The Enforcement Directorate has informed that it has filed a prosecution complaint against Amnesty International India and other related entities in a money laundering case. A prosecution complaint filed by the ED is equivalent to a charge sheet filed by police.
ED filed a prosecution complaint under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) against M/s. Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), M/s. Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) and others in a money laundering case of Rs.51.72 Crore.
The probe by ED against the so-called human rights organisation had started following a case against it was filed by the CBI for violation of FCRA rules. The CBI had booked Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd, Indians for Amnesty International Trust, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust and others under Section 120(B) of the IPC, and Sections 11, 35 & 39 of FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act), 2010.
Based on the CBI FIR, the ED had registered a case and initiated a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). In the investigation, the ED had found that Amnesty International India Foundation Trust was registered under FCRA to receive foreign funds in 2011-12. But later the registration was revoked following adverse inputs on the organisation. And that is when the organisation started to bypass Indian laws to receive foreign funds without permission.
According to the ED, after the FCRA registration of Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) was terminated, they formed profit making companies to receive foreign funds in the grab of export of services and FDI. The group had formed Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and Indians Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) in the year 2013-14 and 2012-13 respectively to escape the FCRA route and received forex in the guise of service export and FDI.
Under this new method of receiving foreign fund even after cancellation of FCRA licence, Amnesty International, U.K. had sent Rs 51.72 Crore to Amnesty International India Pvt in the name of FDI and also as payment for export of services. However, the group could not furnish any documentary evidence for the same.
For the so-called export of services to Amnesty UK, no invoices and copies of agreements between the two parties were submitted to the Authorised Dealer Banks. Similarly, the amount received in the name of FDI was used for the usual activities of Amnesty International, called “civil society work”. Thus, the group had violated norms by mis-utilisation of FDI.
The ED had earlier said, “It is prima facie found that Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and others have obtained foreign remittances to the tune of Rs 51.72 crore in the guise export of services and the FDI from Amnesty International (UK) whose source is the donations from individual donors.”
ED said that all the Amnesty International entities involved in the transactions acquired proceeds of the crime and layered the same in the form of various movable properties. Earlier the ED had attached movable properties worth Rs 19.56 crore in this regard. The bank accounts of AIIPL and IAIT were also attached by the agency.
In light of these facts, the prosecution complaint has been filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 against Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and others in the court of Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City, Bengaluru. The PMLA court has taken cognizance of the complaint and summons have been issued to all the accused to appear before the court.
This development comes just a day after ED had imposed a penalty of ₹51.72 crore on Amnesty India International Pvt. Ltd, and a penalty of ₹10 crore on its former CEO Aakar Patel for receiving foreign money bypassing FCRA norms. The agency also issued show-cause notice to them for violation of FEMA norms.
The Enforcement Directorate pointed out that foreign contributions were received as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to evade restrictions imposed by the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The Enforcement Directorate stated that between November 2013 and June 2018, Amnesty India International received foreign funds under the Head of ‘Business/Management Consultancy’ and ‘Public Relation Services.’ These donations were described as foreign remittances received for export to services to circumvent FCRA guidelines.
ED said that while AIIPL is an umbrella entity under Amnesty International Ltd., UK, which was declared to be set up for the cause of social activities in India, it has been involved in many activities which are not relevant to their declared commercial business, and circumventing model has been applied by them to route the foreign funds in the guise of business activities to escape FCRA scrutiny.
On 7th July 2022, in the evening, a dispute between two Muslim groups erupted in Pilibhit of Uttar Pradesh. The problem started with a minor argument which suddenly escalated to abuse, physical assault, and even firing. Deobandi Muslims and Barelvi Muslims fought with each other over the Shahji Miyan dargah.
According to locals, the Barelvi Muslims believe in all the dargahs including the Shahji Miyan dargah while the Deobandi Muslims don’t believe in anyone except Allah. The argument between the two groups started because one Deobandi Muslim allegedly passed a comment against another Barelvi Muslim asking why he worships the Shahji dargah.
Shah Rukh, a resident of Mohalla Sher Mohammad, was standing at the shop in the locality when Khalid of the same Mohalla came and started making derogatory remarks about the dargah of Shahji Miyan, a Muslim religious place in Pilibhit. When Shah Rukh and his associate Arbaz protested, they were brutally beaten up by Khalid and his 7 to 8 miscreant aides.
