In Kerala, three persons clubbed an eight-year-old black Labrador to death over personal animosity with the owners. As per an India Today report, the shocking incident came to the fore after the video shot by one of the accused emerged on social media.
The labrador named Bruno was taken care of by the family of Kristhuraj in the Adimalathura region of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. As per reports, Bruno had wandered to a beach where he slept under a boat.
Sony P, a caretaker of the dog informed that their dog had started going to the beach but used to be back by noon. On Monday after Bruno did not return till evening, Sony’s brother-in-law, Andrew, went out in search of the dog. Upon reaching the beach Andrew saw that Bruno was tied to a boat and three youngsters were brutally thrashing their pet using clubs.
On being alone, Andrew was overpowered by the perpetrators and could not save the dog. The trio then flung his carcass into the sea after killing it.
The poor animal was reportedly hanged from a fishing hook and mercilessly beaten by the accused persons. After it died, the dog’s body was flung into the sea, as per reports.
Video goes viral on social media
The siblings took to social media to demand justice for their pet. Kristhuraj had shared a video clip of the horrific incident on Facebook. The clip soon went viral, with netizens demanding “Justice for Bruno”.
A verified Instagram account with 1.6 million followers- Ted The Stoner alleged that the dog was beaten to death for sleeping under the boat of the accused.
Siblings receive death threats
The siblings lodged a complaint with the Vizhinjam police after which all the three accused identified as Silu Ayyan, Sunil and a juvenile were arrested.
However, Sony alleged that despite filing a complaint on Tuesday, the police did not take any action forcing them to upload the video on social media. Additionally, the accused have already been let out on bail.
Sony also alleged that the accused came gave death threats to her and her siblings after they filed an official police complaint.
“We came to know that they will bring the matter with the help of one of their relatives employed at the coastal police station nearby. We felt we wouldn’t get justice and we took to Facebook so that everyone would know what happened to our Bruno,” said Sony.
As per another report, the police claimed that a case has been registered under relevant sections. “However, we have not taken the accused into custody yet as it turns out the offenders who are seen in the video… are all under the age of 18,” he added.
Days after unidentified men fired shots at the son of Munawwar Rana, a team of police officials reached the house of the poet in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, reportedAaj Tak.
In a video uploaded on Twitter, the poet’s daughter Fauzia Rana has alleged that the cops barged into her house, late at night on Thursday (July 1). She accused the cops of searching her house without a warrant and refusing to divulge any information behind their late-night arrival. Fauzia Rana has further accused the Uttar Pradesh police of harassment and intimidation, on the behest of the State government.
While reprimanding a police official, the poet’s daughter was heard as saying, “How did you even get in? Is this a way to enter someone’s house? There are several female occupants here…Who the hell you are? Who gave you permission to come here? Answer the question.” She had called the move an act of ‘political vengeance’ and ‘police terrorism’.
— Fauzia Rana official (@FauziaRana2) July 2, 2021
Aaj Tak reported that Fauzia Rana has claimed that the cops searched the in-house library and forced her father to sit outside the house. She has further alleged that the police seized the mobile phone of her 16-year-old daughter. According to Fauzia Rana, the cell phone contained personal information and pictures of her daughter. While referring to the police as ‘government-sponsored hooligans’, she claimed that the officials denied the entry of media persons and her lawyers into her house.
Police had arrived to arrest Munawwar Rana’s son
As per reports, the police had arrived to arrest the poet’s son Tabrez. Tabrez had accused some of his family members and relatives of an attempt to murder him recently. There was a firing incident on Tabrez’s car.
As per reports, the police have stated that the firing incident was false and Tabrez had staged the attack to falsely accuse his relatives. The FIR regarding the firing incident was lodged on June 28. However, now Tabrez himself is an accused for the alleged fake firing incident, as per reports.
The Raebareli police had arrived late in the night of July 1 at the poet’s house to arrest Tabrez. But Tabrez was not found at the house.
Details of the firing incident on June 28 where Tabrez had accused his relatives
On Wednesday (June 28), Munawwar Rana’s son Tabrez Rana was attacked by unidentified, bike-borne assailants in Lucknow-Prayagraj highway at around 6 pm. Reportedly, the accused fired several rounds of bullets and damaged his car. Locals gathered at the crime spot, after hearing the gunshots while the accused managed to flee. The police put up a blockade to nab the attackers but was in vain. Tabrez Rana has filed a complaint with the police against five members of his own family.
