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Pakistani journalist who came to spy on India now says he had met Manmohan Singh, never met Hamid Ansari

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani journalist who came to spy on India now says he had met Manmohan Singh, never met Hamid Ansari

In an interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza who had claimed he had spied on India and met former Vice President Hamid Ansari five times took a U-turn from his statement. In his previous interview, he had claimed to have spied on India and handed over information to Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.

Mirza’s statements had unleashed a political storm in the country. BJP Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused Ansari of betraying India in a press conference.

Both Hamid Ansari and Congress claimed that Mirza lied in his interview. Ansari issued a statement refuting the claims. In this process, Ansari threw the then-UPA government under the bus. On the other hand, Congress also claimed Mirza never attended the meeting where he had claimed to have met Ansari. There was another twist when the organizers of the said event issued a statement and clarified how Ansari was unhappy with them as they refused to invite Mirza to the conference.

Mirza, who is at the centre of the controversy, has now taken a u-turn during an interview with Dainik Bhaskar. He claimed he never met Ansari at a personal level, and the documents he talked about during his interview had nothing to do with India. He claimed the documents were related to the allegations raised by a former Soviet spy during a seminar on terrorism in 2010.

Earlier he had claimed that he had met Ansari multiple times.

When Bhaskar’s reporter asked him his views on the controversy his statements sparked in India, he said there was nothing controversial in what he had said. “I am an 80-years-old journalist, and I was made a spy. My life is like an open book. They have a problem with Hamid Ansari, and I was pulled into the controversy unnecessarily.”

He claimed everyone knew he was very vocal, and no agency would allow him to go anywhere and collect information.

On his trips to India, he claimed to have never met Hamid Ansari on a personal level. He said, “I attended a seminar where Ansari was the chief guest. I was a speaker at that event. You can check the old videos of the event to confirm. I praised Atal Ji. There were Hindus and Sikhs in the seminar. Pakistan’s ambassador was also there. I had talked about bringing two countries together.”

He further added following that seminar, another similar seminar was held in Pakistan and journalists from India were invited. He said, “Now, if there is a dispute about the seminar in India, what can I do? This does not happen with us here [in Pakistan]. The way your anchors talk to us, no one behaves with us in a similar way here. I am an anchor myself. For me, this matter is over.”

When asked if he did not meet Ansari, who did he meet, Mirza said, “I can assure you that I did not meet Hamid Ansari on a personal level. However, I did meet Manmohan Singh [then-Prime Minister of India] during that visit. He also inquired about my health. There was no conversation with Ansari, nor did he talk to me about my well-being. He went straight to the stage. At that time, I felt bad about it.”

‘Hamid Ansari is being targeted because he is a Muslim’

During the interview, Mirza claimed Hamid Ansari was being targeted because he is a Muslim and a Congress leader. He said, “BJP is targeting him. It is part of the power politics in India. They are creating an unnecessary dispute. You should see what he said in the seminar. He had said neighbours cannot be changed.”

Speaking about the documents he talked about in his previous interview, Mirza said, “The documents were not related to India but about a Russian woman who accused Pakistan of breaking an agreement. She was an old agent of the KGB (Intelligence Agency of the Soviet Union). I had told her she was wrong.” He further added when he came back and handed over the documents, he was told the allegations were correct, and the US was behind it. India had no links to whatever was there in those documents.

In a message to the people of India, he said, “We cannot change the neighbours. We must live peacefully. Politics is a dirty game. Aurangzeb got his own brother killed. The general public should not get involved in politics. If someone calls me an ISI agent, it will not make a difference to me. It is a different matter that I am just a journalist.”

Nusrat Mirza’s statements that caused controversy in India

On July 10, during an interview, Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza made some sensational statements. During his interview, he mentioned that he used his political connections with the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Khurshid Kasuri and got an extended Visa for India. During the current interview, he claimed Kasuri was not Foreign Minister when he attended the seminar in India. Though it is true in the previous interview, he never mentioned for which trip he got support from Kasuri.

It is notable that Kasuri was Foreign Minister from 2002 to 2007. According to Mirza, he had visited India in 2005 and 2006 when Kasuri was in office. That means Mirza could have gotten support from him while he was in office to get an extended Visa for India.

