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Can Arshdeep Singh’s death bowling be India’s trump card at the T20 World Cup?

OpIndia Staff
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Can Arshdeep Singh’s death bowling be India’s trump card at the T20 World Cup?

Arshdeep Singh has taken just 3 wickets in 8 games in IPL 2022, yet he is among the most impressive Indian fast bowlers this season alongside young pace sensation Umran Malik. Arshdeep, who was one of the players retained by Punjab Kings ahead of the mega auction, has shown why he deserved that faith from the franchise with one impressive spell after another at the death.

While Punjab’s batting has blown hot and cold this season with their all-or-nothing approach, chasing over 200 in one match and getting bowled out for just over 100 in the next, one consistent thing is Arshdeep’s death bowling. His combination of yorkers, slower balls, and bouncers have kept the batsmen guessing making it really difficult for them to get him away. In fact, if Punjab does make it to the playoffs through some miracle, Arshdeep’s death bowling will play a major part in it.

Arshdeep hasn’t been an overnight success in T20s, but it is the result of consistent improvement over the last few years. Even though he played only 2 games during India’s successful run in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, he impressed Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab at the time) to snap him up. His first season was hardly impressive as he played just 3 games conceding runs at over 10 runs an over.

However, by the 2020 season, he was starting to mature and taking up the responsibility to bowl at the critical junctures of the match and managed to pick 9 wickets while bringing his economy below 9. For someone bowling upfront in powerplay or at the death, these were decent numbers. 2021 was an even better season for him as he brought his economy rate further down while picking up an impressive 18 wickets in 12 games. His variations at the death were proving harder and harder to get away.

This season, even though the wickets aren’t coming, his bowling at the death is proving almost impossible to score off. After his excellent spell against Chennai Super Kings guided Punjab to a win, his teammate and South African spearhead Kagiso Rabada even called him the best death bowler in the IPL. Defending 47 off the last 4 overs against Rayudu, Jadeja, and MS Dhoni, Arshdeep conceded just 14 off his 2 overs, giving Rishi Dhawan a big enough target to defend in the last over.

With his consistent death over performances, and ability to stop even the biggest hitters in the game, Arshdeep must surely be in selectors’ minds when they sit down to select the Indian team for the World Cup later this year. His reliable bowling at the end of an innings will also help Jasprit Bumrah, who is the only option for the Indian captain at the death right now.

Bumrah can be used more flexibly throughout the innings when the Indian captain knows that he has 2 good overs in the bank from Arshdeep at the back end.

Throwing a youngster like Arshdeep at the deep end right at the start of his career may seem a little tough, but the only time India won a T20 World Cup was through youngsters.

Whether India does opt to look at Arshdeep Singh or not, Indian selectors right now must be very happy to see the performances of Indian bowlers during this IPL. While Chahal and Kuldeep look like they are back to their best dominating the bowling charts, old warhorses Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammed Shami have also been very impressive. Among all these options, Arshdeep may get overlooked because of his lack of wickets, but anyone watching the IPL will agree with Kagiso Rabada and say that he has been the best death bowler of this IPL.

Bengal: After TMC mainstreamed anti-Bihar sentiment, pregnant woman says doctor turned her away because she did not know Bengali

Dibakar Dutta
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Bengal: After TMC mainstreamed anti-Bihar sentiment, pregnant woman says doctor turned her away because she did not know Bengali

A woman in West Bengal has alleged that she was denied treatment by a Bengali doctor for speaking Hindi. The incident allegedly took place at the College of Medicine & J.N.M. Hospital in Kalyani town in Nadia district of West Bengal.

The woman was scheduled to undergo a Caesarean delivery (C-section) on Tuesday (April 26). As such, she was admitted to the emergency ward of the JNM hospital. The woman, who is a resident of Kakinara in North 24 Parganas district, said that a doctor inquired about her physical condition in Bengali language.

When the pregnant woman said that she did not know Bengali, the doctor allegedly told her to go to Bihar and undergo treatment there. “Bangla na janle Bihar e giya chikitsa koran (If you don’t know Bengali, then go to Bihar for treatment),” she accused the doctor of saying.

Reportedly, the incident took place in the presence of the woman’s relatives, who then had a heated argument with the doctor, nurses and the hospital staff. Thereafter, a scuffle broke out between the two groups.

