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Jahangirpuri violence: Accused Sanwar Malik, who collected glass bottles and stones to attack the Hanuman Jayanti procession, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Jahangirpuri violence: Accused Sanwar Malik, who collected glass bottles and stones to attack the Hanuman Jayanti procession, arrested

On August 2, Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested one of the main accused of Jahangirpuri Violence, identified as 29-year-old Sanwar Malik. He has been booked for rioting and assaulting Police. As per reports, he instigated locals and pelted stones at Police during the riots. As per Delhi Police, Malik was absconding since the violence and had been hiding in West Bengal and other places. A Rohini court had declared him a ‘proclaimed offender’.

Delhi Police had received information about Malik’s presence in the C-Block of Jahangirpuri. He was supposed to leave for West Bengal soon. In a statement, the Deputy Commission of Police (Crime Branch) said, “The secret informer had informed us that if Malik was not apprehended this time, he would flee to his native place in West Bengal. A team under DCP Anil Sharma was rushed to the spot. The team tried to catch him as he tried to escape. He was running, and the residents also tried to help him as they threw bricks at our staff. Even after suffering an injury, the staff managed to overpower Malik and arrest him.”

Malik hails from West Bengal but he was living in Delhi for many years. Notably, a case was registered against Malik and other residents of Jahangirpuri for obstructing Police in performing their duties and hitting them with bricks. Malik, who worked as a rag-picker, is also involved in six other criminal cases including rioting and attempt to murder. On the day of Hanuman Jayanti (April 16), Malik instigated his associates to pelt glass bottles at the Hindus participating in Shobha Yatra and pelt stones at the Police.

Jahangirpuri violence

On April 16, Hindus were taking out Shobha Yatra on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. When the procession was passing through Jahangirpuri of Northwest Delhi, people from the Muslim community allegedly pelted stones etc, at the Hindus and police personnel. Videos emerged on social media where members of the Muslim community were seen firing shots at the procession. Last month, Delhi Police Crime Branch submitted a 2,063 chargesheet against 37 accused who have been arrested so far in the case.

Pune Police arrests Shiv Sena leader Sanjay More for leading attack at Shinde faction MLA Uday Samant’s car, 4 more detained

OpIndia Staff
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Pune Police arrests Shiv Sena leader Sanjay More for leading attack at Shinde faction MLA Uday Samant’s car, 4 more detained

The Pune Police on Wednesday arrested five people including Shiv Sena city chief Sanjay More in connection to the attack on former State Minister and Shinde faction MLA Uday Samant. A complaint was filed under various sections of the IPC for the attack.

According to the reports, on Tuesday evening, Samant’s car was attacked by 4-5 miscreants while he was passing through the Katraj area of Pune. He then filed a complaint against the miscreants at Kothrud Police Station and said, “I do not know who they were, but the police need to find the attackers who were carrying sticks and stones”.

Samant informed about the incident to CM Eknath Shinde and said that he was being followed by a couple of cars. “I was stopped at the traffic signal at Katraj. I was followed by two-three vehicles. People from the cars came out and attacked me”, Samant was quoted. Responding to the incident, CM Shinde said that whatever happened was not at all courageous and that those who are behind the attack would be punished.

Reports mention that the attack happened when CM Shinde and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray were in Pune. Samant who was behind Shinde’s convoy was attacked after Shinde passed through the Katraj area. To note, Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray was holding a public rally in Katraj. The Shiv Sainiks were up in arms as Thackeray departed the stage following his address.

People who witnessed the attack reported that the window panes of Saman’t car have been damaged and the attackers, suspected Shiv Sainiks led by Uddhav Thackeray also hurled stones at Samant’s car. Samant is a former Education Minister who parted ways with Uddhav Thackeray to support current Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. Now, he is part of the Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena faction.

Meanwhile, Aaditya Thackeray who held a rally at Katraj, Pune said that he had no idea about the incident.

‘You walked out, check Sansad TV for answers’: FM Nirmala Sitharaman busts TMC’s Derek O’ Brien’s ‘issues evaded’ claim

OpIndia Staff
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‘You walked out, check Sansad TV for answers’: FM Nirmala Sitharaman busts TMC’s Derek O’ Brien’s ‘issues evaded’ claim

Following the address given by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha over inflation, GST and other matters, Trinamool Congress’s MP Derek O’Brien claimed that she ‘evaded his questions’. However, FM Sitharaman refuted the claims and said she replied to all the queries even though Derek had walked out of the house and suggested he checks the recording of the session.

