24-year-old Vadodara man Ashfaq Saiyed reportedly lured a Hindu minor girl into a so-called romantic relationship, made her pregnant and then abandoned her. On promise of marriage, he maintained a physical relationship with the minor girl and even got her pregnant when she was just 14 years old. After that, he had allegedly abandoned her. Vadodara Police has registered a complaint in this regard and nabbed him.
The girl, who lives in Vadodara’s Sayajiganj area, in her complaint has said that her father does not work and her mother had abandoned her long back. Hence she has been staying with her sister. There, she got in touch with Ashfaq and forced her to sell alcohol. Gujarat has alcohol prohibition in place and selling and consumption of the same is prohibited. As per reports, Ashfaq also used to regularly beat her up.
Ashfaq would time and again get into physical relationship with the girl after promising marriage to her and got her pregnant at 14. She eventually gave birth to a child in Sayajiganj hospital but the child died in just one day. In December last year she met a woman activist in a bus who brought her to an organisation for women in Gandhinagar and since then she had been living there.
Later, her mother came and took her to Rajkot. Ashfaq also got to know the girl has been taken away to Rajkot and he went to her again. He again promised her marriage and brought her back to Vadodara in January 2022. However, he again got abusive and started beating her up and refused to marry her.
Eventually, the girl’s father has registered a complaint in Sayajiganj Police station against Ashfaq and police has registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC and POCSO. He has since been nabbed and brought to the police station. Turns out, there are already cases registered against Ashfaq in Ahmedabad as well as Vadodara Police stations.
Several media houses have claimed that ‘The Kashmir Files’ did not receive any National Award this year, despite being a super-hit at the box office.
On its Facebook page, ABP News claimed that the movie failed to bag any accolades at the 68th National Awards. It must be mentioned that on Friday (July 22), the Government of India’s Directorate of Film Festivals awarded movies released in 2020.
The awards were decided by a 10-member jury, led by director Vipul Shah. Given that only films made in 2020 were honoured, it was obvious that ‘The Kashmir Files’ released this year did not feature in any of the categories.
ABP News falsely claimed that the National Awards were being handed out for movies that were produced this year, thereby suggesting that ‘The Kashmir Files’ failed to gain any recognition.
A lot of reputed media houses are running a vicious ‘Hit Job’ against #TheKashmirFiles. And noone is fact-checking them. If they do this to ‘terrorist friendly’ Bollywood films, ecosystem would instantly call it Islamophobia.
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) July 25, 2022
A similar gaffe was made by Aaj Tak’s sister channel ‘News Tak’. Director Vivek Agnihotri was dismayed at the brazen misinformation peddled by both the mainstream media outlets.
While taking to Twitter, he accused them of sabotaging his movie ‘The Kashmir Files.’ Agnihotri remarked, “A lot of reputed media houses are running a vicious ‘Hit Job’ against #TheKashmirFiles. And no one is fact-checking them.”
“If they do this to ‘terrorist friendly’ Bollywood films, ecosystem would instantly call it Islamophobia. I leave it here for your conscience to decide,” he further emphasised.
It’s a great day for South cinema and all the regional ones. Hindi cinema needs to work harder.
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) July 23, 2022
Interestingly, Vivek Agnihotri himself congratulated Ajay Devgan and Suriya for bagging the best actor award for the movies ‘Tanhaji’ and ‘Soorarai Pottru’ respectively.
“It’s a great day for South cinema and all the regional ones. Hindi cinema needs to work harder,” he had tweeted. Earlier, the Quint had tried to label ‘The Kashmir Files’ as Islamophobic and cancel the speaking tour of its director.
Olympic medalist Indian woman boxer Lovlina Borgohain has alleged that she has been facing harassment and her coaches are being harassed resulting in disruptions in her training. Lovlina shared her ordeal through a tweet made at 04:21 PM on Monday. The boxer is currently in Birmingham to play in the Commonwealth Games 2022.
