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Farmer Protest supporters demand release of multiple-murder accused Jagtar Singh Johal, use a special ‘Toolkit’ to ‘#FreeJaggiNow’

Anurag
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Farmer Protest supporters demand release of multiple-murder accused Jagtar Singh Johal, use a special ‘Toolkit’ to ‘#FreeJaggiNow’

In February 2021, ‘environment activist’ Greta Thunberg accidentally published a Toolkit showing how anti-India forces are using farmers’ protest for their own agendas. Since then, a lot has been exposed leading to the arrest of so-called activists including Disha Ravi, Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk. The trio allegedly worked hands-in-hands with Khalistani supporter Mo Dhaliwal and created toolkits to incite violence and spread propaganda against the Indian government. There are several propagandas and conspiracies that are well hidden while being right in front of everyone’s eyes. One such propaganda is the demand for the release of murder accused Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi. The so-called farmers’ protest supporters are pushing their propaganda in the pretext of farmers’ protest to pressure the Indian government to release Johal.

What OpIndia found so far

During our initial investigation into the trend, we found that the hashtag was not only promoted on Twitter but other platforms as well. They are painting Johal as a “good man who was ‘illegally’ detained by the Punjab Police in 2017”. Interestingly, the hashtags #FreeJaggiNow and #FreeJaggi have been making rounds for months without raising any red flags.

The subtle mix of hashtags

Since farmers protests start to make noise in media, the propaganda to use the protests to raise voice for the murder accused Jaggi started to play in the field. Here are some tweets from the last five months that use #FreeJaggi or #FreeJaggiNow along with #FarmersProtest.

A twitter user condemning Sikh Federation UK for not speaking on Farmer Protests and Jaggi

On April 9, protesting farmer unions had announced that they will block expressway on April 10 which had put #FarmersProtest in trending topics. The supporters of Jaggi used the hashtag for their own propaganda wisely on the same day.

Use of Farmers Protest hashtag with Free Jaggi Now hashtag

During a support event for protesting farmers in Canada, the supporters of Jaggi raised banners that said “Jagtar Singh Johal is all of us #FreeJaggiNow”.

Free Jaggi Now slogans were raised during pro-farmer protests rally

Who is Jagtar Singh Johal?

Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi is a British resident from Glasgow, Scotland. In 2017, he was visiting India to attend a wedding. During his stay, Punjab Police arrested him as a suspect in several cases. He was arrested based on the statement of one Taljit Singh Jimmy. He had confessed to his involvement in several crimes during interrogation. However, his supporters claim that the investigation agencies ‘forced’ a confession out of him using third-degree torture during interrogation. Johal was behind the outfit ‘Never Forget 84’.

As per the police reports, he is a staunch Khalistani supporter. He is facing several murder and attempts to murder cases. According to National Investigation Agency’s charge sheets, he has been named in the murder cases of Hindu Takht leader Amit Sharma, RSS leader Brig. (Retd.) Jagdish Kumar Gagneja, RSS leader Ravinder Gosain, Shiv Sena leader Durga Dass Gupta, Pastor Sultan Masih, and Dera Sacha Sauda followers Satpal Sharma and his son Ramesh Sharma.

Jaggi was also accused of paying Rs.27 lakh to the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Singh Mintoo (deceased) in France in 2013 to assassinate RSS leader Ravinder Gosain. His name also appeared in the attempt to murder Shiv Sena activist Amit Arora and firing at RSS Shakha in Kidwai Nagar in Ludhiana in 2016.

Jaggi’s association with Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala

It has been reported that Jaggi is a close relative of Gursharanbir Singh Wahiwala, who is a pro-Khalistani accused in several cases. As per reports, Wahiwala was arrested by UK police in December 2020 in connection to the murder of RSS leader Rudla Singh in 2009. Reports suggest that he came to India in 2009 to kill Rudla Singh, who was shot dead outside his shop in Patiala. In February 2015, Wahiwala was declared a proclaimed offender by a Patiala court. In 2019, NIA filed a charge sheet in the murder case of Punjab unit RSS vice-president Brigadier Jagdish Gagneja (retired) in which 11 accused persons with Khalistan terror links were named, including Wahiwala and Johal.

