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Nicaragua orders dismissal of Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa, says ‘NGO failed to comply with State laws’

OpIndia Staff
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Nicaragua orders dismissal of Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa, says ‘NGO failed to comply with State laws’

In a major crackdown against the catholic church, the Nicaragua government in the Central America has decided to expel the Association run by the Missionaries of Charity (MoC) for failing to comply with the state laws. The government stating the specific reason said that the association had failed to comply with Law 977 which deals with money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

According to the reports, the Nicaraguan government President Daniel Ortega has also decided to shut down 100 similar NGOs including several Catholic organizations operating in the country. The measure was first ordered by the Nicaraguan Interior Ministry and was approved by the National Assembly on July 7.

Since St. Mother Teresa visited the nation of Nicaragua during Daniel Ortega’s first term in office, the Missionaries of Charity have been active there. The Immaculate Heart of Mary Home in Granada, which takes in abandoned children and abuse victims, is run by nuns. They run a nursing home in Managua, the nation’s capital, where the elderly may get amenities including food and clothing. The MC also runs childcare for children from low-income families and provides remedial education to at-risk youth.

The government ordering the association’s dismissal stated that it did not have an operating permit from the Ministry of Education to provide remedial education for students. “Also, they are not accredited by the Ministry for the Family to function as a nursery-center for childhood development, home for girls, and home for the elderly, and their financial statements reported to the Ministry of the Interior don’t agree with other documents presented for review”, the government was quoted.

The decision to expel more than similar NGOs including the Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity comes amid the massive war of words between the Catholic Church and the Ortega’s government who is ruling over the entire Central America for the past 15 years. Relations have been fragile since 2018 when Nicaraguan authorities cracked down on marches against a series of disputed social security reforms. Despite attempts to mediate the crisis, bishops were eventually barred from participating in the dialogue, and relations deteriorated further following the contentious 2021 elections, which confirmed President Ortega against the other presidential candidate.

Reports mention that among the Catholic organizations that the Nicaraguan government has ordered to dissolve are the Diriomito Children’s Care Home Association, the My Childhood Mothers Foundation, the Catholic Foundation for Human Development Assistance for Nicaraguans, and the Spirituality Foundation for Children of Nicaragua.

It is important to note that the Missionaries of Charity Association has also been booked in several cases in India. In December 2021, the Gujarat Government filed an FIR against the organization founded by Mother Teresa for luring young girls to convert to Christianity. Also, one of the ex-nun had confirmed that MoC isolated the nuns and sisters and institutionally brainwashed them.

Reportedly, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had rejected the renewal of the FCRA licence of the organisations after it failed to submit documents about the donations it had received from the overseas. Reportedly, the Christian evangelist organisation had been receiving large amounts of money from a company based in tax haven Panama. Of the total ₹75 crores received as donations from foreign donors, more than 17% came from this mysterious company with links to companies named in Pandora papers. Later the license was restored after the organisation submitted relevant documents.

Uttar Pradesh: Warrant issued against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in Lakhimpur Kheri. Here is what we know so far about the FIR and proceedings initiated now

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Warrant issued against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in Lakhimpur Kheri. Here is what we know so far about the FIR and proceedings initiated now

A day after the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case filed in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh, an arrest warrant has been issued against him in Lakhimpur Kheri district of the State.

The warrant is issued based on a complaint filed by Sudarshan news journalist Ashish Kumar Katiyar who had originally filed the complaint through the court on September 18 last year. Based on that complaint, the police have now initiated proceedings to take Zubair into their custody.

In his complaint, Katiyar had stated that the Alt News co-founder played a malicious role in uniting Muslims, across the world, against India and peddling communal discord even during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Screengrab of the FIR copy against Mohammed Zubair

He informed that the cops initially refused to lodge a complaint, thereby forcing him to knock on the door of the court. Later, an FIR was registered against Mohammed Zubair at the Mohammadi police station on the directive of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM).

Charges were pressed against the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups).

Screengrab of the FIR copy against Mohammed Zubair

While talking to Opindia, Katiyar said, “The case is pending for the past 10 months. After Delhi and Sitapur police, now the Lakhimpur police have initiated proceedings against Zubair.”

He also informed that the Alt News co-founder will soon be brought to Lakhimpur Kheri. Opindia also reached out to the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Mohammdi police station.