— Lovlina Borgohain (@LovlinaBorgohai) July 25, 2022
In the tweet, Lovlina said that she and her training coaches who helped her get the medal in the Olympics are being harassed mentally and attempts are made to disrupt her training. She alleged that her coach Sandhya Gurungji, who is a Dronacharya awardee, is attached to her training camp after several requests and that too very late.
She alleged that such disturbances disrupt her training and mentally harass her. She further stated in the post that her coach is being denied entry into the commonwealth village and her training has been halted just 8 days before the international level competition. She said that her second coach has been forcibly sent to India.
Lovlina sought help from people so that these disruptions and harassment do not result in ruining her game that is to be held a week ahead. She stated that she hopes to win a medal for the country if she is saved from dirty politics. Lovlina has not mentioned any names of individuals who may be responsible for the disruption in her training.
Lovlina Borgohain, an Indian woman boxer from Assam’s Golaghat district, achieved a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics after losing in the quarterfinals against Turkey’s top seed Busenaz Surmeneli in the women’s 69kg category.
The orthodox boxer, who became the only second Indian woman to win an Olympic bronze medal, is hoping to break the series of semi-final exits and add to her medal collection in Birmingham.
Opposition leaders, including the Congress party, have written to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu regarding the sitting position assigned to Mallikarjun Kharge during the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected President Draupadi Murmu.
The letter states that Mallikarjun Kharge was made to sit in a seat “not commensurate with the position he holds”, at the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu today.
All Opposition Parties submit a letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairman stating that the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge was made to sit in a seat “not commensurate with the position he holds”, at the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu today. pic.twitter.com/TAEZvB53An
The letter signed by many Congress MPs reads, “Today, at the swearing-in ceremony of the Hon’ble President, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha was made to sit in a seat not commensurate with the position he holds.”
“We are writing to express our shock and protest at this deliberate disrespect shown to a very senior leader violating the warrant of precedence and not in accordance with protocol courtesies due to him,” it further adds. The letter has been signed by several opposition MPs, including Jairam Ramesh, Mukul Wasnik, and Pramod Tiwari.
Notably, Mallikarjun Kharge was made to sit in the first row during the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu at the central hall of Parliament. Also, what is pertinent to note is that Kharge was made to sit at the same seat where former Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley was made to sit during the swearing-in ceremony of Pranab Mukherjee back in.
Mallikarjun Kharge (Left), Arun Jaitley (Right)
The seat assigned to LOP Kharge is the seat that has long been assigned to the Leaders of Opposition of the house. The video below that shows the seating position of the Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley on the same occasion back in 2012 substantiates the assertion.
Draupadi Murmu was sworn in today as the 15th President of the Republic of India. Murmu was sworn to the highest constitutional post at the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Council of Ministers, governors of individual states, chief ministers, chiefs of diplomatic missions, Members of Parliament, and senior civil and military officials from the government also attended the event.
The Kanwar Yatra of 2022 is very special for the Bhagwan Shiva devotees as it is happening with full enthusiasm after a gap of two years owning to the Covid-19 pandemic. Lakhs of Kanwariyas all over India have been undertaking the arduous journey to collect water from holy rivers and offer it to Lord Mahadev. However, there have been multiple instances this year where the Yatra has faced hateful attacks.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: Large number of Kanwariyas gathered at Haridwar as part of the ongoing Kanwar Yatra. pic.twitter.com/5GzPV6U6G0
On July 17, Congress’s national coordinator Ritu Choudhary sparked controversy by suggesting people pick up books so that they would not have to pick Kanwar. In a now-deleted tweet, she wrote, “Pick up a book, you don’t have to pick a Kanwar then.” Notably, during Kanwar Yatra, the pilgrims travel to Haridwar and other sacred places to get water from River Ganga and then go to one of the 12 Jyotirlingams to offer water that they collected to Bhagwan Shiva.
