BKU National President and so called Farmer Leader Naresh Tikait, brother of Rakesh Tikait, was caught in a sting operation carried by Zee News in which he was found saying that he can get sugarcane at a price lower than the minimum selling price (MSP) if paid in cash.
At about 7 minutes 24 seconds into the video, Naresh Tikait could be seen discussing on a proposal of jaggery factory and sugarcane procurement to the same. A reporter, posing as someone proposing a business deal, can be seen talking to Naresh Tikait about opening a jaggery factory and when the conversation led to sugarcane prices Tikait could be heard saying, ‘Very good, we have large quantities of Sugarcane here, and you will get these sugarcanes at the right price, even mill cannot take this much of sugarcanes, just the payment should be made in cash, you will get the sugarcanes at a much lower price, even lower than the rate asked at the mill, that is, Rs 325 per quintal, that is what, crushers’ (kolhoo) price may be Rs 225, Rs 250 or 275..’
This comes at a time when the so-called farmer leaders like Naresh Tikait himself and his brother Rakesh Tikait have been leading an agitation against the farm laws claiming they are anti-farmers. While ‘farmer protestors’ have been demanding legalising MSP (minimum support price), Tikait offers the same sugarcane at less than the price offered by other mills, if the money is paid in cash and not direct bank transfer. Huge amount of unaccounted cash transactions could lead to the problem of black money.
As per Zee News, their team met Tikait in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district where a ‘mahapanchayat’ was held recently. The Tikaits hail from this district. Undercover Zee News team told Tikait about an agreement with a Singapore-based company to set up a jaggery factory in UP. At first Tikait didn’t show interest but when he got to know of foreign company investment, his interest piqued.
Amusingly, Tikait did not raise the points he and his brother often raise during the protests carried out by ‘farmer’ leaders. Example, he did not mention that the farmers do not give the land to industries, the way they have been claiming at various protests. Not only that, he even offered 12 bigha land to company at Rs 10,000 per bigha annually. During the recently held mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar, Tikait had ‘warned’ the farmers against giving their lands to industries as they may ‘grab’ their land. But when it came to his own land or deal with him, Naresh Tikait appeared more than willing to get into agreement with companies.
Mumbaikars are paying a hefty price for the tree-hugging Andolanjeevis and some petty politicians who have successfully derailed the Mumbai Metro Phase 03 project. As per a Times of India report, the loans for the Metro 3 rail corridor could dry up in the next few months owing to the escalation in costs.
‘JICA warns of cash crunch’
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) which oversees the 33.5 km Metro 3 rail corridor is primarily being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
As per the TOI report, the MMRC has already spent Rs 18,400 crore on the project. Additionally, the project with an initial estimation of Rs 23,136 crore, will now cost Rs 33,406 crore due to severe delay. It is imperative to note that the Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) budget for the city this year is Rs 39,000 crore.
JICA has now warned of a cash crunch as the state cabinet sits on a proposal to approve the cost escalation. The agency says, more funds can be released only after the state cabinet sanctions the revised cost.
‘CM did not reply to a letter by Japanese ambassador’
Japanese ambassador to India, Suzuki Satoshi in a letter dated February 17, 2021, wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expressing concern over the expected ‘cash crunch’ and ‘significant delay in project timelines.’ Satoshi in that letter had also urged the CM to approve the revised cost for the fourth tranche of the loan to enable JICA to release the money.
“During JICA’s detailed fact-finding mission with MMRC, conducted from December 2020 to January 2021, it was recognized that there is a real possibility for MMRC to face fund shortage within the next fiscal year (FY2021) if an additional loan cannot be provided by end of fiscal (FY2020),” read the ambassador’s letter.
“As a financer of this project, the government of Japan and JICA are strongly concerned that the project would potentially face serious difficulties such as significant delays or stagnation unless the loan is extended in a timely manner,” the letter read further.
The letter, however, has not been responded to as yet. As per the report, a senior Mantralaya official has assured that the state cabinet will take up the cost revision proposal “soon.”
