Wednesday, April 1, 2026
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Aamir Khan shelves Mahabharat amidst controversies because ‘now is not the right time’: Reports

Aamir Khan has shelved his ‘Mahabharat’ project amidst controversies because the ‘timing’ is not right, reports say. The ambitious project was proposed as a movie initially, which was later planned as a web series. Now, the web series has been dropped too.

A source was quoted by Yahoo News saying, “After weighing all pros and cons Aamir Khan has decided not to make the Mahabharat. For one it would willy-nilly become controversial. More importantly the scale on which he planned the project was commercially not viable. Also, setting aside five years of his precious time for the Mahabharat meant losing out on doing at least three feature films. So no. No Mahabharat.”

According to Bollywood Hungama, one source told them, “Aamir can’t afford to devote two years of his life to make a web series. He needs to quickly announce his presence in a big star-studded feature film directed by a reliable director.”

“There were bound to be unsavoury controversies surrounding the project. Aamir feels now is not the right time to make the Mahabharat,” the source reportedly said. Acclaimed director SS Rajamouli was touted to be the director of the project. However, the Mahabharat project has been scrapped.

Earlier, there were rumours that the project has been shelved. It was said to be the Boolywood actor’s ‘dream project’. One of the reasons cited was the ‘current climate’ which sources said may not have been conducive for Aamir Khan to play the role of Lord Krishna. It was said then that he was waiting for a ‘better time’ to make the Mahabharat.

Miami-based art collector sells 10-second video artwork for $6.6 million, brings focus on NFTs and the value of ‘digital assets’

In October 2020, Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile decided to invest in a 10-second video artwork created by digital artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) and spent $67,000 in acquiring it. Last week, he resold the artwork for $6.6 million, marking almost 100 times in profit. According to Reuters, the video shows what appears to be a giant Donald Trump collapsed on the ground, his body covered in slogans, in an otherwise idyllic setting.

The sale was authenticated by blockchain that served as a digital signature to certify the ownership of the artwork. Covered under a new type of asset in the digital world called non-fungible token or NFT, the sale has attracted a mixed reaction from the experts.

What is NFT?

NFT or non-fungible token can be defined as a type of cryptographic token that represents a unique asset. They function as verifiable proofs of authenticity and ownership that can be confirmed via a blockchain network. As NFTs cannot be interchanged with each other, they bring scarcity to the digital world.

Here, fungibility refers to an asset whose individual units are interchangeable and indistinguishable from each other. As NFTs are non-interchangeable, they remain unique, making it easier to distinguish an online asset. These NFTs can be used to create and define ownership of unique digital items and collectables. There are marketplaces where such assets are traded between two parties.

NFTs are not a new concept. The first NFT-like token was introduced in 2012 in the form of Coloured Coins or Bitcoin 2.x that was built on top of the bitcoin network. However, the most common example of NFTs is ERC721 that operates on the Ethereum network. The popularity of NFTs jumped during the Covid lockdown by several folds that resulted in blockchain enthusiasts and investors spending millions on digital items.

Last year, the NBA and NFL had expressed interest in introducing NFTs based collectable cards. One year down the line, the NBA introduced a panel for NFT-based collectable trading where traders dealt in digital assets worth over $230 million. People spent money on trading digital collectables of NBA highlights, and for every transaction, the NBA made a commission. For the project, NBA collaborated with Canadian company Dapper Labs.

Notably, on January 24, 2021, two Moment NFTs of NBA were sold for $100,000 each. On February 25, NBA sold its most expensive moment so far priced at $208,000. NBA is not the only entity grabbing big dollars in the digital world. Land plots in Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based decentralized game, are selling for over $1.5 million.

Owning digital assets make sense only for a few

Digital assets are just zeros and ones. For a large portion of the world population, owning a digital asset means nothing. However, it will make some sense for those who spend more than ten hours on the internet every day. For example, if you an online gamer, you will understand how important a rare piece of virtual weapon can be, but for someone who has never played an online game, that piece of weaponry is just an image in a game.

Those who understand art know the meaning of owning a Rembrandt or Van Gough. But for those who have no interest in it, the value is zero. The same goes for NFTs. While investors are seeing them as a major opportunity, for some, it is just another way for the elite to spend their money.

Are NFTs worth it, or it is just a bubble?

