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After Pratik Sinha gets exposed over fake Nobel nomination, he wishes for India’s defeat by foreign powers and prosecution of those who exposed him in ‘international trials’

OpIndia Staff
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After Pratik Sinha gets exposed over fake Nobel nomination, he wishes for India’s defeat by foreign powers and prosecution of those who exposed him in ‘international trials’

On Friday (October 7), Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha took to Twitter to lash out at those who have been questioning the dubious claim of his Nobel Peace Prize nomination and wish for dangerous foreign interference in India, branding his detractors as ‘war criminals’. Sinha made these comments after the truth of the PR piece peddled to promote him by TIME magazine came out.

The so-called ‘fact checker’ wished that his detractors be punished in a Nuremberg-type trial. “Some folks have been suffering from a severe heartburn for the past 48 hours,” he tweeted.

Sinha further added, “Don’t be so disappointed. You all will also be featured in a list. That one that is made for the Indian version of Nuremberg trials”. The archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.

Screengrab of the tweet by Pratik Sinha

The Nuremberg trials refer to the indictment and trial of Nazi leaders by the International Military Tribunal between 1945-1946 for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace. A total of 216 court sessions were conducted and 19 Nazi leaders were charged. Three of them received life sentences while four Nazi leaders were sentenced to a period of 10-20 years of imprisonment. A total of 12 Nazis were sentenced to death.

What is interesting to note here is that Pratik Sinha, in his tweet, is essentially calling for foreign interference in India to prosecute those who politically disagree with him. The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.

Essentially, Pratik Sinha was branding India as a nation run by fascists, and his detractors as those committing war crimes, hoping that other nations interfere in the democratic functioning of India to prosecute those whose opinions and political choices he disagrees with. His assertions not only demonise and dehumanise political opponents but also insults India, saying that other nations need to interfere in its internal functioning.

Pratik Sinha here was basically hoping that India gets invaded as the only method of a regime change operation where the Modi government can be overthrown, their supporters be prosecuted by foreign entities and they can install a government of their liking.

This is not the first time that those who belong to the Left-Islamist nexus have called for foreign interference in India and even celebrated aggression against the nation as a means of regime change. Rahul Gandhi, in 2021, had batted for US interference in India as a means of overthrowing the democratically elected Modi govt. Rahul Gandhi made the comments during an online interaction with Ambassador Nicholas Burns of the Harvard Kennedy School. The Gandhi scion was invited by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics to talk about challenges and opportunities in India and reflections on politics and public service.

Rahul Gandhi asked for American interference in India towards the end of the program after host Nicholas Burns had delivered his concluding remarks. After Burns concluded the session, Rahul Gandhi asks if he can make a quick ending comment. He then proceeds to say, “I don’t hear anything from the US establishment about what is happening in India. If you are saying partnership in democracy is, I mean, what’s your view on what is happening here?” Burns was visibly shocked after hearing this open offer from Rahul Gandhi for asking for America to comment on India’s internal matters.

When the Chinese aggression at Galwan took place, TheQuint hailed PLA soldiers as “martyrs”, trying to eulogise the aggression in India. In fact, even AltNews had cleaned up the mess for China by peddling motivated “fact-checks” to peddle the Chinese narrative. The usual suspects were also seen asking for foreign interference when the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed and during the farmers’ protest. Every statement by a foreign nation against India, which was based on the fake narrative peddled by the Left media, was hailed by these individuals because they saw it as an opportunity for regime change.

Pratik Sinha receives overwhelming support from his coterie

The dubious claims of being a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and the eventual tryst with reality did not dent his support from the close-knitted cabal of leftists and liberals. After Pratik Sinha called for an invasion of India so political detractors can be tried as war criminals, he received support from the usual suspects.

“More power to you Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha. May you keep giving them reasons for new heartburns,” wrote Reuters journalist Tresa Sherin Morera.

“We feel such pride in knowing that the important work you and Mohammed Zubair and those in your team are doing has been recognised! More power to you! Congratulations!” tweeted climate journalist Aesha Datta.

“Yes they will be. And hopefully, that list will be drawn up soon enough. More power to you and AltNews,” ‘journalist’ Aarish Chhabra remarked imagining himself presiding over trials of people he doesn’t like.

Netizens question the dangerous trope peddled by Alt News co-founder, threatening detractors with Nuremberg trials

Pratik Sinha, who has been bitter ever since the Nobel Peace Prize results were announced, compared the Nazi leaders to his detractors on social media and asserted that they deserved public trial (for simply pointing out that he never had a chance of winning the coveted prize).

Social media users challenged the so-called fact checker for his lack of understanding of history. “Wait, are you threatening a large section of Indians with a Nuremberg type trial?” asked one Rajeev.

