Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud, who is set to become the Chief Justice of India in November this year, has had enough of the criticism of Indian Judges. Justice Chandrachud reached his breaking point after reading a news article, “India’s top court delays hearing anti-Christian violence plea”, which was published on July 19 in various publications.
On Thursday, an advocate asked for an urgent listing of a petition on violence against the Christian community, and it reminded Justice Chandrachud of the news article mentioned above. He cited the news reports and slammed a trend of levelling personal attacks against the Judges.
“I was down with Covid, so the matter could not be taken up. But I recently read a news article saying the Supreme court is delaying the hearing in the matter. Give us a break! One of the judges was down with covid, that’s why we couldn’t hear it. There’s a limit to how much you can target judges”, Justice Chandrachud said.
The honourable judge also went on to wonder who is publishing such news. He agreed to an urgent listing of the petition, lest there be another similar news item saying that Supreme Court is delaying the listing.
Justice Chandrachud is not the only Supreme Court Judge to be disturbed by media reports in recent times. Last week, Chief Justice of India, N.V. Ramana alleged that the media is creating difficulties for the judiciary and harming democracy. He expressed concerns about the “concerted campaigns” in media and social media against judges, and debates on media on cases heard by the courts calling them “ill-informed and agenda-driven.”
CJI Ramana was making these remarks amid the backlash the judiciary is facing in recent weeks over controversial remarks and judgements, especially over oral remarks against Nupur Sharma.
The petition was filed in the Supreme Court by controversial Archbishop of Bangalore Diocese, Peter Machado
In a repeat of the 2015 propaganda campaign to say ‘Christians are in danger in India’, Archbishop of Bangalore Diocese, Peter Machado, and National Solidarity Forum, the Evangelical Fellowship of India filed this petition in Supreme Court on the alleged attacks on Christians in India.
Machado, the petitioner in the case has a very colourful past with multiple allegations of corruption against him.
In June 2020, the former judge of Bombay High Court, Micheal F Saldanha, had accused Machado of colluding and covering up murders allegedly committed by Bishop of Mysore KA William. He had accused Peter Machado and Bishop K A William, of ‘criminally misappropriating’ ₹49.5 crores collected for Coorg Disaster Relief work in 2018.
Accusing Machado of misappropriation, ex-Judge Michael F Saldanha wrote, “Perhaps Archbishop Peter Machado can tell us how many night shelters for homeless persons he has constructed because this was one of his appeals made more than a year back at the time of the concert. If it is there in writing in the annexure so he is certainly accountable.”
In the same year, the Karnataka Catholic Christian Association (AKCCA) accused him of being involved in a multi-million dollar scam. Machado, a vocal critic of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), was appointed as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangalore by Pope Francis.
On August 28, 2020, AKCCA demanded an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the financial misappropriation of Asha Charitable Trust, which is owned by the archdiocese. The group, in a press conference held at Bangalore, accused the Trust of siphoning off ₹3 billion ($42 million).
On July 27, during the second raid on a house linked to TMC minister Partha Chatterjee’s close aide Arpita Mukherjee, Enforcement Directorate (ED), recovered another large cache cash worth over Rs 278 crore along with gold jewellery worth Rs 4.31 crore. The ED yesterday raided two flats in an apartment in Belgharia in Kolkata, which belongs to Arpita Mukherjee. The probe agency has again found many banknotes in one of the flats. Several cash counting machines and even a truck were called in to ferry the huge amount of cash recovered from her flat.
Cash of Rs 27.9 crores in cash, gold, and jewellery worth Rs 4.31 crores has been recovered till now from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee: Sources pic.twitter.com/ZWJuccciw8
Following the recovery, news Agency ANI published photographs of cash and jewellery, courtesy of ED. The perfectly placed cash spelling ED and photographs of a pile of remaining cash and gold jewellery resulted in a flood of memes and jokes.
Author and scientist Anand Ranganathan said, “There’s so much cash and gold being unearthed in Didi’s Bengal the IMF might have to revise its 2022-23 GDP forecast for India.”
There’s so much cash and gold being unearthed in Didi’s Bengal the IMF might have to revise its 2022-23 GDP forecast for India.
In a reply, Twitter user Raghav Yadav said, “If I get this money, then I will become CM of Delhi by giving all thing free”, followed by a laughing emoji.
