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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.   

‘We live in a world where Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter’: Former US Pres Donald Trump announces own social media app ‘TRUTH Social’

OpIndia Staff
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‘We live in a world where Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter’: Former US Pres Donald Trump announces own social media app ‘TRUTH Social’

Former United States President Donald Trump has announced that he would be launching his own social media application, TRUTH Social. In a statement, he said that the new app would “stand up to Big tech” companies, including Twitter and Facebook. Notably, after the January 6 Capitol Violence, ex-President Trump was subsequently banned from social media platforms.

A new company has been formed by a merger of the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) and Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), which is a special acquisition company (SPAC). In a written statement, Trump said, “We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favourite American President has been silenced. This is unacceptable.” He further added, “I am excited to send out my first TRUTH on TRUTH Social very soon. TMTG was founded with a mission to give a voice to all. I’m excited to soon begin sharing my thoughts on TRUTH Social and to fight back against Big Tech.”

Press release about the launch of TRUTH Social. Source: AaronParseghian/Twitter

Trump said that TMTG was founded to give a voice to everyone. “Everyone asks me why doesn’t someone stand up to Big Tech? Well, we will be soon!” he said. As per the press release, TRUTH Social is available for Pre-Order in the Apple App Store. Users can sign-up for an invite on truthsocial.com. A Beta launch is expected for the invited guests users by November 2021. The company is expecting to launch the app for all Americans by the first quarter of 2022.

Patrick F. Orlando, Chairman and CEO of DWAC, said in his statement that TMTG would be one of the most promising business combination partners to create public shareholder value in the Digital World. He added, “Given the total addressable market and President Trump’s large following, we believe the TMTG opportunity has the potential to create significant shareholder value.”

Furthermore, TMTG is also planning to launch a subscription video-on-demand service TMTG+. Ti would feature ‘non-woke’ entertainment programming, news, podcasts, and more as per the press release.

Truth Social looks very much like Twitter

A teaser video of the upcoming social media platform has been uploaded on Rumble. By looking at the video, the app looks very much like Twitter. One can see a comment cloud icon, repost icon, a heart or like icon and more under every post. However, it does not give a complete picture of the functioning of the app.  

Trump has hinted at social media platforms in March

In March 2021, former President Trump had hinted that he would return to social media with his own application. The development came after social media giants categorically said that they would not allow the former President to have a presence on their platforms anytime in the future.

Ahmedabad Police issue terror alert, agencies to remain on high alert till December 18

OpIndia Staff
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Ahmedabad Police issue terror alert, agencies to remain on high alert till December 18

Ahmedabad Police has issued a high alert in the city till December 18 based on the intelligence agency inputs. Sanjay Srivastava, Police Commissioner, Ahmedabad, issued information about it. The Police has asked the public to be careful in crowded places, including malls and cinemas, till December 18.

Srivastava has urged people to remain vigilant and ordered strict security at public places.

The Police have also been instructed to inspect vehicles with high-resolution cameras. The security at all important establishments has already been increased.

Ahmedabad faced a terror attack in 2008

Back in July 2008, 21 bomb blasts shook Ahmedabad city within 70 minutes. 56 people had lost their lives, and over 200 were injured. Since then, the intelligence agencies have been keeping the city under constant monitoring.

This is not the first time such alerts have been issued in the city. In February 2020, a high alert was published on the anniversary of the Pulwama attack. Important establishments, including Sardar Sarovar dam, Statue of Unity and Somnath Temple s have been issued in the city. In February 2019, a high alert was published on the anniversary of the Pulwama attack.

Important establishments, including Sardar Sarovar dam, Statue of Unity and Somnath Temple got additional security and other crowded places across the state got additional security.

Strong political leadership, dedication of healthcare workers: What Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia said after India touched 100 crore vaccine mark

OpIndia Staff
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Strong political leadership, dedication of healthcare workers: What Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia said after India touched 100 crore vaccine mark

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage on October 21 crossed an important milestone of the 100 crore mark. With this, India has become the second country after China to have administered over 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to its population. 

Lauding India’s feat, the Regional Direction of WHO, South-East Asia issued a statement.

