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‘Freedom of choice’ for Muslims, ‘toxic Brahminism’ for others: The whitewashing of Islamic bigotry and how Hindus can use this argument for self preservation

K Bhattacharjee
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‘Freedom of choice’ for Muslims, ‘toxic Brahminism’ for others: The whitewashing of Islamic bigotry and how Hindus can use this argument for self preservation

Rahul Gandhi fanboy Saket Gokhale on Wednesday made a rather intriguing comment on ‘freedom of choice’. He said that there was nothing inherently bigoted about a Muslim woman refusing to date anyone other than a Muslim. Truth be told, he is absolutely correct in this regard.

It is everyone’s right to choose who they date and attributing bigotry to a person’s personal dating preferences and choice of a romantic partner is morally reprehensible. The twisted nature of his argument comes to the surface later.

Source: Twitter

An individual responded to his tweet saying that the claim of the Muslim woman in question is bigoted for the same reason that it would be considered bigotry for a Brahmin to refuse to marry outside their caste.

The sensible response on Gokhale’s part here would have been to argue that there is nothing bigoted about a Brahmin desiring to marry within their own caste, just as there is nothing bigoted for a Muslim to want to marry or date within one’s religion.

But that’s not the course of action Gokhale decided to pursue. According to Saket Gokhale, it appears that while it is perfectly acceptable for Muslims to marry within their own religion, it is ‘toxic Brahminism’ if Brahmin individuals want to marry within their caste. Indeed, he takes great offense that Richa Singh compares ‘toxic Brahminism’ to Islam.

Source: Twitter

Instead of admitting that both instances revolved around the freedom of choice of individuals and there was no bigotry in either of the two hypothetical situations, Gokhale doubled down on his rhetoric and said that Brahminism is akin to oppression.

It is quite bizarre that according to Saket Gokhale here, while Muslims should have the freedom to choose their own life partners, the same should not be accorded to Brahmins who he believes are bigoted if their choice of romantic partners differs from what liberal orthodoxy mandates.

Freedom of Choice: Romantic relationships

Of course, there is nothing bigoted about an individual having a preference for a romantic partner from their own community. It does not matter if the person in question is Muslim or a Hindu or a Buddhist or a Jain. People from the same community are likely to share similar values and other cultural markers which, in general, is likely to make them more compatible.

Since marriage in India is perceived to be a union of families rather than a union of only individuals, people are likely to look for partners within their own communities as compatibility between the two families is often a determining factor in the marriage.

Thus, a sensible person looking for marriage usually takes into account all these factors before pursuing a romantic relationship. Attributing bigotry in such cases is just nonsensical. If that were the metric to go by, then the overwhelming majority of Indians from all religions, castes and creed will be declared bigoted because every survey indicates that people want to form marital relationships within their own community.

Honour killing

What is problematic, however, is the issue of honour killings. There have been numerous instances where women have been murdered for marrying outside the community. In many instances, the bride and groom have both been murdered due to opposition from one of the two families.

Only in June, a Dalit man and his Muslim girlfriend were murdered by the woman’s family in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district because they did not approve of the relationship. There are multiple other instances where Muslim families indulged in honour killing because they did not approve of their daughter’s relationship.

In many cases, only the boy was killed by the family of the Muslim girl for interfaith relationship. Thus, the only problematic aspect of choice in romantic relationships is where such violence occurs, not the choice itself, whatever it may be.

‘Love Jihad’ or Grooming Jihad has nothing to do with freedom of choice

Like a pure Rahul Gandhi fanboy, Saket Gokhale conveniently trivializes the crime of Grooming Jihad. The phenomenon is not concerned with ‘freedom of choice’ at all. In such cases, a Muslim man often lures a woman of another faith using a false identity and after establishing a relationship, threatens blackmail and pressurizes the woman to convert to Islam.

In other instances, while the man initially assures the woman that she would not have to convert to Islam after marriage, he soon changes tune and resorts to torture and harassment to force the matter. It is such cases against which numerous states have formulated laws.

In a recent case, Abdul Wahab posed as Deshraj Gautam to lure a Hindu woman and after establishing a relationship, forced her to convert to Islam and marry him by blackmailing her through objectionable videos. Where is the freedom of choice in this case?

In another case in Gujarat, Samir Qureshi posed as Sam Martin to lure a Dalit woman into a relationship and after capturing intimate photographs, used them to force her to convert to Islam and marry him. Saket Gokhale believes these are matters on personal choice but no sensible person would buy that argument.