“We have submitted warrant B at the Sitapur jail. The matter is being investigated as per the rules,” he informed. It must be mentioned that warrant ‘B’ is issued when the police wants to seek custody of an accused, who is booked in a different jail or a district.

The case against Mohammed Zubair in Sitapur

On June 1, Khairabad Police of Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh filed an FIR against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for using derogatory language against Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin, Yati Narsinghanand and Swami Anand Swaroop. 

The FIR was registered based on the complaint of Bhagwan Sharan, district head of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena, under sections 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The Sitapur court in Uttar Pradesh rejected the bail plea of Alt News co-founder and propagandist Mohammed Zubair on July 7, 2022. Judge Abhinav Srivastava denied the bail on the grounds that the accused may influence witnesses or commit similar new crimes.

Later, Zubair obtained interim bail from the Supreme Court of India. However, he will continue to remain in judicial custody in Delhi.

Jamtara, Jharkhand: State-run schools pressurised to remain shut on Friday as 70% children are Muslims, over 100 schools adopt change. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Jamtara, Jharkhand: State-run schools pressurised to remain shut on Friday as 70% children are Muslims, over 100 schools adopt change. Read details

On July 8, Friday, the Hindi daily Jagran reported that due to the unprecedented increase in the Muslim population in the Jamtara district in Jharkhand, many government schools have changed their weekly offs from Sunday to Friday after the community exerted pressure. The decision has been taken after the members of the Muslim community residing in those areas compelled the school authorities to do so. As per the report, gradually, more than 100 state-run schools in Jamtara have started observing Friday (Jumma) as a weekly holiday in schools on religious grounds. 

According to the report, neither these institutions are Urdu-medium schools nor have they received any departmental directives to implement the change. However, due to pressure from the parents of Muslim students, who make up more than 70% of the student population at these government schools, the administration has unilaterally decided that Fridays would now serve as students’ weekly holiday instead of Sundays.

Interestingly, as per the official data available with the state education department, out of the 1084 state-run schools on Jamtara, only 15 are Urdu medium schools, where teachers conveniently skip school on Fridays for Jumma prayers. But now, more than 100 state-run schools in Jamtara have officially designated Fridays rather than Sundays as a weekly holiday for all the students as well as the teachers.

A teacher of one of these state-run schools told Jagran, on conditions of anonymity, that initially, just a small number of students’ parents had requested the school administration to observe Friday as the weekly off day. The authorities, however, promptly convened a meeting to discuss this and issued arbitrary directives to observe the modification in the weekly off. This arbitrary instruction began to gradually become the new norm in these state-run institutions, and it has now persisted for a number of years, said the teacher.

Another teacher who has been teaching at a state-run middle school since 2001, told Jagran that 70 per cent of the students in his school are Muslims. He added that one day, all of a sudden, he learnt that Fridays would henceforth be the weekly holiday for the school rather than Sundays. However, until today, they have not received any official intimation regarding the same, said the teacher.

Because Sundays are still the departmental weekly off days they have to mark themselves absent in the school register but they must still report to school on such days since schools have arbitrarily marked Sundays as working days, rued the teacher.

The report further stated that along with marking Fridays instead of Sundays as weekly holidays for school students many government schools in Jamtara, Jharkhand has declared themselves Urdu-medium schools since 70 per cent of the children coming there are Muslims.

Muslim community in Garhwa, Jharkhand gets school prayer changed, stop students from folding hands 

Notably, on July 5 OpIndia reported how in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, some members of the Muslim community got a school prayer, that has been offered for years, changed. They said that since the Muslim community forms 75% of the population, the prayer should be ‘as per them’. The school administration also succumbed to the pressure and changed the prayer.

Not only this, but the Muslim community also objected to folding hands during the prayer and got the same to stop. Hindus fold their hands while offering prayer, greeting in ‘namaste’ and bow down their head as a mark of respect. The school administration said that for the past few months the people from the Muslim community have been coming and creating a ruckus demanding a change of prayer.