Congratulating India, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said, “The extraordinary feat in a short span was not possible without strong political leadership, inter-sectoral convergence, dedicated efforts of the entire health & frontline workforce”.

Further, Dr Singh lauded India’s effort to ensure that these life saving vaccines were available to the world.

“India’s progress must be viewed in the context of the country’s commendable commitment & efforts to ensure these life savings vaccines are accessible globally”, she said.

India launches “Vaccine Maitri” initiative to help countries stave off COVID-19

With the pandemic raging uncontrollably across the globe, PM Modi was also conscious of India’s responsibility towards the world. India is known for being the pharmacy of the world and as COVID-19 flared up in almost every country around the world looked up to India for help. PM Modi did not disappoint them and vowed to fortify them in their fight against COVID-19 with Indian-made vaccines. 

The Indian government launched “Vaccine Maitri” initiative, a humanitarian initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world. Through this initiative, the government had delivered around 66.3 million doses of vaccines to 95 countries till May 9, 2021, when it had to halt the initiative owing to a ravaging second wave of coronavirus back home. 

As India administers 100-crore vaccine doses, it sets her eyes on achieving 100 per cent inoculation of her population

On October 21, India crossed the monumental milestone of 100 crore-mark for cumulative vaccination. For a country that took over 32 years to be completely vaccinated against Polio, this accomplishment holds special significance. In less than 10 months since the start of the vaccination programme, India has managed to vaccinate over 72 per cent of her population with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Another feather in the cap is the fact that an overwhelming percentage of vaccinations have been done with made in India vaccines. 

A day before the start of India’s ambitious vaccination drive, on January 15, as PM Modi kicked off the vaccine roll-out with a click of a button, a video message played the Sanskrit chant – Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramaya – (All be happy, All be free of illness). In just under 10 months, this message has manifested itself in all its glory as India completes the administration of 100 crore vaccine doses and sets her eyes on attaining the next milestone— 100 per cent vaccination of her population against the Chinese coronavirus.

UP Police arrests three for raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan during Eid procession, Imam of Noida Jama Masjid distances himself: Details

OpIndia Staff
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UP Police arrests three for raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan during Eid procession, Imam of Noida Jama Masjid distances himself: Details

The Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday arrested Mohammad Zafar, Sameer Ali and Ali Raza for raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during an Eid-e-Milad procession in Noida’s Sector 8 on Tuesday. 

The police had launched a probe into the matter after a 13-second video of the procession where pro-Pakistani slogans were raised, went viral on social media. 

The video clip shows a group of people holding various Islamic flags. The Indian tricolour was also seen being carried in the video. However, some members of the group, while raising pro-Pakistani slogans, were caught hitting the Indian flag with the Islamic flag in their hands.

Soon after this clip surfaced on social media, members from Vishwa Hindu Parishad alerted the Sector 20 police station and demanded immediate action against the perpetrators.  

Talking about the incident, Uma Nandan Kaushik, zonal head of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Noida, said, “Some people raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during the procession.”

“Someone captured the incident on mobile phone and shared the video with us. We then informed the police and demanded action against them,” he said further. 

‘No connection with mosque’

Imam of Jama Masjid in Noida’s Sector 8, Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qasmi distanced himself from the incident. He claimed that the procession had nothing to do with the mosque or its organising committee.

“We were not part of the procession. We came to know that some people had organised the procession, which also had the permission of the police and the district administration. We do not know what happened in the procession,” said Qasmi. 

‘Arrests made after consulting experts’

Reportedly, the police had sent the video to an expert team to ascertain the authenticity. 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Rajesh S said, “We have sent the video to an expert team for further investigation, although, prima facie, it appears that the video is genuine. We scanned the video and arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in the sloganeering.”

“If one sees the complete video then one can see that ‘Hindustan Zindabad’ slogan was being raised but in between the miscreants raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan as well,” he added further. 

An FIR has been filed against the accused at the Sector 20 police station under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code. 

‘Pakistan Zindabad in Muharram procession’

The Madhya Pradesh police in the month of August this year had arrested six people and detained over ten for raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during a Muharram procession in Ujjain.

