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Uttar Pradesh: Muslim youth Babar Ali lynched by neighbours for celebrating BJP’s win in assembly elections

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Muslim youth Babar Ali lynched by neighbours for celebrating BJP’s win in assembly elections

In a horrific incident, a Muslim youth was killed by his neighbours after he had celebrated the victory of BJP in the assembly elections. The incident took place in the Kathgharhi village of Ramkola police station in the Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh, where the youth named Babar was lynched because he campaigned for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and distributed sweets after the Yogi Adityanath the government was formed. Babar was severely beaten up by his neighbours and relatives on 20th March 2022. The youth was referred to the district hospital and then to Lucknow where he died during treatment on Sunday 27th March 2022.

The Muslims in the area were angry with Babar even after his death. When the body of the deceased reached the village, people were enraged. People refused to perform the last rites of the body. The administrative staff also became active considering the seriousness of the case. The local MLA PN Pathak also reached the spot. After the assurance of MLA PN Pathak and administrative officials, the family agreed to perform the last rites. The area MLA himself shouldered the body of the deceased Babar. In fact, after the formation of the BJP government in UP on March 10, Babar had distributed sweets in the entire village.

According to reports, the family members of the deceased Babar said that the people living in the neighbourhood were angry because Babar was campaigning for the BJP. Many times Babur was warned that he should not campaign for the BJP. Babar asked for security from the Ramkola police station to several officials, but his plea was not heard. As the Ramkola police station did not respond to him, the goons were emboldened and they beat Babar badly and then threw him down from the roof. Seriously injured in the attack, he died during treatment at the hospital. After this, Babar’s wife has lodged a case against the accused at Ramkola police station.

SDM Varun Pandey, who rushed to the spot, said the case is being investigated, the accused will be arrested and strict action will be taken against those who are guilty. BJP MLA PN Pathak said the accused will not be spared at any cost. The SDM also said that the victim had complained about death threats, but no action was taken at that time. He added that an FIR has been registered, and they are investigating the matter.

Talking about the incident, Kushinagar police have said that two accused in the case already have been arrested, identified as Arif and Tahid. They added that they are searching for the others involved in the lynching. The FIR has been registered in the case under IPC sections 323, 504, 452, 336, and 308 on the complaint filed by Babar Ali’s wife Fatima Khatoon on 21st March.

Public law school NALSAR in Hyderabad goes ‘woke’ and introduces gender-neutral toilets

OpIndia Staff
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Public law school NALSAR in Hyderabad goes ‘woke’ and introduces gender-neutral toilets

On Saturday (March 26), the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) announced that it has introduced gender-neutral washrooms and designated spaces within its campus. The public law school is located in the Shamirpet suburb in Hyderabad city of Telengana.

In a tweet, the varsity informed, “We are pleased to share that in our endeavour to make our campus a truly inclusive space, the ground floor of GH-6 has been designated as a gender-neutral space with rooms allotted to students self-identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community with plans to move towards a gender-neutral hostel in due course.”

NALSAR stated that the toilet, located on the ground floor of the academic block has been transformed into a ‘gender-neutral one’. The varsity pointed out that it also has an interim policy for addressing concerns of ‘inclusivity’ by the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer) community.

While ‘woke’ experiments such as gender-neutral toilets in campuses have already been tried and tested in foreign schools and universities, it is the first time that a public State University has chosen to mould its policies for the ‘gender non-conforming individuals.’

Bar and Bench reported that the idea behind the gender-neutral washroom was conceived by NALSAR Student Bar Council and NALSAR Queer Collective, with help from Vice-Chancellor Professor Faizan Mustafa, Assistant Professors Akanksha Singh and Prerna Bijay.

While speaking about the development. Akanksha Singh informed about the varsity’s future plans to take inclusivity to the next level. “We are working towards the possibility of having a gender-neutral hostel. This is not something that would materialize this semester, but by the next semester.”

She further added, “People come with different baggage, so this is just as a safe space that exists on campus where people could freely be who they are. It is intended to be a space where students who are non-conforming feel safe to be themselves and where they can uphold their privacy which they would otherwise not enjoy in cis-gendered hostels.”

