Home Blog Page 3708

Delhi pollution: Why fight it, why not embrace it? Like we have embraced Arvind Kejriwal

Nirwa Mehta
-
0
Delhi pollution: Why fight it, why not embrace it? Like we have embraced Arvind Kejriwal

For someone who has lived all her life in Ahmedabad, Delhi naturally comes as a cultural shock. Amid the shine and glamour of Delhi elites with their diamonds as big as kesar mangoes back home, I, for one, feel quite out of place. But behind the facade of the razzle-dazzle lies the truth.

Toxic foam floating in river Yamuna. See, it took me embarrassingly long to realise that the structure in the above video (first few seconds) is a statue and not an actual human who will come out of the snowy peaks of toxic chemicals in Bahubali style.

Now look at this.

Without context, one may imagine that this is some pretty lake in some European country with ice floating nearby. Or maybe one may think one is out penguin spotting in the Antarctica. Except, there are these two Delhi daredevils who’ve chosen to go boating in Yamuna for reasons not yet known.

And then for good measure, news agency ANI mentioned how the overall air quality in Delhi is in ‘severe’ category.

While we’re on the topic of people doing inexplicable things which defy basic logic and instinct of self preservation, here are some more visuals.

Our good friends at ANI would go out of their way to click pictures of people taking dip in the toxic water but won’t really warn them and tell them to stay away from carcinogenic foam. True professionals, not that anyone would’ve listened to them anyway.

And while we’re on topic of pollution in Delhi, here are some more visuals from the national capital.

Just look at these images. They look straight out of Hollywood horror film where if I were the lead actress walking on these streets, I would have been either killed or chased by a serial killer in first 10 minutes. Though, every time I walk alone in not-so-well lit lanes or get lost while exploring the city on my own and end up at shady looking tattoo parlours, my life does flash before my eyes. Anyway, I digress.

Of hazardous air and what can be done about it

Every evening I find a thin layer of dust on my eyelashes. And it has been ten days now and my cough and cold has not gone and every time I sneeze in a public place, someone thinks I’m more dangerous than the dude who blow himself up in the name of *cough*.

Things are so bad that even if one wants to step outdoors for a morning/evening walk for better health, one should not do it because the hazardous air quality will do more harm than good to your health.

Diwali has come and gone with Delhi Police busy arresting people wanting to have little fun bursting crackers while Al Qaeda dudes are on the run in national capital but if one sees the NASA report, one can see that firecrackers had very little impact on overall pollution. It was actually the neighbouring state people burning stubble that set our lungs on fire. But let’s not let facts get into the way.

So what really is the solution? How do we fight this or do we just resign to our fates? Then there is also water shortage in Delhi.

So either we have the toxic foam infused water from the Yamuna or there is no water at all. Delhi people are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. Speaking of the devil, here is what Aam Aadmi Party leaders have to say about the current situation.

That’s it guys. Delhi does not have its own private river, it doesn’t have its own power plant, and then there are allegations that Modi ji does not let Kejriwal do any work anyway. And then even the pollution is a gift from neighbouring state of Punjab after the farmers set their own fields on fire sending smoke across to us.

So we’re all on our own. Maybe it is time we all stop complaining and embrace the toxicity is in the air the way we have accepted Aam Aadmi Party as the reality of our times.

Every adversity can be an opportunity

Prime Minister Modi has asked us to “आपदा को अवसर में बदलना है” (turn every adversity into opportunity). So why not turn this crisis into opportunity and turn Delhi into tourist spot? You see, as one can see, without context and if one sees just visuals, these images make a very romantic picture. The toxic foam in Yamuna could be the prop for a lovely pre-wedding shoot. Why spend money and go to Kashmir when one can make the chemical clouds look like lovely snow?

Perhaps it could be turned into filming location for movies too where just like romanticising the Mughals, we could romanticise the pollutants. After all, both of these things eventually want to kill us, right? Instead of Stockholm Syndrome, we can then have DilliKeMalik Syndrome.