“Nuremberg? Are you sure you understand what you’re saying or are you drunk?” another user inquired.

“One thought you were well educated. But alas. Nuremberg trials were the result of a holocaust, a military defeat against a coalition force. In India there is no holocaust. Only islamic terrorism killing Hindus in Kashmir & rest of India. No war waged by any body. Nuremberg!” wrote one Avinder Singh Kapoor.

It is pertinent to note that the entire propaganda about AltNews and its founders being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and being “favourites” to win was an elaborate PR campaign that was summarily debunked. Opindia had reported how Sinha and his sidekick, Mohammed Zubair, were never nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022. The propaganda, that the duo were favorites among shortlisted candidates, was peddled by TIME magazine and then further amplified by NDTV in India. We had already dismissed the claim, pointing out how there is no such thing as an official shortlist and that the names cited by TIME Magazine were simply speculations. It is well known that the media organisation’s ideology is anchored in the global left.

Pakistani singer Abdullah Qureshi leaves music for Islam, actor Hamza Ali Abbasi gets abused for suggesting music not ‘completely haraam’ in Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani singer Abdullah Qureshi leaves music for Islam, actor Hamza Ali Abbasi gets abused for suggesting music not ‘completely haraam’ in Islam

Pakistani singer Abdullah Qureshi took to Instagram on the 6th of October 2022 to announce that he had quit the music industry for Islam. He said in his post that he will only take campaigns henceforth that align with his religious values. Siddiqui wrote, “I know I’ve been lost since a long time and I have received a ton of messages in this time asking about where I have been. i was on a break, pressed the pause button for a while and took this time to find who I was, where I’m headed and who do I want to become.”


He commented, “I had a great time making music, playing at concerts for thousands of people, getting loved and appreciated, facing controversies, making some wrong decisions, spreading some positivity, making some amazing friends, working with people who were my idols, learning from the best and doing what I loved doing.” Sharing how he now believes that the actual purpose of his life is “way bigger than all of this”, Qureshi remarked, “We have very little time in this world to make our afterlife better.”

“Alhamdulillah I’, satisfied with this decision and I’m on my way to find the real truth and I pray that Allah makes this new journey easy for me”, he said in his post. He further vowed only to do campaigns that fall within his “religious fold”.

Before leaving the music industry for Islam as a pious Muslim, Abdullah had in the past issued an apology for his “problematic behaviour” and spoken about his “fetishes”.

It was in 2021 that he had posted an apology on his Instagram account.

Source: BolNews

In this apology, the former singer stated that he is sorry to everyone he has hurt or harmed in any way and requested the removal of anything related to ‘this’ because it has affected his career and is likely to affect his daughter.

His apology read, “I apologise to everyone for all this. I won’t blame my drunken state because it was me at the end of the day. But yes, I did have a drinking problem and I do have fetishes. But everyone has fetishes.”

He essentially apologised for messaging random women, behaving in a problematic fashion and for his “fetishes”. A year on, Qureshi decided to turn to Islam and leave the music industry.

Actor Hamza Ali Abbasi abused for suggesting “music is not completely haraam in Islam”

After singer Abdullah Qureshi announced that he would be quitting the music industry for Islam, Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi took to Twitter to wish him well, but also assert that “music is not completely haraam in Islam”.

In his Twitter bio, Abbasi writes that he is an actor and a “student of Islam”, however, his assertions about what is haraam and what is not in Islam did not go down well with other Muslims. Abbasi was then abused and called out for being un-Islamic and discouraging someone who is taking the right step, as ordained by Islam.

One Twitter user wondered what is “totally haraam” and “little haraam” since it is haraam in Islam if it’s even 1% haraam.

There were many others who told Abbasi that he was not a Mufti and therefore, he should not pronounce judgements about what is haraam in Islam and what is not.

Image source: Bolnews
Imagesource: Bolnews
Image source: BolNews

Abbasi was also accused of legitimising all “haraam things” by one Momina.

Others quoted verses of the Quran to prove Abbasi wrong.

According to website al-Islam.org, Music is haraam in Islam and this position is substantiated by several Quranic verses and Aayats.

Two of the verses that are quoted by the website are as follows:

“So abstain from the pollution of the idols and abstain from false vain words.” (22:30).

The Arabic word “Zoor” has several meanings which include falsehood and the musical expressions. According to Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (a.s.) “pollution of the idols” means Chess and “Vain words” means music.
See how ‘Music’ has been joined in this Ayat with the pollution of idols”, only then you can appreciate the seriousness of the sin of Music.

“And of the people there is he who buys a ‘vain talk’ so that he may lead others astray from the path of Allah without (real) knowledge and takes it (the revelation of Allah) for a mockery for these shall be a disgracing chastisement (punishment).” (31:6).

