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Maharashtra: Shinde-Fadnavis govt reduces petrol prices by Rs 5 and diesel prices by Rs 3

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Shinde-Fadnavis govt reduces petrol prices by Rs 5 and diesel prices by Rs 3

The newly formed Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra reduced the prices of petrol and diesel in the state by Rs 5 and Rs 3 respectively. The decision was taken in the second cabinet meeting of the state government held by chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Revised petrol price in Mumbai – the capital city of Maharashtra will be Rs 106.35 while that of diesel will be Rs. 94.28.

Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, “Great relief to Maharashtrian & Marathi Manus! Happy to announce that the new Government under CM Eknathrao Shinde has decided to reduce Petrol & Diesel prices by ₹5/litre & ₹3/litre respectively.”

In a subsequent tweet, Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, “This is our step towards the appeal made by Hon PM Narendra Modi Ji for the benefit to common citizens. The state will carry a burden of ₹6000 crores for this decision.”

On 22nd May 2022, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the central government will bear the full cost of the Rs 8 per liter reduction on petrol and Rs 6 reduction on diesel. On Saturday, May 21, 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the central government will lower the central excise duty on petrol and diesel. This has eventually cut the retail price of petrol by Rs 9.5 and diesel by Rs 7. After this, many BJP-ruled states including Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh reduced the VAT charged by the state governments which further lowered the fuel prices in those states.

Now, as Bharatiya Janata Party formed a government in Maharashtra in coalition with the Eknath Shinde group of Shiv Sena, the decision is taken in the second cabinet meeting on 14th July 2022. Informing about the other decision taken in the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister’s Office (CMO Maharashtra) tweeted, “Cabinet Meeting Decision taken in the meeting held on Thursday, July 14, 2022, are briefed as follows: 1. Decision to reduce rates by Rs 5 per litre on petrol and Rs 3 per litre on diesel. (Department of Finance) 2. Swachh Maharashtra Abhiyan (Urban) 2.0 will be implemented in the state. (Urban Development Department)”

CMO Maharashtra wrote in the next tweet, “3. AMRUT Mission 2.0 (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) sponsored by the central government to be implemented in the state. (Urban Development Department) 4. Mayors of municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats will be directly elected by the people. (Urban Development Department)”

Earlier today, the Shinde government also announced that all projects related to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project have been cleared.

‘Will launch probe into how it became part of syllabus’: Head of Punjabi University bends to SGPC, removes mention of Bhindranwale as terrorist

OpIndia Staff
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‘Will launch probe into how it became part of syllabus’: Head of Punjabi University bends to SGPC, removes mention of Bhindranwale as terrorist

On July 13, Punjabi University decided to remove some ‘objectionable’ content from a MA political science book after the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) wrote to the varsity. In the latter, SGPC strongly objected to the book as it mentions Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a terrorist. The syllabus-based book is published by the university’s Distance Education Department.

“I came to know about the objectionable content. We will remove it and launch a probe into how it became part of the syllabus,” said Satnam Singh Sandhu, head of the Distance Education Department of Punjabi University, Patiala.

The decision came after SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami wrote to the Vice-Chancellor and the department concerned urging it to take immediate note of the “objectionable content” and issue clarifications over it.

In the letter, SGPC President Advocate Harjinder Singh expressed his displeasure over the ‘derogatory’ content of the book. Hailing Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a ‘saint’, Singh said, “Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale has been described as a terrorist in the syllabus of MA political science. This unacceptable language is found in the Punjabi medium book of MA political science (fourth-semester syllabus). From page 26 onwards of the Punjabi University book starting with the chapter titled ‘Punjab De Sikh Jangju Andolan Da Vishleshan’ (Analysis of Sikh Militant Movement in Punjab), Bhindranwale has been targeted and the curriculum contains many more controversial information about the Sikh struggle. In view of the seriousness of the matter, I have ordered to take action. We have written a letter to the V-C of Punjabi University and the department concerned asking them to make amends for the insulting content.”

