Continuing the crackdown on Jihadi terrorists operating from mosques and madrasas in Assam, two more imams have been arrested by police for links with Islamic terror groups. The two Imams were arrested by the Goalpara Police in Assam as part of a broad anti-terror operation against the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent. After being questioned by police for many hours, Jalaluddin Sheikh (49), the imam of Tilapara Natun Masjid, and Abdus Subhan (43), the imam of Tinkunia Shantipur Masjid, Mornoi, were both taken into police custody.
When the two Imams’ residences were searched, authorities said they found a significant quantity of evidence related to Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), as well as Jihadi literature, posters, books, and other materials including mobile phones, SIM cards, and ID cards. The two people who were arrested were in contact regularly with the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) units in Barpeta and Morigaon. ABT serves as a conduit for Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent.
Two suspected terrorists linked with Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) were arrested by police in Goalpara district last night: Assam Police pic.twitter.com/Zzrqey91k2
In accordance with Sections 120(B)/121/121(A) of the IPC and RW Sections 18/18 (B)/19/20 UA(P) Act, a case has been filed at the Matia Police Station, and an investigation has now commenced.
The suspects organised a Dharma Sabha in December 2019 at the Sundarpur Tilapara Madrassa, Matia PS, where numerous Bangladeshi nationals with AQIS ties were invited as guest speakers, the pair revealed during interrogation.
Additionally, they were active in offering logistical support and hosting a number of fugitive Bangladeshi nationals. The two also acknowledged recruiting Ansars/Sleeper Cells and being AQIS members. They also developed strong connections with the AQIS/Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) modules in Barpeta and Morigaon districts.
Addressing a press conference last night, Goalpara SP VK Rakesh Reddy said that both of the accused are directly linked to ABT, and Abdus Subhan has been associated with it since 2018. He also said that the two imams were in regular contact with others who have been arrested from Barpeta and Marigaon districts for jihadi links. The police officer said that Sheikh and Subhan were working for recruiting youths in the area for jihad.
According to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, five modules of the terrorist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) have been disbanded in the previous five months with the assistance of other investigating agencies.
The CM said that due to the police busting multiple Islamist modules composed of Bangladeshi immigrants, jihadi activities in Assam had become a serious worry. Police in other states have also disbanded a number of jihadi and terror modules.
According to the chief minister, ABT members interact with one another using highly developed chat applications that employ peer-to-peer encryption, making it exceedingly challenging to monitor their online activity. Peer-to-peer encryption, according to Assam CM, is more advanced than end-to-end encryption, and Al Qaeda also uses such applications. They almost always uninstall the chat applications after using them and never make phone calls for ABT-related conversions.
A Christian family in Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan is still awaiting the safe return of their 13-year-old daughter Zarvia Pervaiz 4 months after her abduction.
The minor girl was abducted, forcibly converted, and married off in the month of April by a man that the family chose to trust. The Pervaiz family had hosted Imran Shahzad , his wife Adiba, and 3 children at their house when they were going through a period of financial crisis in April.
Zarvia’s mother, Yasmeen, was disturbed by the abusive behaviour of Imran with his wife. She, therefore, asked the couple to vacate her house. On April 30 this year, Adiba paid a visit to her under the pretext of taking the minor girl to the grocery store.
Another day, another child thrown to the wolves. 12-year-old Christian girl Zarvia Pervaiz abducted, converted to Islam, married to 40 yr old abductor Imran in Rawalpindi. He has 3 children and a wife who helped him abduct Zarvia. Court rules the minor girl to stay with abductor. pic.twitter.com/vajlu7gONA
When she did not return, Yasmeen became worried and started looking for Zarvia in the market. She received a Whatsapp voice note from Imran, stating that the 13-year-old will never return to her.
It was only then Yasmeen realised that her daughter has been kidnapped. On the following day, she filed a police complaint at the Sadiqabad station. Imran and his wife Adiba were arrested by the cops within 2 weeks and the girl was escorted to safety.
However, in front of the magistrate, 13-year-old Zarvia claimed that she has converted to Islam out of her own free will. The girl also claimed that she married Imran in a consensual manner.
The Rawalpindi court ignored all principles of natural justice and upheld the ‘consent’ of a 13-year-old girl, despite the fact that minors cannot consent to anything. On July 13, the court rejected the plea of Yasmeen to gain custody of her daughter.