If I will get this money than I will become CM of Delhi by giving all thing freee….?
Another Twitter user Totantillaya quoted ANI’s tweet and said, “Spelling ED with the money would have been the highlight of the day for the officers involved.”
Spelling ED with the money would have been the highlight of the day for the officers involved ?? https://t.co/6u3ukU1zab
— १४४.eth | backchod.eth | pradhyumnabhat.eth (@Totantillaya) July 28, 2022
Twitter user Vain Gosh said, “shoutout to the guy who gave up on his artistic pursuits for a stable govt job, so now channels it into arranging the seized cash on raids.”
shoutout to the guy who gave up on his artistic pursuits for a stable govt job, so now channels it into arranging the seized cash on raids https://t.co/yVHOowyOhp
Twitter user Justtweeto urged ED to be more creative and said, “There is so much money and jewellery that not only ED, they could have written ‘DIDI’ as well with ‘rangoli’ of jewellery.”
इतना माल है कि ED क्या DIDI लिखा जा सकता है सोने की रंगोली सजा के , थोड़ा innovate करें महोदय ? https://t.co/gUEl4Yo6kE
Twitter user Arabindha said, “I think there is enough money there for ED to spell Enforcement Directorate Fully and even include their office address and Phone Number.”
Earlier on July 22, ED had recovered cash worth over Rs 21 crore, jewellery and foreign exchange from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee in Tollygunge. Reportedly, that flat had been ‘gifted’ to her by arrested TMC leader Partha Chatterjee. It is believed that the recovered money is the proceeds of the SSC teacher recruitment scam during the time when Partha Chatterjee was the education minister in West Bengal. The Calcutta High Court has ordered a probe into this scam, following which CBI and ED conducted searches and investigations.
Both Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee have been arrested by ED. Arpita has told ED that the money found at her houses belongs to Partha Chatterjee, and he was using the houses as ‘mini banks’.
On Thursday, a curfew was imposed in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district days after continued clashes broke out between the state police and locals over incidents of cow slaughter. The internet services have been suspended in the Chiriya Gandhi panchayat and Gandhi Badi areas of Hanumangarh district till further notice.
According to the reports, the protesters demanded legal action against those who were allegedly involved in cow slaughter during Eid on July 11. The Police arrested accused Faruq, Anwar, Amin Khan, and Sikandar Khan on charges of cow slaughter.
On July 11, an incident of cow slaughter was reported from the Chiriya Gandhi panchayat. The report mentioned that the Islamists had slaughtered a cow on the occasion of Eid. The Bhirani Police was informed by the locals about the incident who also demanded strict action against the Islamists. The Police then arrested four accused in the case and began the investigation.
During the investigation, the police found that the accused had slaughtered a cow. The same was confirmed when the FSL report confirmed that the meat was from a cow. The locals began the protests on Tuesday and demanded strict action against the accused. According to media reports, the police dispersed the protesters from the site and also arrested some of the protesters.
The villagers also gathered on July 27 and staged protests over the incident of cow slaughter. Reports mention that a large number of women also participated in the demonstrations and chanted the slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’. The heavily deployed Police force in the area tried to disperse the crowd and the protesters after which the clashes between the protesters and the police were reported.
Stones were also pelted amid the clashes in which many police personnel including ASP Suresh Jangid and Bhadra police station in-charge Ranveer Sai were injured. Also, Bhirani SHO Om Prakash Suthar suffered a head injury.
District Collector Nathmal Didel while talking to TOI said that the Police had asked the protesters to end the protests but to no avail. He added that the demonstrations began after the FSL report confirmed the incident via one single sample. “As far as the FSl report is concerned, one sample collected out of the six was found positive”, he was quoted.
Reports mention that the curfew has been imposed following rising tension in the area around the Hanumangarh district. A heavy police force has also been deployed in the area to maintain peace. The Police have meanwhile arrested Faruq, Anwar, Amin Khan, and Sikandar Khan on charges of cow slaughter. Further investigations are underway.
On Wednesday, the Telangana High Court granted conditional bail to the fifth juvenile accused, arrested in early June, for gang-raping a 16-year-old girl kidnapped from a pub in the Jubilee Hills area of Hyderabad. While granting bail to the son of the AIMIM MLA, Justice K Surender of Telangana High Court said that the mother of the accused shall furnish an undertaking that the accused will not repeat the offence.
