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Read about the Gupta Brothers, as the Indian community arms itself against rioters and South Africans blame them for their unbridled violence

OpIndia Staff
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Read about the Gupta Brothers, as the Indian community arms itself against rioters and South Africans blame them for their unbridled violence

South Africa is in a state of chaos and unrest ever since the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma on July 7. As riots, arson, violence and lootings escalate in the country, the Indian community living there faces dangers to their homes and businesses. In a desperate attempt to protect their businesses from looting, Indians have now stepped up their fight against the arsonists and looters.

Zuma, once known for his fight against apartheid, was imprisoned in the Estcourt Correctional Center for 15 months for disobeying court’s orders. Reportedly, he failed to testify before the judicial commission that was investigating accusations of corruption against him between 2009-2018. Several South Africans poured onto the streets to protest against the incarceration of Zuma and soon, those protests turned violent. Images and videos of rampant arson, shooting and loot emerged as the violence spilt over to the streets of Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provinces.

Interestingly, two-thirds of the 1.4 million strong Indian-origin population of South Africa lives and works in the KwaZulu-Natal province in Durban. With unbridled violence taking over the streets of the province, several images showed how Indians were taking up arms to defend themselves and their property.

As the violence continued unabated, South Africans took to Twitter to express their ire at the Indian community. There were several tweets that indicated that the corruption accused Gupta Brothers were being used as an excuse to target the Indian community.

Sample this. A South African man inciting violence and asking his brothers to remember how “Jacob Zuma told the country to Indian Monopoly Capital”. The picture that accompanied this tweet was of the Gupta Brothers.

Indians have often been targeted in African countries and reasons have been concocted out of thin air to justify the violence. One recalls how Idi Amin, on On August 7, 1972, had expelled Indians from Uganda. Several theories of WHY this happened has been floated over the years. Some say he had a dream, others, that he wanted to extract a pound of flesh from the British for not giving him arms to invade Tanzania. The more plausible theory is, however, that Idi Amin was a racist and that he wanted a convenient scapegoat to distract people from the debauchery that he had inflicted on his people.

It is entirely possible that on this occasion, Indians have just been caught in the violence, or, that they are being targeted after South Africans are using Gupta Brothers, terribly corrupt and entrenched, as a scapegoat. Either way, it becomes important to understand who the Gupta Brothers are and why they are today being used as the convenient excuse to reportedly target Indians in South Africa.

Who are the Gupta Brothers

The Gupta brothers – Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh Gupta as well as Atul’s nephews Varun and US-based Ashish and Amol – are a family that hails from Uttar Pradesh, Saharanpur. They migrated to South Africa in 1993. Atul founded Sahara Computers, the family’s first business in South Africa. Now, with a net worth of over $10 billion, the Gupta brothers own Coal mines, computers, newspapers, and a media outlet.

Interestingly, there are several allegations that have surfaced over the years about the Gupta brothers and Jacob Zuma being hands in gloves in the corruption that was rampant during his Presidency, so much so, that South Africans coined the term “Zuptas” for them. Over the years, there have also been several protests where South Africans said that they do not accepted the Gupta brothers as their “President”.

Bongi Ngema-Zuma, one of President Zuma’s wives, his daughter, Duduzile Zuma, and his son, Duduzane Zuma all worked in Gupta companies. The son, for example, was involved in several of the companies.

Zuma’s son is reported to be a director in many companies of Gupta brothers, and thus Zuma was accused of granting undue favours to Gupta brothers, piling personal fortunes for himself and his family. For example, there was one instance where Bank of Baroda, through its South African operations, gave a loan to Jacob Zuma’s fourth wife to buy a house. The loan was paid by companies owned by the Gupta brothers.

Helping Zuma’s wife pay a housing loan is lesser of the charges levelled against the Gupta brothers. There have been reports that Guptas were so influential and powerful in South Africa owing to their proximity to the Zuma family, that they even used to offer posts in the central government to politicians (fixing cabinet berths a la Radia tape controversy back in India) apart from winning government contracts for themselves.

Currently, there is also a red corner notice that has been issued against the Gupta brothers – Rajesh and Atul, as well as their wives, owing to their involvement in the corruption by Zuma.

Gupta brothers and their alleged links to Congress – An OpIndia investigation

While investigating the links between Zuma and the Gupta brothers, South African investigative portals AmaBhungane and DailyMaverick had stumbled upon his business relations with another controversial businessman called Piyoosh Goyal and in turn, Goyal’s business relations with Congress leader Kapil Sibal. Daily Maverick and AmaBhungane claim that the family of Kapil Sibal – the Congress leader, his wife Promila Sibal, and his son Akhil Sibal, who is also a lawyer – and families of Piyoosh Goyal and Gupta brothers took a chartered flight from Delhi to Mumbai to watch the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup between India and Sri Lanka, a charge which was summarily denied by Kapil Sibal and his son.

