Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) made false statements regarding vaccine manufacturing and ridiculed the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on the fourth day of Parliament’s Budget Session on Thursday. A video of her speaking in the session was shared on Twitter by another NCP MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Supriya Sule mocked DRDO, adding that despite being the leading scientific institution, they are now manufacturing masks and sanitisers. Sule went on to say that the vaccines are made by the Serum Institute of India, not by the government. She clarified that this is not what is meant by the phrase “Make in India.”
She was, however, factually wrong in all of her comments, as numerous individuals on social media pointed out. Prominent scientist Anand Ranganathan took to Twitter and wrote “Ms Sule is factually wrong on ALL counts. 1. She mocks DRDO. Fact: DRDO invented novel UV & mist sanitisers 2. She says govt hasn’t made the vaccine. Fact: ICMR has made Covaxin along with BB 3. She says SII has made vaccines. Fact: Oxford, not SII has made Covishield.”
Priyanka ji, Ms Sule is factually wrong on ALL counts. 1. She mocks DRDO. Fact: DRDO invented novel UV & mist sanitisers 2. She says govt hasn’t made vaccine. Fact: ICMR has made Covaxin alongwith BB 3. She says SII has made vaccine. Fact: Oxford not SII has made Covishield. WDTT https://t.co/VVUn9ZlKAU
Another Twitter user named Sagar (@sssaaagar) pointed out the achievements of DRDO in a tweet. He wrote, “DRDO made mask, Sanitisers, OOG of Tejas repurposed to O2 plant, 2-DG for fighting Covid, while they made indigenous AIP, HSTDV, Launched slew of missiles etc. MH state government had 1 job, Convert Haffkines lab into BSL3 for Covaxin prodn. 9 months after approval is still zero.”
DRDO made mask, Sanitisers, OOG of Tejas repurposed to O2 plant, 2-DG for fighting Covid, while they made indigenous AIP, HSTDV, Launched slew of missiles etc. MH state government had 1 job, Convert Haffkines lab into BSL3 for Covaxin prodn. 9 months after approval still zero https://t.co/Ed1Mm0sGDS
It should be remembered that the DRDO has been a benchmark organization for many years. Today, the DRDO is a network of more than 50 laboratories dedicated to the development of defence technologies, life sciences, training, information systems, and agriculture. DRDO has played a major role during the Covid-19 pandemic. DRDO has worked diligently whenever it was necessary, from building a 500-bed specialized Covid facility in Delhi to creating the effective medicine 2-DG for the treatment of coronavirus infection. The DRDO’s Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) in New Delhi collaborated with Hyderabad-based pharma giant Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to produce 2-deoxy-D-glucose or 2-DG.
On Thursday, February 3, TMC MP Mahua Moitra was seen creating a ruckus in the parliament by accusing the ruling BJP government of ‘altering history’. In her speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President, the Trinamool Congress leader said that the BJP government wants to ‘alter the history’, they fear the future and mistrust the present.
She termed the ruling government as ‘hateful forces’ and said that the mention of freedom fighters in the President’s address is nothing but a ‘lip service’. Moitra also spoke blatant lies and spread false information regarding the languages of Jammu and Kashmir.
Moitra claims Central govt ‘replaced’ Urdu with Hindi in Jammu and Kashmir’s official language
She alleged that the government had made attempts to remove Tipu Sultan from the history books whose springing tiger was insignia of Netaji’s Indian National Army (INA). Connecting the Urdu link to her page, she claimed that the government had removed Urdu and imposed Hindi as the first and official language of Jammu and Kashmir. “INA’s motto was three Urdu words – Etihaad, Etmad and Kurbani (Unity, Trust and sacrifice). This is the same Urdu language that this government is so delighted to replace with Hindi as the first and official language of Jammu and Kashmir,” she noted.
The false claims by Moitra went viral over the internet with netizens terming it as a ‘plethora of lies’ she has peddled against the government. Political commentator Sunanda Vashisht sharply criticised the TMC MP, especially for her ‘Urdu replaced with Hindi in Jammu and Kashmir official language’ comment.
