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Allahabad High Court dismisses bail plea of PFI’s Siddique Kappan on merit

OpIndia Staff
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Allahabad High Court dismisses bail plea of PFI’s Siddique Kappan on merit

On August 3, a single-judge bench comprising Justice Krishnan Pahal of Allahabad High Court rejected the bail plea of alleged journalist Siddique Kappan who has links with the Popular Front of India (PFI).

The court rejected the bail plea on merits. Complete orders are yet to be uploaded to Allahabad High Court’s website.

Who is Siddique Kappan?

Siddique Kappan is an office bearer of the Islamist organization Popular Front of India(PFI). He was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police when he was attempting to enter Hathras under the grab of journalism following the death of a Dalit girl in 2020. The UP government has slapped UAPA on Kappan. As per the affidavit submitted by the UP government in the Supreme Court, his aim was “to create a caste divide and law & order disturbance in the state.”

As per the affidavit, Kappan pretended to be a newspaper from a Kerala-based outlet called ‘Tejas’ that was closed in 2018. On October 5, 2020, he was arrested by the Police and booked under Sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Section 124A (sedition), Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of Indian Penal Code and Sections 65, 72 and 75 of the Information Technology Act for attempting to create a caste-conflict in the state amidst the ongoing Hathras case controversy.

Earlier, a Mathura court had also rejected his bail plea in July 2021 on the grounds that Kappan and the co-accused in the case tried to disturb the law and order situation.

PFI’s India Vision 2047

It is noteworthy that following Kappan’s arrest in 2020, the UP Police mentioned in the charge sheet filed against him and co-accused that their intentions were to disturb law and order in the state. The allegations are in line with the ‘India Vision 2047’ manifesto that was recently recovered from PFI’s by Bihar Police.

The 8-page PFI document underlines the PFI goal for the years ahead. In the document named ‘India Vision 2047’, PFI has circulated internally among its cadre that they aim to completely dominate the ‘coward Hindus’ and subjugate them, and this goal will be achievable even with 10% of Muslims rallying behind PFI.

They have also mentioned that they plan to launch a full-fledged armed uprising against the Indian state with the help of their trained cadre and with the help of Islamic countries like Turkey. They have also appealed to other Islamic countries for help to bring the Indian state and the majority of Hindus ‘to their knees. The Police added that former SIMI terrorist Parvez and the ex-police officer named Jalluuddin, arrested by the Police, have raised funds worth lakhs for this recent endeavour.

OpIndia accessed the document and the contents of which are far more shocking than what the Police have revealed so far. The “India 2047” document has a tagline that underlines the goal of PFI – “Towards Rule of Islam in India”. The document talked about different stages in which they had to work to make India an Islamic state. Those stages included recruiting more members and giving them arms training, including the use of rods, swords and other weapons – this training would also include offensive and defensive techniques, use of punch lines with words like “Ambedkar” and “constitution” to shield the real intentions of the organization, creating a divide between RSS and SC/ST/OBCs and more.

A detailed analysis of the document can be read here. 

Love in the time of war: Russian-Ukrainian couple marries as per Hindu rituals in Himachal Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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Love in the time of war: Russian-Ukrainian couple marries as per Hindu rituals in Himachal Pradesh

Amidst the ongoing armed confrontation between Russia and Ukraine that has been going on for more than five months, a young couple from Russia and Ukraine got married as per the Hindu rituals in Himachal Pradesh. Sergei Novikov, a Russian expatriate who used to live in Ukraine married his girlfriend Elona Bramoka in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh at Divya Ashram Kharota. The wedding took place according to the rituals of the Sanatana Dharma.

The wedding was attended by locals who conducted all the customs and danced to Himachali folk music to make the newlyweds feel “at home”. The visitors were provided with a Kangri Dham arrangement. Despite the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Novikov and Bramoka chose to get married this year after dating for two years, choosing Dharamshala as their wedding location.

According to a report by News18, Pandit Sandeep Sharma of Divya Ashram Kharota said, “The two had been living in Dharamkot, close to Dharamshala for the past year. Our pandit Raman Sharma solemnized their marriage and told them about the importance of marriage as per the traditions of the Sanatan Dharma.”

