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London court declares fugitive Vijay Mallya bankrupt

OpIndia Staff
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London court declares fugitive Vijay Mallya bankrupt

On July 26, the Insolvency and Companies Court of the London high court declared Indian fugitive and businessman Vijay Mallya bankrupt. Chief Insolvency and Companies Court (ICC) judge Briggs said, “There is no evidence he will go back to India to face trial, so I find insufficient evidence he will pay the debt in full in a reasonable period of time. I shall adjudicate Dr Mallya bankrupt.”

The orders would take effect immediately, however, he still has an option to seek permission to appeal from a higher court.

In May 2020, Mallya had lost the court cases against extradition to India. However, he has not returned to face trial. After the orders passed by the London Court, he has to submit all his assets, including credit cards, bank accounts etc., to a bankruptcy trustee. The actual value of his assets and liabilities would be established after investigation, and the trustee would assess the relevant assets that could be sold to repay the creditors.

As per the law, if a person is declared bankrupt, he or she must cooperate with the trustee. All the bank accounts belonging to that person would be frozen, leaving a small part of the money owned to buy essentials. Mallya would not be allowed to act as a director of any company or create a new company without permission from the court. He would not be allowed to borrow more than £500 without declaring he is bankrupt. The Individual Insolvency Register would now include his name.

In a tweet Mallya said, “ED attach my assets worth 14K crores at behest of Govt Banks against debt of 6.2K crores. They restore assets to Banks who recover 9K crores in cash and retain security over 5K crores more.Banks ask Court to make me Bankrupt as they may have to return money to the ED. Incredible.”

The consortium led by the State Bank of India had sought to declare Mallya bankrupt as he had failed to clear the judgment debt of Rs 10,763 crore (roughly £1.05 billion) as ordered by the Debt Recovery Tribunal of Karnataka in January 2017. The tribunal is registered in the English courts. The debt owed by Mallya was driven from the personal guarantee he had given for the loans borrowed by Kingfisher Airlines.

The banks that are part of the consortium Bank of Baroda, Corporation bank, Federal Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. Pvt Ltd as well as an additional creditor.

The court rejected Mallya’s appeal

The application for a stay on the bankruptcy and permission to appeal was rejected by the Judge, saying Mallya had no prospect of success. Advocate Philip Marshall QC who is representing Mallya in the court, had argued that the Indian banks had received Rs 5,776.2 crore after the DRT sale of UBL shares owned by Mallya in India. The majority of these shares were sold on June 23 this year.

He further added that shared worth 770 crores had been realised. However, they are yet to be transferred to the banks. Mallya’s shares were attached by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). On May 24, PMLA court, Mumbai, had ordered to sell and transfer the money raised to the banks.

Marshall, in his arguments, said, “there are a number of other assets which although not yet realised are held with the DRT officer and can be realised. If we combine all that together, you end up with a figure well in excess of the petition debt.” He further added that there is an ongoing case in India to challenge the 11.5% interest imposed on the DRT judgement debt. Mallya’s counsels in India have argued that banks are not treating him equally to other citizens of India who owe the banks similar amounts and called it a breach of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

However, while rejecting the plea, Judge Briggs said, “My understanding is that he is resisting extradition. The petitioners could be made to return the money after trial as nine different parties, including Mallya, challenged the May 24 order, and there are 40 creditors. There is a real risk the liquidator would require all the proceeds of the UBL sales to be paid to him to pay the creditors.”

‘Attack on democracy’ cries TMC as Prashant Kishor’s team detained for COVID protocol in Tripura

OpIndia Staff
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‘Attack on democracy’ cries TMC as Prashant Kishor’s team detained for COVID protocol in Tripura

The news of the 23-member team of poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s company I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) being detained by Agartala police went viral on social media yesterday. Busting the misinformation, the Tripura government has issued a clarification saying that the members were held to undergo the RTPCR test mandatory for visitors as per the Covid-19 guidelines. 

This comes after the Trinamool Congress cried vendetta against the company that led them to win the 2021 West Bengal state assembly elections. “This is shameful. The IPAC team came and from night they are undergoing verification and they are almost in house arrest. Is the BJP scared of this democracy?” asked Ashish Lal Singh who has recently been made the TMC state president for Tripura. 

As per reports, the I-PAC team is currently in Tripura to conduct baseline studies ahead of state assembly elections. They already met some influential politicians including BJP leaders in the state and are planning to conduct perception study.

