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Bhima Koregaon case: Accused ‘Urban Naxal’ Varavara Rao granted bail by Bombay HC on medical grounds

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Bhima Koregaon case: Accused ‘Urban Naxal’ Varavara Rao granted bail by Bombay HC on medical grounds

Alleged ‘Urban Naxal’ Varavara Rao, who was arrested in 2018 for his involvement in the Elgar Parishad and Bhima Koregaon case, has been finally granted interim bail by the Bombay High Court on medical grounds. As per reports, the interim bail has been granted for a period os six months.

The Bombay High Court has ordered Rao to remain in Mumbai and be available for the police investigation whenever required. The order was passed by justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale. The HC has also ordered Rao to be discharged from the Nanavati hospital where he was being treated at the state’s expense.

Rao was arrested by a spacial team of Maharashtra Police in August 2018.

Rao was arrested in November 2018 along with nine others in relation to the Bhima Koregaon case which was transferred by Pune police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). In July this 2020, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) had accused Rao of attempting to take undue advantage of the Coronavirus outbreak after he applied for bail on grounds of health.

Rao was being treated in Nanavati Hospital

The Bombay HC had ordered Varavara Rao to be shifted from the Taloja Jail to the Nanavati Hospital in November 2020. The order was passed by a Bench of Justices SS Shinde and Madhav Jamdar while hearing a plea filed by Rao’s wife Pendyala Hemalatha seeking his release from Taloja jail on medical grounds.

Rao, aged 81, has been reportedly suffering from dementia and urinary tract infections.

On November 12, the High Court had rejected the bail plea filed by Rao’s wife under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking his immediate release on health grounds. The plea was filed after the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the matter and directed the Bombay High Court to hear his pending bail plea at the earliest. In the plea, Hemalatha has alleged that Rao was not being provided appropriate medical treatment by the government and this amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to health, dignity and life under the Constitution.

Serum Institute of India asks other countries to be patient with coronavirus vaccines as it prioritises Indian needs

OpIndia Staff
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Serum Institute of India asks other countries to be patient with coronavirus vaccines as it prioritises Indian needs

Vaccine giant Serum Institute of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla on Sunday urged the countries and governments waiting for Chinese coronavirus vaccines to be a little patient as they are prioritising Indian needs for inoculation.

Taking to Twitter, Poonawalla said, “Dear countries & governments, as you await #COVISHIELD supplies, I humbly request you to please be patient, @SerumInstIndia has been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world. We are trying our best.”

Pune-based SII has been producing hundreds of millions of doses for AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines. Many countries around the world depend on the supply of SII for the vaccine. SII also plans to supply 200 million doses to Covax, a World Health Organization-backed effort to procure and distribute inoculations to poor countries.

It has been little over a month since India started emergency use of vaccines for the frontline workers. As of now 10.67 million people in India have been inoculated. India plans to vaccinate 300 million people by July this year.

Canada lawmakers to vote for calling Chinese treatment of Uyghur Muslims as ‘genocide’ after Trudeau expressed reluctance

OpIndia Staff
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Canada lawmakers to vote for calling Chinese treatment of Uyghur Muslims as ‘genocide’ after Trudeau expressed reluctance

Days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed reluctance in calling out Chinese treatment of Uyghur Muslims as ‘genocide’, the main opposition party has now called for the House of Commons to declare that the Chinese government is committing genocide against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang region.

Canadian Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, in a statement said that Canada cannot remain silent. “We cannot remain silent. Silence only helps those who commit crimes against humanity, never the victims,” he said in a statement.

He further said, “On a matter like genocide, Canada needs to send a clear and unequivocal signal that we will stand up for human rights and the dignity of human rights, even if it means sacrificing some economic opportunity,” O’Toole said. “Our values are not for sale.”

A vote for the same is expected on Monday.

Prior to this, O’Toole had urged that Canadian government urges to push the 2022 Beijing Olympic out of China over Chinese government treatment of Uyghurs. “Canada should not be sending athletes to China in the middle of a genocide,” he had said.