People in the Mohalla somehow intervened and controlled the dispute. Haseeb was one of the people trying to calm down the situation. During this, Khalid had an argument with Haseeb over the same issue. This scuffle was also calmed as people intervened again. But, after some time, Khalid reached Haseeb’s house with around a dozen goons and started abusing Haseeb aloud. Khalid and his aides also tried to break the door of Haseeb’s house. Somebody even fired during this ruckus. Fortunately, nobody was injured by this firing. Khalid also threatened Haseeb saying that he has a lot of money and power and therefore nobody can harm him.
As the news spread, the police officers and other staff in the Sadar Kotwali police station reached the spot. Heavy police force was deployed in that area. The police are searching for the accused miscreants. The victim Haseeb has filed a complaint at the police station. Sunil Dutt, CO of Pilibhit city, said, “Two groups indulged in a fight over a religious place. There was a physical assault and scuffle between them, followed by a firing incident in which nobody was harmed. An FIR will be registered in this case and the accused will be arrested soon.”
According to media reports, 6 CBI officials have raided a room in Chidambaram’s house in Nungambakkam, Chennai. Sources claim that the last time when the officials searched Karti Chidambaram’s house in Chennai one room was reportedly locked and the keys were in Karti Chidambaram’s possession, who was then in London. Now, after his return, the officials have visited the house again to search that room.
However, there is no official statement from the CBI yet on the reason for the search.
It is also currently unknown if the raid is being carried out in connection with the most recent bribe-for-visa case filed against the Congress leader or in connection with another case.
Notably, on May 17, 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Karti Chidambaram’s auditor S Bhaskar Raman in connection with the case.
The development was reported a day after the CBI had conductedraids at multiple locations, both residential and commercial, linked to Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Reports had suggested that a fresh case had been filed against Chidambaram for allegedly facilitating visas for Chinese nationals in exchange for illegal gratification worth Rs 50 lakh.
The Chinese nationals were supposed to work on a project in Punjab. Around nine locations spread over Mumbai, Odisha, Chennai, Karnataka, and Punjab are being raided.
Chidambaram and others have been accused of facilitating around over 250 visas during UPA-2. The new case is believed to be an off-shoot of the ongoing probes against him.
Ongoing cases against Karti Chidambaram
Several agencies are probing cases against Karti Chidambaram. In February 2018, he was arrested by CBI in the INX media case. An FIR was registered in May 2017, where CBI had alleged there were irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX media for foreign funds worth Rs 305 crore.
Indrani Mukerjea, owner and founder of INX media, had alleged that one of Karti Chidambaram’s companies benefitted in exchange for the approval. P Chidambaram had spent over 100 days in custody in a money laundering case filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) based on FIR by CBI. The father-son duo were also named as accused in Aircel Maxim Scam.
After threats of beheading and shaking the whole Hindustan, a phone call recording of Sarwar Chishti – a Khadim (servant) of Ajmer dargah – has gone viral in which he is heard calling for an economic boycott of Hindus. Earlier the same Sarwar Chishti was seen in a viral video calling for a movement that will shake the whole Hindustan.
The voice heard in the audio (mostly of a call recording), is allegedly that of Sarwar Chishti. In this audio, he said, “Hindus of Nalla Bazar and Dargah Bazar in the Ajmer Sharif organized a rally supporting Nupur Sharma. They have called to close the shops till 12 in the noon. I request you all to make these people (Hindus) look miserable. Do this work through our groups of KGN (Khwaja Garib Nawaj). No one should buy anything from their shops in the Dargah Bazar area and the Nalla Bazar area. They earn only through the lovers of the Khwaja Sahab. And see what courage they are attempting, they are closing the shops in front of us. They are supporting Nupur Sharma. Spread this word everywhere you can, so that no one transacts a single rupee with them.”
Ajmer Dargah calls for economic boycott of Hindus. First killings & now boycott. pic.twitter.com/PKxaLq2U8d
Earlier, a viral video of the same Sarwar Chishti had appeared, in which he said, “The situation in the country right now, is such that people are committing blasphemy. They are doing mischief in the glory of the Prophet, in the glory of the Khwaja. We will not tolerate this at all. We will launch such a massive agitation that the whole Hindustan will shake.”
According to the reports, Sarwar Chishti calls himself a member of the Popular Front of India. In 2020, he defended PFI saying the organization was ”saving India’s constitution”. Sarwar Chishti is a member of the Anjuman Committee of the Ajmer dargah.
In the last month, there were many violent protests against Nupur Sharma for her allegedly insulting remarks on the Prophet Muhammad. Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati were beheaded by Islamists for supporting Nupur Sharma in their social media posts. Now Sarwar Chishti of Ajmer dargah is heard calling for an economic boycott of Hindus.