Amarnath Yatra temporarily suspended after cloudburst, landslide hit pilgrim base camps, 16 reported dead, over 15,000 stranded pilgrims shifted

OpIndia Staff
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Amarnath Yatra temporarily suspended after cloudburst, landslide hit pilgrim base camps, 16 reported dead, over 15,000 stranded pilgrims shifted

At least 16 people died and around 30-40 have been reported missing after a massive cloudburst occurred near the holy Amarnath Cave amid the ongoing Amarnath Yatra. The Indian Army helicopters have undertaken rescue operations to evacuate the pilgrims who are residing and are trapped at various base camps.

According to the reports, the cloudburst occurred at around 5:30 am on Saturday forcing the heavy water to hit the base camps located near the holy cave. Following the tragedy, the Amarnath Yatra which began on June 30, has been suspended and a decision on its resumption will only be taken after rescue operations get over.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Manoj Sinha expressed anguish over the incident and said on July 8 that he was closely monitoring the situation. “Deeply pained by the unfortunate incident of cloudburst at Shri Amarnathji holy cave, in which precious lives have been lost. I send my heartfelt condolences to bereaved families. Rescue operation by NDRF, SDRF, BSF, Army, JKP & Shrine board admin is in progress”, he said.

In the series of tweets further, he noted that he has briefed PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah about the situation and that the duo has assured all the possible help. “Our priority is to save the lives of people. Instructions have been issued to provide all necessary assistance to pilgrims. I am closely monitoring the situation”, he added. Accordingly, PM Modi and HMO Amit Shah also said that they are distressed about the situation.

“Anguished by the cloud burst near Shree Amarnath cave. Condolences to the bereaved families. Spoke to Manoj Sinha Ji and took stock of the situation. Rescue and relief operations are underway. All possible assistance is being provided to the affected”, PM Modi tweeted. Meanwhile, HMO Amit Shah has directed NDRF, CRPF, and BSF officers to join in the rescue operations.

Reports mention that the ITBP troops are conducting the rescue operations at the lower Amarnath cave sites while the Indian Army officers are using helicopters to evacuate the stranded pilgrims near the holy Amarnath cave. Heavy rainfall and landslide were reported on Friday evening however the situation worsened after the cloudburst occurred on Saturday at around 5:30 am.

The ITBP officials confirmed that most of the pilgrims who were stranded near the holy cave area due to flash floods have been shifted to Panjtarni and the route from the lower holy cave to Panjtarni has been expanded. “No pilgrim left on the track. About 15,000 people safely shifted”, the officers noted.

The rushing waters damaged 25 tents and three community kitchens where pilgrims are served food at the base camp outside the shrine in south Kashmir. The Union Territory administration and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) released four phone numbers to assist families of those affected by the cloudburst. The rescue operations are still underway.

Toronto Metropolitan University issues apology for platforming maker of Hinduphobic film ‘Kaali’, disassociates itself from Leena Manimekalai

OpIndia Staff
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Toronto Metropolitan University issues apology for platforming maker of Hinduphobic film ‘Kaali’, disassociates itself from Leena Manimekalai

The Toronto Metropolitan University (formally Ryerson University) has tendered an apology for having its name associated with the film Kaali and the Hinduphobic poster created by Kollywood filmmaker Leena Manimekalai to promote her film. The statement was released in regards to the university-sponsored event where the movie “Kaali” was screened and filmmaker Leena Manimekalai released her poster showing Hindu Goddess Kali smoking a cigarette.

In the letter of apology, the university said that the TMU department that hosted the event is committed to taking steps to address the issue and acknowledges the need to handle such complex topics more sensitively. The statement was issued in the context of the screening of the film ‘Kaali’.

The Hinduphobic movie by filmmaker Leena Manimekalai was to be shown at the “Under the tent” project at the Aga Khan Museum and was organized by Toronto metropolitan university’s Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration or CERC Migration.

Toronto Metropolitan University, however, disassociated itself from filmmaker Leena Manimekalai. The University said that though it takes full responsibility as the host of the event where the Hinduphobic movie was screened and the ‘Kaali’ poster was displayed, it wanted to “make it clear that the student in question is not a TMU student and their poster was not reviewed or approved by TMU.”

Image credit: Twitter user @CoHNAOfficial

“The university would like to apologise for the oversight on our part and for any upset and disappointment this may have caused,” read the letter.

Aga Khan Museum tenders apology, stops screening of Hinduphobic film ‘Kaali’

Notably, on July 6, the University had also decided to stop the screening of the Hinduphobic movie ‘Kaali’. In reply to the query by Wion News, the University said that the film ‘Kaali’ would not be part of the further screening of the ‘Under The Tent’ event. It said, “We recognize the short film has caused sensitivities and have no further plans to screen it at this time.”