Johal was granted regular bail in November 2020

Jagtar Singh Johal was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High court in one of the cases against him in November 2020. The bail was granted in an FIR registered in 2016 against him under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B of the IPC, Section 25 of the Arms Act and Sections 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. While granting him bail, the judge had emphasised that the co-accused in the case had already been granted bail while made Johal’s case ‘deemed fit’ for the regular bail. 

A history of ‘Free Jaggi’ and ‘Free Jaggi Now’ campaigns

Free Jaggi and Free Jaggi Now hashtags have been making rounds since 2018 on social media networks. Interestingly, his supporters try to overtake every possible campaign or news that can be linked to his case. There are also petitions on Change.org in which he has been painted as a nobleman who was detained illegally under a conspiracy by the Indian government. These petitions are directly or indirectly linked to Johal and can be seen here, here, here and here. Here are few tweets over time that show how his supporters have been trying to pressure the British government and Indian government to release him.

Since January 2021, an NGO named Reprieve has been posting information about Johal while painting him as a good man who has small kids and family in Scotland.

Year-wise tweets in support of Jaggi

In 2017, when the tweets favouring Jaggi started to appear on social media, Jagmeet Singh, New Democratic Party, Canada, was tagged in several posts. Later, on the same day, Jagmeet had questioned his arrests in a tweet. It has to be noted that Jagmeet is a known Khalistani supporter. His relative was recently arrested for attacking a pro-India rally in Canada.

One of the very first tweets in favour of Jaggi
Tweet by Jagmeet Singh
United Kingdom MP Tanmanjeet Singh had posted in support of Jaggi

Few days later, Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh also posted a tweet in his support. Dosanjh was heavily criticized for the tweet. Nowadays, Dosanjh regularly post tweets in favour of Farmers Protests.

Tweet by Diljit Dosanjh

On January 26, 2019, several tweets appeared on social media network in which #FreeJaggi was used by Khalistani supporters. An event was organized by Khalitani terrorist group Sikhs For Justice in Washington DC to support Jaggi. While raising slogans of “Free Jaggi”, “Khalistani Zindabad” was also shouted while displaying Khalistani flags.

#FreeJaggi and #FreeKhalistan were used together in same tweet
Tweet by Change.org UK’s official account

In February 2021, tweets in favour of Jaggi and Farmer Protests appeared in which he was compared to Nodeep Kaur. The comparison and mixing two totally different cases must have raised red flags but unfortunately, it did not.

Image from the above tweet by Arshdeep where comparison table was formed between Johal and Nodeep Kaur

Interestingly, Jaggi got support from Pakistan as well.

Post in support of Jaggi from 2018 by a Pakistani handle
Post in support of Jaggi from 2020 by a Pakistani handle

Senior doctor in-charge of COVID-19 ward in Bhopal resigns after Congress leader and sidekick misbehave with him, hospital staff: Full details

OpIndia Staff
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Senior doctor in-charge of COVID-19 ward in Bhopal resigns after Congress leader and sidekick misbehave with him, hospital staff: Full details

In a video that has gone viral on social media, Congress leader P C Sharma along with a local corporator Guddu, can be seen misbehaving with a senior doctor Yogendra Shrivastav, a nodal officer in charge of the COVID-19 ward at JP Hospital, Bhopal. The doctor issued his resignation soon after being humiliated by the party leader and workers.

The Congress leader along with his party workers barged into the hospital after the death of a COVID-19 positive patient who was brought to the hospital in a critical condition with an SPO2 level below 30%. The hospital immediately provided primary treatment, however, could not admit the patient due to a shortage of ICU beds. The relatives of the patient were apprised of his condition and were also informed about a shortage of beds in the facility.