Trudeau refuses to term Chinese treatment of Uyghur a genocide

The move by Conservative lawmakers in Canada comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau showed reluctance to label the Chinese treatment of Uyghur Muslims as ‘genocide’. Trudeau had called the term genocide ‘extremely loaded’ and claimed “When it comes to the application of the very specific word genocide, we simply need to ensure that all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed before a determination like that is made.”

Earlier in January, too, Canadian MPs had asked Trudeau to take a formal stand on the Chinese treatment of the Uyghurs. When questioned about him being on the fence about recognising Uyghur treatment as genocide, Trudeau had claimed that the Canadian government is “following the right processes to establish our point of view and our official position on this subject.”

The outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, too, had declared the Chinese treatment of Uyghurs as ‘genocide’.

Chinese govt atrocities on Uyghurs

The US Department of State had estimated that up to two million Uyghurs as well as members of other Muslim minority community have been detained across intermittent camps in the region. A report by CNN states that camp detainees face food and sleep deprivation and forced injections. Further, some Uyghur women were forced to use birth control and undergo forced sterilisation as a part of deliberate attempt to bring down population of the minority.

China, however, has denied the atrocities and human rights abuse. It claims that these steps are important to curb religious extremism and terrorism in an area which is home to about 11 million Uyghurs.

Pakistan: Online Petition to change the name of ‘Islamabad’ to ‘Islamagood’ goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Online Petition to change the name of ‘Islamabad’ to ‘Islamagood’ goes viral

Recently, an online petition to rename Pakistan’s National Capital Islamabad has begun doing the rounds of the internet.

The said petition was created by one Canada-based Bangladeshi national named Ayham Abrar and was directed to the Pakistani PM Imran Khan. The campaign sought to change the name of ‘Islama-bad’ to ‘Islama-good.’ Although the petition was started about 7 months ago, it got traction on social media in the last few days.

Screengrab of the petition via change.org

In his petition, Ayham claimed, “Islam is good. Pakistan love Islam. Why IslamaBAD? Love from Bangladesh.” After the campaign went viral on social media, it drew about 384 signatures by Monday morning. It must be mentioned that the petitioner had set a target of 500 signatures.

Netizens crack jokes at the expense of the online campaign

One Haider Ali claimed that the name Islamabad was somehow Islamophobic. He wrote, “There’s a petition to change Islamabad’s name to Islamagood because IslamaBad sounds Islamophobic.” Another user (@raisvhhh) took potshots at the petitioner. She said, “Why is islamaBAD? should be islamaGOOD…love from bangladesh”

Another Twitter user wrote, “People who signed petition to change the name from IslamaBAD to IslamaGOOD. Guys, file another petition, it should be Pakistan ZindaGOOD, not ZindaBAD.”

Parody account Gobi Faizi tweeted, “Petition to change Bangladesh’s name to Promotegladesh. We muslim brothers should stand up for each other.”

IU Amir tweeted that those who understand Urdu know the meaning of ‘Abad’. “Who is the Urdu teacher of such people?,” he pointed out.

Petitioner posts updates on the campaign

While posting updates on his petition, Ayham Abrar informed, “Hi all, Ayham here, I just wanted to reach out to let you know we’ve just passed 113 signatures on our petition! Thank you so much for your support! Will you help me to get more support by sharing this petition with ten other people?” He emphasised, “If enough of us sign we can’t be ignored.”

Screengrab of the tweet

The name ‘Islamabad’ actually stands for the ‘City of Islam’. Unlike what Ayham had suggested, the name is a combination of two words ‘Islam’ and ‘Abad’ and not ‘Bad’.

Uttar Pradesh: Acid thrown on a woman in Hapur, accused Rohil Khan arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Acid thrown on a woman in Hapur, accused Rohil Khan arrested

An incident of an acid attack has come to light in Faridpur village of Simbhavali police station area Hapur district, Uttar Pradesh. As per reports, on February 21, the woman was cleaning utensils inside the house when a person named Rohil Khan entered there and threw acid on her. When the girl screamed, the family rushed to her rescue and ran after the culprit. However, at that time, Rahil managed to escape.

The girl was immediately rushed to the hospital, from where she was referred to Meerut. When the information got out, hundreds of villagers gathered outside the Simbhavali police station and demanded Rohil’s arrest.

Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, Superintendent of Police, Hapur, said in a statement that they received information about the acid attack. He said, “The incident took place at around 7:30-8:00 PM in Faridpur village of Simbhali police station area. Someone threw chemical on a young woman that was apparently acid. She was rushed to the hospital, from where she was referred to Meerut. She is stable and out of danger.” He further added that the culprit would be arrested soon, and strict action would be taken against him.

It is yet unclear why Rohil Khan threw acid on her. As the victim and culprit belong to different communities, PAC has been deployed in the village to maintain law and order.

Rahil Khan arrested within 6 hours

In its statement, Hapur Police said that Rohil was arrested within 6 hours after they received information about the incident. SP Jadaun noted that police had to use force to arrest Rohil.

He was taken to the hospital as he had received some injuries during the arrest. Further probe is underway.

Shashi Tharoor plays by Greta toolkit, tweets sexually suggestive meme to mock Yoga and demean women while criticising Modi govt

OpIndia Staff
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Shashi Tharoor plays by Greta toolkit, tweets sexually suggestive meme to mock Yoga and demean women while criticising Modi govt

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday posted a suggestive meme filled with innuendos to mock Yoga while trying to criticise Modi government.

The meme was of popular American animated sitcom series The Simpsons where Marge Simpson is shown posing in a ‘Yoga’ pose on all fours and asking her ‘Yoga’ instructor what pose is this called. Her ‘Yoga’ instructor says it is the ‘Indian taxpayer’ pose. Soon, netizens called out his sexually suggestive meme and lack of class while being critical of government.

Netizens also pointed out how his ‘sense of humour’ is sexually explicit. Some even questioned whether showing a woman cartoon character in such sexual position was ‘women empowerment’ as per Congress. Considering the sexual nature of his tweet, some even suggested a title for his new book.

Tharoor’s tweet depicting moral decay in Congress came just weeks after Swedish protestor Greta Thunberg inadvertently tweeted a ‘toolkit’, a ready reckoner on how to participate in ‘farmer protest’ in India against the new farm laws. The toolkit revealed a global conspiracy to defame India. One of the points was to defame ‘Yoga’ and ‘Chai’ on international platforms.

Greta Thunberg Toolkit

Chai was seen as a reference to humble beginnings of PM Modi who used to sell tea at railway station during his younger days. Soon after coming to power, PM Modi proposed International Yoga Day during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He had said how Yoga is an invaluable gift of India to the world. Since 2015, the International Yoga Day is celebrated annually on 21st June. The Greta Thunberg toolkit, which was reportedly created and shared widely by Bengaluru-based ‘activist’ Disha Ravi and a lawyer Nikita Jacob for pro-Khalistan organisation Poetic Justice Foundation spoke about defaming Yoga and Chai on international platforms.

Geo News headquarters in Karachi vandalised by protestors after its journalist called Sindhi people ‘bhukhe nange’

OpIndia Staff
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Geo News headquarters in Karachi vandalised by protestors after its journalist called Sindhi people ‘bhukhe nange’

The Karachi head offices of Pakistani news channel Geo News and its owner Jang group was attacked by a larger number of protestors today. According to a report by Geo News, the proctors attached the staff at the office, and damaged furniture and fixtures.

The protests were carried out by nationalist groups of Sindhi people, against the comments of Geo journalist Irshad Bhatti. The journalist is accused of continuously mocking the Sindhi community in his ‘Khabarnak’ program on Geo TV. The patience of people ran out when earlier this month, Irshad Bhatti called the Sindhi people ‘bhookhe nangey’ (hungry and naked) in his program.

In his talk show with Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Irshad Bhatti started the program with introducing Zardari as millionaire leader of bhukhe-nange people, and had said that there are lots of bhukhe nange people in Sindh. He also said lots of bhukhe nange people come to attend rallies of Zardari, who are not even paid for the same. Irshad said that bhukhe nange people are brought to PPP rallies promising money, but later they are not paid.

Agitated with this comment, a protest march was scheduled for today. But when the protestors reached the Geo office, it turned violent and the protestors resorted to vandalism. The protestors tore down a walk-through gate and broke through the main gate of the office located on I.I. Chundrigar road, in Karachi. Geo News claimed that the protestors harassed the staff in the building, which included women employees. The protestors also held a sit-in protest inside the office.

