russian crude after China in the post-Ukraine war world. India’s imports from the Middle East fell 16.2% to about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, while imports from Russia increased 4.6% to about 896,000 bpd. In October, Russia’s share of India’s imports increased to 4.24 million tonnes, or nearly 1 million barrels per day, giving it a 21% share, comparable to Iraq’s and higher than Saudi Arabia’s share of around 15%. In November, India bought 40% of the Russian Urals seaborne export volume. 

Since Indian refiners are already getting Russian crude at $60 a barrel or below, there will hardly be a negative impact of the price cap on India.

As India has reiterated that it will continue to purchase oil from Russia with Moscow assuring that it will directly negotiate with its crude buyers, the price cap is likely to benefit India. The price cap would furnish them with leverage to further reduce the price paid to Russia.

Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, has said that the oil price cap will not have an impact on India. He mentioned that India’s oil import from Russia is very limited and that India now sources oil from 39 countries including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and also exploring trade possibilities in Africa. Other than this, India may also buy more oil from the United States, Guyana, and other countries in the future. 

Minister Puri also said that the global oil producers have assured India that there will be no disruption in oil supplies. India will turn the global oil challenges into an opportunity to secure affordable energy, the Minister said.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha on December 7, the External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar said that Indian refiners look for the best deal they can find and that the Indian government does not direct them particularly to buy Russian oil. On the impact of the price cap on India, he said that it is not very clear yet.

Jaishankar reiterated in the Parliament that India has always urged both Ukraine and Russia to resolve disputes through dialogue and return to diplomacy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also told in strong words to the Russian President Putin that “this is not an era of war.”

EU and G7 impose a price cap on Russian oil

Last week, European Union and the G7 countries imposed a price cap on Russian oil.

President of the European Union, Ursula von Der Leyen, in a video message she posted on Twitter, highlighted that the oil price cap will “reduce Russia’s revenues significantly and stabilise global energy prices.”

Regarding the objectives of the oil price cap, the European Commission president stated that it will first solidify the effect of EU’s sanctions, secondly, it will reduce Russia’s revenues, and thirdly, it will stabilise global energy markets by allowing some Russian seaborne oil to be traded, brokered, and transported by EU operators to third countries as long as it is sold below the cap.

From December 5 onwards, Western shipping and insurance firms are not permitted to handle Russian oil sold above the price cap.

Russian Response

Reacting to the newly imposed oil price cap, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the cap will have a limited impact on Russia and called it a “stupid, ill-conceived and miscalculated proposal and a harmful decision for the global energy markets.”

Earlier, President Putin while speaking to the media hinted at cutting oil production. “I am not saying that it is a decision, however, if necessary, we will think about production cuts,” Putin said on state-run Rossiya 24 TV.

Other than production cuts, Russia may soon withhold its oil supplies to countries backing the price cap. Besides, Russia may set maximum discounts to international benchmarks or may decide a fixed price per barrel for selling its crude. 

In order to avert the sanctions levied by the west, Russia has been selling its crude to countries like India and China at discounted rates. Russia has volumes committed to multiple buyers at a 40-50% discount. 

Russia welcomes India’s move not to back G7’s price cap

In his meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Russia, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak welcomed India’s decision not to back the price cap imposed on December 5 on Russian oil by the G7 and its allies. 

As per the statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, India’s imports of Russian oil surged to Rs 16.35 million tonnes till August 2022.

The Russian Deputy Prime Minister also offered India assistance in building large-capacity ships in order to avoid reliance on insurance and tanker chartering bans in the EU and the United Kingdom.

With India exploring various options to meet its energy demand and dealing with Russia for seamless crude supply and a balanced foreign policy, the impact of the G7 and EU-imposed oil price cap is unlikely to be negative.

The Print columnist challenges people to ‘prove him wrong’ that India’s most popular games do not involve touch, netizens oblige

OpIndia Staff
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The Print columnist challenges people to ‘prove him wrong’ that India’s most popular games do not involve touch, netizens oblige

Dilip Mandal, a columnist with ‘The Print’, courted controversy on Sunday (December 11) after claiming that only those sports are popular in India, which do not involve human touch.

In a tweet in Hindi, he claimed, ‘Is it not true that only those games are popular in India that do not involve touch? Or where the players do not need to touch each other and bear the least risk of being touched? Prove me wrong.’

