Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah reached a personal milestone of 100 test wickets during the 4th match between India versus England in the ongoing test series. In the process, he broke the record of the fastest Indian pacer to reach the milestone.
Jasprit Bumrah secured 100 wickets in 24 matches. The previous bowler to hold the record, Kapil Dev, achieved the same in 25 matches. The bowler’s 100th wicket was Ollie Pope and he soon followed it up with the wicket of Bairstow.
Bumrah’s stunning spell put India in a commanding position in the 4th test match, requiring only four more wickets to win the game (at the time of writing this report). Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets after Shardul Thakur provided India their first breakthrough with the wicket of Rory Burns. Dawid Malan was run out for 5 runs.
Going into the 5th Day, India needed 10 wickets to win the match after setting England a target of 368. India were dismissed for a meagre 191 in the first innings where Shardul Thakur scored a quick fire 57. England, in response, scored 290 and took a 99 run lead.
India, in their second innings, scored a mammoth 466 with a brilliant century from ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma. Shardul Thakur and Rishabh Pant chimed in with crucial half centuries towards the latter end of the innings to put India in pole position.
National and international human rights activists have come together to raise their voice against the alleged harassment meted out to Intersex activist Gopi Shankar Madurai by the DMK government.
“We the members of the national and international human rights community deeply condemn the human rights violation and inhumane treatment committed by the Revenue Inspector of Chengalpattu (Mahabalipuram) James, District Collector of Chengalpattu Rahul Nadh IAS, Police Inspector Mahabalipuram D. Natarajan on Gopi Shankar Madurai, South Region representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons (NTCP) and prominent intersex rights activist who has contributed a lot for the betterment of gender and sexual minorities,” read the statement issued by the activists.
Madurai, in a Facebook post last week, also accused the DMK government of trapping him in a false drug case. “The present Tamil Nadu DMK Government and the DMK appointed TN police is trying to trap me in more false cases to destroy me, they are scripting fake stories that I smuggle drugs,” read Madurai’s post on the platform.
Gopi Shankar Madurai’s Faceboook post
Madurai alleged physical harassment by police officials
In the month of August, Gopi Shankar Madurai, the South Representative at the National Council for Transgender Persons, had accused a team of police and revenue officials of verbally abusing and physically harassing him during an inspection at an eatery in Mamallapuram.
Reportedly, Madurai was there with 20 other people from the transgender community for a grievance meeting. “..But the meeting was interrupted by insensitive officials and we were treated like cattle and asked to vacate the premises. Mamallapuram police inspector kept his hand on my chest and pushed me unwilling to listen to us,” Madurai alleged saying they also commented on his clothes.
Refuting all the allegations leveled by Madurai, Chengalpattu Collector Rahul Nandh had said that Madurai was sitting with his friends at an eatery violating Covid-19 norms. Hence the group was simply asked to vacate the premises.
“It was Gopi who threatened the officers. The eatery owner and Gopi have been booked under the Epidemic Diseases Act and relevant sections of the Criminal Procedure Code. There was no abuse and the FIR was registered based on a proper investigation,” the official had said while speaking with The New Indian Express, contradicting the allegations made by Madurai.
Community urge that due process should be followed
Expressing shock at the behaviour of state officials, the activists have said that due process of law should be followed in Madurai’s case.
“We issue this statement in solidarity with the firm belief that any form of inhumane treatment, hatred, and violence against Gopi and SOGIESC community is an attack on all of us and the rights enshrined in the Supreme Constitution of India. We stand together to call for solidarity and support across our various communities.”, the statement read further.
The letter was signed by queer and transgender activists from Bangladesh, Canada and Pakistan. Several activists and organizations from India also expressed solidarity with Gopi Shankar Madurai.
A woman who was held captive by her cult leader father for over three decades has recently opened about travails she endured during her period of captivity at the Communist Collective, a cult in south London founded by her father, Aravindan Balakrishnan, and how she escaped it.
For the first three decades of her life, Katy Morgan-Davies, now 38, was held as a slave under the total control of her father, Aravindan Balakrishnan, a self-styled leader called by his followers as ‘Comrade Bala’ or ‘Comrade B’. Balakrishnan ruled over his daughter and six other women ‘comrades’ with the use of violence and by inducing psychological terror in his captives.
In 2013, at the age of 30, Davies managed to escape her father’s Maoist cult, known by its followers as the Communist Collective, in Brixton, south London. Eight years later, she has shared her experience of her life under a cult leader for over three decades in a telltale interview with The Sunday Times.
More than two years after she fled the cult, in 2016, Balakrishnan, a former student at the London School of Economics(LSE), was found guilty of multiple offences, including rape, actual bodily harm and cruelty to a minor child. For over 30 years, he raped two of his followers, the court said. At the time of Balakrishnan’s trial, Davies had spoken against her, stating that it was “horrible, dehumanising and degrading” and that she felt like a “caged bird with clipped wings” under Comrade Bala. Balakrishnan was locked up for 23 years for offences including false imprisonment, child cruelty and assault.