Soon after the patient’s demise, the Congress leader created a ruckus at the hospital and blamed the senior doctor for the death of the patient. The video went viral where a local corporator of the Congress party identified as Guddu can be heard yelling at the doctors alleging that they have made a joke of the severity of the situation. 

Dr Rakesh Shrivastava a surgeon at JP Hospital informed PTI, “Our senior doctor Yogendra Shrivastava has resigned after some politicians misbehaved with him. A patient in a critical condition was admitted to the trauma ward this morning. Dr Yogendra told his family his condition was too critical. During treatment, he died, following which some politicians misbehaved with the doctor.”

The state’s Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also tweeted condemning the shameful act. He said in a tweet, “Today, the way some people treated the doctors and the staff …is very shameful. No person has any right to mistreat our doctors.”

“Our #CoronaWarriors have been constantly putting their lives at stake. I have appealed multiple times that all of us should unite, rise above politics and cooperate and boost their morale so that they serve the society better,” he added.

The Chief Minister himself informed about the resignation of senior doctor Yongendra Shrivastav and criticized the unfortunate episode. 

New Indian Express when contacted Congress leader PC Sharma for his statement, he claimed, “A supporter of mine spoke loudly to the doctor following which I apologized to him. A patient of my constituency died this afternoon. In such circumstances won’t a sensitive person get angry? A poor patient is being asked to go to a private hospital, nobody is talking about this.”

A social media user shared the doctor’s video where he can be seen narrating the incident and informing that he no longer wishes to serve after being humiliated by the politicians. Fearing the repercussions, the doctor said that tomorrow the doctors and the staff can be attacked physically for incidences that are not in their control. 

Here’ the video to the incident

The entire incident was recorded and uploaded on social media by a user which they went viral. Here’s what transpired.

The senior doctor tendered his resignation immediately after the incident.

Madhya Pradesh under 60-hour lockdown

Madhya Pradesh has recorded 4,882 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. After the state witnessed a shortage of medical oxygen and crucial drug Remdesivir, used to treat corona patients, the state government has imposed a 60-hour lockdown since Friday 6 pm till Monday 6 am.

Addressing a virtual meeting of the Cabinet on the pandemic, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan assured that the oxygen supply in the state had been tripled and informed that one lakh Remdesivir injections will be made available every month.

Allegations of extortion by Parambir Singh: CBI summons two personal assistants of former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh

OpIndia Staff
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Allegations of extortion by Parambir Singh: CBI summons two personal assistants of former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh

In a massive development, CBI has reportedly summoned two personal assistants of former Home Minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh. The summons has been issued to record their statement in the extortion case, where allegations were levelled against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh against Anil Deshmukh.

The important move in the case comes after the CBI had registered a preliminary inquiry to probe corruption allegations against Maharashtra’s ex-home minister Anil Deshmukh levelled by former Commission of Police, Mumbai, Parambir Singh. CBI spokesperson RC Joshi had said, “CBI has registered a PE in the respect of the Bombay High Court order dated April 5, 2021.”

Parambir Singh’s corruption allegations against Anil Deshmukh

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh had written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that the state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had asked controversial cop Sachin Vaze to collect Rs. 100 crore every month from bars, restaurants and other establishments.

The letter by Parambir Singh had raised several questions regarding the Antilia bomb scare case and the death of Mansukh Hiren. Sachin Vaze is currently under arrest for his involvement in the matter. The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier transferred the Mansukh Hiren death case to the NIA. Parambir Singh was then transferred and posted as DG Home Guard after the explosive revelations.

Will Anil Deshmukh be summoned next?

The Bombay High Court had ordered a CBI inquiry basis a PIL filed by Dr Jaishri Patil. Terming the case as ‘extraordinary and unprecedented, the Bombay High Court had also said that after the preliminary inquiry ordered by it, the CBI would be free to decide further course of action. Therefore, if the CBI does find evidence against Anil Deshmukh in the allegations levelled against him by Parambir Singh, an FIR would be registered in the case subsequently. However, only a day after the inquiry was ordered by the Bombay High Court, the Maharashtra government and Anil Deskhmukh had separately moved the Supreme Court against the order by High Court.

