The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is drawing flak over a video wherein one of its councillors was seen jabbing a woman with the COVID-19 vaccine. At a vaccination camp in Asansol, about 210 km from state capital Kolkata, TMC councillor Tabassum Ara took over the role of the nurse and injected a woman sitting on a chair with a dose of vaccine.
THREAD: #TMC’s member of the administrative body of Asansol Civic Administration, Tabassum Ara vaccinating a person in the municipality camp in the presence of health workers. pic.twitter.com/FAg6bCoVML
The video instantly went viral, with many questioning the credentials of the TMC councillor for injecting he woman with vaccine herself instead of allowing the qualified nurses to do the same.
BJP mounts an attack against Mamata Banerjee-led govt, says it has lost control over its administrators
BJP leader Babul Supriyo shared the video of the TMC councillor administering the shot and asked if Mamata Banerjee would let such councillors go unpunished.
“Seems like TMC govt has no control over its administrators. TMC’s Tabassum Ara, a member of the administrative body of AMC, has vaccinated people herself and risked hundreds of lives… Will her political colour shield her from stern punishment?” Supriyo tweeted.
Seems like TMC govt has no control over its administrators.TMC’s Tabassum Ara, a member of the administrative body of AMC, has vaccinated people herself and risked hundreds of lives…Will her political colour shield her from stern punishment?@MamataOfficialpic.twitter.com/EaF3EsK9Bw
TMC Councillor claims she didn’t inject the vaccine, video shows otherwise
While the BJP has trained its guns against the Mamata Banerjee-led party, the TMC councillor at the centre of the controversy has vacillated between claiming she had done a nursing course in school to outrightly denying that she had administered a shot.
Tabassum Ara says she was only holding the injection & has done a nursing course in school. Adds, it’s an awareness drive she was holding so that more get vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/4isVF3pX3k
Tabassum Ara claimed that she was only holding the syringe, and didn’t inject it. “I did not give any vaccine. I was only holding the syringe in my hand. There are a lot of people who are hesitant of taking the shots,” Ara said. “While claims are being made that I administered the dose, I was just trying to spread awareness by holding the syringe,” she added.
Screenshot from the video
However, the video clearly shows that she had inserted the needle on the arm of the woman, and injected the vaccine. In the video, the on-duty nurse was seen preparing the syringes, filling them with doses, while the TMC leader injected the same to the beneficiaries.
She also claimed that she had done a nursing course in school, and thus, she is not unqualified for injecting people.
On Saturday (July 3), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at 6 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in connection to the high profile conversion racket run by Maulana Mohammad Umar Gautam.
The agency has said that it recovered several ‘incriminating documents’ during the raid. It has revealed that the racket of mass conversions was carried on a large-scale scale across the country by Mohammed Umar Gautam and his organisations. The accused had also received crores of foreign funds to further the forced conversions.
ED has conducted search at 6 premises located in Delhi and UP in a forced religious conversion case of Mohd. Umar Gautam, his associate Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi and others. pic.twitter.com/M4rvj9I1En
In a statement, the central agency informed, “ED has conducted searches at 6 premises located in Delhi and UP under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The Enforcement Directorate(ED) initiated Money Laundering investigation on the basis of FIR registered by ATS, UP on forced religious conversion under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. In the said FIR, Mohd. Umar Gautam, his associate Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi, and others were alleged for alluring people for conversion to Islam religion against financial support.”
It further added, “In this connection, today ED conducted searches at 6 premises in Delhi (3) and UP (3). The premises searched include the office of Islamic Dawah Centre (IDC), house of main accused Mohd. Umar Gautam and his associate Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi, all located at Jamia Nagar in Delhi. The offices of Al Hassan Education and Welfare Foundation and Guidance Education and Welfare Society located at Lucknow and Sant Kabir Nagar respectively, have also been searched.
The Background of the UP forced conversion racket
On June 21, it was reported that the Uttar Pradesh ATS had arrested two men identified as Umar Gautam and Mufti Qazi Jehangir for their involvement in illegal religious conversions. According to police, women, and physically challenged children were their primary targets. The duo was arrested from the Jamia Nagar area in Delhi. Prashant Kumar, Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order), said that the arrested were running a conversion racket that was being funded by Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
He added, “The accused were using enticement, provocation, and deceit to convert people apart from creating distrust and promoting enmity among different communities.” Umar Gautam who is a convert himself revealed that they converted around 250-300 people every year. During the interrogation, Umar also informed that he targeted people from the economically weaker section of the society including women, children, and the disabled. Gautam confessed to having converted around 1,500 children at school for the deaf and mute in Noida after the school management was enticed with promises of employment and money.