Following her tweet, people criticized her comments and questioned why she and her party hate Hindus and traditions linked to Sanatan Dharma. One user even asked her to say, “pick up a book, you won’t have to go Hajj” if she had the guts. As the controversy heated up, she quietly deleted the tweet without issuing any apology for the same.
Meat was thrown on Kanwar Yatra
On July 19, someone threw a piece of meat on Kanwar Yatra in Seelampur, Delhi. The incident occurred in the evening, following which the pilgrims doing Kanwar Yatra jammed the roads for an hour. While these Kanwars, who had walked for over seven days to reach Delhi, were welcomed with flowers at other locations, in Delhi, they had to face people throwing meat at them.
Speaking to OpIndia, the pilgrims said that they came to know about the piece of meat when one pilgrim was shifting Kanwar on another pilgrim’s shoulders. They did not know when it happened, but the incident shook them to the core.
8 Muslim men were arrested for offering Namaz on a road full of Kanwariyas
On July 22, Police were informed about a group of Muslim men offering Namaz at Shivalikpur Nagar, Ranipur, and Haridwar in Uttarakhand. When they were offering prayers, a large group of Kanwariyas was passing through the road.
All eight who were arrested by the Police were shopkeepers. One of the reports suggested that they were taking items on their back and suddenly grouped together and started offering Namaz on the road. They were booked for disrupting law and order.
Islamists spat on Kanwariyas in Meerut
Another incident happened in Meerut on July 22, where Islamists spat on Kanwariyas. Following the incident, Kanwariyas jammed the road and demanded action by the Police. Reports suggest that the pilgrims were sitting on the side of the road to rest for a while. Two people came on a bike and tried to spit on them. After that, one of them got off the bike and spat on the Kanwariyas.
The pilgrims grabbed one of them, but the other one escaped. The Police came to know about the incident. They came and took away the accused. The Police had to calm down the Kanwariyas as they got agitated when Police refused to hand over the accused to them.
Muslim women stopped Kanwariyas in Ibrahimpur
The most recent incident happened in Ibrahimpur, Muradabad. As per reports, a group of Muslim women stopped Kanwariyas from entering Ibrahimpur. They put up cot beds on the road and demanded that the pilgrims should return and follow the prescribed route. However, the Kanwariyas who were stopped by the women were from Ibrahimpur itself.
The Police came and tried to convince both parties, but no one listened. The women claimed that the Kanwariyas were starting a new trend of entering “Muslim-dominating areas”, and they would not allow them to pass. On the other hand, Kanwariyas said they were from the same village.
Senior Police officers and elders from the village held a Panchayat and allowed Kanwariyas to pass through the village. However, the Muslim community claimed if the route was not decided soon, they would hold protests.
Inputs of the terror attack on Kanwariyas
Before Kanwar Yatra started, the Union Home Ministry had alerted the state governments to be vigilant as there were inputs of the terror attack on the pilgrims.
On July 25, Trinamool Congress National Spokesperson Saket Gokhale published a misleading tweet thread claiming that the Central Government does not consult the President on matters related to the armed forces. In his tweet, he shared an RTI and its reply sent by the President of India’s office and claimed that “the President is not consulted by the Central Government on matters related to the armed forces”. He further claimed it was an insult to the President of India.
TMC Spokesperson Saket Gokhale shared RTI reply on Agnipath Scheme and tried to mislead the public by twisting the words of the clause used for rejecting his RTI. Source: Twitter
The misleading claims by Saket Gokhale
On June 21, Gokhale sent an RTI to the Undersecretary (RTI) in the President of India’s office and sought information on Agnipath Scheme. He asked the office if the President was consulted by the Union Government of India or the Council of Ministers over the recently-launched Agnipath Scheme for the recruitment in the Armed Forces of India. He further asked for copies of all files received and sent by the President of India and the President’s Secretariat to the Union Govt of India on the matter.
RTI submitted by TMC’s Saket Gokhale. Source: Saket Gokhale/Twitter
While sharing the reply, Gokhale claimed that the Modi government denied information that its disclosure would affect the sovereignty and integrity of India. According to Gokhale, the reasoning was bizarre. He further continued to claim that the Modi government does not consult the President of India on matters related to the Armed Forces and hides the information.