In times when Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court of India seem inclined to find blame with the beheaded instead of the beheaders, it becomes important to shine the light on the top court of our country. The Supreme Court’s ‘victim blaming’ verbal assault in court on Nupur Sharma sets a dangerous precedent for the country on the justification of violence. Incidentally, the Supreme Court of India is possibly the ONLY institution which has its own Blasphemy law – Contempt of Court. Through which it judges mere mortals for daring to question the sense, verbiage and conduct of the Justices. But, does the Supreme Court stand up to its own test? Is the Supreme Court of India an institution that follows what it demands unforgivingly from others or does it exist in contempt of its own diktats? There are 4 grounds to look at:
Flexibility in adhering to principles of Natural Justice
There are two basic principles of Natural Justice – rule against bias and the right to a fair hearing.
In 1993, by means of the Second Judges Case, the Supreme Court decreed the Collegium system of ‘Judges appointing Judges’ into existence, under the aegis of keeping the judiciary free from interference. A system which has no mention in the Constitution of India. No other democratic country in the world lets the highest court’s appointments be done by itself.
And this has had consequences. 12 of the 32 (38%) incumbent judges of the Supreme Court, all of whom have been appointed by a collegium of SC judges, have deep familial connections in the Judiciary and Governments (refer to list in the appendix). In fact, 2 future Chief Justices of India are offspring of Former Chief Justices of India. The data implies nepotism at play – the collegium system is fostering and advancing not only those with merit but also possibly those with familial connections.
In August 2014 the parliament got its act together and voted across party lines for a National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) that would replace the collegium system. In 2016, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court heard a case on the constitutionality of the NJAC and struck it down. Here is a situation, where the Supreme Court heard a case about a new parliamentary approved procedure to appoint Judges to the Supreme Court and ruled that the current collegium system where the incumbent judges of the Supreme Court have the power to appoint new judges is the ONLY fair procedure.
This passes neither the rule against bias nor the right to a fair hearing – surely, there is a case for conflict of interest in the Judges hearing and deciding a matter which impacts their own discretionary power to appoint new judges? In fact, one of the Justices, Kurian Joseph, who gave the original verdict against NJAC openly declared in 2019 (after his retirement) that he regrets the decision.
Demanding transparency from others while exempting itself
The Supreme Court of India seems to be particularly keen on demanding transparency when a chance presents itself (on others). In 2018, the supreme court ushered in electoral reforms by demanding that politicians (and their spouses) declare their assets and sources of income to qualify for contesting elections. It in fact directed “Their assets and sources of income are required to be continuously monitored to maintain the purity of the electoral process and integrity of the democratic structure of this country”.
And how do Judges of the Supreme Court themselves fare on the count of transparency? As of 2019, only 7 of the 27 sitting Supreme Court Judges had disclosed their assets. If you go by the declarations on the Supreme Court’s website as of 4th July 2022, then only 4 of 32 sitting judges have declared their assets.
Why is transparency a qualifying need for politicians but not for the Supreme Court judges?
Being a tough taskmaster on deadlines – for others
There is a constant ring in Indian mainstream media about the Supreme Court slamming one government department or the other. In 2021, in the midst of the corona crisis, SC slammed the central government and “expressed displeasure over delay in framing guidelines for issuance of death certificates to the families of those who died of COVID-19“. In 2015, in an amusing case, following Justice Joseph Kurien’s personal visit to the Taj Mahal, the SC reviewed construction of a road next to the Taj Mahal and as per this report: “The apex court also expressed displeasure over the quality of road being built near the monument and said there needs to be ‘finesse’ in doing things as people from the world over came to see the Taj.“
The finesse with which Supreme Court works is best summarized on its own statistics page. There are 70,852 matters pending before the Supreme Court. That’s just the supreme court. As of March 2022, there are over 4.7 crore pending cases in the Indian Judicial System that the Supreme Court oversees. Considering the penchant that Supreme Court has for “finesse” you would imagine the courts are working overtime to clear the backlog. Well, the Supreme Court of India takes possibly the most vacation days in the entire world at a staggering 83 vacation days in 2022 (excluding approx. 50 Sundays!). By contrast, the US supreme court has 10 declared vacation days. While there is 2.44 lakh pending rape and child abuse cases pending with the courts of India, the Judges who talk about inordinate delays by others refuse to take a simple decision to restrict their own vacation days till at least the critical criminal case backlog is reduced.
Encouraging dissent – over others
The Supreme Court has acted as a champion for dissent in the country encouraging “dissent as a safety valve of democracy” in a case linked to the Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018. In 2021, the Supreme court ruled that mere criticism of the government would not amount to sedition. Indeed, it is a welcome judgement as no individual or institution should be above board for any criticism.
