In an interview with CNBC, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated that two doses of the vaccine give modest protection, if any, whereas three doses with a booster offer reasonable protection against hospitalisation and mortality but less protection against infection. Speaking exclusively to CNBC, Bourla stated that the vaccine against Omicron variant will be available in March.
“I don’t know if we will need it. I don’t know if and how it will be used.” he said. “While the existing system of two vaccine shots and a booster has provided “reasonable” protection against Omicron, a vaccine focused directly on the Omicron variant would also guard against breakthrough infections of a strain that has proven highly contagious and has triggered many mild or asymptomatic cases”, CNBC quoted Bourla as saying.
After once claiming his shots are “100 effective,” Pfizer CEO now says 2 COVID shots “offer very limited protection, if any,” protection against COVID-19.https://t.co/0TkHI259RL
— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com (@JordanSchachtel) January 10, 2022
It’s worth noting that Bourla once stated that two doses of the mRNA vaccine were 100 percent effective in preventing the illness. Bourla sought to rewrite the entire COVID narrative in a series of interviews, while also casting serious doubt on the efficiency of his current product line.
Excited to share that updated analysis from our Phase 3 study with BioNTech also showed that our COVID-19 vaccine was 100% effective in preventing #COVID19 cases in South Africa. 100%! https://t.co/E2ksTJSopU
Dr. Bourla, recently told the BBC that getting vaccinated every year might provide a “very high degree of protection” against the fatal disease, which has claimed the lives of up to five million people worldwide.
According to Bourla, omicron is a more challenging target than prior variations. Omicron, which contains hundreds of mutations, is able to circumvent part of the protection offered by Pfizer’s original two doses.
According to statistics from the United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency, two vaccine doses are 52 percent effective at avoiding hospitalisation 25 weeks after having the second jab. The two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are only approximately 10% effective at preventing omicron infection 20 weeks after the second dose.
The overall efficacy against severe Covid is 80% with two doses of Covishield and 69% with two doses of Covaxin, which is much greater than the efficacy of Pfizer or Moderna. Because Covaxin is a ‘whole virion inactivated coronavirus,’ experts believe it might be extremely effective against the Omicron form (SARS-CoV-2). However, we will have to wait a little longer for real proof to back this up.
Several global health organizations consider the profits made by Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna from the epidemic to be unethical. Pfizer is expected to make at least $35 billion in Covid vaccine sales in 2021 and its stock price has risen as a result. Dr. Bourla has made no apologies about profiting, stating that “the bottom line is millions of lives were saved.”. “We have saved the world economy trillions of dollars,” he stated. It provides a tremendous incentive for innovation in the event of the next epidemic, “However, people will realise that there is a financial benefit if they stand up to the challenge and provide something that saves lives and saves money.”
An investigation by Project Veritas has made a shocking discovery regarding the origin of Covid-19, and the gain of function research to enhance the virus. Project Veritas has claimed to access ‘never before seen’ Department of Defence (USA) documents that show that the USA’s elite military research organisation DARPA (Defence Advanced Research and Projects Agency) had rejected a proposal by EcoHealth Alliance.
???Project Veritas:
Document from the DOD shows DARPA rejected the proposal from Ecohealth Alliance to study bat born coronaviruses in Wuhan that was later approved by Dr. Fauci’s NIH because they feared it violated the gain of function moratorium. pic.twitter.com/pRPA9LtvT7
The proposal that DARPA rejected was about studying bat-born Coronaviruses in Wuhan. However, the proposal that was rejected by DARPA saying it is ‘too dangerous’, was later approved by the USA’s NIAID, which is headed by Dr Anthony Fauci. The proposal was named ‘Project Defuse’.
As per the Project Veritas report, DARPA had rejected the proposal saying that it will violate the ‘gain of function’ moratorium.
In 2014, in the wake of a number of hazardous biosafety leaks in several federal research facilities, the US government had placed a temporary ban on funding studies that focused on enhancing the ability of viruses like Influenza, MERS, SARS etc.
Covid-19 is caused by a virus from the SARS family and its official name is SARS-CoV-2.
