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Maharashtra: Bhiwandi Police arrest 40 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, fake Indian IDs seized

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On November 30, 40 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were arrested by Bhiwandi Police in and around Bhiwandi city, district Thane, Maharashtra. Police said these Bangladeshis were living in three different areas in Bhiwandi.

As per Yogesh Chavan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 2, Bhiwandi, these immigrants worked as labourers in different locations without any valid documents to stay in India. A case has been registered against the accused under the Foreign Nationals Act and Indian Passport Act.

Reports suggest that Police conducted several raids in and around the city and made the arrests. Around 20 of them were arrested in Shanti Nagar, and 10 each were arrested in the Bhiwandi town and Narpoli Police Station regions. 28 mobile phones worth Rs. 94,000, fake passports, PAN cards and Aadhaar cards were recovered from their possessions. Police further added that the documents the Bangladeshi nationals had contained addresses of Mumbai, Bhiwandi and Gujarat.

The Police found that they were using IMO App to communicate with the relatives in Bangladesh and the person who reportedly helped them cross the border.

Nine were arrested in Bhiwandi earlier

Similar arrests were reported on November 20 in Bhiwandi’s Saravalli village. The Police had arrested nine illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who were working at a textile mill following a tip-off. The main accused among the arrested, identified as Salim Shaikh, had been living in the area for the last 16 years.

Last week, five Bangladeshi illegal immigrants were arrested by Karnataka Police from Bengaluru’s outskirts. Araga Jnanendra, the Karnataka Home Minister, had called such illegal immigrants a ‘threat to national security’. He added that the state government has ordered all police stations to identify and arrest illegal immigrants. The Police had recovered ration cards and aadhaar cards from the immigrants. The Home Minister added that they were receiving the benefits reserved for the poor people of the state.

UP: Samajwadi Party worker files case against Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook parody page mocking Akhilesh Yadav

On Monday (November 30), a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg after a parody page allegedly mocked Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.

As per reports, a complaint was filed to the effect by a party worker named Amit Kumar. Besides Zuckerberg, a case was registered against 49 others for the alleged defamatory post against Yadav. Kumar, a resident of Sarahati village, had complained that a Facebook page by the name of ‘Bua Babua was trying to tarnish Yadav’s image. The term ‘Bua Babua‘ came to prominence during the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 when the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj party joined hands to fight the BJP.

Dharamveer Singh, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kannauj, had directed the UP police to register a case on the basis of the complaint of Amit Kumar. The cops later withdrew the name of Mark Zuckerberg from the FIR. Live Law had tweeted a picture of the FIR copy on their Twitter account, wherein the name of Zuckerberg featured prominently in the police report.

Screengrab of the Facebook page ‘Bua Babua’

In his complaint, Amit Kumar alleged that no action was taken on his complaint despite sending an application through a registered post to the office of the Superintendent of Police. Forced by circumstances, he moved the court to get his case lodged. Eventually, the case was lodged at the Thatia police station, and the development was confirmed by Station House Officer Prayag Narayan Bajpayee.

50 km jurisdiction: Demographic imbalance in border districts due to infiltration, state police will be helped, says BSF DG

As West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Punjab counterpart Charanjit Singh Channi are opposing the extension of the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) to 50 km inside the international border, the Director-General of BSF, Pankaj Kumar Singh said that a greater degree of demographic imbalance in the bordering states was one of the key reasons behind Centre’s decision.  

The BSF DG said this on November 30 at a press conference ahead of the 57th Raising Day of the force.

BSF DG said that over a period of time the demographic balance in border states like West Bengal and Assam has been upset. he said a survey done by the BSF has confirmed demographic changes.

He said that it was one of the probable reasons behind the Narendra Modi government extending the jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 km to 50 km in Punjab, Assam and West Bengal.

The DG said that India has been facing infiltration on a large scale. Be it Assam or West Bengal, the demographic balance has been upset to a great degree, he said.

“Demography has changed and states like Assam and Tripura witnessed agitations because of these reasons. In many districts of West Bengal demographic structure changed. I would not call them just refugees. This was probably the reason Centre decided to extend the jurisdiction of the BSF to support state police to catch infiltrators,” he said.  

Infiltration caused demographic imbalances and changed voting patterns

Referring to a survey conducted by the BSF in some border villages, he said that the demographic changes were very definite. He further pointed out that even the voting patterns have changed in certain border districts.

BSF denies any parallel policing

The BSF DG clarified that the allegations that paramilitary forces might start parallel policing in the concerned states are wrong. He said that the power of investigating the case and filing the charge sheet would remain with the concerned state police. He explained the context under which the Centre extended jurisdiction of the BSF.

