Gandi Baat actress Gehana Vasisth has claimed that Mumbai Police which had come to arrest earlier this year in a pornography case had demanded that she pay Rs. 15 lakhs to avoid arrest. She was arrested in February 2021 and had to spend almost four months in jail.
Gehana Vasisth told India Today in an exclusive interview, “They wanted to take Rs 15 lakh to release me. They asked me to pay them the money. But when I said I wasn’t in the wrong, they said we could make any case against anyone.”
Citing a WhatsApp conversation between Yash Thakur alias Arvindkumar Shrivastava and Tanveer Hashmi, where the two accused in the matter could be seen arranging Rs. 8 lakhs, she said, “That’s because the police had demanded money.”
The actress is currently embroiled in another pornography case with Raj Kundra, Shilpa Shetty’s husband. Earlier, she had threatened to expose the names of everyone involved in the porn industry.
Gehana Vasisth had told Entertainment Times, “When I meet the Crime Branch officials I will give them names of the girls and the people involved in the porn industry. Both men and women are involved in the industry and those names will be shared with the police. Those girls who are playing the victim card today are worried that once their names come out they are bound to turn into the accused in the case.”
“And there are others, who are making allegations, but are involved in making porn content, which is available on the internet. I have all the names and am going to file an official complaint against all those involved in the porn industry. Why should one person be targeted and both Raj Kundra and I are still accused in the case and not convicted,” she added.
BJP MP and Bihar state president Dr Sanjay Jaiswal had taken to Twitter on July 30 (Thursday), to apprise of the sudden death of a Bihari boy studying in China. Tagging BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi in his Tweet, Sanjay Singh wrote that Aman Nagesan, who went from Bihar to study at China’s Tianjin University, was found dead under unknown circumstances.
@M_Lekhi ji A student from Bihar studying in Tianjin Univ China, has been found dead under unknown circumstances. Family was informed 2day mrng while no official communication has been received either from the Univ or from the Chinese Embassy. Request your urgent intervention. pic.twitter.com/GasTcnmL9i
— Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal (@sanjayjaiswalMP) July 30, 2021
He added that Aman’s family received the information about their son’s death on July 30. However, no official communication had yet been received from the University or the Chinese Embassy regarding the same. He urged Meenakshi Leki, who is also the current Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India, to look into the matter.
Soon after the BJP MP’s Tweet, the Indian Embassy in China responded. It said that it has information regarding the unfortunate death of the boy from Bihar and has been investigating the same. Tagging MADAD, the grievance portal launched by India’s External Affairs Ministry, the Indian Embassy in China Tweeted: @EOIBeijing is informed of the matter and is in touch with both Chinese authorities as well as the family of the deceased. We are providing all possible assistance. @meaMADAD.
@EOIBeijing is informed of the matter and is in touch with both Chinese authorities as well as the family of the deceased. We are providing all possible assistance. @meaMADAD
In a significant decision, the Karnataka government has notified an order prohibiting the use of funds of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Muzrai) department to finance non-Hindu causes or any other religious institutions.
According to reports, the Karnataka Hindu religious institutions and charitable endowments department has released a notification dated 23 July, ordering the prohibition of diversion of funds from Muzrai department controlled Hindu temples to any other non-Hindu causes.
The decision was taken after members of the state and district Dharmic Parishads opposed the diversion of funds from Hindu temples to other religious institutions. Considering these demands, the department has barred deviation of funds from either the ‘tastik‘ amount or the annual grants.
Last month, Minister Kota Shrinivas Poojary had assured that the funds of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions And Charitable Endowments (HRCE) Department would no longer be used to fund any non-Hindu religious institutions. The statement by the minister had come after various Hindu groups and leaders had objected to the distribution of ‘tastik‘ money from the HRCE to priests and staff of other religious institutions.
Following the protests by the Hindu groups, Minister for Muzrai Kota Srinivas Poojary had directed that all such acts of financial support from the department be halted with immediate effect. However, Poojary had then assured that “until our government came to power, ‘tastik‘ amount meant for temples was also being provided to other religious institutions. Upon receiving this information we have directed that all utilisation of funds for non-Hindu purposes be stopped immediately.”
This order notified on 26 July bars the diversion of both the ‘tastik’ and the annual grant to 757 religious centres and 111 prayer centres. The order instructs that such grants be given to the concerned institutions through the Department of Minority Welfare, Haj and Waqf.
