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CJI Ramana recommends Justice UU Lalit as next CJI: With a short stint ahead, here is what you need to know about him

OpIndia Staff
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CJI Ramana recommends Justice UU Lalit as next CJI: With a short stint ahead, here is what you need to know about him

On August 4, Chief Just of India NV Ramana named Justice Uday Umesh Lalit (Justice UU Lalit) as his successor for the top post at the Supreme Court of India. CJI Ramana will retire on August 26. Notably, Union Minister of Law Kiren Rijiju had written to CJI to recommend his successor.

64-year-old Justice UU Lalit will be the second senior-most judge to become CJI if the recommendation is accepted by the government. However, as he is retiring in November this year, his tenure is going to be a brief one. Justice DY Chandrachud is set to become CJI after Justice UU Lalit.

It is noteworthy that Justice UU Lalit is the second judge directly elevated from the bar to be CJI. Justice SM Sikri was the first CJI who held the post from January 1971 to April 1973.

A brief intro to Justice UU Lalit

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was born on November 9, 1957, in Maharashtra. His father, UU Lalit, had served as an additional judge of the Bombay High Court Nagpur bench. He also served as a senior counsel at the Supreme Court of India.

Justice Lalit started his law career in 1983 and practised as an advocate at the High Court of Bombay till 1985. In January 1986, he shifted his practice to Delhi. He continued to practice as an advocate in Delhi till 2004 and was designated as Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in April 2004. During his tenure, he appeared as Amicus Curiae in several matters.

He also served as a member of the Supreme Court of India Legal Services Committee for two terms. In August 2014, he was appointed as a judge at the Supreme Court.

During his tenure as Senior Supreme Court advocate, he handled several high-profile cases. He represented Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter case. He served as a special public prosecutor for the Central Bureau of Investigation during the trial in all 2G matters as ordered by the Supreme Court. He had also appeared for former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh in a case related to the demolition of a disputed structure at Ayodhya.

Recently, during a hearing, Justice UU Lalit stated that ideally, the Supreme Court should sit at 9 AM the morning. He had said, “I have always said that if our children can go to school at 7 in the morning, then why can’t we come at 9 AM.”

Justice Lalit was part of several Landmark judgments at the Supreme Court

During his tenure as Supreme Court Justice, he was part of many landmark hearings, including the Triple Talaq case. In 2017, he was part of the five-judge bench that declared the practice of Triple Talaq illegal and unconstitutional by a 3-2 majority.

In 2021, he led the bench that reversed the Bombay High Court’s controversial ruling in a POCSO case. In its ruling, the Bombay High Court said that “skin-to-skin contact” between an accused person and a child was required to make a case under POCSO Act. Justice Lalit-led bench said the High Court judgement would set a dangerous precedent and stayed it.

In July 2022, a bench comprising Justice UU Lalit, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice PS Narasimha sentenced fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya to four months in prison in a contempt of court case. He was held guilty of disbursing $40 million to his family members despite court orders against it.

Justice UU Lalit was also part of the Ayodhya hearing, but he rescued himself from the bench after the counsel of Muslim petitioners mentioned that he had appeared for former CM Kalyan Singh in a case related to the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya.

Justice Lalit was also part of the three-member bench that cancelled the death sentence announced upon rape and murder convict Mohd. Firoz. The apex court challenged the legality of the judgement passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur in 2014, stating that ‘every sinner has a future.’

Madhya Pradesh govt launches probe against National Herald for selling plot allotted at concessional rate on lease in Bhopal

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh govt launches probe against National Herald for selling plot allotted at concessional rate on lease in Bhopal

After the Enforcement Directorate sealed the Young Indian office in the National Herald building in New Delhi in the ongoing investigation against the Gandhi family, another building owned by the Congress mouthpiece is facing trouble. Madhya Pradesh govt has started an investigation into allegations that land allotted to National Herald in Bhopal is being used for commercial purposes after it was to private businesses.