The cops then registered a case against the five accused, namely, Ismail Rana, Rafe Rana, Jameel Rana, Shakeel Rana, and Yasar Rana (cousin), who is a close aide of politician Azam Khan. Munawwar Rana, who hails from Qila Bazar locality of Kotwali city of Rae Bareli, lives in Lucknow with the family. The police have informed about an ongoing land-related dispute with his family members in Rae Bareli for a long time. Tabrez Rana had come to the city a few days to resolve the land dispute and had been staying here.
The masked assailants, who had been sitting on a bike without number near the petrol pump located in the Tripula police station area of Lucknow, opened fire on Tabrez Rana. The victim was driving the car at that time. Hearing the sound of gunshots, a crowd of people started gathering at the spot. The attackers fled after firing several rounds. Bullet marks were also found on the glass of the car. Inspector Atul Kumar Singh said that a case was registered on the basis of the complaint of the victim.
The SP said that Kotwal Atul Kumar Singh, SO Ashutosh Tripathi, and SOG of Mill Area were deployed to unearth details of the case. All three teams had been working on different tasks. The cops had also interrogated a petrol pump official, who was an eyewitness to the incident. The police analysed the CCTV footage of the surrounding area and found two bikers fleeing after firing gunshots. While speaking about the matter, accused Rafe Rana said that his family had inherited the land of 8.5 bighas belonging to his brother.
He said that 4 bighas belonged to him and his other brother Ismail. However, after his father’s death, the entire property got divided between the 6 brothers. Rafe Rana alleged that Tabrez had sold his share of land (equalling 18 Biswas) of land. When the matter came to light, Rana had approached the court and raised an objection with the Registrar’s office. It was only then that the land sale was stopped. He also added that the land dispute had nothing to do with the attempted assassination of the son of Munawwar Rana.
On the 1st of July, The New York Times posted an entry-level job requirement on their website and on LinkedIn. While the hiring process of any establishment seems to be a routine affair, at New York Times, they thought it fit to post very specific requirements for the job – being anti-Hindu and anti-Modi. The job posting was for that of a South Asia Business Correspondent in New Delhi.
In their ad, the specific purpose of the New York Times seems to be to appeal to candidates who can write against the democratically elected government in India and contribute to a tirade that can only be called a “regime change” operation.
At the very outset of the job posting, New York Times interestingly mentions how India is poised to overtake China in terms of its population and how India has “ambitions of winning a greater voice on the world stage”. Just after mentioning India’s ambitions, the ad goes on to mention how “Under Narendra Modi, its charismatic prime minister, India has moved to rival China’s economic and political heft in Asia, a drama playing out along their tense border and within national capitals across the region”.
Job posting by the New York Times
At the very beginning of their job posting, New York Times seems to grudge that India has ambitions to surpass China’s “economic and political heft” in Asia and is indulged in a “drama” playing out at the tense border with China. The words used, “drama” for example, reveals the very core of what NYT stands for.
It is pertinent to note here that China Daily, a propaganda outlet of the Chinese government, has reportedly paid $19 million to American newspapers in advertisement and printing charges in 4 years. As per the documents filed by China Daily with the Justice Department, the Communist party mouthpiece had paid over $6 million to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), $4.6 million to the Washington Post, $2,40,000 to Foreign Policy, $50,000 to the New York Times, $34,600 to The Des Moines Register and $76,000 to CQ-Roll Call. In fact, The Communist party-mouthpiece had also spent $2,65,822 on advertising on Twitter.
In 2018, both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran a sponsored news item titled, “Belt and Road align with African nations.” The same news story was accompanied by another story, critical of the Trump administration. It read, “Tariffs to take a toll on U.S. homebuyers.” The news item emphasised how the rise in US tariffs on China would raise the cost of building homes in the US. China’s attempt to use foreign papers as a tool to further its interests had been pointed out by organisations such as the Freedom House, Hoover Institution, and other pro-democracy groups.
Given New York Times’ visceral hatred for India and especially, its democratically elected leader PM Narendra Modi, it comes as no surprise when the job posting starts with a derisive comparison with China, considering it has regularly done China’s bidding through the paper.