A local resident Vinod Sharma and his family performed the wedding rituals including Bramoka’s ‘kanyadan’. Additionally, foreign visitors who reside in Dharamkot participated in the wedding, taking part in the various rituals. The couple was dressed in traditional Indian wedding attire, and while they listened attentively to the hymns being chanted, Pandit Raman Sharma translated the meaning of each mantra for both.

This is not the first instance in which a love story has surfaced out of the war-hit neighboring countries Russia and Ukraine. In fact, this couple has joined the wave of marriage proposals and weddings that have recently occurred in Ukraine. Even an Indian youth from Kerala, who fled war-torn Ukraine, fell in love with a Romanian girl while waiting in Romania before he was evacuated.

Agra: Tourists from Thailand in traditional dresses denied entry to the Taj Mahal for wearing masks and metal crowns

OpIndia Staff
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Agra: Tourists from Thailand in traditional dresses denied entry to the Taj Mahal for wearing masks and metal crowns

On Wednesday, 3rd August 2022, a controversy erupted in Agra over denying the entry of tourists to the Taj Mahal. Six tourists from Thailand visited Agra on Wednesday. When they attempted to visit the Taj Mahal, they were denied entry because they were wearing their traditional dresses.

According to a report by Amar Ujala, a group of six tourists from Thailand on Wednesday reached the facility centre at the east gate for visiting the Taj Mahal, where the CISF prevented three tourists from entering because they were wearing traditional costumes with masks and metal crowns. These tourists had come to shoot a traditional dance of Thailand at the Taj Mahal but were not allowed. The tourists were asked to keep their masks in the locker. The Thai tourists were asked to go to Dussehra Ghat instead for shooting. Accordingly, they went there, shot videos, and then left the monument. Meanwhile, one of the tourists shot a video of the whole incident.

On being stopped by CISF officials from entering the Taj Mahal, the tourists went to Dussehra Ghat to make videos, where they shot videos of dancing in traditional dresses. Shooting at the Taj Mahal requires prior permission and even after payment of shooting fees, people are allowed only to go up to the Red Sand Stone platform of the Royal Gate.

Dr. Rajkumar Patel, the superintending archaeologist of the Archeological Survey of India, said, “There was no objection to the traditional dress. Only the tourists with masks and metal crowns were prevented from going in. They were asked to keep the mask and crown in the locker. They were stopped because being an international tourist, it was being ensured that no objectionable message should be passed due to their entry. There is no prohibition on entry for a tourist wearing a particular dress.”

It is notable that on 26th April 2022, Jagadguru Paramahansacharya had come to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal but he was denied entry along with the Brahmadanda. He was allowed to enter only after keeping the Brahmadanda in the locker. Jagadguru Paramahansacharya had objected to this. There is a fixed list of permissible and prohibited items while entering the Taj Mahal.

#BoycottAliaBhatt trends as netizens slam Netflix movie ‘Darlings’, say it is making a mockery of a serious crime like domestic violence

OpIndia Staff
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#BoycottAliaBhatt trends as netizens slam Netflix movie ‘Darlings’, say it is making a mockery of a serious crime like domestic violence

Bollywood these days is reeling under crisis, facing rejection and criticism for its content. After the controversy that revolved around Amir Khan starrer Lal Singh Chadda where netizens called for the ban on the movie, next in line is ‘Darlings’ featuring Alia Bhatt. While Bhatt is busy using social media to promote her next OTT release named ‘Darlings’, the netizens, just a day before the release are busy using the same social media platform to trend #BoycottAliaBhatt.

The movie named ‘Darlings’ features Alia Bhatt, senior actor Shefali Shah, Vijay Varma, and Roshan Mathew. Alia Bhatt who plays Badrunissa Shaikh, a victim of domestic violence decides to take the law in her hand and begins torturing her husband Hamza (Vijay) as revenge. The netizens are trending #BoycottAliaBhatt on Twitter as they believe that the actress’ recent release supports domestic violence against men.

The trailer of the movie was launched on July 25. The 2.34 mins video shows victim Badrunissa (Alia) kidnapping her husband and torturing him on daily basis. She ties his hands and stabs him in an unapologetic manner. In another scene, she grabs his hair as the second lead character (Roshan Mathew) force-feeds him what appears to be alcohol. In yet another scene, Shefali Shah’s character asks Badrunissa to put rat poison in her husband’s meal to aid him to quit alcohol, and Alia’s character follows the advice.