Aarey protests and Shiv Sena’s politics have derailed Metro3 plans
The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, shortly after coming to power had scrapped the Metro 3 car shed at Aarey, trying to appease the ‘environmentalists’ whose concerns were already dismissed by the Supreme Court as invalid. The Chief Minister had then asked the Metro officials to explore the option of setting up the depot for Metro 3 and Metro 6 (Vikhroli to Lokhandwala) at Goregaon Pahadi in June this year.
Interestingly, there is no progress on Goregaon Pahadi land selection process since the CM’s request. “There is a general sense of disappointment and disillusionment among the designers, engineers and contractors working on the project because there is no clarity from the government. There is serious uncertainty,” Mumbai Mirror reported quoting sources.
Meanwhile, the MMRCL has started planting trees at Metro-3 stations. While the project approvals are still pending, the CM in 2020 had ordered the immediate withdrawal of cases registered against the ‘environmentalists’ who had opposed tree felling in Aarey in 2019, just ahead of the Maharashtra state elections.
As per the deadline, the first phase of Metro 3 rail corridor extending from Aarey to BKC was supposed to be ready by December 2021. With no car shed, the delays are going to be indefinite.
In January 2020, a committee set up by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in December had recommended lifting the stay on construction of the Mumbai Metro Line 3 car shed at Aarey Milk Colony. Reportedly, the committee has said that shifting the car shed site from Aarey would not be viable. The committee has cited issues such as increased costs, logistical issues and delays in the completion to rule out the option of shifting the project to another location.
It is notable here that despite all approvals by the concerned authorities and go-ahead by the courts, the Shiv Sena had fanned the protests against the Aarey Metro car shed project. Many Bollywood celebrities and ‘Andolanjeevis’ had joined the misinformed campaign, and Aaditya Thackerey had used the protests as a political launch pad before the elections.
No car shed, no Metro
After scrapping the Aarey car shed plans, Uddhav Thackerey had proposed land in Kanjurmarg as the site for the car shed. But that land is stuck under litigation, as per the Union Government, the land is owned by the Salt Commissionerate, which reports to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Since the Goregaon Pahadi suggestion is yet to see any progress either, there is no car shed as of now.
Though 70% of the Metro project is complete and the car shed is just 2% of it, Metro cannot function without a car shed. Even if another site gets approved, getting a car shed commissioned will take a minimum of 3.5 to 4 years.
As per the TOI report, the MMRC had already ordered 31 rakes and had paid Rs 400 crores for it. But the rakes cannot be brought to Mumbai yet because there is no car shed and no trial track. The report further says that soon, contractors may start seeking compensation for damages because of delays to the project.
Freedom fighter and among the earliest proponents of the Hindutva ideology, Veer Savarkar, remains one of the most vilified personalities in India’s history. For decades, Savarkar was treated with disdain and demonised by successive Indian governments, a majority of them headed by the Congress party. A conscious effort was undertaken to defame Veer Savarkar so as to discredit his beliefs and undermine his contribution to India’s freedom struggle.
But legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar and her family were among those who saw through this facade, carefully created by the Congress party and its loyalists, and held Savarkar for who he was—a staunch patriot dedicated to the cause of India’s freedom and an erudite man with a flair for poetry and writing.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or Veer Savarkar was an Indian freedom fighter, activist, politician, lawyer, and writer, who is regarded for articulating the political philosophy of Hindutva. He was born in Bhagalpur village near Nasik in Maharashtra.
Later, he joined the Hindu Mahasabha and advocated the term Hindutva which was previously formulated by Chandranath Basu. He was arrested in 1910 by the British administration over his association with the revolutionary group India House. Savarkar was sentenced to two life terms in the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1911 after he made a failed attempt to escape while being transported from Marseilles.
While serving his sentence, Savarkar wrote on a broad range of topics—from his yearning for the motherland to his understanding of the Hindutva, about its pride and defined all the people descended of Hindu culture as being part of Hindutva, including the Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.