Saket Gokhale claimed Central Government does not consult the President on Armed Forces matters. Source: Twitter
The reply nowhere mentions what Gokhale claimed
By looking at the reply he received, it looks like the President’s office had forwarded his RTI application to the Department of Military Affairs that rejected it. The application was rejected under Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act, which states, “Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence.”
Reply sent by the Department of Military Affairs rejecting the RTI. Source: Saket Gokhale/Twitter
What Saket Gokhale was seeking as a reply to his RTI were confidential documents regarding the recruitment in the Armed Forces. It was obvious that such information would not be provided by the defence department as it may go into the wrong hands. Interestingly, nowhere in the reply did the Department of Military Affairs say that the President of India was not consulted about the new recruitment scheme, but Gokhale somehow came to the conclusion that if the information was not provided, and just assumed that the president was not consulted.
Amidst the raging controversy over the SSC (School Service Commission) scam, Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh took potshots at the ruling Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal over its ‘close ties’ with accused Arpita Mukherjee.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recently recovered over ₹21.20 crores in cash, gold and foreign currencies worth 50 lakhs each and 22 mobile phones from the residence of the actress.
Rudranil Ghosh, who is known for his eloquence and satire, wrote a hard-hitting poem on the plight of the State under the administration of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Excerpt from the poem of Rudranil Ghosh:
21 July moncho thake bechlo didi muri, 22 e July Arpita der flat e kuti 20 (Mamata Banerjee politicised the Bengali staple food of ‘muri/puffed rice’ on July 21, only to be overshadowed on July 22 by the recovery of ₹20 crores from Arpita’s flat).
“Muri bechar taka naki chakri churir taka, boli o Didibhai jobab toh din malik toh apni sudhu eka (Turns out the money kept aside for buying puffed rice is in fact the money collected through recruitment scam. Respond to questions, Mamata di! You are the master of the roster).“
Kudi koti noter pahad dekhlo Banga bashi, Arpita der unnayan e amar didi khushi (The residents of Bengal were taken aback by the huge stack of money. Nonetheless, our Didi is pleased with the progress of Arpita Mukherjee).
Trinamool er Durga Pujoi Arpita ra mukh, neta r kacher manush hole pabe opar sukh (Arpita was the face of the Durga Puja event of TMC. It’s clear that if you are close to the politicians, then, your happiness will have no bounds).
Sukher ghore osukh holo, dhuklo ghore ED, jerar mukh e montri janai, paap er ABCD (The abode of happiness was darkened by the pall of gloom when the ED barged in. The Minister (Partha Chatterjee) revealed the A,B,C,D of the scam in the face of interrogation.)
Arpita Mukherjee was the face of the Naktala Udayan Sangha in 2020, image via India Today
Kudi kotir golpo diya ai dhora pora shuru, ek soo kuti chariya gelao ghabriyo na Guru (The arrests began over recovery of ₹20 crores but there is nothing for them to worry about even if it breaches ₹100 crores).
Ai Arpita ra onek aache Mantri aache joto, lojja, ghinna seekh e tole lootche obiroto (There are as many ‘Arpitas’ as there are Ministers. They have left their shame and disgust on a high pedestal and continued with their loot).
Rasta jore bekar boshe karon tara joggo, Maa Mati aar manush Doler kacha sobhai bhoggo (People are unemployed because they deserve to have jobs. For a party with slogan of ‘Maa, Mati and Manush’, everyone is deserving of exploitation).
Taka dilai chakri hobe, taka dilai kaaj, taka kheya dol ta bache, sobai ferak baaj (Only if you pay up, you can have your job or get your work done. The party survives on cut money and is a den of thieves).
Howrah bridge er nut-boltu khule deba becha, aar koto ta din rakhle aider rajyo deba checha (One day, they will sell even the nuts and bolts of Howrah bridge. If they stay any longer, they will scrub the State of its remaining resources).
