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PETA says illegal goat markets are open all over Mumbai ahead of Bakra Eid, claims violation of Covid norms and animal rights

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PETA says illegal goat markets are open all over Mumbai ahead of Bakra Eid, claims violation of Covid norms and animal rights

According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, their investigation has revealed that countless temporary and illegal goat markets have mushroomed all across Mumbai city. Such crowded markets are not only in violation of the circular regarding the celebrations of Eid al-Adha by the Maharashtra government but also pose a major risk of the Covid surge.

As per the circular issued by the Maharashtra government in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, animal purchase is allowed only online and over the telephone. All existing active animal markets were denied permission to stay open for the Eid celebrations.

PETA India said that they investigated 23 illegal makeshift goat markets in different regions, including Andheri, Byculla, Govandi, Jogeshwari, Kurla and Mankhurd in Mumbai. They found over one lakh goats were transported from states including Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat for sale. In the complaint to CMO, PETA alleged that such markets and transportation of animals from different states are in violation of the Covid protocols and The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, Transport of Animals Rules, 1978.

PETA India Advocacy Associate Pradeep Ranjan Doley Barman said, “All religions call for compassion, and at a minimum, animal protection laws must be adhered to during Eid and year-round. PETA India encourages Eid celebrations through the distribution of money, clothing, or fruit or in other ways that don’t harm animals.”

During the investigation, PETA found that many animals were crammed into small spaces where they were unable to stand or lie down. Some of them were fighting with each other. There was no veterinarian available in the markets through such animals suffer respiratory problems in these markets. PETA alleged that they were deprived of food and water as well.

When the investigation team asked for fitness certificates of animals to transport the goats, neither buyers nor sellers were able to produce them. It is in violation of the Transport of Animals Rules, 1978. The majority of the sellers were not wearing masks or following Covid norms.

Siddh Vidya, High Court Advocate, told TOI, “Our group of animal welfare workers have also been flagging the issue of illegal transportation of goats and other animals for Bakr Eid and also other occasions. The Motor Vehicles Act is violated, besides others rules. None of the animals has fitness or health certificates while being transported to the city. The government must act on such illegalities.”

The complaint has been filed by PETA India with the Maharashtra Chief Minister, chief secretary, the commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the director-general of police and the Mumbai police commissioner. PETA India has urged local police stations to register DIRs based on their complaints against illegal market organisations and goat sellers.

Watch: Rockets hit areas close to Afghan presidential palace in Kabul during Eid Prayers

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Rockets hit areas close to Afghan presidential palace in Kabul during Eid Prayers

On July 20 at around 8 AM (local time), rockets hit the capital city of Afghanistan and landed close to the presidential palace during Eid al-Adha prayers. Reports suggest that it is unclear who was behind the attack. Mirwais Stanekzai, spokesperson, Interior Ministry, said that three rockets landed outside the palace.

They were fired from the Parwan-e-Se region and landed in Bagh-e-Ali Mardan and Chaman-e-Hozori regions located in District 1 and Manabe Bashari region location in District 2 of Kabul.

AFP quoted Stanikzai saying, “Today the enemies of Afghanistan launched rocket attacks in different parts of Kabul city. All the rockets hit three different parts. Based on our initial information, we have no casualties. Our team is investigating.” While officials are shying away from taking Taliban’s name, the fingers are getting pointed at the terrorist group.

A video shared by Tolo News shows how the explosions interrupted the outdoor gathering for prayers. Notably, President Ashraf Ghani was also present for the prayers. Amidst the sounds of explosions, the prayer continued.

Later, Ghani delivered a speech from an outdoor podium. He said, “The future of Afghanistan in Afghanistan is determined by Afghans. Afghans should prove in action that they are united. A firm stance by the people for the next three to six months will change the situation. Does the Taliban have any ‘positive response’ to Afghans, especially to women?”

