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PM Modi inaugurates Donyi Polo Airport, Arunachal Pradesh’s first greenfield airport: How the name symbolises state tradition and details about the airport

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi inaugurates Donyi Polo Airport, Arunachal Pradesh’s first greenfield airport: How the name symbolises state tradition and details about the airport

On Saturday (November 19), Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Arunachal Pradesh’s first greenfield airport, Donyi Polo Airport, near Itanagar’s Hollongi, as well as a 600-MW Kameng hydropower project in West Kameng district, in a big boost to transportation and tourism in the north-east.

In 2019, PM Modi opened the renovated Tezu Airport and laid the groundwork for the Greenfield Airport in Hollongi, Arunachal Pradesh. The terminal at Hollongi, which has a peak processing capacity of 200 persons per hour, is built at a cost of around 955 crores, according to an official release. The airport, which is the first greenfield airport in Arunachal, is constructed across an area of over 690 acres for a budget of more than 640 crores.

According to the official statement, “The airport terminal is a modern building, which promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy and the recycling of resources. Donyi Polo Airport will be the third operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the North-East region to 16. From 1947 to 2014, only nine airports were built in the North-East. In a short span of eight years since then, the Modi government has built seven airports in the North-East.”

Greenfield Airport in Hollongi. (Image: India Today)

“Aircraft movement in the North-East has also witnessed an increase of 113 per cent since 2014, from 852 per week in 2014 to 1817 per week in 2022,” the statement adds.

The airport’s name symbolises Arunachal Pradesh’s traditions and rich cultural legacy, as well as its age-old indigenous veneration for the Sun (‘Donyi’) and the Moon (‘Polo’). It will be Arunachal Pradesh’s first airport, with a 2,300-metre runway capable of landing and taking off a Boeing 747, one of the largest passenger planes.

According to the PMO, the airport would not only increase connectivity in the region but will also serve as a stimulus for the expansion of commerce and tourism, hence boosting the region’s economic and social development.

Kameng Hydropower Project

The Kameng hydro project, which spans more than 80 kilometres in the West Kameng district, was built at a cost of more than Rs 8,450 crore. It is intended to generate a power surplus in Arunachal Pradesh and improve the national grid in terms of reliability and interoperability. It will make a significant contribution to the country’s ambition towards green energy adaptation.

Kameng Hydropower project. (Image: NEEPCL)

Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi

Following his visit to Arunachal Pradesh, PM Modi is slated to inaugurate the month-long Kashi-Tamil Samagam at Kashi Hindu Vishvavidyalaya in Varanasi today. The program’s goal is to honour, reaffirm, and reestablish the long-standing ties between Tamil Nadu and Kashi, two of the country’s most important and historic centres of knowledge.

“Looking forward to attending the Kashi Tamil Sangamam event in Varanasi. It will be such a grand and historic occasion, in which a wonderful confluence of cultural connect of India and beauty of Tamil language will be seen,” PM Modi tweeted on Friday.

The programme intends to emphasise the Tamil language and culture while celebrating the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.’ The administration has jumped into action to host the ‘Kashi-Tamil Samagam’ in the holy city of Varanasi on a huge scale in order to offer the people of Uttar Pradesh a taste of Dravidian culture, as well as Tamil Nadu food and entertainment. 

The PMO said in the statement, “More than 2500 delegates from Tamil Nadu will be visiting Kashi. They will participate in seminars, site visits etc to interact with local people of similar trade, profession and interest. A month-long exhibition of handlooms, handicrafts, ODOP products, books, documentaries, cuisine, art forms, history, tourist places etc of the two regions will also be put up in Kashi.”

Madhya Pradesh: Muslim man arrested for forcing Hindu wife to convert to Islam, woman says he was also harassing her for dowry

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Muslim man arrested for forcing Hindu wife to convert to Islam, woman says he was also harassing her for dowry

On Friday (November 18), Indore police said that a 32-year-old Muslim man has been arrested for forcing his Hindu wife to convert to Islam. The accused has been identified as Rubab Shah.

Khajrana police station officer Dinesh Verma briefing about the case said that the accused who is a fourth-year homoeopathy student has been booked for using fraudulent ways and forcing the victim to change her religion, which goes in violation of the provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.

In her complaint, the accused’s wife stated that she met the man while working in a private hospital and was “trapped” into getting married to the accused in 2015.

The victim also stated that her husband’s attitude towards her turned hostile three years after their marriage when she had a daughter. According to the complaint, he then forced her to convert to Islam.

The woman also accused her husband of harassing her for dowry, according to the police officer. Police said that further investigation is underway and necessary action will be taken. 