The close bond shared between freedom fighter Veer Savarkar and the Mangeshkar family
Lata Mangeshkar and her family shared close ties with Veer Savarkar, something which she has always been proud and unapologetic about. Every year on Savarkar’s birth and death anniversaries, which fall on May 28 and February 26 respectively, the award-winning singer does not shy away from publicly paying her tributes to the Hindutva ideologue and reiterating his invaluable contribution to India’s independence struggle against the British.
This year too, Lata Mangeshkar took to her social media pages to pay homage to the freedom fighter by remembering him and sharing his old pictures with her followers.
Lata Mangeshkar termed Savarkar as the ‘true son of Mother India’ and hailed him as a father-like figure. During his lifetime, Veer Savarkar was referred to as ‘Tatya’ by Lata Mangeshkar, which is a term used in deference for a father or elderly male relation.
Last year, the veteran singer reminisced about the freedom fighter, stating that his name was etched in the hearts of the Mangeshkar family. She had also tweeted that she was honouring the ‘great and multi-faceted personality’ on his ‘Jayanti.’
She had shared a video along with her tweet, which was audio of the song Shat Janma Shodhitana, which had been composed by Lata Mangeshkar’s father Deenanath Mangeshkar. This song was written by Veer Savarkar for her father’s play Sanyasta Khadag.
Earlier in 2019, the veteran singer had posted a tweet recalling her close bond between her family and freedom fighter Veer Savarkar. The legendary singer posted a tweet providing details of her family’s association with Veer Savarkar.
“Veer Savarkar ji aur hamare pariwar ke bahut ghanisht sambandh the, isiliye unhone mere pitaji ki natak company ke liye natak ‘Sanyasta Khadag’ likha tha. Is natak ka pehla prayog 18th Sep 1931 ko hua tha, is natak mein se ek geet bahut lokpriya hua (the families of Veer Savarkar ji and ours were very close, so he wrote the play “Sanyasta Khadag’ for my father’s theatre company. This play was first staged on September 18, 1931, and a song from the play became very popular),” Ms Mangeshkar had tweeted while sharing the link to the song Shat Janma Shoditana.
Veer Savarkar ji aur hamare pariwar ke bahut ghanisht sambandh the,isiliye unhone mere pita ji ki natak company ke liye natak “ Sanyasta Khadag “ likha tha. Is natak ka pehla prayog 18th Sep 1931 ko hua tha,is natak mein se ek geet bahut lokpriya hua. https://t.co/RMzBUc69SB
Lata Mangeshkar would have left singing if it were not for Veer Savarkar’s timely advice
It is a little-known fact that early in her career, Lata Mangeshkar had made her mind of giving up singing to devote her time and energies to social service and for the welfare of the poor. Author Yatindra Mishra in his book ‘Lata: Sur Gatha‘ reveals how it was Veer Savarkar who dissuaded Lata Mangeshkar from taking that decision and inspired her to continue pursuing singing.
In his book, Mishra says Lata, in her teens, had taken a vow of engaging in social service. For this, she was involved in discussions and consultation with revolutionary freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, deliberating on different ways through which she could fulfil her vow. At one point when Lata was thinking of relinquishing her singing career to devote time for social service, Savarkar had talked her out of the notion and reminded her of her father, Deenanath Mangeshkar, who was then one of the leading lights in the Indian classical music and art firmament.
Savarkar had explained to her that one can still engage in the service of society by devoting oneself to music and singing. This affirmation helped Lata Mangeshkar radically upend her notions about a career in music being incompatible with her pledge of indulging in social service. She heeded Savarkar’s advice and completely immersed herself in music, becoming a legendary singer in the process. If it were not for Savarkar’s seminal counsel to Lata Mangeshkar, the world would have been bereft of one of the most transcendent singers to have graced the earth.
The ceaseless vilification of Veer Savarkar by successive Congress-led governments
But history has not been kind to the freedom fighter. Through a concerted attempt, Savarkar was constantly made an object of scorn and contempt by successive governments after India attained freedom in 1947. He was also falsely implicated in the murder of Gandhi Ji but was later exonerated for the lack of evidence against him.