Gender-neutral toilets, politics and an impending disaster

Earlier, OpIndia had reported about an NCERT teachers training manual that had proposed gender-neutral toilets and puberty blockers for children in Indian schools to promote ‘gender inclusiveness’. After a massive uproar, the NCERT document was removed from their website. Child rights body NCPCR had called the NCERT document ‘a conspiracy to traumatise school students’.

In November last year, it was reported Scottish schoolgirls had refused to use gender-neutral toilets after boys wreaked havoc in the toilets. Misbehaviour included waving sanitary pads like flags, urinating in the sanitary bins, and playing with tampons.

A councillor had admitted that several girls did not use the unisex toilets due to vandalism by the male students. The introduction of unisex toilets was attributed to minimizing costs, creating more space and diversity and building an inclusive environment.

Implementing gender-neutral toilets are one of the first steps in the gender identity politics that are now taking over the public discourse across many nations. Trans activists and gender equity activists claim that separate toilets for men and women promote inequality and are not inclusive. They refuse to acknowledge safety concerns and the need for girls of a vulnerable age to have their privacy protected.

A holy tomb in Pakistan’s Sindh where male donkeys are offered to fulfil the desire of a male child

OpIndia Staff
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A holy tomb in Pakistan’s Sindh where male donkeys are offered to fulfil the desire of a male child

We all have seen chadars, sweets, flowers being brought to Islamic shrines as offerings to the almighty for the fulfilment of vows. In the bandwagon of heaps of offerings and prayers being answered in return, a story from Pakistan’s Sindh province stands out. A shrine dedicated to a local saint in Khairpur’s village of Bibarlo, the tradition of offering living male donkeys is famous.

Tradition has it that in the tomb of Pir Syed Rajan Qattaar Jahania, live male donkeys are offered to secure the saint’s blessings in the Mannat so offered. Local myth says that the saint loved to ride the animal in his lifetime and hence the story behind the offering. While all kinds of offerings are done in the shrine, the practice of offering live male donkeys to the saint is a must if a vow from a devotee is to be fulfilled. Those who cannot afford to buy a full-fledged donkey can also offer comparatively inexpensive small donkeys, according to the tradition.

According to Atif Shah Jahania, the caretaker of the shrine, Pir Syed Rajan Qattaar Jahania was from the Makhdoom Jahania family of Uch Sharif ad migrated to Sindh in the latter half of the nineteenth century. When once sent a vehicle by his followers to receive him, he refused to step in and asked for a ride on a donkey instead. On longer journeys, he often used to take rides on a donkey. Devotees to this date, offer a decorated live male donkey at the tomb of Pir Rajan Qattar Jahania, popularly called ‘Rajan Mast’ after their wishes (mannats) are fulfilled.

A devotee in an interview by Geo News narrated his experience of following the Rajan Mast cult. “My niece was finding struggle in conceiving a child. After I asked her to pray at the Rajan Mast, she was blessed with a baby boy. We have come here to offer flowers, sweets and a donkey as our wish is fulfilled.” In his lifetime, the saint asked his followers to gift him donkeys in return for a divine favour. While he used the donkeys for riding, he often used to pluck the hair of those donkeys and gift them to his followers as that would bless them with a baby boy.

The donkeys offered at the shrine are sold further. The tradition of offering male donkeys is particularly popular among followers who want a male child in their house. While the superstitious practice behind the cult is way beyond debate, the realm of religion and belief offers much amusement while devotees in the third world keep expecting a male child.

Two youths arrested in Pakistan for the suicide of a teen girl in the United States, had posted her explicit visuals on social media

OpIndia Staff
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Two youths arrested in Pakistan for the suicide of a teen girl in the United States, had posted her explicit visuals on social media

Arsalan Saeed alias Mikram Saeed and Kamal Anwar, both of Faisalabad, Punjab, were apprehended by the Federal Investigation Agency of Pakistan on Thursday in connection with the suicide case of an 18-year-old girl in the United States of America.

Both were accused of posting inappropriate videos and photographs of a teenage American girl on social media, which led to her suicide. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has requested information on the two suspects from the relevant US department.