What is freedom of choice and what isn’t

A person choosing not to rent his apartment to people from a particular faith or on the basis of dietary preferences is his personal freedom of choice. After all, it is his apartment and he should be at complete liberty to do with it as he pleases. Similarly, a person choosing to marry within his or her own community is their personal choice. Such freedom of choice should be available to everyone regardless of the community they hail from.

At the same time, honour killing and Grooming Jihad is not ‘freedom of choice’ as it involves several morally reprehensible criminal actions.

But that is not what Saket Gokhale believes. According to him, such choices should be available to Muslims but if Brahmins exercise the same choice, then it is ‘toxic Brahminism’. It is only symbolic of the Congress brand of ‘secularism’ that threatens to tear the country apart.

The only solution to this is Hindus being unapologetic about the choices they make. The day that Hindus allow liberals to dictate their choice of life partners or who they rent their apartment to is the day when the country will move beyond the realms of hope.

Nonetheless, the argument put forth by Gokhale about ‘freedom of choice’ is indeed one that Hindus should use in order to fortify their culture and practices and for self-preservation.

Punjab goes ‘powerless’ as Congress indulges in power-games: Read details

Jhankar Mohta
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Punjab goes ‘powerless’ as Congress indulges in power-games: Read details

‘Power’ is the latest buzzword in Punjab as it inches closer towards the Assembly election. Be it political or electrical, the Punjab unit of the Congress party has been having a tough time steering both. While the Gandhi scions Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are trying their best to end the ongoing ‘power’ (political) crisis by brokering peace among feuding factions in its Punjab unit, the Congress government led by Captain Amarinder Singh in the state has been struggling to provide uninterrupted ‘power’ (electricity) to its people.

For the last few weeks, Punjab has been reeling under unprecedented power shortage amid the sweltering summer heat. As per reports, the daily power demand in Punjab has exceeded 14,500 MW in a few days. Due to this, the state electricity supplier PSPCL (Punjab State Power Corporation Limited) has been forced to cut power supplies and impose restrictions on the industries. The people in Punjab are facing problems due to alleged irregularities in the power supply in the state and have come out in protest against this, blocking roads. 

Many areas in Mohali faced cuts of over 14 hours since the last 24 hours. Patiala and Bhatinda had power cuts for over 7 hours while parts of Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Muktsar and Ludhiana and power outage between 6 to 12 hours.

To come out of the quandary, the Punjab government has limited the power supply to rural areas. Moreover, in its desperation to bridge the huge gap in demand and supply of power, industries located in the Central Zone and the North Zone of the state have been directed to shut down their units compulsorily for 48 hours from 2 pm today. Industrial units will resume operations only after 2 pm on Saturday.

This is not all, the government offices in the state are also in a critical state due to the power shortage. The government offices have been directed to work from 8 in the morning till 2 in the afternoon to save electricity.

It was reported that the gap between demand and supply had reached almost 1500 MW on July 1.

Meanwhile, the disgruntled Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Punjab Congress’ rebel leader took to Twitter on Friday to give a piece of advice to Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, with whom Sidhu has been in loggerheads for quite some time now, on how to deal with the power crisis in the state.

In a long thread of Tweets, Sidhu laid down directions on how CM Amarinder Singh could get the state out of the power crisis: “Truth of Power Costs, Cuts, Power Purchase Agreements & How to give Free & 24 hour Power to the People of Punjab:- 1. There is No need for Power-Cuts in Punjab or for the Chief Minister to regulate office timings or AC use of the Common People … If we Act in the right direction,” Sidhu wrote in the first of his nine Tweets.

Political crisis in Punjab Congress

Meanwhile, speaking about the ‘power’ crisis in the political front, it was reported that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is believed to have played the role of a crisis manager in making possible the meeting between party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Navjot Singh Sidhu. Though the Congress leaders are tight-lipped about what transpired in the 45-minute meeting between the Gandhi scion’s and Sidhu, only time will tell whether the brother-sister duo has managed to resolve the dragging impasse and strike a truce between Navjot Singh Sidhu and Amarinder Singh ahead of the upcoming crucial Punjab assembly polls.

However, reports suggest that nothing is right still within the Congress in Punjab where the two factions have indulged in poster wars. Days after ‘Sidhu is missing’ posters popped up in Amritsar, separate posters of Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu have surfaced in Patiala and Amritsar in the run-up to the 2022 assembly elections in the state.

While posters of Navjot Singh Sidhu emerged in Patiala which is Captain Amarinder Singh’s constituency, the CM’s posters have surfaced in Amritsar East, which is the constituency of Sidhu.