Recently, a similar case was reported in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, a person named Saharukh was arrested under the state’s anti-love jihad law for hiding his religious identity from a 25-year-old Hindu woman and sexually exploiting her for over 5 months. The accused also abused the woman and threatened her to convert her religion to Islam, as per the complaint. The Police registered a case against the accused and arrested him on November 2.

Reportedly, accused Shahrukh (29) who was already married, had introduced himself as a Hindu person named Raju to the victim woman. The incident is said to have happened around January in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district. The woman, a resident of Indore, Madhya Pradesh had migrated with her friend to work as a housekeeping staff at a hotel in Udaipur.

Court directs Delhi Police not to use ‘third degree’ during Narco test on Aftab Amin Poonawala, who chopped Shraddha into 35 pieces

OpIndia Staff
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Court directs Delhi Police not to use ‘third degree’ during Narco test on Aftab Amin Poonawala, who chopped Shraddha into 35 pieces

On November 17, a Delhi court gave clearance to conduct a narco-test analysis (lie-detection) on Aftab Amin Poonawala, accused of strangulating and chopping his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar into 35 pieces. Notably, the court has in its order said that the police cannot physically or mentally torture the accused during the narco test.

“The IO is also not to use any third-degree measures. MLC must be prepared in accordance with the rules,” according to the order. Metropolitan Magistrate Vijayshree Rathore directed the Rohini Forensic Science Laboratory to allow the investigating officer (IO) to conduct the accused’s narco-analytic test within five days.

Accused Aftab’s consent was recorded and he was informed about the legalities, procedural formalities, and consequences that will follow his approval. Only after the accused agreed to take the narco test, the court granted permission for the same to Delhi Police.

It is worth noting here that in 2010, the Supreme Court had held that the conduct of narco tests and brain-mapping, and polygraph without the consent of the accused was illegal.

Notably, during the police interrogation, Aftab gave contradictory statements, prompting Delhi Police to conduct the narco test. The Delhi Police approached the court and sought permission to conduct the narco test. 

On Thursday, in a separate order, Magistrate Aviral Shukla extended the custody of the accused for five days. The cops reportedly told the court that certain important evidence was still missing and that Aftab needed to be remanded for a few more days. According to the reports, authorities are yet to locate the knife used by Aftab to execute the crime and Shradha Walkar’s mobile phone.

As many as 100 lawyers from Saket district courts gathered outside the court at around 3 PM and shouted slogans like “hang him, hang him”, “hang the killer of Shraddha”, and “hang such Love jihadis”, demanding the death penalty for the accused.

Accused Aftab Amin Poonawala admitted to having burnt his live-in partner Shraddha’s face after chopping her body into pieces, in order to hide her identity. Aftab first chopped her body into 35 pieces, then burnt her face in such a manner that it becomes unidentifiable even if the body parts are found.

Notably, Aftab confessed to the Delhi Police during interrogation that they had shifted from Mumbai to Delhi and had stayed in a hotel initially. Then the duo rented an apartment and soon got into a fight over shifting the household material from Mumbai to Delhi and also over the household expenses in Delhi. Aftab said that this was not the first time that they had engaged in a fight and that they had been fighting frequently over several other issues.

The Police also confirmed that the accused murdered Shraddha between 8 pm to 10 pm on May 18, and chopped her body into 35 pieces. He later stored the severed body parts in a refrigerator and disposed of the pieces in Delhi’s Mehrauli forest over the next 18 days.

‘Face the wrath of Allah’: Islamists abuse Aamir Khan over Muslim daughter’s engagement with Hindu partner, call him names

OpIndia Staff
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‘Face the wrath of Allah’: Islamists abuse Aamir Khan over Muslim daughter’s engagement with Hindu partner, call him names

On Friday (November 19), Bollywood actor Aamir Khan was abused by Islamists with the choicest of expletives after the images of his daughter Ira Khan’s engagement with her long-time Hindu boyfriend Nupur Shikhare went viral on social media.

Ira and Nupur, a celebrity fitness trainer, got engaged in Mumbai and the event was attended by Aamir’s ex-wives, Reena Dutta and Kiran Rao, as well his new ‘romantic interest’ Fatima Sana Sheikh. The duo have been in a relationship for over two years.

After the engagement concluded and images of the event surfaced on social media, Aamir Khan was abused for allowing his ‘Muslim daughter’ to be partners with a ‘Hindu man.’

“Aamir G*andu change your Muslim name,” wrote one Masab Khan. Another Islamist claimed in Urdu that the inter-faith engagement between the Bollywood actor’s daughter and her Hindu partner was the consequence of his adulterous behaviour.