But the problematic job posting does not stop there.
The New York Times job posting makes it amply clear that a visceral hatred for Hindus and Modi is also a pre-requisite to get the job.
Job posting by the New York Times
New York Times goes on to say that the Prime Minister of India is advocating “self sufficient, muscular nationalism centred on the country’s Hindu majority”.
This statement in itself is rather interesting and combines multiple facets. Firstly, the New York Times seems to have a problem with the fact that India wants to be ‘self-sufficient’. One can see this in two ways. New York Times has always been dismissive about the leaps India is taking in the global economy. One recalls the racist cartoon by NYT after India’s ambitious space program and had even apologised for it.
Racist cartoon by The New York Times
Second, one can also see this statement from the lens of China. In February 2021 it was reported how India had managed to decrease its imports from China and increase its exports.
India-China bilateral trade in 2020 had decreased by 5.64% Y-o-Y and stood at $87.65 billion compared to $92.89 billion in 2019, according to Union Commerce Ministry’s recent data on India-China trade in 2020. Notably, Indian imports from China also dropped by 10.87% and stood at $66.78 billion compared to $74.92 billion in 2019.
The one country that loses with India becoming self-sufficient is China and NYT, which has accepted money from the CCP, seems to take umbrage to the fact.
Further, NYT displays its rampant hate for Hindus by alluding to the fact that PM Modi is consolidating the Hindus of the country and that is against the founding principles of multiculturalism and ‘interfaith’ existence. Coupled with that, NYT claims that India is suppressing free speech, without really giving any evidence of the same.
For these elements to be included in a job description clearly indicates that NYT is looking for journalists with a clear ideological bent and those who would be open to bringing in a strong element of anti-Hindu bias in their coverage.
Interestingly, while they are averse to those who don’t harbour hatred for Hindus and PM Modi, they seem to be completely fine with employing those with a criminal past. In its job opening, NYT wrote, “The New York Times Company will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local “Fair Chance” laws“.
Job posting by the New York Times
From calling the beautiful saree a “tool of Hindu Nationalist campaign’ to claiming that the onus to convert is on the non-Muslim in any relationship, the New York Times has displayed a strong bias against Hindus in their coverage.
As a BJP government, which they term as a ‘Hindu nationalist’ government had taken charge in 2014, NYT had upped their hate India quotient by several notches. From fake narratives about ‘Muslims in fear’ to dismissive, hateful articles on India’s culture, traditions and customs, they have done all they could to further their narrative against India.
When one looks at their past reports on India, a distinguished pattern emerges. Issues, data, facts notwithstanding, NYT only loves to malign India. A tax department raid on the promoters of NDTV and NYT comes up with an editorial titled ‘India’s Battered Free Press’. Then in November 2017, NYT hits another level, they run an op-ed on how the Saree, India’s widely popular female attire is in fact, a ‘Tool of Hindu Nationalist Campaign’. Mahindra and Mahindra opens a manufacturing plant in the US and NYT start the same old condescension, totally ignoring the fact that Mahindra has a significant presence in their country already.
Not just India’s present, NYT had attacked India’s past too. They have even criticised India’s freedom struggle. From insulting the victims of the Godhra massacre to enabling the bogey of Hindu terror, NYT has done it all.
With this new job posting, NYT has cemented its place as one of the platforms that are at the forefront of maligning the nation, and clearly, it is looking for more people who can help them in their “cause”.
Not wanting to disappoint their ‘only’ friend, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan accepted that they account only for the ‘Chinese version’ pertaining to the treatment of Uyghur Muslims due to the ‘proximity’.
As the western world has gone hammers and tongs against China for persecuting the ethnic minority of Uyghur Muslims, Pakistan too has been facing the brunt of maintaining a stoic silence over the issue.
Unveiling Pakistan’s hypocrisy, the global media has been hounding Khan for refusing to acknowledge Beijing’s atrocities in the region against Uyghurs while crying foul on the condition of Muslims in India, and crying Islamophobia against nations over trivial issues. Re-iterating their stand, Khan in a quote to the Dawn newspaper said, “Because of our extreme proximity and relationship with China, we actually accept the Chinese version.”
Khan, while speaking to Chinese journalists as Beijing marked the centenary of the ruling Communist Party, insisted that the Chinese version of Uyghurs was completely different from what is being portrayed in Western media.