The news channel released photographs from their office showing broken glass panels lying in the reception area of the office. They also claimed that police remained a mute spectator while their office was being vandalised.

The channel also presented a clarification from Irshad Bhatti, claiming that he did not mean to disrespect the Sindh province or Sindhi language in his show. He said that his program is a program of satire and comedy, and Sindh and Sindhi are part of his existence in the same way as any other province of the country.

Geo News Managing Director Azhar Abbas posted a tweet condemning the attack, and questioned the alleged inaction of police. “Strongly condemn attack on offices of Geo and Jang. The vandalised the reception area and beat our Caneraman and staff. Where is the Govt??” he tweeted. The channel also claimed that the protest had been announced in advance but “there were no law enforcement officers present”.

According to Pakistani social media users, the protest that turned violent was led by PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party), and the social media users condemned the media house for failing to name its attackers.

Journalist Hamid Mir tweeted that the man seen in footages from the incident in black glasses and mike in his hand is responsible for the attack. But he also refrained from identifying the man, Dunya News journalist Mushtaq Sarki.

In Pictures: ‘Run for Modi’ rally captures the formidable rise of BJP in Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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In Pictures: ‘Run for Modi’ rally captures the formidable rise of BJP in Bengal

Ahead of the upcoming State Legislative elections in West Bengal, the BJP organised a massive ‘Parivartan rally’ to counter the influence of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government. On Sunday, the BJP launched the ‘Run for Modi’ campaign with hordes of supporting chanting slogans and taking out a march from Shyambazar to Vivekananda road.

Symbolic of BJP’s ideology of nationalism, the march began from the landmark of Netaji’s statue to Swami Vivekananda’s ancestral home. As the supporters cheered in support of the BJP, the city of Kolkata witnessed the formidable strength of the party in TMC’s bastion.

Dawning saffron T-shirts featuring PM Modi’s image, the supporters chanted in unison, “Modi asche Modi asche (The BJP headed by PM Modi is coming to power).” National BJP Secretary Sunil Deodhar tweeted, “Enthusiastic Youth of Bengal wants Poriborton (change). It’s just a matter of time before Mamata Didi’s govt. bites the dust.” It must be remembered that Sunil Deodhar had spearheaded the BJP’s massive victory in Tripura in 2018, which used to be one of the strongholds of the Communist party.

The chants of ‘Har har Modi’, and ‘Modi Modi’ refused to cease. The show of strength was immense.

Amidst the jubilant celebration, Bengali actor and former TMC member Hiran Chatterjee joined the BJP’s campaign ‘Run for Modi’. Chatterjee, who had earlier hinted at joining the BJP, was garlanded and welcomed by the party supporters. The Parivartan rally also saw the participation of BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga.

Hiren Chatterjee joins the BJP rally
Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga

The event organised by Modipara (translated to Modi’s neighbourhood) saw massive participation of the city’s youth. A young boy was seen playing the dhol while others rallied for PM Modi.

Perhaps, one of the iconic moment of the ‘Run for Modi’ event was the participation of a physically disabled man who did not hesitate to tire himself for the ‘parivartan’ in the political dispensation.

Ahead of the polls, BJP leader Amit Shah had recently launched the ‘Modipara’ app. IT Cell Head Amit Malviya had informed that 1.8 lakh users were on the app and that around 3.5 lakh visits were recorded. Roughly, 50% users are between the age of 26 and 35 years.

The app has been a one-stop destination for BJP’s outreach campaigns and is proving successful in countering the rival TMC’s app ‘Didir Doot’ (messenger of Didi Mamata Banerjee). As BJP makes inroads into West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee faces tough comeptition to retain her seat to power.

‘Pishi Jao’: BJP releases campaign ad featuring widely popular protest song ‘Bella Ciao’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Pishi Jao’: BJP releases campaign ad featuring widely popular protest song ‘Bella Ciao’

West Bengal politics is heating up as elections draw near everyday. With campaigns reaching a feverish pitch, the Bharatiya Janata Party has latched on to protest song ‘Bella Ciao’, recently seen in popular web series Money Heist, to target the Trinamool Congress government. The BJP has released a new campaign ad titled ‘Pishi Jao’.

