37-year-old Marathi artist Mayuresh Kotkar has been arrested by Thane Police for posting an allegedly objectionable statement on social media against state cabinet minister and Shiv Sena leader and MVA minister Eknath Shinde.
Maharashtra: Thane’s Srinagar police arrested Marathi artist Mayuresh Kotkar for allegedly posting an objectionable statement on social media against state minister Eknath Shinde. He has been sent to judicial custody. Police complaint in this regard was filed by Shiv Sena workers
As per reports, Kotkar- a resident of Balkum in Thane, had posted an allegedly defamatory statement about minister Eknath Shinde on his social media profile on Friday.
Soon after, a complaint was lodged against Kotkar by a local Shiv Sena corporator named Yogesh Jankar.
In his complaint, Jankar alleged that Kotkar had posted a defamatory comment on the Facebook page of the minister. The content was not just defamatory but also inflammatory that could have led to a clash between two communities, Jankar added in his complaint.
Kotkar had posted a comment concerning the recent row over the naming of the international airport in Navi Mumbai, said the police.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC for defamation, intent to incite, and statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes.
Kotkar has been sent to judicial custody and a probe is on by the Sri Nagar police in Thane.
Navi Mumbai Airport name proposal
As per reports, thousands of local residents and Navi Mumbai international airport project-affected people had formed a 12-km long human chain last week to protest against the proposal to name the upcoming airport after Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.
Around one lakh villagers from the project area held placards demanding that the airport be named after the late Peasants and Workers’ Party (PWP) leader and parliamentarian Dinkar Balu Patil, popularly known as DB Patil.
Kotkar too had made several posts on his social media demanding the airport be named after DB Patil.
A committee spearheading the agitation has warned that the protest will intensify if the demands are not met. A call to gherao Konkan Bhavan in Raigad district on June 24 has been given to press for the demand.
On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court granted bail to Jamia Milia Islamia student leader Asif Iqbal Tanha, far-left ‘activists’ Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal in the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots case.
According to the reports, the Delhi High Court granted bail to the UAPA accused Asif Iqbal Tanha, Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita in the Delhi riots case. The Delhi Police had arrested the three far-left ‘activists’ in the case, and a case was registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their role in the anti-Hindu riots that was unleashed on the streets of Delhi in February last year.
A Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup J Bhambhani granted the bail to the riots accused and asked them to provide Rs 50,000 and two local sureties. In addition, the accused have been asked to surrender their passports and not indulging in activities that would hamper the case.
The High Court has granted bail to the three accused in connection with the FIR 59 filed by the Delhi Police in the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots case. In the FIR 59/2020, a total of 15 people, including Asif Tanha, Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, were named by the Delhi police. The police claimed that Tanha played an active role in orchestrating riots in Delhi during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Asif Tanha – the main conspirator behind Jamia riots
Asif, a Jamia Millia Islamia student and member of the Student Islamist Organization (SIO) since 2014, was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in May for purportedly being a part of a larger conspiracy behind the February riots in northeast Delhi.
In fact, Asif Iqbal had admitted to orchestrating riots and a march of 2500-3000 people from Gate no.7 of Jamia Millia Islamia on December 12. He revealed that Sharjeel Imam gave a provocative speech to encourage ‘protestors’ to execute a ‘chakka jam’ on December 13.
Asif confessed to organising a ‘Gandhi peace march’ on December 15 from the Jamia metro station to the Parliament via Zakir Nagar and Batla House. He stated that the purpose of naming it after Mahatma Gandhi was to lure more people into joining the march. Reportedly, the Delhi police had set up barricades near the Surya Hotel to prevent the ‘protestors’ from surging forward. Asif Iqbal confessed to provoking people to break through the police barricades under the impression that the cops lacked the ‘guts’ to stop them.
However, his plans did not succeed as the police soon resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the unruly mob. The Jamia students then resorted to stone pelting, setting buses on fire, and creating mayhem on the streets of Delhi. As such, both the policemen and the ‘protestors’ were injured during the course of the march.
Asif Iqbal provoked common Muslims to weaponise violence
Asif Iqbal further admitted that he delivered provocative speeches at several places in the country, including Kolkata, Kota, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ujjain, Indore, Jaipur, Patna, Sabzibagh, Araria, Samastipur, Ahmedabad. Reportedly, he urged common Muslims to protest against the Indian and not to shy away from engaging in violence if such a need arose.