In a video that has now come to light, a Burqa clad woman could be seen assaulting the health workers after they tried to snatch her phone, which allegedly contained a recording of the doctor’s contentious remarks. The woman and her family had filed a complaint with the police.

While speaking to TV9 Bangla, the woman claimed, “I am 9 months’ pregnant. I had gone to the hospital with my medical issues…The doctor-in-charge told me to go back to where I came from. He also tore the medical papers. I was beaten badly at the hospital.”

The hospital authorities had meanwhile dismissed the allegations and accused the woman and her relatives of obstructing them and recording videos without prior permission. “There was a language-related issue. The woman’s family were soon up in arms. It’s a condemnable incident. We have notified the police,” they told TV9 Bangla.

A doctor, working at the hospital, anonymously told Anandabazar Patrika, “If a patient is erroneously treated due to a language barrier, then, who is going to take responsibility? The patient’s family always play the victim card. This is a kind of blackmailing strategy,” he said. The police have launched a probe into the matter and are investigating claims made by both sides.

Opindia had tried reaching out to the College of Medicine & J.N.M. Hospital multiple times but failed to connect to the hospital authorities.

Anti-Bihari sentiment mainstreamed by the TMC government

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been responsible for ‘mainstreaming’ discriminatory behaviour towards the people of Bihar. In the run-up to the 2021 West Bengal Vidhan Sabha polls, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee made several distasteful remarks against the people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

She tried to consolidate the Bengali vote by first labelling the BJP as a party of ‘outsiders‘ (Bohiragoto). “Baira thaka goondara aisa bangla ke dhokhol kora nibe, Banglar sanskriti ke dhokhol kore nabe, banglar asthitya dhokhol kore nabe.(Goons from other States will come here and take over Bengal, destroy its culture and identity),” the incumbent West Bengal Chief Minister alleged during an election rally in Nandigram.

In March this year, a Trinamool Congress legislator named Manoranjan Byapari compared Biharis to ‘diseases’ during a speech at the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair.

“If you have the blood of a true Bengali like Binay-Badal, Khudiram and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and love the Bengali language, then, ignite the fire in you. You will also have to say it out loud: Ek Bihari, 100 Beemarii (One Bihari is equal to 100 diseases). We don’t want diseases. Make Bengal disease-free,” the lawmaker was heard as saying.

Imran Khan in trouble over corruption allegations: From a multi-crore university for 37 students to his wife’s close friend’s illicit wealth after he became PM

OpIndia Staff
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Imran Khan in trouble over corruption allegations: From a multi-crore university for 37 students to his wife’s close friend’s illicit wealth after he became PM

After being ousted, former Pakistan PM Imran Khan seems to be in troubled water over rampant corruption. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday green signalled a thorough investigation into the illegal wealth of Farah Khan, a close friend of Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi. The NAB said that Farah had accumulated illegal assets beyond the known source of income since 2018.

The NAB in its official statement noted that accounts of Farah Khan had displayed a huge turnover of around Rs 847 million in the past three years. It added that Khan earned her wealth through an unknown source of income as the numbers in her stated accounts did not match with that of the accounts of years before Imran Khan’s government came to power.

“These credits were received in her personal account and withdrawn immediately after credit within a short time period,” it stated. The anti-graft body also stated that Khan had frequently travelled to foreign jurisdictions – nine times to the USA and six times to the UAE. Amid the allegations of corruption, however, Khan left for Dubai on April 5 this year. Her husband had left the country already.

According to the reports, the NAB suspects that the Farah Khan has earned more financial wealth after the Imran Khan government came into power. Earlier, Farah Khan was seen flaunting her handbag costing $90000 on one of her flights to foreign countries.

However, the saga of corruption is not limited to Farah Khan. Income earned by her family members including her husband, sister and father-in-law is also under the NAB scanner.

It is important to note that former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is also being accused of massive corruption. Reports mention that Khan has looted the Pakistan government for more than Rs 40 crores (Pakistani currency). He employed 72-year-old lawyer Abdul Latif Yousufzai at the behest of the then speaker of the National Assembly Asad Kaisar Imran. The per month salary amount approved to Yousufzai was Rs 19 lakh (Pakistani currency). According to the reports, last year, the Pakistani government budget approved Rs 30 lakh to Yousufzai for sundry expenses inclusive of salary.