Based on this and some other ‘conditions’, the MLA’s son, who is one of the six accused in the heinous case, was granted bail on Wednesday.
Notably, a day prior, four out of the five minors who were arrested, had been granted bail by the Nampally criminal court complex’s juvenile justice board. However, the sixth accuse Saduddin Malik is still in jail because his bail petition is pending before the High Court. 18-year-old Malik is the only adult accused in the case, and he is the prime accused in the case.
The court further said that the parents should ‘encourage him to pursue his studies and assure him that, upon bail, the juvenile will not be permitted to come into contact with the victim. Neither would he associate with any unknown criminal nor be exposed to any moral, physical or psychological danger, said the court.
The court added that the mother of the accused would need to report to the concerned District Probation Officer (DPO) on the first Monday of every month for a period of six months. The District Probation Officer, in turn, would require to keep strict vigilance on the activities of the MLA’s son and submit a monthly report to the board for the next six months.
The court added that in the event that the accused person’s parents relocate, they are required to inform the board and provide their new address. While granting bail, Justice K Surender further directed the parents of the accused to submit their son’s passport to the Juvenile Justice Board. In case the accused juvenile does not have a passport, the parents must file an affidavit in this regard, said the court.
After the High Court issued the directives, the juvenile accused was released from the Juvenile Welfare and Correctional Centre in Saidabad where he was lodged. With him, all five juvenile accused have been released after their bail pleas were accepted by the Juvenile Board and the High Court.
The five youngsters had filed separate bail requests with the juvenile board twice in June, but they both had been denied. On Tuesday, however, the four were granted bail by the Nampally criminal court complex on the provision of a Rs 5,000 surety, and the fifth was granted conditional bail on Wednesday by the High Court. The Nampally criminal court complex’s juvenile justice board while granting the bail had ordered the four to cooperate with the investigators and to appear in court whenever they are summoned.
Saduddin Malik, the prime accused in the case was arrested by the Police on June 3 and was housed in the Chanchalguda jail while the other minor accused were put in the custody of the juvenile board.
In this case, all the accused minors are between the ages of 16 and 18, with the son of the AIMIM MLA being just a month short of becoming 18. The police had charged the accused under sections 376-D (gang rape), 323 (causing harm), and 376 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code. A second charge was filed under the Information Technology Act for recording the rape and distributing the images and video.
It may be recalled that the Hyderabad police had on June 9, said that they will be pushing for the under-18 accused to be tried as adults so that they do not get lighter punishment on account of being juveniles. However, the four were granted bail on July 26 and the fifth, who was the prime accused in the case was granted bail on July 27, on a condition that ‘he will not repeat the offence’.
On 28th May 2022, a 17-year-old minor girl had gone to attend a party at the Amnesia and Insomnia Pub in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. The party was hosted by two of her friends. Some other boys also had met her in the same pub, from where she was taken in a Mercedes car and allegedly gang-raped by the accused. The Mercedes car in which the girl left the pub belongs to a TRS leader and an Innova car in which the crime took place belonged to a Waqf Board functionary.
The Telegraph, the English-language paper from ABP group published from Kolkata, West Bengal, often hailed by the ‘liberals’ in India for its anti-Modi headlines, has maintained strategic silence on the enormous amount of cash recovered from Arpita Mukherjee’s house. Mukherjee is a close aide of Partha Chatterjee, TMC leader and minister in Mamata government, currently under scanner over alleged involvement in SSC recruitment exams.
The Telegraph front page
In what would have been the biggest news of the day, since it is a locally published paper, likely catering to local people, the sea of cash recovered from Arpita Mukherjee’s second residence is pushed into a small corner ‘in brief’. To put things in perspective, Rs 29 crore cash was found from her house. 6 trucks and cash counting machines were brought in to count the huge cache of cash recovered. This was over and above the cash already recovered from her other residence. A total of about Rs 40 crore cash has been recovered till now.
West Bengal SSC recruitment scam | A truck reaches the Belgharia residence of Arpita Mukherjee, close aide of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee, for the loading process of the cash amounting to at least Rs 15 crores* found there pic.twitter.com/NiUD9F3y1v
Earlier on July 22, ED had recovered cash worth over Rs 21 crore, jewellery and foreign exchange from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee in Tollygunge. Reportedly, that flat had been ‘gifted’ to her by arrested TMC leader Partha Chatterjee. It is believed that the recovered money is proceeds of SSC teacher recruitment scam during the time when Partha Chatterjee was the education minister in West Bengal. The Calcutta High Court has ordered a probe in this scam, following which CBI and ED are conducing searches and investigations.
