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Padmashri Sindhutai Sapkal passes away at 74: Here is how she came to be known as ‘the mother of orphans’

Gopal Tiwari
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Padmashri Sindhutai Sapkal passes away at 74: Here is how she came to be known as ‘the mother of orphans’

Veteran social worker – also known as the mother of the orphans – Sindhutai Sapkal passed away at the age of 74 in Galaxy hospital Pune. On 4 January 2022 at 8:15 pm, she had a cardiac arrest. She was under treatment for the last eight days. Dr Shailesh Puntambekar informed the media about her demise. She was recently awarded the fourth highest civilian award Padmashri for the year 2021 by President Ramnath Kovind.

Sindhutai Sapkal was known for her social work which mainly involved raising orphaned and abandoned children. She left behind a family of more than 1,500 orphans whom she raised, more than 380 sons-in-law and around 50 daughters-in-law. Her legacy of nine organizations spread across various locations in Maharashtra carries a decorated outline of more than 700 awards conferred upon her. She was also awarded the honorary doctorate by the D. Y. Patil University Pune. Using all the amount received as the prize money for the welfare of the orphans, she had set an ideal way to be followed by someone who aspires to do social service.

Establishing Gaushalas, adopting orphaned children, rehabilitating tribal villages: The social causes Sindhutai Spakal was associated with

Sindhutai was born to a cow herder Abhimanyu Sathe on 14 November 1948 in Pimpri Meghe (Navargaon) village of Wardha district in Maharashtra. Being an unwanted girl child, she was named Chindhi which literally means a torn piece of waste cloth. She had to quit her formal education in the fourth standard and due to poverty, she was forced to marry at the age of 9 Shrihari Sapkal who was twenty years elder than her. She delivered two of her children before she was 18 and at the age of 20 when she was carrying her third child in her womb, her husband left her on her own. For years to follow, she had to beg for the bread and roamed half of the state – from one railway station to another – as she had no shelter.

It was in 1971 that she gave her daughter to Pratap Godse of Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Devasthan and went to Chikhaldara where she started to work for local tribal and cows. She fought for rehabilitation of the eighty-four tribal villages which were then planned to evacuate for a tiger reserve project. While in Chikhaldara, she started to adopt the orphaned children. She also set up a Goshala in Chikhaldara. Actually, when she was abandoned by her husband, Sindhutai was put in a cowshed at midnight only to die under the feet of enraged and disturbed cattle. Nine months pregnant Sindhutai was saved by a cow. She started this Goshala out of this gratitude towards the cattle.

Her work for raising orphaned children expanded gradually in other parts of Maharashtra and specifically more around Pune where she had eventually set up various non-governmental organisations like Mother Global Foundation, Sanmati Bal Niketan, Mamata Bal Sadan, Saptasindhu Mahila Aadhar, Bal Sangopan and Shikshan Trust. Her foundations situated elsewhere in Maharashtra include Savitribai Phule Girl’s Hostel at Chikhaldara, Abhiman Bal Bhavan at Wardha, Gangadhar Baba Chhatralay at Shirdi, Shri Man Shanti Chhatralaya at Shirur, Vanvasi Gopal Krushna Multipurpose Trust at Amaravati.

Sindhutai, a voracious reader who had a particular flair for poetry

She struggled hard to raise the adopted children. In this journey, she knowingly remained distant from her own child to ensure impartial love and care to everyone she adopted. Having left school in the fourth standard, she had no formal education ahead in her life. She was often bothered by her love for reading by her illiterate husband. But she continued to read whatever piece of paper she could get, even in times of extreme hardships. As she had no home, the only way to keep it all with her was to memorize. This way she went on to recite the poetry that she could correlate to her own life. She was often heard quoting eminent Marathi poets and Saints in her speeches and interviews. She described in her talks that she remembers them all so well because she had lived through all the pain and learned philosophy as described in those lines.

Sindhutai ensured that none of her children remains uneducated. She empowered and enabled every one of them.

With the passage of time, as the number of adopted children increased, she was popularly known as ‘Maai’. PM Modi taking it to Twitter has said, “Dr Sindhutai Sapkal will be remembered for her noble service to the society. Due to her efforts, many children could lead a better quality of life. She also did a lot of work among marginalized communities. Condolences to her family and admirers. Om Shanti.”

She had also toured out of India to collect funds for her work. She was honoured with more than 700 various awards which include the Ahilyabai Holkar Award by the Government of Maharashtra in 2010, Nari Shakti Puraskar by the President of India in 2017 and Padmashri Award 2021 in the social category. Most of her projects are now looked after by her daughter and poetess Mamata Sindhutai Sapkal. A biopic on her life and works was made in 2010 in which Tejaswini Pandit has played her role.