“Our people have been literally put under house arrest for what reason we don’t know. We are looking into the matter,” claimed the I-PAC team.

A senior official from the Chief Minister’s Office, in an interview with the India Express, however, clarified that the I-PAC team was asked to stay indoors at their hotel since they are in a large group and the government wants to avoid any unwanted spread of Covid-19.

Commenting on the misinformation, Tripura West SP Manik Das revealed, “They are around 22 people of IPAC team. They had been visiting various places around Agartala city. Now Tripura is under a partial lockdown. And people visitors arriving at airport must carry COVID test report. We have only asked them to undergo RTPCR.”

“Results of their(I-PAC members) RTPCR test will come tomorrow. They said they were here for some research-related work that is being investigated. After getting COVID test results & outcome of probe, decision will be taken on their release,” Das added.

Tripura police in a quote to Rohan Dua- a Times of India journalist said, “No FIR has been registered yet. Matter is under investigation. We are also checking if there’s any violation under Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act.”

“7 of them came on Jul 20 & other five came later. They visited several places,” they added. 

TMC blames BJP

Pinning the blame on BJP, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted, “The fear in @BJP4Tripura before even @AITCofficial stepped into the land, is more than evident! They are so rattled by our victory in #Bengal that they’ve now kept 23 IPAC employees under house arrest. Democracy in this nation dies a thousand deaths under BJP’s misrule!”

TMC allegedly believes that the BJP is “scared” of its party expanding base across the country.

Prashant Kishore had said he would quit ‘this space’ (political consultancy) after TMC’s win in West Bengal but had not made his next move clear since then. Denying claims of joining politics and wanting to explore an alternative career, Kishore was seen meeting NCP supremo Sharad Pawar regularly in the recent past.

West Bengal: BJP official from Madhav Nagar found dead, party says TMC miscreants murdered him

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: BJP official from Madhav Nagar found dead, party says TMC miscreants murdered him

Political violence in West Bengal continues unabated as another death of a BJP worker has been allegedly murdered in the state. Samresh Pal, a 36-year-old active BJP official from Madhav Nagar, Kadwip assembly constituency was found dead on Monday.

The BJP claimed that Pal was murdered by the goons of the ruling Trinamool Congress Party, adding that it testifies to the fact that there is no law and order in the state.

Accusing the ruling dispensation of Mamata Banerjee of political cleansing of opposition workers, the leader of opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari said Pal had to pay with his life for believing in exercising democratic rights.

Post poll violence in West Bengal

Using violence as an instrument to subdue their political opponents has become a distinctive feature of the TMC rule in West Bengal. Ever since the Mamata Banerjee-led retained power in the state, the persecution of dissenters and opposition workers has only intensified.

Post-poll violence has become a leitmotif of news emerging out of Bengal following the declaration of results. Umpteen number of violence against political opponents have been reported from the state. In an overwhelming number of such incidents, the victims have been BJP supporters and workers while the accused were said to be the supporters of the TMC party. More than a dozen BJP workers have lost their lives in the post-poll violence that ensued following the victory of the TMC party in the assembly elections.

The violence unleashed against them forced hundreds of BJP party workers and supporters to flee their villages along with their families. They crossed over to Assam where they have been provided temporary shelter under the supervision of minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. It is not just the BJP but even CPI(M) which has accused the TMC of killing its workers. Reports of attacks on BSF jawans have also emerged in the media.

On June 2, 2021, a month after Mamata Banerjee came back to power, the BJP said 37 of its workers were killed in the post-poll violence that convulsed the state. There were reports that said women in West Bengal were raped, assaulted and, in some cases, even killed, just because they adhered to a different political ideology.

Recently, a victim who was raped by the TMC goons in front of her father shared her harrowing ordeal with OpIndia. She narrated how she was attacked and sexually assaulted by her perpetrators associated with the TMC party.

In the aftermath of the assembly election results, TMC goons wreaked havoc, attacking and plundering the houses of their opponents. In one such attack, TMC goons lynched BJP worker Avijit Sarkar to death.

Six Assam police personnel killed amidst Assam-Mizoram border dispute: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

OpIndia Staff
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Six Assam police personnel killed amidst Assam-Mizoram border dispute: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Six police personnel lost their lives in the ongoing Assam-Mizoram border dispute, chief minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma informed on Monday evening.

Tensions rose along the Assam-Mizoram border after reports of firing between the police of both states emerged. According to Assam Police, their Mizo counterparts opened fire at them at Lailapur.