Mirza has stated that he had travelled to many cities and had collected information about India to hand over to the ISI.

He then claimed to have met Hamid Ansari during a seminar on terrorism. This statement caused a lot of controversy in India. Hamid Ansari came forward and issued a statement where he claimed to never have met Mirza. “The former vice president of India stands by his earlier statement that he never knew or invited the Pakistan journalist Nusrat Mirza to any conference, including the 2010 conference mentioned by Nusrat Mirza or the 2009 conference on terrorism or on any other occasion,” the statement read.

Earlier, he had mentioned an event that he had attended at Vigyan Bhawan in December 2010. However, the President of the International Council of Jurists and the Chairman of the All India Bar Association, Dr Adish Aggarwala, who was the organizer of the event ‘International Conference of Jurists on International Terrorism and Human Rights, issued a statement and rubbished Ansari’s claims. He also mentioned that a request was forwarded to him from VP’s office to invite Mirza, but he refused to do so, after which Ansari got angry and came only for 20 minutes instead of an hour that Ansari had previously promised.

Two days after drinking polluted water from holy river Kali Bein, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann ends up in hospital with stomach pain, discharged later

OpIndia Staff
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Two days after drinking polluted water from holy river Kali Bein, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann ends up in hospital with stomach pain, discharged later

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Delhi on Wednesday morning after complaining about abdominal pain. Mann complained about pain in his stomach, and after diagnosis, the doctors said the Punjab CM is suffering from an infection.

Bhagwant Mann complained of severe pain in his stomach on Tuesday night at his Chandigarh residence. From there, he was airlifted to Delhi urgently and admitted to the hospital. After spending a day at the hospital, Mann was discharged on Thursday morning. He was accompanied by his newly-wed wife at the time of discharge.

Earlier, on July 17, the Punjab CM had visited Sultanpurlodhi where he drank polluted sewage water directly from the Kali Bein rivulet. At the 22nd Bein kar sewa cleanliness function, Mann was offered a glass of water from the rivulet, and in an attempt to show that the water is clean enough to be fit for human consumption, he drank it directly.

Later on, Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kaura mentioned to the media persons that the sewage water from many towns and villages on the banks of Bein flows into it. He added that he was not present on the spot to advise the CM not to drink it.

Two days later, on Tuesday night, Mann had to be rushed to a Delhi hospital after he suffered from severe stomach pain and the doctors found an infection.

Ahead of Jumma, Congress workers take parts of the country hostage as ED questions Sonia Gandhi: Here are some bizarre statements by party leaders

OpIndia Staff
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Ahead of Jumma, Congress workers take parts of the country hostage as ED questions Sonia Gandhi: Here are some bizarre statements by party leaders

As Enforcement Directorate summoned Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for interrogation in connection with the National Herald case on 21st July 2022, Congress workers started protesting in different parts of the country. The Congress workers staged protests calling ED’s action against its top leadership a ‘political vendetta’. The party leaders gathered for the demonstration at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi and hoisted slogans and rallies extending support to Gandhi. Not only this, but senior Congress leaders also supported protests with their bizarre statements in an attempt to shield their supreme leader.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said, “The kind of personality & aura she (Sonia Gandhi) has and since she is more than 70 years old, ED should have gone to her house for investigation. I want to meet the chief of ED & CBI and tell them what people are thinking about central agencies.”

Congress leader Sachin Pilot said, “There is a misuse of agencies in the country. It’s our right to protest in a democracy, but it is also being crushed upon.”

Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar said, “There was no need to summon her, they are only harassing her. This is political vendetta. BJP is afraid of her. They want to mentally harass Congress leaders.”

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, “They (ruling party) want to show how powerful they are. We’ve raised the issue of inflation in Parliament but they’re not ready for discussion. We’re now raising the issue of misuse of central probe agencies.”

It is notable that the National Herald scam is one of the most notable legal cases in Indian history, as the Gandhis are directly accused. The Mother-Son duo of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, along with their aides – Oscar Fernandez, Motilal Vohra, and Sam Pithroda are alleged to have been involved in massive ‘cheating and breach of trust’ in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) by Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL). Assets worth crores of rupees had been allegedly transferred for purposes other than originally intended for a paltry sum. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi got unconditional bail in December 2015.