Toronto Metropolitan University had also added a statement on the event’s details page. In the statement, the CERC Migration department of the University said, “We regret that certain content in our Under the Tent presentation on Saturday, July 2 has caused offense and we are taking steps to address this. We are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion while at the same time respecting the diversity of beliefs and points of view in our society. We acknowledge the need to explore and examine complex topics sensitively.”

A day prior to this, Aga Khan Museum had also issued a statement and tendered an apology for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindu and other faith communities.

It is noteworthy that the High Commission of India in Ottawa had urged the Canadian authorities to withdraw the screening of an objectionable film named after Hindu Goddess Kaali. 

Following social media outrage, filmmaker says she has nothing to lose

After the film director, Leena Manimekalai issued a poster depicting Maa Kaali smoking, there was an outrage on social media against the film. In reply to the criticism, Leena had remarked, “I have nothing to lose. I want to be with a voice that speaks without fear of anything until it is. If the price is my life, I will give it.” She has not issued any statement after the screening stopped.

Elon Musk pulls out of the $44 billion deal, Twitter vows to take legal action: Here is why it happened

OpIndia Staff
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Elon Musk pulls out of the $44 billion deal, Twitter vows to take legal action: Here is why it happened

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pulled out of the $44 billion Twitter deal, alleging that the social media giant breached provisions of the merger agreement.

As per reports, the lawyers of Elon Musk have claimed that Twitter failed to provide information about fake bots/spam accounts, which is integral to the company’s business performance.

“Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions of that Agreement, appears to have made false and misleading representations upon which Mr. Musk relied when entering into the Merger Agreement,” they argued in a recent filing.

Musk also justified his decision, claiming that Twitter breached its agreement by firing 1/3rd of the talent acquisition team and several high-ranking executives.

Twitter vows legal action against Elon Musk

Reportedly, the contract signed between Musk and Twitter shareholders called for a $1 billion breakup fee, provided the Tesla CEO failed to honour the deal. This included reasons such as blockade of the deal by regulators or lack of acquisition financing.

However, the contract made it clear that if Musk terminated the deal on his own, then, the break-up fee would not be applicable. Aggrieved by the sudden development, Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor informed that the Board would pursue legal action against Elon Musk.

He tweeted, “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”

According to Tulane Law School Associate Dean, Ann Lipton, the Tesla CEO has been making up excuses to get rid of the deal. She stated that the Twitter Board is in a strong position to fight it out in court.

The rationale behind Musk’s decision to abandon the Twitter deal

On May 13 this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the 44 billion dollar Twitter deal had been temporarily put on hold, subject to the estimate that less than 5% of users on the micro-blogging platform were spam/fake accounts.

“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” Musk had tweeted. He had also shared the link of a Reuters report dated May 2, 2022.

As per the report, Twitter Inc. in a filing has noted that fewer than 5% of 229 million users, who were served ads, during the first quarter of 2022 were false/ spam accounts.

“Twitter said in the filing it faced several risks until the deal with Musk is closed, such as whether advertisers would continue to spend on Twitter and potential uncertainty regarding our future plans and strategy,” the report added.

Musk had earlier stated that one of his main priorities is to rid the micro-blogging platform of spam accounts. However, later Elon Musk tried to allay concerns about the deal by tweeting that he is “still committed to acquisition” of Twitter.

Pranay Pathole, a well-recognised fan of Musk, explained that Twitter’s count of spam accounts was not transparent. He said, “Transparency establishes trust.”

“It is definitely not < 5% fake/spam accounts on the platform. It doesn’t make sense to pay the same original price of $44bn if it turns out that the actual number of bot/fake accounts are higher than 20%. Elon had made a deal based out on their public filings,” he justified Musk’s decision.

Future of Twitter and immediate aftermath

On July 8, Twitter informed that it removes about 1 million spam accounts every day. It claimed that such accounts represented less than 5% of its total active user base in each quarter.

“To calculate how many accounts are malicious spam, Twitter said it reviews “thousands of accounts” sampled at random, using both public and private data such as IP addresses, phone numbers, geolocation and how the account behaves when it is active, to determine whether an account is real,” a report by Reuters read.