In the tweet, FM Sitharaman said, “You just walked out Derek O’Brien, the moment I said in West Bengal, pre-GST, paneer had a VAT on it. Even in your absence, I kept answering each of the points you wanted replies on, on cesses, LPG, GST, and particularly on the rupee. Please take some time out to watch Sansad TV.”

She had quoted the TMC MP where he had tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “complain” against Fm Sitharaman. He had said, “Mr Narendra Modi, your Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded to the Price Rise GST debate today in Rajya Sabha. WE HAD RAISED 6 SPECIFIC ISSUES. She evaded all. NO RESPONSE in #Parliament. Maybe I will get luckier on Twitter.”

After FM Sitharaman refuted his claims, without quoting her, Derek said, “So typical of Narendra Modi govt. His FM left RajyaSabha the moment I stood up to make my 14min speech for Trinamool Congress. They r now looking for a Twitter spat. She did not convincingly respond to any of the 6 ISSUES WE RAISED on Price Rise GST in Parliament. Happy tweeting.”

It is noteworthy that a major part of the current monsoon session at Rajya Sabha has seen continuous disruption by the leaders from opposition parties over price rise, GST etc. Around 20 members were suspended for disrupting the business in the house from different parties.

Owning to bad health, FM Sitharaman could not attend the daily business at the house for a few days, which was described as an “attempt to evade questions” despite the fact that the house was well-informed that FM would answer all the questions as soon as she feels better.

In a span of two days, FM attended both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha both to answer the questions tabled by the members regarding different matters, including GST, price rise, rupee vs dollar price and more.

Gujarat: Vadodara school plans mosque trip for kindergarten students on Jumma, cancels after uproar

Krunalsinh Rajput
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Gujarat: Vadodara school plans mosque trip for kindergarten students on Jumma, cancels after uproar

Delhi Public School in Vadodara’s Kalali had planned a field trip to a mosque for kindergarten children. However, the same has now been cancelled after protests. Bajrang Dal activists had protested against the field trip after parents of students objected to the same.

The Indian Express report claims that the students were earlier taken to a temple and also cites an unnamed parent who ‘did not see anything wrong with the mosque trip’. The report further claims that the unnamed parent claimed all parents had consented to sending their children to mosque.

The unnamed parent referred to Bajrang Dal activists as ‘fringe group’ and claimed that they were disheartened that their child was not going to mosque as they had earlier gone to a church and learnt about place of worship. Another unnamed parent reportedly told the Indian Express that her daughter was excited to visit the mosque as they had been telling the child about the mosque and had never been there before. It is pertinent to note that not all mosques allow women to enter to pray. It is not clear whether the mosque the kindergarten students were being taken to and where the girl child was very excited to go even allowed women.

Speaking to OpIndia, Ketan Trivedi, Vishwa Hindu Parishad coordinator said that the school chose 5th August, Friday for the visit to mosque and suspected that they wanted the children to be part of the Jumma namaz. He said, ‘If the school wanted to inspire they could have taken children to hospitals, army camps, so that they get inspired to become doctors, soldiers. Why take them to mosque?”. He said that the VHP will hold a vigil for Friday to see if the children are taken to mosque.

Trivedi further said that the VHP told the school authorities that these kind of field trips have potential to hurt someone’s religious sentiments and this appears more like a stunt than educational trip. He said that the school should focus on education and not religion. “Children are future of the country and take them to place where their minds are developed. Taking them to such religious places you start making them think on religion likes like what Muslims do, what Christians do. Why not take them to police stations or army camps instead?” he said.

After the parents raised objections, Bajrang Dal activists started chanting Ram Dhun outside the school. Later, school cancelled all field trips for the month of August.

Arpita Mukherjee purchased 18 properties from the Bengal SSC scam money, Partha Chatterjee co-owns too: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Arpita Mukherjee purchased 18 properties from the Bengal SSC scam money, Partha Chatterjee co-owns too: Reports

On Wednesday, Republic TV accessed documents that revealed a direct financial connection between accused Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee. The documents stated that Mukherjee who denied accepting that money recovered from her apartment belonged to her, had bought 18 properties between 2011 to 2022 from the proceeds of the crime.

According to the reports, Chatterjee is a co-purchaser in one of the multiple properties with Mukherjee. The property in question is a block of land of around 7,300 square feet in Birbhum that was purchased in 2012 by the Chatterjee-Mukherjee duo.