Author Vikram Sampath recently came up with his concluding volume on freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, 1924-1966, which chronicled the final leg of the freedom fighter’s extraordinary life. The book was released on 26 July 2021 and it instantly rekindled the debate surrounding the vigorous attempts made by successive Congress governments and left-liberal intelligentsia to falsely vilify the freedom fighter and besmirch his reputation.
All India Radio under Congress govt sacked Lata Mangeshkar’s brother Pandit Hridaynath for his musical composition on Veer Savarkar’s poems
The Mangeshkar family, comprising of Lata Mangeshkar and Usha Mangeshkar, other sisters and their only brother, Hridaynath, had been composing tunes based on poems written by Veer Savarkar. However, this did not sit well with the Congress party, which had assiduously created a narrative that villainised the freedom fighter. As a result, the All India Radio under the Congress rule had sacked Hridaynath Mangeshkar in 1954 for his musical composition on Veer Savarkar’s poems.
Years later, in an interview with ABP Majha, Hridaynath Mangeshkar admitted how he was fired from All India Radio because he chose to compose a poem written by Veer Savarkar. Mangeshkar said he was canned from his job at the All India Radio, only because he had dared to create a musical rendition of Veer Savarkar’s iconic poem wherein he extolled the sea to take him back to the motherland.
“I was working in All India Radio at that time. I was 17 years old and my salary was Rs 500 per month. It may be peanuts today but Rs 500 was considered a big fat salary during that time…but I was summarily fired from the All India Radio because I chose to create a musical composition for Veer Savarkar’s famous poem ‘Ne majsi ne parat matrubhoomila, sagara pran talmalala‘,” Mangeshkar said in Marathi.
In 2009, 100 years since Savarkar penned the popular poem Ne majsi ne parat matrubhoomila, sagara pran talmalala, Lata Mangeshkar recalled how the poem aroused patriotic fervour and was inspirational to not just Maharashtrians, but to all Indians.
Lata Mangeshkar had then lamented that Veer Savarkar did not get the respect he deserved in independent India. “Savarkar sacrificed a lot for the country. But independent India did not honour him and give his due,” Lata had bemoaned.
The Bharat Bandh called by the anti-farm law protesters saw unprecedented scenes around the country. In Jalandhar, army vehicles were stopped by the protesters and prevented from moving.
The protesters could be heard telling the Jawans that if they are from the army, then they should stand with the protesters. They asked why should they allow the vehicles to move. In a viral video the so-called ‘farmer protestors’ were even seen doubting the credentials of the Army personnel.
Agitating farmers block @adgpi convoy. One SOB protestor has the temerity to say we’re verifying whether it’s our army or has come from Pakistan. What a crying shame. When is enough enough? pic.twitter.com/iWZx6YoP7N
In a video, a farmer leader named Kashmira Singh was seen saying to a journalist, “We are verifying whether they are actually Army personnel, whether they even belong to Indian Army or have come from Pakistan. The entire country has been shut down due to our protest. We will allow the vehicle to go only after proper verification. We are verifying credentials, and taking pictures of number plates of each vehicle because the whole Punjab is sitting on the road blocking traffic, how else are we to verify. We are only allowing patients to pass through.”
In Bengaluru, one protester ran over the feet of the DCP with his car. The accused has been arrested by the police.
The 10-hour Bharat Bandh was called by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha in their bid to pressurise the government into repealing the farm laws. The shutdown began at 6 am in the morning and will remain in force till 4 pm.
Protesters have sat on railway tracks to prevent the passage of trains and have also blocked highways to prevent the movement of people and goods. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has thrown his support behind the protesters. Fellow dynast Priyanka Vadra Gandhi, too, has come out in support of the Bharat Bandh.
However, it has failed to make much of an impact as people have continued to go about their daily routine disregarding the call to bring the country to a halt.