Earlier today, the two chief ministers—Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma clashed on Twitter and sought Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s help to end the matter. Sarma had posted a tweet urging Chief Minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga to investigate why civilians from his states were holding sticks and trying to incite violence on the Assam-Mizoram border.

There is an ongoing conflict over land between the states of Assam and Mizoram. The statement from Assam’s CM came after Mizoram’s CM published a video from his official Twitter account urging Home Minister Amit Shah to take immediate action over increasing tension across the border between the two states.

On Saturday last week, the home minister held a meeting in Shillong on the border disputes between the North-Eastern states.

The dispute along the Assam-Mizoram border

The dispute has escalated in recent times. Cachar Superintendent of Police Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant said on Thursday that forces from both sides have been deployed in the area.

On Sunday night, eight huts that belonged to Mizo farmers were allegedly set on fire by miscreants.

Clashes had erupted along the border in October 2020 as well. Around 20 huts were incinerated on that occasion.

Big Tech database to target ‘extremist content’ from ‘white supremacists’ and ‘far right militias’: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Big Tech database to target ‘extremist content’ from ‘white supremacists’ and ‘far right militias’: Report

The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) will expand its database to target ‘extremist content’ shared by ‘white supremacists’ and ‘far-right militias’, Reuters has reported. Until now, the database has limited its focus on content by terrorist groups on a United Nations’ list but it will now expand operations.

The GIFCT will use lists from intelligence sharing groups such as Five Eyes to add URLs and PDFs from Proud Boys, the Three Percenters and other ‘white supremacist’ and ‘militia’ groups. “Anyone looking at the terrorism or extremism landscape has to appreciate that there are other parts…that are demanding attention right now,” GIFCT’s Executive Director Nicholas Rasmussen told Reuters.

Fourteen groups can access the database including Reddit, Snapchat-owner Snap, Facebook-owned Instagram, Verizon Media, Microsoft’s LinkedIn and Dropbox. GIFCT was formed in 2017 in light of the terror attacks in 2017. Its database contains digital imprints of posts mostly from groups on a UN Security Council Sanctions’ list.

However, there have been concerns of censorship and violation of free speech rights. “Over-achievement in this takes you in the direction of violating someone’s rights on the internet to engage in free expression,” Rasmussen said. The group was founded by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube.

The announcement comes days after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested that if someone is banned from one site, then he should be banned from others as well. She also revealed that the US Government was getting posts removed that it considered ‘disinformation’.

Psaki had said, “We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation. We’re working with doctors and medical experts…who are popular with their audience with accurate information. So, we’re helping get trusted content out there.”

Underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s alleged girlfriend Mehwish Hayat wants to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s alleged girlfriend Mehwish Hayat wants to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan: Details

Pakistani actor and alleged girlfriend of underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim, Mehwish Hayat, recently revealed her political aspirations and her aim to occupy the PM’s chair in the land. During her Q&A session on Geo TV, Hayat said she is inspired by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and would like to become the Prime Minister of the country someday.

When the host of the session asked her if she intends to pursue a career in politics, the actor confidently responded in affirmative, saying “InshaAllah”(god willing).

“Will you practice politics through the parliament or through a political party?” the host asked. Mehwish Hayat cryptically answered that time will better tell whether her entry to politics happens by joining the parliament or by forming her own political party.

Hayat said she is massively inspired by the politics of the PTI in particular. “I am inspired by their politics because they have brought about good changes and a paradigm shift in the way society used to think. Imran Khan was a cricketer before he took the plunge into politics. If a cricketer can become the prime minister of the country, surely actors can also become one as well,” she said.

Naturally, her keen interest in wanting to become the prime minister of the country prompted the host to ask if she intends to challenge Imran Khan, the incumbent prime minister. Hayat did not shy away from expressing her interest in becoming Pakistan’s next female premier.

“I don’t want to challenge him but someone is bound to take his place later on and I can also become a contender for the prime minister’s position,” she said.

It is worth noting that Imran Khan is considered by many as the pseudo prime minister of the country, a leader who is installed by the Pakistani deep state, i.e Pakistani Army, to give a pretence of working democracy to the western countries. Several Pakistani observers and analysts claim that Imran Khan continues to remain a figurehead prime minister of Pakistan and acts as a marionette whose strings are controlled by the mandarins of the Pakistani Army.

