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Imran Khan declares himself ‘Mujibur 2.0’, compares ongoing situation in Pakistan to 1971 when Bangladesh was created, Pak Army cries ‘defamation’

OpIndia Staff
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Imran Khan declares himself ‘Mujibur 2.0’, compares ongoing situation in Pakistan to 1971 when Bangladesh was created, Pak Army cries ‘defamation’

On Friday (November 4), former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan likened himself to the ‘Founding father of Bangladesh’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and alleged that the situation in the country was similar to that of 1971 (which forced the creation of another nation).

He made the remarks at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore. The development came a day after he was shot by an assailant during the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in the Wazirabad area of Punjab.

Once a blue-eyed boy of the Pakistani establishment, he did not mince any words before attacking the army. “What happened in East Pakistan? The military acted against the party that won the majority and snatched their rights,” Khan was heard as saying.

The ex-Pakistani cricketer was suggesting the role of the Pakistani military in unseating him as the country’s Prime Minister, despite ‘winning’ the people’s mandate. He highlighted how the military intervention in East Pakistan and disregard for people’s choices led to the breakup of the country.

“The Pakistan cricket team went to Bangladesh, 18 years after the 1971 war, to play two exhibition matches against India. We won the matches and the stadium (filled with Bangladeshis) reverberated with the chants of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’,” he claimed.

Imran Khan further alleged, “They did not want to leave us but we committed atrocities, which forced them to hate us. You (The Pakistani army) are doing the same thing now. Subjugating the largest political party (aka PTI) and trying to assassinate its leader.”

Only PTI can keep the country together: Imran Khan

“People are not recognising the group of thieves (referring to the ruling parties, PML-N and PPP) as their leaders, who are now being handed power in Pakistan (by the establishment),” he continued.

Imran Khan claimed, “As such, they are trying to kill me. In this way, Pakistan’s largest party will disintegrate without a leader. The only party that can keep the country intact is PTI.”

The former Pakistani Prime Minister has also blamed three people, namely, Major General Faisal Naseer, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and incumbent PM Shehbaz Sharif, for the assassination attempt against him.

Pakistan army cries foul, accuses Imran Khan of defaming institution

In a statement, the Pakistan army has termed the allegations against Major Naseer and the establishment as ‘baseless’ and ‘irresponsible.’

“Pakistan army prides itself for being an extremely professional and well-disciplined organisation with a robust and highly effective internal accountability system applicable across the board for unlawful acts, if any, committed by uniformed personnel,” it said.

The army emphasised, “However, if the honour, safety and prestige of its rank and file is being tarnished by vested interests through frivolous allegations, the institution will jealousy safeguard its officers and soldiers no matter what. The baseless allegations hurled at the institution/officials today are highly regrettable and strongly condemned.”

“No one will be allowed to defame the institution or its soldiers with impunity. Keeping this in view, the government of Pakistan has been requested to investigate the matter and initiate legal action against those responsible for defamation and false accusations against the institution and its officials without any evidence whatsoever,” the statement concluded.

‘We are ready to deliver oil’: Iranian ambassador to India Dr Iraj Elahi says Iran is ready to ‘increase economic ties with India’

OpIndia Staff
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‘We are ready to deliver oil’: Iranian ambassador to India Dr Iraj Elahi says Iran is ready to ‘increase economic ties with India’

On Friday, 4th November 2022, the Iranian ambassador to India Dr. Iraj Elahi said that Iran is ready to supply oil to India. He said that Iran is willing to take the step despite US sanctions as both countries have close ties. Dr. Iraj Elahi made this remark during an interview with the news agency ANI. His statement has come at a time when India has already raised its oil imports from Russia after the Russia-Ukraine war despite hostile reactions from the west, especially the European Union.

Dr. Iraj Elahi said, “We always express our readiness to increase our economic ties with India. We are ready to deliver oil.” It is notable that recently, the US issued regulations against a global network of businesses, including a petrochemical company with operations in India, that deal in Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals. The Iranian representative strongly negated this claiming that the US oil restrictions are unlawful.

He said, “Sanctions are an obstacle. India and Iran should find a way to solve this problem according to their national interests and not according to illegal US sanctions. We want to sell oil to India and buy what we need from India.” Iran was a major energy provider to India until May 2019, when the country ceased doing so after the US threatened to impose more sanctions.

