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Will BCCI and IPL remain silent on cricketers glorifying Khalistani terrorist Bhindranwale? They have to take action, and quickly

K Bhattacharjee
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Will BCCI and IPL remain silent on cricketers glorifying Khalistani terrorist Bhindranwale? They have to take action, and quickly

Many masks have dropped since the beginning of the ‘farmer protests’ last year. Celebrities, who popular in their respective fields, came forward and lent their support to extremely problematic stances and embraced problematic rhetoric to lend their support towards the same.

But a certain line was crossed on the 6th of June, the death anniversary of Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Former cricketer of the Indian national team, Harbhajan Singh, came out openly in support of Bindranwale in an Instagram story.

Harbhajan SIngh
The post by Harbhajan SIngh

Harbhajan Singh glorified Bhindranwale as a ‘martyr’ and offered him ‘pranam’. Unfortunately, ‘Bhajji’ was not the only cricketer who glorified a terrorist on the day of his death anniversary. Harpreet Brar, another cricketer, posted a quote of the terrorist on Twitter which said, “I don’t fear for a physical death, but when my conscience dies, that is my real death.”

Both these players still play in the Indian Premier League. Harpreet Brar plays for the Punjab Kings and Harbhajan plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Brar also plays for the Punjab cricket Association in domestic tournaments.

Thus, the cricket associations, including the BCCI and the IPL have serious questions to answer here. Do they permit terrorist sympathisers to participate in their competitions?

Only yesterday, Ollie Anderson, a cricketer for England, was suspended from all international cricket after tweets he made as a teenager resurfaced on social media. The problematic tweets were racist for which the cricketer had already apologised. But he was suspended for them nonetheless.

And here we have cricketers playing in the IPL glorifying a terrorist in 2021. Will the BCCI and IPL allow such conduct to go unpunished? We are not speaking of controversial posts made by teenagers here. We are speaking about cricketers glorifying a terrorist who wanted to break India along religious lines.

Harpreet Brar Bhindranwale
The tweet by Harpreet Brar

We are well aware that a cricketer could not get away with speaking in favour of ISIS or Al Qaeda. It would merit international condemnation and the person would be banned within hours. And yet, a day has passed since Brar made the tweet and yet, there has no been no statement from either the BCCI or the IPL.

Not taking action against Brar and Harbhajan Singh would set a dangerous precedent for the future. The respective IPL teams, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Rider, need to make their stand clear as well.

Cricket is the most popular sport in India and cricketers are universally recognised as heroes in the country. The effort to normalise a terrorist by cricketers wouldmark a dangerous trend if not nipped at the bud.

In a cricket loving country such as India, the BCCI cannot afford to act only as a management and administrative board alone. It has a duty towards the citizens of India to uphold and promote the integrity and security of this nation.

That duty is not served by allowing cricketers to glorify terrorists online. Some might argue that what happens off the pitch should not affect the circumstances on the ground but that is not how societies work or communities are meant to function.

There is minimum decency that is to be expected from those who wear the badge for the country and represent their states in domestic tournaments. Glorifying terrorists goes against all established norms of decency and propriety.

BCCI cannot afford to ignore cricketers glorifying those who committed crimes against humanity. BCCI has a duty to serve cricket but it also has a social responsibility to support the social good. It cannot compromise with the latter.

Israel: 11-year-old Jewish girl attacked, threatened by a group of Arab girls in a swimming pool

OpIndia Staff
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Israel: 11-year-old Jewish girl attacked, threatened by a group of Arab girls in a swimming pool

In a shocking incident reported from the central city of Lod in Israel, a bunch of Arab girls attacked a Jewish girl in a swimming pool, threatening her and making hateful statements against the Jewish community.

An 11-year-old who had gone swimming with her friends to a municipality pool was reportedly attacked by a group of Arab girls when she was in the deep end of the pool.

Narrating the incident of attack, the girl said, “Suddenly one young Arab girl comes over, and jumps on me with her friends. I was in the deep water, so I almost drowned. In the beginning, I didn’t understand what was happening to me…but then she pulled my swimsuit and made a hand motion on my neck as if she was slitting it.”

