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As Hindus continue to get attacked in Bangladesh, here is how one can donate to help the victims

OpIndia Staff
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As Hindus continue to get attacked in Bangladesh, here is how one can donate to help the victims

Amidst the series of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh during Durga Puja festivities from 13 to 17 October 2021, there is a rise in fear of how the Hindu victims are going to revive from the heinous crimes against them. The Bangladesh Chapter of the World Hindu Federation has come forward to stand with the victims in their time of need. Those who like to contribute to the cause, can use the following bank details for the same.

Account Name: DIPAN MITRA

Bank Name: Dutch Bangla Bank Limited. Dhanmondi Branch, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Account no: 1101510120712

Routing no: 090261183

Swift Code DBBLBDDH

BKash Number: +8801912174793 (Bkash is an online financial app that allows money transfer to Bangladesh via an international network of financial institutes)

In a press statement, World Hindu Federation’s Bangladesh Chapter said that the situation is getting worse. Describing the attack that happened on October 17, they said, “On 17 October 2021, at night a barbaric attack happened at Pirgonj in Rangpur district. The Muslims attacked Hindu villages and set fire on 300 Hindu Houses, and looted everything. All the 300 houses were totally burnt. Now they are living in the most vulnerable situation.”

Appeal for donation by World Hindu Federation, Bangladesh Chapter

Reportedly, on Sunday, they carried out arson at a village and burnt 20 Hindu homes in Pirganj Upazila in the Rangpur Division of Bangladesh. As per reports, Muslims in Jelepolli in Majipara had alleged that a Hindu man had posted ‘content dishonouring religion’ on Facebook. The frenzied mob of radical Islamists targeted three villages, namely, Majhipara, Bottola and Hatibandha villages in Pirganj Upazila.

The statement says that 17 Hindus are missing while several incidents of rape happened over the past few days. They appealed for financial help and alleged that the government was silent and action from the administration was non-visible. It added, “This is a pre-planned attack of Hindu cleansing from Bangladesh. Still, three crores Hindus are living in Bangladesh. Hindus have no demand. They want security and dignity to live as a Hindu in Bangladesh.”

It further read, “We are appealing to all to stand beside Bangladeshi Hindus. Your small contribution can make a great impact to protect and save the Hindus in Bangladesh. Your donation is highly appreciated. Please donate us through flank and BKash (Online Mobile Money) Transaction.” The organization is also working on enabling online donation or payment portals for donations.

The attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh

For over five days, houses and temples of the Hindu community in Bangladesh have been under the attack of radical Islamists. It started on October 12 when multiple incidents of idol vandalism took place ahead of Puja. On Sunday, Islamic extremists vandalized the Durga idol of Sri Shamshaneshwar Shiva Vigraha Mandir in the Firingibazar area in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

On October 14, it was reported that several other Puja pandals were vandalized. Videos of broken idols, demolished pandals and Moorti of Maa Durga being thrown in a pond emerged on social media platforms along with other videos of attacks on Hindus. On October 16, the ISKCON temple was attacked by a 400-500 strong Muslim mob. On October 17 and October 18, the attacks continued, and houses of Hindus were vandalized. Many were reported injured, and some reported dead after the attacks.

Netflix employees stage walkout over comedian’s joke on LGBT groups, woke celebrities support: All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Netflix employees stage walkout over comedian’s joke on LGBT groups, woke celebrities support: All you need to know

Netflix employees staged a walkout on Wednesday after Dave Chappelle made “transphobic comments” in his special “The Closer”. In his last special for Netflix, Dave Chappelle declared himself to be ‘Team TERF’ while defending Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

Chappelle, asserting that Gender is a fact, said, “Every human being in this room, every human being on earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on earth. That is a fact.” The special was littered with other jokes around similar issues as well.

The special has incensed the ‘Woke’ camp and ‘Woke’ employees at Netflix staged a walkout in protest. They are demanding that the streaming platform hire “transgender/nonbinary” people to executive roles and create a fun to support talents from these groups.

Source: Instagram

The walkout has received a great deal of support from people in the entertainment industry. Elliot Page, an actor who was known as Ellen Page before coming out as transgender, came out in support of the Netflix employees. She said, “I stand with the trans, nonbinary, and BIPOC employees at Netflix fighting for more and better trans stories and a more inclusive workplace.”

