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Video of BJP leader being beaten by Maharashtra police inside hospital premises goes viral: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Video of BJP leader being beaten by Maharashtra police inside hospital premises goes viral: Here is what happened

A video has been doing the rounds on social media wherein some Maharashtra police personnel are seen mercilessly beating up a man with rods and belts, while the latter pleads for mercy with folded hands. The victim tries to give an explanation to the policemen, who pay no heed to what he says and instead continue to rain sticks and rods at him.

According to a report by Divya Marathi, the incident reportedly took place inside the premises of a hospital in Jalna, Maharashtra on April 9, 2021. The man who is being thrashed in the video is a local BJP leader named Shivraj Nariyalwale.

According to the local newspaper, on April 9, the day of the purported incident, Shivraj Nariyalwale, who is the General Secretary of BJP Yuva Morcha in Jalna district, was informed that a youth died while undergoing treatment at the private hospital. The relatives of the deceased accused the hospital of negligence. Nariyalwale, along with other activists reached the hospital and questioned the hospital administration.

Angered over the sheer negligence of the hospital authorities leading to the death of the youth, the relatives including family members of the deceased got into an argument with the hospital staff. This culminated in a scuffle between the two groups. Seeing the situation go out of hand, the hospital staff informed the police.

Senior rank officers of Maharashtra police beat up the local BJP leader

The Jalna police personnel led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sudhir Khiradkar and Inspector Prashant Mahajan of Kadim Jalna police station, rushed to the hospital. Initially, the police tried to persuade the relatives of the deceased.  However, when the relatives did not pay heed, the police started admonishing and abusing them. The local BJP leader Shivraj Nariyalwale took out his phone and started recording the police’ high handedness.

This further irked the Maharashtra police, who pulled out Nariyalwale from the crowd and took him to another room, inside the hospital premises, where they brutally thrashed him with belts and rods.

Though the incident happened in the beginning of April, it was not reported anywhere, since the BJP leader was too scared to come out in the open and narrate his ordeal.

The BJP leader speaks up 2 months after the incident, releases video

Recently, when reports emerged that Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sudhir Khiradkar has been suspended in a separate bribery case, the local BJP leader mustered the courage to release the video of the incident and speak up about the atrocities meted out at him by Maharashtra police.

Speaking to Divya Marathi, Shivraj Nariyalwale confirmed that the person in the purported video was him. “I was brutally beaten on April 9, 2021. At that time, the perpetrators were not ordinary police personnel but high rank officers like the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and senior police inspector. I felt helpless when so many officers assaulted me together.”

“People ask me as to why then I remained silent and not lodge a complaint against the officers? I was really scared. The mental agony was more than the physical injury. But now I’m out of that mental stress. Ever since the video went viral, I have received many phone calls. While some have expressed sympathy, some have also advised me to forget about what happened. But, I will not remain silent now. I will file a case under IPC section 307 against those who had beat me inhumanely”, added the local BJP leader. 

Maharashtra police and its high-handedness

The high handedness of the Maharashtra police, working at the behest of the Uddhav Thackeray government in the state is quite well established.

Speaking of one such incident, last year, the Maharashtra police had resorted to attacking student activists belonging to Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad for protesting against the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government demanding a 30 per cent waiver of fees.

Then, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena activists wanted to meet Minister Abdul Sattar for urging a fee waiver and also present other demands, however, the Maharashtra police had then launched an all-out attack against the student activists and also punched them in the face in the presence of the Maharashtra minister, who was seen comfortably sitting inside his car.

Similarly in November 2020, the Mumbai police came down heavily on the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers staging a peaceful protest against the illegal crackdown on media and social media by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.

“Indian variant” is a repeat of how the world changed Hitler’s “hooked cross” to “Swastika”

Abhishek Banerjee
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“Indian variant” is a repeat of how the world changed Hitler’s “hooked cross” to “Swastika”

Brace yourselves folks, because a great evil is upon the world. Here it is, casting its evil shadow on the faraway nation of Australia.

“Indian variant”

From America to Europe to Australia, no human being on the face of this earth is safe. Because the “Indian variant” is coming for everyone. Look, the BBC even decided to release videos in five languages warning people about this most dangerous “Indian variant.” That’s right: five languages.

BBC describing ‘Indian variant’ in five languages

Here is a tiny side note. Notice how the languages belong to some region called “South Asia,” but the virus belongs only to India!