On the occasion of Dhanteras, the Hindu community worldwide purchases gold bars, ornaments and coins. Gold is often associated with wealth and prosperity. Ahead of Diwali, the Royal Mint in the United Kingdom has prepared a gold bullion bar with the picture of Goddess Lakshmi engraved on it, reportedThe Times of India.
Designed by Emma Noble, it is the first-ever gold bar by the Royal Mint that bears the image of a Hindu deity. For the project, Noble collaborated with Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Cardiff in England and it helped to maintain cultural accuracy. The gold bullion bar contains 20g of 999.9 fine gold and cost about ₹1,00,000 (£1,080). Goddess Laxmi is shown standing on a lotus while the packaging contains the sacred ‘Om’ symbol.
It will be sold on the official website of Royal Mint at 9 am local time (1:30 pm IST) on Tuesday in the United Kingdom. It will be blessed by the Shree Swaminarayan Temple during Lakshmi Puja on November 4 this year. The event will be attended by the officials of the Royal Mint. Times of India reported that Royal Mint UK had launched a henna-inspired package of 1g and 5g regular gold bars in 2020.
While speaking about the matter, Andrew Dickey remarked, “With gold being a traditional and auspicious gift during the Diwali festival, we wanted to develop a product that incorporates both beauty and tradition, but with a modern twist.” Dickey is the Divisional Director for precious metals for the company.
The Royal Mint is government-owned mint that produces coins for the United Kingdom. It operates under legal name of The Royal Mint Limited and is wholly owned by Her Majesty’s Treasury. It has exclusive contract to supply all of nation’s coinage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued a directive to dispose of all pending public grievances and complaints by October 31. The Indian Government will also clear all pending assurances given to Parliament, MPs, state governments and conclude all inter-ministerial consultations.
As part of the exercise, all the unwanted, old files along with obsolete material will be disposed. As per instructions from Cabinet Secretariat, all ministries, departments and subordinate offices from September 13 had started preparing the material and identifying the scope of the work.
Conveying the orders of the Prime Minister, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba in his letter to all the ministries said, “…The existing processes may be reviewed with a view to reducing compliance burden and unnecessary paperwork done away with, wherever feasible.”
“It may be recalled that during his Independence Day address this year, the Prime Minister has emphasized the need to review existing rules and procedures on a continuing basis,” the letter read further.
Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary has directed the ministries to review record retention rules before disposing of pending matters to ensure no records are prematurely destroyed or retained beyond a necessary time frame.
No pending assurances
As per parliamentary procedures, ministers while responding to questions in the House or during discussions on Bills, Resolutions or Motions give undertakings or promises to consider a matter, take action or furnish information later. This is known as assurance.
Each assurance given by the ministers then becomes a separate file to be dealt with by the ministry. It is the right of Parliament to seek an explanation on assurances given to it. The exercise is expected to ensure that no assurance remains pending.
Exercise to commence on Gandhi Jayanti
Reportedly, the reviewing process is set to last till September 29 after which the disposal drive will be initiated. The exercise that commences on October 02 on Gandhi Jayanti is said to be part of the nationwide cleanliness campaign started by the NDA government.
Apart from the clearance exercise, the government this year also reduced the maximum time for the redressal of a complaint from 60 days to 45 days after observing that 87 per cent of the complaints get resolved within 45 days.
Telangana seems to be in the grips of vigilantism by unruly Muslim mobs who seemed to be policing the streets to prevent Muslim girls from travelling with Hindu boys. Another such incident has been reported from the state’s capital, Hyderabad, where a Hindu boy was allegedly thrashed by a group of people for riding with a Muslim girl on his two-wheeler.
The boy and the girl were stopped by a Muslim man and later few others also joined him to allegedly beat the boy, DCP West Zone was quoted as saying by the Times Now. The incident is apparently three days old but it came to the fore after a video of it went viral on social media websites.
#NewsAlert | #Hyderabad: A Hindu boy was reportedly thrashed by a mob for travelling along with a Muslim lady.