Committee formed to address the grievances of Punjab leaders

Former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Jalandhar Cant MLA Pargat Singh have waged a war against Amarinder Singh in the 2015 sacrilege case. A group led by the duo has also demanded a change in the state leadership.

This forced the AICC to constitute a committee to address the grievances of the Punjab leaders. The panel headed by senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge met at a party war room at GRG road to discuss mitigating the crisis. Kharge informed that the committee which comprises himself, Congress’ Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat and former MP JP Aggarwal will submit its report in three or four days on the matter. 

However, according to reports, the committee has dismissed the idea of removing Captain Amarinder Singh and has instead recommended revamping the cabinet in the state and accommodating Siddhu suitably in the govt. Reportedly he may be made the Deputy Chief Minister in the Punjab government. A final decision in the matter will be taken by party president Sonia Gandhi.

‘State in denial, admin lied about no complaints being filed, prima facie evidence of violence’: Everything Calcutta HC said on Bengal post-poll violence

OpIndia Staff
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‘State in denial, admin lied about no complaints being filed, prima facie evidence of violence’: Everything Calcutta HC said on Bengal post-poll violence

The Calcutta High Court came down heavily on the West Bengal government over the post-poll violence in the state. In the interim order issued today in a bunch of petitions regarding the violence by TMC goons against BJP and other opposition party workers, the court made scathing observations on the role of the Mamata Banerjee government. The 5-judge bench of the High Court noted that even though the administration was in denial mode, the post-poll violence was real.

The court said that responding to numerous petitions seeking probe in the violence, the High Court had requested the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to constitute a committee to examine all the cases and submit a report to this court. Accordingly, the NHRC had constituted a committee, which had probed the allegations and submitted a report on June 30.

State on denial mode, cross case registered against complainants

After going through the NHRC committee report, the High Court found that the “stand taken by the petitioners is established that there had been post-poll violence and the state was found on a wrong foot, where throughout it was on a denial mode.” The HC found that several persons were killed in the violence, many suffered sexual violence and grievous injuries, and even minor girls were not spared. Properties of many of them were damaged and number of them were forced to leave their houses and even migrate to neighbouring states, the interim order says.

From the HC order

The High Court sharply criticised the state govt by saying that “till date the state has not been able to create an atmosphere that could build confidence of the sufferers to return back to their homes or carry on their occupation.” The court also found that the police didn’t register any cases in the violence, and the complaints were not registered. Instead, cross cases were filed against those who had complained about violence.

The court order says, “Investigation of the cases registered was in slip shod manner and hardly any arrests were made in such heinous crimes. Some of the cases have not been registered although prima facie they disclosed commission of cognizable offence. In most of the cases accused have been bailed out.” The HC order says that some cases of heinous crimes the complaints were registered by police only after the High Court had taken cognizance of the matter.

Administration lying about no complaints about violence

The High Court made a shocking observation that the West Bengal government has making false statements that there were no complaints about violence after the assembly elections, and those were figments of imagination of opposition parties. Contrary to the claim that nobody came forward with complaints about violence, when opportunity was given to people to file complaints with the State Legal Services Authority or the NHRC, the authorities were flooded with complaints.

From the HC order

The Court said that the people are afraid to even disclose their identity to apprehending threat to their life and property.

More to conceal than to reveal, no help from state

The High Court order mentions that when the NHRC committee raised various queries to different authorities in the state, they failed to responds to the same. “It shows there is more to conceal than to reveal,” the court ibserved.

From the HC order

The HC order further adds that many of the persons injured in the violence are facing problems in their treatment, and they are not receiving any help or support from the state govt. Ration cards of many of the victims were taken away by the goons, and as a result, they are not being able to procured subsidised products from the public distribution system.

No police protection to NHRC team

The Calcutta High Court noted that despite court order, no police protection was given to the NHRC committee which was constituted on the orders of the High Court to probe the cases of post-poll violence in the state. The court said that Atif Rasheed, a member of the Committee, was obstructed from discharging his duty when he and his team members were attacked by certain goons on June 29, 2021 in Jadavpur area. “No police protection was given to them even though prior notice was given to the District Magistrate and the local police,” the court order said.

The High Court order also said that the family of Abhijit Sarkar, Vice President of Bhartiya Mazdoor Trade Union Council in district Kolkata, who was killed in the post-poll violence, is demanding a second autopsy on his body. The dead body is lying in mortuary as the family is demanding second autopsy, but the police and the administration are agreeing to it.