It is quite natural to compare the pandemic to a World War. It has spread to every corner of the planet and has caused at least 35 lakh confirmed deaths. The real number could be much larger. It has devastated economies, forced hundreds of millions of people into poverty. There is likely no human being anywhere whose life has not been turned upside down over the last year and half. Each one of us breathing today is lucky to still be alive. This is World War 2 all over again, possibly even worse.

And just as with World War 2, the global media faces a problem. One of these days, it’s going to be over. And then, the media and history books will have to record for future generations about the nature of the evil that caused this.

The “hakenkreuz” or hooked cross was the dreaded symbol of Hitler and his Nazis. At its peak, the Nazi flag with the hooked cross flew over almost all the capitals in Europe. Millions of innocent people were snatched from their homes and they perished inside gas chambers.

Who was behind this horrific crime? It was Christian fundamentalists, acting on their age old hatred against Jews.

But if you are a western historian, you can’t put that down. You cannot tell future generations that every member of the Nazi SS wore a belt with the words “Gott mit uns” (God with us). You cannot tell future generations that the Nazi symbol of the hooked cross is a variation of the Christian cross. And you cannot tell future generations about the deals between the Fascist Party and the Church. When tourists visit Vatican City, you cannot tell them that the city was a gift from Mussolini to the Pope.

So you change terminology. You can’t use the original German word “hakenkreuz” that the Nazis used to describe their own symbol. You cannot use the term hooked cross, which would be the literal English translation of that. Nor can you use English, French, German, Spanish, Russian or Portuguese to describe it. That would leave the Christian west with too much blame.

So you go halfway around the world and dig out a Sanskrit word for a somewhat similar looking symbol. And thus the hated Nazi symbol becomes designated as the “Swastika.” For hundreds of millions of people in the west, “Swastika” will be the only Sanskrit word they know. And they will despise it. Each time they hear it, they will think that Hitler was inspired by the pagan Hindus.

The same thing is happening today. They can’t name where the virus came from. That would hurt the global compact between the Religion of ‘Love’, the Religion of ‘Peace’ and the Religion of ‘Equality.’ Instead, they want to settle on “Indian variant.” They want to blame the pagans again. With a reported 33 crore gods, it has to be the fault of the pagans somehow.

Look at poor TIME Magazine, wondering what other options they have, other than calling it “Indian variant.”

Time discussing ‘Indian variant’

Oh India is “demanding,” are they? How dare the pagans stand up for themselves? Why are they making this inconvenient in some small way? If people don’t call it “Indian variant,” what other name could they possibly use? All the possible names in all languages of the world have run out. If you don’t like names, you could use combinations of letters and numbers to designate viruses. As in B.1.617.2, the official scientific name. But hey, with the media looking for something to call it, even the numbers ran out somehow, despite there being infinitely many by definition.

By the way, if we have to have geographic names, did anyone consider calling it the “South Asian variant”? They already designated my entire culture and history as “South Asian” instead of “Indian,” so why not use it for virus variants too? I know. Because South Asia has a lot of countries and you can’t point a finger at the ones that have an Abrahamic faith as their state religion.

The blame must go to the one country and the one culture with a billion pagans in it.

They can’t name the country where the original virus came from. But the variant is from India and they make sure everyone knows that. They did it with the hooked cross of Nazis. It came from Christian Germany, but it was remembered only as the Swastika. Now, we have a virus that came from Wuhan in China, but all we should remember is the so called Indian variant.

While WhatsApp alleges ‘privacy violation’ against new IT rules, here is why they are important to catch criminals behind serious crimes

Raju Das
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While WhatsApp alleges ‘privacy violation’ against new IT rules, here is why they are important to catch criminals behind serious crimes

The new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, announced in February this year, came into effect on 26th May. The social media intermediaries, streaming platforms and digital media houses were given three months to implement the rules. But for some reason, almost all of them ignored the rules completely and did nothing to either implement or challenge them in the last three months. When the new IT rules came into effect, the impacted platforms have hurried to file lawsuits against them or seek more times from the govt.