Kapil Sibal (next to superstar Rajinikanth) watching India vs Sri Lanka final match in the 2011 Cricket World Cup (Getty Images)

Our independent investigation also showed that Kapil Sibal had acquired a defunct company from Piyoosh Goyal and an expensive piece of land for a nominal rate and the business dealings between the two were a little opaque. Following our investigation, Kapil Sibal’s refusal to answer our question and his subsequent u-turn from what he had told the South African journalists, Sibal had also threatened to sue OpIndia.

In 2018, after the OpIndia investigation, the Income Tax department had launched an investigation into the land deals of Kapil Sibal.

More links to politicians in India and the abuse of power in South Africa

On 30 April 2013, an Airbus A330-200 chartered aircraft run by Jet Airways carrying 217 guests from India was cleared to land at the South African Air Force base at Waterkloof for the wedding ceremony of Vega Gupta to Aakash Jahajgarhia. This event caused an uproar that led to the African National Congress (ANC) and other political parties as well as the South African National Defence Union denouncing this use of the air force base.

The ANC issued a statement calling for “those responsible for giving the family permission to come into the country without going through the normal channels be ‘brought to book’.

Interestingly, the person responsible for the fiasco in South Africa, the man who cleared the landing was later demoted, but, he had asserted that the landing was approved because of ‘sensitive official visits’. There was significant controversy over who were the politicians aboard this flight. It was later reported that Azam Khan, Mata Prasad Pandey and Shivpal Singh Yadav may have been onboard and had attended the South African wedding of the Gupta family.

In the aftermath of the event, India’s High Commissioner Virendra Gupta (not related to the Gupta family) said publicly that the Indian High Commission was given permission to land the plane at Waterkloof Air Force Base. He explained that the Commission communicated through its defence adviser with the chief of defence for foreign relations in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF). 

In India too, a Gupta brothers wedding in Auli, Uttarakhand in 2019 had raised alarm bells about how the fugitives managed to hold a wedding in India and also because of serious ecological concerns.

Gupta brothers and the investigation in India

In 2018, documents seized by the Income Tax department during raids at Gupta brothers properties in Dehradun and Saharanpur revealed that Rs. 100 crores which were spent on a Shiva temple in Saharanpur was used as a front to launder money by way of ‘donations’. The properties that were raided were in the middle of the South African scandal that involved Jacob Zuma. The suspicion was that they were bringing money into India.

“The Shiva project was a means to bring money back to India. Otherwise, there was no need to spend over Rs 100 crore for a temple of this size. The documents revealed an online transaction of Rs 22.67 crore made to the Gupta temple trust in 2015 by the Guptas’ employee Sanjay Grover, who worked in Dubai before his death. Grover also has an account in a private bank in Dehradun and that is also under scanner”, IT sleuths had said to Times of India. 

The Times of India report said, “Investigations further revealed that Grover died in 2016, following which an I-T team quizzed his wife, Renu Grover, who lives in West Patel Nagar, Delhi, on Wednesday. The I-T official said, “In her statement, she clarified that her husband worked with the Guptas in Dubai and drew a salary of 26,000 Dirham (about Rs 4.59 lakh) per month and was not in a condition to give loan or donate Rs 22.67 crore”.

In 2018, IT sleuths had said that the process of attaching 30 properties had already been started by the government and that they are trying to identify 60 more properties that were mentioned in the documents seized by the IT department.

The conspiracy of silence around the Gupta brothers and their shenanigans is such that back in 2017, HSBC was accused of complicity in letting the businessmen transfer money out of SA. In fact, the peer had demanded an investigation into HSBC for criminal complicity in helping the Gupta brothers launder money. 

Gupta brothers wanted to get Prime Minister Modi arrested in South Africa

Ahead of the 2018 BRICS summit, there were attempts by Islamist organisations and the Gupta brothers to have Prime Minister Modi arrested while he was on his Africa tour and ultimately, landed in Johannesburg to attend the summit.

The South African Kashmiri Action Group and the Muslim Lawyers’ Association had demanded the investigation, arrest and prosecution of PM Modi over his governance of Jammu and Kashmir. The motivated calls for arrest were based on the misplaced UN report on Kashmir that India had summarily and vehemently rejected. The Ministry of External Affairs had issued a statement saying “It is a selective compilation of largely unverified information. It is overtly prejudiced and seeks to build a false narrative.”