‘Lahw’ means any thing which diverts the mind from serious thinking. “Vain talk” has been interpreted by the Imam as some talk, sound or thing which diverts the attention of man from the ultimate aim of his creation; in other words makes him forget Allah and His commands. For example fictions romantic stories and such useless talks. “It includes ‘Music’, intoxicants and all such diversions.”1

Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) said: Music is among the things for which Allah has promised the Fire (of Hell). Then he recited the above Aya

Bangladesh: Yet another Hindu temple attacked in the country, head of broken Goddess Kali idol found half a kilometer away

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: Yet another Hindu temple attacked in the country, head of broken Goddess Kali idol found half a kilometer away

In yet another attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, a Kali temple in Dautiya village in Bangladesh’s Jhenaidah district was attacked on Friday, October 7. The Kali idol was found smashed into pieces, with the head of the idol discovered around half a kilometer away from the temple premises. The incident came to the fore just a day after the conclusion of the 10-day-long Durga Puja festival, the biggest celebration for Hindus in Bengal.

The perpetrators behind the attack have not been identified yet, and authorities have launched a manhunt to identify and arrest the suspects. The temple, which has been frequented by Maa Kali devotees since British times, is located in the western part of Bangladesh. General Secretary of Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council, Chandanath Poddar said that the attack took place at the temple during the night, and authorities discovered the shattered idol on Friday morning.

Amit Kumar Burman, assistant superintendent of Jhenaidah police said, “A case has been registered and the suspects are being traced. Barring this incident, this year Durga Puja festival was celebrated peacefully across Bangladesh.”

It is notable that last year, in 2021, Durga Puja celebrations faced a wave of attacks by Islamists. Temples in Chandpur’s Hajiganj, Chattogram’s Banshkhali, Chapainawabganj’s Shibganj, and Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua were brutally attacked with the Hindu devotees being thrashed. At least six people were killed and hundreds were injured as Islamists openly targeted Hindus in the country.

Not the first attack on a Hindu temple in Bangladesh in recent months

This is not the first case of a Hindu temple coming under attack in Bangladesh in recent months. Ahead of Durga Puja in September, unknown vandals smashed the idols at the Kashipur Sarbajanin Durga Temple in Mehendiganj Upazila in Barisal.

Earlier in August, three madrasa students were detained by authorities on August 6 for allegedly damaging Hindu deity statues at the Kainmari temple in Mongla Upazila in Bangladesh. The incident happened after several Muslim youngsters from the madrasa were requested by the temple management to stop playing football on the field next to the temple.

On July 16, it was reported that a Muslim mob vandalized a temple, a grocery shop, and many Hindu homes in the Sahapara region of Lohagara, Narail, merely over a Facebook post.

‘About 50 per cent of Ram Mandir construction work is completed’: UP CM Yogi Adityanath

OpIndia Staff
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‘About 50 per cent of Ram Mandir construction work is completed’: UP CM Yogi Adityanath

On Thursday 6th October 2022, Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister Yogi Adityanath said that over 50% construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya has been completed. According to the temple trust, the Lord Ram idol is likely to be enshrined in the temple’s sanctum sanctorum on Mankar Sankranti Day in 2024, and the temple’s construction, which began in 2020, is anticipated to be finished by the end of 2024. Yogi Adityanath said this while he was speaking at a function organized by Shri Panchkhand Peeth in Jaipur.

Yogi Adityanath said, “I believe in the philosophy of ‘Karmanyevadhikaraste, Maa Phaleshu Kadachana’ (perform your duty but do not have any expectation of the fruits) propounded by Lord Krishna. Dedicated efforts were made to realize the dream of Ram Mandir for which a movement started in 1949. Now, because of these efforts, over 50% of the work of the temple has been completed.”

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath underlined the role of the Shri Panchkhand Peeth in social and religious movements and offered tributes to its former head seer Acharya Dharmendra who passed away recently. He said Acharya Ji always dreamt of a temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi. Yogi Adityanath said, “Mahatma Ramchandra Veer Ji Maharaj and Swami Acharya Dharmendra Ji Maharaj were the ones who contributed selflessly towards the country. The ‘Peeth’ also played a crucial role in ensuring public participation in various campaigns led by the saints for the welfare of the country.”

At Swami Somendra Sharma’s “Chadarposhi” celebration, Yogi Adityanath remarked that Acharya Dharmendra had been connected to Gorakshapeeth for three generations. Notably, Yogi serves as Gorakshapeeth’s chief priest. He said, “Acharya Ji always had a sense of belonging, my deepest respect to him.”

Yogi Adityanath added, “Today, even when Acharya Ji is not present physically, his values, ideals, and contribution remain alive among us all.” The CM of Uttar Pradesh stated that Acharya Ji was revered by the Hindu community since he used to communicate his ideas in an open, logical manner.