Orders issued by the court

After going through the NHRC Committee report, the Calcutta High Court issued the following directions to be completed:

  1. Police directed to register all case that are reported to them or the NHRC or any other authority. Police have been ordered to get the statements of the victims recorded under section 164 CrPC immediately, as per law.
  2. The state government has been ordered to make all arrangements for medical treatment of those who were injured in the post-poll violence.
  3. Govt ordered to supply ration to all, even if they have lost ration cards.
  4. Whenever the NHRC committee called for any information from any authority, it will have to provided immediately, failing to do so may call for adverse inference.
  5. The High Court ordered that a second autopsy of Abhijeet Sarkar will have to be conducted, and the same will be done by a team of doctors selected by the head of the Command Hospital in Kolkata. This is the Command Hospital of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army, which means that the second autopsy will be done by doctors from the military hospital. The selection of an army hospital signifies that the court has no trust in state govt run hospitals.
  6. The court issued a show cause notice to South Kolkata DCP asking why proceedings for contempt be not initiated against him for violation of the order passed by the court on June 18, 2021.
  7. All the central agencies and service providers of various services to assist the committee and provide the requisite information wherever required, to the extent permissible in law.
  8. The High Court also ordered the Chief Secretary of West Bengal to preserve all correspondence of the Special Branch/ Intelligence Branch of the State Police, and the Logs of different police control rooms.

The Calcutta High Court accepted the request of the NHRC appointed committee to grant more time to carry out investigation. The court said that it is not making the interim report of the committee public at this moment because the matter is still being probed by the committee and only an interim report has been submitted. The copies of the interim report have been kept in a sealed cover with the Registrar General of the Court.

The five judges of the bench are, acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal, and justices I.P. Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen, and Subrata Talukdar.

Pakistan: 1000 Schengen visa stickers stolen from the Italian embassy, involvement of human traffickers suspected

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: 1000 Schengen visa stickers stolen from the Italian embassy, involvement of human traffickers suspected

In a first, 1000 Schengen visa stickers valid for travelling to any of the 26 Schengen nations in Europe have been stolen from the locker room of the Italian embassy in Pakistan. Officials confirm that these stickers could also be sold in the black market for millions of rupees.

According to reports, the Italian Embassy has approached the Pakistan authorities to help trace the theft which reportedly happened last month.

The Spokesperson, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, confirmed the news and said that the incident had already been reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the foreign diplomatic mission.

The Italian Embassy has reportedly apprised Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the theft, which in turn has written to the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior, Pakistan has, in turn, referred the matter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) headquarters asking them to resolve the case of the embezzlement of 1000 Schengen visa stickers.

The price of a Schengen visa starts from Rs 2 million and goes upto Rs 4 million in the black market in Pakistan

Dawn quoted an official working for a private foreign employment company as saying that if the stolen visa stickers are not recovered, it might lead to a multi-billion-rupee scam because the price of a Schengen visa starts from Rs 2 million in the black market and some people may even be willing to pay up to Rs 4 million for it.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministry in a letter to the interior ministry has said: “The Embassy of Italy in Islamabad has informed that 1,000 Schengen visa stickers had been stolen from the Embassy’s locker room. From these visa stickers, 750 visa stickers had numbers from ITA041913251 to ITA041914000 and 250 visa stickers had numbers from ITA041915751 to ITA041916000. The Italian authorities are conducting internal investigations to fix the responsibility.”

Pakistan’s foreign ministry asked the interior ministry to inform FIA to keep track of all entry and exit points and report any seizure to the foreign ministry.

Sources in the FIA have reportedly told Dawn, an English-language newspaper in Pakistan, that the FIA officials have just been tasked with stopping the misuse of these visa stickers by entering their numbers in their system. As far as investigation into the theft of visa stickers is concerned, it is the domain of the local police station, the sources said. Despite this, the matter has not been reported with the police either by the embassy or by the interior ministry for lodging the First Information Report (FIR) of the theft.

The FIA, has however, shared the number of stolen stickers with the immigration officials at airports to arrest anyone using them.

Role of human traffickers behind the theft being looked into

Sources reveal that the Pakistan authorities are investigating the role of human traffickers behind the theft since they usually sell the visa stickers. An FIA official said there are organised rackets and small groups of people who smuggle thousands of desperate men, women and children abroad every year. 

The FIA is Pakistan’s central agency with a special anti-human trafficking unit to prevent cross-border crimes such as human smuggling and trafficking. The FIA’s Red Book 2020 includes the details of around 112 most wanted terrorists and criminals involved in the drug trade, fraud, money laundering, human trafficking and other such illegal activities

Most of these wanted traffickers belong to Pakistan’s Central Punjab region, while a sizeable number of these criminals hail from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and PoK, as per reports.

