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UPA-era coal scam: Former Union Coal Secretary HC Gupta, who worked under Manmohan Singh, joint secretary KS Kropha and 1 other convicted

OpIndia Staff
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UPA-era coal scam: Former Union Coal Secretary HC Gupta, who worked under Manmohan Singh, joint secretary KS Kropha and 1 other convicted

A special CBI court in Maharashtra on Friday convicted former Union Coal secretary HC Gupta and former joint secretary KS Kropha among others in a coal scam case. The court found irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks in Maharashtra’s Lohara East.

As per reports, Mukesh Gupta, the director of a Nagpur-based firm Grace Industries Limited has also been convicted in the coal scam case by the CBI court.

The CBI court of special judge Arun Bharadwaj found HC Gupta, KS Kropha and Mukesh Gupta guilty under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The sentences will be decided on August 22. The case was registered by the CBI in September 2012 under sections 120B r/w, 420 IPC r/w, 13(2) r/w, 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

In its initial charge sheet filed in October 2014, the CBI had named Mukesh Gupta and his Grace Industries Ltd. The court, however, asked the probe agency to continue further investigation into the matter to ascertain the role of senior government staffers in the allocation of coal blocks. The court had asked CBI to seek sanctions to prosecute KS Kropha, the then joint secretary in the Ministry of Coal and VS Sawakhande, the former Director of the Directorate of Mining and Geology, Government of Maharashtra.

The CBI had reportedly found that Mukesh Gupta had obtained coal block allocations for Grace Industries Ld through cheating and fraudulent documents and that his actions were aided and supported by senior government officials like HC Gupta and Kropha. The irregularities in allocation were reported between 2005-2011. CBI had also alleged that Mukesh Gupta had used false documents to show his company’s net worth as 120 crores while its actual net worth was just 3.3 crores.

In August 2014, the Supreme Court of India cancelled the entire allocation of coal blocks. During the hearing of the case, the special court had also observed that the conduct of officials from then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office was not satisfactory.

A total of 34 witnesses were produced by the CBI in the case.

Not the first conviction for HC Gupta

It is notable here that former Union Coal secretary HC Gupta was earlier sentenced to 3 years in prison and then granted bail by a Delhi court in a coal scam case from West Bengal in 2018. Gupta’s conviction had garnered criticism, even from the IAS Association in the past, stating that Gupta was a public servant and he has been made a victim of circumstances, while the minister who he worked for had the final say, and was the final signatory in the allocations.

The coal scam was one of the biggest blots on the UPA government under Manmohan Singh. Even the ex-PM’s own office had come under scrutiny for alleged involvement in the irregularities.

In 2018, Minister of State for PMO and personnel Jeetendra Singh stated in a reply in Lok Sabha that the CBI is probing the role of a former PM’s office in the coal scam case. He had not used Manmohan Singh’s name. he stated that the CBI has obtained files in at least 20 cases related to the coal block allocations from the ex-PM’s office. He added that the former PM also acted in the capacity of the Minister of Coal.

The coal block scam is regarded as one of the biggest scams in India. The final CAG report in the matter pegs the total loss to the country at 1.86 lakhs crores. After the NDA government came to power, the process of allocation of coal blocks was cancelled and reallocation was done in a transparent auction.

HC Gupta was the Coal secretary from December 31, 2005, to November 2008 and had served under the Manmohan Singh government where the Coal ministry was under Shibu Soren and PM Manmohan Singh himself for different periods of time.

In another coal scam case pertaining to the allocation of a Chhattisgarh-based coal block, HC Gupta was acquitted by a Delhi court in August 2019. The court had opined that CBI had failed to prove its charges against Gupta.

In May 2017, HC Gupta, KS Kropha and KC Samria, who was the director in charge of coal block allocation, were convicted in a coal scam case by a special CBI court. The same court had given a clean chit to former PM Manmohan Singh who also had the portfolio of the Coal ministry during the period. The court had stated in its judgement that the convicted bureaucrats had withheld information from Manmohan Singh.

