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Hillary Clinton donor sentenced to 30 years in prison for injecting two black men with meth and killing them

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Hillary Clinton donor sentenced to 30 years in prison for injecting two black men with meth and killing them

Democratic party donor and Hillary Clinton supporter Ed Buck has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for supplying dangerous drugs to gay men who died from overdosing.

According to the reports, the 67-year-old Buck was sentenced to a jail term over the deaths of 26-year-old escort Gemmel Moore and 55-year-old porn actor Timothy Dean. The wealthy political donor Ed Buck was convicted for supplying and personally injecting two gay men with methamphetamine in exchange for sex, leading to their deaths due to overdose.

Delivering the verdict on Thursday, the judge came down on Buck for the ‘horrific’ and ‘reprehensible’ crimes but refused to lock him away indefinitely. Buck was last year convicted on charges of injecting the two gay men with methamphetamine.

The judge sentenced Buck to two counts of 30 years in prison, to run concurrently, for distributing methamphetamine resulting in the deaths of Moore and Dean. She also sentenced him to 20 years, to run concurrently for four counts of distributing methamphetamine, two counts of ‘enticement to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution, and one count of maintaining drug-involved premises.

The Hillary Clinton supporter was found guilty of all nine felony counts against him. The verdict came four years after Moore was found dead in Buck’s Hollywood apartment.

In 2017, Gemmel Moore, a 26-year-old homeless sex worker, was found dead on the floor of Ed Buck’s West Hollywood apartment. The evidence suggested that Buck had insisted upon injecting Moore with crystal methamphetamine and had forced him to watch hardcore gay pornography.

Similarly, another black man, Timothy Dean, 55, was found dead in Ed Buck’s home in January 2019.

Soon after the verdict was delivered, the victims’ family and friends burst into tears. Moore’s mother, LaTisha Nixon, said that she had warned her boy to stay away from Ed Buck, adding, “Now all I have is memories and his ashes.”

Joann Campbell, Dean’s sister, said that Buck had taken away her best friend as she demanded the “most severe punishment possible”.

Buck, who donated to former President Barack Obama and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, is a well-known activist in California politics.

Uttar Pradesh: Illegal conversions in Fatehpur Church averted after VHP protests, 55 including 10 women booked

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Illegal conversions in Fatehpur Church averted after VHP protests, 55 including 10 women booked

On Thursday, the Fatehpur Police arrested 26 people in a case of mass conversion of Hindus to Christianity in the ECI Church building in Uttar Pradesh. Police have booked 55 people in total in the case, including 10 women. The names of the accused include Vijay Kumar Samson, Reshma Samson, Ratna Daud, Sharon, Jyoti Monalisa, Geeta Masih, and more.

The matter came to light when the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal surrounded the ECI Church building in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, and protested against the pastor who was allegedly converting more than 50 Hindus inside the Church. Ahead of Good Friday, people had gathered for prayers in the Church when this development came to light.

According to the reports, the locals informed the VHP leader in the district about the conversion in the name of Maundy prayers. Around 100 people had gathered inside the Church on April 14 of which more than 50 were Hindus. The VHP members gathered outside the Church and alleged that the pastor in the name of prayers was giving lessons of Christianity to Hindus and was trying to forcefully change their religion.

When asked about the intentions of inviting local Hindus into the Church, the pastor agreed that out of 100 people inside the church, more than 50 were Hindus. The Police were immediately informed who reached the spot and tried to control the situation. The Police immediately could not take any action as the doors of the Church were locked. The VHP and Bajrang Dal members, however, continued to protest against the alleged forceful conversion. They reiterated that the pastor intended to convert the religion of Hindus.

The videos of the incident went viral over social media where the VHP and Bajrang Dal members are seen protesting against the Church authorities. They demanded strict action against the Church for conducting a religious gathering without permission and inviting local Hindus to it.

Fatehpur Police in a tweet also confirmed that some people had gathered in the church on the occasion of Good Friday. A few members of the Hindu organizations reached the Church on the suspicion of forceful religious conversion. “Sub-divisional magistrate and the jurisdictional police force are present on the spot. Necessary action is being taken”, the Police said in the tweet.