NFTs are grabbing the attention of investors and traders. The price tag of digital assets is going up at an exponential pace that has put them under the scanner. While experts see it as an interesting opportunity for the digital world to build and promote its own marketplace, some believe that the NFT bubble may burst soon. From the dot-com bubble of 2000 to the crypto-bubble of 2017-2018, if the digital world has made money for people, it has taken away the savings of thousands of investors in a jiffy.

There is no surety for how long the price of digital assets will rise, and when they fall, the drop is sudden, and the majority of investors do not find time to get out of the game. The crypto world-based assets are so fragile that a tweet by Elon Musk can cause a severe drop or spike in the price. Also, there is a risk of getting duped by fraudsters who trade under pseudo names. So before investing anything in NFTs, it is better to understand the risks and only then take the next step.

New book documents the journey of three men who created history by becoming the first gay ‘throuple’ to become legal parents: Details

“Three Dads and a Baby”, a book that details the journey of three men to have themselves listed as parents to a baby is all set to be released on the 9th of March. The book has been written by one of her fathers, Dr. Ian Jenkins. The three men from California created history in 2017 when they became the first family in history to list three fathers on a birth certificate.

Jenkins wrote in the book, “The fact that Piper has three parents is just not a big deal. I have three parents myself — my mother, father and stepmother — and no one thinks anything of it.” “Some people seem to think it’s about a ton of sex or something, or we’re unstable and must do crazy things. [But] it’s really remarkably ordinary and domestic in our house and definitely not ‘Tiger King,’” he added.

Admitting that his family is unique, Jenkins questions those who believe his family is not “normal”. “I’m pretty sure it’s lifelong monogamy that’s weird,” he said. “Our culture is filled with all of these stories about longing and infidelity. It’s natural for us to feel affections for more than one person. What’s exotic is that we actually did it – we made a life many people think of as an unattainable dream, but we’re ordinary people otherwise. We have the same conversations about what to have for dinner, what to watch on TV.”

Jenkins also documented the legal troubles in ‘Three Dads and a Baby’ that the family had to endure due to the unusual situation.

“We had to have contracts between each man and each woman. Then, when another cycle got planned, we realized the contracts had to be redone. Of course, redoing them means $500 an hour in fees,” Jenkins says. “And the requirement is to pay four lawyers [one to represent each father, plus one for the surrogate] to craft a parenting agreement, which no straight couple has probably ever been asked to sign.”

The parent says that the ‘throuple’ went to such great lengths because failure to do so would mean that one of them would have no legal right over the baby. “No right to visitation if we split up. No ability to consent for medical care. No say in decisions. No legal responsibilities. No automatic inheritance. This would have been really risky for the family.”

The family had to spend over $120,000 on legal fees, contracts, implantations and tests.

Watch: Pakistani teacher tells students not to play sports, but to join Jihad in Kashmir or Palestine, kill ‘blasphemers’

In a video that has now gone viral on social media, an Islamic cleric in Pakistan is seen indoctrinating Muslim students to do ‘jihad’ and kill anyone who dares to speak about Islamic Prophets. The video was shared on Twitter by Major Gaurav Arya.

While quoting from Islamic texts, the cleric said, “…Anyone who dares to speak about any of our Prophets, it is your duty to slice him up. You must have heard the slogan ‘Gustaak-e-Nabi ki ek hi saza, sarr tann se juda (The punishment for insulting our Prophet is cutting off the head from the body).” The teacher, brandishing a skullcap, said that it was important to remember it, especially in contemporary times.

“The government wants children to focus on sports. In that way, students will not know about infiltrating into Kashmir to help other Muslims, or go to Palestine. They tell us not to teach this to children. But, you need to learn all this. Don’t you want to save our brothers and sisters in Kashmir? If someone badmouths our Prophet, won’t you be angry? Remember the slogans…Whoever talks about our Prophet will reach the same fate…You must remember your duty to do Jihad…,” he added.

The students in the class were seen raising Islamist slogans in unison. OpIndia could not confirm the date of the video. However, given that students were seen wearing masks, the video must have been shot after the Coronavirus outbreak.

While speaking about the situation of rampant radicalization going on in schools across Pakistan, Major (retd.) Gaurav Arya commented, “Across government schools in Punjab (Pakistan) the syllabus includes beheading and Jihad. Here, the class teacher is “educating” young minds. Feel sad for these kids. They will grow up thinking that Lashkar-e-Toiba is an MNC and being a terrorist is a career opportunity.”