He said that the Centre issued notification essentially in the context of the Passports Act and the Passport (entry into India) Act with the earlier dealing with people going out of the country and the latter with the people entering into the country. The notification purely aims to check infiltration and demographic imbalance and to support local police.

BSF DG clarifies jurisdiction of central forces and agencies

He said that not only paramilitary forces but there are also multiple other forces and agencies that have powers to take action anywhere within the country.

“If somebody is carrying arms and ammunition, the BSF can take action under the provisions of the Arms Act,” he said adding that the BSF has been doing this as per the rules for the past 25 years.

“In India not only BSF there are six-seven different forces which can take action wherever deployed. Even if these forces are deployed 500 km away from the border it can act against such elements,” he said.

The BSF DG explained that there are several other Acts that enable BSF to stop illegal activities in border states, like the Arms Act and Customs Act. The current changes are made in just 3 sections of 2 Acts and are only aimed at preventing illegal crossings of the border from inside or outside.

Centre issues notification to extent BSF jurisdiction of BSF

On October 11, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification to bring amendments into the 2014 notification that deals with the jurisdiction of the BSF along borders where it was deployed.

Hence the 2021 notification outlined the new jurisdiction as “whole of the area comprised in the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya and Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and so much of the area comprised within a belt of 50 km in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam, running along the borders of India”.

The 2014 notification covered “whole of the area comprised in the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, and so much of areas comprised within a belt of 80 km in Gujarat, 50 km in Rajasthan and 15 km in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, running along the borders of India.

Opposition parties oppose new jurisdiction

The Congress-ruled Punjab and Bengal ruled by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have been vehemently opposing the extension of the jurisdiction. While Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi termed it as a direct attack on federalism, West Bengal Transport Minister Firhad Hakim accused the Centre of trying to interfere in the matter of states through central agencies. Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra mod to demand the withdrawal of the extended jurisdiction.

Gujarat fully vaccinates 70% of its population as it readies itself for Omicron threat

Gujarat has administered almost 8 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine, thereby fully vaccinating over 70% of eligible population. The State had provided a total of 8,00,23,305 doses, including 3.43 crore second doses, covering 70 per cent of the eligible population as of November 28, Sunday evening.

According to the recent data provided by the government, a total of 4.57 crore people, or 93 per cent of the eligible population, have received the first dose while almost 3.48 crore people that is around 70 per cent of the eligible population of Gujarat has been administered the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccination.

Pankaj Kumar, Gujarat Chief Secretary, commented in a Twitter post: “Har Ghar Dastak makes Gujarat achieve 8 Crore COVID19 Vaccination. Over 2/3 eligible population Fully Vaccinated. 93% given 1st dose. Appealing all leftouts to get vaccinated quickly to join India Fights Corona.”

The Cowin app shows that until November 29, 3,47,91,894 eligible people had been administered both doses that is 70.54 per cent.

Screenshot from Govt’s Cowin app

Gujarat is not only achieved the remarkable feat of vaccinating 70 per cent of its eligible population with both doses but had also saved a total of 5,57,507 Covid-19 vaccine doses that would have otherwise been an acceptable loss in the last three months.

The Centre in the month of March had directed the states to keep wastage at just 1% by extracting extra doses from the vials. Acting as per orders, 22 districts and eight major cities of Gujarat extracted a substantial amount of extra doses keeping the vaccine wastage to a minimum. 

Omicron threat in Gujarat

The state government has issued fresh guidelines and extended night curfew in eight cities till December 10. Night curfew is in place from 1 AM to 5 AM in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar and Junagadh. While commercial establishments can stay open till 12 AM, restaurants can stay open till midnight with 75% occupancy. Cinema halls can operate with 100% capacity and weddings can have gatherings of up to 400 people.

Siddhivinayak Temple: Agents misusing online booking app to cheat devotees, doctor exposes scam

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, scammers are finding different ways to rob the people of their hard-earned money. Such a scam has been exposed by Amit Thadhani, a doctor from Mumbai, Maharashtra, at Siddhivinayak Temple. In a tweet thread, Thadhani explained how scammers standing outside the temple are charging people as much as Rs.300 per person for darshan at the temple that was supposed to be free.

How does the scam work?

Siddhivinayak temple trust has recently launched a mobile app via which devotees can make a booking for darshan. The aim is to control the crowd to reduce the chances of Covid spread. If someone wants to do darshan, prior online booking is mandatory. He said, “Like all govt controlled temples, there’s a scam going on in online darshan too.”

