Home Blog Page 2897

Karnataka: Omkareshwara Temple priest who said he had converted to Islam retracts, returns to Hinduism after undertaking “purification”

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Karnataka: Omkareshwara Temple priest who said he had converted to Islam retracts, returns to Hinduism after undertaking “purification”

HR Chandrashekaraiah, the priest at Omkareshwara Temple in Hirehalli village, 60 KM from Bengaluru, has recanted from his earlier stance where he said he had willingly converted to Islam.

The move came a day after he had issued an advertisement on Friday last week saying that he was converting to Islam, sending senior political leaders and seers into a tizzy. On Saturday, two days after he announced embracing Islam, the priest retracted his statement and affirmed that he will continue to remain a Hindu. 

On Friday last week, Chandrashekaraiah announced converting to Islam through a notification in a local daily, citing personal problems as the reason for his conversion. The priest said he had been rechristened Mubarak Pasha and photographs of him wearing a skull cap and praying in a masjid soon went viral on the internet. 

Speaking to the Times of India about what spurred him toward conversion, Chandrashekaraiah’s friend Rudra Aradhya said, “He was distraught with his two younger brothers following a dispute over the priesthood of the temple as well as property matters.”

Aradhya said Chandrashekaraih’s brothers had asked the priest to give them the priesthood for some years and he did so four years ago. However, now Chandrashekaraiah’s nephew is the priest. He wanted to teach his brothers a lesson, who had taken away his priesthood of the temple built by his father, Aradhya said. 

Nevertheless, the news of a Hindu priest converting to Islam sent shockwaves in the political circles, with many leaders reacting and weighing in on the development. Following the news, BJP leader and former minister Sogadu Shivanna met the priest at his house in Hirehalli and tried to persuade him to withdraw his stand. 

After having long discussions with Shivanna, Chandrashekaraiah said, “I liked the special way in which Muslims conduct funerals, and hence wanted to become a Muslim. I had given the notification to a local newspaper, but I have not converted to Islam.”

“I am a Hindu and will remain a Hindu,” the Omkareshwara Temple priest said. When asked about the pictures in which he was seen wearing a skull cap and scarf in front of a mosque, the Hindu seer said, “I had gone to attend the inauguration of a new masjid at Thovinakere.”

Shivanna reportedly counselled him and requested him to reconsider his decision, following which he took him to Vyasaraja Matha in Tumakuru to purify him. “Sogadu Shivanna had discussions with and took me to a seer to purify me. I will once again take the Lingayat ‘deekshe’,” the Omkareshwara temple priest said.

Talking to the media, Shivanna said the matter was an internal family dispute as Chandrashekaraiah was upset with the conflicts over priesthood and property with his siblings.

Rajasthan: Police threatens News18 state bureau chief over Alwar temple demolition coverage case

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Rajasthan: Police threatens News18 state bureau chief over Alwar temple demolition coverage case

In a recent development, Rajasthan Police is threatening News18 state bureau chief Bhawani Singh in the Alwar temple demolition coverage case. As per a report by News18, Dungarpur Police reached the residence of News18 Rajasthan bureau chief Bhawani Singh without any warrant or complaint. In the report, News18 stated that Singh is being targeted and harassed to create pressure on the journalist and the news agency.

This comes after multiple FIRs were filed against News18 anchor Aman Chopra at the Bundi police station in Rajasthan and the Bichhiwada police station in Dungarpur in April this year. Aman Chopra highlighted the anti-encroachment drive in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri during his program on the demolition of temples in Alwar and asked if the action in Alwar was a reaction to the drive in Jahangirpuri.

Following the broadcast, a concerted hashtag was launched on social media demanding authorities arrest Chopra for attempting to link the two drives, prompting authorities to file charges against him. Apart from inciting communal conflict and planning to provoke violence, Chopra was charged with sedition by the Rajasthan Police.

On May 7, despite the Rajasthan High Court staying the FIRs and prohibiting police from taking any coercive action against Aman Chopra, at least ten Rajasthan police officials gathered outside his home in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida to arrest him for his coverage of temple demolitions in Alwar on his TV debate show. The journalist’s arrest was urged by Congress party members and a few Congress-aligned journalists.