17-yr-old Aman Dahiya denied entry at Australian Open, unvaccinated Djokovic exempted. Racism much?

Suyash
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17-yr-old Aman Dahiya denied entry at Australian Open, unvaccinated Djokovic exempted. Racism much?

17-year-old Tennis player Aman Dahiya was denied entry to the Australian Open owing to the rules that only vaccinated players would be allowed to enter. However, in earlier development, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic was granted a medical exemption and has been allowed to participate in the tournament by the officials, despite being unvaccinated. This move of the Victoria state government has stirred quite a controversy worldwide.

Aman Dahiya, 17 who hails from Haryana had made it to the Australian Open Junior Championships but was denied entry as he was yet to be vaccinated. Owing to the fact that vaccination for teenagers had only begun in India recently, Dahiya’s coach also explored the possibility of getting him vaccinated outside India. However, this could not be made possible because of logistics and funding issues.

Aman Dahiya (world ranking. 78) currently trains at Altevol Tennis academy in Ahmedabad and had even played with blisters at the ITF Asian B1 Championships in Pune, last month with a hope to qualify for the Australian Open.

‘Are rules different for bigger players?’ Dahiya’s coach asks

Dahiya’s coach Jignesh Rawal has lashed out at the Australian Open organisers for their preferential treatment of Djokovic and discrimination against the Indian Player. “Are the rules different if you’re a bigger player?” He asked. Sighting this as a case of discrimination, he lashed, “They exempted Djokovic but denied a visa to us on same grounds. Aman is 17 – when we applied for a visa he was not eligible for the vaccine so is that not enough for a medical exemption.”

Rawal clarified that earlier he had sought permission for Aman to be vaccinated with a single dose with a seven-day quarantine after arrival in Australia. First, they agreed to quarantine but then wrote back to us saying they can not allow Dahiya without completing 2 doses.

“He (Aman) has 15 ITF titles, eight in singles and seven in doubles. Not many Indians can claim that in the last 20 years.” Rawal mentioned that Aman comes from a humble family where his father earns Rs. 10,000 a month. No help has come from the state and central authorities, according to him.

Meanwhile, the vaccine exemption granted to Novak Djokovic has ignited much controversy worldwide. The move has been labelled as an act of ‘elitism’ in giving preferential treatment to big players. The vaccination status of Djokovic is still unclear as last year he said he was “opposed to vaccination”. The Serbian tennis player will defend his entry after being granted “medical exemption” from the vaccine mandate by the Australian Open authorities.

Earlier, Russian player Natalia Vikhlyantseva was denied entry because the Russian Sputnik vaccine is not recognised by the Australian govt.

While entry requirements should be the same for an aspiring player and a nine-time Australian Open Champion, the officials have minced no words while denying entry to Aman Dahiya. Should this act of preferential treatment be flagged off as discrimination alone; or does this qualify for racism?

Racism against Indians is not a new thing in Australia. The country’s portfolio in curtailing racism and abuse in the arena of sports is rather bleak. recently, Ex-Australian cricket player Kerry O’Keeffe racially abused Indian player Mayank Agrawal in a commentary. The instances of Australian fans racially sledging against Indian players during cricket matches have also increased.

17-year-old Aman Dahiya was not able to vaccinate himself in India owing to the vaccine regulations while Tennis star Novak Novak Djokovic chose voluntarily not to vaccinate himself. Yet the latter is being allowed to participate in the Open. Obscure regulations and preferential treatments in sports are disheartening to see.

After the stampede in Bareilly Marathon, Congress party cancels ‘big’ election rallies in all poll-bound states citing Covid-19

OpIndia Staff
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After the stampede in Bareilly Marathon, Congress party cancels ‘big’ election rallies in all poll-bound states citing Covid-19

The Congress party has announced that it is cancelling all the upcoming ‘big’ election rallies which were scheduled in Uttar Pradesh and other four election-bound states. On 5 January 2022, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal informed that the party took this decision today considering the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic. The five states where assembly elections are scheduled to take place in the next couple of months are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

Earlier, it was reported that the Congress party has cancelled its election rallies only in Uttar Pradesh, where it has no electoral prospect. Congress spokesman Lallan Kumar had said that the party has cancelled its big poll rallies in Uttar Pradesh till the Covid-19 situation improves on the instruction of general secretary Priyanka Gandhi. The party also cancelled the marathon races it had planned in the state after a marathon in Barreily had resulted in a stamped-like situation. Marathon races were scheduled to take place in Azamgarh, Varanasi, Ghaziabad and Aligarh this week, but they stand cancelled now.