Ram Mandir construction in Ayodhya

The construction work on the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya began on August 5, 2020, after the foundation stone laying ceremony by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra (SRJBTK), the authority in charge of Ram Mandir’s operations, is supervising the temple’s construction. Former IAS Nripendra Mishra is the chairman of the construction committee.

Larsen & Toubro is the main contractor for the construction of the temple and the ramparts, while Tata Consulting Engineers has been hired as the project management consultant, while four other engineers four engineers Jagdish Aphale (IIT- Mumbai), Girish Sahastrabhujani (IIT-Mumbai), Jagannathji (from Aurangabad), and Avinash Sangamnerkar (from Nagpur) are also working voluntarily on behalf of the Trust.

The entire project is projected to cost between 900 and 1,000 crores to build and will be spread over 110 acres of land. The temple complex will also include a museum, a research centre, and an archival centre. By December 2023, the temple’s lower floor, which will house the sanctum sanctorum and a Ram Lalla idol, would be ready for worship.

CBI files charge sheet against Lalu Prasad Yadav for cases related to the land-for-job scam

OpIndia Staff
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CBI files charge sheet against Lalu Prasad Yadav for cases related to the land-for-job scam

On Friday 7th October 2022, the central bureau of investigation (CBI) filed a charge sheet against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and former union railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav for cases regarding land-for-job scams. A search operation was conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the residences of senior RJD politicians in Bihar last month in relation to the land-for-jobs scam that allegedly occurred when Prasad was the railway minister.

The residences of several senior leaders of the RJD, including MLC Sunil Singh, Rajya Sabha MPs Ashfaq Karim, and Faiyaz Ahmed, and former MLC Subodh Rai were raided at that time. The RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and their daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav have all been named by the CBI in the matter. 12 other individuals who received employment in the Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur Railway Zones in 2008-2009 are also named in this case.

The land-for-job scandal

On September 23, 2021, the CBI launched a preliminary investigation into the land-for-jobs scandal. The central investigation agency has opened a preliminary investigation into the claim that numerous people were granted railway employment between 2004 and 2009 in return for land. According to CBI authorities, prominent properties in Patna were reportedly sold or handed to the RJD supremo’s family members. The owners of these properties or their relatives secured a railway job in exchange for these properties.

On May 18, 2022, CBI filed a new case of corruption against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and his daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, accusing them of obtaining land plots as bribes from some people who were recruited in the Railways.

Lalu Prasad Yadav convicted in Fodder scam

The RJD patriarch has been convicted in the infamous Fodder Scam, which was unearthed during the 1990s in united Bihar when Jharkhand was still a part of the state. Lalu Prasad was then the serving Chief Minister.  

It was found that excessive withdrawals had been the trend for several years. For example, between the years 1993-96, Rs. 10.5 crores was approved by the government to purchase 5,664 pigs, 40,500 hens, 1,577 goats and 995 sheep. However, the State Department of Animal Husbandry withdrew a whopping Rs 255.33 crore. After factoring in over-expenses, according to the Auditor General’s report, the total fraudulent withdrawals stood at Rs. 409.62 crores. 

The Department of Animal Husbandry had allegedly issued fake bills for large disbursements from government treasuries across districts of undivided Bihar. It should be noted that Lalu Prasad had given himself the additional charge of the state’s Minister of Finance during this time. 

The Auditor General’s comments while preparing the report on financial irregularities drew the imagery which became synonyms for the fodder scam. He commented, “cattle were transported on scooters, police vans, oil tankers and autos”.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot lavishes praises on business tycoon Gautam Adani, long vilified by Congress and Rahul Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot lavishes praises on business tycoon Gautam Adani, long vilified by Congress and Rahul Gandhi

While senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has led the charge against corporate tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, his loyalist and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot invited Gautam Adani to the two-day “Invest Rajasthan Summit”, which began at JECC Campus in Jaipur on Friday and showered praise on the industrialist.

During the summit, when Adani informed that he had invested over Rs 35,000 crore in the state and an investment of another Rs 50,000 crore is under implementation, Congress senior leader Gehlot lauded the business tycoon and referred to him as ‘bhai’.

“Gautam Bhai was speaking about Gujarat. Gujaratis have always been very capable, even pre-independence. It had industrialisation even before independence. Maharashtra-Gujarat has always been economically well off,” Rajasthan CM said, adding, “I’ll speak about Rajasthan. The state faced drought and famine for centuries. There used to be migration. Gautam Bhai, one should appreciate the courage of Rajasthanis. Your state was in good condition, now we hear Gautam Adani is among the top two richest people in the world.”

Given Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of Adani, BJP was quick to point out Congress’ hypocrisy, and BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya warned that a rebellion is building inside Gandhi’s ranks.