Arpita Mukherjee with Partha Chatterjee and Mamata Banerjee at 2019 Durga Puja event
Fesa gela ader didi r sei purono buli, korun mukhe mitha kothai poran chukhe dhuli (Whenever Mamata Didi is in trouble, she sways the public with her gleaming eyes, sweet voice and brazen lies).
Manush matro bhul toh kore, din kore din khoma, sob seat e te prathri ami, suncho kaka mama (She then appeals to her uncles to forgive her, as it is human to err).
Didi Onek holo mitha bachan, public noi goru, nil sada rong jaba dhule, countdown shuru (Enough of your lies! People are not herds of cows…The countdown has begun)
Sob chor era parbe dhora, ei kudi diya Partho, duar e maat palte ebar, duar juda gorto (All thieves will be caught. It has started with Partho’s ₹20 crores. There is now a pothole besides your doorsteps).
The political journey of Rudranil Ghosh
Anubrata Mandal, who was once a star campaigner for TMC, spoke out against the party in public in 2019 over the collection of ‘cut money’ by its functionaries. He had declined to speak against dubious allegations of BJP’s black money, as touted by the high command of the TMC, in July of that year.
“She (Mamata Banerjee) brought to the fore the word ‘cut-money’ following which people (read TMC functionaries and public representatives) are returning some amount. It is creating a perception that the party runs on cut money. I also didn’t like countering the cut-money issue with black money,” Mandal had remarked.
Rudranil Ghosh was once a student leader and was affiliated with the Left parties before defecting to the TMC. He joined the BJP in January 2021 and contested the Vidhan Sabha polls from the Bhabanipur constituency but with no success.
Despite this, Rudranil Ghosh is making a mark for himself in Bengal for being outspoken against the incumbent government in West Bengal. His videos are gaining traction and are being widely shared on Facebook and Whatsapp.
At a time, when Mamata Banerjee wants journalists and the film industry to crawl, the actor with a spine is standing up to the regime, one poem at a time.
No one is unaware of the subtly propagated anti-Hindu sentiment and Hinduphobia in Bollywood movies through the one-sided, flawed, and unreal stories conveyed in the movies. The same tactic has been used once again in the film Shamshera, in which the antagonist has been portrayed by the filmmakers as a brutal barbarian who is also a pious Hindu.
Despite frequent big-budget flops and boycotts, Bollywood’s focus on anti-Hindu stories has not changed. Bollywood has once again brought a villain who is portrayed as a devout Hindu and a ruthless barbarian. Sanjay Dutt appears as a villain in Ranbir Kapoor’s historical drama ‘Shamshera.’ He is presented as a traitor to India who also happens to be a police officer. He is shown in the film as a devout Hindu with a Shikha and a Tripund Teeka. His character is named Shudh Singh, a brutal authoritarian general who has imprisoned and enslaved a warrior tribe.
Shamshera is a film produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF). Recently, the same company delivered two high-profile flops in Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Samrat Prithviraj. Shamshera has Ranbir Kapoor as the main protagonist, who plays a dacoit father and subsequently his son after his death. In both personas, he is a bandit. To apprehend him, the British bring Sanjay Dutt as Shudh Singh, a villain with a devout Hindu look.
With less than Rs 21 crore in two days’ worth of box office revenue, Shamshera, a movie with a huge budget of Rs 150 crore, has decisively been rejected by fans, putting YRF under a lot of strain. The film’s script has also been panned by reviewers for its weak content with many saying the storyline has no point. Audience feedback is that Ranbir Kapoor does not match the image of a dacoit, and neither does his voice. The screenplay was not well praised by critics too.
The disguised Hinduphobia
However, though the film has been obviously rejected by a wide audience, we need to understand the Hinduphobia that is being promoted through such movies where the villain is selectively shown as a devoted Hindu who is so pious and barbaric at the same time. There are countless movies where villains are the ones who have a stretched Red of Saffron Teeka on their forehead or discuss a crime while performing a sacred Hindu ritual like Aarti.