Bhuppendra Siingh, the Udban Development Minister in the Madhya Pradesh informed on Twitter that he has issued orders to form a committee to probe commercial construction on the land allotted to National Herald at press complex in Bhopal by violating the conditions of the allotment. The committee will find out who had changed the use of the allotted land, who had sold the plots, who did the commercial construction, and who is responsible for taking concrete action in the case which is pending in the court for a long time.

The matter of the plot allotted to National Herald in Bhopal is pending in a district court after it was found that commercial establishments have come up in the plot allotted to the newspaper. Minister Bhuppendra Siingh said that the govt is monitoring the case in the court very closely, and parallelly the govt has also ordered a probe.

He said that if required, the complex will be sealed after the probe is over.

The case

Associated Journals Limited was allotted 1.14 acre of land at the Press Complex in Bhopal for just Rs 1 lakh in 1982 on a lease basis. AJL had published English daily National Herald, Hindi daily Navjeevan and Urdu daily Kaumi Awaz at that time. When the lease expired in 2011, officials of the Bhopal Development Authority (BDA) went to the site and found that it was being used for commercial purposes instead of publication of newspapers. The publication of newspapers had already stopped in 1992, and commercial establishments had started to take its place after that.

BDL also found that AJL had sold parts of the allotted to different buyers, and the ownership of those plots also changed several times. AJL had allegedly transferred power of attorney to different people over a period of years. BDL says AJL has no right to sale land that was allotted to in on lease at a nominal rate.

As a result, the Bhopal Development Authority refused to renew the lease. A report from 2016 says that the site has a unit of Vishal Mega Mart, and outlets of retail brands including Mangalam and Lotus. BDA cancelled the lease in 2012, and sent notices to take possession of the land.

AJL has filed a suit against the cancellation of the lease in a district court, but the court had rejected its plea. After that, they appealed at the High Court. A separate PIL was also filed at the High Court against the Gandhi family for misuse of the allotted land.

High Court had also dismissed petitions filed by several private businesses that bought plots at the land, asking to be included in the suit filed by BDL to evict the commercial establishments at the site. The court had said that they were not the original allotee, and therefore they can’t be heard in the case.

Delhi: Fissures in AAP government? Letter from Manish Sisodia’s education ministry highlights the poor work being done under Satyendar Jain in PWD

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Fissures in AAP government? Letter from Manish Sisodia’s education ministry highlights the poor work being done under Satyendar Jain in PWD

Aam Aadmi Party’s government in Delhi is embroiled in yet another controversy as one department of the government is pointing fingers at another over the shoddy work being done. A letter was written on 20th July 2022 by Delhi’s education ministry, headed by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, to the public works department headed by Satyendra Jain who is presently in jail. The letter complains about the poor quality of construction work that is being carried out in the Delhi schools.

In this letter, the Education Ministry of the Delhi government tells the PWD, “As education is the priority sector for the Government of NCT of Delhi and Govt wants to bring qualitative changes in the education system with all the facilities in terms of infrastructure, academics, hygienic and congenial atmosphere for better quality education. A number of complaints have been received from various schools regarding noncompletion of work, use of low-quality material, and various deficiencies in the construction by PWD. These shortcomings hamper the very purpose of the Directorate of Education. A list of complaints received is attached to Annexure-‘A’ & ‘B’.”

The letter further says, “Due to the above-mentioned complaints, running of the schools has been very much difficult and it poses threat to the students & staff and property of the school also. You are, therefore, requested to submit your comments on the complaints mentioned in the Annexures.”

The complaints listed in the Annexure are given with the details of the location of the school, the core issue of the complaint corresponding to that school, and remarks on the latest action taken in that regard. The complaints include grievances about the slow pace of completing the allotted works, heavy leakages at various places in some newly constructed buildings within the warranty period, using low-quality material in various works, and falling red stone blocks or tiles from the building.

The letter also talks about the excess heights of the rainwater harvesting systems in the school buildings, newly constructed building, deficiencies in the newly constructed school blocks, etc. One of the complaints even mentions that the condition of a school is unsafe and it should be inspected as early as possible.

Lashing out at this expose, Bharatiya Janata Party’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “They’ve given a list of over 15 schools with complaints affecting school, students, their parents, and staff… one of the complaints states the building of school can fall at any time… This is the true condition of Delhi govt schools.”

