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Mumbai: Hyat Ali and 5 others arrested for lynching a 30-year-old Saijad Khan over suspicion of being a cellphone thief

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: Hyat Ali and 5 others arrested for lynching a 30-year-old Saijad Khan over suspicion of being a cellphone thief

In a gruesome incident, a 30-year-old cellphone thief died hours after he was allegedly tied to a pole and mercilessly thrashed by six people inside Muktanand Park in Mumbai’s Santacruz. The incident took place in early hours of December 25 when Sajjad Khan had allegedly come to the park with the aim of stealing the mobile phones of the labourers who had kept their devices for charging while they were asleep.

The six individuals—Hrishikesh Pasi (24), Hyat Ali (26), Alimuddin Shaikh (24), Motibur Alam (19), Maskar Firojjuddin (18) and Pintukumar Shah (25)—have been arrested by the Santacruz police from the park. The accused were reportedly employed for repair work at the park.

Sajjad Khan thrashed over suspicion of stealing mobile phones

After completing their work, the employees sleep in the work. The incident happened between 12:30 am and 4:30 am in the morning. According to the police, some of the labourers who were awake caught Khan while he was trying to steal their mobile phones. They allegedly tied him to a pole and brutally thrashed him before letting him off.

However, a few minutes later Khan again reached the spot and got embroiled in a heated argument with the accused who again attacked him. He was barely able to walk when two of his friends he spotted him and helped him to reach his house. He later slept in an auto near his house.

However, when Khan’s family members tried to wake him up, they found him in an unconscious state. He was then rushed to the Bhabha Hospital but was declared brought dead.

“Khan succumbed two hours after he was thrashed by the labourers. He was previously booked in cases of theft in Santacruz and Khar,” a senior inspector Shriram Koregaonkar said. The Santacruz police initially registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and began their investigations.

The autopsy report revealed that the victim died of multiple injuries and eyewitnesses also confirmed the incident after which police arrested the six accused from the park. They are arrested on the charges of murder and for house-trespass. All the accused were produced before the court on Sunday which remanded them to two days of police custody.

Pakistanis suffer a meltdown after Indian cricket team bags ICC awards

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistanis suffer a meltdown after Indian cricket team bags ICC awards

On Monday, the International Cricket Board (ICC) announced the awards of the decade, with the Indian cricket players bagging 3 awards and featuring in teams of the decade across formats but Pakistani cricket team getting

Indian captain Virat Kohli, who scored 94 fifties, 66 centuries and a whopping 20,396 international runs during the decade, was awarded the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade. Kohli also scored 10,000+ runs in the ODI format at an average of 61.83 during the same period. He has also 39 centuries, and 48 fifties to his name. As such, he was awarded the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade.

At the same time, former Indian captain MS Dhoni was awarded the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade for his sportsmanship when he recalled English batsman Ian Bell back to the pitch, after he was given a run out in the Nottingham Test of 2011.

Pakistanis cry foul over ICC award winners

While India has bagged 3 awards, Pakistan cricket team had no luck working its favour. At the same, not a single Pakistani player featured in any of the ICC teams of the decade, be it for tests, T20s or ODIs. As such, many started questioning the integrity of the International cricket council instead of introspecting about their poor performance across formats.

One user wrote, “ICC is now Indian cricket council” while insinuating an ‘unseen’ BCCI hand in determining the results.

Another Pakistani lamented, “International Cricket Council is just a joke nothing more.”

Another Pakistani, Kashaf Fatimah, claimed that Pakistan and New Zealand are like adopted kids of ICC, who are routinely ignored. “Believe me or not but Pakistan or New Zealand are adopted kids of ICC and this is fact no new Zealander no Paki player In odi or t20 team great ICC great,” she tweeted.

A supposed fan of Pakistani cricketer Babar Azam cried over the supposed ‘injustice’ meted out to the player. “Injustice of ICC with Pakistan.
Why babar Azam is not nominated for ICC decade awards 2020?Why they do injustice with Pakistan,” he wrote.