“This is nothing but an expression of the university’s anti-Punjab and anti-Sikh mindset which could endanger the state’s peaceful atmosphere. “Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a Qaumi Shaheed, declared martyr by Sri Akal Takht Sahib. He fought for the rights of Sikhs and Punjab, and was martyred in a clash with the Army during Operation Blue Star. Legal action would be taken against the university if it doesn’t change the content and apologise,” the SCPC chief added.

AAP govt takes back order to remove pics of Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Hawara from state-run buses 

Earlier in the day, OpIndia reported how the AAP government in Punjab was compelled to take back the orders that it had passed on July 6 to remove the pictures of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Jagtar Singh Hawara from state-run buses.

A letter issued by PRTC Patiala read that the Corporation had received a complaint by the government about the photographs via email. The state government had directed PRTC to take appropriate action, following which the Corporation had issued orders to remove the photographs.

However, as per the PRTC orders, some religious organizations claimed their religious sentiments were hurt, and the order was thus withdrawn.

Hawara is a Babbar Khalsa terrorist serving a life sentence for assassinating Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh. Following the July 6 orders, Sikh groups in Punjab including Dal Khalsa, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Akali Dal (Amritsar), and others organized a protest against the orders to remove the photographs and slogans from the state-run buses. They had threatened to revolt against the orders if they were not revoked by Tuesday.

Notably, in the month of March this year, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also raised strong objections to the decision of ‘banning’ the flags carrying pictures of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale by the Himachal Pradesh government.

Illegal Chinese nationals: Special Task Force arrests Ravi Natwarlal’s partner Johnson with three accomplices, UP police arrest 14 other Chinese nationals

OpIndia Staff
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Illegal Chinese nationals: Special Task Force arrests Ravi Natwarlal’s partner Johnson with three accomplices, UP police arrest 14 other Chinese nationals

On Wednesday 13th July 2022, the Special Task Force (STF) arrested a Chinese national named Johnson (age 27) who ran a pub-bar-casino in Greater Noida. Johnson was arrested with his three accomplices. The Uttar Pradesh police have also arrested 14 other Chinese nationals including a woman. These arrested Chinese people were illegally living in India since 2020.

Four Chinese nationals have been detained by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force’s Noida division. They were all collaborators with Chinese citizen Xue Fei (36), who was operating an illegal club cum guest house in a village outside of Greater Noida despite his visa expired. According to police sources, the accused were part of a hawala racket run by Fei.

The arrested accused have been identified as Ryan, Zeng Haozhe, Zeng Deye, and Johnson. Johnson is the partner of Ravi Natwarlal who owned the guest house from where Xue Fei was arrested. All four detained Chinese people were living in India without a valid Visa. Johnson was absconding since two Chinese nationals, who spent 18 days in the same guest house, were caught without a visa at the Nepal border. Johnson lived in the guest house with his girlfriend who hails from north-eastern India. It was through his girlfriend that Johnson operated a bank account. Now the STF will take him on remand and interrogate him.

According to a report by Amar Ujala, Johnson had forgotten to take a visa in a hurry while absconding. Without a visa, he could not return to China. In such a situation, he was trying to escape from the Indian border to China or any other country but was caught by the STF.

According to a report by the Millenium Post, a senior official of STF said, “Ever since the arrest of Fei last month, we had been picking up people associated with him, and Johnson was found to be the business partner in the illegal club run in Greater Noida village. Names of three more people popped up during interrogation who have also been held by our teams using electronic surveillance. Apart from Johnson, the three were arrested late on Tuesday night while Johnson was nabbed on Wednesday morning.”

The Greater Noida Chinese nationals arrests

On Tuesday 14th June 2022, Noida Police raided a property in Gharbara village, which was revealed to be a Chinese-only club. Almost 20 Chinese nationals residing unlawfully in India utilized this club as a safe haven and gathering place. The police are searching for the jailed Chinese national’s three Indian associates. One of them is Ravi Natwarlal. Fei has consistently mentioned him as one of the Indians who signed the leasing deal for the club’s premises. The recently arrested accused Johnson was the partner of Ravi Natwarlal and Xue Fei.