“Shame on her,” remarked one Islamist. One Mohammed Arshad Raza insinuated that Aamir Khan forgot (all rules of the Islamic Faith) after acting in the movie ‘Ghajini’ where the protagonist was shown to have short-term memory loss.

Screengrab of the Facebook comments by Islamists

One Mohammed Waheed Pasha asserted that Aamir Khan was never a ‘real Muslim’ and that he was an idolator (mushrik), based on his daughter’s engagement with a non-Muslim man.

“Indian Muslims are Muslims by name… They even marry kafirs (a derogatory term for non-Muslim communities),” wrote one Atif Cheema. Besides, there were comments labelling Aamir Khan as ‘g*ndu’ and wondering whether Ira Khan dawned an underwear for the engagement.

Screengrab of the Facebook comments by Islamists

“Let you face the wrath of Allah, mother f*cker,” Mushtaq went on a vitriolic tirade. Another Islamist named Nadeem lamented, “Only this (engagement between a Muslim and a non-Muslim) was left to see.”

Screengrab of the Facebook comments by Islamists

Besides cursing the Bollywood actor, one Islamist even went to the extent of labelling the engagement between Ira Khan and Nupur Shikhare as ‘Sanghi jihad.’ Some even suggested that it was a case of ‘love jihad’ and ‘reverse love jihad.’.

For starters, Nupur didn’t pretend to be a Muslim while courting Ira i.e. no angle of impersonation or identity fraud. At the same time, he did not force her to convert to Hinduism.

Under Indian Constitutional provisions, two mutually consenting adults can marry each other as long as the above two-mentioned crimes of identity fraud and forced conversion is not committted.

Maharashtra: Sana lures Dipak Sonawane, her family circumcizes Dipak, extorts Rs. 11 lakh, torture him for more than two years, AIMIM leader named too

Gopal Tiwari
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Maharashtra: Sana lures Dipak Sonawane, her family circumcizes Dipak, extorts Rs. 11 lakh, torture him for more than two years, AIMIM leader named too

Days after Shraddha Walkar’s brutal murder, another case of humiliation in an interfaith relationship surfaced in Maharashtra on 18th November 2022. This time, the victim is a Dalit neo-Buddhist youth Dipak Sonawane studying at the Marathwada Institute of Technology (MIT) in Sambhajinagar of Maharashtra. After continuous torture and extortion from the family of his Muslim girlfriend Sana, Dipak Sonawane held a press conference in Sambhajinagar to share his pain and details of the case.

It is notable that Dipak’s father Ramdas Sonawane moved to Sambhajinagar from his native place in the Latur district of the Marathwada region in Maharashtra. His family, therefore, lacks local support. On the other hand, the victim has alleged that the Islamists in the family of his Muslim girlfriend have received constant support from the influential local MP Imtiaz Jaleel at every step in this matter.

It started as a love affair in college

Dipak Sonawane has filed a complaint against his girlfriend Sana Farheen Shahmir Sheikh. Others named in the complaint addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Sambhajinagar, are Shahmir Shamshuddin Sheikh, Khawaja Sayyed, Shabana Begum Sheikh, Sazia Sadaf Shahmir Sheikh, AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel, and his bodyguards.

Dipak Sonawane studied mechanical engineering at the Marathwada Institute of Technology in Sambhajinagar. Sana was his classmate. Both first became friends and then fell in love with each other. Dipak Sonawane said in his complaint, “Sana Shaikh and I have been studying at M.I.T. College since 2018. We were classmates. So, Sana and I got acquainted. After that, we had this love affair, Sana lured me into marriage and said, ‘I want to marry you, you embrace Islam, recite namaz, read the Quran’.”

Dipak Sonawane further wrote in his complaint, “I told this to her [parents – Shahmir Shamshuddin Sheikh and Shabana Begum Sheikh. They assured me that they will explain their daughter properly and that I should not worry.”

The Islamist torture begins

After this, Dipak Sonawane gave the details of the torture he had to go through. He has also described it all in the press conference. He said, “In March 2021, her parents, uncle, and sister called me to meet in the Gulmandi area. When I went there, they told me to park my bike there and told me that ‘we all need to go out somewhere. As soon as I refused them, Khawaja Sayyed and Shahmir Sheikh forcibly took me to their house. There they locked me in the room. Shahmir Sheikh and Khawaja Sayyed removed my clothes. Shabana Begum and Sazia Sadaf tied my hands and legs and put a cloth in my mouth, while Shahmir Shaikh urinated on my body. The video of the act was shot on the mobile of Sana and Shahmeer Shaikh as they started beating me up for converting to Islam.”