Threatening to slaughter her, the Arab girls terrorized the young girl by saying, “Palestine is on your head.”

The Arab girls kept hurling intimidating remarks even as the young girl scurried out of the pool. “We will chase every ‘Yahud’ out of here, this is all ours, get out of here,” they allegedly screamed.

The situation was brought under control after a woman at the site of the incident called the local police. 

An official complaint has been lodged by the girl’s family. Worried about her daughter’s condition after the traumatizing incident, the mother urged the municipality to have separate timings for Jewish girls. 

“In the past we could send our girls safely, now that can’t happen anymore – unless they do not allow Arabs to enter on that day, which is what we expect the municipality to do – and urgently,” the mother remarked. 

The incident was also narrated by a 26-year-old who came under attack by the same girls. “When we arrived at the pool, the Arab girls cursed us that we die and called us names, and we tried to ignore them as much as possible,” she said.

Kicked by one of the girls in the pool, the woman informed that even the young girls including her friend’s daughter were attacked by the Arab girls. They kept screaming and made slaughtering gestures, she added. 

One of the Arab girls even charged at the 26-year-old who was trying to film the incident threatened to hit her and tried snatching her phone, as per the reports. 

The recent rise in attacks against Jews

Jews across the globe have come under attack by the Islamist population since the day violence between Israel and Hamas began to escalate. 

On May 17, someone had scratched a Nazi’s hooked cross on the glass door of a synagogue in Sugar House, Utah in the United States of America.

In London, hundreds of thousands of “peaceful protestors” marched for Palestine and raised slogans against the Jewish people.

In a viral video, pro-Palestine protesters were seen advocating the rape of Jewish women. In another video, a man Jewish man was attacked in New York. The pro-Palestinian mob attacked him with a metal chair that led to a severe head injury. In a video from Canada, Pro-Palestinian mob was seen attacking a Jewish man. When a woman tried to save him, she was molested by the mob.

Synagogues were also vandalised in Germany following the escalation of violence between Palestine and Israel. 

Hyderabad: Instagram content creators remove Hinduphobic videos after outrage, had said God Shiva castrated himself

OpIndia Staff
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Hyderabad: Instagram content creators remove Hinduphobic videos after outrage, had said God Shiva castrated himself

A video had gone viral on social media late on Sunday where two Instagram content creators could be seen making extremely derogatory comments on God Shiva. The video was posted on the Youel.in Instagram account. The two individuals speak of Mahadeva castrating himself and made other such offensive remarks before going on to say that people should not get offended.

However, people did get offended due to the nature of the comments made. People demanded authorities to take action over the matter.

BJP MLA Tiger Raja Singh also intervened on the matter and said that the individuals, Kruthika Gowra and Chitin, are both residents of Hyderabad.

Since then, the Instagram content creators have issued an apology over the matter. In an Instagram Story, they said, “A three-part video posted since April in installments titled “Hinduism & Humans” suddenly provoked a lot of adverse reactions in the last 24 hours. This was despite our repeated disclaimer that our video was not made with the intention to offend anyone.”

Apology by Youek.in

The content creators further added in a separate story, “We have therefore decided to take down the entire three-part video permanently. We sincerely apologise to anyone we have unintentionally offended with the video. We request you to accept our apology and tag all the concerned parties.”

Apology by Youek.in

It remains to be seen whether the apology settles the matter or law enforcement authorities decide to take action against them for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus, especially since a sitting MLA has asked the authorities to take action.

Maharashtra: 35 IPS officers owe ₹3.82 crores in fines for squatting in govt accommodation, reveals RTI

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: 35 IPS officers owe ₹3.82 crores in fines for squatting in govt accommodation, reveals RTI

About 35 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers owe a cumulative fine of ₹3.82 crores to the Maharashtra government for squatting in government accommodation beyond their tenure, revealed an RTI filed by the Indian Express. The list of violators includes serving and retired high ranking officers.