A day later on June 22, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had instructed the agencies to invoke National Security Act (NSA) against the accused. He had also instructed to book the accused under Gangster Act. The State government had directed the authorities to start the process of confiscating the properties of those who were accused of the conversion racket. Earlier on June 2, sevadaars of Dasna Mandir, Ghaziabad, caught two men identified as Vipul Vijayvargi and Kashif on suspicion of carrying out the assassination attempt on Mahant Yati Narsinghanand.
One resident of Sector 12 in Vijaynagar, Salimmuddin, was identified as the Guru of Vipul Vijayvargi. The probe by the Uttar Pradesh ATS into the conversion racket revealed that Salimuddin had ties with accused Maulana Umar Gautam. Following the revelation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad issued a press release demanding the enactment of central law to stop illegal conversions. Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi and Mohammad Umar Gautam and their organisation were booked under Sections 420, 120 B, 153A, 153B, 295, and 511 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3/5 the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance-2020.
The duo was sent to 7-day judicial custody remand on June 23. Two old videos of Umar Gautam had also surfaced before the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), in which he openly boasted about converting several people to Islam. Several Islamists took to Twitter on June 24 to defend the accused cleric and claim that proselytisation is legal under Article 25 (Right to Religion) of the Indian Constitution.
Meanwhile, several families of the victims came forward to narrate how they fell prey to the mass religious conversion racket. The father of a victim named Manu Yadav had alleged that he received a threat call on his son’s mobile number from Pakistan asking him not to cause hindrance in the conversion of his son. A lady teacher named Kalpana Singh from Nurul Huda English Medium in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh had revealed how Umar Gautam had visited the school she taught in with 20-25 other Maulanas in the year 2020, to brainwash them to adopt Islam.
She claimed that the clerics lured students and the staff for conversion by promising financial support. Umar Gautam and his accomplice assured them that they would pull them out of poverty if they converted to Islam. The female teacher also disclosed how Umar Gautam pressurised the school management to teach young students Urdu and Arabic in class.
On June 25, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights took cognisance of the Opindia report on Kalpna Singh. It wrote to the District Magistrate (DM) and the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Fatehpur district, saying that the statutory body had taken suo motu notice of matter under Section 13(1)(j) in the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. Meanwhile, the ATS also found damming evidence about the penetration oof the conversion racket in a whopping 24 States.
A 23-year-old Moroccan-Italian female citizen has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison and fined $6,000 by a Moroccon court for “insulting Quran and Islam” on Facebook.
According to reports, the young woman was arrested earlier this month at the Moroccan capital Rabat for publishing a satirical version of the Quran on her Facebook account in 2019. She was arrested at the airport when she arrived from France nearly two years after she had posted an alleged blasphemous content.
The father of the lady said his daughter “did not know” she was the target of an arrest warrant for her Facebook posts. The man also defended his daughter by expressing that she “is not fluent in Arabic” and was unaware of the nature of the content she shared on social media.
The lady reportedly distorted Surat Al Kawthar, one of the short verses in the Holy Quran, changing its name to something that was allegedly provocative.
After visiting his daughter in prison, the woman’s father said her daughter is heartbroken after a Moroccon judge sentenced her for alleged blasphemy. He also stated that the court’s sentence “ruined” his daughter’s future.
“I visited her today, she is completely broken — they have ruined her future,” he lamented, saying that they intend to appeal.
Reportedly, the case was filed against this lady by an Islamic association in Marrakech, which formally submitted a complaint to Moroccan legal authorities before the girl’s return to Morocco.
According to the Moroccan Penal Code 267(5), anyone “who offends the Islamic religion or the monarchy, or incites territorial integrity” is liable to face stiff fines and prison time. Moroccan law enforcement has arrested several people over the past year for alleged insults to Islam.
An Army man was lynched to death at a Gurudwara in Gurdaspur, Punjab. Deepak Singh was on his way home from Arunachal Pradesh, where he was posted. Now, a campaign has been launched to defend the accused in the murder of Singh.