So far, the ED has raided two of Mukherjee’s houses. Raids on Mukherjee’s Diamond City house in Tollygunge, South Kolkata, confiscated Rs 20 crore in cash in Indian and international currencies, as well as 2 kg of gold jewellery. Cash worth Rs 27.90 crore and 6 kilos of gold were found from a home in Belgharia, on the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

However, Chatterjee’s close aide Arpita claimed that the money recovered by ED from her apartments did not belong to her and that it was kept at her house in her absence. “The money does not belong to me, it was kept there in my absence”, she said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier recovered more than Rs 50 crores in cash from her houses in Kolkata. After Arpita’s statements on August 2, the ED again raided her other premises in Kolkata.

Former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, and his ‘close friend’ Arpita Mukherjee have been making headlines for their involvement in the multi-crore SSC recruitment scam case. During the ED raids, it has been found that Partha Chatterjee owns a large number of flats, many of which he has gifted to his ‘close aides’ including Arpita Mukherjee and Monalisa Das. Earlier, Arpita had told the ED that Partha Chatterjee used her flat as a ‘mini bank’.

The West Bengal Teacher’s recruitment scam, more commonly referred to as the SSC scam, looks into the recruitment process conducted through the State Level Selection Test (SLT) conducted by SSC from 2014 to 2016. Candidates who appeared for the State Level Selection Test (SLST) exam had alleged that many candidates who secured fewer marks ended up with higher ranks on the merit list. They further stated that the candidates who were not on the merit list were also sent appointment letters.

Also, in the year 2016, multiple allegations of corruption cropped up regarding the recruitment of Group C and Group D employees in secondary and higher secondary schools under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. The matter came to light in March this year after irregularities were noticed in the recruitment process of teachers in the state government schools.

Thane: Shiv Sena leader Kedar Dighe booked for backing rape accused friend Rohit Kapoor and threatening the victim

OpIndia Staff
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Thane: Shiv Sena leader Kedar Dighe booked for backing rape accused friend Rohit Kapoor and threatening the victim

On Tuesday, the NM Joshi Marg police in Thane booked Kedar Dighe, the nephew of the late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe for allegedly threatening a rape victim against filing a police complaint. The Police also filed a complaint against Rohit Kapoor, a friend of Kedar for allegedly sexually exploiting a 20-year-old woman.

According to the reports, the complaint against Dighe has been filed under section 506 of the Indian Penal Code which deals with criminal intimidation whereas the complaint against Kapoor has been filed under section 376 of IPC (rape). This comes to a couple of days after Dighe was appointed as the Thane district chief of the Shiva Sena by Uddhav Thackeray.

“We have registered a case against Kedar Dighe and his friend Rohit Kapoor,” a senior police officer confirmed. The Police also said that they received a complaint against Kapoor who has allegedly sexually exploited a 20-year-old woman. While Kapoor is accused of committing the crime, Kedar Dighe is accused of threatening the woman to ensure she does not go to the Police.

However, the complainant approached the police on Monday to register a case. “Based on the victim’s statement, we have registered an offense of rape and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code. Further inquiries into the matter are underway,” one of the Police officers was quoted.

The victim woman works at a reputed hotel in Mumbai. According to the complaint filed by the victim, she was called by accused Rohit Kapoor to her room to know about the premium membership of the hotel. While she was explaining the regulations and conditions to Kapoor, he forced himself on her. When the victim confronted him about it later, Kapoor allegedly offered her money in return for her silence, and Dighe, Kapoor’s acquaintance, allegedly threatened her.

Kedar Dighe is the nephew of late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe who groomed the members of the Shiv Sena organization in Thane in the 1980s and 90s and dominated the politics of the district till he died. He is also the mentor of Maharashtra’s current CM Eknath Shinde who parted ways with former CM Uddhav Thackeray to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party and work for Hindutva.

US-China tensions: As Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, NSC says the US does not support Taiwan’s independence

OpIndia Staff
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US-China tensions: As Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, NSC says the US does not support Taiwan’s independence

On August 2 (Local Time), United States National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that they do not support independent Taiwan. The statement came amidst a much-anticipated visit of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan that has been opposed extensively by the government of China.

During the press briefing, Kirby repeatedly mentioned that the US’s stand on independent Taiwan has not changed, and they support the ‘One China’ theory. One of the reports asked about the tweet Speaker Pelosi made stating, “America stands with Taiwan”. He said it is a well-known fact that Taiwan wants to be recognized as an independent nation. When the Speaker said America stands with Taiwan, “how can the Chinese construe that as anything else but that you’re supporting independence?”

Refusing to speak for Speaker Pelosi, Kirby said, “Nothing has changed about our adherence to the One China policy. Nothing has changed about our stance on Taiwan’s independence, which is that we do not support Taiwan’s independence. And nothing has changed, James, about our commitments and how seriously we take those commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act.”

