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Kerala journalist who complained against CM Pinarayi Vijayan in corruption case, now booked for ‘making porn’

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala journalist who complained against CM Pinarayi Vijayan in corruption case, now booked for ‘making porn’

On June 17, the Kerala Police arrested journalist TP Nandakumar for allegedly forcing his colleague to make an obscene video. Journalist Nandakumar, popularly known as ‘crime’ Nandakumar is the chief editor of Crime magazine and is also accused of using vulgar language and misbehaving with his female employee.

According to the reports, the Kerala police acted swift on the complaint filed by the female employee on May 27 who stated that Nandakumar asked her to produce a pornographic video to target Health Minister Veena George. She said that she looked similar to George and so was forced by the journalist to act in a pornographic film.

The complainant added that she was offered a fat amount by the journalist for the task and was verbally abused when she refused to do the video. The Kerala Police investigated the office of Nandakumar and seized his several digital devices and documents. Kochi city police commissioner CH Nagaraju meanwhile also alleged that the journalist had asked the complainant to make a fake video on Kerala Health Minister.

“He forced her to make a fake video and we will be adding sections under the Information Technology (IT) Act as well. The main charges under which the case has been registered against him are insulting a woman, and insulting her based on caste”, the police commissioner was quoted. Reports mention that TP Nandakumar has filed a counter-complaint in the case saying that his female co-worker had misbehaved with him.

This is months after journalist TP Nandakumar through his Crime magazine had published a report claiming that he had videos of Health Minister Veena George where she was seen naked. In September 2021, journalist Nandakumar was interviewing Kerala-based politician PC George, who had made derogatory remarks about the Health Minister. He had said that Veena George was was made Health Minister just because she was an ‘assistant’ to CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Crime magazine published the phone-in interview from its social media handle resulting in the arrest of its Chief Editor TP Nandakumar. The Kakkanad police had charged him for making defamatory remarks against Veena George and for circulating the voice clip via social media. Later, a complaint was also registered against ex-MLA PC George for insulting the modesty of state Health Minister Veena George.

Nandakumar had exposed CM Vijayan in SNC-Lavalin case

It is important to note that journalist TP Nandakumar and politician PC George have a history of engaging in legal battles against CM Pinarayi Vijayan. In the year 2006, Nandakumar exposed CM Vijayan by presenting crucial evidence to the ED in the SNC-Lavalin corruption case. He had filed a complaint with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) against CM Vijayan and accused him of indulging in a criminal conspiracy while he was serving as the Electricity Minister of Kerala from May 1996 to October 1998.

The complaint stated that the then Electricity Minister Vijayan and Kerala State Electricity Board members awarded hydroelectric project renovation contracts to Canada-based company SNC-Lavalin at exorbitant rates. However, the CBI Court had acquitted Vijayan due to a lack of evidence then.

Gold Smuggling Case: Police say Nandakumar also behind Swapna Suresh’s allegations against CM Vijayan

Also recently, the Special Investigation Team examining the Kerala gold smuggling through diplomatic baggage case revealed that politicians PC George and Nandakumar have a major role to highlight the alleged involvement of CM Vijayan in the case. The Kerala Police team stated that the duo was behind Swapna Suresh’s allegations against CM Vijayan.

On July 5, 2020, customs authorities at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport seized gold weighing more than 30 kg and worth around Rs 15 crore. This gold was hidden in diplomatic luggage and air freighted to the UAE embassy. Customs officers took action after receiving evidence that the luggage was part of a smuggling network attempting to misappropriate the name of a diplomat with diplomatic immunity.

In the current case, ‘Crime’ Nandakumar was arrested on June 17 and was booked under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and sections 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509 (Word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.