Deep Sidhu, a Khalistan sympathiser and accused in the Republic Day Riots, is leading the whitewashing effort. Deep Sidhu implied that the accused Daljit Singh is being falsely implicated by the Police in the matter. He calls Singh a sinner and claims that he died in the custody of the police.
As per reports, the Police somehow managed to rescue the deceased from the mob and took him to the hospital where he died. However, Sidhu appears to invert the issue on its head. He also urges Sikh organisations to take cognizance of the matter.
Source: Facebook
Individuals are also accusing Deepak Singh of committing blasphemy in order to defend the accused. One of them says that when such blasphemers are handed over to the police, then others ask why was he handed over, why was he not punished and killed but now that a ‘blasphemer’ had been beaten up and he died, a case has been filed against the (Gurudwara) committee.
He says that Daljit Singh was not present when it happened but even if he were, it was his duty to stand with the committee. He says that Deepak came to commit blasphemy and he did commit blasphemy and he goes to the extent of saying that if the person died after being beaten due to blasphemy, then it was justice.
The individual also claims that the mother of the accused has been picked up by the Police. He asks whether mothers and sisters should be taken to the police station if blasphemers are killed. Other posts show that meetings are being organised in order to defend the accused.
Source: Facebook
Another post calls Deepak Singh a ‘sinner’ and claims that Daljit Singh is being falsely implicated in the matter. The post calls for Sikhs to support the accused as well.
Source: Facebook
The mob lynching of Army man Deepak Singh
Deepak Singh was lynched to death by a mob at a Gurudwara in Gurdaspur, Punjab on suspicion of theft in the intervening night between the 1st and 2nd of July. According to reports, the incident occurred at the Gurudwara at Tibri Road in Gurdaspur and the mob was led by the manager of the Guruduwara.
Deepak Singh mistakenly got off at the Kahnuwan Chowk. According to reports, his father said that Deepak called him late at night and told him that he was beaten on the suspicion of theft. At this time, the call was cut off and subsequently, his phone was switched off. He had gone to the Gurudwara at around 11 pm in the night to drink water.
Reportedly, the Police somehow managed to rescue Deepak from the situation and admitted him to a hospital. However, he passed away there. According to the father, his son was murdered by Gurjeet Singh and Dalbir Singh among others.
The election for the Zila Panchayat Presidents posts in 53 districts of Uttar Pradesh concluded at 3 pm Saturday (July 3) and the counting of votes began right after that. The elections were scheduled to be held in 75 districts but since chairpersons of 22 Zila panchayats of the state were declared elected unopposed on Tuesday, polls were conducted in the remaining districts on Saturday. According to reports, the Bhartiya Janta Party has swept the polls winning 65 out of the total 75 seats, while Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party bagged only 6 seats.
Of the 22 seats where there were no contests, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in 21, while the Samajwadi Party grabbed one seat in Etawah. And now, in the remaining seats too, BJP grabbed 44 seats making it the clear winner of the Zila Panchayat Presidents poll.
Interestingly, the Muzaffarnagar seat, which is the hometown of Rakesh Tikait- the BKU leader who has masterminded the agitation against the BJP government’s three farm laws in order to kickstart his fancied political career, has also been bagged by BJP. The total members here are 43, out of which 22 were needed to win and according to reports, BJP’s Veerpal Nirwal, contesting against Samajwadi Party’s (SP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal’s (RLD) joint candidate Satyendra Balyan, got 30 votes in his favour while the latter managed to bag only 4. Moreover, districts like Hathras and Badaun have also been bagged by BJP.
Incidentally, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) joint candidate Satyendra Balyan belongs to the same Baliyan Khap (clan) headed by Rakesh Tikait’s elder brother Naresh Tikait.
Taking to Twitter, the party congratulated all the candidates for the historic win.
The panchayat polls for district panchayat chiefs are not held on a party basis but candidates enjoy the tacit support of various parties. Zila panchayat chairpersons are elected from among the elected members of Zila panchayats of various districts.
Prior to UP Zila Panchayat Presidents election, video of ex-SP MP touching feet of voters to seek votes for his nephew goes viral
Meanwhile, UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi shared a video today where former Samajwadi Party MP from Chandauli Ramkishun Yadav can be seen falling at the feet of voters (elected members of zila panchayat) to allegedly seek votes for his nephew.