Twitter has sought another three more months to comply with the rules, Facebook and Google have said they are ready to implement the rules, but need some time. On the other hand, Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has filed a lawsuit at the Delhi High Court challenging the new IT rules, saying it violates the privacy rights of the citizens. It may be noted that while the social media companies have suddenly woken up to the new IT rules, Digital Media platforms had already challenged it in March, when The Wire, The Quint and LiveLaw had filed against the provisions on digital media contained in the rules.

The main issue that WhatsApp is objecting to is the traceability clause. The section 5(2) of the IT rules says that significant social media intermediaries providing messaging services must enable the identification of originator of messages that violates certain laws. According to the new rules, if a message that originates on a messaging platform like WhatsApp violates any law that carries jail term of minimum five years as punishment, the company must reveal the originator of such messages.

This is not an issue with general social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, where posts are generally available in public. But it is created a big problem for messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram etc, as they have built the platforms around privacy, and complying with the rules means that they will have to break their own privacy features.

WhatsApp have claimed that complying with the new IT rules will break end-to-end encryption of the app and it fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy. While it is true that WhatsApp may have to make some modifications in its codes, its claim that the rules violate the rights of privacy is completely wrong.

This is because, the government of India is not asking the messaging platforms to reveal the origin of every message, they are being asked to identify the origin of messages that constitute serious violations of laws of the land. According to the rules, the messaging app companies will have to identify the origin of messages that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India, friendly relations with other nations, public order, and offences related to rape, child sexual abuse material, sexually explicit material etc only. Moreover, the companies will have to reveal the originator only if they are ordered to do so by a court or a competent authority and the case involves charges that carries imprisonment for a term of not less than five years.

Relevant section of the IT Rules 2021

This means, before the rules, if someone had posted a video of a sexual assault of a girl on WhatsApp, or a video of a terrorist issuing threat, the authorities could not ask the company to reveal the origin of the video so that the culprits can be traced and booked. The New IT rules address that problem, and ensures that the origin of messages that are serious violation of select laws are identified. It may be noted that posts related to defamation, fake news etc are not covered under these rules. If some message is accused of defaming someone or spreading fake news, the platforms will not be asked to reveal the origin of such posts.

WhatsApp is specifically known for number of rape and sexual harassment videos that circulate on the platform. When activists and police find such videos, they take steps to identify the victim and the culprits, but often it is difficult to trace the origin of such videos to find them, as the videos reach the police after being forwarded by dozens of people, with no sign of the origin. With the new rules, WhatsApp will be required to keep tag of the origin of such messages, so that in case of serious violations, the authorities can question the origin of such messages, who can be either witnesses or criminals themselves. Therefore, this will ensure that the criminals will be brought to the book, if the origin of such messages that violates laws can be identified.

Responding to the objections of WhatsApp, the union government has also clarified the government respects the right of privacy and has no intention to violate it when WhatsApp is required to disclose the origin of a particular message. “Such requirements are only in case when the message is required for prevention, investigation or punishment of very serious offences related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order, or of incitement to an offence relating to the above or in relation with rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material. Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right,” the Ministry of Electronics and IT said in a press statement.

The departmental minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that its entire objective is to find out who started the message that led to commissioning of specific crimes mentioned in the rules, and ordinary users have nothing to fear about the rules. “The new Rules are only designed to prevent abuse & misuse of social media. Govt welcomes criticism including the right to ask questions. The Rules only empower the ordinary users of social media when they become victims of abuse & misuse,” the minister added.

It is notable that while WhatsApp is opposing the IT rules citing violation of privacy rights, it itself has silently enforced its own controversial privacy rules to share its user data with other Facebook companies. The arbitrary decision to update its privacy norms has led its users to believe that WhatsApp would now be able to peek into its users’ personal messages and share the personal data of users with Facebook.

IMA files police complaint against Baba Ramdev, seeks FIR against him after threatening with 1000 crores lawsuit

OpIndia Staff
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IMA files police complaint against Baba Ramdev, seeks FIR against him after threatening with 1000 crores lawsuit

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has filed a complaint against Yoga Guru Ramdev at IP Estate Police Station in New Delhi for his remarks on modern medicine.

According to the reports, the IMA has sought an FIR against Ramdev over his recent opinions on the limitations of the allopathic system of medicine.

The complaint, signed by General Secretary of IMA, Dr. Jayesh Lele, said that Ramdev, along with his associates, “operated in furtherance of their illegal and dishonest intention with a view of obtaining wrongful gain and consequently causing wrongful loss to the medical fraternity and general public in large”.