The girl had exchanged explicit photographs of herself with someone she met online when she was 16 years old. The person was Mikram Saeed. For the next two years, the girl was pursued and harassed by Saeed and his aide in Pakistan, until she committed suicide on March 3, 2021, at her home in Lisbon, St. Lawrence County.

The girl wrote in her suicide letter that she made a mistake and that she was sorry but that she couldn’t do it any longer.

According to a police investigation in the United States, the blackmailers threatened to publish those images of her and subsequently did so on social media platforms. The US Embassy informed the FIA that both suspects were involved in the blackmailing and “sextortion” of a woman of New York’s Lisbon town on Facebook, which led to her death.

“Both suspects have been arrested on the information provided by the US Embassy for their alleged involvement in sharing objectionable videos and pictures of 17-year-old New York girl Shylynn Dixon among her friends on social media (Facebook) that made her to commit suicide,” Pakistani newspaper Dawn wrote quoting FIA cybercrime chief Babur Bakht Qureshi.

When asked if the FIA would send up the suspects to US authorities, Qureshi responded, “They will not be extradited as we will try them here. Our law is very strict on such crime and they will surely be convicted for their alleged crime.”

Delhi Capitals fight back to deny Mumbai Indians their first win in the opening game of IPL since 2012

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Capitals fight back to deny Mumbai Indians their first win in the opening game of IPL since 2012

Mumbai Indians, the most successful franchise in IPL history with 5 titles, have always been notoriously slow starters in the tournament. Since 2012, Mumbai Indians have failed to win their opening game in the competition, and it won’t change in 2022. Delhi Capitals beat them by 4 wickets in their opening encounter after a stunning comeback led by their lower order.

It looked like Mumbai Indians had put those opening match blues to bed today after looking in control for most of the game, before being upstaged by a stunning 7th wicket partnership of 75 in 32 balls between Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel.

Reduced to 72 for 5 in the 10th over while chasing 178 to win, Delhi looked out of it before their lower order brought them back in contention in the company of Lalit Yadav. First, Shardul Thakur hit a few lusty blows to give some momentum to the innings scoring 22 off 11 balls. Then, Axar Patel joined Lalit Yadav for a rollicking partnership of 75 from just 32 balls to clinch the win for Delhi Capitals.

Earlier in the day, Ishan Kishan, the most expensive buy at this year’s mega auction, was the star of the show for Mumbai as he fully justified team management’s faith in him at the auction. Apart from smashing an unbeaten 89 off just 48 balls to power Mumbai to an imposing total of 177, Kishan also took a brilliant catch to dismiss the dangerous Prithvi Shaw.

Ishan Kishan
Image source: Cricket Addictor

Put into bat by Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant, Mumbai got off to a great start through Kishan and skipper Rohit Sharma before Rohit fell to Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep Yadav was the star for Delhi in the field as the Indian wrist spinner rediscovered his form and confidence to finish with 3 for 18 off his 4 overs.

However, apart from Khaleel Ahmed who took 2 for 27, Kuldeep found little support from the rest of the bowlers. Delhi, missing all their overseas bowling options in Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur Rahman, struggled to contain a rampaging Kishan.

In response, Delhi Capitals, missing David Warner at the top of the order, started well by putting on 30 without loss in the first 3 overs. However, the introduction of Murugan Ashwin changed things as he picked 2 wickets in his very first over.

Mumbai kept picking wickets regularly as Delhi batsmen looked to stay in touch with the required run rate, and has things under control. However, all that changed once Axar Patel joined Lalit and pushed Delhi to a highly unlikely win.

‘Young people make mistakes’: Supreme Court orders J&K govt to release loan to medicine student in Bangladesh after she joined a different college

OpIndia Staff
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‘Young people make mistakes’: Supreme Court orders J&K govt to release loan to medicine student in Bangladesh after she joined a different college

On Friday (March 25), the Supreme Court of India refused to entertain a plea filed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, challenging the directive of the High Court to provide loan assistance to a student pursuing medical education in Bangladesh, reported LiveLaw.

