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How two Pakistanis, named in the chargesheet, were involved in the beheading of Kanhaiya Lal to ‘avenge the insult to Prophet’

OpIndia Staff
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How two Pakistanis, named in the chargesheet, were involved in the beheading of Kanhaiya Lal to ‘avenge the insult to Prophet’

Months after Kanhaiyal Lal was brutally murdered in the Udaipur district of Rajasthan, the National Investigation Team (NIA) filed a chargesheet against two Pakistani nationals and 9 others in connection to the case on Thursday (December 22).

As per a report by Hindustan Times, the two Pakistanis were identified as Abu Ibrahim and Salman. It has also come to light that one of the killers of the Hindu tailor, Riyaz Attari, was associated with the Pakistani-based Islamist outfit Dawait-e-Islami.

Attari along with his accomplice Ghous Mohammed were also invited to visit Pakistan by senior officials of Dawat-e-Islami in the year 2014. Reportedly, Salman, one of the Pakistani nationals named in the chargesheet, had directed the duo to avenge the insult of Prophet Muhammad in a spectacular manner.

He also told the killers of Kanhaiya Lal that ‘peaceful protests will not ‘yield any result.’ The NIA informed, “Investigations have revealed that the accused persons, operating as a terror gang module, conspired to take revenge.”

It further informed, “The accused were radicalized and took inspiration from incriminating audios/videos/messages being circulated from within and outside India

As per a report by Republic TV, the Union Home Ministry had been suspecting a ‘Pakistani angle’ in the gruesome murder of Kanhaiya Lal and had therefore sent the NIA to Udaipur for further probe.

Kanhaiya Lal murder case

On June 28 this year, a Hindu tailor named Kanhaiya Lal was brutally murdered by two Islamists, Riyaz Attari and Ghous Mohammed for an alleged post in support of former spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nupur Sharma.

It later came to light that his name, photograph and location were leaked and made viral by his neighbour Nazim who had also filed a complaint against Kanhaiya Lal for the alleged post.

Nazim and his co-religionists also conducted a recce of his shop. Kanhaiya Lal’s appeal for security fell on deaf ears and the Udaipur police did not take any action, ultimately leading to his killing. A video of his brutal killing went viral on social media.

TikTok employees were spying on US journalists, illegally obtaining data of US TikTokers, internal investigation finds

ANI
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TikTok employees were spying on US journalists, illegally obtaining data of US TikTokers, internal investigation finds

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, said on Thursday that an internal investigation found that employees had inappropriately obtained the data of US TikTok users, including that of two US reporters, according to an email seen by Reuters. 

The targeted reporters were Emily Baker-White, who wrote for BuzzFeed and is now at Forbes, and Cristina Criddle of the Financial Times, ByteDance said, though it declined to identify other affected TikTok users. ByteDance employees accessed the data as part of an unsuccessful effort to investigate leaks of company information and were aiming to identify potential connections between two journalists and company employees, revealed the email from ByteDance general counsel Erich Andersen. 

All four employees involved in the scheme were fired, the company said, correcting an earlier statement that one of the four had resigned. Two of those employees were working in China and two were in the United States, reported The New York Times. 

ByteDance said it had restructured its internal audit and risk team and had removed any access to US data from that department. 

Over the summer, a few employees on a ByteDance team responsible for monitoring employee conduct tried to find the sources of suspected leaks of internal conversations and business documents to journalists. 

In doing so, the employees gained access to the IP addresses and other data of two reporters and a small number of people connected to the reporters via their TikTok accounts. They were trying to determine if those individuals were within proximity of ByteDance employees, according to the company, which added that the efforts failed to find any leaks, reported The New York Times. 

The investigation was initiated after an article was published by Forbes, and the inquiry confirms part of that report and highlights the privacy and security risks associated with TikTok that US lawmakers, state governors and the Trump and Biden administrations have raised for more than two years. 

More than a dozen states have banned TikTok from government-issued devices, and the company has been in prolonged negotiations with the administration on security and privacy measures that would block any potential access of US user data by ByteDance and the Chinese government, reported NYT. 