“In another sign of revolt and brewing discontent against the Gandhis, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot invites Gautam Adani for the investor summit. He is given a seat right next to the CM. This is an open message to Rahul Gandhi, who doesn’t tire berating Adani-Ambani, to back off…,” Tweeted Amit Malviya.

‘The country is being run by crony capitalists’: Rahul Gandhi’s persistent tirade against Ambanis and Adanis

In his speeches, Rahul Gandhi has often made Adani-Ambani jibes, alleging that they both run the country. In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the former Congress president accused PM Modi of helping his ‘two friends’, Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Continuing his tirade against the top industrialist, Rahul Gandhi, last month, during his interaction with the media in Ernakulam in Kerala as part of his ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra insulted a female journalist from NDTV because the controversial media house is being acquired by the Adani group. 

Rahul Gandhi had said that only 2-3-4 big industrialists can do anything they want, like running ports and airports, working on agriculture, building silos, and other people don’t get any help from banks and the government.

Last year in December too, while addressing the gathering during a rally organized by Congress in Jaipur, Rahul Gandhi had said, “Airports, coal mines, supermarkets, wherever you see, only two people are visible. Adani Ji and Ambani Ji.” Interestingly, as reports emerged that the Rajasthan government had given land to Adani Group for the solar plant, Rahul Gandhi’s speeches against Adani started making rounds on social media platforms.

While the Rajasthan-led Congress government has invited Gautam Adani to the investment summit, Rahul Gandhi attacked the Adani group Chairman only last month, asking, “Who gives him money to develop businesses?”

Adani’s investments in Rajasthan

Gautam Adani addressed the “Invest Rajasthan Summit” and in his speech, he informed about the investment by the Adani group in Rajasthan. He said, “It is a privilege to be attending this Summit and have this opportunity to talk about the existing presence and future plans of the Adani Group in this magnificent Land of Kings. Sitting next door in Gujarat, I am privileged to have a ringside view of Rajasthan’s social upliftment and the state’s economic growth.”

Gautam Adani added, “The Adani Group has already invested over Rs 35,000 Cr across multiple industrial sectors in the state of Rajasthan. Combining all ongoing and future investments, we anticipate investing an additional Rs 65,000 Cr in Rajasthan over the next 5 to 7 years and creating over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Adani Group is also making one of the world’s largest bets on Energy Transition. We are betting on green hydrogen, given our ability to generate the most inexpensive solar and wind power.

UP: Hindu girl commits suicide alleging police inaction against her abductor and rapist Arshad, who was already in an affair with her aunt

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Hindu girl commits suicide alleging police inaction against her abductor and rapist Arshad, who was already in an affair with her aunt

A minor gang-rape victim has committed suicide by hanging herself in Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. The victim’s family has alleged that the girl took the extreme step after Ambedkar Nagar police refused to take action against the accused in the case. It has also come to light that Arshad, an accused in the case, was having an affair with the victim’s aunt Meera.

The victim was a student in the eighth standard. The accused Arshad kidnapped her on 16th September 2022 and raped her for two days. The family has alleged that their daughter committed suicide because police refused to file a case against the accused. The girl committed suicide on 4th October 2022. The incident took place in a village under the Malipur police station area of Ambedkar Nagar.

The accused Arshad was already having an affair with the victim’s aunt Meera when he allegedly kidnapped the minor girl along with others and gang-raped her. Social media users have highlighted communal motivation in the crime, citing the Islamist belief of raping the infidels to attain Jannat. Incidents in the recent past have been a testimony to this.

According to reports, the 15-year-old student was kidnapped on September 16, 2022. The family members had lodged a case of kidnapping at the police station. On September 18, the victim reached her home and told the family that she was gang-raped at a hotel in Lucknow. After this, the family members reached the police station with the victim and they filed a case of gang rape. But according to the family, the police started pressuring them to suppress the case.

The victim was in shock since she returned home. The victim had told the police, “On September 16, I was coming back home from school. But about 1 km away from home, I saw a woman from the village and a man named Arshad. Then some masked men got down from a car on the spot and forced me into the car. The woman and Arshad were also at the spot at the time of the incident.”

The victim further said, “After this, these people took me to a hotel in Lucknow and raped me there. They were telling me that if I make noise, they will kill me there. I was locked up in a room for two days. For two days, I was confined to that room without food or water. On September 18, I somehow ran home from Lucknow after getting a chance. When I reached home, I gave all the information to the family members.”

The victim’s parents had gone to Durga Puja when the minor committed suicide by hanging herself on the night of October 4, 2022. Tension prevailed in the village after the minor’s suicide. The family says that their daughter has lost her life due to the negligence of the police and that the administration should take action against the accused negligent policemen and arrest the accused as soon as possible.