Image by Project Veritas
One of the documents accessed by Project Veritas is a letter by one Maj Joseph Murphy, a DARPA researcher. The letter says that SARS-CoV-2 is an American-created recombinant bat vaccine or its precursor virus. It was created by an EcoHealth Alliance program at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, as suggested by reporting surrounding the lab leak hypothesis.
The letter further says the details of the program have been concealed since the pandemic began. The details can be found in the EcoHealth Alliance proposal response to the DARPA PREEMPT program Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) HR00118S0017, dated March 2018.
The Project Veritas video shows a clip shared by a ‘source’ where former DARPA chief Dr Steven Walker said that DARPA had set up a Biotechnology office some years ago whose aim was to engineer microorganisms that “do what you want them to do”.
Major Murphy’s report further says that EcoHealth Alliance had approached DARPA in March 2018, seeking funding for the gain of function research into bat-borne Coronaviruses. DARPA had rejected the proposal saying it is too dangerous and will be a potential violation of the moratorium. However, the NIAID headed by Dr Fauci went ahead and approved it, and gain of function research into bat-borne Coronaviruses was carried out at several locations in the USA as well as Wuhan Institute of Virology. The full video by Project Veritas can be seen here.
Dr Fauci has stated to the US Congress under oath that the NIAID had never had anything to do with gain of function research into coronaviruses.
The report by Murphy further states that key curatives like Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine, and Interferons were actively suppressed.
Fauci had earlier told the US Congress under oath that the NIH has never been involved in gain of function research. But in October 2021, the NIH had contradicted that.
In May, Dr. Fauci said, “The NIH has not ever and does not now, fund gain-of-function research.”
But early this month, the NIH contradicted that.
It’s a crime to knowingly lie to Congress, so I asked AG Garland if he'd appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Fauci. pic.twitter.com/s01N0SbAws
Fauci and EcoHealth Alliance link with Wuhan Institute of Virology
It is notable here that several reporters have revealed in the past that EcoHealth Alliance, headed by Peter Daszak was involved in conducting gain of function research into coronaviruses in WIV, China. Daszak was one of the first and foremost scientists to vocally dismiss the ‘lab leak’ theories. He had also published a very widely publicised letter in The Lancet at the beginning of the pandemic to dismiss all claims of ‘lab leak’.
Reports and documents had also revealed that Fauci’s NIAID had funded EcoHealth Alliance to carry out research in Wuhan.
Interestingly, Daszak was also a part of the WHO investigative team that had visited the WIV to study the origins of the Covid. Later, when Daszak’s old statements and videos emerged showing him admitting that his EcoHealth Alliance is indeed involved in the gain of function research at Wuhan, Daszak was dropped from the Lancet commission investigating Covid origins.
Somehow, the obvious conflict of interest has not been addressed by WHO or the respective governments of the USA and China so far.
A number of documents, letters and reports have so far emerged, showing the damning involvement of US scientists and bureaucrats in suppressing the truth about Covid origins.
Anthony Fauci, the head of NIAID and NIH, had stated in the past that the gain of function experiments into the virus was ‘worth the risk of a pandemic’.
On January 10, Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader, said if CM Yogi Adityanath becomes CM for the second term, he will become a candidate for the post of Prime Minister. Yadav was answering a question during Panchayat Aaj Tak.
#LucknowPanchayatAajTak | “Who can be more ‘anupyogi’ that Yogi ji?”: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav hits out at UP CM Yogi Adityanath. He also answers on how will he counter ‘double engine’
Yadav, who has claimed that Bhagwan Krishna came to his dream and told him he would become CM, alleged Samajwadi Party and the people of Uttar Pradesh would say ‘Radhe Radhe’ to BJP in the state. Blaming the state government for not doing enough during Covid time, Yadav said the government failed in providing facilities to the people of the state, and when it was questioned, the UP govt allegedly tried to blame the opposition as no one came out to help people.
Notably, SP’s Akhilesh might be unaware of the fact that lakhs of immunity kits were distributed in the state during the second wave of Covid to save people. Special packages were announced for the migrant workers, and the govt of Uttar Pradesh is running campaigns to ensure the Covid vaccine reaches every corner of the state. Above all, over 500 oxygen plants are now operational in the state, making it self-reliant in terms of medical oxygen availability.