The screening committee that Gupta had headed during his tenure as Union Coal Secretary had cleared around 40 cases of coal mining rights, as per reports.

‘Rashtrapatni’ row: BJP MP Rama Devi slams Sonia Gandhi, says instead of reproaching Adhir Chowdhury, she acted outrageously in Parliament

OpIndia Staff
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‘Rashtrapatni’ row: BJP MP Rama Devi slams Sonia Gandhi, says instead of reproaching Adhir Chowdhury, she acted outrageously in Parliament

A day after a verbal spat broke out between Congress’s interim President Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader Smriti Irani in the lower house of the parliament, BJP leader Rama Devi who was approached by Sonia Gandhi, criticized her for her conduct with Irani. “Sonia Gandhi shouldn’t have acted outrageously in the parliament”, Rama Devi said on July 28.

According to the reports, the saga began after Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Adhir Chowdhury referred to the newly elected President Droupadi Murmu as ‘Rashtrapatni’ while addressing the press. Irani on Thursday then slammed Congress and demanded an apology for maliciously targeting President Droupadi Murmu and said that the country knows that the opposition party is anti-tribal, anti-Dalit, and anti-women.

Irani also led the protest in Lok Sabha against the blatant remarks by Chowdhury and sought an apology from both Chowdhury and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. She also slammed Congress for disrespecting the newly elected President. Amid the protest, Sonia Gandhi who was present in the house approached BJP MP Rama Devi and asked ‘What is my fault? Why is my name being dragged in this?”. Seeing this, Smriti Irani intervened to know what was the matter that was being discussed when Sonia Gandhi was outraged and said, “you don’t talk to me”.

Rama Devi while talking to the media on July 28 said that Gandhi’s fault was that she had selected Chowdhury as the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha. “When Smriti Ji said that you (Gandhi) should know that such a thing has been said to a President by your (Congress) leader. You should ask him about the fault who you’ve chosen as your leader. To this, Sonia Gandhi said I am not talking to you. On this, Smriti Irani said that you have come to ask Rama Ji, then why will I not speak and then the argument started”, Rama Devi stated.

Rama Devi further said that Sonia Gandhi had delivered her statement in anger, which she should not have spoken. “She should have asked Congress’ leader instead that how he dared call the President as ‘Rashtrapatni’, that too not once but twice”. She also cleared that Smriti Irani was not angry, but Sonia Gandhi was angry about who was going out of the house, but then returned. “If Adhir Ranjan had apologized, the matter would have ended. Instead of getting infuriated, Sonia should admit her mistake and control her leader”, the BJP leader from Sheohar in Bihar said.

The matter was also given attention by BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman who led similar protests in the upper house of the parliament. “Some of our Lok Sabha MPs felt threatened when Sonia Gandhi came up to our senior leader Rama Devi to find out what was happening during which, one of our members approached there and she (Sonia Gandhi) said you don’t talk to me”, Sitharaman said.

BJP women members were seated in the front rows in the Lok Sabha as they led the protests in the House against Chowdhury’s remarks. To note, India has had a female President before. The first time this happened, there was a slight dispute about how would the state address the Head of State, reportedly because ‘Rashtrapati’ has a patriarchial connotation. The dispute then had quickly died down once it was decided that terminology like Rashtrapati and Sabhapati (Speaker) are believed to be gender-neutral under India’s constitutional structure.

Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena supremo who had supported Patil’s presidential candidacy also had attempted to resolve the controversy. In a statement published in his Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna in June 2007, he had said, “I believe there is no need for a ‘Pati’ or a ‘Patni,’ and Pratibhatai should be known as Rashtradhyaksh,” he had stated.