Vashisht, who has her roots from Jammu and Kashmir slammed Moitra saying that Urdu was never their language and that it was imposed upon the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “Our languages are primarily Kashmiri, Dogri and many other languages and dialects. Urdu is not our language. Ask yourself why Urdu was imposed on us?”, she said.
And @MahuaMoitra, I invite you to read a few books and speak to few people from my state of J&K. Our languages are primarily Kashmiri, Dogri and many other languages and dialects. Urdu is not our language. Ask yourself why Urdu was imposed on us?
Further in the series of tweets, she added that the Hindi language has not replaced anything, rather the Kashmiri language was given recognition officially after 7 decades. “Urdu is not the mother tongue of anybody in J&K”, she reiterated.
‘Urdu was imposed on the people of Jammu and Kashmir, nobody in the state spoke Urdu’ says Kashmiri journalist
Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul stated that Hindi was not being imposed on J&K but in fact Urdu was. In his tweets, he suggested the TMC MP learn the history of Jammu and Kashmir and some basics about Kashmiri and Dogri before making embarrassing claims in the Parliament. “Illiteracy is common among a section of Indian politicians. But such blatant confidence in spreading lies is a new one”, he tweeted.
Mahua Moitra should know that Urdu is not the language of Jammu & Kashmir. Kashmiri and Dogri are our languages and majority of people in Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir speak Hindi. Hindi isn’t being imposed. Urdu was being imposed. No tears to save the Sharda Script? #Shame
Government in 2020 had declares Hindi, English, Urdu, Dogri and Kashmiri as the official languages in J&K, Moitra was lying in the Parliament
The Loksabha had introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill in 2020 to declare certain languages as official languages of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The bill declared Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English as the official languages to be used for the official purposes of the union territory. In reality, Urdu was never ‘replaced’ with Hindi, as Moitra claimed, but Hindi, English and the native languages of the UT that are Dogri and Kashmiri were added as official languages.
This is from Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020 which was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 22, 2020. Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English are the official languages of Jammu & Kashmir. Where did Hindi replace Urdu as the first and official language of J&K? pic.twitter.com/bwKKfRjfS4
It is nowhere mentioned in the bill that Urdu is being removed and Hindi is being added instead as an official language of the union territory. The bill sought to keep both the languages along with English, Kashmiri and Dogri in Jammu and Kashmir. The bill further green signalled the continued usage of English for administrative and legislative purposes in the region.
In fact, the commonly spoken language Kashmiri was recognised for the first time in 2020.
According to the reports, Hindi is the second most spoken language in J&K after Kashmiri, also known as Koshur. Dogri is the other widely spoken language and is used mostly in the Jammu region.
Earlier the day, she was had mocked the BJP government by speaking the language of Pulwama terrorist. Ahead of her Lok Sabha speech, she took to Twitter to make the Hinduphobic ‘gaumutra’ jibe.
Tagging the wrong handle to address the BJP, Mahua Moitra tweeted, “Am speaking this evening in Lok Sabha on President’s Address. Just wanted to give early heads up to @BJP to get the heckler team ready and read up on imaginary points of order. Drink some gaumutra shots too.”
Am speaking this evening in Lok Sabha on President’s Address.
Just wanted to give early heads up to @BJP to get heckler team ready & read up on imaginary points of order. Drink some gaumutra shots too.
As reported, the ‘gaumutra’ jibe is used by Islamists and their apologists, including the Pulwama terrorist Ahmed Dhar who had said he killed the CRPF soldiers to kill those who ‘drink cow urine’, to spread hatred against Indians, especially Hindus.
On Wednesday, the Customs Preventive department seized 23 kg of smuggled gold at Karipur international airport in Kozhikode, Kerala.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, a team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the customs department carried out a joint operation named ‘Desert Storm’ to seize the yellow metal on Thursday.
During the operation, launched after credible intelligence, passengers from seven different flights were searched. The joint team seized nearly 23 kgs of smuggled gold and arrested 23 smugglers, making it the largest single-day haul of yellow metal in recent times in the country.
The arrested smugglers arrived in Kozhikode from various Gulf countries. The joint team also arrested some people who came to receive gold from these passengers.
Kerala – the hotspot of gold smuggling
Kerala has become the main gateway for gold smugglers in the last two years. The customs officials have seized 232kg of yellow metal from the smugglers in recent times.