When anchor Anjana Om Kashyap asked him why he was out now during elections, Yadav shifted the goalpost. Furthermore, he was asked about his views on the fact that if CM Yogi Adityanath came to power, it would become difficult for him to stay out of control for ten years. To this, Akhilesh, in a snide manner, said, “He will become PM candidate then. BJP people should think about it. The double engine is going to clash.”
Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections
The polling dates for five poll-bound states, including Uttar Pradesh, have been announced. The elections in UP will be completed in seven phases starting from February 10. The last phase of polling will be held on March 7. The results will be announced for all five states on March 10.
Youth Congress worker Nikhil Paili on Monday was taken into custody in connection to murder of SFI worker Dheeraj Rajendran at Government Engineering College, Idukki. Eleven activists of KSU, Congress’ student wing, were injured in the clashes in Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam.
Dheeraj, a Kannur resident, was stabbed at around 1 PM on Monday. While he was immediately taken to hospital, he succumbed to the injuries. Two other SFI members, Abhijith and Amal were also critically injured and are currently hospitalised. As per police, college elections are underway and hence there have been clashes between various students’ organisations in past few days. As per students, it was the Youth Congress worker who attacked Dheeraj and stabbed him and then ran away from the place.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to Facebook to condemn the murder of SFI worker and said that attempt to create riots in colleges will not be tolerated.
After SFI worker’s murder, CPM activists and its students’ wing took out protest marches across the state. This led to further clashes with Youth Congress workers. In Malappuram, Congress workers clashed with DYFI while Congress workers countered DYFI by raising slogans. In Kannur, SFI workers pelted stones at the Congress office. Windowpanes of Congress office at Thrichambaram were vandalised and flagposts dismantled.
Similarly, Congress office at Perambra in Kozhikode was also attacked and stones pelted. The SFI-DYFI workers also tried to vandalise Kollam MP N K Premachandran’s car at Chavara. Glasses and bonnet of the car was smashed.
The controversy over honouring D.Litt to the President of India Ram Nath Kovind by Kerala University has escalated further as Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan came down hard against the vice-chancellor, expressing his staunch disagreement with the letter written by him.
What is the controversy about?
It all started when Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammed Khan, in his capacity as a Chancellor of Govt. universities gave a proposal to VC of the Kerala University to confer upon an honorary doctorate in Literature to President Ram Nath Kovind. According to the protocol of the University, any such matter concerning giving an Honourary doctorate is discussed before the University syndicate. However, the proposal was turned down by vice-chancellor Mahadevan Pillai in a hand-written letter and in response to the request by governor Khan, the VC responded that the university syndicate had turned down the proposal.
Appalled by this gesture, Arif Mohd. Khan spoke to the media and narrated the entire incident. “I was shocked by the language of the letter used by the vice-chancellor of the University of Kerala and it took me 10 minutes to recover from the shock”. What astonished Arif Mohammad Khan was that the person of the stature of VC was unable to write two lines in a letter without mistakes.
Kerala Governor Arif mohd Khan almost cried while addressing media. He was asked about extreme casteist remarks made against President of India by communist while denying doctorate degree. Shame on these rabid Communist for insulting a Dalit president of India. pic.twitter.com/tCjPaUkndY
It was earlier confirmed that The Vice-chancellor had altogether rejected the request of honouring the President with D. Litt without consulting the University syndicate. ”The members of the Syndicate turned it down” said the VC in the letter to Khan. The Congress-led opposition accused VC Pillai of failing in his duties by rejecting the proposal without placing it before the Syndicate for discussion. Following the controversy, Congress leader KC Venugopal wrote a letter to the President accusing the Kerala Governor and the State Govt of dragging the President’s office in political disputations.
Arif Mohammad Khan shocked after VC rejects his request without consulting with University Syndicate
Accusing the Vice-Chancellor of his irresponsible actions, Arif Mohd. Khan spoke to the media on January 10. He said, “In reply to the instruction, the VC responded that the university syndicate had turned down the proposal. When I asked to give it in writing, he handed over a two-line handwritten statement to the Governor. The language of the letter has shocked me as the VC of the oldest university in the country could not even write two lines without mistakes.”
Following the turn of events, Khan wrote a letter to the Pinrayi Vijayan Government over the University’s conduct in this matter and the government provided three letters to the Governor.