Watch: Islamists disrupt Yoga Day celebrations organised by Indian Govt, President Solih says probe initiated

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Islamists disrupt Yoga Day celebrations organised by Indian Govt, President Solih says probe initiated

On June 21, Islamist extremists disrupted Yoga Day celebrations in the Maldives. Videos of the incident emerged on social media platforms where Islamists could be seen entering the Galolhu stadium where people were doing Yoga on eight International Yoga Day. They uprooted the flags in the stadium and used them to attack the participants of the celebrations.

Another video posted by Raajje TV showed how the Islamists destroyed the venue and thrashed food stalls meant for the participants.

As per reports, the event was organized by the Indian Mission in the Maldives in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Development. Diplomats, government officials and Maldives ministers were present at the event when the Islamist extremists barged into the stadium.

The event that started at 6:30 AM was stopped after the Islamists barged in. Police had to use tear gas shells to disperse the agitated Islamist extremists to ensure the situation did not turn into a physical altercation.

Maldives President said probe initiated

After the incident, Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih issued a statement and said an investigation had been launched into the incident that had happened at the Galolhu Stadium.

He said, “An investigation has been launched by Maldives Police into the incident that happened this morning at Galolhu stadium. This is being treated as a matter of serious concern, and those responsible will be swiftly brought before the law.”

‘Should Kashmir be handed over to Pakistan’: MP Civil service exam question paper sparks row

OpIndia Staff
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‘Should Kashmir be handed over to Pakistan’: MP Civil service exam question paper sparks row

A day after the prelims for the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) was held, a contentious question asked during the exam about the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir began doing the rounds on the internet.

“Should India decide to hand over Kashmir to Pakistan?” read the question, which appeared in all Sets (A, B, C and D) of the paper. This is despite the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.

The question presented two options, one suggesting that it should be done because it would save India’s resources. The other option stated that it may lead to other secessionist movements.

The students were asked to choose between the two and provide reasons for the same. The incident led to a political furore in the State, prompting the Seva Aayog to take action against the individual who set the questions for the civil services.

The official was reprimanded for not following the guidelines while preparing the question paper. He has been sent a show-cause notice and debarred from all future duties, associated with the MPPSC.

Pakistan occupied Kashmir called ‘Azad Kashmir’ in MP Board’s 10th standard questions paper

In March 2020, the Madhya Pradesh State Board had called ‘Pakistan occupied Kashmir’ (PoK) as ‘Azad Kashmir’ in its social science examination paper prepared for the 10th standard board exams.

In the social science paper meant for the 10th standard students, question number four, presented in both Hindi and English languages, was a match the following type question. The students were given five words and their related answers were given in a jumbled form. The students were required to match the question with its correct option.

The option on the left column had its correct and matching option on the right-hand column. As such, option number ‘c’ of question number ‘4’ is ‘India-Pakistan war’ and its related option given in the paper was ‘Azad Kashmir’.The term “Azad Kashmir” is often used by Pakistan to regard part of Kashmir under its occupation. India had made it clear that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir is Indian territory and the part currently illegally occupied by Pakistan is called Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Yashwant Sinha for President? TMC VP nudges party chief Mamata via a sly tweet

OpIndia Staff
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Yashwant Sinha for President? TMC VP nudges party chief Mamata via a sly tweet

Trinamool Congress Vice President Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday took to Twitter to post a cryptic tweet stating that he is now ready to play a larger role in national politics.

Sinha said that he is grateful to TMC party chief Mamata Banerjee for the honour and prestige that is bestowed on him in the party and now the time has come for him to step aside for ‘greater opposition unity’ for a larger national cause. He said that he is sure Banerjee approves of this step.

Since the tweet was cryptic and message unclear on what he meant to say, but many on social media speculated if he is nudging the party chief to prop up his name as the opposition candidate for upcoming Presidential polls.

While some wondered if he is being named as opposition candidate for President, some opined that Sinha couldn’t even win residential society elections.

Some even questioned his contribution to the TMC itself that he thinks himself worthy of now contributing to the larger national unity.

