Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani has been granted bail today by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at the Esplanade court in relation to the TRP case. Khanchandani was arrested by Mumbai police on December 13 from his residence. After being remanded to 2-day police custody after arrest he was sent to 14-day judicial custody on December 14.
Judge had expressed disappointment over the manner of arrest of Khanchandani
This comes a day after an Additional Sessions Judge, DE Kothalikar had expressed disappointment over the manner in which Khanchandani was arrested by the Mumbai police a day before the hearing of his anticipatory bail plea. The police had submitted before the Espalande court during remand proceedings that the Republic network carried out transactions worth Rs 15 lakh a month in order to increase TRPs for their Hindi and English channels. The police claimed to have found the said amount in possession of Abhishek Kolawade who was accused of taking money from the channel for increasing their TRPs.
The police alleged that it found after interrogating the Assistant Vice President of ARG Outlier, Ghanshyam Singh, that he was directed to carry out illegal activities to increase the TRPs for their channels by the Chief Operating Officer of the channel Priya Mukherjee who was being instructed by Khanchandani.
Khanchandani’s lawyer said his client’s name not mentioned in the charge sheet
Khanchandani’s lawyer senior advocate Aabad Ponda had opposed his client’s remand contending that Khanchandani’s name or his role was never mentioned in the charge sheet filed by the Mumbai police. Following Khanchandani’s arrest, Republic TV had made an appeal to the courts to intervene to stop attacks on the independent news organisation.
Fake TRP Scam
Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bur Singh had held a press conference in October this year informing that Mumbai Police had come across a scam relating to fake TRP. Param Bir Singh had specifically mentioned that Hansa Research had filed a complaint with the police. Interestingly, in this FIR that was filed by Hansa Research, Republic TV was not mentioned even once. The channel that was mentioned several times was India Today.
Despite that, the Mumbai Police is yet to take any action against India Today. It has, however, been hounding senior staffers at Republic TV.
Gearing up for the Covid-19 vaccine, India has prepared the blueprint in advance for storage and distribution whenever it is available. The Central government has chalked out a plan for cold chain infrastructure across the country.
Cold Chain infrastructure across the country planned by the central government
During a briefing yesterday, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the infrastructure planned by the government includes 29,000 cold chains, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45,000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep-freezers and 300 solar freezers. Bhushan told that the states that lack the infrastructure have already been provided with the equipment. Guidelines have been sent by the Centre to the states for estimating electrical and non-electrical cold chain equipment and their strengthening. “These guidelines would help the states and the Union Territories ascertain how much cold chain equipment they would require to safely preserve the vaccine they receive for inoculation”, said the Health Secretary.
Guidelines for estimation of electrical & non-electrical cold chain equipment & their strengthening issued.
29,000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45,000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep freezers & 300 solar refrigerators to be used: @MoHFW_INDIApic.twitter.com/g6DhIWlJJD
Bhushan said that all the States and UTs have held meetings of their State Steering Committees, headed by Chief Secretaries and State Task Forces, headed by State Health Secretaries which were specifically set up for the purpose of vaccine management and administration. Similar meetings have been held by task forces set up in 633 districts for this purpose.
Training modules for people who will be handling the vaccines
About 23 central and state government ministries have been identified and assigned the task of planning, implementation, social mobilisation and spreading awareness on the Covid vaccine. The Health Secretary said that the training modules for people like medical officers, vaccine officers, alternative vaccinator officers, cold chain handlers, supervisors, data managers and ASHA coordinators have commenced both physically and via digital platforms. The national and state Training of Trainers (ToTs) workshops have already been completed.
The government is planning to closely monitor any possible adverse event because this would be the first time that adults will be inoculated in such huge numbers. This situation is unprecedented because until now vaccines were usually administered to children in hospital settings. Vinod Paul, Member (Health), NITI Ayog said that considering the scale at which the vaccines will be administered across the country, a dedicated centre is required for monitoring and managing any serious adverse events. Every block will have a dedicated centre for managing any adverse event.