An official of the Maharashtra government informed that IPS officers are supposed to vacate their government accommodation within three months of their transfer from one Commissionerate or district to another. During the period, they are expected to shift their families to new accommodation. If an IPS officer fails to do so, he is charged a license fee for the following 3 months. Any further stay invites a penal charge along with the license fee.

Indian Express reported that the license fee might vary from ₹120-₹1400 per month, depending upon the size of the government accommodation. However, the penal rent is extremely high and can go up to ₹1,50,000 for a 1000 sq. ft accommodation. The RTI has revealed that the cumulative fine (both licence and penal) incurred by the 35 IPS officers stand at ₹3.82 crores until end of March 2021. The list includes two former Mumbai Police Commissioners, 4 serving Police Commissioners, 2 Additional Director-Generals and an ex-Director General of Police.

Top 7 defaulting IPS officers owe more than ₹20 lac each

As per the RTI, DIG Sanjay Kumar Baviskar owes the highest fine of ₹75.77 lac for overstaying at a 1046 sq. ft apartment between Mid 2011 to October 2020. Similarly, DCP Dr Mahesh Patil incurred a fine of ₹33.77 lacs for overstaying at a 1000 sq. ft apartment in Mumbai until June 2019, despite his transfer in May 2016. Ex-IPS officers Surinder Kumar, Dhananjay Kamalkar, and Bipin Bihari owe the Maharastra government fines to the tune of ₹25.78 lacs, ₹22.82 lacs, ₹20.29 lacs respectively, as per the Indian Express report.

Moreover, Panjabrao Ugale (Anti-Corruption Bureau SP) owes ₹20.77 lacs while deceased ex-Mumbai Commissioner Dhananjay Jadhav owed ₹20.16 lacs. In total, the top seven defaulters individually owe/owed more than 20 lacs to the Maharashtra government. Other IPS officers such as Nisar Tamboli, Quaiser Khalid, Ankush Shinde, Dattatreya Shinde, Dr. Pradnya Saravade owe ₹16.91 lacs, ₹15.05 lacs, ₹11.56 lacs, ₹8.03 lacs, and ₹8.26 lacs respectively.

Special Inspector General of Police Brijesh Singh owes ₹6.48 lacs while ADG (Anti Corruption Bureau) VinayKumar Choubey owes ₹5.05 lacs. Ex IPS officer Sunil Praraskar and Pratap Dighavkar owes ₹16.71 and ₹3.93 respectively. Thane Police Commissioner Jaijeet Singh is yet to shell out ₹1.51 lacs while Police Commissioner (Pimpri Chinchwad) Krishna Prakash did not pay ₹2.43 lacs as of yet. Several of the IPS officers have cited lack of knowledge, personal reasons when confronted about not paying dues. Others have declined to comment on the matter.

Ex-BJP MP denies claims of overstaying

Ex-Mumbai CP and former BJP MP from Baghpat, Dr Satya Pal Singh reportedly owes ₹12.94 lacs to the government as per the RTI reply. The BJP MP said, “I never overstayed in any government quarters. It was perhaps some mistake on the part of the department which might have been calculated when I was posted outside Mumbai. I stayed in Police Quarters which was free and not in Government general pool. The license fees were waived off when Shri R R Patil was the Home Minister. It should be in Home Department records.”

Former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar shares Photoshopped image to attack PM Modi, actively tries to hide real pic

OpIndia Staff
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Former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar shares Photoshopped image to attack PM Modi, actively tries to hide real pic

Ex Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar on Monday shared a heavily edited image of Prime Minister Modi to insinuate that he goes out of his way to be polite to ‘his friends’.

Jawahar Sircar’s tweet

Sircar tweeted, “Wish fellow parliamentarians and others in politics also received such courtesy and bonhomie — from their permanently-scowling PM. In a mature democracy, we would know the two-way relationship, favours, transactions. Some day, history will tell us,” with an image of PM Modi bowing down politely to a woman whose face appeared that of Nita Ambani, wife of Reliance Group chief Mukesh Ambani.