Dismissing the case filed by the Maharashtra government and Anil Deshmukh against the CBI inquiry, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the preliminary inquiry ordered by the High Court and said that given the serious nature of the allegations, an independent inquiry is a must.

“Given the serious nature of allegations, and the personas involved, the matter do require an independent agency to investigate the matter. It is a matter of public confidence”, the court had said.

Give the seriousness of the allegations levelled and the fact that the CBI has already summoned the two personal assistants to Anil Deshmukh, it is only perhaps time before the CBI summons Anil Deshmukh himself to record his statement.

Forced to read Namaz, change name to Alna after conversion to Islam: Years after marriage, Hindu woman finds out her husband ‘Ashok’ is ‘Afzal’, files case

OpIndia Staff
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Forced to read Namaz, change name to Alna after conversion to Islam: Years after marriage, Hindu woman finds out her husband ‘Ashok’ is ‘Afzal’, files case

In yet another case of Grooming Jihad, Aligarh police on Friday registered a complaint filed by a woman against her 25-year old husband for hiding his real identity for two years since marriage and pretending to be Arman Kohli when he was actually Afzal. The woman alleged that her husband revealed his real identity only after their daughter was born. 

The complainant identified as Puja Soni met a man in Delhi a few years ago. She fell in love with the man who introduced himself as Ashok Rajput, a plumber by profession and tied the knot in a temple in March 2019. The complainant informed the police that for almost two years, she was unaware that her husband was faking his identity as a Hindu and was actually a Muslim man. 

A report by The Times of India quoted the complainant alleging, “On February 7 this year, we had a daughter. On March 22, he took me to his home at Rait village in Aligarh. There, I found out his name was Afzal Khan. I was forced to read namaaz and stopped from offering prayers. On April 8, they took my daughter away from me, then they converted me forcefully and renamed me ‘Alna’.”

The woman said that the husband and his sisters drove her out of the house and dropped her off at Mathura. She said she had not met the in-laws in two years of marriage.

The woman was then compelled to lodge a complaint against Afzal and his sisters at Aligarh’s Lodha police station.

A case has been registered against Ashok Rajput alias Afzal Khan and his sisters under Section 323 for voluntarily causing hurt as per the Indian Penal Code. The accused have also been booked under the relevant sections of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance. So far, no arrests have been made in the case, and the complainant is under the watch of the police.

Another case of Grooming Jihad: Afzal pretends to be Hindu

A 25-year-old Afzal who pretended to be Arman Kohli eloped with a minor girl aged 16 in Uttar Pradesh. According to the girl’s family, the minor girl had disappeared after she left home for some work but did not return. The family immediately registered a missing complaint with the police.

Upon being found, the girl revealed during questioning that she was in contact with the 25-year old carpenter named Arman alias Afzal from Delhi’s Usmanpur area for the last few months. She said that the man “lured” her by saying that his name was Arman Kohli and that he was a Hindu. She also said that Afzal tried to convert her. Afzal is now languishing in jail.

Recourse to open fire by CISF personnel became absolutely necessary in order to save lives of voters: What EC said on Bengal violence

OpIndia Staff
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Recourse to open fire by CISF personnel became absolutely necessary in order to save lives of voters: What EC said on Bengal violence

The Election Commission on Saturday released a statement clarifying, “Recourse to open fire by CISF personnel became absolutely necessary in order to save lives of voters lined up at the polling booth, those of other polling personnel & their own lives as the mob had attempted snatching their weapons”.

The statement comes after the violence and unrest gripped the Cooch Behar area during the fourth phase of polling in West Bengal which shook the nation. 

Shedding light on what transpired in the region, a police official said that the locals attacked CISF personnel outside a polling booth when they were tending to a voter who fell sick. Rumours of voters being heckled by CISF personnel spread like wildfire and within no time the locals attacked the security officials on duty. 