As for Hayat’s relationship with Dawood Ibrahim, it was recently reported that the dreaded gangster was allegedly unhappy after reports of him being in a romantic affair with the Pakistani actor become public. Mehwish Hayat is 27 years younger than Dawood Ibrahim and the rumours of their relationship started doing the rounds after she was awarded Pakistan’s civilian honour of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 2019.

It was alleged that time that Dawood Ibrahim was enamoured with Mehwish after he saw him an item song. After this, he came into contact with her and reportedly helped her in bagging big projects. It was initially speculated that some influential person from Karachi who has good ties with the Tehreek-e-Insaf party was behind Hayat’s swift success in the Pakistani film industry. Later, it was revealed that the man was none other than Dawood Ibrahim, who has always had a firm hold over the film industry and has good relations with many director-producers in Pakistan.

Dawood Ibrahim is a wanted criminal in India and is one of the accused in the Mumbai 1993 bomb blasts in which 257 people lost their lives and more than 1,400 were injured after a series of 12 bombs went off in different parts of the city.

Chinese citizens harass foreign journalists after BBC questions govt’s failure in containing floods: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese citizens harass foreign journalists after BBC questions govt’s failure in containing floods: Here is what happened

On Saturday (July 24), several foreign journalists were harassed by locals in the city of Zhengzhou in the Henan province of China. The hostile confrontation came after a BBC correspondent named Robin Brant questioned the local government over the flooding situation in Zhengzhou.

As per reports, the metropolis has witnessed a year’s worth of rainfall in the past week. This led to massive floods that claimed the lives of 69 people. While covering the news on Thursday (July 22), journalist Robin Brant quizzed the local government over its failure in containing the floods and the weak emergency response. “We don’t know why they were left so vulnerable,” he said over the death of a dozen people in a train carriage filled with water. In his report, he emphasised that Beijing had cautioned local governments to examine metro regulations and their preparedness.

However, Chinese netizens were miffed at BBC’s coverage of the flooding situation in Zhengzhou. On microblogging site Weibo, they accused Robint Brant of ‘factual distortion’ and ‘rumour-mongering.’ A post on Weibo read, “BBC reporter Robin Brant has appeared in disaster-stricken areas of our city many times, and has seriously distorted the facts. If you find this person, please call the police immediately.” Many posts were abusive in nature and threatened to leak the personal information of the journalist.

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/BBC)

Foreign journalists harassed by Chinese citizens over ‘mistaken identity’

As a consequence, Deutsche Welle (DW) correspondent Mathias Boelinger was stopped on the streets and gheraoed by an angry crowd after they mistook him for Robin Brant. In a Twitter thread, he narrated, “They kept pushing me yelling that I was a bad guy and that I should stop smearing China. One guy [tried] to snatch my phone. What I did not know at the time was that a manhunt was on after (Brant)…There is a vicious campaign against the BBC News in nationalistic circles and state media.” He had also shared a video of the incident, wherein he was reprimanded by another man for not having a positive view of China.

Boelinger was also accompanied by LA Times journalist Alice Su when the confrontation took place. At that time, they were interviewing local shopkeepers about the challenges or the ‘inadequate governmental help’ received by them. In a tweet, Alice Su wrote, “This is Mathias Boelinger and me in the streets of Zhengzhou yesterday. We were surrounded by an angry crowd shouting things like this is China, get out of China! I tried to de-escalate by “translating” the crowd’s message (Mathias is actually fluent in Chinese).”

In visuals shared by Su, it could be seen how the crowd had been intimidating the duo. While commenting on the video on Weibo, Chinese netizens had called for their deportation from the country. A similar treatment was meted out to Katrina Yu of Al Jazeera. She wrote, “Sad sign of increasing anger and suspicion towards foreign media in #China. When we filmed in front of the #Zhengzhou subway crowds were recording us and calling the authorities. This post on Weibo warns residents “don’t accept interviews from foreign media, don’t be used!”

While commenting on the vitriol faced by the foreign media in China, BBC journalist Stephen McDonell tweeted, “There’s been an orchestrated campaign against the foreign media in #Zhengzhou, fuelled by the Communist Youth League. So the strategy to try to make it a patriotic duty to harass those doing real reporting to distract from criticism of bad infrastructure not coping with flooding?”

Screenshots of vitriolic posts on Weibo shows the growing anti-foreign media establishment amount Chinese netizens. Communist accounts with 100K+ followers have accused DW and BBC of spreading rumours and emphasised that the journalists need to be thrashed.