‘Beheading is the punishment for blasphemers,’ Muslims in Pakistan protest after Charlie Hebdo 

In September last year, Pakistan witnessed protests by tens of thousands of Muslims after Charlie Hebdo decided to reprint cartoons mocking Mohammad, which prompted Islamic terrorists to launch a terror attack against them in 2015. “Death to France” was chanted and the protesters called for a boycott of French products.

The protesters also demanded that the French ambassador to the country be expelled. “We need to send a strong message to the French that this disrespect to our beloved prophet will not be tolerated,” said one protester. The protests were largely led by the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan and were witnessed in several cities across the country. There were protests in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore and Dera Ismail Khan.

The reprinting of the cartoons on Prophet Mohammad also led the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan to issue a condemnation of Charlie Hebdo. “Decapitation is the punishment of blasphemers,” one placard at the protests said. Razi Hussani, TLP district leader in Karachi, stated, “It (re-printing of prophet Mohammad cartoons) amounts to big terrorism; they repeat such acts of blasphemy against Prophet Mohammad every few years. It should be stopped.”

Mohali won’t see IPL matches in 2021, Punjab CM requests BCCI to change their decision: Details

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has expressed his ‘surprise’ at the exclusion of the Mohali Cricket Stadium from the list of venues for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. He said that there is no reason why Mohali cannot host an IPL match.

IPL 2021
Source: Twitter

According to reports, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, and Bengaluru have been finalized by BCCI to host IPL 2021. Mumbai could host matches as well if the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government in Maharashtra gives the go-ahead.

Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon is unhappy with the exclusion of Mohali and Dharamshala from the list of venues. “We have written to the IPL asking them to throw light on how they have decided on these venues and why also have they decided not to hold the IPL in Punjab,” he was quoted as saying by ESPN.

“The teams doing well are the ones who do well at home, win five or six home games and a few away, and that will take you through to the play-offs. Those five teams will have the home advantage, we will have to put up with all away game,” another franchise official said.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad has come forward and urged the BCCI to consider it as a venue for IPL 2021. Telangana Minister KTR said on social media while appealing to the BCCI, “Our effective COVID containment measures are reflected in our low number of cases among all metro cities in India & we assure you of all support from the Govt”.

Dr B R Ambedkar’s grandson claims PM Modi took vaccination from Christian nurse as he does not ‘believe in Hindu nurses’

Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s grandson, Prakash Ambedkar, on Monday claimed that PM Modi does not believe in Hindu nurses and hence he took the coronavirus vaccination jab from Christian nurses.

Prakash Ambedkar’s now-deleted tweet

In a now-deleted tweet, Prakash Ambedkar said that PM Modi speaks about Hindu loyalty day in and day out, but when it came to taking vaccination, he did not have faith in Hindu nurses. “Hence he took the vaccine jab from a Christian nurse. What a behaviour,” he had tweeted.

Following this, netizens condemned his distasteful twee.

People also pointed out how this kind of tweet was a blot on the legacy of his grandfather, Dr B R Ambedkar, who is credited for drafting the Indian Constitution.

Few hours later, Ambedkar deleted his tweet without giving any explanation.

Prime Minister Modi on Monday took the first dose of coronavirus vaccine in Delhi’s AIIMS. He was administered the dose of made-in-India Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN.

Rahul Gandhi has made his choice: He prefers street power to political power

The West Bengal Assembly Election is merely weeks away. The BJP and the TMC seem to be fighting on their own terms and have formed no alliances before the elections. Essentially, the two parties are now in a head to head battle to win the state of Bengal, with several other, smaller parties vying for a few seats in minority-dominated bastions. One of those smaller parties in the state is Congress, the others are the Left, AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi, and ISF (Indian Secular Party).

Congress, the Left and ISF have now formed a ‘secular’ alliance to fight the Bengal polls and are in the process of finalising their seat-sharing formula. Essentially, the Congress, Left and ISF would know that there is absolutely no chance they can win the state elections and thus, they are aiming to maximise their votes so as to emerge as the king-makers post elections, should TMC fall short of the required majority.

What has happened in Bengal is unique – in a way that Congress seems to have dropped all pretence of ‘secularism’.