Interestingly, that the bid to derail the summit by legal applications of having Narendra Modi arrested was fuelled by the controversial businessmen of the Gupta family.

South African media outlet DailyMaverick had reported :

Building closer relations with India is probably somewhere on Ramaphosa’s to-do list, but at least he and Modi have in common a dislike for the Zuma-friendly Gupta family. During his 2016 state visit to South Africa, Modi snubbed a dinner at which he had heard some of the Gupta brothers would be present, and now some conspiracy theorists in the Indian High Commission in Pretoria reckon Gupta-friendly officials might be fuelling efforts to embarrass Modi, as payback.

While it is evident that the Gupta brothers are deeply entrenched in corrupt practices back in India and South Africa, for the South Africans to use the fugitives, who are now reportedly hiding in the UAE, to mount violent attacks against the Indian community only points towards the deep seated racism in South Africa against the community, also evidenced by the abuses being mounted online.

Indians face racist abuse online, threatened with rape and massacre as violence breaks out in South Africa

OpIndia Staff
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Indians face racist abuse online, threatened with rape and massacre as violence breaks out in South Africa

Troubling news has been coming from South Africa where violence has erupted following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma on July 7. While looters and rioters are rampaging through the country, some of Indian origin and others who are White have come together to defend their properties through retaliation.

Consequently, Indians are facing racist abuse on social media platforms and the platforms are being used to further incite violence against Indians living in South Africa.

South Africa
Source: Twitter
South Africa
Source: Twitter
South Africa
Source: Twitter

Indians are being accused of racism in order to justify racist attacks against them.

South Africa
Source: Twitter

Indians who are defending themselves against rioters in the USA are being accused of inciting a civil war.

South Africa
Source: Twitter

Some are even justifying raping Indian women because Indians are ‘evil’.

Source: Twitter

Threats of rape and massacre are also being issued.

Source: Twitter

Violence is being incited against the White population in South Africa as well.

Source: Twitter

Indians are being blamed pretty much for everything under the Sun, while some say that ‘giving the country away’ to Indians is worse than ‘living under Whites’ because Blacks do ‘better’ under Whites. One may recall, while Africans suffered slavery during colonial rule by Whites, Indians have never committed such atrocity against Africans.

Source: Twitter
Source: Twitter

Reportedly, the South African government has decided to deploy the military at some places to curb the violence. Shopping centres, pharmacies have been looted and the supply chain and Coronavirus vaccination drives were disrupted. In all, 6 people have been killed so far and a total of 489 suspects have been arrested.

In a statement, incumbent South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “What we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality, with groups of people instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft. We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and will ensure that they face the full might of our law.”

As ALTBalaji announces the 2nd season of Hindi TV show Pavitra Rishta, Sushant Singh Rajput fans trend #BoycottPavitraRishta2

OpIndia Staff
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As ALTBalaji announces the 2nd season of Hindi TV show Pavitra Rishta, Sushant Singh Rajput fans trend #BoycottPavitraRishta2

Yesterday the streaming platform ALTBalaji, a subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms Ltd founded by the Indian television producer Ekta Kapoor, took to social media to announce the second season of its superhit 2009 Hindi daily soap Pavitra Rishta. The show ‘Pavitra Rishta 2.0’ will feature Shaheer Sheikh in the role of protagonist Manav Deshmukh, originally essayed by late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

As soon as ALTBalaji announced the second season of Pavitra Rishta, featuring actors Ankita Lokhande and Shaheer Sheikh, fans of actor Sushant Singh Rajput started opposing it. #BoycottPavitraRishta2 started trending on social media. At the time of writing this report, #BoycottPavitraRishta2 was trending on the social media platform with 13.2k Tweets.

#BoycottPavitraRishta2 trends

It appears that all the Sushant Singh Rajput loyalists have taken it upon themselves to boycott the new season of the 2009 Hindi TV serial in which the lead role of Manav, a garage owner, was originally played by the late actor. The SSR fans are visibly miffed with the makers of the serial who have cast actor Shaheer Sheikh for the role of Manav in Pavitra Rishta’s season 2.

Besides trending the hashtag BoycottPavitraRishta2, the SSR fans also trended ‘Our Manav Only Sushant’ hashtag on social media.

Many netizens trolled Ankita Lokhande, also the former girlfriend of the late actor, for agreeing to be part of the show. Calling her fake, a Twitter user slammed the actor for taking up the role. “If this lady really loved our SSR then she would never take part in this serial again. Such a fake lady. Thank god SSR was break-up with her”, he wrote.