The video of the procession where the crowd can be seen cheering for Pakistan had gone viral on social media. 

India administers 100 crore coronavirus vaccine doses in less than 10 months: Here is how ‘Sarve Santu Niramaya’ manifested itself

Jinit Jain
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India administers 100 crore coronavirus vaccine doses in less than 10 months: Here is how ‘Sarve Santu Niramaya’ manifested itself

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage on October 21 crossed an important milestone of the 100 crore mark. With this, India has become the second country after China to have administered over 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to its population. 

As per CoWin platform, India administered over 14 lakh doses of vaccines on Thursday, October 20, crossing the 100 crore mark (Till 9:50 AM). The total doses of vaccines administered so far stands at 1,00,00,30,500 (at 9:50 AM). 

The milestone is significantly momentous, given that it took less than 10 months for the country to dispense over 100 crore doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. But reaching this milestone was not easy as it seems. It was fraught with unexpected difficulties and daunting challenges. Indeed, India’s vaccination campaign had hit several roadblocks during its course, often weakening the pace of vaccination but not the resolve of the central government to inoculate its people against an intractable contagion that is prone to chronic mutations. 

As India administers 100 crore vaccine doses, here is how India kickstarted it vaccination campaign on January 16, 2021

India kickstarted its vaccination campaign with much fanfare on January 16, 2021, after the Drugs General Controller of India gave its emergency use authorisation to two indigenously made vaccines—Covaxin and Covishield. 

“We are launching the world’s biggest vaccination drive and it shows the world our capability,” Modi said at the launch of India’s vaccination campaign. He implored citizens to keep their guard up and not to believe any “rumors about the safety of the vaccines.”

The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in India starting January 16 prioritised the healthcare workers and the frontline workers who were estimated to be around 3 crore, followed by those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 crore.

The start of the inoculation drive was expectedly cautious and progressive, given that the government had the Herculean task of disabusing people out of their skepticism towards the side-effects of the vaccines as well as expanding the vaccine production capacity of the country. 

India launches “Vaccine Maitri” initiative to help countries stave off COVID-19

With the pandemic raging uncontrollably across the globe, PM Modi was also conscious of India’s responsibility towards the world. India is known for being the pharmacy of the world and as COVID-19 flared up in almost every country around the world looked up to India for help. PM Modi did not disappoint them and vowed to fortify them in their fight against COVID-19 with Indian-made vaccines. 

The Indian government launched “Vaccine Maitri” initiative, a humanitarian initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world. Through this initiative, the government had delivered around 66.3 million doses of vaccines to 95 countries till May 9, 2021, when it had to halt the initiative owing to a ravaging second wave of coronavirus back home. 

Initial hiccups faced in the vaccination campaign, compounded by the opposition’s penchant for promoting vaccine hesitancy

The Centre’s endeavour to persuade people into joining the vaccination drive was compounded by vaccine hesitancy promoted by several opposition leaders and conspiracy theorists, who alleged that vaccines were hastily manufactured and not thoroughly tested before being administered to the population. 

Congress leaders, in particular, spearheaded the campaign to discredit the vaccines made in India. Many of them raised questions on the authenticity of the trial data of the vaccines while others alleged that the vaccines were not rigorously tested before being given the emergency approval. Congress supporters and leaders are also partook in this misinformation campaign, raising doubts over the ingredients of the vaccines and fuelling apprehension among gullible people.

These unwarranted insinuations and allegations naturally sowed seeds of doubts among people regarding the safety of vaccines and served as a setback for the country’s fledgling vaccination campaign.

Despite opposition’s attempt at sabotage, India’s vaccination campaign gathered momentum

However, the authorities remained undaunted by the snags encountered on their way to tackle the scourge of COVID-19, and buckled down on the task of educating people and dispelling unfounded notions of vaccine hesitancy among people. It launched various campaigns to allay fears and inform people about the benefits of taking vaccines.

On March 1, 2021, India begun inoculating its elderly citizens against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the second phase of the world’s largest vaccination drive. In this phase, people above the age of 60 years and those above 45 years who were in the high-risk category were administered the jab.