Nandita Dutta, a model-cum-actor from adult OTT content, and her associate Mainak Ghosh have been arrested in Kolkata for allegedly forcing young models into pornography either by luring them with a ‘break’ in OTT platforms or by threatening them.
The 30-year-old actress known as ‘Nancy Bhabhi’ in her semi-porn content was arrested from her home in Dum Dum. Her associate, Mainak Ghosh, was nabbed from his residence in Naktala. The duo was arrested after a complaint was filed against them by two young models at New Town police on July 26.
One of the complainants alleged that she was hustled into shooting a nude scene at Ballygunge studio and her friend was coerced into shooting in an adult video at a New Town hotel by the same group.
The arrest came on the heels of a porn racket busted by the Bidhannagar police in the New Town and Salt Lake area. The police arrested a photographer and a make-up artist in a separate but similar complaint last week.
As per the preliminary investigation by the police, the groups entrap women from lower-middle-class families struggling for work with quick money or threatening them with dire consequences and making false promises of providing a break.
The police is also investigating whether these porn rackets have a link to the Raj Kundra pornography case. They were produced before a Barasat court and were sent to police custody for a week.
“We are going to interrogate them for their accomplices and also to know other places where they conducted the shoots. We will also question them whether they used to sell videos and if they were a part of a larger porn racket,” said a senior officer of the Bidhannagar Commissionerate.
According to TOI, Nandita Dutta and Ghosh have been charged under IPC sections 354B (assaults or uses criminal force to any woman or abets such act with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be naked), 354C (voyeurism), 500 (defamation), 509 (molestation), 370 (buying or disposing of any person as a slave), 417 (cheating) and 469 (forgery).
Arrest of Raj Kundra in pornography case
On July 19, actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband, Raj Kundra, was arrested by Mumbai Police for his alleged role in creating and publishing pornographic films on mobile application HotShot.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale had said, “Businessman Raj Kundra has been arrested by the Crime Branch in a case relating to the creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps. We have arrested Raj Kundra in this case on July 19, 2021, as he appears to be the key conspirator of this. We have sufficient evidence regarding this. The investigation is in progress.”
Herschelle Gibbs, former cricketer of the South Africa cricket team, has claimed that the BCCI is trying to prevent him from participating in the Kashmir Premier League. According to him, the BCCI has threatened him that he will not be permitted to enter India for any cricket related work in the future should he decide to participate in the cricket league in Pakistan.
Source: Twitter
The Kashmir Premier League was conceived by Pakistani politician Shehryar Khan Afridi. It will have six teams, Overseas Warriors, Muzaffarabad Tigers, Rawalakot Hawks, Bagh Stallions, Mirpur Royals and Kotli Lions. The teams will have five players from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir each. The matches are to be played in Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium.
Earlier, Rashid Latif, former Pakistani cricketer, had made similar allegations. He said on Friday that the BCCI had warned that if former cricketers participate in the cricket league in Pakistan, then they will not be permitted to work in India in any capacity.
Source: Twitter
The allegations of Herschelle Gibbs, however, has drawn praise for the BCCI from unexpected quarters. Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena thanked BCCI for its decision.
— Priyanka Chaturvedi?? (@priyankac19) July 31, 2021
Others have also praised the board for its decision.
Might be insignificant issue for you, Mr. Gibbs. But for us, it’s a question of our identity. And, we don’t care if you don’t get to play in India. In fact, we’re proud of BCCI for taking this call. https://t.co/u3cF2ALnYZ
Well done @BCCI this is what we accept from you. Kashmir is an integral part of India ?? . @hershybru shouldn’t allow to be a part of any cricketing work in India. https://t.co/spFLZN8l3N
The government of Thailand has ordered a blanket ban on the distribution of “fake news” or information causing public fear across all media platforms. The announcement, signed by the Prime Minister of Thailand and published in the Royal Gazette on July 30 (Friday). It was issued in compliance with Section 9 of the emergency decree.
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, while announcing the “emergency” decree, said the measure is intended to make sure false content spread online doesn’t undermine the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under the order, which was made official in the Royal Gazette, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) is required to instruct Internet service providers (ISPs) to check IP addresses and immediately suspend services of any such media houses that spread “false or distorted” news causing panic, misunderstanding or confusion “affecting state security, abusing the rights of others, and order or good morality of the people”.
The ISPs must report the details of their findings to the NBTC. The ISPs who fail to comply with the order will be considered to have failed to follow the requirements of their operating licenses, leading to their operating licences being revoked, read the order.