Under the banner of “The World United Against Terrorism,” the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi organized a condolence prayer session to commemorate the victims of the ISIS terrorist assault in Shah Cheragh, Iran. The condolence prayer was attended by DP Srivastava, a former Indian ambassador to Iran, Trilochan Singh, a former chairman of the National Commissioner for Minorities (NCM), as well as a number of Muslim clerics and scholars. Asserting Iran’s stand on terrorism, Dr. Iraj Elahi said, “Iranian govt has close relations and close cooperation with India against terrorist groups and we hope we enforce that cooperation.”

US sanctions on Iran

The US keeps repeating that Iran’s nuclear program is advancing in defiance of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, that is, the Iran nuclear deal). The US administration has stated that it will continue to swiftly execute its sanctions against Iran’s shipments of oil and petrochemical products.

The US treasury department said in its statement, “These enforcement actions will continue on a regular basis, with an aim to severely restrict Iran’s oil and petrochemical exports. Anyone involved in facilitating these illegal sales and transactions should cease and desist immediately if they wish to avoid U.S. sanctions.”

‘Almost justified arrest’: Indian Express publishes editorial condemning action against Arnab Goswami after 2 years, Republic TV lashes out

OpIndia Staff
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‘Almost justified arrest’: Indian Express publishes editorial condemning action against Arnab Goswami after 2 years, Republic TV lashes out

On the night of 4th November 2022, Republic TV took to Twitter to lash out at Indian Express after they published an editorial that condemned the arrest of Arnab Goswami under the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government two years ago. In The Indian Express editorial, it was written that the “arrest spectacle” of Arnab Goswami was a message to independent media by the then government.

Republic TV tweeted a snippet of that article saying, “Interesting that @IndianExpress has ‘condemned’ action against our Editor-in-Chief 2 years after Uddhav’s govt arrested him as part of the biggest conspiracy against the media. Ironic that the same portal ran stories with blanket source-based quotes from Param Bir’s cops. Has @IndianExpress forgotten it was the one publishing screaming headlines of all fabrications of Uddhav govt against the Republic & our Editor-in-Chief? Standing up for freedom of the press can’t be an occasional, convenient & selective cause, as it’s become for Lutyens Media”.

Republic TV then tweeted reminding Indian Express that while they try to condemn the high handedness of the then Maha Aghadi government against Arnab Goswami and Republic TV staff, they had almost justified the arrest of the editor-in-chief by publishing an article that claimed that the arrest was the first step to justice for the Anvay Naik family.

“We even had to point out to @IndianExpress with a legal notice how they acted as judge, jury & executioner in breach of journalistic ethics & absolute facts while reporting the TRP case. Hypocrisy on press freedom is the embedded rot in Indian media now & calls for introspection. While the truth triumphed in that case, and in every case, a section of the Indian media must do some soul-searching on their role in being the true Fourth Pillar of Indian Democracy– irrespective of ideologies, political views and their notions of what is ‘liberal'”, said Republic TV further.

While Republic TV lashed out at Indian Express, it is pertinent to note that the publication only tangentially condemned the arrest of Arnab Goswami because they had to defend The Wire against the recent raids carried out at the premises of its founding editors and staffer, after they published a fabricated story recently.

The Indian Express essentially says that the raids against The Wire are an intimidatory tactic used to silence independent media. “These are challenging times for the independent press, their work an inalienable part of the citizen’s fundamental right to freedom of expression and the right to know. Across the world, even and especially in settled democracies, fidelity to Constitutional compacts is tested by the weight of popular and populist movements. India is no exception. Governments both at the Centre and in many states have often shown a striking disregard for press freedom”, the IE says. They then start by condemning the arrest of Arnab Goswami simply to justify their tropes in the case of The Wire.

“The police breached an important red line when it entered The Wire‘s newsroom, and seized the electronic devices used by its staffers. In a democracy, a newsroom’s exchanges with the world, many of which are and must remain confidential, the back and forth of honest journalistic practice, need protection. In its effort to distance itself from its own story, The Wire, which to its credit, most recently brought Pegasus to light, breached an important line too. It did not do its job, it blamed everything on a colleague, and, on record, invited the police and the powers in — playing perfectly to the latter’s script”, says IE further.

Interestingly, while calling out The Wire for ‘abdication of responsibility”, the purpose of the editorial by Indian Express was to cast aspersions on the raids against The Wire by insinuating that it was an action to stifle their free speech. They spoke about how their journalistic practice requires “protection”.