Asif added that JNU activist Umar Khalid had suggested the idea of blocking roads and disrupting traffic during the visit of US President Donald Trump to India. The plan of action was then executed by the likes of Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, which later culminated into violent riots. Besides his desire to turn India into an Islamic country, he considered the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as anti-Muslim and therefore joined the students of Jamia Milia Islamia in opposing it.
Far-left activist – Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita accused in instigating Anti-Hindu riots
The Delhi police had also arrested two far-left activists of Pinjra Tod – Natasha Narwal and Devangna Kalita for their role in stoking communal violence during the anti-Hindu riots in North-East Delhi in February last year that claimed 53 people and left more than 400 injured.
On May 23, the Special cell of Delhi police had arrested two women named Natasha and Devangna in the North-East Delhi riots case. Both the women are founding members of Pinjra Tod, which was established in 2015.
Some citizens of Seelampur, Jafrabad, and Trans-Yamuna had accused Pinjra Tod and other elite civil society groups of inciting riots in the national capital.
Pinjra Tod claims to be an autonomous collective of women students fighting for a just, accessible, non-discriminatory University and affordable accommodation and has been involved in numerous protests and campaigns of a far-left nature.
Former Australian citizen and the first ‘ISIS Bride’ from Australia, Zehra Duman, has been living in Turkey with two children. In November 2020, she was released by the Turkish court. Notably, in September 2020, she was sentenced to almost seven years in a Turkish jail for being a member of a terrorist organization. Duman held dual citizenship of Australia and Turkey till mid-2019. She was stripped of her Australian citizenship over connections with Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
Duman and her children were among 70 Australian women and children taken to the al-Hawl detention camp in northeast Syria after the fall of IS in 2019. During an interview, she said she wanted to return to Australia. However, four months later, in a letter to Duman, she was informed by the Australian government that her Australian citizenship had been revoked.
Zehra Duman, an Australian woman who had joined ISIS and had called for genocide against non-Muslims, image via The Australian
The letter stated, “The Minister for Home Affairs has become aware of conduct because of which you, as a national or citizen of a country other than Australia, namely Turkey, have ceased to be an Australian citizen … Specifically, the Minister has become aware that you were in the service of Islamic State outside Australia.”
Later, Duman fled al-Hawl and entered Turkey with the help of smugglers. However, she was arrested while doing so. In September last year, a court in Sanliurfa, a southern Turkish city, sentenced her to six years and ten months in jail for being associated with ISIS. Two months later, she appeared before a court in Gaziantep, another southern Turkish City. The court released her as she was the only person able to take care of her children, Layla and Jarrah. Duman is enjoying her life in an unknown location in Turkey.
Duman’s statements in Turkish courts
ABC got access to the documents that allegedly had the statements made by Duman during the hearing in Turkish courts. According to ABC, it is unclear if Turkish authorities did anything to verify the statements. According to her statement, she was forced to remarry twice, and all her husbands were killed during the Syrian war. She alleged that ISIS jailed her in 2017 when she tried to leave the group. Her first child was born from the second husband and the second child from the third husband while she was in Syria.
Duman blamed her ‘problematic’ childhood
During the hearing, Duman blamed her childhood for her leaning towards Islam and ISIS. Her parents’ divorce, unhealthy relationships, breakups and depression during her teens allegedly pushed her towards Islam. During her late teens in 2014, Mahmoud Abdullatif, a party boy turned fundamentalist Islamist reached out to her. She said, “Mahmoud found me and got in touch with me through social media. He knew that I’m naïve and I had a tough life. He told me, ‘I’m going to give you a beautiful life.’ I believed in him.” At the age of 19, she travelled to Turkey and then Syria in 2014.
ISIS terrorist Zehra Duman in an old photograph with her mother, image via SBS
One Abu Bakr smuggled her into ISIS territory and placed her in one of the IS houses where unmarried women were kept. A month later, Abdullatif took her to Raqqa, and they got married. Where she lived, several Australian ISIS recruits, including Sydney-born ISIS terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, were also living. In January 2015, Abdullatif was killed in an airstrike.