From Praveen Netturu to hand chopping of Kerala professor: Read about PFI’s Taliban-esque Darul Khada, giving orders to kill Hindus

Jhankar Mohta
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From Praveen Netturu to hand chopping of Kerala professor: Read about PFI’s Taliban-esque Darul Khada, giving orders to kill Hindus

Despite India having a predominately Hindu population, hostility against the community has grown over time. The Islamists have attacked innumerable Hindus, their processions amid several Hindu festivals like Ram Navmi and Hanuman Jayanti. The encouragement these fanatics receive from Sharia courts, which have only empowered zealots and fostered religiosity, is one of the main causes of the growth in religious intolerance. The main objective of these Sharia courts is to create a parallel government, which will propagate Islamic law above the constitution.

One such regressive ‘Taliban-model’ Islamic court functioning in India, especially in the southern part of the country is the Darul Khada or Dar-ul-Khada, which means God’s abode or God’s court. According to reports, Darul Khada is an outfit comprising Muslim ‘scholars and advocates’, which was set up in 2009 by SDPI national chief and founder E Abubacker.

Many reports have suggested the link between Darul Khada and the radical Islamic organisation PFI, which has been strongly communalizing the social space in Kerala. Darul Khada is, in fact, one of the PFI units that, on the exterior, claims to be involved in the organization’s ‘social’ activities but has frequently been linked to planning the assassinations of Hindu leaders in the South.

Intelligence sources have maintained that PFI actively promotes jihad through campaigns and lectures. The radical Islamic outfit encourages its cadres to kill Hindu activists in return for the rewards in the afterlife.

In fact, in the most recent case of the brutal killing of Praveen Kumar Nettaru, who was hacked to death, with sharp weapons, on July 26 by unidentified assailants in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnatakathe, the role of Islamist terrorist organisations PFI and SDPI also came to the fore.

Hours after the arrest of two accused named Mohammed Shafiq Ballere and Zaqir Savanuru, in connection with the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Kumar Nettaru in Karnataka, reports emerged that Shafiq and Zakir are linked to the Islamist terrorist organisation PFI and SDPI.

According to reports, the wife of Shafiq has confirmed that her husband was an active member of the PFI and that he used to participate in all the ‘social’ activities. ADGP (law and order) Dakshina Kannada, and Alok Kumar who also interacted with the media confirmed that Zakir who has a criminal case in Bellare has been suspected of having PFI links.

Praveen Kumar Nettaru is one such many Hindus, who have been murdered with the active participation of PFI and reports have it that its units like the Darul Khada or the Satya Sarini, which claims to be looking after the ‘social’ work of the radical Islamic outfit, are actively helping the radical organisation to spread jihad and strengthen the roots of radical Islam in India.

While the Sathya Sarani trust has been linked to ISIS and has been suspected of being involved in religious conversions, Darul Khada is suspected of mobilizing and brainwashing Muslim youths to attack Hindu leaders. Even though Darul Khada claims to be handling civil disputes for the Muslim community like divorce and inheritance, these courts reportedly dictate which Hindu leader should be attacked and how.

Notably, the attack on Professor TJ Joseph in Kerala in 2010 had brought these Islamic Courts’ function into sharp focus.

TJ Joseph, a professor from Kerala, was accused of blasphemy in 2010. He was attacked and his hands were brutally chopped off by radical Islamists of PFI. The then Minister of Home Affairs of Kerala, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, in a statement, acknowledged that the government is aware that there is a local Darul Khada set up by the Popular Front of India under the supervision of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

In fact, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had prepared a dossier back in 2018 that stated the PFI’s unit, Darul Khada is trying to run a parallel administration in the country. The NIA dossier also stated that in July 2009, a Kerala-level declaration was passed by the Darul Khada in Malappuram in which it had called upon the Muslim community not to attend civil courts, but to get all issues sorted out by it.

The PFI’s policy of exclusively recruiting only committed Muslim youths “who assiduously follow Islamic tenets” and its subsequent training of recruits using emotional videos of the Babri Masjid demolition and communal rioting to foster a sense of “Muslim persecution” in them were deemed “radical” in the dossier.