It is notable here that Ankita Lokhande and Sushant Singh Rajput were the lead pair in the Pavitra Rishta serial and had soon started dating.

Sushant Singh Rajput had left Pavitra Rishta midway to focus on his Bollywood career

While the Netizens continue to rage over the reviving of the Hindi daily soap Pavitra Rishta that was aired on Zee television channel from 2009 to 2014 going on to become one of the most popular shows back in its time, the fact is that Sushant had left the show in 2011 to pursue his career in Bollywood. He made his debut in the Hindi film industry in 2013 with Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che. Soon after Sushant’s exit from Pavitra Rishta, actor Hiten Tejwani was roped in to fill in Sushant’s shoes as Manav in the show. 

On June 14 last year, the 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his apartment in Bandra in Mumbai. He had acted in a total of 12 films, with critically acclaimed performances in Kai Po Che, Kedarnath, and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. Sushant Singh Rajput’s death opened a can of worms and the tragedy gave rise to bizarre events that nobody could have foreseen at all. Following the actor’s untimely demise, his family alleged foul play. A CBI inquiry has been initiated to investigate his death.

Meanwhile, actor-turned-producer Bhairavi Raichura’s 24 Frames Production will make the digital series Pavitra Rishta 2 which will be exclusively available on ZEE5 for 55 days following which, it will also be available on ALTBalaji. The series will be directed by Nandita Mehra and written by Nikita Dhond, Gautam Hegde and Ritu Bhatia.

Ankita Lokhande, the leading lady of Pavitra Rishta and now Pavitra Rishta 2, is one of the most successful actresses in TV. Actor Shaheer Sheikh also enjoys immense popularity for his role as Arjun in Mahabharat that was aired in Star Plus. Sheikh is currently one of the most successful actors in Hindi TV channels.

Serum Institute of India to commence production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine from September: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Serum Institute of India to commence production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine from September: Details

The Pune-based Serum Institute of India is soon going to start the production of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Kirill Dmitriev, CEO, Russian Direct Investment Fund, who said Sputnik V will be manufactured by SII starting September this year.

Russian Direct Investment Fund, which is promoting the vaccine globally, said the plan was to manufacture over 300 million doses of the vaccine per year in India, making it one of the leading production hubs for Sputnik V.

“The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year with the first batch expected in September 2021,” the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement.

The RDIF further added that SII, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, has already received cell and vector samples from Russia’s Gamaleya Centre. It also said that with the import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun.

Sputnik V has so far been registered in 67 countries across the world, covering about 3.5 billion people, the RDIF said.

As of now, Sputnik V is marketed by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd in India. Earlier yesterday, the Gamaleya institute said that during a study conducted by it, vaccination with Sputnik V has produced protective neutralising titers against new variants, including Alpha (B.1.1.7) – first identified in the UK – Beta (B.1.351) – first identified in South Africa – Gamma (P.1) – first identified in Brazil – and Delta (B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3), first identified in India.

The Indian drug regulator has granted permission for restricted emergency use of Sputnik V.

Earlier, Serum Institute of India, world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, had partnered with AstraZeneca for supply of vaccine doses. In India, the vaccine is being administered under the name ‘COVISHIELD’.

Bhindranwale supporter Barjinder Singh Parwana, who supported accused in Army man lynching case, arrested, Akali Dal leader Sirsa extends support

OpIndia Staff
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Bhindranwale supporter Barjinder Singh Parwana, who supported accused in Army man lynching case, arrested, Akali Dal leader Sirsa extends support

On July 8, Mohali Police arrested Damdami Taksal Jatha Rajpura chief and Kathavachak Barjinder Singh Parwana. As per reports, Barjinder had gone to Mohali for some work where Balongi Police had apprehended him. Later, Mohali Police raided his house in Rajpura and searched the place for hours. Reportedly, he was arrested based on the complaint by Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri who was also arrested by Punjab Police for hurting religious sentiments on July 6.

Chardikla Time TV quoted SHO of Balongi Police station saying, “We cannot provide any information in the case. The case was registered in this police station, and his vehicle has been parked here, but Barjinder is not here.” Later, he was produced in Kharar Court and sent to Police custody for five days. He has been booked under Sections 153, 505, and 120 of the Indian Penal Code.

Akali Dal’s Manjinder Sirsa came to Barjinder’s rescue

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa has come out to Barjinder Singh Parwana’s support. In a video statement, he said, “Barjinder Singh Parwana was arrested by Punjab Police on July 8 based on the complaint of [Sudhir] Suri. His wife informed me yesterday that Punjab Police is trying to frame Parwana under UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act]. The Police are trying to prove that Parwana is getting foreign funding from terrorist organizations. They are creating false cases against him.”