Dipak Sonawane was forcibly circumcised

Dipak Sonawane added, “After that, Sana and her mother and sister took me to a hospital in the lane behind the City Chowk police station and said, ‘We have brought you here to become a Muslim. We are doing your circumcision here. If you say anything to anyone here, we will make your video viral and defame you in society. We will also kill you and your family,’ they threatened. I was very scared because my life and my family’s life were in danger and I would be defamed if my video went viral.”

Dipak further narrated, “They took advantage of this and circumcised me and said to me ‘You are now a true Muslim and if you tell anyone what has happened, remember, you will regret it’ and they threatened me and brought me back to Gulmandi. I came to my house from there and then I decided to stay away from Sana.”

Islamists extorted Rs 11 lakhs from Dipak Sonawane

Dipak Sonawane has also given a detailed account of how he was extorted by these Islamists and how they hurled casteist abuse at him. He said in his complaint, “Sana and her mother came to my house. ‘We will make Deepak’s video viral, register a serious case against Dipak and ruin his life’ in these words they threatened us and demanded money. I paid her Rs 7 lakh in cash from time to time and Rs 4 lakh online. I sent a total of Rs 11 lakh, but they demanded another Rs 25 lakh from me. I refused them as I did not have money at that time.”

Dipak Sonawane then wrote about the cases being registered against him as threatened. He said, “Then Sana booked a complaint against me in MIDC CIDCO police station on 29-09-21. The case is registered as per section 354 of IPC. After registering the case, Sana called me and said, ‘I told you. You didn’t listen to me. My parents have made a case against you, I will manage’, she said over the phone. After that, on 19-12-21, I met Sana and her parents in the District Sessions Court and at that time they said, ‘Give 25 lakhs or accept Islam, then we will withdraw the case’.”

‘Mahars are filth-eaters and prostitutes’ according to the Islamists inspired by Dr Zakir Naik

Dipak Sonawane said in his complaint, “On 12-08-22, Sana Shahmir Shaikh and Khawaja Sayyed forced me to come to the cloud campus where they showed me the videos of Muslim cleric Dr Zakir Naik on a projector and forced me to offer namaz. If I would oppose them, they would beat me up and hurl casteist abuses at me. They said, ‘You belong to the Mahar caste. The Mahar caste is a lower caste. You people are filth-eaters. You are not a Mahar, but a prostitute community’. They went down to a lower level and hurled casteist insults.”

The Imtiaz Jaleel connection

Sambhajinagar is a Muslim-dominated constituency. AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel is the Lok Sabha MP from this constituency. The Muslim MP is known to extend a soft approach towards local Muslims and keeps calling it to be raising voices for minorities. In this case, his name has appeared as the key protector of the Islamists. Interestingly, it is pertinent to note that Jaleel won his seat on the back of those belonging to the Dalit caste, however, he has now been accused of protecting the Islamists torturing a Dalit man.

Dipak Sonawane said in his complaint, “On 20-08-22, at 2.00 pm, the named persons forced me to sit with them in a car from near Paithan Gate and took me to “Cloud Campus” on the Satyavishnu Hospital Road, near MP Imtiaz Jaleel’s house in the Rozabagh area. There, in the presence of MP Imtiaz Jaleel, they locked me in the classroom hall of a coaching class, and his bodyguards beat me up and the named persons snatched Rs. 1,50,000 cash, a laptop and one plus company’s mobile phone from me. I was beaten up there, they threatened to kill me and demanded money, and hurled casteist abuse at me. All this has been going on for the last two years and legal action should be taken against the non-applicant.”

Multiple cases and prior negligence by the police

In the press conference, Dipak Sonawane alleged that it was he who first approached the police. Dipak said that he wrote multiple complaints to the CP office. The CP office never took them seriously. They just received his complaint and told him every time that they will try to tell the family of his girlfriend as much as they can.

Also, after every complaint Dipak Sonawane filed, there would be a case registered against the victim by the girl and her family under some serious section of the IPC. Dipak Sonawane and his accomplices said in the press conference, “Is there any link from the CP office itself? At whose behest was this done?”

It is notable that one Muslim judge in the sessions court granted bail to Dipak Sonawane who was charged with sections 354 and 376 of the IPC. The victim said that the judge had to give the bail because the allegations were fake, though the sections are meant for an unbailable offence. Throughout this course of incidents, as Dipak Sonawane noted, the situation worsened after Sana’s uncle Khawaja Sayyed came to Sambhajinagar from Beed when he knew about the affair. He also said that the Muslim family has the political support of Imtiaz Jaleel.