“Thus the recruits are guided to a besieged state of mind and trained in martial arts in the guise of self-defence and defence of the community,” it noted. The NIA dossier stated that PFI cadres are encouraged to act as guardians of Islamic values, “thus effectively transforming them into moral police”.

Like it was established that the attack on TJ Joseph had links with PFI, in 2019 when the NIA was probing the murder of Ramalingam, the agency had filed a chargesheet against 18 persons. All 18 persons are allegedly associated with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). In fact, the key conspirator was identified as one Shali alias Muden Ahmed Shali, a 51-year-old resident of Thenkasi, Tamil Nadu. NIA submitted that Shali was head of the Dawah team.

Ramalingam was brutally attacked and murdered in February 2019 in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, for allegedly interfering in the religious propaganda activities carried out by some Muslims in his locality. According to reports, Ramalingam was allegedly opposing the ‘Dawah’ work of Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders in Tamil Nadu in 2019, who were converting Hindus into Islam.

Shali alias Muden Ahmed Shal had entered into an altercation with Ramalingam on the morning of 5th February 2019. The accused, subsequently participated in a conspiracy meeting, wherein it was decided to attack Ramalingam. Sadiq, the administrator of Dawah work of the PFI, along with other accused persons, conspired in Thirubhuvanam on February 5, 2019, against Ramalingam by chopping his hands.

In fact, after the gruesome murder of Bajrang Dal worker Harsha, the NIA, which was looking into many attacks on Hindu leaders in South India, discovered a specific pattern in their deaths and all pointed to the purported connection between these murders and the Darul Khada of the PFI, much like the link between PFI and the attack on professor TJ Joseph in Kerala or the brutal killing of Ramalingam.

Harsha was stabbed to death by a group of Muslim youths on the night of February 20, 2022, at Kamat petrol bunk in Karnataka’s Shivamogaa district. He was from Seegehatti and worked as a tailor. Harsha was associated with the Hindu organisation Bajrang Dal, and he was spotted wearing saffron shawls to protest in support of the school and college dress regulation.

Early investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have revealed that the murder of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha in Karnataka was perpetrated to orchestrate communal unrest against the backdrop of the hijab issue.

UK: Trans man tricks three women into sexual relationships using a prosthetic penis, jailed for 10 years

OpIndia Staff
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UK: Trans man tricks three women into sexual relationships using a prosthetic penis, jailed for 10 years

In a shocking development that took place in the United Kingdom, a trans man who used a prosthetic penis to deceive three women into sexual interactions was sentenced to ten years in prison.

The culprit, Tarjit Singh, was born as a female named Hannah Walters, but now identifies ‘himself’ as a trans man. Between June 2010 and March 2016, ‘he’ had abusive relationships with three different women. Judge Oscar Del Fabbro sentenced ‘him’ to 10 years of imprisonment, terming ‘him’ a risk to the public of serious harm in the future and a dangerous offender.

During the hearing of this case, the court was presented with the facts about how Tarjit Singh threatened one victim with fire after assaulting her with lighter fluid and injuring her nose with a cell phone. Tarjit Singh was also accused of slapping and punching her. After a trial earlier this year at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Tarjit Singh, a resident of Enfield in north London, was convicted of three charges of assault by penetration, six counts of assault causing real bodily injury, and one offense of issuing a threat to murder.

The 32-year-old convict would wear clothes throughout the relationships and have intercourse with the ladies in the dark while wearing a fake penis. ‘He’ contacted two vulnerable victims on social media and a chicken shop. He met the third victim – who has learning difficulties – on a dating site called Plenty of Fish. When the relationship started, one of the victims was 16 years old.

‘He’ was nabbed after a relationship turned violent and the victim notified the police. The probe was then traced back to two previous victims. The prosecution introduced cellphone evidence during the trial that revealed ‘he’ frequented websites like FreeToMProsthetics.com, a business that manufactures ultra-realistic artificial male genitalia.