However, the Indian Express fails to mention some basic facts. The raids were not for defamation as per some leftist ‘intellectuals’ but for consistently indulging in forgery, cheating, fraud, fabrication, and criminal conspiracy. In fact, there is no civil defamation case against The Wire, Varadarajan, and others involved in the case. They face a criminal case for forgery, fabrication, and hatching a criminal conspiracy. These are serious sections under the IPC and clearly, there has to be an investigation into the source of the fabrication that was perpetuated by The Wire.

It is, therefore, disingenuous of The Indian Express to use the arrest of Arnab Goswami in an attempt to shield The Wire from legitimate and legal police action.

Legal notice by Arnab Goswami to Indian Express

In January 2021, Republic TV had serviced Indian Express with a legal notice asking them to take down their defamatory article. “We are constrained to issue this notice in view of your false news report mischievously titled, “Arnab Goswami paid me $12,000 and Rs 40 lakh to fix ratings: Partho Dasgupta” published and reported on 25 January 2021 in the Indian Express, digital and print media, and other social media platforms. The news report is a part of a mala fide, vicious and vexatious campaign to tarnish the reputation of our client”, the notice had said.

The notice had said:

The news report has alleged that the former BARC CEO, Mr. Partho Dasgupta has stated:“I worked with my team to ensure manipulation of TRP ratings that made Republic TV get number 1 rating. This would have continued from 2017 to 2019. Towards this, in 2017 Arnab Goswami had personally met me at St Regis hotel, Lower Parel and given me 6000 dollars cash for my France and Switzerland family trip…also in 2019 Arnab Goswami had personally met me at St Regis and given me 6000 dollars for my Sweden and Denmark family trip. Also in 2017, Goswami had personally met me at ITC Parel hotel and given me Rs 20 lakh cash… also in 2018 and 2019… Goswami met me at ITC hotel Parel and gave me Rs 10 lakhs each time…”.

The very headline of your news report would mislead any reader into wrongly believing that, as a matter of fact, payments were made by our client, Mr. Goswami to Mr. Partho Dasgupta. Such a headline is squarely deliberate and mischievous. Furthermore, the news report then deliberately omits to mention that the above statement was extracted by the Mumbai police from Mr. Partho Dasgupta under coercion and duress, is inadmissible in law, and has already been denied by Mr. Dasgupta himself. The news report is a vile, hateful, malicious attempt by you and part of a severely prejudicial campaign engineered and implemented by the Indian Express against our clients and aimed at attempting to irreparably destroy their reputation as well as the reputation of the Republic Media network. Through your defamatory news report, you have spun a false narrative of prejudice against our clients in complete breach of ethics, morality, integrity and journalistic duties. The malicious intent is to further your own corporate/commercial interests by defaming our clients.

You have acted as a judge, jury and executioner in breach of all journalistic ethics and against the well-settled law. By concealing material facts, pronouncing our client guilty of TRP manipulation, even though the matter is pending investigation and is also sub judice, your assertions amount to criminal contempt of court and, it appears, that these are intended to further your own commercial and corporate interests through sensationalism at the cost of our clients’ reputation, and presumably to divert attention away from fact that the BARC audit report of July 2020 points towards the guilt of another channel. Your actions are aimed to discredit a senior journalist, run-down a legitimate and established media house and ensure unfair and undue personal gains in the process.

It is pertinent to note that recently, the CBI came out with its chargesheet in which it has categorically stated that Republic TV had not indulged in TRP manipulation.

Anvay Naik case and the arrest of Goswami

On 4th of November 2020, Mumbai police, led by Sachin Vaze (not in jail) had barged into the home of Arnab Goswami and arrested him in the Anvay Naik suicide case. What was interesting is that Arnab Goswami was suddenly arrested in a 2018 abetment to suicide case which was closed and re-opened only recently, unilaterally, without the consent of the court.

The case that the Maharashtra government had chosen as a hill to die on, was an abetment to suicide case from 2018 in which a closure report was filed by the very police that arrested Arnab Goswami for it. OpIndia had done a detailed story at the time detailing how Arnab Goswami was given a clean chit by the Mumbai Police when it had filed a closure report. The report can be read here.

Twitter fires almost all employees in India, major layoffs in the marketing, communications and engineering teams

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter fires almost all employees in India, major layoffs in the marketing, communications and engineering teams

Microblogging social media platform Twitter is undergoing many changes after being acquired by Elon Musk. In a recent development, Twitter laid off most of its employees in India on November 4, 2022. Though the company has laid off employees in its marketing, communication and engineering department in large numbers, other departments of the company are also undergoing significant shuffle and layoffs including the engineering department.

The CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, as well as the CFO and a few other senior executives were fired last week by the world’s richest businessman, Elon Musk, who started his tenure there. Musk has now begun a significant effort to reduce the company’s overall staff. Layoffs in India are a component of the same exercise. The extent of this radical shift in the organizational structure can be gauged by the fact that Twitter has 300 employees in India and almost 250 employees across all the functions were fired by Elon Musk who was anyways not happy with the old management for their allegedly dishonest and untrue appearance during the acquisition deal.

Initially, it was speculated that only employees from certain departments are fired. It later became clear that the layoff covers almost all the departments. The major change that was seen in the process was the complete layoff of the communications team. Besides, employees from sales, marketing, and engineering teams in India are also fired. However, the severance packages of these employees are not disclosed yet.

In an email sent to its employees, Twitter said, “In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday. We will temporarily close all offices for the safety of employees as well as Twitter systems and customer data. If you are in an office or on your way to an office, please return home.”

However, most of the employees who have been fired have not received information about the same from the company. They learnt this when they reached their offices today morning and found that they are unable to log into their systems, email accounts and Slack. Instead, people who have been retained received ‘survivor’ emails, informing them that they have not been fired. The people who have been laid off will receive communication from the company on their personal email accounts, said a fired employee.

Economic Times quoted a Delhi-based employee who said that her entire team has been fired. “Many from content, partner, curation, communication, sales, and social marketing have been impacted,” she told ET. She complained that they should have been given notice before firing them, which was not done.

The report said that Twitter’s Bengaluru office Benniganahalli’s RMZ Tech Park seemed to be closed, and nobody was seen there except a security guard.

As of December 2021, Twitter employed about 7,500 workers, up from 5,500 the year before.

As the company is reducing the number after Elon Musk acquired it, the now ex-employees took to Twitter to inform that they were part of the lay off process. 26-year-old Yash Agarwal, who was in Public Policy in Delhi, tweeted earlier today that he has been just laid off. He tweeted, “Just got laid off. Bird App, it was an absolute honor, the greatest privilege ever to be a part of this team, this culture.”

The tweet of Yash Agarwal went viral for showing a positive attitude even after losing his job.

Another ex-employee Shifalika Yogi wrote, “It’s been an honor to be a part of this team and this organization. It gives me immense gratitude to be able to call you folks my colleagues and my friends. It’s been an amazing ride.” She held the post of Senior Client Account Manager at Twitter India.

According to a report by Moneycontrol, Musk has a tough hurdle in his attempt to transform the business by boosting sales while navigating the perilous terrain of content moderation and hateful speech. Additionally, the worldwide financial slump has caused a major slowing in the digital advertising business, which has adversely affected the business expansion of internet companies that depend on advertisements, including Twitter, Meta, Alphabet, and Snap.

Elon Musk tweeted, “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists. Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”

In an attempt to broaden Twitter’s revenue sources, Musk has recently discussed updating the company’s membership program Twitter Blue with a new $8 monthly cost and charging for verification.

‘Forcibly entered into the temple-like body of the girl’: UP POCSO Court awards death sentence to ‘vampires’ Haleem and Rizwan for the brutal rape of a minor

OpIndia Staff
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‘Forcibly entered into the temple-like body of the girl’: UP POCSO Court awards death sentence to ‘vampires’ Haleem and Rizwan for the brutal rape of a minor

On Wednesday, November 2, a POCSO court in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district awarded death sentences to two convicts- Haleem and Rizwan for the kidnapping and brutal rape of a minor girl. Court noted that Haleem and Rizwan not only gang-raped the minor but also intentionally caused such injuries that made her physically and mentally handicapped.

Additional District Sessions Judge of the POCSO Court Pankaj Kumar Srivastava also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the accused Haleem, an auto mechanic and Rizwan, who is a tailor by profession.

While pronouncing the verdict the court referred to the accused as ‘male vampires’ and observed that they not only forcibly entered into the temple-like body of the minor girl but also tried to demolish the same.

Pankaj Kumar Srivastava, Additional District and Session Judge/Rape and POCSO Court Judge, found them guilty on October 21 after concluding that the case fell into the rarest of rare categories because the accused not only gang-raped the minor girl but also injured her by selectively damaging her body parts.