Later today the party announced that it is cancelling all big election rallies in all five poll-bound states, not just Uttar Pradesh. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, while addressing to media, said, “Congress has decided to postpone major rallies in Uttar Pradesh and other poll-bound states. We have asked state units to assess the COVID-19 situation in their states and take a decision on holding rallies.”

Reportedly, the party will organise small gatherings through ‘Nukkad Natak’ and conduct door-to-door campaigns to reach out to the voters ahead of the assembly polls.

Even though the party announced that it is cancelling ‘big’ election rallies, it didn’t define what are ‘big’ rallies. Moreover, the party is replacing ‘big’ rallies with small gatherings, which means it will still hold election rallies on a smaller scale.

There has been an increasing demand from various sectors to cancel rallies or even postpone elections in view of the impending third wave of Covid-19 in the country, particularly driven by the Omicron variant. By taking this decision, the Congress party may be able to force other parties also to suspend big poll rallies.

However, this step taken by Congress is seen as an attempt to cover up the stampede incidence in Bareilly that happened during a marathon organized with a rally of Priyanka Gandhi who is on her election tour titled “Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon.” It is notable that few teen girls were injured in that incident and Congress has seemingly taken this decision in response to the criticism on the party after irresponsible statements by the party members in support of this mishap.

What exactly happened in Bareilly?

It is now almost evident that the decision taken by the Congress party is largely influenced by the outrage and criticism it had to face after the Bareilly stampede incidence. It had happened during a marathon organized by the local Congress leader and ex-mayor of the city Supriya Aron. It was supposedly organized in line with the current campaign of the Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, which is titled “Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon.”

As the marathon was started girls and women started running. In a matter few seconds, girls in the front rows fell down. They were followed by hundreds of women and girls running behind them. The girls survived the injuries. Had the runners behind them not been stopped, it would have been a yet bigger stampede that could have cause even the death of a few of them. Congress had to face a lot of criticism for this. Adding to the worse Surpiya Aron termed it as a result of human tendency. This too attracted a lot of outrage in social media.

As the number of new Covid-19 cases in the country keeps rising, abiding by the original election schedule also looks subject to the situation. At this juncture, Congress has cleverly shifted the reason of cancelling the rallies to the current COVID-19 situations and dodged the decisions of resuming the rallies towards its state entities.

Sexual slurs, rape threats and explicit images: How hate-filled objectification of Hindu women continues unabated on social media

Jinit Jain
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Sexual slurs, rape threats and explicit images: How hate-filled objectification of Hindu women continues unabated on social media

Internet might be the biggest boon of the 21st century. It is because of the Internet that people can communicate with one another more fluidly than at any other time in history. It has empowered people to work from remote places without having the need to visit their offices, something which was treasured during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also played a part in mobilising help for the needy like witnessed during the COVID times when online campaigns were run to help those adversely affected by the pandemic.

However, besides all the benefits that it has provided, the Internet also seems to have unlocked something dark in humanity. It is being used by terrorists to plan attacks and draw fresh blood. It is being used by criminals to devise newer ways of committing crimes. It is also used by sexual predators to target and attack vulnerable people. But in recent times, nothing illuminates the dark side of the Internet better than the brazen objectification and sexualisation of women that is pervasive on it.

A few days ago, a controversy erupted when hundreds of pictures of Muslim women were misused and uploaded by an unidentified group on an app using GitHub by the name of ‘Bulli Bai’. The app was hosted at the URL bullibai.github.io, however, the same was taken down after people started pointing out how the app on social media targeted Muslim women and objectified them. The news instantly drew national and international headlines as media organisations focused on the religious profiling of women done before subjecting them to misogynistic attacks. Authorities took cognisance of the online outrage and swift action followed.

However, since the religiously motivated attack against women became the focal point of national discussion, many social media users pointed out instances from the past that have gone unpunished and unreported as they could not garner the kind of outrage and the attention that ‘Bulli Bai’ deal case attracted. They highlighted that Muslim women are not the only ones at the receiving end of such attacks that are borne out of misogyny and religious bigotry.

In fact, women, on the whole, are being subjected to such misogynistic treatment online, which often goes unnoticed because of the power of anonymity that the Internet and social media platforms offer to the culprits, who conveniently hide behind fake or contrived identities to perpetuate their perversity.

Much like Muslim women, Hindu women, too, have also suffered a fair share of religiously motivated attacks against them, but they are often slipped under the radar because highlighting them would be politically incorrect and could “jeopardise the secular fabric of the country.” Here are some instances from the past that were reported by OpIndia and some others brought to our notice by users. Viewer discretion is advised as the pictures are sexually explicit in nature.