In contradiction of its own espoused values in the judgements reflected above, Supreme Court tried and convicted Prashant Bhushan for contempt of court in 2021, for among other things a tweet about “the current CJI riding an expensive motorcycle while the court was in ‘lockdown’ “. Irrespective of Bhushan’s credibility or lack thereof, that the supreme court should waste its precious time on conducting a trial and passing a verdict on such trivial criticism beggars the belief that SC stands by its own earlier judgements on tolerating criticism when others were at the receiving end. There have been several other cases where contempt has been used to silence criticism – one of the cases being that of journalist Ajeet Bharti.
It, therefore, comes as no surprise that after the flood of social media criticism that Justices Kant and Pardiwala have received following the tirade of personal opinions they indulged themselves in while hearing a technical matter of clubbing Nupur Sharma’s FIRs, Pardiwala has now called for regulating of Social Media criticism of judges and TMC’s Saket Gokhale has written to the AG to initiate contempt action against OpIndia editor-in-chief Nupur Sharma, who criticised the observations by the Judges.
In summary
Judges are not above the law or constitution. The Supreme Court of India needs to step up to meet the standards they eloquently demand in their verbal observations and written judgements from public officials and private citizens alike. Every day that the Supreme Court refuses to change and reform itself, it stays in Contempt of itself.
Appendix:
List of sitting judges of the Supreme court with familial links in judiciary / government:
U. U. Lalit – Son of U.R. Lalit, former add. Judge of Bombay High Court and Senior Counsel in the Supreme Court
Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud – Son of Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud, longest service Chief Justice of India. In line to be Chief Justice
Sanjay Kishan Kaul – Family of Dattatreya Kauls, with his brother a Judge in the Delhi High Court
K. M. Joseph – Son of K. K. Mathew, a judge of the Supreme Court of India
Dinesh Maheshwari – Son of prominent Jodhpur advocate Ramesh Chandra Maheshwari
Sanjiv Khanna – Nephew of SC Judge Hans Raj Khanna
Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai – Son of R.S.Gavai, former MP and Governor
Krishna Murari – Nephew of GN Verma, a prominent lawyer and president of the high court bar association
Vikram Nath – 4th Generation lawyer in the family
B. V. Nagarathna – Daughter of former Chief Justice of India, E. S. Venkataramiah. In line to be Chief Justice.
P. S. Narasimha – Son of a judge, Kodanda Ramayya
Sudhanshu Dhulia – Son of K. C. Dhulia who was a judge of the Allahabad High Court
On Saturday (July 9), concerned members of the Hindu community took out a protest march in the National Capital and sent a clear message that laws in the country will be governed by the Constitution and not Sharia (Islamic law). The Hindu Sankalp March was organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the wake of the recent killings of Hindu tailor Kanahiya Lal and pharmacist Umesh Kolhe by Islamists for supporting ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
As per reports, special traffic arrangements were made by the Delhi police on Barakhamba Road, Firoz Shah Road, Tolstoy Marg, Janpath, Sansad Marg, Patel Chowk and others to ensure the smooth passage of the march.
The march began from the Mandi House and ended at the iconic Jantar Mantar. Opindia covered the Hindu Sankalp March from ground zero, which witnessed a massive turnout of Hindus.
The large-scale mobilisation signified that the Hindu community will no longer remain a mute spectator to attacks by jihadist forces and will resist them within the bounds of the law. During the rally, the attendees were heard singing Bhajans on the road and waving the Indian tricolour.
Opindia caught up with BJP National spokesperson, Tajinder Singh Bagga, who was also present at the protest rally.
“In the past few days, we have seen how some people challenged the Indian Constitution, issued fatwas and threats of beheading. They are announcing bounties for killing people. This march is a message to them that the country will run on Indian laws and not Sharia or Jihad,” Bagga told Opindia.
“Everytime they try to run this country on Sharia and Jihad, members of the Hindu community will take to the streets. In non-BJP ruled States, we have witnessed the destruction of public property, stone-pelting and arson attacks but here you will not see anything like that,” Bagga emphasised.
He further added, “This is the difference between them and peace-loving people such as us. Here, you will not find any people talking about violence.”
“Lakhs of people are on the streets today from all sections of the Hindu society. This (rally) is the outcome of the sentiments of the people. India will run on Constitution and not Sharia,” BJP leader Kapil Mishra told Opindia.
“When Hindus take out processions, they do it peacefully. They are not armed with stones. This rally is a message to jihadists, their fathers and their children. Enforcers of Sharia will be defeated. This march is a manifestation of Hindu unity,” he emphasised.
