A young man was stabbed to death by the family of his Muslim wife outside the Saroornagar Tehsildar’s office in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
According to the reports, the 25-year-old Billapuram Nagaraju, a resident of Marredpally, was stabbed to death at the Saroornagar Tehsildar’s office on Wednesday night. The assailant fled the scene and was later arrested by the police.
The police have confirmed that they have arrested the accused, who belongs to the girl’s family.
Reportedly, Nagaraj, who worked as a salesman in a popular car showroom in Secunderabad, had married 23-year-old Syed Ashrin Sultana alias Pallavi just months ago, on January 31. The relatives of the deceased said that they were both in love from their college days.
The family members of both Nagaraju and Sultana were not happy with the inter-faith marriage and opposed it. However, going against their family, the couple got married two months ago at Arya Samaj mandir of the Old City.
On Wednesday night, the couple proceeded towards Saroonagar on Nagaraju’s motorcycle. As they reached the Mandal Revenue Office in Saroornagar, an unidentified man stopped them and attacked Nagaraju with an iron rod. He stabbed Nagaraju in public, who suffered serious injuries and died on the spot while Pallavi was injured.
Several bystanders captured the incident on the spot. The video has gone viral on social media platforms. Viewer discretion is advised.
A Hindu man was brutally murdered for marrying a Muslim women. The incident reported in Saroornagar limits. Nagaraju & Ashrin Sulthana were in relationship since last few years & got married in Jan 22. Nagaraju was murdered by his brother-in-laws today. pic.twitter.com/EZ6wZwWqxY
Since they belonged to different religions, the girl’s family killed Nagaraj, said one of Nagaraj’s relatives. Nagaraj’s relatives also staged a demonstration, accusing his wife’s family of the murder.
The Saroornagar police reached the spot and started an investigation. Strangely, they claim it to be a case of ‘honour killing’ even as they suspect that the family members of Sultana were behind the murder.
Meanwhile, the BJP leaders in Telangana have called for strict action against the family of Sultana. Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh has called for the arrest of everyone involved in the planning and execution of the murder.
“Was it the family members, or did some religious groups advise the family? Did some group promise them financial help? There should be a full-fledged inquiry into this murder,” Raja Singh demanded.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said that the case was a re-run of the Ankit Saxena, a Hindu boy who was murdered in Delhi for being in a relationship with a Muslim girl.
“Had a Muslim husband of a Hindu wife been killed by her family, we know what would have happened by now! Congress, AAP, TMC, SP would have reached United Nations alleging ISLAMOPHOBIA. But since a Hindu has been killed & in Hyderabad – the crime is secular? Hence secular chuppi.” Poonawalla tweeted.
Had a Muslim husband of a Hindu wife been killed by her family we know what would happen by now! Congress,AAP,TMC,SP would have reached United Nations alleging ISLAMOPHOBIA
But since Hindu has been killed & in Hyderabad – the crime is secular? Hence secular chuppi ? pic.twitter.com/0tk1RKRdvG
Following the incident, the Telangana Police registered a case and started an investigation. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sridhar Reddy, said that the initial investigation suggested that their love marriage was the reason behind the killing.
However, according to Swarajya journalist Swati Goel Sharma, Telangana police are considering this case as an inter-caste issue and not a crime involving communal hatred.
On Thursday, Union Minister of Railways and Communication Ashwini Vaishnaw suspended Post Office officer Ramkaran Adivasi of Rewa, Madhya Pradesh for demanding bribe from a customer who had come to the Post Office to collect his ATM card. The officer had demanded a cold bottle of Maaza (mango drink), water and gutkha pack as a bribe from the customer. The Minister condemned the incident on May 5 and suspended the Officer until the further orders.
According to the reports, the incident took place on May 2 in Dabhaura area of cold Rewa, Madhya Pradesh when a customer named Bholenath Pandey arrived at the Post office to collect his State Bank of India ATM card. The Post Officer denied to deliver the ATM card unless his demands that consisted of a cold drink bottle, a water bottle and a gutkha pack were fulfilled.
मध्य प्रदेश के रीवा में पोस्ट ऑफिस अधिकारी ने ‘माजा कोल्डड्रिंक’ न देने पर युवक को ATM कार्ड देने से इनकार कर दिया। इस वाकये का वीडियो वायरल होने के बाद संचार मंत्री अश्विनी वैष्णव ने आरोपी अधिकारी राम करण को सस्पेंड कर दिया है।#AshwiniVaishnaw#IndiaPostpic.twitter.com/iYLDgE29gJ
Pandey then went out in the scorching heat to purchase the bottle of Maaza drink but could not find it. He then purchased a bottle of similar mango juice drink ‘Frooti’ for the officer. When Pandey reached the office with cold Frooti and water, Adivasi abused him for not being able to find Mazaa. “Even God if found when searched, prayed properly, you could not find a bottle of Maaza? I want Mazaa and no other similar drink”, the officer said.