While speaking about the matter, she said, “Minorities do not fairly and fully enjoy the right of access to justice, as the police and court continue to favour perpetrators from the Muslim community, ignoring existing laws on forced marriage and sexual violence.”
Yasmeen further emphasised, “The discriminatory practice in investigations and trials encourages perpetrators to take minority underage girls away from their parents.” Christian activist Nadia Stephen pointed out that the court ruling was in violation of the Child Marriage Law, which prevents marriage under the age of 16.
1,000 Hindu and Christian women converted to Islam in Pakistan every year: Human rights activist
The Islamic country of Pakistan is a hotbed of violence against women, especially those belonging to minority Hindu, Christian, and Sikh communities. Ashiknaz Khokhar, a human rights activist informed last year that the kidnapping of minor girls from religious minorities is a common occurrence in Pakistan.
She said that over 1,000 girls belonging to Hindu and Christian communities are forcefully converted to Islam every year in Pakistan. Khokhar said, “The (Pakistan) government is not taking this issue seriously and parliament recently refused to pass the bill on forced conversion”.
On August 21 (local time), a 30-hour-long hotel siege by al-Shabaab terrorists reportedly ended in Somalia. The security commander was quoted in a tweet by the AFP news agency who said, “The gunmen are dead.” On Saturday, August 20, al-Shabaab terrorists stormed into Hayat Hotel located in the Somali capital Mogadishu. By the time the siege ended and the terrorists were neutralized by the security forces, 40 people had lost their lives, and over 70 were injured.
#UPDATE About 30 hours after Al-Shabaab jihadists stormed a hotel in Somalia’s capital, the deadly siege is over.
“The gunmen are dead,” a Somali security commander said Saturday around midnight, adding that a press briefing would be held Sunday morning. pic.twitter.com/WsH2h9lyxD
According to the Somali Guardian, former officials, state employees, and traditional leaders were killed in the attack. The Head of the Somali Intelligence and Security Agency for Mogadishu and senior Police personnel were among those who got injured in the attack. Troops reportedly used explosives inside the hotel against the terrorists.
Terrorist organization al-Shabaab’s spokesman Abu Musab had said in a statement on Friday that over 20 people, including officials, were killed in the attack. Notably, this was the first major attack since the election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s reelection as President in May this year. A week after becoming the president again, he had vowed to end al-Shabaab by launching an all-out militaristic, economic and ideological offensive against the terror group. Al-Shabaab has been active in Somalia for the last 15 years.
The terrorist attack on Hotel Hayat in Somalia
On August 19, Islamist terrorists of Al-Shabab attacked Mogadishu’s Hayat Hotel in Somalia. The terrorists executed an explosion outside the hotel first and then entered the building with guns, explosives, and other weapons.
The terrorist group executed the attack on Friday at a hotel in Somalia’s capital which is often visited by government officials. Al-Shabab, which is the affiliate of a terrorist organization named Al-Qaeda, is in a long-running conflict with the federal government.
On August 18, in a shocking revelation, a senior journalist from Bihar, Kanhaiya Bhelari, confessed to two kidnappings on live TV. During a debate on ABP News moderated by journalist and anchor Rubika Liyaqat on the appointment of kidnapping accused RJD MLC Kartikeya Singh as a minister, Bhelari said he had kidnapped two people allegedly to get back the money they owed him. He further said as no case was filed against him, he was never accused of kidnapping.
Watch | LIVE शो में वरिष्ठ पत्रकार ने कहा, ‘मैं कन्फेस करता हूं कि मैंने किडनैप किया है’
The ‘over-zealous’ journalist confessed to kidnapping
When Rubika questioned Singh about giving minister posts to MLAs who are either absconding or have seriously charged against them, Singh came to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s rescue. He reminded how PM Narendra Modi in the past had praised Kumar, but now as the alliance has broken up, CM Kumar is being accused. He alleged that because CM Kumar will be in the Prime Minister’s post in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, ‘BJP is trying to taint his image.
While explaining how “things work in Bihar,” the over-zealous journalist said, “I confess today that I have kidnapped two millers. No case was filed against me, so I did not become a ‘kidnapper.’ They owed me money. One owed me 12 lakhs, and the other owed me ten lakhs. I kidnapped them. If there had been a case filed against me [I would have been called a kidnapper].”