The VHP leader Himanshu Dixit alleged that the pastor was deceptively giving lessons of Christianity in the church by luring poor Hindus. He said that this is the fifth time that a similar incident has happened in the area. “The pastor invites poor Hindus and brainwashes and illegally converts them by offering some ‘religious’ drink. So far five such cases in the church have come to the fore, where the disgusting game of conversion is being played under the guise of a healing meeting without any permission”, Dixit said adding that the police never take any action against the Church.

In the current case, the Police officials have assured the VHP workers that legal action will be taken against the Church in case of any wrongdoing.

‘Fighting with the tongue is as important as fighting physically’: Islamic State calls for Social Media warfare

OpIndia Staff
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‘Fighting with the tongue is as important as fighting physically’: Islamic State calls for Social Media warfare

The Islamist terrorist group Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) has urged its supporters and recruits to emphasize media warfare in addition to military combat. “Fighting with the tongue is as important as fighting physically,”  ISKP stated in a new issue of their magazine.

Islamic State-Khorasan Province announced in a new edition of the organization’s English-language magazine that a deliberate focus on “social media warfare” is vital not just to progress on the ideological battlefield, but also to oppose the attraction of “enchanting” social media influencers.

In an article published online in the third edition of the Voice of Khurasan magazine, the terror outfit said, “War comes in many forms and targets different aspects of humans. A war can be fought militarily targeting physical self or it can be fought ideologically targeting intellect.”

“As much importance the physical clashes hold, ideological confrontations also matter if not more. The physical battle can be lost even before it starts if people, in our case Muslims, are defeated or at the least trapped in the battle for the hearts and minds,” the article further added.

Furthermore, it stated, “The Crusaders of the West understood the importance of the battle for the hearts and minds, and hasten to prepare to advance for confrontation on this front by opening their research centers, colleges and other forms of institutions. They funded thousands of people in the name of research for this and bought people who wear cloaks of Muslim.”

According to the magazine, despite the fact that their areas have been taken away from them, ISKP is still engaged in jihad.

Recently in March, the ISKP’s mouthpiece revealed the death of an Indian fighter. In an article, they mentioned him only by his adopted name, Najeeb Al Hindi, and described him as a 23-year-old “engineering (M.Tech) student from Kerala.” The post did not disclose any other information on Najeeb, nor did it state when he died or the circumstances surrounding his death.

‘Ram wasn’t a God, he was a character created by Tulsidas-Valmiki’: Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi

OpIndia Staff
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‘Ram wasn’t a God, he was a character created by Tulsidas-Valmiki’: Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi

Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi stoked a controversy on Thursday when he said Lord Ram was not a God but a character created by Valmiki and Tulsidas. He further added that he did not revere Lord Ram.

“I don’t believe in Ram. Ram was not God. Ram was a character created by Tulsidas and Valmiki to spread their message,” former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said while speaking at an event to mark the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of India’s constitution.

“They wrote the Ramayan and there are many good lessons in their writings. We believe that. We believe in Tulsidas and Valmiki, not Ram,” said Mr Manjhi, the chief of the Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) that is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

Mr Manjhi, whose son Santosh Manjhi is in the Nitish Kumar-BJP cabinet in Bihar, also cited the instance of Lord Ram eating the fruits tasted by Shabari to remark on the alleged caste divide in the country.

“If you believe in Ram, then the story we always heard is that Ram ate fruit tasted by Shabari. You will not eat the fruit we bite into but at least eat what we touch,” Mr Manjhi said, seemingly referring to the caste divide in the country.

This is not the first time that Manjhi has made such controversial remarks against Lord Ram. Last year, Manjhi refused to consider Lord Ram as God and also made derogatory remarks against Brahmin priests during a meeting of the Bhuiyan-Mushahar community held in Patna.

It is also worth noting that Manjhi’s latest remarks came hot on the heels of clashes that were witnessed across several parts of the country during the Ram Navami celebrations. Violence broke out at least in 5 states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal, where Hindu processions on Ram Navami came under attack.