A video of the incident has appeared on social media where Pandey is seeing pleading with the official to official to accept the bottle of Frooti and give him the ATM card, but Ramkaran Adivasi refused. The official also claimed that Bholenath Pandey has no proof identity, despite the fact that Pandey had showed his Aadhar card, and had produced the consignment number he had obtained from the bank.
Aduvasi also threatened the customer by showing off the power he possessed as a government officer. He denied to deliver the ATM card unless his unusual demands were met.
Bholenath Pandey, a resident of Dabhaura’s Shivpur has his SBI bank account at Dabhura (25 kms from Shivpur). Pandey had arrived at the the post office of Dabhaura Municipal Council for collecting the rectified ATM card with updated KYC details mentioning his residence at Shivpur instead of Dabhura. According to the reports, due to the unkind behavior of the Post Officer, Pandey had to return to Shivpur without the ATM card. He later filed a complaint against the Officer, resulting in his suspension by the Minister of Railways and Communication after the video of the incident went viral.
It is important to note that this is not the first time when a government officer in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh has been exposed for demanding bribe. Earlier in the month of February, the Lokyukt Police had arrested Dhirendra Singh Tomar, steno in the Registry Office in Rewa red-handed for taking a bribe of Rs 12,000 in lieu of withdrawal Rs 1.20 lakh trapped in slot booking.
Also, in the year 2021, an incident of the financial fraud of Rs 1 crore at Rewa Post Office had come to light. According to the reports, the postal audit had revealed that the post officers had not recorded large number of deposits from year 2015 to 2020 to the office accounts. The CBI took over the investigation in the case in July last year and stated that the fraud was committed in 146 accounts under Sukanya Yojana, Monthly income scheme, National Savings Scheme, Recurring Deposit Scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra.
Reporters Without Borders or RSF recently released the “Global Freedom Press Index”, a highly biased ranking that appeared like an exercise to reinforce the Left’s international propaganda against governments that did not hew to their ideology. The rankings demoted India to 150 from 142 last year, placing it below despotic regimes like CCP’s authoritarian rule in Hong Kong and theological monarchies like the United Arab Emirates.
Russia, which is currently at war, was placed at 155th position, down from 150th last year, while China climbed up by two positions with the Reporters Without Borders placing it at 175th position. Last year, China was placed in the 177th position. Turkey, a country whose president is known for ruthlessly crushing out dissent and jailing journalists deemed critical of his rule, has been shockingly placed above India, at 149th position.
The RSF’s prejudice against India was glaring, and it made no bones about being biased in what it claimed to be an index that was an accurate reflection of the freedom of the press across the world. Far from being a neutral entity presiding over the Global Press Freedom Index, RSF seemed like a leftist outpost doing the bidding of the Indian Left and maligning the country on the international stage.
“On the World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and nine other human rights organisations ask Indian authorities to stop targeting journalists and online critics for their work,” the international non-profit organisation pompously said in a statement on its website. “More specifically, they should stop prosecuting them under counterterrorism and sedition laws.”
“The authorities’ targeting of journalists coupled with a broader crackdown on dissent has emboldened Hindu nationalists to threaten, harass and abuse journalists critical of the Indian government, both online and offline, with impunity,” it said. “The authorities should also conduct prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into allegations of threats and attacks targeting journalists and critics, including from government officials,” the RSF said, adding, “journalists should not have to risk their freedom and their lives to do their work.”
As the above statements by RSF illustrated, the non-profit organisation was quite blatant in admitting to its bias against India, making unsubstantiated claims against the Modi government to justify its decision to lower the rank of India on the Global Press Freedom Index.
While it offered reasons to rationalise its rankings and present them as a result of “objective analysis”, a report published by OpIndia demonstrated how despotic nations, notorious for taking repressive measures against journalists, have fared better than India on the global rankings. OpIndia had also reported on the flawed and patently prejudiced methodology espoused by the non-profit organisation to arrive at the said rankings.
The RSF has also sought to vilify millions of Hindus who rally behind PM Modi, pejoratively referring to them as “bhakts” to undermine the credibility of support that PM Modi enjoys. The term as pious as “bhakts” was sullied by the Indian Left after they could not comprehend the support PM Modi had among the masses and used it to discredit his popularity across the country. The RSF apes the Indian Left in using the term “bhakts” to project PM Modi’s followers as wicked and his accomplice in squelching free press in the country.
It has also normalised terms like “Godi Media” to call an entire section of media PM Modi’s “Lapdogs” (A word they specifically use). Further, they call out Republic TV and Times Now specifically saying that they spread “pro-BJP propaganda.” Interestingly, they had earlier claimed that one of the essentials for a country to have press freedom is that it is “accepting” of politically divergent views, going as far as to say that even acceptance of “political affiliated” views is also a prerequisite.
To prop up its decision to lower India’s rank on the Global Press Freedom Index, the RSF has attached a list of journalists imprisoned and killed in India, which it claims had a bearing on the overall performance of the country on the organisation’s rankings.
However, most of the cases cited by the non-profit organisation are legitimate cases, such as those accused in the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon violence or are unfortunate accidents in which journalists have lost their lives. Many others are from opposition-ruled states, yet the RSF pinned the blame on the Modi government for their arrests and deaths.