In the reel, Alia is also seen brutally slamming a frying pan on her on-screen husband’s skull while she says ‘ab batting shuru (the batting starts now)’. Meanwhile, the character played by actor Vijay is shown crying and screaming in pain. The movie which is produced by Gauri Khan, Alia herself, and Gaurav Verma.

The netizens unhappy with the plot of the reel are demanding a ban on film while trending #BoycottAliaBhatt. One of the Twitter posts read that the actress had not only acted in a film that makes entertainment out of the torture of men by women but also had produced it. #BoycottAliaBhatt and #BoycottDarlings are added to her tweet demanding a ban on the reel.

Another such protester who is supposedly a member of the pan India men’s rights NGO, posed a simple question. He asked, “why is Domestic violence against men normalized and even worse mocked when 3.4 crore men in India face domestic violence?”. He added that his organization named ‘Save Indian Family Foundation’ was against the movie.

Meanwhile one of the users named Subramanyam Preet posted news that read that a woman in Jharkhand had killed her husband after he denied her permission to wear jeans’ and tweeted, “Is this what she wants to promote from Darlings?”

Yet another user supported the ban and said that for Bollywood, domestic violence against men was a matter of joke. Meanwhile, another one dared to imagine the situation if the roles in the movie were reversed. However, the trailer seems to indicate that Alia’s character in the movie was a victim of domestic violence herself before she decided to take matters into her own hands to plot a revenge against her husband.

In the year 2019, a movie named ‘Kabir Singh’ starring Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani in lead roles created similar outrage as the lead male character was seel slapping and shouting at the female lead under the pretext of ‘love’.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, Netflix India’s promotional effort on Twitter and other social media platforms just added salt to injury. Netflix’s social media managers collected violent images from the trailer, created memes around them, and shared them with the expectation of receiving laughter.

It is notable here that Bollywood has been facing severe criticism of late because of its problematic portrayals of social issues. There have been countless movies where stalking, sexual harassment, abuse and even rape are glorified, forcing a narrative of ‘love’.

To note, Netflix India is already worried about its decreasing popularity in India. Earlier in January this year, Netflix’s CEO had expressed anguish over its poor performance in India after the platform’s shares witnessed a massive slump of 21%. The investors had lost a whopping $45 billion in market value due to the aspersion that the company was going to enter a period of slow growth.

Also, in December last year, the OTT platform slashed the subscription prices of Netflix in India to expand the market. It had also started its special operation to learn more about the Indian consumers’ tastes and had decided to include similar content on the platform. Recently, in April, considering the slow growth, Netflix decided to revamp the entire content of the web series and movies to be released in India which could suit the Indian audiences.

However, the release of ‘Darlings’ contrasts the decisions taken by the platform earlier. The movie, which was made by Jasmeet K. Reen, will debut on Netflix on August 5.

Bibek Debroy quits The Week as their columnist after it uses offensive Maa Kali image as his article image: Details of the letter

OpIndia Staff
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Bibek Debroy quits The Week as their columnist after it uses offensive Maa Kali image as his article image: Details of the letter

Bibek Debroy, columnist for The Week took to Twitter on August 4 to announce that he is disassociating himself with the magazine. Explaining what prompted him to quit the magazine, the journalist voiced his vexation over the publication’s arbitrary decision to use an objectionable image of Maa Kali for his article, that too without his consent. Bibek Debroy is an Indian economist, serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and a respected author.

“I don’t think anyone reads Twitter bios. So pointing out, have removed columnist, Week,” wrote the journalist while sharing the screenshot of the letter he wrote to Philip Mathew, the editor of The Week magazine, confirming his departure from the publication.

Notably, the article written by the author titled: “The fire has seven tongues, and one of these is Kali, writes Bibek Debroy”, was published by the magazine on July 24, 2022.

The article written by columnist Bibek Debroy for The Week

Below is the offensive image of Maa Kali that the publication attributed to Bibek Debroy’s article. The image was used as the featured image of the article (the image that readers see when the article is shared on any platform) and was also embedded in the article.

