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As Yogi Sarkar lodges FIR against Twitter, 8 others, Alt News co-founder Zubair deletes fake hate crime video: Details

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As Yogi Sarkar lodges FIR against Twitter, 8 others, Alt News co-founder Zubair deletes fake hate crime video: Details

Note: Later reports suggests the main accused’s name is Parvez Gujjar and not Parvesh Gujjar.

The Uttar Pradesh Government has initiated action against Twitter for failing to take down tweets that spread misinformation about a crime in the state, Times Now has reported. An FIR has been lodged against the social media platform in connection with the same.

In the incident, a Muslim man was beaten up by a few individuals, however, motivated actors gave a communal colour to the crime by saying that he was beaten for refusing to chant Jai Shri Ram. The case against Twitter was registered for failing to take any action against the manipulated media. According to Times Now, a case was registered against 8 others as well.

Since the news broke out, Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair announced that he had deleted the videos he had posted related to the matter.

The Ghaziabad Police, after investigating the matter, has debunked the fictional narrative spread with the intent to spark communal tensions. The Ghaziabad Police had said that the ‘victim’ Abdul Samad Saifi was allegedly beaten up by people known to him after an occult amulet he had prepared for one of them did not work as per them. Accused Parvesh Gujjar, Adil and Kallu were arrested on Monday while efforts were on to nab Arif and Poli.

The religion of some of the accused were enough to prove that it was not a communal crime as ‘liberals’ and Islamist apologists on social media had alleged. However, hours after the crime ws debunked, Rahul Gandhi continued to peddle the fictional narrative.

Apart from Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who initially peddled the fake hate crime narrative, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi too jumped into the issue to spread fake news. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed him for the same and told him to stop his attempts to humiliate and slander the people of the state.

Yogi Adityanath’s media advisor Mrityunjay Kumar also demanded strict action against Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha for spreading fake news.

He said that they have on purpose spread fake news several times and strict action should be taken against them.

Note: The article has been updated with Kumar’s tweet.

Yogi Adityanath slams Rahul Gandhi for spreading fake news, tells him to stop defaming UP citizens: Here’s what he said

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath slams Rahul Gandhi for spreading fake news, tells him to stop defaming UP citizens: Here’s what he said

Note: Later reports suggests the main accused’s name is Parvez Gujjar and not Parvesh Gujjar.

Yogi Adityanath has slammed former Congress president Rahul Gandhi for spreading fake news and attempting to slander the Hindu community over a recent incidence of crime in Uttar Pradesh. ‘Liberals’ and Islamist apologists were caught communalising a random crime in order to malign the slogan of ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh told Rahul Gandhi, “The first lesson of Lord Shri Ram is – “Speak the truth” which you have never done in life.” He proceeded to add, “You should be ashamed that even after the police revealed the truth, you are spreading poison in society. You are shaming humanity in your greed of power. Stop humiliating and defaming the people of Uttar Pradesh.”

Yogi Adityanath vs Rahul Gandhi
Source: Twitter

The admonishment by Yogi Adityanath came after the Wayanad MP took to Twitter to share a screenshot of a news clipping to claim that an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad was beaten up for refusing to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The claim, which was first shared by pro-Congress ‘fact-checker’ Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair was debunked by Ghaziabad Police late last night.

The Ghaziabad Police had said that the ‘victim’ Abdul Samad Saifi was allegedly beaten up by people known to him after an occult amulet he had prepared for one of them did not work as per them. Accused Parvesh Gujjar, Adil and Kallu were arrested on Monday while efforts were on to nab Arif and Poli.

The religion of some of the accused were enough to prove that it was not a communal crime as ‘liberals’ and Islamist apologists on social media had alleged. However, hours after the crime ws debunked, Rahul Gandhi continued to peddle the fictional narrative.