More Chinese nationals arrested

Fourteen Chinese people, including a woman, were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly unlawfully residing in the country since 2020. They were all employees of a private sector company in Noida Phase 2 and had legitimate passports, but their business visas had expired.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Rajesh S said, “The 14 Chinese nationals were detained by the Sector 49 police station team. The local intelligence unit had information that their visas had expired in 2020 but they had overstayed.” The DCP said the detained persons are not linked to the Greater Noida case.

According to a report by India TV News, the detained Chinese nationals are identified by police as Junhui Yin, Chuanliu Gong, Honglin Qi, Shilong Gang, Jintao Zhang, Tan Yang, Xiaogang Zhao, Yingli Zhang, Zhi Liu, Tao Wang, Dao Lin Zhang, Zhixiao Pan, Huang Yingjie. Feiyan Tang is the only woman detained by the police in this case.

Jharkhand: State-run school’s headmaster Abul Kalam thrashes class 4 student for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on blackboard

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: State-run school’s headmaster Abul Kalam thrashes class 4 student for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on blackboard

On July 9, a minor student of a state-run school in Giridih, Jharkhand was brutally assaulted for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the classroom’s blackboard. The incident was reported from the Palmo village, located in the Giridih district of Jharkhand.

According to a local media report, the headmaster of Upgraded Govt Middle School Palmo (UGMSP), Mohammad Abul Kalam, on July 9, thrashed the class four student, after he learned that the boy had written ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the blackboard the previous day. Upgraded Govt Middle School is a state-run school for Grades 1 to 8. 

The incident came to the fore after the traumatised child narrated his ordeal to the parents. At first, the child refrained from telling his family what transpired, out of the fear of possible further assault. The parents, however, could gauge that something was off with the child due to his mental state. After much prodding and pestering, the child finally shared his ordeal.

The parents, in turn, narrated the horrifying incident to some other parents in their neighbourhood. After the news spread, local villagers called for a meeting in the school on July 13. Dozens of people, including numerous notable members of the panchayat, headmaster Abul Kalam, and the school administration committee, attended the meeting.

During the meeting, many other parents also accused headmaster Mohammad Abul Kalam of forcing their children to clean the school toilets. Many irate villagers castigated the headmaster for torturing the young children studying in his school. Seeing the atmosphere heating up, the members of the panchayat informed the local Mufassil police station in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. When the police arrived, they first pacified the enraged locals before dispersing the crowd.

Information about the incident was also given to the District Education Officer Pushpa Kujur, who ordered a probe in the case and assured strict action against the headmaster if found guilty.

Condemning the incident, Avinesh Kumar, the state spokesperson for the BJP in Jharkhand said that the Taliban-style tyranny would likely be witnessed in Jharkhand in the near future given the way the current ruling dispensation has been endorsing radical Islamism and pandering to fundamentalists in the entire state.

Islamification of state-run schools in Jharkhand

Notably, the government schools in Jharkhand have recently been in the headlines for their steady Islamification. Several state-run schools have reportedly been making modifications in response to the whims of the local Muslim population.

Recently it was reported how Sharia and Islamic practices were being imposed on the students of a state-run school in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district, with children being forbidden from praying with their hands folded. Then reports emerged on how state-run schools in areas like Jamtara and Dumka, which is the hometown of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, were being converted into Urdu schools, and the weekly offs changed from Sunday to Friday (Jumma).

In April, a ruckus ensued in the Government Jagannathpur Polytechnic college in Jharkhand after students chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogans while celebrating ‘Nav Samvatsar’, the first day of Hindu New Year. OpIndia reported that on Saturday, April 2, 2022, a group of students gathered on the terrace of Jagannathpur Polytechnic College’s residential hostel building to celebrate the first day of Hindu New Year. Students celebrated and chanted ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans, which infuriated some ‘secular’ students and those from a ‘particular community.’ These students complained to the college principal, who rusticated one of the students and suspended two others who led the celebration. Along with this, almost 500 Hindu students were denied food on that day.