It is notable that Delhi’s PWD minister Satyendra Jain was charged with money laundering in August 2017 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Based on the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the ED initiated a criminal case against the AAP leader, alleging that Jain could not explain the source of income received by four firms in which he was a stakeholder. From 2010 to 2014, the firms allegedly laundered Rs 16.39 crores in cash. On May 30, the ED arrested Satyendra Jain under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He is still in jail.

Fact-check: Has Gujarat Govt introduced GST on playing Garba this Navaratri as being claimed by Congress and AAP? Here’s the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Fact-check: Has Gujarat Govt introduced GST on playing Garba this Navaratri as being claimed by Congress and AAP? Here’s the truth

The Opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have taken to the streets of cities like Vadodara, Surat, and Valsad in Gujarat to stage protests against the BJP-led government in the state. They have been demanding the withdrawal of 18% GST, which they claim the state government has imposed ‘this year’ on entry passes for Garba events being organised in Gujarat as part of the nine-day Navratri festival.

In actuality, this year’s Garba has not seen any ‘new’ GST introduced by the state government. GST has always been implemented on tickets priced above Rs 500 for any commercial events. In fact, prior to the introduction of GST, it was standard practice to apply service tax and VAT.

However, without verifying details, the Congress and AAP members have reportedly been performing Garba on the streets to protest against the ‘fresh’ imposition of GST on Garba this year, by the state administration.

“People of Gujarat are very angry. The BJP has formed the government with the blessings of Hindus and now the government wants to earn money by imposing a tax on Garba, which is a Hindu tradition and the identity and pride of Gujarat. BJP wants to destroy Gujarat’s identity by imposing a tax on Garba,” alleged senior Congress leader Amit Chavda.

The Aam Aadmi Party has also written to the Chief Minister demanding that the GST on Garba should be removed as it insults faith. State President Gopal Italia said that Garba is a tradition of Gujarat, the culture of Gujarat and the faith of crores of people relates to Garba. Gujarat celebrates Garba as an occasion to seek the blessings of the Goddess. But the BJP government has imposed a GST of 18 percent even on Garba, rued the AAP leader.

BJP hits back, says tax prevalent since 2017 in all states including those ruled by the Congress

Hitting back at the opposition parties for smearing the state government’s reputation by disseminating false information, Gujarat education minister and state government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani said, “GST on entry passes to any cultural event, including commercial Garba events, has been in place since 2017 and has been approved by all states, including those ruled by the Congress.”

“The opposition is only interested in inciting people. This protest is politically motivated because GST on different types of cultural events has been there since 2017. The Centre had issued a notification in this regard in 2017 and every state had agreed on such a tax,” added Vaghani.

“That notification was issued with the consent of each state. After that, many events were organised in the country, including in Congress-ruled states. This GST is on the entry fee. This is not new. And, there is absolutely no tax on non-commercial Garba events organised by residential societies,” he further stated. 

Pertinently, as per Desh Gujarat, the Garba entry pass GST issue gained traction after a Gujarati daily first disseminated this false information.

Source: Desh Gujarat

Subsequently, United Way of Baroda, a Vadodara-based NGO popular for organising mega Garba events, mentioned applicable GST rates on its website. As per the website, a nine-day pass for males would cost Rs 4,838, which includes a Rs 4,100 entry fee and an 18 percent GST of Rs 738, while for females, the entry fee is fixed at Rs 1,298, which comprises Rs 1,100 for the pass and Rs 198 as GST at 18 percent.

Without checking the facts, the Congress and AAP quickly picked up the story and amplified it to disparage the BJP leadership in the state.

What’s the truth behind the implementation of GST on Garba?

The fact, however, is that the state government has not imposed any fresh GST on Garba or any such event. Basically, prior to the implementation of GST, service tax on the entrance to such events was imposed at a rate of 15% if the ticket price per person was greater than Rs 500. In addition to service tax, VAT was also levied on goods used for organizing such events.

Notably, when Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into effect on 1 July 2017, under the government’s ‘One Nation, One Tax’ policy, it subsumed 17 large taxes and 13 cesses levied by the central and state governments like VAT, octroi, luxury tax, purchase tax, and central taxes like customs duty, central excise duty, and service tax. 