After Iddah, a waiting period observed by Muslim women after a divorce or the death of their husband, she married Nedol. During that period, she travelled to Iraq. He was killed in an airstrike in 2016. She was pregnant at that time with Jarrah. She returned to Syria and gave birth to her first child. After the birth, she was left on the street. She tried to flee Syria but was recaptured by ISIS with the help of Turkish authorities.
When she was spending time in jail, an Arab-Australian man identified by her as Baran met her and offered to marry her. She got pregnant with her second child after she married, and in 2018, Baran was killed in the war. After ISIS’s fall, she ended up in the al-Hawl detention camp in Syria.
Duman was heavily radicalized
Notably, during the time she drifted towards ISIS, there were several incidents in her life that give a glimpse of her radicalization. She was best friends with Tara Nettleton, the wife of Khaled Sharrouf, another Australian who had joined ISIS. Duman was ‘famous’ for recruiting naïve minds for the terrorist organization.
Duman’s first husband Abullatif, who was soon killed in an airstrike, image via SBS
Duman had posted inflammatory content on her social media profiles, including tweets mocking western authorities, pledging to kill non-Muslims and photos of herself with guns. When she got married to Abdullatif, her husband had written, “I got married today. Alhumdolileh (praise be to god) I made hijra (pilgrimage) and got married here man, Insha Allah I receive a beautiful death as well.”
Soon after the wedding, she started to post notorious posts on social media platforms. In one tweet, she wrote, “US + Australia, how does it feel that all 5 of us were born n raised in your lands, & nowhere thirsty for ur blood?” In another tweet, she mocked security agencies and wrote, “catch me if you can”, and called for her followers to poison Kafirs (non-Muslims). She wrote, “Stab them and poison them. Poison your teachers, go to haram restaurants and poison the food in large quantities.”
In 2019, after the fall of ISIS, she said in an interview that she wanted to go back to Australia. She said, “Both of my kids are sick. [My daughter is] very malnourished, she’s … very skinny. I have no money, I’m not allowed to have money. They don’t give us food here and they don’t let us contact our families. I understand the anger that they have towards a lot of us here, but the kids don’t need to suffer. My kids have a right at least to be treated like normal kids.”
Duman was one of over a dozen Australians who were stripped of their citizenships by the Australian government for having connections to a terrorist organization. Notably, the Australian government revoked the citizrnship of only those terrorists who had dual citizenship. Those who only have Australian citizenship were left out.
Days after media reports emerged suggesting that the centre had decided not to allow the return of four Kerala-based women who had joined Islamic State (IS), the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Centre should decide their fate.
Amidst the calls by parents of the women terrorists to allow the return of their daughters back to India, the Kerala Chief Minister on Monday said that the centre will decide on bringing back these four Kerala women lodged in the Kabul jail.
Speaking to the media, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the issue has to be decided by the Centre, and the state government has nothing to do with the issue. He said that the state government has no role to play in the matter. While PTI cited that Pinarayi Vijayan referred to ISIS terrorists as fighters, some local media reported that the Kerala Chief Minister did not use those words.
The Chief Minister also said that they needed to know whether the four IS terrorists are ready to come to India. Pinarayi Vijayan asked the centre to seek the opinion of the family members of the four Kerala-based IS terrorists.
The four women identified as – Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha, Merrin Jacob alias Mariyam, Nimisha alias Fathima Isa and Raffaela, had accompanied their husbands to join the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) in 2018. However, their husbands, ISIS terrorists, were killed in different attacks in Afghanistan.
Following their death, the Kerala-based Muslim women, along with thousands of other Islamic State terrorists, had surrendered before the Afghanistan authorities in November and December 2019.
Family of terrorists requests centre to allow their return
The latest controversy surrounding the return of Kerala-based IS terrorists comes amidst repeated requests by their family members to allow the return. Recently, the mother of one such terrorist had expressed hope that PM Modi will pardon her daughter.
Bindu Sampath, the mother of ISIS terrorist Nimisha Fathima, said, “I’ve heard that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a very kind-hearted person. I have full faith in him.” Bindu lamented that she had not received any communication from the Indian government so far. “But I am very positive because there will be other views also in the government. I am banking on that. I believe in God. I am sure that God will create a situation for her return,” she opined.
The mother of the ISIS terrorist wished to meet PM Modi and submit a memorandum seeking her daughter’s repatriation to India. Bindu emphasised that she would follow the legal route to bring Nimisha Fathima back.