Taliban expansion in Afghanistan

In recent times, American troops have withdrawn from Afghanistan while Taliban militants have been launching major offensive attacks. They are taking over district after district resulting in unrest across the nation.

In previous years, the Taliban had declared a ceasefire during the Eid holiday, but this year no such announcements were made. However, on July 19, NATO representatives in Kabul and 15 diplomatic missions urged the Taliban to stop the offensive attacks after militants and the Afghan government failed to come to an agreement on a ceasefire at Doha.

Notably, Danish Siddiqui, an Indian photojournalist working for Reuters was recently killed while he was covering the ongoing tension between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Manipur: State Congress President resigns, 8 party MLAs set to join the BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Manipur: State Congress President resigns, 8 party MLAs set to join the BJP

With Assembly elections due next year, Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Govindas Konthoujam has tendered his resignation from the post on Tuesday. Additionally, at least eight Congress MLAs will reportedly join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today.

A six-time consecutively elected Congress MLA from Bishnupur Assembly Constituency, Konthoujam was also the Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party of the MPCC. He had also served as a Cabinet Minister in Manipur and was appointed as the president of MPCC by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in December last year.

The resignation comes as a jolt to the Congress party, which is preparing for the polls that are slated to take early next year. The BJP formed the government in the state for the first time in 2017. It will try to retain power in the 60 seats of the Legislative Assembly.

However, the resignation has not dampened the spirit of the state Congress unit, which is focusing on its ‘Mission 2022’, aiming to win not less than 45 of 60 seats. Congress leader Gaikhangam Gangmei had said that the defection of the MLAs do not weaken “the party in any way”. He further added that those who chose to defect to the ruling BJP “lack political principles”.

The Congress party had bagged more seats than the BJP in the 2017 polls. But it nevertheless failed to cross the halfway mark of 31 and was unable to cobble up an alliance to stake its claim at the government. The BJP, on the other hand, racked up 21 seats but it was nimble enough to stitch alliance with other parties to form a government in the state.

Presently, the Assembly has an effective strength of 56, with the BJP’s 25 members and Congress’ 17 members. The NPP and NPF have 4 members each. The Trinamool Congress has one MLA and there are 3 independent MLAs. Four seats are lying vacant in the House.

NMCG working to restore the upstream migration of Hilsa fish, catches in UP, Bihar are signs of success: Jal Shakti Minister

OpIndia Staff
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NMCG working to restore the upstream migration of Hilsa fish, catches in UP, Bihar are signs of success: Jal Shakti Minister

With a total of 344 projects sanctioned for the Ganga Basin, one project focused on redesigning the navigation lock at the Farakka Barrage (Murshidabad, West Bengal). The ‘fish pass’ sanctioned for the revival of Bengali favourite- Hilsa fish in Ganga, has been starting to show results, as per reports.

After a gap of three long decades, Hilsa was caught in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. The change in the gates and fish locks of the Farakka barrage allowed the upstream migration of the fish. In an interview with the Mint the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has stated, “Fishermen from Ballia, Patna, Bhagalpur and Sahibganj reported that since last three decades, they had never caught hilsa, but were surprised to catch the Hilsa of 150g to 250g.”

While the numbers are said to be small, the early signs of the Hilsa catch are encouraging, said the report. 

The construction of barrages across rivers hampered the fish corridor obstructing the migration to reach its natural breeding ground. Moreover, overfishing, pollution, reduced water flow and high sedimentation also led to the disappearance of the fish. 

Elaborating on the Namami Gange projects, Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stated to Mint, “We also work on restoring Ganga’s aquatic life. Can you believe that the NMCG is working to ensure that Gangetic Hilsa shall remain in Ganga? We are identifying why Gangetic hilsa numbers have come down, and are working on ways to artificially propagate it upstream of Farakka.”

“The work has started now for the last one-and-a-half to two years or so. The results are coming. They are visible. But, it will still take a long time. We have changed the trend. What was depleting, it has stopped and gone towards increasing. It is a very good sign,” he added. 