The victim’s father said that his daughter was in shock after this incident, due to which she ended her life. He said, “The police and administration did not pay attention to the case. The girl had stated that she would end her life if the case was not taken seriously.” In this case, SP Ajit Kumar Sinha has transferred the SO to police lines and suspended the sub-inspector.

It is notable that, the case went viral after the victim committed suicide. While the locals were enraged by the incident, questions are now being raised about the police. In defence, the police have said that they had sent the victim for medical examination after receiving the complaint. A case was also registered against 2 people on the complaint of the family. The whole matter is now being investigated.

Ambedkar Nagar Superintendent of Police Ajit Kumar Sinha said, “On September 16, we received a complaint by the victim’s family and registered a case under Section 363 (kidnapping) and 364 of the Indian Penal Code. After the victim returned home, her medical examination was conducted and her statement was recorded under section 164. In her statement, she said that two unidentified people raped her. Then the sections of gangrape and those of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were added to the FIR.”

Mathrubhumi News issues a public apology to RSS for a defamatory and factually incorrect article published in 2011

OpIndia Staff
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Mathrubhumi News issues a public apology to RSS for a defamatory and factually incorrect article published in 2011

The Malayalam News channel Mathurubhumi News issued a public apology to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in its issue on October 9, 2022, for a defamatory and misleading article written and published by Mathrubhoomi weekly in the year 2011 against the Sangh.

The apology came after the Malayalam news agency lost a legal battle in the Supreme Court, which dismissed its case and transferred it back to the Ernakulam Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.

The Malayalam News agency was for the last 11 years fighting a legal battle against a defamation suit filed by RSS for publishing an article that was allegedly defamatory towards the organisation.

The Mathrabhumi editor’s apology came in response to the article with the cover page title “Bheekarathude Virus” (Virus of Terrorism). It was part of a series of five articles written and published from February 27, 2011, to March 2011, titled “Will RSS Terrorism Swallow India ?” The article was authored by Badri Reyna.

Apology carried in Mathrubhumi weekly (source: Twitter handle @vskjaipur)

The details of the legal battle between Mathrubhumi and RSS

The lawsuit was filed against Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly based on a complaint filed by the RSS’s Kerala State Secretary in 2013, alleging offences punishable under Sections 120B, 153A, 500, and 34 of the IPC.

The complainant alleged that the article written and published by Mathrubhumi weekly contained defamatory and deceptive imputations, harming RSS’s public reputation.

The defamation case filed by then-RSS Prath Karyavah P Gopalankutty Master was heard in the Ernakulam Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.

On March 19, 2013, Magistrate Court Adv KK Baralaram issued a legal notice to Mathrubhumi, pointing out that its report was factually incorrect. It claimed that the Mathrubhumi article was based on a statement submitted before the Panchkula Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Haryana by RSS activist Swami Aseemanand, who was allegedly pressured by the erstwhile UPA government to deliver false testimony in order to defame the RSS.

The notice further read that Swami Aseemanand was acquitted by the court in 2019 after it was discovered that the statement he was forced to sign was false.

It may be recalled that in the Samjhauta Express blast case, though LeT was initially blamed and a Pakistani national Asif Qasmani was named as the main accused, the proceedings of the case took a surprising turn when RSS activists Swami Aseemanand and others were blamed. After an expose by Times Now claimed that the UPA government might have let the Pakistani suspects go and pinned the blame on RSS, the BJP had stated that it was another attempt by the then UPA government to further their Hindu-terror agenda.

Mathrubhumi’s initial explanation to the RSS legal notice was that the article was written by Badri Reyna based on his studies and research. The Malayalam news channel then approached the Kerala High Court with an appeal to dismiss the case, claiming that the RSS State Secretary did not have locus standi (right) to represent the organisation.

However, the Kerala High Court rejecting the plea, ruled in January this year that because the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a definite and identifiable body, its members have the locus standi (right) to file a defamation complaint.

In March 2022, Mathrubhumi approached the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court verdict, but the Supreme court bench comprising Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Aniruddha Bose had in its March 25 order refused to entertain a petition challenging a Kerala High Court order.

“Having heard learned counsel for the petitioner and on perusal of the record, we do not find any reason to entertain this petition under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. The petition seeking special leave to appeal is, accordingly, dismissed,” the apex court said.

Upholding the verdict of the Kerala HC, the Supreme Court ordered to continue the case in the trial court. Accordingly, the case continued in the Ernakulam Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.

Meanwhile, after 11 years of legal battle, Mathrubhumi has now published an apology accepting that the article was factually incorrect.

Altnews’ Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair were never even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize: Details of the PR Hoax

OpIndia Staff
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Altnews’ Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair were never even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize: Details of the PR Hoax

Only hours after the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the name of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Times Now exposed a massive public relations (PR) hoax by revealing how AltNews’ Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha were never Nobel Peace Prize favourites, a claim that OpIndia had already debunked.