पिछले चुनाव में “सर पर पैर” रख देने वाले इस चुनाव में “पैरों पर सर” रखकर गिड़गिड़ा रहे हैं।
चन्दौली में जिला पंचायत अध्यक्ष के चुनाव के ठीक पहले शुक्रवार की रात चन्दौली के @samajwadiparty से पूर्व सांसद रामकिशुन यादव जिला पंचायत सदस्यों के आगे पैरों में गिरते दिख रहे हैं pic.twitter.com/GGyvwv772S
Taking a dig at the ex-SP MP, Tripathi Tweeted in Hindi: “पिछले चुनाव में “सर पर पैर” रख देने वाले इस चुनाव में “पैरों पर सर” रखकर गिड़गिड़ा रहे हैं। चन्दौली में जिला पंचायत अध्यक्ष के चुनाव के ठीक पहले शुक्रवार की रात चन्दौली के @samajwadiparty से पूर्व सांसद रामकिशुन यादव जिला पंचायत सदस्यों के आगे पैरों में गिरते दिख रहे हैं”, roughly translated as: “Those (SP) who fled in the last elections (2017 and 2019) were seen falling at the feet of voters and begging for votes. This took place on Friday night.”
After the video went viral, SP MLC Ashutosh Sinha said in Yadav’s defence that he only touched the feet of independent voters.
“Tej Narayan Yadav is the nephew of Ramkishun Yadav. Tej Narayan is supported by the SP for the post of zila panchayat chairperson,” he was quoted by PTI as saying.
The results of the UP Zila panchayat elections is especially significant since it is being considered to be a barometer to check public mood before the crucial upcoming Assembly polls, slated to be held in month of February to March 2022.
On Saturday (July 3), a Delhi court extended the interim protection of gangster-turned-activist Lakha Sidhana in connection to his role in the violence in Delhi on Republic Day (January 26) this year.
While hearing the case, Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau said, “We do not want Jail Bharo Andolan to start. These are political issues. If they (protesters) wanted to highlight the issue, are they wrong? I will not intervene in things where fundamental rights are involved.” As such, the Court extended the accused’s interim protection from July 3 to July 20. He had directed the police to not arrest the accused and told Sidhana to join the probe against him.
During the hearing, when the prosecution said that the accused is a former gangster, advocate Jasdeep S Dhillon, one of the advocates of Sidhana, accepted that he was a gangster, but added that he has turned an activist now. “He is an activist who was a gangster. He is a farmer,” the lawyer said.
Adv. Dhillon for Sidhana: He is an activist who was a gangster. He is a farmer. His village is in Bhatinda.
Court: Why did he come to Delhi to do all these things. How old is he?
The Gangster’s lawyer also claimed that Lakha was not named in any case. However, the prosecution denied that saying that he is named in as many as 20 cases, and the FIRs against him relates to murder, robbery etc. The public prosecutor Pankaj Bhatia said that he was a gangster and is nowhere related to farming. He added that the gangster wants to get entry into politics. Bhatia said that Lakha had reached Red Fort and he had broken the barricades, which is seen in videos.
However, the court questioned the need of custodial interrogation in the case, and said that it will ask the accused to cooperate in the probe. “There is no purpose of giving interrogation when there is nothing,” the court added.
According to public prosecutor Pankaj Bhatia, Sidhana was one of the main conspirators of the Red Fort violence and desecration of the Indian tricolour. The accused had then filed an application for anticipatory bail in the Tis Hazari Court in Delhi. He was represented by advocates Jasdeep Dhillon and Jaspreet Singh Rai. Sidhana claimed that he had no role in the violence. The police have registered 20 cases against the accused on charges of assault on police, murder, and robbery. The Tis Hazari Court had granted him interim protection from arrest until July 3.
Earlier, an FIR was lodged by the Delhi Police Crime Branch (Central Delhi) for violence in Red Fort under Indian Penal Code Sections 147, 148, 149, 186, 152, 353, 332, 307, 308, 395, 397, 427, and 188. Besides, charges were also framed under the Arms Act (Sections 25, 27, 54, and 59) 1959 and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (Section 3),1984. The police had awarded ₹1 lac as reward for sharing details about the accused’s whereabouts.
