In a major development, the father of a minor girl has accused a Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillor and others of abducting his daughter from the Malda district of West Bengal, reportedSangbad Pratidin.
As per reports, the girl is a resident of Ward No.28 in Ghorapir in the Shakuntala Park area of Malda. The victim’s father informed, “My daughter is 13 years and 5 months old. On February 8, she went missing from the house at around 4 pm. I registered a missing complaint with the police, on the same day, at 8 o’clock in the night. I learnt that 5 people have abducted my daughter.”
He revealed, “On February 9, I got to know that five people by the name of Sultan Shaikh, Asgar Shaikh, Akbar Shaikh, Mun Shaikh and Chotu Shaikh kidnapped her. The TMC councillor of Ward No. 28 is behind the incident. These men would frequently visit our neighbourhood. I had objected to it. Later, the councillor’s supporters attacked my house. They had told me to send my daughter away from here, and get her married.”
(Video Courtesy: Youtube/Sangbad Pratidin)
Victim’s family accuses police of non-cooperation, girl remains missing
The victim’s father has also accused the English Bazar Police of non-cooperation. He said that the cops refused to file a First Information Report (FIR). He said, “We had to file a case in the court. Even after that, the police and the district administration did not take action. I haven’t found my daughter as of yet. It has been 22 days.” “The councillor is behind the incident. He has warned that he will stop the police from taking action,” the helpless father lamented.
He informed that all the accused, who are involved in the forced disappearance of his daughter, have been roaming freely. “They have threatened to kill me if I do not withdraw the court case. The cops are not taking any action. Where should I look for my daughter? You (the media) should also help in searching for my daughter. We are not finding any clue to trace her. I want my daughter back and the culprits arrested,” he added.
Family sits on hunger strike, TMC dubs incident as ‘political conspiracy’
Faced with police inaction in recovering the victim and the barrage of incoming threats, the family members sat on a hunger strike on Monday night in the Fuara More area of Malda. “It’s been 22 days, I don’t know if the girl is alive at all,” the minor girl’s father said. He has demanded stringent action against the TMC councillor and the other accused men. It is notable here that the local Bajrang Dal has come forward to support the family. On the contrary, the Trinamool Congress has accused the BJP of ‘staging a drama’ ahead of the West Bengal elections.
Recently an article titled “‘Enforced Nationalism’ Debate Rears Head Again, This Time at University in J&K” was published in the far-left propaganda portal The Wire. The article, published on 28 February 2021, argued that patriotism is being forced on the students of the Islamic University of Science and Technology as they are asked to choose between compulsorily standing up during the rendition of the national anthem or missing the convocation ceremony and sitting at home.
Though the University was established in 2005, it is going to have its first convocation ceremony in 2021. During the preparations of this ceremony, students who have been invited to the dress rehearsals have reportedly alleged that the university officials had asked them to stand up for the national anthem or stay at home and their medals will be sent there.
The Wire apparently spoke to some of the students of the university who confirmed that the university officials had asked them to respect the national anthem by standing up for it or refrain from attending the ceremony.
“In front of all the students, they told us in strict words, ‘Don’t create problems for us. If you don’t want to stand up for the national anthem, sit at home, we will send your gold medal to your home’,” The Wire quoted a student as saying.
The Wire further added that several students confided to it that they were not comfortable with the University’s “diktat”, stating it should be up to them to stand up for the national anthem or not.
Another student quoted by The Wire slammed nationalism and called the Indian government ‘repressive’. However, the same student then goes on to cite Article 51(a) of the Indian Constitution to allege that the fundamental duties do not mandate citizens to stand up for the national anthem. The student further adds that his conscience does not allow him to stand up for the national anthem.
Relevant sections from The Wire article
“I don’t believe in nationalism and when a state is repressive, I won’t respect it. Even if we go by the constitution, Article 51(a) [fundamental duties] does not direct that citizens should stand up for the national anthem. It says that it is every citizen’s duty to ‘abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and the national anthem’,” The Wire quoted the student as saying.