Lowest infections recorded since July
India has been doing well in terms of Covid infections since the last couple of days. On Monday India had recorded 22,022 new infections which was the lowest number of cases reported since July 2. 22, 065 cases of Covid were recorded yesterday taking the tally to 9.9 million. The death toll has reached 1,44,134 as on today. 94,56,416 persons have recovered from the infections so far while 3,30,335 cases are still active. The number of Covid infections remained under 30,000 today.
Amidst the ongoing farmers’ protests along the Delhi border and ahead of the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, Home Minister Amit Shah is all set to reach out to the farmers in the state and allay their fears over the new Farm Bills.
Just In: On his first day tour to Bengal on 19th December in Purva Medinipur Home Minister @AmitShah is scheduled to eat lunch at the residence of a farmer….this is to be followed by a big rally in support of #FarmBills2020
Shah is scheduled to have lunch at a residence of a farmer on his first day of the tour to Bengal on 19th December in East Midnapore town and that would be followed by a big rally in support of the agriculture laws that were passed by the Modi government in September 2020. The Home Minister’s rally in Midnapore is likely to be at the same place where PM Modi held a farmers’ welfare rally in 2018. Shah’s visit to the state comes on the heels of the party’s high-octane campaign ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
With the protesters planning to intensify their protests against the farm bills, Shah’s outreach to farmers in Bengal is seen as a significant event from where the Modi government could dispel the doubts and apprehensions tormenting the farmers and assure them that the Bills would not have any adverse impact as alleged by the demonstrators.
Shah’s visit to West Bengal expected to turn up political heat following an attack on JP Nadda’s convoy
Shah is expected to be in Bengal for two days—December 19 and 20. During his visit to the poll-bound state, the Union Home Minister would address rallies in at least three districts, including East Midnapore. His visit to the state is expected to raise the political heat, especially after the attack against BJP President JP Nadda’s convoy by TMC goons when it was on its way to Diamond Harbour. The attack had resulted in injuries to 8 BJP leaders, including the state’s top leaders like Dilip Ghosh, Mukul Roy, and Kailash Vijayvargiya.
Significantly, it is also being speculated that TMC heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari is likely to join the saffron fold during Shah’s visit to the state. Adhikari’s resignation from the TMC had sparked tremors in the Bengal’s political landscape. It came after senior TMC leader and Coochbehar Dakshin MLA Mihir Goswami quit the party and joined the BJP last month.
The Home Minister would aim to capitalise on making inroads in the politically polarised states after decades of limited presence. Following BJP’s impressive victory on 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 General elections, the party emerged as a credible alternative and a main rival to the ruling TMC. Shah would be hoping to build on the party’s outstanding performance at a much higher scale in the upcoming 2021 state elections.
Home Minister expected to raise the issue of political killings in West Bengal
In addition to this, Shah is also expected to turn the heat on the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government over the political killings of BJP workers in the state. Recently, a BJP worker in Bengal’s Cooch Behar was beaten to death in a clash between members of two community clubs over continuing Kali Puja celebration. The deceased, Kalachand Karmokar, was a polling booth level secretary of the BJP. The party has alleged that Karmokar was killed by goons shielded by the ruling dispensation Trinamool Congress.
In another grim incident, Swapan Das, a BJP booth committee member of Tufanganj assembly, was found hanging from the ceiling last week inside a school building in West Bengal’s Coochbehar district. This happened days after senior BJP worker Ulen Roy was killed in a clash between BJP workers and West Bengal Police.
Just three days ago, a BJP booth president named Saikat Bhawal was bludgeoned to death, allegedly by Trinamool (TMC) goons on Saturday evening. The incident took place during a public outreach programme of the BJP in Halishahar in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
Protesting farmers from Punjab are upset that the central government is holding talks with farmer bodies of other states. Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body representing as many as 40 farmers bodies, mostly from Punjab, has written to the union government asking it to stop holding talks with farmer bodies of other states. The letter is written by Darshan Pal, who was a founding member of Maoist organisation PDFI.