Taking a submissive stance, “It is hypocritical. There are much worse human rights violations taking place in other parts of the world… But Western media hardly comment on this,” Khan shielded its all-weather friend while lashing out at Western media for blowing the Uyghur’s condition and Hong Kong issue out of proportion.
Imran Khan also praised the Chinese Communist Party, saying that until now, the world was told that the bast way for societies to improve is through Western democracy, but CCP has introduced an alternative model and they have beaten all Western democracies. Khan insisted that the CCP model of governance is best to highlight the merits in society.
Calling China the only country that stood by Pakistan whenever the country has faced trouble, politically or internationally, Khan clarified that this relationship had nothing to do with India. “Our relationship is a bilateral relationship. It is extremely strong,” Khan said reassuring Pakistan’s strong ties with China.
Many international journalists have questioned Imran Khan’s hypocrisy
In an interview with Jonathan Swan in June, the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was seen making excuses when quizzed about his silence on the genocide committed against Uyghur Muslims in neighboring China.
Being taken aback by the question of relentless persecution of Uyghur Muslims, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in a desperate bid to defend their all-weather friend, Imran Khan alleged, “What… our conversations have been with the Chinese, this is not the case, according to them.” On being told that the evidence was overwhelming, Khan said, “Whatever issues we have with the Chinese, we speak behind closed doors. China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times.”
In fact, Khan, tried to divert the issue by bringing in the Kashmir issue, claiming that the world should instead focus on the ‘human rights violations’ in Kashmir.
‘We have economic ties with China, they are good neighbours’: Imran Khan
In an exclusive interview to Canada’s CBC News on June 12, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan dodged the question pertaining to China’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims by saying it is a ‘good neighbor.’ Khan, when specifically asked about the genocide of Uyghur Muslims, said, “We have economic ties with China, China is our neighbor. They’ve been very good to us in our most difficult times.” He was talking to CBC’s Rosemary Barton in a recent interview.
When asked whether or not the persecution of Muslims in China is of concern, Khan informed, “If we have concerns we talk about them behind closed doors.”
Pakistan’s pandering of Taliban
The Pakistan government’s strong denial of the Uyghur genocide comes at the backdrop of overt support to the Taliban. Though Pakistan’s support to the Taliban has long been an ‘open secret for the rest of the world, in recent times, the government of Pakistan has become more vocal. In a recent interview, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi even went so far as to give the Taliban a clean chit, and blame the current Afghanistan government for the killings and violence in Afghanistan.
Uyghur detention camps run by China
The Xinjiang autonomous region in China is facing the worst kind of cultural and ethnic genocide. There is a long history of dissonance between the indigenous ethnic Uyghur and Chinese authorities. Chinese authorities have been running ‘re-education’ camps where millions of Uyghurs are made to denounce their ways of life, religious beliefs and practices.
China is facing criticism and worldwide condemnation over its unkind and harsh treatment of the Uyghur Muslims.
However, China has aggressively refuted allegations made by the Western countries on its daunting persecution of the Muslim minority and claim it to be a conspiracy against the nation.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 65 crore including properties linked to a company controlled by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam.
According to the reports, the ED provisionally attached the land, machinery and buildings worth Rs 65.75 crore of Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK) at Satara under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act in a case related to the fraud at Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB).
As per ED, the funds used to purchase the Jarandeshwar SSK were routed through another sugar mill, which is in turn funded by Sparkling Soil Private Limited, a company linked to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his wife Sunetra Pawar.
In September 2019, ahead of the assembly polls in Maharashtra, the Enforcement Directorate had registered a money laundering case against NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar in connection with a Rs 25,000-crore scam at MSCB. During the investigation, the ED had found that MSCB sold Jarandeshwar SSK in 2010 in an auction at a lower price than fair value.
Auction of sugar mill violated SARFAESI Act: Enforcement Directorate
The auction had violated all the rules of the SARFAESI Act, said ED, adding that the Cooperative Sugar Mill was sold at throw-away prices by MSCB to directors and private people.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar was on the board of the bank at that time. The agency had found that Jarandeshwar Cooperative Sugar Mill was purchased by Guru Commodity Services Private Limited, who immediately leased to Ajit Pawar-linked Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Private Limited.