Thadhani said he went to the temple with some relatives, where he was approached by a man who was standing outside one of the flower shops. The man told him that the darshan was only possible with prior online booking. He claimed he could get an online pass for them immediately for a fee.

Thadhani did not believe him at first, but when he downloaded the app and logged in with a newly created ID, it showed all slots were booked. The scammer told him that he could arrange darshan at Rs. 300 per person. They were a group of ten people. He further added that he would need five mobile phones to get the “booking” done for them as the app allowed only two people per phone.

He and the other four from the group gave them their mobile phones. The scammer, along with his sidekick, swung into action, and within minutes the booking was confirmed for all of them.

Thadhani had an idea how they were pulling off the scam. To confirm his theory, he kept the login of the person on his device. He added, “These people block all available slots in advance through various fake IDs. So no slots are available for genuine devotees.”

He added screenshots of the fake account in the thread and said, “This is the fake account through which the slot was blocked (obviously the person’s name isn’t really Siddhivinayak). So remember folks, if you’re not getting a slot for darshan at Siddhivinayak, chances are the local touts outside the temple have already blocked all of them.”

What OpIndia found so far

We downloaded the app and checked if there were any slots open for the day. The app showed that the slots were booked for December 1 and December 2. For December 3, the booking was not opened yet.

Screenshot showing no availability of slots

Interestingly, What Thadhani said in his thread was echoed in the reviews of the app as well. Many such reviews stated they came across scammers outside the temple who book the slots as soon as they are opened and charge the devotees for darshan.

Reviews of the Siddhivinayak app echo similar complaints. Source: Siddhivinayak app page on Google Play Store
Reviews of the Siddhivinayak app echo similar complaints. Source: Siddhivinayak app page on Google Play Store

OpIndia tried contacting the temple’s office over the phone, but no one was available at the time the report was published.

Aligarh Muslim University scholar claims that his PhD degree was revoked for praising PM Modi, varsity denies allegations

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has been the subject of social media controversy after one of its students alleged being denied a PhD degree for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the media.

While seeking PM Modi’s urgent intervention, AMU student Danish Rahim said, “AMU asked me to return degree in linguistic and to get one in Language in Advertising and Marketing (LAM) course instead. It’s happening to me because I praised PM.” He informed that he was reprimanded by the Chairman Department of Linguistics for praising PM Modi while giving a byte on a news channel.

Rahim claimed that he was asked to refrain from doing such things that were against the University culture. “This infers that he associates you (PM Modi) with a right-wing group and hardliner politician, which in my view, is merely a myth. Further, he says that if I repeat the action, action will be taken against me,” Danish Rahim wrote in a letter addressed to the Indian Prime Minister.

He further added, “A notice had been issued to me to deposit my PhD degree back to AMU. Since I took 5 years of hard work to get this reputed degree, how come I can return my degree to AMU that too for parsing the PM of 138 crore Indians. If AMU cancels my PhD degree, my whole career will be at stake.”

AMU spokesperson denies claims of prejudice against student for supporting PM Modi

However, the Aligarh Muslim University has denied all such claims. On Tuesday (November 30), AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidway informed, “The allegations are totally baseless. He did his MA & PhD in LAMM (Language of Advertising & Marketing) course of the Department of Linguistics, which also offers a PhD degree in Linguistics. Since he did his MA in LAM, he should get PhD degree in LAM.”

He further added that the administrative decision was not influenced by politics. “By mistake, he was given PhD degree in Linguistics. The mistake will be rectified… This incident has nothing to do with politics,” Shafey Kidway emphasised.

“It has been brought to notice that you were admitted to the PhD programme in LAMM under the Department of Linguistics in the academic session 2016-2017. As reported by your Supervisor and Chairman of the Department, your work throughout the research was on LAMM itself. However, at the time of submission of the thesis, and its subsequent evaluation and viva-voce, the same was inadvertently considered as PhD in Linguistics instead of PhD in LAMM under the Department of Linguistics,” read a notice issued by the varsity.

Screengrab of the notice issued by AMU, image via ANI

The Aligarh Muslim University had asked Danish Rahim to return the ‘incorrect degree’ for replacement within 7 days of the issuance of the letter. “The whole matter was examined and put up before the Vice-Chancellor who has ordered that you deposit the incorrect PhD degree already issued to you in Linguistics so that the correct PhD degree in LAMM be issued to you,” the varsity directed.