He further continued, ‘Think of the games that are funded by the government. Which sports are funded by companies? Which are those games? Think along these lines.’ The archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.

Social media users wasted no time in proving ‘The Print’ columnist wrong. Aaj Tak journalist Panna Lal pointed out, “India is the champion of Kabaddi. Great in the arena of wrestling as well. (India) is also a rising star in the sport of boxing.”

RSS ideologue, Rupa Murthy, took potshots at Dilip Mandal, who happens to be a habitual caste baiter. She mocked, “So true. This untouchability practised by the General category is the reason in Kabaddi & Kusthi players only touch each other with a long stick during the match.”

“They even make reservation category people touch the feet of the General in Kabaddi. Attaching the proof too,” Rupa Murthy added, posting an illustration of Kabaddi.

Media portal ‘The Frustrated Indian’ mocked, “Yes, one has to wear gloves while participating in Kabaddi, wrestling matches.”

Popular Twitter user Vikrant remarked, “Every day, we prove something or the other to you but for the time being, focus on wrestling. Perhaps more is done in that sport other than just a simple touch.”

Senior Sub-Editor at India TV, Sudhanshu Gaur, wrote, “Mandal ji, please visit a psychiatrist soon for an urgent evaluation of your mental condition. Your mental stability is decreasing every day. If this trend continues…”

Last month, Dilip Mandal had started to trend the ‘casteist BCCI’ hashtag on the micro-blogging platform Twitter.

He was upset that cricketer Surya Kumar Yadav wasn’t included in the ODI squad during the Indian tour of Bangladesh. As such, the habitual caste baiter blamed the decision to rest Yadav on the supposed casteism of the selectors and the BCCI.

Armaan Malik and his two wives who are pregnant at same time: Connoisseur of cringe content tells you what mainstream media hasn’t

Nirwa Mehta
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Armaan Malik and his two wives who are pregnant at same time: Connoisseur of cringe content tells you what mainstream media hasn’t

YouTuber Armaan Malik is in news because of his two wives, Payal and Kritika, being pregnant at the same time with Payal being pregnant with twins. Malik already has one son, Chirayu, with Payal. The news became viral after mainstream media picked it up when Armaan posted pictures with his two wives together showing off the baby bumps on a post in Instagram.

Except, this news has been around since a long time for Malikians like yours truly who has been devouring their content like addiction ever since the video of their love story came out last year where Armaan had compared his two wives to his two kidneys to show how he loves them both equally. It’s not that I went looking for it. Google algorithm just threw the part one video on my timeline when Payal and Kritika came together to discuss how each met Armaan and how both of them got married to him within a week of knowing each other.

And despite promising to share the love story in 4-5 parts, they wrapped it up in just 2 parts. Payal first talks about how she met Armaan while working at a bank and how they got talking and within a week moved in with him. She reveals how after initial struggle with miscarriage, she gave birth to Chirayu, their son, in 2016. She does mix up dates as Payal claims she conceived Chirayu in January or May 2015 and he was born in May 2016 which would be quite not possible. Anyway, in same clip they mention how Payal met Kritika via a common friend sometime in 2018. And they would initially hang out. Sometime later, Kritika comes over to stay at their place and where she met Armaan at her place and they fell in love and how they ‘got married’ and then informed Payal how the two were now married.

In part two of the video they talk a little about how Payal’s family took her back home with them but eventually love won and she returned to Armaan and his new wife Kritika and how the three of them live together under same roof as happy ‘trouple’ along with the son. He also mentions how both of his wives are like his two kidneys and he loves them equally.

So now, the thing is, in this video Armaan and Kritika mention how they had court marriage first. The couple also had an elaborate wedding ceremony after Kritika’s family accepted them. However, since Payal did not have her ‘dream wedding’ so to say with Armaan, earlier this year, when the ‘trouple’ were in Hyderabad, Armaan and Payal had an elaborate wedding with haldi, mehendi and all other functions.

They now live in Chandigarh tricity area and run a salon. And make reels, songs where Arman is the lead actor. Most of the reels of Kritika and Payal involve them walking in slow motion while Armaan’s song plays in background.

Netizens have also speculated whether the ‘trouple’ have converted to Islam but there is no confirmation on that yet. They regularly visit the Ajmer Dargah in Rajasthan where they have a lot of faith in, but the women also celebrate Hindu festivals like Karwa Chauth.