Further, when pressed if her statement misstated administration policy, Kirby asked the reporter to talk to Pelosi about the statements she made. Furthermore, he refused to speak for Pelosi but did not say he “did not support her language”. “I’m not going to speak for Speaker Pelosi. That’s beyond my writ,” he added. Kirby said, “I can speak for the administration when it comes to national security policy, and nothing has changed about our policy.”

Kirby refused to say anything about communication with China

During the press briefing, Kirby was asked if there was any line of communication between the US and China over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. He said, “I don’t have any specific conversations with the PRC leaders to speak to today. But we have an ambassador there. We have an embassy. We are in routine communication with leaders in Beijing. But I would refer you to the State Department for anything that they might or might not have communicated.”

About President supporting her visit and statement, Kirby only stated that “the President fully respects the right and the prerogative and the responsibility of members of Congress, to include the Speaker of the House, to travel overseas.”

Kirby was also asked about the sanctions China has imposed on Taiwan over Pelosi’s visit. Reportedly, around 100 Taiwanese brands have been banned by China. He was asked if Taiwan might end up paying a steep price for the US visit. Kirby said the chances of happening were low. “As we said today and yesterday, no reason for China to take what is a perfectly legitimate and consistent travel by the Speaker of the House and turn it into some pretext for amping up the tensions or creating some sort of crisis or conflict,” he said.

He emphasized the fact that the US does not support Taiwan’s independence, but the US does support Taiwan’s self-defence. He said, “In keeping with the Taiwan Relations Act, we’re going to keep doing that. And we’re going to keep working on revitalizing our alliances and partnerships in the region for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

He pointed out that the President was keeping an eye on the visits to Asian countries, but generally, the President does not comment on trips of Congress members. “He welcomes her conversations. He welcomes her contributions to American foreign policy and our foreign policy objectives overseas. But, I mean, the trip is not even over yet, so I think we ought to give the Speaker a chance to talk about what she did, what she learned, and what she took away from this trip when she gets back” he added.

Kirby was asked if the US was planning for military repercussions of the US visit to Taiwan, but he refused to comment. “I’m not going to talk about force posture or military movements one way or the other,” he said. He also referred the reporter to the State Department, who asked him about the reports that China had summoned US Ambassador Burns in the middle of the night over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Pelosi tweeted ‘America stands with Taiwan’

US Speaker Nancy Pelosi has visited Taiwan despite of strong opposition by China. After arriving in Taiwan, Pelosi wrote in a Tweet, “Our visit reiterates that America stands with Taiwan: a robust, vibrant democracy and our important partner in the Indo-Pacific.”

Notably, in the official statement, she pointed out her visit had no effect on the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. She said, “Our visit is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan – and it in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, U.S.-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances. The United States continues to oppose unilateral efforts to change the status quo.”

Ayman al-Zawahiri, killed in US drones strike, stayed at home owned by aide of NYTimes columnist Siraj Haqqani, was moved from Pakistan to Kabul earlier this year

OpIndia Staff
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Ayman al-Zawahiri, killed in US drones strike, stayed at home owned by aide of NYTimes columnist Siraj Haqqani, was moved from Pakistan to Kabul earlier this year

In an update to Ayman al-Zawahiri’s killing, reports have emerged stating that US intelligence tracked down the reclusive Al-Qaeda terrorist in Afghanistan early this year after he relocated from Pakistan to a Taliban-backed safe house in a rich area in central Kabul.

Reportedly, the residence where Zawahiri was living allegedly belonged to a prominent assistant of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is thought to have close relations with Rawalpindi. Haqqani wrote a column for NYTimes on what Taliban wants just months before the Islamist group took over Afghanistan

Yesterday, US President Joe Biden announced that terrorist organization Al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had been killed in airstrikes. In his statement, Biden said, “I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield, once and for all.” 71-years-old Zawahiri used to be a close aide and personal physician of Al-Qaeda founder and chief Osama Bin Laden. Since Laden was neutralized 11 years ago by the US, Zawahiri had become a prominent face of the terrorist organization.

According to the reports, he was hiding in downtown Kabul intending to reunite with his family. He was killed in a precisely tailored airstrike. The US armed forces used drones to fire two Hellfire missiles for the kill at around 9:48 PM ET on July 31. The authorisation for the military action to eliminate Zawahiri was given after several meetings with the US cabinet and the key advisers. At the time of the strike, no American personnel was present in Kabul.