This letter comes after other farmer bodies in other states extended their support to the new farm laws passed by the Centre. The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha accused the government of trying to ‘defame’ the ongoing protests by Punjab farmers who have blocked roads to Delhi, taking the national capital hostage.
Earlier, too, when the government had asked farmer unions to come up with specific issues they have with the three farm laws, the protesters had indicated that they were in no mood to resolve the issue. Darshan Pal, President of Krantikari Kisan Union, had demanded that the union govt should call a special session of the parliament to repeal the farm laws. Pal, in his letter on Wednesday has claimed that the farmers body has rejected
According to media reports, Darshan Pal, who was a doctor but took to farming a few years ago, is coordinating among various organisations participating in the protests. He is also a working committee member of the All India Kisan Sangrash Coordination Committee (AIKSCC). But the shocking fact is that, he is also a Maoist leader.
Darshan Pal was one of the founders of People’s Democratic Front of India (PDFI). PDFI is a constituent of the Maoist movement, the left-wing terrorism in the country. He was the convenor of the 51-member executive committee of PDFI. Apart from Darshan Pal, other founder members of PDFI included known anti-National and anti-BJP names like Varvara Rao, Kalyan Rao, Medha Patkar, Nandita Haksar, SAR Geelani, BD Sarma etc.
Earlier this week, ten farmer leaders led by AIKCC which has presence in 28 states pledged their support to the new farm laws. The memorandum specifically slammed those few elements who were trying to spread misinformation and instigate the farmers against the new laws. According to them, some elements involved in the farmers’ protest were trying to spread misconceptions about the agrarian laws among the protesters.
Bollywood actor Salman Jaffery has been arrested by the Crime Branch of Mumbai for allegedly cheating people by posing himself as a police officer.
According to police officials privy to the details of the case, the accused used to fly to north Indian cities such as Dehradun and Chandigarh and other cities to commit a crime and later fly back to Mumbai.
Salman Jaffery posed as policemen to steal an elderly woman’s jewellery in Dehradun
The incident came to light after an elderly woman from Dehradun filed a complaint with Dehradun police of robbery and cheating. She had alleged that a man posing to be a police officer had robbed her of her jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh. A case was registered at Patel Nagar police station in Dehradun under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cheating.
The 64-year-old woman alleged that when she was on her way back home from the temple, the accused Salman accosted her and portrayed himself as a police officer. On the pretext of patting her down, the accused made her remove all her jewellery and packed it in a newspaper. He subsequently gave stones wrapped in newspaper in place of her jewellery and fled from the place.
Mumbai police nabbed Jaffrey based on Dehradun police information
Soon thereafter, Dehradun Police launched an investigation based on the complaint. Based on technical information, they found Salman Jaffery to be a resident of Oshiwara, Mumbai. The Dehradun Police then contacted the Mumbai Police and informed them about the complaint filed against Jaffery with them. The Crime Branch officials of Mumbai Police nabbed the 40-year-old Bollywood actor on Monday evening.
During his interrogation, the accused has reportedly admitted of committing cheating. After the police took Salman into custody, a thorough investigation revealed that he was a TV actor. The actor has featured in Television serials like ‘Chhatrapati Raja Shivaji’, ‘Savdhan India’ and acted in the movie ‘Gulamkai and Bahanchor’.
In a stinging electoral defeat, the UDF candidate in the Kochi Municipal Corporation’s North Island ward, N Venugopal, seen as the mayoral candidate of the Congress, has lost to his BJP rival by just one vote.
Counting of votes for the Kerala local body elections 2020 is underway. The counting started at 8 am for 21,893 wards in 1,200 local bodies which went to polls in three phases.
#Kerala: Congress mayoral candidate N Venugopal, has lost to the BJP candidate by one vote, in the Kochi Corporation North Island ward, in the state’s 2020 local body elections
The defeat of N Venugopal comes as a major upset for the Congress party as it was looking to nominate a strong leader from its ‘I’ group for the post of mayor. The UDF alliance had been ruling Kochi corporation for the last 10 years.
