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Malegaon blast case: Witness retracts statement, refuses to identify accused

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Malegaon blast case: Witness retracts statement, refuses to identify accused

On Wednesday, another witness, a retired military officer in the 2008 Malegaon blast case refused to recognize one of the suspects in a special court and claimed that he had never stated it to the Mumbai ATS about the case. The court on March 30 declared him the 20th hostile witness in the case.

According to the reports, the witness, who held the post of naik in the Army, had given a statement to the Maharashtra ATS in 2009 in which he had mentioned a camp that was allegedly organized by some of the accused at Deolali near Nashik. He had then said that he had seen two of the accused, Prasad Purohit and Sudhakar Chaturvedi, attending the camp.

The information was then passed on by the Maharashtra ATS to the National Investigation Agency which took over the case in 2013. However, during his deposition on March 30 before special NIA court judge Prashant R Sitre, the witness failed to recognize Purohit who was present. Following this, the court declared him hostile to the prosecution’s request.

Reports mention that a witness presented by the probe agency is declared hostile when he or she does not support the prosecution’s case in court and refuses to speak against the accused. Earlier, the 19th witness, who is a former army officer had also turned hostile on March 24 after testifying before a special NIA court. He had only recognized Purohit and said that he did not know any of the other accused.

It is important to note that one of the blasts accused named Sudhakar Chaturvedi in the year 2017 had told the NIA court that the Mumbai ATS had falsely implicated innocent people in the name of ‘Saffron terror’ and had tried to frame the then BJP MP Yogi Adityanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. He had further alleged that the then Congress-NCP government had tried to frame Hindu activists to appease Muslim voters.

Also, in the year 2021, one of the witnesses had made similar statements against the Maharashtra ATS. The witness told the Special NIA court that he was threatened, tortured, and kept in illegal custody by the Mumbai ATS and forced to take the names of five Rashtriya Swayamseval Sangh (RSS) members including Yogi Adityanath, Indresh Kumar, Deodhar, and Kakaji.

The 2008 Malegaon blast case

On September 29, 2008 bomb blasts took place in the Malegaon region of Nashik district of Maharashtra which resulted in 6 deaths and 100 injuries. Soon, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and Lt Col Purohit were arrested in connection with the blast, and as a result terms like ‘Hindu terror’ or ‘Saffron terror’ were popularized by some politicians and Leftist media after their arrests.

They continued languishing in jails till April and August 2017 after which they were granted bail. As many as 235 witnesses have been deposed in the trial so far. The seven accused who are facing charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, and relevant charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are Thakur, Purohit, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni. They have been booked under UAPA and IPC. Relevant provisions of the Explosive Substances Act have also been invoked in the FIR.

‘Kashmir Files is our painful history, not a lie’: BJP leader Tajinder Bagga puts up posters outside AAP’s Delhi office

OpIndia Staff
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‘Kashmir Files is our painful history, not a lie’: BJP leader Tajinder Bagga puts up posters outside AAP’s Delhi office

On Thursday, amid the protest against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for his blatant remarks on the film ‘The Kashmir Files’, National Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga glued posters outside the Aam Aadmi Party’s office. The posters read- “Listen Kejriwal, the film that you call a lie is a painful part of our history”.

Bagga took to Twitter on March 31 and shared a 30-second video showing the posters glued at the Aam Aadmi Party Headquarters. This is hours after Kashmiri Pandits staged a protest outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house in Delhi against his recent comments in the legislative assembly where he mocked the film ‘the Kashmir Files’.

As reported by Opindia, a group of Kashmiri pandits marched from the Indraprastha College of Women to the residence of CM Kejriwal on Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines. The protest was coordinated by ‘India 4 Kashmir’, an organization that works on the issue of Kashmir and Kashmiri Pandits. The protesters voiced displeasure yesterday on Kejriwal’s disrespectful statements against the ‘Kashmiri Hindu Genocide’.

Also, the members of BJP’s youth wing had earlier gathered outside Kejriwal’s residence to mark a protest against his remarks in Delhi Assembly. Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly had called ‘The Kashmir Files’, a movie depicting the atrocities faced by Kashmiri Pandits as a film based on lies. He had also blatantly asked the film producers to upload the movie on YouTube for free instead of making it tax-free in Delhi.