He further said, “I urge Captain Amarinder Singh not to do anything in such manner. Sikhs are already defamed across the world. Congress has been finding ways to defame Sikhs and prove that the Sikh community is full of terrorists. But being a Sikh Chief Minister, it is your duty not to let anything like this happen. Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee is standing with Barjinder Singh Parwana and his family. We are providing legal assistance to him. We will make sure Punjab Police cannot use force while he is in custody. We are working on getting him bail. I am thankful to Ghuman brothers [Advocates] who are fighting the case.”

Who is Barjinder Singh Parwana

Chief of Damdami Taksal Jatha Rajpura, Kathavachak Barjinder Singh Parwana, is one of the prominent Sikh religious leaders in Punjab. He is known for his firebrand image and often publishes videos and statements favouring Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Recently, Parwana made headlines when he released a statement supporting Daljit Singh Kashmir and others who are accused of lunching of Army Man in a Gurudwara in Gurdaspur.

It has to be noted that Parwana has a history of promoting Sikh militants on his social media profiles. In a few photographs and videos where he is wearing a half-sleeve shirt, a tattoo of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale could be seen on his arm. On June 5, he also released a song titled Bhindranwala (The Warrior) under the Punjabi Records label. It is one of the hundreds of songs that have been released praising Bhindranwale in recent times.

US Consulate in Kolkata earns brickbats from Indians over ‘Bengali-American’ comment: Here’s why netizens are outraged

OpIndia Staff
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US Consulate in Kolkata earns brickbats from Indians over ‘Bengali-American’ comment: Here’s why netizens are outraged

Indian-American Samir Banerjee won the Wimbledon Boys’ single title on Sunday this week. The United States Consulate in Kolkata, while applauding Samir Banerjee, made a rather controversial comment. The US Consulate called him ‘Bengali-American’.

“Congratulations Samir Banerjee for winning the @Wimbledon Boys’ singles title. Junior World No 19, Samir Banerjee, a Bengali-American #tennis player has won his first junior Grand Slam singles title! Way to go!” posted the official Twitter account of the US Consulate in Kolkata.

Netizens slam US Consulate after it is found promoting subnationalism

But no sooner did the US consulate in Kolkata referred to Samir Banerjee as ‘Bengali-American’, netizens on Twitter slammed them, accusing them of promoting sub-nationalism and using an erroneous term to describe the winner of the Wimbledon Boys’ singles title.

One of the Twitter users commented: “When did Bengal become a country?”

Another one responded to the tweet, asking the US consulate in Kolkata if Samir’s origin is Bangladesh to be referred to as ‘Bengali-American’.

A Twitter user replied on the tweet that ‘Bengali-American’ is the wrong title to describe a person and the correct one to describe Samir Banerjee would be ‘Indian-American’.

Yet another social media user highlighted how it is a bit odd to say Bengali-American since one is a state and another is a country. The right way to describe Samir, the user said, was to either call him Bengali-Newyorker or Indian-American.

Social media users take potshots at the US Consulate after it posts a clarifying tweet on Samir Banerjee’s antecedents

Taking cognisance of online criticism, the US consulate of Kolkata posted another tweet, saying: “Samir is an Indian-American with Bengali origin/heritage with Assam connections.”

While the clarifying tweet was meant to assuage the feelings of people hurt by the wrong title attributed to Samir Banerjee, it did not stop people from taking potshots at the US Consulate in Kolkata for furthering its subnational propaganda.

One Twitter user commented why did not the US consulate also mention the details about the district, town, village, lane from where Banerjee belongs.

Another user commented that the US consulate should up its game in diplomacy by providing details of Samir’s building and locality connections too.

Another Twitter user was quite acerbic in his criticism of the US Consulate. He suggested the Consulate stop using Twitter to shoot itself in the foot. After calling Samir ‘Bengali-American’ and later tweeting that he had “Assam connections”, the user wondered if the Consulate would now mention his gotra too.

Samir Banerjee wins the Wimbledon boys’ single title

American tennis player of Indian-origin Samir Banerjee on Sunday lifted the Wimbledon boys singles title with a straight-set win over compatriot Victor Lilov. Playing only his second junior Grand Slam, the 17-year-old won 7-5, 6-3 in the final that lasted in one hour 22 minutes.

Born in the United States of America (USA), Samir Banerjee grew up in the state of New Jersey. His parents had moved to the USA in the late 1980s and are now settled there. His father, Kunal, is a chemical engineer from Assam, while his mother, Usha, is from Andhra Pradesh.