Rahul Gandhi was questioned by ED on June 13 for over 6 hours and his statement was recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED had recorded the statements of all those involved in the case, with the exception of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The agency however had issued summons to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on July 11 for recording her statement on July 21.

Presidential election results planned to divert attention from TMC’s Martyrs’ Day Rally in Kolkata: TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay

OpIndia Staff
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Presidential election results planned to divert attention from TMC’s Martyrs’ Day Rally in Kolkata: TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay

Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay has said that the results of the election for the post of the Indian President were planned on the 21st of July to divert attention from West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s rally in Kolkata. Sudip Bandopadhyay is the Member of Parliament from the Kolkata Uttar constituency in West Bengal.

Speaking at the ‘Martyrs’ Day Rally’ at Kolkata’s Esplanade, Bandopadhyay also said that Sonia Gandhi was also summoned to the Enforcement Directorate today for the same reason, to divert attention from their rally.

Martyrs’ Day rally is the annual event of Trinamool Congress which is organized every year. After being held virtually during the past 2 years due to Coronavirus, the annual event returned to its traditional spot in Kolkata this year. The event is held to commemorate the death of 13 Youth Congress workers killed in a police firing in Kolkata in 1993. Mamata Banerjee was the state president of the Indian Youth Congress at the time of the incident.

Presidential election results to be announced today

The results of the elections for the post of Indian President are set to be announced today, 21 July, as the counting of the votes is underway. The polling for the same took place on 18 July and the winner will be announced later today. NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu and TMC leader Yashwant Sinha are the two candidates in the fray.

The election schedule was announced on the 9th of June 2022 by the Election Commission of India.

Sonia Gandhi summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case

On July 11, the Enforcement Directorate had asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to depose before it on July 21 in connection with a money laundering case related to the National Herald case. The Congress chief had skipped earlier summons on June 8 after she reportedly tested positive for Covid on June 2, six days before she was supposed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate.

Congress workers are protesting against the ED summons across the country, with several party workers being detained after they created a ruckus in Delhi.

China: Video of tanks on the streets go viral amid protests by people demanding their money blocked in a massive bank scam

OpIndia Staff
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China: Video of tanks on the streets go viral amid protests by people demanding their money blocked in a massive bank scam

Battle tanks arrived on the streets of Rizhao in Shandong Province, reportedly to scare away protestors amid a massive bank scam. Videos that have emerged on social media show tanks rolling up in the streets, with hundreds of onlookers on the side of the street. Dozens of tanks are seen in the video, which have been shared on social media claiming that the tanks are crushing the protests.

The tanks line up on the road, apparently preventing people to go to the branch of Henan Bank on the opposite side. After the scam in several rural banks was exposed, the banks have frozen deposits, preventing depositors from withdrawing their funds, which have triggered massive protests.

For weeks now, thousands of people are holding protests demanding their deposits back. However, as the Chinese govt is known to be not tolerant of protests, they have deployed heavily armed forces to stop the protests, even though the protests are against banks and not against the government. And now, as per claims, tanks are being deployed.

However, some others claiming that the tanks were on the roads for a routine movement, and not related to the protests. Reportedly, there is a navy training base nearby, and such movement of tanks happen every year. Apparently, the people lining up the streets were there to take photos of the tanks, and they are not protesters.

The protests and the crackdown

It is notable that the tanks were seen in Rizhao in Shandong Province, while the protests are going in the nearby Henan province. However, whatever be the reason of the tanks, it is true that the depositors are actually facing harassment and intimidation for staging protests, apart from not getting their own money. Reportedly, the police and authorities asking people not to participate in protests, even threatening that they will lose their jobs if they show up in demonstrations.

Cops are calling people to warn against joining protests, harassing families, and even going to schools to tell the kids to ask their parents to back off from demonstrations.

The scam

The scam was exposed in April this year, when customers of four rural banks, Yuzhou Xinminsheng Rural Bank, Shangcai Huimin Rural Bank, Zhecheng Huanghuai Rural Bank, and Guzhen Xinhuaihe Rural Bank in Henan province, suddenly learnt that they can’t withdraw their deposits. The official reason given was that there was an issue with the system when it was being upgraded, and the accounts were blocked by the system. Another bank in Anhui province, Guzhen Xinhuaihe Village Bank, also faced the same problem, but the number of depositors of that bank is less.