It is unnecessary to dwell on Bollywood’s fixation with Hinduphobia and depiction of Hindus as evil creatures. It is not a new phenomenon either, as one can remember films even from the 70s, like Suhaag, which depicts a Hindu priest as a murderer and a Hindu temple as the scene of the crime, creating negative preconceptions about Hindus.
Urduwood created a negative stereotype of Hindu symbols through scenes after scenes like this
Site of murder could have been any, but chosen as Temple. Day could be any but chosen as Navratri. Killer shown as dressed as Sadhu
— Gems of Bollywood (@GemsOfBollywood) July 18, 2022
In the movie Suhaagan, Shakti Kapoor was named Krishna and given a flute with the role of groping women on the streets. The name of Lord Krishna was used in such a demeaning movie with such a demeaning character. The dialogues of the movie were written by Kader Khan, who is well known for writing dialogues demeaning to the Hindu faith.
Give a flute and name of ‘Krishna’ to Shakti Kapoor. Make him grope women on streets
– Dialogues by Kader Khan for film Suhaagan
How Urduwood has presented Bhagwan Krishna. How many know that this kind of street molestation was actually a common practice in Arab named Ta’arrud? https://t.co/ZxhWep9ifX
— Gems of Bollywood (@GemsOfBollywood) July 7, 2022
These are just a couple of examples, if one goes through all such instances where Hinduism and Hindus have been demeaned and mocked, even a PhD thesis won’t suffice to cover them all.
Deliberate factual distortion
The entertainment industry has long been fabricating a narrative in order to make it an accepted truth. Most of us are familiar with the 1990s television series Chandrakanta which was based on Devaki Nandan Khatri’s eponymous novel and had become quite famous among the general public. However, only a few individuals know that the serial did not accurately portray the novel.
There was no positive Muslim character in the original work. Instead, it included a few Muslim characters that were either wicked or amusing. As a result, the fact that there was no positive Muslim character troubled the serial’s creators. So they made one up by altering the novel’s plot and introducing an extra character in the television adaptation.
The narrative introduced a Muslim character named Janbaaz, performed by actor Mukesh Khanna. The character played a pivotal role in helping the Hindu hero get his love interest. This is how for the sake of moderation, Hindus are shown in films as bad and deceitful, while Muslims and others are portrayed as ‘Imaandar.’
In 2021, the vilification of Hindus in Indian cinema continued with the release of the film Sherni on the OTT network Amazon Prime. The Vidya Balan-starrer movie was based on tigress Avni who had reportedly turned man-eater and was recorded to have mauled 14 people to death.
In the movie, the character who kills the tigress is neatly presented as Kalawa-wearing Ranjan Rajhans alias Pintu Bhaiya. However, the tigress was actually killed by a hunter named Asghar Ali Khan. Additionally, Vidya Balan plays IFS officer KM Abharna in the film, but she is given a Christian name. Abharna is the one who caught the hunter.
Furthermore, with the exception of one character named Hassan Noorani, the majority of the senior forest officers, who happen to be Hindus, are shown to be corrupt and unethical. The film spent much too much time depicting Hindu cops as inept and uninterested in their jobs, despite the fact that there was no clear cause or rationale for hating on Hindus. The film even included a scene in which the perpetrator, who was turned into a Hindu figure, was shown conducting Bhajans and Puja at a government office, in order to make fun of Hindu customs for no apparent reason.
Almost all storylines in Bollywood films attempt to establish a premise that Hindus are intrinsically evil while all others, such as Muslims and Christians, have pristine intentions. The same thing has been done again with Shamshera, in which Sanjay Dutt is portrayed as a pious Hindu who abuses people every now and then and is a traitor to the people. The specific makeup of Shikha and Tripund Teeka should not be forgotten since it perpetuates Bollywood’s bizarre intention that a practising Hindu who observes rituals and prayers is a nasty, psychopathic, irrational criminal.