Visibly shocked by the confession made by Bhelari, Rubika questioned him if it was right to take the law into own hands if someone owed money to someone. Bhelari said, “It is normal. This is the way things work. Even banks have hired goons. It happens across the country.” Rubika replied, “The earth has literally moved under my feet! I am shocked to hear Kanhaiya Bhelari is himself a kidnapper.”
Bhelari was still unable to understand the gravity of the confession he had made on live TV. He said, “There was money involved. He (the victim) was not returning the money.” When Rubika sarcastically said, “It is a tradition in Bihar to kidnap people, and you are saying it is being taken forward,” Bhelari said, “Yes, that’s true.”
Tainted MLAs were appointed as ministers.
On August 17, controversy erupted as soon as the list of MLAs was made public who were supposed to take oath as ministers in Bihar. RJD MLC Kartikeya Singh, who was appointed as Law Minister yesterday, was supposed to surrender at Danapur Court in a kidnapping case, but instead, he reached Raj Bhavan in Patna for the oath-taking ceremony. Similarly, Sudhakar Singh, who was allegedly involved in the rice scam, was appointed as an Agriculture Minister.
As Bollywood film Dobaaraa crashed at the box office and cinema critic Kamaal R Khan slammed the film owing to low theatre occupancy following its release, lead actress Taapsee Pannu made a big fuss over the film, claiming that it is too “intellectual” and difficult for certain people to comprehend. The film is a copy of 2018 Spanish film Mirage.
Taapsee wrote a tweet quoting Hansal Mehta who hailed the movie for earning 72 lakhs from 370 screens. She wrote, “Sir, as much as a lie is told out loud, it does not become the truth. And if these people whose relevance is only because of films, they are engaged in destroying the industry, so think how foolish they would be. Anyway #Dobaaraa is a bit difficult film for their mind so what can the poor thing do.”
Sir झूट को जितना मर्ज़ी ज़ोर ज़ोर से बोला जाए वो सच नहीं बन जाता । और ये लोग जिनकी relevance ही films की वजह से है वो ही industry को खतम करने में लगे है तो सोचो कितने मूर्ख होंगे। वैसे भी #Dobaaraa इनके दिमाग़ के लिए थोड़ी कठिन फ़िल्म है तो बेचारे क्या कर सकते है। https://t.co/p4q0A82S5M
This tweet by Taapsee follows after film critic Kamaal R Khan (who is now calling himself Kamaal Rashid Kumar after taking his wife, Anita Kumar’s last name) took a jib at the movie. In a tweet, Khan wrote, “Today @taapsee film #Dobaaraa was running with houseful occupancy for entire day. And film collected the huge amount ₹8 Lakhs.”
Today @taapsee film #Dobaaraa was running with houseful occupancy for entire day. And film collected the huge amount ₹8 Lakhs.??
Khan made another tweet quoting the tweet by Taapsee, saying, “You are 100% correct @taapsee ! No matter how much you shout and tell false collections, but the public knows what real business is! The public knows that your film is a disaster! And this film is far from the understanding of the public, that’s why the public did not even go to see it! You see for yourself!”
You are 100% correct @taapsee! आप कितना भी चिल्ला चिल्लाकर झूठे collections बताओ, लेकिन public को पता है कि असली business क्या है! public को पता है कि आपकी film disaster है! और यह film public की समझ से बहुत दूर की film है इसीलिए तो पब्लिक देखने ही नहीं गयी! आप खुद ही देखो!? https://t.co/OoH5JCRO31
Anurag Kashyap’s latest film Dobaaraa, featuring Taapsee Pannu as the lead character, has failed to garner popular support. The film has failed to pique the attention of the audience. It was launched in theatres on Friday, August 19, but only had a 2-3% occupancy rate on Day 1. Several early screenings of the film are also reported to have been cancelled.
It’s worth noting that an interview with Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu went viral only days before the release of Dobaaraa, in which both of them poked fun at boycott calls for various films, including Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha. Both of them made fun of people by encouraging them to make their film trend on social media and boycott it.
Amidst allegations of corruption against Manish Sisodia, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to issue a lookout circular against the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister in connection with the Excise Policy scam 2021-2022. The agency has clarified that the circular is under process and will be issued soon.
As per reports, a lookout circular prevents the accused from leaving India and gives the central agency power to detain him/her for violating the conditions of the order. It must be mentioned that CBI had earlier named 15 people in a First Information Report (FIR), which it filed in connection to the case.
CBI has issued look out circular against Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and 13 others.