Even on its website, The Telegraph does not even have this piece of news on TMC leader and a minister in Mamata cabinet.
The Telegraph website
The Telegraph chose to put up an ‘interview’ with Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair whose online trolling and dog-whistling has now led to incidents of violence and at least three killings by Islamists.
In fact, when you scroll down the website, the news regarding the cash cache does not even appear – at least till a few miles this reporter scrolled.
In its ‘West Bengal’ section, the first article is about Mamata Banerjee ‘slamming ‘torturous’ Centre’.
The Telegraph West Bengal section
The news regarding the huge amount of cash found from aide of TMC minister is pushed further down.
Partha Chatterjee is a powerful minister in Mamata government. He is also secretary general of the ruling Trinamool Congress. Safe to say he is a close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. On directions of the Calcutta High Court, the CBI is probing the irregularities in the Group-C and D staff as well as teachers recruitment in government sponsored and aided schools on recommendations of West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC). The Enforcement Directorate is following the cash trail.
The Telegraph ‘speaking truth to power’
This, of course, isn’t the first time The Telegraph appears to be terrified of Mamata Banerjee. In October 2020, on a day when the goons allegedly associated with the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, joined hands with the West Bengal Police and unleashed violence and mercilessly beat up people on the streets of Kolkata, the neutral media ‘Telegraph’ chose to remain a mute spectator against atrocities perpetrated by the West Bengal government. The Telegraph did not have any of its spiteful headlines it passes off as ‘witty’!
The Telegraph is more of an advocacy group than an actual media organization. During the 2019 general elections, its editor had claimed in an article removing Narendra Modi from power was the only hope for India’s redemption. The Bengal-based media house The Telegraph was called out by netizens for a headline that insulted the Dalit community as it compared the President of India, Ramnath Kovind, who is a Dalit leader himself, to ‘Covid19’. The meltdown came after President Kovind nominated ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha.
“Kovind, not Covid, did it”, the headline read. The Coronavirus pandemic that started from China’s Wuhan province in November 2019 has wrecked havoc across the world with virus mutating, with millions across the world getting infected and lakhs succumbing to the disease. The virus continues to spread, infecting thousands every day in India.
May be, the Telegraph, which takes so much pride in its headlines except, has no courage at all to hold West Bengal government or Mamata Banerjee into account or report on things that are happening in its own backyard in West Bengal. And maybe find its spine buried under the pile of cash found in Arpita Mukherjee’s home.
On Thursday, the accused who had brutally murdered Umesh Kolhe in June this year for allegedly supporting BJP ex-spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media, have filed an application in the NIA court to shift from Arthur Road jail to another jail. The accused have stated that there is a threat to their life in Arthur Road jail.
According to the reports, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the jail authorities have raised no objection to the application. The application by the accused have been filed a day after one of them named Shahrukh was allegedly beaten up by some of the other prisoners in the jail. The case has also been registered by the Police against the prisoners who led the attack on Pathan.
Umesh Kolhe murder case | Accused have filed application in NIA court to shift them from Arthur Road jail to another jail stating a threat to their life after one of the accused Shahrukh Pathan was beaten up by other inmates. Jail authorities & NIA have no objection
Umesh Kolhe, a pharmacist in the eastern Maharashtra city of Amravati, was stabbed to death on June 21 while coming home after shutting his store. The 54-year-old was killed for reportedly sharing a post on several WhatsApp groups in favour of now-suspended BJP spokesman Nupur Sharma’s alleged inflammatory statements against Prophet Mohammad.
Pathan is one of seven persons detained in the case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). All of the accused are being held in Arthur Road Prison. Earlier this month, the anti-terror bureau, which took over the investigations from the Amravati cops, had brought two of the 7 suspects from Mumbai to Amravati and recreated the series of events that led to the killing of Kolhe. The NIA has already taken custody of all seven defendants in the case including Shaikh Irfan Shaikh Rahim who is the primary accused in the case.