“Jihadis, Jihadi’s fathers and their supporters should understand that India is united against Jihad. India will work according to the Constitution, not Sharia” @KapilMishra_IND talks to OpIndia during #HinduSankalpMarchpic.twitter.com/ukF3bwobM6
“Stop this orgy of killings, giving threats of beheading and making excuses to justify them. Lakhs of people have united here today,” Kapil Mishra added.
Opindia also spoke to Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Alok Kumar. He stated that the Hindu Sankalp March is a resistance to attempts of imposing 1400-year-old Sharia in India.
“This march shows the unity among all sections of the Hindu society. Brotherhood will win and jihadis will be defeated. We are also raising the confidence among the Hindus to be able to defend their lives and properties (within the limits of the law) when they come under attack from such forces,” he concluded.
The Hindu majority caught at the receiving end of violence by Islamists
It must be recalled that the murder of Kanhaiya Lal by Islamists, namely, Riyaz Attari and Mohammad Ghaus, is not an isolated incident. 7 days prior to his beheading, another Hindu man named Umesh Kolhe was hacked to death for supporting Nupur Sharma.
Several people, including TV actresses, have received death threats for merely speaking in support of the ex-BJP spokesperson. In the days leading up to the brutal murders, Islamists ransacked public property, set vehicles on fire and brought life to a standstill in several cities across India.
The common Hindu watched in silence while the Islamists created mayhem on the streets. Their unabashed display of street power, coupled with the silence of their ‘moderate’ co-religionists, have struck terror in the heart of an average Hindu.
It must not be forgotten that there was a Kishan before Kanhaiya and a Kamlesh before Kishan, all of whom were slaughtered on allegations of blasphemy.
Hindus in India are caught in a state of dilemma. They can neither demand protection from the State as they happen to be the ‘non-violent majority’ nor can they defend themselves out of the fear of being called brute majoritarians, oblivious to minority rights.
In recent years, the community has been able to garner support globally and raise awareness in the virtual world for their plight.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reportedly fled from his residence after thousands of protestors surrounded the house. With protests already taking place across the country for months after the collapse of the economy in the country, the agitations have peaked after the government said that the country has gone bankrupt.
Citing defence sources, news agency AFP reported that president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled from his official residence.
The president was reportedly evacuated to a safer location before the protestors stormed into the presidential residence. According to sources, the president was moved to the army headquarters after intelligence reports had predicted that the situation could go out of control. The intelligence report was proved to be correct as thousands of protestors stormed into the residence of the president today, taking it over.
According to a report by NewsFirst, protestors have taken control of the President’s House located in Fort, Colombo. The report stated that thousands of ordinary Sri Lankans marched to the President’s House demanding the immediate resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Visuals show thousands of protestors entering the President’s House at Janadhipathi Mawatha in Colombo chanting slogans.
The Police had fired tear gas shelled at the protestors on the streets, but that was not enough to stop the angry people. Despite heavy police protection, they were able to breach the security and enter the residence of the president. In fact, some of the policemen also joined the protestors.
According to social media reports, the protestors have already seized the residence of the president. The official flag of the president was removed from the top of the building, and the national flag of Sri Lanka was hoisted in its place.
As the country has run out of food, medicine and fuel, unrest among the citizens continues to grow. But the unrest reached its peak when the govt banned selling of fuel for private vehicles. Police and military personnel have been deployed at fuel stations to ensure the compliance of this ban, and clashes have been reported from several fuel pumps over the issue.
Not just the presidential residence, protests are taking place at every place in Colombo and other cities in Sri Lanka.
On the fourth day of the Edgbaston Test (July 4), a group of English fans misbehaved against Indian spectators sitting in the stands. On 8th July 2022, Birmingham police arrested one person from the English fan group who misbehaved. Birmingham police informed this through a tweet. The arrested person is being interrogated.
We were also fearful of our safety for women and children but no assistance when we left. This is unacceptable in todays society @BCCI#ENGvIND
Team India recently played the Edgbaston Test against England, in which India lost by 7 wickets. On the fourth day of the match (July 4), the Indian spectators sitting in the stands were mistreated by some English fans. They were abused and called Pakistani. A group of English fans had made bad comments about Indian fans, the complaints of which were reported through Twitter. The Edgbaston authorities and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) then took cognizance of the matter and launched an investigation.
In a tweet that brought this matter to light, it was described how Indian fans were subjected to racial abuse. The Twitter user wrote in a series of tweets, “Racist behaviour at Edgbaston towards Indian fans in block 22 Eric Hollies. People calling us Curry C**ts and paki bas****s. We reported it to the stewards and showed them the culprits at least 10 times but no response and all we were told is to sit in our seats. We were also fearful for our safety as women and children but had no assistance when we left. This is unacceptable in today’s society.”