Gujarat: Garage owner Mohammad gets woman to marry him by pretending to be unmarried, tries to convert her to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Garage owner Mohammad gets woman to marry him by pretending to be unmarried, tries to convert her to Islam

On Sunday (July 11), a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against a man under the anti-conversion law in Dhoraji town in Rajkot district of Gujarat.

As per reports, the accused has been identified as a 30-year-old garage owner named Mohammed aka Dado Gani Sami. The complainant accused the man of raping her and trying to convert her religion to Islam. She said that Mohammed befriended her by claiming that he was unmarried. The accused is a resident of Radhanagar in the Rajkot district. He has been booked under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act (GFRA), making it the first case registered under the newly enacted anti-conversion law.

While speaking about the matter, a senior police official said, “The woman told police that she had been in contact with Sami for the last one-and-a-half year. He sent her some religious verses on Instagram and forced her into marriage. He allegedly asked her to accompany him to a maulvi to perform the formal ceremony to convert into Islam but as she did not want to change her faith, she approached the police.” The cops added that the complainant got in touch with the accused to sell her scooter.

According to the police, Mohammed arranged taxis for outstation trips and the woman had also hired a taxi from him. The complainant learnt that the accused was married, only after his wife paid a visit to her house. ASP (Jetpur) Sagar Bagmar informed that the accused has been on the run from the law-enforcement authorities. Mohammed has three children while the complainant has one daughter from her marriage with a man from her own community.

Former Indian cricketer and member of 1983 world cup winning team Yashpal Sharma dies of heart attack

OpIndia Staff
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Former Indian cricketer and member of 1983 world cup winning team Yashpal Sharma dies of heart attack

Former Indian cricketer Yashpal Sharma, who was also a member of the squad that won the 1983 World Cup under the leadership of Kapil Dev, died on Tuesday after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 66 and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

Yashpal was one of the crucial players in India’s triumph in the 1983 world cup, scoring 240 runs at an average of 34.28 in the series, including a courageous knock of 61 against England in the semi-finals.

Sharma represented India in 37 ODIs and 42 tests and was a pivotal part of the Indian middle-order from 1979 to 1983. He scored 1606 runs with two centuries and nine fifties. Yashpal made his debut in 1979 against England. He made his ODI debut in 1978 against Pakistan while amassing 883 runs at an average of 28.48.

Yashpal rose to prominence in junior-level cricket when he scored 260 for Punjab schools against Jammu & Kashmir schools in 1972. In a matter of just two years, he was in the state team and a member of the North Zone team that won the Vizzy Trophy. Sharma also impressed the selectors with superb innings of 173 in the Duleep Trophy for North, against the South Zone team which had Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna, and Venkataraghavan. In Ranji Trophy, he represented three teams, including Haryana and Railways, and played 160 matches while racking up 8,933 runs that included a double century.

Yashpal Sharma also served as a national selector for a couple of years and was reappointed to the panel in 2008.

Many cricket players, present and former, have expressed condolences on the demise of Yashpal Sharma.

How the New Zealander vlogger Karl Rock went from ‘exposing scams in India’ to visiting POK right after joining the anti-CAA protests

OpIndia Staff
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How the New Zealander vlogger Karl Rock went from ‘exposing scams in India’ to visiting POK right after joining the anti-CAA protests

A few days ago, New Zealand vlogger Karl Rock was blacklisted by the Indian authorities for violation of multiple visa norms.

“New Zealand origin vlogger Karl Rock has been blacklisted by the Government of India for violating multiple visa norms, he was found doing business on a tourist visa, he is barred for one year, his visa is cancelled,” MHA official told ANI.

The vlogger had claimed that the government added him to the blacklist without giving him a reason after he left India to travel to Dubai and Pakistan, thereby separating him from his wife and family in New Delhi.

“Before someone is added to the blacklist they’re meant to be given the reason, and time to reply,” he said, adding, “I wasn’t”.

Rock maintains that he has been unfairly targeted by the Indian government. After being denied a visa for India, the vlogger took to social media platforms to start an online petition, alleging that the Indian government stopped him from entering the country by unjustly adding his name to the ministry of home affairs’ blacklist.

“I left India to go travel Dubai and Pakistan in October 2020 and upon leaving they cancelled my visa at the airport. They wouldn’t tell me why. So, in Dubai, I applied for a new visa. They called me in for a meeting and told me I had been blacklisted and, therefore, they couldn’t issue me a visa to go home,” Rock wrote in his petition.