Red Fort Violence and Desecration of the Indian flag
Banned terrorist organization SFJ, had announced that they would give 250,000 USD (roughly 1.8 crore Rs) to anyone who hoisted the Khalistani flag on Red Fort or India Gate. A Sikh flag was hoisted on the Red Fort on January 26, 2021, by the so-called protesting farmers during the tractor rally. In the visuals of the incident that emerged later, it was seen that a man was climbing on the pole, there were several flags held by gathering protestors.
One of the protestors had handed over an Indian Tricolour to the climber, but the climber instantly threw it away. Eventually, the protestors passed on a Sikh flag to the man and he took it to place on top of the flag pole. There were two flags hoisted on the pole, one was the Sikh one, and the second one was the Kisan Union one. Around 200 artists of the Republic Day parade were stranded since 12:00 PM near Red Fort. They were rescued by Delhi Police late evening.
On Saturday, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, who have been together for 15 years, announced their separation setting the social media abuzz. The couple issued a joint statement on Saturday revealing that they had been planning the separation for a long time, and while they would go their separate ways, they would continue to be co-parent their son, Azad.
As Aamir Khan announced his separation, social media began to speculate about the reasons for his divorce with Kiran Rao. Netizens highlighted how Aamir Khan had a difficult love life, which was mired with controversies, especially with regards to his extra-marital affairs.
Here is a look at Aamir Khan’s controversial personal that involves two marriages and several other ‘rumoured’ affairs:
Aamir Khan’s tough relationship with Reena Dutta
Reena Dutta is the first wife of Aamir Khan. Reena Dutta, who was Khan’s neighbour, in fact, had rejected Aamir Khan’s proposal at first. However, love blossomed between the two, and the couple began their relationship in the early 80s. They both have appeared together in a song of Aamir Khan’s movie ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’.
Aamir Khan with his former wife Reena Dutta/ Image Source: Masala
On April 18, 1986, the couple got married, and together they have two kids also – Junaid and Ira. But their marriage did not last and they divorced with mutual consent. In December 2002, the Bollywood star filed for divorce, and Reena took custody of both children.
Aamir had spoken about his complicated marriage with Reena on a TV show and had revealed that their divorce was “traumatic” for both him and Reena.
Aamir Khan’s rumoured affair with Pooja Bhatt
Amidst his troubled marriage with Reena Dutta, Aamir Khan was also rumoured to have been in a short-lived affair with actress Pooja Bhatt. The alleged secret affair between the two had bloomed when they worked together for the movie ‘Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahi’.
However, both actors never confirmed the relationship. Still, there were rumours that they both were in the relationship despite Aamir Khan’s marriage to Reena Dutta. However, later on, both reportedly parted ways due to some differences.
Did Aamir Khan father a child with Jessica Hines?
Aamir Khan was reportedly involved with a British journalist named Jessica Hines.
It is speculated that Aamir and Jessica fell in love with each other on the sets of ‘Ghulam’. Hines was in India to work on an autobiography on megastar Amitabh Bachchan titled “The Big B: Bollywood, Bachchan and Me”. Aamir Khan came in contact with Hines at an event and began dating each other.
Jessica Hines with his son Jaan (R)/ Image Source: FPJ
They were reportedly in a live-in relationship during the making of the film. If reports are to believed, Jessica Hines got pregnant with Aamir’s child during their relationship.
As Aamir wanted Hines to either abort the child or end their relationship, the British journalist chose the latter. Hines reportedly welcomed a baby boy in 2003, whom she named Jaan.
Rumoured marriage with Preity Zinta:
Back in 2001, after the release of the Aamir Khan-starrer movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai‘, there was gossip surrounding Aamir Khan’s newfound love for co-star Preity Zinta. Both the actors, who co-incidentally were couples on screen, had reportedly begun dating each other as Aamir Khan’s marriage had almost reached the stages of separation.
After Aamir Khan formally divorced Reena Dutta, it is said Aamir Khan was almost at the cusp of marrying Preity Zinta. There are rumours in Bollywood circles that Preity Zinta is the reason behind Aamir Khan’s separation from Dutta. There were reports that the duo had secretly gotten married and hid it from the public.
Image Source: Hungama
Years later, Preity had clarified about the ‘secret wedding’, claiming, “Aamir is a very dear friend. We had a great working relationship in Dil Chahta Hai. When things were not going properly in his personal life, I was the nearest candidate because the last film he did was with me. So, suddenly, I became Mrs Aamir Khan. I had to go around saying, ‘Not married!'” she had said.