Salman Khan’s ‘Radhe – Your Most Wanted Bhai’ earns Rs 17,792 over three days from two theatres in Maharashtra: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Salman Khan’s ‘Radhe – Your Most Wanted Bhai’ earns Rs 17,792 over three days from two theatres in Maharashtra: Details

Salman Khan starrer ‘Radhe—Your Most Wanted Bhai‘ has managed to collect Rs 17,792 from two theatres in Maharashtra over the weekend. About 216 tickets for the movie were sold over the weekend.

With the coronavirus restrictions easing up in Maharashtra, theatres operating in districts and cities that fall under Level 1—the places where the COVID-19 outbreak is firmly under control—have been allowed to operate. Radhe—Your Most Wanted Bhai, which was released on Eid this year, that is, on 13 May 2021, was consumed in the country on the pay-per-view platform, ZeePlex, since cinema theatres were closed due to the restrictions.

While there are many districts and cities that fall under Level 1, many theatres in this region have decided not to operate due to lack of content. But two cinema theatres blew away the lockdown cobwebs and took the initiative of screening Salman Khan’s most recent film Radhe-Your Most Wanted Bhai from Friday, June 11 onwards. These two theatres are Enjoy Drive-in cinema at Malegaon and Khinvasara Cineplex (formerly Apsara Cinema) in Aurangabad. The Enjoy Drive-in cinema played Radhe – Your Most Wanted Bhai twice in the day, at 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, while the Khinvasara Cineplex showed the movie four times in a day, at 12 noon, 3:00 pm, 6:15 pm and 9:30 pm.

In an exclusive report published by Bollywood Hungama on Saturday last week, 62 people came to watch Salman Khan starrer movie for the first show. However, the 9:30 pm show was cancelled because of lack of audience. At Khinvasara Cineplex, a total of 22 tickets were sold across 4 shows. According to a trade expert, the film collected Rs 6000 approximately on June 11.

On Saturday, the response to Enjoy Drive-in cinema was poor as compared to Friday as only 16 tickets were sold. At Khinvasara, the occupancy of shows nearly doubled, but it was nevertheless poor as the theatre reported a sale of paltry 41 tickets. On Sunday, 39 tickets were sold at Enjoy Drive-in while Khinvasara Cineplex saw 36 viewers across four shows. Trade experts claim Radhe earned Rs 5,445 and Rs 6,229 on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Salman Khan’s action flick was also released in theatres in Tripura, where it collected Rs 63,248 so far. The total collections of the film from Tripura and Maharashtra cinemas now stand at Rs. 81,040.

Meanwhile, owing to low turnout, Khinvasara Cineplex has decided to play only 2 shows of the movie instead of 4, at 3 pm and 6:15 pm. It remains to be seen if other theatres join the bandwagon to screen movies or wait for the new releases to start their operations.

Apparently, it was also reported that the movie was pirated and available online hours after its release on the OTT platform. Khan’s latest release had also failed to dazzle the viewers and film critics alike. The Self-styled film critic Kamaal R Khan uploaded a particularly nasty video of his review of Salman’s movie after which the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor sent a defamation notice to him.

Salman Khan sends defamation notice to self-styled critic KRK for criticising his movie Radhe—Your Most Wanted Bhai

On May 13, KRK had reviewed Salman Khan’s latest release, Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, where he kept referring to Salman Khan as ‘Daadu’ (grandfather).

KRK had said that in action scenes it was quite evident that some of the scenes were done by Salman Khan’s ‘duplicate’ (body double). He said that people on set would have noticed the difference between the two but they must be too afraid (of Salman Khan) to point it out. “Because if they would have said, Daadu would’ve asked him not to come to sets anymore,” he said.

He further refers to the lead heroine and love interest, Disha Patani, as Salman Khan’s granddaughter. “Disha is a model and when Sallu Daadu meets her for the first time, he tells her that he also wants to become a model. That means, Sallu Daadu’s age is about 20-22 and Disha starts calling him ‘Bholu cute boy’. After this, in the rest of the movie, she keeps calling him ‘Bholu cute boy’. After this, Sallu Daadu also removes his shirt in one scene. And VFX team has done a great job. They have put up his 25-year-old on this face,” he says in the review.

