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Indian Army busts Chinese propaganda video, shares pictures of its Jawans unfurling Tricolour at Galwan Valley

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Army busts Chinese propaganda video, shares pictures of its Jawans unfurling Tricolour at Galwan Valley

After a section of Indian media and journalists amplified a Chinese propaganda video, pictures of the Indian Army put paid to the speculations of the Chinese flag being unfurled in Galwan valley by sharing the latest pictures of their soldiers standing with Tricolour in their hand at the same place.

Indian Army soldiers at Galwan Valley

As per the security establishment, the pictures of the Indian Army jawans holding the Indian flag in the Galwan Valley is from New Year’s eve. The pictures show a contingent of the Indian Army personnel raising the Tricolour at the site where India-China clashes took place in June 2020.

Indian Amry soldiers holding Tricolour at Galwan Valley

Sections of Indian media amplify Chinese propaganda video on intruding in Galwan Valley

The pictures have emerged after some Indian media channels and journalists lapped up the Chinese propaganda video released a few days back, which alleged that Chinese soldiers were unfurling their flag in Galwan Valley, the friction point between India and China that saw bloody clashes between the armed forces of the two countries in June 2020.

In the 45-second Chinese propaganda video shared by Shen Shiwei and CCP mouthpiece Global Times, PLA personnel were seen unfurling the China flag at what they claimed to be the Galwan Valley. The video was amplified by some media organisations, journalists, opposition politicians, including Rahul Gandhi, who took the Chinese claims of intruding into Galwan Valley at face value and slammed the government for not being able to safeguard the country’s territorial integrity.

However, the Government of India refuted the Chinese claims made in the video, adding that the clip was shot not at the India-China Line of Actual Control along the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh but was from deep inside the Chinese territory.

“It is clear that the video was shot within the Chinese side of the valley. So, any action, such as blocking the video may not be needed,” a source in the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeiTY) was quoted as saying by News 18.

It is worth noting that before releasing its propaganda video on Galwan Valley, China had tried to provoke India by renaming 15 Arunachal Pradesh villages with its own name. The Ministry of External Affairs of India had then strongly registered its protest with Beijing, asserting that the border state has been and will always be an integral part of India and “assigning invented names does not alter this fact.”

India-China clashes at Galwan Valley

On June 15, 2020, the Chinese troops had attacked the Indian troops along the LAC near the Ladakh border. The clashes had resulted in India losing 20 of its soldiers. Estimates suggest China had lost 43 of its men. However, after months of denial, China officially acknowledged the loss of at least 5 of its soldiers.

The killing of the Indian soldiers marked the Indian Army’s worst losses since the Kargil War in 1999 and signified the most intense military combat between India and China since 1967 when about 80 Indian soldiers and at least 300 Chinese PLA troops were killed in the course of the savage skirmishes that broke out near the Nathu La and Cho Lo passes, the strategic gateway to the crucial Chumbi valley.

The fallen Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley clashes were honoured by the government and their last rites were performed in the presence of government representatives and were accorded with the due status of martyrs. PM Modi and the then COAS Bipin Rawat had also visited to meet and speak to the injured soldiers.

Old habits die hard: Pakistan refuses to take back the body of intruder killed by Army along LOC while trying to infiltrate into India

OpIndia Staff
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Old habits die hard: Pakistan refuses to take back the body of intruder killed by Army along LOC while trying to infiltrate into India

Pakistan following its old line of disowning and refusing to take back its own people has once again refused to take back its slain terrorist’s body after Border Security Forces (BSF) neutralised the intruder in Jammu’s Arnia town during the late hours of January 3, reports Republic TV. The Pakistani terrorist was neutralised in gun firing after the Border Security Force (BSF) patrol team detected suspicious movement along the barbed wire fence at the border outpost in the forward area at Border Out Post (BOP) of Balley Chak.

“Alert troops of BSF, after noticing the suspicious movement of a Pak intruder in Arnia sector of Jammu in an area opposite to BP No 978, challenged him. But he did not stop thus compelling them (troops) to open fire,” the official said. “Intruder was killed on the spot,” an official said.