The authorities came up with the latest version of the Co-Win application, which forms the backbone of India’s immunisation campaign, and threw it open for people to register themselves for vaccination. Citizens were able to register and book an appointment for getting the vaccine, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-Win 2.0 portal or through other IT applications such as Arogya Setu, etc. For those who were not tech savvy, they could get themselves registered through rudimentary means or simply by walking in at vaccination centres to get themselves inoculated. 

As more and more people became eligible to take vaccines, there was enormous pressure on the vaccine manufacturers to expand their capacities in a swift manner to cater to the growing demand of vaccines. 

Vaccination drive hits snags amidst opposition’s stubbornness to wrest control of procurement and devastation caused by the second wave of coronavirus outbreak

Even as India was facing supply constraints of COVID-19 vaccines, the opposition leaders, most notably Congress politicians, continued raising aspersions on the efficacy of the vaccines and nitpicking over the vaccine procurement mechanism. They asked for “greater say” in vaccine procurement and asked the Centre to decentralise the vaccination drive. 

The Centre obliged and allowed states to procure vaccines from the international market on their own. During this time, India’s vaccination campaign took a nosedive as states prepared tenders to bid for vaccines from abroad. Incidentally, around the same time, somewhere between April and May 2021, a devastating second wave of coronavirus outbreak swept the country. 

Hospitals in many parts of the country were filled to capacity, with the healthcare workers stretched thin and COVID-19 medicines and oxygen supplies running short. As the deadly wave of COVID-19 outbreak hurtled through the country, the administration shifted their focus on tackling the task at hand—to equip hospitals with necessary equipment and medicines needed to ward off COVID-19. 

Simultaneously, the state governments were dealt with a rude awakening that their individual efforts to procure vaccines were not eliciting the desired result. Vaccine manufacturers across the world turned them down saying that they only dealt with federal governments, and not with state governments. As a consequence, they grudgingly asked the Centre to once again take control of the vaccination campaign. 

India’s inoculation resumes in earnest as Centre takes back control of country’s vaccination

In the first week of June 2021, PM Modi busted opposition propaganda around vaccine announced taking back control of vaccination from states and free vaccines for everyone above the age of 18 starting June 21. 

“The Centre is taking back total control of vaccination now. It will take over the 25 per cent doses assigned to states and this will be implemented in the next two weeks. From June 21 (International Day of Yoga), the Centre will provide free vaccines to states,” PM Modi announced in an address to the nation. 

With Centre in charge of country’s vaccination, the inoculation campaign resumed in earnest. By this time, Serum Institute of India and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech had sufficiently expanded their vaccine production capacity, thereby enabling them to largely bridge the demand-supply disparity. The Centre also sought supplies of Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine to augment the availability of COVID-19 vaccines.

On August 6, 2021, India crossed the 50 crore mark for cumulative vaccinations. The fact that India’s vaccination campaign was undergoing at a breakneck pace could be gauged by the fact that it took just 20 days for India to reach from 40 crore doses administered to 50 crores. India achieved the 10 crore doses milestone within 85 days, went from 10 crore to 20 crore in 45 days, from 20 crore to 30 crore in 29 days and from 30 crore to 40 crore in 24 days. 

19 days after crossing the 50 crore mark, India’s vaccination campaign touched the milestone of 60 crore vaccine doses. The reducing number of days to achieve the 10-crore vaccine dose milestone demonstrates that India’s inoculation drive was on the right path to vaccinate its gargantuan population and suppress the subsequent waves of coronavirus outbreak.

In the same month, on August 27, India created a record by jabbing more than 1 crore doses in a single day. Then on August 31, India bettered her previous record by administering more than 1.4 crore vaccine doses. A couple of weeks later, India stunned the world with an unprecedented milestone— jabbing over 2 crore vaccines doses in a single day, the highest so far and shattering all previous records of single-day vaccinations. 

The achievement came on the occasion of the 71st birthday of Prime Minister Modi. Just before midnight, September 17, India managed to jab 2.5 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines in a single day. Since then, the vaccinations are taking at a brisk pace, rapidly moving towards PM Modi and the government’s stated goal of completing the inoculation of the entire country by December 31. 