Notably, according to Schengen Visa statistics, Pakistan has been listed as the 11th country in the world with the highest rejected Schengen visa rates. In 2021, the data revealed that 43.5 per cent of visa applications from Pakistan had been rejected.

Sharad Pawar makes a U-turn over farm laws, says no need to reject them: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Sharad Pawar makes a U-turn over farm laws, says no need to reject them: Details

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday advocated amendments in the problematic portions of the three farm laws, asserting that there is no need to reject them in their entirety.

The NCP supremo said that the contentious parts of the farm bills that are causing grievances to the farmers can be dropped instead of scrapping the laws altogether.

“Instead of rejecting the entire bill, we can demand amendment in the part about which the farmers have an objection,” Sharad Pawar said while weighing on his views about the farm laws at a private university program in Mumbai on Thursday.

Pawar also spoke about the Maharashtra government’s legislation against the three farm laws. He said it is unlikely that the government would pass legislation against farm laws in the monsoon session.

Recently, Maharashtra minister Balasaheb Thorat had said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government will table a bill in the upcoming monsoon session on July 5 to protect the interests of farmers.

Reacting to this, Pawar said it is improbable that a resolution against the Centre’s agricultural laws will be adopted during the 2-day monsoon session. He however noted that a group of ministers from the MVA government was studying different aspects of the Centre’s bill.

Pawar’s latest stance advocating amendment of problematic portions in the farm laws is in sharp contrast to his previously held views. In February this year, Mr Pawar’s party had demanded a complete rollback of the three agriculture laws. A month before that, in January 2021, Pawar had himself criticised the laws in a series of tweets, alleging that they will adversely affect the minimum support price (MSP) and undermine the country’s mandi system.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar welcomes Sharad Pawar’s changed stance on farm laws

Nevertheless, Pawar’s manifest change of opinion on farm laws was welcomed by the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

“I welcome this statement of the former agriculture minister. I’d like to tell him that the Central government agrees with him. We have discussed this with the farmer union eleven times,” Mr Tomar told ANI today.

“The central government hopes this matter will be resolved through discussions and this agitation ends and all farmers return to their homes. The government of India is willing to reconsider with an open mind the issues that seem problematic,” he further added.

Madhya Pradesh: Abrar Khan, who used to work in Oman, arrested for referring to his village as ‘Mini-Pakistan’ on Facebook

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Abrar Khan, who used to work in Oman, arrested for referring to his village as ‘Mini-Pakistan’ on Facebook

The Madhya Pradesh police have arrested a 32-year-old man from the Gurh area of Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh, for referring to his village as ‘mini Pakistan’ in a Facebook post.

According to the reports, the 32-year-old man identified as Abrar Khan had posted a photograph of his village on social media with a caption, “See Amreti – a Mini Pakistan”.

Rewa Superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar Singh said Khan claimed to the police during his questioning that his Facebook post was a casual remark as neighbouring villages used to taunt his Muslim-dominated village as “a mini Pakistan”.

Khan has been arrested under section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) of IPC and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, said Civil Line Police Inspector Omkar Tiwari.

“We are also investigating the details of those who liked his post. We will issue a warning to villagers in the neighbouring villages not to indulge in such activities or call that village mini-Pakistan,” SP Singh said.

Abrar Khan informed the police that he worked in an oilfield in Oman. He recently returned to his village during the lockdown. Meanwhile, the police have seized his passport and asked the passport office to cancel the travel document.

SP Singh said they are investigating the case and verifying his credentials. “We will also check what exactly he used to do in Oman and who helped him find the job in Oman,” he added.

Uttar Pradesh Pradhan arrested for promising ‘Naya Pakistan’

In a similar incident in Uttar Pradesh in May this year, a gram pradhan was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi for promising ‘Naya Pakistan’ while taking out a victory procession.

The accused, identified as Imran Khan, had been elected as gram pradhan from Mangra village in the Ramganj area of Amethi. Imran Khan and his supporters were arrested after pro-Pakistan songs were played during his bike rally.

From hurling a shoe at a minister to making PVC ‘guns’ to attack BJP members: Read about AAP’s Gujarat chief Gopal Italia

Akshita Bhadauria
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From hurling a shoe at a minister to making PVC ‘guns’ to attack BJP members: Read about AAP’s Gujarat chief Gopal Italia

A riot accused, a black-ticket seller and now a leader who had been arrested earlier for making domestic bombs. Gopal Italia (31) the AAP’s Gujarat unit president who has been a vocal abuser of the BJP and Hindus, has had quite a controversial past.