While there was no other official communication for the matter, in May the Chinese authorities announced that they have launched an investigation into several shareholders of Henan Xincaifu Group. And in this probe, it was found that Henan Xincaifu Group had taken control of the five rural banks through “internal and external collusion” and “illegally” collected deposits. While the criminal investigation was going on, the customers were still not allowed access to their money, for over four months.

The probe found that the Henan Xincaifu Group colluded with the employees of the rural banks to collect deposits form people, and used those money to invest in financial products via online platforms. They transferred the money from deposit accounts to the investments by fabricating lending agreements. This scan was going on from 2011. While investments were made in the name of depositors, they were not aware of it, and never received high returns that such investments yield.

However, to attract more customers, the banks were promising higher than usual interest in Chinese banks. Thus, they were able to attract customers from all over the country, not just in the region. This was also a deviation from norms, as rural banks are supposed to cater to local populations only. Henan covered up its illegal activities by tampering with business data, according to the Chinese banking regulator. The company also didn’t pay interest for the money it collected from the banks.

Protest by depositors in Zhengzhou, Henan province

As most of the money collected by the five rural banks were diverted to financial markets, their own assets depleted rapidly, pushing the banks to the brink of bankruptcy. As a result, the banks stopped allowing withdrawals from April this year. The customers have been asked to ‘wait patiently’ to receive their money.

China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said that customers will be paid their principal in batches. However, this assurance came only after series of protests by the affected depositors. In fact, the protestors were assaulted by a group of unidentified people on July 10.

The regulator has started with payment to customers with small deposits, and people with deposits of less then 50,000 yuan (over 5.90 Lakh Rupees) received their money on Friday. However, those with higher deposits are facing issues in registering their claims due to an overloaded system.

While the extent of the scam is not known, thanks to tight control of information by the Chinse govt, media reports estimate that around 39 billion yuan are deposited in the blocked bank accounts.

The visuals of tanks on the streets of China to crush protests is a grim reminder of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989, when Chinese authorities had sent tanks and heavily armed troops to crush protests by students in Tiananmen Square in Beijing demanding democracy and civil rights. As China had completely censored the incident, details of casualties from the massacre is not known, but it is estimated that hundreds of protesters were killed, if not thousands.

National Herald case: Sonia Gandhi finally arrives at ED office to face questions, Congress organises massive protests against Govt

OpIndia Staff
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National Herald case: Sonia Gandhi finally arrives at ED office to face questions, Congress organises massive protests against Govt

On Thursday, as the Congress President Sonia Gandhi appeared before the ED in the National Herald newspaper money laundering case, the Congress workers staged protests calling ED’s action against its top leadership a ‘political vendetta’. The party leaders gathered for the demonstration at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi and hoisted slogans and rallies extending support to Gandhi.

According to the reports, the Congress workers also staged protests in Parliament and requested the opposition parties to join the protest in solidarity. During the protests, the Congress workers and supporters were seen calling the Modi-led government ‘goons’ as they raised slogans saying, “Gundagardi nahi chalegi, Gundagardi band karo (Hooliganism will not be tolerated, stop hooliganism)”.

The Congress leaders and supporters were also seen holding the posters in support of Sonia Gandhi. The slongans printed on the posters accused the BJP led government of misusing the power. “Sach se BJP darti hai, ED ko age karti hai (BJP is scared of truth, so it orders ED to act)”, some of the posters read. The other posters meanwhile showcased clear support to Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Reportedly, on July 21, the opposition parties including the CPI(M), DMK, RJD, Shiv Sena, RSP, and more issued a joint statement alleging that the Modi government was misusing the central agencies to deliberately target the opposition party members. “Modi govt has unleashed a relentless vendetta against political opponents through misuse of investigative agencies by targeting prominent leaders of various parties. We will intensify our fight against the anti-people Modi Sarkar”, the letter read.

The joint statement also called the Modi government anti-farmer and anti-Constitution and alleged that the Central Government was destroying the social fabric of the society.