#ARREST | A 32-year-old man has been arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence after reports of racist, abusive behaviour at the test match in #Birmingham on Monday. He remains in custody for questioning. pic.twitter.com/ROp6PVUsUz
Birmingham police tweeted, “A 32-year-old man has been arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence after reports of racist, abusive behaviour at the test match in Birmingham on Monday. He remains in custody for questioning.”
According to a report by the Times of India, West Midlands Police spokesperson said, “We have launched a criminal investigation into reports of racist, abusive behaviour at the Test match in Birmingham. We are liaising with Edgbaston officials to understand what has happened and would encourage anyone who heard any racist language or gestures or has video footage that could help, to get in touch.”
The officer further said, “We are aware of the images circulating in the social media showing an alleged offender. We are making inquiries to identify the person and would urge him to come forward and speak to us.”
The second Twenty20 International between India and England will be played at Edgbaston on Saturday. As part of a series of precautions, Warwickshire County Cricket Club has chosen to place “undercover football crowd-style spotters” in the stadium to listen for and report abusive conduct.
Social media has proven to be a powerful tool for people to express their views and ideas. Beyond its obvious advantages of facilitating online socialisation, keeping years-old friendships and relations alive, and helping businesses expand to uncharted territories, social media has empowered people with an agency to speak or write on matters that hitherto no other platform ever provided.
Its utilities and advantages notwithstanding, social media portals, like any other communication platforms, have also had their fair share of disadvantages and downsides. The most glaring among them is attracting all sorts of abusers, trollers, manipulators, propagandists and instigators, who believe insulting and provoking people online somehow adds meaning to their wretched existence.
Recently, Mohammed Zubair of Alt News harnessed this dangerous aspect of social media by dog-whistling against Nupur Sharma, touching off an ugly chain of events leading to the death of at least three people in the name of ‘blasphemy’, besides the attendant chaos and disorder that came in its wake.
Egged on by the Alt News co-founder’s inflammatory rhetorics, thousands of Islamists hit the streets, threatening to behead Nupur Sharma for her audacity to comment on Prophet Muhammad. As the matter gained international attention, Zubair and Alt News hopped on the gravy train, seeking donations in the name of carrying out ‘responsible journalism’.
And the faithful dutifully lined up to plunk down money to Alt News—apparently, for setting the country on fire—as Islamists across the nation went on a rampage, indulging in wanton violence, vandalism and issuing ‘sar tan se Juda’ threats to Nupur and those who supported her.
One of the patrons of propaganda outlet Alt News is an internet troll named Joy Das, who has time and again worn it as a badge of honour to bankroll an organisation that works as a mouthpiece for Islamists when it is not conducting slanted ‘fact checks’ or when its co-founders are not busy making derogatory posts against Hindu Gods and Goddesses or whipping up a communal frenzy against those who restate what has been mentioned in authentic and reliable Islamic Hadiths.
Joy Das, who has made no bones about his aversion for the non-left or for anyone who disagrees with his political inclinations, and laboured his way up the ladder of the ‘liberal’ coterie, has a history of making derogatory posts on Hindu Gods, Hindu places of worship and Hinduism in general. For years, social media users dismissed the Hinduphobia exhibited by Das as a desperate attempt by a wannabe trying to firmly embed himself in the ‘liberal’ orbit.
However, after ‘liberals’ subjected ordinary yet assertive Indians to doxxing attacks, online ostracism, and brought an action against them by tagging their employers and demanding action against people whose views did not converge with theirs, Hindus on social media realised the need to bring people like Das, no matter how worthless cog they are in the giant ‘liberal’ wheel, to a reckoning for their behaviour that they have brushed off for so long.
Specimen of Joy Das’ Hinduphobic tweets
Recently, a Twitter user who goes by the handle @CrimeMasterV2 highlighted the chronic religious bigotry exhibited by Joy Das on Twitter, where he routinely mocks Hindus and their cherished beliefs because it burnishes his ‘liberal’ credentials and does not evoke ‘sar tan se juda’ chants like quoting from authentic and reliable Islamic Hadiths does.
People like @Joydas don’t appreciate the fact that they can insult Hindu religion without fear.
He is donating money to fight for @zoo_bear who has ruined life of 100s of people.