Maliks at Ajmer Sharif

In one of the vlogs, Armaan also talks about how he visits the Ajmer Dargah very often.

The ‘trouple’ now have a bigger bed in their bedroom where the three of them can sleep together. It is not yet clear whether the child Chirayu sleep on his own independently in his room or with his parents.

The huge bed of the Maliks

The two women underwent IVF, as explained in detail in their daily vlogs, and incidentally ended up becoming pregnant at the same time. It is revealed that Payal is pregnant with twins.

Before the ‘trouple’ became a YouTube sensation, they would make lot of videos on TikTok where they would show domestic abuse and misogyny and adultery. This would usually be followed by a social message. They also give out various nationalism and patriotism lessons on Instagram reels now.

They also make a lot of dubsmash style voiceover viral reels.

They also propagate communal harmony and show how everyone respects every religion.

In above video one can see Armaan Malik praying to Hindu gods and also letting two Muslim men who had come to deliver their suitcases offer namaz in their homes. They also show the delivery men being respectful to Hindu gods and removing shoes before entering the home. A lot of this content is fictionalised and had propelled them to stardom and fame.

As I said, slow motion and social message in one video.

The ‘trouple’ almost always gets trolled in their comments section for having two wives but as one can see, it hasn’t quite affected them. In many videos we can see the two wives are twinning or wearing similar coordinated outfits in different colours and many times brands also send across same/similar outfits for the wives to wear which they show off in their slowmotion reels.

One can see Payal and Kritika wearing similar outfit from a brand, but in different colours.

Here is their standard slow-motion move.

They really love it.

Meanwhile, as per gossip on a reddit thread, he had a third wife as well, the OG, whom he got legally divorced now and paid off settlement.

Reddit gossip on Armaan Malik

As per Reddit users, Armaan Malik is a Hindu (real name Sandeep) and is from Haryana. He has total three wives, of which first one, the OG, he has divorced. It was an arranged marriage and he had two children from that wife. Now, Payal is his ‘second wife’ but they never got legally married, they just live together and had a ‘wedding ceremony’ recently with pheras and all, but it is only with Kritika that has legal seal of approval in the courts. The Reddit user Crumbled Cookiee mentioned that in one of his videos he has clarified he is a Hindu and has not converted to Islam. And contrary to popular opinion as per our internal team discussion, I have not seen all their videos even if I appear to have seen them.

The question about Armaan’s faith emerged because of bigamy (or rather polygamy) which is not allowed as per laws in India for Hindus. For Muslims, however, as per Personal Law Board, a Muslim man can take up to four legal (as per Sharia) wives. Armaan, too, is a common name in both Hindus and Muslims. Hence it seemed the ‘trouple’ may have converted to Islam to be legally wedded. However, now that seems highly unlikely.

Asaduddin Owaisi accuses AAP and Congress of being anti-Muslim, says now the fight is to prove who is bigger Hindu than PM Modi

OpIndia Staff
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Asaduddin Owaisi accuses AAP and Congress of being anti-Muslim, says now the fight is to prove who is bigger Hindu than PM Modi

On December 10, Saturday, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi refuted the allegations of his party being a vote cutter in the recently concluded Gujarat assembly elections. While speaking at Agenda Aaj Tak 2022, Owaisi claimed that the reason behind BJP’s victory is that they are getting more Hindu votes. Owaisi also lambasted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress asserting that the political fight now is about who is a ‘bigger Hindu’ than PM Modi. 

Owaisi went on to claim that the BJP will not be able to win big in states like Telangana or Kerala. He further accused BJP of having no relation with the Muslim community, saying that the BJP does not give tickets to Muslim candidates. 

The AIMIM MP also slammed AAP and Congress by asking how many Muslims sat next to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in his public meetings. He said that these parties want Muslims to shout Zindabad slogans for them and die in the name of secularism or political secularism. “They want Abdul to lay carpet for them, raise Zindabad slogans for them and die in the name of political secularism,” Owaisi said. 

Owaisi accused Arvind Kejriwal of labelling Muslims in Delhi as Bangladeshis and tarnishing the image of Tablighi Jamaat. 