Government debunks propaganda article published in The Hindu on the surge in FDI inflows for 2020-21: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Government debunks propaganda article published in The Hindu on the surge in FDI inflows for 2020-21: Details

The Government of India has debunked the propaganda article published in The Hindu on 2 June 2021 over the surge in FDI inflows for the year 2020-21. In its official response, the Indian government has said that the author has misconstrued data to arrive at the conclusion he made in his article, alleging that he had challenges in interpreting data released by the Reserve Bank of India.

The article titled “What explains the surge in FDI inflows?” published in The Hindu sought to decipher the reasons for the spike in the FDI flows in the country. The rebuttal from the government says the author erroneously considered FDI inflows of USD 81.72 billion (Row 1.1.1.1) includes amounts attributable to ‘repatriation/disinvestment’ (Row 1.1.1.2) and ‘FII investments’ (Row 1.2.2).

Source: Government of India

“The RBI data is purported to be analysed to arrive at the erroneous conclusion that the surge in FDI inflows to USD 81.72 billion in 2020-21 (an increase of 10% over the previous year) is attributable to an increase in amounts attributable to ‘repatriation/disinvestment’ and ‘FII investments’,” the statement issued by the Government of India said.

FII investments are different from Foreign Direct investments, FII investments not included to calculate FDI inflows for 2020-21

It further said that FII investments are different from Foreign Direct Investments and that FII investment amounts have not been included to calculate the FDI inflows for 2020-21. “FII investments of USD 38 billion in 2020-21 (Row 1.2.2) has been categorised separately by the RBI and does not form part of the FDI inflow figure of USD 81.72 billion (Row 1.1.1.1) for the 2020-21 period. Consequently, foreign exchange inflows pursuant to ‘FII investments’ will not impact the calculation of FDI inflows,” the statement said.

The Hindu article

“If the intention of the author was to demonstrate the staggering increase in aggregate foreign exchange inflows under the FDI and FII routes, USD 119.8 billion should have been the figure to be quoted by the author. Aggregate foreign exchange inflows under these routes has witnessed an increase of 59.88% over the corresponding figure of USD 74.94 billion in 2019-2020,” the Indian government said.

‘Repatriation/disinvestment’ not accounted in the calculation for the FDI inflows for 2020-21

Furthermore, the Indian government said the author had wrongly included ‘repatriation/disinvestment’ into account to calculate the FDI inflows for 2020-21. Busting the incorrect analysis published in The Hindu article, the Centre said the author had wrongly attributed the amounts in respect of ‘repatriation/disinvestment’ to investments from private equity funds and also seems to suggest that the ‘repatriation/disinvestment’ amount has been taken into account to calculate the FDI inflow figure of USD 81.72 billion (Row 1.1.1.1).

It also informed that the ‘repatriation/disinvestment’ of USD 27 billion in 2020-21 (Row 1.1.1.2) has been categorized separately by the RBI and it does not form a part of the FDI inflow figure of USD 81.72 billion (Row 1.1.1.1). As a result, the government said ‘repatriation/disinvestment’ will not impact the calculation of FDI inflows.

“To reiterate, India has attracted the highest ever FDI inflows of USD 81.72 billion over 2020-21 higher by 10% over the corresponding figure in 2019-20. FDI inflows remained buoyant despite challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown. The Government of India has put in place a stable, predictable and transparent policy environment and continues to take measures to develop infrastructure, improve the business environment and liberalize the FDI policy regime. The effects of these actions will continue to deliver results in the years to come,” the statement said.