No one is complaining to Joy’s employer @LIQVDAsia
In a string of tweets, the Twitter user highlighted how Joy Das (@Joydas), an inveterate disparager, has been denigrating Hinduism and its pantheon of gods through his perversely vile tweets aimed at insulting Hindus. From Lord Ram to Lord Ganesha to Lord Hanuman, Joy Das has felt no compunction in being disrespectful of deities revered by millions of Hindus around the world.
Though some of the objectionable posts have been removed by Joy Das, primarily after suffering a backlash online, there still exist plenty of tweets where the internet troll masquerading as an ‘intellectual’ insulted Hindus and their religion.
In May 2022, amidst the debate over the discovery of a Shivling inside the wuzukhana of Gyanvapi mosque, Joy Das shared a three-decade-old video from San Francisco to imply that Hindus have a tendency to turn any and everything into their deities. It was not lost on anyone that Das’ post was directed at the Hindu assertion of the discovery of a Shivling at the Gyanvapi site.
Source: Twitter
Joy Das has also been a vocal proponent of Muslim encroachment on public spaces for religious purposes. In December 2021, he drew a false equivalence between Muslims occupying open spaces and public roads to offer namaz with the celebrations of Hindu festivals. He said Muslims use only 26 hours a year of open spaces while Hindus use over 1000 hours a year for their festivals. What he conveniently misses out on highlighting is that Muslims also celebrate festivals such as Muharram, Eid-Milad-Un-Nabi and other occasions when thousands throng the streets in various cities and towns, occupying roads and public spaces. Beyond everything else, Das here tries to rationalise the occupation of public property by a specific community just because they need “26 hours” of open spaces a year.
Source: Twitter
While ‘liberals’ keep insisting that terrorism has no religion despite the overwhelming majority of the caught or eliminated terrorists being Islamists, one of their footsies, Joy Das, does not mind accusing Hindus of being traitors and working for Pakistan’s ISI.
Source: Twitter
In yet another tweet, Joy Das had cast aspersions on the former CJI who was a member of the bench that had granted the site in Ayodhya to the Hindus for building a Ram Temple. Insinuating that the judgment was a result of a quid pro quo arrangement, he criticised the verdict saying that the Ex-CJI was awarded a Rajya Sabha post.
Source: Twitter
Back in 2018, a controversy broke out as liberal luminaries partook in condemning the use of Hanuman posters on cabs and linked it with aggression and hostility against other communities. Long, convoluted and devious articles were written, which enjoyed international coverage, on how Hindutva proponents have found a new expression for their bigotry in Hanuman posters. Joydas was one of the members of the ‘liberal’ firmament that furthered this Hinduphobic narrative on Twitter.
Source: Twitter
Joy Das’ employer condemns his Hinduphobic tweets; promises to take action against employees who had hurt religious sentiments
Besides spewing hatred against Hindus on Twitter and targeting one of the most successful business magnates in India, Joy apparently also has a day job. He works at the Mumbai office of LIQVD Asia, a Digital Marketing agency that describes itself as ‘the ideas company for a digital world’. He had recently attended LIQVD Asia’s birthday bash in Mumbai after the organisation completed its nine years.
Joy Das (L) with a LIQVD Asia executive at its birthday bash held in Mumbai in March 2022 (Image Source: exchange4media.com)
In addition to his Hinduphobia, Das has repeatedly attacked Ambanis on social media. He weaved a conspiracy theory to play down the bomb scare outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence and inexplicably linked it to farmers’ protest. He also has body-shamed Mukesh Ambani’s son and made vulgar jokes about Neeta Ambani.
Source: Twitter
However, it is worth noting that Das’ organisation LIQVD Asia proudly flaunts its association with an organisation named DigiBoxx, a cloud-based file-sharing application company that has partnered with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio. But that hasn’t stopped Das from insulting the Ambanis and spinning wild conspiracy theories against them.
OpIndia contacted LIQVD Asia about their stand on the Hinduphobic posts made by Joy Das, one of their senior-most employees. In a detailed response, the company condemned his derogatory posts and distanced itself from his anti-Hindu tweets.
“We have found that many Twitter users have condemned the offensive comments made by Mr Joy Das. Considering the whole matter seriously, we would like to categorically say that there is no direct or indirect relation of the company with the said case. LIQVD ASIA holds full faith, respect and pride towards the culture and civilization of India,” the organisation said in an email response.
Distancing itself from Joy Das’ Hinduphobic comments, his company said, “We would like to clarify that the statements referenced by Joy Das may be his personal views, which have been tweeted from his personal Twitter account. His personal Twitter account is his personal space for expression. The views expressed herein shall not be construed to be related to the views/beliefs of the Company.”