Social media users highlight online harassment of Hindu women that goes unchecked and unpunished

There are many pages on Facebook with a sizeable following that talk about targeting Hindu women because of their religion. The images shared on these pages, which are mostly explicit, show Hindu women with identifiable markers such as sindoor, bangles and bindi that differentiates Hindu women from others. The posts uploaded on these pages exhort followers to target and sexualise Hindu women.

Image Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook

Besides Facebook, Instagram is another social media platform that is rife with misogyny and harassment of Hindu women. There are countless anonymous accounts active on the social media platform that routinely indulge in objectifying women by sharing pictures of them with identifiable markers to portray them as Hindus, along with pictures of men that are superimposed with Islamic symbols such as the crescent moon to characterise them as Muslims.

Source: Instagram
Source: Instagram

Then, there are Broadcast lists and channels dedicated to sexualising and commoditising Hindu women.

Such egregious content has also been shared on Reddit. In July 2021, Reddit came under the scanner for hosting pornographic images of Hindu women lusting for Muslim men. The Reddit accounts, which were often private, engaged in the dehumanisation of Hindu women and the photographs were accompanied by the crass language of the highest order.

Even the audio-only chat app Clubhouse has been misused by some depraved individuals to continue their misogyny against Hindu women. On June 9, an audio clip of Clubhouse conversation between the alleged social media’ influencers’ started to make rounds on Twitter where the speaker normalised ‘hate sex’ with ‘sanghis’ because women are ‘hot’. In the undated conversation, that happened on the Clubhouse app in a room titled “sex with your ex” on the topic “Do you only date hot people”, one speaker identified as Neeraj Kadamboor (Instagram ID kadamboorneeraj) made a derogatory remark on women who are opposed to his political ideology.

Then, there are independent websites as well where religious targeting of Hindu women is rampant. One such was interfaithxxx.com, which was recently highlighted by activist Anshul Saxena after the ‘Bulli Bai’ deal case came to light. The website, which he claimed targeted Hindu women by concocting stories and fake news against them, was removed from the Internet last year.

As sexual harassment of women based on their religion created quite a stir on social media, Saxena drew attention towards a Telegram channel named ‘Hindu Ran*yan’ that was using images of Hindu women with derogatory, sexually explicit references for harassment and abuse. Saxena had tagged Mumbai Police, highlighting the targeted harassment and potential sexual abuse of Hindu women via the channel.

After his tweet, some people on social media started discussing why the government was not taking against such platforms. Many users tagged IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in their tweets and asked him to take action against such channels. Taking cognisance of the tweet where he was tagged, the IT minister replied that he has initiated action against that particular Telegram channel and it has been blocked.

In yet another tweet, Saxena shared a few Facebook pages that have been targeting Hindu women. Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, took cognisance of Anshul’s tweet and responded that he has informed Facebook’s parent company Meta and had the controversial pages enabling sexualisation of Hindu women removed.

Stringent cyber laws and proactive law enforcement agencies needed to curb the menace of online harassment

The above-listed incidents go to show that not just Muslim women but Hindu women are also subjected to cyber harassment and potential sexual abuse on the basis of their religion. While it is appreciable that Ministers are taking cognisance of incidents of sexual objectification and harassment on Twitter and other social media platforms, but this cannot be an ideal way of ensuring that women do not endure online abuse.

But, unfortunately, despite repeated attempts by social media users to highlight such abuse, these issues seldom get the attention that they deserve and only some of them are brought to notice, often depending on the discretion of Ministers or influential people. In some cases that manage to gain prominence, the pages and abusive accounts get suspended but those who are responsible for creating and running them are hardly brought to book.

These occurrences underscore the importance of having stringent cyber laws and an equally stringent cyber body that proactively scours the Internet for potential cases of online abuse, including harassment based on religion. There still exist cyber organisations that are entrusted with the task of checking online abuse. However, the fact that such incidents keep cropping up and with increasing frequency indicate that they are not useful in reining in the abuse that is peddled online. And with social media users routinely tagging ministers, actors, social media influencers to draw their attention towards online abuse, it is all the more important that the Centre creates a robust mechanism to address public grievances on online harassment, including religious targeting of women.

Unless the government commissions a statutory body and sanctions it with broad powers to nab and prosecute the culprits, such religious targeting of women is bound to continue. And as it continues, Hindu women will be the worst affected by this scourge as speaking up for Hindu victims of religious bigotry invariably invites allegations of majoritarianism, rising intolerance and so on and so forth.