Hajj committee cancels applications as Saudi Arabia decides to allow only citizens and residents: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Hajj committee cancels applications as Saudi Arabia decides to allow only citizens and residents: Details

On June 15, the Hajj Committee of India cancelled all applications for Hajj 2021. The decision was made based on the announcement by Saudi Arabia in which they decided to allow only citizens and residents to attend Hajj in limited numbers amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Circular issued by the Hajj Committee

The circular issued by the Hajj Committee stated, “The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a statement informing that due to coronavirus pandemic conditions the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to allow citizens and residents inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia only to attend Hajj 1442 in limited numbers. International Hajj has been cancelled. Hence, it has been decided by the Hajj Committee of India that all the applications for Hajj 2021 stand cancelled.”

Saudi Arabia had banned foreign pilgrims

On June 12, Saudi Arabia had announced that Hajj 2021 would be a relatively smaller gathering limited to 60,000 pilgrims. It further added that only citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia would be allowed for Hajj due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 as well, the pilgrimage was limited due to the pandemic. Only as few as a thousand people were selected to take part in the pilgrimage. Reportedly, every year over 2 million Muslims performs Hajj. Most Muslims perform it only once in their lifetime. According to their belief, it wipes clean past sins.

Munger firing case: Patna HC rebukes CID for its ‘soft treatment’ of cop accused in murder of Hindu boy

OpIndia Staff
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Munger firing case: Patna HC rebukes CID for its ‘soft treatment’ of cop accused in murder of Hindu boy

Last year, a firing incident was reported during Durga idol immersion in Munger city of Bihar, where the Bihar police were accused of using brutal force against the Hindu devotees when they took out a procession for the Visarjan at around midnight. They were accused of thrashing the devotees and resorting to open fire which resulted in the death of an 18-year-old youth, also leaving several others injured.

The Patna High Court had in April ordered the additional director general of CID to constitute an SIT of senior officers above the rank of DSP to interrogate the police personnel who were to be investigated in the firing case.

When the case came up for hearing before, the Patna High Court on May 19, the bench of Justice Rajiv Ranjan Prasad reportedly rebuked the CID officials, accusing it of going soft on sub-inspector Brijesh Kumar Singh, the prime accused in the case.

Patna HC slams CID for going soft on police officer accused in Munger firing incident

According to reports, the court slammed CID for giving ‘soft treatment’ to the police officer. It observed that the accused sub-inspector, who had fled with his firearms fearing arrest, was traced by the CID but was neither taken into custody nor was he interrogated by the officials. The CID merely made him submit his firearm and let him go, said the court.

The court reprimanded ADG CID Vinay Kumar during the virtual hearing, questioning him why sub-inspector Brijesh Kumar Singh was not interrogated or detained by the agency. The court told the ADG that it had reposed trust in him, that a fair investigation would be conducted and that no accused, no matter how powerful or prominent, would go free.

The High Court also came down heavily at CID, when it learnt that the agency had not yet ordered the telecom service providers to preserve phone call data of all the officers who were being investigated in the Munger firing case.

The ADG CID responded by assuring the court that the agency would amend the errors and take appropriate action within a week.

It is pertinent to note here that, Amarnath Poddar, the father of the 18-year-old youth, who had fallen prey to the brutal force used by Bihar police against the Hindu devotees, had moved the High Court requesting a CBI inquiry under the court’s supervision, in his son’s murder case.

Munger firing during Durga Puja Visarjan

The violence, as per reports, broke out after Kotwali police asked Hindus not to delay the idol immersion procession of Shadipur Badi Durga. Traditionally, the idols are immersed after three days of Vijayadashami but this time, in view of the first phase of Assembly polls in the state on October 28 (Wednesday), the administration had insisted on the immersion by 5 am on October 27 (Tuesday).

Durga puja organizers, as instructed, had taken out the procession allegedly with DJs close to midnight as they headed for the immersion. The situation turned ugly around 11.50 pm when police officials used brutal force on Hindus going for Durga Puja Visarjan.

The police reportedly unilaterally beat up four persons who were carrying idols on their shoulders. This sparked off a protest which led to the ensuing violence.