Some even wondered where did he lack that he was not sent to the Rajya Sabha. Earlier Congress leaders like Pawan Khera and Nagma Morarji had whined how there was something missing in their ‘tapasya’ as they were overlooked for other people for Rajya Sabha.

Earlier in the day, it was reported by some portals that Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee might be announcing Sinha’s name as the Presidential candidate in a meeting that will be convened by NCP leader Sharad Pawar. Pawar’s name had come up as one of the probable candidates from opposition side but he ‘humbly’ stepped aside. Similarly, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah’s name was also suggested but he too declined saying he still has years of active politics left. The third name that was put forward by Mamata Banerjee was of Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of MK Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari. However, he, too has declined.

It is not yet clear whether he has quit the party but he sure has indicated so.

Maharashtra: Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and 13 other MLAs ‘unreachable’, Uddhav Thackeray calls urgent meeting

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and 13 other MLAs ‘unreachable’, Uddhav Thackeray calls urgent meeting

On June 20, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde was reported ‘missing’ along with several MLAs. The reports of him being ‘out of reach’ came out after legislative council elections on Monday. There have been rumours floating around that some of the Shiv Sena MLAs cross-voted in the elections resulting in the BJP winning the MLC seats.

Reports suggest that the Shiv Sena MLAs are holding up in a hotel in Surat, Gujarat. There have been rumours floating in Marathi media that Shinde was not happy with the party workings.

While many reports have stated that Shinde has 13 MLAs with him, ABP Majha has reported that Shinde has 25 MLAs along with him in Surat. BJP leader Narayan Rane refused to divulge any details on Shinde and the reports of him being in Surat.

During the election on Monday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged five seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. On the other hand, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) managed to grab two seats each. There were 10 MLA seats to grab, and BJP had fielded five candidates for the same. Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) had fielded six candidates for the same. Though the number of MLAs was short for BJP, it still managed to will all five seats where its candidates were contesting.

There are 106 MLAs of the BJP in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. It was not possible for the party to win the elections without the support of the independent MLAs or from those of small parties or other parties like Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP. BJP’s Pravin Darekar, who won the MLC election, said, “We are very happy; Maharashtra has shown faith in BJP. Cross-voting 100% happened among members of Shiv Sena and Congress. We wouldn’t have received so many votes otherwise.”

CM Thackeray called the MLA meeting on Tuesday

As there were rumours of cross-voting by some Shiv Sena MLAs, the party’s president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray have called for an urgent all-party MLA meeting on Tuesday at noon.

All MLAs have been instructed to be at the meeting without fail. Reports suggest around 20 MLAs could have cross-voted in the MLC elections.

Maharashtra MLC elections: Congress workers protest against own party after cross-voting leads to loss of Dalit figure

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra MLC elections: Congress workers protest against own party after cross-voting leads to loss of Dalit figure

On Monday (June 20), Congress workers protested against its own party after its Dalit candidate Chandrakant Handore suffered a major loss in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections.

In a video shared by ABP News journalist Jitendra K Dixit, the Congress party workers took to the streets in Chembur and raised slogans of ‘Congress Murdabad.’ They were reportedly miffed about the cross-voting within the party during the MLC elections.

As per reports, the grand-old party had fielded two candidates, namely, Chandrakant Handore and Bhai Jagtap, despite knowing that it had the numbers to ensure the victory of only one candidate.

Handore was projected as Congress’ first choice. Given that it would require the vote from its allies, it was expected that the MLC candidate Bhai Jagtap would have slim chances.

When results emerged, it was found that Bhai Jagtap won the elections while the Congress party’s lone Dalit candidate lost. Reportedly, the party had fielded Chandrakant Handore in the hopes of securing Dalit votes in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (MLC) polls.

While speaking about the matter to The Indian Express, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said, “It is unfortunate that Dalit candidate Chrandkant Handore, who supposedly got the first preference, lost to a Congress candidate of second preference Bhai Jagtap. This is very bad and prima facie, it looks like sabotage by our own people.”