Taiwan is investigating Douyin International, the Chinese twin of hugely popular TikTok, for allegedly illegally expanding social media business in the island nation, reported Voice of America (VOA). 

On Monday (December 19), the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan, confirmed in a local media report the allegations made by a political affairs member of the Executive Yuan that the Mainland Affairs Council took note of the Chinese company ByteDance’s opening of a branch in Taiwan, further accusing it of business expansion and transferring cases involving related operators to criminal offences to the judicial authorities for investigation. 

App developer ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing, was suspected of running a subsidiary in contravention of a law that restricts a variety of Chinese firms, including social media companies, from operating offices in Taiwan.

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

Kota: Rajasthan Technical University Professor demands sexual favours from a student, fails her when refused, arrested and suspended

OpIndia Staff
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Kota: Rajasthan Technical University Professor demands sexual favours from a student, fails her when refused, arrested and suspended

On Wednesday, 21st December 2022, a professor at the Rajasthan Technical University in Kota was detained after it was alleged that he had pressured a final-year student for sexual favours and had failed her in the course when she refused. The professor is identified as Girish Parmar. A male student who had conveyed the professor’s demand to the victim student has also been arrested by police. The girl lives at the university hostel.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Amar Singh Rathore said, “The final-year student filed a police complaint alleging that the professor sought to exert pressure on her through a classmate. Along with the professor, the classmate was also taken into custody.” An audio recording of a discussion between the professor and a classmate went viral on social media, in which the professor was allegedly heard making vulgar remarks about the victim.

DSP Rathore further said, “The case against the professor was registered at the Dadabhari police station on Tuesday. He has been booked under sections 354 D (stalking) and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. Statement of the victim and another female student was recorded on Wednesday, after which the accused were arrested.”

He added, “The complainant mentioned the name of another victim in her complaint. Statements from both of them were recorded. We are collecting details in the matter to ascertain how many other victims are there.”

According to reports, the male student holding communication between the victim and the professor is identified as Arpit Agarwal. Arpit along with another girl student trapped the victim. Arpit’s associate girl student informed the victim that she failed in a project and a subject as well and that she is been asked to contact Arpit in this regard.

Arpit then took the victim girl out of the university campus and made her sit in the professor’s car. Arpit told her that he only does all the tasks assigned by Girish Parmar. Meanwhile, the victim girl started recording a video on her mobile camera. Seeing this, Arpit told her that he can’t help her if she does not wish to pass the subjects.

On being asked how Arpit would help the victim girl in passing the subjects, he told the victim that the professor wants to establish a physical relationship with her. Arpit also informed the victim that professor Girish Parmar has sent a credit card with him and asked him to do the shopping for the victim. Arpit also showed the answer sheets to the girl which were kept in the car. He gave the victim girl’s answer sheet and told her that she can write answers in the same and pass the subjects, the only condition being she fulfils the professor’s demand.

When the victim girl refused to fulfil the professor’s demand, Arpit told her that her degree course of 4 years cannot be completed in 8 years if she fails to do so. He also told her that the professor has passed many girls in the past in the same fashion and that she has to do this only once and she will get expensive gifts from the professor just like other girls.

However, the girl refused and decided to lodge a complaint with the police instead. Following the registration of the complaint, professor Girish Parmar and student Arpit were arrested by the police on Wednesday night. The police have also registered another case against the professor after another female student lodged a complaint alleging similar harassment.

The police have also found an audio recording between the professor and a B.Tech final-year student where he was making similar demands. In that recording, which is reportedly from August this year, Girish Parmar had promised to help her win student union elections in return for sexual favours. However, he could not make her win, and after that, he failed 28 students out of 35 students in the class for not voting for that girl.

It is alleged that the professor has harassed many such female students in the past. Arpit Agarwal worked as a broker of the professor in all those cases. It has also been alleged that when earlier such allegations were made against the professor, the university administration dismissed them, and no victim went to the police.

Shoe thrown at vice-chancellor, professor suspended

After the matter came to light, students in the university created a ruckus protesting against the professor. They held protests for around 3 hours demanding action against Girish Parmar. Students sat on protests at around 10 am in the morning in front of the university gate.