Congress, in Bengal has now allied with Abbas Siddique.

So whose decision was it? Was it the state Congress’ decision to ally with the ISF? Was it owing to alliance compulsions with the Left? Or did Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and/or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra take the decision to ally with Abbas Siddiqui?

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, senior Congress leader who is now in-charge of Bengal elections had gone on record to say that no decision was taken without the consent from the ‘top’.

Anand Sharma had written that “Congress’ alliance with parties like ISF and other such forces militates against the core ideology of the party and Gandhian and Nehruvian secularism, which forms the soul of the party. These issues need to be approved by the CWC”.

Essentially, what Adhir is saying that while Anand Sharma thinks that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury took the decision to ally with Siddiqui on his own, it was actually approved from the top and thus, his allegation that it was not discussed is unfounded.

The rift in Congress has been clear for a while but what becomes even more clear here is that the alliance with ISF was not a rogue decision by over-zealous state elements who wanted to show the sahibs how proactive they are in reclaiming Congress’ political fortunes. This was a decision sanctioned form the top.

So who is Abbas Siddiqui of ISF that Rahul Gandhi has given his sanction to ally with? Here is what he has said in the past:

“This is Bengal. We (Muslims) are not minorities here. We are the majority here. Keep this in mind. We have a 35% population in the State,” he emphasised. Siddiqui also claimed that such a thing was possible as Adivasis, Matuas and Dalits did not fall into the Hindu fold. “If we do not come to power next time, they (Hindus) will rape our women in front of our eyes. Do you understand? You cannot do anything if you do not have power in your hands,” Siddiqui was seen fear-mongering at a public rally.

Siddique also wanted a virus sent by Allah to kill Indians. During the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus in the world, a video of Abbas Siddiqui shot on February 26 last year had gone viral on social media. He was seen addressing a large gathering of followers and praying to Allah to kill 50 crore Indians with the virus. In the video, the cleric was heard referring to anti-Hindu Delhi riots and saying, “Recently I have got the news that mosques are being set on fire, mosques are being burnt for the last two days. I think something is going to happen within a month. May Allah accept our prayers. May Allah send such a terrible virus to India that ten to twenty to fifty crore people die in India. Am I saying something wrong? It is absolutely blissful.” 

The state unit of Congress is visibly not happy with the decision. Recently, in a rally where Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was speaking, Abbas Siddiqui took the stage amidst massive cheer from his supporters in Bengal. As the Left leaders got busy welcoming their star in Bengal, Chowdhury was miffed. He got humiliated by Siddique when the speech was interrupted by the massive cheer he received and then, he was humiliated further by the Communists who wanted Adhir to let Siddique speak a few words. After the humiliation, Adhir decided to not speak at all. Though later, he tried to paint a different picture claiming that he stopped speaking because of the loud cheer – the reason was evident – Siddique was far more important a political asset for the Communists, Congress ally, because he could consolidate the Muslim vote and Adhir, who was not very happy with the alliance with Siddique, was dead weight.

Siddique then, during the same rally said, “Sonia Gandhi (Congress interim national president) may want the alliance but someone in the state is causing a delay. I think after this statement, things will be sorted out within a few days”.

And there we have it. It is indeed Sonia and Rahul Gandhi who sanctioned the alliance with ISF. The state unit of Congress could later get on board, or defend publicly since very few from Congress eventually go against the High Command, but the decision did indeed come from the top.

Let us reiterate – Rahul Gandhi with the express blessing of Sonia Gandhi has allied with a man who thinks the idea of 50 crore Indians (he obviously means Kafirs) dying is “blissful”.

Rahul Gandhi, often considered the clown by several Hindus and BJP leadership, is proving to be far more dangerous than a court jester who makes gaffes while speaking in public. Rahul has shown no moral compunction in allying with those who wish to wipe out the country’s Hindu majority and ensure that Kafir blood flows like water in their attempts to gain political and ideological supremacy. What seems to be far more dangerous is that while earlier, Congress tried to at least hide its desperation to get the Islamist vote with platitudes about secularism, the current Congress under Rahul Gandhi has bloomed as the official Islamist ally, quite openly so.