The 18% GST on the admission ticket for Garba or any such event if the price of entry is above Rupees 500 per person has been applicable from January 1, 2018, and not introduced this year as being peddled by some media houses and the opposition parties. Since then, the position remains the same. (Notification No. 12/2017-CT (R) dated 28.06.2017, Sl No. 81)

Additionally, GST is only payable if the admission ticket for these events is more than Rs 500 per person.

Notably, GST is only levied on tickets that cost more than Rs 500 for professional Garba events held at party sites, clubs, and stadiums. Residential societies organising Garba and issuing tickets to residents, if under 500, are not taxed.

Kerala: 8000 gelatin sticks in 40 boxes seized near a quarry in Palakkad

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: 8000 gelatin sticks in 40 boxes seized near a quarry in Palakkad

In a massive haul of explosives, 40 boxes containing over 8000 gelatin sticks were seized near a quarry in Watanamkurushi 10th Ward of Shoranur area in Palakkad district of Kerala. There were around 200 gelatin sticks contained in a single carton.

Around noon on Wednesday, the residents made their initial discovery of the boxes containing the gelatin sticks. The police were subsequently notified by the locals, and the authorities confiscated the boxes. The investigation was started by the police questioning quarry operators. Additionally, the local CCTV video is being examined.

According to a report by Times Now, locals claimed that they had previously seen such explosive items in open spaces and close to residential areas. The goal of the police inquiry is to identify the people responsible for leaving the deadly items close to the quarry.

It may be noted that recently suspects with links to ISIS were arrested from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. On July 28, a man named Asif was arrested in Tamil Nadu. The NIA questioned him for ten hours and after that, he was taken into custody. A case has been filed against him under various sections of the IPC and UAPA. Apart from this, one of the men, Adil alias Zuba, was arrested in Tamil Nadu last Monday, that is, July 25, 2022.

Earlier on Sunday, 24th July 2022, the Central Crime Branch nabbed a man named Akhtar Hussain from the Tilak Nagar area of Bangalore. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were on the verge of carrying out terrorist attacks. Akhtar Hussain was also associated with Al-Qaeda. Akhtar is a native of Assam and came to Bangalore seven months ago. He used to work as a delivery boy in a food delivery app.

Rajasthan govt issues order instructing Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra volunteers to open fake accounts on Twitter and Facebook: Full details

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan govt issues order instructing Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra volunteers to open fake accounts on Twitter and Facebook: Full details

The Rajasthan government instructed Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra volunteers to open fake accounts on social media to promote the welfare schemes of the state government. Satish Saharia, Assistant Director at the office of Economics and Statistics at Sawai Madhopur, issued the notification and the official order issued by him went viral on social media.

Reports now suggest that the official has been suspended, however, his suspension order does not mention the notification. The suspension order has been issued by the Economics and Statistics Directorate of the state. Reports stated that Saharia was suspended as the state govt took his order to open fake accounts seriously.

Earlier in the day, several people had shared the order issued by the official, including Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. He slammed the Rajasthan government for the order, saying that the govt is putting the futures of the youths in jeopardy for their own promotion.

It is notable that the Rajasthan government has launched a program titled Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra Internship program to engage youths to promote the achievements of the state government. The Congress government has engaged 2500 Yuva Mitras and almost 50000 Yuva Mitra volunteers in the state, who are to use internet and social media to inform the population about welfare programs and schemes of the government.

The order issued by the now suspended Assistant Director of the Economics and Statistics Department in Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan, asked various govt officials to instruct the Yuva Mitra volunteers under them to create dummy accounts on Twitter and on Facebook, and actively use those accounts, apart from their original social media accounts.

The order issued to all block officials and panchayat committees in the district says that while the Yuva Mitra volunteers must have Twitter and Facebook accounts, they are also required to open fake accounts on both platforms.

The order states that Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra Volunteers have to open 10 dummy accounts on Twitter, but those accounts must not have the words ‘Yuva Mitra’. It states one phone number can be used to open 10 dummy Twitter accounts. They are required to tweet and retweet content from all the dummy accounts.