In a bid to defend the students opposing standing up to the national anthem, The Wire article then cites threats emanating from separatists and terrorists as reasons for students to not engage in nationalist activities on campus. It alleged that those who agreed to take part in nationalistic activities and political movements are seen as supporting the Central government and are branded as ‘traitors’ by separatists and militants.
Relevant sections of the The Wire article
The article further states that people have faced bullying and boycotts for acquiescing to government demands and that overt support for national activities have even resulted in deaths. It mentioned students in Kashmir are bullied by the separatists and Islamists for following the Indian government’s directives. It goes on to claim students in Kashmir are caught between a rock and a hard place as not standing up to the national anthem could invite repercussions from the government and standing up for it would lead to their ostracisation by civil society or possibly even death.
Towards the end, the article quotes University registrar Naseer Iqbal, who unequivocally denies coercing students to stand up for the national anthem. Iqbal says he has only asked the students of the University to maintain protocol and decorum and denies telling them that if they do not plan to stand for the anthem, they should not bother to attend the convocation. Iqbal explains that playing the national anthem was a part of the protocol of the University and it would not look nice if medalists are seen defying the standard protocols.
The Wire tries to promote separatism with its article to argue against standing up to national anthem
In essence, The Wire, in its article, has toed the separatists and terrorists’ line in blaming the university for “enforcing” nationalism on students by simply asking them to comply with the university protocols, which include standing up for the national anthem, among other activities. Notwithstanding the denial from the university registrar, The Wire continued with its narrative that students are being coerced to stand up during the national anthem, giving a free pass to the separatists responsible for targeting and bullying those who respect the decorum and national anthem.
Additionally, The Wire also allowed its platform to promote separatist ideology. One of the students with whom The Wire got in touch said that the Indian government is a repressive regime and therefore he doesn’t believe in nationalism. Though love for the nation is independent of the government at the centre, nonetheless, such thoughts reveal that the student in question was deeply influenced by separatist ideology. By providing its platform to such voices and legitimising their concerns, The Wire has only undermined the country’s fight against the violent and divisive ideologies of separatism and Islamic terrorism.
The Wire also argued that students in Jammu and Kashmir are standing on very thin ice, given that they might be punished by the state for not standing up to the national anthem and punished nevertheless by the militants and separatists for doing so. However, instead of highlighting how the separatists, terrorists and the so-called civil society in Kashmir are bullying, intimidating and threatening to ostracise students who are willing to participate in activities that symbolise India’s sovereignty, The Wire appears to act as an outpost for the separatists and terrorists, arguing for the university to relax its protocols concerning the national anthem to placate the separatist sentiments.
In essence, The Wire here is waiting the Indian government for “enforcing nationalism”, but it would not criticise the separatist elements that threat the lives of students if they follow University protocols.
In fact, ‘enforced nationalism’ is for those who are corrupted with a separatist mentality. Those who foster the dream of breaking away from India will obviously be repulsed by the fact that they are expected to stand up to the national anthem of India, the nation that gives them the very constitutional rights which they have just cited to avoid following basic institutional protocols.
Popular Left-wing U.S. politician Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, widely known by her moniker AOC, chose to condemn the New York Police Department (NYPD) for utilizing and testing a robot dog in a low-income neighborhood. Low-income neighborhoods in America, especially in New York, are usually dominated by Non-white people, like African Americans or Hispanics. Therefore, AOC termed NYPD’s move to use the robot dog, Digidog, as racist in a series of tweets on Thursday.
‘Shout out to everyone who fought against community advocates who demanded these resources go to investments like school counseling instead,’ AOC tweeted sarcastically. In a follow-up tweet, AOC rues the lack of next gen technology which can help lower income under-served communities achieve education, healthcare etc. Overall, AOC’s criticism of the NYPD for employing Digidog seemingly stems out from Digidog being utilized in a poor minority non-white community and also for not utilizing resources effectively for issues like education, housing, healthcare etc.