Chandrakant Handore and its relationship with the Congress

Handore had earlier served as a BMC corporator in 1985 and as the mayor of Mumbai between 1992-1993. Hailed as a Dalit activist, he was earlier associated with the Republican Party of India.

He later joined the Congress party and won the Assembly elections from Chembur consecutively in 2004 and 2009. Chandrakant Handore was appointed as Maharastra Congress’ Working President in February last year.

Performance of the BJP in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party had outperformed its political rivals, namely, the Shiv Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the MLC elections.

While the saffron party bagged 5 seats, NCP got 2, Congress got 1 and Shiv Sena secured 2 seats only. Ram Shinde, Uma Khapre, Prasad Lad, Pravin Darekar and Shrikant Bhartiya of the BJP emerged victorious in the MLC polls.

BJP leader and former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis remarked, “We have got all five candidates elected. In Rajya Sabha, BJP got 123 votes. In the council elections, we got 134 votes. For our 5th candidate, we didn’t have the votes. But he got more votes than two Congress candidates.”

Sterlite Copper up for sale: Vedanta Group seeks EoI for its Thoothukudi Copper Plant that has been closed by the TN govt since 2018

OpIndia Staff
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Sterlite Copper up for sale: Vedanta Group seeks EoI for its Thoothukudi Copper Plant that has been closed by the TN govt since 2018

On June 20, Vedanta Group published an advertisement in newspapers seeking expressions of interest for the sale of its Thoothukudi-based copper plant that has been closed since 2018 following the protests from the locals and activists. Sterlite Copper faced an array of protests leading to police firing that resulted in the death of 13 people. The plant has been closed since 2018, following the Tamil Nadu government’s order.

In its ad on Monday, the company said, “Vedanta, in conjunction with Axis Capital, invites expressions of interest for the sale of its copper plant along with its other units, which includes the smelter complex (primary and secondary), sulphuric acid plant, copper refinery, continuous copper rod plant, phosphoric acid plant, effluent treatment plant, captive power plants, reverse osmosis units, oxygen generation unit and residential complex.” The company has sought EoI by July 4, 2022.

Ad by Vedanta Group seeking EoI for Sterlite Copper in Tamil Nadu. Source: MoneyControl

The plant has an installed capacity of 4,00,000 Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA), and there was another 4,00,000 MTPA under expansion. Before closing down, the plant was providing direct employment to over 5,000 people, and another 25,000 were indirectly employed because of the plant. It fulfilled 40% of the copper demand in India. 12% of revenue of the Thoothukudi port was coming from the plant, along with a 96% market share for sulphuric acid in Tamil Nadu.

Since its closure, the officials of Sterlite Copper had been working out a plan to reopen it. The case is currently under review by the Supreme Court. Vedanta Group officials had said earlier that selling the plant or moving it away from Tamil Nadu was not on the cards, and the recent step has come as a surprise for many.

In a statement, the company’s spokesperson said, “The Tuticorin plant is a national asset which has been catering to 40% of our national demand for copper and has played an integral role towards India’s self-sufficiency in copper. In the best interest of the country and the people of Tamil Nadu, we are exploring options to make sure that the plant and the assets are best utilised to meet the growing copper demand of the nation.”

Reports suggest that the plant has been incurring over Rs 5 crore loss per day since its closure. It would require Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 crore to revamp the plant if it gets permission to reopen.

The closure of the plant

The locals and environmental activists had been protesting against the plant for a long. In March 2018 massive protests started against the plant. The Police had opened fire at the protesters outside the plant leading to the death of 13 people. The protesters had claimed the plant was causing pollution in the area. Following the closure, Vedanta moved to National Green Tribunal (NGT) to get permission to reopen the plant. NGT granted permission, but the Tamil Nadu government moved to Supreme Court. The apex court stayed the NGT order and allowed Vedanta to approach High Court for reopening of the plant. The High Court refused to allow Vedanta to reopen the plant, after which the company moved to Supreme Court, where the case is pending.