When the killed terrorist was searched after the firing, the Indian Armed Forces discovered not only a sack with the markings “Karachi Fertilizers Company Limited,” but also a COVID-19 vaccine certificate that had been acknowledged by qualified and authorized Pakistani authorities.

Following this, the Indian Army contacted the cross-border Pakistani forces and offered them to take over the dead body for the last rites of the dead terrorist, but the Pakistani forces refused to account for the same.

The Pakistani Army not only refused to take back the intruder but the Pakistan Defence Analyst Brigadier Harris Nawaz was also seen shielding Pakistan’s interests by saying that his country did not indulge in such activities as Pakistan ‘does not need to’. He claimed the youth of Kashmir are killing Indian soldiers and alleged that the BSF has been killing innocent women and civilians in Kashmir.

Following the incident, the BSF reported that it found three AK-47 rifles, five packets of heroin, four pistols, five AK-47 rifle magazines, two pistol magazines, 14 AK-47 rounds, and seven 9mm bullets during a search operation for further intruders or any recoveries. Around 10.10 a.m., BSF troops from 98 Battalion discovered the rifles and ammunition hidden in a sack bag amid shrubs near Border Post 35. Along with this, the Indian troop had also shot and killed another intruder in the Bullechak region.

Pakistan has an old habit of disowning and refusing to accept its own people

The failure of Islamabad to accept the sacrifices made by its troops fighting their country’s war is nothing new. Since their misadventure in Kargil two decades ago, the country’s demeanour had been this way.

In 2019, Pakistan has refused to accept the bodies of the 5-7 Pakistani intruders who were killed by the Indian Army after they had tried to infiltrate the country. After a successful operation, the Indian Army had offered Pakistan Army to take over the dead bodies of their five to seven Pakistan BAT army soldiers and terrorists.

During the Kargil war too, the Pakistani Army had disowned soldiers and officers from the Northern Light Infantry, which had taken over Indian installations. These infantry soldiers had acted upon the orders of the Pakistani Army’s top brass, General Pervez Musharaff. Their Pakistani government, however, repaid their sacrifices by denying that they were their soldiers. Despite strong evidence to the contrary, Islamabad defended its position in international forums, alleging that the infiltrators in question were ‘mujahideen’ ‘terrorists,’ not their regular Army soldiers.

The retrieved Pakistani military IDs and Ordnance Factory marked weaponry issued to the Pakistan army were shown to international agencies by the Indian government. The recovered personal diaries from Pakistani soldiers revealed their challenges, goals, and the severe conditions under which they were stationed.

Despite this, Pakistan’s government had maintained its denial that its forces were engaged. The Indian forces were forced to bury the Pakistani soldiers with full military honours out of professional courtesy and respect for their foe, despite their own country claiming they were not their soldiers.

Times of India attempts to downplay West Bengal post-poll violence, twists CBI sending 21 rape cases back to state formed SIT

OpIndia Staff
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Times of India attempts to downplay West Bengal post-poll violence, twists CBI sending 21 rape cases back to state formed SIT

The heinous post-poll violence unleashed in the state of West Bengal has been whitewashed ever since the Assembly elections. The media has hardly reported on the crimes of rape, murder and looting and turned a blind eye. After the High Court came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government, the CBI has been investigating the cases. However, the media seems to be still at the job of whitewashing the brutal post-poll violence in Bengal after the assembly elections where Mamata Banerjee won with a thumping majority.

Times of India report published on January 4 that was headlined: “Post-poll violence in Bengal: No proof in 21 rape, rape-attempt cases mentioned by NHRC, CBI says”.

The report published by TOI

By the headline of the Times of India report, it would seem to the reader that in 21 cases of rape, no proof has been found and therefore, the cases were supposedly fake. However, that is not the truth.

A cursory read, however, reveals the truth. The Free Press Journal published a report on January 3 that was titled: “West Bengal post-poll violence: CBI sends back 21 cases of molestation and rape to state formed SIT after failing to gather enough evidence”.