On his YouTube channel, Rock posted a video sharing that the Indian government had allegedly blacklisted him and blocked his entry to the country. His wife, an Indian national who lives in Delhi, has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the move. On Friday, Rock uploaded a YouTube video titled ‘Why I haven’t seen my wife in 269 days’, where he claimed he has been separated from his wife and in-laws because he was blacklisted by the Indian government.

While Rock cried himself hoarse and accuses the Indian government of subjecting him to injustice, it is worth revisiting his antics from the last few months that may have played a role in the cancellation of his visa by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

New Zealand vlogger Karl Rock and his wife attended anti-CAA protest

For years now, Rock fashioned himself as some sort of know-it-all, posting videos on everything under the sun—from reviewing various Indian delicacies to travel destinations across the country, to a wide array of cultures and traditions that are followed by multitudes of inhabitants across the expanse of this country and sundry other things.

A few months after he started uploading vlogs on YouTube, he shifted his focus on uncovering different ‘scams’ taking place in the country. In an overwhelming number of videos uploaded on his YouTube channel, which has about 1.8 million subscribers, Rock created awareness among people about the methods and modus operandi adopted by scammers to perpetuate their criminal activities.

However, in December 2019, when the country was convulsed with the anti-CAA protests, Rock and his wife visited one of such demonstrations. The vlogger even took to Twitter to inform his followers that he has attended an anti-CAA protest and posted a video about the demonstrations on his YouTube channel.

Source: Twitter

But following the visa fiasco, he made his YouTube video private, which means viewers can’t watch it. However, when it was published, a large number of people had reacted against him. Some of them had even posted videos on YouTube, educating him how he was wrong about the CAA.

In the video that has now been made private, Karl Rock and his wife are seen attending an anti-CAA protest. The duo rants against the Citizenship Amendment Act and wrongly brands it as a law that discriminates against people based on their religion. They also call the Modi government a ‘right-wing’ government bent on turning the country into a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. The video is replete with misinformation and lies that fuels apprehensions about the new Citizenship Amendment Act, which is simply meant for fast-tracking the naturalisation process of minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who had fled persecution from their respective countries and sought refuge in India on or before 31 December 2014.

Screengrab of the now private video of Karl Rock and his wife attending an anti-CAA protest

It does not even affect the citizenship of Indian, irrespective of their religion.

The New Zealand vlogger had been involved in both subtle and brazen anti-India propaganda from the start. In his video, he posted a ground report video wherein he participated in the anti-CAA protests against the Indian government. Despite being well aware that foreign nationals cannot take part in political movements, he went ahead violating his visa rules.

Karl Rock’s suspicious visit to Pakistan and PoK after participating in anti-CAA protests

Intriguingly, just after participating in the anti-CAA protests that ultimately led to the horrifying anti-Hindu pogrom in Delhi in February 2020, Rock had travelled to neighbouring Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(PoK). He spent months in Pakistan and PoK, visiting various places and posting about his experience on his YouTube channel.

Though as a traveller he has a right to visit places that interests him, the timing of his visit to PoK, which happened right after he attended the anti-CAA protests in India, is particularly suspicious and raises doubts on whether he was doing ISI’s bidding in spreading propaganda on the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Curiously enough, Karl’s visit to Pakistan also raises eyebrows because three years back, he had abruptly left the country after he thought the ISI was watching him and suspecting him of being a spy.

He had said that he was constantly under surveillance during his Pakistan visit in 2018, and due to this he became so paranoid that he had to end the visit early. On 22 May 2018, he had posted a video, where he had said that he was feeling very paranoid because Pakistan’s Intelligence Agency was watching him after he had crossed the border on foot.

But just a couple of years after he claimed ISI suspected him to be a spy, Rock had no apprehensions in visiting Pakistan yet again. In fact, he not only visited Pakistan but also went to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(PoK), a region considered to be one of the most sensitive areas under the control of Pakistan.

It is also worth noting that Karl Rock’s recent visit to Pakistan has been much more extensive than his previous visit to Pakistan in 2018 if videos uploaded by him on his YouTube channel are anything to go by. Rock’s YouTube channel is rife with his videos from places he visited in Pakistan during his latest visit. Rock had visited a ton of places in Pakistan, including the electronics market in Lahore, a Ram Temple, a video game market, restaurants and other places. Besides Lahore, he has been to other cities in Pakistan as well such as Multan, and even the rural areas.