As India administers 100-crore vaccine doses, it sets her eyes on achieving 100 per cent inoculation of her population

On October 21, India crossed the monumental milestone of 100 crore-mark for cumulative vaccination. For a country that took over 32 years to be completely vaccinated against Polio, this accomplishment holds special significance. In less than 10 months since the start of the vaccination programme, India has managed to vaccinate over 72 per cent of her population with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Another feather in the cap is the fact that an overwhelming percentage of vaccinations have been done with made in India vaccines. 

A day before the start of India’s ambitious vaccination drive, on January 15, as PM Modi kicked off the vaccine roll-out with a click of a button, a video message played the Sanskrit chant – Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramaya – (All be happy, All be free of illness). In just under 10 months, this message has manifested itself in all its glory as India completes the administration of 100 crore vaccine doses and sets her eyes on attaining the next milestone— 100 per cent vaccination of her population against the Chinese coronavirus.

Chhattisgarh: Durgesh Devangan arrested in Kawardha violence case, had objected to removal of Saffron flag

OpIndia Staff
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Chhattisgarh: Durgesh Devangan arrested in Kawardha violence case, had objected to removal of Saffron flag

On October 19, Chhattisgarh Police arrested Durgesh Devangan and Prahlad Sahu in a Kawardha violence case from Mana, district Raipur. They have been brought to Kawardha. Mohit Garg, Superintendent of Police, Kawardha, said that Devangan and Sahu were involved in the violence that took place in the district between October 3 and October 5.

Reportedly, the violence between two groups was ignited after a Muslim mob allegedly uprooted the Saffron flag and tore it apart. The flag was hoisted by a Hindu group in the area. Soon after the mob uprooted the flag, the situation got violent, and two groups clashed with each other.

Several teams were formed to find the duo

SP Garg further said that several teams of Kabirdham police station were engaged in searching for the accused. Several raids were conducted based on the information collected from the informants and technical evidence. The Police learnt about their presence in Raipur and conducted searches at different locations in the district. They were later arrested from Shehnai Market Hall Sadani Darbar that comes under Sejbahar Police Station, Raipur.

The Kawardha Violence

On October 3, a Muslim mob uprooted a Saffron flag and tore it apart. It led to stone-pelting and clashes between the two groups. The incident occurred at Maa Karma Chowk. Section 144 of CrPc (Criminal Code Procedure) was imposed later to bring the situation under control. Ajay Thakur, Shoyab Adri, and Durgesh Devangan from the two groups had sustained injuries.

On October 5, the Hindu groups reinstalled the Saffron flag at the same spot where the Muslim mob had ripped it off. They also protested against the Congress government. Hindu groups claimed that the Muslim mob had attacked them, but the Police, instead of cracking down on the perpetrators of violence, chose to thrash them instead. Based on the video evidence, Police had registered case against 59 people.

As per reports, Durgesh was one of the very first people who had objected to the removal of the Saffron flag. He was also attacked by a mob of Muslims during the violence. It is notable here that there were some allegations that local MLA and Chhattisgarh minister Md Akbar has been ‘protecting’ some particular people involved in the violence.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad had taken a rally demanding action against the people who indulged in violence on October 5. The local police administration had blamed VHP for spreading disharmony.

BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde writes to CEAT Tyres to make ad showcasing nuisance of namaz on roads, loudspeakers in mosques: Full text of letter

OpIndia Staff
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BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde writes to CEAT Tyres to make ad showcasing nuisance of namaz on roads, loudspeakers in mosques: Full text of letter

Uttara Kannada MP and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Anantkumar Hegde shot a letter to CEAT Tyres MD and CEO, Anant Vardhan Goenka urging the company to release yet another advertisement showcasing nuisance faced due to road blockages by namaz. 

The letter was written in response to a CEAT Tyres ‘awareness campaign’ ad released a few weeks ago, showcasing Bollywood actor Aamir Khan schooling children on how bursting crackers on the road causes inconvenience. 