The governmental agency had earlier informed the in-charge NIA court in Mumbai that the case was extremely serious and had national and international consequences. According to the NIA, there was incremental material against the accused to indicate they were participating in terrorist operations.
Also, earlier it was reported that the murder was pre-planned and that the accused had done the recce of the place before the murder. The Police during the investigation gained the CCTV footage which revealed that three accused dressed in black had done the recce of the place. In another footage, the three accused were seen heading toward the spot to execute the murder.
All the accused identified as Sheikh Irfan, Yusuf Khan, Abdul Taufiq, Mudassir Ahmed, Shoaib Khan, Atib Rashid, and Shahrukh Khan Pathan have been detained by the Police. The NIA and the jail authorities have not objected to the ‘shift of jail’ application filed by the accused. However, it is not clear yet to which jail will the accused be shifted.
On the intervening night of July 27 and July 28, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that the state government would form a commando force with special training, intelligence, ammunition, and resources to go after anti-national and terror groups conspiring to disrupt the peace and stir communal tension in the state.
CM Bommai was speaking at an emergency press conference following the unrest in the state over the brutal murder of BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru in Dakshin Kannada on Tuesday night.
Govt will form a commando force with special training, intelligence, ammunition, resources to go after anti-national & terror groups conspiring to disrupt the peace & stir communal tensions in the state: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai, in an emergency press conference at midnight pic.twitter.com/U46Si8IUDr
Karnataka BJP had planned an official event at Soudha, and ‘Janotsava’, a mega rally at Doddaballapur, on Thursday to mark Bommai’s one year in the office. National President of BJP JP Nadda was scheduled to attend the event.
During the press conference, CM Bommai said another press conference would be held on Thursday. He said, “My mind wasn’t at peace after hearing the news, I gave directions to act on it then & there… it happened just a few days after Harsha’s (Bajrang Dal activist) death… It’s inhuman and condemnable.”
Won’t spare such elements at any cost. A task force of commandos will be trained along with intelligence wing, they’ll specifically look after such elements. Culprits to be nabbed soon… there are inter-state issues involved that’s why I can’t reveal everything now: Karnataka CM pic.twitter.com/NGcVM18HG4
He further added that such elements would not be spared at any cost. He said the killers would be nabbed soon, but because of the inter-state issue involved in the matter, he could not shed more light.
Earlier on Wednesday, he had assured that justice would be served to the family. “We will not rest till the culprits who perpetrated the heinous act in Mangaluru that provokes social unrest and discord are crushed,” he said.
Speaking about coordination between Karnataka and Kerala Police over the matter, he said, “Praveen was killed in Mangaluru on Tuesday. Orders have been issued for stringent action against the culprits. Karnataka police officers are in constant touch with their Kerala counterparts to nab the killers. Mangaluru, Superintendent of Police, has spoken to Kasaragod, Superintendent of Police. Our Director General of Police has also taken up the issue with the Kerala Director General of Police. Teams have been formed, and operations have been launched to nab the killers. The culprits would be nabbed soon and severely punished.”
Notably, following Nettaru’s murder, tension had prevailed in the state. BJYM members were distressed after this incident and expressed their concerns. They took to social media to put up posts threatening mass resignation. Karnataka BJP MLA Renukacharyra also said that Hindus are not safe despite there being a BJP regime. He has also threatened to tender his resignation from the MLA post if the Hindus in the state are not protected.
Murder of Praveen Nettaru
On July 26, a Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by unidentified assailants. As per reports, the killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Nettaru, who ran a poultry business, was was shutting down his shop when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Nettaru was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.
Praveen Nettaru, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member, was hacked to death on July 26 by unknown assailants. Several Hindu organisations had taken to the streets to protest against the brutal murder, calling for bandh in various parts of Karnataka. After this incident, outraged BJP Yuva Morcha members started to furnish mass resignations.
There is a massive protest in southern parts of Karnataka after Praveen Nettaru’s murder. Protests have broken out in Bellare and Sullia, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has called for a bandh. Hundreds of people escorted Praveen Nettaru’s dead body as it was taken to his home on July 27 in the morning. The deputy commissioner of police, Mangaluru, remarked that the situation is being thoroughly probed. He said, “I spoke to the family regarding the autopsy and the funeral. We will forward the family’s requests to the government.”