ORF VP slams Shekhar Gupta’s The Print for cheap clickbait headlines twisting ORF research data

OpIndia Staff
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ORF VP slams Shekhar Gupta’s The Print for cheap clickbait headlines twisting ORF research data

Vice President of Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and economics Professor Shamika Ravi slammed Shekhar Gupta’s web portal The Print for reducing ORF research to a cheap clickbait headline. Shekhar Gupta used ORF’s research on negative tweets doing well on Twitter to highlight that Rahul Gandhi’s tweets get more engagement on Twitter compared to Narendra Modi.

Shamika Ravi tweeted, “The irony! The Print uses clickbait headlines to explain our paper, the crux of which is: negativity sells on Twitter! Truth takes six times longer to reach 1,500 people than falsehoods. Negative tweets do significantly better.”

ORF recently published a research article titled ‘Social Media and Political Leaders: An Exploratory Analysis’. This research paper is written by Shamika Ravi and Mudit Kapoor. The objective of this research article was to outline comprehensive and systematic trends on how often the two political leaders, Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, use Twitter to communicate with a larger audience and how many retweets, likes, and quotes are generated by their tweets. The research also aimed to understand whether tweets with different sentiments (positive, negative, and/or neutral) are amplified differently in terms of the number of retweets and likes.

The research concluded that Rahul Gandhi who is followed by 20 million followers on Twitter attracted more likes and retweets as compared to the likes and retweets attracted by Narendra Modi who has more than 75 million followers on Twitter. The research article also concluded that this difference is because Rahul Gandhi is repeatedly posting tweets that amplify the negative sentiments. In sharp contrast to this, Narendra Modi’s tweets were found to be the ones that amplify the positive sentiments.

Making a report based on this research, Shekhar Gupta’s The Print wrote a headline that reads ‘Modi has more followers & tweets than Rahul, but gets less engagement, ORF study finds’.

The headline used by The Print is a manipulation of both, the objectives as well as the conclusions of the said research by ORF. The Print report focused on the count of favorites in its headlines thereby implying that Rahul Gandhi is more popular than Narendra Modi at least amongst the netizens. It cleverly hid the response by Mudit Kapoor that this study was aimed to understand not only how the two leaders used tweets for their outreach, but also how social media giants can, through their algorithms, influence democracy.

The sentiments triggered by or expressed in the tweets of the two leaders were calculated in this research as -1 for the most negative impact, 0 for neutral, and +1 for the most positive impact. The mean sentiment score of Rahul Gandhi’s tweets during the sample period from January 2019 to December 2021 was 0.09 while that of Narendra Modi’s tweets was 0.54. The difference in the sentiments is also a reflection of the way in which both these leaders use Twitter, with one focusing on the negative and the other highlighting the positives.

The Print twisted the entire conclusion of the study for their clickbait headline and tried to show that Rahul Gandhi is doing better than Narendra Modi among the masses. However, as election after election has shown us, the people of India much prefer Narendra Modi to the Congress prince.

Elgar Parishad case: Umar Khalid was invited by Justice Kolse-Patil to attend, stayed at his house, NIA submits in Special Court

OpIndia Staff
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Elgar Parishad case: Umar Khalid was invited by Justice Kolse-Patil to attend, stayed at his house, NIA submits in Special Court

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently presented more evidence in the Elgar Parishad case before the special court, including the testimony of UAPA accused Umar Khalid.

The NIA included Khalid’s statement, recorded at the office of the deputy superintendent of Tihar jail in New Delhi, where he is being held in connection with the Delhi riots case, in the evidence filed to the court. In his testimony to the investigative agency, Khalid stated that one of the event’s organisers, Justice  BG Kolse-Patil (retired), had invited him to the event.

Umar Khalid said, “Retired Justice Shri BG Kolse Patil had invited me for Elgar Parishad meeting on December 31, 2017. “During my visit to Pune, I stayed at the house of Justice (retired) Kolse Patil. I don’t remember who arranged the flight tickets for me. Before delivering my speech at any place, I take local knowledge from any known person. No one had given me any script of speech for the Elgar Parishad meeting,” Khalid added.