Screengrab of the toxic posts on Weibo

Chinese State media’s defence and growing censorship

China has been criticised for peddling the myth of Zhengzhou being a sponge city. The Chinese government had spent 50 billion Chinese Yuan in infrastructure to prevent flooding in the metropolis. However, the disaster wrecked by the flood shows otherwise. While foreign media has exposed the mismanagement by Chinese authorities, lapdog media network Global Times has come to the Communist Party of China (CCP’s) rescue.

It claimed, “Chinese observers refuted the reports, noting that these media reiterated the loss, but neglected one fact, that the floods in Zhengzhou is a once-in-a-century occasion and beyond any city’s bearing capacity. They noted that the Zhengzhou government has made its best efforts to limit the loss.”

Reportedly, Chinese media has been specifically instructed to report only authoritative information and not draw connections to past events or take a sorrowful tone. The growing influence of the Chinese regime has made it difficult for the foreign press to operate in the country. To add to it, the Communist government had expelled 20 foreign journalists so far in the past 2 years over ‘critical reporting.’

The Michigan Kidnapping Conspiracy: How a US army veteran-turned-FBI informant instigated a plot to abduct a Governor

Dibakar Dutta
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The Michigan Kidnapping Conspiracy: How a US army veteran-turned-FBI informant instigated a plot to abduct a Governor

The Michigan kidnapping plot was one of the sensational news stories of 2020. About 13 people were arrested for allegedly conspiring to abduct Michigan State Governor Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the State government over strict Covid-19 rules. The said arrests were made by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and it was alleged that the conspiracy was a prelude to the Capitol Hill riots that took place on January 6 this year. However, an exclusive news report by Buzzfeed shows how FBI entrapped and instigated the kidnapping plot through its informants.

In March last year, a US Army veteran identified as ‘Dan’ logged onto Facebook to connect with individuals who liked guns. While navigating through gun rights pages, he stumbled upon a private group named ‘Wolverine watchmen’. The group members identified themselves as ‘US patriots’ who were looking for like-minded individuals. Following a brief screening, Dan was inducted into the group and was given the opportunity to train with them.

He was asked to download an encrypted messaging app called Wire. Dan was asked about his political views. He responded by saying that he was a libertarian, believed in small governments, and took an oath to defend the US Constitution. After being convinced by his answers, the group members inducted him into the main chat of ‘Wolverine watchmen’. Dan, who had served in Iraq as a fire support specialist, wanted to preserve his tactical expertise. His main objective behind joining the group was to hone his skills by training with other gun enthusiasts and shooting at targets in the woods.

FBI asked Dan to work as an ‘undercover’ agent

There was a plethora of jokes and memes about the Second Amendment (Right to own firearms) in the group chat. It came as a shocker to the US army veteran when a fellow group member named Peter Musico asked everyone to download a hunting app. The app was meant to track down the addresses of police officers so that they could be murdered at their homes. A mortified Dan then showed the chat messages to a friend, who happened to be a police officer. He then received a message from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent Jayson Chambers, who asked him to come to their office.

Instead of taking the matter into their own hands, the FBI asked Dan to work for them as an undercover agent and provide information about the activities of ‘Wolverine Watchmen’. Although he was initially hesitant about the new assignment, Dan eventually agreed to be a part of the undercover mission. Unlike other informants, the FBI did not promise him any benefits and only appealed to his goodwill. On March 17 last year, he was officially recruited as an informant and was codenamed ‘Thor’. His job was to deceive the group members, pass on crucial information to the FBI, participate in group activities with the condition that he must stop short of doing anything illegal.

Dan taught tactical skills to the Watchmen, FBI watched as they stormed Michigan Capitol

Dan began training with the members of the ‘Wolverine Watchmen’. He taught them tactical skills that he learnt during his tenure in the army. He helped the group members build a mock-up of the house of Michigan Michigan State Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Dan taught them how to break into the house and clear each room. Two weeks later on April 30, 2020, he went to the Michigan State Capitol with the Watchmen and joined a protest against Whitmer’s strict Covid-19 rules. The group members were planning to put their training to the test, in the presence of hundreds of police personnel.

The army veteran was accompanied to the protest by the founding members of ‘Wolverine Watchmen’, namely, Pete Musico, Joe Morrison, and Paul Bellar. All of them were equipped with AR-15 assault rifles, pistols, and ballistic body armour. Morrison and Musico talked about recruiting new members to the group but Dan overheard plans of storming the Michigan Capitol. Meanwhile, Bellar seemed excited to execute the plans while Musico waited patiently to catch the Michigan Governor as she came out of the emergency exit.