The actor in the TVC says, “Roads are to drive vehicles and not burst crackers.” Though the advertisement features ‘celebration of winning a cricket match,’ it was released just ahead of major Hindu festivals of Dussehra and Diwali.

Highlighting this ‘public message,’ Hegde in his letter to CEAT Tyres CEO said, “Your concern to public issues need applause. In this regard, I request you to address one more problem faced by people on roads, i.e., blocking roads in the name of namaz on Friday and other important festive days by Muslims.” 

Letter by Uttara Kannada BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde. Image Source: Facebook

Hegde further stated that how even emergency vehicles such as ambulances and firetrucks are left hapless on being stuck in traffic caused by such blockades, putting several lives at risk. 

Since the brand is on a ‘public awareness’ spree, the BJP MP also urged the brand to highlight the noise pollution caused due to loudspeakers installed at mosques emanating loud sounds every day sometimes exceeding the permissible decibel limit. 

“As you are very keen and sensitive towards the problems faced by the general public and you also belong to the Hindu community, I am sure you can feel the discrimination done to Hindus for centuries,” said Hegde further. 

Taking a dig at Aamir Khan, Hegde also mentioned that it has become a norm for some anti-Hindu actors to point out everything wrong about the Hindu community while ignoring the ills of their own. 

Requesting the MD and CEO of CEAT Tyres to take cognizance of the matter, Hegde concluded the letter by wishing a ‘Very Happy Deepavali.’ 

Full text of the letter by MP Anantkumar Hegde to CEAT CEO and MD

Dear Shri Goenka, Your company’s recent advertisement in which Amir Khan advising people not to fire crackers on the streets is giving a very good message. Your concern for public issues needs applause.

In this regard, I request you to address one more problem faced by people on roads, i. e., blocking roads in the name of Namaz on Fridays and other important festive days by Muslims. It is a very common scene in many Indian cities where Muslims block busy roads and perform Namaz. At that time, vehicles like ambulances and firefighters vehicles are also struck in traffic causing grave losses.

I also request you to highlight the issue of noise pollution in your ads. Every day, loud noise is emitted from mikes arranged on the top of mosques in our country when Azan is given. That sound is beyond the permissible limits. On Fridays, it is prolonged for some more time. It is causing great inconvenience to people suffering from different ailments and taking rest, people working in different establishments and teachers teaching in classrooms. Actually, this list of sufferers is very long and only a few are mentioned here.

As you are very keen and sensitive towards the problems faced by the general public and you also belong to the Hindu community, I am sure you can feel the discrimination done to the Hindus since centuries. Nowadays, a group of Anti-Hindu actors always hurt the Hindu sentiments whereas they never try to expose the wrong doings of their community.

Therefore, I kindly request you to take a cognizance of this particular incident where your company’s advertisement has created an unrest among the Hindus. I hope in future your organization will respect the Hindu sentiment and will not hurt it directly or indirectly by any means.

Thank you and Happy Deepavali!

‘Fabindia faces the heat’

Recently, yet another Indian brand faced the heat for cultural appropriation after it named its Diwali collection ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz.’ 

Fabindia on October 01 launched its ‘festive season’ collection and released multiple digital ads promoting the same. However, the collection meant for ‘festival of lights’ (Diwali) carried an Urdu name and sported models with no bindis, thereby, drawing flak from the netizens. 

Fabindia’s ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ ad campaign

Several took objection to the brand taking a little too much creative liberty for a Hindu festival and called for a boycott. The brand was forced to take down its posts and digital ad campaign. It also quietly renamed the collection to ‘Jhilmil si Diwali’ and claimed that ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ was not intended to denote Diwali. 

The bogus justification led to further outrage by the netizens with #boycottfabindia trending on Twitter. 

Bangladesh: Man who triggered communal violence against Hindus by placing Quran at Durga Puja venue identified as Iqbal Hossain

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: Man who triggered communal violence against Hindus by placing Quran at Durga Puja venue identified as Iqbal Hossain

After radical Islamists had launched an attack on Hindus in Bangladesh alleging insult of the Quran, police investigation has revealed that a Muslim man was behind the alleged ‘blasphemous’ act. Police have identified the culprit behind the weeklong communal attacks on Hindus in the country as Iqbal Hossain.