Over allegations of dragging the President’s chair in controversies, he said, ”there is no political interference. But I am firm on what I said. I am aware of protocols and other limitations from the time when was elected as a legislator and then a union minister at a young age.”
The ties between Governor Khan and the Communist government had strained over the appointment of VCs in the state-run Universities. He had also accused the Vijayan government of forcing him to sign a letter of re-appointment of Kannur University Chancellor Gopinath Raveendran. Earlier on January 4, amidst escalating controversy, Arif Mohammad Khan stepped down from his duty as a Chancellor of Universities. Last month, Khan had alleged that he was unable to work in an environment where there was ‘too much political interference’.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Mahmood Madani slammed former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav for his remarks on Jinnah, stating that Indian Muslims have rejected his idea and chose India over Pakistan. We are Indians, not by chance but by choice, Madani said. In a forthright statement, Mahmud Madani stated that the Muslims chose India and accused Jinnah of sabotaging the cause of Indian Muslims.
The Uttar Pradesh assembly elections have been officially announced. Elections in Uttar Pradesh will be contested in seven rounds, with results expected on March 10. In a discussion, held by Aaj Tak to obtain a sense of the political pulse in the state, Maulana Mahmood Madani responded on the topic of “whom Muslim community will vote for.”
Mahmood Madani went on to say that because Akhilesh Yadav is the leader of a political party, he must have admired certain aspects of Jinnah’s life. “We, on the other hand, have nothing to do with Jinnah. I’m not sure in what context Akhilesh Yadav cited Jinnah. He said out of context, which was a stupid decision.” He added In terms of voting, Mahmood Madani stated that Muslims should vote where they feel most comfortable. Muslims should not vote in order to oppose a certain political party. It is incorrect to state that a party must be defeated at any cost. It is a mistake for any community to decide to defeat a political party. He stated that if Asaduddin Owaisi’s candidate is competent, Muslims should vote for him.
Maulana Madani supported NRC, said Kashmir was an integral part of India
Speaking in 2019 about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of India, which was conducted in Assam to determine the number of foreigners living in the north-eastern state, the general secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Maulana Mahmood Madani, stated that the NRC should be implemented throughout India to determine how many intruders and foreigners are staying in the country.
M Madani on'what if govt decides to implement NRC in entire country?':Mera jee ye chahta hai ki main demand karoon ki saare mulk mein karlo, pata chal jayega ki ghuspetiye kitne hain. Jo asli hain unke upar bhi daag lagaya jata hai toh pata chal jaega, mujhe koi dikkat nahi hai https://t.co/YQ8BYcgkGYpic.twitter.com/gPLyrQs29p
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind also passed a resolution calling Kashmir an important part of India and slamming Pakistan as an “enemy country” for spreading a false narrative about Muslims being dissatisfied in India. The resolution passed at the Jamiat Ulema-e-general Hind’s council meeting in Delhi reaffirmed that Kashmir is an intrinsic part of the country and that all Kashmiris are our compatriots. It further stated that any separatist movement is injurious not just to the country but also to the Kashmiris.
Mahmood Madani, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind: We have passed a resolution today that Kashmir is an integral part of India. There will be no compromise with security and integrity of our country. India is our country and we stand by it. pic.twitter.com/pxhi2t4peH
Madani added, “Kashmir was, is and will be ours and ours alone. We are always with India”. It is notable that Madani had met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in September 2019 in the Sangh’s office at Delhi’s Keshav Ganj. The meeting was organised by former BJP general secretary and senior RSS leader Ram Lal. RSS had said that the meeting was held between two of the largest non-political social organisations and its aim was to discuss harmony between the two communities.
‘Apple can’t leave China’ is a myth that still lures many people, including the American-Chinese scholar Doug Guthrie, who believes Apple and China’s destiny is inextricably linked. In his podcast with Chris Marquis, which was published on 7th January 2022, the scholar made a case against Apple’s recent efforts to reduce its dependence on China and propagated the myth that Apple cannot sustain without the help of China.
Dough pitted Apple’s extensive presence in China with its emergence in India and Vietnam, stating that the American behemoth would have a hard time replicating its success in the new countries, given the conditions of infrastructure, lack of skilled labour and the governance method in these countries that would practically make it impossible to churn out its devices with the same ferocious efficiency as is the case in China.