While pronouncing the judgment, Judge Oscar Del Fabbro said, “You are an accomplished and manipulative liar. You are not honest. Instead of opening a frank and honest discussion about your gender and how you wanted to live your life, you chose a different path – you chose a path of deceit. You persuaded them you were male and acted like you were male.”

Delhi: One Firoz Khan arrested after he stabbed his ‘friend’ Munna to death for refusing to give an extra roti

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: One Firoz Khan arrested after he stabbed his ‘friend’ Munna to death for refusing to give an extra roti

In the wee hours of Wednesday (July 27), the Delhi police arrested a man named Firoz Khan for murdering his friend over an extra piece of roti. The victim has been identified as 40-year-old Munna from Madhya Pradesh, who worked as a rickshaw puller.

A rag picker by occupation, Firoz had gone dining with his ‘friend’ Munna on Tuesday (July 26) night at a roadside Dhaba in the Karol Bagh area of Delhi. According to eyewitness Lakhan, the accused had demanded an extra roti and curry from Munna. The latter gave in to his request promptly. However, Firoz again asked for another roti, a request turned down by the victim.

This led to a heated argument, following which Firoz began throwing blows at Munna. The rag picker then stabbed his ‘friend’ in the stomach 3-4 times with a knife and fled the crime scene.

On being informed about the matter, the police reached the crime scene and rushed the victim to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Munna, who was only 40 years old, was declared dead on arrival. Excessive bleeding due to the stabbing caused the death, according to the doctors.

While speaking about the matter, DCP Shweta Chauhan informed, “On July 26 late night, the Karol Bagh police station received a call that a person was lying unconscious.”

“ASI Nitaj Tyagi was then sent to the crime spot and the victim was taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The doctors attending to Munna declared him brought dead,” she added. The cops then sent the deceased’s body for post-mortem.

Accused Firoz Khan nabbed within 6 hours

The police analysed the CCTV footage and formed a team to nab Firoz. Following a 6-hour-long manhunt, the accused 26-year-old Firoz Khan alias Munnu was apprehended from a park in Karol bagh. He was found sleeping in the park after murdering Munna.

The police recovered the weapon used in the crime as well as his blood-stained clothes. During interrogation, the rag picker confessed to killing his friend Munna.

Firoz hails from the Agra district of Uttar Pradesh while the victim was a native of Ratiya Pura village in Madhya Pradesh. During the interrogation, police found that Firoz is illiterate, and he was thrown out of his house by his family for excessing drinking. Munna was a rickshaw puller by occupation and is now survived by his family members.

Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera among Congress leaders summoned by Delhi HC, asked to remove defamatory posts against Smriti Irani’s daughter

OpIndia Staff
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Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera among Congress leaders summoned by Delhi HC, asked to remove defamatory posts against Smriti Irani’s daughter

The Delhi High Court has summoned Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Netta D’souza in a civil suit filed by Union Minister Smriti Irani. Union Minister Smriti Irani had issued a legal notice to Congress leaders for dragging her personal life into politics and casting aspersions on her 18-year-old daughter, Zoish Irani.

In a notice addressed to Congress leaders Pawan Khera, Jairam Ramesh, Netta D’Souza, and the party itself through its President, Sonia Gandhi, Irani had sought them to cease and desist from the dissemination of defamatory, derogatory, false, and misleading information and allegations on her daughter. Now the Delhi High Court has summoned these Congress leaders in this case.

In the order, Justice Mini Pushkarna instructed the Congress leaders to remove all allegedly defamatory materials from social media platforms within 24 hours. If they fail, the court has instructed the social media companies to do it.

Responding to Delhi HC summons, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter to state he would challenge Union Minister Smriti Irani in the court.