Notably, in 2021, Vedanta Group got permission to reopen the plant to provide medical oxygen during the Covid pandemic. TN government had appealed to the apex court that the plant should provide oxygen only to the state but the court rejected it. It operated for three months and then the premises were again shut once the second wave was subsidised. In December 2021, there were reports that the locals had claimed they were cheated in the name of the protests and wanted it to reopen.

Former wife of Imran Khan Jemima Goldsmith shares picture of his abandoned love child Tyrian White on Father’s Day, deletes it later

OpIndia Staff
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Former wife of Imran Khan Jemima Goldsmith shares picture of his abandoned love child Tyrian White on Father’s Day, deletes it later

On Sunday, Jemima Goldsmith, ex-wife of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, posted a picture of Tyrian White – Khan’s love child on Twitter on account of father’s day. Captioned ‘Happy Father Figure’s Day’ Goldsmith shared a picture of 30-year-old White with her brother Ben Goldsmith, which attracted a massive response on the social micro-blogging site.

Picture posted by Jemima Goldsmith on Twitter on June 19, 2022

It is known that Jemima Goldsmith, the British Screenwriter and producer who parted ways with Imran Khan in 2004, has become a mother to Tyrian White, who was born to Khan in June 1992. White was born to Imran Khan out of wedlock with Sita White, daughter of a British Industrialist. The two were in a relationship in the 90s for two years.

When allegations of Imran Khan secretly fathering an ‘illegitimate’ child surfaced in Pakistan during the 2018 National Assembly elections in Pakistan, he refused the same over concerns that it would affect his candidature as the Prime Minister. However, the story dates back to 1997, when Khan publically refused that he has a love child, while categorically denying to claim the paternity of Tyrian White.

Imran Khan wished for a baby boy; was disappointed when a baby girl was born and refused to acknowledge her as his child

Sita White dragged Khan to the court with her attorney Gloria Alfred confirming that she was in a relationship with Imran Khan during 1987-88. In 1991, Sita White apparently asked Imran Khan if she wanted to have his child but did not ask for child support. While White kept expecting that one day Khan would embrace their daughter as his child, she noted that during her pregnancy he hoped that it was a boy.

According to Alfred, Khan was disappointed at the time of Tyrian White’s birth and expressed that the child would ‘not be able to play cricket’. He also urged White to have an abortion, to which she refused. Since Tyrian’s birth, Khan did not see her even after being on speaking terms with her mother, Sita White.

After a paternity suit was filed by her against Imran Khan who refused to acknowledge Tyrian as his child, the court ruled that he was the legal father of the then four-year-old girl. Khan’s refusal to accept Tyrian white as his illegitimate daughter could have come from his new relationship with Jemima Goldsmith. In a dramatic move, the world came to know the details about Tyrian White, days after Imran Khan married Goldsmith in Paris.

Imran Khan
Newspaper clipping of ‘British daily News of the World’ revealing the first picture of Tyrian White

The courtroom saga that ended with the Judge declaring Imran Khan as the child’s father, required him to meet Tyrian upon the adamancy of Sita White. The father-daughter duo finally met each other in 1998, according to Daily Mail. However, the story now took a different turn.

It was now for Jemima Goldsmith and Sita White to spend time with each other and the two developed a cordial relationship. In 2004, White discovered she had cancer and died of an embolism in May of the same year. When the question arose as to who would take care of eleven-year-old Tyrian, Sita White appointed Goldsmith as her ‘sole guardian’.

Since then, it has been Jemima Goldsmith who has raised Tyrian White along with her two sons – Sulaiman and Kasim. White was raised in California and often visited her stepmother Jemima in Oxfordshire, UK. The Daily Mail reported that in 2018, Jemima and Tyrian went out with Sulaiman, Kasim and her brother Ben (With whom Jemima Goldsmith has shared a picture of Tyrian White) at a Bollywood-themed party in Mayfair.