The convicts were found to have injured the victim on her head, face, and legs following the gang rape, and the injuries were such that her face was distorted, she lost her left eye, and her legs were fractured. Following that, the inmates abandoned the victim along railway lines.

Appalled at the heinous nature of the crime, the court said, “It appears that the accused considered the victim an animal. The brutal cowardly act that the accused committed with the victim and the way they treated her afterwards, no one even treats an animal in such manner.”

Court added, “People treat animals with respect but in the present case, the accused did not even consider the victim worthy that other than rape, no such physical harm should be done to her so that her life would be ruined and she would be scared of looking at her own face in the mirror”.

“It is a strange irony that in our country where Durga is worshipped in the form of Shakti, Maa Saraswati is worshipped for education and Maa Lakshmi is worshipped for wealth, in such a county, an incident like this happens. This puts a question mark on the whole of society…If these cruel lustful persons are not punished severely in society, then every parent will cry when a daughter is born to them and even if they somehow manage to bring her up, they will be in constant fear that at any moment such a lustful monster can make their daughter his victim,” the court observed.

As a result, given the horrific nature of the offence, the court sentenced the accused under Sections 5 (g)/6 of the POCSO Act (death penalty) rather than Section 376 DA of the IPC. The court observed that because the accused’s crime was punishable under both Sections but the sentence under Section 376DA, IPC was less severe, the prisoners deserved to be punished under Section 42, POCSO Act.

According to Joint Director of Prosecution Havaldar Singh, the girl’s brother filed a complaint against unknown persons in Nawabganj police station on December 30, 2021, alleging that his sister went to the village shop on December 27 when the accused kidnapped her and took her to the nearby railway track, where they raped her.

According to the FIR, the accused hit the minor girl on the head, breaking the head bone The accused also stabbed her in the eye, inflicting blindness, and left her unconscious on the railway track and fled. Her leg had also been broken.

She was taken to Kalakankar Community Health Center, where doctors referred her to SRN Medical College hospital due to her critical condition.

Five days later, when the victim regained consciousness, she named her three culprits: Aman alias Qasim, Rizwan, and Haleem.

Joint Director of Prosecution Havaldar Singh went on to say that police had filed a case against the accused under relevant provisions and had given the charge sheet in court. Since Aman was found to be a minor, his case was referred to a juvenile court.

Meanwhile, after hearing the arguments of both sides, the court found the two accused guilty on the basis of evidence and sentenced Haleem alias Kharbar and Rizwan to death.

 

Meet former journalist Isudan Gadhvi, the Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate for Gujarat assembly elections

Pallav
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Meet former journalist Isudan Gadhvi, the Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate for Gujarat assembly elections

The Chief Ministerial candidate of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the Gujarat Assembly Elections, which begin on December 1, is Isudan Gadhvi. Gadhvi is a member of the National Executive and the National Joint General Secretary of the Aam Aadmi Party. He received more than 73% of the vote in an AAP survey to determine a Gujarat CM face.

Immediately following the announcement of the Gujarat Assembly election poll dates on Thursday, the AAP said that their chief ministerial candidate would be announced on Friday. And accordingly, the party declared that Isudan Gadhvi is their CM candidate in Gujarat.

40-year-old Isudan Gadhvi formerly worked in the media. He served as the host of the renowned news programme “Mahamanthan” on VTV Gujarati. He is from a prosperous farming family in Saurashtra.

Gadhvi is well-liked in Gujarat and is regarded as a public figure. He belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC), which account for 48% of Gujarat’s populace.

Media to politics

Isudan Gadhvi began his journalism career with Doordarshan’s renowned show ‘Yojana.’ From 2007 until 2011, he worked as an on-field journalist for ETV Gujarati in Porbandar. He became the youngest channel head in Gujarati media when he joined VTV Gujarati in 2015. His show was well received in rural Gujarat, especially amongst farmers.

Gadhvi stepped down from his post at the pinnacle of his journalistic career. Gopal Italia, another AAP leader, persuaded Gadhvi to join the party at that point. In June 2021, Gadhvi joined the AAP owing to Arvind Kejriwal, who had travelled to Ahmedabad to inaugurate the AAP’s state headquarters.

Allegations of being drunk and creating ruckus

Gadhvi was among the AAP workers who demonstrated against the state administration at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar on December 20 in response to the leaked examination paper. Shradhha Rajput, a BJP worker, said that Gadhvi misbehaved and sexually assaulted her while inebriated during the demonstration.