After being snubbed by the ICC, Pakistan Cricket Board has now announced its own awards for 2020. Twitter user Mohan Raswant mocked the frustration of the PCB and said, “ICC ignored Pakistan players, so they created their our own awards….”

It is important to mention that while Virat Kohli has been named the captain for the ICC Test team of the decade, MS Dhoni has been chosen the skipper for the T20 and ODI teams. At the same time, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma also feature in these teams.

With COVID protocols in place, Haridwar Kumbh Mela shortened to 48 days in 2021

OpIndia Staff
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With COVID protocols in place, Haridwar Kumbh Mela shortened to 48 days in 2021

Uttarakhand will witness Haridwar Kumbh Mela for 48 days in February 2021. Usually, the festival runs for three and a half months, but due to Covid protocols in place, the Uttarakhand government has decided to cut it short. Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik said, “The Uttarakhand government will issue the notification for the Kumbh Mela in February instead of January 1.”

He further added that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the preparations had been made for main baths in March-April. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preparations have been made for main baths to be held in March-April. Devotees can have the shahi snan during these 48 days,” the minister said. He further added that the duration of the festival had been reduced due to the pandemic.

Chief Minister approved funds for preparations

The chief minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat, has sanctioned funds for various projects ahead of Kumbh Mela 2021. Rs.17.34 crore has been approved for the surveillance system, of which the government has released 6.94 crores. Another 15.64 crores were approved for purchasing material for setting up a temporary 1,000 bed Covid care centre, out of which Rs. 6.18 crore will be released as the first instalment.

Railways planning to restart trains for Kumbh

The Moradabad Railway Divison has sent a proposal to the Railway Board to restart 20 trains for the passengers coming for Kumbh next year. The Railway Board is considering the request. The Railways administration is working to provide facilities to the devotees on Railway stations. The majority of the devotees will reach via Haridwar Rail Marg.

As of now, several trains are not running due to Covid-19 that includes Kumbh Express, Kochuveli Express, Okha Express, Utkal Express, Haridwar Prayag Express, Janta Express, Yoga Express, Kathdogam Express and others. The proposal sent by Moradabad Railway Board includes starting these trains before Kumbh festivities begin.

Day after Sanjay Raut gives a call to strengthen UPA, Congress shows him Shiv Sena’s place

OpIndia Staff
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Day after Sanjay Raut gives a call to strengthen UPA, Congress shows him Shiv Sena’s place

Hours after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut exhorted the UPA parties to come together against the Modi government, Congress snubbed the Shiv Sena, stating that the party was not a part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its association with the Shiv Sena was limited only to Maharashtra.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan on Sunday commented that it was not appropriate for the Shiv Sena to comment on the leadership of the UPA.

Following the Maharashtra state elections in 2019, Shiv Sena severed its alliance with the BJP and joined the unholy nexus of ideological rivals—Congress and the NCP—to form a government in the state and install a Shiv Sainik as the chief minister. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena agreed to a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) with Congress and NCP to form the government in the state.

“Shiv Sena is yet to become a part of the UPA. Our alliance with the Sena in Maharashtra is based on a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and limited to Maharashtra,” he said.

Chavan also bristled at Raut’s unwarranted remarks on the leadership crisis in the UPA. He also repudiated the speculations of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar taking over the reins of the UPA alliance.

“Sharad Pawar himself has denied the speculation that he will be the next chairperson of the UPA. UPA allies trust the leadership of Sonia Gandhi. So there is no need to discuss the issue,” Chavan said.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut exhorts parties to join the UPA alliance

Chavan’s biting remarks for the Shiv Sena came a day after Sanjay Raut unsolicitedly commented on the need for the UPA to expand to take on the “dictatorial” central government.

“It is important that all opposition parties come together against the dictatorial attitude of the central government. A weak opposition is not in the interest of the democracy,” the Rajya Sabha MP had said.