While Sonia Gandhi tried to pass the Communal Violence Bill that would consider every Muslim as a victim of communal violence even when they were the aggressors, Rahul Gandhi has openly backed those who burnt Delhi and Hindus during the anti-Hindu riots in 2020. Several Congress leaders have been caught and booked for hatching a conspiracy to burn Delhi and even supported Islamists like Umar Khalid who orchestrated the riots in part and had even met Tahir Hussain, whose men, amidst chants of Allahu Akbar and Nara-e-Taqbeer had mercilessly murdered Ankit Sharma – simply because he was a Hindu.

Before 2014 General Elections, Sonia Gandhi met Imam Bhukhari, a man accused in multiple cases. Everyone knows that she met so the secular votes do not get divided. It was even reported that she met him with that explicit purpose. But what was the statement that was eventually issued? That she promised to uplift Muslims and hence, Bukhari had extended support to Congress. And what is Rahul doing now? Openly and explicitly allying with a man who wants Hindus murdered. Who finds bliss when Kafir blood flows.

Essentially, the shift we see in the politics of Congress from when Sonia Gandhi reigned supreme to now when Rahul Gandhi has the reigns is rather clear. The core ideology is of course the same – victimising Hindus and retaining power with the help of Jihadis – but the modus operandi is different.

While Sonia Gandhi tried to game the system and kept up the pretence of ‘secularism’, at least to some extend, Rahul Gandhi has clearly resorted to allying with those who can display unbridled street power.

Some may argue that the latter is far better since nothing is really hidden from the people of the country and thus, they can make a far more informed decision. Perhaps. That could be true if we see how miserably Congress has failed in electoral politics after the rise of PM Modi.

However, beyond politics, there is a far more sinister possibility – Rahul Gandhi does not need political power at all to ensure that he has actual power in his hands.

It suited the politics of Rahul Gandhi to ensure that CAA was not passed. What did he do? He tacitly supported the Jihadis who ran riots against it. Media houses that supported Rahul Gandhi turned an anti-Hindu massacre into a anti-Muslim pogrom. The entire global cabal came together to say exactly what Rahul Gandhi’s Congress wanted them to say. Hindus were butchered. Their murderers received the support of the Congress party, headed by Rahul Gandhi.

When the farm-laws were passed, it suited the politics of Rahul Gandhi that the laws be repealed. What did he do? He got thousands to do chakka jam in Delhi, he fanned Khalistani sentiments and with the support of the Global left-Islamist nexus, he ensured that the entire saga culminated into violence on India’s Republic Day.

You see, Rahul Gandhi does not need political power. He needs those who assert themselves on the street to wield unbridled hold.

If you were a criminal. If you were the joker who just wanted to watch the world burn, what would you want? To be called the Prime Minister or thousands of people wielding this against those who stood against you?

This is an improvised weapon that was recovered from Asif – an accused in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots. The very anti-Hindu riots that were dubbed an anti-Muslim pogrom by the Congress and its cabal. The very riots where Ankit Sharma was murdered amidst chants of Allahu Akbar. The very riots that was orchestrated by Umar Khalid and his likes, according to the police. The very Umar Khalid that Congress defended.

And while Hindus may consolidate against these violent means after Rahul Gandhi has come out in the open as an Islamist ally, the far more dangerous possibility is that Rahul Gandhi has emboldened those who wish to rid India or Hindus, or at least, carve yet another piece of land out for themselves, just like they did with Pakistan.

Political power is often no match for street power. We have seen that once after 1947 where millions of Hindus were murdered in the Naokhali Riots, the Moplah Massacre and several such incidents so Muslims could carve out of land only for themselves – because they cannot stand to live in peace with Kafirs. The partition happened because men in power were no match for those hacking Hindus with machetes – they often aren’t.

With Rahul’s blatant support to those who want to repeat the Moplah genocide, he might never really weird true political power, but he has a weapon that is far more detrimental to India – street power.

Former CIA Director, who supported torture and lied about civilian deaths in drone strikes, says he is embarrassed to be a ‘white male’

Former Director of the CIA, John Brennan, appeared on MSNBC on Monday where he proudly declared that he was embarrassed to be a White Male. Brennan, for the longest time, was reviled by liberals and human rights activists. But all of that changed when he made the first anti-Trump comment. He instantly became a hero.

John Brennan said that he is “increasingly embarrassed to be a white male these days, sparking laughter from the MSNBC anchor.” He went on to claim that there are “so few” Republicans Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney who value truth, honesty and integrity.