Chopra has also been criticized in the past for taking bold stands on challenging topics. Shadab Chauhan, the chief spokesperson of the Peace Party, also threatened Aman Chopra with dire consequences in January after he weighed in on the threat received by journalist Ashok Shrivastav from Arun Rajbhar, the National General Secretary of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party.

Russia: Arrested ISIS terrorist was planning an attack on a member of ‘ruling circle in India’, was recruited as a suicide bomber in Turkey

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Russia: Arrested ISIS terrorist was planning an attack on a member of ‘ruling circle in India’, was recruited as a suicide bomber in Turkey

The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia Monday nabbed an ISIS suicide bomber who was planning a high profile terrorist attack against “one of the representatives of the ruling circle of India”.

“The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in Russia identified and detained a member of the international terrorist organization Islamic State banned in Russia, a native of a country in the Central Asian region, who planned to commit a terrorist act by self-detonation against one of the representatives of the ruling circles of India,” the FSB statement read.

It also confirmed that the detained terrorist was recruited by one of the ISIS leaders as a suicide bomber in Turkey. He, as per the statement, visited Turkey from April to June.

Russian authorities have also released a short video of the unnamed terrorist.

“They processed it remotely using Telegram and at personal meetings in Istanbul. As a result, the terrorist took an oath of allegiance to the Amir of IS. After that, he was given the task of leaving for Russia, completing the necessary documents and flying to India to commit a high-profile terrorist act,” the FSB added.

ISIS threatens Hindus and Sikhs over Nupur Sharma’s comments on Prophet Muhammad, 10-minute video features PM Modi too

Notably, amidst the death threats issued to Nupur Sharma over her remarks on Prophet Muhammad, the terror outfit Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) had released a 10-minute video about India and the ex-BJP spokesperson in June this year. Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is an affiliate of ISIS that functions in South East Asia and Central Asia.

In the video titled, ‘The polytheists are the brothers of the polytheists’, the Islamic terror organisation has threatened to attack Hindus over the ongoing blasphemy row and demolition of a part of a mosque in the Jahangirpuri area of Delhi.

The terror organisation had also threatened to conduct attacks against India wherever possible. 

The disturbing video also threatened to carry out attacks on Sikhs. It then featured PM Narendra Modi and the attacks on Sikhs in Afghanistan followed by animations of a suicide bombing. Ending with a message to conduct attacks very soon.

How Congress silently appointed a congress worker accused of sexual harassment as Jammu & Kashmir Youth President, after “removing him” from party in 2018

OpIndia Staff
-
0
How Congress silently appointed a congress worker accused of sexual harassment as Jammu & Kashmir Youth President, after “removing him” from party in 2018

In April this year, the Congress party quietly appointed Fairoz Khan, a MeToo accused, as State Working President of Pradesh Youth Congress Jammu and Kashmir. Khan had quit as the president of the National Students’ Union of India after sexual harassment accusations surfaced against him in 2018.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi approved the appointment of Fairoz Khan as the new State Working President of Youth Congress Jammu and Kashmir. This decision was announced on April 12, 2022, by Srinivas BV, National President of the Indian Youth Congress.

Appointment of MeToo accused Fairoz Khan was announced on April 12, 2022, by Srinivas BV, National President of the Indian Youth Congress.

Not only this, but recently, with the much-awaited Jammu and Kashmir election round the corner, the Congress party also inducted Fairoz Khan into the Jammu and Kashmir Campaign Committee. The campaign committee comprises 11 leaders with the PCC president and working president being its permanent invitees.

Fairoz Khan inducted in the All India Congress Jammu and Kashmir Campaign Committee

Interestingly, Fairoz Khan was the former president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). He had been sworn in as the president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) on 22 June 2017. Khan, however, resigned as NSUI president in 2018 after he was accused of sexually harassing his party colleague. On October 16, 2018, Rahul Gandhi, the then Congress party president, accepted Khan’s resignation after he was accused of sexual harassment.  

NSUI president Fairoz Khan accused of seeking sexual favours for political posts

Notably, in 2018, when #MeToo had gained momentum in India, a party worker from Chhattisgarh had alleged that Khan had sexually harassed her, as well her sister and some other women activists of the Congress students’ wing.

The woman had said that Khan “used to sexually harass young women” for political appointments in the NSUI.