As per the police, the accused has been arrested and a case has been registered against him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. They further added that interrogation of the accused is underway to identify others who were involved in the incident.
Similar incidents were reported in Telangana
The hate crime against the Hindu boy came hot on the heels of several such incidents reported in Telangana where Muslim men stopped Muslim women who were riding with Hindu men. They were not only ridiculed in public but the Hindu men were also brutally beaten up.
In one case, a Hindu Dalit man was allegedly kidnapped by a group of Muslim men for riding with a Muslim woman and beaten up. He was released later when local RSS leaders intervened. It was only after his brother and local leaders supported him that he was able to file a case against the Muslim men who had kidnapped him.
Muslim mob in Bengaluru assaults Hindu man for riding with a Muslim woman
Recently, a similar incident of a Hindu boy being thrashed by a Muslim mob was also reported from the southern metropolis of Bengaluru after an undated video of the incident started making the rounds on the internet. In the video, a Muslim mob stopped a Hindu man who was riding a bike with a Muslim woman. The men in the mob were then seen threatening the Hindu man and asking him to not ride with a Mulsim woman again. The Muslim woman was forced to give out her family’s phone number and ridiculed for riding with a Hindu man.
Responding to the video being shared on Social Media, Karanataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai informed that two accused persons have been arrested in the case. He said that Bengaluru City Police acted swiftly in the case of assault on a bike rider travelling along with a woman of a different faith. He tweeted that a case has been registered and legal action has been initiated against the accused.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the setting-up of a digital archive for all construction workers engaged at the Central Vista construction site as a tribute to their efforts.
PM @narendramodi stated that after the new Parliament is ready, a digital archive for all construction workers engaged at the site must be set-up, which should reflect their personal details including their name, place they belong to and picture as a tribute to their efforts.
A tweet posted by the Prime Minister’s Office said, “PM @narendramodi stated that after the new Parliament is ready, a digital archive for all construction workers engaged at the site must be set-up, which should reflect their personal details including their name, place they belong to and picture as a tribute to their efforts.”
PM Narendra Modi also declared that certificates would be issued to all the workers involved at the construction site to honour them for their role and participation in the historic endeavor.
All workers would also be given a certificate about their role and participation in this historic endeavour.
Last night, Prime Minister Modi also made a surprise visit to the Central Vista construction site only hours after arriving from the USA. There he inspected the ongoing work of the new Parliament building. The images of the PM spending time inspecting the construction site also went viral on social media.
Amid speculations that former JNU ‘student leader’ Kanhaiya Kumar will be joining the Congress party on October 2, Ramnaresh Pandey, the former member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly and CPI state secretary has confirmed that Kanhaiya Kumar has got the air conditioner uninstalled from his chamber in the state office, indicating that he has dissociated himself from the CPI.
Speaking to Live Hindustan, Ramnaresh Pandey said that Kanhaiya Kumar, who was fielded by the Communist Party of India (CPI) to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Begusarai in Bihar, had got an air conditioner (AC) installed in his room in the state office for himself and his people.
According to sources, he has now requested permission to get the AC uninstalled. Kanhaiya Kumar is said to have told the party chief that he had taken a room elsewhere and would install the air conditioner there. Subsequently, he went away with the AC.
Kanhaiya Kumar expected to join Congress on October 2 along with independent MLA Jignesh Mevani
For the last few days, media reports are doing the rounds suggesting that the Congress is all set to induct former JNU ‘student leader’ Kanhaiya Kumar and independent MLA Jignesh Mevani into the party ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat. As per reports, the original plan was to induct the two leaders into the Congress party on September 28 but was deferred to October 2, which is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
As per sources, Kumar is expected to bring a few other left leaders along with him, underscoring the longstanding contention that Congress and the left are two sides of the same coin.