Who is Aravindan Balakrishnan?
Born in Kerala, Aravindan Balakrishnan had migrated to Singapore where his father was stationed as a soldier. Later he shifted to London, where he completed his graduation from the hallowed London School of Economics. Soon after coming to the United Kingdom, Balakrishnan was attracted to the communist ideology. In 1974, he was ousted from the Communist Party of England (Marxist–Leninist) on account of “their pursuance of conspiratorial and splittist activities … spreading social fascist slanders against the Party and the proletarian movement” and attempting “to put themselves above the discipline of the Party”.
He later created a cult called the Communist Collective, based on the teachings of the then CCP Chairman Mao Zedong in the late 1970s. He styled himself as Comrade Bala and his Tanzanian wife as Comrade Chanda and enlisted a bunch of female followers, who were initially smitten with his charismatic patter, but who were later subjugated by him with the use of psychological and physical terror, supernatural threats and sexual violence.
An undated photo of Balakrishnan with members of his cult, including his daughter(Image Source: Metropolitan Police)
Balakrishnan considered himself as ‘God’
Balakrishnan created a halo of magnificence surrounding him, elevating himself to the position of God. He managed to convince his followers that he is the supreme being who could control their minds and possessed the power of striking them dead with a single touch. The cult members were expected to hew to a strict set of rules, which were punishable by violence. They were not allowed to make noise, appear drowsy in the morning or laud one another and many other such restrictions. Though, the rules would change constantly based on the whims and the fancies of Comrade Bala.
Often, he intimidated his followers with apocalyptic prophecies and by purveying wild conspiracy theories. He had predicted that a Maoist revolution would rise and transcend national boundaries, overthrowing the “British Fascist State”, which he claimed had deployed spies and agents everywhere, even in the house next door. He successfully convinced his followers that he was a God, who possessed seamless power to control the sun, the moon, wind and fires. He warned them that they would die in case they abandon or betray him. He said they would be incinerated by spontaneous combustion; mortally injured by a lightning attack; or be struck down by a “Jackie”, a Chinese-built satellite weapon over which Comrade Bala commands control.
Balakrishnan conjured up “Jackie” to threaten his followers; forced them to swallow his semen saying it was “the elixir of life”
JACKIE was nothing but a figment of Bala’s imagination, a mystical machine that allegedly monitored all thought and had the power to control minds. According to the cult leader, JACKIE was an acronym for Jehovah, Allah, Christ, Krishna and ‘Immortal Easwaran’. So, on the occurrence of any major event in the world, for example, the explosion of the American Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986 or an earthquake, Bala would link the cause of the event to the imaginary weapon created by him, JACKIE, to reinforce its strength and intimidate his followers. Years later, some of his victims are still terrified of hearing the name JACKIE.
Explaining how they were mentally conditioned to believe JACKIE was real, Davies had said in 2016, “If I did something wrong, others and me, we would be killed by JACKIE, he would warn us” she told Sky News. “If he intervened by slapping us and beating us … then JACKIE would think that enough has been done and not kill us. So we should be thankful that he is hurting us … because we would be saved from JACKIE.”
The BBC in January 2017 hosted a documentary, providing details about the cult of “JACKIE”
Furthermore, in order to tighten his control over his followers, Bala asserted to his followers that he is immortal and they should obey him unquestioningly, should they want to escape death. This obedience also extended to sexual acts and Bala would often sexually abuse his followers on the pretext of granting them immortality and safeguarding them against evils.
As per evidence presented in the court that eventually led to his conviction, Balakrishnan began sexually abusing two of his women followers in 1979 and often derived sadistic pleasure beating them and making others watch it as he did so. All the women held captive by Balakrishnan were subjected to assault and four(not including his wife) were reportedly sexually assaulted by him. Balakrishnan forced the women to swallow his ejaculation, touting it to be “the elixir of life“. In his arraignment, Bala defended himself, saying that the women he sexually abused had been attempting to seduce him out of “jealousy” for his lover.
Aravindan Balakrishnan arriving with his wife at the Southwark Crown Court in London on Nov 11, 2015(Image Source: The Sun)
Katy was born inside the cult, to one of the followers
A child was conceived in 1983 after a follower, Sian Davies had fallen pregnant by Balakrishnan. A report by The Guardian had revealed that the collective then undertook a new experiment named Project Prem. The child was initially named Prem Maopinduzi, which means Love Revolution. As a part of the project, the child would never be told about her parents. Bala told her she was a foundling discovered by him. The ultimate plan was to “hand over the world to her,” a transition that would begin with Brazil, in which she would assume control when the time was right. Prem, of course, was Katy, unbeknownst of the horror that awaited her.
Bala forbade everyone from cuddling her or being affectionate towards the child. Nor was Prem or Katy allowed to visit a doctor or even consult a dentist. She did not attend school, although she does have a vague memory of someone teaching her to read and write. However, what Katy remembers vividly is that she was beaten by Bala and his followers all the time. The meanest of the followers, according to Katy, was Sian, her biological mother.