#OlympicsKiAsha: Here are 7 Indian athletes to watch out for in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2021

OpIndia Staff
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#OlympicsKiAsha: Here are 7 Indian athletes to watch out for in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2021

With just over a month left for the much anticipated Olympics 2020, which got postponed by a year because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Indian athletes are slogging hard to leave their mark in the upcoming sports competition. A campaign #OlympicsKiAsha is being run on social media platforms, especially on Twitter, to highlight the players participating in the Olympics and provide a window into the preparations undertaken by them.

Several Indian politicians, most notably Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, are encouraging the sportspersons by sharing their inspiring stories on the social media platform with the hashtag #OlympicsKiAsha. Even official Twitter accounts of All India Radio and other government departments are sharing stories of Indian athletes and how they are preparing for the forthcoming Olympics that is slated to take place between 23 July 2021 to 8 August 2021 in Japan.

Here are some of the Indian athletes to watch out for at the world’s largest sporting event:

Lovlina Borgohain

Lovlina Borgohain is an Indian woman boxer who hails from the Golaghat district of Assam. Her inspiration to pursue her career in boxing is none other than the legendary American professional boxer Muhammad Ali. Borgohain is the first woman from Assam to qualify for the Olympics. She has won a bronze medal at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. She has also won a gold medal at the 1st India Open International Boxing Tournament held in New Delhi and a silver medal at the 2nd India Open International Boxing Tournament held in Guwahati.

Priyanka Goswami

Race walking is a sport that India has not enjoyed much success at the Olympics. In fact, India has hardly been consistent in competing in the sport in the Olympics until recently. Race walker Priyanka Goswami is putting in all the hard work to better herself for the upcoming Olympics. She aims to create history by being the first Indian woman to win a Gold medal in race walking event.

Goswami had qualified for Olympics by breaking the national record during the National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi in February. She had clocked 1 hour 28 minutes and 45 seconds, bettering the earlier national record of 1:29:54 in the name of another Tokyo-bound Bhawana Jat. The qualifying standard in women’s 20km race walk for the Tokyo Olympics is 1:31:00.

Saurabh Chaudhary

Professional shooter Saurabh Chaudhary is another athlete that India will be hoping to win the country a gold medal in the shooting event. He is currently training under his coach Amit Sheraon, who has a trick or two up his sleeves to teach his students how to maintain a balanced posture to consistently hit the bull’s eye.

Chaudhary has already won a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in 10 m Air Pistol. He was the youngest Indian gold medalist at the Asian Games. Earlier, he had won gold medals and set a new junior world record in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. He is also the only Indian shooter to have won a gold medal in ISSF World Championship, ISSF World Cup, Youth Olympic Games, Asian Games and Asian Air Gun Championship. At the 2018 World Championship in Changwon, Korea, he broke his own world record with a score of 245.5 and claimed gold in Junior Men 10m Air Pistol.

Rahul Rohilla

Another hope of India to bag a gold at the Tokyo Olympics is race walker Rahul Rohilla. Hailing from Bahadurgarh, Haryana, Rohilla had received the Olympics quota by winning the 20 KM men’s race in 1 hour 20 minutes 26 seconds during the National Open Race Walking Competition held in Ranchi in February this year.

Vikas Krishnan Yadav

Vikas Krishnan Yadav is one of the star boxers of India who hails from the Bhiwani district of Haryana. He has won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games in the Lightweight category and a gold medal in the 75kg weight category at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Vikas competed at the Worlds and Asian Championships under the AIBA flag in 2015 due to the ban on the Boxing Federation of India. Vikas Krishan Yadav is the second Indian boxer after Olympian Vijender Singh to qualify Olympics for the third time. Boxing being one of the strong suit for Indians to win the Olympics medal, the country has high hopes from Yadav to bag the coveted gold in his event at the Tokyo Olympics.

Vinesh Phogat

Another Indian athlete who will be a cynosure at the Tokyo Olympics is wrestler Vinesh Phogat. She became the first Indian woman wrestler to win Gold in both Commonwealth and Asian games. Phogat has become the First Indian Athlete to be Nominated for Laureus World Sports Awards to be held on February 18, 2019.