The report by The Free Press Journal

Essentially, the CBI moved 21 cases of rape or attempted rape that occurred during the West Bengal post-poll violence to a state-formed SIT in order to acquire additional evidence because it was unable to locate enough in these cases.

However, by tweaking the headline, the media outlets like the Times of India has attempted to infer that the CBI was unable to find any evidence in the charges of rape during the post-election violence in West Bengal. The insinuation of such a headline for the reader is clear – no such crime occurred.

In the article itself, the slant that Times of India is attempting to peddle is rather evident. In the first paragraph itself, Times of India called the post-poll violence that occurred in West Bengal as “alleged” violence. It is clear that by using the word “alleged”, Times of India is signalling to the readers that the violence, so far, is only an allegation and that no proof has been found for the violence yet.

Article by Times of India

Interestingly, Times of India does not specifically explain that it is entirely possible that the West Bengal Police’s SIT had failed to gather evidence adequately because the police has been accused earlier of not even filing FIRs in cases of post poll violence. This could may as well be an indictment of the West Bengal police and not of the merit of the rape cases being probed. However, the report by TOI insinuates differently.

Times of India further subtly raises doubts of the veracity of the post-poll violence in Bengal by putting the phrase “murder cases” under inverted commas, insinuating that the murders were merely allegations and that the veracity of the violence has not been authenticated yet.

Notably, on August 19, the five-member bench of the Calcutta High Court passed the order to form the SIT, as well as the CBI investigation after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), submitted its report on human rights violation in West Bengal. The NHRC has made quite a few damning revelations in the report which detailed the barbarity unleashed upon the political opponents.

The court had categorically stated that the SIT investigation will be monitored by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court. It means it will be difficult for the West Bengal Police and the Mamata Banerjee to distort and suppress facts of post-poll violence which Mamata Banerjee has denied.

West Bengal witnessed unprecedented post-poll violence where a large number of BJP workers and leaders were allegedly brutally murdered, prosecuted and raped by leaders and workers of Mamata Banerjee led ruling Trinamool Congress. This alleged state managed violence started right after assembly poll results were declared on May 2.

OpIndia had spoken to a Bengal post-poll violence rape victim, who had detailed the barbarism inflicted on her and several other BJP victims in many villages and towns in the interior parts of Bengal, by the TMC goons, with the connivance of state police, after Mamata Banerjee returned to power on May 2, 2021.

Media propaganda is subtle and often misses the mark with naïve audiences. The Times of India report is one of many such propaganda tools used frequently by the media.

Arvind Kejriwal tests positive for Covid after doing 4 rallies in a week, ‘superspreader’ memes flood the internet

OpIndia Staff
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Arvind Kejriwal tests positive for Covid after doing 4 rallies in a week, ‘superspreader’ memes flood the internet

On Tuesday (January 4), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal informed on Twitter that he had tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. The development comes days after the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) supremo participated in election campaigns in several states while flouting masking rules and social distancing guidelines.

In a tweet, Kejriwal said, “I have tested positive for Covid. Mild symptoms. Have isolated myself at home. Those who came in touch wid me in last few days, kindly isolate urself and get urself tested.”

It is pertinent to note that Kejriwal has undertaken more than 11 trips to the poll-bound states like Goa and Punjab to campaign for his party in the last 15 days. The fact that Arvind Kejriwal was campaigning for elections until yesterday (January 3) in Uttarkhand implies that he voluntarily risked the lives of several people, amidst the ongoing pandemic. The callous attitude, coupled with a complete disregard for the well-being of his party workers, had drawn the ire of netizens.

Social media users slam Arvind Kejriwal for prioritising election campaign over public well-being

Popular Twitter user (@TheAngryLord) wrote, “Kejriwal is Covid positive today, which means he has been attending rallied despite bearing Covid symptoms. Goes to show how low he can go for elections.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Inferno

Another user took potshots at the AAP supremo. He wrote, “Just like Wifi Router in Delhi, he stood in the middle of the road in Punjab to individually spread Coronavirus like a signal. This is because he belongs to an honest party.”