Raut further added that besides Sonia Gandhi, there was Sharad Pawar in the UPA fold to provide an effective alternative.

Raut stated that more parties should join the alliance and their leaders should raise their voice against the Centre. claiming that the central government was taking the farmers’ agitation lightly and not paying enough attention to the protests that were continuing against the newly introduced Farm Bills.

Kerala: Airport employee dismissed from job for criticising CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Airport employee dismissed from job for criticising CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Read details

In the latest act of curtailing freedom of expression, a staff member of the Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL), KL Ramesh, was fired from his job after he made critical remarks against the incumbent Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in the comment section of his Facebook post.

As per reports, the development came after he criticised the Kerala CM and the state government in connection to the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Padmanabhaswamy Temple on November 20. KIAL took cognisance of the matter after several ‘complaints’ were raised against his Facebook post. The authorities had ordered an inquiry and issued him a show-cause notice over the post which was allegedly seen as a violation of disciplinary norms. It is notable here that CM Pinarayi Vijayan is also the chairman of the KIAL.

KIAL was not ‘satisfied’ with his explanation and Managing Director V Thulasidas issued a termination letter to Ramesh, who worked as the assistant manager of the Fire and Rescue Wing of the airport.

Ramesh alleges vendetta by KIAL authorities

Ramesh said, “I had told the committee that I am a Hindu and from Thiruvananthapuram and the post in question was not in connection to KIAL and as a citizen have the right to express my views.” However, he believes that his termination came at the backdrop of the several irregularities at the Kannur Airport, which were brought to the notice of the authorities by him. Reportedly, Ramesh had removed his Facebook post and tendered an apology but it was of no avail. The inquiry committee nevertheless proceeded with the termination.

SC verdict on Travancore Royal family over Padmanabhaswamy temple row

The Supreme Court of India has ruled against the Kerala government’s attempt to bring the historic Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram under its control. The apex court overturned the 2011 judgment of Kerala High Court that granted the power to the state government to take control of the temple, its management and assets.

The verdict, passed by a 2-member bench of Justices Indu Malhotra and UU Lalit, stated that the death of a king of the Travancore family shall not affect the rights of the family and the temple, perceived to be the world’s richest, will continue to be managed by the family.

Communist govt in Kerala passes ordinance to arrest ‘critics’

The communist-led Kerala state government had brought the controversial amendment to the Kerala Police Act by adding Section 118-A to the law that was originally passed in 2011.

The new section empowers the police to act against media and register cases on the event of detection of a cognisable offence under the relevant section. The amendment proposes five years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for those convicted of producing, publishing or disseminating derogatory content through any means of communication to intimidate, insult or defame any person through social media.

The newly introduced provision says, “anyone who produces content, publishes or propagates it through any means of communication with an intention to threaten, insult or harm the reputation of an individual will be punished with an imprisonment of five years or a fine of Rs 10,000 or with both”. 

Signature scam: Has Punjab farmers’ protest created an opportunity for Congress to commit yet another scam? Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Signature scam: Has Punjab farmers’ protest created an opportunity for Congress to commit yet another scam? Read details

A comical development is occurring within the Congress party. A day before Gita Jayanti, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi met President Kovind and claimed to have submitted a memorandum with 2 crore signatures seeking his intervention on the matter of newly passed farm laws. There appears to be a minor issue with the signature campaign, however.

Jagran has reported that Congress leaders in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar have no idea how the campaign was run, when it begun and when it ended or where the signatures came from. There was no coordination between different units of the party either but, somehow, against all odds, the party managed to conjure 2 crore signatures against farm laws.

The story in Bihar

State leaders in Bihar do not seem to know much about the signature campaign. Madan Mohan Jha, Bihar Congress President, said that the campaign was launched some time ago but then, the Assembly Elections occurred and the growth of the campaign was stalled. According to Jagran, he did not appear to know much else, including when the campaign began and ended.