It is worth noting that Kanhaiya Kumar is one of the accused in the JNU sedition case where anti-national slogans were raised during an event in Jawaharlal Nehru University. In February 2016, the students of JNU had organized an event to mark the anniversary of terrorist Afzal Guru who had attacked the Indian Parliament. Many slogans challenging the Indian State’s sovereignty and calling for its balkanization were raised. At the event, slogans such as ‘Bharat Tere Tukde Honge’ and Afzal hum sharminda hain, tere katil jinda hain’ were reportedly raised.
The investigation into the suspected suicide of the deceased Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad president Mahant Narendra Giri has revealed that many CCTV cameras installed in the Baghambari Mutt were surprisingly switched off on the day the Mahant died, hinting at foul play.
According to reports, the entire Mutt is under CCTV surveillance. As many as 43 cameras are installed there with 15 installed in front of Mahant Narendra Giri’s room on the first floor itself.
All 15 CCTV cameras placed in front of the room of deceased Mahant Narendra Giri had stopped functioning on the day of his death
However, the police were taken aback when they discovered that all 15 cameras on the first floor of the Mutt, where the Mahant’s room was located, had been turned off on September 20, the day the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad was found dead in his room, reports Hindi daily Aaj Tak.
The report suggests that as a result of this, the police are having problems determining how and when the Mahant reached his room on the first floor on the day of the incident. Moreover, the police are also not being able to ascertain whether someone was already in the room when the incident took place or if somebody entered after the Mahant went into his room to rest.
These are some of the unresolved questions that must be answered in order to reach a rational conclusion in the seer’s death case. However, according to the investigation, there is no recording of the incident in the cameras placed from the entrance of the Mutt right up to Mahant Narendra Giri’s room.
Some members of the Mutt, have, however, told the police that the cameras were switched off because there was a power failure in the Mutt on September 20. Others said that a DVR machine attached to the cameras had got damaged a few days back, because of which the cameras stopped working. The police are, however, finding it difficult to believe these theories and investigating the matter.
CBI seeks custody of 3 accused in Narendra Giri’s death case
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an application before a Prayagraj Court on Sunday seeking 10-day custodial remand of three suspects, Anand Giri, Aadya Tiwari and Sandeep Tiwari in the death case, based on some electronic gadgets recovered. The CBI’s special crime unit told the court that the electronic gadgets contain incriminating information leading to the death of the seer.
Mahant Narendra Giri changed his will twice
In another development in the case, reports have emerged suggesting that Mahant Narendra Giri had changed his will twice since he got it made in the year 2010. Mahant Narendra Giri’s lawyer had on Friday revealed that the seer had his will made in 2010. He then changed it twice in 2011 and June 2020 respectively. In his last changed will, he had finally named Balbeer Giri as his successor and the mahant of Baghambari Math after his death.
“I became his lawyer in 2011 and at that time, he had already got a will (dated January 7, 2010) prepared wherein he had named Balbeer Giri as his successor. However, he asked me to change the will (dated August 29, 2011) and name Anand Giri as his successor,” said the seer’s lawyer Rishi Shankar Dwivedi,
Dwivedi added: “He changed his will again in 2020 replacing Anand Giri with Balbeer Giri again, saying he would look after the Math and the temple in a better manner.”
Signatures on alleged suicide note mismatch with Mahant Narendra Giri’s original ones
Ever since the news of Mahant’s sudden death came to the fore on September 20, many media houses reported that the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad president committed suicide. The suicide note allegedly written and signed by him was being bandied around as proof to dispel the suspicions of suspected criminal wrongdoing in the matter.
However, on September 22, OpIndia reported how the seven pages of suicide note signed by Mahant Narendra Giri bore seven different signatures, raising suspicions over its authenticity.
Furthermore, Sadguru Riteshwar Maharaj of Vrindavan Ananddham in his conversation with Pradeep Bhandari said Mahant Giri could never even think of committing suicide.
The police’s discovery concerning CCTV cameras today, as well as Jan Ki Baat’s signature mismatch, are believed to mark a turning point in the inquiry, with the police apparently investigating a murder angle in a case that has so far been depicted in the media as a suicide.