The customs officials have seized gold at various airports across Kerala. In August last year, customs officials arrested a person from Kannur international airport after finding that he was wearing double-layered jeans.
In addition, smugglers are using novel ways to smuggle gold into the country. Belt buckles, wigs, clothing layers, and various elaborate methods are used to smuggle gold.
Similarly, in Kozhikode, a passenger was arrested for smuggling gold in his face mask. As per the HT report, a woman passenger carrying a baby was found holding a water bottle made of gold. Hiding gold inside the rectum is one of the most common methods.
According to the data tabled in Parliament, Kozhikode airport remains second in the country in terms of the quantity of gold seized. Until November last year, the gold seized at the airport was 128.170 kg, next to Chennai airport, where 130.10 kg was seized. Kochi airport stands third in gold seizures at 62.281 kg of smuggled gold, while Kannur airport recorded a seizure of 28.939kg of gold.
Mark Zuckerberg lost as much as $31 billion on Thursday as Meta Platforms Inc’s stock plunged 26 per cent, erasing nearly $251 billion in market value.
According to the reports, the biggest ever single-day market value wipeout has pulled down founder and Chief Executive Officer Zuckerberg’s net worth to $85 billion. Zuckerberg owns roughly 12.8% of Meta Inc’s stock, which was formerly known as Facebook.
As per reports, the overall stock value of Meta crashed by over 200 billion USD, roughly equivalent of the size of New Zealand’s economy. In the fourth quarter, Meta has reported a turnover of 33.67 billion$ but has made $10.3 billion in net profit, which is about 8% less than last year.
Following the wipeout, Zuckerberg has now been pushed into the twelfth spot on Forbes’ list of real-time billionaires, below Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. Gautam Adani is the wealthiest Indian, whose net worth is around $90 billion. He is currently tenth on the list, closely followed by Mukesh Ambani, the eleventh richest globally, currently with $89 billion.
Amidst the large scale devaluation of Meta’s market value, Amazon founder and fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos has added nearly $20 billion to his valuation after Amazon’s increased earnings. Bezos owns about 9.9% of the company and is currently the world’s third-richest man with $164 billion. Tesla Inc top boss Elon Musk tops the list with $232 billion.
On Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey was apprehended by the Enforcement Directorate. ED officers nabbed Bhupinder Singh Honey on Thursday evening in connection with a multi-crore illegal sand mining case.
ED arrests Punjab CM’s nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey in sand mining case
Honey was transferred to the ED office in Jalandhar following his medical at the Civil Hospital, and he will likely be produced in front of a special court in Mohali. The agency had summoned him for interrogation on Thursday.
The ED had confiscated more than Rs 10 crore in cash, gold worth more than Rs 21 lakh, and a Rolex watch worth Rs 12 lakh from the residential premises of Bhupinder Singh Honey and others in connection with the alleged illegal sand mining case in a raid conducted on January 18. After a two-day search on the properties of people accused in over a dozen areas in Mohali, Ludhiana, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Pathankot, the ED confirmed the seizures.
The illegal sand mining case
The ED is investigating a money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on an FIR registered by the Punjab police in 2018 against one Kudrat Deep Singh. Kudrat Deep Singh, who owns a quarry in Nawanshahr, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, is said to be the main suspect.
According to sources, Kudrat Deep Singh established a company named Punjab Realtors in order to get sand mining contracts. One of the company’s directors is Bhupinder Singh Honey.
Black money was allegedly used to gain the sand mining contract, according to the ED. According to sources, the newly created business is quite modest and is unlikely to secure a transaction worth many crores.
It is a significant blow for the Congress-led Punjab government as it prepares for the Assembly elections. CM Channi, on the other hand, has rejected the claims against his cousin as a political vengeance ahead of the Punjab state assembly elections.
Two days after a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier named Qi Fabao, who was involved in the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, was made the torchbearer of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics torch relay, the US State Department sided with India in its decision to condemn politicisation of the Olympics.
On being asked about the decision of the Chinese Communist regime to ‘politicise’ the sporting event, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price informed, “When it comes to broader issue of India-China border situation, we continue to support direct dialogue & a peaceful resolution of the border disputes.”