What is a fish pass?

1975 built Farakka Barrage was reported to have disrupted the Hilsa’s journey, apart from concerns regarding floods in areas of Bihar. 

Former Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti in a Lok Sabha session on August 4, 2016, had shared plans to create “fish ladders” to help the fish navigate the obstacle posed by the barrage.

A fish pass or a fish ladder is built to assist fish in crossing obstacles presented by dams and barrages. These ladders usually consist of small steps that allow the fish to cross over the obstacle to reach the open waters on the other side.

“The problem is Bangladesh has put a ‘zero net’. The natural breeding used to take place on Bangladesh’s side, and the fish swam upstream. First, this stopped because of the ‘zero net’. Second, the fish lock on our Farakka barrage through which the fish could swim was not operational for the last 10-20 years,” Shekhawat said on the obstacle.

“We are changing all gates, including the fish locks. Around 70% (of the gates) have been changed. We are also changing fish locks so that fish have an opportunity to swim (upstream) naturally. Till the time these activities are completed, we are catching Hilsa downstream of Farakka, acclimatizing them and, after their artificial breeding, tagging the seeds and propagating them so that they swim upstream and multiply. We are getting excellent results, minister Shekhawat stated.” 

Namami Gange projects

From beautification of the ghats, to sewerage management projects to reviving the ecosystem, about 147 projects under the Namami Gange program have been completed successfully. 

The frequent sighting of Gangetic Dolphins is proof of the revival of the river ecosystem. 

On Friday the Executive Committee (EC) of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) approved new projects for the rejuvenation of six polluted river stretches in Uttarakhand. The committee has approved the Interception and Diversion (I&D), and STP work of six polluted river stretches. 

In another initiative announced early this month, the authorities are now planning to put the massive waste generated by the mules deployed on the Char-Dham Yatra route to use as clean energy. The initiative aims at setting up biogas plants that will convert dung to electricity to power villages of the area. As of now, the Namami Gange officials are in Kedarnath to generate awareness about the initiative among the locals.

Coimbatore: Church of South India committee members beat each other up over discussion on misappropriation of funds. Watch

OpIndia Staff
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Coimbatore: Church of South India committee members beat each other up over discussion on misappropriation of funds. Watch

A group of people from the Church of South India (CSI) committee attacked another member of the organisation on Monday while discussing the misappropriation of funds in Coimbatore. As per a Times of India report, some members from the meeting assaulted Nesamerlin, an advocate and a member of the committee during the meeting as the discussion got heated. 

The meeting which subsequently got violent was called at the CSI Bishop Appasamy College at Race Course to discuss the allegations of misappropriation of funds by some members. Nesamerlin was attacked by a group of people with the mike stand due to which he sustained bleeding injuries on his head.

The entire incident was video-graphed by some members on their mobile phones which went viral on social media. 

News report by Republic Kovai

After getting thrashed, Nesamerlin lodged a complaint with the Race Course police. Charles Jacob, Paramanandham and few others have been booked under IPC section 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324(voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 307 (attempt to murder), 448 (punishment for house trespass) and 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation). 

Population increase is the root cause of economic disparity and poverty amongst Muslims, says Assam CM, to train a ‘population army’ to create awareness

OpIndia Staff
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Population increase is the root cause of economic disparity and poverty amongst Muslims, says Assam CM, to train a ‘population army’ to create awareness

On July 19, Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister, Assam, informed the Assembly that a group of 1000 youth dubbed as ‘population army’ would be sent to different parts of the state to raise awareness about the importance of population control. They will also provide contraceptives along with information about population control measures.

CM Sarma termed population explosion as the root cause of “economic disparities and poverty among minority Muslims in Assam”. He added, “If population growth among Hindus in Assam was 10 per cent from 2001 to 2011, it was 29 per cent among Muslims.”