He went on to say that at the Elgar Parishad meeting, many people were there on stage and that a video of it, along with his remarks, can be seen on YouTube. He stated that following the event, he went to the home of Justice Kolse Patil.

Khalid further informed the NIA that he knew Rona Wilson, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case since she came to JNU to give a lecture and that he also knew Arun Ferreira, another accused whom he met at a book launch function.

Because he too attended the event in Mumbai, Khalid’s testimony was recorded by the NIA as a witness in the trial before the Special NIA Court.

The Elgar Parishad case

The Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case concerns an event held on December 31, 2017, in Shaniwar Wada dubbed Elgar Parishad. For the Elgar Parishad event, a number of people gathered, including activists and retired Supreme Court judges Justice PB Sawant and Justice Patil. The next day, January 1, 2018, large-scale violence erupted in Bhima Koregaon, where lakhs of Dalits had assembled to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, which was won by the British Army—mostly Dalit soldiers—against the Peshwas in 1818.

The inquiry was conducted by the Pune police for two years before being handed to the National Investigation Agency in January 2021. Sudha Bharadwaj, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, and Varavara Rao were among nine alleged “intellectuals” detained by Pune police for inciting statements. After the death of the sixteenth accused, Father Stan Swamy, there are now 15 defendants in the case.

Justice Sawant and Patil, on the other hand, are not charged in the case, despite the fact that they claim to have organised and sponsored the event. Khalid, too, has not been accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Because Khalid was present at the Elgar Parishad event, the NIA recorded his testimony as a witness before the court.

‘I was stabbed, attacked with rods while trying to save kids during violence, attackers were Muslims locals I knew’: Karauli victim

OpIndia Staff
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‘I was stabbed, attacked with rods while trying to save kids during violence, attackers were Muslims locals I knew’: Karauli victim

A week after a Muslim mob attacked the residents of Karauli, Rajasthan, on the auspicious day of the Hindu new year, victims have come forward to narrate the terror that was unleashed on them by the Islamist mob.

Speaking to Republic Bharat, one of the victims of the recent Karauli communal clashes, where the mob mercilessly attacked Hindus on the day of the Hindu new year, said the Muslims had meticulously planned the attacks on Hindus and waited for the procession atop of their houses.

“The Hatwara bazaar was suspiciously closed on that day, and the Muslims were already waiting at their terrace for the procession to arrive. We thought they were there to watch the procession. But as soon as yatra reached the Muslim-dominated locality, there was intense stone-pelting. The Hindu devotees riding two-wheelers were hit by huge stones and had to escape for their lives. More than 40-50 people who had participated in the yatra were seriously injured,” he said, speaking to OpIndia.

A Hindu devotee, who was stabbed seven times, said he was ahead of the Ram rath yatra and added that he stayed back at the spot to save innocent kids.

“I was trying to save the Hindus stuck in the riot situation, more than 50 people carrying sharp weapons, lathis, and rods ran towards us from across the mosque street. They mercilessly attacked the Hindus who participated in the rally. I was attacked and sustained severe injuries, including multiple fractures,” he added.

“As I was rescuing kids, Mushtaq, a local Muslim leader, who is a government employee, stabbed me in the back. We knew all the attackers very well. They attacked us with sharp weapons. Hindus, who tried to escape from the spot, received severely thrashed by the violent mob,” said a victim, adding that he has all the video evidence to substantiate his allegations.

He further added that at least 5-7 trolleys of stones were pelted at Hindus on the day of Ram Navami celebrations in Karauli.

Muslims shut shops just before Karauli violence started, say Hindu victims

Earlier, the Hindu residents, who were attacked by the mob and their shops got looted, had said they did not want to stay in the Muslim-dominated locality anymore as they feared for their life.

The victims of the recent Karauli communal clashes had said they do not feel safe in Karauli and planning to move to other secure location with their families.

The victims had said that the Muslim mob took out a rally on Saturday at noon, and later in the evening, they assembled and attacked, looted and set fire to shops owned by Hindus. The residents all confirmed that they knew the attackers very well as they had been neighbours for many years.