Lilly Wachowski of The Matrix fame, a transgender herself, said, “If you’re not standing up for trans lives, you need to take a good look at who you ARE standing with.” Comic Wanda Sykes stated, “Standing in solidarity with the Netflix employees speaking truth to power today and sending my full love and support.”

The protesters and their supporters are accusing Dave Chappelle of contributing to “real life hate” towards transgenders and people from the LGBT community.

Transparent Creator Joey Soloway said, “This is gender violence. Sharing his outrage as comedic humiliation in front of thousands of people, and then broadcasting it to hundreds of millions of people, is infinitely amplified gender violence… I want trans representation on the Netflix board. A trans person on the f-ing Netflix board this fucking week.”

Actor Dan Levy said on the matter, “I stand with every employee at Netflix using their voice to ensure a safe and supportive work environment. I’ve seen firsthand how vital television can be when it comes to influencing the cultural conversation. That impact is real and works both ways: positively AND negatively. Transphobia is unacceptable and harmful. That isn’t a debate.”

Source: Twitter

LGBT rights group GLAAD also came out in support of the Netflix walkout.

Source: Twitter

Netizens slam the Netflix Walkout

Not everyone had good things to say about the Netflix walkout. Some said that it was an attempt by a “sensitive group” to ‘cancel’ a successful Black man.

Others said that Netflix employees had not bothered to stage a walkout when the streaming platform screened Cuties, a movie with overt pedophile inclinations, but were staging a walkout over a comedy special.

Counter-protesters at the site responded to “Trans Lives Matter” chants with “We like jokes” slogans.

The Dave Chappelle Comedy Special controversy: What CEO Ted Sarandos said

Earlier, the streaming platform had fired an employee for leaking confidential information regarding the Dave Chappelle special. It said in a statement, “We have let go of an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company. We understand this employee may have been motivated by disappointment and hurt with Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust and transparency is core to our company.”

CEO Ted Sarandos, in a letter to a select bunch of employees, defended the special. He said, “Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him. … As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom — even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, like Cuties, 365 Days, 13 Reasons Why or My Unorthodox Life.”

““I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean-spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering,” he added.

In a letter a few days later, Ted Sarandos said that “content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.” “The strongest evidence to support this is that violence on screens has grown hugely over the last thirty years, especially with first party shooter games, and yet violent crime has fallen significantly in many countries,” he said in that particular letter before adding, “Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse — or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy — without it causing them to harm others.”

Later, however, Sarandos claimed that he had “screwed up” but reaffirmed his belief that the comedy special was consistent with the content Netflix has to offer. “When we think about this challenge we have to entertain the world, part of that challenge means that you’ve got audiences with various taste, various sensibilities, various beliefs. You really can’t please everybody or the content would be pretty dull,” he stated.

Ted Sarandos added, “I do think that the inclusion of the special on Netflix is consistent with our comedy offering, it’s consistent with Dave Chappelle’s comedy brand, and this is … one of those times when there’s something on Netflix that you’re not going to like.”

Param Bir Singh is not traceable hence the assurance of no coercive action can’t be extended, Maharashtra govt tells Bombay HC

OpIndia Staff
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Param Bir Singh is not traceable hence the assurance of no coercive action can’t be extended, Maharashtra govt tells Bombay HC

Uddhav Thackeray led Maharashtra government has told the Bombay High Court that as former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh facing police probe is not traceable, the Maharashtra police does not want to further extend ‘no coercive action’ assurance to him.

“In view of other developments, we are getting reports that Param Bir Singh is not traceable. Hence, the government is not inclined to continue its statement of no coercive action in this matter,” senior Advocate Darius Khambata, representing the Maharashtra government, told a division bench of Justice Nitin M Jamdar and Justice Sarang V Kotwal.

Maharashtra government said this in connection with a police probe against Param Bir Singh in the wake of an FIR lodged against him by Thane Police under sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and IPC. The complaint was filed by police inspector Bhimrao Ghadge who alleged that Param Bir Singh had insulted him on the name of his caste and also got an FIR against him after he refused his (Param Bir Singh) order of dropping the names of a few persons from an FIR in 2015. Param Bir Singh has filed a petition for the quashing of FIR against him. During the course of the hearing in May, the government had assured no coercive action against him including arrest.