Under a scheme of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, the Jammu and Kashmir Women’s Development Corporation had sanctioned ₹30 lakh for a student named Mubashir Ashraf Bhat in December 2018. She was supposed to take admission in a community based medical college in Bangladesh but ended up taking admission in another college, namely, Khwaja Yunus Ali Medical College.

In her defence, the female student had claimed that the Corporation did not release the funds on time due to which she was forced to take admission to another college. The Corporation had sanctioned the first tranche of loan for the said community college, and not the one where the student was eventually enrolled.

Citing this discrepancy, the Jammu and Kashmir Women’s Development Corporation had refused to sanction the second instalment of the loan. The student then approached the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, seeking relief in the case. Her petition was turned down by a single-Judge Bench and stated that it was a contractual matter.

The girl then moved the petition before a Division Bench, which on April 20 last year directed the Corporation to release the second tranche of loans. The administration of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had then filed a petition before the apex court, challenging the directive issued by the High Court.

Arguments in the apex Court

The Supreme Court dismissed the special leave petition and highlighted that education was ‘important’ for the youth in Jammu and Kashmir. During the heading, Justice Chandrachud said, “This poor girl got admission to a community college of Bangladesh. She would have informed you that she is changing her institution. One girl from J &K will become doctor”.

On being pointed out by advocate Taruna A Prasad, representing the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, that the student failed to secure a 6th guarantor, Justice Chandrachud defended the Kashmiri student.

He claimed, “She is a younger person and is pursuing her 2nd year in MBBS in Bangladesh. There is lax on her part, she is a youngster. Many young people make mistakes. Have we not done mistakes when we were young?”

Justice Chandrachurd further added that her admission to the community college was cancelled due to non-payment of fees. “You wanted to destroy the career of this girl sheerly on your fault. She will just be compelled to leave. Medical college cancelled her admission because of non-payment of money,” he emphasised.

According to Justice Surya Kant, the intervention of the Supreme court in the order of the High Court will impede the education of the student. The apex court thus dismissed the petition, saying that “we are of the view that exercising jurisdiction under Article 136, the consequence would be to dislocate the career of student from J & K.”

Afghanistan: Taliban prevent women from boarding flights without male companions

OpIndia Staff
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Afghanistan: Taliban prevent women from boarding flights without male companions

In the latest atrocities on women in Afghanistan, Taliban commanders refused to let scores of women board various flights, including some to other countries, since they were not accompanied by a male guardian.

According to reports, Dozens of women who arrived at Kabul’s international airport on Friday to board domestic and international flights were in for a rude shock. They were informed that they couldn’t do so without a male guardian, according to two Afghan Airlines officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid consequences from the Taliban.

Women were refused boarding Kam Air and the state-owned Ariana Airline flights to Islamabad, Dubai, and Turkey, due to the dictate of the Taliban authorities. Several of the ladies were dual citizens returning to their homes abroad, including those from Canada.

According to one official, the order came from the Taliban leadership. He said that several ladies had been granted permission to board an Ariana Airlines flight to western Herat province by Saturday, but they missed their flight by the time the clearance was provided.

The airport’s president and police chief, who are both Taliban members and Islamic clerics, met with airline executives on Saturday. “They’re working on it,” the official added.

This news comes days after the Taliban ordered the closure of secondary schools for girls.

Women’s predicament under the Taliban

After the Taliban returned to power in the country in August 2021, Afghan women are suffering persecution at the hands of the hardliner Islamic government. The Taliban continues to discriminate against women, and doesn’t extend to them the freedoms that men in the country enjoy. The Taliban also believe and disseminate that whatever is occurring with the women in the nation right now is their own problem, and that there is no trouble or injustice to the women at all.

After seizing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban attempted to portray itself as a progressive organisation dedicated to ‘safeguarding’ the rights of women, children, and minorities. However, analysts and observers throughout the world have repeatedly criticized them for their treatment of women, claiming that the Taliban’s new strategy is to seek Western funding to shore up the country’s faltering economy.

Karnataka: After Congress calls bandh against hijab verdict of court, BJP MLA MP Renukacharya demands ban on madrasas

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: After Congress calls bandh against hijab verdict of court, BJP MLA MP Renukacharya demands ban on madrasas

While some Muslim students in Karnataka are demanding to wear hijab in classrooms, now BJP MLA MP Renukacharya has demanded a ban on madrasas in the state. He made this statement on 26th March when he was reacting on the Karnataka bandh called against the Karnataka High Court decision to prohibit hijab in the educational campuses.