Fearful of another round of attacks from the Muslim mob, some of the victims have decided to move out Hatwara Bazar area.

Karauli attacks

On April 2, communal violence broke down in the Hatwara Bazaar area of Karauli when miscreants pelted stones at a Hindu bike rally while more than a dozen shops and three bikes were set on fire.

Reportedly, 43 people, including policemen, were injured in the mob attack while the rally was celebrating ‘Nav Samvatsar’ passed through a Muslim-dominated area. All were admitted to the district hospital. The condition of a person named Pushpendra is said to be serious. He has been referred to Jaipur.

Four policemen accompanying the rally were also injured in the stone-pelting on the bike rally. The reports said that there were knife marks on the body of the injured who reached the hospital.

Gujarat: Shops at the site of stone-pelting at Ram Navami procession demolished by bulldozer in Khambhat

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Shops at the site of stone-pelting at Ram Navami procession demolished by bulldozer in Khambhat

After Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the Gujarat government has brought out the bulldozer to teach a lesson to the criminals who break the law and create unrest in the society. Recently, there was an incident of stone-pelting on the chariots in the Rath Yatra procession on the occasion of Ram Navami in Khambhat of Gujarat. The local administration has now razed off all the shops near the dargah in Khambhat where the stone-pelting incident took place.

According to reports, on 10th April 2022, the Rath Yatra of Ram Navami started from a temple in Khambhat and arrived at the place near a local dargah. According to the police, hundreds of rioters were hiding inside the dargah and as soon as the Rath Yatra reached there, the miscreants started pelting stones at the chariot. On 15th April 2022, the local administration and the police brought a bulldozer to this spot and razed off all the shops just outside this dargah. There were around five to six shops. When the police force arrived, the shops were open and operating, but with the help of the police force, these shops were vacated and demolished by bulldozers.

According to the police, these shops were illegally built and there were complaints about criminal activities being coordinated through these shops. Moreover, the boundary wall of the dargah is also said to be illegal and the police will soon demolish the wall too. It is also being said that demolishing these shops near the dargah is just the beginning and illegal shops and properties elsewhere in the Khambhat town will also be demolished soon.

So far, nine accused along with the Maulavis of the dargah have been arrested by the police in connection with the violence targeting the Ram Navami celebrations.

Bengaluru police treating bomb threat email to multiple schools as an act of cyber terrorism, registers case under IT Act

OpIndia Staff
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Bengaluru police treating bomb threat email to multiple schools as an act of cyber terrorism, registers case under IT Act

The Bengaluru police investigating the fake bomb threat received by several schools in Bengaluru on Friday has called it an act of ‘cyber-terrorism’. Though the threats were hoaxes, the Bengaluru police have registered a case under the Information Technology (IT) Act 66 (F).

The act applies to anyone who intends to endanger India’s unity, integrity, security, or sovereignty, or to instil fear in the general public or any segment of the general public. Whoever commits or conspires to commit cyber terrorism shall face imprisonment, which may include life imprisonment.

The police said that they are treating the case extremely seriously as it created panic and hysteria among the school administrations, students, parents and general citizenry, despite disrupting educational activities. As a result, the police have expedited the investigation and collection of evidence in the case by sending detailed accounts of the incident to various investigative agencies.

Subramanyeshwar Rao, Bengaluru city’s Additional Police Commissioner (East), stated that the perpetrators of the hoax bomb case would be apprehended soon and that vital information is being gathered. “Once the miscreants behind the hoax bomb case get arrested, the intention and objectives will be known. Presently, the case is under investigation and nothing more can’t be revealed,” said Rao.

Several schools in Bengaluru get bomb threats over e-mail

It may be recalled that on April 8, several schools in Bengaluru had got bomb threats. The message warning the schools about the planted explosives, according to a senior officer, was sent over similar-looking emails. Bengaluru City Police ordered the immediate evacuation of the schools, and along with a bomb disposal squad, rushed to the areas to conduct additional searches.