35-years-old Iqbal Hossain, son of Nur Ahmed Alam from Sujanagar area of Comilla, had placed the Quran at a Durga Puja mandap at Nanua Dighir Par in Comilla on October 13th, which had triggered a series of communal violence against minority Hindus in the country. The police identified Iqbal after analysing video footage at the puja venue, informed Comilla Superintendent of Police (SP) Farooq Ahmed. However, he is yet to be arrested as he is on the run, and a manhunt is on to nab him.

Iqbal Hossain is a drifter by profession, and it is unknown whether he has any involvement with any political party. Cumilla SP Faruk Ahmed said more details will be revealed in a press briefing on Thursday.

Earlier, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had informed said authorities had identified the person behind the Comilla incident. “I hope the prime suspect in the Comilla incident will be arrested soon. He has been changing locations frequently to avoid getting caught. We’ll be able to unfold the Comilla incident once he’s arrested,” the minister had said.

A video showing the Quran kept in the puja mandap was uploaded on social media which had gone viral soon. After that, a group of people had attacked the puja venue and vandalised it. The next day, two people were killed after Hindu temples, Durga puja mandaps, and businesses were attacked and vandalised in Noakhali’s Begumganj.

Violence continued for almost a week till October 17th, where at least seven people were killed and dozens were injured, apart from hundreds of houses and businesses of Hindus vandalised.

One Md Foyez Ahmed, who had posted the video of the Comilla puja mandap that triggered the violence, was arrested by the police on October 13th itself. Police have arrested around 450 people in connection with the subsequent violence, and have registered 72 cases so far.

Facebook Inc to rename the company to signify that it is no longer a one-app entity

OpIndia Staff
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Facebook Inc to rename the company to signify that it is no longer a one-app entity

Social media giant Facebook Inc, which owns popular apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, is planning to change its name to reflect that it is no longer a one-app company. According to a report by The Verge, the company is planning to change its company name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to talk about the change in the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28th. The rebranding of the company will help position the company as a parent company of several groups from social media to hardware development, as the company aims to project itself as a ‘metaverse’ company. In July, Mark Zuckerberg had told The Verge, “We will effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company.”

Another benefit of this rebranding will be separating the CEO from the intense scrutiny that Facebook the social media app received on various issues, including politics. It is expected that after the app is separated from the company by name, Mark Zuckerberg will be able to concentrate on his future plans, instead of getting dragged to controversies related to policies of Facebook. He has already appeared before the Congress and the Senate to answer questions on the apparent bias of the app in favour of left-wing politics.

The new name that Facebook Inc is expected to adopt is not known, as at present it is a closely guarded secret. However, The Verge reports that the possible name could be related to Horizon. It is the name of a virtual reality online video gaming platform that the company is developing.

Another possible name is Meta, according to Samidh Chakrabarti, the company’s former civic integrity chief.

It is notable that the domain Meta.com is already owned by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, while using the Horizon name may have trademark issues. At present, meta.com redirects to meta.org.

It is important to note that only the company Facebook Inc, which owns various group services like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram etc will be changed. The name of the social media platform Facebook, the flagship product of the company, will remain the same as it is not being changed. As the main purpose of the change is to show the difference between the Facebook platform and the company that owns it.

When Facebook Inc changes its name, it will be the second IT major to do so in recent years. In 2015, search giant Google had reorganised the company and formed the holding company as Alphabet Inc, which was Google Inc earlier. It was done to signal that Google was no longer an internet search company, but search was only one of the services that it offers along with many others.

Along with this, Sundar Pichai was made the CEO of Google, with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin focusing on the holding company Alphabet Inc that has interests in diverse areas like internet services, smartphones, health, fitness wearables, fibre networks, robotics, self-driving vehicles, drones etc.

Facebook Inc also plans to follow the same route, where a holding company will own various services like Facebook, WhatsApp etc and any other future additions. However, it is not known whether Mark Zuckerberg will remain as CEO of the Facebook app or give the responsibility to someone else to focus only on the holding company, like Google Inc did when it transitioned to Alphabet Inc.

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