The peaceful protests that were led by BJP youth wing workers, along with BJYM national president Tejasvi Surya and Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, were later dubbed by Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia as an attempt to ‘kill Arvind Kejriwal’. Sisodia alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party and police had jointly sent some goons to the residence of the Delhi CM to ‘kill him’.

The Delhi Police however has detained around 70 of the BJYM members for allegedly breaching two barricades and shouting slogans outside the residence of the Delhi CM. DCP North Sagar Singh Kalsi accused that the protesters carried a small box of paint from which they threw paint outside the gate of the CM residence.

Reportedly, a case has been registered under sections 186/353/188/332 of the Indian Penal Code and Act No 3 of The Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 in connection with the protest. Delhi Police has dispatched teams for arrests while the investigations are still underway.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma says Hindus in minority in several districts of Assam, state to seek SC guidance on same

OpIndia Staff
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Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma says Hindus in minority in several districts of Assam, state to seek SC guidance on same

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the definition of religious minorities should be changed and it should be counted district-wise. He made this remark in continuation to the debate around demography in Assam that is going on for the last few days. Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that Hindus are hopelessly a minority in many districts of Assam and NRC should be re-implemented in the state.

Himanta Biswa Sarma said on 30th March 2022, that the Assam government will try being party to the ongoing case in the Supreme Court based on a PIL filed by BJP Delhi leader Ashwini Upadhyay. The PIL seeks directions for framing guidelines which can identify minorities at state level.

He also said, “There are several confusions. A person who has received an ST scholarship is also getting minority, OBC scholarships. Now such issues are being discussed in Supreme Court. Expecting (SC) to specify minority definition soon, so that we get to know who they are.”

Earlier on Monday, 28th March 2022, Assam’s chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Hindus are hopelessly in low numbers across several Assamese districts, and they should be declared a minority. He also reiterated the observations he mentioned in the state assembly saying that the Muslim community is in majority in the state and cannot be deemed a minority in the state anymore. As Hindus have remained less than even 5,000 in some districts, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Hindus can be declared a minority.

As per last census of 2011, Assam’s minority Muslim population is little over 33%. However, in nine districts of the state, Muslims are in majority and Hindus are in minority like Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. The Centre has recently submitted before the Supreme Court that the states can consider granting Hindus ‘minority’ status if the community is not in a majority within their jurisdiction.

AIUDF MLA and the general secretary of the party Aminul Islam said on 29th March 2022 that AIUDF will definitely move to Supreme Court if the Assam government files any petition seeking the re-verification of the NRC. The NRC list was published in August 2019. 19.06 lakh people out of 3.3 crore applicants were left out of the list.

Vellore: Christian missionary hospital asks a Hindu family to convert to Christianity to provide free treatment for their 3-year-old ailing son

OpIndia Staff
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Vellore: Christian missionary hospital asks a Hindu family to convert to Christianity to provide free treatment for their 3-year-old ailing son

A Hindu family from Karnataka was allegedly asked to convert to Christianity and offer prayers at a church by a Christian missionary in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore in exchange for free treatment for their 3-year-old ailing child.

According to a report in the New Indian Express, Iranna Nagur, a 34-year-old Dhaba (hotel) employee and resident of Basavana Bagewadi of Karnataka, struggled to afford proper medical treatment for his three-year-old son. Iranna had already spent over Rs 3 lakh for his son’s treatment.

Reportedly, the poor father has travelled across South India to seek better medical treatment for the child. Finally, he visited a hospital in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore run by a Christian Missionary, which reportedly imposed certain conditions in exchange for free treatment for his son. The missionary asked Iranna to convert to Christianity and offer prayers at a church for at least two months to get free medical treatment at the hospital.

Speaking to the media, Iranna pointed out that he was exhausted as he could not get any financial support from anywhere for his son’s treatment. He said he earned Rs 12,000 per month, but he was forced to spend nearly half of the earnings on the medical treatment of his ailing son.

As per Iranna, when he went to the hospital in Vellore, they promised him of making all the arrangements, including Rs 10 lakh for the bone marrow surgery of his son, with the condition of offering daily prayers at church.

“The talks were also held about the conversion to Christianity. I was determined to accept Jesus because the hospital authorities had promised to take care of all the medical expenses of my son,” detailed Iranna, who has three children, including two daughters.  