According to local media outlet Thaiger, the government has extended the decree until the end of September. This was the 13th time the decree has been extended since its introduction in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, reports Thaiger.
Media outlets in Thailand protest against government’s ban on those spreading ‘fake news’
Meanwhile, six Thai media outlets have come out against the orders calling it an infringement on freedom of expression. These media outlets had released a joint statement on July 15, in which they voiced concern about the restrictions.
According to Thai PBS World, the media outlets have acknowledged that news reports by some organisations have been erroneous, but they insist that this was not done on purpose and that no news was produced deliberately, as the government believes. They said they will continue to battle for freedom of expression until the administration realises that restricting such freedoms could lead to its ultimate downfall.
The PM, meanwhile, has responded to the media statement by ordering authorities to enforce the restrictions against all media outlets, websites, and media personalities who continue to spread “fake news”.
Thailand govt faces criticism for the handling of the Covid pandemic, PM says all is well
Meanwhile, with 17,669 new cases and 165 deaths, Thailand reportedly recorded its highest number of cases and Covid -19 related deaths since the pandemic began in early 2020 on July 29 (Thursday). In all, Thailand has recorded a total of 561,030 cases and 4,562 deaths.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s government is facing harsh criticism over its handling of the virus surge and slow vaccination program, amid reports of people dying in the streets or in their homes while waiting for treatment.
The Prime Minister, has, however, claimed that his country is doing well as compared to other nations that are dealing with higher caseloads. In a special interview held at the Government House on July 29 (Thursday), he said: “If we contemplate the transmission in our country, it may seem shocking, given the daily fatalities. I want you to try paying attention to these numbers in our neighbouring countries and others for a change.”
Maintaining that his government is handling the pandemic well, PM Prayuth Chan-o-cha added: “At present, every country in the world has more or less felt the impact. There are many top-ranking countries, as you can see, whose numbers are many times higher than ours.”
The health ministry of Thailand on July 11, 2021 (Sunday) informed that as many as 618 healthcare workers have contracted Covid despite receiving two doses of the China-made Sinovac vaccine. It is being reported that a nurse has died and another medical worker is in critical condition. The nation’s health ministry is weighing using a third booster dose to the 677,348 medical personnel, who received the Chinese vaccine.
Nearly six months after protestors ran amok on the streets of the national capital culminating in the Republic Day riots, the Congress-led house panel of the Punjab legislative assembly has asked the Punjab government to provide free legal aid and compensation to the accused rioters.
According to reports, the Punjab state government led by Amarinder Singh has set up a Vidhan Sabha committee to look into the issue of providing legal aid and compensation to the Republic Day riots accused. The committee has issued a series of recommendations to the Punjab government, asking them to provide free legal assistance to the rioters and also compensation for facing alleged torture at the hands of Delhi and Haryana Police.
The Delhi and Haryana police have registered cases against these alleged farmers after they unleashed mayhem on the streets of the national capital on Republic Day and desecrated the national flag by storming onto Mughal monument Red Fort.
The Congress party-led committee has also claimed that the protesting “farmers” were falsely implicated, tortured, and hence the government needs to provide free legal aid and compensation. The Vidhan Sabha committee led by Congress MLA Kuldip Singh Vaid met protestors and alleged farmers across the state in the last few weeks.
Speaking to the media, Congress MLA Vaid said that the committee has come to a conclusion that protestors were arrested when they were heading to the Tikri border to participate in a tractor rally. The committee consists of four other members — Congress MLAs Kulbir Singh Zira, Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa, AAP MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, SAD MLA Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra.
“Someone was supplying milk to the agitating farmers, and the other was supplying ration. They told us that the police asked them if they were headed to the Tikri border, and when they responded affirmatively, they were picked up. They were tortured badly with sticks. Their stories are very moving. They have gone through a lot,” claimed the Congress MLA.
The Congress MLA added that they would submit the report to the Amarinder Singh government in the next week and recommend that these farmers be given free legal aid and compensation. The government should decide on the compensation, he said.
The protestors have been booked in several cases and are now being tried. “They do not know which lawyer to go to. We will now recommend to the government that we should provide them legal aid,” Congress leader said.
The Punjab government had set up the Vidhan Sabha committee after a few MLAs had demanded the government to intervene and help the Punjabi farmers who were part of the protest.