Rajasthan Technical University’s vice chancellor S K Singh reached the spot to talk to the protesting students. But during the discussions, someone threw a shoe at the VC, escalating tensions.

Later VC S K Singh informed the students that professor Girish Parmar has been suspended. A 3-member committee formed by the university submitted its initial report, based on which the professor was suspended. The students ended the protests after that.

Both the accused were presented in court on Thursday afternoon. In the court premises, one lawyer tried to slap professor Girish Parmar, but he was quickly moved into the court by the police.

ED attaches properties of Saravana Stores worth around Rs 67 crore in case of defrauding Axis Bank

ANI
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ED attaches properties of Saravana Stores worth around Rs 67 crore in case of defrauding Axis Bank

 The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached immovable properties of Saravana Stores (Gold Palace) Chennai amounting to Rs 66.93 crore in relation to a money laundering case for alleged defrauding of Axis Bank.

The enforcement authority has initiated an investigation under PMLA, 2002 based on FIR dated February 25, 2022, registered by the Central Criminal Branch-I, Chennai. It recorded the case on September 23, 2022, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. It is alleged that Late Pallakudurai, P. Sujatha and Y.P. Shiravan Partners of Saravana Stores with criminal intention approached Axis Bank to cheat Axis Bank, Chennai.

PMLA Investigation revealed that Saravana Store Chennai availed loan with “forged and fabricated documents”.

Investigation revealed that the accused persons overstated the inventory, used the OCC limits to repay the loan from other financial institutions and thus misappropriated and diverted the funds for which it was not sanctioned, and committed other irregularities and thereby, the said accused persons and firms cheated the Bank.

The accused Firm has generated Proceeds of Crime amounting to Rs 81.66 Cr out of criminal activities out of which Rs 66.93 Crore has been attached vide this Provisional Attachment Order.

85,000 crores approved by Defence Ministry for Zorawar light tanks, mounted howitzers, and guided bombs for the Indian Armed Forces

ANI
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85,000 crores approved by Defence Ministry for Zorawar light tanks, mounted howitzers, and guided bombs for the Indian Armed Forces

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the defence ministry on Thursday accorded the approval for Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 24 Capital Acquisition Proposals.

According to Defence officials, the proposals include six for the Indian Army, six for the Indian Air Force, 10 for the Indian Navy and two for the Indian Coast Guard for a total value of Rs 84,328 crore. It is pertinent to mention that 21 proposals, worth Rs 82,127 crore (97.4 per cent), are approved for procurement from indigenous sources. 

This unprecedented initiative of DAC will not only modernise the Armed Forces but also provide a substantial boost to the defence industry to achieve the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

The AoNs accorded will equip the Indian Army with platforms and equipment such as Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles, Light Tanks and Mounted Gun Systems providing a quantum jump to the Indian Army’s operational preparedness. Proposals approved also include the procurement of Ballistic Helmets, with enhanced protection levels, for our soldiers, stated an official statement from Defence Ministry.

Approvals for procurement of Naval Anti-Ship Missiles, Multi-Purpose Vessels and High Endurance Autonomous Vehicles will further enhance maritime strength giving a boost to the Indian Navy’s capabilities.

Indian Air Force will be further strengthened with enhanced lethal capabilities by the induction of a new range of missile systems, Long Range Guided Bombs, Range Augmentation Kit for conventional bombs and advanced surveillance systems.

The procurement of Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coast Guard will enhance surveillance capability in the coastal areas to new heights.

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

Maharashtra govt announces SIT probe into Disha Salian death case after BJP MLA demanded narco test of Aaditya Thackeray in the case

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra govt announces SIT probe into Disha Salian death case after BJP MLA demanded narco test of Aaditya Thackeray in the case

On Thursday, December 22, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minster Devendra Fadnavis announced in the state assembly that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will be formed to investigate the suspicious death case of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager Disha Salian. While the family of Disha Salian maintain that her death was accidental and they don’t suspect any foul play, many people believe she was murdered and are demanding a detailed probe into the death.