The offensive image of Maa Kali The Week attributed to Bibek Debroy’s article

In his letter to The Week magazine’s editor, Bibek Debroy expressed his concern with the publication’s choice to assign the aforementioned picture of Maa Kali to his article without his approval. Questioning the magazine’s journalistic ethics, Debroy wrote, “This letter concerns the special column on ‘Kali’, The Week asked me to write. It was published in the 24th July, 2022 issue, under the title ‘A tongue of fire’. There is an accompanying picture, of a tantra-based painting. There is a very tenuous link between the content of the article and the picture. I can think of many better depictions of Kali. This picture was deliberately chosen to titillate and provoke. At least, that’s the way I perceive it.”

Bibek Debroy went on to say that it is always the writer’s editorial right to choose the illustration. Contrary to popular perception, a columnist only reads the column’s text, not the title, image, or layout, he wrote, adding that in this regard, The Week is also no exception, it is how things work at most publications. He expressed his displeasure with the magazine, by further adding that his name has been associated with an image that he would not have approved if he had seen it earlier.

‘Use of this particular picture has helped your pecuniary motive of boosting readership but made you lose a friend and well-wisher’, Bibek Debroy slams The Week

“A relationship of trust is built up over a period of time. It is because of that trust I agreed to inaugurate The Week’s new logo some months ago. A single act can destroy that trust in one instant. I am sure use of this particular picture has helped the pecuniary motive of boosting readership. But let me also assure you that you have lost a friend and well-wisher. Therefore, since I no longer trust The Week and since I have no idea about what illustrations will be used in my regular columns, I would like to disassociate myself with The Week and no longer be a columnist,” wrote Bibek Debroy.

Mamata Banerjee tries to distance herself from SSC scam as accused minister goes missing from swear-in list: Here is how the token step might not work

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee tries to distance herself from SSC scam as accused minister goes missing from swear-in list: Here is how the token step might not work

On August 3, Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee dumped the second disgraced minister after Partha Chatterjee. As per reports, Paresh Chandra Adhikari, whose name surfaced in the infamous SSC scam, found no place in the list of ministers who were supposed to take oath during the Cabinet reshuffle. Adhikari held the responsibility of State Minister for the Department of School Education.

Reportedly, Banerjee has induced fresh faces in the cabinet while a few names, including that of Adhikari, have been removed from the list. It is noteworthy that a PIL was filed in the Calcutta High Court seeking directions to remove Adhikari from his post. In the PIL, the petitioner alleged Adhikary was one of the direct beneficiaries of the SCC scam.

The PIL was filed by state BJP leader Pradipta Arjun before the bench of chief justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj. In his PIL, Arjun argued that the orders passed by the single bench of Calcutta High Court comprising Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay clearly showed that Adhikari misused his position to get a job for his daughter Ankita Adhikari as a higher secondary political science teacher. During the process, another eligible candidate was deprived of the job. The court had asked Ankita to return two years of salary and dismissed her from the school.

Shunning ministers might not help Mamata Banerjee

While WB CM Mamata Banerjee is trying her level best to get rid of the blot named ‘SSC Scam’ from her image by shunning the accused minister, it might not help her in the long run. Notably, it was reported on July 31 that Partha Chatterjee had allegedly confessed the involvement of the party high command in the School Service Commission (SSC) scam.

Reports suggest that Chatterjee told investigators that everyone in the TMC, including top party leadership, was privy to his activities. He alleged that fellow TMC members were aware that money was collected in exchange for providing government school jobs to ineligible candidates.

Besides, Partha Chatterjee has also alleged that the top leaders of the Trinamool Congress visited the properties that he bought in the name of Arpita Mukherjee. He also said that the party needed a front like an actress to stash the money.

Speaking on the matter, an ED official said that Chatterjee claimed to be just a custodian of the money. He neither asked nor accepted money from any candidate. He was allegedly following orders of the party’s senior leaders and was supposed to sign documents prepared by others.

Another official of the central agency informed that Partha Chatterjee has confessed to the involvement of other Departments in providing jobs via fraudulent means to ineligible candidates.

Considering what Partha said during the questioning by ED, it can be assumed that Banerjee was aware of what was happening during recruitments. Simply removing the accused ministers is not going to save her name from getting dragged into the controversy.