In its complaint, the IMA claimed that Baba Ramdev had committed cognizable offenses and is liable to be prosecuted under all applicable and relevant provisions of the law, including Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.

Further, IMA said that a police investigation is necessary to unearth the identity of other persons involved with Ramdev in the “conspiracy of making scurrilous and malicious statements in public and obtaining unjust gains from the promotion of unproven and unapproved treatment methods.”

IMA has sought an FIR against the yoga guru under relevant provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, Disaster Management Act, 2005, Indian Penal Code, 1860, and other relevant provisions.

IMA wants to sue Baba Ramdev for Rs 1,000 crore

On Wednesday, the IMA had sent Rs.1,000 crore defamation notice to Yoga Guru for his statements on allopathic medicine. The IMA has threatened Baba Ramdev, saying that if he does not post a video countering the statements given by him and tender a written apology within the next 15 days, they will be demanding Rs 1,000 crores from him.

The latest controversy between IMA and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev erupted after a video of Baba Ramdev went viral on social media platforms, where he was heard saying that allopathy is a hollow practice and that many people have lost their lives due to allopathic medicines.

To this, the Indian Medical Association had taken a strong objection and had threatened to move Court if the Union Health Ministry does not take cognizance of the remarks made by Ramdev. The Health Ministry had issued a letter to Ramdev directing him to retract his statements.

In response to IMA’s attacks, Baba Ramdev too had launched an attack on the Indian Medical Association on Tuesday, firing 25 pointed questions at them. With these questions, Ramdev tried to highlight the shortcomings of allopathy and asking for permanent solutions to some of the most common diseases.

Taking a sly at the ongoing debate, Ramdev had also asked if allopathy has any treatment for the growing hatred and violence and also a cure that can put an end to the fight between allopathy and Ayurveda.

It is also notable here that IMA’s ire against Baba Ramdev also comes at a time when the IMA President JA Jayapal’s statements exposing his intentions to use the Covid pandemic as an opportunity to spread Christianity were doing rounds on social media.

Saudi Arabia restricts the use of loudspeakers by mosques, directs to keep the volume at a one-third level: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Saudi Arabia restricts the use of loudspeakers by mosques, directs to keep the volume at a one-third level: Details

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs has issued a new directive ordering mosques to limit the use of loudspeakers. The Ministry has allowed the loudspeaker to be used only for calls for prayers Azan (call for prayer) and Iqamat (second call for prayer indicating that the Imam has taken his place for the prayers).

A circular has been issued by Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh, to all mosques directing that the volume of the loudspeakers are to be kept at not more than one-third of the level. Any violations in the rule will invite heavy penalties as per the order. 

The order was based on Sharia evidence which suggests calling the Lord quietly. “One should not trouble the other and one should not raise the voice in recitation or in prayer over the voice of the other,” read the order based on Hadith. 

As per a report, external amplifiers and loudspeakers used for anything other than the Azan harm patients, old people, and children in the houses in the vicinity of the mosques.

The Ministry also ruled that prayers conducted by Imam should be specific to the devotees within the mosques with no legitimate need to convey it to those at home. 

“In addition to the fact that reading the Quran on external amplifiers is disrespectful to the Quran when it is recited loudly using external loudspeakers, while no one is listening to and pondering on its verses,” said the circular,” read the circular. 

The order released by the Ministry is based on fatwas by most senior Islamic scholars like Sheikh Mohammed bin Saleh Al Othaimeen and Saleh Al Fawzan of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Ministry in 2019 too had asked the mosques to limit the usage of loudspeakers in the Holy month of Ramadan. 

Google’s Corporate Communications Director shares derogatory posts against PM Modi. Not the first ‘big-tech’ employee to do so. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Google’s Corporate Communications Director shares derogatory posts against PM Modi. Not the first ‘big-tech’ employee to do so. Read details

On May 27, screenshots of a post made by Meenu Handa, reportedly a Corporate Communication Director at Google, started to make rounds on social media platforms.

In the said post, she had shared a derogatory artwork against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wrote, “Always in awe! How do they think of these things, so creative,” with a wink emoji.

The said post was originally created by Allen Shaw, who had targeted PM Modi over the new IT ministry guidelines for social media giants claiming to be ‘intermediaries’, “India’s new social media rules. Dear Government, please do not confuse a public toilet with your throne.”