Nimisha Fathima was a Hindu prior to her conversion to Islam. She adopted the name of “Fathima Isa” after her marriage to an ISIS terrorist. Along with 19 others from Kerala, she flew to Afghanistan in June 2016 to wage war against the US forces in ISIS-controlled Khorasan Province. She had given birth to a child there. After her terrorist husband was neutralised, she surrendered to the Afghan government in 2019.
According to the Hindu report, a senior government official confirmed that the four Kerala-based women, who had travelled to Nangarhar in Afghanistan in the years 2016-18, will not be allowed to return to the country.
The Indian investigation agencies had interviewed the four women living with children in Kabul. During the interview with the women, the investigation agencies had found out that they have a strong stance in favour of Islamic terrorism, and hence, India is likely to request the Afghanistan authority to prosecute the women there itself.
Four couples from Kerala had joined Islamic State: NIA
According to the charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2017, Sonia Sebastian had left India in 2016 to join the ISKP in Afghanistan along with a group of 21 men and women from Kerala. They had crossed over to Afghanistan on foot from Iran.
The NIA said Sebastian, from Kasargod in Kerala, left India on May 31, 2016, with her husband, Abdul Rashid Abdulla, from Mumbai airport. They had said the couple held secret classes supporting IS and jihad during the last part of Ramzan in Padanna and Kasaragod. Sebastian is an engineering graduate.
Another IS sympathiser, Merrin Jacob alias Mariyam, was married to Bestin Vincent, a resident of Palakkad. The couple escaped to Afghanistan in 2016 to live in the IS-controlled territory. Later, the Chrisitan couple converted to Islam after their marriage, and Vincent assumed the identity of Yahya. Vincent was later killed in Afghanistan.
Similarly, Vincent’s brother Bexon and his wife, Nimisha alias Fathima, also converted to Islam and escaped to Afghanistan with them.
Note: Later reports suggests the main accused’s name is Parvez Gujjar and not Parvesh Gujjar.
Abdul Samad, an elderly man from Uttar Pradesh was thrashed by an Aarif, Adil, Parvesh, Mushahid, Kallu and Poli a few days back after an occult amulet he made did not work for someone. Except, the incident was peddled by so-called fact-checker Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair as a hate crime where a ‘Hindu mob’ beating up an elderly Muslim man and forcing him to ‘chant Jai Shri Ram’ and cutting off his beard.
Soon, the entire social media was awash with the usual suspects pinning the blame on Hindus and cried ‘saffron terrorism’. Wonder why would an Aarif or Adil force a man to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram.’
Here’s how the Islamist apologist spread fake propaganda to defame ‘Jai Shri Ram’
The self-acclaimed ‘fact-checker’ of Alt News Mohammed Zubair is suspected to be the one of the first who broke the news. He first shared a ghastly video of the old man being thrashed quoting, “An elderly Man, Sufi Abdul Samad Saifi was attacked by five goons in Loni, Ghaziabad. He was threatened at the gun point, beaten, assaulted and they forcefully chopped off his beard.”
Note that the Tweet mentions nothing about the religious slogan, but that he shared the video with name of ‘victim’ should have been cue that more is yet to come.
An elderly Man, Sufi Abdul Samad Saifi was attacked by five goons in Loni, Ghaziabad. He was threatened at the gun point, beaten, assaulted and they forcefully chopped off his beard. @ghaziabadpolice@Uppolicepic.twitter.com/0QphDcnKUN
Soon Zubair uploaded another video of the victim shot in what plausibly seems like a Samajwadi Party office where he explicitly says that he was forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
Here is a video of Abdul Samad Saifi narrating the complete incident. He claims he was forced to chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’ by the goons. pic.twitter.com/QPfJwNBJEs
One can see Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s picture in the background. So it could be reasonably safe to assume that the video was shot at an office or residence of someone who supports Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party.
Soon after the entire ‘liberal’ brigade was up in arms to exploit the Hinduphobic narrative. Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker was once again ‘ashamed’ and condemned using a religion to justify the brutality.
I’m ashamed. I’m ashamed of what happens in the name of our Gods. Hindus in India and abroad.. who want every Muslim to constantly condemn terrorism in the name of Islam.. am I hearing your voices now when our Gods and our religion is being misused to justify this brutality?!? https://t.co/CmgCIUD1oN
‘Social media activist’ Asif Khan shared an article by ‘The Quint‘ narrating how ‘chacha miyan’ was made to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ after cutting off his beard.