The website mentioned 14 instances when journalists were imprisoned in India. The journalists mentioned in the list are as follows:
Gautam Navlakha
The first on the list of RSF is Gautam Navlakha, a ‘human rights activist’ and a ‘journalist’. He is currently in jail in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, linked to an event organised at Shaniwar Wada called Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017. The following day, i.e January 1, 2018, large scale violence broke out at Bhima Koregaon, where lakhs of Dalits had gathered to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, won by the British Army—comprising mostly soldiers from the Dalit community—against the Peshwas in 1818.
The documents retrieved from Navlakha by the investigative agency also hinted at his ties with the Maoist leaders. In its charge sheet, the NIA mentioned that Navlakha had made speeches at various forums and platforms on many issues related to the Kashmiri separatist movement and CPI (Maoist) movement. According to an NIA official privy to the details of the charge sheet in the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon violence case, several strategic documents related to CPI(M) were recovered from Navlakha.
Gautam Navlakha and other Naxalites he was associated with were also in touch with Hizbul Mujahideen and other Kashmiri separatist leaders, the Pune Police had submitted in the Bombay High Court. Despite his links with the violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon, his connections with the Maoist leaders and his alleged dalliance with Hizbul Mujahideen and other Kashmiri separatist leaders, the propagandists at RSF believe that his arrest is unjust and an indicator of perceived repression under the Modi government.
Siddique Kappan
The second one on the list of imprisoned journalists is Siddique Kappan, arrested while on his way to cover the Hathras case of alleged rape & murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman, under the garb of journalism to create a caste divide and law & order disturbance in the state.
The Uttar Pradesh government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the UAPA accused Siddique Kappan is an office-bearer of the Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and was on his way to Hathras pretending to be a newspaper journalist from a Kerala-based outlet called ‘Tejas’ that was closed in 2018.
Nilesh Sharma
Journalist Nilesh Sharma was arrested in Chhattisgarh, a Congress-ruled state, after the ruling government charged him with spreading fake news. Sharma, who is known for his biting political satire, was arrested for his popular political satire series ‘Ghurva Ke Mati’, wherein he used fictional characters resonating with the Congress leaders and MLAs in Chhattisgarh.
Catering to the growing intolerance, one of the little known Congress worker Khilwan Nishad lodged a complaint against Sharma and accused him of using derogatory language against the Congress leaders of the state. The cyber cell of Police immediately acted upon the complaint and arrested Sharma right away.
Jitendra Jaiswal
In January 2022, police in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh arrested Jitendra Jaiswal, editor of Bharat Samman. He was arrested under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 151, 107, and 116 as conveyed by the police in the notice of arrest sent to his wife, Priya Jaiswal. “Jitendra Jaiswal has been arrested on 10 January and will be produced in Raipur court on 10 January,” the notice had read.
However, his wife alleged that she was not even informed about the arrest made by the police, insinuating that his detention might have been extra-judicial. The police nevertheless stated that he was arrested under preventive sections in relation to police family related protest.
Sajad Gul
Sajad Gul, a Kashmiri journalist, was arrested in January 2022 for whipping up anti-India sentiments by uploading a protest video with anti-national slogans raised by some women after wanted terrorist Saleem Parray was eliminated in Shalimar Srinagar.
Gul was arrested for instigating people to “resort to violence and disturb public peace.”
“…the said person under the garb of journalist [sic] is habitual of spreading disinformation/false narratives through different social media platforms in order to create ill will against the government by provoking general masses to resort to violence and disturb public peace and tranquility,” the statement released by the police read.
He was charged under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505B (fear or alarm to the public) of the Indian Penal Code.
Manan Gulzar Dar
In October 2021, the NIA arrested Manan Gulzar Dar, a Kashmiri journalist, on the serious charge of his ‘involvement in militant conspiracy’.
While for the RSF, conspiring to carry out terror activities might be within the “ambit of one’s journalistic duties”, the police arrested Dar on charges of being a part of a “conspiracy orchestrated in Pakistan” to “radicalise impressionable youths” and give them “arms training” for carrying out “terrorist acts” and “waging war against the government of India.”
Citing technical evidence procured against Dar, the police said the said Kashmiri photojournalist was an overground worker for top terror commander Abbas Sheikh and was booked under IPC Sections 120 (B), 121 (A), 122 and 123 (which deal with criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to commit crime, collecting arms and concealing, with intent to facilitate, designs to wage war) and UAPA Sections 18, 18A, I8B, 20, 38 & 39.
Anand Teltumbde
The RSF list of ‘journalists’ imprisoned in India also included Anand Teltumbde, who was arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case for his alleged links to Maoists.
A court had dismissed his bail plea saying the charges against him were prima facie true. But for the RSF, Teltumbde was a victim of government’s repressive measures to stamp out dissent.
Special NIA Judge Kothalikar observed that Anand Teltumbde has failed in offering an explanation as to why his name appears as a convener on the book or pamphlet titled ‘Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerana Abhiyan’, which was printed prior to the programme on December 31, 2017.