This is a day after Jairam Ramesh, AICC general secretary in charge of media declared that the whole party would protest in support of Sonia Gandhi in “a most telling manner” across the country. “Tomorrow as the political vendetta unleashed by the Modi-Shah duo against our top leadership continues, the entire Congress party across the country will demonstrate its collective solidarity with Smt. Sonia Gandhi in a most telling manner,” he said on Twitter.

A meeting of top party officials was also convened yesterday at Mallikarjun Kharge’s house to plan the party’s response to the ED summons to Sonia Gandhi. “The whole Congress family is standing strong with its president Sonia Gandhi, and a protest against the dictatorial rule of the BJP will be registered throughout the entire country tomorrow,” the party had stated on Twitter on Wednesday.

Reports mention that the Congress leaders and workers have also planned to stage protests outside the offices of the ED in other state capitals. Previously, when Rahul Gandhi appeared before the ED, Congress officials and workers, including party MPs had protested. Massive protests were executed in the states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and more where the protestors had claimed that the Central government was trying to silence the opposition by sending ED notices in ‘fake cases’.

Rahul Gandhi was questioned by ED on June 13 for over 6 hours and his statement was recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED had recorded the statements of all those involved in the case, with the exception of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The agency however had issued summoned to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on July 11 for recording her statement on July 21.

The National Herald scam is one of the most notable legal cases in Indian history, as the Gandhis are directly accused. The Mother-Son duo of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, along with their aides – Oscar Fernandez, Motilal Vohra and Sam Pithroda are alleged to have been involved in massive ‘cheating and breach of trust’ in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) by Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL). Assets worth crores of rupees had been allegedly transferred for purposes other than originally intended for a paltry sum. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had got unconditional bail in December 2015.

Uttar Pradesh: Auto driver Rehmat Hasan abducts 2-year-old boy and performs circumcision, forcefully marries child’s mother and converts her to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Auto driver Rehmat Hasan abducts 2-year-old boy and performs circumcision, forcefully marries child’s mother and converts her to Islam

On Tuesday, 19 July, the Uttar Pradesh Police registered a complaint against an auto driver named Rahmat Hasan for forcefully converting a poor woman and her two-year-old child in Ghaziabad. Hasan posed himself as a Hindu and deceptively married the woman and converted her to Islam. He also circumcised the two-year-old boy and forcefully converted him to Islam, as per reports.

According to a Jagran report, the incident happened 10 months ago when accused Rehmat Hasan posed himself as Guddu to lure the woman and her child under the pretext of extending support. In the complaint, the woman who belongs to Nandagram said that she had married a man in the year 2018. She added that her marriage ended three years ago after her husband left her pregnant. The woman then shifted to her mother’s house where she delivered a baby boy.

Following frequent arguments with her sisters and mother, the woman and the toddler were forced to leave the house after which they kept on searching for shelter and money. The woman began begging for help and money. One day, while she was asking for money at the Mohan Nagar Chowk in Nandagram, Gaziabad, accused auto driver Rehman Hasan offered her help. He posed himself as Guddu and befriended the woman.

Later, Hasan under the pretext of extending emotional and financial support, Rehmat Hasan took the woman and her child and made them stay at his sister’s place, as per the complaint. He then took them to Puranpur, Pilibhit where the woman discovered that Hasan who had posed himself as Guddu was actually a Muslim. The woman stated in the complaint that immediately after she knew about his religious identity, the accused began to force her to marry him and convert to Islam.

The woman strongly refused the proposal after which Hasan abducted her two-year-old son and held the child hostage to intimidate the woman. He then got the two-year-old boy circumcised and forced the woman to marry him and convert to Islam. The woman agreed to marry out of fear for her child. After the marriage, Hasan returned to Gaziabad and left the woman and her son alone at Puranpur. The woman however managed to reach Gaziabad after which the three stayed together at Jhadpur.

A few days later, due to financial problems, the victim woman contacted her elder sister and started lived on rent in Nandgram itself with her son. The accused Rehman entered her home in Nandagram and again tried to abduct the two-year-old boy. He also took the woman and the child to Loni under the pretext of giving them gifts and clothes on the occasion of Eid and then abused, and assaulted them. The woman left Hasan and returned to Nandagram where she stayed alone with her child.