5 men abducted 72yo Muslim man, kicked him, beat him, put a pistol to his head, stole the Rs 1200, forced him to Chant Jai Sri Ram,cut his beard, made him see videos of other Muslims being attacked and boasted that they had killed many Muslims before.
Zafar Sareshwala whose first Tweet on the timeline as of now is ‘fraud at Kumbh mela’, quoted Zubair’s Tweet labeling the perpetrators as “terrorists” and tagging UP Police to take action.
— zafar sareshwala ?? (@zafarsareshwala) June 14, 2021
Former DGP Kerala NC Asthana too propagated the narrative and claimed the objective of the act is to dehumanize ‘Muslims.’
The ultimate objective of all such acts is to ‘dehumanize’ the Muslims–to make it difficult for them to live in this country with self-respect. Anybody could be beaten up–but the cutting of the beard was to insult him on account of his religion. The writing on the wall is clear https://t.co/uNFQNb2ooZ
— Dr. N. C. Asthana, IPS (Retd) (@NcAsthana) June 14, 2021
So-called award-winning journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani was not far behind in sympathizing with the old victim and insisted that the crime was done in the name of Lord Shri Ram. It is imperative to note that Sherwani has been parroting the narrative of demonizing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ right from the West Bengal elections.
A Muslim man of yr grandfather’s age was brutally slapped,thrashed, kicked,his beard was violently cut while he was forced to chant JaiSriRam. The cutting of the beard was to insult him for his religious identity. This happened in the name of Hindus. Your silence is your approval
Journalist and author Saba Naqvi too shared an Indian Express article highlighting how the victim was made to chant the religious slogan.
Hindu Rashtra in election bound state Elderly Muslim man attacked at Loni in Ghaziabad, forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ https://t.co/hp8aFxopYf via @IndianExpress
Harinder Baweja a ‘good old journalist’ equated the crime to soon approaching Father’s Day claiming this is how the society treats people of their father’s age.
As we gear up to celebrate Fathers Day, see how we treat people our parents age. This just sears the heart. Just how do we bring ourselves to do this in the name of ‘Jai Sri Ram’. Deeply wounding https://t.co/1yCA3KVHqm
From grandfather to father, the entire cabal made the ‘victim’ a part of their family even before the truth surfaced.
Ghaziabad Police exposes entire propaganda
In a recent update by the Ghaziabad Police, it was revealed that Samad is well-known in his village for making taveez. However, the main accused who had procured a taveez from him had opposite effects on him and his family. This angered the accused and he along with his friends attacked Samad by taking him to a remote place.
The accused have been arrested and further investigations are on.
However, this is not the first time when a personal rivalry was painted as a religious hate crime. In May, Sharjeel Usmani, a known Islamist hatemonger, used an unfortunate crime in Haryana to peddle hatred against the Hindu community.
One Asif was murdered during a clash between two groups. However, the allegations that dominated the discourse was that the mob that attacked Asif forced him to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
On Monday (June 14), Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair took to Twitter to claim that an elderly Muslim man, Abdul Samad Saifi, in Ghaziabad was assaulted and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The incident took place in Loni in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Zubair tweeted, “An elderly man, Sufi Abdul Samad Saifi was attacked by five goons in Loni, Ghaziabad. He was threatened at the gunpoint, beaten, assaulted, and they forcefully chopped off his beard.” In a video shared by the ‘fact-checker, the victim could be seen being thrashed with sticks by the culprit. His beard was also cut forcibly using a scissor.
An elderly Man, Sufi Abdul Samad Saifi was attacked by five goons in Loni, Ghaziabad. He was threatened at the gun point, beaten, assaulted and they forcefully chopped off his beard. @ghaziabadpolice@Uppolicepic.twitter.com/0QphDcnKUN
While speaking about the matter, Abdul Samad Saifi claimed that he was about to board an autorickshaw but was stopped by the accused. He said that his face was covered with a handkerchief and taken to an undisclosed location. Saifi alleged that he was locked inside a room and brutally thrashed. He also claimed that the miscreants had forced him to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ at gunpoint. “They told me that they have killed several Muslims in the past and will do the same to me,” Saifi further alleged.