‘Congress ke khooni iraade nakaam rahe’: BJP leader Smriti Irani on PM’s security lapse in Punjab

OpIndia Staff
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‘Congress ke khooni iraade nakaam rahe’: BJP leader Smriti Irani on PM’s security lapse in Punjab

The Minister of Women and Child Development of India, Smriti Irani, on Wednesday launched a blistering attack against the Congress government in Punjab over a major lapse in Prime Minister Modi’s security detail.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade was stuck on a flyover in Punjab on Wednesday for nearly 20 minutes due to farmers blocking the flyover. Private cars were seen approaching the cavalcade, which was a major security breach. The BJP has accused the Punjab government of failing to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road. PM Modi was scheduled to address a rally in Ferozepur today, but the event had to be cancelled.

In a press conference convened on Wednesday evening, Smriti Irani alleged that the police functionaries in the state were directed and convenienced to breach the security of the Prime Minister and bring him harm.

“Such is the breakdown of law & order in Punjab that the DGP, Police claims he’s incapable of providing security support to the PMO and security details,” Ms Irani said while lambasting the Punjab government.

“Such is the state of administration in Punjab that a security detail and run that is a protocol administratively to be followed by a state head was dismantled so that PM Modi could be brought to harm,” Ms Irani further added.

The BJP leader also raised questions on the decision of the Punjab DGP to give an all-clear to PM’s security detail for the route that the PM was to undertake. She also questioned how the protesters came to know about the route the Prime Minister would take since it is always kept under wraps.

“Who in the Punjab Govt gave information about the PM’s route to individuals who planted themselves atop the flyover? Video evidence, now publicly available, bring such questions to the fore,” Ms Irani said.

Stating that it was a conspiracy to bring harm to PM Modi, Irani said, “So many people reaching there is not just a coincidence, it’s a conspiracy. Who is responsible for the lapse? Punjab police remained the mute spectator, no security protocol followed.”

The Amethi MP also said that the security on behalf of the state government did not respond to any calls to secure the Prime Minister. Instead, the Congress leaders were happy and joyous that PM’s security detail was breached, Irani added.

When PM Modi had his security breached, Congress leaders erupted with joy, asking him how his Josh was! PM Modi, magnanimous as ever, on his way back, communicated ‘Zinda laut raha hoon(I am returning alive),” the BJP leader said.

The acerbic statements from Smriti Irani came after Punjab Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa admitted to a major security lapse, saying that an alternate route should have been planned earlier but was not done.

Punjab govt endangers PM Modi’s security, allows protestors to block his convoy

In a major lapse and seemingly deliberate act to endanger the Prime Minister’s security, the Punjab government has today allowed political protestors to block the Prime Minister’s convoy. As per reports, the PM’s convoy was blocked for over 20 minutes by protestors at a flyover about 30 km away from Hussainiwala.

In a statement, the Home Ministry said that the PM was scheduled to visit the National Martyr’s Memorial in Punjab’s Hussainiwala by helicopter. However due to adverse weather conditions, the helicopter ride was cancelled and the PM chose to go by road, which would take more than 2 hours.

As per protocol, necessary confirmations were done with Punjab DGP and the PM’s convoy started after confirmation for security arrangements was provided by Punjab Police. However, at a flyover about 30 km away from Hussainiwala, the road was found to be blocked by some protestors.

The Prime Minister’s vehicle was struck in the flyover for 15-20 minutes, as per the statement. Calling this a major lapse in the security of the PM, the Home Ministry stated that the PM’s travel plan was communicated well in advance to the state government. The state government is required to make necessary arrangements for security, logistics and also make a contingency plan ready in case of unexpected issues.

Does Congress want to assassinate PM Modi? Party workers celebrate after major security lapse, declare protests were planned

OpIndia Staff
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Does Congress want to assassinate PM Modi? Party workers celebrate after major security lapse, declare protests were planned

Earlier today, in a major security lapse by the Punjab government, PM Modi’s convoy was deliberately endangered by the Punjab Police. The PM was on his way to the National Martyr’s Memorial in Hussainiwala when the PM’s vehicle was stopped by a group of political protestors.

The Home Ministry has stated that the details of the PM’s travel and route were shared with the Punjab government and the convoy had started only after due confirmations by the Punjab Police. In a major security lapse, a group of protestors were allowed to block the PM’s convoy for over 20 minutes, causing a dangerous lapse in the security of the nation’s PM.

Soon after the major security lapse, Congress leaders and workers have started celebrating, hailing how the ‘protesting farmers’ successfully forced the PM to go back. Congress’ social media head Gaurav Pandhi has almost admitted that the blocking of the PM’s convoy was a deliberate act and the state government headed by the Congress party was aware of the protests.