The viral order asking volunteers to open fake Twitter and Facebook accounts

Similarly, each Yuva Mitra must have own Facebook accounts, and they will have to open 5 fake accounts using the same phone number. The volunteers are to keep all the accounts active by posting and sharing content.

Along with the instructions to open fake accounts, the order also stated that the Yuva Mitra volunteers will be sent three links, and they will have to mark their attendance on those websites every day. The volunteers will have to submit photos and videos to those links by uploading the same on Google Drive.

The order also said that the Yuva Mitras will have to use images related to welfare schemes launched by the CM as their WhatsApp status.

The suspension order

The order further stated that Yuva Mitras don’t get any holiday apart from government holidays, and they will have to work on Saturdays also. Yuva Mitras working at the Block Statistics Office level will be allowed only one day of leave in a month, and permission from the district office will have to be obtained for any additional leave. They are also required to attend the state-level workshop in the prescribed dress code.

While reportedly the official was suspended for issuing this order, some people are claiming that the order was edited, and Satish Saharia never asked the volunteers to open fake accounts. Another version of the order was shared by some on Twitter, which said that volunteers were asked to motivate 10 people to open Twitter accounts and 5 people to open Facebook accounts. The rest of the content in both the orders are same.

However, media reports informing about the suspension used the viral letter that asks to create fake accounts. Therefore, it is not known which one is actually edited, but the officer has been suspended for now without citing any reason.

China launches 11 ballistic missiles into Taiwanese waters a day after Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, 5 missiles landed in Japan’s EEZ

OpIndia Staff
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China launches 11 ballistic missiles into Taiwanese waters a day after Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, 5 missiles landed in Japan’s EEZ

China on Thursday, August 4, launched a total of 11 Dongfeng ballistic missiles into waters near the northern, southern and eastern coasts of Taiwan in several volleys as a retaliatory action to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island nation.

Pelosi was the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan in decades, ignoring Beijing’s warnings. Beijing considers the self-ruled island to be a part of China.

Taiwan condemns China for its “irresponsible, unlawful behaviour”

“Chinese Communist Party fired multiple Dongfeng series ballistic missiles into the surrounding waters of northeastern and southwestern Taiwan from approximately 13:56 this afternoon,” the Taiwanese defence ministry said in a brief statement. 

It later confirmed that 11 missiles had been fired, nearly double the number that was fired in July 1995 during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. The Island nation, however, did not specify where the missiles landed or whether they flew over the island.

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party condemned China’s show of force against the island, calling China’s drills on the busiest international waterways and aviation corridors “irresponsible, unlawful behaviour.”

Beijing defend the military exercise, and pins blame on the USA

Meanwhile, the Chinese military confirmed that the drills began around 13:56 pm, and involved a “conventional missile firepower assault” in waters to the east of Taiwan.

Eastern Theater Command spokesman Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement that the aim of the military exercise was to test the precision of the missiles and their ability to deny an enemy access to or control of an area.

Confirming that the drills will continue till Sunday midday, Beijing justified the drills as “necessary and legitimate,” blaming the escalation on the US and its allies.

“In the face of this blatant provocation, we have to take legitimate and necessary countermeasures to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing on Thursday.

“The purpose is to show that the PLA is capable of controlling all the exits of the Taiwan Island, which will be a great deterrent to ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces,” Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at China’s Naval Research Institute, said.

5 missiles fired by China land in Japan’s EEZ

Meanwhile, Japanese defence minister Nobuo Kishi said on Thursday, that five ballistic missiles fired by China appear to have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“Five of the nine ballistic missiles launched by China are believed to have landed within Japan’s EEZ,” Kishi told the media, adding that it was the first time Chinese ballistic missiles have landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

“We have protested strongly through diplomatic channels,” he added.

An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is an area of the sea in which a coastal state claims the sovereign rights to conduct economic activities (including exploration and exploitation of natural resources) and the jurisdiction over marine scientific research, the protection and preservation of the marine environment, and other matters.

Pertinently, Japan claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its shores. Japan has a long-standing dispute over its EEZ boundaries with all its Asian neighbours which includes China, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan.