Speaking in the state assembly, deputy CM Fadnavis said “The case has already been handed over to the Mumbai Police. Those who have any evidence can provide it to the police. The case will be investigated by an SIT”.

On Thursday, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane raised the issue of Disha Salian’s death, demanding that former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray be subjected to a narco test. The BJP MLA has time and again asserted that Disha Salian’s death was not accidental or she did not commit suicide, and she was murdered. Rane said Disha Salian’s boyfriend Rohan Rai knew everything about the ‘murder’ and disappeared after her death.

Fadnavis also assured that the probe will be conducted in an impartial manner and no politics will be involved in the case.

It is notable that earlier this year, the parents of Disha Salian filed a case against union minister Narayan Rane and his MLA son Nitesh Rane for alleging that Disha was raped and murdered. They alleged that Narayan Rane and Nitesh Rane are spreading false information about the death of Disha Salian.

Notably, Disha Salian was found dead on June 8, 2020, after falling off the 14th floor of a building. She died just one week before Sushant Singh Rajput’s body was found hanging from his flat’s ceiling fan. It is not known whether Disha fell by accident, jumped herself, or was pushed by someone. Mumbai Police had probed the case and then closed it last year saying that there was no evidence of foul play in the case. Police also said that they didn’t find any link between her death and Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

It is pertinent to mention that earlier it was reported that a CBI inquiry was conducted in the Disha Salian’s death case. It was said that CBI after completing its investigation has concluded that Disha Salian’s death was “accidental.” Last month Economic Times claimed in a report citing a CBI official that “The investigation has revealed that Salian had been organizing get-togethers at her residence in the run-up to her birthday. The party on June 8th night was part of it. However, that night, Salian, who had consumed alcohol, lost her balance and slipped from the parapet of her flat.”

However, the CBI has refuted the reports and said that they never submitted any such report. CBI didn’t investigate the Disha Salian death case as the case was never handed over to them. CBI clarified that they did do some inquiry into Disha’s death while investigating Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case, as Salian was his erstwhile manager, but no specific case was registered or probe conducted in Salian’s death. CBI sources had also confirmed that the agency didn’t come to any conclusion on the death, and never said that the death was accidental.

Free Press Journal had quoted a CBI official as saying “We didn’t probe the Disha case, so how can we reach any conclusions? Furthermore, the High Court has already rejected a PIL seeking a CBI investigation into Disha’s case.”

Kidneys slit into half, entire skin peeled off: Doctors performing autopsy express horror at the brutality with which Dildar Ansari chopped his wife Rubika

OpIndia Staff
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Kidneys slit into half, entire skin peeled off: Doctors performing autopsy express horror at the brutality with which Dildar Ansari chopped his wife Rubika

The doctors in Dumka, who conducted the autopsy on the recovered body parts of Rubika Pahadan, a 22-year-old tribal woman, were horrified by the barbarism perpetrated on her dead body. The woman was mercilessly killed by her husband Dildar Ansari in the Sahibganj district of Jharkhand. According to reports, the doctors revealed that after killing Rubika, Dildar Ansari peeled off her entire skin before chopping her body into 50 pieces.

Going by the size of the pieces her body part was chopped into, the doctors opined that it must have taken the accused not less than 7 to 8 hours to accomplish the task. As per reports, the doctors took more than three hours to give a human shape to these pieces.

Further explaining the brutality inflicted on Rubika’s body, the doctors said that each of her kidneys was also sliced into two parts. The doctors, who reported that roughly 28 organs of Ribika had been brought for postmortem, stated that they had never performed such an autopsy in their entire medical career.

The doctors added that many of her organs are still missing. The physicians stated that Ribika’s head, many fingers, the left side of her ribs and other body parts could not be brought for postmortem. Doctors reported that Ribika’s uterus has been discovered and stored for further investigation.

Earlier on Wednesday (December 21, 2022), a new revelation on this matter was made. According to the police, Dildar Ansari’s mother, Mariam Nisha, wanted to get Ribika out of her way and had bribed her brother, Moinul Ansari, Rs 20,000 in advance. In fact, ASI Sushma Kumari interrogated Dildar Ansari’s brother Aamir Ansari, who revealed this, at the Borio police station where Ribika’s missing report was filed.