Original post by Allen Shaw. Source: Facebook

As the post started to make rounds on social media, Meenu Handa locked her account on Twitter. However, we managed to scan her profile and found several posts displaying blatant hatred against PM Modi and the current union government. It has to be noted that she had retweeted posts from serial fake-news peddlers like Prashant Bhushan and Kunal Kamra, liberal ‘journalists’ like Shekhar Gupta, and Congress party office bearers like Srivatsa YB and Gaurav Pandhi.

Post of Modi-hater Prashant Bhushan RTed by Meenu Handa. Source: Twitter
Another misleading post shared by Meenu Source: Twitter
Another post blaming PM Modi for the surge in Covid cases. Source: Twitter
Meenu expressing happiness over report suggesting PM Modi’s popularity is declining. Source: Twitter
Another misleading report shared by Meenu about Centra Vista project. Source: Twitter
Misleading The Print’s report about Covid situation in India. Source: Twitter
A post by Congress’s Srivatsa. Source: Twitter
A post by Congress’s Gaurab Pandhi comparing PM Singh and PM Modi. Source: Twitter
A post RTed by Meenu showing Republic’s Arnab Goswami as a dog. Source: Twitter

Handa’s timeline on social media is not about being opposed to policies of the current government or voicing dissenting opinion. The shares are more about displaying a visceral hatred against PM Modi, often in a derogatory manner.

Most recently, she also retweeted a link shared by Rana Ayyub, the so-called journalist who has been running propaganda against PM Modi since the time when he was CM. The post was linked to an article written by Umar Khalid, who is currently lodged in jail for his alleged role in the anti-Hindu riots of Delhi in February 2020. The article talks about the “struggles” Khalid is going through in jail and tries to whitewash his wrongdoings.

Meenu RTed a post by Rana Ayyub with a link to an article written by terror-accused Umar Khalid. Source: Twitter

Other politically biased tech company bigwigs

This is not the first time large tech corporations have appointed individuals with blatant and glaring political bias on decision-making posts. In 2018, it came to notice that Twitter India’s policy head Mahima Kaul had made several derogatory posts against Prime Minister Modi in the past. When the screenshots of her old posts started to make rounds on social media, she deleted them.

In June 2020, Siddharth Mazumdar was appointed by Facebook as policy head. Mazumdar’s Twitter account NyaySahay was filled with hate posts against PM Modi. He had mocked and abused PM Modi repeatedly and even commented under union ministers’ posts in very derogatory language.

In August 2020, it was revealed that one of Facebook’s officials, identified as Vijaya Moorthy, is a Modi-hater and a dedicated follower of the Congress Party. On her LinkedIn profile, she mentioned her job as Policy manager for Facebook India. Also, Ankhi Das, former Public Policy Director, Facebook India, who was termed as BJP agent by opposition leaders, had expressed her open admiration for TMC leader Mamata Banerjee and Aam Aadmi Party.

Watch: Six-year-old Khushboo greets Yogi Adityanath with flowers and Radha-Krishna idol, CM gives his blessings

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Six-year-old Khushboo greets Yogi Adityanath with flowers and Radha-Krishna idol, CM gives his blessings

A video clip is doing the rounds on social media where the Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath is seen gently interacting with a 6-year-old girl, while the latter greets the CM with a rose, a garland and a Radha-Krishna idol during his visit to the Susvalia village of Padrauna block in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. The CM was on a visit to Deoria and Kushinagar district on May 26 (Wednesday) to review the pandemic preparedness in these places, when he met the 6-year-old, Khusboo.

“Dada, yeh aapke liye”, says the little girl, while gifting a rose flower to Yogi Adithyanath, who in turn, lovingly enquires about the class she studies in.

The CM explains to the girl that due to the pandemic situation, temporarily she would be required to study from the house and not go to school.

The girl then gifts the Uttar Pradesh CM a Radha-Krishna idol, which Yogi Adityanath politely returns. “Yeh meri taraf se tumhare liye” (this you keep from my side), says Yogi Adityanath, while gently drawing her closer to him for a picture. The girl also carried a letter, addressed to the CM from her family, in her hand, which Yogi Adityanath accepts politely. The girl then seeks the blessing of the CM by touching his feet.