In short, if we just stop cribbing and accept and embrace it, it will perhaps start being kinder to us. As I write this article, a cloud of smoke, perhaps from a tiny little farm from Ludhiana, floated right into my room and kissed me, leading to a violent coughing fit. But instead of feeling miserable about my deteriorating post-covid lungs (with not so great BPM), I am being grateful that I am not dead. Yet.

Let us embrace the imperfections and make them better.

Note: Above article, with generous dose of sarcasm, was inspired from a Twitter Space hosted by a bunch of amazing people on Twitter and other conversations I’ve had with friends and colleagues.

After Elon Musk decides to sell 10% Tesla shares based on Twitter poll, this is his reply to US senator who objected to it

OpIndia Staff
-
0
After Elon Musk decides to sell 10% Tesla shares based on Twitter poll, this is his reply to US senator who objected to it

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, famous for his hilarious tweets has once again put out a tweet leaving the social media users in splits. 

Musk commenting on a US senator’s display picture said, “Why does ur pp look like u just came?”

Musk runs a poll on selling stock

The co-founder and architect of Tesla, Elon Musk ran a Twitter poll on Sunday asking netizens if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stocks. 

“Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock. Do you support this?” Tweeted Musk activating a yes or no poll. 

Quoting Musk’s tweet, US Senator from Oregon and a member of the Democratic Party, Ron Wyden said, “Whether or not the world’s wealthiest man pays any taxes at all shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll. It’s time for the Billionaires Income Tax.” 

Deflecting the unwarranted tweet, Musk posted a rather hilarious reply, asking why does the senator’s display picture look like he just ‘came’ (a slang for ejaculation). While the senator’s tweet has about 10,000 likes, over 64,000 Twitter users have liked Musk’s reply. 

The business giant’s Twitter poll has received 35 lakh votes with Musk assuring that he will abide by the poll results, ‘whichever way it goes.’ 

Reportedly, the Tesla CEO has received a tax bill of more than $15 billion which could be the reason for him considering selling his stocks. 

Prior to this, Musk’s announcement of starting ‘Texas Institute of Technology & Science’ had garnered another laughter fest on social media. 

He also promised universally admired ‘epic merch’ from the insitution.

KCR’s press conference: How the abuses, threats and unhinged allegations show TRS’ nervousness at the rise of BJP in Telangana

S. Sudhir Kumar
-
0
KCR’s press conference: How the abuses, threats and unhinged allegations show TRS’ nervousness at the rise of BJP in Telangana

When we wrote about KTR’s immature response to the Huzurabad election defeat of the TRS, little did we realise that his father and also CM of Telangana, Shri K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) will beat his son to it!

KCR called for a press meet on the night of November 7th. This press meet came in the backdrop of three significant events – the TRS loss in their stronghold Huzurabad; the reduction of petrol and diesel prices by the Government of India; the crisis in the procurement of paddy. 

KCR began his press conference trying to explain how it is the Modi government’s fault (of course, right!) that the farmers of Telangana were not able to sell paddy. Earlier media reports indicated that KCR made a statement to the effect that suicide is the only option if you grow paddy. The opposition, including of course the BJP, took up this statement and made a big issue. KCR provides some statistics and his version of some meetings with the central government and begins to question the “irresponsible” statements of the state BJP President, Bandi Sanjay Kumar. KCR claims that Bandi Sanjay is asking the Telangana farmer to grow paddy and then began his incoherent rant. 

Before explaining the multiple incoherent arguments of KCR, here are some things that KCR said in his press meet yesterday. 

  • I have so far not cared what Bandi Sanjay spoke. Many dogs will bark like this, so I just let him be. His stature is not the same as mine, so I never cared. 
  • Bandi Sanjay says that he is has a strategy to send me to jail. Do you have the dare to touch KCR? Why don’t you touch KCR and see what will happen? Will you be able to live if you send me to jail?
  • Does Bandi Sanjay understand anything regarding policy? Does he know English and Hindi to understand all this?
  • Bandi Sanjay says he will hold my neck and make me give money to the farmer. I will break his neck into 4 pieces!
  • If you talk irresponsibly, I will cut your tongue! 
  • All BJP does is to incite communalism. China is pounding India in Arunachal Pradesh because of the BJP.
  • We will incite fire in the country from tomorrow, to expose the BJP government. 
  • Union Minister Kishan Reddy is also speaking wrong things. This is not good, Mr Kishan Reddy. I also was a union minister. You should conduct yourselves with dignity. 
  • A reporter began his question to KCR with “Opposition is saying…”. KCR stops him and starts shouting at him. Who is this opposition? Humans or Donkeys? Don’t you have any brain to ask (their questions)?