Please ask yourself: when was the last time you saw next-generation, world class technology for education, healthcare, housing, etc consistently prioritized for underserved communities like this?
Digidog was developed by Boston Dynamics, an engineering and robotics company which is a research spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). Boston Dynamics is owned by the Hyundai Motor Group. Digidog, worth around $75,000, became a part of the NYPD last year. Digidog is black and blue in colors, just like the colors of the NYPD. Digidog weighs around 31 KG, is equipped with lights, can facilitate two-way communication, and has video cameras, the NYPD said.
The function of Digidog is to search a particular area through utilizing its cameras and then send back real time footage to the police officers. In order to perform this function, Digidog also features a unique A.I. which allows the robot dog to navigate on its own. On top of all this, Digidog can also climb stairs, see in the dark, and run at a speed of approximately 5.6 KM/hour. Digidog is specifically designed for emergency situations which would be too dangerous for police officers.
Currently, Digidog is undergoing testing by the NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit. Digidog has been deployed in a home invasion situation perpetrated by two assailants, during which Digidog’s role was to be the eyes of the police officers inside the invaded house in order to make sure whether the assailants were still inside or had fled. Digidog has also been utilized in finding a gunman hiding in a basement in Brooklyn, followed by a hostage situation in Queens. Digidog has proven to be an effective tool for the NYPD.
The NYPD did not issue a direct response to AOC, however the news account of the NYPD on Twitter did make a comment on Digidog, “The NYPD has been using robots since the 1970’s to save lives in hostage situations & hazmat incidents. This model of robot is being tested to evaluate its capabilities against other models in use by our Emergency Service Unit and Bomb Squad.”
The NYPD has been using robots since the 1970’s to save lives in hostage situations & hazmat incidents. This model of robot is being tested to evaluate its capabilities against other models in use by our Emergency Service Unit and Bomb Squad. https://t.co/134Xl0ezox
According to Keith Taylor, a former NYPD SWAT team sergeant, the Digidog has a ‘tremendous potential’ to limit injuries and fatalities for police officers and criminals. ‘It’s important to question police authority, however this appears to be pretty straightforward,’ he said. ‘It is designed to help law enforcement get the information they need without having a deadly firefight, for instance.’
It would make sense that a robot dog whose main function is to infiltrate places and provide police officers with more information, will result in saving of more lives. The more information the police have about a particular assailant, including his location in the property, his weapon of choice, his demeanor, etc. the better the Police will able to deal with it.
There are some instances of police officers utilizing technology in order to save lives. For example, in 2015, a man with a knife threatened to jump off a bridge in San Jose, California. The distressed person was calmed down and brought back safely because the police was able to provide the disturbed man with a cellphone and slice of pizza through utilizing a robot. In another instance in Albuquerque, New Mexico a robot was used to ‘deploy chemical munitions’ into a motel room where a man had barricaded himself with a gun. The man later surrendered without incident.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is infamous for her usage of identity politics. Her particular brand of ‘wokeness’, which is now mainstream in the Democratic Party, has led to a rise of racial terms and rhetoric being used in American politics, especially terms like PoC (People of Color) which basically means anyone who is non-white.
This sort of rhetoric, which has been gathering momentum ever since Trump’s election in 2016, came to a head with the George Floyd riots of Summer 2020 which saw widespread destruction, looting and rioting in multiple American cities, along with a protest movement demanding racial justice. AOC’s move of trying to make even the testing of a robot dog by the NYPD a racial issue speaks to just how bankrupt mainstream progressive ideology is in America.
In what comes as a big boost to the development of Ayodhya, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation had approved the state proposal to develop an international airport in Ayodhya. According to reports, the union government sanctioned Rs 250 crore for the operation of ATR-72 aircraft in the first phase.
Speaking to the media, Yogi Adityanath said that about Rs 1,000 crores have been allocated to the district administration for land acquisition for the airport out of which the Central government has disbursed Rs 250 crores.