Tweet by Gaurav Pandhi

Gaurav Pandhi then shared a series of tweets, stating that PM Modi is ‘not welcome in Punjab’ because the protesting farmers had to sit outside Delhi for months.

In images shared in media, it can be seen that dozens of vehicles are blocking the path of the PM’s convoy, while a meagre police team stands.

Tweet by Pandhi

Pandhi’s tweets make it amply clear that the Congress leadership (and government in Punjab) was aware of the protests organised, and the roadblocks. Despite this, the PM’s convoy was made to pass through a route that was blocked by protesters, and as per the Home Ministry statement, despite giving confirmation to the PM’s security staff, the state police did not deploy measures to clear the road and did not provide them with an alternate route.

Punjab CM gives lame excuses, Amarinder Singh says CM and Randhwa both lying

Following the major security lapse, Punjab’s CM Channi has come up with a strange excuse. Speaking to News18, Channi has stated that the security lapse was ‘natural’. “Ye Kudrati Hua”, the Punjab CM has said.

As per reports, CM Channi did not even respond to phone calls after the major security lapse was reported. Ex-CM Amarinder Singh has lashed out at the Channi government, saying that the place is barely 20 km away from the Pakistan border. He has stated that both Channi and Home Minister Randhwa are lying.

He added that the PM of the country is entitled to visit anywhere in the country and it is the state government’s fault that such a lapse happened. He stated he had been a CM for over 9 years, and he is well aware that when a PM visits, the state government is aware of the minute-by-minute schedule to ensure security.

Amarinder Singh asserted that the CM was to accompany the PM in the event in Hussainiwala and later to a hospital inauguration too. Only the public rally, which was a BJP event, was not for the CM, but the fact that the CM stayed away from the events and later Congress claimed ignorance, is enough to say that the security lapse was deliberate. He asserted again that both the CM and the state Home minister are lying.

Congress spokesperson ready with a dozen excuses

While the state government is shunning responsibility from the major security lapse and CM is giving lame excuses, the Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala is ready with a dozen excuses to justify the incident. He has claimed that the Union Home Ministry is lying and the state government was not aware of the PM’s road route.

Surjewala and many congress workers are sharing images of the empty chairs at the scheduled rally, which did not happen, and claiming that the PM cancelled his rally because he knew that people have not turned up in large numbers.

This claim is strange. Images and videos of the PM’s convoy being blocked and the major security lapse on the flyover is all over the media and social media. On one hand, Congress is saying that they knew protests were happening. The PM’s convoy was blocked, but they are also claiming that they were not aware of the road route.

Punjab home minister admits lapse

In a strange development, Deputy CM of Punjab Sukhjinder Randhawa has admitted before media that it was a security lapse. He has stated that there should have been an alternate route, but that was not done. He has stated that they were well aware of the PM’s route.

Congress leaders celebrating the endangerment of PM’s security

Not just Gaurav Pandhi and Surjewala, other Congress leaders are now openly celebrating the major endangerment of the Prime Minister’s security. Youth Congress leader Srinivas BV even used the same phrase that was used by Pakistanis to celebrate the Pulwama attack.

Tweet by Youth Congress chief Srinivas BV

‘Is this why Congress was against the Maybach vehicle?’ social media asks

Social media users have started to question Congress’ intentions and suspicious actions. Many users have asked if this was why Congress was so outraged against robust security measures taken for the PM’s safety and had questioned the recent inclusion of a Mercedes Maybach in the PM’s convoy.

‘Thank your CM from me, I survived’

The images and videos of the convoy block are flooding the internet. News channels are discussing how it was a close call and by allowing unchecked protestors so close to the PM’s convoy, the Punjab Police has endangered the safety of the nation’s Prime Minister.

ANI reported that PM Modi, after he returned to Bathinda airport, said to some officials, “Say thanks to your CM from me. I am alive and I have managed to reach Bathinda airport.”

Congress has been getting cosy with the same elements that had assassinated ex-PM Indira Gandhi

Congress has long been playing a dangerous game in Punjab. Their open support to the Khalistani elements fueling the farmer protests for over a year was already a matter of concern. By rampant appeasement of Khalistani elements and supporting voices that demand secession from India, Congress has been making it evident day by day that they will do anything to grab power and stay in power.

The party itself has a long history of its own leaders meeting mysterious ends. Congress echoing the statements of Islamist terrorists and Pakistan’s government are already known. Now, with the blatant and rather open appeasement of Khalistani secessionist elements in Punjab, Congress is perhaps sending a message that it will grab power by any means, even if it means another partition of India which, by the way, was also largely Congress’ doing.

