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Lalu Prasad Yadav granted bail by Jharkhand High Court in fodder scam case: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Lalu Prasad Yadav granted bail by Jharkhand High Court in fodder scam case: Details

The Jharkhand High Court has granted bail to former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case.

The case was related to a fraudulent withdrawal from the Dumka treasury involving an amount of Rs. 3.13 crore.

Lalu Prasad Yadav had earlier received bail in the Chaibasa Treasure case involving an amount of Rs. 37.7 crore before being granted bail in a case related to an excess withdrawal of Rs 79 lakh from Deoghar Treasury. He was granted bail in these cases on the account of having served half of his prison sentence meted out to him.

As per reports, the Court had rejected his bail on the 19th of February as he was yet to complete half of his sentencing. Following its completion, he applied for a bail in the Court yet again.

The former Bihar Chief Minister was convicted by the Supreme Court in multiple cases pertaining to the fodder scam. The scam was unearthed by then finance commissioner VS Dubey who stumbled upon financial irregularities of massive proportions while reviewing the performance of various departments of the Bihar government.

He found out that money was withdrawn in excess of the allocation by some of the departments and the animal husbandry department topped the list of withdrawals.

This is the best system, earlier, it was in control of Arhtiyas: How Direct Benefit Transfer is changing the lives of farmers in Punjab for the first time

OpIndia Staff
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This is the best system, earlier, it was in control of Arhtiyas: How Direct Benefit Transfer is changing the lives of farmers in Punjab for the first time

Amidst the anti-farm law agitation in Punjab, the Modi government has procured 18.24 lac tonnes of wheat from the State at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) till April 15.

As per reports, the Centre has transferred a total of ₹13.71 crores to the account of farmers in Punjab through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) at MSP (Rs 1,975 per quintal). It must be mentioned that despite all efforts of the Modi government since 2018, Punjab sought exemption from DBT implementation in the State. As such, this is the first time that farmers have received the payment for their produce (at MSP) in Punjab directly into the accounts.

While speaking about the development, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said, “We are transferring MSP directly to the farmers’ accounts in Punjab, which has been possible with the cooperation of the state government and arhtiyas…With Punjab and Haryana on board, the entire country is now covered under ‘One nation, one MSP, one DBT’ theme.” He also added that arthiyas will also get their commission directly in their account.

Reportedly, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will procure a whopping 130 lac tonnes of wheat from Punjab. Till now, around 81.64 lac tonnes of wheat has been procured as compared to the total target of 437.36 lac tonnes this year. As of now, payments are being made to farmers through DBT on the basis of the Aadhar cards and the quantity of crops brought by them to the Mandis.

Success stories of DBT of payments to farmers

Initially, FCI had asked the Punjab govt to hand over land records for payment transfer. However, since many farmers work as cultivators and don’t own their land, the Centre has suggested providing details of cultivators (as is the case in Haryana). Given that the Punjab government gave in to the demands of the Centre to eliminate the middlemen, it received stiff opposition from the arhtiyas.

Interestingly, farmer leader Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Dakaunda, said the DBT system marks a big day. He further said that for the first time, he got the price of his crop in hand without having to depend on others.

While speaking about the matter, a 39-year-old farmer named Dalip Kumar said that he has been the happiest since he started farming 15 years ago. He had received ₹1.90 lac and ₹1.48 lac directly into his bank account for 171 quintals of wheat sold at the Rajpura mandi. Dalip Kumar cultivates on 40 acres of land and has sold wheat that was cultivated on 10 acres of land until now. He said that this was the first time he received such a large payment at once.

“This is the best system. What could be better than getting paid for our crop in our account? Earlier, arhtiyas gave us a cheque. After we took our crop to the mandi, everything was in the hands of the agent. The final settlement of accounts took time, as the arhtiya always found an excuse to defer the payment even after the farmer had repaid any debts he might have had,” the farmer recounted.