His comment sparked mockery on social media with people saying that they are embarrassed as well that John Brennan is a white male.

John Brennan may claim that there are far too few Republicans who value truth, however, his track record demonstrates that he is no beacon of truth either. He had to withdraw his name from consideration for the top CIA post in 2008 due to his past support for George Bush’s torture programs.

As counter-terrorism adviser under Barack Obama, Brennan lied outright when he denied civilian deaths in Pakistan as a consequence of drone strikes. He had claimed in 2011, “In the last year, ‘there hasn’t been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency, precision of the capabilities that we’ve been able to develop,” before adding, if there are terrorists who are within an area where there are women and children or others, you know, we do not take such action that might put those innocent men, women and children in danger.”

Later, however, an independent study by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism established that at least 45 civilians had lost their lives. John Brennan also supervised the most controversial of Obama’s policies, including signature strikes in Yemen, which essentially entailed eliminating people without knowing who they are. Journalist Glenn Greenwald described the process as “seizing the power to determine who will be marked for execution without any due process, oversight or transparency.”

The ACLU had urged the US Senate to not proceed with his nomination in 2013 “until it assesses the legality of his actions in past leadership positions in the CIA during the early years of the George W. Bush administration and in his current role in the ongoing targeted killing program”.

A woman molested, a father murdered, a Samajwadi Party leader accused: Here is all you need to know about the Hathras case

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday directed officials to book all the four accused, including Samajwadi Party leader Gaurav Songra alias Gaurav Sharma, the main accused involved in the murder of Anish Sharma (name changed), a resident of Hathras under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

“Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directs officials to take strict action in the matter. He has also given directions to invoke the National Security Act against all the accused involved in the case,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a statement.

Samajwadi Party leader Gaurav Saungra is one of the prime accused. He was out-on-bail in the 2018 molestation case filed by the same girl whose father he shot dead.

The main accused Gaurav Songra or Gaurav Sharma is a Samajwadi Party leader

The Hathras police have filed an FIR in the case against six accused including the main accused SP leader Gaurav Sharma, his family members namely Rahitash Sharma, Nikhil Sharma, Lalit Sharma and two others. Police have arrested two accused, including Lalit Sharma in the case so far. They are in the lookout for the other accused, including the SP leader, who was jailed in 2018 in a sex assault case and has been out on bail ever since.

Screegrab of the FIR filed against the accused

The deceased man, Anish Sharma had filed a court case against the accused Gaurav Sharma and his accomplice for constantly harassing and troubling his daughter Pooja (name changed) in 2018. Now, the complainant in the case has been killed by the Samajwadi Party leader and molestation accused Gaurav Sharma alias Gaurav Songra and his accomplice in the Naujarpur village of Sasni Police Station area of ​​Hathras on Monday evening.

The police have said that the incident was a fallout of an argument between the family of the deceased and the accused Gaurav Sharma’s family outside a village temple at around 4:30 on Monday evening.

Press note released by Hathras police

Sharing more details about the case, where the Samajwadi Party leader shot the middle-aged man in cold blood, Superintendent of Police, Hathras, Vineet Jaiswal said that the victim was shot dead in his Nojalpur village by the main accused Gaurav Sharma along with his friends on Monday at around 4 pm.

Jaiswal added that Anish Sharma had filed a case of molestation in July 2018 against the main accused Gaurav Sharma. After that Gaurav was arrested and sent to jail. He came out on bail after one month. Ever since there was continued bad blood between the two families.

“The wife and the aunt of the main accused Gaurav Sharma and both daughters of deceased had gone to temple in the village. They had an argument there over the old case. Later, the main accused Gaurav Sharma and the Anish Sharma reached where their respective family members argued. As the situation turned worse, Gaurav called his family members and close friends, and in a fit of rage, fired several rounds and shot Anish dead. Anish succumbed to his injuries while being taken to hospital,” the SP added, also informing that teams have been formed to nab the remaining accused and further investigation is underway.

Yesterday, a video went viral on social media, in which Pooja (name changed) was seen crying outside the police station demanding strict action against her father’s murderers, one of whom is an influential Samajwadi Party student wing member.