‘Param Bir Singh not traceable’ submission of the Maharashtra government came after Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil claimed that he may have left the country. Param Bir Singh had proceeded on leave as DG Home Guards on May 5, and is untraceable since then. Maharashtra police also issued a lookout notice against him.

To this statement of Darius Khambata, senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani who appeared on behalf of Param Bir Singh contended that the state government has not declared his client an absconder, hence no coercive action should continue till further hearing. Jethmalani told the court that Singh responded twice to the summons issued to him in the Thane case.

Other than the Thane case, the CID branch of Mumbai Police has been looking for Param Bir in connection with a bailable warrant issued by the KU Chandiwal commission which is investigating allegations of corruption he had levelled against NCP leader and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.

There are as many as five FIRs against Param Bir Singh in Maharashtra on various charges including extortion whereas Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau is conducting a probe in two cases against him. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) also had summoned him during the probe of Antilia bomb scare case where explosives were found outside Mukesh Ambani’s house. But the summons returned unattended.

Param Bir Singh was once a blue-eyed boy of the Uddhav Thackeray government. He was shunted from the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner after he wrote a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in March against Anil Deshmukh.

He alleged that Deshmukh had ordered Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month, including Rs 40-50 crore from around 1,750 bars and restaurants in Mumbai. Param Bir Singh wrote this letter after NIA arrested Sachin Waze in the bomb scare case.

In another development, Mumbai police on Tuesday arrested a hawala operator Alpesh Patel from Mehsana in Gujarat in connection with an extortion case lodged against Param Bir Singh.

Virat Kohli gets busy with paid posts on Twitter ahead of India vs Pakistan match, after Diwali fiasco, makes another tweet that could age badly: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Virat Kohli gets busy with paid posts on Twitter ahead of India vs Pakistan match, after Diwali fiasco, makes another tweet that could age badly: Details

As Indian cricket (in this case even non-cricket) fans gear up for Sunday’s India vs Pakistan ICC T20 World Cup match, Indian captain Virat Kohli has taken to Twitter once again to put up yet another promotional post.

After his recent not-so-great performance and ‘meaningful Diwali-Pinterest’ fiasco, the netizens are in no mood to forgo this ‘Wrogn’ Tweet. 

“People: Big match on Sunday. You’re nervous, right? Me: (Picture of Kohli wearing a t-shirt by the brand Wrogn),” Tweeted Kohli. 

Reportedly, the cricketer owns a stake in the famous Clothing and Accessories brand, Wrogn, selling graphic T-shirts, shirts, lightweight denim jackets and more.

Netizens react

Social media users instantly got busy reminding Kohli of his recent performance.

Taking a dig at the Indian captain for low scores, one Akshat Tweeted, “33(29) incoming.” 

“Hate the fact that everything is a sponsored post now.

I don’t remember the last time I saw a genuine post from most of our players. These guys just always try to leverage sponsorships via their social media presence. Thats it,” complained Kshitij Shah. 

“I have a bad feeling about Sunday. Hope the other 10 are sober,” said Sagar after coming across Kohli’s paid Tweet. 

Another Twitter user mocked the cricketer for his performance saying, “They call me 007, 0 Intl hundreds in 700 days, 0 IPL trophies, 7 sponsored jokes per day.”

Just an hour since Kohli put out the paid sponsored Tweet and it is already not being received well by cricket fans in India. In the event that India loses the cricket match with Pakistan on Sunday, this promotional tweet by Kohli might just age terribly and come back to hound him, with fans asking him if they lost the match because he was busy promoting his brand instead of getting his team battle-ready.

Interestingly, Kohli has failed to make a single century in the past two years. He is also being criticized for not having won a single ICC trophy since the time he took up India’s captaincy. 

‘Kohli deletes Pinterest page’

The link to Virat Kohli’s Pinterest account where he was supposed to give “tips” to celebrate a “meaningful Diwali” went missing from his Twitter and Instagram profiles after the cricketer received a huge backlash for issuing unwarranted sermons than working on his cricketing skills. 

On October 17, in a video post, cricketer Virat Kohli had said that he would be sharing “personal tips” to celebrate a “meaningful Diwali” after which the netizens went berserk. 

People asked him to better prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup and improve his performance rather than teaching Hindus how to celebrate one of their oldest festivals. 