Katy Morgan Davies(Image Credit: The Guardian)
Cooped up in a small room with the windows covered by two sets of curtains, Katy was banned from going outside, mingling with other children and socialising with anyone outside the confines of the cult. Katy first saw television when she turned 19.
However, initially, Katy did not know who her mother was. Sian was a colonialist, had an imperialist background, which led other cult members to bully her while she was unable to say anything critical about Bala.
Sian, who was once a brilliant student at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, fell into the grips of the cult and could never escape. After joining the cult, Sian soon became one of the most loyal devotees of Balakrishnan and ended up getting pregnant by him.
Sian Davies(Image Source: The Independent)
In 1996, Katy, who shared the same surname as her mother, came to know about her mother. But by then, her mother was hallucinating from the psychosis induced by Balakrishnan’s mental games and years of neglect. She reportedly became ill, started talking to herself, cried hours on length, but was denied seeking external medical help. Later, Sian jumped or fell, from an upstairs window and was paralysed from the neck down. She was admitted to the intensive care unit. Fours months after that, she died.
After realising that she has been held captive, Katy decided to flee from the cult. However, it took years for her to hatch a plan that would result in her liberation. Although Katy had no experience of the outer world, she hunkered down to deradicalise herself and find a way to exit the cult. She says as she got older, her father grew less concerned about a neighbour seeing a child in the window and sounding an alarm. She used this opportunity to explore what the external world was by eyeballing others and trying to adapt their ways and behaviour. This cognition eventually helped her in devising a scheme that brought an end to the interminable nightmare she was experiencing.
Katy’s devises an escape plan to flee from the brutal cult led by her father
Katy discerned that it would be extremely difficult and incredibly risky to leave the cult on her own. So, she persuaded another follower, Josephine Herivel, to join her in the pursuit to flee from the place. She told Herivel that Bala’s wife was a damaging influence on him, knowing that any denunciation of Balakrishnan would be reported right back to him. Eventually, using a mobile she smuggled in, Josephine called a helpline of a charity she had seen on television.
Charity workers Gerard Stocks and Yvonne Hall helped in the rescue of the two women. After Katy and Josie left, a third woman, Aisha, also followed soon. But, months later, Josie sought Balakrishnan’s forgiveness and returned to live with his wife, Chanda. Josie had even denounced the punishment the court had ordered after holding Balakrishnan guilty. Aisha, however, continues to lead an independent life in Leeds, England.
When Katy escaped, she had the social skills of a six-year-old. She could not cross the road on her own or use even basic appliances. Her mobility skills were severely impaired due to years of confinement in a closed space. For decades, she was denied visits to doctors, dentists. Instead, she was condemned to live within the confines of the cult and systematically brainwashed to believe her own behaviour was responsible for natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and cyclones.
In the BBC documentary, neighbours of the house where the group existed had revealed that they had no idea so many people were held captive there. As per reports, Katie, as a child, used to hold up signs on the window, with “help me” written on them. But the letters were too small to read. Casual passers-by and neighbours never suspected what was going on inside the house.
German Ambassador to China and former foreign policy advisor to Angela Merkel, Jan Hecker passed away suddenly only days after he took the office. The reason behind the death not yet confirmed.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry website in its statement said, “It is with deep sadness and dismay that we learned of the sudden death of the German ambassador to China.”
According to reports, Ambassador Hecker had appeared happy and alright during an event at Beijing with German artist Joseph Beuys last friday, a guest at the event had said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded saying, “We are shocked to learn about the sudden death of Ambassador Hecker, who had been working actively to promote China-Germany relations since assuming his post.” He also said that the Chinese government would help Hecker’s family. According to the Chinese Embassy, Hecker joined his office on August 24.
Jan Hecker, 54, was a confidant of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and member of the team coordinating refugee policy in the migrant crisis of 2015 and played a crucial role in Angela Merkel’s mission of resettling the refugees.
Angela Merkel expressed grief in a statement that she made on Monday. “I am profoundly shaken by Jan Hecker’s death,” she said adding, “I mourn for a highly valued, longstanding adviser of deep humanity and outstanding expertise.” The statement further added “I think with gratitude of our work together and am happy to have been so closely tied to him for years. My deepest sympathy goes out to his wife, his children and his other loved ones in their immeasurable grief.”
Germany and European Union flags at the Germany embassy in Beijing flew at half mast on Monday.
In February 2021, OpIndia reported an alleged iPhone scam in which a person identified as Neel Patel, alias Hitesh Patel was involved. It was reported that Patel had created an influential status on social media platforms and formed connections with some high profile and influential people. He allegedly used the influence to dupe hundreds of people who bought both iPhones and Android phones, hoping they will get the device at cheaper rates.
At that time, there was little information available about his other ventures like Squeakcoins and eGyaan that was added in the report. Recently, OpIndia was approached by some of the victims of various alleged scams ran by Patel. These victims not only shared their stories and explained how Patel operated for months conning several hundred people but also shared several documents including FIRs, recordings and chat screenshots as proof of their side of the story.