According to a report by Jagran, the Congress party government in Punjab is keen on implementing the recommendations and provide free legal aid and compensation to the Republic Day riots accused.
Republic Day Riots
On January 26, groups of alleged farmers forcefully entered Delhi on the pretext of a Tractor Rally. They created a riot-like situation in which over 300 police personnel were injured, and properties worth crores were damaged. The rally was supposed to be a protest rally against the Agriculture laws named Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 passed in September 2020.
Visuals that emerged from the riots showed how the alleged farmers tried to mow down the police personnel with tractors, attacked them with swords, batons and other weapons and mercilessly attacked police personnel at Red Fort for security purposes. A group of rioters including Deep Sidhu, Gurjot Singh, Jugraj Singh and others reached the Red Fort and hoisted two flags with the Sikh Holy symbol.
Interestingly, the hoisting of the flag was in sync with the provocations of terrorist organisation Sikhs For Justice, whose founder had announced a cash prize for hoisting the flag on Red Fort. A total of 43 cases has been registered in connection to the riots.
Producer Subhash Kale has accused the makers of Captain India of plagiarism, Bollywood Hungama has reported. According to Kale, the plot of Captain India is similar to that of their proposed project, Operation Yemen. The former will be directed by Hansal Mehta while the latter will be directed by Sanjay Sankla.
Operation Yemen is based on Operation Raahat, led by General V K Singh in 2015 to evacuate Indians and foreign nationals from the war torn country during the Yemeni crisis.
Subhash Kale told Bollywood Hungama, “We have been working since 2016 on this project. The cousin of our director Sanjay Sankla was the pilot on this mission. Sanjay Sankla has been a reputed editor and has worked on nearly 95 films. He researched extensively and when he narrated the idea to me, I said that we should work on it as it’s an interesting subject. We took 9 months to pen the script. We even got Mission Mangal (2019) writer Nidhi Singh Dharma on board. Our pre-production was nearly done. I wonder where the idea got leaked from. This episode is in the public domain but we were the first ones to register at the Screenwriters Association (SWA).”
He further claimed, “Captain India waalon ne toh script likhna shuru bhi nahi kiya. They had dates of Kartik Aaryan. The idea has not leaked from our side because we have signed a confidentiality agreement with everyone associated.”
The makers of Captain India had recently signed Kartik Aaryan as the lead in the movie. When asked about the fact that the press release of the movie does not mention that it is based on Operation Raahat, Subhash Kale responded, “Yes but the city of Sana’a, the capital of Yemen is visible on their poster, just like how it’s depicted in our poster as well. And that city’s architecture and landscape are such that it doesn’t match with any other city in the world. Also, the poster shows carpet-bombing happening over the city, an aeroplane going over Sana’a and the title Captain India are clear giveaways that their film is based on the same incident.”
According to Kale, the IMPAA (Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association) has said that there will be a stay on the movie. He has also said that the Screenwriters Association said that they will take action after the plot of the movie is revealed. Kale expressed his wish to get a stay on the movie.
“Even if the scripts of both films are different, the storyline would be the same and hence both films would also be similar. Do same picture toh nahi ban sakti. It’ll then become a repeat of Scam 1992 (2020) and The Big Bull (2021) episode,” Subhash Kale said.
He further revealed that they have approached Akshay Kumar for the movie and Paresh Rawal has consented to be part of it as well. Kale says that they will begin shooting Operation Yemen from November or December this year while the Captain India is scheduled for a shoot in 2022.
China has made it compulsory for every Tibetan family to send one family member to the People’s Liberation Army, an attempt to strengthen its deployment along the Line of Actual Control with India and as a mark of ‘loyalty’ test for the Tibetan youths, a report published by India Today said.
China is doing all it can to strengthen its presence along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), particularly in extreme weather circumstances in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
According to the government sources cited by India Today, one member each from the loan families of Tibetans will be deployed permanently at the LAC with India. They further added that China has already started recruiting Tibetan youths in its territory and training them for operations along the LAC with India.
Before they are officially inducted into the Chinese forces, they are made to go through rigorous loyalty tests, which includes learning the mainland Chinese language and swearing allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sources said.
The recruitment of Tibetans within the Chinese armed forces began in earnest in January-February this year after China saw how Tibetans-in-exile have performed while serving in the Indian Armed Forces.