Screengrab of the tweet

Popular Twitter user, The Intrepid, shared a picture of a ‘maskless’ Arvind Kejriwal, waving at the crowd, and having no qualms about infecting people with the deadly Coronavirus in 3 different States.

Screengrab of the tweet

One Twitter suggested that Arvind Kejriwal was no less than a ‘superman’ capable of spreading the virus fast among people.

Screengrab of the tweet

One Twitter user, Ashwini Raj, reminded netizens of the earlier Coronavirus superspreaders Tablighi Jamat and urged social media users to focus on the new superspreader.

Screengrab of the tweet

One Twitter user posted a meme, suggesting that the Wuhan Coronavirus would feel ‘unsafe’ after entering the body of the AAP supremo.

Screengrab of the tweet

Twitter user (Naweed) dubbed Kejriwal as a ‘new variant’ of Coronavirus willing to make an entry into your home and infect your family.

Screengrab of the tweet

Opindia had reported in detail about the election campaign trail of Arvind Kejriwal, leading up to the announcement of him being Covid-19 positive. Considering only a week of his rally schedules, he was a part of Vijay Yatra in Chandigarh, Shanti rally in Patiala, had visited a temple in Amritsar, and held rallies in Lucknow and Dehradun since December 27, 2021. During the journey and the rallies, the AAP supremo may have come in contact with any number of people, who are now at the risk of getting infected.

Delhi CM had also addressed two of the important press conferences on January 1 and 2, one of which was specifically to share concerns about the rising COVID cases in Delhi. Meanwhile, Delhi CM Kejriwal himself was not seen following the COVID safety protocol in his rallies and press meets. He was seen socialising with people without a mask, in flagrant violation of COVID-appropriate behaviour and social distancing norms.

Noida: I-T raids on ACE Group’s Ajay Chaudhary, another close associate of Akhilesh Yadav

OpIndia Staff
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Noida: I-T raids on ACE Group’s Ajay Chaudhary, another close associate of Akhilesh Yadav

The Income Tax Department on Tuesday conducted raids at the properties of real estate company ACE Group and its promoter Ajay Chaudhary in Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Agra. According to the reports, Chaudhary is said to be a close aide of Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav.

I-T department officials are conducting raids at the premises of all ongoing projects of the ACE Group, as per reports. The raids had started at the Noida Sector 126 corporate offices of the organisation.

As per reports, over 30 locations related to Ajay Chaudhary are still being raided. It is pertinent to note that this is not the first time that an individual facing IT raids recently has been reported close to Akhilesh Yadav. In December, the premises of several SP leaders and associates like Manoj Yadav in Agra, Neetu Yadav aka Jainendra Yadav in Lucknow were raided by the IT sleuths.

Earlier, the Income Tax department from Varanasi had raided the residence of Rajeev Rai in the Sahadatpura area of the Mau district located in eastern UP. Rajeev Rai is the secretary and spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party.

Recently, the raids on perfume baron Piyush Jain and had resulted in the seizure of cash worth hundreds of crores. It was reported that Jain is a close associate of the Samajwadi Party. Later, Samajwadi Party MLC Pushparaj Jain was raided too.

Akhilesh Yadav has been vocal against the IT raids and has been alleging that the BJP government in the Centre and UP state is targeting him and his party ahead of the assembly elections because they are ‘scared to lose’. UP CM Yogi Adityanath had responded to those allegations with a ‘Chor Ki Dadhi Main Tinka’ (the thief makes himself known) jibe.

AIMPLB objects to ‘Surya Namaskar’ programmes at schools, asks Muslim students to boycott such events

OpIndia Staff
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AIMPLB objects to ‘Surya Namaskar’ programmes at schools, asks Muslim students to boycott such events

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board(AIMPLB) has objected to the central government’s directive to organise ‘Surya Namaskar’ in schools between January 1 to 7 on the 75th anniversary of Independence Day, stating that Islam prohibits ‘Surya Namaskar’ as it is a form of Surya puja.

The statement issued by the Muslim Personal Law Board and signed by general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said that customs and rituals of the majority community cannot be imposed on all religions. The letter also asked Muslim students to stay away from Surya Namaskar program. 