Earlier in the day, Human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights group Center for Civil Liberties were declared the joint winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to document human rights abuses.

Prior to the announcement of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, it was widely reported that Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha, founders of the fake news factory that calls itself the “fact-checking” website Alt News were among the list of prospective winners for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The propaganda was peddled after TIME magazine listed some of the shortlisted candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 that included the names of Alt News Pratik Sinha and Zubair. 

Times Now has, however, debunked this claim and revealed how this circulating rumour about Mohammad Zubair and Pratik Sinha being among the shortlisted candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 was nothing but a PR hoax.

It is worth noting that OpIndia had already dismissed the claim, pointing out how there is no such thing as an official list from which the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, and that the names cited by TIME Magazine were simply speculations made by a media organisation whose ideology is anchored in the global left.

Now, Times Now has also exposed how the names of the duo that was circulated in a Time magazine article were part of the “biggest Nobel PR con job.”

Times Now writes to the Norwegian Nobel Committee which denies that there was any shortlist of candidates

In order to determine whether there was any factual basis for Time Magazine to name Zubair and Pratik as contenders for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, Times Now wrote to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which categorically denied that there was any shortlist of candidates.

In an email response to Times Now, the Nobel Committee emphasised that it does not provide the names of nominees to the media or the contenders themselves. Furthermore, for the next 50 years, the Committee will not reveal such nomination-related data.

The Committee further emphasised in its statement that these advanced hypotheses are the result of pure speculation.

Notably, nominees for the Nobel Prize in any category cannot be revealed until fifty years have passed. That is part of the reward committee’s rule. “Neither the names of nominators nor of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize may be divulged until 50 years have elapsed,” says the official website of the Nobel Prize.

Times Now further pointed out how Time magazine had cited to three sources in its report on nominees: a Reuters survey, which did not include Pratik and Zubair’s names; bookmakers’ odds, which also did not include the duo; and the PRIO director’s list.’

Zubair and Pratik’s names appeared solely on the director of the Oslo Peace Research Institute’s personal list. For the record, the director has no say in who is nominated or who wins.

Henrik Urdal, the director, only mentioned Zubair and Pratik as “other worthy contestants” in passing. Their names were not even on the PRIO director’s list of five recommendations.

TIME magazine’s list of the shortlisted candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 included names of Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha

It may be recalled that TIME Magazine had placed Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha, founders of the fake news factory that calls itself the “fact-checking” website Alt News, among the list of prospective winners for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, WHO, David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg, Alexey Navalny among others.

Mohammad Zubair is the man responsible for unleashing the wave of Islamist violence in India that resulted in the death of at least 6 Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati. These brutal deaths were a direct fallout of Mohammed Zubair’s dangerous dog-whistling against ex-BJP leader Nupur Sharma, which instigated Islamists, who then went on to kill the Hindus who came out in support of the BJP leader. Not only this, Zubair was arrested in June for hurting religious sentiments, destroying evidence, and other charges majorly belonged to Pakistan, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and other middle-east nations.

Considering all these facts are in the public domain, it is incredibly ironic that the Times Magazine included his name on a list of qualified contenders for the Nobel Peace Prize 2022.

While making a case for their win, Time Magazine described Sinha and Zubair as crusaders battling misinformation online, conveniently missing out and pointing out occasions when the two were caught red-handed spreading fake news and falsehoods. 

“Journalists Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair, co-founders of Indian fact-checking website AltNews, have relentlessly been battling misinformation in India, where the Hindu nationalist BJP party has been accused of frequently stoking discrimination against Muslims,” read the article in TIME Magazine, dressing up pro-Congress propagandists as ‘journalists’ and revealing the organisation’s penchant for vilifying the democratically elected government of India, besides scaremongering over the imaginary institutional “discrimination” against Muslims. 

As Time’s report authored by Sanya Mansoor got published, several leftist Indian media houses like The News Minute, Outlook India, NDTV, The Wire, The Pioneer etc as well as the liberal cabal jumped to the front to announce that the duo got “nominated” for the Nobel Peace Prize or at least suggested that they are indeed in the race.

OpIndia had, however, debunked the claim by pointing out how there is no such thing as an official list from which the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, and that the names cited by TIME Magazine were simply speculations made by a media organisation whose ideology is anchored in the global left. But cheerleaders of Zubair and Sinha, who extol them for “fact-checking”, could not distinguish between a shortlist and a speculative list by a media organisation.

Reuters journalist blames Indian Hindus for Islamist violence against Hindus in Leicester; Scroll amplifies the fake narrative

Dibakar Dutta
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Reuters journalist blames Indian Hindus for Islamist violence against Hindus in Leicester; Scroll amplifies the fake narrative

On Tuesday (October 4), Reuters journalist Rina Chandran blamed the Indian Hindus for violence perpetrated by radical Islamists in Leicester against the Hindu community.