Furthermore, the AIMIM leader accused the AAP and Congress of deliberately not raising issues like the Bilkis Bano case and Uniform Civil Code. “Now the whole fight is about is a bigger Hindu than Modi, then where will the Indian nationalism go?,” Owaisi asked.

Reacting to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s remarks that having four wives is ‘unnatural’, Owaisi challenged Gadkari to open the Sabrimala temple for women of all age groups.

Notably, Gadkari on Friday had said that Muslim countries have their own code. Women no matter Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian, deserve equal rights. He said that one man marrying one woman is natural but doing four marriages is unnatural.  

Talking about Uniform Civil Code, Owaisi said “You talk about Uniform Civil Code then why do I need to take permission from BJP to convert, you talk about UCC then you also attack people over love jihad.”

Muslims celebrate victory of ‘Ummah’ after Morocco’s win over Portugal, even as several cities in Europe witness riots after each Moroccan game

Amit Kelkar
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Muslims celebrate victory of ‘Ummah’ after Morocco’s win over Portugal, even as several cities in Europe witness riots after each Moroccan game

In a shock result during the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Morocco upstaged the much fancied Portugal in the Quarter Final by 1-0 setting up a semifinal against the defending champions France. While the great underdog story of Morocco slaying some of the footballing giants like Spain and Portugal has warmed the hearts of football lovers everywhere, many people are determined to make it all about religion.

Morocco is a Muslim country, with nearly 98% of the population adhering to Islam, and many Muslims are determined to make their impressive run all about the religion.

The person leading the campaign to make Morocco’s win all about Islam was none other than the 2014 World Cup winner and former Real Madrid and Arsenal star Mesut Ozil, who hailed the Moroccan win as a victory for the Muslim world.

Khaled Beydoun, famous for spreading fake news about India, also tried to bask in the reflected glory from Moroccan players by claiming that this is a win for all Muslims.

Khaled also took it upon himself to offer a bet to French President Emmanuel Macron on behalf of Morocco that Macron will remove the hijab ban in France if Morocco beats them in the semifinal. Interestingly, France has several Muslim stars in their squad like Dembele, Konate, and Fofana. Many French Muslims are not in Qatar because of injuries, the likes of Pogba and Kante among others.

Even many die-hard fans of Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo chose to celebrate Portuguese loss as it was a victory for the Ummah.

Obviously, Pakistanis, with nothing to be proud of in their own country, were leading this campaign to make the Moroccan win about the Ummah and trying to be a part of the glory.

Riots in European cities after Moroccan win

Over the years, Europe has admitted a large number of legal and illegal refugees from North Africa, and most major European cities now have a large Muslim population of North African origin. Even Moroccan star player Ziyech was born and brought up in the Netherlands, as were most of his teammates.

Moroccan victories over Belgium and Spain led to huge riots from the Moroccan fans in Europe, and the situation was no different after Morocco’s win over Portugal.

Riots broke out in Paris’ Champs-Elysees neighborhood following Morocco’s victory over Portugal as rioters reportedly engaged in acts of vandalism in the area and police responded with tear gas. Interestingly, France is the next opponent for Morocco in the World Cup after they defeated England 2-1.

The World Cup of religion?

While Morocco’s progress in the tournament is very impressive and admired by fans worldwide, many people making it all about religion is par for the course during this World Cup.

Qatar, a strict Islamic country, has enforced its own religious beliefs on all players and spectators during the tournament. They managed to stop the European captains from wearing rainbow armbands, stopped journalists from attending matches with rainbow t-shirts, and refused to serve beer in the stadiums even though Budweiser is one of the main sponsors of the tournament.

Islamic hate preacher and Indian fugitive Zakir Naik also reached Qatar ahead of the tournament to convert as many people as he could during the tournament. Even though Qatar later denied that they officially invited him, his presence during the tournament points to only one thing.

Twitter Files 4.0: Former Safety Head Yoel Roth flouted all rules to ban Donald Trump, despite being alarmed by junior employees

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter Files 4.0: Former Safety Head Yoel Roth flouted all rules to ban Donald Trump, despite being alarmed by junior employees

Continuing to expose how Twitter under previous management actively censored people based on political ideology, the fourth batch of Twitter Files has been released. On Saturday (December 10, local US time), the fourth tranche of confidential and privileged internal conversations between top Twitter executives was released on the micro-blogging platform by the author Michael Shellenberger.