In her notice, Smriti Irani had said that the above leaders have conspired with each other and with other unknown individuals and organizations to launch a series of scathing and belligerent personal attacks against her with an oblique motive to malign, defame, injure her and the family’s reputation based on series of falsehoods and gross misinterpretation.

On Saturday, 23rd July 2022, the Congress leaders accused Smriti Irani’s 18-year-old daughter Zoish Irani of running an illegal bar in Goa and asked PM Modi to sack Irani from the cabinet. Rubbishing allegations against her daughter, Irani hauled Congress leaders over the coals and challenged them to show her daughter’s name in the show cause notice they had flashed in the press conference.

After the Congress leaders hurled allegations against Union Minister Smriti Irani’s daughter, the minister said in her notice, that the allegations were made on the behest of the congress leaders at the press briefing addressed at Congress party headquarters.

Irani, in her legal notice, had reiterated that her daughter Zoish was never involved in running any bar in Goa and that she had also never applied for any license for ‘running’ any bar or for any business enterprise. Further, she has also not been served any show cause notice from the Excise Department of Goa to date. Along with this notice, Smriti Irani had filed the defamation suit seeking Rs 2 crore as damages.

Delhi HC refuses interim relief to TV Today Network in defamation and copyright infringement suit against Newslaundry

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi HC refuses interim relief to TV Today Network in defamation and copyright infringement suit against Newslaundry

In the defamation and copyright infringement complaint against Newslaundry, its management, and senior editorial staff, the Delhi High Court on Friday refused to award interim relief to TV Today Network, which operates the news networks India Today and Aaj Tak.

TV Today Network last year filed a complaint against Newslaundry and sought Rs 2 crore (Rs 2,00,00,100) in damages from them alleging that Newslaundry had commercially undermined its commercial items and defamed the network, its news anchors, management, and the staff. Newslaundry had uploaded several video clips from India Today and Aaj Tak channels, and TV Today had objected to the same. TV Today had made copyright claims on the videos posted on YouTube by Newslaundry and had filed a defamation suit on some articles based on those videos.

During the decision on the plea for interim relief, Justice Asha Menon stated that the issue is to be treated as a business dispute. She went on to say that neither the element of the balance of convenience nor the aspect of irreparable harm has been fulfilled to award the interim relief.

The court stated that, while there is a prima facie case to be considered, an interim injunction cannot be given at this time. According to the lawsuit, Newslaundry had posted various videos on its website and social media platforms in which it infringed on TV Today Network’s copyrights and made untrue, unfair, disparaging, and maliciously defamatory remarks about the news reporting, and news anchors of the channels it operates as well as management of the media group.

The articles which attracted the notice include one where Newslaundry journalist Ayush Tiwari had questioned why other India Today anchors had not been punished in the same manner as Rajdeep Sardesai. According to Tiwari, India Today labelled the article “vicious”. The other article was on Gaurav Sawant. The anchor had been called a “known culprit in the fake news department”, which the channel has disputed. 

Meanwhile, TV Today Network had sought an injunction prohibiting Newslaundry and its employees from infringing on the media organization’s copyrights and posting any libelous or commercial disparaging information about its news channels.

TV Today Network had also sought to remove the claimed information from the Newslaundry website, YouTube channel, and social media accounts. It also requested the suspension, banning, and termination of Newslaundry’s YouTube channel, as well as its Facebook and Instagram accounts.

According to the reports, the unpermitted and unlicensed use of the original cinematograph films and sound recordings of the Plaintiff company by the defendants was not protected by sec. 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957.

Subramanian Swamy to sue Akshay Kumar, Karma Media alleging ‘falsification’ of Ram Setu issue in their upcoming movie

OpIndia Staff
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Subramanian Swamy to sue Akshay Kumar, Karma Media alleging ‘falsification’ of Ram Setu issue in their upcoming movie

On Thursday, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar’s film Ram Setu got trapped into a controversy after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said that he would sue the actor and producer organization Karma Media for misleading the viewers through the film. He stated that the movie misrepresented the issue of Ram Setu in the movie.