This time around, Venugopal was contesting from Island North, rather than the neighbouring Island South, from where he posted victories in 2005 and 2010. Venugopal, who also represented the combined ward Island North and Island South in 2000, when the two areas were yet to be constituted as separate divisions, was assured of his win. However, in an ironic turn of events, he lost to the BJP candidate by as narrow a margin as it could get—by just one vote.
Soon after his embarrassing defeat, Venugopal did what Congress has been doing after every poll debacle—cry hoarse and blame the voting machine alias EVMs.
Speaking to the media, Venugopal said, “It was a sure seat. I can’t say what happened. There was no problem with the party. There was a problem with the voting machine. That is why the BJP won the elections. I have not decided to go to court with voting machine issue so far. Will check what happened exactly.”
Netizens in splits after Congress’s mayoral candidate loses by 1 vote
The margin of the electoral defeat had the Twitterverse in splits, with many mocking the Congress party and liberals for the piercing defeat. A raft of memes flooded the social media platform, taking a dig at the Congress party over the narrow loss.
One of the Twitter users hailed that one person that made the difference in the outcome of the election. The user commented, “Salute to that one person who changed his mind and voted for BJP candidate.”
Salute to that one person who changed his mind and voted for BJP candidate.? ??
Local Body polls trends show NDA making inroads in Kerala
Local body polls were held in six phases in Kerala. The southern state recorded a voter turnout of 78.64 per cent in the third and final phase of elections. The early trends indicate that LDF may emerge victorious in the elections. The LDF is leading in Gram Panchayats, Block Panchayats, District Panchayats, and Corporations. UDF is marginally ahead of LDF in Municipality.
The National Democratic Alliance(NDA) has also made inroads in the southern state of Kerala and improved its tally from the 2015 local body polls. The saffron alliance is steadily gaining foothold in the southern Indian state.
Besides winning in Kochi Corporation’s North Island, the BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation also defeated its LDF rival S.Pushpalatha by a margin of 145 votes.
Kerala local body poll results: LDF wins in 7 wards, NDA -3 and UDF-1, in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
As per trends, NDA leading in 14 wards, LDF- 21, UDF -4
S.Pushpalatha, LDF’s mayor candidate has lost to NDA candidate by 145 votes.
LDF has won in 7 wards, NDA in 3 and UDF in 1 in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. As per trends, NDA is leading in 14 wards, LDF in 21 wards and UDF in 4. The local body election in the southern state is considered a precursor of the Assembly elections due to be held in 2021.
Department of Posts (DoP) and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) have launched a new digital payment app, ‘DakPay,’ on December 15, 2020. The app will help in providing Digital Financial services at the last mile across India. The app comes with a suite of digital financial and assisted banking services offered by India post and IPPB using Postal (‘Dak’) network across India to cater to the financial needs (‘Pay’) of various sections of the society.
The app facilitates instant money transfers, QR based merchant payments and online payments on e-commerce websites. Now send money instantly using Dak Pay. Available on Android platform. “Coming soon on iOS platform” Click on the link below to download:https://t.co/AItjHFIMPR
The app can be used to send money to others, scan QR codes and make payments for merchants and service providers digitally. One can link it to an individual’s bank account and use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make payments. The app enables a dedicated UPI ID linked to the bank account. This app will help in “enabling cashless ecosystem through biometrics, providing interoperable banking services to the customers of ANY BANK (AePS) and Utility Bill Payment services.”
During the launch event, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad appreciated the efforts made by India Post Payments Bank during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide financial assistance through AePS at the doorsteps of the customers. It helps in financially empowering unbanked and underbanked citizens of India.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & IT and Law &Justice, said, “India Post stood the test of times by serving the nation through various postal services digitally and physically during nationwide lockdown. Launch of DakPay adds up to the legacy of India Post which is about reaching out to every household.” He further added that he believes that the services offered in the form of online payments and home delivery of financial services combined with a nationwide network of Postal department will be another big leap towards Prime Minister’s vision of a financially inclusive and an AatmaNirbhar Bharat.