The victim met the then Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders in June that year and filed a complaint against Khan.

Then in September of that year, she lodged a police complaint against Fairoz Khan at the Parliament Street police station in New Delhi.

Subsequently, the Congress party, which was under pressure to take demonstrative action against Khan in the wake of #MeToo campaign, formed a three-person committee to investigate the matter.

BJP leader Amit Malviya, on the other hand, took to Twitter to share a copy of the letter the victim wrote to the SHO of Parliament Street PS in September of that year, in which she claimed that the Congress party had formed an investigation panel for ‘namesake’ and in reality had been shielding the accused. She claimed that it had been more than 80 days since she informed Congress about Khan, but no action had been taken against him. She also asked for protection because she was concerned for her and her family’s safety.

The complainant in her letter mentioned that “The National President has not only mentally tortured me to compromise but he has also mentally tortured my younger sister to come to his room. He has also asked my friend to meet him at his private residence at night. There are many other young female activists who also faced the same but they have refrained from coming out publicly so that no other girl is molested or mentally tortured.” 

The committee Congress subsequently formed to investigate the issue comprised of the then All India Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev, Lok Sabha member Deepender Hooda and the party’s national media panellist Ragini Nayak to investigate the complaint. Until December 2018, the news kept doing the rounds that the panel is yet to submit its report. After that, there was no news whatsoever about any investigation that the panel carried out against Fairoz Khan.

Merely weeks later after the accusation surfaced, Khan was seen on the posters of a ‘Girls’ Convention’ held in Indore. Pictures (which took Twitter by the storm) of him posing with the heavyweights of the Congress party- Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi also surfaced questioning his closeness to the party’s top leadership. Twitterati lashed out shaming the then-party president, Rahul Gandhi who constantly sings the song of women empowerment but shamelessly associates with people accused of sexual harassment.

In October 2018, a letter also surfaced addressed to party president Rahul Gandhi demanding that he take urgent action against NSUI President Fairoz Khan and also explain the sham investigation regarding allegations against Chirag Patnaik who was involved with the party’s IT cell.

Khan, on his part, denied the allegations but stated that he was willing to resign in order to protect the party’s reputation. Rahul Gandhi, owing to all the external pressure exerted on him and his party, accepted Khan’s resignation on October 16, 2018.

Now, after nearly three and a half years of silence, when people had almost forgotten about Fairoz Khan and the controversy surrounding him, the party quietly inducted Khan as the new State Working President of the Youth Congress Jammu and Kashmir. According to reports, Khan’s appointment was approved by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

Delhi: Woman given a spiked cold drink and raped by her friend Yusuf, blackmailed and raped for months over the video of the incident

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi: Woman given a spiked cold drink and raped by her friend Yusuf, blackmailed and raped for months over the video of the incident

A grim case of a rape shot on video and blackmail has come to the fore in India’s capital, New Delhi. The perpetrator, Sameer alias Yusuf, according to the victim, raped her after mixing sedatives in her cold drink and shot the video of the incident, which he used to blackmail her for raping her for the next few months.

According to the police complaint filed by the victim, she met Sameer alias Yusuf, a resident of Delhi, through Instagram in 2018. The woman used to work at a nursing home. The duo met and became friends. A few days later, the man took her to his flat, offered her a spiked cold drink and raped her. He also filmed the incident and blackmailed the woman into having a sexual relationship with him.

The rape continued for months, during which the woman’s family fixed her marriage. When the culprit came to know about the woman’s engagement, he shared the video of the rape with her fiancee, who called off their engagement.

Stressed about her broken engagement, the woman finally decided to bring the perpetrator to justice. She approached the police to file a complaint of rape and blackmail against Sameer alias Yusuf. The police have lodged a case and initiated a probe in the matter. The accused, Yusuf, has since gone missing, and the police have launched a search operation to arrest him.

Using drugs to sedate quarries has become the go-to modus operandi of rapists who spike drinks of their prey to induce them into a state of dizziness and then commit their nefarious deed. A similar case of rape was reported in October 2016, when a man raped his woman friend after offering her a spiked drink.

According to the woman, her friend, identified as Robin, raped her in a moving car when they were on their way to Mahipalpur after the accused offered to show her the place of his birthday celebrations.