Guthrie says conditions in Vietnam and India are not conducive enough for Apple to leave China. However, he conveniently glosses over the fact that Apple has already started manufacturing line in India, and quickly expanding its India operations, including the manufacturing of its latest flagship device, the iPhone 13, whose trials have already started for the same.
Apple first entered into the buoyant Indian manufacturing space in 2015, and since then the company has aggressively expanded its market share as well as augmented its manufacturing capabilities in the country. Apple products are being assembled in India and under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the American tech giant has been steadily developing its manufacturing capacities outside its traditional base of China.
What did the American scholar on China say?
In the podcast, Chris Marquis has asked Doug Guthrie that “Do you think that companies like Apple and Tesla are then maybe too tied to China? It’s not like they can move their production elsewhere. I mean, you mentioned it’s about the components and modules and going down the supply chain, a variety of integration that’s happening, where you really can’t replicate that. But then that gives China and Chinese companies and the Chinese government really a lot of leverage.”
Answering this question, Dou Guthrie has said that “I think that there are three levels to the complexity of that relationship. I just think China has tremendous leverage. I’ve heard leaders from Congress and the former president talk about companies like Apple should just move to Vietnam or move to India, but we don’t have the leverage that we think we do for these three reasons. The first is the floating population. There are 350 million people that are what we call “float” around the country, but they’re actually moved by the government.”
He further elaborated on the reasons why companies prefer China over others. “The second thing is the infrastructure that ties the system together. India doesn’t have the infrastructure that links the states of India together. And then the third piece is what I like to refer to as industrial clusters. So many different cities in China have developed their entire system around focus on a very specific component or module. So it’s hard for me to imagine that a company like Apple or Tesla could leave China, ” Doug said.
As Doug dismisses Apple’s transition out of China, here’s how India is scaling its manufacturing capabilities
‘Make in India’ is one of the prestigious campaigns by the Modi government to promote manufacturing in India, which will create jobs domestically, as well as reduce imports, thereby saving decreasing the country’s reliance on imported goods, and saving prestigious foreign exchange. Under Make in India, and due to the conducive ecosystem created as a part of the campaign, the number of mobile phone manufacturing units in India has gone up to 120 in 2019 as compared to just 2 before 2014.
India’s association with Apple, especially when it comes to manufacturing, dates back to 2015 when PM Modi had given the mantra to ‘Make in India’. Foxconn, the manufacturer of Apple’s iPhones had then announced plans for creating 10-12 facilities in India, which would include factories and data centres. Since 2017, Apple started manufacturing in India rather than simply running its assembly line.
Apple had entered into an agreement with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron to manufacture its iconic iPhone in India. Wistron has set up a plant in Bengaluru where they initially started operations by assembling the iPhone SE and later started making the 6s model also. The plant was further scaled up to manufacture more models of the phone. This attracted a violent reaction by the indigenous ideological siblings of the Chinese Communist Party. Attempts were made to vandalize the plant and communist links in those incidents had emerged.
Expansion of mobile phone manufacturing in Modi Government 2.0
So on one hand there were attempts to demoralize aspiring India from within. While the leaders of the opposition kept questioning the mobile phone manufacturing throughout the first tenure of the Modi government, Indians had already started buying ‘Made in India’ iPhones as early as 2018. No doubt that the wings were bound to expand in the second tenure and that is what exactly has happened. Let’s see how.
Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology had approved proposals by 16 phone makers under the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing. The PLI scheme was notified on 1st April 2020 announcing incentives of 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over a base year) of goods under target segments that are manufactured in India to eligible companies, for a period of five years subsequent to the base year (FY2019-20).
The companies approved under Mobile Phone (Invoice Value Rs 15,000 and above) segment had proposed a production of over Rs 9,00,000 crore. The approved companies under Mobile Phone (Domestic Companies) segment had proposed production of about Rs 1,25,000 crore and the companies under the Specified Electronic Components segment had proposed production of over Rs 15,000 crore. The companies approved under Mobile Phone included Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron which are contract manufacturers for Apple iPhones. Apple accounts for around 37% of the global sales revenue of mobile phones and this scheme is expected to increase their manufacturing base manifold in the country.