In its observation, the court said it did not find the accusation of Teltumbde’s involvement not “inherently improbable” or “wholly unbelievable”, and prima facie he was involved in furthering the activities of the banned organisation. The NIA had earlier claimed that Teltumbde was an active member of the proscribed group CPI(M) and propagated its activities.
For the non-profit organisation, prosecution of a person allegedly involved in furthering Maoist ideology and fuelling violence are grounds not legitimate enough to put him under arrest and charge him with hatching a conspiracy to disturb communal harmony of the country.
Aasif Sultan
Journalists working in Jammu and Kashmir are often accused of helping terrorists in their nefarious schemes in the Valley and providing them with overground support by intellectualising and rationalising their terror activities.
‘Journalist’ Aasif Sultan was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 for similar offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA, a stringent anti-terror law. Sultan was arrested for harbouring known terrorists, and charged with murder, attempt to murder and other crimes.
In 2016, after Indian forces took down terrorist Burhan Wani, Sultan had published a report eulogising the terrorist, asserting that Wani was more dangerous for India “in his grave than in his living room.” Sultan was recently booked under the Public Safety Act after police said he worked for banned terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
Fahad Shah
Fahad Shah, the Editor-in-chief of the online news magazine, ‘thekashmirwalla’, was arrested earlier this year for “glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news & inciting general public for creating law and order (L&O) situations.”
The journalist, accused of harbouring separatist mentality, was arrested for social media posts “tantamount to glorifying the terrorist activities and causing dent to the image of law enforcing agencies besides causing ill-will & disaffection against the country.”
Shah is infamous for his report that vilified the Indian Armed Forces, which accused a local army unit “of forcing an Islamic seminary school to hold Republic Day celebrations on January 26” in Shopian.
Avinash Palliwar and Madhukar Dubey
The next name on the RSF list of journalist imprisoned in India is of Avinash Palliwar, a journalist who was arrested by Raipur police in October 2021 on the basis of complaint filed by Congress leaders alleging that he was spreading misleading news.
Chhattisgarh is a Congress-ruled states where state leaders are known for demonstrating little tolerance to dissenting voices, often using flimsy charges to book and arrest journalist who are critical of the Congress party.
Besides Palliwar, Chhattisgarh police also arrested Madhukar Dubey after a complaint filed against him by Congress MLAs Brihaspat Singh and Kuldeep Juneja who accused Dubey of extorting money through a news portal.
Ajit Jha, Manoj Gupta and Digvijay Singh
Earlier this year, three journalists Ajit Jha, Manoj Gupta and Digvijay Singh were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for their alleged involvement in a paper leak case.
As per FIR filed in the case, the accused were charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property); Uttar Pradesh Public Examination Act, 1998 Sections 4 (unauthorised possession and disclosure of question papers), 5 (leakage by a person entrusted with examination work) and 10 (penalty for leakage); and Section 66B of the IT Act (dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or communication device).
Interestingly, out of the 14 cases that RSF lists to downgrade India’s rating in press freedom index, 4 were arrested by Congress governments and others were Naxals and those harbouring terrorists, indulging in patently anti-India activities. While 2 of them were Naxals who the court refused to bail out, one is a member of Islamist outfit PFI, who was on his way to create communal disharmony.
Firstly, even though 4 of the 14 arrested were under Congress government, the RSF report categorically demonises Hindu Nationalists and the BJP government without even mentioning atrocities by Congress and other state governments like the TMC. As for the other cases, RSF seems to be batting for Naxals, Islamists and those who explicitly harbour terrorists and spread anti-India propaganda.
RSF further mentions 5 cases of death of journalists, on the basis of which they have downgraded India’s Press Freedom ranking. Let us dissect what those 5 cases were.
In 2021 and 2022, these are the 5 journalists killed in India according to RSF.
Journalists killed in 2021 and 2022 according to RSF
Just how motivated and biased RSF is, would be clear from a detailed overview of these details.
Sulabh Srivastava
Sulabh Srivastava died in Uttar Pradesh in June 2021. While the police was exploring all possible angles, including murder by the liquor mafia, the initial probe had indicated that he died due to an accident. The police had also said two hours before the accident, Sulabh was drinking with three journalist friends. “The statements of the three journalists who had drinks with Sulabh two hours before the incident are being recorded and will be corroborated with CDR and Field unit analysis,” he said, as reported by Indian Express.
“Chenna Kesavulu, a reporter for local TV channel EV5 in Nandyal, a city in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, was rushed to a hospital with multiple stab wounds in the back on the evening of 8 August but was pronounced dead on arrival. Earlier that evening, Kesavulu had gone to meet with newly suspended police constable Venkata Subbaiah and his brother Nani at Subbaiah’s suggestion. But, instead of having a meeting, Kesavulu was attacked by Subbaiah, who stabbed him repeatedly with a screwdriver, especially in the back”.