The ‘Pishi’ (aunt) in ‘Pishi Jao’ is clearly Mamata Banerjee. ‘Pishi’ is a snide jibe at the West Bengal Chief Minister who happens to the aunt of Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee, a leader who has been accused of corruption by his opponents.

“Bangla e shudu, dangabaazi, o pishi jaao, pishi jaao, pishi jaao, jaao, jaao. Raasta behaal, bangla e aakal, pishi jaao, jaao, jaao, pishi jaao. Kano mitthe, mitther prochaar? Pishi jaao, jaao, jaao, pishi jaao (There are only riots in Bengal, aunty leave. Roads are in a bad state and so is Bengal. Aunty, leave. Why are you publicizing lies? Aunty, leave),” goes the lyrics of Pishi Jao.

‘Bella Ciao’ has gained prominence across the world as an anti-fascist song and an anthem against oppressive regimes. West Bengal has seen widespread political violence in recent years with the murder of a great many BJP kayakartas allegedly due to political vendetta. Only on Saturday, a Trinamool leader threatened that only Trinamool voters can go vote in the assembly elections.

Under such circumstances, ‘Pishi Jao’ is likely to resonate among significant sections of the Bengal electorate.

UP Police register case against 8 Twitter handles including Barkha Dutt’s The Mojo Story for fake news on Unnao case

OpIndia Staff
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UP Police register case against 8 Twitter handles including Barkha Dutt’s The Mojo Story for fake news on Unnao case

On February 21, Unnao Police registered an FIR against eight Twitter accounts for spreading fake stories about the poisoning of three Dalit girls, where two girls have died while the third remains in hospital. The FIR stated that the mentioned Twitter handles had spread false information that the girls were raped, which was denied in the post mortem reports. These handles further spread the fake information that Unnao Police performed the last rites of the two deceased girls without the family’s consent.

The case has been registered under Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act against The Mojo Story (Barkha Dutt’s news agency), @NilimDutta (Chairman of Unified People’s Movement),  @janjagranlive (News agency), @SurajKrBaudh (Spokesperson Azad Samaj Party), @VijayAmbedkarUP (Jai Bhim IT team), @Abhaykumarazad9 (Bhim Army Member), @Rahuldiwkr (Gadge Youth Brigade leader) and @BhimSenaChief (Nawab Satpal Tanwar).

The FIR states that incorrect, misleading information was spread by these social media accounts to create anger among the common people. They had ignored the facts of the case and the post-mortem reports to claimed that the girls were raped and they were cremated without the consent of family members, which is not true, the FIR said.

Uttar Pradesh Fact Check had debunked Barkha Dutt’s tweet

On February 19, the UP government’s Uttar Pradesh Fact Check handle had debunked an alleged fake tweet posted by Barkha Dutt. Unnao Police had said that the tweet claimed police wanted to cremate the girls at night, which was misleading. The family of the girls did the last rites of both girls on their own.

Additional Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Pandey said in his statement that a case had been registered against eight people for spreading misleading and provoking information on social media in connection to the Unnao case.

Three Dalit girls were found lying unconscious in a field in Baburha village under the Asoha police station of Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh yesterday. Two of them were reportedly declared brought dead by the doctors, while one is in critical condition and is undergoing treatment at the district hospital.

The Unnao Case

On February 19, three girls from the same family were found lying unconscious in a field in Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh. Two of them were declared dead while the eldest one was rushed to the hospital for treatment. According to reports, an initial examination by the police and the doctors suggested that the two girls were poisoned. Security personnel were deployed at the district hospital and around the village. An IG and a DIG rank officer have also reportedly left from Lucknow to take cognisance of the matter.

Reports suggested that the girls had gone to the field to collect fodder for cattle. The areas are owned by the girls’ own families. The victims’ brother Vishal reportedly said that all three girls had gone to the field around 3 pm yesterday to collect fodder. When they did not return by late evening, the families searched for them and found them lying in the field. Two girls were already dead by the time they were found.

UP Police had claimed that they arrested a man named Vinay and a 15-year-old boy in the case. Vinay had allegedly confessed that mixed insecticide in water to target the elder girl as she rejected his advances. However, all three drank the poisoned water. The two younger cousins were found dead while the actual target had survived and currently receiving treatment in hospital.

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