How Hitesh Patel created a positive image on social media?
Patel started actively posting on Twitter around the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. As he had a verified Twitter account that was later found to be allegedly bought from a hacker, people thought of him as a genuine person. He actively provided support to NGOs and individuals who were in need of funds during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the meantime, he also showcased his lavish lifestyle in the United States and claimed that he was a well-established investor and trader.
The beginning of the scams
He kept building a positive image on Twitter till October 2020, when he first announced the iPhone scheme around Diwali. As he already had established himself as a trustworthy person and was in contact with several social media celebrities, people trusted him and ordered “cheap” iPhones, Android smartphones, laptops and tablets from him. In the meantime, he also offered coupons to some celebrities and those who were selflessly helping people during the Covid-19 period.
OpIndia had reported in February that several buyers did not get their smartphones and other devices despite waiting for months. Though Patel claimed the devices were only delayed, and there was no scam, in reality, several people who had invested their money in the scheme are still waiting for either device or refund.
The online trading course
In November 2020, Patel announced a trading course by the name “eGyaan Market Makers Course – With Job”. It was supposed to be a course on financial independence and stock market investment. Patel offered two options for the potential students. The first option was to just learn the course for Rs.499, and the second was for Rs.44,999, in which he would not only teach but also offer a job after completion of the course.
Screenshot of the course+job offered by Neel Patel
Devendra Sorout, one of the victims of the alleged scams, also joined the course by paying Rs.45,000 and thought he would get a job at the end of the course. He said, “Neel promised us that once we complete the course, we will be well versed in trading. He also promised to give us a license which was required in case we want to manage someone else’s trading account. We trusted him.”
Another victim Srikant Kaushik said, “I took the Rs. 44,999 course which had forex/stock training for three months, $1000 credit for trading and a free tablet and job guarantee for two years with a salary between 50k and 1 lac.”
Patel had promised that he would pay Rs.50,000 for the first three months and Rs.1 lakh for the next 21 months. He also promised to provide a Tablet from Samsung or another similar company that would be worth Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000. Apart from these, he also offered free recharge on one sim card for five years and a license from the third party that would make his students certified traders so that they can manage clients’ trading accounts in future.
Reportedly, around 230 people opted for Rs.45,000 course, and another 200+ opted for just learning sessions without the job guarantee. The course was started on December 26, 2020.
Srikant said that the course continued for three months, and Neel taught his students the basics of trading three days a week in one-hour per day classes. However, he never fulfilled his promise to provide a tablet.
The victims have alleged that the promised jobs were not provided by Hitesh on the pretext that the clients were not paying.
Hitesh Patel denied these allegations and blamed the students for missing deadlines. He also said that he wants ‘time’ to provide refunds.
The Ethereum scam
After three days of starting the classes, Neel came up with an opportunity for the students during the Webex meeting. He claimed that it was the right time to buy a crypto-currency ETHEREUM (ETH) that, according to him, had the potential to grow multi-fold in the coming months. He urged the students to invest in ETH through his Squeaks website, where he allegedly sold ETH coins that no other site was authorized to do.
At that time, 1 ETH was sold between the price range of Rs.46,000 to Rs.80,000 depending on when people invested in the scheme that ran from December 28, 2020, to January 7, 2021. Reportedly, over 200 ETH coins were bought during that period. Patel allegedly promised the students that whoever invests in ETH via his platform would get returns up to three times under his auto trading platform “Coingenius”.
Screenshots of eGyaan chat group where Patel was urging students to invest in ETH
While Sorout had invested around Rs.2.2 lakh, Kaushik invested around Rs.18,000 in ETH. He also urged everyone to encourage their relatives to invest in ETH. When someone questioned if they had to sell ETH, he said, “You do not have to sell but only tell others what would they get by keeping Rs.1 lakh in the bank.”
To lure more investors, he reportedly claimed that whoever would invest in his Coingenius platform would add 25% from his pocket. The investors were told that there was a locking period of three months, and they would not be able to withdraw any funds from ETH investment during that time. Later in March, when ETH rose to Rs.1,55,000 in the market, people started to ask Patel to provide 3-times with the investment. Patel then claimed that he was only using the platform to lure more customers, and it was a fake. The victims claimed that he also denied the additional 25% that he promised on investing in his platform.
When investors asked him for the ETH without the profits he promised, he said they could withdraw it in April 2021. During that period, the iPhone scam came to light. To make sure his investors believe him, he did clear payments of some small investors but did not clear the pending withdrawals of large investors and the majority of the investors are still waiting for their money.
The Bullrun scam
The last scam that he allegedly played on the eGyaan students was Bullrun which turned out to be a dummy forex trading platform. He claimed that if someone invests $100 on the platform, the company will give that person $1000 for trading. Devendra said, “Patel was expecting everyone to lose money on the trading platform. However, on the contrary, people made profits. When they finally started withdrawing the money, Patel took back the credit for many students.” He also deducted money from other investments for those who lost money in forex trading on a dummy platform.