The incident was encountered by the Uttar Pradesh Police when Hasan was again found harassing the woman in Mohan Nagar Chowk in Nandagram. The matter was also paid attention by the Hindu Yuva Vahini who was contacted by the brother-in-law of the victim. Hindu Yuva Vahini District President Ayush Tyagi Kakra reached out to the victim on Sunday and also informed the police. He asked the victim to lodge an official complaint.

The Police then registered a complaint against the accused for physically assaulting the woman and forcefully converting her and her son to Islam. The complaint has been registered under the relevant sections of the Uttar Pradesh anti-conversion law. The accused has been arrested by the police and is being interrogated in the case.

Fact-check: Is the government charging 18% GST on Crematorium Services?

OpIndia Staff
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Fact-check: Is the government charging 18% GST on Crematorium Services?

On July 20, the Government of India clarified that the reports claiming the 18 per cent GST was announced on Crematorium Services were fake.

According to PIB Fact Check, a fact-checking initiative by Press Information Bureau said, the claims that there will be 18 per cent GST on Crematorium Services were misleading. PIB added that GST is not applicable to funeral, burial, Crematorium, or mortuary services. It is only applicable to the work contracts of the Crematorium, that is, the services related to the construction and maintenance of the Crematorium.

It is noteworthy that following the 47th GST Council meeting, it was announced that the GST applicable on works contracts for roads, bridges, railways, metro, effluent treatment plants, Crematoriums etc., was increased from 12 per cent to 18 per cent.

Some of the news portals and opposition leaders misinterpreted the announcement and projected as 18 per cent GST was announced on the Crematorium services.

Dr Dhimant Purohit, editor of newzviewz.com said, “18% GST on Crematorium Services.” He was quoted by PIB during fact check.

Tweet by Dhimant Purohit. Source: Twitter

National Media Coordinator of Congress Shailendra Choudhary questioned people what they thought about GST on Crematorium Services.

Tweet by Shailendra Choudhary. Source: Twitter

Deccan Herald’s journalist Rasheed Kappan said, “18% GST on Crematorium. As if people are dying to pay tax!”

Tweet by Rasheed Kappan. Source: Twitter

Telangana Today’s editor Shrinivas K Reddy quoted/RTed Ground Zero India and said, “In hospitals hereon, Patient who is saved, pays huge #GST for the #bed. Patient who dies, pays huge #GST for the #crematorium. No matter what, everyone has the burden of #ModiGovt.” Interestingly, he added a screenshot of the NDTV report that clearly mentioned “work contract for crematorium”.

Tweet by Shrinivas K Reddy. Source: Twitter

Former Chittapur MLA of Congress Priyank Kharge said, “BJP Govt won’t even allow you to die peacefully. 18% GST on Crematorium. Na ……… Na Marne Dunga.” He also added a screenshot of the Business Standard report clearly mentioning it was only applicable on work contracts.

Tweet by Priyank Kharge. Source: Twitter

Crematorium and other services exempted from GST

According to Section 7(4) of Schedule III of the GST Act 2017, Services of funeral, burial, crematorium or mortuary, including transportation of the deceased, are exempted from GST.

Source: Finance Ministry

Earlier, there was 12 per cent GST only on the work contracts of Crematorium that was increased to 18 per cent during the 47th GST Council meeting with the approval of the states’ representatives, including from the non-NDA/BJP rules states.

Verdict: The claims that GST of 18 per cent will be applicable on crematorium services are FALSE.

Punjab: Two gangsters involved in the murder of Sidhu Moosewala shot dead in a police encounter at Amritsar

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab: Two gangsters involved in the murder of Sidhu Moosewala shot dead in a police encounter at Amritsar

On July 20, two gangsters identified as Jagroop Singh Rupa and Manpreet Singh alias Mannu Kussa of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang were killed in an encounter by the anti-gangster task force of the Punjab Police at Bhakna village near Attari border, district Amritsar.