The New Zealand vlogger had also visited Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, the birthplace of Sikh Guru Nanak Dev. In 2019, Rock had uploaded a video in which his wife, Manisha, was seen visiting Dera Baba Nanak through the Kartarpur Corridor, a project that Pakistan claims was built to facilitate Sikhs in India to visit the hallowed Gurudwara but analysts believe it was done to revive Khalistani terrorism. Shortly after the Corridor was thrown open in November last year, there has been a sharp uptick in Khalistani sentiments in the country, with its most ugly manifestation witnessed during the farmers’ protests in India, where Khalistani elements carried pictures of terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and shouted slogans in support of Khalistan.

These inconsistencies naturally add to the growing cloud of suspicions surrounding Karl’s visit and raise questions about his real motives behind visiting Pakistan and PoK. Did he really feel threatened during his visit to Pakistan in 2018 as claimed by him in his videos? Or was it just a smokescreen put up to avoid prying Indian agencies from probing his possible links to ISI? Why did Karl participate in anti-CAA protests even though it amounted to flagrant violation of visa norms? Was he acting at the behest of an external destabilising force when he attended an anti-CAA protest and released a propaganda video on the same to further unrest in the country?

While his participation in the anti-CAA protests may be sufficient grounds for the cancellation of his visa, the aforementioned questions highlight the murky activities he was possibly involved in, which may have inevitably influenced the government’s decision of restricting him from entering India.

London: Library brings a performer in monkey costume with hanging genitalia, exposed buttocks, says it was to ‘encourage kids to read’

OpIndia Staff
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London: Library brings a performer in monkey costume with hanging genitalia, exposed buttocks, says it was to ‘encourage kids to read’

On July 12 (Local Time), an investigation has been initiated against a library in London over an event that was reportedly done to ‘promote reading among kids’. As per reports, the event included one performer who was dressed in a ‘Rainbow Monkey’ costume with fake genitalia hanging out and exposed buttocks.

In a video that has gone viral on social media platforms, the “Monkey” character runs out from the library on the street with two other performers holding a placard. The event was held at London’s Redbridge library.

They all break into dance outside. Most of the people who saw the video are outraged as the Monkey’s fake genitalia kept flapping in all directions as he danced on the street. The Redbridge Library claimed the event was to ‘promote reading among kids’ between the ages of four to eleven. However, the blatant obscenity in front of children and families attracted strong criticism among social media users. 

The actor belonged to a troupe of street performers associated with one Mandinga Arts that is based in Clapham South in London. The group’s website reads that it has “a distinctive style bringing together live music, carnival, street costume, puppetry and dance, drawing on diverse influences from Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.” The monkey was part of its walkabout acts. People who come across indecent costumes took social media platforms to criticise the event.

Strong criticism followed

People across social media platforms called out the said library for endorsement and promotion of the blatantly obscene act.

Some people questioned the Redbridge Labour council that had reportedly organised the event. Some users stated that initially when they tried to complain to the council, they were blocked while the council defended the act.

Redbridge Libraries issue apology

An apology has been issued by Redbridge Libraries for hosting the performance. Notably, they blamed the charity Vision for the lapse of judgement in choosing the group for the event. In a statement, they said, “We are utterly appalled by the unacceptable event at Redbridge Libraries on Saturday organised by our independent leisure contractor, Vision. The contractor had commissioned characters to support the start of the Summer Reading Challenge, but the costume in question was wholly inappropriate for the intended audience.”

It further added that a full and thorough investigation had been initiated. “We sincerely apologise for the offence and distress this has caused,” the statement read. But there is more to the story. One of the comments under a tweet by Redbridge Libraries pointed out that the Library was well aware of the costumes and even made indirect reference to the hanging genitalia in the comments.

An investigation initiated by Council Leader

Jas Athwal, Council Leader, issued a strong statement against the event and called it “disgusting”. He added that the charity had confirmed that all scheduled events had been cancelled.

Notably, the incident took a political turn as some of the comments were directed at the members of the Labour Party who dominates the Redbridge Council. Athwal, who is a member of the Labour Party, got irked by such comments, and in one of the replies, he said he would not take lectures from a Johnny-come-lately. The phrase means ‘a person who is new to the scene or has come late for the event’.

The reply was directed to Conservative Campaigner Has Ahmed, who had said, “Apparently, this is meant to encourage kids in Redbridge to pick up reading for summer. Please tell me the rationale behind these indecent costumes that were shown to families and done so publicly. Is this really necessary?”

Interestingly, Mandinga Arts has worked with Redbridge Libraries on several projects. Earlier in 2021, they participated in the Day of the Dead celebrations. Redbridge Libraries itself has a controversial history of using ‘not-so-decent’ characters for its events. Last year, they hosted a week of “inclusive Story Time for LGBT+ History Month” with drag article Mama G. The same artist has promoted the Summer Reading Challenge for Kent Libraries this year.

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