Uganda: Islamist mob attacks Christian evangelists with weapons after 8 Muslims agree to leave Islam in conversion camp, 1 person dead, Bibles burned

OpIndia Staff
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Uganda: Islamist mob attacks Christian evangelists with weapons after 8 Muslims agree to leave Islam in conversion camp, 1 person dead, Bibles burned

In early July, a Muslim mob reportedly murdered a Christian in Uganda by attacking him with sticks and stones. The deceased has been identified as Robert Bwenje and the two assailants have been identified as Ashirafu Kasamba and Kabagambe Kadiri. The Islamists had assaulted Bwenje and a pastor who was with him. The mob had also burned the copies of Bible, as per reports.

According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened on July 6 when Robert Bwenje had accompanied Assistant Pastor Ambrose Mugisha of Elim Pentecostal Church in Nyamiringa village, Kapeke Sub-County, Kiboga District to an ‘open-air debate’. The debate was about a comparison between Islam and Christianity, held in the Sirimula village of Kyankwanzi District.

During the debate, eight Muslims including two women were reportedly impressed by the arguments made by the evangelists and had agreed to accept Christianity by leaving Islam. Assistant Pastor Ambrose Mugisha has stated that the local Islamists were angered over the incident and had wanted to disrupt the event, but could not do anything because police security was provided for the same.

But as the duo returned from the conversion camp-cum ‘debate’, a Muslim mob appeared from bushes and led the attack on the two who were crossing a swamp. The mob raised slogans of ‘Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar’ and beat them with sticks and sharp weapons, as per reports. “They removed the Quran and then burned the rest of the books, including the Bibles, and then beat us with sticks”, said Pastor Mugisha to media later.

He added that he could only identify one assailant named Ashirafu Kasamba who attacked him on his head. “I then jumped into the water and managed to swim and cross to the other side”, he noted. Meanwhile, the Islamists continued to beat Bwenje in the middle of the swamp and fled from the spot leaving Bwenje bleeding in the water. Later a passerby spotted the victim as Christians and took them to the hospital where Bwenje succumbed to his injuries.

Pastor Godfrey Ssemujju of Elim Pentecostal Church who visited the duo at the hospital confirmed that Bwenje was 28-year-old and died at around 11 pm on July 10. The Police have reported the case and have arrested one of the accused Kasamba. They have charged him with attempted murder.

According to Pastor Mugisha who has survived the attack, the Islamists including Kasamba continue to threaten him giving him days to re-convert the eight Muslims that he had converted to Christianity earlier. “We are giving days to bring back the Muslims that you converted to Christianity. We know you are hiding them,” the Islamists had reportedly messaged on the Pastor’s phone.

The report mentions that several churches in Kiboga districts are being attacked by Islamists. Earlier on June 26, the Muslim extremists from Kindeke village attacked Pastor Baingana James, demolished his church building in Rwomuriro village, and threatened to kill him if he continued leading Muslims to Christianity. This is after Pastor James converted seven other Muslims to Christianity.

Pastor James stated that he had received a call from an Islamist named Sheikh Mwesigye Ja’afari who asked the Pastor to leave Kindeke village and return the seven converted Muslims. On not taking the threat seriously, the Islamists attacked him and his congregation while they were in the Church for their Sunday service.

IB flags security threat from Jihadis ahead of I-Day, recommends monitoring areas with Rohingyas, cites Kanhaiya Lal murder too: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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IB flags security threat from Jihadis ahead of I-Day, recommends monitoring areas with Rohingyas, cites Kanhaiya Lal murder too: Reports

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has warned the Delhi Police of a possible terror attack by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other radical Jihadi groups ahead of India’s 75th Independence Day on August 15th.

On Thursday, the IB submitted a 10-page report, in which it directed the Delhi Police to put in place strict entry rules at Red Fort ahead of Independence Day on August 15.

The IB report referred to incidents like the assassination of Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe and the brutal killings of the Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kohle in Amravati at the hands of radical Islamists and directed the Delhi Police to keep a watchful eye out for radical organisations and their activities in crowded locations.