“A scuffle took place, and locals ‘gheraoed’ them and attempted to snatch their rifles, following which the central forces opened fire. According to preliminary reports, four persons were killed as CISF personnel opened fire after coming under attack in a village,” informed the police official.

The Election Commission has ordered the Union Home Ministry to deploy 71 additional companies of Central Armed Police forces (CAPFs) in the state for the remaining four phases of polls amid rising tension.

It is imperative to note the attack took place just a day after the incumbent CM Mamata Banerjee addressed a public rally instructing, “If the Central forces, say CRPF or even the Bengal forces ask you not to cast your votes, tell them I will not listen to you. Lodge an FIR or diary against them. If the CRPF creates trouble, you, the women, gherao them totally. While one group will keep the forces gheraoed, another will go to cast your votes. Do not waste your votes anyway.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized Banerjee for instigating voters and blamed her party for perpetrating violence, he also requested the Election Commission to take stern action against those responsible for this unfortunate incident.

On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee released another scathing remark on the incident and yet again put the blame on as she calls ‘BJP’s CRPF jawans’. “After killing so many people, they (Election Commission) are saying the firing was in self-defence. They should feel ashamed.” “This is a lie…The central forces opened fire on people standing in the line for voting, killing 4 in Sitalkuchi. I had been apprehending the forces would act in such a manner for long. As the BJP knows it has lost the people’s mandate, they are conspiring to kill people,” Banerjee remarked at a rally in the North 24 Parganas district.

The Election Commission has sought a detailed report on the incident and has banned the entry of political leaders in Cooch Behar for 72 hours following the violence.

Fourth phase of polling marred with violence

The 4th phase of the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha polls was marred with unprecedented violence which resulted in casualties. The body of a BJP worker named Nanda Nashkar was found hanging at his residence in Sham Shandar Chowk in the Uluberia Purba district. The BJP has informed that the deceased was earlier attacked and given death threats by TMC goons.

In another fatal attack in Cooch Behar, an 18-year-old BJP supporter named Ananda Burman was gunned down by Trinamool Congress workers when he went to cast his vote at the polling station.

BJP leader Locket Chatterjee also came under attack on Saturday morning by an unruly mob that attacked her vehicle in the Hooghly district of West Bengal.

In another inhumane attack, a woman lost her toddler after a frenzied mob ambushed the polling booth in the Jorpatki area in Sitalkuchi Vidhan Sabha constituency of West Bengal, reported TV9 Bangla. 

As per reports, the woman had entered the polling booth to cast her vote. Soon, a violent mob ambushed the polling booth leading to bombing, and gunfire. The police officials were highly outnumbered by the incoming mob. “When I was about to press the button, a fight broke out. There was bloodshed everywhere. I could not come out of the polling booth with my child,” the victim said. She recounted how miscreants had pulled her by the hair and snatched her child away.

“Where will I find my child now?” she asked. The woman, in tears, informed, “I don’t want any government. Here, several Muslim women had come with Dao (machete) to slice people. They threatened to kill my child if I don’t hand it over to them,” said the helpless mother.

Asked BARC to pay if they wanted to avoid torture: Sachin Vaze, money laundering and the Rs 30 lakh bribe in TRP case

OpIndia Staff
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Asked BARC to pay if they wanted to avoid torture: Sachin Vaze, money laundering and the Rs 30 lakh bribe in TRP case

Two days after Sachin Vaze was sent to judicial custody, it has now surfaced that the tainted cop had extorted Rs 30 lakh from TRP-measuring authority BARC, reported The Times of India. It is pertinent to note that there was while the FIR in the TRP manipulation case had mentioned India Today, the Mumbai police headed by Parambir Singh at the time had publicly named Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in the case during a press conference without any apparent evidence.

While probing the money laundering charges against Sachin Vaze in the fake TRP scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) found that the suspended cop extorted Rs 30 lakhs from the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) through a Mumbai Crime Branch inspector. The bribe was paid by BARC executives to “protect themselves from harassment at the hands of the Mumbai police”.