Also, it is worth noting that Imran Khan had appointed more than 200 people in the Parliament secretariat at salaries that counted more than usual pay and all the appointed personnel were either his relatives or his close aides. Further, Khan in the year 2019 built a dream institution- Al Qadir University at the cost of Rs 56 crores (Pakistani currency) and appointed his wife Bushra Bibi as one of its Trustee members. The university that receives millions of rupees in the form of donations houses only 37 students today.

Reportedly, Al Qadir management claims to be a university, but has not yet been recognized by the Punjab Higher Education Department. The trust has received donations amounting to Rs 180 million (Pakistani currency) from January 2021 to December 2021. From July 2020 to June 2021, the total income of the trust was Rs 101 million (Pakistani currency) and the total expenditure including the salaries of the staff and workers was around Rs 8.58 million (Pakistani currency).

The anti-graft body has also approved a supplementary reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, his son Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and others, alleging that they had awarded the LNG Terminal-1 contract through ‘non-transparent sources’.

Shah Faesal reinstated in IAS: Here is a lowdown on how he went from being an anti-India politician to a nationalist bureaucrat

OpIndia Staff
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Shah Faesal reinstated in IAS: Here is a lowdown on how he went from being an anti-India politician to a nationalist bureaucrat

The Ministry of Home Affairs has reinstated Shah Faesal, the Kashmiri IAS officer who resigned from his service in 2019 to enter politics. The government never accepted Faesal’s resignation, and officials from the Union Home Ministry confirmed to The Indian Express on Thursday that he had been reinstated in the service.

In a tweet made on April 27, Shah Faesal made a hint that he is joining the IAS once again. In the tweet, he wrote, “…A part of me is exhausted with the memory of those 8 months and wants to erase that legacy. Much of it is already gone. Time will mop off the rest In believe.”

“I turn 39 next month. And I’m really excited to start all over again,” he added.

Shah Faesal, from Sogam in North Kashmir, rose to attention in 2010 when he became the first Kashmiri to pass the civil services exam and become an IAS. Faesal, a doctor by education, topped the UPSC examinations, grabbing national attention because he came from a terror-hit distant location and his father was murdered by terrorists. Before attending Harvard University in the United States for further studies, Shah Faesal was the managing director of the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation (JKPDC).

Joined politics in 2019

After resigning from the IAS, Faesal founded his political party, the “Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Movement” in March 2019. Faesal said that his decision to leave the service was prompted by the “unabated” deaths of Muslims in Kashmir and across India by “Hindutva” forces. He contended that the absence of any political initiative to restore normalcy back to the Kashmir valley had motivated him to leave the administrative services.

Former JNU Student and freelance protestor Shehla Rashid had also joined the party launched by Shah Faesal.

Questioned abrogation of Article 370

In August 2014, Shah Faesal was detained at the Delhi Airport in August 2019 when he was reportedly on his way to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to file a case against India for the abrogation of Article 370. He was scheduled to go to Turkey and then to the International Court of Justice in Hague, Netherlands, to file a complaint against India. He was deported to Kashmir after being detained.

In a statement to the BBC, Faesal said that another generation of Kashmiris had been “betrayed by India,” and that this will lead to unrest in the valley, implying that the removal of Article 370 will lead to another round of terrorism in the valley, similar to 1988.

Detention under the Public Safety Act

Shah Faesal was detained in February 2020 under the Public Safety Act. The PSA was slapped on him while he was still in detention in August 2019. He was detained and returned to Srinagar when he was about to depart for Turkey on August 14, 2019. The Jammu and Kashmir administration then stated that Faesal, upon his arrival in Srinagar, addressed the people and incited them “against the sovereignty and integrity of India,” raising the possibility of a disruption of peace.

Quitting politics

In August 2020, Faesal stepped down as president of his political party. Then arouse rumours that he was supposed to join the civil services again as his resignation was not accepted yet. Later, in October 2021, there were rumours that Faesal would be appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir’s adviser. However, OpIndia verified that these assertions were untrue. Faesal has since then not been actively reported in the media.

Shah Faesal had also praised the Prime Minister’s vaccine diplomacy. He had said, “This is more than just a vaccination program. It’s good governance + human capital formation + nation-building + India assuming global leadership as a Jagat Guru (The Guru of the World).”