The company has also assured that it will take strict action against its employees who are found hurting the religious sentiments of people, even though it has not revealed yet what action it plans to take against Joy Das, whose derogatory posts deriding Hindu Gods have long gone viral on Twitter.
LIQVD Asia also took to Twitter to respond to the raging controversy. On being highlighted how one of its employees is brazenly exhibiting Hinduphobic tendencies, the official Twitter of the company tweeted, “As a responsible Indian company, we fully respect India’s faith, identity, culture, civilization and tradition. LIQVD Asia always condemns the statements/comments that provoke public sentiments.”
एक जिम्मेदार भारतीय कंपनी के रूप में हम भारत की आस्था, अस्मिता, संस्कृति, सभ्यता और परंपरा का पूरा सम्मान करते हैं।
Liqvd Asia आमजन की भावनाओं को उद्वेलित करने वाले बयानों/टिप्पणियों की सदैव निंदा करती है।
In the past, Joy Das’ ideological brethren have run motivated campaigns attacking Hindus in the middle east for something as innocuous as backing the Citizenship Amendment Act, a bill passed by the central government to fast track granting of citizenship status to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, which has led to job losses.
It will be worth noting what punitive action LIQVD Asia initiates against Joy Das for his patently Hinduphobic posts and for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus with his tweets mocking and insulting Hindu Gods or if the assurance by the company is only a lip-service aimed at temporarily assuaging the feelings of Hindus until the issue becomes cold and forgotten.
Salman Chishti, the Khadim of the Ajmer Dargah, was arrested by the Ajmer Police after he publicly gave death threats to Nupur Sharma. Salman Chishti has since shown no remorse while in police custody. The history-sheeter has reportedly been smiling, reciting “shayaris,” and chanting religious slogans while in police custody, reports Aaj Tak.
The police have reportedly said that Chishti has not been cooperating with the investigation. He has been reciting poems and Islamic chants during interrogation.
According to the report, when the Ajmer police reached his house to arrest him, even then Chishti displayed no signs of repentance, instead, he smiled and chanted Islamic slogans while he was being taken away by the police.
The police said that Chishti, who is a history-sheeter with over 13 cases against him, had resorted to similar antics during his past three arrests. He had also tried to injure himself by smashing his head against the wall while in custody.
Sharing the report by Aaj Tak, BJP leader Rajyavardhan Rathore expressed his displeasure with the Congress lead government in Rajasthan for its appeasement politics. He highlighted how the criminals in the state have been emboldened due to the callousness of the Ashok Gehlot government.
कांग्रेस सरकार में जेहादियों, उपद्रवियों, अपराधियों के चेहरे पर कानून का भय नहीं दिखता है।
शासन अजमेर दरगाह के उन्मादी खादिम के साथ ऐसा व्यवहार कर रहा है, जैसे वह अपराधी न होकर कोई विशिष्ट अतिथि हो।
Notably, earlier, a video had surfaced wherein arrested Ajmer Dargah Khadim Salman Chishti was seen smiling and displaying a victory symbol while he was being sent to police custody for two days after being produced in front of a magistrate.
Commenting on this, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla had also remarked, “After Rajasthan Police tutoring Salman Chisti now you can see him smiling in police presence. Clearly, he feels Gehlot government is with him. He knows that because Karauli main accused has not been caught..he knows vote bank matters”.
जब सैंया भये कोतवाल तो डर काहे का!!
After Rajasthan police tutoring Salman Chishti now you can see him smiling in police presence
Clearly he feels Gehlot govt is with him.. he knows that because Karauli main accused has not been caught.. he knows Votebank matters!! https://t.co/ExiXScVMZH
Meanwhile, Chishti reportedly deleted all his phone data before his arrest. Salman Chishti also runs his own YouTube channel, which he made private after the controversy over his video threatening former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma grew. The police have now sent his phone to the forensic department to recover the data. Efforts are now being made to recover the content from his YouTube channel.
Rajasthan police caught coaching arrested Salman Chishti who wanted to kill Nupur Sharma
It may be recalled that the Ajmer police were recently caught on camera coaching the arrested accused Salman Chishti to say that he was drunk while issuing threats to Nupur Sharma so that it will be ‘easier to save him’.
In the video that went viral on Wednesday, while arresting Chishti from his house, someone from Ajmer police said “What exactly you were high on while recording the video?” Salman Chishti is heard saying that he does not drink. At this moment a police officer near him said, “Say that you were drunk so that it will be easier to save you.”
After the video went viral, on July 7, Ajmer’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sandeep Saraswat was reportedly removed from the post awaiting further orders (Line Hazir).