Dipak Sonawane’s accomplice said, “As a representative of the constituency, he should have heard Dipak’s version of the story as well. But he was told by Sana’s family that Dipak has objectionable photos and videos of her on my phone. This is why they took away Dipak’s phone. In this way, Imtiaz Jaleel behaved like an MP of Muslims only and not like an MP of all. During the fight, Dipak somehow took the phone and dialled 100 to call the police. The police took him to the station and refused to register a case against the MP and his bodyguards who were beating Dipak. Imtiaz Jaleel’s CCTV has the footage of Dipak’s abduction and subsequent rescue by the police but after this press conference, the CCTV footage can be deleted by those people.”

UP: Woman’s body found inside a suitcase on Yamuna Expressway in Mathura

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Woman’s body found inside a suitcase on Yamuna Expressway in Mathura

A woman’s body was found stuffed inside an abandoned suitcase on a service road of the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district on Friday, police said.

The woman, who is yet to be identified, appeared to be 22-25 years old, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Trigur Bisen said. 

The officer said the woman’s body was found inside a red-coloured trolley bag and was covered in a plastic sheet. The victim was five feet and two inches tall, the officer added. 

The police received information about a bag lying abandoned on the service road near the Agricultural Research Centre in Raya and it was seized in the afternoon, Bisen said.

It appears that she was shot dead and was later stuffed inside the bag which was found on the road, Bisen said. He also said that two sarees were also found in the bag. 

The information about the woman’s death has been sent to all police stations in the nearby districts, Circle Officer Alok Singh said, adding that the body has been sent for post-mortem and efforts are underway to identify the victim. 

The incident comes hot on the heels of similar such incidents in the last few days. On November 15, a dead body of an unidentified man in his 30s was found stuffed in an abandoned red-colours suitcase outside the Railway Station in Jalandhar at around 6 AM. A worker had noticed the bag and alerted the railway officials. Police were informed about the bag. As per reports, the Railway Police team seized the bag and sealed the area. The forensic investigation team was called on the spot to collect evidence.

Shraddha Walkar murder case

In another case that shook the nation to its core, the Delhi Police solved the six-month-old murder case of Shraddha Walkar and arrested Aftab Poonawala for murdering her, and then chopping her into 35 pieces to dispose of her body. Aftab executed the murder on May 18 and stored her body parts in the refrigerator. He then disposed of the body pieces in Delhi’s Mehrauli forest during the next 18 days.

The accused was arrested based on the complaint filed by Shraddha’s father on November 10. He stated in the complaint that the accused and the deceased had rented an apartment in Delhi and were staying in an unhealthy live-in relationship, which was also abusive. He said that he had always opposed their relationship as Aftab is a Muslim.

The girl, a resident of Palghar was adamant about continuing her relationship with accused Aftab and shifted to Delhi with him. Three days after they shifted to Delhi, they engaged in a quarrel and Aftab happened to kill Shraddha. He confessed his crime on November 14 and stated that they used to fight a lot. He said that he murdered Shraddha on May 18 as she was forcing him to get married to her.

Madhya Pradesh: Mosque caretaker booked for converting Hindu man to Islam taking advantage of his problems

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Mosque caretaker booked for converting Hindu man to Islam taking advantage of his problems

On Friday (November 18), in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district, the caretaker of a mosque was booked on the charges of forcefully converting a Hindu man named Akshay Gaur to Islam. On Thursday evening, police said they had filed a case against Alim Ameenudin Qadri of Khandwa’s Noorani Mosque under relevant sections of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and the Indian Penal Code. 

Notably, the accused has not been arrested yet. Akshay Gaur of Prabhu Prem Puram locality filed a police complaint alleging that Alim Qadri converted him to Islam taking advantage of his family problems.

On Thursday victim Akshay Gaur told the media that he went to Nagchun five months ago as he was stressed over a family feud. Akshay met the accused Alim Ameenudin Qadri of Noorani Masjid there, who asked him to accept Islam claiming that it would bring him peace and help him get rid of his problems, he added.

“After that, I began offering Namaz and accepted Islam as a religion,” he explained. Gaur further said, “He also threatened me that I will go to hell and burn in hellfire (Dozakh Ki Aag) if I did not follow Islam. He told me that if I follow Islam, I will receive everything and reach Jannat. After that, I began offering Namaz at home on a regular basis. In addition, I began to spread Islam and send messages to my relatives.”

“I later changed my name from Akshay Gaur to Mohammad Fahim Khan and announced it on Facebook.” When my Hindu friends found out about it, they called me and persuaded me for three days. “They helped me get rid of the illusion I was caught in,” he added.

He then went to the City Superintendent of Police (CSP) office and filed a complaint against the conversion, he said.

“A youth Akshay Gaur has lodged a complaint against a Muslim cleric,” Khandwa Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Singh said after receiving the complaint. The matter is being investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.”