The IB report mentioned how by providing Jaish and Lashkar terrorists with logistical support, the Pakistani ISI is encouraging terrorist attacks in India. The report also spoke about the instructions given to JeM and LeT to target powerful leaders and important places.

Prior to Independence Day, the IB has directed the Delhi Police and other states to keep an eye on extremist outfits. The ISI-founded Lashkar-e-Khalsa now includes Afghan fighters as members. This terrorist group is capable of conducting a significant terrorist strike in Jammu & Kashmir, read the report.

It also included recommendations for close monitoring of the Delhi neighbourhoods where Rohingya and Afghan Nationals and Sudanese nationals reside. Additionally, IB instructed the police to be on high alert in order to counter the threat posed by VVIED, sticky bombs, and Tiffin bombs.

The report said that the terrorist groups LeT and JeM may carry out the attack using UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and paragliders and therefore, the BSF has been asked to remain vigilant.

Amid IB warning, Delhi Police to install more than 1,000 live streaming CCTV motion detection for Independence Day security

Following the warning, the Delhi Police have decided to install more than 1,000 Internet Protocol (IP) based CCTV cameras in and around the Red Fort.

According to reports, 80% of the cameras would be IP-based 2-megapixel CCTV cameras and the rest would be 4-megapixel IP-based CCTV cameras. They would be installed in every corner of the venue.

The areas to be put under surveillance are the New Delhi District, North District, South East District, Central District, Security Unit and North West District. A large number of cameras will be installed in the North and Central districts which include the outskirts of the Red Fort, where the Independence Day celebrations are being held.

These sophisticated IP-based cameras will be equipped with features like face detection, motion detection, tripwire, audio detection, intrusion, defocus and abandoned/lost objects. Apart from providing a full HD 1080P live view of the location, it will also share data in real-time for facial recognition servers.

This camera will include a built-in 30X automatic optical zoom lens for enhanced detection, as well as a 12X digital zoom option. The camera must have Infra Red (IR) built-in and cover a distance of up to 150 meters for better viewing at night, the report by the Delhi police read.

Red Fort siege during India’s 71st Republic Day

It may be recalled that last year, during Republic Day, violent rioters claiming to be ‘farmers’ had stormed into Delhi’s Red Fort, assaulted policemen, and vandalized the monument. The rioters who unleashed mayhem on the streets of the national capital and carried out the insurrection against the state by denigrating the national flag have also been caught urinating on the walls of the national monument. In a shocking act, the rioters who had climbed the Red Fort to hoist the alleged Khalistan flag by throwing away the tricolour desecrated the premises by urinating on the monument. 83 policemen were injured during the violence that ensued.

It was also revealed that proscribed Khalistani terror organisation Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) was behind the Red Fort siege and rioting in Delhi. They had even announced a reward of  $250,000 for waving Khalistani flags at the Red Fort.

Sandy Hook defamation case: Alex Jones’ lawyers sending all his texts to the opposing lawyer, the ‘insurrection committee’ and perjury

OpIndia Staff
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Sandy Hook defamation case: Alex Jones’ lawyers sending all his texts to the opposing lawyer, the ‘insurrection committee’ and perjury

In the latest development in the defamation case in USA’s Texas against Infowars host Alex Jones, the lawyer representing one of the parents of Sandy Hook massacre victims has revealed in the courtroom that Jones’s lawyers had sent him the entire digital copy of his mobile phone, including 3 years worth of text messages regarding the Sandy Hook incident, ‘by mistake’.

It is notable here that Jones had claimed in court that he had never received any text regarding the Sandy Hook school shooting. Mark Bankston, the lawyer representing the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was a victim of the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012 was confronting him.

Alex Jones, the host of Infowars, had long maintained that the 2012 school massacre was a ‘hoax’.

Following the exchange, the judge in the Travis County court reprimanded Jones for lying under oath. “This is not your show. You must tell the truth when you testify,” Judge Maya Guerra said to Jones.

As per reports, during a court hearing in Texas, Mark Bankston showed Alex Jones a copy of text messages that criticized his platform’s coverage of the 2020 covid pandemic, likening it to their earlier claims that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

Alex Jones was on the witness stand and when he expressed surprise at the text messages, Mark Bankston reportedly revealed that his own attorneys had sent them ‘by mistake’.