“Such a program should not be organised in schools at all, which causes problems for students of other religions. The government should envision programmes keeping national security in mind. Muslim students should boycott such programmes of Surya Namaskar organised in their schools. They should refrain from attending such program as Islam does not allow them to participate in such program,” the official letter by AIMPLB said.

Rahmani said the Centre is drifting away from the path of secularism and branded the ‘Surya Namaskar’ exercise planned across schools in country as a “false propaganda of patriotism.”

“As it is clear that on the occasion of 75th Independence Day, under the Secretary to the Government of India, the Ministry of Education has decided to run a project of Surya Namaskar in the states, in which 30 thousand schools will be covered in the first phase. This program is proposed from January 1 to January 7. A concert on Surya Namaskar is also planned on 26 January. This is unconstitutional and false propaganda of patriotism,” Rahmani added.

Govt directive to organise ‘Surya Namaskar’ in schools unconstitutional: AIMPLB

The letter also called the government order issued to all states through the Ministry of Education to observe Surya Namaskar unconstitutional. It said, the Constitution of India grants freedom and rights to people to profess their religion as per their own rituals, adding that the worshipping tradition of any particular religion cannot be imposed on the followers of other religions. 

“In Islam, worshipping Sun as a deity is not allowed. The government should withdraw their order and respect the secular nature of the Constitution. If the government is really concerned about the country, they should focus on real problems plaguing the country such as rising unemployment, inflation, devaluation of rupee, communal disharmony, security of country’s borders etc.,” the letter said.

Shiv Sena led BMC giving ‘lame excuses’ to delay demolition of compound wall of Amitabh Bachchan’s Juhu bungalow: Maharashtra Lokayukta

OpIndia Staff
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Shiv Sena led BMC giving ‘lame excuses’ to delay demolition of compound wall of Amitabh Bachchan’s Juhu bungalow: Maharashtra Lokayukta

Maharashtra Lokayukta has said on Tuesday that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Shiv Sena-controlled civic body, has been delaying the demolition of the compound wall of the bungalow of Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai’s Juhu area for a road-widening project, citing lame excuses.

“The reason given by the BMC for not carrying out the demolition doesn’t appear to be correct. Whenever a road-widening project is undertaken, adequate budgetary provision is made by the BMC for implementation. It is obvious that the BMC is delaying the demolition of the boundary wall by giving lame excuses,” the Lokayukta order said.

In its order, Maharashtra Lokayukta Justice V M Kanade stated that the demolition work will be delayed by at least a year as things stand now and that the civic authority should issue a notice to the deputy engineer (roads) western suburbs about the delay.

“It is a matter of common knowledge that after May 30, no demolition work is carried out during monsoon. The work, therefore, would be delayed by at least one more year,” it added.

The BMC, on its part, had stated that it has not taken over a section of the bungalow site since it lacks a contractor for the road-widening project. The civic authority further stated that it will demolish the wall and acquire the land in the following fiscal year when a road contractor is hired for the project.

Tulip Miranda, a Congress corporator who complained to the Maharashtra Lokayukta about the civic inaction in October 2021, said the BMC demolished the boundary wall of building premises adjacent to the superstar’s bungalow in 2019 and took over a portion of its land for road-widening but left his bungalow untouched.

The Congress had alleged that the BMC hadn’t acted despite asking survey officials to demarcate the portion in July.

It may be noted that the BMC had alerted Amitabh Bachchan and seven other nearby property owners about the road widening project in 2017. Officials had informed them, then, that the city will take the compound portion of these buildings and widen Sant Dnyaneshwar Road from 40 to 60 feet to relieve traffic congestion in the road running from Prateeksha to the ISKCON Temple. But, with no development in the acquisition from July to October last year, the Congress leader had moved the Lokayukta.

Australia: Aggrieved by ‘vaccine mandates’, man pours gasoline and sets himself on fire. Watch video

OpIndia Staff
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Australia: Aggrieved by ‘vaccine mandates’, man pours gasoline and sets himself on fire. Watch video

On Saturday (January 1), a man set himself ablaze in full public glare to protest against the vaccine mandates imposed by the government in Victoria in Australia.