Gadhvi, she said, misbehaved with her and her coworkers. They allegedly continued to misbehave after they were told to maintain decorum. She further said that Aam Aadmi Party women workers attacked them and struck them with sticks. Rajput further said that when the crowd dispersed, Gopal Italia and Isudan Gadhvi misbehaved with her, and she filed a complaint about that as well. Gadhvi was subjected to a medical examination in response to her accusation, as Gujarat is a dry state.

Gandhinagar Police booked Gadhvi on January 1 under the Prohibition Act. According to a police statement, Gadhvi’s medical report dated December 20 reportedly indicated 0.0545 per cent alcohol content in his blood.

Support for anti-Gujarat ‘activists’ Medha Patkar and Teesta Setalvad

On August 30, Isudan Gadhvi took to Twitter to support a video that showed the anti-Gujarat ‘activist’ Medha Patkar and the self-proclaimed ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad in a positive light. Teesta Setalvad is currently in custody in a case of forgery and falsifying information about the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Gadhvi retweeted a message from AAP politician Sanjay Singh. Sanjay Singh’s tweet featured a video that aimed to depict anti-Gujarat ‘activists’ Medha Patkar and Teesta Setalvad favourably while denigrating Delhi LG Vinay Kumar Saxena.

Gujarat state assembly elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Gujarat Assembly Elections on Thursday. The ECI stated that the elections in the state will be held in two stages on December 1 and December 5, with the results being announced on December 8.

As per the electoral roll, over 4.9 crore electors are registered in the state of Gujarat, out of which 4.04 lakh are PwD electors. However, the number of senior citizen voters is over 9.8 lakh and 4.61 lakh are first-time voters. The commission said that around 51,782 polling stations would be set up across 182 Assembly Constituencies to ensure a hassle-free comfortable voting experience during the polls.

The term of the Gujarat legislature expires on February 18, 2023. Notably, the competition for Gujarat has heated up, with the BJP and the AAP emerging as the frontrunners. The BJP won 99 of the 182 seats in 2017, while the Congress won 77. In the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the ruling party is vying for a sixth consecutive term.

‘Proceeds of crime used for riots’: Court frames charges against Tahir Hussain in money laundering case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots

OpIndia Staff
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‘Proceeds of crime used for riots’: Court frames charges against Tahir Hussain in money laundering case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots

On Thursday, November 3, Delhi Court framed charges against former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Councillor Tahir Hussain in the money laundering case related to the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots, reports Live Law.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat filed charges against Tahir Hussain under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, which is punishable under Section 4.

The court has also denied statutory bail to Hussain in the case.

In the order passed yesterday, the court asserted, “In view of the statutory provisions and the law discussed above, the transactions of Tahir Hussain, as detailed above, in a conspiracy to fraudulently withdraw money from the accounts of certain companies owned or controlled by him through bogus and malafide transactions with bogus entry operators on the strength of fake bills with him being the beneficiary and with intent putting it to use towards riots, then accused Tahir Hussain would be set to be deriving or obtaining property as a result of criminal activity associated with/relatable to scheduled offence as the proceeds of crime and will be guilty of money laundering.”

Basically, after reviewing the contents of the complaint, associated papers, and witness statements, the court concluded that Tahir Hussain committed money laundering while operating in the conspiracy and the proceeds of crime created by the conspiracy were used to fuel disturbances, said the judge.

“In view of the above discussion, I am of the view that there is sufficient material on record, prima facie, creating grave suspicion against the accused for framing charge against him and to proceed further with the trial of the case,” the court added.

The court has now listed the matter for hearing on November 14, when the formal charges would be framed against the former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain.

Notably, the court has taken cognisance of the matter in 2020 after the Enforcement Directorate had filed a complaint against Tahir Hussain under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 for the commission of the offence of money laundering.

In August 2020, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) released a statement informing about the arrest of radical Islamist and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

The investigation is being conducted by the ED under the PMLA on the basis of First Information Reports (FIRs) that have been filed by the Delhi Police, Crime Branch, and Dayalpur Police Station that had pressed charges against Tahir Hussain under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 385 (creating fear for extortion), which are cognizable offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Tahir Hussain transferred funds from his companies to fuel riots

The ED in its statement has revealed that Tahir Hussain had transferred large sums of money to fraudulent operators via companies that are either owned or controlled by him and his relatives. The operators had then returned the funds to him in cash, which was then utilised to fuel violence during the Anti-Hindu riots of Delhi in February this year. Moreover, a probe into his companies by the ED has unearthed money laundering scams by Hussain in the past.