Meanwhile, Twitter share prices have suffered a major blow amidst the uncertainty over the ownership of the social media company. Analyst Daniel Ives remarked, “This is a disaster scenario for Twitter and its Board as now the company will battle Musk in an elongated court battle to recoup the deal and/or the breakup fee of $1 billion at a minimum.”

Madras HC says non-Hindus can enter temples if they have faith in the diety: Why the recent comments in the order are problematic

Nupur J Sharma
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Madras HC says non-Hindus can enter temples if they have faith in the diety: Why the recent comments in the order are problematic

On the 4th of July, Madras High Court passed an order that could open Pandora’s box. In response to a PIL about not allowing the entry of non-Hindus during the Kumbabishegam festival of Arulmighu Adikesava Perumal Thirukovil at Thiruvattar, the Madras HC said that those non-Hindus who have faith in the deity cannot be prevented from entering the temple or offering prayers to the deity.

The petition was filed by one C Soman, in response to a Christian minister being invited for the Hindu festival.

The prayer in the petition said:

Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue a writ of mandamus directing the respondents not to permit the Non-Hindus to enter the temple premises during Kumbabishegam festival in the Arulmighu Adikesava Perumal Thirukovil at Thiruvattar, Kanyakumari District and subsequent event scheduled on 06.07.2022.

The court, in its order said:

In our considered opinion, when a public festival like the Kumababishegam of a temple is performed, it will be impossible for the authorities to check the religious identity of every devotee for the purpose of permitting his entry into the temple. That apart, if a person belonging to another religion, has faith in a particular Hindu deity, that cannot be prevented nor can his entry into a temple be prohibited. It is common knowledge that the devotional songs of Dr K.J.Yesudas, a Christian by birth, rendered on various Hindu Gods are played without any demur in temples. In fact, in Nagore Dargah and Vailankanni Church, scores of Hindus worship.

There are certain operative parts of what the Madras HC said, taking a “broader perspective” on the issue and dismissing the PIL, saying it was “devoid of merits”.

  1. It would be impossible for the authorities to determine who is a Hindu and who is not.
  2. If a Christian has faith in a Hindu deity, then they can’t be stopped from entering the Temple.
  3. KJ Yesudas, a Christian by birth, has sung many devotional songs in Temples.

The Court in this judgement seems to have waded into territory that can open Pandora’s box. The Judiciary cannot determine the Hindu faith and what individual temples and festivals should or should not do. Such judgements can also have a cascading effect on the practices of several other temples in India.

For example, the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple allows only Hindus and those who declare their faith to be Hinduism to enter the temple and offer prayers. The Court, in its wisdom, did not want to take a ‘parochial view’ but a ‘broad perspective’, however, such pronouncements can then be used to demand that non-Hindus be allowed in several other temples where rules dictate that only Hindus can offer prayers.

The court further said that if a non-Hindu has faith in the Hindu deity, then he cannot be stopped from entering the Temple. A matter of faith cannot be determined by the court, certainly. In fact, when the court says that the administration will not be able to determine who is a Hindu and who is not, it has to consider that establishing the faith of a non-Hindu in a Hindu deity is far more difficult.

KJ Yesudas, who is a Christian by birth and has sung many devotional songs, also needed to approach the court to seek permission to enter the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. Even in this case, it was the Temple committee that had unanimously decided to let Yesudas enter the temple and offer prayers, not the judiciary. “Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple executive committee has decided to permit Yesudas to visit Padmanabhaswamy temple. Yesudas filed an undertaking that he has belief in the Hindu faith and is ready to follow the temple traditions,” V Ratheesan, a member of the temple’s executive committee, had said. “The decision was unanimous… all members who took part in the meeting agreed to accept the legendary singer’s request. Now, we will formally inform him about the temple committee’s decision… It is up to him to decide the date of the visit to the shrine,” Mr Ratheesan had said.

Ideally, the Court should have simply dismissed the case saying that it is a decision that the temple has to take independently, without the interference of the court, to determine if they wish to allow non-Hindus or not.