Pradipta Kumar Bisoi, Secretary (Posts) & Chairman, IPPB Board said, “Dak Pay brings simplified payment solutions to all by offering all customers access to the banking and payments products and services either through an App or in assisted mode with the help of the trusted Postman.”
J Venkatramu, MD & CEO, India Post Payments Bank, said, “The unveiling of DakPay is a landmark achievement in IPPB’s journey and will further deepen comprehensive financial inclusion to bring forth the dawn of a ‘Truly Inclusive Financial System’.”
About India Post Payments Bank
On September 1, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). It comes under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity owned by the Government of India. The aim of the digital bank with Post Office is to build the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man in India. The Postal network comprising 155,000 Post Offices (135,000 in rural areas) and 300,000 Postal employees provides strength to the digital banking system by the Post Office. People can connect their IPPB bank account or any other bank account listed in the app and uses the funds available in it to make payments via the app.
How to use ‘DakPay’
If some has used similar payment services like BHIM, Paytm or Google Pay, they must be aware of the steps needed to follow to link their own bank account with such apps. The process of creating an account and linking it to the bank account is much easier, quicker and seamless in DakPay. Also, unlike Paytm or Google Pay, DakPay is 100% owned by the Government of India, giving it a sense of security. Here is a step by step process of how to use ‘DakPay’.
First of all go to the Google Play Store and download DakPay app from this link.
Screenshot of the DakPay app in Google Play Store
Once it is installed, open the app. The app will ask you to grant two permissions to access your location, and the second one is to make and manage phone calls. Both permissions should be granted.
Permissions for location and manage phone calls
In the next step, after the first-time welcome screen, you will be asked to grant permission to the app to access your messages. By granting this permission, you will be able to read and fill the OTP without leaving the app.
Permission to access messages.
Once you allow the app to do so, you will see a signup form. One of the most interesting aspects of this app is that they have included transgender people in the form, making it easier for them to get included in the banking system.
Signup form
In the next step, the app will ask you to add your bank from the list of banks. It is a comprehensive list of banks and almost all the banks that offer UPI services are listed in the app. You can either scroll down to find your bank or you can write your bank’s name in the text area ‘Select your Bank Name’.
List of banks in the app.
Once you have chosen the bank in which you have an account, it will look for the account linked to your mobile number.
Bank account linked to your mobile number
After linking your account to the app, it will show you the newly created UPI ID. In case you want to add a new ID, you can click on the ‘+’ icon at the bottom right corner of the app.
Newly allotted UPI ID will show here.
The next screen will show you some suggestions and give an option to choose your UPI ID. Once it is done, it will ask you to link the UPI ID with a bank account that you have already added to the app. You can add multiple accounts in the app.
In this step, link UPI ID to bank account.
Once linked, it will show you both the newly created and the allotted UPI ID in the list. You can also use the app to change the UPI pin. Click on the three dots on the UPI ID and then click on Change UPI PIN.
To change UPI PIN
In case you want to check the balance in your bank account, click on the ‘Refresh’ next to ‘Available Balance’ and enter your UPI PIN. It will show you the balance in your linked bank account.
How to check account balance
How to transfer funds?
On the main screen of the app, you will find an option of Pay/Transfer. You need to click on it. In the next step, a form will appear where you can choose how you want to send funds. The three options are UPI ID/AC, own transfer and Contacts. In UPI ID/AC, you can either send money to someone using their UPI ID or bank account details, i.e. Name, Bank Account Number and IFSC code. If anyone from your contact has created a DakPay profile, you can send them money using the contact list.
Add UPI ID and click on Verify. The name of the receiver will appear under the UPI ID. Add amount and remarks (if any). If you have added more than one bank accounts, you can choose the one you want to use by clicking on the arrow on the right bottom. Click on Continue. It will show you the details of the funds to be transferred, the account you are using, and amount etc., on the next screen. Now click Confirm. Enter your UPI ID and click on the ‘Tick mark’ on the right bottom. It will show you the transaction details and ask if you want to add the payee to your beneficiary list. If you add them, it will be easier to send them funds in future.