Karnataka: BJP puts up posters of Veer Savarkar at Congress office in Vijayapura, police takes them down after Congress leaders complain

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Karnataka: BJP puts up posters of Veer Savarkar at Congress office in Vijayapura, police takes them down after Congress leaders complain

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pasted posters of Veer Savarkar at the Congress’ party office in Vijayapura, Karnataka. The posters were placed on the walls of the Congress regional head office in the district of Vijaypura overnight. Following a protest from local Congress leaders, the police ultimately took down the posters.

Basavaraj Hoogara, BJP district youth president, admitted pasting posters of Veer Savarkar at the Congress office. Hoogara said, “Our workers and I did it. There is no doubt about that. In Hubli, Congress workers burnt the photos of Savarkar. We should talk about that. Congress is stirring up issues again and again.”

“Putting up posters is not worse than burning them as they did. Congress is trying to use Savarkar for their publicity. Respect him, read about his history,” he further added.

The issue over the posters erupted after a group of Muslim youth pulled a flex banner featuring Veer Savarkar on Independence Day in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka. As part of the Independence Day festivities, Savarkar’s poster was displayed, and Muslim youths attempted to replace it with one of the Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan. The incident occurred at the Ameer Ahmed circle in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district.

Following the event, there was communal tension in the region, and police enforced Section 144. Unidentified miscreants also stabbed two men, Praveen Singh and Prem Singh, in two different locations across the city. On his way home from Gandhi Bazar after closing his business, the former was stabbed in Ashok Nagar by bike-borne men, while another youth was stabbed in Upparakeri. The Karnataka Home Minister suspected a link between the stabbings and the poster row.

On August 16, former Karnataka chief minister and Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah offered an unusual explanation for the communal unrest that erupted in the Shivamogga district last Monday. The Congress leader stated that displaying Savarkar’s photograph in a “Muslim area” was to blame for the communal uproar. “Why did they put Savarakar’s photo in a Muslim area and removed Tipu Sultan’s portrait?” Siddaramaiah said.

Karnataka Congress puts up posters of Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan in Bengaluru to celebrate 75 years of Indian Independence

On August 14, the Karnataka Congress placed posters of the Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan around Bengaluru’s Hudson Circle and other locations to commemorate 75 years of Indian independence.

According to various reports, the posters were later reportedly defaced by some people. The Karnataka Congress had put up posters of Tipu along with several freedom fighters across Bengaluru.

The Congress party condemned the damage done to the posters by unknown individuals. State President DK Shivkumar linked Tipu SUltan to the party’s freedom march and said that some people are having difficulty digesting the Congress party’s “Freedom March.” “Someone is trying to create disturbance in the state. They are not able to digest Congress’ Freedom March,” Shivakumar said.

Delhi Excise Policy scam: CBI probes ‘toolkit module’, finds prima facie evidence of financial wrongdoings, comedians represented by OML also on radar

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi Excise Policy scam: CBI probes ‘toolkit module’, finds prima facie evidence of financial wrongdoings, comedians represented by OML also on radar

Days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a First Information Report (FIR) against 15 people in connection to the Delhi Excise Policy scam, officials of the central agency are now investigating ‘toolkit modules’ that might have been used to stir positive response for the Delhi government’s liquor policy.

As per reports, the CBI has unearthed a maze of corporate companies, with similar addresses in Mumbai and connected to the ongoing liquor licensing scam in Delhi. Officials privy to the matter informed that there was prima-facie evidence of non-disclosure of material information under the Companies Act and financial wrongdoings.

The central agency is probing foreign remittances, and international travels of over 50 different people including social media influencers, businessmen, comic artists and entertainers. These entertainers were represented by Vijay Nair’s Only Much Louder (OML)

Financial dealings in cryptocurrencies and shares by Hyderabad-based individuals and companies, that obtained licences to sell liquor in Delhi, are also being investigated. Opindia had earlier reported how the former CEO of Only Much Louder, Vijay Nair, had been closely associated with the Aam Aadmi party.

He was accused of being “actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy of GNCTD of Delhi for the year 2021-22.”