MP Renukacharya said, “Some anti-national organizations have called for Karnataka bandh. Can govt tolerate this? Is this Pakistan, Bangladesh, or an Islamic country? Won’t tolerate this. Congress leaders defended this on the floor of the House.”

MP Renukacharya is the political secretary to Karnataka CM Basawaraj Bommai. He further said, “I want to ask Congress who created the hijab issue, you or us? Is vote bank more important to you? I ask Congress, why do we need madrasas? What do madrasas propagate? They instigate innocent kids. Tomorrow they’ll go against our country & never say Bharat Mata ki Jai.”

Demanding a ban on madrasas, he added, “I request the CM and Education Minister to ban madrasas. Don’t we have other schools where Hindu and Christian students study? You teach anti-national lessons here. They should be banned or made to teach the syllabus what we teach in other schools.”

It is notable that on 15th March 2022, the Karnataka High Court had issued its verdict in the hijab case, ruling that it is not an important Islamic practice and so cannot be permitted in educational institutions which have uniform dresses and hijab does not form part of the same.

Blast near Army Camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara, no loss of life reported

OpIndia Staff
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Blast near Army Camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara, no loss of life reported

A blast occurred near an army camp at Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara today. A mysterious blast took place on Sunday near the 21 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Zachaldara in the Handwara area of the north Kashmir district, according to the officials.

While details of the blast are yet to emerge, it has been confirmed that no loss of life or injury has been reported. The officials are doing a recce of the location while the nature of the blast is being ascertained.

However, some reports have suggested that this was likely due to exploding of an old shell. However, detailed investigation into the cause of the blast has been launched. Until the investigation is complete, the area around the blast site in Kupwara has been sealed by the authorities.

‘I kissed her’ – 74-years-old Gurfan caught on camera sexually assaulting 5-year-old minor girl in Uttar Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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‘I kissed her’ – 74-years-old Gurfan caught on camera sexually assaulting 5-year-old minor girl in Uttar Pradesh

On March 22, a man identified as 74-years-old Gurfan Ahmed was caught on camera sexually assaulting a 5-year-old minor on CCTV in Saharanpur. Later, he was caught by locals and handed over to the Police. In its statement on Twitter, Saharanpur Police wrote that the incident took place in Anand Nagar, which comes under Kutubsher Police Station. The accused has been arrested and sent to jail.

In a three-part video shared by Twitter user funnydrugs, Gurfan could be seen taking a girl child on Rikshaw and stopping in an empty lane.

Note: Disturbing visuals, reader discretion advised.

The video is dated March 22, and the time was around 12:23 PM. He left the girl alone for some time and came back after a minute while the girl waited alone on the Rikshaw. After talking to her for a few seconds, he grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her. The whole incident was caught on CCTV camera, which Gurfan was unaware of.

In the second video, he was caught by a few people who questioned him about what he was doing with the girl. When he did not give a satisfactory answer, the man, who was visibly angry over the incident, slapped him multiple times, after which he said that he was kissing the girl.

In the last video, he confessed to the crime. The man behind the camera asked him, “Speak up in the camera. What were you doing.” He said, “I kissed her what else?” When the person asked how old was the girl, he said, “5 years”. He further told he takes the girl to tuition and school.

The girl’s family refused to file a complaint

Speaking to OpIndia, Inspector Piyush Dixit said the victim’s family refused to file a complaint despite repeated requests by the Police. “The accused used to take the girl child to school on his Rikshaw. We requested the family to file a complaint. In some cases, Police take cognizance of the case and initiate an investigation. In these cases, even if the Police file a case on its own, a girl’s statement would be required at a later stage. But they did not agree on filing the complaint.”

The accused was presented in front of the court and sent to custody. Inspector Dixit said the Police would try its best to pursue the case further. With the evidence in hand, it would be up to the magistrate if the case could be continued in court without the statement of the victim. 

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