As per reports, the incident took place at Richmond at around 8:30 pm on New Year’s Day. The unidentified man initially yelled against the Coronavirus vaccine mandates in Victoria before pouring gasoline on himself and his car and setting them on fire.

The man was eventually rescued by police officers and firefighters who extinguished the fire and rushed the victim to a hospital in an ambulance. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. “Shocked bystanders pinned down the man as police and firefighters doused him with water and rushed him to the hospital with life-threatening injuries,” reported 5 News Australia.

While speaking about the matter, an eyewitness recounted, “His skin was burning, he was on fire. His skin was stuck to (my) shirt. He was off his face screaming about the mandates.” Another witness to the incident of self-immolation, Lydia O’ Connor, informed that the unidentified man had screamed about ‘No Vax ID and throwing books’ prior to the act.

“He poured gas on himself and on his car. It was on purpose,” she added. In December last year, Victoria’s Health Ministry scrapped the mandatory vaccination requirement for customers in retail, with the exception of beauty and salon services. As such, individuals who wanted to visit non-essential retail services, places of worship, funerals, and weddings could do so without having to furnish proof of vaccination. Children below the age of 18 years were also barred from showing proof of vaccination.

However, exceptions to the rule included patrons who visited bars, cafes andretaurants. At the same time, mask mandates were to continue for retail workers and hospitality workers. The directives by the State Health Department will continue till January 12, 2022. It must be mentioned that 90% population in Victoria had been fully vaccinated.

Did Arvind Kejriwal endanger the lives of thousands of people by not isolating himself earlier and attending rally in Uttarakhand: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Did Arvind Kejriwal endanger the lives of thousands of people by not isolating himself earlier and attending rally in Uttarakhand: Details

On the 4th of January 2022, Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to announce that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Delhi CM said that he has isolated himself at home given that he had “mild symptoms”.

Considering only a week of his rally schedules, he has been a part of Vijay Yatra in Chandigarh, Shanti rally in Patiala, had visited a temple in Amritsar and had held rallies in Lucknow and Dehradun since December 27. During the journey and the rallies, the AAP supremo may have come in contact with any number of people, who are now at the risk of getting infected.

While he had been on a rally-run right before he tested positive for COVID, there is a far more serious issue that points towards the fact that Arvind Kejriwal probably knew that he was endangering thousands of lives and still went ahead with his rallies.

Twitter user ‘@BeffitingFacts’ pointed out on Twitter that if he is announcing that he has been tested positive for COVID today, he probably got tested at least a day ago, on the 3rd of January because he had certain symptoms.

However, while he had symptoms, prompting him to get tested for COVID and then testing positive, he had attended a rally in Uttarakhand nonetheless.

On the 3rd of January 2022, Arvind Kejriwal attended a massive rally in Uttarakhand. The visuals from the rally were posted by several AAP leaders and the official handles of AAP as well.

AAP Uttarakhand on Twitter had posted a video that showed how thousands of people attended the rally.

In all the images and videos shared by AAP, Arvind Kejriwal was seen meeting thousands of people, even holding meetings in closed rooms, without wearing a mask.

As pointed out by BefittingFacts, if Arvind Kejriwal has announced that he has tested positive for COVID on the 4th, he would have surely got tested at least on the 3rd of January. Therefore, it stands to reason that even after knowing that he has mild symptoms and getting tested for COVID, awaiting results, Kejriwal went ahead and held a rally. In fact, he even held closed-door meetings without wearing a mask, thereby endangering every individual that he came in contact with.

Interestingly, only a day ago on the 2nd of January, Kejriwal had delivered a speech to Delhi and people at large, urging them to wear masks and be safe in the face of rising COVID cases.

Another worrying point to consider is whether Arvind Kejriwal travelled from Uttarakhand to Delhi while his COVID test results were pending. Now that he has tested positive, it would appear that his lackadaisical attitude after he became aware of symptoms and even getting tested has put thousands of people at risk.