He further added, “We’ve previously voiced our concerns on Beijing’s pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbours. We stand with friends, we stand with partners & allies, to advance our shared prosperity, security, & values in the Indo-Pacific.”
We’ve previously voiced our concerns on Beijing’s pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbors. We stand with friends, we stand with partners & allies, to advance our shared prosperity, security, & values in the Indo-Pacific: US State Dept Spokesperson Ned Price (2/2) pic.twitter.com/Rxu4JlMuZi
Earlier, Republican US Senator Jim Risch had spoken out against China over the issue. He stated, “It’s shameful that Beijing chose a torchbearer for the Olympics2022 who’s part of the military command that attacked India in 2020 and is implementing genocide against the Uyghurs. The US will continue to support Uyghur freedoms and the sovereignty of India.”
Condemning the politicisation of the Olympics, on February 2, India had announced that no diplomats will attend the ceremony. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said that the Indian envoy will not attend the opening or closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. He also said that India has taken the issue of the torture of an Arunachal Pradesh boy who was taken in custody by the Chinese side earlier in January.
Atleast 38 Chinese soldiers drowned during the Galwan clash: Report
On June 15, 2020, a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh had erupted against freezing sub-zero temperatures in the night which escalated border tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbouring nations. While the Indian government acknowledged the casualties suffered and honoured its soldiers, China had been hiding its casualties in the clash since the very beginning.
A sensational report on the 2020 Galwan Valley escalation was recently published by an independent Australian portal, The Klaxon. According to the report, at least 38 Chinese soldiers drowned in the Galwan river between June 15 to 16 while attempting to cross the river in the dark.
It said, ”at least 38 PLA troops were washed away and drowned” on the night of June 15 when the clash happened at the Galwan River”. According to the report, evidence had also emerged that strongly suggested that the Chinese side had intentionally conflated facts and imagery of two separate but similar clashes, which occurred just over a week apart in Galwan.
Pakistan President Arif Alvi caused a massive controversy on Thursday after he was caught playing the web-based word game ‘Wordle’ amidst the deteriorating security situation in the country.
Pakistan President Alvi took to Twitter to share the results of the current online sensation with his followers. However, his tweet came at a time when the Pakistan Army was at the receiving end of the attacks carried out by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), who claimed to have neutralised 100 Pakistan security force personnel in Panjgur and Noshki in recent clashes.
The ill-timed tweet posted by Pakistan President evoked strong reactions from the public, who criticised Arif Alvi for his insensitivity.
Several social media users took to Twitter to condemn Pakistan President Arif Alvi. One user said that the President of Pakistan was playing the Wordle game at a time when Pakistan was burning.
When Rome was burning , Nero was playing flute
Similarly , When Baluchistan was burning , President of Pakistan was playing Wordle game pic.twitter.com/7PxPlpvqZb
Another user criticised Pakistan President for the lack of seriousness of the situation in the country. He attacked Arif Alvi for not tweeting on the ongoing Balochistan attacks against the Pakistan Army.
This is the seriousness of the President of Islamic Republic Of Pakistan he has a time to play & do tweets on Wordle but no tweet on Balochistan, no tweet on Students who are sitting in Islamabad for last two months & no tweet for students who are studying in China.
After facing massive outrage, Arif Alvi deleted his Wordle score tweets.
‘100 Pak soldiers killed’, says Baloch Liberation Army
On Thursday, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said their fighters had neutralised more than 100 Pakistan Army personnel and destroyed large parts of their camps.
In a statement, the BLA claimed that major parts of both Panjgur and Nushki were still under their control.
“Baloch fidayeen have so far killed more than 100 enemy personnel. Large parts of camps are completely destroyed. Backup troops have arrived for the enemy forces, however, they have failed to weaken fidayee positions inside the camp,” the statement read.
BLA also said that the Pakistani military claiming to have repulsed the attack is a complete lie and added that the attack was still on.
The province of Balochistan is the largest, least populous and the poorest in Pakistan. Baloch groups have targeted security forces and civilians in regular raids across the province, demanding their rights and independence for ethnic Baloch areas of the province.