Italia recently made the headlines for being barred from offering prayers by Hindu samaj at the Somnath Temple after his old videos abusing the Hindu community and rituals went viral on social media. 

However, controversies are not new to Italia.

Italia, a local of Bhavnagar was earlier associated with Hardik Patel’s Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) before getting into mainstream politics. Prior to this, he was a clerk in the revenue department, posted in Dhandhuka of the Saurashtra region.

Held for impersonating a cop

In January 2017, Italia who used to be a member of the Lok Rakshak Dal- a government body created to strengthen the state police force (until 2015), had made a call to a Gujarat minister impersonating as a cop.

Italia had called up Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel to report about the alleged ineffectiveness of the state’s new prohibition law. Italia was then a government clerk, but he had pretended to be a police officer. The conversation had gone viral on social media. Italia had alleged that the new law had resulted in a liquor price hike and strengthened the nexus between police, politicians and bootleggers.

Shortly, Italia was arrested for impersonating a public servant under Section 170 of the Indian Penal Code.

Justifying his act, Italia told police that he had called the minister only to inform him about the ineffectiveness of the new anti-liquor law. However, on developing cold feet when asked about his identity by the minister, he claimed that he was a policeman.

Italia hurled shoe at minister

In 2017, Italia was dismissed from his position as a clerk for “violation” of service rules, shortly after he had hurled shoes at the Gujarat Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja.

The incident had occurred on March 2, 2017, outside the public entry gate of the Gujarat Assembly building in Gandhinagar. Italia reportedly shouted “down with corruption” and hurled shoes at the minister who was about to begin his address to the media. 

Italia, however, missed the target and soon lost his job too.

Italia fires PVC bombs

In 2018 Italia who had by then become the leader of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti was seen in a viral video firing a couple of shots from what he describes as a “pistol made of PVC pipes”.

What was shocking is Italia’s boastful speech where he claimed, “This is for the explosion as it doesn’t come under the guidelines of the Supreme Court or any other laws”, while flaunting the ‘homemade’ gun. The policeman-turned-quota activist-turned politician, Italia claimed that this gun could be used to attack the BJP members and the noise it makes is enough to reach Delhi. 

Italia later giving a ludicrous excuse said, “Some farmers have invented this for scaring away animals which destroy their crops. Apart from attacking the BJP, I also used the video to send out a message to protect our environment. I believe that it is not as dangerous as other firecrackers. We all should protect our environment.”

Held for violation of Covid protocols

Italia who then went on to join the Aam Aadmi Party in 2020 was made the state unit’s vice-president in July that year. Since then he has been an active member of the political party with efforts to get more youth to join the party.

However, in January 2021, Gopal Italia and five other party workers were arrested by Surat police for not following social distancing norms on their visit to Mahidharpura.  

Italia who is always on the lookout for a reason to falsely accuse the BJP of some ‘scam’ had posted a message on his official Facebook page. He stated that he is going to visit Mahidharpura diamond market area to meet the diamond traders to get details of the ‘alleged corruption’ in the upcoming project of Surat diamond bourse at Khajod area.

In early 2021, an FIR was registered against Italia and three others with Gujarat University police station in Ahmedabad last month under sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to public servant), 143 (unlawful assembly), 146 (violence by an unlawful assembly), and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. 

They were booked following a scuffle with the police at the public meeting. He had said that the AAP had obtained the required permission from the police to hold that meeting. Italia’s anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a sessions court, after which he moved to the High Court.

Italia then surrendered before Ahmedabad police, following which he was produced in the metropolitan court and was granted bail.

Italia abuses Hindu rituals and community

In an old video that recently went viral on social media, Italia was heard saying, “If you do not like what I have to say then block me and leave because I don’t need you. People are spending a lot of money and time on non-scientific and unnecessary things like Satyanarayan Katha, Bhagwad Katha and other such useless things. Still, people do not know what they’ll gain out of doing this. They waste other people’s time also. If we spend even 5 paisa on such useless things, we do not have a right to live like humans.”

Calling Hindus as ‘eunuchs, Italia further said, “I am ashamed of such people. It angers me. If you don’t like what I said block me. We don’t need those who clap like hijras in name of rituals and culture. Some Sadhu will speak nonsense from the stage and we have to clap like hijras?”

In another viral video, Italia mocked devotional Hindu congregations and remarked, “Why are these kathakars doing kathas in Surat only? If you are so big go to border for kathas. Go do kathas at Pakistan border and Bangladesh border. Just spare the people here.”