‘Won’t sit idly by‘, China had threatened USA ahead of Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit

Nancy Pelosi, the US House speaker left Taiwan on a US Air Force jet last evening. She had visited Taiwan, despite warnings from the Biden administration, who were worried about the rising escalation with China that had already warned against Pelosi’s proposed visit to the island nation.

Notably, mainland China and their mouthpieces had issued multiple warnings to the USA to avoid visiting Taiwan. In fact, ahead of her visit, China had warned that its military “won’t sit idly by” should Nanci Pelosi visits Taiwan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian had said that because of Pelosi’s status as the “No. 3 official of the U.S. government”, a visit to Taiwan, which China claims as its own, would “lead to egregious political impact”.

In response to the visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, the Chinese embassy to India had also said, “A visit to Taiwan by US Speaker Pelosi would constitute a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, greatly threaten peace & stability across Taiwan Strait, severely undermine China-US relations & lead to a very serious situation & grave consequences.”

Wang Xiaojian, Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India further said, “Those who play with fire will perish by it. If the US side insists on making the visit & challenges China’s red line, it will be met with resolute countermeasures. The US must bear all consequences arising thereof.”

USA: Egyptian Yaser Abdel Said faces trial after 12 years on the run, had killed his 2 daughters for dating non-Muslim boys

OpIndia Staff
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USA: Egyptian Yaser Abdel Said faces trial after 12 years on the run, had killed his 2 daughters for dating non-Muslim boys

On Tuesday, 2nd August 2022, the trial of a man from Texas began in the court of Dallas in the USA. The Egyptian national Yaser Abdel Said aged 65, who lived in Texas, is accused of murdering his two daughters in ‘honor killings‘ for having non-Muslim boyfriends in 2008. After this incident, the accused was absconding for the next 12 years before he was nabbed in 2020.

According to a report by Fox News, Yaser Abdel Said was legally residing in Texas and allegedly killed his two daughters Amina (age 18) and Sarah (age 17) in 2008 for being ‘too American’. According to his wife Patricia Owens, he killed the two teenagers because their boyfriends were not Muslims. Yaser Abdel Said is on prosecution for premeditated murder and, if found guilty, would face a life sentence because prosecutors are not demanding the death penalty.

Last year, two of Said’s relatives, Islam and Yassein Said, were sentenced to long jail terms for allegedly assisting Yaser’s escapes. Prosecutors contend that on the day of the killing, Said stated he was going to take the two girls to a restaurant in Lewisville, but instead drove them to Irving, where he shot them.

After Yaser Abdel Said killed his two daughters, Patricia Owens divorced him. She said that the accused Said would often say that he did not want to raise whores as daughters. A 911 call was made by Sarah before she passed away, in which she was heard saying, “Help, my dad shot me! I’m dying, I’m dying!” Sarah’s sister Amina was believed to have died instantaneously.

Prosecutor Lauren Black said in court on Tuesday, “This is a case about a man obsessed with possession and control. These were two young, spirited young ladies. Normal teenage girls who wanted a normal life.” Amina’s lover testified that she ‘knew she was going to die’ when she grudgingly returned home on New Year’s Eve after fleeing to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her mother, sister, and boyfriends. Her last words to him, he said, were that she would never see him again. On January 1, 2008, she came home and was killed that night. On New Year’s Day 2008, the remains of Amina and Sarah were discovered inside their father’s taxi, which was parked outside of a hotel in Irving.

Amina’s high school history teacher testified that the 18-year-old had contacted her about her intentions to flee her house. Amina wrote to her teacher, “He will, without any drama or doubt, kill us.” She also asked her teacher to keep her plans quiet until she had left home.

Said escaped after the killings and was arrested roughly 30 miles from the crime location in 2020, a dozen years after the crime. His 19-year-old son, Islam, and his brother, Yassein, were both convicted of harboring a recognized criminal. Yassein received a 12-year term, while Islam received a 10-year sentence.

Patricia Owens, the mother of the two deceased girls, said, “My daughters were loving, caring, smart, loved everybody, would help anybody. They were two of the most awesome kids in the world and they did not deserve what happened to them.” The culprit who was on the run for 12 years, will now undergo trial in court.