It is pertinent to note that while RSF demonises BJP and Hindu Nationalists, Kesavulu’s murder happened in Andhra Pradesh, not under BJP at all.
Buddhinath Jha
According to a report in India Today, Jha was murdered as a result of a “love triangle”. The report reads:
According to the police, during interrogation, Purna Kala Devi confessed she was in love with Buddhinath Jha. However, one Pawan Kumar was in love with her.
“Pawan, who has been arrested, did not want Buddhinath Jha and Purna Kala Devi to talk to each other. Pawan used to put pressure on Purna Kala Devi to not talk to Buddhinath,” the police said. The police stated that Pawan Kumar and Roshan Kumar killed Buddhinath Jha for personal reasons.
Biswal apparently trod on the IED as he went to photograph posters placed on trees urging voters to boycott local elections for “panchayats” (village councillors) due to be held on 16 and 28 February. Several local media said the device was probably left by members of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which is waging a medium-intensity guerrilla insurrection in the region. Kalahandi police superintendent Sarwan Vivek said the device may have been planted there with the aim of targeting policemen when they went to tear down the posters.
Raman Kashyap
Raman Kashyap was killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri conflict where Khalistanis had lynched BJP workers and a car had allegedly run over some of the protesting “farmers”. In the case, UP minister’s son in the net for the incident where the car had run over the farmers. While one side says protesting farmers instigated the violent skirmishes by attacking the BJP convoy, the other side claims farmers were run down deliberately by a car. Amidst these recriminations, the grim reality is that 8 people lost their lives in the violent clashes.
The father of Kashyap had said that he was hit by the car, which caused his death.
In all the cases of death, there is no reason to categorically implicate the BJP government or Hindu nationalists, but RSF went ahead and did just that. Out of the 5 deaths, 1 was in Andhra Pradesh, 1 was an accident, 1 was due to a love triangle, 1 was due to CPIM implanted IED and 1 was allegedly due to being run over by a car where a minister’s son was involved. The last case is still sub-judice and RSF cannot pronounce a judgement on the same.
Despite this, RSF did not implicate the Jagan government in Andhra Pradesh or the Naxals, who they like to call rebels. They even clubbed together deaths that were caused due to personal enmity and accident to tarnish the BJP government and Hindu Nationalists as a bloc.
Out of the 14 cases where journalists were imprisoned and 5 cases where journalists had died, there is ample evidence that the government of India acted in the interest of the nation. RSF conveniently did not check their own database to question the Congress governments and added even instances of accidents etc to implicate Hindu Nationalists and downgrade India’s press freedom index, saying that journalists were not free only after the Modi government came into power.
Ugandan famous singer Wycliffe Tugume aka Ykee Benda has said that he wants to convert to Islam. The reason he has given for adopting Islam is because the religion allows for four marriages.
Ykee Benda also known as Wycliffe Tugume has opened up about his desire to adopt Islam. Recently, he participated in Eid-Mubarak celebrations in Kireka city of Uganda. While speaking to the media, the singer confessed that he loves Islam because of the good packages that come with it, over other religions, including being allowed to get married to four women. He further stated that he loves how co-wives stay together in Islamic marriages without having conflicts which according to him is a rare sight in other religions.
Ykee Benda, who is a father is reportedly having a challenging relationship with a woman. He is considering converting to Islam, considering polygamy as advantageous. Recently many artists from Uganda have left their religions to convert to Islam including Geosteady, Vicent Seggawa, among others. The 30-year-old singer holds a degree in chemical engineering but has made a full-time career in music.
As Per Islam, scholars say that polygamy for men is permitted for having up to four wives. Polygamy is encouraged by the Quran when a man is allowed to marry oppressed, orphan women or widows if justice can be done by marrying more than one. Surah 4.3 in the Quran says, “If you fear you might fail to give orphan women their due rights if you were to marry them, then marry other women of your choice—two, three, or four. But if you are afraid you will fail to maintain justice, then content yourselves with one or those bondwomen in your possession. This way you are less likely to commit injustice”.
Yaki Benda is a popular Ugandan artist, best known for his single Budumbu, Edenshall song. He sings in many genres including pop, dancehall etc.
The critically acclaimed film ‘Jai Bhim’ that turned out to be a huge hit in the year 2021 is in controversy for allegedly wrongly representing the Vanniyar Community. In regard to the controversy, a Chennai Court on Thursday directed the Police to file an official complaint against actor Suriya, his wife Jyothika, and director Gnanavel.
This is after the representatives of the Rudra Vanniyar Sena approached the Saidapet court in November 2021 to seek directions to file case against the actor couple and the director of the movie. They mentioned in the petition that some of the scenes from the film ‘Jai Bhim’ allegedly showed the Vanniyar Community in a bad light. They also mentioned that the villain in the movie had been shown from the Vanniyar Community with their sacred motif ‘Agni’ being situated in the frame. “The sub-inspector in the movie, is shown from the community and is depicted as an enemy of the Irular community”, the petition stated.
Chennai court directs the police to file a case against actor Surya, wife Jyothika & director Gnanavel for “wrongly representing the Vanniyar Community in the Jai Bhim movie.”@nimumurali shares details with @ridhimb.