Amidst rumours, Aamir Khan marries Kiran Rao
Three years later, on 28 December 2005, Aamir Khan married Kiran Rao, who had worked as assistant director on the sets of Khan’s movie Lagaan. They fell in love during the shooting and got married. This was Aamir Khan’s second marriage.
Six years after their marriage, on 5 December 2011, the couple announced the birth of their son, Azad Rao Khan, through a surrogate mother.
Aamir Khan with his former wife Kiran Rao/ Image Source: News18
Aamir Khan had recalled the time he met Kiran on the sets of Lagaan, Aamir had said she was one of the assistant directors, but at that time, they did not have any serious relationship. After his separation from Reena Dutta, Aamir Khan met Kiran again, who realised that talking to Kiran made him happy.
Aamir Khan rumoured to be dating Fatima Shaikh, the actress who played his daughter role in the movie Dangal
In 2016, the rumours of Aamir Khan dating his Dangal co-star Fatima Sana Shaikh’s started doing the rounds. The duo was spotted together several times, walking hand in hand. Incidentally, Fathima Shaikh, who had adorned the role of his daughter in the sports drama ‘Dangal‘, was seen roaming around with Aamir.
Aamir Khan and Fatima were spotted together at several parties and events, sparking rumours that there is definitely something brewing between the two. These rumours got intensified when Aamir Khan pitched Fatima’s name to Aditya Chopra to cast her in another big-budget movie ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ starringAmitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif.
Aamir Khan and Fatima Sana Shaikh/ Image Source: IBT
According to Bollywood insiders, Aamir’s special attention to Fatima’s and over-enthusiasm towards the actress had even irked Katrina Kaif, creating a cold war between Katrina and Fatima on the sets. The affair gossip was so strong that it had to reach Aamir’s wife, Kiran Rao.
If reports are to be believed, Kiran Rao was furious after being informed about the rumoured affair between Aamir Khan and Fathima Sana Sheikh. There are also rumours that Fatima was the one who created a wedge between Aamir and his wife, Kiran Rao.
Following Aamir Khan’s divorce from Kiran Rao, social media users are speculating that Aamir Khan may formally speak about his alleged relationship with the Dangal actress.
As per reports, yet another minor Hindu girl became the victim of Grooming Jihad in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. A man identified as Qasim Qureshi reportedly lured a 16-year-old girl by identifying himself as Vicky Yadav. He brainwashed thereafter converted and married the minor victim, who is now pregnant.
Media reports suggest that the victim went missing on June 15. When she did not return for 15-days, her father approached BJP leader Rahul Chauhan, a resident of Khandari. Rahul Chauhan, in turn, apprised BJP MLA Purushottam Khandelwal about the incident. Khandelwal, then helped the father of the victim to lodge a complaint in Agra’s Hari Parwat police station, accusing Qasim of abduction, forced conversion and rape of his minor daughter. Based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s father, police registered an FIR under the POCSO and Uttar Pradesh’s stringent anti-conversion law against Qasim and his family members.
Hindi Daily Dainik Bhaskar reports that Qasim Qureshi, with the help of his sister Shabnam Qureshi, introduced herself as Sonam to the teenager’s family befriended the victim. The brother-sister duo later took the victim with them on June 15. Thereafter she was converted and married to Qasim Quresh. The accused also made a false Aadhar card in the name of the victim to portray her as an adult.
Family of the victim alleged accused and his family brainwashed their minor daughter
The father of the teenage girl told the police that the accused worked in the same factory in Agra’s Hariparwat area as him. For this reason, he frequented his house along with his sister. The accused had introduced himself as Vicky Yadav and his sister as Sonam to the girl’s family. The victim’s father alleged that Vicky Yadav befriended his daughter and convinced her to go with him on June 15. When the victim returned on July 1, she told her family that she was converted and married to Qasim. It was found that her name had been changed. She also confirmed that she was pregnant.
The relatives of the teenager told the police that the accused and his family members have brainwashed the victim to such an extent that she is hellbent on going back to Qasim Qureshi. She is not ready to listen to anyone. But, since she is a minor, her will is not admissible in the court of law.
The infuriated father then filed a complaint against Qasim Qureshi, his father Raisuddin, sister Sonam aka Shabnam Qureshi, mother Rukhsar and brothers Shakeel and Kamil for conspiring against his daughter and aiding the accused in the criminal act.