Anti Narcotics Cell of Mumbai Police seizes drugs worth 1400 crore from Nalasopara

OpIndia Staff
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Anti Narcotics Cell of Mumbai Police seizes drugs worth 1400 crore from Nalasopara

On August 4, 2022, the Mumbai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) recovered a large stock of drugs. The drugs were seized from the Nalasopara area of the Palghar district and consisted of 703 kilograms of MD drugs.

The ANC team apprehended five drug peddlers and recovered a shipment of over 700 kgs of MD narcotics from their possession. The recovery was made after a raid in the Nalasopara area of the Palghar district adjacent to Mumbai.

DCP Anti-Narcotics Cell, Datta Nalawade, told the media that the ANC unit of the Mumbai Police has seized 703 kilograms of MD drugs from the Nalasopara area and arrested five drug peddlers. He also informed that the recovered drug consignment is worth around Rs 1,400 crores. 

For several months, the ANC has been conducting anti-drug operations throughout the state. Earlier in April, a squad from the Anti-Narcotics Cell confiscated another batch of MD drugs from the same region in Palghar. At the time, three persons were detained, and the MD drugs were estimated to be worth Rs 7.04 lakh. The Crime Branch team of Navi Mumbai busted the network of another big drugs racket on July 15. The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch had seized heroin worth crores of rupees. The price of this heroin in the international market was estimated to be worth 362.5 crores.

Assam becoming hotbed of jihadi activities with modules operated from Madrasas, aim to indoctrinate youth towards Sharia: Himanta Biswa Sarma

OpIndia Staff
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Assam becoming hotbed of jihadi activities with modules operated from Madrasas, aim to indoctrinate youth towards Sharia: Himanta Biswa Sarma

A week after Assam police busted a jihadi terror module being operated from a Madrasa, the administration today demolished the Jamiul Huda Madrasa in Marigaon today. The Madrasa was sealed last week after Mufti Mustafa, who was running it, was arrested for his links with Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team & AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent).

The Madrasa was demolished under the Disaster Management Act & UAPA Act. According to the administration, the madrasa was built and operated without requisite permissions and was drawing electricity illegally. 43 students were studying at the Madrasa, and they have been admitted to different general schools with the cooperation of their parents.

Assam police in recent times have busted several jihadi terror modules in the state, with two modules busted on the same day last week, in Marigaon and Barpeta districts. Today Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma addressed a press conference to give a detailed account of what police have found in the ongoing probes on the issue, where he said that Assam has become a hotbed of Jihadi activities, with terror modules being set up in Madrasas.

The CM said that the jihadi activities in Assam have become an issue of grave concern, as several jihadi modules of Bangladeshi immigrants have been busted by the police. Based on information obtained by Assam police from this probe, police in other states also have busted several jihadi and terror modules.

Assam police had first busted a terror module in 1999, when a Harkat-ul-Mujahideen cell was nabbed. After that, modules of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, Hizbul Mujahideen and Ansarullah Bangla Team have been busted by cops. At present Ansarullah Bangla Team, which is affiliated to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, has been most active in the state. In the last six months, five modules of ABT have been caught in the state. These groups were busted based on intelligence inputs gathered by both Assam police and central agencies. It is notable that Ansarullah Bangla Team has been banned in Bangladesh for its terror activities.

In March this year, an ABT sleeper cell of six people was busted, including one Bangladeshi national named Md Suman. According to police, several Bangladeshi ABT members are active in Assam, each leading separate sleeper cells. Md Suman had entered India illegally via West Bengal in 2018, and was working as a teacher at a Madrasa, and also working as an Iman at a mosque in Barpeta district. He had also married a local woman from Chirang.

After the arrest of Md Suman, police gathered several incriminating documents, and it was found that he was working towards indoctrinating youths in Assam for demanding Sharia law in the state.

Following that, several more modules of ABT operating in different places in Assam have been busted by the police, most of them run by Illegal Bangladeshi Muslims but also including Indian nationals. Fundamental Jihadi literature in Bengali was recovered from all such modules. So far five modules have been busted in recent months.