The youth will be selected from the char chapori (riverine sand bars) and sent to areas of Lower Assam. ANI quoted CM saying, “Around 1,000 youths from the char chapori (riverine sand bars) will be engaged to create awareness about population control measures and to supply contraceptives. We are also planning to create a separate workforce of ASHA workers who shall be responsible for creating awareness about birth control and also supply contraceptives.”

CM sought cooperation from Congress and AIUDF

In a post on his social media platforms, Biswa said he spoke in length in Assembly and “sought cooperation from both Indian National Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in our pledge to fight population explosion for the prosperity of all.”

CM Biswa has been promoting the importance of population control and pushing the need to promote measures that the government should take to control the population explosion.

Denial, admission, glorification: China is now celebrating ‘martyrdom’ of its soldiers killed in Galwan valley last year making details public

OpIndia Staff
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Denial, admission, glorification: China is now celebrating ‘martyrdom’ of its soldiers killed in Galwan valley last year making details public

After months of denying any casualties during the violent faceoff with Indian troops in Galwan Valley last year, China has now not only admitted that it lost its soldiers but is now glorifying their ‘martyrdom’. Chinese state media Global Times on Monday published an article speaking about death of a Chinese soldier Chen Hongjun, who died while allegedly trying to save his fellow soldiers.

In a tale glorifying his so-called heroics, Chinese state media ends up admitting that Chen and ‘other soldiers died’ at the battleground. “At the battleground where Chen Hongjun and other soldiers died, soldier Chen Xiangrong was lying next to Chen Hongjun’s body, maintaining a posture of protecting his battalion commander,” Global Times reported.

Chinese state media Global Times further claims that the 33-year-old died along with his four ‘comrades-in-arms’ stationed at the Karakoram Mountains. Before 1st July, when Communist Party of China (CPC) celebrated 100 years of its foundation, CPC Central Military Commission awarded Chen Hongjun the honorary title of “Hero to defend the border”. He was also one of the 29 awardees of the July 1 Medal, the highest honour given by the CPC.

China officially admits casualties in Galwan Valley face-off

Earlier in February this year, China’s state media People’s Daily reported today that four Chinese soldiers “who were sacrificed in last June’s border conflict, were posthumously awarded honorary titles and first-class merit citations. A colonel, who led them and seriously injured, was conferred with honorary title”.

This was the first time China had officially admitted to casualties from its side.

Interestingly, while China had denied to own up to casualties on its side, in August 2020, reports had emerged that provided evidence of Chinese casualty in the recent clash with the Indian troops. This came weeks after China refused to acknowledge the death of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers who lost their lives during the Galwan valley clash.

One image had emerged back then which showed a tombstone of a 19-year-old soldier who died in the “China-India Border Defense Struggle” in June 2020. The image went viral on China’s social media platform Weibo. “Tomb of Chen Xiangro. Soldier of the 69316 troops, from Pingnan, Fujian. He sacrificed his life in the struggle against India’s border troops in June 2020 and was posthumously remembered by the Central Military Commission.” read the epitaph, written in Mandarin.

China, however, had denied such claims. Later, the Communist country awarded four of its slain soldiers. Since China has a penchant for downplaying its own losses, it was believed back then that the actual number could have been much higher.

Now, one more PLA soldier’s ‘martyrdom’ is being hailed officially by China.

Galwan Valley clash

On June 15, 2020, the Chinese troops had attacked the Indian troops along the LAC near Ladakh border. The clashes had resulted in India losing 20 of its soldiers. Estimates suggest China had lost 43 of its men. However, after months of denial, China has now officially acknowledged loss of at least 5 of its soldiers.

The fallen Indian soldiers were honoured by the government and their last rites were performed in the presence of government representatives, accorded them the due status of martyrs. PM Modi and the COAS had also visited to meet and speak to the injured soldiers.