On Thursday evening, the police stated that an FIR was registered at Moghat Road police station under sections 3 (prohibition of unlawful religious conversion) and 5 (imprisonment for 1 to 5 years for prohibited unlawful religious conversion) of the Freedom of Religion Act and section 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) of the IPC on the basis of the victim’s complaint.

As Aftab’s family goes missing, Shraddha’s father alleges they are also involved in the murder, demands public hanging of Aftab

OpIndia Staff
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As Aftab’s family goes missing, Shraddha’s father alleges they are also involved in the murder, demands public hanging of Aftab

While the Delhi police are trying to investigate the chilling murder of 27-year-old Shraddha Walkar, the bereaved father of the deceased has alleged that Aftab Amin’s family is also involved in the brutal murder of his daughter.

Speaking to India TV, Vikas Madan Walkar said, “I now think that the whole family is involved in this crime. They are now absconding. The police should question them too,’ said Shraddha’s father. On their behaviour, he said, “They didn’t even entertain us at their house when we had visited in a hope that they would try to explain Aftab about the situation involving Shraddha.”

Saying so, the father demanded that Aftab is publicly hung and expressed concern over the Delhi Police not questioning Aftab’s family.

In another interview with India Today, Sharddha’s father reiterated that when they had gone to meet Aftab’s family, his younger brother did not entertain them. “I last spoke to Shraddha in 2021. She never told me directly that Aaftab abused her. But she had mentioned her abusive relationship with her mother. Later on, my son told me about this,” Vikas Walkar told India Today.

He added, “I along with my wife and her sister, went to meet Aaftab’s family but his brother did not allow us to meet his family. They never contacted us,” he said.

According to the report, Shraddha’s parents and brother had gone to Aftab’s house in Vasai to plead for assistance, but they were not permitted to enter. Aftab’s family called him and asked Shraddha’s father to handle the situation without involving them in the matter.

Meanwhile, the Manikpur police (Palghar) probing the heinous murder said on Wednesday that the family of accused Aftab Amin has fled to an unknown location and is currently untraceable.

“When the Manikpur police took Aftab’s statement after calling him to Vasai, Aftab’s family shifted to an unknown place. Aftab’s family is not in contact with Manikpur police either,” the police told ANI.

Shraddha’s father suspects ‘Love Jihad’ angle in the case, demands the death penalty for Aftab Amin

On November 15, Shraddha’s father, Vikas Madan Walker told ANI that he is suspecting a ‘love jihad’ angle in the case and demanded the death penalty for the accused perpetrator. Speaking to ANI, Shraddha’s father, Vikas Madan Walker said, “I suspected a love jihad angle. We demand the death penalty for Aftab. I trust Delhi Police and the probe moving in the right direction. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn’t talk to me much. I was never in touch with Aftab. I lodged the first complaint in Mumbai’s Vasai.”

Shraddha Walkar was hospitalized in 2020 with severe back pain and bruises on her face

Earlier in the day, the Police revealed that Shraddha, who was strangled to death and chopped into 35 pieces by her live-in partner Aftab, was hospitalized in 2020 with severe back pain in Vasai, Maharashtra.

Shraddha was admitted to Ozone Multispeciality Hospital in Vasai on December 3, 2020, with acute pain in her back and spine. It is suspected that she was assaulted by Aftab, which prompted the back discomfort that necessitated her to be hospitalized. Shraddha’s medical reports and also her picture from 2020 are going viral over social media platforms.

The woman in the image can be seen having bruises on her face with an injury mark highlighted on her nose. The medical reports also reveal that she had been suffering from severe pain for 4 to 5 days before she was admitted to the hospital. Earlier, it was reported that Shraddha was in an abusive relationship with Aftab.

Aftab and Shraddha used to fight over petty issues and he had physically assaulted Shraddha several times in the past. After the murder, many of Shraddha’s friends came up and confirmed to the police that she was not happy with Aftab and wanted to desperately break her relationship with the accused.

Madhya Pradesh: Dalit family converted to Christianity by paying money, preachers harass them and demand 4 times money back for not attending church

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Dalit family converted to Christianity by paying money, preachers harass them and demand 4 times money back for not attending church

“Multiple cases of fraudulent conversions have been recently reported from several districts of Madhya Pradesh. The very recent one was from Damoh in which 10 members of a Christian organisation were booked for executing forceful religious conversions. The case had come to the fore after National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had taken cognizance of the incident and filed an FIR.