One of the victims approached a forex trading expert and a trader to know if Bullrun was a genuine platform. At first glance, the expert claimed that it was not a genuine platform as it did not contain the information that every trading platform is legally bound to show on its homepage.
The expert claimed Bullrun was a dummy platform
The Bitcoin plan
After getting investors for ETH, he also urged his students to invest in BTC (Bitcoin) BLOCK trading scheme. He alleged that if someone invested a minimum of Rs.10 lakh in BTC via him, the investor would make crores in Bitcoins within a few months as “block trading is done on a bigger scale”. He further alleged that it was an easy way to multiply money and claimed to have invested a large amount himself in the scheme.
Screenshot of the group chat where Neel Patel urged his students to invest in Bitcoin
The victims claimed that he took around Rs.2 crore under the said scheme from them. The eGyaan members who later became the investors and turned into a victim of his allegedly well-spun con are still waiting for any amount from the scheme. They are not bothered about the profits and want only the principal amount back that they had invested.
Denying these allegations, Neel Patel has cried vendetta and said that some people are claiming such things because they have ‘vested interests’ against him.
Neel used the investors as a troll army
The victims we talked to claimed that Neel Patel had used his students who had invested large amounts in his schemes were used as a troll army on social media platforms. He would ask his students to counter each and everyone who raises questions over any of the schemes introduced by Neel, including those who bought phones at a lower price from him and were waiting for the devices. As a result, anyone who wanted to call Patel out on social media was bombarded with hate messages.
They further claimed that one of the admins in the eGyaan group (Alkesh) to run Patel’s propaganda not to allow anyone to question him on social media or in eGyaan groups. “If dared to question him in the group, the person would be called a traitor and thrown out with their payments or with the basic amount,” said the victim.
The story of Squeakscoin
In January, Patel informed the students that he was launching his own crypto-currency and named it Squeaks Coin (SQU). He claimed that the coin was ready to be launched, and he would give SQU worth 5 lakh to every eGyaan member for free. It was claimed that there would be two formats of the coin.
One would derive its value from the market, and another would be gold-backed. He set the price of the coin at Rs.1,32,775. He promised to give one coin for free to anyone who buys a coin. Patel claimed the withdrawals of the amount against coins could be done after two months for the first and six months for the second coin. Reportedly, no one was paid after six months against the coins.
Another alleged scam called Naaradpay
In February 2020, he came up with another scheme by the name Naaradpay which was an e-Wallet like PayTm. He offered two schemes to the eGyaan students. Under the first scheme, one would invest Rs.9,999 and get Rs.1,000 for recharges for three years. The second scheme was for Rs.29,999, under which the investor would get Rs.5,000 in their NaaradPay account for three years.
In case someone sells the plan to family or friends, they would get SQU coins worth the amount of the plan(s) they sold. One of the victims, Brij Kaushik, who talked to OpIndia and told his ordeal, said that he had invested Rs.1,00,000 in the Naarad Pay scheme. Sorout had invested Rs.40,000 and on his recommendation, his three friends also invested. Patel paid everyone for two months, but in April 2021, he discontinued the service claiming his staff was not available due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Srikant said, “Notably, he had sold a maximum of his schemes during the pandemic period, but when the time came to pay back the investors, he made an excuse of Covid. Such irony…” Sorout echoed Srikant and said, “I had invested a lot of money in his schemes and urged my friends and family to invest as well. Everyone got scammed in the hands of a conman.”
To these allegations, Patel has again claimed that he will return the money but needs ‘time’.
The FDC scam
Even though people were getting scammed multiple times and questions were being raised against him, Patel managed to keep the majority of the investors, aka eGyaan students, with him. In March 2021, he told everyone about a new scheme in which he urged everyone to invest in a US company named FDC Tech INC. He claimed that he would get shares of the company at 30 cents against the actual price of 60 cents as he was buying shares worth Rs.2 crore directly from the CEO. He told anyone can join him by investing as low as Rs.25,000 and promised he would pay 14% dividends every month for six months.
The catch was that the investment would stay locked for six months. Several people invested, but no one got stocks or dividends as promised by him. Srikant said, “Notably, in the contract, he sold US company’s stock from his Indian company named SQUEAKS TECHNOLOGY (OPC) Pvt Ltd.” He allegedly collected Rs.50 lakh under the scheme and never paid anyone back.
How is Patel avoiding withdrawals?
During January and March, Neel informed the investors that ETH is blocked for three months. Some of the investors asked him for withdrawals during the lock period due to family emergencies and due to doubts raised against him. He did pay some of them but deducted 42% of the investment as charges for early withdrawal.
When people started withdrawing their investments after the three-month lock period, he said the withdrawal process would start on April 1, and the money would get transferred in the accounts within 7-8 days. On April 1, he made some excuse and asked everyone to initiate withdrawals on April 19. When the date came, he alleged that he would be sending money to India and payments will be made from his Indian account.