However, the image is fake.

Original image

The image is actually of PM Modi meeting Deepika Mondal, who runs an NGO “Divya Jyoti Cultural Organisation and Welfare Society”. In fact, the above image shared by Sircar has been in circulation since 2015 and has been made viral with claims that the lady in the image is Preeti Adani, wife of Gautam Adani.

Old viral image claiming Deepika Mondal is Preeti Adani

Sircar actively tries to hide facts

Sircar then went on to hide the replies to his tweet which fact-checked his fake claims.

Sircar’s hidden replies

When clicked on the ‘hidden replies’ tab on his tweet, one can see he has hidden all the tweets which called out his lies.

More hidden replies
hidden replies

At the time of publishing this report, Sircar has not only not removed the fake image but also hidden at least 10 replies to his tweet which call out his lies.

Update: He has since deleted his tweet.

Mehul Choksi planned his own abduction, knew Antigua PM will send him back to India: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Mehul Choksi planned his own abduction, knew Antigua PM will send him back to India: Reports

After Mehul Choksi’s wife claimed that her husband was honey-trapped by a woman leading to the current ‘mess’, another startling revelation pertaining to the fugitive has come to the fore. As per a CNN-News18 report, pictures of Choksi with his agent suggests that he planned his own abduction with his agent who purportedly helped him escape from Antigua and Barbuda.

The Antigua sources informed that efforts are being made to identify the man seen in the images. According to the initial probe, the man had planned to take Choksi to Cuba through the sea route, however, the plan was foiled after he was nabbed in Dominica.

Meanwhile, Choksi’s close friend Govin in Antigua revealed that the fugitive holds another citizenship of a Caribbean country, apart from Antigua and Barbuda and exposed his plan to leave Antigua and settle in Cuba. 

Mehul Choksi’s friend Govin. (Image Source: CNN-News18)

As per the report, the Indian intelligence sources confirmed that Choksi had planned his kidnapping story as he knew about the Antigua government’s commitment to send him back to India.

“Bruises and black-eye not evidence of abduction”

Questioning the authenticity of Choksi’s abduction stories, reports suggest that the Antigua government have refuted the media reports.

Investigation in the case is ongoing and the information in reports have no authenticity, claimed the sources.

Woman honeytrapped Mehul Choksi suggested reports

Earlier, reports had claimed that Choksi was honey-trapped by a woman who was possibly in cahoots with a team of men who abducted, tortured and conveyed him to Dominica. A report published in India Today quoted sources close to the fugitive businessmen to claim the woman was part of the team, which was involved in his “abduction, torture and arrest”.

Choksi had gone missing a few days ago from Antigua and Barbuda and was later traced to and arrested in Dominica. The fugitive diamantaire had alleged through his counsel that he was kidnapped from Jolly Harbour on May 23 and people having links with India were responsible for his abduction.

Mehul Choksi arrested in Dominica

Dominican authorities had arrested Choksi on Wednesday for entering the country “illegally” from Antigua and Barbuda, where he has been living since January 2018.

After Choksi was arrested in Dominica, it was speculated that he will be extradited to India. However, the hopes of repatriating PNB Bank scam accused Mehul Choksi to India was soon dashed as Dominica said that they will send him back to Antigua, not India

Kareena Kapoor Khan to play Sita in a retelling of Ramayana? Here is what she is demanding as payment for the role

OpIndia Staff
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Kareena Kapoor Khan to play Sita in a retelling of Ramayana? Here is what she is demanding as payment for the role

Kareena Kapoor Khan has demanded Rs. 12 crores to play the role of Sita in a proposed movie on the Ramayana. The movie will depict the story of the Ramayana from Sita’s point of view and has been tentatively titled ‘Sita: The Incarnation’.