Shellenberger is the third person to be given the task of releasing Twitter Files. Parts 1 and 3 were released by Matt Taibbi, while part 2 was released by Bari Weiss, both are freelance journalists.

The ‘Twitter Files 4.0’ reveals how the ex-Global Head of Trust & Safety, Yoel Roth, went overboard to censor former US President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the US Capitol riots. The internal communications, covered by author Michael Shellenberger, also exposed how Roth completely disregarded the suggestions of junior Twitter employees and tweaked the rules of the social media platform spontaneously.

At the very onset, Michael Shellenberger re-posted a 2018 tweet by the social media platform’s Public Policy handle, wherein it had argued against suspending/ silencing world leaders in the interests of public discourse.

However, over time, top Twitter executives began exploiting the rules to their advantage and censoring politically inconvenient opinions, conservative voices and Republicans.

Shellenberger informed that Democrat leaders and supporters, including Mitchelle Obama, began pressuring then Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, into de-platforming Donald Trump from the social media platform.

He said that Dorsey was vacationing in French Polynesia at that time and left the decision-making process to Vijaya Gadde, the Head of Legal, Policy, and Trust, and Yoel Roth.

While the internal communications on January 7, 2021, revealed that Jack Dorsey asked top executives to remain consistent in enforcing Twitter rules, Yoel Roth seemed to disregard the advice. He instead claimed that people were looking up to Twitter to take firm action against Donald Trump.

Following deliberations with Jack Dorsey, Roth was able to get his way with the handling of the US President’s case. “Jack just approved repeat offender for civic integrity,” he announced and paved the way for the permanent suspension of Donald Trump.

“The exchange between Roth and his colleagues makes clear that they had been pushing @jack for greater restrictions on the speech Twitter allows around elections,” noted Michael Shellenberger.

The possibility of a ban on Donald Trump excited several Twitter employees. One of them inquired, “Does the incitement to violence aspect change that calculus?” Yoel Roth suggested that the team wait for one more violation by the former US President before they go ahead with their pre-conceived plans.

However, on the following day (January 8, 2021), the top Twitter executives suspended Trump citing the “risk of further incitement of violence.”

“On January 8, Twitter says its ban is based on “specifically how [Trump’s tweets] are being received & interpreted.” But in 2019, Twitter said it did “not attempt to determine all potential interpretations of the content or its intent,” noted Michael Shellenberger.

The American author noted that some voices within Twitter had raised concerns about the manner in which Donald Trump was de-platformed.

It is interesting to note that on January 7, Roth had said that an account will be permanently banned if it gets 5 strikes, and had told a staff member that Trump has not reached that level as he had only one strike. But on the next day, they anyway permanently banned Donald Trump.

“The *only* serious concern we found expressed within Twitter over the implications for free speech and democracy of banning Trump came from a junior person in the organization,” he emphasised.

“This might be an unpopular opinion but one-off ad hoc decisions like this that don’t appear rooted in policy are IMHO (in my humble opinion) a slippery slope… This now appears to be a fiat by an online platform CEO with a global presence that can gatekeep speech for the entire world…,” the junior Twitter employee had warned.

Michael Shellenberger said that some Twitter employees began to realise the differences between their own political beliefs and Twitter’s policies. It came to the fore during the internal communication over censoring the #stopthesteal hashtag.

Yoel Roth called for blacklisting and de-amplification of the hashtag but was soon warned that it could lead to those using the same hashtag to counter allegations of a rigged election.

Having realised that Democrats were using the same hashtag too to call out Donald Trump and claim that the 2020 US Presidential election was fair, Yoel Roth suggested to “de-amplify accounts with #stopthesteal in the name/profile since those are not affiliated with counterspeech.”

Given that several Republican and conservative Twitter accounts were posting screenshots of tweets from Donald Trump’s suspended account, Twitter employees suggested putting those handles under a 12-hour long review (bounce).

But they were soon faced with the challenge to distinguish Democrats from Republicans, who were also re-posting tweets of Donald Trump to mock him.

The top management of Twitter was working overtime to censor pro-Trump tweets and accounts, with being very careful to not touch anti-Trump tweets and accounts, even if they were sharing screenshots of the same tweets of Trump. Essentially, the social media platform was working like a team of Democrats.