Rupa and Kussa were wanted in the murder of the controversial singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala who was killed on May 29 at Jawahar Ke village near his home in district Mansa this year. Bhagwanpuria allegedly provided two sharpshooters to the main accused, Lawrence Bishnoi, to kill Moosewala.

As per reports, these two were part of the Corolla module that had followed Moosewala in a Corolla car before killing him. During the encounter, three Police Personnel, identified as Sukhdev Singh, Surinderpal Singh and Baljinder Singh, sustained bullet injuries. A camera person from a media house was also reportedly injured. All injured were rushed to a private hospital. Their condition is stable, and the doctors have said they are out of danger.

As per reports, Mannu and Rupa were on the run since the murder of Moosewala. They had re-entered Punjab from Rajasthan and were spotted in CCTV footage that emerged on social media a few days ago. According to ADGP Parmod Ban, the Police got information about their movements in the border belt. Reports suggest that one of their aide Parmadalip Singh was arrested on July 18 in a robbery case. The information provided by him helped Police in tracking the duo. The Police were chasing them when they entered a secluded house in open fields. At around 10:30 AM, the encounter began after Police asked them to surrender, but they opened fire.

The Police cordoned off an area of around 1 KM around the house they were hiding in and instructed the villagers not to come out of their houses. Initially, Police retrained from launching a counter-attack, but the gangsters continued to fire. During the counter-firing, both the gangsters were shot dead. The Police recovered heavy ammunition, including an AK-47 and a pistol, from the spot. Two phones were also recovered, and the call details are being checked to see who aided them in the murder and when they were on the run.

During the investigation of Moosewala’s murder, the Police identified six shooters. Three of them, identified as Priyavrat Fauji, Kashish and Ankit Sirsa, were arrested by the special cell of Delhi Police. Only one accused, identified as Deepak Mundi, is still on the run. Mannu was the one who had used an AK-47. However, the Police have not revealed if the AK-47 they recovered was the same that was used to kill Moosewala or not.

A Police Officer told the Indian Express, “Manu and Rupa were in one car, and Manu fired the first burst at Moosewala. Four other shooters in the second module travelled in an SUV, including Priyavrat, Kashish, Ankit Sirsa and Deepak Mundi. The SUV followed the car, and shooters in both vehicles fired at Moosewala. Except for Mundi, the three shooters in the second module have been arrested by the Delhi Police.”

The house where the gangsters hid belongs to one Balwinder Singh Billa, who lives in Bhakna Kalan village with his family, and the house was secluded. The Police are also investigating if there was any connection between the gangsters and the house owner.

Madhya Pradesh: Islamists attack Bajrang Dal activist for supporting Nupur Sharma

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Islamists attack Bajrang Dal activist for supporting Nupur Sharma

On July 20, a Bajrang Dal activist identified as Ayush Jadam from Agar, Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly attacked by Islamists for supporting former spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nupur Sharma. As per reports, Ayush was travelling on Ujjain Road when a group of 10-12 people attacked him with sharp weapons.

In a statement, Ayush said that during the attack, the Islamists threatened to behead him for supporting Nupur Sharma. Ayush added that he suspected someone was following him for some days but did not pay much attention to it. “They surrounded me and attacked with sharp weapons. They were saying, ‘cut him into pieces’. I was lucky there was a group of people passing by, and the attackers ran away after seeing them.”

Ayush sustained a deep injury on his head and got seven stitches. He is currently lodged in Ujjain Civil hospital for treatment and reportedly out of danger.

The Police filed a case based on the complaint of one of Ayush’s friends. During the investigation, the Police identified two of the accused using CCTV footage and they have been arrested. Superintendent of Police (SP) Rakesh Sagar said additional Police Force has been deployed to maintain law and order in the area.

The attacks on people for supporting Nupur Sharma

In June 2022, BJP’s spokesperson Nupur Sharma was suspended from the party for her comments on Prophet Mohammed. Though Sharma had issued an apology for the same, she continued to receive death and rape threats. Not only her, anyone who has come in her support is facing threats by the Islamists. A Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal was murdered in Udaipur, Rajasthan, for an alleged post in her favour. Another businessman Umesh Kohle was killed in Amravati for the same reason. Recently, a man from Pakistan was apprehended in Rajasthan who had crossed the border to kill Nupur Sharma.

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