Over 200 reminders, official complaints, assurances, minimal action and re-encroachment, it has become a norm for the life of a Mumbaikar who is trying to push the administration to remove Bangladeshi immigrants’ alleged illegal encroachment in Navi Mumbai’s Sanpada neighbourhood.
OpIndia published a report in April last year discussing illegal encroachments by Bangladeshi immigrants and how authorities were not acting upon them to get the land cleared. Since then, Twitter user Krishna, who raised the issue and filed an official complaint, has been running from pillar to post to get the encroachments removed, but no concrete action has been taken so far.
Speaking to OpIndia, Krishna said that after months of following up, until today (February 2, 2022), the administration had taken no concrete action. He added, “Though there is an update. After pressuring them for weeks, the district commissioner and ward officer shared a letter with me. In the letter, they said that the plot belongs to CIDCO and it is CIDCO’s responsibility to get the land cleared. However, we (NMMC) have cleared the plot.”
Krishna added after receiving the letter, he immediately contacted them and informed them there were three plots and only one belonged to CIDCO, and the rest two belonged to NMMC. However, they were silent on the other two plots. “I have provided the GPS location of the plots, so there is no confusion at all. But, still, there has been no response.”
Krishna added NMMC officials often tell him that illegal encroachment on CIDCO plot can be removed by NMMC as well, but no one was ready to say anything on record. He said, “CIDCO manages the urban development in the city, and NMMC manages the city. If there is any illegal construction or encroachment, even if it is on a CIDCO plot or any private plot, NMMC has the full right to demolish the construction. Who can forget how they entered Kangana Ranaut’s office and demolished the alleged illegal construction. They have the power, right? But they are not using it in this case.”
He added even if they do not want to demolish any illegal construction on CIDCO’s plot, at least they could have questioned them and fined them for not taking any action. However, they did not take any action against CIDCO for not removing the illegal construction from CIDCO’s property.
The vehicles with dubious numbers parked at the location
Krishna claimed that not only the illegal Bangladeshis are well settled at the location, but they have also started parking vehicles on the footpath. He shared photographs of several vehicles that were parked outside the plots on the footpath. He said, “I checked the numbers of the vehicles. They are either suspicious or do not exist, which is another security concern.”
OpIndia verified the claims about vehicles. We checked a few of them on Vahan Portal. When checked for MH**A**344, the details showed the insurance for the vehicle expired in 2010.
Details of dubious vehicles parked on the footpath near the plots where Bangladeshi’s have encroached.
The second number that we checked, MH43***44, showed the registration for the vehicle had expired last year.
Details of dubious vehicle parked on the footpath near the plots where Bangladeshi’s have encroached.
‘It has become impossible to walk on the footpath’
Krishna had mentioned there were encroachments at four locations that were Kesar solitaire PLOT 88, 5, Sector 19, Shiv Darshan apartment, Sant Gyaneshwar Road, Sector 16, Jaipuriar school, and MSEDL Sonkhar substation. Speaking to OpIndia, Krishna said in the last six years, the number of illegal settlers has increased exponentially. “So much so, the area started to feel unsafe,” he added.
When we last reported about the issue, the complainant had informed that Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NNMC) Abhijit Bangar took cognisance of the issue and roped in his team to address the concerns raised by him. Every time he sought the status of the complaint he had made concerning illegal encroachment, he was assured that action would be taken in the matter. However, months after filing a complaint with the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, the encroachments by Bangladeshi immigrants still existed.
Even now, the situation is almost similar. For example, In November last year, the administration took some action, and a portion of the encroachments was removed. However, within a few hours, the alleged Bangladeshi immigrants were back. Over time, Krishna has shared numerous photographs and videos with the administration with locations clearly marked, but his complaint keeps shifting desks every day. Krishna shared two videos of the spot that he shot on February 3, 2022.
He said, “Even in the beginning of the video itself, you can see that NMMC has facilitated the entrance of Bangladeshi by designing a space that helps easy access. Why will NMMC itself make such a boundary if their idea was to curtail access?”