The development comes within days of the Yogi Adityanath government allocating Rs 101 crore for the construction of the International airport in Ayodhya in its recently unveiled state budget.
The Uttar Pradesh government has named the Ayodhya International airport the ‘Maryada Purushottam Sriram Airport’.
According to reports, the BJP government in the state has already given Rs 625 crore for the acquisition of land for the project. It has also cleared the decks for the purchase of 555.66 acres of land in addition to 377 acres already in possession of Ayodhya airport, for which the state govt is willing to shell out a sum of Rs three hundred and twenty-one crore ninety-nine lakh fifty thousand seven hundred and twenty. Apart from this, a separate provision of Rs 100 crores has been made for the Ayodhya Airport in the next financial year 2021-22.
CM Yogi Adityanath had announced on November 6, 2018, that airstrip for large aircraft like A-320 and B-737 will be developed and along with a suitable runway and terminal building. It was decided that the airport would be developed for Code-E B777-300 type of aircraft with the aim of developing an international airport in Ayodhya.
The state government proposes to develop the existing airstrip through State construction and designed services (UP Jal Board) under regional connectivity scheme (RCS)-UDAN.
It is pertinent to note here that the existing airstrip is just over 1.5 km long and 30 meters, barely suitable enough to allow the landing of a nine-seater aircraft. For bigger aircraft, the airstrip needs to have a width of 45 meters and a length of 2.5 km. Besides, it should also have at least 100-150 meters set-off area on either side of the runway.
The development of an airport in Ayodhya was conceptualized during the UPA regime. In 2013-14, the AAI had sought 251 acres of land for the project.
This was followed by a memorandum of understanding between the previous SP government and the AAI. However, the project did not make much headway.
Now, the construction work of the International airport in Ayodhya is being carried out on war footing. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is personally monitoring the progress of the airport project, as well as other developmental projects in the holy city. According to official sources, the Yogi Adityanath government has set the December 2021 deadline for completion of the airport.
Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja is being mocked on social media after she shared a photograph of herself receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. In the photograph, a nurse can be seen delivering the injection over the cloth of her blouse in the arm.
Source: KK Shailaja/Facebook
The photograph has attracted great mockery on social media.
Have you ever seen anyone getting a vaccination over a blouse
Well this is Shailaja teacher, our very own Minister of Health from Kerala..
However, CPI(M) workers claimed that the photo shared by KK Shailaja is from a photoshoot session to create awareness about the necessity of taking the vaccine. They also insisted that she did take the vaccine later on by taking a direct jab on her skin.
Ministers across the political spectrum are getting themselves vaccinated in the second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive. Prime Minister Modi himself had taken the vaccine early morning on the 1st of March itself.
Citizens above the age of 60 and those over 45 with specified comorbidities are eligible for the vaccine in the second phase.
A lawyer was sent to jail for sending birthday greetings to a judge. The case pertains to Ratlam where advocate Vijaysingh Yadav was arrested for sending an email and a birthday card to Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Mithali Pathakon on January 29.
A complaint was filed against the lawyer and he was arrested by the Ratlam Police on February 9. In the complaint, the plaintiff has accused the advocate of downloading her photo without authorisation. The complaint further mentioned that since the lawyer was not on the judge’s Facebook friend list, such an ‘unauthorized access’ or use of the photograph would attract provisions of the Information Technology Act.
An FIR was filed against the lawyer under Section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (Forgery of valuable security ), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 469 (Forgery for purpose of harming reputation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 41 read with 67(Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Family of the lawyer file a bail plea at Madhya Pradesh High court
Four days after his arrest, i.e February 13, the family members of the accused had applied for bail on his behalf. However, it was turned down by the local court.
After his bail plea was rejected in the local court, Yadav approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court for interim relief. His case will be heard on Wednesday by the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh HC. In his bail application, Yadav had stated that he has been wrongly implicated in the case with unnecessary and unwanted charges. Yadav’s bail plea was filed by his brother Jay Yadav. In the bail plea, Yadav has also cited a separate “private complaint” submitted by him to the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Ratlam, against JMFC.