Notably, Phogat is in her prime this year. She has already won three titles. Recently, she defeated Ukraine’s Bereza 8-0 in the final and won gold at Poland Open. The 26-year-old wrestler had already claimed gold medals at the Matteo Pellicone event (March) and Asian Championship (April) earlier.

Mary Kom

Although Tokyo-bound legendary boxer Mary Kom lost the 51kg women’s boxing final at the Asian Championships to 2-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan last month, she would be eyeing the upcoming Tokyo Olympics to make up for that defeat. She is the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the first seven World Championships, and the only boxer (male or female) to win eight World Championship medals.

She is also the only boxer to become Asian Amateur Boxing Champion for a record six times. The Indian pugilist would be one of India’s biggest medal hopes at the Tokyo Olympics.

While the athletes are working hard to prepare for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, there is still a cloud of uncertainty whether the mega sporting event will continue as planned or the coronavirus will throw a spanner in the works like it did the last year. The Olympics authorities are treading with caution, especially after the renewed bouts of the COVID-19 outbreak in different parts of the world that demonstrated the resilience of the pandemic. Though the Olympics authorities have said COVID appropriate behaviour will be followed at the event but they are acutely aware of the eventuality of the games being delayed further if the coronavirus outbreak rears its ugly head yet again.

Bihar: Idols of Hindu Gods destroyed by unknown vandals at Ram Janaki temple in Bettiah

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Idols of Hindu Gods destroyed by unknown vandals at Ram Janaki temple in Bettiah

Outrage swept the Bettiah sub-division area of ​​West Champaran, Bihar, after unidentified vandals desecrated idols in the region’s much-revered Hindu temple. According to reports, anger erupted among people after they found the idols housed inside the Ram Janaki temple located in Baswaria Dhuniyapatti vandalised and destroyed after it was opened in the morning.

Shortly after it was discovered that the temple was vandalised and the Hindu idols defiled, an angry mob of people took to the streets and created ruckus over the incident. They blocked the Bettiah-Nautan road near Peepal Chowk by burning tires and demanded the police to arrest the anti-social elements responsible for the vandalism of the temple.

A written complaint was filed by the priest of the temple, based on which a case was registered in the city police station against unidentified anti-social elements. The police have launched an investigation into the case.

Local people believe it is a deliberate conspiracy by the trouble makers to keep the communal tempers high in the region. They have also accused the police of inaction, alleging that scores of gamblers and alcohol addicts keep gathering around the temple but despite filing a complaint, no action has been taken against them.

SDPO Mukul Parimal Pandey said the police team is conducting raids to arrest those who damaged the idol. According to the police, the incident came to light when the priest of the temple opened the temple in the morning for cleaning it. At that time, the idols were not damaged. However, after cleaning the temple compound, the priest went to take bath. When he returned, he saw the idols lay shattered on the floor. The priest claims the incident may have taken place at 5:30 in the morning.

On being informed about the incident, the police quickly rushed to the spot and tried to defuse the rising tensions. The locals in the area were angry that a Hindu temple was attacked and its idols were destroyed by miscreants. They created a ruckus and blocked the road. The blockade continued for more than 3 hours and the people relented only after the senior police officers assured the crowd that the culprits will be caught in the next 24 hours.

Watch: Indian Army releases video on first anniversary of Galwan Valley clash, Hariharan sings ‘Galwan ke Veer’

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Indian Army releases video on first anniversary of Galwan Valley clash, Hariharan sings ‘Galwan ke Veer’

The Indian Army has released a video on the first anniversary of the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese forces. The video features a song titled ‘Galwan ke Veer’ sung by popular singer Hariharan. The video also pays tribute to the bravehearts who lost their lives during the clash.