“There were a total of 5 people. They stopped me from remembering the name of Allah and told me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and Ram Ram,” Saifi was seen breaking into tears. While commenting on the victim’s testimony, Zubair had tweeted, “Here is a video of Abdul Samad Saifi narrating the complete incident. He claims he was forced to chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’ by the goons.”
In another video shared by Zubair, the victim showcased the wounds on his hand and back, inflicted by the culprits during the assault.
What is the truth?
In a tweet, Ghaziabad police informed that three accused had been arrested in the case. According to the police, the incident took place about 10 days ago on June 5, 2021. The victim Abdul Samad Saifi had travelled to the Loni border from Bulandshahr, where he was escorted to the house of accused Parvesh Gujjar in Banthala in Loni. After some time, the co-accused, namely, Kallu, Poli, Arif, Adil aka Mushahid arrived at Parvesh’s house and began thrashing the victim.
The victim Saifi sold amulets for a living. According to the police, the accused were miffed after the amulet proved harmful to them. Unlike what the victim had alleged, the police said that he knew the culprits for a long time. Reportedly, Saifi had sold his amulets to several people in the village through the accused. The police had initially arrested Parvesh while Adil and Kallu were nabbed on Monday (June 14). A case has been registered against them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The cops assured that the other culprits would soon be arrested.
It must be pointed out that the video of the assault does not contain any audio, which can verify the claim that Saifi was coerced into chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ or ‘Ram Ram’. Moreover, the victim had alleged that a gun was used by the accused to intimidate him although it wasn’t visible in the video footage. The police had clarified that the accused and the victim knew each other prior to the incident and that it was a case of personal rivalary. The cops did not mention any reference to religious slogans in their statement.
The only claim of ‘religious sloganeering stemss from the testimony of the victim, which was shot after the assault. Despite no adequate proof of the same, ‘fact checker’ and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair went ahead to peddle the unverified claim. His desperate attempt to impart a communal colour to the incident proved futile as two accused namely Adil and Arif were also Muslims (the same religion as that of the victim), who are also quite unlikely to ask the elderly man to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
However, this is not the first time when a case of personal rivalry has been given a communal angle to defame sacred Hindu chants by Islamists.
Fake communal angle in Asif Khan murder case
Last month, Haryana Police had ruled out any communal angle in the murder of Muslim youth Asif. As per reports, Asif, along with his two cousins was returning from his sister’s house when he was allegedly attacked by a group of men and was beaten to death. However, soon after the report of his death poured in, some media houses claimed that he was forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ before being killed, thereby giving it a communal angle.
Kerala-based portal Maktoob Media claimed that Asif was ‘forced to chant Jai Shri Ram’ and referred to the religious slogan as ‘warcry of Hindu nationalist militants’. However, Maktoob Media offered no evidence to prove this fact. In fact, even the initial statement of one of the witnesses said how they were attacked by a group where most men were known to them.
As could be heard, the witness made no reference whatsoever about the crime being communal. Later, the Haryana Police had also given a statement and ruled out any communal angle. According to Police, two cases have been filed against Asif alias Saddu and five against Pradeep alias Patwari, the prime accused in Asif murder case. Initial investigation had revealed that Asif was a close aide of BSP leader from Sohna, Javed Ahmed. He was a relative of Congress MLA from Nuh, Chaudhary Aftab Ahmed. Pradeep is a close aide of local BJP leader, Bhalla, who is, in turn, a close aide of BJP’s Sohna MLA Kanwar Sanjay Singh.
Note: Later reports suggests the main accused’s name is Parvez Gujjar and not Parvesh Gujjar.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in an exclusive interview to Canada’s CBC News dodged the question pertaining to China’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims by saying it is a ‘good neighbour.’
Khan when specifically asked about the genocide of Uyghur Muslims- an indigenous population and regional minorities that are facing persecution by the Chinese authorities, said, “We have economic ties with China, China is our neighbor. They’ve been very good to us in our most difficult times.”
Khan was talking to CBC’s Rosemary Barton in a recent interview.
Asked why he would not defend China’s Uyghur Muslims, PM Imran Khan says: “We have economic ties with China, China is our neighbour. They’ve been very good to us in our most difficult times…if we have concerns we talk about them behind closed doors.” pic.twitter.com/V15dpTCoDd
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.”