“The suit for compensation has been finalized by my associate Satya Sabharwal Adv. I am suing Akshay Kumar, an actor he Karma Media for damages caused by falsification in the portrayal of the Ram Setu issue in their film for release”, MP Subramanian Swamy tweeted. He also added that the papers for the suit were ready and were prepared by his advocate associate.

Advocate Satya Sabharwal meanwhile confirmed the same and stated that the poster of the film had used Subramanian’s SC order. “A film based on Ram Setu has been produced by Karma Media, where Dr. Swamy’s SC Order has been used as a Poster. Will be filing a Suit”, she tweeted also attaching the controversial poster and the current petition.

The firebrand leader, known for courting controversies, expressed severe outrage over the issue and reiterated that the issue of Ram Setu has been misrepresented in the film. He added that the facts had been tampered with in the film that is yet to release. In a series of tweets, he also suggested that actor Akshay Kumar could be arrested in the case. “If Actor Akshay Kumar is a foreign citizen then we can ask he be arrested and evicted from his adopted country,” he noted.

Previously, Akshay released the film’s poster, which elicited mixed reaction from the audience. While some are looking forward to the film’s premiere, others have expressed scepticism over movie doing justice to reality.

However, it has created a buzz among the masses owing to the religious subject of the movie, which aims to explore the mystery surrounding the bridge constructed by Lord Ram’s Vanar sena to enable their travel to Lanka. 

India Today Consulting Editor gives moving speech trying to defend Mamata Banerjee in SSC Scam, where her close aides have been arrested with illegal cash

OpIndia Staff
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India Today Consulting Editor gives moving speech trying to defend Mamata Banerjee in SSC Scam, where her close aides have been arrested with illegal cash

In a television panel debate, India Today Consulting Editor Jayanta Ghosal sought to defend West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by making a moving speech in which he stated that he is convinced that the CM was oblivious of the SSC scam under her minister Partha Chatterjee and the complicity of her Minister and party aides. Partha Chatterjee was sacked from the ministry and the party after ED recovered over Rs 50 in cash along with gold and jewellery from his ‘close aide’ Arpita Mukherjee, and it is believed that the illegal money is proceeds of the SSC recruitment scam in the education department when Chatterjee was the minister.

While talking to India Today anchor Rajdeep Sardesai during a panel discussion on the issue, Consulting Editor Jayanta Ghosal said, “I am completely convinced that Mamata Banerjee didn’t know.” Justifying his claim, he said, “Because I tried to understand, I was in Calcutta yesterday, I talked to her. She was so upset and she took the time to take action not because she was supporting Partha but because she was trying to understand what was happening,” Ghosal said.

Ghosal further said that Mamata Banerjee was shocked when she saw the images of the cash recovered by ED. “She didn’t know who Arpita Mukherjee was. No one in Trinamool knows who Arpita is. Partha has a personal relationship with Arpita Mukherjee,” Jayanta Ghosal said.

Rebutting the claims made by Jayanta Ghosal, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that Mamata Banerjee was well aware of who Arpita Mukherjee was and even showed some photographs and videos of Arpita attending TMC functions. Shehzad further said, “Either Mamata Banerjee was indulging in this corruption or she is so incompetent that she was ignorant of this kind of corruption.”

The SSC scam

It is worth noting that the Enforcement Directorate has uncovered another major corruption case in West Bengal, involving the state’s Commerce and Industries Minister and Mamata Banerjee’s companion, Partha Chatterjee, and his close associate Arpita Mukherjee.

The federal agency has recovered even more than Rs 50 crores in cash and Rs 4.31 crores in gold from multiple locations linked to Arpita Mukherjee, a close associate of arrested cabinet minister Partha Chatterjee, in raids conducted in connection with the ongoing investigation into the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam.