As the police investigation into the case is progressing, shocking revelations about the case have been emerging. According to reports, Rubika was pregnant at the time she was killed by her husband Dildar Ansari. Some reports also suggested that Dildar’s maternal uncle Moinuddin Ansari and one of his friends Mainul Ansari sexually assaulted her before strangulating her to death. Moreover, after the murder, the accused transferred Rubika’s dead body to Mainul Ansari’s house because there was not enough space at Moinuddin’s residence to chop the body.

The accused laid plastic sheets on the floor before dismembering the body. According to the police, some of the sharp weapons used to dismember the body have been recovered, while others are still being sought.

Dildar Ansari had trapped Rubika in a love affair by hiding his previous marriage from her

It was reported earlier that the accused admitted that he mercilessly killed his wife as a result of persistent disputes between them and also among family members who were against the marriage because Dildar was previously married. These conflicts started after Dildar and Rubika got married a month ago, as per a report in Amar Ujala.

Dildar trapped the 22-year-old Rubika Pahadan into a love affair by not disclosing that he was previously married. When Rubika came to know about his first marriage, the couple started indulging in regular fights. Dilbar’s first wife, who also lived with the duo, was disapproving of Dildar Ansari’s relationship with Rubika and continuously brainwashed and instigated Dildar against Rubika. Additionally, Dilbar’s family members also pressurised Dildar to call it quits with Rubika.

The accused admitted to the police that he plotted to kill her in connivance with his family due to the constant pressure from them and the continuous fight between him and Rubika.

Dildar Ansari had reportedly killed his wife, chopped the body of the victim into 50 pieces using an electric cutter and stored it inside a sack in the house. The accused then disposed of some of the pieces in nearby localities. The matter came to light when a body part of the victim was found behind the Anganwadi centre in the Borio Santhali area of Sahibganj. When the locals caught dogs feasting on the body parts, they immediately alerted the police. 

Rajasthan HC rejects Robert Vadra’s plea to quash Bikaner land deal case; Vadra threatens to file a case against reporters asking questions over the verdict

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan HC rejects Robert Vadra’s plea to quash Bikaner land deal case; Vadra threatens to file a case against reporters asking questions over the verdict

On Thursday, 22nd December 2022, the Rajasthan High Court rejected a plea by Robert Vadra seeking to quash the Bikaner land deal case. Angry Robert Vadra was later seen threatening a police case against reporters who were asking him for his reaction over the court’s decision when he was leaving his home.

Robert Vadra’s petition challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s probe into an alleged case of money laundering involving the purchase of land in Bikaner was denied by the Rajasthan High Court on Thursday. The investigation relates to the suspected purchase of 275 bighas of property by Vadra’s firm in the Kolayat area of the Bikaner district.

The petition filed by Mahesh Nagare and Robert Vadra against the Enforcement Directorate’s probe was rejected by the single bench of justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati. After three days of relentless hearings, the court on Wednesday reserved its verdict. The court refused to intervene in the ED investigations while pronouncing the decision on Thursday, December 22. The purported Bikaner land fraud had an enforcement case information report (ECIR) filed by ED.

The ED’s Additional Solicitor General, RD Rastogi, said the court dismissed Vadra’s writ appeal to quash the ECIR. In November 2018, the ED summoned Robert Vadra and his mother Maureen Vadra, who were apparently partners at the Sky Light Hospitality LLP, but none of them showed up. Instead, they filed a petition with the high court asking for a “no coercive action” order and an arrest stay.

The additional solicitor general opposed the petition, claiming that an ex-parte stay had been in place since 2018 and that the ED had requested it in order to question Robert Vadra. He had also claimed that the Supreme Court had previously ruled in favor of the ED on the relevant issues. Rastogi said that the filing of the writ petition contesting the ED’s decision amounted to a misuse of the legal system and a case of money laundering.