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi parrots the same line
It is imperative to note that the Pakistani government has maintained the same line of response when questioned about the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China.
In May this year, CNN interviewed Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi when the anchor Bianna Golodryga touched upon the contentious issue of Uyghur Muslims. She asserted, “There are 2 million Uyghurs (in China). Many in the US and other countries around the world are calling their treatment ‘genocide’.” Furthermore, she asked, “And I am wondering why we are not hearing the same from your government?”
However, Shah Mahmood Qureshi refused to give any direct answer to the question and instead said that China is a good friend of Pakistan, hinting that he can’t criticize China over the issue.
“Well, my government has always spoken with factors. You know China is a very good friend of Pakistan. They have stood by us through thick and thin. And we have means of communication. We use our diplomatic channels. We do not discuss everything in public,” Shah Mahmood Qureshi responded.
Imran Khan worried about the growing Islamophobia
CBC News interviewed Khan to talk about the alleged growing Islamophobic ‘hate websites’ especially in the West where he focused on the recent murder of a Muslim family in Canada.
He also called on the world leaders to initiate a crackdown on online hate and extremism against Islam.
“Everyone is shocked in (Pakistan) because we saw the family picture, and so a family being targeted like that has had a deep impact in Pakistan. When there are these hate websites which create hatred amongst human beings, there should be an international action against them,” added Khan.
However, when probed on why he hasn’t publicly advocated for Uyghur Muslims in China, Khan indulged in whataboutery.
Canada’s parliament labels China’s persecution of Uyghur’s a “genocide”
Along with the US, Britain and Lithuania, Canada’s Parliament too in February this year declared China’s treatment of its Uighur minority population a genocide.
Lawmakers in the Canadian parliament had voted to pass an amendment asking Canada to call on the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympics from Beijing “if the Chinese government continues this genocide”.
China, however, has raised strong objections over nations accusing the Chinese government of a “genocide” dismissing it as ‘baseless’ and ‘far from reality.’
On June 12, during the Department of Science & Technology (DST) Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Discourse Series, Dr C Satish Reddy, Secretary, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), informed that the agency is setting up a total of 850 oxygen plants in various districts of the country from PM Cares Fund with oxygen generation capacity of 1000 litres per minute at every plant. He further added that during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, DRDO was prepared to provide all kind of support, and it was provided in time to help the people.
He said, “We established temporary hospitals specific to COVID 19 in many cities. These are modular hospitals, we call them flying hospitals, and these have been made in a way that the virus does not go out of hospitals. If there is any third wave, all the hospitals will be taking the load, and the government is discussing these aspects with various stakeholders.”
He also talked about the research DRDO is carrying out in advanced technology in defence. The agency is also concentrating on the development of high-quality technology to cater for the needs of the people at a lower cost to match the international level.
PM CARES Fund for Covid orphans
Recently, PM Modi announced that PM CARES Fund would be used to provide support to the children who lost their parents due to Covid. The Prime Minister announced that such bereaved children would get a monthly stipend once they turn 18 for the next five years from the PM Cares Fund. Moreover, they will receive a fund of Rs 10 lakh when they turn 23.
After using unfair means to defeat Viswanathan Anand in a chess game, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath disregarded the chess grandmaster’s wishes after he had asked the billionaire to not be named in any public communication. Anand’s wife and manager, Aruna Anand, said her husband had expressly asked Kamath to refrain from naming him, but he nevertheless did it.
According to Aruna Anand, her husband was contacted by the Zerodha co-founder who wanted to explain his apology to him. “Well, Nikhil contacted Anand today and explained this tweet. Anand replied to say that he can’t deny the algorithm and personally wouldn’t comment on the issue,” Aruna said.
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… He requested Mr. Kamath not to involve Anand’s name in his Tweets or in his course of action. That he went ahead and did it and allege something is disrespectful.”
She further added, “He requested Mr Kamath not to involve Anand’s name in his Tweets or in his course of action. That he went ahead and did it and allege something is disrespectful.”
Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath admits he had resorted to cheating to defeat chess grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand
Nikhil Kamath Monday issued an apology for using unfair means to win a chess game against chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. The apology came after Chess.com suspended the billionaire’s account for violating its Fair Play Policy. Kamath had yesterday used in-game analysts and computers to defeat Viswanathan Anand in an online game of chess.