The Court heard the case first on April 29 and directed the Police to file case against actor and director of the film on Thursday. The court noted that some cognizable offence is disclosed in the complaint and that prima facie, a case is made out. The court has forwarded the complaint to the Inspector of police in Velachery to register an FIR according to law and investigate the case. The case will be heard again on May 20.
The film ‘Jai Bhim’ has been produced by the actor couple Suriya and Jyothika and has been directed by Gnanavel. It is important to note that the film was the top searched film of the year 2021 and is one of the boldest films to have come out of Tamil cinema. It revolves around the character named Senggeni (Lijomol Jose), the wife of Rajakannu (Manikandan) who fights a lonely battle in the road to justice for her husband’s custodial torture and death. She meanwhile gets the rousing support from her lawyer named Chandru (Suriya).
This is not the first time that the film that is claimed to be based on true events has found itself in the eye of a raging storm. Earlier, the film had gripped into controversy after the viewers accused the creators of the movie of peddling fiction under the guise of making a movie based on true incidents. The viewers had alleged that the makers of the movie had deceitfully changed the castes of certain characters to perpetuate their political propaganda.
தோழர் சூர்யா வேலய காட்ட ஆரம்பிச்சிட்டாப்ல..#குறியீடு – வன்னியர் சமூக ஆளை வில்லனாக காட்டியிருக்காங்க…#குறிப்பு – படத்த படமா பாருங்க டா னு அட்வைஸ் பன்ற புரட்சி போராளிகளுக்கு என்னோட பதில் இதே மாதிரி #திரௌபதி.#ருத்ர_தாண்டவம் படத்தையும் ஏன்டா நீங்க படமா பாக்கல… pic.twitter.com/J97xdAGeDw
Recently, the legal drama bagged two awards at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF). Actor Manikandan, who played the role of Rasakannu received the ‘Best Supporting Actor’ award while the film itself bagged the ‘Best Film’ award. The film was released on November 2 on OTT platform Amazon Prime.
On May 3, several areas of Jodhpur city witnessed clashes and violence when mobs started attacking the police following Eid prayers. Tension had erupted on the intervening night of May 2 and May 3 when a Muslim mob replaced a Bhagwa flag with an Islamic flag at the Jalori intersection in Jodhpur and taped the face of a statue of Freedom Fighter Balmukund Bissa.
Jodhpur Police have now confessed that the violence could have been nipped at an early stage if a timely assessment of intelligence reports had been done properly.
Reports say, there were comprehensive intelligence reports issued on the brink of Ramzan Eid and Hindu festivals of Parshuram Jayanti and Akshay Tritiya upon challenges that could prevail to maintain the law and order. However, Jodhpur Police was reportedly hesitant in taking decisive action when on the night of May 2 several Muslim youths gheraoed the Jalori Gate in the city to hoist an Islamic flag by replacing the Bhagwa one. Following this, on the next day, a large mob started damaging vehicles and pelting stones on the police just after the Eid Namaz.
हिन्दू नववर्ष के दिन करौली में दंगे के बाद अब CM श्री @ashokgehlot51 जी के गृहजिले जोधपुर के जालोरी गेट में हिंसक झड़प की घटना गहलोत सरकार के माथे पर कलंक है। गहलोत सरकार की तुष्टिकरण की नीति के कारण शांतिप्रिय राजस्थान में साम्प्रदायिक सद्भाव बिगाड़ने की दर्जनों भर घटनाएं हुई है pic.twitter.com/ffizBEN3GE
Some members of the mob had a scuffle with the Police after returning from Eid prayers. While they went on a rampage to vandalise vehicles parked on the road, the Police used a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. As the mob successfully managed to derail the law and order situation, Rajasthan Police’s promise of keeping the same fell flat the violence broke out in Jodhpur. Navjyoti Gogoi, Police Commissioner has admitted the lapses saying that there wasn’t an adequate Police force to deal with the situation. According to Gogoi, taking advantage of the scarce Police presence, the violators were able to escalate the situation.
Additional DG (law and order) Hawa Singh Ghumeria will now be ensuring that after reviewing the situation, an enquiry will be set up to examine the faults in the case. The city of Jodhpur continues to be under curfew while the Police is closely monitoring the situation with the help of CCTVs. To make sure that the situation does not escalate in the coming week, the Police have extended the curfew until Friday midnight. 13 FIRs have been registered in the case, and over 100 people have been arrested.
What happened in the Jalori Gate violence?
As per reports, during the Parshuram Jayanti celebrations, Hindu groups had hoisted saffron flags on the Jalori Gate Square. Some members of the Muslim community objected to it, after which the administration requested the Hindu community to remove the flags. The community obliged the request and removed all but one flag.
at around 11 PM, members of the Muslim community climbed on the statue of the freedom fighter Balmukund Bissa and removed the saffron flag. They covered the face of the statue with tape and hoisted an Islamic flag. During the scuffle between the communities, a police post nearby was also vandalized. Following the incidents of violence, Uday Mandir police Station in-charge Amit Sihag issued orders for a lathi charge in which at least seven journalists were injured. Jodhpur West Mayor Vanita Seth said though the stone-pelting was started by the Muslims, Police blamed Hindus for the same. Rajendra Rathore, Deputy Leader of Opposition, Rajasthan said that CM Ashok Gehlot failed to maintain peace in his own constituency.