“The major part of the funds utilised towards purchase of SSK was received from Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Private Limited, which received the same from Sparkling Soil, a company related to Ajit Pawar and his wife,” the ED said in a statement.
The ED had found that Guru Commodity Services is a “dummy company” created only to acquire Jarandeshwar SSK. The ED said that Jarandeshwar SSK had been used as a vehicle by Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills to obtain a loan of Rs 700 crore from Pune District Central Cooperative Bank & Ors from 2010 till now.
As Uttar Pradesh inches closer to the state Assembly elections, slated to be held in the months of February to March 2022, the political heat seems to be rising in the state. Days after AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi declared that his party will contest 100 seats in the Uttar Pradesh upcoming polls, AIMIM leader Syed Asim Waqar has demanded that if the Samajwadi Party wins the UP elections, then its chief Akhilesh Yadav should appoint a Muslim as the deputy CM.
According to a report by One India Hindi, Asim Waqar has said in an interview that the SP supremo had in his 2012 party manifesto, promised 12 per cent reservations for Muslims in his party if they come to power, but once they did, he failed to keep his commitment.
Challenging various opposition parties before the 2022 state Assembly polls, Waqar also reportedly said that they know very well that if AIMIM becomes powerful in the state of Uttar Pradesh, they are bound to take their share in the state. “We will definitely snatch away the Deputy CM post from them. You will have to make a Muslim the deputy CM of the state”, proclaimed the AIMIM leader.
‘Deputy Chief Minister’s post across states should be solely reserved for Muslims’: Syed Asim Waqar
Furthermore, speaking on various debate shows, the AIMIM leader Asim Waqar once again reiterated his demand, but this time he went on to be a little extravagant while reverberating his demand. He has been quoted by various media houses as saying that the Deputy Chief Minister’s post across states should be solely reserved for Muslims.
Waqar asked the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress to clarify their views on this issue. The AIMIM leader opined that people come to Muslims for votes, but if Muslims ask for a Deputy CM post, they have a problem.
When probed whether AIMIM’s ally Bhagidhari Sankalp Morcha will agree to this demand, Waqar said that Om Prakash Rajbhar will certainly not disagree with his proposition.
Waqar stressed that sooner or later, the political parties will have to give the Deputy CM post to the Muslims.
Leaders of various opposition parties slam AIMIM leader for his remark
This statement by the AIMIM leader did not go down well with the oppositions parties. Congress leader Rashid Alvi condemned Waqar’s statement and lambasted the AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, saying he should know that such communal statements benefit the BJP. “If you are really a well-wisher of the Muslim community, please keep yourself away from UP politics,” said Alvi.
Meanwhile, AAP spokesperson Vaibhav Maheshwari slammed Waqar while accusing his party of fooling the Muslims in the country. “Just by talking about Deputy CM, if you are trying to become the representative of the entire community, then you are fooling them,” said Maheshwari.
For the uninitiated, the AIMIM party, for the upcoming UP Assembly polls, have announced that it would contest 100 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 2022, after it teamed up with Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha.
“Regarding Uttar Pradesh elections we have decided to field our candidates in 100 seats. The party has started the process of selecting the candidates and has also released the candidate/aspirants application forms,” AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted earlier on Sunday (May 27). In another tweet, the AIMIM chief said: “We are with OP Rajbhar Sahab ‘Bhaagidaari Sankalp Morcha’. We did not have any talks with any other party regarding elections or tie-up”.
While speculations of AIMIM and BSP coming together were doing rounds, BSP supremo Mayawati denied it.
The Enforcement Directorate today informed that fugitive businessman Nirav Modi’s sister has remitted an amount of approximately Rs 17.25 crore from a bank account in UK to the Indian government. In a statement issued today, ED informed that Purvi Modi, the sister of PNB bank scam accused Nirav Modi, remitted $2316889.03 from a bank account in London, which is said to be proceeds of the crime.
Purvi Modi said that the account was opened by Nirav Modi in her name without her knowledge, to park money earned from the scam. She informed that she came to know about the account on 24 June, the money in the account does not belong to her, and after that she remitted the amount in the account to the govt of India.