Soon after the controversial videos spread like wildfire on social media, Italia decided to pay a visit to the Somnath Temple. However, he was reportedly barred from offering prayers at the Somnath Temple. Italia, visibly upset with the incident had to return without paying obeisance and once again blamed the BJP for an orchestrated attack on him. 

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party recently welcomed Surat businessman Mahesh Savani into the party just ahead of the Gujarat state assembly elections.

The move, however, garnered intense criticism as Savani, a top realtor from Surat was arrested in 2020 on allegations of extortion and kidnapping.

AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia happy with the party’s growth in the state claimed, “In Gujarat, the AAP is growing day and night at quadruple speed.”

The state elections in Gujarat are slated to be held in December 2022.

Dehradun: FIR filed against Welham school’s Halal meat tender, Bajrang Dal calls it ‘victory of the truth’

OpIndia Staff
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Dehradun: FIR filed against Welham school’s Halal meat tender, Bajrang Dal calls it ‘victory of the truth’

Days after a tender notice was published in the local classified section of newspapers where Welham Boys School invited bids for supplying Halal meat and poultry products, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the Hindu rights group Bajrang Dal with the Uttarkhand police on Tuesday (July 1).

While speaking to Opindia, the Convenor of Bajrang Dal (Dehradun) Vikas Verma said, “Aaj satya ki jeet hui hai. Hum is ladai ko tab tak jaari rakhenge jab tak hum halal ke naam par ho rahe atyachar ka ant nahi kar dete. (It has been the victory of truth today. We will continue this fight until the monopoly of ‘Halal’ completely ends).”

Screengrab of the First Information Report

Earlier, the police did not lodge an FIR and it was only on Friday evening that the case was registered. The cops have now pressed charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 505-2 (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred, or ill will between classes).

The Halal Meat controversy

Activists, belonging to the Dehradun chapter of Bajrang Dal, protested outside the premises of  Welham Boys School after the prominent boarding institution floated a tender on June 26 for halal meat and poultry products. The Hindu rights group had filed a complaint at Dalanwala Police station and wrote to CM, Uttarakhand as well. In the complaint, the organization said that there are students from every community in the school.

“The tender for Halal meat is an insult to Hindu students and community. With this complaint, we would like to bring the matter to your notice and urge you to take immediate action to recall the tender,” it said. The organization further said that in case the administration and Police fail to take any action against the school, they will take the matter to the roads and call for protests across the city.

Bajrang Dal said when they approached the school administration about the tender, they informed the organization members that the school serves both Halal and Jhatka meat at school on a daily basis. “However, when we asked for documentation for any tender they had flouted in the past calling for bids for Jhatka meat, no one in school administration was able to provide any documents.”

Killers were paid Rs 45 lakhs to murder businessman Mansukh Hiren, ex-cops Sachin Vaze, Pradeep Sharma involved: NIA

OpIndia Staff
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Killers were paid Rs 45 lakhs to murder businessman Mansukh Hiren, ex-cops Sachin Vaze, Pradeep Sharma involved: NIA

The National Investigation Agency made startling revelations in the murder case of businessman Mansukh Hiren. During the court proceedings of a special NIA court on Thursday, the premier probe agency said they suspect hitmen were paid Rs 45 lakh to bump off Mansukh Hiren.

The agency made this claim based on money trail that linked the assassins to Hiren’s murder. After killing Hiren, they had fled to Nepal. The agency is digging into the details of their travel to Nepal after the murder. It suspects that the four killers were instructed by arrested cops Sachin Waze and Pradeep Sharma to stay underground till the investigation is completed. 

According to sources quoted by media outlets, NIA has chanced upon CCTV footage where killers were seen with the slain businessman at Ghodbunder Road on March 4. In the video, Sharma’s close aid, Shelar, was seen standing near the red Tavera car, Mansukh being brought to the spot in another car and being handed over to Shelar, who taps on Hiren’s back and gets him to enter the Tavera. The NIA suspects the three other accused were present inside the car.

The NIA on Thursday produced accused Satish Tirupati Mutkori and Manish Basant Soni before the special NIA court and sought further five days custody for both. The NIA cited the discovery of the financial transactions worth Rs 45 lakh, suspected to have been used for or paid for Hiren’s murder to demand the further custody of the accused.

However. The agency did not say who funded the assassination. It also submitted that there might be a few more people involved in both cases. The four accused who allegedly murdered Hiran are, Santosh Shelar, Anand Jadhav, Manish Basant Soni and Satish Tirupati Mutkor. 