Alt News cofounder Md Zubair sent to 14-day judicial custody by Hathras court in two cases against him

OpIndia Staff
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Alt News cofounder Md Zubair sent to 14-day judicial custody by Hathras court in two cases against him

There seems to no end of trouble for Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair, as today a court in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days. Zubair was produced at the court in Hathras, and after the hearing the court sent him to judicial custody till July 27.

As many as seven cases have been registered against Zubair in Uttar Pradesh, out of which two are in Hathras. One of the cased is related to his social media posts defaming Hindu Gods and Hinduism. He has been charged under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, etc.), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class), 298 (Uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) of Indian Penal Code and section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of Information Technology Act.

The FIR filed on July 4 at the Kotwali police station had said that Zubair used to make a “mockery of Hindu deities” on social media. Hathras authorities had produced a warrant at the Sitapur jail, where he is currently lodged, to produce him in Hathras for the hearling.

Last month Zubair had deleted his Facebook page and removed several tweets after netizens had pointed out Hinduphobic messages he was posting on social media. His anti-Hindu posts on Twitter and Facebook had come under scrutiny after he had triggered the nationwide protests and violence against Nupur Sharma for her comments on Prophet Mohammad.

The second FIR againat Zubair in Hathras was registered over riots in Purdil Nagar on June 10 after Friday prayers. Zubair is accused of inciting the riots against Nupur Sharma. He has been charged under IPC sections 153 A (promoting enmity), 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) in this FIR.

Zubair was arrested by Delhi police after an FIR was registered against him accusing him of hurting religious sentiments by a 2018 tweet. Subsequently, more FIRs were filed against him in Uttar Pradesh, and police started taking action on FIRs that were already filed against him earlier.

Apart from the 2 FIRs in Hathras, FIRs have been filed against him in Ghaziabad, Muzzafarnagar, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri and Chandauli. All of these FIRs were registered almost a year ago in 2021. While he has been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in the Sitapur case, he has not been granted relief in the Delhi case.

It is notable that given the volume of allegations against Md Zubair, the Uttar Pradesh Police have formed an SIT to probe the cases against him.

Haryana: BJP and Congress MLAs receive threatening calls from a Dubai number, probe underway

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana: BJP and Congress MLAs receive threatening calls from a Dubai number, probe underway

On July 13, the Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar, held a meeting with senior police officers to discuss the matter of threatening calls received by the Haryana MLAs from a Dubai number. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said as the call was made from a number outside India, the Special Task Force is in contact with the National Agencies.

In a statement, CM Khattar assured safety to all residents of Haryana. In a tweet, he said, “No one will be allowed to disturb the law and order in the state and those who do so will be dealt with strictly.”

ANI quoted Vij as saying, “This is a case of another country as the calls that have come are from Dubai and are from the same number as well. For this, our Special Task Force is maintaining contact with our National Agencies. We are trying to find out more details soon.”

As per reports, Gian Chand Gupta, speaker of the Haryana Legislative Assembly, had said on July 11 that 5-6 MLAs have received death threats from a Dubai number. He further added that the matter was taken seriously by the authorities, and it was discussed with the Chief Minister and Director General of Police (DGP). The security of the MLAs who received threads was increased.

Reports suggest that the calls were related to extortion. The matter was handed over to the Special Task Force on Sunday, and the State Home Minister is monitoring the case regularly. HM Vij said that the STF has made some progress in the case, but considering the sensitivity of the matter, details are not being discussed in public.

One of the MLAs who received the threat calls was from BJP, while the remaining were from Congress. In June this year, BJP MLA Sanjay Singh alleged that he had received an extortion call on Whatsapp on June 25. The caller had identified himself as an associate of the Neeraj Bawana gang and demanded Rs 5 lakh from the MLA.