Krishna said, “It has become almost impossible to walk on the footpath next to the encroachments. There are always over 50 men sitting on the sides. How can you feel safe in such a situation?” He has been following up with the administration, including the Chief Minister of the state, for months. Hundreds of emails, calls and follow-ups have passed, but his complaint keeps on getting forwarded from one officer to another. Every time he manages to talk to the concerned officer, he only gets assurances. “It is frustrating,” he said.
Krishna shared the video with OpIndia in which a woman could be seen washing clothes on the footpath. He said, “Now they have started using the public space openly without any fear.”
He also shared photographs of encroachers using water supply in a nearby park.
Encroachers using water from the park for daily needs.
According to Krishna, the previous commissioner of NMMC, Tukaram Munde, had kept these encroachers under control. However, in 2017, he was sacked from the post. After Munde’s removal, the number of encroachers increased exponentially under then-commissioner Annasaheb Misal. He said, “I filed a complaint at the time when Misal was commissioner. At first, he kept ignoring the complaint, but later, he asked his sub-ordinate to look into the matter.”
Krishna filed an RTI as well to get information on the action administration has taken in the matter. “It was only after the RTI, the department got into action, but it was only for the show.” He further added that the encroachments are increasing, and they did not leave a plot empty in front of a very famous eatery in the area.
NMMC claimed the land belonged to CIDCO
Krishna said, after he chased the new commissioner, Abhijit Bangar, over the calls, emails and social media, he finally replied and asked for exact details, which he provided. Soon, Bangar also stopped replying to Krishna’s mails and calls. His assistant informed Krishna that additional commissioner Amrish Patinigere would look into the matter, but things did not move ahead.
There was a time when NMMC claimed that the land where encroachment happened did not fall under the jurisdiction of NMMC but under the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). Krishna said, “They kept asking to contact CIDCO verbally. I asked them to give me in writing, and I would stop bothering them. As per my knowledge, any construction that happens in the city has to be cleared by NMMC. If the construction is not as per rules even if done by a government body, NMMC has the jurisdiction to demolish it.”
‘Contact the other person, not us.’
He added NMMC did not give it in writing. He then started contacting Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte, but there was no reply. Krishna then contacted the Chief Secretary’s office to get information about the higher official under whom NMMC falls. They informed Krishna to contact Principal Secretary Urban Development Mahesh Pathak. However, the information was incorrect.
When Krishna contacted Pathak’s office, they informed him NMMC is under Joint Secretary Urban Development Kailash Pradhan. When he contacted Pradhan’s office, they asked to contact Under-Secretary Navnath Wath. “They do not pick the phone in the first attempt and then ask to contact someone else,” Krishna said.
‘Drunk Bangladeshi immigrants cause a ruckus on road’
The situation has worsened over time as the alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are now often seen fighting on the road near that area. Krishna said, “It has become a common scene here. The other day, I walked down the area when I saw them fighting. All of them were drunk. When another resident of the area started to make a video, some of them questioned why the video was being made. One of those who were trying to stop them from fighting said, ‘if you are going to fight, someone will make a video’. All of them vanished from the spot within seconds.” The resident had forwarded the video to Krishna.
OpIndia has reached out to the concerned officials that Krishna has followed up via email. When and if they reply to the concerns, we will update the story.
The Tamilnadu government has reached the Supreme Court against Madras high court’s order for the CBI probe in the Lavanya case wherein a 17-year old girl had committed suicide after the school had allegedly asked her to convert to Christianity. However, the victim’s father had already filed a caveat in the Supreme Court as the state government was likely to challenge the direction given by the Madras high court.
The DGP of Tamilnadu police has sought a stay on the order dated 31st January passed by the single judge bench of Justice GR Swaminathan. The order transfers the probe from the state police to CBI, whereas the DGP has argued that there were no circumstances warranting the transfer of the investigation from the state police.
Earlier, Madras high court’s Madurai bench had ordered on 31st January 2022 that the case should be probed by CBI and not by the state police. Besides this decision of 31st January, the state has challenged all the interim orders including orders dated 21st, 22nd, and 24th January 2022. The state is arguing that these orders interfered with the investigation.
The petition argues that there were no circumstances warranting the transfer of investigation to CBI from the State Police, and had prayed for a stay order on the High Court order. Moreover, the state govt has also sought the expunction of certain adverse remarks made by the High Court against the probe by state police.