On Monday, July 25, a class 12 student was found dead inside the hostel of Sacred Heart Girls Higher Secondary School, a government-aided missionary institution in Kilachery, Tiruvallur district, 50 km from Chennai. The police suspect it to be a case of suicide.
Tamil Nadu | A class 12 student found dead inside the hostel of a private school in Kilacheri, Tiruvallur district, today. Police personnel deployed at the school premises after the incident.
Parents and relatives of the victim hold a protest demonstration in Thekkalur. pic.twitter.com/g0W8HDlQBd
Sacred Heart Girls Higher Secondary school in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvullur district is a government-aided school managed by the Madras Mylapore Archdiocese, the same that had stood in support of the protest organised by the Catholic church and Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council in 2018, against the action being taken against various Christian hospices including the infamous St. Joseph’s Hospice which has been accused of harvesting the bones and organs of the elderly.
Details of the school found on www.indiastudychannel.com
Notably, M Lavanya, who had killed herself in January this year, after she was tortured by her school authorities for refusing to convert to Christianity, was a student of standard 12th in Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Thirukattupali in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.
The deceased, identified as 17-year-old P Sarala, a native of Thekkalur village near Arakkonam district in Tamil Nadu was found hanging in the hostel room of Sacred Hearts Girls Higher Secondary School.
The police have sent the girl’s body to a government hospital in Tiruvallur for postmortem examination. Further investigations are underway.
According to preliminary investigations, the deceased had spoken to her parents and a relative over the phone on Sunday night. She was depressed and getting ready to leave the dorm for school on Monday morning when she ended her life, said the police, adding that no suicide note has been recovered yet.
On receiving the information about the alleged suicide, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) M Sathya Priya and Tiruvallur District SP P Cephas Kalyan from Mappedu rushed to the school and conducted a preliminary probe into the alleged suicide.
A senior police officer said, “It is not clear why she took the extreme decision. The enquiry is on with her classmates and friends and wardens of the hostel.” Her body was recovered in the presence of revenue authorities and sent to the Government General Hospital, Thiruvallur for post-mortem. The case is likely to be transferred to CB-CID for further investigation.
The death of the 17-year-old student has triggered tensions in the area. On Monday, the kins of the deceased along with other villagers blocked a road in Thekkalur, leading to the school. The protest compelled the police to engage additional personnel for security in and around the school and in the village.
M Lavanya had ended her life after Sacred Hearts Girls Higher Secondary School in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu allegedly pressurised her to convert to Christianity
As mentioned above, M Lavanya, was a student of standard 12th in Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Thirukattupali in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. She had killed herself after she was allegedly tortured by her school authorities for refusing to convert to Christianity. Reportedly, the school had said that she must convert to Christianity if she wishes to continue her studies in the school.
Lavanya had been living at the St. Michael’s Girls Hostel near her school for the past five years, and the govt-aided Christian missionary school had been pressuring her to convert to Christianity, as per the girl’s dying declaration. However, Lavanya was adamant about not leaving her religion and refused to get converted. Angered by Lavanya’s resistance, the school administration cancelled her leave application for Pongal Celebrations. Lavanya who was supposed to visit home during her holidays was forced to do chores like cleaning toilets of the school, cooking and washing dishes. It is reported that dejected Lavanya consumed pesticides used in the school garden to end her life.
Principal and 4 others sent to jail, police van and school buses gutted in fire as people outrage over the death of TN student
This latest incident, however, has come on the heels of the tragic death of another Class 12 girl in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi on July 12.
The class 12 student had reportedly died of suicide on the premises of the Kaniyamoor Sakthi matriculation school. A suicide note recovered alleged that two teachers of the school had harassed and tortured her, compelling her to commit suicide.
The family had also alleged that the management had something to do with her suicide. Hordes of protestors had also taken to the streets alleging foul play in the investigation into the case.