Meanwhile, India is all set to clash with their old cricketing rival Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. 

NCB conducts raids at the residences of Shah Rukh Khan and Ananya Pandey in the cruise ship drug case

OpIndia Staff
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NCB conducts raids at the residences of Shah Rukh Khan and Ananya Pandey in the cruise ship drug case

Multiple teams of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) reached the Bandra residence ‘Mannat’ of Shah Rukh Khan and also actor Ananya Pandey’s residence at Khar West, Mumbai today to conduct raids in the Mumbai cruise drugs bust case.

The raid in Shah Rukh Khan and Ananya Pandey’s houses comes after NCB teams on Thursday carried out raids in the Andheri area of Mumbai, acting on a lead from one of the accused in the drugs case.

NCB team reached the residence of Shah Rukh Khan hours after he visited his son Aryan Khan at the Arthur Road jail on Thursday.

An NCB official, who was part of the team that went to SRK’s residence, said that they went there to give a formal notice saying if Aryan Khan has any other electronic devices, they must be handed over to the NCB for investigation. On the other hand, Ananya Panday has been summoned by the NCB at 2 pm today.

Shah Rukh Khan son Aryan Khan’s bail plea rejected

Aryan Khan’s bail application was denied by Mumbai’s Special NDPS Court on Wednesday, October 20. Now, the Bombay High Court would hear Aryan Khan’s bail plea next on October 26.

After NCB stormed the Cordelia cruise ship off the Mumbai coast on October 3, Aryan Khan and eight others were detained and eventually arrested.

Suspected involvement of foreign nationals

It was reported earlier that Anil Singh, who is representing NCB, hinted at the involvement of foreign nationals regarding bulk procurement of hard drugs, referring to a sensitive Whatsapp chat of Aryan Khan.

It was also reported earlier that NCB had submitted Aryan’s WhatsApp chats in court. The chats were reportedly between Aryan and a debut actress.

He had also opposed his bail petition and said that it was misconceived at this stage. While the investigation was still going on, NCB feared the accused may influence the probe if released on bail at this stage.

Ghaziabad businessman arrested for allegedly sexually harassing an actress on a Delhi-Mumbai flight

OpIndia Staff
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Ghaziabad businessman arrested for allegedly sexually harassing an actress on a Delhi-Mumbai flight

Mumbai police have arrested a businessman from Ghaziabad named Nitin B for allegedly sexually harassing an actress on a Delhi-Mumbai flight. The accused was taken into custody on October 14 on the basis of the FIR lodged by the 40 years old actress at Sahar police station under sections 354 and 354 A of IPC. 

The victim belonging to Mumbai narrated the incident stating that she had gone to Delhi in connection with some work. After finishing works On October 3, she boarded an IndiGo Airlines flight (6E6387) flight to return to Mumbai. The flight aircraft landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai at around 11 am. She told the police that when she stood up to collect her luggage from overhead storage, she felt a strange touch on her body. She looked back and saw that a stranger had grabbed her from behind by the waist and pulled her towards him. As she reacted angrily the man apologized and explained that he had not realized that she was a woman as he thought it was a male co-passenger.

However, the actress didn’t believe him, and she said, “How can someone just grab a woman and then try to dismiss it, saying he thought it was a male passenger? It’s ridiculous!”

The cabin crew staff also rushed after she raised alarms. Staffers on the board asked her to lodge a complaint with the customer relations department of the airline. In between, cabin crew staff also asked the male passenger to stay back. They further demanded that he reveal his name and seat number. That passenger revealed his name as Rajeev and shared details of his seat. Later on, she sent an e-mail to the airline demanding details of passengers on board. She also narrated the incident with her.

Responding to her e-mail, the airline said that details of passengers can’t be shared with any individual and she should lodge an FIR. She first approached Versova police station. But she was advised to visit Sahar police station since the airport area falls in the jurisdiction of Sahar police station, where the FIR was finally lodged under various sections of IPC. Treating Rajeev as an accused, Sahar police contacted the airline for details of Rajeev and other passengers which the airline quickly provided.

But when the police contacted Rajeev, he clarified that he was not involved in the incident. He sent photographs of himself and his co-travellers to the police so that the police could verify the identity of the suspect with the victim. The photograph proved crucial in the investigation, as when it was shown to the victim she identified another passenger, Nitin B, who had allegedly molested her. After identification, his name was added to the FIR and he was summoned for questioning. 