Toolkits have been in existence since farmer protests

The monicker ‘Toolkit’ which has become a shorthand for coercive action, targeting or instigating an online lynch-mob to threaten a person or institution was first popularised by infamous global climate activist Greta Thunberg. She had inadvertently revealed the sinister global campaign against India after she shared a ‘Toolkit’ in a tweet during the Farmer’s protests in India in 2021.

The document shared by Greta Thunberg listed a series of actions that people across the world could take to pressurise the Indian Government over the cause of agitating Farmers. Earlier, celebrities and politicians including Rihanna, Greta Thunberg, Mia Khalifa and Canadian MP Jagmeet and others had come forward in support of the farmer protests. But the document shared by Greta had made it clear that it is part of a larger conspiracy to cause unrest in India.

Later, in May 2021, A new Congress toolkit was circulating on social media that contained ways to craft a deliberate narrative to paint the Kumbh Mela as a “super-spreader” event for coronavirus while maintaining a carefully crafted silence over massive Eid gatherings.

The toolkit asked to “Collaborate in advance with friendly journalists on social media to immediately amplify these messages,” directed to its workers. Recently, India witnessed a systematic effort to internationalise the Nupur Sharma saga and damage ties with Arab nations.

Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia claims BJP offered him to join party, abandon AAP: Did he fall for a prank?

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia claims BJP offered him to join party, abandon AAP: Did he fall for a prank?

Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, has likely fallen for a prank by a popular Instagram user who had sent him a message last evening posing as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker. The user messaged the AAP leader that he has a message from Amit Shah and that if Sisodia joins BJP, he will be relieved of all the cases against him.

On Monday, Sisodia, creating a new fuss, claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has offered him to join the party and abandon the Aam Aadmi Party, which will result in the dismissal of all cases filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The screenshot of the message was shared on Twitter by another popular Twitter user Facts (@BefittingFacts)

In the tweet, Manish Sisodia wrote that the BJP has sent him a message that if he breaks up AAP and joins BJP, all CBI and ED cases against him will be dropped. He claimed he is a descendant of Maharana Pratap and a Rajput and he will behead himself but not bow before ‘corrupt-conspirators’.

The tweet by Manish Sisodia.

It is worth noting that the CBI has raided the deputy CM in a case involving irregularities and corruption in Delhi’s liquor policy, which was implemented earlier this year and subsequently reversed. On Friday, August 19, 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked 15 people, including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in an FIR. Along with Manish Sisodia and Excise officials, the CBI has implicated many other private individuals as suspects in the fraud.

BJP leader Kapil Mishra has slammed Sisodia for his recent statement.

Mishra said how all his life the likes of Sisodia have worshipped Aurangzeb and now flaunting Maharana Pratap’s connections. He further added that in the political and media circles, Sisodia doesn’t really have great reputation.

Earlier, former Pakistani minister Ch Fawad Hussain had also fallen for PokerShash’s pranks during the Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan in 2019. In September 2019, Hussain took to Twitter to tell the world that ‘informed sports commentators’ had told him that India has threatened Sri Lankan players that they will be ousted from Indian Premier League (IPL) if they don’t cancel their Pakistan tour.

Except, Fawad Chaudhry’s tweet came hours after prankster had sent the message to Fawad Hussain on WhatsApp that the decision by Sri Lanka was taken after the IPL authorities threatened Sri Lankan players that they’ll be thrown out of IPL if they go to Pakistan. PokerShash’s account has been suspended on Twitter since, but as evident, he is now continuing to prank people on other platforms.

The jury, however, is still out whether Sisodia fell for a prank.

Allegations of corruption against Manish Sisodia

The Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-2022 is at the centre of the controversy. The Delhi government’s now-cancelled liquor policy was first envisaged in 2020. It modified how alcohol was sold in Delhi once it went into effect in November 2021.

Until recently, only government-owned liquor stores could sell alcohol. The Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022 allowed for the entry of private businesses into the market. The National Capital was split into 32 zones, with 27 private dealers operating in each.

Every municipal ward has at least two liquor sellers. Private liquor stores were permitted to entice customers by giving discounts on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP).

While the purpose of Excise Policy 2021-2022 was to combat black marketing and the liquor mafia, the AAP government was quickly chastised over claims of corruption. In the new liquor policy, Naresh Kumar, who was appointed Chief Secretary of Delhi in April 2022, discovered errors and procedural failures. The Chief Secretary prepared a report and sought the response of Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the head of the Excise Department.