KCR’s justification for all this language is that he kept quiet all these days despite the personal attack on him, but he cannot do it anymore because the BJP is trying to cheat the farmer of Telangana. KCR says he cannot tolerate any insult to Telangana but will tolerate any amount of personal insult. After the first 30 minutes, KCR jumped topics at such a frantic pace that it was difficult to grasp what topic he was speaking on. 

KCR demanded that the farm laws be withdrawn. This is strange because just days after participating in the alleged Bharat Bandh in 2020; after some acerbic criticism of the farm laws in 2020, KCR announced that the Telangana state will implement the Farm laws! A tweet thread by the CMO explained why the farm laws are indeed a boon. Nearly a year after that, he now declares support for the protestors in Delhi, ignoring the very fact that he is happily implementing them in the state! KCR says that farmers in Telangana are doing very well because they are all buying cars! It’s strange that KCR spent so much time on farmer issues when he himself claims farmers in the state are doing really well. 

KCR demanded that the centre withdraw all types of cess imposed on petroleum products. He accused the central government of taking the cess route so that they can cheat the states of their share in the divisible pool.  On his part, he thundered that he hasn’t increased a single paisa VAT ever since he came to power. The confidence with which he uttered that statement would make you think that it is indeed true. For a moment you will even forget that KCR increased VAT on petrol from 31% to 35.2%; VAT on diesel from 22% to 27.5% in the year 2015. No reporter present there was able to question KCR on this. No media covering the press meet could flash this on their screens. TRS fans on social media were going berserk on SM users who were pointing this out. 

KCR claimed that Telangana is the number 1 state in the country according to various RBI reports and therefore the BJP in the state is in no position to criticize him and his government. He claims that the only three schemes that the centre has given money so far are MNREGA, NHRM and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. You don’t even have to be a serious student of politics to know that there are many more central government schemes that get implemented all over the country. For the criticism that KCR isn’t utilizing the money the central government is giving, he claimed that the country is running because of the money Telangana is giving. 

KCR’s U-turns are legendary. He called Ayushman Bharat a useless scheme in the Assembly. After about 2 years of calling it a useless scheme, he said that the state will implement Ayushman Bharat. He described the farm laws as honey-coated knives only to implement them in the state. His contrasting responses during COVID times are well documented. So, it will not be a surprise if he takes a U-turn on the VAT and reduces it. 

Yesterday’s press conference (if it can be called that) clearly showed a rattled KCR. It’s been a while for him to have faced strong opposition in the state, despite a largely friendly media. While the nature of the electoral dividends of such a strong opposition will be known only after 2 years, it is clear from his press conference yesterday that he is not going to take criticism by staying calm anymore. 

Delhi govt earns over 8900 crores from liquor license under new excise policy: All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi govt earns over 8900 crores from liquor license under new excise policy: All you need to know

In June 2021, the Kejriwal-led Delhi Government divided Delhi into 21 excise zones under the Excise Policy 2021-22. As per the policy framework, there would be 849 outlets selling alcohol in the national capital, including five super-premium vendors.

The last set of licenses were allotted in September, and all new licensees were asked to begin operations from November 17. The government earned Rs. 8,900 crores through the bidding process. Notably, it was 26.7% higher than the reserved price for the licenses, as reported by Hindustan Times. Under the new Delhi Excise Policy, the government will no longer sell liquor in the city, and the entire segment will be handled by private entities. 

The allotment process had started in August itself. Twenty zones were allotted in August, while the remaining were allotted in September. The reserved price was Rs. 7,041 crores. According to a report in Hindustan Times, Zone 28 that covers areas including Dwarka-A, Deoli, Bhajanpura, Kardampuri and Quraish Nagar won the highest bid at Rs. 357 crores. In terms of highest profit, Zone 32 that covers the Airport zone topped the list with Rs. 235 crore. The reserved price for the same was Rs. 105 crore.