In a propaganda piece published in ‘Context’ (a media platform run by Thomas Reuters Foundation), Chandran alleged that disinformation, which supposedly originated in India, was the cause of Hindu-Muslim unrest in Leicester city in England’s East Midlands region.

“It was a social media storm – mostly cooked up a continent away – that materialised in real life in Leicester, where police made almost 50 arrests and a community was left in tatters,” she alleged.

Rina Chandran
Screengrab of the article by Rina Chandran

“Rumour had it that a Muslim girl had been kidnapped and a Hindu temple had sent masked thugs into combat,” she wrote, without mentioning that both these rumours were conceived in Leicester and disseminated by the Islamists living there.

Opindia reported how Islamists had blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) for supposedly trying to kidnap a 15-year-old Muslim girl. A Hindu man was dubbed as a paedophile and his address was leaked on Facebook, as part of the onslaught. Later, it turned out to be fake news.

“Add in local fury over an India-Pakistan cricket match, and Hindu and Muslim men were soon fighting on the streets of central England,” Rina Chandran resorted to false balance despite the fact that it was only the Hindu community that has been at the receiving end of violence.

The ‘brown sepoy’ shrewdly pointed out the fake stories without specifying the group that spread it in the first place. For the fake abduction story of a Muslim girl, she conceded that it was debunked by the police without mentioning that Islamists deliberately spread it to create a foundation for violence against Hindus.

“…Police took to social media themselves, saying they had fully investigated reports of three men approaching a teenaged girl in an attempted kidnap, and found no truth whatsoever to the online story,” she had written.

Opindia had also reported how Islamists tried to mainstream the conspiracy theory that ‘truckloads of RSS workers’ were brought to Leicester by a travel agency named ‘Angel Tours’, with the support of a local Hindu temple.

“Fact-checkers also found no truth to claims that gangs of masked thugs were bussed into Leicester,” Rina Chandran wrote, again without mentioning the community that was at the helm of this fake news.

Bizarre fact checks

She then relied on ‘experts’ who claimed that disinformation that supposedly led to the unrest in Leicester came from India. “Some 80% of tweets with geographic coordinates, or geo-tagged information, were connected to India, Logically said,” the Reuters journalist wrote.

Logically’s claim that ‘fake news’ was manufactured in India was based on the fact that the majority of the tweets about Leicester violence originated from India.

“The ratio of tweets geo-tagged to the UK versus those geo-tagged to India was remarkably high for what, ostensibly, was a domestic incident. The involvement of high-profile figures in India setting the discourse was a key element,” a spokesperson claimed.

BBC made a similar claim based on Indians posting tweets with hashtags such as #Leicester, #HindusUnderAttack and #HindusUnderattackinUK

Given that the Hindu population in India is close to a billion and that the community was concerned about the atrocities committed by Islamists in far-off Leicester, it explains why most tweets demanding justice for Hindus were from India.

A Hindu temple was indeed desecrated by an Islamist, a fact testified by the police and conceded by a Muslim journalist. This however did not Rina Chandran from claiming, “Many of the misleading posts alleging that Hindus and Hindu sites were being attacked came from India, the analysis showed.”

The brown sepoy then went a step ahead and blamed the ruling BJP government for events that unfolded in Leicester in England. “Some commentators and rights groups say India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has a hand in the social-media warfare that targets religious and ethnic minorities,” she wrote.

Screengrab of the scroll article

Nonetheless, the left-propagandist website Scroll republished her article and further amplified her propaganda piece among its Indian reader base.

Rina Chandran and her contentious views

The Reuters journalist then cited Thenmozhi Soundararajan of Equality Labs and dubious ‘fact-checkers’ such as Pratik Sinha to further her claims.

None of this is surprising, however, given that Rina Chandran has a history of peddling fake news. For years now, Chandran has been using social media platforms to vilify Hindus and make false allegations against them. In April this year, Chandran resorted to scaremongering and spreading fake news alleging that Hindu goons in India were destroying Muslim livelihoods, but without providing any evidence to prove her claims.

Rina Chandran
Source: Twitter

On one occasion, she has also equated Hindus with white supremacists, underscoring her hatred for the followers of one of the oldest and most composite faiths in the world.

Rina Chandran
Screengrab of the tweet

Rina Chandran is not new to drawing false equivalence or defaming Hinduism at a global level, based on her skewed understanding of faith. She has also cast aspersions on Indian democracy and the autonomy of its institutions through her tweets. And these credentials made her a worthy candidate for leftist rag Scroll to piggyback on the claims made by her and peddle the false narrative that Hindus in India are responsible for the havoc wreaked by Islamists in Leicester.

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