Partha Chatterjee served as the state’s education minister during the Mamata Banerjee government. Notably, on Monday (July 25), a special court remanded Trinamool Congress (TMC) Minister Partha Chatterjee and actress Arpita Mukherjee to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for ten days.

Arpita was arrested on July 23, this year, only hours after TMC Minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested in the same case. While remanding the pair in the custody of the ED, the Court stated that the evidence presented to it by the central agency suggested that the offence was serious.

The reaction of Mamata Banerjee

Meanwhile, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, under whose nose the alleged multi-crore scam took place, has reacted to the involvement of her minister in the scam by stating ‘mistakes happen.’ Addressing a public gathering, the Trinamool Congress supremo further said that if found guilty, those who committed the mistake ‘should be subjected to punishment.’

Despite the seizure of an enormous amount of cash from the house of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Partha Chatterjee, TMC leader and minister in the Mamata government, the latter continued to call the action by the federal agency a political vendetta.

Addressing a programme of Kolkata-based firm Titagarh Wagons on July 27, Banerjee asserted that businessmen, along with Opposition leaders, were being “threatened by agencies at the behest of the ruling BJP” at the Centre.

Kanpur Violence: NSA invoked against prime accused Zafar Hayat Hashmi, Gangster Act against builder Vasi, Mukhtar, Aqeel and Shafiq

OpIndia Staff
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Kanpur Violence: NSA invoked against prime accused Zafar Hayat Hashmi, Gangster Act against builder Vasi, Mukhtar, Aqeel and Shafiq

In an update to the case of communal violence that occurred on June 3 in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, the police have charged the main accused named Zafar Hayat Hashmi under the National Security Act (NSA). The action has also been taken against builder Vasi, Baba Biryani owner Mukhtar, Aqeel, and Shafiq under the Gangster Act.

This is days after Police Commissioner Vijay Meena collected all the evidence and sent them to Kanpur Nagar DM Visakh for imposing NSA on Hashmi. According to the reports, the Police have arrested around 60 persons for disturbing the communal atmosphere and peace in the city of Kanpur.

DM Visakh confirmed the update and said that action has been taken under the Gangster Act against 4 accused including Baba Biryani owner Mukhtar for crowdfunding the violence. “Kanpur Police Commissioner Vijay Singh Meena had sent a proposal to impose NSA on the jailed Hayat Zafar Hashmi. The proposal has further been sent to the state government for approval”, he stated. “A notice regarding this will be served to Hashmi at Chitrakoot district jail, where he has been shifted from Kanpur jail, he added.

Earlier, the SIT who conducted a thorough investigation in the case had revealed that there was a detailed plan in connection to the violence in Kanpur, and every person involved in instigating violence had different responsibilities. They had fixed rates and had come up with a methodology to pay the rioters.

During the investigation, SIT found that those who were called for the violence were assured they would get free legal aid and their family would get financial support. The people were appointed by Mukhtar Baba, the owner of Baba Biryani. The assurance of legal and financial help was given by Haji Vasi. Afzal Hamza, who is the manager of Vasi, had formed a team to instigate violence. A sum of Rs 10 lakh was paid to the rioters in advance.

Riot planners wanted to encroach upon Chandreswar Hata land

Also amid the Court hearing, the Bekanganj Police Station in charge had stated that builder Haji Vasi, his manager Hamza, Mukhtar Baba, and his son Mehmood Umar wanted to encroach on Chandreshwar Hata. They had promised Rs 1 crore if the rioters managed to encroach Chandreshwar Hata.

Kanpur violence of June 3 happened on the pretext of alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad by former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Islamists had called for a district-wide shutdown. After Friday prayers, thousands of Islamists joined the rally and began pelting stones at the police and the public.

Later, the police arrested over 40 rioters in the case and demolished unlawful properties possessed by primary accused Hayat Zafar Hashmi and his associates. The police also discovered damning communications on Hashmi’s phone and investigated his bank accounts to track down money received from Gulf nations to allegedly support the violence.

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