Then came the shocker. He said those who had lost money in Bullrun have to get the losses deducted from ETH withdrawals. Such condition was never mentioned in front of the investors before. The victims alleged that Patel gave wrong advice to the investors, due to which some of the people incurred heavy losses. Patel also blamed RBI for not releasing around $5,00,000 that he had transferred to India. He continued to stick on his claim until June end.
In May 2021, he came up with another option for withdrawals and asked the investors to create an account on Veem. In the days ahead, he only paid around $2000-$3000 to the small investors. After that, once people started to believe him against, he allegedly issued fake receipts and claimed he had processed the payments and it would take 3-4 days for the amount to show in their accounts.
Alleged fake receipt shared by Patel with investors
In June 2021, he claimed that he has opened a new business account in the US and would do batch wire transfers. He alleged everyone would get money by June 21 2021. However, nothing happened as such. He claimed to have sent money to four people during that period. Two of the payments were put on hold, and one was reversed as he had charged back on the payment. Only one payment got through.
Complaints against Neel Patel
Neel Patel, alias Hitesh Patel is now facing multiple complaints filed against him across the country. OpIndia accessed a few FIRs registered against Patel. In one of the FIRs, the complainant listed several investment schemes he had invested in. One of the victims had invested close to Rs.5,00,000 in different schemes at the behest of Patel, and now he is running from corner to corner to get his money back.
Another FIR mentioned victim’s name as Suresh Kumar Soni, who had invested Rs.2,34,874 in different schemes, and his friend(s) had invested Rs.1,89,875 on his recommendation making it a total of Rs.4,24,748.
In his complaint, Suresj provided information of the investment he had made.
There are several other complaints filed against Neel. These complaints have been registered under different sections, including Section 420, 467, 468, 471, 406 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66D of the IT Act.
Allegations of money laundering
There are allegations of money laundering against Neel Patel. One of the victims alleged that he had transferred Rs.90 lakh that he had collected from the investors in his Indian company’s account to one Nobat Singh’s account, and they got it transferred to the United States. Though they had provided a screenshot of the statement of fund transfers that took place in December and January, OpIndia could not independently verify the claims.
Transfers made to the account of Nobat Singh worth 90 lakh
Neel Patel claimed, “I am telling you again, they paid me to buy Ethereum for them. How can I invest the money if I don’t get it in my account? Hence the transfers. There is no case of money laundering. If ED or any law enforcement agency look into my accounts, they would laugh over the allegations against me.”
Allegations against Patel’s father
The victims alleged that at first, Patel’s father seemed uninformed about what his son was doing. When some of the victims approached his father, he claimed to have no knowledge and promised them that he would help them in getting their money back. However, later he stopped picking up their calls and a few days back, Patel’s family in India has allegedly left their home and hiding somewhere else.
Allegations of threatening calls and messages
Some victims had alleged that Patel started to threaten them when they asked for their money. One of the victims, who is a married woman, was allegedly verbally abused by Patel over the call. We accessed an audio file where Patel was allegedly heard using curse words against the victim’s mother. OpIndia tried to reach out to the victim to verify the allegations but could not find more details. Similar threats were allegedly made by Patel towards other victims as well.
Navbharat Times, in a report in August, mentioned that Patel threatened the victims when they asked him to return their money.
Hitesh’s reply to the allegations
Hitesh claimed that all the recordings that were provided to OpIndia were edited. “In the audio that they claim I am abusing a lady, I can assure you that the conversation was not even with a lady. It was a man who was continuously abusing my wife”, he claimed. He said, “I cannot even show you what kind of derogatory and disturbing messages me and my family have received. If someone keeps abusing my family, how can they expect me not to abuse back?”
In the end, Hitesh said that he has no plans to run away and he is determined to refund the money but he needs time. “I will get it from the investors or the court, depending on their choice, not mine.” he also shared a link to a website where the details of pending refunds could be found. In the note on the website, he has promised to refund the amount in three months.
Statement on squeaksrefunds.com
Note: We have approached other victims as well and waiting for their response in the case. The story will be updated accordingly.
TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien on Monday took to Twitter to spread misinformation regarding the coronavirus vaccination drive undertaken by the government of India.
Derek O’Brien’s misleading tweet
O’Brien, who used to host a quiz show in the 1990s, when an entire generation grew up being in awe of the knowledge he displayed back then, claimed that of the total population in India, not even half the population has been given one dose.
However, the data he presented is misleading.
In India, only those who are above the age of 18 are eligible for getting the coronavirus vaccines. Most countries, for that matter, are administering vaccines to only those who have attained the age of 18 years. Hence, to put things in perspective, the population O’Brien should be using as base should have been eligible adult population of India and not the whole population of India, which stands at little over 130 crore.
As per 2011 census, 30% of Indians were under the age of 15 and about 19.8% people fell within the age group of 15-24. That means, one could say approximately 40% of Indian population is under the age of 18.
That means, out of say 130 crore people in India, which is around 78 crore. Now, considering population would have obviously increased over the years, these projections would not be accurate. So let us assume total adult Indian population is about 90 crore.