The video features scenes from the valley and mountainous regions with Indian soldiers toiling away in the difficult terrain to maintain India’s territorial integrity. It also mentions that Indian soldiers took out enemy combatants despite losing their lives. It calls the soldiers ‘Galwan ke Veer’.

20 Indian soldiers had lost their lives during the clash and according to reports, China had lost 43. Earlier, Army chief General MM Naravane paid tribute to those Indian soldier martyred during the clash with the People’s Liberation Army.

A year after the clash, the standoff is yet to be completely resolved.

Galwan valley clash 

On June 15, the Chinese troops had attacked the Indian troops along the LAC near Ladakh border. The clashes had resulted in India losing 20 of its soldiers. 

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

‘Osama’ the crocodile from Uganda ate over 80 people prior to its capture in 2005: Read what happened

OpIndia Staff
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‘Osama’ the crocodile from Uganda ate over 80 people prior to its capture in 2005: Read what happened

Osama, a crocodile that lived in Lake Victoria, used to be one of the deadliest man-eaters in the African nation of Uganda. The ferocious animal bore the name of the once-infamous terrorist Osama bin Laden. Between 1991 and 2005, Osama had eaten close to 83 people in the village of Luganga.

The crocodile had developed a fascination for human flesh. Measuring about 5 metres from snout to tail, it was responsible for wiping out 10% of the village’s population. It had spared none, be it a 12-year-old boy or an elderly man. Osama would carry children away from the shores when they came to fill their water buckets. It also swum beneath fishing boats, capsized them, and ate their occupants. At times, it would directly jump into wooden vessels to eat its prey.

Osama, now 75 years old, had an unabated reign of terror between 1991 and its eventual capture in 2005. In March that year, a group of Uganda Wildlife Authority officials and 50 odd locals captured the deadly animal in Southern Uganda, after using a pair of cow’s lungs as bait at its favourite hiding place (called The Butchery). The crocodile fell for the bait and found itself hanging from the tree by its jaws. The cow’s lungs had a copper snare, which tightly entangled its teeth.

The 50 men held onto the ropes and began to haul Osama, before finally handing it over to Uganda Cros Limited. It was a mountainous effort of 7 days and 7 days. It was then sent to captivity to be used as breeding stock for other crocodiles for fashion industries in Italy and South Korea. Osama had lost their appetite for human flesh and was seen nibbling on chicken flesh in captivity. Wildlife officials considered it shameful that Osama was being used as breeding stock.

The locals in the Luganga village believed that the man-eater got away too lightly. While speaking about Osama in 2005, Uganda Crocs proprietor Alex Mutamba said, “All Nile crocodiles like Osama will eat a human being if they perceive their territory is being encroached on. But our crocodiles are well-secured, so I’m not too worried.” Reportedly, Uganda Crocs houses nearly 5000 crocodiles where they are bred for later use in the handbag industry.

Hippo killed the owner who adopted it in 2011

In November 2011, 40-year-old Army Major Marius Els was killed by the 1.2-tonne hippo he had adopted and tried to domesticate on a farm in Free State province. The body of Els was found in a river with marks of being bitten by a huge animal several times, which he had earlier described as his son. Els’s body was found submerged in the river where he had rescued the hippo from a flood six years ago.

Els’s wife, Louise, a pharmacist, had expressed misgivings about the hippo as the giant animal had caused trouble before. Earlier in 2011, a 52-year-old man and his seven-year-old grandson had to climb and stay atop a tree for two hours after being chased by Humphrey. Similarly, Humphrey has also been accused of killing calves belonging to Els’s business partner. The animal also frequently broke out of its enclosure and chased golfers at a local golf club.

Els, who had also domesticated kept giraffe and rhino, claimed the sound of his voice would bring Humphrey back home. He regarded the hippo as “loveable” and a “gentle giant”. Except, years later, Humphrey mauled Els in the river on that fateful day and left him submerged in the water for several hours, causing his death. Though there were some bitten marks on Els’s body, the hippo had not eaten up the body after killing him, as was claimed by social media users.

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