Interestingly, this second admission of casualties, this time with glorification, comes at a time when there are unverified claims of skirmishes between India and China in the Ladakh region. It appears to be part of psy-ops where China is trying to motivate their soldiers. Last year, China had not even owed up the dead, which is the worst that can happen to a soldier killed in action and can impact the psyche of other troops, leaving them demoralized and dispirited. On the other hand, India didn’t try to hide any casualties and gave proper respect to those soldiers who made supreme sacrifice for the motherland.

‘Modi govt hacked Imran Khan’s phone too’: Pakistan joins Congress and sections of Indian media in Pegasus rant

OpIndia Staff
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‘Modi govt hacked Imran Khan’s phone too’: Pakistan joins Congress and sections of Indian media in Pegasus rant

After the workers of India National Congress went shirtless to protest the alleged snooping by the Indian government, Pakistan’s Information Minis­ter Fawad Chaudhry has now claimed that their Prime Minister Imran Khan was also on the list of people who are allegedly being snooped on by the Indian government.

Pakistan on Monday claimed that at least one number once used by their Prime Minister Imran Khan was on India’s list as per the report released. As per a news report, Chaudhary informed that Pakistan will raise the issue of hacking by India with relevant forums.

It is imperative to note that just like the publications that published the alleged phone tapping by the BJP provided no proof, no basis, no factual evidence, Pakistan too has no evidence to prove the same. 

“We are waiting for details of the hacking,” said Chaudhary in an interview. 

Chaudhary took to Twitter to raise his concerns over the alleged controversy. “Extremely concerned on news reports emerging from @guardiannews that Indian government used Israeli software to spy on journalists, political opponents and politicians. Unethical policies of #ModiGovt have dangerously polarised India and the region… More details are emerging,” he said in a Tweet on Monday.

The minister also retweeted a Tweet made by former Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha on the Pegasus controversy.

Screenshot of Fawad Chaudhary’s Tweet

The Post in its report had mentioned that hundreds of numbers from Pakistan were being snooped on and one of the numbers happens to be of Imran Khan. However, the number is no longer in use by Khan and nor did The Post specify whether the surveillance attempt on Khan’s number was successful.

Fawad Choudhary, however, perhaps failed to realise that the allegation that their PM’s phone is being snooped on by a foreign country using a third party software is rather a matter of shame for Pakistan and its intelligence agencies.

Like Pakistan, Congress alleges snoopgate by Modi government

On Sunday evening, left-wing portal The Wire reported that the names of 40 Indian journalists are there in an alleged leaked list containing people who were under surveillance using Israeli spyware Pegasus.

A day after the report was out, hundreds of Congress workers led by ‘youth leader’ Srinivas B V staged a protest on Monday over the alleged phone tapping issue. Flouting the Covid-19 norms the male workers went shirtless for reasons best known to them.

Like Chaudhary, Congress worker Srinivas BV alleged that Rahul Gandhi also was a ‘potential target’ to snooping in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Not just him, Rahul Gandhi’s aides were also in the list alleged Srinivas.

Government denies claims

The Indian government issued a statement responding to a questionnaire about the alleged leak. The statement says that “the story being crafted is one that is not only bereft of facts but also founded in pre-conceived conclusions. It seems you are trying to play the role of an investigator, prosecutor as well as jury.”

The statement said that both in RTI replies and in the Parliament, the govt has clarified that there has been no unauthorised interception by Government agencies. “The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever,” the statement said.

It is notable here that India’s Congress and Pakistan’s government parroting each other’s complaints and allegations against the Modi government is nothing new. Imran Khan’s party, ministers, and sometimes even Khan himself repeat the exact lines and statements made by Congress. And sometimes Congress does the same.

‘I am Sad’: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju expresses displeasure after opposition interrupts introduction of new ministers by PM Modi in Parliament

OpIndia Staff
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‘I am Sad’: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju expresses displeasure after opposition interrupts introduction of new ministers by PM Modi in Parliament

On July 19, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed his displeasure as the opposition parties did not allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce him as the first Law Minister from a tribal community in the Parliament.