Dan was equipped with a wire and spoke to the FBI handlers, who were constantly monitoring his movements. While the Watchmen was planning to storm the Capitol, he was hoping that the FBI agents alert the police that was deployed at the site. But soon, the Watchmen were inside the State Capitol with their guns and the police did not resist the security breach. They were followed by a frenzied mob, which intimidated the State troopers inside the Capitol. Other than the group members and other ‘patriots’ was a 37-year-old man named Adam Fox. Unemployed and a gym freak, he was aghast at Whitmer for closing down gyms in the State.

Dan makes Fox a part of the Wolverine Watchmen

Fox was always looking for opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals. And Morrison too had decided that the Watchmen meet him. On one Sunday, they called Fox during a field training session but couldn’t hear anything due to poor connecting and the sound of raging bulets. By then, Dan was elevated to the post of second-in-command (Executive officer). He volunteered to call Adam Fox later in the day. After the training was over, he rushed to the FBI’s office in Flint and called Fox on a recorded line.

Fox lamented how patriots were misjudged as ‘white nationalists’, ‘racists’ and ‘domestic terrorists’. While vowing to take revenge, he added, “We just want our fucking Constitution upheld and we want all these lawless fucking tyrants out of fucking power. It’s that simple.” When Dan pestered him about his specific plans, he informed that his plan was to hogtie Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on a table for public display. Fox revealed his nefarious plans to take hostages but lamented that nothing could be done without 200 other men. In the presence of two FBI agents, Dan promised to help Fox execute his plans and assemble a large team of ‘patriots.’

Dan asked Fox to come and train with the ‘Wolverine Watchmen.’ Dan was unaware of the informants or the completes plans of the FBI. The operation, codenamed ‘Cold Snap’ by the FBI, was meant to nab the ‘domestic terrorists’. On June 18 last year, the Watchmen met Fox, who seemed ready to storm the Michigan Capitol yet again. His plan was to rush in and kill all legislators on live TV. And if the plan did not work out, he vowed to lock the doors and burnt the building down with all legislators in it.

Adam Fox encourages arson, kidnapping, and murder while Dan agrees to help him

Bellar, who was pictured in the Michigan Capitol breach, was skeptical about Fox’s plans to storm the building yet again. On June 28, Fox met the Watchmen, and his plan of breaking into the State Capitol was turned down. Musico had suggested the idea of kidnapping politicians or killing them after knocking on their doors late at night. After a few weeks, Dan drove the group members to Wisconsin for a national training exercise. He had paid for the food, lodging, and gas for the group members. When they again met on July 11, Dan discussed plans about manufacturing weapons.

Buzzfeed noted, “Dan was spending increasing amounts of time chatting with other Watchmen, talking to Fox and some of his friends on the phone, and attempting to recruit others who might be willing to participate in the evolving plot. By late August, Watchmen began reaching out to Morrison to tell him they no longer wanted to be members, but instead would continue to train with Dan and Fox, the informant later recounted in testimony.” Meanwhile, the FBI kept pushing Dan to recruit more members to execute the kidnapping plot. To lure new recruits, he promised to provide tactical gear, medical kits and plater carries. And Fox was increasingly focussed on Whitmer.

Informant Dan entraps group members, leading to their arrest

As per FBI’s plans, Dan drove Adam Fox, Wolverine Watchmen Daniel Harris, Kaleb Franks, and Dy Garbin to a warehouse under the pretext of buying explosives. The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team was waiting for them in full tactical gear, arrest warrants, and handcuffs. They were arrested and the FBI team also pretended to arrest Dan. With the exception of the army veteran, everyone was booked for conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Dan was rewarded with $54,793.95, mortgage cover, a new phone, a computer, and vehicle.

Dan was not just a spectator to the conspiracy but a crucial part of it

Buzzfeed wrote, “Many of the defense attorneys have argued that the Watchmen would never have been involved in any kind of plot at all if it weren’t for Dan. It was Dan, the combat veteran, who taught the Watchmen the military tactics that made them attractive to someone like Fox, the attorneys claimed. It was Dan, too, they said, who had brought Fox into the group despite objections from multiple Watchmen that he seemed “crazy.” It was Dan, along with Robeson — another informant — who had supported Fox’s kidnapping plan, and Dan who acted as the personal chauffeur to the Watchmen, Fox, and others to ensure they had every opportunity to conspire.”