The government’s earnings from these vendors do not stop at the license. The government would earn approx Rs. 650 crores from excise duty, import fees, VAT and other license fees. Apart from that, the government is expecting to earn another Rs. 900 to Rs. 1,000 crore from licensing of new brands, distributor licenses and more.

As per the government data, the Delhi government has been earning up to Rs. 5,500 crores per annum from the liquor sector. The new excise policy pushed the revenue up by around 40%. Interestingly, the retailers would be free to decide the selling price of the liquor, and the government would not have a say in the MRP. The retail outlets can only operate between 10 AM to 10 PM. Airport outlets may function 24×7.

The five super-premium liquor outlets would not have iron grills. The buyers would be able to browse the high-end products and make the purchase. The home delivery of liquor is also included in the new policy across the national capital.

No reduction of VAT on fuel

Despite more-than-expected income from the liquor license, the Delhi government had not reduced Value Added Tax on petrol and diesel so far. Notably, the central government reduced excise duty on the fuel a day before Diwali. The BJP-ruled states also followed suit and reduced VAT to give additional relief. However, among the non-BJP ruled states, only Odisha reduced VAT, and the rest of the states, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab etc., did not take any steps to provide relief to residents from fuel prices.

‘We will cut your tongues’: CM KCR tells Telangana BJP leaders, attacks Centre over fuel prices, GDP after Huzurabad loss

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘We will cut your tongues’: CM KCR tells Telangana BJP leaders, attacks Centre over fuel prices, GDP after Huzurabad loss

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday issued multiple threats to Bhartiya Janta Party’s state leadership after facing defeat in Huzurabad. While addressing a press conference, KCR warned, “We’ll cut your tongues if you pass unnecessary comments on us.” 

Threatening BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, KCR further said, “What do you think of yourself? I have been forgiving you even though you are making gutter-level utterances. You are saying that you would send me to jail. Do it. I dare you to touch me and see what would happen to you.” 

KCR’s statements came after the BJP leaders in Telangana accused KCR’s party of corruption and claimed that when BJP comes into power in the state, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief would be sent to jail. 

KCR called BJP leaders ‘barking dogs’

The Telangana Chief Minister at the press conference regarded the BJP leaders as ‘barking dogs.’ 

Continuing his tirade against the BJP, KCR said, “Till now, I did not attach much importance to his comments. It was like street dogs barking at an elephant as it goes by.” He further said that he will take action against Kumar and others in accordance with law if they ‘crossed the line of decency.’ 

“Ours is a party that led the Telangana movement. After all who are you? We can snub you out in no time,” added KCR. The TRS chief was allegedly upset over paddy procurement by the Centre. 

KCR rattled after losing stronghold in Telangana 

The Chief Minister seems to be rattled after TRS stronghold- Huzurabad went to the BJP. From crude oil prices to GDP to China, KCR in the press conference lashed out at the centre making vague claims. 

“Crude oil prices were 105 US dollars in 2014 and now it is 83 US dollars. BJP lied to the public saying that prices of petrol and diesel have increased internationally,” claimed KCR at the presser. 

He further demanded from the Central government to remove the cess on petrol and fuel. “We will continue to fight…and we will hold dharna for withdrawing cess on petrol and diesel,” he said.

The TRS supremo further claimed that India’s GDP has been dipping continuously. “What has BJP done in the last 7 years? India’s GDP is less than Bangladesh, Pakistan and Centre have increased taxes unnecessarily,” claimed KCR. 

It is imperative to note that several reports had busted the anxiety sparked due to a false comparison of India’s GDP with Bangladesh in 2020. Economist and former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian in a Twitter thread in October 2020 had clarified that the metrics being compared are incorrect and misleading. 

Not just this, KCR spreading misinformation claimed that China has intruded in Arunachal Pradesh and that the BJP government at the Centre is acting as a mute spectator. “China is attacking us in Arunachal Pradesh but Centre hasn’t taken any action,” the Telangana CM alleged further. 