Upon his statement, Islamists had accused him of betraying Kashmiris and of ‘bootlicking.’ They had also referred to him as ‘Sanghi,’ and had hurled a slew of other insults at him.

‘We have brought 150 ex-Muslims back to Hindu faith in 10 months’: Mrigendra Maharaj of Yashveer Ashram who recently organised ‘Ghar Wapsi’ of 2 families

OpIndia Staff
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‘We have brought 150 ex-Muslims back to Hindu faith in 10 months’: Mrigendra Maharaj of Yashveer Ashram who recently organised ‘Ghar Wapsi’ of 2 families

Swami Mrigendra Maharaj who reverted eight members of two Muslim families to Hinduism in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh on April 26, said on Friday that the poor people of the Hindu community are under threat as they are forced to convert to Islam for money, property and ‘good social life’. He said that the Hindus who accept Islam for money feel betrayed when they realize that they have been cheated and then they return to Hinduism.

In an exclusive interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Swami Mrigendra Maharaj of the Yashveer Ashram stated that conversion from Hindu to Islam religion inevitably pushes the new converts towards anti-India activities and that two communities will stop fighting if all the people come back to the Hindu fold. “Some elements influence the poor Hindu people and promise them monetary assistance if converted to Islam. They accept Islam and then they are never helped”, he added on April 29.

He said that in the recent case, eight members of the Hindu family had converted to Islam 11 years ago out of need and greed. “They were promised a house and good social life for their children post marriage. But none of it happened and the family felt betrayed. Their monetary condition was also worsening. So they decided to return to Hinduism”, Maharaj said adding that he has brought more than 150 people back to Hinduism in the last 10 months.

When asked about the procedure of re-conversion to Hinduism, the Maharaj said that the process involves chanting holy mantras for around one and a half hours, and then the members who wish to embrace the Sanatan faith are given holy Gangajal and Janeu. According to the reports, Mahant Swami Yashveer Maharaj and Swami Mrigendra Maharaj of the Yashveer Ashram Parishaf in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh have been making people aware of the Hindu religion since its inception in the year 2001.

Earlier on July 19 last year, the Ashram had launched a special campaign to bring people back to the Hindu faith. 22 Mulsim persons were brought back to Hinduism by chanting holy mantras and Achaman of Gangajal that day. Reportedly, more than 150 people since July 2021 have been brought back to the Hindu faith at the Ashram.

The Parishad houses a community of around 25000 people in seven cities including Meerut, Shamli, Muzzafarnagar, Bijnour, and Muradabad. These people help all those who express their willingness to embrace the Sanatan faith and return to Hinduism. “We at the Ashram don’t force people to convert to Hinduism. I don’t support forceful conversion. People themselves come to the Ashram and we just help them”, Swami added.

Reports mention that in the recent case also, the two families had voluntarily come to the Ashram to revert to Hinduism. All of them became Hindu amidst the chants of holy mantras by doing Achamana of the holy Gangajal. They also were given new names. Accordingly, Shahista is now Radha, Rashida has become Geeta, Harun got a new name Arun, and Barkha is now Varsha. Similarly, Akbar is now Krush, Ikra became Sheetal, Ehsan got the name Sachin, and Gullu will now be known as Hritik.

Telangana CM KCR, son KTR claim VAT on fuel prices has not been increased since they came to power. They lied: Know the truth

S. Sudhir Kumar
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Telangana CM KCR, son KTR claim VAT on fuel prices has not been increased since they came to power. They lied: Know the truth

The Telangana Chief Minister, Honourable Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR garu), in his press conference on 7th November, had emphatically claimed that he has never increased the VAT on fuel prices ever since he came to power. In his own trademark thundering style, he asserted that he didn’t increase even a single paisa VAT ever since he came to power. He even claimed that he cannot lie on this matter because if he increased it, it will be part of government records anyway. 

Ever since that has been the party line when they were criticizing the central government on fuel prices. The party line was marginally changed on April 27th, when the TRS party was celebrating its 21st formation day. Honourable KCR again thundered that he never increased the VAT in Telangana except for only once when officials suggested him to round off 16 paise to 20 paise. He has asked Prime Minister Modi to feel ashamed for asking states to decrease VAT. 

His son, the TRS party Working President, holder of multiple portfolios in the Telangana Cabinet, Mr KTR, then went on a rampage on Twitter. “Telangana hasn’t increased VAT on fuel since 2014 & rounded off only once”, he thundered. 