On the basis of FIRs submitted by the state police following a complaint from the local tehsildar, the central investigation agency opened a criminal case of money laundering in 2016. Vadra, a partner of Sky Light Hospitality, and his mother Maureen Vadra were ordered by the court on 21st January 2019 to appear before the ED for questioning. The court ordered that neither of them shall be arrested.

Robert Vadra threatened reporters

When reporters from TV news channels reached Robert Vadra’s residence to hear his reaction to the court’s decision, Vadra threatened to file a police case against the reporters.

Angry Robert Vadra came out of his residence with a mobile phone in his hands. He was clicking the photographs of the reporters in order to save their identities. He said, “Who is this guy? Who is this guy? And who is this guy? File the police case against all of them. File the police case against all of them.”

Madhya Pradesh: Session Court sends Kaleem, Hafiz, Umar, Razak, and 36 others to 7 years in prison in an 8-year-old riots case in Khandwa

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Session Court sends Kaleem, Hafiz, Umar, Razak, and 36 others to 7 years in prison in an 8-year-old riots case in Khandwa

On December 20, a Sessions Court in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district convicted 40 persons in an 8-year-old riot case. Additional session Judge Prachi Patel announced the verdict. 40 persons were pronounced guilty under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. All 40 have been sentenced to seven years in prison.

There were a total of 47 accused in the case, including four minors who were released while one of the accused died. Out of the remaining 42, two got acquitted, and 40 were convicted. The case against the accused was filed under Sections 307, 148, 188, 294, 323, 506, 34, 353, and 332 of the Indian Penal Code.

The riots of 2014

As per the judgment, On July 30, 2014, a victim identified as Sushil Kumar was killed in Imlipura of Moghat Police Station area. As per reports, Sushil Kumar Pundge was a life insurance agent at SBI. He was attacked when he was travelling through the Imlipura area. Kumar was allegedly killed as he was wearing a Tilak on his forehead. Kumar was seriously injured and rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Following his murder, there were communal clashes in the area and the police had to use tear gas to control the crowd. Section 144 was imposed in the area, and the district magistrate imposed a curfew to ensure law and order and to avoid communal violence.

On September 1, 2014, when police personnel Rameshchandra Panwar, Radheshyam, Vipendra Singh and Rajveer Singh went to the Bangladesh colony of Ghaspur for patrolling at around 1 PM, they noticed that the accused were roaming outside in spite of a curfew in the area. The police personnel tried to convince them to go back home, but they refused to adhere to their requests. The police control room was subsequently informed about the situation.

Soon after, the miscreants in the area started abusing and threatening the police personnel. They said, “You have made our lives miserable. You are not letting us out of our homes. Police is not allowed in our colony. If you enter, we will kill you.”

A few moments later, some people charged the police personnel with rods, batons, axe, and stones. Station in-charge Anil Sharma reached the spot with additional force to control the situation. Upon his arrival, the accused started pelting stones at police personnel.

Police officials Anil Sharma, Ramesh Panwar, Tikaram, Vijay Singh, Geeta, Rajveer Singh, Virendra, Narendra, Dayashankar, Rohini, Preeti, Neelam and Narendra were injured, and some police vehicles were also damaged.

Notably, it was stated that one of the accused, Farukh, intentionally threw a stone towards Station in-charge Anil Sharma to kill him. The stone hit his helmet, and Sharma narrowly escaped.

Source: Excerpt from Session Court Judgment

Police personnel Neelam Thakur informed the court in her statement that they were attacked from a mosque with boiling hot water and bricks. The police personnel tried to convince the miscreants, including women and children, to stay inside, but they did not listen.

Source: Excerpt from Session Court Judgment

39 accused were detained by the police following the violence in the area.

Police recovered an axe from Jahoor and a baton from Irfan. Notably, one of the accused, identified as Mohammad Azhar, was wearing a police uniform. When the police enquired about it, he could not explain it or present any documents. Around 35-40 miscreants, including men and women, were able to escape.