Yadav has submitted that there was no intent from his side to tarnish the reputation of the judge. Additionally, he has claimed that he lacks knowledge about ‘internet access’ and social media. He has also stated in the plea that he had sent the birthday greeting as a social worker and president of Jai Kul Devi Sewa Samiti, Ratlam — and that he had downloaded the image from Google and used it as a “creative designer”.
Yesterday, a video went viral where Ayesha, a young woman, was heard announcing her decision to commit suicide. Ayesha committed suicide soon afterwards jumping into the Sabarmati River in Gujarat on the afternoon of February 25, allegedly due to facing harassment by her husband whom she had married in 2018. Now, fresh details have emerged in the case.
Ayesha’s lawyer Zaffar Pathan has revealed that the former’s husband Arif had an extra-marital affair with a Rajasthan girl. As reported by Newsroom Post, Ayesha’s husband Arif use to call up his girlfriend and indulge in vulgar conversations with her, in presence of his wife Ayesha.
This, the lawyer reminisced was extremely troubling for Ayesha, who decided to remain quiet and not confront her husband regarding the same.
“Arif used to ignore his wife and splurge on girlfriend. And, for meeting his expenses, he used to threaten Ayesha’s parents. At times, he also forcefully took money from his in-laws,” the lawyer was quoted by the Newsroom Post as telling a Hindi daily.
Zaffar Pathan also said that Arif had confessed to Ayesha that he had another woman in his life and had maintained that he would not leave her for Ayesha. The thought that her husband was cheating on her had left Ayesha heart-broken, but she kept mum, thinking that the news would disturb her loved ones.
“Ayesha also suffered a miscarriage due to marital disquiet and tension. She suffered bleeding one day. The doctor advised surgery but before treatment, she had a miscarriage,” the lawyer informed.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Police have arrested absconding accused Arif Khan from Pali in Rajasthan.
Yesterday, we reported that a case of abetment to suicide had been lodged against her husband after the authorities recovered Ayesha’s body from the Sabarmati River.
Reportedly, Ayesha had called her husband before jumping into the Sabarmati River. She also called her parents before committing suicide. Her parents desperately tried to convince Ayesha to change her decision but they were unsuccessful.
Before she jumped in the river, she recorded the last message but didn’t blame anyone for her death. Ayesha’s suicide had sparked several strong reactions on social media. While the overwhelming majority of people empathised with the 23-year old, there were some who complained that she chose Haram over Halal.
Censorship on Twitter has been a matter of huge concern in recent times. The platform has been accused of engaging in politically motivated censorship in order to censor political opinions it does not agree with. Under such circumstances, users have accused the platform of deliberately censoring posts that highlight the Hindu victims of the Godhra Massacre.
A user said that her account was locked for a period of time for posting a photograph of the Godhra Massacre with the caption ‘Never Forget’. The user was asked by Twitter to delete the tweet in order to regain access to her account or she could appeal against the action.
To either delete my tweet or appeal against this removal. I chose to appeal. While I was waiting for the decision by @TwitterIndia, it was brought to my attention that my tweet had already been removed (without my consent, without my appeal being considered) (2/4) pic.twitter.com/ryBdTawHOF
However, the user learnt that her tweet had already been removed without her appeal being taken into consideration. Eventually, she decided to delete her tweet since it was already removed. Directing her comments at Twitter, the user said, “Are you seeking to change the course of history of events now? Did Sabarmati carnage never happen? You can erase my post, you cannot alter the damn fact!”
@TwitterIndia? Are you seeking to change the course of history of events now? Did Sabarmati carnage never happen? You can erase my post, you cannot alter the damn fact!
Another user who shared images that described the brutal murder of IB Constable Ankit Sharma during the Delhi riots had the images labeled as ‘sensitive information’.