KTR tweet

And when Union Minister Hardeep Puri tweeted out statistics regarding taxes by the Telangana government, KTR went to the extent of pasting a graphic with a lot of numbers in it – the gist being that Telangana was charging the same VAT rate in 2014 and in 2022 too. 

The graphic shared during press conference

So now it is very natural for anyone to assume that all this information is really true, given the emphatic confidence with which father, son, daughter, and nephew are thundering this day in and day out. And then you have the compliant media which amplifies the messages of the First Family of the TRS unquestionably. 

All one has to do is a simple google search and you are flooded with results on how the Telangana government actually increased VAT in the year 2015. Since no one wants to even believe factual media reports these days, we take a look at the actual Government Orders (GO) issued back in 2015. 

On January 17th 2015, the Telangana government issued a GO increasing the tax on Petrol from the existing 31% to “31% + 2 rupees per litre”; and the VAT on Diesel from 22.25% to “22.25% + 2 rupees per litre”. 

Telangana notification

At that time, there was widespread outrage at this increase, so the order was modified to remove the 2 rupees increase but simply increased the actual tax component. On February 2, 2015, the Telangana government issued a GO increasing the tax on Petrol from the existing 31% to 35.20% and increasing the tax on Petrol from the existing 22.25% to 27%.

Telangana notification

If you are wondering how come the First Family of TRS is daring to lie so outrightly, then don’t. All political observers are very used to such outrageous statements from this family now. This arrogance stems from the fact that they enjoy a largely compliant media that is often in awe of the Family and seldom questions the family! 

There is another topic I would like to discuss here, and that is the choice of the language by the First Family of TRS. MKTR often used the term “loot” to refer to the central taxes. For example, in one of his thunderous tweets, he claims that – “In the form of Cess you are looting 11.4% from the state & we are getting only 29.6% for FY23”.

If tax by the central government is a loot, then what is a tax by the State government – a largesse? The state of Telangana has benefitted immensely from the ~4% increase in the tax because each time the price of the barrel goes up, the tax component also goes up! So, can we now call this sophisticated loot? Doesn’t the Telangana government also spend this money for the public good? 

Elsewhere, he once thundered that the central government looted 26 lakh crore rupees from the people of this country through cess and tax on fuel. Yesterday, Union Minister Shri Hardeep Puri put out a tweet telling us that Telangana earned nearly 70,000 crores in the last years through taxes The state government has also increased tax on registration of properties (a report indicates this has led to a slowdown in registration); has increased ticket charges of the state buses – Should we also start classifying this as a “loot” by the First Family of the TRS party?

KTR was recently challenged to resign if he was proved false with a statistic he put out – Telangana gave 3,65,000 crores to the Government of India but got back only 1,65,000 crores. He was referring to the fact that the Direct taxes collected by GoI from people & companies based out of Telangana was 3,65,000 crores and through 41% devolution of those taxes, the Telangana government received 1,65,000 crores. He spoke as if the Government of Telangana gave 3,65,000 crores to GoI – exposing an utter lack of understanding of taxation and devolution. His claims were proved false when works worth nearly 4,00,000 crores were shown as part of GoI initiatives. 

Bereft of issues to pick up, the First Family of TRS is resorting to emotive issues such as “We never increased taxes” or “We didn’t anything from GoI” to mislead people. With compliant media in place, they are being largely successful in spreading this message. It’s time to counter these lies with equal aggression. 

Aaditya Thackeray pulls a Rahul Gandhi, hails the dangerous politician-builder nexus of Maharashtra in recent faux pass: What he said

OpIndia Staff
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Aaditya Thackeray pulls a Rahul Gandhi, hails the dangerous politician-builder nexus of Maharashtra in recent faux pass: What he said

On Thursday, Shiv Sena prince and Maharashtra Minister Aditya Thackeray gave a controversial statement defending the rampant politician-builder nexus in the state, saying that one should see it ‘positively’.

Speaking at the Real Estate Forum of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), Aaditya Thackeray claimed that politicians and developers sell common things such as hopes and dreams, and there is always a politician-builder nexus, but it should be seen ‘positively’.

The junior Thackeray defended his statement saying that the MVA government in Maharashtra has been able to reduce stamp duty and premiums only because of this nexus.