Similarly, 49-year-old Tarlochan Singh from Bankura village in Ropar district received ₹1.56 lacs for selling wheat produced on 3 acres of land. He supported the news system and said it would not sour his relation with the commission agent.

Violence continues during polls in West Bengal: BJP polling agent assaulted allegedly by TMC goons in North 24 Parganas

OpIndia Staff
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Violence continues during polls in West Bengal: BJP polling agent assaulted allegedly by TMC goons in North 24 Parganas

The polling for the fifth phase of West Bengal assembly elections began at 7 am on Saturday across 45 assembly segments amid tight security. Reports of violence started pouring in merely an hour after the 5th phase of polling began in the state. We reported how a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted in West Bengal’s North Bardhaman district in the early hours today.

Now, in another incident, a BJP polling agent named Ajit Dhar was reportedly assaulted by a TMC worker as he went to cast his vote in the Haroa constituency in the North 24 Parganas district. According to a report by Republic TV, the Trinamool Congress goons allegedly grabbed the BJP leader’s shirt and threatened him against voting for BJP.

BJP alleges that the party agent suffered a fracture on his head due to the assault. According to them, Ajit Dhar was attacked with sticks by by TMC workers, causing the injury to the head. The BJP worker has been admitted at Bardhaman Medical College for treatment.

The TMC worker asked the BJP agent where he was going and demanded to know why he ‘took money’ from the Trinamool government during Cyclone Amphan. This led to a heated exchange of words between the BJP polling agent and the TMC goon.

Simultaneously, incidents of stone-pelting have also been reported at booth numbers 265 and 272 in the Shantinagar area of Bidhannagar, after TMC and BJP workers got into fistfights and verbal spat in front of central forces over allegations of booth rigging. Several women were also reportedly injured in the attack.

According to another BJP polling agent Subrata Ghosh said that he witnessed the assault on Dhar by TMC workers, and after the incident, he could not enter the polling station. According to Ghosh, no BJP poling agent has been allowed to enter the primary school, where 4 election booths have been set up for the elections.

Earlier in the day, we reported that crude bombs were hurled at poll booth 114 in West Bengal’s Minakhan Assembly. The Trinamool Congress party had pinned the blame of the attack on the members of Peerzada Abbasuddin Siddique’s party Indian Secular Front. Besides, incidents of violence have also been reported from outside polling booth 115 in Minakhan Assembly.

Meanwhile, 36.02 per cent voter turnout had been recorded till 11:37 am in West Bengal where voting for the fifth phase of the State’s Assembly elections is underway today.

Kerala MLA PC George reiterates his stand on Grooming Jihad, says 47 girls in his constituency, including 12 Hindus and 35 Christians, were victims

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala MLA PC George reiterates his stand on Grooming Jihad, says 47 girls in his constituency, including 12 Hindus and 35 Christians, were victims

Reasserting his stand on love jihad (Grooming Jihad), Poonjar MLA PC George stated that the menace exists and that around 47 girls in his constituency have fallen victim to it. He also added that he had been closely following the issue, and most of the cases were reported from Erattupetta.

The Kerala legislator also revealed that among the victims, 12 are Hindus and 35 are Christians. George said he is pursuing the case or approaching the court as the families of the victim are teetering on the brink of committing suicide. He also said that he is convinced that love jihad exists.

Talking about Jesna, a girl who had gone missing in 2018 while she was on her way to her aunt’s house, George said that she had been a victim of love jihad.

PC George’s views on love jihad and why India should become a ‘Hindu Rashtra’

Earlier this week, George said that India must declare itself as a ‘Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation)’ to protect it from turning into an Islamic nation by 2030. He made the remarks during a function organised by a tribal welfare NGO named HRDS India at Thodupuzha in Idukki in Kerala.

PC George reportedly opined that Islamists are planning to turn India into an Islamic country. Furthermore, he informed that the sinister plan was delayed due to demonetisation that was implemented in 2016. He said that Muslims are also encroaching upon Christian majority countries and turning them Islamic. The MLA from the Poonjar constituency added that India must declare itself as a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ to protect it from Islamic takeover by 2030.