We reported how Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed the Congress party and a ‘mischievous’ media house on Sunday for falsely claiming that China has built a village inside the territory of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Union Law Minister, who is an MP from Arunachal Pradesh, posted a tweet today saying, “Some mischievous media wrote in bold that ‘China has built a village inside Arunachal’ and then slightly mentioned ‘at the area occupied by China in 1959’. What’s your purpose? And these people deliberately don’t believe the Indian Army but quickly quoted a foreign story to create a misleading headline to question the credibility of our Govt and the strength of our Army with a malicious motive to demoralize the nation.”

However, ignoring the statement, KCR joined the opposition club to peddle misinformation. 

The TRS chief also extended support to the ongoing farmers’ stir and claimed that his party would not allow the Centre to rest until those “anti-farm laws” are taken back. 

Twitter user threatens to assassinate PM Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, police initiates probe

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Twitter user threatens to assassinate PM Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, police initiates probe

The Uttar Pradesh Police has initiated an investigation against an undisclosed Twitter user for posting a threat to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by a bomb on the microblogging site. In a statement, Pramod Kumar Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), said, “The matter came to light, as we got information about this threat from UP 112 (police helpline). Somebody has made mischief on Twitter.”

The Police has sought more information about the user from Twitter. Tiwari said as these accounts are generally fraud and wrong names are used, it would not be possible to reveal the handle before the probe was over the authentic name was found.

Threats against PM Modi and CM Yogi

This is not the first time PM Modi or CM Yogi has received death threats. At the beginning of the farmer protests, several so-called protesters issued threats to PM Modi. On December 26 last year, it was reported that Bharatiya Kisan Union leader’s wife threatened to stab PM Modi with a knife. On August 8, security agencies had received an email in which a death threat was issued against PM Modi. In June 2021, out on bail, Salman called the Police and threatened PM Modi’s life.

In May 2021, a call was made to UP Police’s WhatsApp number, and the caller threatened he would kill CM Yogi in four days. In November 2020, a teenager was arrested for sending a message to the state’s emergency service that he would blow up CM Yogi.

‘Shri Ramayan Yatra’ starts with 100% occupancy, Railways minister announces next tour: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Shri Ramayan Yatra’ starts with 100% occupancy, Railways minister announces next tour: Read details

Union Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, took to Twitter on Sunday to share the first glimpses of the ‘Shri Ramayan Yatra,’ a rail circuit specifically designed to promote religious tourism in places associated with the Ramayana. 

As per the minister, the journey commenced with 100% occupancy on Sunday. “Overwhelming response! The first tour of ‘Shri Ramayana Yatra’ with 100% occupancy started today. Next tour on the Ramayana circuit is on 12th Dec 2021. जय जय श्री राम,” Tweeted Vaishnaw. 

The deluxe AC tourist train departed from Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station on November 07 for 16 nights and 17 days with as many as 132 tourists on board.

‘Dekho Apna Desh’

The Shri Ramayan Yatra rail circuit has been launched under the “Dekho Apna Desh” initiative by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to encourage and facilitate religious tourism. 

While the Ramayan Yatra is the first, the IRCTC has planned for other trains with different packages under Shri Ramayana Yatra Tours which is said to be launched soon. 

Yatra details

The rail circuit is set to cover every destination that has Shri Ram’s footprints including Ayodhya, Nandigram, Janakpur, Sitamarhi, Kashi, Prayag, Shringverpur, Chitrakoot, Nashik, Hampi and Rameshwaram.

The journey will commence with Shri Ram’s birthplace Ayodhya where tourists will visit Shri Ram Janmbhumi temple and Hanuman temple followed by Bharat Mandir at Nandigram, the place from where King Bharat ruled Ayodhya when Shri Ram was in Vanvaas. 

The next destination of the Ramayan Yatra will be Sitamarhi in Bihar where the pilgrims will be taken to Maa Sita’s birthplace and Ram-Janki Temple in Janakpur, which will be covered by road.

Following this, the train will proceed towards Varanasi where the tourists will get to visit the temples of Varanasi, Prayag, Shringverpur and Chitrakoot by road. 