“Yesterday was one of those days that I had dreamt of when I was a really young kid learning chess, to interact with Vishwanath Anand,” Kamath said in a statement posted to his Twitter account.
It is ridiculous that so many are thinking that I really beat Vishy sir in a chess game, that is almost like me waking up and winning a 100mt race with Usain Bolt. ? pic.twitter.com/UoazhNiAZV
The statement further read: “Got the opportunity thanks to Akshaypatra and their idea of raising funds for charity conducting a bunch of chess games with Vishy. It is ridiculous that so many are thinking that I really beat Vishy in a chess game, that is almost like me waking up and winning a 100mt race with Usain Bolt.”
“I had help from people analysing the game, computers and the graciousness of Anand sir himself to treat the game as a learning experience. This was for fun and charity. In hindsight, it was quite silly as I didn’t realise all the confusion that can get caused due to this. Apologies,” he added.
To this, Anand humbly responded, “Yesterday was a celebrity simul for people to raise money It was a fun experience upholding the ethics of the game.I just played the position on the board and expected the same from everyone.”
Yesterday was a celebrity simul for people to raise money It was a fun experience upholding the ethics of the game.I just played the position onthe board and expected the same from everyone . pic.twitter.com/ISJcguA8jQ
Anand had been playing chess games against various celebrities including actor Aamir Khan, cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and Kamath for charity to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic. While other players were defeated easily, Anand was surprisingly defeated by Nikhil Kamath. However, he was soon banned by the platform for using unfair means to win the match.
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) Secretary Bharat Chauhan, after the match, said that the move was “unfortunate” in a charity chess game and it shouldn’t have happened.
Swami Avdheshanand Giri of the Juna Akhada has issued a statement assuring that transactions related to the construction of the Bhavya Ram Mandir at Ayodhya is authentic and transparent. He also said that a misinformation campaign has been launched due to “selfish motives”.
Construction of Ram Temple & activities related to it are authentic & transparent. Attempts to malign this divine movement are unfortunate. It appears that this misinformation campaign is driven by selfish motives: Swami Avdheshanand Giri, Acharya Mahamandleshwar, Juna Akhara pic.twitter.com/CuuDPCP7bN
Champat Rai, General Secretary of the Ram Mandir Temple Trust, has also issued a clarification over the matter. He said that after it was decided to buy the land, it was found that the quoted price of Rs. 1423 per square feet, which was much lesser than the market price of nearby areas.
मूल्य पर सहमति हो जाने के पश्चात् सम्बन्धित व्यक्तियों को अपने पूर्व के अनुबन्धों को पूर्ण करना आवश्यक था, तभी सम्बन्धित भूमि तीर्थ क्षेत्र को प्राप्त हो सकती थी। 6/n
Champat Rai said that the previous agreements related to the land had to be completed in order for the Trust to be able to acquire the land. Consequently, when it was completed, the Trust acquired the land.
तीर्थ क्षेत्र का प्रथम दिवस से ही निर्णय रहा है कि सभी भुगतान बैंक से सीधे खाते में ही किये जायेंगे, सम्बन्धित भूमि की क्रय प्रक्रिया में भी इसी निर्णय का पालन हुआ है। यह भी सुनिश्चित किया जाता है कि सरकार द्वारा लगाये गये सभी कर आदि का भुगतान हो जाये। 8/n
A controversy had erupted after Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh alleged that Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra through its General Secretary Champat Rai bought a piece of land at an exponentially higher price. Samajwadi Party’s Pawan Pandey made similar allegations.
He alleged that the land value was estimated at Rs.2 crore during the registry, but the Trust made an additional payment of Rs.18.5 crore to the seller just five minutes later. However, the matter is far more complicated than what was suggested.
The agreement to sell the land at the stated price of Rs 2 crores market price between Kusum Pathak and Ansari had taken place in September, 2019. But the market price increased exponentially after the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict in November that year.
In 2021, the Temple Trust registered an Agreement to sell with Ansari at the prevailing market price, that is, Rs. 18.5 crores. The land prices surrounding the Ram Janmabhoomi and Ayodhya itself has gone up exponentially since the verdict, which is only to expected since the century old dispute had been resolved. Thus, there is no scam in the transaction.
Note: More about why there is no scam in the transactions can be read here.