While speaking on the menace of Love Jihad, PC George highlighted, “How far will this go? SC has said there is no love jihad. I know love jihad is real, I will say there is ‘love jihad. When I’m saying where we are headed, don’t misunderstand. There is only one solution to put an end to this. Respected Bharath must be declared a Hindu Rashtra”

Christian pastor dupes Jalandhar family of Rs 80,000, converts them to Christianity on the pretext of healing cancer

OpIndia Staff
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Christian pastor dupes Jalandhar family of Rs 80,000, converts them to Christianity on the pretext of healing cancer

A Jalandhar based Christian godman and self-styled faith healer has been accused of cheating a family on the pretext of curing their daughter of cancer. Pastor Balwinder Singh allegedly duped the distressed family to a tune of Rs 80,000. He also reportedly tricked the family into converting to Christianity under the pretext of healing.

The matter came to the fore when the victim family approached the SSP office with a complaint against the Christian healer after they lost their kin to the deadly disease.

In what transpired, Shubham Pandit and his mother went to Jalandhar to meet Pastor Balwinder in a bid to cure Pandit’s sister of cancer. Pandit said that one of Singh’s disciples who met him in Mumbai told him that the Pastor had powers to cure any disease. Therefore, Pandit agreed to meet the Pastor for which he travelled to the Tajpur village church.

Pastor Balwinder Singh at first demanded Rs 1 lakh from treating Shubham Pandit’s ailing sister. Later, the Pastor settled at Rs 80,000. “After making us stay here for 12 days, the pastor gave us oil and water. He termed it holy water. He forcefully converted our religion as well. Neither my sister could be saved nor our money was given back,” rued Pandit.

Pastor Balwinder Singh is a Christian godman and self-styled faith Christian healer based in Jalandhar, Punjab.

Pastor Balwinder Singh’s Facebook page

He has posted several ‘healing’ videos on his Facebook page.

In one video shared by the ‘healer’ two years ago, he claims of immediately healing a broken arm of a woman with his healing powers.

Meanwhile, the Lambra Police Station SHO (Station House Officer) has issued a statement acknowledging receiving the complaint. He confirmed that the investigations in the case are currently underway.

Read- Christian priest with self-proclaimed supernatural powers to heal others admitted to hospital for viral fever

Coronavirus vaccination: Gujarat administers over 1 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus vaccination: Gujarat administers over 1 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses

Even as the country reels under the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, states across the nation have stepped up their efforts to vaccinate their populations with COVID-19 vaccines. Gujarat is among the top states in terms of the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to eligible people.

As per the latest figures shared by the state’s health department, Gujarat has vaccinated over 10 million people or one crore people so far. According to the daily health bulletin shared on April 16 evening, the state has administered 1,00,13,881 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Out of the total vaccine doses given, 87,11,085 are first doses while 13,02,796 are second doses.

On April 16 itself, as many as 1,31,826 people were vaccinated.

Rising number of coronavirus cases reported from across the country

While Maharashtra, Delhi are among the worst-hit states in the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, the number of caseloads in Gujarat are steadily on the rise. Gujarat yesterday reported the highest single-day rise of 8,920 new COVID-19 cases as the infection tally jumped to 3,84,688. The death toll mounted to 5,170 with 94 more fatalities while the number of active cases of the disease in the state stands at 49,737.

India on April 16 registered 2,33,728 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike so far. As many as 1,338 deaths were recorded on the day. The top contributors to this surge included Maharashtra which reported 63,729 infections (accounting for 27% of the new cases), followed by Uttar Pradesh with 27,426 new infections and Delhi with 19,486 new cases. Maharashtra also recorded the highest number of casualties (398) on April 16. Delhi followed with 141 new deaths, while Chhattisgarh registered 138 new casualties.