The Judiciary often looks at Hinduism from an Abrahamic view where principles of universal morals need to be applied, however, in Hinduism, every temple and every Sampradaya would have its own traditions and culture. In the case of Sabarimala, the outrage was precisely for this reason. Women, who did not even belong to the Sampradaya wanted to dictate what devotees should or should not do. They wanted to impose their modern moral construct on the devotees who only wanted to follow the tradition of the deity they had faith in. However, the Judiciary interfered and assumed to dictate the contours of the Hindu faith.

Justice Indu Malhotra, who had given a dissenting view in 2018, had said:

Justice Malhotra observed that religion can lay down a code of ethics, and also prescribe rituals, ceremonies etc. which are also regarded as an integral part of religion and hence are to be protected as a religious belief. She said, “The religious practice of restricting the entry of women between the ages of 10 to 50 years, is in pursuance of an ‘essential religious practice’ followed by the Respondents. The said restriction has been consistent, followed at the Sabarimala Temple for years.” 

She had further said:

“In a pluralistic society comprising of people with diverse faiths, beliefs and traditions, to entertain PILs challenging religious practices followed by any group, sect or denomination, could cause serious damage to the constitutional and secular fabric of this country.”

It is indeed true that if the courts start deciding what the contours of the Hindu faith are, it would hurt the secular fabric of the nation and infringe on the right of every Hindu to practise their faith freely. In this case, it is to be kept in mind that the Temple invited the non-Hindu for the festival and a devotee had approached the court. In my personal view, the court should have simply said that it will defer to the wisdom of the Temple and not interfere either way. However, to foist their own sensibilities and make comments accordingly, to define how a Temple’s conduct should be, is a dangerous path to tread. Hinduism is not a monolith and interference by the court only encourages temple practices to be ingringed upon. The comments, in this case, could have far-reaching ramifications and have a cascading effect on several other cases, where Hindu practises are wantonly challenged.

TMC leader Wasim Raza offers Rs 5 lakh bounty for Nupur Sharma’s head, later edits the Facebook post

OpIndia Staff
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TMC leader Wasim Raza offers Rs 5 lakh bounty for Nupur Sharma’s head, later edits the Facebook post

The series of death threats to Nupur Sharma and the announcement of bounties by Islamists for beheading her has not stopped yet. In another such incident, a leader of the Trinamool Congress has announced a bounty on her head. On June 2, TMC leader Wasim Raza had announced Rs 5 lakh bounty for Nupur Sharma’s head. The Muslim leader in West Bengal shared a post in this regard from his Facebook profile and gave death calls to Nupur Sharma for her allegedly insulting remarks against the Prophet Muhammad. However later he edited the post to demand Nupur Sharma’s arrest instead.

In his Facebook post, Wasim Raza wrote, “I Wasim Raza, ashique rasool, with all responsibilities announces Rs 5 lakhs on Nupur Sharma’s arrest. Brothers, please share this post as much as you can for the love of our prophet Muhammad Sallallaho alaihiwasallam.”

Wasim Raza cleverly updated his original post and added the word arrest with an appeal of sharing the post.

However, this was not his original post, and he had edited his Facebook on 30th June 2022. In the edit history of the message, his original post is seen in which there is no mention of the arrest. Rather, Wasim Raza clearly declared the bounty for Nupur Sharma’s head, which makes his post a call for her beheading.

Wasim Raza’s original post is a clear call for beheading.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga shared some photographs of Wasim Raza on Twitter in which he is seen with top TMC leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

In his Facebook account, Wasim Raza has posted several photos and videos that make it clear that he is a TMC leader. In April 2021, he had posted a video showing him participating in a TMC march.

Ironically, Wasim Raza calls himself a human rights activist. He is a member of the Asian Human Rights Society. Analyst Anshul Saxena tweeted, “A man Wasim Raza from Kolkata announced a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on Nupur Sharma’s head. You can see the edit history of his post. And, who is Wasim Raza? A member of the Asian Human Rights Society. Yes, he’s a so-called human rights activist.”

Nupur Sharma is continuously getting death threats for her allegedly insulting comments on the Prophet Muhammad. Even those who support her on social media are also getting death threats. Kanhaiya Lal of Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe of Amravati were beheaded by the Islamists for sharing social media posts supporting Nupur Sharma.