The ‘Twitter Files 4.0’ showed how Yoel Roth justified deviation from Twitter policies to justify the ban on Donald Trump’s account. “In this specific case, we’re changing our public interest approach for his account…” he told a senior executive in advertising sales.

He also attempted to de-platform another Republican US House Representative member, Matthew Louis Gaetz II.

“I feel a lot of debates around exceptions stem from the fact that Trump’s account is not technically different from anybody else’ and yet treated differently due to his personal status, without corresponding Twitter rules…” a Twitter engineer altered Safety Head Yoel Roth.

“To put a different spin on it: policy is one part of the system of how Twitter works… we ran into the world changing faster than we were able to either adapt the product or the policy,” Roth had justified.

The ‘Twitter Files’ has exposed how Yoel Roth has justified the censorship of the infamous New York Post story about Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

In the third tranche of Twitter’s internal communications, it came to light that the former Safety Head at Twitter had regular meetings with federal agencies. He lamented that he could not conceal his meetings with the FBI.

Yoel Roth was also seen patting himself on the back for quickly censoring Donald Trump. The top Twitter executive was also found siding with the Democrats and calling for the removal of warning labels from misleading tweets of party members.

Yoel Roth resigned from Twitter on November 11, following the takeover of the company by Elon Musk. Interestingly, on October 30, Elon Musk said that he supports Roth. He had said that he thinks Yoel Roth has high integrity.

Don’t pay up if police personnel ask you to cough up money for ‘roaming around late at night’, Bengaluru top cop clarifies

OpIndia Staff
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Don’t pay up if police personnel ask you to cough up money for ‘roaming around late at night’, Bengaluru top cop clarifies

On December 11, Deputy Commissioner of Police North East Division, Bengaluru City, replied to a Tweet thread describing an incident alleging that Bengaluru Police personnel ‘extorted’ money from a couple for walking on the road late at night. DCP Anoop A Shetty categorically said that there are no restrictions on roaming around at night.

Earlier, replying to Twitter user Karthik Patri who had written about his ordeal, DCP Shetty thanked him for bringing the matter to his notice and promised the officers behind the alleged incidents will face strict action.

Karthik and his wife were stopped for walking on the road after midnight

On December 9, Karthik Patri, a resident of the society behind Manyata Tech Park in Bengaluru, was coming back with his wife at around 12:30 AM from his friend’s place. When he was about to enter his society gate, a pink Hoysala patrol van stopped them, and two police personnel asked them to show IDs.

Karthik said though none of them was carrying the IDs, they had digital copies of their Aadhaar in their mobile phones that they showed to the officers. To their surprise, their phones were taken away. He said, “To our surprise, they took our phones away and started quizzing us about our relationship, place of work, parental details, etc.”

The couple was not prepared for such an encounter, and to their shock, one of the police personnel took out a notepad that looked like a challan book and started writing their details. This was the point they realised they were in trouble.

When questioned why they were being challaned, the police official said, “You are not allowed to roam on the road after 11 PM.” Karthik resisted and questioned if any such rule existed. He said, “Is there such a rule? We are unaware of it.” The police officer shot back and said, “Literate people like you should know about such rules.”

The couple thought as it was late at night and their phones were confiscated, it was better to back down as they did not want a confrontation with police officials. They apologised and assured me it wouldn’t be repeated. However, the police officials allegedly refused to let them go and demanded Rs 3,000 as a penalty.

Karthik wrote, “It was clear as day that the two men (tragic if they were indeed policemen) were out to con unsuspecting civilians, and we ended up being their victims. We literally begged them to let us go, but they wouldn’t budge.”

He added, “The more we pleaded, the harsher they became, even threatening to arrest us. It was as if we were stuck in quicksand – the more we struggled, the deeper we sunk. This continued for a long time until the harassment became unbearable.”

The police officials allegedly showed them pictures of convicts and threatened them with consequences if they did not pay a fine. By that time, his wife was in tears. This was the point the police officials realised they had taken it too far. Karthik wrote, “Perhaps realising that they had pushed a woman too far and fearing the legal consequences, they changed tack.”

He added, “They said only I would be penalised. The man in the driving seat took me aside and advised that I pay a minimum amount to avoid further trouble. By now, I was mentally drained and exhausted, my wife was terribly distressed, and I didn’t want the ordeal to prolong even more.”