Congress MLAs  Subhash Gangoli,  Surender Panwar, Kuldeep Vats, and others too received similar calls. In his complaint, Kuldeep Vats alleged that five men had entered his Pataudi House and thrashed his cook. They threatened to “treat the MLA like Sidhu Moosewala.”

AG refuses permission for contempt proceedings against retired justice SN Dhingra and others for criticism of SC judges’ statements against Nupur Sharma

OpIndia Staff
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AG refuses permission for contempt proceedings against retired justice SN Dhingra and others for criticism of SC judges’ statements against Nupur Sharma

On Thursday, July 14, Attorney General KK Venugopal reportedly refused to grant permission to initiate contempt of court proceedings against former justice SN Dhingra, senior counsels Rama Kumar and Aman Lekhi for their comments on the statements made by an SC bench of Justice Pardiwala and Justice Surya Kant against ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

The AG in his letter has stated that their statements are in the realm of “fair criticism” on a hearing conducted by the Supreme Court of India. Advocate Jaya Sukin had written to the AG for consent to initiate contempt for the comments by the Retired justice Dhingra, Aman Lekhi and Rama Kumar criticising the SC bench of Justice Pardiwala and Justice Surya Kant.

The trio had made scathing remarks on the disturbing statements issued by Justice Surya Kant and Justice JB Pardiwala over the recent beheading of Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur.

In a recent interaction with a news channel, retired justice SN Dhingra said that if a judge wants to deliver a speech, then, he should become a politician. SN Dhingra also asked why the Supreme Court did not include its oral comments in the written order.

“If the Supreme Court had guts, it would have given those comments as a part of the written order. The Supreme Court has only written in the order that the petition is dismissed as withdrawn. Why?” he had asked.

SN Dhingra further said, “This gives a terrible message in the country that the Supreme Court itself is high on power and nobody can stop the Supreme Court from saying anything at its own will.”

It is notable here that the Supreme Court judges Justice Surya Kant and Justice JB Pardiwala had held Nupur Sharma ‘single-handedly responsible’ for the Udaipur murder that was committed by Islamists for a mere social media post. They had stated that Sharma should have apologised to the ‘entire nation’ on TV and had added that the chaos and violence that have been unleashed across the country by Islamic organisations are because of Sharma.

The statements, however, did not make it to the official order that refused to grant Nupur Sharma permission to club all FIRs against her to Delhi.

It is notable here that TMC member Saket Gokhale had written a similar letter to AG KK Venugopal to initiate contempt proceedings against OpIndia for criticising the oral remarks made by the two judges against Nupur Sharma.

7th FIR against Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair surfaces in UP, was filed for spreading disharmony through fake news: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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7th FIR against Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair surfaces in UP, was filed for spreading disharmony through fake news: Read details

Days after the Yogi led-government formed a two-member SIT to investigate six cases that have been lodged against Mohammed Zubair, a new FIR against already arrested Alt News co-founder has surfaced in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh. The said FIR was lodged on August 27 last year under the relevant sections of the IT Act, 2000.

According to the reports, the FIR in Chandauli was registered by Prashant Singh who works as a news correspondent at Sudarshan News, Varanasi. In the complaint against Zubair, Singh stated that the Alt News co-founder had spread disharmony in the society by building false stories around the Uttar Pradesh government and Sudarshan news.

“We had received information from social media that Zubair had created graphics based on the graphic posted by Sudarshan News on Twitter. He had falsely claimed through the graphics posted on May 14, 2021, that the Mosque of Medina was ‘Nawabi’. He had also appealed to Muslims all over the world to oppose Sudarshan News. In our investigation, we found Zubair’s claim to be false”, he said in the complaint.

Singh also added that Sudarshan News had carried out a proper investigation to prove that the accused had made false claims based on graphics that were created by the media channel first. “Zubair has spread disharmony in the society during the pandemic. He has also been exposed many times in his conspiracies against the Uttar Pradesh government”, Singh reiterated.