As per the schedule, the night halt will be at Varanasi, Prayag and Chitrakoot. The yatra will then move to Nasik (Trayambakeshwar temple) in Maharashtra followed by a visit to Panchvati. 

Before reaching the last destination of Rameshwaram, the yatra will halt in the ancient city also known as the birthplace of Hanuman- Kishkinda in Hampi. The passengers will be covering a distance of roughly 7500kms in the entire journey. 

‘Shri Ramayan Yatra’ coach. Image Source: Twitter

As per a report, the yatra has boarding and de-boarding points at Abohar- Malout, Bhatinda, Barnala, Patiala, Rajpura, Ambala Cantt., Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Delhi Cantt, Gurgaon, Rewari, Alwar, Jaipur, Agra Fort, Itawah and Kanpur.

Reportedly, the Ramayan Yatra is the brainchild of IRCTC’s senior official Achyut Singh, who is also the in-charge of this special train.

The train has two categories- 2AC and 1AC for which passengers have paid Rs 83,000 and Rs 1.02 lakh respectively. 

While speaking with India Today, Singh informed that the package takes care of complete facilities for the passengers. This includes AC travel, local AC travel arrangements, hotels, and vegetarian meals for passengers.

To ensure safety, the passengers have also been provided with separate lockers with CCTVs installed in the train for security. Additionally, the train has two separate coaches for dining. 

Dining coach in ‘Shri Ramayan Yatra’. Image Source: India Today

As per IRCTC, the next tour on the Ramayan circuit will be flagged off on December 12 with similar duration and packages.

After the ‘Shri Ramayan Yatra,’ the IRCTC is also planning to launch a special Rampath Yatra Train scheduled to commence on November 27.

Kerala: Two teenaged Hindu girls go missing with their classmates, Arshad and Afzal, police initiates investigation

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Kerala: Two teenaged Hindu girls go missing with their classmates, Arshad and Afzal, police initiates investigation

Months after the disappearance of Alathur native, Surya Krishna (21), two teen girls have now gone missing in Alathur, a village located near Palakkad-Thrissur highway, Kerala. According to reports, 14 year old twin sisters Shreya and Shreja, daughter of Suresh Kumar were found missing on November 3 along with their two male classmates from Palakkad district. Arshad and Afzal Muhammad, the two classmates were seen accompanying the girls.

According to the Police, the four teens had entered Tamil Nadu via Pollachi. The police investigating the case have not been able to locate the teens yet. CCTV visuals have confirmed that the four teens were travelling together. Concerns have been raised about the safety of the girls as similarities have been drawn with the other missing girls cases including Jasna and Surya Krishna disappearance cases.

According to reports, Shreya and Shreja and their classmates Arshad (14) son of Yakkoob of Chundakkad, and Afzal Mohammad (14) son of Manaf of Melarcod were all Class 9 students of the ASM Higher Secondary School. CCTV footages showed that they had reached Palakkad town at around 3.30pm on November 3. A case has been registered on the parents’ complaint.

Alathur police official Riyaz Chakkeri said, “The girls had told their friends that they were planning a tour. But they did not reveal the destination. Their family is not aware of any mobile phone they might be carrying. We suspect they were using a phone in private. We are trying to trace the details of this phone,”

According to Riyaz Chakkeri, CCTV visuals have also indicated that the four teens had reached the KSRTC bus stand on Wednesday evening and then took a bus to Tamil Nadu. 

Earlier, on August 30, another native from Alathur, Surya Krishna, daughter of Radhakrishnan, had disappeared after she went out to purchase books. Surya Krishna was a second-year BA (Literature) student at Mercy College, Palakkad. Reports suggest that Surya Krishna had sudden desires of becoming a traveller and visited Goa after spending lot of time on the phone before her disappearance.

On March 22, 2018 Jasna Mariya James, a second-year B Com student at St. Dominic College, Kanjirapally, had disappeared from her home at Ranni in Pathanamthitta district. Recent reports have indicated that Jasna was seen in a Muslim seminary in Mangaluru which fuelled suspicions of forced religious conversion.