Ajeet Sharma, leader of the party in the Assembly, said that such a campaign never even happened. Spokesperson Rajesh Rathod insisted that the campaign went on for a long time but he, too, could not provide specific information regarding the duration of the campaign.

Nobody could answer who precisely submitted the collected signatures to the national Congress leadership at Delhi or when was it submitted. When pressed for more information, Rathod said that he will provide answers once he has more knowledge of the matter.

The story in Haryana

The story was pretty similar in Haryana. Neither or citizens of Congress karyakartas appeared to be aware of when the signature campaign took place. Jagran reports that the Congress party managed to fill entire trucks with bundles of signatures. But where the bundles of signatures came from, Congress does not appear to have an answer to that. In fact, Congress workers in Haryana are themselves astonished as to when and how the signatures were collected.

Meanwhile, the organizational structure of the party is in complete disarray according to Jagran and nobody was willing to comment on the support lent to the campaign by former CM Bhupendra Singh Hooda and his supporters. Units of the party such Mahila Congress, Youth Congress or NSUI were not seen in any prominent role either.

Signature Campaign in Yogi’s UP

Jagran reported that of the 2 crore signatures submitted to President Kovind, 50 lakh were from Uttar Pradesh. And all of this was achieved without any visible campaign on the ground and without support from even the different units of the party. Kisan Congress, for instances, had no clue about the signature campaign.

Spokesperson Brijendra Kumar Singh said that the Youth Congress must have conducted signature campaign and he needed to confirm the information before conveying it. Kanishk Pandey, president Youth Congress eastern zone, said that Youth Congress did not participate in the campaign and the state unit of the Congress party must have run it.

Another Congress spokesperson took about one and a half to come back with some information. The campaign apparently took place from August to November. Kisan Congress leader Tarun Patel, however, denied having any knowledge of it. Another Kisan leader did acknowledge the signature campaign but had no idea how many signatures were collected. In the end, the person compiling the data said that the signatures were meant to be submitted before Diwali but were being submitted now.

Congress Dalit leader Dr Udit Raj’s fans hack into IT cell zoom meeting. Here is what they demanded

OpIndia Staff
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Congress Dalit leader Dr Udit Raj’s fans hack into IT cell zoom meeting. Here is what they demanded

Very few politicians manage to inspire support and love like Congress leader Dr Udit Raj does. It is widely known that Dr Udit Raj commands a huge following and is massively popular among his supporters, who are better known as Uditians. His fans have displayed, time and again, their unswerving loyalty and devotion for their cherished leader, often going the extra mile to make their support known.

With the Congress party marred with a leadership crisis, the loyal fan base of Dr Udit Raj has been fervently demanding that their leader be anointed as the President of the party. On several occasions, Raj’s fans have taken to Twitter, trending hashtags in support of their leader and demonstrating the massive support that Raj enjoys on social media.

Uditians hack Congress zoom meeting to demand Dr Udit Raj be made national party president

However, the Uditians went a step ahead when they recently hacked into a Congress IT cell zoom meeting. After raiding into the Congress Zoom meeting, Uditians reiterated their demand of giving the mantle of Congress Presidentship to Dr Udit Raj. The meeting was also attended by Congress Dalit leader Dr Udit Raj, where one of his supporters hacked into the meeting and raised the demand of appointing Raj as the President of Congress.

On his part, Dr Udit Raj modestly tried to play down the request made by his fans, terming the intrusion by his supporters as an attempt made by the BJP IT cell workers to disrupt the Congress Zoom meet.

“The entire BJP IT cell is employed in running a propaganda demanding that I should be made the national president of the Congress party,” Raj said even as one of his admirers raised the demand of appointing him as the Congress President.

However, this did not sit well with loyal supporters, who were disappointed with their leader crediting the BJP IT cell and not acknowledging their efforts to promote him for the Presidency.