However, Jamiul Huda Madrasa in Marigaon which was demolished was not just a Jihadi module, but it was sort of a local headquarter of the Jihadi operation in the state. Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed that Mufti Mustafa had contact with several ABT modules, and was working as a coordinator for them.

Mufti Mustafa has a doctorate Degree in Islamic law from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. Before the doctorate degree, he studied in Jamia Akkalkuwa or the Jamia Islamia Ishatul Uloom in Nandurbar district in Maharashtra, and Jamia Arabia Hathaura, Banda, Uttar Pradesh.

After completing his studies in Islamic law, Mustafa opened the Jamiul Huda Madrasa at Saharigaon in Marigaon after getting his share of his parental properties, but it was only a front for his Jihadi activities. He has been accused of maintaining contacts with ABT leaders in Bangladeshi, and providing shelter and logistical support to their members.

Mufti Mustafa used to give shelter to illegal Bangladeshi nations at his Madrasa after they entered Assam, and he had provisioned separate rooms in the institute for this purpose. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that he was also indoctrinating the students of his Madrasa also, as they were residential students, and he used to teach them jihadi literature at the night along with the members of ABT.

Mustafa helped several Bangladeshi nationals to get settled in India, and several of them found jobs at Madrasas and Mosques as teachers and Imams, while working as sleeper cell members of ABT.

The chief minister said that the ABT members use very sophisticated chat applications with peer-to-peer encryption to communicate with each other, which makes it very difficult to trace their online activities. The CM said that peer-to-peer encryption is more sophisticated than end-to-end encryption, and such apps are also used by Al Qaeda. They never use phone calls for ABT-related conversions, and often uninstall the chat apps after using them, removing all traces from their devices. Police also found a very high level of encryption in the electronic devices like laptops, phones, pen drives etc recovered from the modules.

Mutfi Mustafa had links with all the Jihadi modules busted in Assam and other states in recent months, and he had also links with the top leadership of Ansarullah Bangla Team. The ABT leadership used to send money to him via bank transfer, and he in turn used to distribute the money to ABT cells. The money was sent in small amounts, to avoid any suspicion.

The Assam CM said that all the Jihadi modules caught so far were operating from private Madrasas, and they flourished during the Covid-19 period as the administration was concentrated on the pandemic. They imparted training on operating guns and making bombs, apart from teaching jihadi literature.

Among the documents recovered from the Marigaon Madrasa include a letter from Al Qaeda on the occasion of Eid, and the book titled Kitab al-Jihad, which is the book of Jihad.

While making the revelations, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the busting of the Jihadi modules does not mean that Muslims in Assam as a whole support them, as many times it is the local Muslims who inform the police about suspected activities in Madrasas and Mosques. The CM appealed to the people to report any unknown Iman that arrives at their villages to the police, so that police can verify their backgrounds. He also said that while the Assam govt has closed the govt run Madrasas, there are still a large number of Qawmi Madrasas or privately run madrasas, and not all of them are linked to Jihadi activities. However, action will be taken against any Madrasa if any link with Jihadi groups is found.

The CM also requested the peace-loving Muslims to keep an eye on Madrasas and Mosques in their areas, and inform police about any suspected activities or any new teacher or imam.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also informed that the goal of the ABT in Assam at present is not terror attacks, but to indoctrinate a large number of Muslims in the state. The organisation plans to indoctrinate such a large number of people that they will be able to start a movement against the govt demanding a Sharia state. After a large number of people are onboard, they will start terror activities in support of their goals.

The CM said that Assam has become a hotbed of Jihad activities, and along with arrested Md Suman, five other Bangladeshis had entered Assam who are absconding. It is not known how many modules they have formed, but the number will be big as the police have busted 5 modules in a short period of time.

Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the objective of the press conference was to appeal to the Muslim population in the state to cooperate with police in exposing the jihadi plans of terror groups. He hoped that after he presented the facts of the Bangladesh based terror modules, local Muslims will help the administration. He also added that already Muslim citizens are giving valuable inputs which have helped in busting the Jihad modules.

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