Actor Deep Sidhu, accused in the Republic Day violence case, gets bail: What the court said while granting bail

OpIndia Staff
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Actor Deep Sidhu, accused in the Republic Day violence case, gets bail: What the court said while granting bail

A court in Delhi has granted bail to actor Deep Sidhu, who was arrested in connection with the violence that swept the national capital on Republic Day this year.

The court granted bail to Sidhu noting that the prosecution’s case against the actor relies largely on the video clips and footage that are available on social media platforms. The court said that there is a remote possibility of content being altered on social media.

“The prosecution’s case rests largely and on contents of video recordings and footage available and accessible to all on social media sites in the public domain. There is a remote possibility of the applicant being able to interfere with the content on such platform.” the order read.

Additional Sessions Judge Neelofer Abida Perveen ordered bail to Sidhu subject to his furnishing personal bond with two local sureties in the sum of Rs 30,000 each to the satisfaction of the court.

While granting him bail, the court has asked Deep Sidhu to surrender his passport to IO, mention the mobile number used by him while ensuring that the number is switched on mode throughout with location activated and shared with the IO at all times.

Actor Deep Sidhu arrested for his role in ginning up riots in New Delhi in the wake of Tractor Rally

On February 9, the special cell of Delhi Police had arrested actor and Khalistani supporter Deep Sidhu for his role in instigating violence and the vandalisation at Red Fort on Republic Day during the farmers’ tractor rally. As per reports, Sidhu was traced by Delhi Police using advanced surveillance technology.

Earlier on February 3, Delhi Police had announced a cash reward of Rs 1 Lakh each for information leading to the arrest of Deep Sidhu, Jugraj Singh, Gurjot Singh and Gurjant Singh, who had gone into hiding following the violence that erupted in New Delhi in the wake of tractor rally on 26 January 2021. A cash reward of Rs 50,000 each for the arrest of Jajbir Singh, Buta Singh, Sukhdev Singh and Iqbal Singh was also announced.

Sidhu had gone into hiding since the day of the Red Fort violence and has been releasing social media videos to blame other ‘farmer leaders’ who have spoken against him. The Khalistani supporters had brutally attacked the security personnel and police officials stationed at Red Fort, they had disrespected India’s national flag by hoisting two other flags with Sikh symbols on the Red Fort. In a video, Khalistani rioters were seen pushing Delhi Police personnel from the top of a high wall, severely injuring hundreds of them.

Watch: Muslim mob gathers at Dargah Bazar Ajmer after Friday prayers, demand arrest of Yati Narsinghanand, law against insult to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Muslim mob gathers at Dargah Bazar Ajmer after Friday prayers, demand arrest of Yati Narsinghanand, law against insult to Islam

It’s been a while since Muslim hardliners have been protesting against Dasna Devi Temple head priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati for his remarks on Prophet Muhammad. Endless calls for the beheading of the priest have been made by several Muslim groups and even mainstream political parties for his alleged ‘blasphemy’. In another such incident, Muslims gathered in huge numbers in Ajmer’s Dargah Bazaar after the Friday prayers, demanding the arrest of the Hindu priest.

The protestors shouted slogans with banners in their hands. The protest continued for an hour. According to a report by TOI, the protest was staged under the leadership of gaddi nasheen khadim (priest) Syed Sarwar Chisty.

Chisty in his address stated that the Dasna’s priest’s comment was designed to disturb the communal peace in the country at the behest of the “fascist forces known to all”. He demanded the immediate arrest of Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati.

Muslims gathered at the Nizam Gate of Dargah lamented that though an FIR had already been registered in the Dargah police station regarding the matter, no action had been yet taken by the police. They threatened massive protest if nothing is done in this matter. The crowd was also heard demanding a law against any insult to Islam.

Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati has been in the line of fire ever since he made remarks allegedly against Prophet Muhammad.

Enraged by the Islamic fanatics openly calling for the murder of Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, Hindus from various corners of the country are now coming together in large numbers to voice their support for the Hindu priest.