Karthik agreed to pay Rs 1,000, and a man in a police uniform immediately presently a PayTM QR code. After the payment was made, he allegedly warned if Karthik and his wife were ever seen walking on the at midnight, a strong case would be registered against them, and they would keep circling around the court.

He said, “We couldn’t sleep that night or focus on work the next day. The whole incident has left a deep scar on our minds. It has shaken our faith in the law-enforcement agencies.” Karthik questioned, “Is this not terrorism? Is this not legalised torture? Is this how honest, law-abiding citizens of this land are meant to be treated? If the protectors of law themselves break the law and prey on hapless citizens, whom do we turn to?”

However, the police has now clarified that there is no such rule and one must not make such payments. Police has also mentioned that they will identify the culprits and strict action will be taken against them.

OpIndia tried to contact Karthik and DCP Shetty but could not connect.

Update: Bengaluru City Police has informed via a tweet on Sunday, December 12 that two police personnel from Sampigehalli police station have been identified and suspended and departmental inquiry is currently underway.

Mumbai Police launches search operation for Uddhav Thackeray aide and absconding ex-corporator in extortion case

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai Police launches search operation for Uddhav Thackeray aide and absconding ex-corporator in extortion case

On Saturday, December 10, the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police launched a search operation to nab former Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) corporator from Ward 24, Mumbai, Yogesh Bhoir who is currently on the run. The manhunt is launched after a self-proclaimed RTI activist Bhimsen Yadav was arrested last week for blackmailing and extorting Rs 1 crore from a Mumbai-based developer.

Yogesh Bhoir joined Shiv Sena in 2017 along with his wife Madhuri Bhoir who is a sitting Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray corporator from Thakur village in Kandivali. 

Harshal More, an employee at the SD Corporation in his complaint accused the alleged RTI activist Bhimsen Yadav of filing RTIs since 2018 with government departments against the developer with the sole intention to extort money and attempting to derail construction work in Kandivali. Notably, SD corporation is undertaking a housing project in Samta Nagar, Kandivali. 

After getting tired of the harassment, the company authorities called Yadav to a meeting, where he demanded Rs 2 crore before settling for Rs 1 crore as an extortion amount to stop harassing them and let the construction work continue. Yadav also stated that he would have to split the money with officials and politicians from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

When Yadav arrived at the Kandivali office to collect the first installment of the amount, the police set him up and arrested him. He was charged in accordance with relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

During the interrogation, Bhimsen Yadav informed the police of Yogesh Bhoir’s role in the case. Bhoir allegedly accompanied Yadav when he went to the company to take the extortion amount.

Bhoir is currently on the run from the police, and officials are searching for him. The former Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray camp) corporator has been named in the chargesheet.

According to officials, the role of some political figures and those working with Yadav is also being investigated, and more people may get arrested in relation to the case.

Anti-China protests held across US over its human rights abuse, especially of Tibetan and Uyghur communities

ANI
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Anti-China protests held across US over its human rights abuse, especially of Tibetan and Uyghur communities

Condemning the Chinese government’s rights abuses, various ethnic groups including members of the Tibetan and Uyghur community protested in cities on the West Coast of the United States.

Protests were held on Human Rights Day on December 10 in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Braving inclement weather including heavy rainfall and high winds, scores of people protested in front of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco. Protests were held on the iconic interstate highway I-5 in Seattle and in Downtown Portland. This is the first time that anti-China protests have been held in Seattle and Portland.

Some of the protestors in different cities were seen holding a blank paper in their hands in support of the recent anti-COVID demonstration held in China.

Blank sheets of paper, held by Chinese protestors, have become a symbol of a mass uprising being witnessed against the strict zero-COVID policy of Communist-ruled China.

White papers are metaphors for the countless critical posts, news articles, and outspoken social media accounts that were wiped from the internet, CNN reported.

China’s crackdown on anti-COVID protests has prompted calls from the global community to stand beside the protesters and take action against the Chinese authorities.

These protests came on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day and on the eve of International Human Rights Day, the United States is taking the following actions to promote accountability for corruption and human rights abuse around the world.

On Friday, the US Department of Treasury said that sanctions were announced against two Chinese officials for serious human rights abuse in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Chinese officials Wu Yingjie (Wu) and Zhang Hongbo (Zhang) have been named on the list.