It further added, “An examination of the case by BuzzFeed News also reveals that some of those informants, acting under the direction of the FBI, played a far larger role than has previously been reported. Working in secret, they did more than just passively observe and report on the actions of the suspects. Instead, they had a hand in nearly every aspect of the alleged plot, starting with its inception. The extent of their involvement raises questions as to whether there would have even been a conspiracy without them”

Other FBI informants also instigated the Michigan kidnapping plot

A biker from Wisconsin was also an undercover FBI agent. He helped organise meetings across the country and laid the initial foundation of the kidnapping plot. He even paid for food and lodging to encourage more people to join the Michigan conspiracy. It is reported that at least 12 confidential informants assisted the investigation into the matter. There was another FBI informant who guided the group members about possible locations to place explosives while a man who went by the alias of ‘Mark’ also worked under FBI’s directions. All the 14 men, with the exception of one, have pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy and claim that “no actual conspiracy to kidnap the governor ever existed.”

According to them, texts and recordings cited as evidence of criminal conspiracy by the Government is actually constitutionally protected speech in the USA. The report further states that “one defendant has formally accused the government of entrapment, arguing that the FBI assembled the key plotters, encouraged the group’s anti-government feelings, and even gave its members military-style training. Additional defendants have said they plan to make similar claims when the cases, divided between federal and state court, go to trial starting as soon as October.”

US Army General has a meltdown after being questioned by Twitter user, netizens accuse him of trying to crush their free speech right

OpIndia Staff
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US Army General has a meltdown after being questioned by Twitter user, netizens accuse him of trying to crush their free speech right

US Army General Patrick Donahoe recently had a meltdown on Twitter after uncomfortable facts shared by one of the Twitter users grated on his nerves. The Army General was so riled up by the social media user’s tweets and the subsequent barrage of criticism directed at him that he posted a tweet referring to those disagreeing with him as “trolls” and members of “disinformation tinfoil hat team”.

However, social media users did not take the US Army General’s tweet kindly, accusing him of attempting to crush their free speech rights. Scores of Twitter users slammed Donahoe for calling upon people to block and report users who did not hew to his worldview.

The US Army General’s unseemly tweet, asking people to block dissenting voices came after he drew a sharp backlash from social media users for intimidating a social media user who questioned him on one of his tweets.

The matter pertains to a tweet posted by Major General Patrick Donahoe, wherein he urged the US army trainees to get vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines after a spike was reported in young trainees in ICU and a spike in trainees testing positive for the coronavirus.

To this, one social media user, Josiah Lippincott, who is also a PhD student at Hillsdale College, according to his Twitter bio, shared the stark facts about the menace of suicide that afflicts the US Department of Defense. Josiah said in Q4 of 2020 alone, there were 26 more suicides reported as compared to that in Q4 of 2019. He further highlighted that there have been 26 total deaths in the Department of Defense.

Sharing the suicide statistics from the Department of Defense website, the PhD student contended that lockdowns, liberty restrictions, quarantines, and general disruption of service members’ lives were bigger factors in driving people to kill themselves than the fatalities reported from the virus.

However, Donahoe dismissed Josiah’s contention as false equivalence and suggested that he compare the stats of auto accidents for the same period.

Source: Twitter

But Josiah responded back, highlighting the key difference between deaths from suicide and deaths from accidents. He said suicide is an intentional act while car accidents are not. “When policy treats healthy soldiers as biological hazards, we should not be surprised by an increase in suicide and psychological problems,” Josiah retorted.

Donahoe seemed rattled by this acerbic remark by the Twitter user and proceeded towards tagging the University where he is pursuing his PhD, presumably to scare the student from making any further argument.

Netizens slam US Army General for using intimidation to threaten the free speech right of a social media user

However, this attempt to crush the free speech of a Twitter user did not sit well with netizens, who called out the Army General for attempting to trample upon the democratic right of a fellow citizen and intimidating him into submission. An overwhelming number of social media users came in the support of Josiah and slammed the US Army General for indulging in an act that did not behove an Army officer.

A Twitter user wondered if this is the way an army officer should be interacting with members of the public.

Another commented if this is how he is handling a Twitter disagreement, it would be terrifying being under his command in a real fight.

Yet another Twitter user said the Major General is an embarrassment and should be subjected to UCMJ proceeding for unbecoming conduct.

Journalist Elijah Schaffer was also among those who were not pleased with the way the US Army General responded to the Twitter user. Schaffer tweeted: “The US Army isn’t what you think it is.”