Source: Excerpt from Session Court Judgment

Out of the 40 accused, two, identified as Imran and Farooq, were declared absconding. The cases of juvenile accused were sent to the Juvenile Justice Court. One of the accused, Sheikh Zakir, has since died. All the accused were released on bail between September 4 2014, and June 23, 2015. 

List of the convicts:

  1. 32-year-old Kaleem s/o Mehboob Sayyed
  2. 52-year-old Hafiz s/o Habib
  3. 42-year-old Mohammad Umar s/o Mohammad Yusuf
  4. 49-year-old Mohammad Razak s/o Chandshah
  5. 46-year-old Mohammad Irfan s/0 Mohammad Shaukat
  6. 37-year-old Javed s/o Saleem Khan
  7. 45-year-old Zahoor s/o babu
  8. 75-year-old Shabbir Sheikh s/o Sattar Sheikh
  9. 30-year-old Mohammad Ali s/o Mohsen Ali
  10. 65-year-old Haji Salamuddin s/o HajiAllauddin
  11. 39-year-old Feroz s/o Mohammad Talaga
  12. 35-year-old Sheikh Saleem s/o Sheikh Rafeeq
  13. 32-year-old Sheikh Arif s/o Sheikh Rasheed
  14. 63-year-old Sheikh Yusuf s/o Sheikh Naseer
  15. 35-year-old Isaaq s/o Kayyum
  16. 25-year-old Sarwar s/o Waheed Khan
  17. 26-year-old Shakeer Khilji s/o Shakeel Khilji
  18. 41-year-old Mohammad Aijaz s/o Sheikh Nisaar
  19. 35-year-old Mohammad Irshad s/o Amir Mohammad
  20. 31-year-old Mohammad Waseem s/o Mohammad Razaq Shah
  21. 29-year-old Sheikh Zakir s/o Sheikh Shabbir
  22. 45-year-old Ismail s/o Nathu Pinjara
  23. 35-year-old Shakeel s/o Hanif
  24. 42-year-old Ajeez s/o Sher Khan
  25. 45-year-old Mohammad Ishaq s/o Nathu
  26. 33-year-old Mubariq s/o Jalaluddin
  27. 30-year-old Istyaq Khan s/o Munawar Khan
  28. 33-year-old Raees Khan s/o Rashid Khan
  29. 37-year-old Ashraf s/o Haneef
  30. 27-year-old Salman s/o Sheikh Hafeez
  31. 53-year-old Mohammad Azhar s/o Mohammad Usmaan
  32. 59-year-old Haroon s/o Yusuf
  33. 42-year-old Shabbir s/o Jabbar
  34. 52-year-old Majeed Khan s/o Sher Khan
  35. 49-year-old Abdullah s/o Sheikh Tantu
  36. 51-year-old Sallauddin s/o Sheikh Ahmed
  37. 28-year-old Khalik s/o Rafeeq
  38. 31-year-old Sheikh Zafar s/o Sheikh Haroon
  39. 31-year-old Imran s/o Rafeeq (Absconding)
  40. 31-year-old Farooq Khan, s/o Rafeeq Tau (Absconding)

As per reports, the counsel of the convicts said they would appeal in the High Court against the judgment.

AAP’s free power scheme in Punjab hits govt pockets, state govt’s power subsidy bills to be nearly Rs 23,000 crore this fiscal

OpIndia Staff
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AAP’s free power scheme in Punjab hits govt pockets, state govt’s power subsidy bills to be nearly Rs 23,000 crore this fiscal

The Punjab government led by the Aam Aadmi Party has found itself trapped in a problem after it pledged 300 units of free power for every resident of the state. The data on the overall subsidy paid to various recipient sectors indicate that the subsidy bill, which amounted to Rs 604.57 crore in 1997-98 fiscal when free power was announced for the first time in the state, is projected to exceed the Rs 20,000-crore mark and reach nearly Rs 23,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal.

According to the reports, the financially unstable state has paid Rs 1.18 lakh crore to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited in terms of electricity subsidy conferred alone to farmers, Scheduled Caste (SC) communities, and the industry sector in 25 years until the end of the last fiscal, ever since former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal announced free power supply to the agriculture sector in 1997.