According to police, 15 persons have been held for interrogation, and six teams have been formed to find the murderers. Three squads have been sent to Hassan, Madikeri, and the adjacent state of Kerala. Hindu activists and BJP workers surrounded BJP state party president Nalin Kumar Kateel’s car and heckled him as they protested Praveen Nettaru’s murder, demanding answers from senior party leaders.
The Chief Minister of Karnataka, after the murder, said, “Govt will form a commando force with special training, intelligence, ammunition, resources to go after anti-national & terror groups conspiring to disrupt the peace & stir communal tensions in the state”.
Govt will form a commando force with special training, intelligence, ammunition, resources to go after anti-national & terror groups conspiring to disrupt the peace & stir communal tensions in the state: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai, in an emergency press conference at midnight pic.twitter.com/U46Si8IUDr
It is being reported that the assailants who murdered Praveen were riding a bike with a Kerala number plate. The CCTV footage from the neighbouring areas has been collected and the government has vowed to find the murderers soon.
As the angst of Hindu activists and BJP workers spills onto the streets after Praveen being the latest in a string of Hindu murders, there are two theories that have emerged in the murder case, that put Islamists smack in the middle of the storm.
The first theory that is being investigated by the authorities is if Praveen Nettaru’s murder was connected to the support he extended to Nupur Sharma and his posts that spoke against the murder of Kanhaiya Lal, who was beheaded by Islamists (for supporting Nupur Sharma). Praveen had also questioned the Congress government in Rajasthan over the beheading of Kanhaiya Lal.
In the Facebook post on June 29, Nettaru wrote about Kanhaiya Lal’s murder and his killers’ threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Questioning Congress leader Ramya Divya Spandana and others, he wrote in Kannada, “Where are you when a poor tailor was beheaded for supporting nationalist sentiments, and their next target is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Where are you? Did your voice die because of burning? This death has taken place in a state that is ruled by the Congress. Don’t you show mercy to a poor tailor’s life.”
Post by Praveen Nettaru
There have been a long list of Hindus who have been murdered and threatened after they either supported Nupur Sharma, ex BJP spokesperson, or spoke up against the murder of Kanhaiya Lal, who was beheaded by Islamists for speaking up in support of Nupur Sharma.
Even before Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded, another Hindu called Umesh Kohle was murdered for his support of Nupur Sharma. A family in Nagpur was also forced to flee their home because of threats by Islamists after social media posts that spoke in defence of Sharma. A 23-year-old man named Ankit Kumar Jha was also stabbed multiple times for watching a video of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media. The incident took place in the Sitamarhi district in the Tirhut Division of Bihar on July 15. In fact, only a couple of days before the murder of Praveen Nattaru, another youth, Nishank Rathore was found hacked on the railway tracks one day after his father received a message from his phone, that threatened to behead Nishank.
After multiple such incidents, there are suspicions that Praveen could have also been murdered because he spoke up against the beheading of Kanhaiya Lal. The Islamists have been any support to Nupur Sharma, or those murdered, like Kanhaiya Lal, as an affront to their “faith”. Chanting “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki saza, sar tan se juda” has become the norm for several pious Muslims because they view even speaking up for Kanhaiya Lal or Nupur Sharma as an insult to their Prophet.
The other theory that is being investigated by the authorities as a possible reason for Praveen’s murder is the death of a Muslim man from Kasaragod, Kerala called Masood only days earlier. On the 21st of July, Masood succumbed to his injuries in Mangaluru after he was beaten up by certain individuals. Reportedly, on the 19th of July, Masood had picked a fight with a Hindu boy called Sudhir. Masood had beaten Sudhir up brutally as a result of this quarrel that the former had picked. Later, Sudhir and 7 others assaulted Masood in retaliation. Masood was admitted to the hospital where he reportedly succumbed to his injuries.
The Bellare police arrested Abhilash, Sunil, Sudhir, Shiva, Ranjith, Sadashiva, Zym Ranjith and Bhaskar on July 20. They were accused of offences punishable under sections 143, 147, 323, 324 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code. Following the death of Masood, the eight arrested persons have also been accused of murder (Section 302 of IPC).
Reportedly, the police is now also investigating if the murder of Praveen Nettaru was an act of retaliation against the death of Masood.
According to a report by News18, PFI leader Shafi Bellare had issued open threats to avenge the death of Masood and police are investigating if it was PFI that carried out this murder. Notably, the murderers of Praveen were riding a bike with a Kerala number plate and Karnataka authorities are now investigating the role of PFI and Islamists from Kerala as well.