The heart-warming incident happened when Yogi Adityanath went to meet the family members of a home isolated Covid-19 patient at her home in Susvalia village of Padrauna block to ask about her well being. While he was leaving the village he was greeted by the 6-year-old.

Yogi Adityanath visits Deoria and Kushinagar district to review the pandemic preparedness

Yogi Adityanath also visited the Integrated Covid command and control room in the Kushinagar district. Moreover, during his visit to Deoria, the UP CM went to Katrari village and interacted with the Gram Pradhan as well as the members of the Covid monitoring committee. During his visit, Yogi Adityanath asserted that all eligible persons in the state will be vaccinated against Covid and said a vaccine for those in the 12-18 age group is coming soon.

“Vaccine for people in the age group of 12-18 years is coming soon. We will vaccinate everyone,” Adityanath said in Deoria. The chief minister said the state proved naysayers wrong about a surging infection rate during the second wave. Declaring the state as a “Covid safe zone”, Yogi said that the state managed to successfully blunt the surge by the state adopted the “trace, test and treat” method.

The Uttar Pradesh CM also confirmed that the state is now preparing for the probable third wave of infection.

Mob ‘justice’ in Rajasthan: Tyre shop owner Sattar Khan and Azaad arrested after they assault two on suspicion of theft

OpIndia Staff
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Mob ‘justice’ in Rajasthan: Tyre shop owner Sattar Khan and Azaad arrested after they assault two on suspicion of theft

The Nimbahera (Sadar) police in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district have arrested one Sattar Khan and his aides Azaad Mansoori and Chand, and are in the lookout for other known assailants. The accused were reportedly a part of the mob that assaulted two men, namely Jameel, son of Babu Khan, and Komal, son of Phoolchand Khatik, on suspicion of theft.

The incident came to the fore after a video of the assault went viral on social media.

In what transpired, Sattar Khan, an owner of a tyre shop, had on May 23 lodged a complaint at Sadar police station. In the complaint, Sattar Khan claimed that someone stole eight tyres from his shop at Ranikheda Circle on the previous night.

On May 24, Sattar and his aides brought two men Jameel and Komal to the police station and handed them over to the police. The two were arrested after they confessed to their crime but later released because prolonged police custody for crimes punishable by less than three years is not allowed.

After the accused were legally released, the police, on May 25 (Tuesday) learnt about two video clips, that went viral on social media, where the two accused were seen being beaten up by a mob. While in custody, the accused had not told the police anything about the assault. Based on the purported video, the police then lodged another case and named five persons for the assault. 

Investigation Officer Suraj Kumar said, a case of physical assault has been registered and an investigation is underway. Meanwhile, Sattar Khan and his aides Azaad Mansoori and Chand were arrested.

Irrespective of the communal narratives that are invariably woven by the gang of liberals and leftist media around such incidents of mob assault, especially if the victims belong to the Muslim community, these incidents are very common. And unlike the perception created by these liberals, the mob which attacks such perpetrators seldom sees which community the accused belongs to.

Mob assault Basheed Khan on suspicion of theft, Congress claims he was killed as he was a Muslim

In September 2020, controversial Congress leader Salman Nizami, took to Twitter to spread misinformation by attempting to give a communal spin to an incident. claiming that one Basheed Khan was tied to a tree and beaten for hours by a mob in Bareilly. Nizami went on to allege that the BJP government had given a ‘free rein to torture and kill Muslims ‘at will in the state.

The Congress leader Salman Nizami’s claim that the person Basheed Khan was killed because he was a Muslim was untrue.

According to reports, the 32-year-old man Basheed Khan died after he was allegedly tied to a tree and thrashed by a mob on suspicion of theft at a village in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh.

The Dasna controversy

In March 2022, the leftist media and the so-called liberals created a hullabaloo over the Dasna incident where a Muslim boy was thrashed for allegedly drinking water at a Hindu temple in the Dasna area of ​​Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. A youth named Shringi Yadav was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on the ‘minor’ Muslim youth Asif.

A day after his release, Shringi Yadav had put out the chain of events that transpired inside the Dasna temple in Ghaziabad that has fuelled a massive controversy across the country.

Speaking to Sudarshan News, Shringi Yadav dismissed the claims that the Muslim boy was targeted inside the temple for drinking water. Rubbishing the allegations, Yadav, who was then depicted as the ‘mascot of hatred’ by the ‘left-liberal’ media, said that Asif was caught urinating on the Shivling inside the Dasna Devi temple and behaving indecently in the presence of a few Hindu women visiting the temple. 