They all have been named in the FIR filed by the CBI
The Look out circular prevents an Individual From leaving the country And S/He can be detain at Point Of Disembarkation. pic.twitter.com/CFyjiNm7mv
Look out circulars are now used routinely by the CBI to prevent high-profile accused from leaving the country and evade investigation.
The Education Minister of Delhi, however, seems to be unaware of what lookout notice is issued for.
आपकी सारी रेड फैल हो गयी, कुछ नहीं मिला, एक पैसे की हेरा फेरी नहीं मिली, अब आपने लुक आउट नोटिस जारी किया है कि मनीष सिसोदिया मिल नहीं रहा। ये क्या नौटंकी है मोदी जी? मैं खुलेआम दिल्ली में घूम रहा हूँ, बताइए कहाँ आना है? आपको मैं मिल नहीं रहा?
Taking to Twitter, Sisodia alleged that since the CBI got nothing during the raid, and claimed that they have issued lookout notice because ‘he is not traceable’. He said how he is roaming freely in Delhi and asked where is he supposed to come. “You said you could not find me,” he asked PM Modi.
CBI sought permission from President Draupadi Murmu
Citing sources, Hindustan Times reported that the CBI sought the mandatory approval of President Draupadi Murumu before lodging a case against Manish Sisodia.
According to Section 17A [pdf] of the Prevention of Corruption Act, it is required to recieve the assent of the President to probe legislators in Union Territories. Similarly, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi can provide the permissiom to lodge cases against the excise officials.
An officer told the news publication, “An FIR was filed against Sisodia on August 17 only after receiving the 17A sanction from the President’s office. Once the FIR was registered, the LoCs (look our circulars) were issued against all named 13 individuals, including Sisodia, so that immigration authorities are alerted in case anyone travels out of India.”
Allegations of corruption in the Excise Policy Scam
At the heart of the controversy is the Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-2022. The now-scrapped liquor policy of the Delhi government was originally proposed in 2020. After coming into effect in November 2021, it changed the manner in which alcohol was sold in Delhi.
Until then, only government-owned liquor vendors were permitted to sell alcohol. The Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022 introduced private players in the market. The National Capital was divided into 32 zones and a total of 27 private vendors were to ply in each zone.
Every municipal ward had 2-3 liquor vendors operating in the area. The private liquor shops were allowed to attract crowds by offering discounts on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP). They could deliver liquor at home, and even keep shops open till 3 am in the morning.
The drastic policy change resulted in a 27% increase in government revenue to ₹8900 crores. At the same time, it marked the complete exit of the Delhi government from the liquor business.
While the objective of Excise Policy 2021-2022 was to end black marketing and the liquor mafia, the AAP government soon came under fire over allegations of corruption. Naresh Kumar, who was appointed the Chief Secretary of Delhi in April 2022, found irregularities and procedural lapses in the new liquor policy.
The Chief Secretary prepared a report and sought the response of Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the head of the Excise Department. The report blamed the Deputy CM for making changes to the excise policy without the authorisation of the Lieutenant Governor and providing ‘undue benefits’ to the liquor vendors.
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 and 14 others.
(This report has been updated with the latest available information)
60-year-old BJP leader from Ludhiana, Bharat Bhushan Sharma, was beaten to death in front of his house on Friday night by a group of drug addicts. The specially-abled son of the BJP leader was also injured by a sharp-edged weapon by the assailants.
According to the son of Bharat Bhushan, Raj Kumar Sharma, the accused were consuming drugs in front of their house and creating a ruckus in public. When Bharat Bhushan went to confront them and asked them to leave, they attacked him. Following the attack, he fell on the road and lost consciousness. He was rushed to the hospital but the doctors declared him brought dead.
Police officials said that Bharat Bhushan was at home when eight to ten miscreants, many of whom were allegedly in an intoxicated state, came outside his house near Tutiyan Wala Temple in the Shivpuri area. They added that the deceased told them not to create a ruckus and go away.
In the attack, Raj Kumar Sharma, who is a clerk with the excise department, was also injured when the intoxicated people attacked him with a sharp weapon.
Bharat Bhushan Sharma had contested Ludhiana municipal elections twice on the ticket of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). He had also served as the circle president.
The police have registered a case under Sections 304, 323, 148, and 149 of the Indian Penal Code against the unidentified accused.