He was arrested after questioning and produced before a local court at Bhoiwada. Now the police have requested the court to record the statement of the victim under section 164 of CrPC.

According to a media report, she revealed that the wife of the accused and a male member from that family had approached her to withdraw her case. She said that a male member from the family had visited her residence and requested to withdraw the case. 

Nihangs planning ‘mahapanchayat’ at Singhu border, threaten to free the arrested murderers by force and kill again over ‘blasphemy’

OpIndia Staff
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Nihangs planning ‘mahapanchayat’ at Singhu border, threaten to free the arrested murderers by force and kill again over ‘blasphemy’

The brutal lynching of a Dalit labourer Lakhbir Singh at the Singhu-Kundli border is one of the most heinous crimes in recent times. Innumerable videos and visuals of the incident have emerged on social media which has left one reeling under shock.

Despite the gravity of the crime, the Nihang Sikhs have shown no remorse over the incident. On the contrary, various groups of Nihangs have issued warnings to the Haryana police against arresting the people from their community in connection with the lynching of Lakhbir Singh.

As per a report by the New Indian Express, the Nihangs have threatened to ensure that the four of their leaders who have surrendered in this case are released from police custody ‘by force.’

Nihangs demand a case be registered against Lakhbir Singh, say would repeat the act if need be

This is not all. The Nihang groups have also demanded that a case of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib be filed against the deceased Lakhbir Singh.

They have asserted that now they will not surrender any of their companions. In fact, they have thrown an open challenge before the Haryana police saying that if the latter tries to make any more arrests in the case, they would make sure that the arrested are released.

Nihang leader Baba Ram Singh said: “We have now given the complaint of sacrilege with the police and asked them to register a case against Lakhbir Singh. If now the police try to arrest any other person in this case we will make sure the four in the police custody are taken out by us. Right now we are cooperating with the police, but it doesn’t mean that we will tolerate any kind of excesses from them.”

Singh threatened that whoever, henceforth, indulges in the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, will be punished in the same way as Lakhbir Singh.

“It has been six years since the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib had taken place in Punjab in 2015. However, till date, none of the accused has been arrested and no legal action taken against anyone. If anyone now tries to do it again then we will punish him or her as Lakhbir Singh was punished,” said Baba Ram Singh.

Nihangs call for “mahapanchayat” to decide future course of action

The Nihangs who are still camping at the Haryana border after the heinous incident, have now given an open call for a “mahapanchayat” at Singhu Border on October 27 to decide their next course of strategy.

The Nihangs have chosen to hold a “mahapanchayat” to gauge public opinion on their stay at Singhu Border.

Many protestors believe that the murder of Lakhbir Singh in cold blood at the protest site has blackened the farmer’s protest, given that for all this while, the farm leaders have always sought to project it as not bound by a single religion. Such protestors are now staying back from attending the agitation. The crowd at the protest has thinned over the last few weeks. However, the Nihangs don’t appear to be in any haste to give up.

Indian Express reported how on Saturday, several Nihangs assembled for the evening Ardas in front of a temporary gurdwara, not far from where the victim was slain.

Their horses and tents are still parked near security checkpoints near the Delhi border.

“We respect the Samyukt Kisan Morcha even if they say they have nothing to do with us. We are all fighting in the same battle against the government. This is a bigger fight, and we will protect the interests of farmers at all costs,” said the Nihang leader, Balvinder Singh.

The Dalit Sikh labourer Lakhbir Singh was brutally lynched on October 15, Friday by the members of the Nihang Sikh community over allegations of blasphemy. His one hand was chopped off, his legs were cut, and his body was hanging from a metal police barricade near the main stage of farmer protests at the Singhu border in Haryana. Four Nihangs have been arrested so far in the case.

Two accused for Lakhbir Singh’s murder had reached border after R-Day violence

A report by Indian Express suggests that two accused who had surrendered in the Lakhbir Singh murder case on Saturday, Bhagwant Singh, aged 20 years and 25-year-old Govind Singh had come to Delhi’s Singhu border along with their Nihang group after the January 26 violence.