‘Terrorists would have fired into your heart’: Cop in Kashmir arrested under UAPA for glorifying terrorism, resisting search and turning violent

OpIndia Staff
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‘Terrorists would have fired into your heart’: Cop in Kashmir arrested under UAPA for glorifying terrorism, resisting search and turning violent

On Friday (April 16), the Jammu and Kashmir police arrested a Special Police Officer (SPO) under the stringent anti-terror law in Frisal village in Kulgam of South Kashmir.

As per reports, the SPO has been identified as one Saima Akhter. She was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for glorifying terrorism and obstructing government officials in their duty. Akhter was also terminated from her job. Her arrest came at the backdrop of a verbal confrontation between the ex-SPO and the army, during which she threatened violence against them.

The armed personnel had received specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists in Frisal village. As such, they conducted a search operation in the area on Wednesday (April 14). However, the operation came to a halt when Saima Akhter resisted and even turned violent. She reportedly issued threats glorifying violence against the Army and captured the video of the confrontation on her personal cell phone. The police informed that she later uploaded the video on social media in a bid to disrupt the search operation.

Saima Akhter threatens violence against the Army

In the contentious video, Saima Akhter could be heard objecting to the presence of the Army in the village. “Why do you come again and again? Go to the houses where militants are. You don’t even allow us to have our sehri … If you have to search our house, first remove your shoes.” She warned that if anything happened to her mother, she would not spare them.

Furthermore, the ex-SPO warned, “Shut your mouth. We are not going to be scared. This is our Kashmir. You have come from outside. Do whatever you want to do.” she further said, “If they (terrorists) had been here, they would have pumped a burst of fire into your heart.”

FIR registered at the Yaripora Police Station against the accused: Statement by the police

A police spokesman in a statement: “On 14 April 2021, after receiving specific input regarding the presence of militants in Karewa Mohallah of village Frisal, a search operation was launched there. During the course of the search, the search party was obstructed by a woman identified as Saima Akther, daughter of Ghulam Nabi Rah of Frisal. The woman resisted the search party and turned violent, and uttered statements glorifying violent actions of militancy. She captured a video through her personal phone and forwarded it on social media platforms with the aim of disrupting the search. Taking cognizance of the matter, the woman has been arrested and subsequently terminated from service. A case under FIR number 19/2021 under section 353 IPC, 13 UAP Act stands registered in Police Station Yaripora and investigation of the case is in progress.”

Scores of people, mostly migrant workers, caught on camera running out of Buxar railway station in Bihar to avoid COVID-19 test

OpIndia Staff
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Scores of people, mostly migrant workers, caught on camera running out of Buxar railway station in Bihar to avoid COVID-19 test

A video has emerged where scores of people, mostly migrant workers returning to the state, are seen running out of a railway station. The visuals have been captured from outside Bihar’s Buxar railway station. According to reports, the passengers, including women and young children, were trying to escape the mandatory COVID-19 test being conducted at the Bihar railway station, as the state witnesses a sudden influx of returning migrant workers amid the rising coronavirus scourge in the country.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently announced that random COVID testing will be conducted at all the railway stations in the state which has been witnessing a steep rise in coronavirus cases.

According to a report by Times Now, these passengers who were caught rushing out of the station as healthcare workers stop them for the COVID-19 test, are mostly migrant workers. They have been coming back to their native state from cities like Mumbai, Pune and Delhi that have been reporting a surge in COVID cases and also imposed strict restrictions, including night curfew and weekend lockdown.

The return of migrant workers has continued to push Bihar’s Covid-19 graph upwards. Owing to this, the Bihar government, in a high-level meeting on Friday, decided on conducting random COVID-19 tests at railway stations.

Speaking about the incident, an railway official said: “This has become an everyday ritual.”

“When we stopped them from leaving, they started to argue. There were no policemen at the station during the incident. Later, one policewoman came and said she was helpless as she was alone,” said Jai Tiwari, a local civic councillor in Buxar.

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