Bikaner: Landlord asks shop owner to pay rent, Md Siddiq and his associates attack and shoot landlord’s relative Tejkaran Gehlot instead

OpIndia Staff
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Bikaner: Landlord asks shop owner to pay rent, Md Siddiq and his associates attack and shoot landlord’s relative Tejkaran Gehlot instead

The situation in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district became tense after a group of Muslims attacked a Hindu boy named Tejkaran Gehlot and shot him in the leg on Monday. A dispute between Gehlot and Muslims over a shop outside the Sohan Kothi complex in Bikaner, led to the blockage of the main road for five hours and disrupted public order in the district.

BJP Member Laxmikant Bharadwaj happened to share videos of the dreadful incident on Twitter. “Sajid, Sadik, Firoz, Irfan, Shahrukh, Sikander attacked Tejkaran Gelhlot in Bikaner. He has been shot in his leg”, he wrote. Further, he added that the Muslims in large numbers were pelting stones at the public who decided to keep shut the markets in support of Tejkaran. According to the reports, the public was up till night, demanding strict action against the accused.

What exactly happened–

The dispute revolved around a shop outside the Sohan Kothi area, named ‘Dubai Darbar’ which was given on rent by Rajesh Tanwar to Mohommad Siddiq. It is alleged that the latter failed to pay the rent for several months as a result of which he (Siddiq) was asked to vacate the shop.

On Tuesday, as Tejkaran Gehlot, brother-in-law of Rajesh Tanwar, passed by the shop, the Muslim men led by Siddiq attacked him and fired at his leg. Frightened by the gunshot at around 5:30 pm in the evening, the entire market in Sohan Kothi was walled off. Tejkaran was lying on the road for a long time. Muslims reached the spot in large numbers and started vandalizing the vehicles, burning tyres and furniture.

The chaos elevated when the public reached the Ambedkar Circle and the Hospital Road in Bikaner. Some of them even entered the PBM hospital and disturbed the trauma centre inside. The district roads were blocked for more than 5 hours further disrupting the public passage.

Police Action in the case

Reports say that after receiving information about the incident, Bikaner Police force including ASP City Amit Kumar, CO City Deepchand, Kotgate SHO Manoj Machra, Sadar SHO SN Godara had reached the spot. People who had gathered at the Ambedkar Circle demanded the arrest of the accused. Later, the police conducted a flag march at 12 pm.

In a reply to Lakmikant Bharadwaj’s tweet, the Bikaner Police said that it has filed a complaint in the case already and the situation is under control now. “The issue is not that big. It revolves around a dispute over a shop in Sohan Kothi. The police had arrested several people in the case earlier. We are investigating the issue now”, the tweet read. It is important to note that the Bikaner police earlier this month, had arrested several people including Tejkaran Gehlot over the same dispute. Tejkaran was however granted bail.

Kotgate SHO Manoj Machra said that on the report of the complainant Prakash Solanki at 11 pm, a case of murderous assault was registered against Mohammad Sajid, Mohammad Gul, Mohammad Firoz, Mohammad Saddiq, Firoz, Irfan, Shahrukh, Sikandar, Zafar and Saddam. The raids continued till late night at the premises of the accused for arrest.

‘Everyone knew he was travelling by road’: Punjab Dy CM admits lapse in PM Modi’s security, Ferozepur SSP suspended

OpIndia Staff
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‘Everyone knew he was travelling by road’: Punjab Dy CM admits lapse in PM Modi’s security, Ferozepur SSP suspended

After a major security lapse in Punjab where the convoy of PM Modi was struck on an overbridge for almost 20 mins and had to return due to a roadblock put up by some ‘protestors’ the Punjab govt has admitted that it was a lapse. Punjab Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has admitted that it was a major security lapse, saying that an alternate route should have been planned earlier but was not done.

The Congress leader also busted the claim of several Congress leaders and members, who were saying that PM Modi’s travel to Punjab by road was not pre-planned and it was not informed to the state govt in advance. Dy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa informed that everyone was aware that PM Modi was travelling by road and Punjab Police was supposed to have made arrangements for the same.

Randhawa said that a security meeting was also organized between the SPG, Punjab Police, and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat regarding the road trip. He further admitted that Punjab govt failed to plan a contingency plan, which is required as per protocol.

“I am accepting an alternative route was to be there. It was not there, I am accepting, amitting the same,” he said.

Responding the remark by Punjab CM Charanjit Channi that the blockage of PM’s road was a ‘natural event’, Randhawa said that he does not whether the CM has security lapse or not. “I don’t know if Channi Sahab has refused or not. I am not with him. Everyone knows PM Modi was going via road, there was nothing confidential about it, it was in the media. I don’t know the development yet,” he told Republic TV.