Purvi Modi (sister of Nirav Modi )remitted an amount of USD 2316889.03 from the UK Bank account to the bank account of Government of India, Directorate of Enforcement. Thus, ED was able to recover appx. Rs.17.25 Crore (USD 2316889.03) from the Proceeds of crime. pic.twitter.com/nVKjO0lxGO
In the PNB bank scam case, Purvi Modi and her husband Maiank Mehta were also named as accused. However, they were granted pardon from criminal proceedings in exchange of help in the PNB loan fraud case. The remittance of the amount was part of this cooperation in the investigation.
The Special Court in the case had approved the application of the couple for pardon in the case in January this year, and had allowed for ‘grant of tender of pardon’ on the conditions that they will make full and true disclosures, and had allowed to turn them as approvers in the case.
“On June 24, Purvi Modi intimated Enforcement Directorate that she had received the knowledge of one bank account in London, United Kingdom in her name, which was opened at the behest of her brother Nirav Modi and that the funds did not belong to her,” the ED said.
The ED said that with the cooperation of Purvi Modi, ED has been able to recover approximately Rs 17.25 crore from the proceeds of the crime by Nirav Modi.
Nirav Modi is currently lodged in an UK jail, after his lost his appeal against extradition to India to face trial in the PNB bank scam. In February this year, The UK’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court had ordered the extradition to India, and the same was approved by the British Home Minister in April. Last month, a UK high court rejected his appeal against the extradition order.
Nirav Modi is accused in two criminal cases. First is the USD 2 billion PNB scam slapped on the diamantaire by the CBI. Second, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that bank fraud. He also faces two additional charges of evidence tampering and intimidating witnesses, which were added to the CBI case.
He had fled India just before the PNB scam was brought to the light. He had left the country and fled just when PNB had reported a massive 11,300 crore loan fraud by Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.
Mehul Choksi, the second accused in the fraud case, had taken up the citizenship of Antigua and has been living there, before his dramatic arrest in Dominica.
Lucknow police lodged an FIR against the state Congress Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s personal secretary Sandip Singh, one Anees Akhtar, Mohammad Shoaib, Mohammad Tariq and 100-150 others on June 30, based on a complaint filed by the expelled Congress leader Konark Dixit. The ex-Congress leader Konark Dixit took to Twitter to share the copy of the FIR filed against the Congress leaders.
The FIR against the state Congress chief and his aides have been lodged in Hussainganj police station under IPC section 147, 323, 504, 506 and 153A, for rioting, causing hurt, intentional insult, criminal intimidation and promoting enmity.
In the FIR, the former spokesperson of the party alleged that the accused pelted stones at them on June 29, at around 3-4 pm, while they were protesting outside the state Congress headquarters in Nehru Bhawan, Hazratganj, Lucknow. In the FIR, Konark Dixit wrote that while they were talking to reporters outside the Congress headquarters, around 100-150 men led by Aneesh Akhtar, Mohammad Shoeb, Mohammad Tareeq approached them with sticks, iron rods and stones and threatened them with life. The mob allegedly told Dixit and his men that they were there to avenge the humiliation meted out at state Congress Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Sandip Singh and then AICC secretary in charge of UP- Zubair Khan.
Copy of FIR filed against UP Congress Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra personal secretary Sandip Singh and others (source: Tweet by Konark Dixit)
Copy of FIR filed against UP Congress Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra personal secretary Sandip Singh and others (source: Tweet by Konark Dixit)
Dixit further wrote in his complaint that the mob hurled abuses at them and thrashed them in full public view. They hurled casteist and communal slurs at the protestors and tried to provoke the members of NHUI, with an intention to cause riots and communal tension.
Concluding that the accused are a threat to his and the lives of his accomplice, the Congress party’s former spokesperson Konark Dixit urged the Lucknow police to take action against the Congress leaders.
Based on his complaint an FIR was filed and Lucknow police began investigating the case.
After the alleged attack, while speaking to India Today, Konark had said: “We were attacked, after which I dialled 112 for registering the complaint. I had no other option but to protest as these two are dismantling the Congress party, which we can’t bear at any cost,” he said.
Calling the Congress headquarters in the state as the office of ‘Vaampanthi’ (left-wing), Konark Dixit that informed he will file a complaint with the police over the alleged attack.
Konark Dixit, along with another Congress leader Gaurav Dixit, was expelled from the Congress party in April last year for six years, for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities. Both of them had launched a campaign against Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Kumar Lalla, accusing him of pursuing anti-upper caste policies.
UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Sandeep Singh booked in Priyanka Vadra’s bus farce
This is not the first time the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu and Priyanka’s private secretary Sandeep Singh have been marred by controversy. In fact, the duo was booked in May last year on charges of cheating and forgery. This was during the first nationwide lockdown, when the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had created a farce over the ‘list’ of buses sent to the Uttar Pradesh Government.
The Congress leaders had also been charged with running buses carrying migrants to Uttar Pradesh without obtaining necessary permission as per rules.
When Priyanka Gandhi’s drama over migrant buses fell apart like a house of cards
It may be recalled, how, when India was grappling with the first wave of Covid-19, Priyanka Gandhi, much in the lines with her party’s penchant to use every situation, however grim it might be, to score political mileage, had offered to provide 1,000 buses for migrant workers in UP.
On 16 May 2020, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had tweeted a letter wherein she had written to UP government seeking permission to ply 1,000 buses for migrant workers. Heeding Ms Vadra’s letter, the Uttar Pradesh government had accepted Congress General Secretary’s offer of providing 1,000 buses for migrant workers. The UP administration had written to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to submit the details of the buses along with drivers and co-drivers so that the process can be started. Accordingly, the Congress party had submitted a list of buses they intended to use with the UP government.
Soon, Ms Vadra’s lie laid exposed after media reports emerged saying that the ‘list of buses’ provided by Congress to ferry migrant workers in Uttar Pradesh was erroneous and included autos, trucks and two-wheelers. The Uttar Pradesh government had also officially acknowledged that the data they received from the Congress party indeed include details of such vehicles. Much to the embarrassment of the Congress party, the list of ‘buses’ sent by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi claiming to be that filled with migrant workers stranded at Delhi-UP border contains blacklisted numbers, cars and even three-wheeled auto-rickshaws.
On Tuesday (June 29, 2021), international news agency Reuters had published a report titled “After COVID surge, some signs of internal dissent against India’s Modi” suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing dissent and dissatisfaction within his own party BJP due to Covid-19 cases.
The report insinuated that even ordinary workers in the BJP were dissatisfied with the central government’s handling of Covid-19, and this could impact the party’s prospects in the coming state assembly elections as well as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The report heavily relied upon the testimony of Govind Pasi, a 45 years old BJP karyakarta (worker) from Balai village in Uttar Pradesh, who was paraded as someone unhappy with the party and the leadership. His statements were padded up with the statement of an ‘anonymous’ leader of the BJP to suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was facing internal dissent.
However, OpIndia has accessed video testimony of Govind Pasi, who has rubbished the report by Reuters, and has completely denied that he is angry with the Prime Minister over the Covid-19 situation.
“My loyalty towards the party is intact. I am loyal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath”, Pasi told a couple of volunteers who talked to him, and who later shared his testimony with OpIndia.
Pasi suggested that the Reuters journalists had promised him some sort of ‘benefits’ and ‘help’ in lieu of his statements, which were twisted to show him as a dissident against the Prime Minister. He then revealed that the journalists or representatives of Reuters were not receiving his phone calls since they published his interview.
“They exaggerated and twisted my words and I have no idea what they wrote after I spoke to them”, Pasi said. Speaking to volunteers, Pasi also said, “They told me that I will get something if I give my statements. I did not know how they will twist my words. I even called one Sahil but they never answered my call. I wanted to ask them to send the story on WhatsApp, but they never did”.
In the video, Pasi says that his anger was with the local people and not with the leadership of the BJP. In fact, he is still very much loyal to the party. He indicates that any insinuation to the contrary was a concoction by Reuters.
This is not really the first time that the media has created a controversy out of thin air to insinuate that BJP was not helping its own workers and leaders. Not too long ago, ThePrint had invented a story where the portal tried to undermine the Prime Minister. In that story, ThePrint had claimed that the PM or the BJP did not help an RSS worker despite tweets appealing for the same, only to be busted by Twitter users. The family of the deceased had also rejected the claims by ThePrint, saying that they were misused by the media.