Food van driver killed over allegations of bike theft

On March 15, 2021, it was reported how a 26-year-old food van driver was thrashed and killed in Maheshpur village in Sirka in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand, following allegations of theft. The deceased had been identified as one Mubarak Khan. Indian Express reported that Khan was tied to an electric pole at around 1 am on Sunday night and beaten by a mob of 20-25 people for trying to steal the tire and wheels of a Pulsar bike.

Mob assault up one Munafed Khan on suspicion of cow smuggling

In September 2019, one Munafed Khan was beaten up by the villagers in the Khusa ki Dhani area of Shahjahanpur in Rajasthan’s Alwar on the suspicion of smuggling cows. The police found 7 bovine animals in Munafed’s vehicle.

According to reports, Munafed was trying hard to escape police barrier but instead was caught up by the alert villagers who confronted him and started thrashing him believing that he was smuggling cows. This is not the first time that Munafed has been involved in cow smuggling incidents. In the past too, Munafed had been involved in the incidents of smuggling cows.

Tabrez Ansari Case

Likewise, in June 2019, the incidents of theft took place at the house of three persons named Hemsagar Pradhan, Rajesh Pramanik and Kamal Mahato. Three culprits were reportedly involved in the theft, out of whom the locals were able to nab one Mohammad Tabrez Ansari. Ansari was brutally beaten by the locals before the police had reached the spot. After reaching there police rescued Ansari and sent him for medical examination. Ansari was accused of trying to steal a bike.

The matter was picked up by national media after Tabrez Ansari’s death after some days was portrayed as a case of mob lynching. The matter was highly politicised and violent protests were carried out by Muslims organisations against Ansari’s death. In a major breakthrough in the case in January this year, Seraikela police had arrested a man named Arif Ansari for allegedly possessing two stolen mobiles phones. The phones were kept on surveillance by the police since they were stolen. Accused Arif Ansari deals in the sale and purchase of stolen mobile phones. He has been sent jailed several times in similar cases.

Twitter asks for another 3 months to comply with new IT guidelines, cites its usual ‘freedom of expression’ rhetoric while controlling the same

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter asks for another 3 months to comply with new IT guidelines, cites its usual ‘freedom of expression’ rhetoric while controlling the same

A day after the Indian government enforced the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules to bring transparency into the working of social media companies, social media giant Twitter on Thursday released a statement saying it needs at least three months to comply with the Indian laws.

Amidst the ongoing controversy over social media platforms’ reluctance to follow Indian laws, Twitter Inc said they would comply with applicable laws in India and continue constructive dialogue with the government. However, the micro-blogging platform asked the government to give it three more months to comply with the new IT rules.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, which came into effect from May 25, mandates the social media intermediaries with more than 5 million users and providing messaging services to identify the first originator of problematic content that may harm the country’s interests. The companies should also appoint an Indian grievance officer to deal with the complaints.

It is notable here that the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 were issued in February this year, and social media companies have already been given 3 months time to comply with the new regulations.

The non-compliance with rules will result in these platforms losing the intermediary status that provides them immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by them. In other words, they could be liable for criminal action in case of complaints.

Following the enforcement of the new IT rules, Twitter said it was very concerned regarding the rules that make the compliance officer criminally liable for content posted on the platform.

In its statement, Twitter said, “Twitter is deeply committed to the people of India. Our service has proven vital for public conversation and a source of support for people during the pandemic. To keep our service available, we will strive to comply with applicable law in India.

Continuing, Twitter claimed that they continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commitment to empowering every voice on the service, and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law. It is a big irony especially when the platform has repeatedly acting as a publisher and not an intermediary by displaying its blatant political bias.

Twitter peddles ‘Freedom of Expression’ bogey over recent notice issued by the Indian govt

On the recent events that unfolded over Twitter’s arbitrary move to moderate content in the country by flagging tweets put out by the BJP leaders and subsequent Delhi Police’s investigation into the issue, Twitter said that they are concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the “potential threat to freedom of expression for the people they serve.”