Bhopal Court issues warrant against actress Ameesha Patel in cheque bounce case: Details

Bollywood actress Ameesha Patel has been given a bailable warrant from a Bhopal Court in a cheque bounce case on Monday, according to reports. The Court has asked the actress to be physically present during the next hearing of the case which involves a cheque bounce of 32.25 lakhs. The actress is expected to be present at the hearing of the case on December 4.

As per reports, the bailable warrant has been issued after UTF Telefilms Private Limited filed a complaint accusing the actress of borrowing money from the company through two cheques that had bounced.

Advocate Ravi Panth representing UTF Telefilms Private Limited in court has claimed that Ameesha Patel and her company M/S Ameesha Patel Production was involved in borrowing 32.25 lakhs from UTF Telefilms Private Limited for the sake of making a film. However, the two cheques given by the actress in the lieu of Rs 32.25 lakhs has bounced. Ameesha Patel now faces the threat of an arrest warrant in case of her absence at the court.

Notably, back in 2019, Ranchi Court had issued an arrest warrant against Ameesha Patel in a cheque bounce case of 3 crores. Then the actress was accused by producer Ajay Kumar Singh of taking Rs. 2.5 crores and giving a cheque of Rs. 3 crores that bounced. She was also given summons by the Indore Court in 2019 for a cheque bounce of Rs.10 lakhs and a case was registered against her under section 318 of Negotiable Instruments Act.

‘Include section on Vedas, review portrayal of freedom fighters in school textbooks’: Parliamentary Committee on Education

A Parliamentary committee on education has called for a review of how Indian freedom fighters are depicted in school history textbooks and recommended that “ancient wisdom and knowledge” from the Vedas be incorporated into the school curriculum, stating that educational content for students should be “free of biases.”

The report of the standing committee tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, November 30, also highlights the importance of including Sikh and Maratha history in the curriculum, as well as gender-inclusive literature.

Notably, the standing committee which is headed by BJP MP Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe, has ten Rajya Sabha members on it, including four from the BJP and one each from the TMC (Sushmita Dev), CPM (Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya), DMK (RS Bharathi), AIADMK (M Thambidurai), SP (Vishambhar Prasad Nishad), SP (Vishambhar Prasad Nishad), SP (Vishambhar Prasad Nishad (Akhilesh Prasad Singh). Besides, it has 21 Lok Sabha members, 12 of whom are from BJP, two from Congress, and one each from the TMC, CPM, JD(U), Shiv Sena, YSRCP, DMK and BJD.

“There is a need for discussing and reviewing, with leading historians, the manner in which Indian freedom fighters, from various regions/parts of the country and their contributions get place in History textbooks. This will result in a more balanced and judicious perception of the Indian freedom struggle. This will go a long way in giving due and proper space to the freedom fighters hitherto unknown and oblivious in the freedom movement. Review of representation of community identity-based history as of Sikh and Maratha history and others and their adequate incorporation in the textbooks will help in a more judicious perspective of their contribution,” the report mentioned.

The committee has said in its report that the NCERT and the state SCERTs should “incorporate the ancient wisdom, knowledge and teachings about life and society from Vedas and other great Indian texts/ books in the school curriculum”.

“Also, educational methodologies adopted in the ancient Universities like Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshila should be studied and suitably modified to serve as a model reference for teachers…” it added.

The report also details some of the committee’s “observations” such as the fact that numerous historical figures and freedom fighters from India’s independence struggle have been shown in a “incorrect manner as offenders.” It was also suggested that the NCERT review the rules for developing history textbooks so that the various ages, periods, and events are given equal weight and priority in history textbooks.

“Similarly, it was observed that school textbooks do not give adequate coverage to some of the great Indian empires like that of Vikramaditya, Cholas, Chalukyas, Vijaynagar, Gondwana or that of Travancore and Ahoms of North-Eastern region, whose contributions in the expansion of India’s standing on the world stage cannot be ignored,” the report stated.

The research recommended that the curriculum should contain sections on contributions by leading figures like Mahasweta Devi, Kalpana Chawla, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Kittur Chennamma, M S Subbulakshmi, and Savitribai Phule, among others because women are underrepresented in school textbooks.

According to reports, the committee had stated another recommendation in the report which was adopted on November 26. It has said that textbooks should be free of biases and “instill a commitment to values enshrined in the constitution” apart from promoting national integration and unity.”

The committee had begun work on a report on school textbook revisions, with an emphasis on deleting references to “un-historical facts and distortions” regarding India’s national heroes, guaranteeing proportionate references to all periods of Indian history, and highlighting the role of women achievers.