India seeks Interpol’s help after hackers from Indonesia, Malaysia wage cyber war against her over Nupur Sharma incident 

OpIndia Staff
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India seeks Interpol’s help after hackers from Indonesia, Malaysia wage cyber war against her over Nupur Sharma incident 

India has sought Interpol’s help to nab two hacker groups called ‘Dragon force Malaysia’ and ‘Hacktivist Indonesia’, which waged a cyber war against the country over former BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s comments on Prophet Muhammad.

After attacking government websites, the two groups asked Muslim hacker groups from across the world to join them in their attack, which they claim is in response to Nupur Sharma’s comments on a news channel debate.

“Over 2,000 websites were hacked by hacker groups. Ahmedabad cybercrime has written to Malaysian and Indonesian governments along with writing to Interpol for lookout notice for both groups,” said Amit Vasava, DCP, Cyber Crime, Ahmedabad.

Reveling the detail, the DCP said: “Dragon ForceIO of Malaysia and Hacktivists of Garuda of Indonesia have claimed to have hacked 2000+ Indian Websites which includes Government Department, Educational Institutes, Businesses, and Industries, etc. Confidential data has been leaked from such websites which include details like, Government Files and Data, Aadhaar cards of some persons, Pan card and Passport details of some citizens, Details of Policemen of Andhra Pradesh Police, DishTV data,”

A lookout notice for both groups has been issued for both the groups which hacked over 2,000 websites.

‘Dragon Force Malaysia’ had launched an attack called OpsPatuk or “strike back” against India, which was discovered by Bengaluru-based cyber security firm CloudSEK. The group shared Indian users’ social media credentials, including usernames and passwords, to enable others to launch attacks.

DragonForce, based out of Malaysia, has reportedly worked with several threat groups in the past, including the T3 Dimension Team and ReliksCrew, and has sympathies for the Palestinian cause.

Flash floods caused by cloudburst hits tents of pilgrims near Amarnath cave, 13 reported dead while several still missing

OpIndia Staff
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Flash floods caused by cloudburst hits tents of pilgrims near Amarnath cave, 13 reported dead while several still missing

On Friday 8th July 2022, at around 5:30 pm, an unfortunate cloudburst took place near Amarnath cave, washing away pilgrims. According to reports, at least thirteen persons have died in the incident. The exact number of the missing people is also not known yet. The teams of the National Disaster Relief Force and the State Disaster Relief Force are carrying out rescue operations. Indo Tibet Border Police teams are also assisting them. The NDRF has rescued three persons so far. Several people are still reported to be missing.

The cloudburst triggered flash floods that swept way the tents of pilgrims near the holy cave, causing panic among the pilgrims. The Amarnath Shrine Board will soon share the helpline number so that the family members of the pilgrims will be able to contact the authorities and get information about their kind.

The flood damaged at least 25 tents and three community kitchens at the base camp outside the shrine.

Several videos from the site have emerged on social media showing the extent of damage.

According to a report by Aaj Tak, around 8 to 10 thousand pilgrims joined the Amarnath Yatra today and the enthusiasm was at its peak. The scenes changed with the calamity. NDRF director general Atul Gadhwal said, “A team is deployed just near the holy cave of Baba Amarnath. The teams deployed in the nearby locations are also redirected to the spot where this mishap took place. It is not yet confirmed how many people were present there at the time of this incident and how many of them died.”

He further said, “Rescue operation here is a challenging task. The main challenge is the changing weather. Among others, there are the terrain and the altitude. But our team members are very well trained. It should not be any problem for them. The state government will publish the helpline number. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board will also share the helpline numbers. We will work in cohesion with them.”

Atul Gadhwal further told, “There are many camps to accommodate the rescued people. Paramilitary soldiers are also deployed there. One helipad is also there. The injured people will be sent back from there. Due to bad weather, Jammu and Kashmir Police will also accompany the injured pilgrims in order to ensure their safety. The medical teams of the Border Security Force and the Central Reserved Police Force is also there.”

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted, “I have talked to the LG Manoj Sinha who briefed me about the flash flood near the cave of Baba Amarnath due to the cloudburst incident. NDRF, CRPF, BSF, and the local administration are giving their best in rescue operations. Saving lives is our priority. I pray for the safety of all the pilgrims.”

This is the second major natural calamity in India that happened in a span of eight days. On 30th June 2022, there was a landslide in Manipur that claimed many lives. The rescue operations in Manipur had hardly come to an end when the cloudburst incident took place near Amarnath cave in Kashmir.

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