“Politicians and developers sell common things. We both sell hopes and dreams,” Aaditya Thackeray said.

Aaditya Thackeray also said that when something goes wrong, the media blames the builder-politician nexus but it is the government that has revived the real estate industry.

“We invite you to work with the government. Politicians and developers sell common things. We both sell hopes and dreams. The basic hope of people is to have their own house,” he said.

He also spoke about the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearances for projects and said that he aimed to digitalise the process so that builders do not have to line up outside a minister’s office. The minister also asked developers to build a better city.

The normalisation of the political-builder nexus by Sena prince Aaditya Thackeray, especially with Maharashtra being one of the epicentres of multiple real estate scams and criminal cases in the country, has evoked a strong response among the citizens.

It is notable here that it is usually the other prince of dynasty politics, Rahul Gandhi, who makes headlines for his controversial statements exposing his own party. Rahul Gandhi has in the past made statements in the hope to attack the BJP that were actually self goals of the Congress party’s own failures.

Political-Builder nexus in Maharashtra

The builder-political nexus has become a significant menace to the development of real estate and infrastructure in the country. The politicians, bureaucrats, big builders and the land mafia often control the real estate market.

The politicians accumulate resources using corrupt means during their term in office and route the funds towards real estate to avoid public scrutiny. The builders invest the politicians’ money to develop the real estate and re-route it back to the political class during elections in the form of illegal election funding.

This nexus between the political-builder class has not only created artificial scarcity of land but also has pushed out genuine buyers from buying affordable homes in major cities.

Maharashtra is known to have a notorious politician-builders nexus, which is centred around the financial capital of Mumbai. Maharashtra’s rich politicians have found their way into the real estate, making property developers their perfect partners.

Reportedly, land scams were so common in Maharashtra during the chief ministership of Sharad Pawar as he would de-reserve prime plots for certain beneficiaries. During his tenure as Chief Minister, he had converted the Vasai-Virar green belt into a residential zone, by which thousands of acres of land were illegally freed for housing.

Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, who was the chief minister from 1995-to 1999, lost his job after the court had ruled that he had favoured his son-in-law, a builder, to construct a township in Pune. The next biggest scandal was Adarsh Housing, in which Congress politicians, including Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, had acquired apartments for themselves and their family members when the land was actually approved for Kargil war widows.

Recently, in 2019, the NCP leader Praful Patel was accused of carrying out real estate deals with gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. Patel had allegedly cultivated close ties with the underworld and the builder mafia in Maharashtra. The ED had accused Patel of colluding with gangster Iqbal Mirchi, who had transferred two floors in Mumbai’s Ceejay House to the gangster.

Recently, the ED had attached properties worth Rs 11.5 crores of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut for alleged involvement in the 1034 crore Patra Chawl FSI fraud case.

Second time in a row, Twitter miscalculates its daily users, overcounting by 1.9 million users: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Second time in a row, Twitter miscalculates its daily users, overcounting by 1.9 million users: Reports

As per a report in The Verge, for three years in a row, Twitter miscalculated the number of daily users on the platform, overcounting by up to 1.9 million users every quarter from Quarter 1 2019 to Quarter 4 2021.

This isn’t the first time Twitter has acted in this manner. In 2017 also, Twitter revealed that over the preceding three years, it miscalculated its user counts by 1 million to 2 million users. The reoccurring mistake was revealed in Twitter’s financial statement for the first quarter of 2022.

This time, the problem was caused by Twitter incorrectly counting many accounts as active when they were all linked to a single user, even though they weren’t all active at the same time.

Twitter now has around 229 million daily users, a rise of more than 10 million over the previous quarter’s exaggerated figure. Twitter reported a $128 million operating loss on revenue of $1.2 billion.

Elon Musk, who is already the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is now the owner of the social media behemoth Twitter. Twitter’s board has done all it could to thwart Elon Musk’s acquisition proposal, including attempting to use the poison pill method. However, Musk’s offer, along with the mood of the majority of Twitter shareholders, finally compelled the Twitter board to act.

Musk had stated that he had lost trust in Twitter’s existing management and that the company could not reach its full potential under them. He intended to take the firm private so that he could have complete control over it and steer Twitter to its greatest potential.