In a sensational disclosure, Telangana Congress President and Congress MP Revanth Reddy admitted that the mysterious lady seen with Rahul Gandhi in the Kathmandu nightclub was indeed a Chinese ambassador.
Speaking to a local media, Revanth Reddy made the stunning claim that Rahul Gandhi had met the Chinese Ambassador in a nightclub in Nepal’s Kathmandu.
Responding to a question posed by the journalist regarding the claims made by the BJP regarding the controversial images of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with a lady in Kathmandu’s nightclub, Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy said that the BJP leaders do not have the mental capacity to understand the social and family values.
He also confirmed that Rahul Gandhi had gone to Nepal to attend the wedding of his family friend Sumnima Udas, a former CNN journalist known for propagating anti-India views. During his trip, Rahul Gandhi attended a dinner party, where he was seen with a woman, who the Congress leader confirmed was the Chinese Ambassador.
“The videos of Rahul Gandhi talking to the Chinese Ambassador is in the public domain. It did not secretly happen behind closed doors, and Kathmandu is not a restricted area or enemy territory. You do not even need a passport or visa to enter Nepal. Rahul Gandhi attending the wedding of his friend is depicted as something very huge. However, it is not,” Revanth Reddy defended Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with the alleged Chinese Ambassador.
Revanth Reddy is believed to be a very close aide to Rahul Gandhi, and the recent admission by the Telangana leader will put the Congress party in an embarrassing situation as the party had claimed that he was on a personal visit to Nepal and not on a political visit.
The sensational disclosure comes just a day after India Today had published a ‘fact check’ claiming that Rahul Gandhi was not seen partying with a Chinese ambassador, instead, he was talking to a friend of the bride at the wedding he was attending.
In the fact-check, India Today had claimed that Rahul Gandhi visited the nightclub on May 2 along with five or six people. The report also stated that no Chinese ambassador was present along with Gandhi during his visit.
“He [Rahul Gandhi] was here for one and half hours. It was his personal visit. Nobody from the Chinese embassy was present with him,” India Today had quoted Rabin Shrestha, the CEO of the pub which Rahul Gandhi was allegedly seen with the Chinese envoy.
The report had claimed that the lady was a friend of the bride who was also invited to the wedding ceremony.
However, the recent admission by the Congress leader and a close aide of Rahul Gandhi has once again ignited a debate regarding whether the Gandhi-scion had really met the Chinese ambassador during his secret trip to Nepal.
Rahul Gandhi’s trip to Nepal
A video of Wayanad MP and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a pub in Nepal went viral on Wednesday.
In one video, the Congress scion, who had visited Kathmandu to attend an alleged wedding, was seen using his phone while he was seen talking to a woman in another video. It was speculated that the woman Rahul Gandhi was partying with was Hou Yanqi, the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal.
As per a report in The Kathmandu Post, Rahul Gandhi had gone to Nepal to attend the wedding of Sumnima Udas. He was accompanied by three other people and stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Kathmandu. The marriage of Udas took place on May 3, while the reception will be held on May 5 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Senior Journalist Alok Verma of Hindi news outlet Amar Ujala was brutally attacked by unknown assailants in Punjab’s Zirakpur on Tuesday night.
As per Amar Ujala’s report, two bike-borne assailants attacked Alok Verma when he was returning home after his duty hours. The accused attacked Alok Verma with a baseball bat and an iron rod on his head and fled with his wallet and mobile phone.
The journalist has received serious injuries on his head. The doctors had to put 27 stitches on his head, as per reports.
The injured Alok Verma fell to the ground. However, the attackers continued thrashing the journalist. Alok Verma kept shouting for help, but no one reached out to save him. Later, Alok Verma, covered in blood, somehow reached his house. He was later admitted to the hospital.
GMCH Medical Superintendent Dr Sudhir Garg said that Alok Verma was brought to the emergency at 3.45 am. He had suffered a serious wound on his head, leading to a lot of bleeding. He was discharged from the hospital at 2.30 pm as there were no internal injuries.
Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Press Club condemned the attacks on the senior journalist and urged the Punjab police to register a criminal case against the attackers and immediately arrest the accused. The Chandigarh Press Club also urged the state government and police to ensure the safety of journalists.
Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has condemned the attacks on the Amar Ujala journalist and attacked the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for failing to prevent such attacks. He said anarchy is let loose on the streets of Punjab.
“Murderous attack on @AmarUjalaNews journalist Alok Verma in Zirakpur is condemnable. Wishing him a speedy recovery. The @AAPPunjab govt has completely abdicated its authority and has proved to be a miserable failure. Anarchy is let loose on the streets of Punjab!” Captain Amarinder Singh tweeted.