Delhi: Woman and her 2 minor grandsons assaulted near Nabi Masjid at Mukundpur, FIR registered against Zaheem, Naeem, Alam and others

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi: Woman and her 2 minor grandsons assaulted near Nabi Masjid at Mukundpur, FIR registered against Zaheem, Naeem, Alam and others

A case has been registered against a Muslim mob for assaulting a Hindu family in the national capital Delhi. The incident took place near Nabi Masjid of Bhalswa Dairy area, ​​North Outer Delhi on Friday at around 7 pm. Delhi police have started the investigation of the incident which occurred near Nabi Masjid at Mukundpur Part 1, Gali No 13.

As per reports, grandsons of a woman named Kusum Devi were ambushed by the Muslim mob. OpIndia has a copy of the FIR regarding the incident. According to the victim Kusum Devi, her younger grandson had gone to a shop to buy milk. On the way, two unknown boys started snatching money from him. He came home crying and went back to that place with his 12-year-old elder brother. When these two brothers reached the spot, 3-4 boys who were already present there started misbehaving with both the brothers and started dragging them towards the mosque.

When the family members of both the children came to know about this, they ran towards the spot. The grandmother of the children, Kusum Devi informed that a man working under Bhola Property started quarreling with her. He assaulted Kusum Devi and the children, and then called 15-20 more people. Kusum Devi has identified Zaheem, Naeem, Alam and Chhote among others who were in the mob.

Police have registered a case under sections 323, 341, 356, 379, 506 and 34 of the IPC. The investigation of this case has been handed over to Sub Inspector Sandeep Narwal Kumar. All these sections carry a sentence of less than 7 years.

Hindu organizations have reached out to the victim’s family after they came to know about the incident. An organization named Mahakal Sena has demanded justice for the victim’s family. In the video released with the family, it has been said that Hindus would take to the streets if justice is not served in the case. In the video, the Bhalswa Dairy police have been accused of beating the victim’s family.

Conversion syndicate leader Umar Gautam’s son Abdullah arrested by UP Police ATS for his involvement in the racket

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Conversion syndicate leader Umar Gautam’s son Abdullah arrested by UP Police ATS for his involvement in the racket

The Anti-Terrorist Squad of Uttar Pradesh has arrested Maulana Mohammed Umar Gautam’s son Abdullah in connection with the alleged ISI-funded conversion racket having international links. While Gautam was arrested on June 20 this year, his son was arrested on Saturday (November 6) from Gautam Buddha Nagar.

Abdullah is alleged to have deep involvement in the conversion racket along with his father who along with other accused said to have converted over 1000 people. In a press statement, UP ATS has disclosed the charges on which Abdullah was arrested. “As per protocols, the arrested will be produced before the court. The foreign funding and the expenditure of funds as well as relation with other accused are some of the things that the police will interrogate Abdullah about, and for the same, is pleading the court for custody,” the ATS said in the statement. 

The investigation has revealed that like his father, Abdullah had received huge funding worth Rs 75 lakh in his bank account out of which Rs 17 lakh was obtained through foreign fundings. Both have the same source of funding which was used for the purpose of religious conversion into Islam by luring people. The fund was distributed among converted people and to further attract non-Muslims for conversion. Abdullah also used to manage and run Al Farooqi Madrasa and mosque and Islamic Dawa Center (IDC), two fronts of Gautam to carry conversion racket. ATS has said that Abdullah was an important cog of this conversion racket and he was in direct touch with other accused of this case namely Jahangir Alam, Kaushar and Faraz.

The ATS so far has arrested 17 accused in this case including Gautam, his son, Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, Rameshwar Kawade alias Adam, Arsalan alias Bhupriya Bando, Kaushar Alam and others. ATS has also established the flow of foreign funds worth Rs 57 Crore to the account of Gautam and his associates through hawala channels. ATS said that Al Hasan Education and Welfare Foundation of Gautam and Jamia Imam Waliullah of Kaleem Siddiqui received funds from the same sources. ATS traced sources of fundings to UK, USA and Gulf countries. Investigation so far has established Kaleem Siddiqui having received Rs 22 Crore through foreign funding for the purpose of conversion. It also claimed that Accused like Adam and Kaushar were spreading the ideology of Al-Qaeda.

1...3,7073,7083,709...7,576Page 3,708 of 7,576