Earlier in the day, after it was reported that the Tamil Nadu govt is likely to approach the Supreme Court against the High Court order transferring the case to CBI, the victim’s father had filed a caveat in the apex court. The Madurai bench of Madras High Court had transferred the case to CBI based on a petition filed by the father.
The Madras high court had heard in detail the arguments presented by the lawyers of all the three parties viz. the petitioner, the prosecution, and the missionary school. After hearing the arguments, the court had said “It is too early in the day for the police or the politicians to jump to conclusions. But they have done so. That is why the petitioner is apprehensive that if the investigation remains with State police, he will not get justice. His apprehension is justified.”
The court had further observed “What led the child to suicide has to be investigated. Before the investigation officer, the dying declaration of the child is available. Their authenticity is undoubted. Without doing so, the District Superintendent of Police wanted to completely suppress the conversion angle. The foregoing circumstances cumulatively taken will definitely create an impression that the investigation is not proceeding on the right lines. Since a high-ranking Hon’ble Minister himself has taken a stand, investigation cannot continue with the State Police.”
The High Court had also ordered the police to focus on the suicide and the allegations made by the girl in her dying declaration, not on who had video recorded her statement.
Recently, Ex-Police Commissioner of Mumbai Param Bir Singh has confirmed that the TRP case against Republic Media Network was a hoax and part of a planned conspiracy against Journalist Arnab Goswami. During an interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Singh also alleged that ex-Police Officer Sachin Vaze was taking instructions from the then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in the TRP case along with other cases.
According to a news release by Republic TV, Param Bir Singh has said to the ED that “Sachin Vaze was taking briefing and giving instruction in the TRP case directly from the ex-Home Minister (Anil Deshmukh)” without any remorse for carrying out a false investigation sanctioned by the powers of the state. Earlier, Sachin Vaze had also admitted before the ED that NCP politician Anil Deshmukh had personally wanted Republic Media Network’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami to be arrested in the made-up TRP case.
REPUBLIC NEWS RELEASE: 1 year & 4 months after TRP press conference, Param Bir Singh reveals TRP case was a hoax pic.twitter.com/cOtreQJT2y
Republic TV, which has released a news statement while responding to the development has said, “All these statements which are on-record and have complete legal validity completely prove thattherewas a massive political, police, and media conspiracy against the Republic Media Network and, personally, against its Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. The statements of Mr Param Bir Singh and Mr Sachin Vaze, both of whom, fronted and amplified the hoax charges against the Republic Media Network, reveal the malicious intent behind targeting India’s fastest-growing and most popular nationalnews network.”
The media network has demanded an investigation on the role of members in corporate media who allegedly amplified the claims of the false case. Contrasting to Parambir’s claims, Anil Deshmukh who appeared before the ED yesterday had said that It was Param Bir Singh himself who was the mastermind of the Antilia Bomb case. In his statement to the ED, Param Bir Singh took contrasting stands while alleging that Deshmukh along with Shiv Sena’s Transport Minister Anil Parab was complicit in giving instructions to Sachin Vaze for important cases being investigated by CIU. While responding to a question regarding ministerial instructions given to Sachin Vaze, Param Bir Singh was seen quoting, “In this regard 1 state that I am aware that Shri Anil Deshmukh was meeting Shri Sachin Waze regularly for taking briefing and giving instruction regarding ongoing investigation with him. Some of these cases which I readily recall were the TRP case, the DC motors case, Cricket betting case. I would further like to add that other ministers including Shri Anil Parab were also giving direct instruction to Shri Sachin Waze such as the SBUT case and complaints against some BMC contractors.”
Over time, it is clear that both Param Bir Singh and Sachin Vaze have admitted the government’s role in curbing the press freedom of Republic Media Network while falsely implicating Arnab Goswami and his channel in a falsely curated TRP case. It is notable that Hansa Research, the original complainant of the TRP case, had already informed Bombay High Court that Mumbai police were harassing its officials to name Republic in the case. In the original FIR filed by the company, they had named India Today and two other Marathi channels. But Mumbai police had proceeded against the Republic network instead.