“He was very active and was at the forefront of managing programmes for the party. He was a dedicated RSS karyakarta and rose up the rungs of the BJP through his sheer hard work. He had friends in every community. The day he was killed, that afternoon he had visited the house of a Muslim friend and posted about it as well,” a friend of Praveen said, seeking anonymity, according to a News18 report.
“After Masood’s death, there were several threats going around about attacking Hindu leaders. We are sure Praveen was targeted for this very reason.” Sachin Shenoy, Puttur Yuva Morcha city president, told News18 that Praveen had informed the police of a possible threat.
“He told the police that he knew he was being followed. The local officers dismissed it and ridiculed him instead of providing police protection. They said he (Praveen) was not that big a leader to face a threat. Now we have lost a good soul and a loving human being. There is a limit to our patience as well,” Shenoy said.
Rakesh Rai, another senior office bearer of the BJP in Sullia said that Praveen had become an innocent target after the Karnataka police did not act against credible intelligence. He claimed that Praveen had become a target because the police did not act against intelligence that claimed that Islamists from Kerala were planning to target BJP workers from Karnataka.
It is, therefore, clear that there are several questions that the Karnataka government and security agencies need to answer. There have been allegations levelled against the Karnataka government by their own karyakartas that the agencies ignored credible security intelligence and also dismissed concerns of threats expressed by Praveen Nettaru himself.
On July 26, PinkVilla published a video interview of veteran actress Ratna Pathak Shah. During the interview, while talking about society and how difficult it is for women in India, she made a bizarre statement and targeted the Hindu festival Karwa Chauth. Shah pointed out that India is moving towards becoming a conservative society and might become like Saudi Arabia. The reason she gave was someone had asked her last year if she observed Karwa Chauth fast or not. To the question, Shah had replied, “Am I mad?” Ratna Pathak Shah is wife of actor Naseeruddin Shah.
Karwa Chauth is an age-old tradition followed by North Indian Hindu women in which they observe fast and pray for long life for their husbands. She said, “Nothing has changed for women, or very little has changed in very crucial areas. Our society is becoming extremely conservative. We’re becoming superstitious, we’re being forced into accepting and making religion a very important part of one’s life. Someone asked me for the first time last year if I’m keeping ‘karwa Chauth ka vrat (observing karwa Chauth)’. I said, ‘Am I mad?'”
She further added, “Isn’t it appalling that modern educated women do karwa Chauth, praying for the lives of husbands so that they can have some validity in life? A widow in the Indian context is a horrible situation, isn’t it? So anything that keeps me away from widowhood. Really? In the 21st century, we are talking like this? Educated women are doing this.”
Shah said that when a country becomes more conservative, it clamps down its women first. She said, “Look at all the conservative societies in this world. Women are the ones who are most affected. What’s the scope of women in Saudi Arabia? Do we want to become like Saudi Arabia? And we will become because it’s very, very convenient. Women provide a lot of unpaid labour within the home. If you have to pay for that labour, who will do it? Women are forced into that situation.”
Referring to other Hindu practices like Kundali (Astrology) and Vastu, she claimed that ads for such services were a sign that India was becoming conservative. She also pointed toward the mushrooming of Godmen like Nityananda to express her concerns about India becoming more and more conservative.
Furthermore, she talked about the murder of Dhaborkar and the delay in the trial of the case, she said, “When a rationalist like Dhaborkar gets killed in broad daylight, and nothing can be done about it. His trial is still going on. We are moving towards an extremely conservative society.”
Netizens react to Shah’s statement on Karwa Chauth
Twitter user Sheetal Chopra said, “Ratna Pathak Shah finds Karwa Chauth extremely conservative & compares India with Saudi Arabia. But the hypocrite was completely silent on Hijab issue. What else can we expect from a typical elite Bollywood Secularist.”
Ratna Pathak Shah finds Karwa chauth extremely conservative & compares India with Saudi Arabia
But the hypocrite was completely silent on * Hij@@b issue”
What else can we expect from a typical elite Bollywood Secularist
Twitter user Karuna Tyagi said, “So guys Halala, Mutah, hijab, polygamy, triple talaq r symbols of progressive society & Karva Chauth is regressive for secular #RatnaPathakShah waise she is married with a Islamist #naseeruddinshah so feel her pain..she is still in marriage yahi bahut badi baat hai.”