As per CoWIN dashboard (the same source which O’Brien claims to have used for his misleading infographic), almost 70 crore doses have been administered till now.
Vaccine doses administered as on 6th September, 2021
Of these, about 53 crore doses have been first doses and 16 crore have been second doses.
Coming back to O’Brien’s claims, if say adult population in India is approximately 90 crore, or say even 100 crore (because, let us be generous), if over 53 crore people have received one dose, that means it is more than half the total adult population.
Essentially, ‘majority’ of the India’s eligible population has been given at least one dose of coronavirus vaccines. But to play petty politics, Derek used the total population as base, even though children, that is approximately 40% of India’s population is not even eligible for vaccination.
The BJP MLAs in Jharkhand Monday embraced a unique way to oppose the Jharkhand government’s controversial decision to allow a separate Namaz room in the state Assembly. Before the session began for the day, the BJP MLAs on Monday sat on the stairs at the entrance of the Vidhan Sabha and protested against the decision by performing Bhajan Kirtan.
BJP Jharkhand took to its official Facebook page to share a snippet of a video where many BJP MLAs are seen performing Hari Kirtan and chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans as they dance to the tunes of traditional instruments like Dholak and Manjeera.
The BJP leaders also hold placards calling for the discriminatory order to be overturned and demanding prayer halls for other religions as well.
Terming the decision ‘unconstitutional’, BJP has also been demanding that a separate room should also be allotted to Hindus in the state Assembly to recite Hanuman Chalisa.
BJP leader Babu Lal Marandi said that the temple of democracy should stay as the temple of democracy only. He added that the allotment of a separate room at the assembly for Namaz is wrong.
Former speaker and BJP leader CP Singh has also made similar demands and said that a Hanuman Temple should be built in the Assembly premises.
Jharkhand Govt to allot a dedicated room to offer Namaz in state assembly
The controversy erupted after the ruling JMM-Congress government issued a notification dated September 2 and signed by Jharkhand Legislative Assembly Deputy Secretary Naveen Kumar by order of the speaker stating that a room will be allotted for offering namaz in the new assembly building. The order read, ” “Allotment of room number TW 348 as the Namaz Hall for offering Namaz in the new Assembly Building”. The foundation stone of the new Jharkhand Assembly was laid on June 12, 2015, after which it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. This building is the first paperless Assembly in the country.
Presently, the 81 member Jharkhand Legislative Assembly has four Muslim MLAs. Two MLAs are from the Congress party- Irfan Ansari and Alamgir Alam. The other two – Dr Sarfaraz Ahmad and Haji Hussain Ansari – belong to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
The decision of the Jharkhand Assembly Speaker to allot a dedicated space for Muslims inside a secular institution such as Vidhan Sabha has evoked a strong response across the state.
On September 5, farmer unions held a ‘Mahapanchayat’ in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, in which reportedly lakhs of farmer protestors participated to protest against the Government of India. The aim, as per the farmer leaders, was to force the central government to repeal the three agriculture laws that were enacted in September 2020.
The farmers have been protesting against these laws since November 2020 at the Delhi border. Interestingly, the farmer protestors who came to attend Muzaffarnagar Mahapanchayat mixed Agriculture laws with CAA and NRC for some unknown reason.
‘The three black laws are CAA, NRC and NPA’ claimed farmer protestors
Hindustan 9, an online News Channel, published a ground report of Mahapanchayat at Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Rohit Sharma, the journalist from Hindustan 9, asked a few questions to the farmer protestors who were going to attend the Mahapanchayat. A person who identified himself as Mohammad Danish said that he came with a group of farmers from a nearby village.
Danish said, “We came with the aim to protest against the three black laws enacted by the Government of India. The protests under the leadership of Rakesh and Naresh Tikait have been happening at the Ghazipur border for the last nine months. The government should repeal these black laws that are against the interest of the farmers.”
Rohit questioned if he knows about the black laws, to which Danish said, “Yes, I know. One is NRC (National Register of Citizens), NPR (National Population Register), and there is one more that I forgot.” Rohit asked if he was talking about CAA (Citizen Amendment Act), to which Dinesh said, “Yes, Yes! That one.” Rohit confirmed, “So you are attending Mahapanchayat against these three laws?” and Danish said yes.
‘We will throw out these Gujarati Baniyas who sold the country’
Another farmer protestor who joined the conversation claimed that BJP was brought in power for progress, but they have done nothing. “All they do is Hindu and Muslim,” he alleged. “I am telling you these are foreign invaders. We will throw them out just like we threw out the British. These are Gujarati Baniyas. They are selling the country,” he said.
Another protestor who identified himself as Shaan Mohammad said that because of the government, they do not have anything to eat. While he was talking to the reporter, a group of men came and took all of them away. There was another protestor who was holding sugarcane in hand and said, “Our food has been locked in safes. We are going to reclaim our food. If we know how to make government, we can throw them out of power too.” A protestor named Deepak and said, “We will finish the roots of Modi.”