Congress leader Dr Udit Raj commands a massive following

The support for Dr Udit Raj is not a recent phenomenon. In fact, it has only risen precipitously in recent times. Earlier in November, a day before the US Presidential elections results were to be announced, Uditians stormed Twitter by trending ‘DrUditRajForPOTUS’. They argued that even the post of POTUS would not do justice to the abilities and characteristics embodied by Dr Udit Raj.

Earlier in August, after 23 Congress leaders wrote to the interim President Sonia Gandhi for a complete overhaul in the party, speculations were rife that Congress would finally be selecting a non-Gandhi to head the party. Since then, hashtag #UditRajForCongressPresident started trending on Twitter. With rumours of an imminent churning within the Congress party, Uditians have only intensified their efforts to make their demands known to the Congress leadership.

Though Raj has downplayed the growing demand of him being elected as the party’s national president an attempt by the BJP IT cell, his fans claim that it’s their genuine demand and they are not paid by any political party. Shri Udit Raj Ji has been vocal about people’s issues with real and justified substance in his demands, which isn’t seen in Rahul Gandhi’s statements, a digital activist and a hard-line supporter of Dr Udit Raj said while talking to OpIndia.

Is Sourav Ganguly joining BJP? Here is the cryptic answer he gave when asked by media

OpIndia Staff
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Is Sourav Ganguly joining BJP? Here is the cryptic answer he gave when asked by media

A day after former Indian captain and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly met the West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, speculations have been rife in political circles about him joining the BJP.

While speaking to the media, Ganguly gave a cryptic answer when quizzed about his political ambitions. On being asked whether he or his family members would join the saffron party, the former Indian captain replied, “If the Governor wants to meet you, you have to meet him. So let us keep it like that.” It must be mentioned that Ganguly joined Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah in unveiling a statue of late Arun Jaitley at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on the occasion of the former finance minister’s birth anniversary today.

West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh speaks about Sourav Ganguly

While speaking to the media over rumours of Sourav Ganguly joining the saffron party, West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said, “I have nothing to know about what he would do or he wouldn’t. He is a respectable man and has been the captain (of the Indian cricket team).”

He asked, “Why do we have these rumours going around after Sourav Ganguly met the Governor?” Dilip Ghosh added that politics in Bengal is in tatters and therefore ‘good people’ are always ‘welcome’ in the BJP. “Successful people such as Sourav Ganguly must join politics”, he further hinted.

Sourav Ganguly and his political ambitions

Sourav Ganguly himself is known to share a cordial relationship with Amit Shah and his son Jay Shah, who is the Secretary of BCCI. Dona Ganguly, the cricketer’s wife who is a well-known classical dancer, was seen performing at BJP Mahila Morcha’s Durga Puja in Kolkata.

Due to the political nature of the BCCI appointment, and the cordial relationship between Ganguly and senior leaders of the party, there are speculations that the popular former cricketer may BJP ahead of the 2021 Assembly Elections in West Bengal.

But it has also been reported that Sourav Ganguly has conveyed his disinterest in joining politics to the BJP. Home Minister Amit Shah, on the other hand, has been remarkably nonchalant about the prospects of him joining the party. Last year, he denied that the party had made any attempts to recruit the cricketer but admitted that ‘it would be good’ if he joined.

Congress will lose Rae Bareli in 2024 just like they lost Amethi, challenges Union Minister Smriti Irani

OpIndia Staff
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Congress will lose Rae Bareli in 2024 just like they lost Amethi, challenges Union Minister Smriti Irani

A day before senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took off for a vacation to Milan, Union Minister Smriti Irani who emerged as a giant slayer, defeating the Gandhi scion from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in 2019 General Assembly elections, warned of a similar fate awaiting another Congress pocket borough, Rae Bareli, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Smriti Irani on Saturday accused the former Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi of using foul language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and resorting to spreading lies and deceit to sow confusion. “At this rate, Congress will end up losing Rae Bareli’s Lok Sabha seat too, a seat currently held by the interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in 2024 elections,” Irani said.