The western media’s coverage of India’s resurgent COVID-19 outbreak was particularly stark, with the media outlets, including Reuters, falling over themselves to paint a gloomy picture of the devastation wreaked by the pandemic and associating it with burning funeral pyres.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the western media’s unhealthy fetish of linking India’s COVID-19 outbreak with funeral pyres. Several media organisations, be it The Washington Post, Reuters or BBC, posted pictures of funeral pyres from various places in India to highlight the severity of the pandemic. One of the Washington Post journalists even described a cremation ground’s vertical shot as “stunning”.
Where there are deaths, there are obviously going to be funeral pyres. When the pandemic took its devastating toll on the US, Italy, Brazil and other western countries, there were hardly any media organisations that symbolised the outbreak with the images of burial grounds.
However, this indignity of linking the COVID-19 outbreak with funeral pyres was reserved only for Indians, and it smacked off the west’s envy of India, which was remarkably successful in staving off the initial COVID-19 outbreak when the developed and richer countries of the world were finding it incredibly difficult to control it.
This current report by Reuters only seems to be an extension of the hatred the western media harbours for India and its ruling government. It is unsurprising that for Reuters, the very media that proudly displayed its glee over funeral pyres in India, manipulating and lying to innocent citizens to misquote them in a bid to tarnish the Prime Minister is all a part of the ‘honest journalism’ that they claim to practice.
A video has gone viral on the social media platforms claiming that in a rare operation, the Gujarat police nabbed a deadly criminal namely Siraj Mohammed Anwar, an accused in the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots, from an eatery in Bharuch, Gujarat.
Sharing the video of a covert operation that has gone viral on the internet, several social media users claimed that the Bharuch police had launched an operation to nab the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots’ accused Siraj Mohammed Anwar and his accomplice after they received a tip-off.
In the viral video, one can see how four cops in plainclothes arrive at a street-side restaurant in Bharuch and sit down at a table seen at the left end of the screen. A few seconds later, the police jump on the accused sitting across the table to capture them. More cops are also seen entering the frame, surrounding the persons to arrest them.
In a rare footage, a criminal namely Siraj Mohd Anwar who was involved in Delhi Riots got arrested by Bharuch Crime Branch of Gujarat Police after they received a tip off. pic.twitter.com/W3IUBcCUK0
Here is a screenshot of the video that has gone viral on social media platforms claiming that an accused in the Anti-Delhi riots was nabbed by the Gujarat police.
Even though the entire incident is a real and a recent one, however, it is not related to the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots as claimed by several social media users.
Fact check:
The image that has gone viral on the internet is not captured from Bharuch but at a local hotel in Amarpura village in Saraswati taluka of Patan district in Gujarat. The CCTV footage captured at the roadside restaurant on the outskirts of Patan district is not related to the arrest of anyone in the Delhi riots case.
According to the Times of India, the footage is connected to an operation launched by the Ahmedabad local crime branch officials to arrest a notorious criminal who wanted for several crimes. During the operation, the Gujarat police nabbed a criminal identified as Kishor Luhar and three others. The police captured him at an eatery in Amarpura village in Saraswati taluka of Patan district.
The accused had a pistol with him. The video of the filmy arrest went viral after the incident. In the video, it was seen that the cops were recovering a pistol from the accused and forcing him down to the floor.
When the accused is still lying face down, the cops checked the three others who were with him. The cops then kicked Luhar to make him stand up.
According to the CCTV footage, the arrest was made on June 27 evening. As per the statement released by the crime branch, the 29-year-old Luhar, a resident of Deesa town in Banaskantha, was involved in seven offences in Ahmedabad city, five in Banaskantha district, and two in Sirohi and Jhalor districts of Rajasthan.
Apart from the pistol, the police have found one magazine and five live cartridges from Luhar, who is wanted in a case registered under PASA (Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act) charges. Reportedly, the accused was wanted for 14 offences, including robbery and rape.
In addition to this operation, the Bharuch police also launched another operation to nab a man named Siraj Manzur Alam Ansari for carrying illegal arms. In a different operation, the Bharuch police arrested Siraz, and three other accused and seized arms, including two pistols, 19 cartridges of 7.65 mm from his possession.
The accused, Siraj Manzur Alam Ansari, is a native of Bihar living in the Bhimpura area in Amod. Bharuch police said that the accused was arrested from Darol chokdi highway in Bharuch. Siraj has been booked under the Arms Act.
The two operations carried out by Gujarat police are separate incidents and nowhere it is related to the Delhi riots case.