Six schools – Delhi Public School in Sulakunte, Gopalan International School in Mahadevapura, New Academy School in Marathahalli, Ebenezer International School in Electronic City, St Vincent Pallotti School in Hennur, and Indian Public School in Govindapura received the emails with the bomb threat.

Police had told the media that the emails, sent from [email protected] to schools between 11:00 AM and 11:10 AM, had similar wordings and one of them read, “A powerful bomb has been planted in your school, attention it is not a joke, this is not a joke, a very powerful bomb has been planted in your school, immediately call the police and sappers, hundreds of lives may suffer, including yours, do not delay, now everything is only in your hands!” 

As a result of the messages, tension gripped all of the schools, and the buildings were evacuated. The police were called, and they promptly arrived at the schools to verify the authenticity of the emails.

All the students were sent back to their homes and the situation was conveyed to their parents.

The bomb threat in Bengaluru had come on the heels of the Islamic terror organization Al-Qaeda commenting on Karnataka’s hijab controversy on Tuesday. Al Qaeda chief Zawahiri had extended his support to burqa-clad protestor Bibi Muskan Zainab Khan, who was at the centre of the hijab row in the state.

After an initial investigation, Police have stated that prima facie, the bomb threat looks like a hoax.

Kingpin of car thieves names accomplices Shahid, Riajul, Imran, Furkan, and Armaan when UP Police bring out the bulldozer

OpIndia Staff
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Kingpin of car thieves names accomplices Shahid, Riajul, Imran, Furkan, and Armaan when UP Police bring out the bulldozer

Demolishing illegal properties built by criminals in Uttar Pradesh using a bulldozer has become the identity of the Yogi Adityanath government. The same fear of the bulldozer forced Nasiruddin alias Nasir, the kingpin of a car theft syndicate running in Moradabad, to spill out the secrets of his illicit business in front of the police. According to reports, the accused revealed the name of all his accomplices and his trade secrets after the Moradabad police brought out a bulldozer to demolish his property.

The police discovered that Nasiruddin alias Nasir, a resident of Pakbrawas’ Gindauda village, had been running a car syndicate in Moradabad for over two years. He was an electrician before he got into this car theft business. His gang used to steal cars, dismantle them, and then sell off the parts to a shop outside the village.

Police said that despite their numerous attempts, Nasir was not willing to divulge the name of his aides. As soon as SHO Ranjan Sharma asked his officers to arrange for a bulldozer to demolish Nasir’s house, the latter quickly gave away the name of his six accomplices and other information about his illegal business. Based on the information, the Moradabad police raided Nasir’s properties and arrested six others namely, Shahid Amroha, Riajul Amroha, Imran Amroha, Furkan Moradabad, Armaan Amroha.

According to Moradabad SSP Bablu Kumar, Nasir told the police that he had met Munwa alias Munna, a resident of Didoli, Ali alias Gupta and Rizwan during the lockdown. These people used to steal cars from Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad and sell off the expensive car parts at lower prices in various shops.

The police revealed that Nasir started his illegal business initially with the three aforementioned people, however, after they started making a lot of money, Mohammad Salim, Jumma, Shane Alam, residents of Nigola of Sambhal had also joined them. While the police have arrested the 6 accused, the others are still at large.

Based on the information provided by Nasiruddin alias Nasir, the Moradabad police apprehended 6 other members of his gang. Police also recovered 10 cars and dismantled parts of over 40 cars worth about two and a half crores. The police have filed an FIR against 12 members of the gang based on Nasir’s information. Cases have been registered against the gang members in police stations in Delhi, Amroha, Rampur, Badaun, Sambhal, and Moradabad.

With CM Yogi Adityanath’s return to power in Uttar Pradesh, bulldozers are back in action. Such is the fear of bulldozers among the criminals, some illegal property holders are now themselves requesting the government to demolish their illegal properties. One such case appeared in Mitrapur Ehrola village under tehsil Shahabad of Rampur district when Ehsan Mian, a local citizen filed an application himself and appealed SDM Ashok Choudhary to demolish his own illegally built house fearing the action by the government.

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