Elon Musk has stated repeatedly that freedom of expression is extremely important to him, and that it is one of the primary reasons for his purchase of Twitter. Musk, who frequently tweets jokes and memes, has expressed dissatisfaction with Twitter’s control over its users and has never veiled his desire to protect free expression.

Twitter Inc. has locked changes to its source code following the takeover to prevent agitated staff from making unauthorised changes.

Jahangirpuri violence: Police arrest the main accused Farid, alias ‘Neetu’, from Bengal, was hiding at relative’s house

OpIndia Staff
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Jahangirpuri violence: Police arrest the main accused Farid, alias ‘Neetu’, from Bengal, was hiding at relative’s house

The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested one of the main accused from West Bengal in connection with the Jahangirpuri communal violence that broke out on April 16 during the Hanuman Jayanti procession. The accused has been identified as Farid alias Nitu and was arrested from his relative’s place in West Bengal.

The team is bringing him to Delhi where the Police will officially arrest him. This is a day after the Police arrested Jafar and Babuddin who were primarily involved in escalating the violence on April 16. According to the reports, Farid also was actively involved in the communal riots and played a major role.

The Delhi Police said that the accused had fled the spot on the next day of the violence and had been hiding in Tamluk. He kept on changing locations across the state of West Bengal. “We recovered CCTV footage and other videos from social media and locals. The man is seen firing at the other community”, the Police stated.

The Police also added that the Farid has been involved in over six cases of robbery and burglary and those related to the Arms Act among others. All three accused arrested on Thursday- Farid, Jafar and Babuddin are residents of Jahangirpuri and had played a major role in escalating the violence on April 16.

Earlier the Police had arrested Mohd Ansar and Mohd Aslam as prime accused in the case. The police also arrested 23 others and had apprehended two juveniles in the case. However, as reported earlier, the Juvenile Justice Board on April 27 granted bail to one of the minors as the counsel maintained that he was falsely implicated in the matter.

The Jahangirpuri violence saga began on April 16 when the Hanuman Jayanti procession was attacked by Islamists who pelted stones and glass bottles at the procession. Several people got injured as the violence escalated after 6 pm. They (Islamists) also fired gun stots amid the violence and injured Police personnel.

The Delhi Police has so far arrested 28 people and apprehended two juveniles in the case. One of the minors has been granted bail. The Police have lodged an FIR against the accused under the provisions 147 (Rioting), 148 (Armed rioting), 186 (Obstructing duty of public servant), 353 (Assault on public servant), 307 (Murder attempt), 427 (property damage), and 436 (Attack by explosives) of the Indian penal code along with section 27 of the Arms Act 1959.

UP: Another Grooming Jihad case in Bareilly, minor girl raped, blackmailed over obscene video by Kasim who claimed to be ‘Rahul’

OpIndia Staff
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UP: Another Grooming Jihad case in Bareilly, minor girl raped, blackmailed over obscene video by Kasim who claimed to be ‘Rahul’

In a recent case reported in Bareilly, a minor girl has been raped, blackmailed and exploited by a man named Kasim who had allegedly claimed to be Rahul. As per reports, the victim, a minor girl who is a student of higher secondary, was approached by the accused who claimed to be one ‘Rahul’.

Kasim had allegedly lured the girl into a relationship online by identifying himself as ‘Rahul’. He belonged to the same neighbourhood as the victim and had gradually gained her confidence, eventually raping her and making obscene video clips to blackmail her further.

As per reports, when the girl came to know that ‘Rahul’ is actually Kasim, she had tried to distance herself from him. Kasim was enraged by the girl’s attempts to avoid him and he had reportedly told her that she now ‘belonged’ to him and she would have to convert to Islam.

When the girl did not relent to his pressure, Kasim reportedly brought along some of his friends and tried to kidnap the girl from her house. When the girl started screaming for help, relatives and neighbours gathered and handed Kasim to the police. Kasim has now been arrested under charges of rape, intimidation, and an attempt to forcibly convert. POCSO (Prevention Of Children from Sexual Offences) charges have been levelled against him for sexually exploiting a minor.

Kasim is a daily wage labourer.

As per reports, SP Bareilly City Ravindra Kumar has stated that Kasim has been sent to jail under relevant sections and the case is being investigated. Kasim’s mobile phone has been seized too which reportedly shows that he had introduced himself to the girl under a false name and had been chatting with her for a long time.

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