It is notable that all this was happening right in the middle of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking at the inaugural session of the 23rd edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit held virtually, former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that even during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the government was able to bring nine of their operating units along with component makers from China to India.
Doug Guthrie’s three levels of complexity were already destroyed quite easily
Doug Guthrie has spoken about the three levels of complexities involved in relocating companies like Apple from China to elsewhere – say India or Vietnam. But he seems to be ill-informed about the destruction of his claims which has taken place even before he would have made any. Let us have a look at how. The first one was about the floating population. The reason behind the Chinese government moving their labours every now and then is not only limited to skills. This floating population does not consist of 100 per cent labourers. Actually, it is more of the poor who move from one place to another because of significant income disparity. In fact, China already has an excess of labour which makes shuffling obvious.
Secondly, Doug Guthrie has mentioned infrastructures and transport and it is this part of his statement where he missed it the most. Doug Guthrie seems to have forgotten that companies like Foxconn never decide to relocate overnight. Even before finalizing Chennai as their plant location, thorough studies were made to check possibilities of setting up a factory at other places like The Five Star Industrial Corporation at Shendra near Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra. It must be noted that this industrial cluster is a part of the DMIC that is the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor. The 1500+ kilometre-long corridor ensures that various sorts of big industries and their component suppliers reside in close vicinity so that smooth production is assured. In the southern part of the country, Bengaluru-Chennai shares a similar corridor. Besides, there are many more such corridors in different parts of the country to serve different sectors of industry.
Manufacturing clusters like these and skilled labour has already been a plus point of India which proved to be one of the key attractions to the leading mobile manufacturers. The amount these companies are investing is a reflection of the trust they have shown in India, which itself destroys the third level of complexity Doug Guthrie has spoken about. Be whatever the leverage Doug Guthrie thinks China enjoys, Indians are all set to buy a Made in India iPhone13.
A unique case of Gharwapsi has come to the fore in Karnataka’s Yadgir district. A man whose family converted to Christianity close to 50 years ago is returning to the fold of Hinduism along with his wife and three children.
The incident pertains to one Timothy Hosmani, a 55-year-old labourer who lives in the Kanikal village of Gurmitkal taluk in the district, is all set to return to the Hindu religion along with his wife and children nearly 5 decades after his parents had converted to Christianity.
In his interview with Times of India, Timothy said he is unaware of the circumstances that led his parents to eschew Hinduism and embrace Christianity 50 years back. But now, he is preparing to return to his original religion.
According to Timothy, their family belonged to Scheduled Caste and added that his family—wife Sharadamma, sons Abhishek, Jnanamithra and Neil Armstrong—have been observing Hindu rituals and traditions for the last several years.
Timothy says his elder son is a labourer in Bengaluru while the other two are still completing their studies. As per sources quoted by TOI, Timothy’s parents were against reconversion to Hinduism. His father departed 10 years ago and his mother passed away 6 years ago. The family is now planning to organise a simple ceremony to return to their former religion.
As the family plans to retrace their roots, it is worth noting that there have been several isolated incidents from across Karnataka where those converted from Hinduism are reverting back to their original faith. However, this would be the first such instance in Yadgir in recent years.
Earlier last month, nine members of a Christian household re-converted to Hinduism. At an event at the Rama Bhajan Mandir in Jannapur, VHP and Bajrang Dal members took the initiative to convert them to Hinduism as part of ‘Gharwapsi.’ The development came days after the Karnataka Government passed the Anti-Conversion Bill in the Legislative Assembly that provided for jail terms for those engaging in mass religious conversion.
On Sunday, seven people were detained when police raided a wife-swapping network in Kottayam. The police crackdown occurred when a woman claiming to be the wife of one of the racket’s participants made shocking internet revelations.
The lady, a housewife, also filed a complaint with Karukachal police, alleging that her husband pushed her to have sexual intercourse with someone else. The arrest of the accused, a Karukachal local, led the authorities to unearth a larger network. According to the authorities, around 1,000 couples were involved in the racket.
The detained individuals are from the districts of Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and Alappuzha. The scam operated on multiple social media sites, including Facebook and Telegram, according to Karukachal police.