Gaurav Sharma runs his social media pages with the name ‘Gaurav Songra’. On his Facebook page, the accused has put up multiple photos calling himself a “Samajwadi Party leader”. 

Narrating what transpired, Pooja asserted that the main accused Gaurav Sharma is a Samajwadi Party leader. She also revealed how Gaurav Sharma and his family had pressurised them to take back the 2018 molestation case filed against the Samajwadi Party leader.

She said that on the day of the incident, at first Gaurav Sharma’s wife and aunt got into an argument with her and her sister over the old case. While Gaurav Sharma’s wife and aunt were misbehaving with Pooja, her father reached the spot. He yelled at them and drove them away. While going they threatened Pooja and her father with dire consequences.

Later at around 3:00 pm, Pooja went to the field to give food to her father when Gaurav Sharma came there with his accomplices and started heckling them. This triggered a heated exchange of words between the accused and Anish Sharma. In a fit of rage, Gaurav Sharma then shot several rounds, severely injuring her father, in front of her eyes.

“Aatankwadi hain woh” (he is a terrorist), Pooja exclaimed, expressing her angst against SP leader Gaurav Sharma for killing her father in cold blood.

Several opposition leaders including, BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla and BJP MP Subrat Pathak have condemned the brutal killing of the man by the Samajwadi Party leader and his family members and demanded strict and speedy action against them.

Note: Names of the victims have been changed to protect identity.

Ajay Maken becomes one of the first party leaders to take COVID-19 jab even as Congress maintains silence over vaccination drive

A day after India embarked upon the second phase of its ambitious COVID-19 vaccination drive, Congress leader Ajay Maken became one of the first party leaders to get a jab of the indigenously developed vaccine.

After getting vaccinated at Delhi’s Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, Maken took to Twitter to inform that he, along with his wife and their mothers have taken the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. He also urged eligible to register themselves and not be afraid of the vaccination.

Maken’s tweet was quoted by another Congress leader, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who, too, recommended eligible people to heed the message and get registered for the vaccination. Quoting Maken’s tweet, Singhvi said, “Read the message, repeat it.”

Maken is among the first Congress leaders to have taken the shot and to exhort people to shun their fear surrounding the efficacy of the vaccine and register themselves for the vaccination. Last night, Maken informed on Twitter that he had booked a slot for COVID-19 vaccination today morning on the CoWIN platform at Guru Gobind Singh Hospital.

Urging people to get the jab, Maken had then tweeted, “Every eligible Indian should get vaccinated quickly!”

Congress leaders had raised aspersions over the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines

It is pertinent to note that at the start of the first phase of India’s coronavirus vaccination drive on January 16, Congress had raised aspersions on the efficacy of the indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccines—Serum Institute’s COVISHIELD and Bharat Biotech developed COVAXIN. Congress MP Manish Tewari had then asked if the vaccines were safe, why not a single government functionary stepped forward to get themselves inoculated.

“If the vaccine is so safe and reliable and efficacy of the vaccine is beyond question then how is it that not a single functionary of the government has stepped forward to get themselves vaccinated as it has happened in other countries around the world?” asked Congress MP Manish Tewari.

Some Congress leaders had even questioned the government for approving the emergency use of the two COVID-19 vaccines. Senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh fanned apprehensions about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines by asking the government to explain why it was “bypassing mandatory protocols” and “compromising” safety standards.

On Monday, when India started the second phase of coronavirus vaccination, Congress leader and Rahul Gandhi loyalist Mallikarjun Kharge had said he will skip taking the vaccine and let ‘younger people’ take a jab instead as ‘he has only few more years to live’.

He claimed that since he was already 70, he would rather not take the vaccine.

India embarks on the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive

The registration for the next phase of Covid-19 vaccination has started in India on March 1, 2021, at 9 AM. Eligible citizens are required to register on the Co-Win2.0 portal (https://cowin.gov.in) to get the timeslot for vaccination at the nearest vaccination centre. Citizens can also register using the Aarogya Setu app. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also got his first dose of vaccination on March 1, morning at AIIMS, Delhi.

Other than government hospitals, the government of India has authorised over 10,000 private hospitals enrolled under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, over 600 hospitals under CGHS and other private hospitals enrolled under State Schemes as Covid vaccination centres. While government hospitals will provide vaccination for free, private hospitals can charge up to Rs.250 for the vaccine.