Speaking exclusively to Opindia, complainant Prashant Singh said that the FIR was registered around a year ago. “Yesterday I called Police officer Ankur Agrawal and requested him to consider the case under the recently formed UP SIT. He has assured to look into the matter and also has assured that it will be considered in the SIT list. I want strict action to be taken against Zubair”, he said.

Earlier, it was reported that the UP SIT headed by IG Preetinder Singh, and also DIG Amit Kumar Verma has been made a part of the team. The SIT is to investigate six cases that have been lodged in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Ghaziabad, Hathras, and Muzaffarnagar.

Mohammed Zubair is held in Tihar jail after he was detained on June 27 by Delhi police in connection with an FIR filed against him for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a tweet written in 2018. The recently discovered FIR has been registered at Chandauli Police Station against Mohammad Zubair under Section 67 of the IT Act 2000. The FIR has been registered against a post that was created and posted by Zubair on May 14, 2021.

Uttar Pradesh Love Jihad: Aslam Khan becomes Sanjay to lure and marry a Hindu woman, victim discovers after two years

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh Love Jihad: Aslam Khan becomes Sanjay to lure and marry a Hindu woman, victim discovers after two years

Despite stringent laws that have been implemented against love jihad, the state of Uttar Pradesh sees no slump in such continuing incidents of love jihad. In one such case, a girl named Simran Patel was duped by one Aslam Khan who posed as Sanjay to marry her in the year 2020. Aslam Khan is a resident of Fatehpur while the belongs to Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Simran and Sanjay (Khan) got married on the 25th of July, 2020 at Durga mandir and stayed together in a rented apartment in Jabalpur. The duo continued their job while they stayed together. Reportedly, after two years of marriage, Simran discovered that her husband was not Hindu and that he belonged to the Muslim community. Khan realized that Simran had discovered the truth. He then left Simran alone in Jabalpur and ran his way back to Fatehpur on June 30, 2022.

According to the reports, Aslam Khan in the year 2020 shifted to Jabalpur for employment. He had attained a job at a cement factory where Simran was already an employee. The duo met at the cement factory and Khan introduced himself as Sanjay to the victim. They fell in love and the duo decided to marry.

Behind Khan, the girl reached Fatehpur and decided to lodge a police complaint. She went to the Fatehpur Police station and shared her plight but the Police didn’t lodge the complaint. The girl alleged that the accused had duped and married her and had sexually exploited her for two years. Reports mention that the Police assured the girl to register the complaint but failed to report the case. The girl returned to her native place in Maharajpur, Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Recent cases of Love Jihad in Uttar Pradesh-

This is not the first incident where a Hindu woman has been cheated and sexually exploited by a Muslim person. Earlier, on July 11, a case in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly was reported which said that a youth named Imran had concealed his religious identity to trap a Hindu woman. He had pressured her to convert to Islam and marry him. Imran also had raped her and clicked objectionable pictures of her. He thereafter used the pictures to blackmail her into eating beef forcefully against her will and offer Namaz.

Also, on June 3 this year, Waseem Ansari had become Ravi Sharma to lure a 21-year-old girl from Baradari area of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. The girl was sexually assaulted by Ansari who had blackmailed the victim saying that he would upload all her private pictures on social media. The Izzatnagar Police then registered an FIR against the accused.

Recently, in April 2022, a minor girl was raped, blackmailed and exploited by a man named Kasim who had posed himself as Rahul. As per reports, the victim, a minor girl who is a student of higher secondary, was approached and lured by the accused into a relationship online. He belonged to the same neighborhood as the victim and had gradually gained her confidence, eventually raping her and making obscene video clips to blackmail her further. He was arrested by the Bareilly Police and was sent to jail.