According to officers, the sex racket’s participants also comprised some professionals and members of society’s upper echelons. Member couples that meet on a regular basis swap women, and there have been occasions where a lady was shared by three men at the same time. Money was also exchanged in exchange for the provision of their companions.
According to a report in The Times of India, the authorities discovered social media groups where members could engage in wife-swapping, cuckolding, threesomes, and unnatural sex. Some organisations had over 5,000 members. Many professionals, including attorneys and physicians, have joined these forums under false names. Many people, including women, willingly engaged in such sexual practices. However, some women were coerced into such acts by their husbands.
The police suspect that the operations are the result of a well-established scam. The gang communicated using the chat apps Messenger and Telegram. The gang reportedly swapped photos and scheduled meetups on various networks. Some guys involved in the wife-swapping business were claimed to charge money for passing over women to others.
Similar case reported in Gujrat in 2021
In a similar case reported last year, a 34-year-old lady from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad accused her husband of attempting to force her to participate in a wife-swapping agreement with his elder brother. The lady, a mother of two children, also claimed that her husband attacked her when she refused to follow him.
The woman went on to say that her husband’s brother had abused her. She told a few mutual acquaintances about her traumatic situation, and they tried to talk to her husband and his brother. Her spouse is accused of threatening their mutual pals. The woman then decided to go to the police station.
On Thursday, January 6, a video had emerged from Kundikala hamlet in the Sarguja district in Chhattisgarh, showing Hindu locals swearing to boycott Muslims. After the video went viral, OpIndia subsequently reported how the action by the miffed Hindus was deliberated by a scuffle that took place between residents of Aara village and Kundikala village on January 1. The Hindu villagers of Kundikala were reportedly enraged by the bias of the Chhattisgarh police whom they accused of threatening and intimidating Hindu victims while shielding the Muslim accused. Hindu victims had come on camera to reveal how they were assaulted by the Muslim accused. They further narrated how the police instead of providing them assistance, rebuked them and asked to remain silent.
Now, OpIndia has spoken to local Congress MLAs, who, instead of condemning the police apathy towards the Hindu victim family or the assault on them by the Muslims of the adjoining village, denounced the Hindus for swearing to boycott Muslims.
Chhattisgarh Congress slam Hindus instead of denouncing police apathy
Congress MLA from Ambikapur Chintamani Maharaj told OpIndia, “The manner in which an entire group of people took the oath will not send a positive message to society. This was a bad decision that should be opposed”.
Meanwhile, local Congress MLA Dr Pritam Ram accused the BJP and RSS members of giving the incident a communal colour by encouraging Hindus to vow to ban Muslim sellers, boycott any commercial transactions with members of the Muslim community and prohibit the sale or lease of any land to a Muslim.
The Congress MLA opined that every victim family obviously wants that the accused is given the strictest of punishment, but actions are always taken only under legal provisions. “I’ve contacted all of the administrative officers and requested that they take the necessary steps. In the interim, some members of the BJP and RSS attempted to turn the debate into a Hindu-Muslim one, with a video of an oath being shown in the midst. The villagers are wise and will not be fooled by their deception,” said Dr Pritam Ram.
When OpIndia asked him why the Chhattisgarh police did not invoke the SC/ST act against the Muslim perpetrators as the victims in the case were Adivasis, the Congress MLA said, “I’ve also had a conversation with the Sarpanch (Mukhiya/Pradhan).” On the basis of the facts acquired by the police on the site, action has been taken. In this case, the locals have spoken the truth. The minor also failed to file a written complaint regarding molestation or other violations, which would have prompted the police to take action under the POCSO Act and other provisions. I’m keeping a close eye on the situation.”
In this regard, OpIndia also spoke with Ambikapur’s Additional Superintendent of Police, Vivek Shukla. He stated that the FIR was filed earlier in the incident, which occurred on January 1, New Year’s Day. That FIR’s inquiry was still ongoing. Appearing to be defending the prime accused, in the case- Ilyas Paksh, Shukla added that Ilyas, enraged by the same incident, committed an act of violence in Kundikala village.
Hindu victim family recalls the horrific attack by Muslims
“The Yadav family filed a police report about the event. We have acted in accordance with the rules. The incident has thus far resulted in the identification of 13 suspects. They were apprehended and taken to court. We’re still looking for the rest. The case is still under investigation,”, added Ambikapur’s Additional Superintendent of Police.