Jemima Goldsmith has quite often shared pictures with White and has always treated her as a daughter at par with her sons. It was also in 2004 that Goldsmith parted ways with Imran Khan over a divorce. However, she continued to raise Sulaiman, Kasim and Tyrian White, and they live as a cohesive family unit.

Lucknow: No casteist angle in the Zomato delivery executive ‘assault’ incident as reported by media, here is what we know

OpIndia Staff
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Lucknow: No casteist angle in the Zomato delivery executive ‘assault’ incident as reported by media, here is what we know

On Monday, June 20, many media houses reported about a Zomato delivery executive being allegedly thrashed and hurled with casteist slurs by a customer and his family when he went to deliver an order in the Ashiana area of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh late on Saturday, June 18. According to media reports, the victim, Vineet Kumar Rawat, who works for Zomato, alleged that a house owner, Ajay Singh, refused to receive food from his hands as he was a Dalit and spat tobacco on his face. 

Media reports quoted the Zomato delivery executive as claiming that the accused spat at his face and thrashed him together with 10-12 people only because he was a Dalit. It said that an FIR was also registered against the customer Ajay Singh, his brother Abhay Singh, and 12 other unidentified people at the Ashiana police station. 

However, when OpIndia delved into the case the facts appeared to be significantly different from what was reported in the media. It was revealed that the media’s narrative of Dalits being attacked was false and that the incident was actually unrelated to caste.

Several media houses, including the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, The Quint, Aak Tak, India TV, Asia Net, ABP, Amar Ujala, and News18, evidently ascribed the casteist slant to the aforementioned incident without trying to verify details. Almost all of these news outlets ran headlines implying that the Zomato delivery executive had been harassed and assaulted because he was a Dalit.

Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar report’s headline in Hindi read, “Customer in Lucknow refuses to accept food from Dalit delivery boy: spits on the face, thrashes and abuses, case filed against 14 including 2 known people”

Report by Dainik Bhaskar

Twitter handle Bolta Hindustan Tweeted in Hindi which roughly translates to, “We don’t eat food touched by Dalits, a customer in Lucknow said this while spitting on the face of a Dalit delivery boy from Zomato”.

Tweet by Bolta Hindustan

Aaj Tak, the sister channel of India Today group titled its report, “Lucknow: I am a Dalit that is why they did not take the food and spat on my face, Zomato delivery boy alleges”

Report by Aaj Tak

India TV wrote, “In UP Lucknow, a customer refuses to accept food since the delivery boy was a Dalit, thrashed him up”

Report by India TV

The leftist news portal The Quint published a report on its Hindi website on the aforementioned incident with the headline, “Zomato delivery man alleges customer did not accept food as he was Dalit, spat on face”

Report by The Quint

Asianet News, ABP News, Hindi daily Amar Ujala and News18 also published the news by dragging the Dalit angle into it.

Leftist media-friendly caste propagandists peddle the same angle

These media reports were quickly picked up by the assorted bunch of leftists who too dragged in the caste angle to spread hatred. Individuals like the Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’, ‘journalist’ working for leftist propaganda website The Wire and ThePrint and ThePrint columnist Dilip Mandal also used the reports published by the above leftist media outlets to peddle the narrative of Dalits being under attack in Modi’s India.

SS of Tweet by Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad
SS of Tweet posted by The Wire ‘journalist’ Meena Kotwal
SS of ThePrint columnist Dilip Mandal’s Tweet

One thing that all of the headlines of the news reports and Tweets cited above have in common is the use of the word ‘Dalit.’ In fact, the word has been strategically utilised by leftist media outlets and their allies to create caste divide.

However, when OpIndia spoke to the customer and eye-witnesses, the truth appeared to be completely different. It was revealed that the media’s narrative of Dalits being attacked was false and that the incident was actually unrelated to caste.