Talking to the media house, Balwinder Singh claimed: “Our group had come to Singhu after January 26. We saw videos of the mob attack on farmer protesters at the Singhu border after January 26. We saw pictures of how Sikhs were beaten and picked up by Delhi Police from Singhu. So, we decided to come here for the protection of protesters. We reached here at the Singhu border on February 2.”

Contrary to Balwinder Singh’s belief, the mayhem on Republic Day was planned by ‘farmer leaders’.

In the aftermath of the riots that happened on Republic Day 2021, several protesters and farmer leaders, including Deep Sidhu who were present at the Red Fort were arrested. A total of 299 police personnel were injured and properties worth crores were damaged during the riots. 

Red Devils in IPL next year? Manchester United owners show interest in new franchises

OpIndia Staff
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Red Devils in IPL next year? Manchester United owners show interest in new franchises

The owners of Manchester United Football Club, the Glazer family, have reportedly shown interest in one of the two new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises.

As per a Times of India report, the Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents have been picked up by the US-based owners of Manchester United from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This could be for the purchase of the new IPL teams to feature in the upcoming season of the overtly famous domestic cricket tournament. 

While BCCI does allow foreign companies to own a team in IPL, they will have to set up a company in India to get their bid through. However, it is still not known if Glazers have picked up the document to make a formal bid to own a franchise. 

Explaining the process, those tracking developments in a statement to the media said, “A lot of people usually pick these tender documents to study and gather the information that tends to be otherwise very useful from a larger industry perspective.”

“For instance, buying a bid document will tell me more about what the BCCI is planning next, in terms of the league expansion, etc. For instance, if Disney has bought the tender document to buy the franchise, it doesn’t mean Disney is interested in owning a franchise. It will study the document because it has to plan its own media rights landscape,” the report said further. 

Sources in the know while speaking with ANI hinted at BCCI extending deadlines for the Glazers. Confirming interest shown by the Manchester Uniter owners, the source said, “Well yes, it is true that they have shown interest and that may be one of the reasons why the dateline was extended by BCCI.”

The deadline to purchase the ITT document was set as October 20. 

Interestingly, there are several criteria for companies to be eligible for the bid. One of them being, the bidders have to submit an average turnover of Rs. 3000 crore or a net worth of Rs. 2500 crore.

Some others to have picked up the ITT document include Adani Group, Torrent Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Hindustan Times Media, Jindal Steel (led by Naveen Jindal), entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala and three private equity players. 

Additionally, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Cuttack, Indore, and Dharamsala are said to be the leading contenders as new home teams for IPL 2022. 

Bangladesh: 101 Hindu temples and Pandals, 181 houses and shops burnt by Islamists 2 days after ‘Ganga-Jamuna Cultural Festival’

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: 101 Hindu temples and Pandals, 181 houses and shops burnt by Islamists 2 days after ‘Ganga-Jamuna Cultural Festival’

The news of Hindu temples and homes being set on fire in Bangladesh by Islamists garnered global attention with everyone from the government to media to spiritual leaders condemning the systematic religious attack. 

However, just before the Hindus of Bangladesh were rendered homeless, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the capital city of Dhaka had concluded the ‘Ganga-Jamuna Cultural Festival 2021.’ 

What is Ganga-Jamuna Cultural Festival?

“Aiming at consolidating the harmony between Bangladesh and India through cultural exchange, Indian and Bangladesh Committee of Ganga-Jamuna Sangskritik Utsab Parshad have jointly been organizing the 10-day festival,” read a 2019 report on Ganga-Jamuna Cultural Festival. 

In 2021, the festival was conducted from October 01 to October 12 after a hiatus of a year due to the pandemic. While the ‘Indian cultural organizations’ could not participate this year due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions in place, over 3,500 artists from 140 local cultural organizations participated in the event. 

Ganga-Jamuna Cultural Festival 2021. Image Source: The Daily Star

Ganga-Jamuna Sangskritik Utsab Parshad convener Ghulam Quddus reiterated the same saying, “We have organized the cultural festival for eight years to promote cultural exchange between Bangladesh and India.”

Interestingly, the theme of the Ganga-Jamuna festival this year revolved around the ‘golden jubilee of independence of Bangladesh and the birth centenary of the country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.’

Tributes were also paid to late theatre personality Amalesh Chakraborty, who initiated the Ganga-Jamuna Cultural Festival in Kolkata.