The trend of history sheeters and career criminals surrendering before police in Uttar Pradesh under CM Yogi Adityanath’s rule has been continuing. In the latest development, 2 criminals from Muzaffarnagar’s Shahpur area have surrendered before police and have vowed to stay away from criminal activities.
Muzaffarnagar Police have shared that the two persons were accused in cow smuggling and slaughter cases too. The accused are Naeem and Naseem.
“हिस्ट्रीशीटर अभियुक्तों ने थाना पहुंचकर ली अपराध न करने की शपथ”
थाना शाहपुर क्षेत्र के ग्राम बसी कलां के रहने वाले 02 हिस्ट्रीशीटर/गौकश अभियुक्तों द्वारा स्वयं थाना शाहपुर पहुंचकर भविष्य में कोई भी अपराध न करने व अपराध मुक्त जीवन बिताने की शपथ शाहपुर पुलिस के समक्ष ली गयी। pic.twitter.com/yuhsZLqd7Q
— MUZAFFARNAGAR POLICE (@muzafarnagarpol) May 4, 2022
Naeem (History Sheeter number 26A) and Naseem (History Sheeter number 27A) both are siblings. These two, sons of Naseer, live in the Basi Kalan village that comes under the Shahpur police station of the Muzaffarnagar district. They reached the Shahpur police station holding identification slates. Both the history sheeters are accused of killing cows. In front of the police station in-charge, both of them took an oath not to commit any crime ever again and to spend a crime-free peaceful life ahead.
Naeem is one of the top-ten criminals in the Shahpur police station area. Both of them have a total of 18 cases registered against them including the cases of cow slaughtering and cases under the gangster act.
Fearing an encounter, the miscreants reached the Shahpur police station with placards hanging around their necks and swore before SHO Radheshyam Yadav not to commit crimes in the future. Speaking of guilt and a desire for penance, the brothers surrendered inside the police station premises and promised to stay away from crimes in the future.
Atul Kumar Shrivastav, Superintendent of Police (Muzaffarnagar – Rural), said, “Two history sheeters surrendered before the station in-charge of the Shahpur police station. One of them is among the top ten criminals of the Shahpur police station. Both of them are accused of cow slaughter. They admitted to not committing any crime in the future. Both of them admitted that they will regularly mark their attendance at the police station.”
हिस्ट्रीशीटर अभियुक्तों द्वारा थाना शाहपुर पहुंचकर ली गयी अपराध न करने की शपथ के सम्बन्ध में पुलिस अधीक्षक देहात श्री अतुल कुमार श्रीवास्तव की बाइट। pic.twitter.com/VS7uSQ4qHm
— MUZAFFARNAGAR POLICE (@muzafarnagarpol) May 4, 2022
The surrender series continues in Yogi Adityanath’s second tenure
At least 50 criminals had surrendered within 15 days of the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government returning to power in Uttar Pradesh on 10th March 2022. Interestingly, many criminals walked into the police stations holding placards with a message announcing their promises. The fear of police action and bulldozers running over illegal properties have made many criminals surrender in the state.
The Maharashtra Police has informed the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) that Hindutva activist Sambhaji Bhide, the founder of Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, has been discharged from the Bhima Koregaon case stating that there is no evidence against him.
According to reports, the Pune police, which is investigating the Bhima Koregaon case, has filed a report before the Maharashtra Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) stating Sambhaji Bhide has been dropped from the 2018 Koregaon-Bhima violence case as he was not found to have played any role in the violence.
The police submitted the report to MHRC on Wednesday. The one-page report said that as Bhide’s role was not found in the case, hence his name was dropped.
“We have submitted this information to the commission… The name of Bhide has not been included in the charge sheet since there is no evidence against him so far,” Pune Superintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh said.
The Pune police had filed a case against Bhide and others under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and various sections of the IPC for their alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon violence perpetrated on January 1. Besides Bhide, another Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote was also booked in the case based on the complaint by Dalit activist Anita Sawale.
The violence chiefly broke out in the Pune district prior to the 200th celebration of a British victory over the Peshwas. This ‘victory’ has been spun by leftist historians as a ‘victory of Dalits’, owing to the British army supposedly comprising Dalits and other lower castes while the ruling Peshwas were Brahmins.
In 2021, advocate Aditya Mishra approached the MSHRC, saying that former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had stated in the Assembly that the case against Mr Bhide would be withdrawn, but that did not happen.
In his complaint, Mishra had stated, “Can anyone frame any XYZ as an accused casually without any evidence on the basis of hearsay?” He further pleaded that a status report be sought from the police in the case against Bhide. Mishra had also asked from the commission “necessary directions as per law in the interest of justice,” saying, “how long will a sword of FIR hang over the head of Bhide guruji”.
In response, the MSHRC had then summoned Pune Rural Police officials and sought a status report in the case against Bhide.
Earlier, in 2018, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had made a statement in the state assembly, saying that there was no proof of Bhide being involved in said Bhima Koregaon violence perpetrated on January 1, 2018.