Citing sources, TOI reported that BARC officials had admitted to the ED about making such a payment. The nodal TRP measuring body transferred the bribe to the bank account of a dummy company while maintaining that the amount was spent on construction work in its record books. After the bribe was credited to a dummy account, it was then transferred to four additional shell companies. The extortion money was then credited to the account of a Hawala operator.

Modus operandi of the Hawala scam by Sachin Vaze

The amount was returned to accused BARC officials in cash by the Hawala operator and handed over to the Mumbai Crime Branch inspector, who worked for Sachin Vaze. The Enforcement Directorate is yet to interrogate Sachin Vaze and Mumbai Crime Branch Inspector. Citing a source, TOI reported “Vaze used to tell BARC executives to wait outside his office for hours, even late in the evening, and then telling them to come the next day. Vaze also created an impression that he beats up suspects during questioning and asked BARC to pay a Rs 30 lakh bribe if they want to avoid torture.”

ED attaches ₹32 crores worth of properties of Box Cinema, Maha Movies and Fakt Marathi

Reportedly, the Enforcement Directorate will soon file the first chargesheet in the TRP money laundering case. The central agency will enclose evidence, unearthing the money trail and the bribe details. ED has clarified that the Television Rating Points is measured on the basis of the total time that a user watches a channel. During the probe, the Enforcement Directorate found that Box Cinema and Maha Movies generated 25% of their TRP fraudulently with the help of 5 households, where Hansa Group had installed its barometers.

Similarly, Fakt Marathi increased their TRP in a similar manner by 12%. The central agency has now attached properties worth ₹32 crore belonging to the three companies.

TRP scam and targeting of Republic TV

The Mumbai Police had targeted Republic TV over the TRP scam with very little evidence. It became clear that it was part of the Mumbai Police’s agenda against Arnab Goswami for his staunch criticism of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra over the channel’s coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case investigation and the Palghar mob lynching of Sadhus.

On Saturday, Republic TV had announced that all chapter proceedings against the media house initiated by the Mumbai Police have bow been terminated. Chapter proceedings are preventive in nature and taken when the police suspect that an individual or entity is likely to incite trouble and create a nuisance.

Sachin Vaze sent to judicial custody

In a big development in the Antilia bomb scare case on Saturday (April 9), the accused cop Sachin Vaze was sent to judicial custody for 14 days by a special NIA court on Friday after the anti-terror agency didn’t press for his further custody. He will be housed in Taloja jail until April 23, reported Republic TV.

Vaze, arrested on March 13, was produced before the special court after the end of his NIA remand. Besides the Antilia bomb scare case, Vaze is also being probed in the Mansukh Hiren’s death case by the NIA.vMeanwhile, in another major development, the CBI has also been allowed to access the diaries of Sachin Vaze and suspended constable Vinayak Shinde that were recovered by the NIA earlier. With this, the CBI will also start delving deeper into the involvement of the accused cop’s alleged role in the death of businessman Mansukh Hiren.

Bihar police officer mob-lynched in West Bengal where he was chasing criminals, Firoze Alam, Abuzar Alam and Sahinur Khan arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar police officer mob-lynched in West Bengal where he was chasing criminals, Firoze Alam, Abuzar Alam and Sahinur Khan arrested

A 50-year-old police officer from Bihar was lynched by a mob during a raid in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district in the wee hours of Saturday. Three accused— Firoze Alam, Abuzar Alam and Sahinur Khan— have been arrested in connection with the death of the Bihar cop.

Ashwini Kumar, station in charge of the Kishanganj police station, was known for his no-nonsense attitude and strict crackdown against the liquor crackdown. Kumar was leading a raid in connection with a bike theft case in a neighbouring area under Panjipoda police station of West Bengal.

However, while conducting the raids, Kumar was surrounded by a mob and allegedly thrashed.

Subsequently, Kumar was rescued by a team of police personnel from the Panjipura outpost and rushed to the Islampur Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Later, the West Bengal police apprehended the accused in connection with the case.

Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal shares border with Kishanganj in Bihar. Often, the miscreants after committing crimes fled across the border to elude the police. In this case, Kumar had crossed the border to carry out a raid in West Bengal and bring the culprits to book.

However, he was attacked by a mob and beaten to death. The body of the police officer was taken to the Kishanganj police station during the day, following a post-mortem in Islampur.

But, Kumar’s family refused to accept his body after he was granted a gun salute at the police lines, alleging a conspiracy. They raised questions over the role of other police personnel in the team when Kumar was being thrashed by the mob. The family also questioned why was the West Bengal Police was not kept in the loop about the raid.

The imbroglio over the body went for an hour, following which Kishnaganj District Magistrate Aditya Prakash, Inspector General of Purnea Range Suresh Kumar Chowdhury along with other top officials held a meeting with Kumar’s family and assured them of commissioning an SIT probe into the matter. After that The body was taken to Kumar’s native place in Janki Nagar in Purnea.

According to the sources, West Bengal DGP P Nirajanayan spoke to Bihar DGP SK Singhal and assured him full cooperation on the matter. The Bihar Police later released a statement stating that it is looking into providing a job to Kumar’s kin. Officials claimed Kumar had joined the Bihar Police in 1994 and was transferred to Kishanganj a year ago.

US efforts to promote human rights in China enjoy major bipartisan support among Americans, Pew Research finds

OpIndia Staff
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US efforts to promote human rights in China enjoy major bipartisan support among Americans, Pew Research finds

A significant population of the United States, irrespective of their political inclinations, believe that the USA should hold China accountable for its human rights violations even if it leads to deteriorating economic relations between the two countries, a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February found.

Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike, share the view that the United States should promote human rights in China. Out of every 10 people surveyed, 7 feel that human rights should gain primacy over strengthening the country’s economic relations with China.

Only 26 per cent of the respondents felt that the US should focus on improving its trade ties with China, even if Beijing continues to commit human rights violations.

The findings were released at a time when the current US President Joe President is firming up a strategy to deal with the human rights violations carried out by the Communist regime in China. In his first call with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, Biden expressed “fundamental concerns” about China’s insidious crackdown in Hong Kong and the brutal repression of its Uyghur population in the restive province of Xinjiang.

Unlike on other issues, where bipartisan support is hard to muster, there is hardly any variance in the opinions of Republicans and Democrats when it comes to human rights violations by China. About 72 per cent of Republicans and independents favouring the Republican Party want the US government to focus on human rights when dealing with China. It is, perhaps, one of the few issues when thoughts of Democrats and Republicans have converged. Around 75 per cent of each group thinks the US should promote human rights.

Besides, 84 per cent of the respondents think China’s human rights policies are a problem for the United States, including 50 per cent of them who think it is a “very serious” problem. Those terming the issue a “very serious” problem is up by 7 percentage point since last March and has risen among both Republicans and Democrats.

The survey claims that Republicans and Democrats are equally likely to characterise China’s gross human rights violations as a very serious concern for the United States.

Around 76 per cent of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center believe tensions between mainland China and Hong Kong are a problem for the US, and 31 per cent think it is a “very serious” problem. 38 per cent of conservative Republicans are particularly apt to term the issue a “very serious” problem as compared to moderate and liberal Republicans, conservative and moderate Democrats, and liberal Democrats (29% of whom say the same, respectively).

When respondents were asked an open-ended question about the first things that come to their mind when they think of China, one in five said human rights, including 3 per cent who specifically mentioned the Xinjiang region and the atrocities carried out on its Uyghur population. Here too, Democrats and Republicans were equally likely to mention human rights in their responses.

Partisan differences become pronounced when asked about overall importance of promoting human rights as US foreign policy priority

But, there is little political concurrence about the importance of promoting and defending human rights in countries other than China. A third of Americans believe the US should foreground human rights as a top US foreign policy aim, and the issue ranked 15th in a list of 20 issues tested—markedly lower than the 48 per cent who think restricting China’s power and influence should be a top foreign policy goal.