US intelligence authorities had established that Zawahiri had relocated from Pakistan to a Taliban-backed safe house in Kabul’s downtown. Officials stated Zawahiri’s wife and children had moved there first. As US intelligence authorities tracked them, they discovered Zawahiri had joined his family. According to a senior government official who addressed reporters on the mission on Monday, after Zawahiri arrived at the safe house, he never left.

Zawahiri was long thought to be residing in Pakistan. Reports mention that his death in Kabul demonstrates not just the two nations’ porous border, but also Al-Qaeda’s decade-long usage of facilities, residences, buildings, and compounds throughout both countries.

Meanwhile, reports have also emerged claiming that Pakistan may have leaked the Al Qaeda chief’s location to the US. Germany-based Afghan analyst Fahim Sadat while in conversation with Republic TV that in lieu of IMF permission, the Pakistani security apparatus may have assisted the US in locating the terrorist.

“If this incident has not happened in coordination with the Taliban, I can also not reject the assumption that looking at the economic hardship of Pakistan, the Pakistani military establishment may have coordinated the whereabouts of Zawahiri with the Americans in return for America’s help on IMF and other economic hardships that they are facing. This is already complicated. This will hugely damage the Taliban’s claim for legitimacy and recognition by the international community,” he was quoted.

India creates history by securing gold in Lawn Bowls in the Women’s Fours category in 2022 CWG, 4th Gold medal for India in Birmingham

OpIndia Staff
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India creates history by securing gold in Lawn Bowls in the Women’s Fours category in 2022 CWG, 4th Gold medal for India in Birmingham

On Tuesday, August 2, India made history by winning the first-ever medal in the women’s four Lawn Bowls final at the 2022 CWG (Commonwealth Games) being held in Birmingham. The women’s team has secured the gold medal, taking the total Indian Gold medal tally to 4. The Commonwealth Games 2022 began on July 28, 2022, and will conclude on August 8, 2022.

On Monday (August 1), the Indian team defeated New Zealand in the Women’s Fours category semi-final to confirm at least a silver medal for the country. Today, team India started strong but South Africa produced a brilliant fightback as both the teams were on 10 points after the 12 Ends. India, however, restored the advantage and created history by defeating the South Africans 17-10 after 15 Ends.

The team which has brought India the glory comprised of Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Pinki and Nayanmoni Saikia.

With this historic win, India is in the sixth spot in the CWG 2022 Medal Tally with 10 medals – 4 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze.

Mirabai Chanu won India’s first gold medal in weightlifting women’s 49kg at the Commonwealth Games 2022. Indian men were not to be left behind, Jeremy Lalrinnunga won gold in 67 kg, Sanket Sargar won silver in 55 kg, and Achinta Sheuli won gold in 73 kg. India won four medals in men’s weightlifting.

List of medals India secured in 2022 CWG

India finished 3rd during the last Commonwealth Games in Australia with 26 Gold medals. However, with shooting and archery no longer part of the games, India is expected to finish far below that Gold tally.

‘Hindu on Campus’ group subjected to online attack, faces smear campaign by Hindu Students Association of American University

OpIndia Staff
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‘Hindu on Campus’ group subjected to online attack, faces smear campaign by Hindu Students Association of American University

On Tuesday (August 2), the student-led ‘Hindu on Campus (HOC)’ group became the subject of a smear campaign after it collaborated with the Hindu Student Association (HSA) of American University. The varsity is located in Washington DC.

In a tweet, Hindus on Campus informed, “American University’s Hindu Student Association received hateful comments for a collab post with HOC.”

After receiving online hate, HSA quickly deleted its post. On the contrary, it accused the ‘Hindu on Campus’ advocacy group of supporting caste discrimination against Dalits and furthering Islamophobia.

“Accusing those who organize around or speak about Hinduphobia (including the persecution of Hindus) of being agents or pawns of violent, oppressive political agendas,” Hindu on Campus tweeted.

It further added, “Making unsubstantiated claims about the political agendas of people who are simply practising Hinduism.”

Hindu on Campus, a student-led group to fight Hinduphobia in international varieties, has often been targeted by Islamists and the cabal of leftists and liberals. It also aims to create a safe space for l Hindu diaspora to share their experiences with racism and anti-Hindu bigotry.

Last year, it shared testimonials of five current and prospective students of Rutgers University who called out ‘historian’ Audrey Truschke for downplaying the cultural genocide of Hindus committed by Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb.

Irked by the testimonials, the Senior Vice President of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ at Rutgers University, Enbong (Anna) Branch, later blocked the Twitter handle of ‘Hindus on Campus’. “It is very clear that ‘diversity and inclusion’ does not include Hindu students at Rutgers University,” HOC wrote.

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