ED recovers fake invoices; grills Hussain in jail

In its statement, the Enforcement Directorate informed that on June 23 they conducted raids at several residential and business holdings of the former AAP councillor and his associates in Delhi, Noida and Greater Noida. During the search, the central investigative agency recovered ‘incriminating documents’ and evidence including fake invoices. According to the ED, fake invoices were used to transfer money fraudulently. Recently, Hussain has been questioned in Tihar jail by the ED while he was in the custody of the Delhi Police.

The role of Tahir Hussain in Delhi Anti-CAA riots

Tahir Hussain in his confession during the interrogation of Delhi Police said that Khalid Saifi, who is very close to him, planned the riots with him. He once told him that his political position and money should be used against Hindus and for the community. He promised Saifi that he will always be ready to take any step. After the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman and the Indian government passed Citizen Amendment Act tabled by Home Minister Amit Shah, Tahir and Khalid met and decided that this was the time they have to act.

The charge sheet pertaining to FIR 114 states that Tahir played a vital role in burning several Hindu shops in the Khajuri Khas area along with his accomplices. During the investigation, police found out that he had instigated a mob during the riots of 24th and 25th February 2020 saying that Hindus have killed many Muslims and had set their shops on fire on Sherpur Chowk. The charge sheet says, “Only 64 live cartridges and 22 empty cartridges were recovered at his instance. During interrogation, he could not give an account of the remaining 14 live cartridges and 22 empty/fired cartridges, when and where the same were fired/used.”

Tihar Jail DG Sandeep Goel transferred days after conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar alleged paying ₹10 crore to AAP minister for protection in the prison

OpIndia Staff
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Tihar Jail DG Sandeep Goel transferred days after conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar alleged paying ₹10 crore to AAP minister for protection in the prison

Sandeep Goel, the Director General of Prisons, has been transferred from the Tihar Jail in the national capital, only days after imprisoned conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar alleged that he had paid protection money to Delhi minister Satyendar Jain. The 1989 batch AGMUT cadre officer has been transferred from Tihar Jail and instructed to report to PHQ for further orders, according to a formal order issued on Friday, November 4.

1989 batch IPS officer Sanjay Beniwal has been appointed as the new DG (Prisons). The AGMUT cadre officer was posted as Special Police Commissioner of the Perception Management and Media Cell in-charge in Delhi Police.

In a letter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar made the accusation that AAP leader and Delhi cabinet minister Satyendar Jain extorted Rs 10 crore from him in 2019 to secure his safety in jail. The shocking charges against the AAP leader were made in a letter that Chandrashekhar addressed to the L-G on October 8 through his attorney Ashok K Singh. Sukesh Chandrashekhar is now being held in Mandoli jail in connection with a case involving the money laundering of Rs 200 crore.

According to the letter, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received more than Rs 50 crore with the understanding that they would offer Chandrashekhar a key position in the South Zone of the party and support his nomination to the Rajya Sabha. Chandrashekhar also claimed that Jain paid him a visit while he was being held in Tihar jail as a result of his detention in 2017 for the two-leaf symbol corruption case.

Tihar Jail is run by the Department of Delhi Prisons under the Government of Delhi. Satyendar Jain held the portfolio of the jail ministry. Sukesh Chandrashekhar alleged that the minister asked him if he had disclosed anything to the probe agency related to his contribution to the AAP.

Chandrashekhar wrote in his letter, “In 2019 again I was visited by Satyendar Jain and his secretary and his close friend Sushil in jail, asking me to pay Rs 2 crore every month to him as protection money to live safely in jail, and to get even basic facilities. Jain asked me to pay Rs 1.50 crore to DG prison Sandeep Goel, who, he said, was a loyal associate of his. He forced me to pay and an amount of Rs 10 crore was extorted from me through constant pressure in a matter of two-three months.” Additionally, he said that Jain’s colleagues in Kolkata were employed to collect the money.

Sukesh Chandrashekhar alleged that a total amount of Rs 10 crore was paid to Satyendar Jain, and Rs 12.50 crore to DG prison Sandeep Goel. He also made it clear that he has already given this information to the Enforcement Directorate.

Chandrashekhar was transferred from Tihar jail to Mandoli jail in Delhi in August of this year, after requesting multiple transfers. He claimed he had received death threats from inside the Tihar jail.