The situation under the current government led by CM Bhagwant Mann seems worsening as the state is expected to pay the power company a whopping Rs 22,962 crore in electricity subsidies to various categories, which would be a record payment made by the government to the power provider.

While the government intends to pay Rs 15,846 crore for power subsidies in the current fiscal year, an amount of Rs 7,117.86 crore is owed from the previous fiscal year. The government will spend Rs 6,947 crore on providing free power to agriculture and Rs 2,503 crore on providing free electricity to industries. As per the reports, the whopping amount of Rs 22,962 crore also comprises 300 free units of power for all Punjab citizens.

Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who served as Chief Minister from November 21, 1996, until February 11, 1997, first instituted an electricity subsidy for Punjab farmers in January 1997. She had promised free electricity to farmers with up to seven acres of land. Farmers with greater land holdings were required to pay Rs 50 per horsepower. 

Later, Parkash Singh Badal, who took over the state on February 12, 1997, promised a blanket electricity subsidy for all farmers. When Amarinder became CM in 2002, he collected fees on agricultural motors beginning in October 2002 at the rate of Rs 60 per horsepower, claiming depleted treasuries. However, due to a political choice, he was forced to reinstate free power in November 2005.

In 2005-06, the subsidy surpassed Rs 1,000 crore for the first time, reaching Rs 1,435 crore. That year, farm subsidies alone totaled Rs 1,385 crore. In 2007-08, the overall subsidy exceeded Rs 2,000 crore when the bill rose to Rs 2,848 crore, of which Rs 2,284 crore was the cost of free agricultural electricity. At the time, the state was ruled by a Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP coalition led by Parkash Singh Badal.

In 2009-10, the electrical bill increased to Rs 3,144 crore, with the agriculture sector alone accounting for Rs 2,804 crore. It was Rs 4,188 crore in the 2011-12 fiscal year (FY), while free farm power was Rs 3,879 crore. The next year, in 2012-13, the overall subsidy was Rs 5,059 crore, with agriculture garnering Rs 4,787 crore.

When Amarinder Singh returned to the helm of the state in 2017-18, the subsidy cost nearly doubled to Rs 11,542 crore. This contained a Rs 2,500 crore legacy fund left by the previous administration. It crossed the Rs 15,000 crore barrier in 2019-20. And during current fiscal year, it will surpass Rs 20,000.

Reports mention that in 2017, the then CM Captain Amarinder Singh directed that the bureaucrats investigate if he could provide direct benefit transfer of electricity subsidy to farmers. A few transformers had metres installed. However, the programme could not be expanded to include the entire state.

The ruling AAP administration, led by Bhagwant Mann, has now gone a step further, providing free 300 units to home users. According to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, power consumption has remained constant at 14,000 MW even during non-peak demand. It is projected that the electricity subsidy would soar, further draining the state state coffers.

Reportedly, the growing electricity subsidy has cost the taxpayers over Rs 2 crore every hour in payments to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

According to the PSPCL, the financial strain is expected to grow much more in the following summer months. At the moment, a house uses 150 to 180 units on average, and even at Rs 7 a unit, this is burning a hole in the government’s budget. “Roughly, every household is now getting power subsidy worth Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,200 per month and it will reach around Rs 1,350 per month in the next summer season,” officials at PSPCL were quoted saying.

According to an official, all customers are eligible for 600 free units every two months. If their use surpasses 600 units, they must pay the entire amount. Data released recently shows that 2.94 lakh new residential connections were released in the time this year, compared to 2.20 lakh in the same period last year, with many users apparently opting for more than one connection to claim maximum benefit at the cost of state.

Interestingly, when the prior administration last year announced a Rs 3 per unit refund up to 7 kw load, many customers had lowered their consumption to obtain relief. The government at present has raised a loan of Rs 2,300 crore this year and as many as 87% of the 74 lakh domestic consumers in the state of Punjab have got ‘zero bills’ in November. Also, the PSPCL is currently losing more than Rs 1,880 crore, compared to a profit of Rs 1,069 crore it earned in March 2022 as a result of the a poll promise that Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann executed in July this year.

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