Accused customer reveals he too belongs to the OBC category

When OpIndia spoke to the customer Ajay Singh, who has been accused of thrashing, spitting at and hurling casteist slurs at the Zomato delivery executive, ‘Dalit’ Vineet Kumar Rawat, the former said, “We are not upper-caste Savarnas, but also belong to the OBC category. Perhaps reading my name on the true caller’s list, it was presumed that I belong to the upper caste”.

He further confirmed that he was not even in the house when Vineet Kumar Rawat visited his house to deliver the food. “I arrived later. My brother had already met the delivery boy and had requested him to hand over the food to him. The package contained momos which I had ordered for my children. The delivery executive, however, refused to hand over the food packet to my brother. My brother has a habit of eating tobacco. When he was speaking to the delivery executive, some minor splashes of tobacco accidentally fell on the delivery executive’s vehicle. This infuriated the Zomato guy who then started misbehaving with my brother. He called him blind and abused him,” recalled Ajay Singh.

Singh furthered, “By then, I’d returned home. When I inquired about the delivery boy’s behaviour with my brother, the former began abusing my sister and then hitting me. When he pushed me, I pushed him back. After some time he left saying ‘in a while, you will know who I am'”.

There are only 4 adults in my house, the allegation of 10-12 is baseless: Zomato customer Ajay Singh

While speaking to OpIndia, the Zomato customer added that the allegation meted out by the Zomato delivery executive that 10 to 12 people came out of his house to thrash the delivery boy was absolutely false and baseless. He said, “Apart from my children, my wife and my brother and wife live in my house. My family has a total of four adults. How can it be true that 12 members of my family thrashed him? Vineet Kumar Rawat questioned.

He further recalled, “later, the delivery boy dialled 112 for the police control room and requested that they come to my house. My neighbours had gathered outside my house owing to the resulting commotion. Everyone in attendance agreed that the delivery executive was to blame. In fact, when the policemen asked if I spat tobacco in his face, I told them to look at the delivery boy’s face and clothes to see if there was even a speck of tobacco on either. I also urged the delivery boy, who said he had been battered, to reveal the marks on his body. The delivery boy was unable to establish his innocence, so he grabbed his bike and drove away.”

“Had we been at fault, would we not run away seeing the police”, questioned Ajay Singh

In order to prove his innocence, the Zomato customer further said, “Would we not flee when the delivery guy dialled 112 and summoned the cops if we were guilty? We were not at fault so we waited and confronted the cops fearlessly. We are sure that we have not done anything wrong and have complete trust in the administration which is why we are not afraid.”

Ajay Singh went on to say that the woman who cooks for them and the housekeeper they hired to look after the kids were both Dalits. “Could we have hired them if we looked down on them?” he asked.

Ajay Singh’s Dalit cook and house help speak to OpIndia

OpIndia spoke with Madhuri, a Dalit woman who has been working as a cook for Ajay Singh for the past six years. “They (Ajay Singh’s family) are extremely helpful to us,” she said. He (Ajay Singh) has always helped us financially in the past. Be it the construction of our house or if there have been any marriages or ailments in our house, he has always been of great help,” said Madhuri.

Aarti Rawat, a Dalit maid working in Ajay Singh’s home, likewise denied the allegations made by Zomato’s delivery boy. She said that she was present when the entire ruckus happened and refuted the allegations meted out at Ajay Singh’s family by the delivery boy.

‘The investigation is ongoing, and we haven’t reached any conclusions,’ what police told OpIndia

To delve into the case further, OpIndia also spoke to SM Qasim Abidi, ADCP, East Lucknow who said, “Our inquiry hasn’t come to a conclusion yet. The accused has also presented sufficient evidence in his and his family’s favour. We’re also looking into the CCTV footage etc. We have gathered that the accused has Dalit employees working for him both in his house and at his office. We are now scrutinising every detail before reaching any conclusion.”