However, the BLDE Association in the Bijapur district in Karnataka came to Iranna’s rescue by extending help to treat his three-year-old son, who is suffering from Thalassemia. They prevented Iranna and his family from converting to Christianity by providing free treatment to their son. The family has now dropped the plans of converting to Christianity.

Donation fraud accused Rana Ayyub moves to Delhi High Court challenging restrictions on foreign travel

OpIndia Staff
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Donation fraud accused Rana Ayyub moves to Delhi High Court challenging restrictions on foreign travel

Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub has submitted a petition requesting the Delhi High Court seeking permission to travel outside India. On March 29, she was stopped by Indian Immigration officials from boarding a flight to London concerning the money laundering case against her.

Ayyub has now approached the Delhi High Court challenging the alleged ban on her international travel. On Thursday, the counsel for Rana Ayyub has submitted a petition before Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla. He has requested that since Ayyub has to travel abroad the next day, the matter should be listed as early as possible. The Court maintained that if it is filed before 11 am, it will be listed tomorrow.

On March 29, Ayyub claimed on Twitter that she was stopped from leaving India at the immigration while trying to board a flight to London. She was to participate in an event in Italy where she was invited to talk on ‘Indian Democracy’. However, it looks like Rana Ayyub was barred from leaving the country based on a lookout circular issued by the Enforcement Directorate against her in a money laundering case.

In February 2022, the Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth Rs 1.77 crore of Rana Ayyub over allegations of violation of provisions of the Money Laundering Act. The ED in its attachment order had noted, “Rana Ayyub has cheated the general Public Donors in a pre-planned manner and with the intention to cheat the general public donors.”

During the probe, it was found that Rana had collected thousands of dollars in the name of Covid relief and had kept them in personal bank accounts and fixed deposits in the name of her family members.

HM Amit Shah tells Kejriwal to read the Constitution, reminds him that Delhi is UT, not a state like Gujarat or Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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HM Amit Shah tells Kejriwal to read the Constitution, reminds him that Delhi is UT, not a state like Gujarat or Bengal

On March 30, Lok Sabha passed the MCD amendment bill to merge the three municipal corporations into one entity. During the discussion over the bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the bill that proposed the merger of three municipal corporations of Delhi was constitutionally legal. He advised leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, to re-read the Constitution.

During the discussion on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2022, HM Shah said Delhi is a Union Territory. Thus, under Article 239-AA-3B of the Constitution of India, the Parliament has the power to make law with respect to it. He said the bill aimed to unify the three corporations into a single, integrated and well-equipped entity. It would ensure optimal utilization of the resources in hand. The Opposition had moved several amendments, but they were rejected by the house. The bill was passed by a voice note.

HM Shah, while responding to the allegations of the opposition leaders that the central government was encroaching upon the rights of the states, said, “People are talking about the rights of states. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also says the same thing…I can’t bring such a bill for Maharashtra, Gujarat, or Bengal. Centre nor I can do it in the states. But if you don’t know the difference between a state and a union territory, then I think Constitution needs to be studied again.”

He blamed the Delhi government for showing a stepmother-like attitude towards MCDs. Furthermore, as there are important places like the President’s house, PMO, secretariats and more in Delhi, it is essential that the civic bodies work properly and efficiently.

HM shah raised questions on the way MCDs were divided. He said while one MCD had enough resources in hand but lesser work, the other two had a lot of work but lesser resources.

He added the Delhi government claims they do not have money to pay MCDs but they regularly give advertisements worth crores.

HM Shah said those who say BJP was scared of elections were scared themselves. If they were sure of their victory in the elections, they could win after six months as well.

Without taking the names of West Bengal and Kerala, HM Shah said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not kill the workers of rival parties to ensure victory. He added BJP wanted to contest elections and win on the basis of the performance of the government, popularity of the leadership and ideology. He said, “Every party should go everywhere with their ideology, stand, program and performance. That’s the beauty of democracy. What’s objectionable here? If a party thinks its candidates should be elected to power on the basis of their ideology and popularity, what is objectionable here?”

Earlier, MCD elections were deferred by the Election Commission after receiving communication from the Centre that there were plans to merge the three MCDs into one entity. After the announcement, Aam Aadmi Party leaders alleged BJP was scared of losing the MCD elections. Rebutting the allegations, the Centre said since the split of the MCDs, the resources available at MCDs’ disposal were not being utilized efficiently.