Even though the Army General did not acknowledge the menace of suicide among the defence forces, it, nevertheless, remains one of the major causes of fatalities among the US Armed Forces. The suicide rate among active-duty troops jumped to a six-year high in 2020, a report released by Pentagon said. In 2019, the rate of suicide among active-duty troops was 25.9 per 100,000 troops. The rate was 24.9 per 100,000 in 2018, and 21.9 per 100,000 in 2017. The rate has shown a steady increase from 2014 when the rate was 18.5 per 100,000 service members.  

SC asks CBI to proceed against former Kerala cops who had implicated scientist Nambi Narayanan in false espionage case

OpIndia Staff
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SC asks CBI to proceed against former Kerala cops who had implicated scientist Nambi Narayanan in false espionage case

The Supreme Court on Monday noted that the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI), which had filed an FIR against former Kerala police officers allegedly responsible for framing erstwhile ISRO scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Nambi Narayanan in a fake espionage case in 1994, must proceed against the accused as per law. 

The court, however, added that the CBI must gather evidence and not solely rely on the findings of the reports by the Justice Jain Committee, the three-member panel set up after it acquitted Dr Narayanan in 2018. The court said the report was only meant as an “initial basis” for it to understand the case and warned the central agency to not let its probe be influenced by the committee report. 

A two-member bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna said, “CBI can proceed after registration of FIR in accordance with the law. The respondent can take all possible remedies available in law… further, after registration of FIR, CBI must collect material on its own and not proceed on basis of the report submitted by Jain committee.”

The court also noted that while the Justice Jain Committee report need not be made public, the FIR registered by the CBI ought to be uploaded on its website. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured on behalf of the central agency to publish the FIR in the course of the day. The court asked if any of the parties had further grievance in the case, they could approach the Supreme Court.

Kerala HC grants bail to ex-cops accused in the fake ISRO espionage case

It is also worth mentioning that the Kerala High Court today granted interim relief to ex-cops in the ISRO espionage case. The former Kerala police officers, S Vijayan and Thampi S Durga Dutt, the first and second accused respectively in the case relating to hatching a conspiracy to frame former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and others in the ISRO espionage case were granted anticipatory bail for two weeks by the Kerala High Court on Monday. 

Earlier this month, the CBI submitted in the Kerala High Court that the false implication of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan impacted the technological development of cryogenic technology in the country’s space research. 

The central agency appeared before the Kerala High Court to oppose the bail pleas of two former Kerala Police officers, who were involved in the arrest of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in a 1994 espionage case. Opposing the bail, the CBI said that these two officers falsely implicated Nambi Narayanan in a “concocted case” that led to a delay in the development of India’s cryogenic technology.

Nambi Narayanan – the victim of politico-bureacracy nexus

It is pertinent to note that scientist Nambi Narayan was a victim of persecution by the Congress party. The political rivalry between the two factions of the Kerala Congress party led to the arrest of Narayanan, along with two other scientists D Sasikumaran and K Chandrasekhar, in November 1994. The Kerala police had levelled espionage charges under sections 3,4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act against the scientists.

However, the CBI, in its probe, found that the allegations against him were false. In 1998, the Supreme Court upheld the findings by the CBI and had asked the Kerala government to pay Rs 1 lakh in compensation to Narayanan and others. However, Dr Narayanan had approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)seeking justice for the harassment and agony meted out to him. In 2001, the NHRC had awarded a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to him.

While absolving Narayanan of any wrongdoing, the CBI had said that Siby Mathews had left “the entire investigation to IB surrendering his duties” and ordered the indiscriminate arrest of the scientist and others without adequate evidence”.

In 2018, the Supreme Court had ordered a high-level probe to investigate the role of erring police officials in the espionage case relating to Nambi Narayanan. In April this year, the court had directed the CBI to take over the probe and conduct further investigation in the case. 

The three-member committee, headed by former top court judge Justice (retd) DK Jain, was appointed by the top court in 2018 after acquitting Narayanan in the case. In addition, the apex court had also ordered the Kerala government to pay Rs.50 lakh as compensation for compelling Nambi Narayanan to undergo “immense humiliation”.

In 2019, the Union government led by Narendra Modi finally awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan to Nambi Narayanan on the occasion of the 70th Republic Day. Later in December 2019, the Kerala government approved to provide compensation of Rs 1.3 crore to former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan for his wrongful arrest and harassment by the Kerala Police in the 1994 spying case.

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