Pro-Khalistan author blames Hindus and Nupur Sharma saga for the attack on Sikhs in Afghanistan. Here is why he is wrong

Dibakar Dutta
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Pro-Khalistan author blames Hindus and Nupur Sharma saga for the attack on Sikhs in Afghanistan. Here is why he is wrong

On Sunday (June 19), Kashmir-based author Amaan Bali tried to blame the Hindu community for the ghastly attack on Sikhs in Gurudwara Karte Parwan in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul.

While referring to Hindus as ungrateful, Bali claimed, “The developing story has made it clear that ISIS has carried out the attack to give India a message for insults to the prophet of Islam, the least Indian Hindus can do is to be grateful to Sikhs for taking bullet yet again for the ungrateful lot.”

He further alleged that Indian companies are assisting Islamic terror outfits such as ISIS through the sale of weaponry. Bali yet again referred to the Hindu community as the ‘imbecile lot.’

Screengrab of the tweet by Amaan Bali

“Also important is to question the role of Indian govt in helping IsIs with weapons. As per Conflict Assessment Research (CAR) many Indian companies are involved in the sale of weapons to the dreaded org that has killed innocents & yet we see no outage by imbecile lot,” he claimed.

On Saturday (June 18), Gurudwara Karte Parwan was attacked by terrorists belonging to the ISIS Khurasan. The president of the Gurdwara Dashmesh Pita Guru Gobind Singh Karte Parwan confirmed that the terrorists opened fire at the Sikh religious place in the city.

Reportedly, there were around 25 people inside the Gurudwara when the explosions took place. Ever since the incident came to light, Islamists and their Khalistani allies have been trying to implicate ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for the targeted attack on Sikhs.

They have been blaming the Hindu community for supporting Nupur Sharma and thereby ‘jeopardising’ the lives of minorities in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However, it must be recalled that attempts to whitewash atrocities committed by Islamists are not a new phenomenon.

The Sikh community in Afghanistan has been victimised even when Nupur Sharma was not in the picture and no Hindu had encouraged/supported verbal ‘acts of blasphemy.’

Attacks on Sikhs in the absence of the Nupur Sharma saga

In March 2020, armed terrorists attacked a Gurudwara in Shor Bazar Area of Afghanistan killing Twenty-eight people. The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist ‘Abu Khalid al-Hindi’ was identified as an Indian National who was responsible for the attack in order to avenge the supposed ‘plight of Muslims in Kashmir’.

In October 2021, the Taliban, having ousted the elected government, forcibly entered a Gurudwara and threatened the worshippers. The Sikh community had back then urged India to raise an SOS. The Taliban had targeted the same Gurudwara Karte Parwan, which was attacked on June 18, 2022.

At that time, there was no ‘provocation’ about Prophet Muhammad but it could still not save the Sikh community from the wrath of Islamists. Last year, the Sikhs in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan were given two options to stay alive, either to leave the country or convert to Islam.

Sikhs have been living in miserable conditions in Afghanistan even before or without the Taliban, and the Afghanistan government had failed to protect them. Most of the Sikh homes were captured by the powerful warlords in the 1990s.

Amaan Bali and his support for Khalistan

Although pro-Khalistani authors such as Amaan Bali are trying to pin the blame on Hindus for terror attacks engineered by ISIS-K, it is ridiculous to even suggest that the Hindu community or the Nupur Sharma saga had contributed to the actions of the Islamist outfit.

It must be mentioned that Bali had previously accused the ‘Sanghi Ecosystem’ of taking advantage of the abduction of two Sikh girls by Islamists. He was also seen justifying the lynching of a man within the premises of the Golden Temple over an alleged act of sacrilege.

In a tweet, Bali had confessed to being a Khalistani but later tried to portray it as a virtue of sorts.

Screengrab of the tweet

In October last year, he had also tried to downplay the killing of a Kashmiri Hindu teacher by Islamic extremists.

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