The proposed movie is to be directed by Alaukik Desai and has been written by KV Vijayendra Prasad of Bahubali fame. A source told Bollywood Hungama, “Kareena will shoot for Veere Di Wedding 2 and Hansal Mehta’s film first because they are smaller films that will be completed in one month’s time each. Sita will need at least 8-10 months of prep, shoot and production. So she will be completely consumed by one film at that point but Bebo (Kareena) also realises that this will be her biggest magnum opus till date, as it’s a retelling of Ramayana from Sita’s point of view.”

“Bebo who usually asks in the Rs. 6-8 crores range for her films has quoted a sum of Rs. 12 crores which has put the producers in a jiffy. In fact, right now, they are reconsidering their decision and also taking the film to a younger actress, as well. But talks are on and Bebo remains the first choice,” the source added.

Earlier in March, Bollywood Hungama had reported that both the director and writer feel that Kareena Kapoor Khan will be apt for the role. A source had told them in March, “Bebo has loved the idea and since she has the titular role, she will have majority of the screen space, unlike Adipurush and Ramayana 3D where the men dominate the frames. Kareena’s team is now figuring out dates and remuneration for the same. Once the modalities are worked out, a formal announcement will be made. In case, it doesn’t work out with Kareena, then Alia is their second pick for the period saga.”

However, the payment demanded by the actress is reported to have caused the filmmakers to reconsider their decision.

Not just indemnity, Pfizer wants disputes over vaccine supply under jurisdiction of US courts only, Indian govt in dilemma

OpIndia Staff
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Not just indemnity, Pfizer wants disputes over vaccine supply under jurisdiction of US courts only, Indian govt in dilemma

Two weeks after Pfizer sought waiver against liabilities that may occur out of the adverse effects of its vaccine in India, it has now demanded that disputes over vaccine supplies to the Indian government must be adjudicated in US courts only, reported The Economic Times (ET). Pfizer is marketing its mRNA Covid-19 vaccine across the world, which was developed in collaboration with German biotechnology company BioNTech SE.

The talks between the vaccine manufacturer Pfizer and the Indian government have reached an advanced stage. ET reported that while the government might give in to the demand for ‘indemnity’, it would not relent on giving up its legal jurisdiction. A government official pointed out, “There are two aspects to Pfizer’s demands. First that indemnity waiver, which if given to one company, will be available to domestic companies as well, and second is whether jurisdiction for any dispute be outside India.”

Reportedly, ET informed that the Union government had taken several steps to ensure that Pfizer vaccines are supplied to India. One of them includes an advance payment for procurement of vaccines and that too without guarantees. However, the biggest hurdle is shifting the legal jurisdiction from India to the United States. The official said that such a move will not be accepted/ passed by the Parliament. The official, however, added that the Indian government is currently working around these issues.

Screengrab of the Economic Times report

Several vaccine manyfacturers are now seeking for indemnity clause given that the Coronavirus vaccines are being developed and produced at a rapid pace and the side effects are not fully known. Following the footsteps of Pfizer, the Serum Institute of India (SII) has now also sought indemnity after learning that it might be granted by the Indian government to foreign vaccine manufacturers to enhance vaccine imports. SII is the manufacturers of the Covisheild vaccine (developed by Oxford -AstraZeneca).

Pfizer demands indemnity, won’t transfer technology for local production

Last month, Pfizer had informed that it had no plans to start production in the country. The pharmaceutical company said that it was not in talks with Indian authorities regarding production or technology transfer. As such, Pfizer jabs, if used in India, would be imported from its manufacturing sites in Europe and the United States. This would probably result in higher price of the vaccine in India, due to shipping costs and higher cost of manufacturing in the US and Europe compared to India.

In its defence, the company said that the development, manufacture, distribution, and storage of its mRNA technology-based vaccine needs globally optimised supply. It must be mentioned that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has earlier asked global vaccine manufacturers to share technology with companies in Asian and African countries. This would have helped in increasing local vaccine manufacturing and tide over the vaccine shortage.