On Friday, a novel case of alleged forceful conversion appeared from the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh after a Dalit victim couple revealed that they were first forcefully converted to Christianity by Bishop Dr Ajai Lall and now were being harassed by the Church authorities. The Legal Rights Observatory happened to share the video in which the woman is heard saying that her family was offered money by Bishop Ajai Lall and his people to convert to Christianity. “➕

Church authorities threatened, demanded four times interest

She said that she and her family were also asked to attend Church and follow the Christian religion and its practices. Later they were harassed by the Church authorities for failing to attend Church regularly. The Dalit woman alleged that they also threatened her and her family and demanded four times as much money as they had given earlier during the time of conversion.

“They initially converted us forcefully and gave us money Rs 1,20,000. They also asked us to attend the Church service and stop following the Hindu religion. We initially attended the Church sessions but later we could not. So they began threatening us that if we fail to follow the Christian religion, they’ll recover the amount they had offered earlier, with four times of interest”, the woman said in the video.

She added that she has already returned Rs 90,000 and intends to pay the balance amount soon but the Church members- Thomas, Keviju, Flexen, Rinu, and Sajan were harassing her to pay four times Rs 1,20,000. “They dipped me and my husband in some water tank together and put their hand on our heads. Then they asked me to get my other family members to the Church after conversion”, she said.

People being converted at Damoh (Image obtained by OpIndia)

Police, Administration failed to take action against Bishop

The woman said that she registered the complaint against the Church authorities and Bishop Dr. Ajai Lall at the Damoh Police Station but the administrative authorities failed to take any action against the Bishop and his followers. The Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) while talking to OpIndia confirmed that Damoh Collector S Krishna Chaitanya, Superintendent of Police D R Tenivaar, and other administrative officers were making attempts to favor and save Bishop Ajai Lall and his followers from the case. “District collectors follow Bishop Ajai Lall and used to work for one of his FCRA license-attained NGOs”, the LRO said adding that Madhya Pradesh Home Minister needs to look into the matter very seriously.

The National Commission of Women (NCW) also took cognizance of the incident and has directed the DGP Madhya Pradesh to file an FIR in the case. NCW chairman Rekha Sharma also has demanded arrest of the accused and his gang members once the allegations are confirmed.

Members of Bishop Ajai Lall’s Mid India Christian Society have already been booked in similar case

As stated earlier, this is the second case of alleged forceful conversion appearing from the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh. Earlier, NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo had filed a complaint against ten members of a Christian organization named Mid India Christian Society in Damoh. Kanoongo in the complaint had said that several Hindu minor students residing in the children’s home of Mid India Christian Society were converted to Christianity and were forcefully being kept away from studies. They were being lured by the missionary authorities to become a pastor in the future.

The matter came to light after Kanoongo conducted a surprise inspection of a children’s home run by the Mid India Christian Society. He said that massive irregularities were found in the working of the organization and the home also failed to produce legal documents. “There were 91 children registered in Mid India Christian Society, of which 45 were present. Most of these children are Hindus and some are Muslims, but they were all being taught teachings of Christianity. The organization did not even have proper documents for its functioning,” the FIR copy attained by OpIndia read.

Copy of FIR obtained by OpIndia

The Police then registered an FIR under sections 42 and 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act and 3 and 5 of the MP Freedom of Religion Act, along with 370 of IPC against the 10 members. Notably, Lall sought anticipatory bail in the case which the Damoh Court happened to reject on November 17. The investigation in the case is still underway and police’ appropriate action against Lall is awaited.

Journalist who exposed relations between Damoh District Collector and Bishop Ajai Lall threatened

LRO told OpIndia that the Damoh District collector’s wife looked after the accounts of one of the FCRA licensed NGOs which belongs to accused Bishop Ajai Lall. She was also engaged in NGO activities for around one and a half years until the Centre launched an investigation into the financial transactions of the NGO. The Centre in the year 2021 stated that the organization was engaged in evangelism-related activities and had violated the FCRA laws.

The source added that Bishop Ajai Lall also has maintained good relations with the district administration including Collector S. Krishna Chaitanya. Further, Lall was awarded on August 15 this year at the hands of Minister Govind Singh Rajput for his ‘social service’ activities. According to the information received, he was nominated for the award by Collector S. Krishna Chaitanya in the year 2021 when the former’s NGO was under scrutiny.

Reportedly, one of the IBC24 reporters named Jitendra Gautam who exposed the relations between Bishop Ajai Lall and Damoh Collector was issued threats by DC PRO Y Qureshi. This information was also made public by the Legal Rights Observatory on November 17.

In the current case, the Dalit woman who claims to have been forcefully converted to Christianity has filed a police complaint against Bishop Ajai Lall and his followers for the third time. She has requested Damoh SP D R Tenivaar to look into the matter who has assured an investigation into the case.