A case of sexual abuse of an 8-year-old child has come to light in Sehwag International School, founded by former cricketer Virender Sehwag, in Jhajjar, Haryana. The school was founded by Virender Sehwag, and his wife Aarti Sehwag is the current chairperson of the school. A case has been registered under the Juvenile Justice Act and the POCSO Act, and police have started investigations into the matter.
According to the police, the child is still traumatised from his experience and is unable to talk about the matter. However, the needle of suspicion is on his fellow students in the hostel and the staff employed there. Most of the students in the school reside in the hostel. DSP Rahul Dev has said that further details about the case will be shared on Sunday.
The incident came to light on Saturday when the father of the child registered a complaint about it. The father of the child met the local SP and alleged that his child was molested in the hostel itself. A case was registered and the SP assured the family that the culprit will be arrested soon.
The child hasn’t named anyone yet, though he has told his family members that his fellow students studying with him in the school and staying with him in the hostel did this disgusting act with him.
After being informed about the incident, the police along with forensics experts visited the hostel and carried out an inspection. The school staff was also questioned about the incident. The police are also looking at the CCTV footage to get to the bottom of the case.
The investigation has been handed over to the Mahila Police Station for further investigation after registering the case under the JJ act and POCSO.
On Saturday, a controversy erupted around a new advertisement by the online food delivery company Zomato. The Zomato advertisement featuring Bollywood superstar Hritik Roshan allegedly showed the actor in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, and asking for food delivery from the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple.
According to the reports, the Hindu saints of the Mahakaleshwar temple have condemned the advertisement in which the actor says, “Thaali khane ka man tha, Mahakaal se mangaa liya (I wanted to have a thaali, I ordered it from Mahakaal)”. Mahesh, the temple priest said that the actor and the advertisement had hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community and insulted the Mahakaleshwar temple.
He added that the company had used the temple to promote its service blatantly. “The Zomato company should have thought before doing something like this. Hindus are sensitive about their religion. Just because we do not outrage, companies should not take advantage of that. If such advertisement would have been made on other religion, those people would have set the company on fire”, he added.
Mahesh further added that devotees at Mahakaleshwar temple are served the prasad in thali (plate) but it is no way delivered on demand. “The company which also delivers non-veg food should immediately stop promoting their services by using the name of Mahakaleshwar temple. The advertisement has hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. We strongly oppose this. If the company does not apologize then we will go to court”.
Meanwhile, Collector and chairman of Mahakal temple committee Ashish Singh agreed with temple priest Mahesh. He said that the temple prasad plate can be taken only in the food area in the Mahakal temple. The plate is not sent anywhere from here. “We will take action to stop this type of misleading advertisement”, he noted.
Mahakaleshwar temple is one of the 12 jyotirlingas and every day thousands of devotees are served free food in the temple. Reports mention that serving free food is one of the important temple traditions that has been going on for hundreds of years.
Zomato is an Indian multinational online restaurant search and food delivery company. It was founded by Pankaj Chadha and Deepinder Goyal in the year 2008. This company was established under the name FoodieBay. It was replaced by Zomato (Zomato Media PVT Ltd.) on 18 January 2010.
On Friday (August 19), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the residence of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia over allegations of corruption in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022.
The central agency had named 14 others individuals in its First Information Report (FIR). The accused included excise officials, dealers, public servants, liquor company executives and private persons.
One of the accused named in the case was Vijay Nair. The FIR stated that Nair was “actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy of GNCTD of Delhi for the year 2021-22”
Screengrab of the FIR copy, image via ANI
Association between Vijay Nair and Aam Aadmi Party
As per a 2019 report by the Caravan, Vijay Nair was the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a Mumbai-based entertainment and event management company named Only Much Louder (OML).
He worked as a ‘part-time volunteer’ of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in the run-up to the 2020 Delhi State Legislative Assembly polls. During his stint with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, he helped organise party events and manage social media handles.
AAP MLA Atishi Marlena told Caravan that Nair was an ‘ad-hoc worker’, a claim denied by the party’s national council member Ankit Lal. He pointed out that the ex-OML CEO has been associated with AAP for over 5-6 years. Lal stated that Nair is his go-to person for strategising digital campaigns.
Screengrab of the article by Caravan
A news report published in The Times of India shows that Vijay Nair has been with the Aam Aadmi Party since January 2014. “Nair said he will reach out to musicians across the country and use music as a medium to spread the party’s work and message,” the report said.
It further added how he was planning to rope in regional folk performers to hold shows in different parts of Maharashtra. A tweet by anti-corruption activist, Anjali Damania, dated July 19, 2014, also exposes the long-standing connection between AAP and the ex-CEO of Only Much Louder.