The Pfizer vaccine approval in India is stuck over an indemnity clause (agreement wherein one party offers financial compensation for losses or damages caused by another party). Economic Times reported that Pfizer wanted a waiver from liabilities that might occur due to adverse effects of vaccines. It is in line with the company’s stand in dealings with other countries on the vaccine. It was earlier reported that Pfizer had asked several Latin American nations to pledge their sovereign and military assets, including federal reserves and embassies in foreign countries, as indemnity against any future liability.

Pak senator boasts about training Hamas terrorists, says will continue to do so, watch video

OpIndia Staff
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Pak senator boasts about training Hamas terrorists, says will continue to do so, watch video

Pakistan senator Raja Zafar-ul-Haq was recently found boasting about the fact that Pakistani army is training Hamas terrorists to carry out attacks. He said that the Pakistan army has a commando unit stationed in Gaza. This claim comes in the backdrop of Israel-Palestine violent conflict over the Sheikh Jarrah property dispute.

In the video, he could be heard saying, “In 1981 when I met Abu Jihad, he said that whenever there is a conflict with Israel, the ones who fight the bravest are the ones who have been trained in Pakistan. And they have been given military training. Even now it is happening.”

Abu Jihad, known as ‘Jihad’s father’, was a Palestine leader and top aide of Palestine Liberation Organisation’s Yasser Arafat.

Zafar-ul-Haq serves as the Chairman of Pakistan Muslim League (N) and was also Pakistan’s ambassador to Egypt.

Ramallah: Palestinian Authority pays USD 42,000 to family of terrorist who had murdered 2 Israelis in Jerusalem

OpIndia Staff
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Ramallah: Palestinian Authority pays USD 42,000 to family of terrorist who had murdered 2 Israelis in Jerusalem

On June 6 (local time), Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority ordered to pay $42,000 to the family of a Palestinian terrorist who had murdered two Israelis. The money, according to PA, will cover the cost of the new housing.

Laila Ghannam, the Governor of Ramallah, who was appointed by Abbas, met the family of the terrorist identified as Muhannad Halabi and gave them 30,000 Jordanian Dinars, which equals to $42,000. Following the killings, their house was destroyed by the Israeli Defence Forces.

According to KAN, Israel’s Public Broadcasting Corporation, the payment made to the terrorist’s family is the first high-profile payment since the Biden administration came into power. Reportedly, Ghannam also informed the family that Abbas had instructed them to find permanent housing for them.

The leaders have defended the payments

The Palestinian leaders have a history of defending the payments made to the terrorists and their families. They have described these payments as a form of social welfare and necessary compensation to the victims of “attacks from the Israelis”. Reports suggest that Ramallah paid NIS 600 million or $181 million in 2020 as payments to Palestinians captured by Israel for security offences that included terrorism.

Warnings from the US and EU

Over the past year EU and the US have warned Ramallah that if the policy is not changed, it will cause hurdles in improving relations. Based on Taylor Force Act, the US aid to PA was suspended as long as it keeps on paying the terrorists and their families.

It was reported by the Times of Israel that Palestinians were planning to rethink the said policy under which such payments are made as they wanted to restore relations with the governments of the US and Europe. Senior Palestinian officials had informed the news agency that they were willing to modify their policy of paying stipends to Palestinian security prisoners and the families of terrorists along with those who were killed in Israeli attacks.

Notably, the relations between PA and the US have been severed since the Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017. Abbas had rejected the then-US President Donald Trump’s ‘vision’ for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The killings of two Israelis

On October 3, 2015, Halabi killed two Israelis, identified as Aharon Banita and Rabbi Nehemiah Lavi, in a stabbing attack. During the attack, a 2-year-old son and Adele, wife of Banita, were injured. The incident took place in the Old City of Jerusalem. Following the stabbing attack, Halabi was shot dead by IDF.

Israel calls the practice ‘pay-to-slay’

The policy under which PA pays allowances to the convicted terrorists and the families of those who carried out the attacks often attract criticism from the Israeli government. The Israeli officials termed such payments as ‘pay-to-play. As per reports, the Palestinian Authority hands out great sums of money to the families of convicts for longer jail sentences. Thus, families of brutal terrorists often receive greater amounts.

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