Meanwhile, the Indian History Congress (IHC), which also filed a deposition, strongly opposed the committee’s recommendations, saying, “While a review process is always necessary, this should be done involving recognized scholars from all over the country and with adequate attention to the academic content, derived from a research-based understanding of different historical periods.”

Report presented before Parliamentary Committee on education says Islamic invaders given more importance in NCERT books

OpIndia has previously reported that a research report published by a prestigious think tank in July, 2021, presented before the Parliamentary Committee on education has stated that History textbooks published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and textbooks issued by the Kerala government give disproportionate attention to Mughal rulers, caste issues and barely mentions the achievements of Hindu kings, Indian saints, social reformers etc.

Delhi police arrest notorious snatchers Arvind alias Kejriwal and 2 others, recover a stolen bike, mobile phone and knife from them

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The Delhi’s Okhla police have nabbed three notorious snatchers operating in Indira Kalyan Vihar at Maa Anandmayi Marg in Delhi. The police recovered a stolen bike, a stolen mobile phone and a button accentuated knife from the possession of the miscreants. The police revealed that the accused have been identified as Arvind aka Kejriwal, Saurabh alias Raja and Suresh Rai alias Bauaa.

Journalist Raj Shekhar Jha shared the press release issued by the Delhi police related to the aforementioned case on Twitter. “Notorious snatcher Arvind alias Kejriwal, Saurabh alias Raja and Suresh Rai alias Baua have been arrested after a chase, says Delhi Police,” Tweeted the journalist.

The press note released by the Delhi police on November 30 read that on November 28, two police officials were patrolling in the Indira Kalyan Vihar at Maa Anandmayi Marg, Delhi, when they saw a lady screaming for help, pointing towards three motorbike borne thieves who were fleeing towards the ESI Hospital. The three miscreants had reportedly snatched the woman’s mobile and fled. Sensing that something was wrong the police personnel pursued the thieves. The police eventually overpowered and nabbed them.

On cursory search, the police found the snatched mobile phone and a button actuated knife on them. On asking about the ownership details of the motorcycle, they could not provide any satisfactory reply, said the police.

The press note added that during interrogation, the criminals identified themselves as Arvind alias Kejriwal, son of Prabhu Nah Yadav, Saurabh @ Raja, son of Sunil Kumar and Suresh Kumar Rai @ Bauaa, the son of one Ravinder Rai.

During the course of the investigation, the recovered motorcycle was found stolen from the area of PS Kalkaji.

Accordingly, a case FIR No. 855/2021, u/s 379/356/411/34 IPC & 25, informed the Okhla police.

Interestingly, while one of the accused went by the alias Arvind Kejriwal, another went by the moniker Bauaa, which is also used by Red FM’s famed RJ Raunac.

Soon after the journalist shared the news on the microblogging site, the name of one of the accused- Arvind @ Kejriwal stirred a meme fest on Twitter.

The fact that the thief shared his name with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal amused social media users.

PM Modi thanks Kongthong, Meghalaya for composing a special tune in his honour: Here is what makes the ‘Whistling Village’ so special

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thanked the villagers of Kongthong village in Meghalaya for composing a special tune in his honor and said that the government of India was dedicated towards promoting the tourism potential of the state. The Kongthong village which is known as the ‘whistling’ village is a part of the East Khasi hills in Meghalaya.

The special tune was composed by the residents of the unique ‘Whistling Village’ of India in honor of Prime Minister Modi and in appreciation of the steps that the Government of India had taken to promote the village as a prime tourism destination of the country.

Whistling Village of India : The Kongthong Village in Meghalaya

Located at a distance of just 60 kilometers from the capital of Meghalaya, Shillong, the ‘Whistling Village’ of India was nominated by the World Tourist organization UNWTO in September for the ‘Best Tourism Villages’ award. The beautiful village of Kongthong derived its special name of ‘Whistling Village’ from a unique characteristic of its people to identify themselves through a distinct ‘whistling’ tune specific to every individual born in the land of Kongthong. That is, each and every resident of the village of Kongthong has a ‘whistling’ tune version of their names.

The whistling tune known as Jingrwai Lawbei which means mother’s love song, is a special melodic tune composed by the women of the village for their children. As per reports, according to the traditions of the village, a mother composes the tune for her child within a week of birth. Remarkably, the villagers of this East Khasi Hills village have been using this whistling tunes for communication and sending messages among themselves as well.

Notably, the ‘Kongthong Village’ is composed of only 700 people and had been adopted by Bihar Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha of Bharatiya Janata Party. Rakesh Sinha had also recommended a UNESCO tag for the village.