Partisan divergence becomes starker when enquired about the overall importance of promoting human rights as a broad policy priority as compared to China in particular. Democrats and those leaning towards Democrats are likely to list promoting and defending human rights in other countries as a top US foreign policy priority (42 per cent) as compared to Republicans and Republican-leaning independents(23 per cent).

Twitter removes Prashant Bhushan’s tweet claiming masks are ineffective against COVID-19, says it violates Twitter Rules

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter removes Prashant Bhushan’s tweet claiming masks are ineffective against COVID-19, says it violates Twitter Rules

Twitter has removed a tweet by left wing activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan, where he had claimed that masks are not effective in preventing the spread of Novel Coronavirus. On 10th April, Bhushan had posted a tweet with a link to a hypothesis published on Sciencedirect on the use of facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the tweet, Bhushan had said, “The data suggest that facemasks are ineffective to block transmission of viral and infectious disease such as COVID-19. Wearing facemasks has been demonstrated to have substantial adverse physiological and psychological effects”. He had added this text from the quoted report, asking his followers on Twitter to “read this detailed study on Masks”.

Screenshot of now removed tweet by Prashant Bhushan

Soon after he had posted this anti-mask tweet, he was widely criticised on Social media by users of all ideological leanings, including left-wing personalities. Many people had reported the tweet as spreading misinformation. As a result, Twitter removed the Tweet later in the day, saying that it violates Twitter Rules.

Twitter message showing removal of Prashant Bhushan’s tweet

Now when one goes to the link of the tweet, the tweet does not appear, but a message appears, saying “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules.”

It may be noted that the study by Baruch Vainshelboim was published on Sciencedirect in January this year, and the same report was published in November last year on the website of National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, which is funded by the US government. The study is based a large number of previously published scientific studies. The ncbi website is under the .gov domain, which means that it is a US govt website.

Massive win for Arnab Goswami as Mumbai Police terminates all chapter proceedings against Republic media network: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Massive win for Arnab Goswami as Mumbai Police terminates all chapter proceedings against Republic media network: Read details

Republic TV has announced that all chapter proceedings against the media house initiated by the Mumbai Police have bow been terminated. Chapter proceedings are preventive in nature and taken when the police suspects that an individual or entity is likely to incite trouble and create nuisance.

Republic TV announced on social media, “Republic media network is happy to share that all chapter proceedings against the republic media network’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami that were initiated by the Mumbai Police now stand completely and entirely terminated. The termination of the chapter proceedings today is just more proof of what was always the truth. Today’s legal development defeats with firm finality the forces that were behind the massive conspiracy against India’s most loved news brand.”

Mumbai Police terminates chapter proceedings against Republic TV
Republic TV statement

“Not only do all the chapter proceedings initiated against Arnab Goswami now stand closed, but also with it today comes to a close the relentless campaign of calumny that was initiated to target one nationalistic news network that speaks truth to power. This latest legal development comes amidst a series of victories for the unstoppable truth and Republic media network. Recently, the enforcement directorate’s provisional attachment order proved that all the bogus claims and concocted allegations against republic were false, malicious and fictitious,” the statement added.

Republic stated further, “The real culprits, the conspirators and the nexus that tried to implicate republic media network and its members stand wholly and entirely defeated today. The win today has vindicated Arnab Goswami’s legacy of speaking the unimpeachable truth, putting the people first and always, putting nation first.”

To their supporters, the media network said, “Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. Your support has been overwhelming and we have together fearlessly fought for the triumph of the truth. As the mountain of lies comes crashing & the vicious campaign crumbles to dust, it is clear the truth takes instructions from no one.”

The Mumbai Police had targeted Republic TV over the TRP scam with very little evidence. It became clear that it was part of the Mumbai Police’s agenda against Arnab Goswami for his staunch criticism of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra over the channel’s coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case investigation and the Palghar mob lynching of Sadhus.

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