While the PM Modi was supposed to travel to Ferozepur for a rally via helicopter, he opted to travel via road as helicopter ride was not possible due to bad weather. But as per security protocol, such contingencies are always anticipated and accordingly, the road travel was also planned. Accordingly, full rehearsal of the route was carried out by Punjab Police and SPG a day ahead, which went smoothly.

In the meanwhile, the SSP of Ferozepur Harman Hans has been suspended for the security lapse. However, the way the Congress supporters were celebrating the ‘failed assassination attempt of the PM’, a detailed probe by a central agency may be ordered to look into the issue.

Jharkhand: Former Maoist burnt alive by villagers for illegally cutting Sal trees, over 200 people booked

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Former Maoist burnt alive by villagers for illegally cutting Sal trees, over 200 people booked

A mob in the Simdega district of the Jharkhand burnt alive a former Maoist named Sanju Pradhan on Tuesday (December 4) on the charge of illegally cutting and selling the Sal wood forest trees.

The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon at Besrajara locality under the Kolebira police station of the district. Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has directed local police and administration to investigate the matter and take strong legal against the accused.

Pradhan, a native of Chhapridipa, was earlier arrested for his alleged involvement in the Maoist activities. After he was released on bail, Pradhan started the business of selling wood.

Villagers had accused him of illegally cutting Sal woods from the Khutkatti forest land. But the deceased had denied the allegation. In the tribal tradition, Khutkatti forests are those which are owned by the tribal community. Trees on Khutkatti forest land especially the Sal woods are considered very sacred among tribals.

Tribals were angry with Pradhan after the forest department on October 21 last year seized a huge quantity of timber around 120 CFT from his possession. A case 151/2021 was also lodged against him.

On Tuesday afternoon, villagers held a meeting at Babalkera panchayat office. Around 200 villagers dragged Pradhan away from his residence and started beating him in front of his family members and others. The mob later on collected wooden logs from his house and set him on fire.  

Villagers prevented the police from entering the village. Later on, Simdega SP Shams Tabrez, SDPO Devid A Dodrai, the officer in charge of police stations of Bano, Thethaitangar, and Kolebira came to the village. Police seized the half-burnt body of the deceased and sent it for post-mortem.

So far, no arresting has been made, but the police booked the village head Subham Budho and 12 others as the named accused whereas 200 unknown persons also have been booked for riot and murder. Police have recorded statements of the wife of the deceased Sapna Devi and his mother Jasmait Devi who are the eyewitnesses of this case.

“Raids are being carried to arrest accused persons and police deployment has been made. This is a heinous crime and the accused persons took the law in their hand.  Villagers did not approach police if they had any complaint against the deceased,” said Simdega SP.

Deceased Pradhan was earlier associated with the banned Naxal outfit PLFI and he was booked and charge-sheeted by police in three Naxal cases. But after being released on bail some years back he was away from Naxal activities.

Punjab govt endangers PM Modi’s security, allows protestors to block his convoy: Read Home Ministry’s statement

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab govt endangers PM Modi’s security, allows protestors to block his convoy: Read Home Ministry’s statement

In a major lapse, and seemingly deliberate act to endanger the Prime Minister’s security, the Punjab government has today allowed political protestors to block the Prime Minister’s convoy. As per reports, the PM’s convoy was blocked for over 20 minutes by protestors at a flyover about 30 km away from Hussainiwala.

Home Ministry statement on the issue, image via Shiv Aroor

In a statement, the Home Ministry has stated that the PM was scheduled to visit the National Martyr’s Memorial in Punjab’s Hussainiwala by helicopter. However due to adverse weather conditions, the helicopter ride was cancelled and the PM chose to go by road, which would take more than 2 hours.

As per protocol, necessary confirmations were done with Punjab DGP and the PM’s convoy started after confirmation for security arrangements was provided by Punjab Police. However, at a flyover about 30 km away from Hussainiwala, the road was found to be blocked by some protestors.

The Prime Minister’s vehicle was stuck in the flyover for 15-20 minutes, as per the statement. Calling this a major lapse in the security of the PM, the Home Ministry stated that the PM’s travel plan was communicated well in advance to the state government. The state government is required to make necessary arrangements for security, logistics and also make a contingency plan ready in case of unexpected issues.

The statement also mentioned that the Punjab government also neglected to deploy additional security to secure any movement on the road. After the major security lapse, the PM’s security staff decided to head the convoy back to the Bathinda airport.

The Home Ministry has stated that they are taking cognisance of the major security lapse displayed by the Punjab government and is seeking a detailed report. The Punjab government has also been directed to fix responsibility for the major lapse and take strict action against persons responsible.

Images of the PM’s blocked convoy have gone viral on social media.

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