“Do you know where I got this? Your attorneys messed up and sent me a digital copy of your entire cellphone, with every text message you’ve sent for the past years”, Bankston replied, as per The Guardian. Bankston further added that he had informed the attorneys about the mistake, but they apparently did not take any steps to retrieve the texts or stop them from being used in court.

Jones acknowledged during the exchange that the texts were his and admitted indirectly that he had sworn under oath that he did not have any messages in his phone about the Sandy Hook shooting.

Mark Bankston then joked that he now has his ‘Perry Mason’ moment, referring to the popular TV show where the lawyer gets people to confess their crimes on the witness stand.

Alex Jones had said the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, but now admits it was 100% real

Infowars host Alex Jones is facing a defamation case for claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a ‘hoax’ by the Obama government. Through many of his shows, Jones had kept on claiming that the deadly 2012 school shooting in Connecticut was “an elaborate ruse to force gun control in the USA”, and the grieving parents were all actors.

He is being sued by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old victim Jesse Lewis who had lost his life in the massacre, along with 19 other students and 6 teachers.

Following the courtroom drama, Jones reportedly admitted that he had been ‘irresponsible’ and that the shooting was 100% real.

Jan 6 committee may request to see the texts to find out Trump connection

As per a report in Rollingstone, the House committee investigating January 6, 2020, Capitol riots in the USA is preparing to subpoena the texts of Alex Jones that are now with Mark Bankston and his team. The House committee is investigating former US president Donald Trump’s alleged role in instigating the Capitol riots. Alex Jones is already under probe for helping to get public support for the ‘insurrection’.

Alex Jones is a far-right conservative radio show host who works from Austin Texas.

ED seals Young India office, says Mallikarjun Kharge came and left without cooperating with the raid, Congress now plans ‘protest’: Details

OpIndia Staff
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ED seals Young India office, says Mallikarjun Kharge came and left without cooperating with the raid, Congress now plans ‘protest’: Details

Following the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) decision to temporarily seal Young India’s office located inside Congress-owned National Herald’s building (Herald House) in Delhi, the Congress Party has called a meeting of all its members from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the Congress Parliamentary Party office to decide the next course of action.

Earlier, it was reported that the National Herald building was sealed, but later the reports came out that only the office of Young India was sealed, not the entire building. The action by the central investigation agency has been taken as a part of an ongoing money laundering investigation. Reports suggest that Congress MPs might give adjournment motion notice in the Parliament over ED’s action against Young India.

Furthermore, additional police personnel were also deployed outside the Congress headquarters at 24 Akbar Road, the resident of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the residence of interim party President Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath. The arrangement was made following inputs received from Special Branch that protesters might gather in large numbers at the three locations after ED’s decision to seal Young India’s office.

ED alleges Congress did not cooperate in the raid

As per reports, ED officials said they sealed the office as there was no one present when they reached to raid Young India’s office. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge had visited the building when ED officials were there, but he allegedly refused to cooperate and left the building. ED has sealed the office temporarily and summoned Kharge to be present for the raid.

An ED official told Aaj Tak, “Principal Officer Kharge came but left the building without participating in the raid. We have summoned him for the raid. Once our search is over in the presence of an authorized person, we will remove the seal.”

On the other hand, Kharge and Congress party denied the allegations levelled by the investigation agency. In a statement, Kharge said neither ED sought permission to search the premises nor did he stop them from doing any search.

Congress denied permission to protest on August 5

Congress has connected the presence of an additional Police force outside the AICC office to the protests they had planned for August 5. During a press conference, Congress leader Ajay Maken informed that the Delhi Police had denied permission for the protests planned for Friday. He said a letter from the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) office was sent to Congress denying permission for the protests the party had planned against price rise and unemployment.

In the statement during the press conference, Maken said, “Today we received a letter from DCP that we can`t protest on August 5 & AICC was turned into a Police cantonment. The government may suppress us as much as they want, but we`ll protest against inflation, unemployment, GST on edible items & go ahead with our schedule even if jailed.”

During the nationwide protests on August 5, Congress MPs were supposed to hold ‘Chalo Rashtrapati Bhavan’ from Parliament. On the other hand, CWC members and senior Congress leaders were scheduled to participate in ‘PM House Gherao’.

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