“We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global Terms of Service, as well as with core elements of the new IT Rules. We plan to advocate for changes to elements of these regulations that inhibit free, open public conversation,” claimed Twitter days after the Special Cell of the Delhi Police had visited offices of Twitter India in Delhi and Gurgaon in connection with its probe into the Congress toolkit conspiracy.

A few days back, Delhi Police had visited Twitter’s offices to serve notice to them, demanding an explanation for adding the ‘manipulated media’ tag to tweets by BJP politicians on the Congress toolkit case. The social media platform has been asked to explain the reason behind their decision to add the tag. However, showing disrespect to Indian laws, Twitter had refused to appear before the investigating team in the Congress toolkit case.

Responding to the allegation, Twitter has now come up with a statement saying, “We will continue our constructive dialogue with the Indian Government and believe it is critical to adopt a collaborative approach. It is the collective responsibility of elected officials, industry, and civil society to safeguard the interests of the public.”

Arvind Kejriwal bats for Pfizer even as the company wants protection from being sued if vaccines give adverse effects

OpIndia Staff
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Arvind Kejriwal bats for Pfizer even as the company wants protection from being sued if vaccines give adverse effects

On Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the center to procure the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine immediately to inoculate children in the national capital and across the country.

Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the country should procure this vaccine “ASAP” (as soon as possible) for children.

The appeal by Arvind Kejriwal came after several media on Wednesday reported that the US pharma giant and the Centre are holding a series of meetings to fast-track approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Pfizer is marketing its mRNA Covid-19 vaccine across the world, which was developed in collaboration with German biotechnology company BioNTech SE.

Kerjiwal wants to centre to approve untested Pfizer vaccines

During the meeting, Pfizer has reportedly said to the government that its Covid vaccine showed “high effectiveness” against the B.1.617 variant, the variant responsible for the second wave of infections in the country. Pfizer also claimed that its vaccine has been proven suitable for everyone over 12 and can be stored in cold storage facilities for a month with a temperature range of 2-8 degrees Celsius.

The American pharma giant is currently holding talks with the government over fast-track approval to provide five crore jabs in the next few months if the center grants them significant regulatory relaxations, including indemnification or protection from compensation claims in case of adverse events.

So far, the government has not given such protection from liability to any of the three vaccines currently approved for use in India – Covishield, Covaxin, or Sputnik V. However, Pfizer insists on protection from legal liabilities, which it has been given by other countries, including the United States and several European nations.

Despite Pfizer’s reluctance to take responsibility for the possible adverse effects of its own vaccine, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal pushes the center to purchase Pfizer’s ‘untested’ vaccine. Importantly, Pfizer is yet to conduct any efficacy trials for its vaccine in India, even as it seeks an indemnity clause for its vaccine.

In fact, last week, the Delhi government had approached both Pfizer and Moderna, another US pharma giant with a Covid vaccine, to buy vaccines directly from them. However, in a major embarrassment to the Delhi government, Pfizer had rejected the offer citing the company policy of only dealing with the central government.

Pfizer wants waiver of liabilities against adverse effects, will not transfer technology

Amidst the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic in India, US-based vaccine manufacturer Pfizer has reached a deadlock with the Indian authorities over its indemnity clause. It has sought waiver against liabilities that may occur out of the adverse effects of the vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine approval in India is stuck over an indemnity clause, an agreement wherein one party offers financial compensation for losses or damages caused by another party. US Pharma giant Pfizer wants a waiver from liabilities that might occur due to adverse effects of vaccines.

In several Latin American nations, Pfizer has asked the countries to pledge their sovereign and military assets, including federal reserves and embassies in foreign countries, as indemnity against any future liability that may arise due to side effects of the vaccine or any negligence of the company. The Pharmaceutical giant had also asked the countries to deposit bank guarantees in foreign countries as part of such indemnity.

In addition to indemnity clauses, Pfizer has also informed that it has no plans to start production in the country. The pharmaceutical company said that it is 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, leading to higher price of the vaccine in India due to shipping costs and higher manufacturing costs in the US and Europe compared to India.

In its defense, the company has claimed that the development, manufacture, distribution, and storage of its mRNA technology-based vaccine needs globally optimized supply. Currently, Pfizer is eyeing to deliver 2.1 billion doses in 2021.

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 to help in increasing local vaccine manufacturing. However, the major pharma giants have refused to share their vaccine formula and insisting on governments signing commercial agreements to avail vaccines for their population.  

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