Screengrab of the tweet by Anjali Damania
“Congratulations, Vijay Nair. Your name has appeared in Hind Times Mumbai’s 50 Young stars. Proud to have you with AAP,” she had tweeted.
Nair had made a name for himself in the industry by organising music festivals such as the Invasion Festival, Bacardi NH7 Weekender, and the television show ‘The Dewarists.’ He exhibited his personal admiration for the Aam Aadmi Party while speaking to The Quint in 2015.
“Nair praises the Delhi administration and the Aam Admi Party-led government for being the first state to streamline procedures by introducing the One-Window Licence in India. An elated Nair claims he even got a receipt for the money paid to obtain licences in Delhi,” the report said.
Screengrab of the news report by The Quint
Even before being personally benefitted by the association, the ex-OML CEO had confessed to donating to the AAP. As such, it came as a surprise when Atishi Marlena introduced Vijay Nair as an ‘Adhoc worker’, who was not in a position of power.
At that time, Atishi was also the head of the AAP’s internal complaints committee, which was constituted to probe cases of sexual harassment at the workplace. However, she was evasive when Caravan confronted her about #MeToo allegations against Nair.
Allegations of sexual harassment against Vijay Nair
In an article published in November 2018, Caravan cited victim testimonies to claim that the ex-OML CEO created an unsafe and misogynist environment for the female workers.
“Nair stands accused of abetting an environment that perpetuated sexual harassment, sexism and misogyny during his time as the CEO of OML. Based on first-person accounts of women who had worked with him, The Caravan reported that Nair’s position as CEO allowed him to act brazenly and with impunity,” the report said.
Caravan alleged that the man, behind India’s premier music festivals, asked a woman to get into a bathtub with him. It claimed that Nair engaged in sexual activity during a work call with a woman, without her consent.
Screengrab of the news report by Caravan magazine
The article went on to say that Nair messaged his female co-workers regularly and how they were caught in a state of fix while trying to refuse his sexual advances.
When Caravan reached out to Atishi Marlena in 2019, she refused to have any knowledge of allegations against the ex-OML CEO. She did not provide details about the roles and responsibilities of Vijay Nair in the Aam Aadmi Party.
Atishi was however able to deflect the #MeToo allegations by claiming that ‘power dynamics played a key role in sexual harassment cases’ and how Nair was not placed in any position of power. Interestingly, a woman who applied for the job of digital communication strategist was told to meet Nair, as he was managing communications for AAP.
Allegations of corruption in the Excise Policy Scam
At the heart of the controversy is the Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-2022. The now-scrapped liquor policy of the Delhi government was originally proposed in 2020. After coming into effect in November 2021, it changed the manner in which alcohol was sold in Delhi.
Until then, only government-owned liquor vendors were permitted to sell alcohol. The Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022 introduced private players in the market. The National Capital was divided into 32 zones and a total of 27 private vendors were to ply in each zone.
Every municipal ward had 2-3 liquor vendors operating in the area. The private liquor shops were allowed to attract crowds by offering discounts on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP). They could deliver liquor at home, and even keep shops open till 3 am in the morning.
The drastic policy change resulted in a 27% increase in government revenue to ₹8900 crores. At the same time, it marked the complete exit of the Delhi government from the liquor business.
While the objective of Excise Policy 2021-2022 was to end black marketing and the liquor mafia, the AAP government soon came under fire over allegations of corruption. Naresh Kumar, who was appointed the Chief Secretary of Delhi in April 2022, found irregularities and procedural lapses in the new liquor policy.
The Chief Secretary prepared a report and sought the response of Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the head of the Excise Department. The report blamed the Deputy CM for making changes to the excise policy without the authorisation of the Lieutenant Governor and providing ‘undue benefits’ to the liquor vendors.
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 Vijay Nair and 14 others.
Rise of Nair as India’s go-to-concert man
In 2002, a 19-year-old Vijay Nair became the manager of an independent Pune-based rock band named Acquired Funk Syndrome. At that time, he was a student at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics.
Thereafter, he began managing Mumbai-based rock bands, Pentagram and Zero. He soon dropped out of college to lay the foundation of Only Much Louder. He worked on the development of the Indie Music scene in India.
Later on, OML grew to have its own booking agency, record label, and production house. Nair created a reputation as India’s best concert organiser.