Manish Sisodia reportedly waived off ₹144.36 crores on the license fee, to be paid by the private liquor vendors, under the garb of the Coronavirus pandemic. He also caused loss to the Excise Department and benefitted liquor licensees by waiving the import pass fee of ₹50 per beer case.

All these changes were made without the final approval of the Lieutenant Governor and thus considered illegal under the Delhi Excise Rules of 2010 and Transaction of Business Rules of 1993. The CBI had therefore registered a case against Manish Sisodia.

After FIR in liquor scam, CBI launches preliminary enquiry into Delhi government’s purchase of 1000 low-floor buses

OpIndia Staff
-
0
After FIR in liquor scam, CBI launches preliminary enquiry into Delhi government’s purchase of 1000 low-floor buses

According to reports, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched a preliminary investigation into accusations of corruption in the Delhi Government’s acquisition of 1,000 low-floor buses and their yearly maintenance contract. In June of last year, a three-member committee formed by former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal identified “procedural lapses” in the maintenance agreement and recommended that it be scrapped.

After the BJP questioned corruption in the annual maintenance contract (AMC) of DTC’s bus procurement in the Assembly last year, the home ministry recommended a CBI inquiry last August. A three-member committee then issued a report on the orders of the then-LG of Delhi.

The committee stated in an 11-page report that the AMC promotes “cartelization” and “monopoly pricing.” It also included the purchase and AMC tendering sequence, alleging that it created a situation in which both bidders were aware that they were the sole players in the game. In its findings, the committee stated that it “focused its attention only on the procurement process of AMC of the buses.”

This comes after the CBI named 15 suspects, including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in an FIR filed on Friday, August 19, 2022, in connection with the excise policy scam.

Searches were conducted at 31 places, including Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Bengaluru, which resulted in the recovery of incriminating documents/articles, digital recordings, and so on. The CBI has also charged Arva Gopi Krishna, the former excise commissioner, as well as deputy commissioner Anand Tiwari and assistant commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar. 

It has been suspected that irregularities were committed in changes to the Excise Policy, granting excessive favours to licensees, waiving/reducing licence fees, extending L-1 licences without authorisation, and so on. It is further alleged that illegal earnings from these activities were channelled to concerned public personnel by private parties, who then made fraudulent entries in their books of accounts.

Last year, the Delhi excise department, headed by Manish Sisodia, introduced a new policy that resulted in government liquor shops being closed and private firms being handed licences. Along with Manish Sisodia and Excise employees, the CBI has implicated other private individuals as suspects in the fraud. In addition to the 15 people identified in the FIR, the CBI also included ‘other unknown public servants and private persons’ as accused in the FIR.

17-year-old Praggnanandhaa defeats World Champion Magnus Carlsen for the third time in 6-months, finishes runner-up in FTX Crypto Cup

OpIndia Staff
-
0
17-year-old Praggnanandhaa defeats World Champion Magnus Carlsen for the third time in 6-months, finishes runner-up in FTX Crypto Cup

On August 22, 17-year-old Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu stood victorious against world champion Magnus Carlsen at the FTX Crypto Cup, the American finale of the Champions Chess Tour, in Miami. This is the third time in the last six months that Praggnanandhaa has defeated Carlsen. Praggnanandhaa won the game in the blitz tiebreaker after the score was tied at 2-2.

Though Carlsen was on the verge of winning the game, he made blunders leading to the defeat. Praggnanandhaa secured the second position based on the score, while Magnus won the event.

As per the score-card of the tournament, Praggnanandhaa had a good start and won four consecutive wins. While he won the games against world No.6 Levon Aronian, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, and Hans Nieman, Praggnanandhaa lost the game against China’s Quang Liem Le in the fifth round, followed by a loss against Poland’s Jan-Krzystof Duda in the sixth round via the tie-break.

Six months ago in February, Praggnanandhaa had won the game against world No 1 Carlsen in an online championship, the Airthings Masters rapid chess tournament. Praggnanandhaa was just ten years old when he became the youngest international master in history in 2016.

1...2,8962,8972,898...7,570Page 2,897 of 7,570