With the recruitment of Tibetan youth within the army, China eyes not only using their natural skill of acclimatising to harsh weather conditions but also seeks greater acceptance of Chinese authority among the local population in the Tibet Autonomous Region(TAR). By inducting Tibetans, China also aims to ease the pressure off the mainland Chinese soldiers deployed along the LAC.
The mandate of sending one family member of Tibetans to the Chinese forces comes in the midst of a standoff between the PLA and the Indian Armed Forces along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. Since April-May last year, India and China have been embroiled in a tense military impasse along the LAC and tensions have prevailed in friction points since then, including Hot Springs-Gogra Heights.
The two sides have had multiple rounds of talks to defuse tensions but without much success as the situation along the LAC remains precarious. The talks have so far yielded limited mutual withdrawal of soldiers by the two sides on both northern and southern banks of the Pangong Tso.
Based on a complaint lodged by Girraj Meena, a member of the Rajasthan Adivasi Meena Seva Sangh, Jaipur police have registered an FIR against Sudarshan TV’s editor-in-chief, Suresh Chavhanke. In the FIR, Chavhanke has been accused of allegedly making derogatory remarks against the Meena community. The FIR was registered at Transport Nagar police station in Jaipur on July 30 (Friday).
Suresh Chavhanke accused of spreading communal dishormony
Girraj Meena, in his complaint, accused the Sudarshan TV chief of hurting the sentiments of tribals and Meena communities by making incendiary remarks through his channel ever since the Amargarh Fort incident.
“On the evening of July 23, Suresh Chavhanke of Sudarshan TV used insulting slurs against me and our entire tribal community according to his own will and it went on for several days,” says the FIR lodged by Meena.
Girraj Meena, in the FIR, further accused Chavhanke of conspiring to spread communal discord thereby provoking chaos and riots.
Suresh Chavhanke says will visit Amargarh Fort on Aug 1, Meena-Muslim community call it ‘provocative’
“An FIR has been registered in the matter and Chavhanke is an accused,” said ACP Adarsh Nagar Neel Kama. The FIR has been filed under Sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC along with Section 67 of the IT Act and relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
It is pertinent to note that, after an independent MLA, Ramkesh Meena tore a saffron flag with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ inscribed on it at the Aamagarh Fort in Jaipur, the Sudarshan TV head had taken strong objection to the incident and had vowed to go to Jaipur and visit the Amargarh fort on August 1. The Meena-Muslim community had strongly reacted to this statement of Chavhanke, terming it ‘provocative’.
Suresh Chavhanke reacts to the FIR
Meanwhile, the Sudarshan TV chief Suresh Chavhanke has taken to Twitter to share the news of the FIR filed against him. “The Rajasthan Police has registered an FIR against me under the SC-ST Act, that too for what I did not say”, Tweeted Chavhanke.
राजस्थान पुलिस ने मुझ पर SC-ST एक्ट के तहत FIR दर्ज की है, वह भी जो मैंने जो कहा ही नहीं उसके लिए. केवल “टीपू सुल्तान पार्टी” ने फैलाई अफ़वाह के आधार पर।
— Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) July 31, 2021
Referring to Rajasthan Adivasi Meena Seva Sangh, as “Tipu Sultan’s Party”, Chavhanke added that the Rajasthan police, working at the behest of the Congress government in Rajasthan, has filed the FIR against him merely based on the rumours spread by them against him and his channel.
“The entire country is raising demands of #Arrest_Ramkesh_Meena but the Rajasthan government is taking reverse action on me. However, the struggle will continue”, wrote the Sudarshan TV head on Twitter.
Amargarh Fort incident
For the uninitiated, on July 22, social media was rife with videos of the incident in which a mob along with independent MLA Ramkesh Meena first brought down the flag hoisted atop Aamagarh Fort in Jaipur and then tore it further.
The Hindu organizations have taken strong objection to Congress-confidante Ramkesh Meena’s actions.
Launching an attack on the Congress sibling duo, UP CM’s media advisor Shalabh Mani Tripathi sharing this video said that such actions will not be forgotten.
Sudarshan TV chief Suresh Chavhanke had also strongly opposed this despicable act and had been condemning the same, since the incident happened on July 22nd, 2020.
Police, meanwhile, have cordoned off the entire area leading to the Amargarh Fort in Rajasthan, after videos of the incident went viral on social media. Police informed that so far, three separate FIRs have been registered related to the Amargarh row, investigations into which are underway.
OpIndia also tried to get in touch with the Transport Nagar police station to get more information about the entire incident but got no response.