The victim’s family member and village secretary Virendra Yadav also spoke to OpIndia. He informed that the accused initially had an issue with the sons of the Sarpanch of Kundikala village. For a few days, everything was quiet, but then the Muslim side launched an attack on Kundikala village. The Muslims intended target was the sarpanch’s family, but as they passed by the village secretary’s house, Virendra Yadav, he was also attacked and blamed for the brawl.
He stated that six perpetrators were previously apprehended in this case, but that they were all freed on the same day. After that, seven more suspects were arrested, and all of them were freed on the same day. There isn’t a single one of the 13 attackers in jail, Yadav lamented.
Yadav said that the Gagar river flows next to their village. There’s a dam near the river area, which attracts a lot of visitors, said Yadav. “Some claim that the conflict between the two sides began there, while others claim that it began with the market. Our village is comprised of Dalit people. The assailants had come to kill the family members of the Sarpanch’s family, as their initial dispute was with the Sarpanch’s son but instead, they targeted mine.
Yadav added that the accused had previously also lodged a complaint against the village Sarpanch’s family.
Recalling the horrific incident, Yadav further told OpIndia that he knew Ilyas from before still the latter assaulted him and his family. Ilyas and his aides have always been involved infelonious activities, said the village secretary, adding that Half of the people of Ilyas’ Aara village, which is around 4-5 kilometres away from his Kundikala hamlet, are Muslim and half are Hindu.
Meanwhile, the members of the Yuva Morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party have visited the victim’s relatives and assured them assistance.
Members of the Yuva Morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party visit the Hindu victim’s relatives
They openly threatened to kill all the Hindus and burn down the entire village: Victim family laments
It may be recalled that in our report, we had revealed how the Hindu victim had informed that the main accused Ilyas, who is a Block Development Council (BDC) member, had not only threatened to kill all the Hindus but also burn down the entire village.
In what transpired, a Muslim family from the Aara village, which falls in neighbouring Balrampur district, had travelled to Kundikala village on January 1 to celebrate the New Year. On that day, the Muslim visitors allegedly got into a tussle with a local Hindu resident and thrashed him up. The victim alleged that the six Muslim visitors barged into his house and beat him up and two family members, including his niece.
Subsequently, the victim family lodged a complaint against the Muslim assaulters. Based on the complaint the Chhattisgarh police arrested six people under sections 147, 294, 323, 506, 452 of the IPC, but all of them got bail from a local court the same day.
The Hindu villagers of Kundikala were enraged by the bias of the police. They accused police of shielding the accused by invoking trivial sections of the IPC in the case instead of the SC/ST Act. As the accused burst firecrackers and celebrated their bail, the miffed Hindus gheraoed the Lundra police station, in Surguja district, Chhattisgarh, on 5 January (Wednesday), claiming that the complaint should have been filed under SC/ST act as the victims were Adivasis. Accusing the police of being biased, the villagers gave the police a 10-day ultimatum, asking them to either take strict action against the accused or be prepared for a bigger protest.
The January 5 video appears to be a fallout of this brawl between residents of the two villages on January 1.
Meanwhile, another video has emerged from the day of the incident where, Dilbagh Singh, in charge of the local police station, was seen harassing a journalist who went to the victim’s village to cover the incident.
The YouTube channel Bharat Samman, which visited Kundikala village in Chhattisgarh to cover the news, also interviewed a girl who is seen in the above video with a bandage on her head. The girl in the video, who appears to be a minor, claimed that she was pulled out of her house, beaten up by the accused who also attempted to drag her into a car.
The Chhattisgarh police apathy
The mother of the minor had also revealed how the police had rebuked them when they sought to express their distress to the authorities.
Meanwhile, many other villagers present there demanded in unison that the accused be charged with molestation and attempted murder. They criticised the police for being sympathetic towards the accused rather than helping the victims.
OpIndia had also learnt that the local police station in-charge Dilbagh Singh, who is suspected of protecting the accused, is already under investigation since villagers had accused him of faking cases and threatening to murder them when he was stationed in Shankargarh district in Balrampur in 2020.