Kerala: Victim nun and state govt to appeal against the acquittal of rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Victim nun and state govt to appeal against the acquittal of rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal

The nun, one of the survivors in the Bishop Franco Mulakkal case, has decided to approach the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the order of the Kottayam Additional District and Sessions Court acquitting Bishop Franco Mulakkal in the case.

According to the reports, the nun, who was allegedly raped by Bishop Franco Mulakkal, and the Kerala state government on Wednesday approached the Kerala High Court to appeal against the local court’s order that acquitted Bishop Franco Mulakkal in the rape case.

In its appeal, the state government said that the evidence given by the survivor, confirmed by the statements of several witnesses and the documentary evidence, proved the nun was subjected to unnatural offence and rape by Bishop Franco Mulakkal.

At the time of the sexual assault on her, the nun was serving as the mother superior of St Francis Mission Home, Kuravilangad, and the accused Bishop Franco wielded power and control over the home.

“The presence of the accused on the days when the rape and sexual assault occurred was proved by the prosecution by documentary evidence,” the state government filed in its appeal.

The Kerala government also stated that without examining the evidence cited by the prosecution, the trial judge had a predetermined mind to acquit the accused. The state government argued in its appeal that every attempt was made to discredit the survivor by wrongly considering the evidence.

“Without appreciating the evidence of the prosecution in the correct perspective, the trial court misconstrued facts and law and gave unwarranted acquittal to the accused, absolving him from the charges including rape,” the petition stated. The prosecution alleged the survivor was raped 13 times from May 5, 2014, to September 23, 2016, in the guest room of St Francis Mission Home. 

“The judge ought to have considered that the survivor chose to leave the congregation forever rather than fight with the church or its superior authority or the bishop for assaulting her. The court gave undue importance to the first information statement, not mentioning intricate details of the crime,” the appeal read.

In its petition, the Kerala government said when the virginity of a nun is violated, the social stigma that she suffers will be higher than that of an ordinary person. She will have to abandon her nunship forever; she would be ostracised, it noted.

On January 14, the Kottayam Additional District and Sessions Court had acquitted the rape accused, Bishop Franco, saying that the prosecution failed to produce evidence against the accused.

The 57-year-old controversial priest Franco Mulakkal was accused of raping the nun multiple times during his visit to a convent in this district between 2014 and 2016 when he was the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese of the Roman Catholic church. The nun had registered a complaint in June 2018 and has also claimed that despite her complaints, the church took no action against the bishop.

Rajasthan doctor suicide case: Dausa SP removed, SHO suspended, FIR registered against instigators for abetting suicide

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan doctor suicide case: Dausa SP removed, SHO suspended, FIR registered against instigators for abetting suicide

On March 30, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, ordered the removal of the Superintendent of Police and suspension of a Station House Officer (SHO) in the suicide case of Dr Archana after she was booked for murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Lalsot Police Station in Dausa.

In addition, an FIR has been registered against Shiv Shankar Balya Joshi, a local leader, based on the complaint filed by the husband of the deceased doctor, Dr Suneet Upadhyay.

In a series of Tweets, CM Gehlot said he had ordered the removal of SP Anil Kumar and suspension of SHO in the Dausa doctor suicide case. The administrative inquiry would be held on the matter under the supervision of the Divisional Commissioner of Jaipur, Dinesh Kumar Yadav.

In a video shared on March 30, Dr Suneet Upadhyaya had stated that Shiv Shankar Balya Joshi, the local politician who incited the dharna that led to the FIR against his wife, is a history-sheeter and has been under the protection of the BJP MLA of the region.

Details of FIR filed by deceased doctor’s husband

In his complaint, Dr Upadhyay stated a patient lost her life a day prior to the incident. Following her death, some local political leaders started sit-in protests outside the hospital to take advantage of the situation. Shiv Shankar Baliya Joshi played a key role in organizing the protest. He alleged that Joshi had threatened them earlier as well, and the couple had filed a complaint against him, but no action was taken.