So guys Halala,Mutah,hijab, polygamy, triple talaq r symbols of progressive society & Karva chauth is regressive for secular #RatnaPathakShah waise she is married with a Islamist #naseeruddinshah so feel her pain..she is still in marriage yahi bahut badi baat hai?#KarvaChauthpic.twitter.com/C5xpbFmTaM
— karuna Tyagi(Proud Hindu) (@K_tyaagii) July 28, 2022
Bollywood and its hypocrisy
In recent years, a number of Bollywood celebrities have received flak for trying to preach morality and modernity only to Hindus. Not just Ratna Pathak Shah, but many others have made it a habit to specifically target Hindu festivals and rituals while keeping total silence on the conservative practices of other religions in India.
Furthermore, the superstitions that Ratna mentioned are not limited to Hindus either. It is not understood why would an accomplished actress like Ratna would forget the fact that observing the rituals of Karwa Chauth is an option that Hindu women choose to do, it is not forced upon them. As some social media users pointed out, no woman has been killed for not following the rituals and no Hindu organisation has made it mandatory for Hindu women to observe fast on Karwa Chauth. Moreover, as the festival gained popularity in recent years, in many families, even men observe a day-long fast for the health and wellbeing of their life partner.
Days after recovering cash worth more than Rs 21 crore from a flat of Bengali actor Arpita Mukherjee, ‘close aide’ of West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, the Enforcement Directorate has recovered more cash from a flat belonging to her.
According to reports, the ED today raided two flats in an apartment in Belgharia in Kolkata, which belongs to Arpita Mukherjee. The probe agency has again found huge quantity of banknotes in one of the flats. Cash counting machine and even truck was called in to ferry the huge amount of cash recovered from her flat.
ED had reached Rathtala area in Belghjaria on Wednesday morning to search the flats in a luxury apartment building, but as they were closed, they could not enter. As the watchmen in the building didn’t have duplicate keys, the ED team brought in a locksmith to get duplicate keys made. But as that attempt was unsuccessful due to high end locks installed at the flat, the ED team broke into the flats. The flats are located in Block 2 and Block 5 in the building.
After searching one of the flats, the ED found a huge stash of cash in two wardrobes in that flat. The other flat has been sealed and will be searched later, as the search team is concentrating on one flat at present where the cash has been found.
ED has brought in cash counting machines and personnel from a bank to count the cash. Reportedly, ED has brought in 5 cash counting machines. Apart from banknotes, ED has also found gold and jewellery in the flat. Local media reports that ED also brought in a huge quantity of rubber bands, giving an indication of the amount of cash recovered by them.
According to reports, cash amounting to Rs 29 crore has been recovered. 10 trucks were filled to ferry the cash to authorities.
WB SSC recruitment scam | North 24-Parganas: ED officials leave the Belgharia residence of Arpita Mukherjee, close aide of WB Minister Partha Chatterjee, after filling 10 trunks with cash amounting to approx Rs 29cr found there; a total of Rs 40cr found from her premises so far. pic.twitter.com/t9gEIHyb08
A total of Rs 40 crore have been recovered from her premises so far.
Earlier on July 22, ED had recovered cash worth over Rs 21 crore, jewellery and foreign exchange from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee in Tollygunge. Reportedly, that flat had been ‘gifted’ to her by arrested TMC leader Partha Chatterjee. It is believed that the recovered money is proceeds of SSC teacher recruitment scam during the time when Partha Chatterjee was the education minister in West Bengal. The Calcutta High Court has ordered a probe in this scam, following which CBI and ED are conducing searches and investigations.
Both Mukherjee and Chatterjee are currently under ED custody following their arrest in the case. Partha Chatterjee had got himself admitted to a state govt-run hospital immediately after the arrest, but after ED objected to it, the High Court had ordered to shift him to AIIMS Bhubaneswar. After AIIMS doctors certified that he is not ill, he was shifted to ED custody.
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 another woman named Monalisa Das. Arpita Chatterjee has told the ED that Partha Chatterjee used her flat as a ‘mini bank’. It is suspected that the flats gifted to Monalisa Das also were used for the same purpose.
Note: Report has been updated with latest figures.