Agra police books Qasim Qureshi under the POCSO Act and the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act
SP City Rohan Pramod said that on the basis of the complaint, a case has been registered under the POCSO Act and the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act. Family members of the accused youth Qasim Qureshi, namely his father Raisuddin, sister Sonam Qureshi, Mother Rukhsar and brothers Shakeel and Kamil have been taken into custody for criminal conspiracy and the search is on for the accused youth.
The victim has been sent for medical after which her statement will be recorded, confirmed SP City Rohan Pramod.
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma, who is accused of supplying confidential and sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers in exchange for remuneration. A statement issued by ED said that Sharma was arrested on July 1 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Sharma was present before a court, and he was sent to ED custody for 7 days.
ED has arrested Rajeev Sharma, a freelance journalist under PMLA on the charges of supplying confidential and sensitive information to Chinese Intelligence officers, in exchange for remuneration pic.twitter.com/qauHIsVIv2
Rajeev Sharma was earlier arrested by Delhi police in September last year in connection with a case under the Official Secrets Act after classified defence documents were found with him. The ED statement said that it had initiated an investigation on the basis of the FIR and charge sheet filed by Delhi Police against Rajeev Sharma under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Rajeev Sharma had supplied confidential and sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers, in exchange for remuneration, thereby compromising the security and national interests of India. The probe had found that cash for payments to Sharma and other unknown persons was being generated through hawala means by Mahipalpur based shell companies that were run by Chinese nationals namely Zhang Cheng alias Suraj, Zhang Lixia alias Usha and Quing Shi along with a Nepali national Sher Singh alias Raj Bohara.
ED states that apart from cash, huge transactions were made with various Chinese companies and some other trading companies in India which are being examined. These Chinese companies were acting as a conduit for the Chinese Intelligence agencies to provide remuneration for persons like Rajeev Sharma indulged in espionage on behalf of China. ED also stated that Rajeev Sharma had also received money through benami bank accounts.
Rajeev was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police on 14 September 2020. The freelance journalist had earlier worked with United News of India, The Tribune, Free Press Journal, Saakaal and others as a journalist. As a journalist, Rajeev Sharma was covering defence and foreign affairs for around two decades. He had written several columns for Chinese newspaper Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China for the last several years. He had also written columns with left-wing publications such as The Quint, DailyO etc.
After the arrest, Rajeev Sharma was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in December last year. He was given bail as the charge sheet was not filed withing 60 days.
Pushkar Singh Dhami has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Uttrakhand after incumbent CM Tirath Singh Rawat resigned from the post earlier today.
According to the reports, the Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs proposed Pushkar Singh Dhami’s name in the legislature party meeting held in Dehradun on Saturday.
Dhami, who is considered close to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, was declared as the next CM of the state today after the 57 Uttarakhand BJP MLAs met at the party headquarters in the capital Dehradun.
The 45-year-old, a two-time MLA, represents the Khatima constituency. Earlier, he was an Officer on Special Duty to former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari. It is reported that Dhami will take the oath on Saturday itself.
The Uttarakhand BJP legislature party met on Saturday afternoon to elect its new leader, a day after Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as chief minister after a less than four-month stint.
Tirath Singh Rawat resigns as Uttarakhand CM amidst constitutional crisis
In a surprise move on Friday night, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat submitted his resignation to state governor Baby Rani Maurya nearly four months after assuming the top post in the Himalayan state.
Earlier, Tirath Singh Rawat had met BJP party leadership amidst the speculations over leadership change in Uttarakhand. His resignation comes amidst a lack of clarity over the Election Commission announcing by-elections in Haldwani and Gangotra – the two vacant seats.
Tirath Singh Rawat, a BJP MP, needs to be elected as an MLA in the next two months. However, observers in the BJP feel that EC may not order a by-poll for the vacant seats in Uttarakhand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and also the term of Uttarakhand Assembly is scheduled to come to an end in March, which is just nine months away.
To avoid the constitutional crisis, Tirath Singh Rawat has stepped down from his post as Chief Minister. Interestingly, the names of senior BJP leaders – Satpal Maharaj, Banshidar Bhagat, Harak Singh Rawat and Dhan Singh Rawat were doing the rounds as probable replacements for Rawat. However, the election of Pushkar Singh Dhami has surprised the political watchers in the state.
Uttarakhand is due for its next Assembly election in less than a year.