One would only get tested for COVID if they knew they had certain symptoms that hint towards them being positive for COVID, or if they have come in contact with someone who was confirmed COVID positive. Given that Kejriwal had already undergone the test, he should have isolated himself pending the results of the test. Had he tested negative, he could have gone about his daily life. However, even the remote possibility of being tested positive should have got Kejriwal to isolate himself and at least not hold rallies with thousands of people.

Not only that, even after knowing that he could potentially be positive for COVID, given that he had to be tested on the 3rd of Jan to be positive on the 4th of Jan, he went ahead of met several people in closed rooms. While doing so, he was not even wearing a mask. To reiterate, while this happened, he was not even wearing a mask. If indeed there is an explanation for his behaviour, given that he is the Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal should issue a statement explaining when he got tested for COVID, what were his symptoms and why he chose to endanger the lives of other people for petty politics.

Delhi has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 infection, riding on the back of the new coronavirus variant Omicron. Omicron is now the dominant variant in the capital, as 81 per cent of the samples sent for genome sequencing were found to be of the Omicron variant, Delhi’s health minister Satyendar Jain told the state assembly on Monday.

Delhi reported 4,099 fresh Covid infections on Monday as the positivity rate surged to 6.46 per cent, both at their highest levels since May 18, when the city logged 4,482 fresh cases at a test positivity rate of 6.89 per cent.

Only time will tell if Arvind Kejriwal’s irresponsible behaviour will lead to a COVID surge in Uttarakhand as well, given that anybody who came in contact with mask-less Arvind Kejriwal in Uttarakhand now runs to risk of getting infected with COVID.

‘Bulli Bai’ controversy: Mumbai police nabs one suspect from Bengaluru, keeps his identity a secret

OpIndia Staff
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‘Bulli Bai’ controversy: Mumbai police nabs one suspect from Bengaluru, keeps his identity a secret

A team of Mumbai police apprehended a 21-year-old engineering student from Bengaluru in Karnataka in connection to the creation of the contentious ‘Bulli Bai’ app, as per reports. The app allegedly ‘auctioned’ pictures of female journalists and activists and had derogatory content targeted against Muslim women.

As per reports, the accused was brought to Mumbai on Monday (January 3). The engineering student was one of the 5 people, who followed the Twitter handle of ‘Bulli Bai’. a First Information Report (FIR) was earlier lodged against the Twitter handles that promoted the app and those who developed it.

While speaking about the matter, a senior IPS officer stated, “The 21-year-old is a second-year civil engineering student. He used his Twitter handle to share derogatory content from the Bulli Bai app. We have detained him.” He informed that the accused was traced using the IP address of his Twitter accounts, which was used to upload pictures. The cops are now questioning the accused about his involvement in the creation of the app.

Interestingly, the police have refused to divulge details about the accused other than his age and educational background. Minister of State for Home (Urban) Satej D Patil informed, “MumbaiPolice has got a breakthrough. Though we cannot disclose the details at this moment as it may hamper the ongoing investigation, I would like to assure all the victims that we are proactively chasing the culprits & they will face the law very soon.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Satej D Patil

The background of the ‘Bulli Bai’ case

Months after the controversial ‘Sulli Deals’ app, which had offered pics of Muslim women as ‘deals’, another such app has appeared on the open-source code repository Github. In the recent incident, photos of hundreds of Muslim women were misused and uploaded by an unidentified group on an app using GitHub by the name of ‘Bulli Bai’ on January 1.

While the culprits behind the Sulli Deals were never caught and their identity never revealed, the people behind the Bulli Bai app are self-proclaimed supporters of the Khalistani movement, and demand the release of arrested Khalistani terrorists. The matter came to light after Ismat Ara, one of the female journalists at ‘The Wire’ became a ‘Bulli Bai’ target. She had shared on Twitter that her image is being ‘offered’ in the derogatory app. 

It is pertinent to note that the ‘Bulli Bai’ Twitter account had a hashtag that read #FreeJaggiNow in its Twitter name, and its banner image also had the same hashtag. The Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that the user behind its creation was blocked by the coding platform of GitHub.

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