This month, he petitioned the Supreme Court for his release from Mandoli jail. However, the Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.

Sukesh Chandrashekhar is being investigated by the Delhi Police in connection with an alleged Rs 215 crore criminal conspiracy, embezzlement, and extortion case. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police had previously filed an FIR against Chandrasekhar for allegedly defrauding the spouses of erstwhile Ranbaxy promoters Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh of Rs 215 crore.

‘Let football take center stage’: FIFA urges World Cup teams to focus on the game instead of politics and ideologies

OpIndia Staff
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‘Let football take center stage’: FIFA urges World Cup teams to focus on the game instead of politics and ideologies

Soccer’s top official authorities urged the 32 teams preparing for the most political World Cup in recent times to focus on the game and avert handing out lessons on morality in Qatar. FIFA president Gianni Infantino and secretary general Fatma Samoura sent a letter to the teams urging them to ‘let football take center stage’ ahead of the intense media coverage on coaches and players when World Cup squads are announced next week.

“Please, let’s now focus on the football. We know football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature all around the world. Do not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists”, the letter by Infantino and Samoura read.

The letter, however, did not respond to a request by England and Wales and six other European nations who had requested that their captains be allowed to wear ‘One Love’ multicoloured wristbands at the World Cup which are a response to concerns about Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

“At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without handing out moral lessons to the rest of the world. One of the great strengths of the world is indeed its very diversity, and if inclusion means anything, it means having respect for that diversity. No one people or culture or nation is ‘better’ than any other”, the letter read.

“This principle is the very foundation stone of mutual respect and non-discrimination. And this is also one of the core values of football. So, please let’s all remember that and let football take centre stage”, it added. Infantino meanwhile also said that everybody would be welcome in Qatar regardless of origin, background, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality.

Qatar’s selection as World Cup host in 2010 sparked criticism for its treatment of low-wage migrant workers needed to build projects worth tens of billions of dollars, as well as its laws criminalizing same-sex relationships. Eight European teams have agreed to have their captains wear heart-shaped armbands to support an anti-discrimination campaign, in violation of FIFA rules.

Several coaches and federations meanwhile have supported calls to establish a compensation fund for the families of migrant workers. Denmark’s team this time is wearing a black jersey as a sign of ‘mourning’ for those who died in Qatar. Iran has also faced calls to be removed from the World Cup before its match against England on Nov 21 in a group that also includes the United States.

Iranian fan groups want the federation to be suspended for discriminating against women, and Ukrainian soccer officials have asked FIFA to kick Iran out of the World Cup for human rights violations and supplying weapons to the Russian military. About 1.2 million international visitors are expected in Qatar during the Nov 20- Dec 18 tournament.

Amritsar: Shiv Sena Taksali’s Sudhir Suri shot dead outside temple amid protests over broken idols of Hindu Gods found in the garbage dump

OpIndia Staff
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Amritsar: Shiv Sena Taksali’s Sudhir Suri shot dead outside temple amid protests over broken idols of Hindu Gods found in the garbage dump

Sudhir Suri, a Shiv Sena leader, was shot dead in broad daylight in Amritsar, Punjab. According to reports, the shooting took place outside a temple while Shiv Sena leaders (Taksali) were protesting against the temple’s authorities after some broken idols were found in the garbage outside the temple premises. Suri was shot by a person in the crowd. Following this, two people were detained by police. The Shiv Sena leader was shot with an A.30 pistol.

The attack on the Shiv Sena leader raised concerns about the already deteriorating law and order in the state under the AAP government.

BJP leader Tajinder Bagga reacting to the incident took to Twitter and wrote, “Law and order collapsed in Punjab, Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri injured in firing in Amritsar.”

The location of the bullet is said to be a residential area. According to sources, the attacker has been apprehended by police. The Shiv Sena leader was attacked while speaking with a police official.

Suri was reportedly on a hit list, and he was already having guards to protect him. The suspected attacker was apprehended by the crowd and later taken into custody by police. Sandeep Singh has been identified as the suspected attacker.

Sudhir Suri was arrested in July on suspicion of using offensive language against a specific community and inciting religious sentiments.

The Shiv Sena chief had shared a video on social media in which he and some of his associates were allegedly heard making derogatory remarks about the community. Notably, there are more than 15 Shiv Senas active in Punjab.

An eyewitness of the assassination described the attack against the Shiv Sena leader. “There were two guys who attacked him. They were both Sardars (Sikhs),” he said.

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