Theek hai, Jack, teri fuffi ki ladki ke posted images sensitive na hote. Smash my patriarchy. pic.twitter.com/zGCD2Luk1C
— मछुआRatty Gone Phishing (@YearOfRat) March 2, 2021
Concerns regarding Twitter’s left-wing bias with regards to censorship has been a dominant concern for quite some time. While tweets highlighting the Hindu victims of Godhra massacre were forced to be deleted, the platform refused to block accounts and tweets that peddled incendiary fake news capable of inciting law and order unrest in the country during the farmer protests.
A Delhi Court has taken cognizance of offences under sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between groups) against 18 individuals accused in the Delhi Riots who were booked under UAPA. The accused include former JNU scholar Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Khalid Saifi.
#Breaking: Delhi Court takes cognizance of offences of sedition, promoting enmity between groups etc against 18 accused persons in Delhi Riots UAPA FIR.
The Court took cognizance of additional offences on the basis of sanction received under section 196 of the CrPC, LiveLaw has reported. The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge of the Karkardooma Court.
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police had arrested Khalid Saifi, allegedly one of the key conspirators of the Delhi riots, in June last year. Khalid Saifi is believed to be the person who had facilitated the meeting between Umar Khalid and Tahir Hussain, accused in the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma.
The three are accused of conspiring to unleash violence in Delhi to coincide with the official visit by then US President Donald Trump.
Ahead of the upcoming polls in West Bengal, the Congress party has joined hands with rabid Islamist forces in the State. With an eye to gain political mileage and strengthen its hold over the Muslim vote bank, it has allied with Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui’s Indian Secular Front (ISF). The Congress party yields have a strong influence in Muslim-dominated areas of Malda, Murshidabad, and North Dinajpur in North Bengal. And the addition of Abbas Siddiqui to the political alliance will help win over young Muslim voters in South Bengal.
This is despite the fact that Abbas Siddiqui has exhibited his radical Islamist views in the past. 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. Siddiqui’s incendiary rhetoric, fear-mongering and calls for ‘divine intervention’ for the death of Hindus have been conveniently ignored by the Congress party.
The decision triggered a social media backlash, with senior Congress leader Anand Sharma criticising the alliance.“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 (Congress Working Committee),” Sharma said. He further added, “Congress cannot be selective in fighting communalists but must do so in all its manifestations, irrespective of religion and colour. The presence and endorsement West Bengal PCC President is painful and shameful, he must clarify.”
Congress sympathisers in the media divert public discourse to ‘Assam polls’
Amidst the social media backlash, journalists sympathetic to the Congress party took to social media to divert public attention from the party’s wrongdoings in West Bengal to its campaign in Assam. Journalist Rohini Singh tweeted, “Young leaders like Gaurav are campaigning hard for their party while some experienced, entitled leaders like Anand Sharma are busy attacking their own party in the midst of an election. Start contrast.”
While Rohini Singh desperately tried to sideline G23 rebel Congress leader Anand Sharma and promote Gaurav Gogoi, it must be pointed out that the latter, who is supposedly ‘not entitled’, is the son of the late Congress leader and former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi.
Screengrab of the tweet by Rohini Singh
While hailing the supposed well-synchronised campaign of the grand old party, Rohini Singh said, “Out of all the states going into the election the Congress campaign in Assam seems to be it’s most well synchronised, focused one so far with all leaders working together smoothly. Too early to say how it would pan out given how formidable BJP is in the state.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Rohini Singh
Congress loyalist Sanjukta Basu did not leave behind. She wrote, “Priyanka Gandhi is Assam, Rahul Gandhi in Tamil Nadu breaking internet, setting IT cells on fire.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Sanjukta Basu
AAP Politician-turned-journalist Ashutosh wrote an article in Free Press Journal highlighting about Nehruvian ideals and how a BJP victory in both Assam and West Bengal will imply the end of it.
Screengrab of the tweet by Ashutosh
While Congress has been thriving on Muslim appeasement and has sided with Abbas Siddiqui, it is interesting to note that the party has refrained from allying with the Owaisi due to its ‘extreme rhetorics’.