Besides this, there are several similar cases of Love Jihad, where Muslim men have been accused of lying about their religious identity to trap non-Muslim women to sexually exploit, eventually, forcefully marry and convert to Islam. OpIndia has documented several such cases over the last few years. In the recent case, the Fatehpur Police has not yet registered FIR against accused Aslam Khan who posed himself as Sanjay to marry Simran Patel. Patel has submitted her complaint to the Police and demands justice in the case.

‘False allegations to shield Naxals’: SC dismisses 2009 case that accused security forces of killing tribals in Chhattisgarh, imposes Rs 5 lakh fine on petitioner

OpIndia Staff
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‘False allegations to shield Naxals’: SC dismisses 2009 case that accused security forces of killing tribals in Chhattisgarh, imposes Rs 5 lakh fine on petitioner

On July 14, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a writ petition filed by activist Himanshu Kumar seeking a CBI probe against Central Security Forces and Chhatisgarh Police for allegedly killing 17 tribals in Dantewada in 2009. The apex court found the allegations raised in the petition false and fabricated. The court imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the petitioner while dismissing the case.

Furthermore, the apex court has given the central government liberty to book Kumar for conspiracy and forging evidence against the central security forces and state Police.

It has also given the central government liberty to register offences for conspiracy and forging evidence against all involved in making false accusations against security forces. Initially, the apex court has given liberty to the state government to take appropriate action against Kumar. However, the Solicitor General (SG) requested the court if the central agencies could be permitted to take action as the implications might be on more than one state.

The writ petition filed by Himanshu Kumar

In its petition, Himanshu Kumar has alleged that the security forces killed 17 innocent tribals and tortured many others. Based on the alleged testimonies recorded by him in 2009, Kumar claimed to have been forced out of the Naxal-dominating regions of Jharkhand after he filed the petition. Kumar ran an NGO names Vanvasi Chetna Ashram.

In his petition, Kumar claimed he recorded testimonies of residents of three villages that were then in Dantewada district and now come under Sukma district. In the testimonies, the locals allegedly accused security forces of killing two villagers in Velpocha and Nalkathong and nine villagers in Gompad. Both incidents allegedly took place in October 2009. Another six were claimed to have been killed on September 17, 2009. Several others were allegedly injured by the security forces.

Reply from the central government

In its reply to the Supreme Court against the allegations by Kumar, the Union Home Ministry urged the apex court to hand over the matter to CBI or NIA to identify the individuals who file false cases against the security forces to protect Naxal extremists.

In its reply, the centre said that after examining the recordings and other evidence, it was found that the testimonies were false and fabricated. The Centre said, “After viewing the said recordings, the respondent has found shocking aberrations and fabrications in the statements of the petitioners that were examined by the district judge.

The recordings submitted before the apex court revealed that all the averments made by the petitioner were ex-facie false and fabricated.

It added, “It is now clear that all the said deceitful averments were made by the petitioner with malicious and audacious attempt to mislead this Hon’ble court.” The Centre also alleged that by using the petition, the petitioner intended to protect the Left Wing Extremists (Naxal).

The Centre said, “Individuals and organizations are conspiring, abetting and facilitating filing of petitions premised on false and fabricated evidence… with a motive to either deter the security agencies from acting against the Left Wing (Naxal) militia by imputing false charges on them or from screening off the Left Wing (Naxal) militia from being brought to justice by creating a false narrative of victimization before the Hon’ble Courts.”

The Centre also stated that the Naxals were the murders of the tribal people. It is notable that the statements taken in the matter in 2010 were only made available to the Centre in March 2022. The Centre said, “Though in the year 2010, it is possible that the said report may have been received by the counsel for the applicant… surprisingly, the said report was nowhere found in the official records of the applicant.”

The government said the majority of the villagers had run off into the jungles upon hearing the gunshots. Some of them said they saw the attackers come from the jungle. “None of the petitioners has even remotely made any accusation against police or other security personnel,” added the Centre.

It further added that such petitions were not only a threat to national security but also lowered the morale of the security forces.

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