The Union Minister was on a three-day visit to her parliamentary constituency starting Friday. She also made a quick visit to nearby Rae Bareli, the parliamentary constituency held by Sonia Gandhi since 2004. The cabinet minister has also visited Lucknow to meet with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath before travelling back to her constituency.

Stepping up attack against the Gandhi family, Irani dared Rahul Gandhi for a debate on the farmers’ issue and described Priyanka Gandhi’s proposed Kisan Yatra in Uttar Pradesh as a publicity stunt.

The Union Minister also quoted a tweet posted by BJP President JP Nadda to question Rahul Gandhi’s opposition to the newly introduced Farm Bills, stating that the Amethi’s farmers were fed up with the Congress party and therefore voted him out of power in the last Lok Sabha polls.

During her visit to Amethi, Irani also spoke of projects rolled out for her parliamentary constituency since she became the MP in 2019. Other BJP leaders also highlighted how the Yogi Adityanath government had passed several projects for Rae Bareli too. Besides AIIMS-Rae Bareli, the Ganga Expressway, which would connect Meerut to Prayagraj, and pass through Rae Bareli, pacts with private investors for fabricators and feeder factory for rail coach, a spice park for research on mint have also been authorised for the only remaining Congress enclave in the state, party leaders said.

Rahul Gandhi flies to Milan amidst rumblings within the Congress party

Smriti Irani’s biting remarks came a day before Rahul Gandhi left for vacation to Milan. According to reports, the Wayanad MP left for Milan, Italy early Sunday morning on a Qatar Airlines flight. His vacation to Milan comes a day before Congress’ foundation day where there was the party had decided to take up the nationalism pitch.

Gandhi’s vacation also comes amidst rumblings within the Congress party of making sweeping operational and leadership changes in the party, in a bid to arrest their declining political fortunes. In August this year, 23 dissident Congress leaders, including 5 former Chief Ministers, many Congress Working Committee members, incumbent MPs, and several former Union Ministers, wrote a letter to interim Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, calling for a complete overhaul of the party, from top to bottom.

The appalling performance in Bihar Assembly elections last month led to a fresh flare-up within the party, with the senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal publicly commenting that the time for introspection is over. Following Congress’ disappointing performance in Bihar, 23 senior Congress leaders had reportedly written a letter to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi demanding that an immediate CWC meeting be called to discuss the poll debacle in Bihar. They have reportedly also demanded organisational elections for the party president’s post be held at the earliest in the view of the electoral drubbing. They had also raised questions on the vacation by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra.

Man booked for posing as member of ‘right-wing’ group and collecting money in Ram Mandir’s name

OpIndia Staff
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Man booked for posing as member of ‘right-wing’ group and collecting money in Ram Mandir’s name

A man has been booked in Uttar Pradesh for posing as a member of a right-wing outfit and collecting money as donations for the construction of the Bhavya Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. He has been booked under forgery and provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

A complaint was filed by BJP’s Moradabad district chief Rajpal Singh Chauhan and on the basis of it, an FIR has been registered at the Majhola Police Station on Sarturday. Chauhan told reporters, “As soon as I came to know a man who was collecting funds for the Ram Mandir by posing as the president of a new outfit, I immediately informed the police and lodged an FIR against him. We want to alert the public that they should not donate money to anybody without verification. We demanded immediate arrest of the accused and his aides and strict action against them.”

SHO Avadhesh Kumar said, “We have registered an FIR against Premveer Singh under Sections 419 (cheating by personation) of the Indian Penal Code and 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the IT Act.” “We have also learnt from Premveer Singh’s social media posts and donors’ receipts that he belongs to the Vishwa Hindu Mahashakti Sangh. He will be arrested soon,” he added.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had earlier announced that a nationwide Mass Contact and Contribution Campaign will be launched in January and it has been insisted that the Ram Mandir will be built through donations collected from devotees. It appears that the man who has been booked was attempting to take advantage of the noble initiative to dupe people.

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