Clueless protestors and clueless leaders
Recently, Rubika Liyaquat of ABP News had questioned Rakesh Tikait during an interview and asked which portions of the law were problematic according to him. Tikait, who was confident a few minutes earlier, fumbled and asked her if she was on the government’s payroll. While he kept calling the laws “black laws”, Tikait ignored answering which parts of the farm laws are problematic to him and how. He kept diverting the questions and launching personal attacks on the anchor.
Farmer protests to CAA protests –everyone is just clueless
In November 2020, when the protests at the Delhi border were at their initial stage, a reporter had asked the protestors about the laws they were protesting against, to which one of them said, “I do not know. I came here for employment, let farmers & labourers see to it…” Another protestor revealed that he was not a farmer but a labourer. One protestor claimed that his father was a farmer, and he was attending the protests as “his company has been closed.” They were unclear about MSP as well. Interestingly, the Kisan Ekta Sangh leader was clueless about the laws but claimed he was there to throw the government out of power.
Similar clueless protestors were seen at anti-CAA protests. The so-called ‘liberals’ and many Leftist media outlets had publicised the false notion that the CAA will strip the Muslims of India of their citizenship and a lot of ‘protestors’ were led to believe that.
During the protests, a young woman at the Mumbai August Kranti Maidan had said she was there to make a strong point to the government and show her dissent no matter how much the government tried to ‘throttle’ her voice. As the reporter asked her regarding what the protest was really about, the lady protestor was perplexed and did not have an idea about why people were protesting.
Sadly, both the protests led to riots and violence in Delhi. Anti-CAA protests had led to anti-Hindu riots of February 2020. The farmer protests led to the Republic Day riots in 2021. Several cases have been filed in connection to the two instances of mob violence and investigations/trials are underway.
Women in Afghanistan have again taken to the streets to demand fundamental rights be guaranteed to them under Taliban rule. The protest on Monday comes days after a similar protest turned violent, with allegations made that the Jihadist outfit attacked the women with tear gas shells.
Visuals of the protests are circulating on the internet.
The Taliban is attempting to stop journalists from covering the protest.
Taliban terrorists stopping journalists from covering a protest by Afghan women for their rights. Taliban fears women the most in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/33tuvEA5dv
The protesting women are demanding education, employment apart from a guarantee for their fundamental rights.
#Balkh: A number of women protested in Mazar-e-Sharif today. The women say they should be given a role in the next government and system. The women also demanded education, employment and protection of their rights.
Visuals from the protests show that there are not too many women present at the anti-Taliban protests, indicating that the sentiment may not be widespread.
A #Taliban police vehicle tries to disrupt women’s protest in #Mazar-e-Sharif city, Balkh province.
The protests have attracted a counter-demonstration from other women supporting the Taliban while chanting ‘Death to America’.
Religious conservative women in #Mazar-e-Sharif city marched today in support of my the Taliban chanting “Death to America and their servants!”pic.twitter.com/y7PToOVAwB
The protest and the counter-protest comes at a time when there are concerns for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Recently, it was reported that the Taliban shot dead a woman who was eight months pregnant in front of her husband and children. The woman was a police officer.
Former Congress President and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter today to share a picture to hail ‘farmers’ who had gathered in large number to agitate against the central government’s three farm laws. Using #FarmersProtest, the senior Congress leader captioned the post in Hindi which translates to ‘Bharat Bhagya Vidhata is standing here, fearless’.
Rahul Gandhi’s Tweet posted on September 6
However, this time too, Rahul Gandhi chose an old, unrelated image to peddle his ongoing propaganda to malign the Modi government. The image is actually that of a Kisan rally that was held at Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, from February this year.
In fact, the same image which Rahul Gandhi tried to pass off as that of recent farmers’ protest is a picture by news agency PTI which was used by multiple media outlets.
The report published by The Tribune on February 6, 2021
Here is Congress mouthpiece National Herald using same image for an article on Shamli from February 5 this year.
Shamli mahasabha
Back then, Shamli administration had imposed prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144. Despite that, the ‘farmers’ had gathered.
Congress orchestrating ‘farmer protests’
The initial so-called farmer protests started in Punjab with explicit support of Punjab Congress leaders including Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Then other self-appointed politician-leaders too joined in as ‘farmer leaders’ like Rakesh Tikait and former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav.
The three new agriculture laws aim to help farmers to sell their produce to whoever they wish to while giving them the safety net of MSP as per existing system. However, this step which removes the middlemen from the transaction seems to have irked a few ‘farmers’ who have taken to streets to protest against the same. These protests have also seen participation from pro-Khalistan elements. On several instances during the so-called farm protests, banners of Khalistani proponent Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were raised.
With high octane Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections coming up in just few months’ time, the politicians masquerading as ‘farmers’ have again come out in full force to have a proxy political campaign on behalf of opposition leaders against the ruling BJP. And as one can see, opposition parties like Congress has full ‘support’ to these protests.