Screenshot of FIR registered by Dr Upadhyay. Source: Rajasthan Police

He further added the patient did not die due to medical negligence. He blamed the Hindi daily Patrika for publishing the one-sided story and blaming the doctors. He said when his wife saw the report in the newspaper that FIR had been registered against her under 302, she could not take it and took the extreme step. He claimed Joshi wanted to file a case against the doctor and the hospital, irrespective of the fact that the patient’s family did not file any complaint.

FIR has been registered under Sections 306 (Abetment of suicide), 384 (Extortion) and 388 (Extortion by threat of accusation of an offence) of IPC.

The case of suicide of Dr Archana

On March 29, a female gynaecologist working at a private hospital in Rajasthan’s Dausa district committed suicide as she was stressed over the FIR filed against her under charges of murder based on unproven allegations of medical negligence. The deceased Dr Archana Sharma was blamed for murder by the family of the patient who died during childbirth.

The patient had suffered PPH, a known medical condition and as per doctors, it cannot be due to medical negligence.

In her suicide note, she wrote, “I didn’t commit any mistake. I didn’t kill anyone. Please do not harass my family and my children. The patient died of PPH, a known complication. Don’t harass doctors. Please. My death will perhaps prove my innocence.”

It is notable that booking doctors under murder charges have been explicitly prohibited by the Supreme Court until the alleged medical negligence is proven. Despite the directions from the apex court Rajasthan Police registered the case under IPC 302, just because some local politicians had politicised the issue.

Former US President Donald Trump says Putin should reveal why the Biden family was paid 3.5 million USD by the Moscow mayor’s wife

OpIndia Staff
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Former US President Donald Trump says Putin should reveal why the Biden family was paid 3.5 million USD by the Moscow mayor’s wife

Former US President Donald Trump has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to reveal any compromising information he might have on US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

In an interview on Wednesday, former POTUS Donald Trump alleged that the Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, the wife of the Moscow mayor, gave $3.5 million a decade ago to a company set up by Hunter Biden to favour Joe Biden.

“That’s a lot of money,” he said. “She gave him $3.5 million, so now I would think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it.”

“I think we should know that answer,” the former President added.

The former President also added, “As long as Putin now is not exactly a fan of our country, let him explain why did the mayor of Moscow’s wife give the Bidens, both of them, USD 3.5 million? I think Putin would know the answer, and we should know it.”

Further, Trump raised Hunter Biden and Devon Archer’s role in the Ukrainian energy company Burisma to know more about the relationship between Ukrainian oligarch Nikolai Zlochvesky, the owner of Burisma, and Hunter Biden. Trump has time and again alleged that Hunter Biden had used his father’s influence to promote his overseas businesses, especially in Ukraine.

Currently, Hunter Biden is facing massive allegations of possible tax violations, money laundering and lobbying for foreign companies. A laptop previously owned by Hunter Biden had ignited a new controversy after pictures and emails linking him to Burisma got leaked.

‘US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden secured funding for Biolabs in Ukraine‘

In addition to his links to the Ukrainian energy company, there are allegations that Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and his investment fund Rosemont Seneca had financed the Pentagon’s bio-weapon programme in Ukraine.

In a recent disclosure, Russia had revealed that US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden had secured funding for the Pentagon’s bio-weapon programme in Ukraine. The leaked emails, accessed by Hunter Biden’s laptop, showed that he had helped secure millions of dollars of funding for Metabiota, a Department of Defense contractor specialising in research on pandemic-causing diseases.

The Russian Defence Ministry has said Hunter had a prominent role in making sure Metabiota was able to conduct its pathogen research just a few hundred miles from the border with Russia. Metabiota has worked in Ukraine for Black & Veatch, a US defence contractor with deep ties to military intelligence agencies, which built secure labs in Ukraine that worked on killer diseases and bioweapons, said Russia.

Apparently, Hunter Biden also introduced Metabiota to the Ukrainian gas firm – Burisma for a ‘science project’ involving high biosecurity level labs in Ukraine. Hunter Biden raised several million dollars of funding for the company from investment giants, including Goldman Sachs, as per recently published reports. 

In addition, former President Barack Obama’s name had also surfaced after it was revealed that he had pushed an arrangement to develop bio-weapon labs processing “especially dangerous pathogens” in Ukraine, reports suggested.

This comes days after the Biden administration had informed the United States Senate that the US government is anxious over biological research centres slipping into Russian control as a consequence of the escalating fighting in Eastern Europe.

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