Wu Yingjie was the TAR Party Secretary between 2016 and 2021 and directed government officials to engage in stability policies, according to US Treasury Department.

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

The Wire’s Arfa participates in a ‘fundraiser’ organised by Islamist org IAMC, talks about ‘rise of Hindutva in US’, what we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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The Wire’s Arfa participates in a ‘fundraiser’ organised by Islamist org IAMC, talks about ‘rise of Hindutva in US’, what we know so far

On December 9, The Wire’s senior editor Arfa Khanum Sherwani participated in a fundraiser organised by the Islamist organisation Indian American Muslim Council (IMAC). She was the guest speaker at the Annual Fundraiser Banquet. As per the poster shared by IMAC San Diego, she was scheduled to speak about the “Rise of Hindutva in the US”. The information about the event was first shared by Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) on Twitter.

It was a paid event, and $25 was charged per person. When searched, OpIndia did not find any video of her speech at the event. Interestingly, Arfa skipped sharing the details of the event on her social media accounts. While Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) openly promoted the event on Facebook, IAMC avoided sharing the details of the event on its social media handles. The details of the event was shared by other Muslim organisations as well.

Arfa spoke at two events sponsored/organised by IAMC in less than a week. Source: Facebook

It is notable that less than a week before this event, Arfa was invited to speak at an event organised by the History Department of the University of Massachusetts (UMass), Boston. Interestingly, Arfa shared the details of the event on her social media profile but decided to trim the portion where the list of sponsors was mentioned. One of the sponsors for that event was also IMAC.

Arfa, a senior editor at The Wire, stood by a dubious organisation with alleged links to terrorist organisations twice in less than a week. The decisions to trim the sponsors’ names in one post and not share the details of another may point towards the fact that Arfa might be avoiding getting called out for standing with IMAC. However, the real intentions are unclear. Notably, both Arfa and IAMC have been spreading misinformation about Hindutva on and off social media for a long time.

It is also notable that while Arfa projected as if the University invited her, there was no information about the event available on any of the verified social media handles or the website of the University. A Twitter user Sandeep Neelakantha mentioned that he called the University to get information about the event, but the University denied having any information about it.

Another Twitter user TheHawkEyex also pointed out that the information about the event was not available on the official channels. OpIndia’s attempts to contact the person undersigned on the event poster and the University via email went unanswered.

Indian American Muslim Council

The Indian American Muslim Council is a radical Islamist group that has alleged links with banned terror organizations such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and has a long history of lobbying against India. IAMC claims to be the “largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the US” and often advocates for Sharia courts and peddles misinformation against India.

A detailed report by Disinfo Lab has exposed its links with the terror outfit Jamat-e-Islami. IAMC founder Shaik Ubaid and member Abdul Malik Mujahid have headed the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the US front for Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan.

According to DisInfo Lab, ICNA has established links with Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Rasheed Ahmed, who heads the IAMC currently was the former executive director of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). IMANA’s Director of Operations is Zahid Mahmood an ex-Pak Navy official.

IAMC has been caught spreading fake news and misinformation to further the Islamist cause in India. It was also slapped with UAPA in 2021.

About CAIR

CAIR is an Islamist group that has spoken against India and Hindus on several occasions. It is noteworthy that CAIR has links with the terrorist organization Hamas. The organization has been vehemently pushing Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu propaganda in India. Previously, CAIR extended support for the extremely Hinduphobic ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva‘ conference.

In January 2022, CAIR launched Hinduphobic propaganda based on a report by alleged journalist Rana Ayyub. In a press release, CAIR demanded the movie theatres not to release Sooryavanshi, a Hindi movie. In the press release, CAIR alleged the movie spreads “disgusting and dangerous” anti-Muslim propaganda inspired by the fascist Hindutva movement.” The organization has also called for the release of 49-year-old Pakistani terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently serving 86 years in prison for attacking US Army and FBI personnel in Afghanistan.

The Wire and fake news

It is notable here that the far Left portal The Wire, where Arfa Khanum works as an editor, had recently published multiple reports warning of a danger to India’s democracy by attributing some technological superpowers to BJP’s Amit Malviya and an imaginary app called Tek Fog. Both the claims were found to be baseless and full of lies. The Wire had to retract both stories after they got slammed for making false claims.

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