It is worth noting that it was Mansukh Hiren’s car that was found laden with explosives outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence, Antilia. Hiren had allegedly refused to follow Waze’s instructions after the car was discovered.

The NIA also stated that they reckon Rs 45 lakh only to be the tip of the iceberg and that there might be crores of rupees involved in both the cases, the Antilia explosives case and the Hiren’s murder case.

Reportedly, the public prosecutor also said before the court that they have recovered Rs 35,000 in cash from one of the accused who allegedly assassinated Hiren on the directives of dismissed API Sachin Waze and former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma.

Besides, the NIA said Sharma, who is currently lodged at Taloja Jail, facilitated Hiren’s murder by providing his murderers with SIM cards that were allegedly used for coordinating during the conspiracy.

The NIA also said that Sharma, who is now in judicial custody and is lodged at Taloja jail, provided bogus SIM cards to Hiran’s killers. The SIM cards were allegedly used for coordination during the conspiracy.

Sachin Waze brains behind the cases, was present when Mansukh Hiren was killed: Reports

As per the submissions made by the NIA, Sharma and Waze were the brains behind the cases, with the involvement of more people suspected. Sharma is accused of coordinating the entire conspiracy and issuing directions to the accused. Earlier, the probe agency had stated that Sachin Waze had procured SIM cards with the help of a Gujarat-based bookie, Naresh Gor, who was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS and later handed over to the NIA.

Earlier, it was reported that Mansukh Hiren was killed in the presence of Sachin Waze. Reports claimed Mansukh Hiren was administered chloroform and then thrown in the creek from where his body was recovered. The technical mobile tower and IP evaluation suggested that Sachin Vaze was present in the vehicle when Mansukh Hiren was killed. A post mortem report had revealed that Mansukh Hiren had sustained bruises before he was killed.

Antilia bomb scare case and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiren

On February 25, a Scorpio car with 20 gelatin sticks was found parked near Antilia, the multi-storey residence of Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai. A few days later, it was revealed that the car belonged to a person named Mansukh Hiren. The bomb-laden car was owned by Mansukh Hiren, who had alleged that his car was stolen from Mulund-Airoli link road. Hiren had also filed a police complaint about the missing car.

Days later, Hiren’s body was washed ashore in the Kalwa creek, which only deepened the mystery surrounding the explosive-laden car. Mansukh Hiren’s family had accused suspended police officer Sachin Vaze of murder. Following the family’s complaint, Maharashtra ATS had registered a murder case to investigate the death on March 7. The investigation revealed Sachin Waze’s involvement in the murder of Mansukh Hiren, following which he was arrested and sent to Taloja Jail.

Rajasthan: Rape victim blackmailed, sexually assaulted for 2 years by same criminals after police ignored 2019 complaint

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Rape victim blackmailed, sexually assaulted for 2 years by same criminals after police ignored 2019 complaint

A 20-year-old girl from Alwar was gang-raped for two years after the police failed to act on her complaint filed in 2019. As per reports, the first incident took place in 2019, however, the police failed to take any action against the perpetrators leading to a series of assaults on the victim.

The girl in April 2019 was on her way to appear for an exam when she was kidnapped by a group of men. The victim was then taken to a secluded spot where she was made to consume a drink laced with sedatives. The girl fell unconscious after which she was gang-raped, as per a Dainik Bhaskar report.

The victim had approached the Malakhera police station in Alwar in May 2019 itself to register a case against the perpetrators, however, the police failed to file an FIR or take any action.

One of the perpetrators then sent her a video of the incident and blackmailed her for leaking the video. Over the next two years, the accused persons kept sexually exploiting her repeatedly by blackmail, threatenig to reelase the video of the incident.

One of the accused, named Gautam Saini on June 25 again blackmailed the victim to meet him if she did not want the video to be sent to her family members. Reports suggest that the victim changed her sim-card after which the perpetrator released her video on social media.

The woman was then forced to approach the Superintendent of Police Tejaswini Gautam and file a complaint at the Mahila police station in Alwar district. Following this, a complaint was filed at the Malakhera police station on June 28.

The police recorded statements on Thursday after the victim’s medical check-up. The police have also initiated an inspection of the site where the incident took place. 

Gautam Saini, Bhairu Jat, and another accused named Vikas alias Vikki have been arrested by the police. The police have stated that they are also tracing the persons who have shared the blackmail video on social media and will initiate action under relevant sections. Another accused named Deepak is on the run.

Additionally, Alwar (rural) circle officer Amit Singh has also ordered a separate inquiry on the negligence of the police and assured that action will be taken against police personnel if they are found to be guilty.

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