It is a customary practice that the Prime Minister introduce the newly inducted Union Ministers in the Parliament during the session. The ceremony was supposed to take place on the first day of the Monsoon Session. However, as the Monsoon Session began on Monday, the opposition parties started creating chaos in the parliament over myriad issues, including fuel price hikes and farm laws. They prevented PM Modi from introducing new Union Ministers.

Rijiju wrote on Twitter, “But I’m sad. As the first Tribal to be Minister of Law and Justice of the country, I didn’t get the opportunity to be introduced in the Parliament by Hon’ble PM as Congress and allies disrupted the introduction of Council of Ministers in which SC, ST, OBC & Women got a big place.”

Kiren Rijiju is an MP from Arunachal Pradesh and the first minister from a tribal community to be sworn in as the minister of Law and Justice.

Criticism of the opposition

Prime Minister Modi also criticised the opposition parties for the disruption they had caused. He accused them of not being able to digest the fact that the new ministers include many Dalits, tribals, women, and OBCs. He further added that he had expected the house members to show enthusiasm to welcome the ministers as they come from backward and rural backgrounds, with many of them being from the families of farmers.

The PM said, “However, probably, some people did not like that people of such background have become ministers, and that is why they are now conducting themselves in such a manner.”

In a press release, Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the opposition for disrupting the session. He said, “Today, the Monsoon Session of Parliament has started. In what seemed like a perfect cue, late last evening, we saw a report which has been amplified by a few sections with only one aim – to do whatever is possible and humiliate India at the world stage, peddle the same old narratives about our nation and derail India’s development trajectory.”

While accusing the opposition of showing India in poor light, he said, “Just a few days ago, the Council of Ministers was expanded with great emphasis given to women, SC, ST and OBC members. But there are forces unable to digest this.”

Union Minister Smriti Irani wrote, “Today, the way the opposition has created a stalemate in the journey of the development of the country by blocking the proceedings of the Parliament, it is going to hurt the dignity of the House.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “For the first time in my 24 years of parliamentary life, I have seen that this tradition has been broken. Whatever the Congress party has done today is sad and unfortunate. It is an unhealthy approach towards democratic traditions.”

The opposition parties also disrupted the proceedings in Rajya Sabha.

Shilpa Shetty’s husband businessman Raj Kundra ‘key conspirator’ in case relating to creating and publishing porn, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Shilpa Shetty’s husband businessman Raj Kundra ‘key conspirator’ in case relating to creating and publishing porn, arrested

Shilpa Shetty’s businessman husband Raj Kundra was earlier arrested by Mumbai Police in a case related to creation and publishing of pornographic material over mobile apps.

As per reports, he was arrested by Crime Branch. Mumbai Police Commissioner said that the police has sufficient evidence of his involvement.

According to police, a case was registered with the Crime Branch in February 2021 about creation of pornographic films and publishing the same through apps. A case against Kundra was registered on July 19, 2021 as he appears to be a key conspirator.

As per reports, the racket came to light earlier in February this year when a woman approached Mumbai Police and accused Kundra of luring young men and women on the pretext of offering roles in web series and allegedly forcing them to making porn films instead. Subsequently, property cell raided a bungalow in Madh area in Malad (West) and arrested five persons. Kundra was arrested on Monday.

The others arrested include Rowa Khan alias Yasmeen who is believed to be director-producer, photographer Monu Sharma and creative director Pratibha Nalawade along with and two actors, Arish Shaikh and Bhanu Thakur.

Raj Kundra has been booked under sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292 and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) of IPC besides relevant sections of the IT act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

Kundra married Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in 2009 and have two children with her. Prior to that, he was married to one Kavita Kundra with whom he has one daughter.

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