The case had been transferred to Crime Branch-CID, a special wing in a CID headed by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and assisted by the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
On July 19, Kaniyamoor Sakthi matriculation school secretary Shanthi, principal Shiva Sankaran, school correspondent Ravikumar, and two teachers were arrested in connection with the death of a 17-year-old school girl in Kallakurichi, Tamil Nadu. The five arrested school employees have been sent on a 15-day remand.
On July 23, a detailed account of a monkeypox patient was published by The Guardian, who happened to be Division Director at George Soros headed Open Society Foundation. In the report by The Guardian, Sebastian Kohn revealed he not only contracted monkeypox but also Gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease (STD), after having sex with multiple men during pride weekend.
One of the directors for George Soros’ Open Society Foundations who specializes in public health, Sebastian Köhn, shares in the Guardian how he had sex with multiple men in a weekend for NYC Pride & contracted both #monkeypox & gonorrhea. He blames the system for failing him. pic.twitter.com/De1KQBDRUl
Kohn said that when the pride festival kicked off in New York on June 24, he was aware that monkeypox was a matter of concern, especially for gay men like him. However, pertaining to the low number of cases, he went on to have sex with multiple men, which was indeed in clear violation of the guidelines issued by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
After a week, he started to feel tired and developed a rash along with other symptoms of monkeypox. Kohn said, “I’m a 39-year-old man from Sweden, living in Brooklyn and working in philanthropy. For the past decade, my work has primarily focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights, so I followed the outbreak from the very beginning.” Even then, he decided to go ahead and enjoy having sex with unknown men over the pride weekend.
After getting tested at the healthcare centre, Kohn found he contracted not only monkeypox but also another STD, Gonorrhea. Kohn went on to explain how the disease progressed, and he was unable to get the treatment he desired or required. Interestingly, when he was far ahead on the path of recovery, he received a call from a healthcare professional who told him he might have monkeypox. When informed that he had already got tested and was being treated for the same, the person on the call did not bother to ask about the people whom he came in contact with after contracting the disease.
What is monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a rare disease that is caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. It belongs to the same family of Orthopoxvirus viruses that also includes smallpox and cowpox viruses. In 1958, two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Monkeypox virus was first discovered among these monkeys and thus derived its name from the same. Experts have said that gay men or men who have sex with other men are more prone to the disease.
The primary symptom of monkeypox is the virus that causes visible bumpy rash or pox all over the body. Apart from the pox, monkeypox can result in fever, and severe body aches. Other symptoms include fever, headache, muscle rashes, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
Rashes in the form of pox or blisters develop all over the body distinctively that look like chickenpox or syphilis. The rash often begins on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body, including the genitals. The rash develops all over the body and goes through different stages. It finally develops into a sab and eventually falls off. Those infected with the virus show symptoms within five days, and the infection generally lasts for 21 days.
The Monkeyvirus has two major strains, namely the fatal Congo strain with up to 10% mortality and the West African strain, which has a fatality rate of 1% in the total cases. The cases detected in the UK are of the West African strain. Australia is currently investigating its first case. Case fatality rates are found to be higher among children. WHO says that in certain recent incidents, the case fatality rate has been found to be 3% to 6%.
Monkeypox cases in India
So far, India has reported four cases of monkeypox, out of which three had travel history to the countries where the outbreak has been reported. However, one case that was reported on July 24 in Delhi did not have any travel history to such countries, which shows he might have come in contact with someone who had the disease.
CDC has asked to limit the number of sex partners
In its guidelines, CDC has clearly mentioned that people should limit their sex partners. Also, it has asked people to avoid having physical sex with those who have or might have the disease. It has also asked to avoid going to places with large crowds, avoid getting close to people who have developed an unexplained rash and avoid sharing items such as towels, sex toys and toothbrushes etc. Though the guidelines revolve a lot around people getting intimate, it has to be noted that the disease does not spread only by sexual contact. It can spread through direct contact with the rash, body fluids, touching objects that came in contact with infected patients and more.