Steps to follow while transferring funds
How to pay using QR code scanner?
Click on the ‘Scan and Pay’ at the centre bottom. It will ask you to permit taking pictures and recording videos if you are doing it for the first time. The scanner will appear from where you can scan the QR code. You can also use the images from your gallery.
If you want to receive payments from someone, you can use your QR code for that purpose. To generate your QR code, click on the Burger Menu icon on the screen’s top right corner. Then click on ‘My Bhim UPI QR.’ It will show your QR code that you can download by clicking on the down arrow sign under the QR code or share it directly using the share icon next to it.
Steps to follow to share or download your own QR ocde
More features will follow soon
The UPI Apps like BHIM, Google Pay and PayTM offer many discounts and offers for using them. As DakPay is new, on may not find any offers for some time. However, the main aim of the app is to provide cashless financial services to the remote areas of the country, which other apps may not possibly provide due to lack of infrastructure. As Post Office has an extensive network already across India, it will be much easier for DakPay to become one of the most preferred payment apps in the coming days, especially for the rural areas.
Farmers’ protests in Delhi are showing an adverse impact on over 1,800 factories located in the Greater Kundli Industrial Area. There are several cold storage and industrial units that deal in steel, textile and export materials. However, due to the ongoing agitation, the movement of goods has come to a halt. The police barricades installed to stop the farmers have caused additional trouble, as per an India Today report.
India Today quoted a few business owners who have factories and storage units in the affected area. Ritesh Bajaj, president of Kundli Industrial Association and a dry fruit business owner, said that his products are rotting in cold storage. “We import walnuts, almonds, figs and dry grapes, but they have a shelf life.”
Manoj, a steel business owner, said that his orders are piling up. Trucks loaded with the goods are at a standstill due to the roadblocks. The agitation of the farmers has affected his business and reputation adversely among clients.
Workers asked to come on alternate days
It is not just the business owners who are getting affected by the agitation. The workers in these units are facing the heat too, cited the India Today report. Several businesses have asked their workers to come on alternate days as the business is slow. Satnam Singh, a textile business owner, said that it would impact over 25,000 workers in the industrial corridors if the situation continues. “If the business stops, it will be difficult to pay their salaries. Goods are rotting in godowns,” he said.
CII warns farmers’ protests will impact economic recovery
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said that the farmers’ protests are going to affect overall economic recovery in the country. The industry body said, “Given the challenge to get the economy back on the growth trajectory, Confederation of Indian Industry urges all the stakeholders to urgently seek ways to end the ongoing protests and reach an amicable solution, in the interest of industry and economy.”
The already-broken supply chain facing the heat
The CII said that the already-broken supply-chain that has been trying to recover after the pandemic-induced lockdown is under stress because of the agitations. Around 2/3 of the consignments are taking over 50 percent extra time to reach the destinations in adversely affected areas, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi-NCR.
CII further said that the effect of the agitation would show a more acute impact in hilly regions, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as the transportation of goods in these regions depend on road connectivity.
Economic Times quoted Nikhil Sawhney, Chairman, CII Northern Region as saying, “The ongoing farm agitation requires an immediate amicable solution as it is impacting not only the economic growth but also putting a huge dent to the supply chain which is affecting the large and small industries alike.”
Increase in the logistics cost
As per the Economic Times report, the CII has also asserted that due to additional time and effort in keeping the supply-chain up, the cost of logistics may go up by 8 to 10 percent. The farm products to major markets in Delhi-NCR areas may soon experience a spike in the prices. The interlinked issues arising from the farmers’ protests have started to cause a ripple effect resulting in a low supply of perishable and non-perishable products in the market.
India Today quoted a banana trader named Pulkit who operates from Azad Mandi, saying that his trucks are stuck in four different locations. “Since bananas get spoiled easily. I had to sell them off at dirt cheap prices wherever the trucks are stuck,” he added.