State minister for cultural affairs KM Khalid while speaking at the inauguration had said, “..From our Ministry of Cultural Affairs, we want to sponsor active cultural organizations. To ensure adequate support to the appropriate organizations, we will prepare a list and hand it over to cultural icons after proper evaluation.”

‘Violence strikes on October 13’

Ironically, just two days after the cultural program came to an end, reports of Durga Puja pandal vandalism over an alleged rumor of ‘desecration of Quran by Hindus’ started to surface in the media.

A district official himself had confirmed, “The miscreants took some pictures of this and ran away. Within a few hours, using Facebook, the propaganda spread like wildfire with the provocative pictures.”

However, the Islamic extremist mob put on fire 101 Hindu temples and Pandals and 181 houses and shops in a systematic attack that went on for 10 days leaving seven dead. The violence was carried and justified basis a stray false post on Facebook. 

Violence against Hindus in Bangladesh

Several calls for help and requests to the government and Muslim community by the Hindus in Bangladesh fell on deaf ears. 

It has now come to light that the one to trigger violence against Hindus in Bangladesh is one Iqbal Hossain.

35-years-old Iqbal Hossain, son of Nur Ahmed Alam from Sujanagar area of Comilla, had reportedly placed the Quran at a Durga Puja mandap at Nanua Dighir Par in Comilla on October 13th, triggering a series of communal violence against minority Hindus in the country.

This is not the first time a false social media post was used to trigger violence against Hindus. From Bangalore riots to stone pelting in Maharashtra to vandalizing an entire Hindu village over a social media post, the template has been followed multiple times by the Islamic mobs to carry out an attack against Hindus. 

CBI submits charge sheet against two auto rickshaw drivers in Dhanbad judge murder case

Vijay Deo Jha
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CBI submits charge sheet against two auto rickshaw drivers in Dhanbad judge murder case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday submitted the charge sheet against auto-rickshaw drivers Lakhan Verma and Rahul Verma in the alleged murder case of Additional District and Sessions Judge of Dhanbad, Uttam Anand.

The SIT of CBI which submitted the charge-sheet at the special CBI court of Dhanbad in Jharkhand charged them for fatally knocking down the judge on the morning of July 28 near Randhir Verma Chowk in Dhanbad when he was returning home after a morning walk.

The charge sheet looks like a legal formality to stop the accused from seeking bail since an accused in judicial custody is entitled to bail if the charge sheet is not submitted within 90 days of the occurrence of the case.

However, the sources familiar with the investigation said that submitting a charge sheet doesn’t mean the investigation is over. “Supplementary charge sheet can be filed if fresh facts emerge so it is too early to pass a remark on the CBI investigation,” sources said.

The Bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujeet Narayan Prasad of Jharkhand High Court has been monitoring the CBI investigation. The court has directed the CBI to go to the bottom of the case stating both accused can’t have a motive to kill the judge and they can be just a cog of a larger conspiracy.

The court on several occasions has expressed displeasure over the CBI submitting a vague status report of the investigation where the agency could not go beyond these two persons. The court had even summoned CBI Joint Director Sharad Agrawal for physical presence to explain if the agency has found anything concrete.

The death of the Dhanbad judge had shocked the judiciary and Bar across the country and the Supreme Court had expressed concerns over the safety and security of judicial officials across the country.

Both accused are petty criminals who had stolen mobile phones and an auto-rickshaw (JH 10R 0461) hours before they killed the judge. They tried convincing the CBI that they hit the judge to snatch valuable items from his possession believing he (judge) must be carrying a mobile phone and wallet.  But they fled away after they saw some bikers.

The CBI so far has questioned over 100 people including some jailed gangsters. It announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone giving useful information about this case. The CBI also conducted a narco-test upon them. Besides the agency also took over the investigation of mobile and auto-rickshaw theft.


A team of the SIT of CBI was asked to investigate possible involvements of criminals lodged in jail and whether the judge had received any threat. The CBI recently questioned Nand Kumar Singh who is in jail in connection with the Rananjay Singh murder case. Nand Kumar Singh and Harsh Singh (on bail) are accused of this case. Harsh Singh is brother-in-law of Congress’ Jharia MLA Purnima Niraj Singh.   

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