As Prakash Raj spreads fake news, here are the statements of Raghuram Rajan about the Modi govt consulting RBI before demonetisation

Dibakar Dutta
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As Prakash Raj spreads fake news, here are the statements of Raghuram Rajan about the Modi govt consulting RBI before demonetisation

Two days after the Centre informed the apex court that it had consulted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before going forward with the demonetisation policy in 2016, actor-turned-activist Prakash Raj on Friday (November 18) tried to insinuate that the Modi government had lied to the Supreme Court.

In a tweet, Raj asked, “Dear citizens…Who is telling the Truth?…#justasking” His tweet was accompanied by a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

“We did demonetisation after extensive consultation with the Reserve Bank of India,” the actor attributed the statement to the Union Government. “I was RBI Governor during the time of demonetisation. RBI was not asked to make a single decision on demonetisation,” he attributed another statement to Rajan.

Source: Twitter

Prakash Raj tried to suggest that there is an ‘inherent contradiction’ between the claims made by the former RBI Governor and the incumbent government at the Centre.

For starters, Raghuram Rajan was not the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India at the time of demonetisation. According to the website of the RBI, Rajan held the position of Governor between September 4, 2013, to September 4, 2016.

On the last day of his tenure, Dr Udit R Patel officially took charge as the RBI’s Governor. As such, it was during the term of Dr Udit Patel that the Modi government rolled out the demonetisation of its ₹500, and ₹1000 currency notes on the night of November 8, 2016.

Modi government’s response to SC over demonetisation

In its affidavit to the Supreme Court on Wednesday (November 16), the Union Ministry of Finance said that demonetisation was implemented in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, starting in February 2016.

It further emphasised that the policy to demonetise ₹500 and ₹1000 rupee notes was a “well-considered decision… (taken after) extensive consultation with the Reserve Bank and advance preparation.”

After listing the benefits of the exercise, the Ministry of Finance pointed out that the consultation with the RBI and the subsequent decision-making process was kept confidential by the government.

Remarks of Raghuram Rajan about the government keeping the RBI in loop

As stated earlier, Raghuram Rajan was not the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India at the time of demonetisation. His term had ended 2 months prior to the historic event i.e. on September 4, 2016.

It is thus clear that RBI, under him, was not asked to ‘make a decision’ about the policy (given its implementation in November of that year). The confusion seems to stem from a remark that Rajan made in his 2017 book ‘I do what I do.’

“At no point during my term was the RBI asked to make a decision on demonetisation,” he had written. However, this line, in particular, is just a small excerpt from his ‘disclosure’ about the demonetisation plans.

In September 2017, Raghuram Rajan was quoted as saying, “I was asked by the government in February 2016 for my view on demonetisation, which I gave orally.

Source: Hindustan Times

“I was asked by the government in February 2016 for my view on demonetisation, which I gave orally. Although there might be long-term benefits, I felt the likely short-term economic costs would outweigh them,” the book excerpt read.

“Although there might be long-term benefits, I felt the likely short-term economic costs would outweigh them…I made these views known in no uncertain terms,” he had written back then.

It is thus evident that the affidavit submitted by the Union Government in the apex court is in line with the book excerpt of Rajan, dating back to 2017. The Centre had indeed begun consultations with the RBI in February 2016.

During his tenure, the RBI was not tasked to take a decision, given that the nationwide exercise was rolled out two months after he demitted office.

Source: The Hindu

In April 2018, Raghuram Rajan dismissed the allegation that the RBI was not consulted by the Modi government prior to the demonetisation. He made the remarks at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge.

“I didn’t ever say that I wasn’t consulted (on demonetisation). In fact, I have made it quite clear that we were consulted and we didn’t think it was a good idea,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Prakash Raj defends himself with a cryptic tweet

It must be mentioned that RBI is owned by the Government of India and reservations expressed by the Governor are not binding on the Centre’s policymaking.

Thus, it becomes evident that Prakash Raj quoted Raghuram Rajan out of context to suggest that the Modi government unilaterally decided on the demonetisation policy and mislead the apex court.

Screengrab of the tweet by Prakash Raj

After being called out on social media for peddling disinformation, Prakash Raj suggested that both the Modi government and the former RBI governor had been lying about demonetisation.

In a tweet, he claimed, “The answer is both are LIES.” In reality, it is the Singham actor who had been quoting the Centre and Rajan out of context to further his agenda. As he stood exposed for purveying malicious fake news, Raj tried to salvage himself by claiming that both the pieces of information in his earlier tweet were lies, which was another lie to cover up his fiasco and promote the misleading claim that the Centre had no consulted with the RBI before going ahead with demonetisation.

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