The farmers’ protests
For the last 20 days, farmers are lodged in the national capital region protesting against the recently passed Agriculture laws. Though the government has tried to alleviate the situation and asked unions to discuss possible amendments in the laws, the unions are stuck on their demand that the government must take back all three laws. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar recently said that the government is engaging with the farmers to fix the next discussion date.
Kerala-based journalist SV Pradeep, a known critic of the Communist-led Kerala government and the Islamists in the state, died mysteriously on Monday evening after he was mowed down by a moving truck in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram.
According to the reports, the 43-year-old Malayalam journalist SV Pradeep was killed on Monday in a hit and run incident when a speeding truck came from behind to crush his two-wheeler. The CCTV footage recovered by the police shows that the journalist was hit by an SML truck. The journalist can be seen on the road while the truck speeded away after crushing him to death.
Here is the video of the accident that led to the death of journalist SV Pradeep:
Following the accident, a special investigation squad led by the Assistant Commissioner has been formed to investigate the mysterious accident of the journalist.
Pradeep – a vocal critic of Communists and Islamists
A vocal critic of the LDF government and the growing Islamic fundamentalism in Kerala, Pradeep had received several death threats both online and offline. Recently, he had extensively carried out several investigative reports in the ongoing gold smuggling case that directly pointed fingers at the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government.
Reportedly, Pradeep had also often criticised Islamists in Kerala and had exposed the fundamentalist forces working in the state in his various reports. It is believed that Pradeep was planning to reveal exclusive reports pertaining to the gold scam that has rocked Kerala currently.
Pradeep, a veteran journalist in Kerala had a rich experience on the field and had worked with major media outlets like News 18, Jai Hind, Mediaone, Mangalam and Kairali. He was also associated with several online media houses.
Civil society members raise suspicion over the death of journalist
Following the mysterious accident, the members of civil society have raised suspicion regarding the nature of the journalist’s death. Some netizens have claimed that the journalist’s death was a well-planned murder and called for a CBI enquiry into the incident.
The family of the journalist has also said that the journalist had received several threats in the recent past. They also expressed doubts that Pradeep may have been killed. A complaint has also been registered at the Nemora police station by the family members.
Union Minister V Muraleedharan, BJP Kerala president K Surendran, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala have demanded a detailed investigation to nab the real culprits.
Meanwhile, the Kerala police have arrested one person identified as Joy in connection with the case and seized a lorry in connection with the incident.
Eleven persons were arrested by police in Juhapura, Ahmedabad after they allegedly attacked three policemen on patrol duty in Juhapura, Ahmedabad on December 12.
The accused, including four women, have been identified as Mohammad Zahir Abdul Rashid Sheikh, Mohammad Ayaz Mohammad Zahir, Mohammad Anash Mohammad Zahir Sheikh, Mohammad Almas, Mohammad Zaid, Shamimbanu, Zaid’s wife Farzana, neighbour Farzanabanu, Ayaz’a wife Afsara, rickshaw driver Abid Mohammad Mansuri, Ayaz’s wife’s brother Imran Aiyub Sheikh, as reported by Desh Gujarat. The accused have been booked under sections 143, 147, 149, 332, 353, 186 and 188.
The accused attacked the cops with sticks
According to reports, three cops were injured after they were allegedly attacked by the accused persons in Sonal Cinema road in Juhapura area during a wedding procession late in the night on Saturday. The accused, some of whom were sitting in an autorickshaw and others on two two-wheelers, were reportedly making loud noises and honking. When the three cops who were on patrol duty in the night to enforce the curfew asked them to stop and leave peacefully, they argued that they were part of the wedding procession. In no time they started attacking the cops with sticks and injured them.
The mob then went on attacking the three policemen, causing head injury to one constable and shoulder injury to another.
Booked for assault and unlawful assembly
Some of the accused were nabbed by the police on spot while eight managed to escape. One of the injured cops named constable Yashpal Chandansinh filed a complaint of assault and unlawful assembly against all the eleven accused.
