Clashes erupted at the Assam-Mizoram border between the people of the two states on Saturday night, injuring people and leaving more than 20 temporary bamboo huts incinerated. Seven people have reportedly been injured.
According to officials, the flare-up took place as villagers of Lailapur in Cachar district of Assam entered into a brawl with residents of Vairengte in Kolasib district of neighbouring Mizoram. As per reports, the border clashes were a result of the razing down of a makeshift hut used by local volunteers who manned the inter-state border near the Saihaipui ‘V’ village, about 3 km from Vairengte.
The deputy commissioner H Lalthlangliana of Kolasib district claimed that the clashes took place after a large number of Vairengte inhabitants gathered when some people from Assam, armed with sticks and other weapons, hurled stones at a group near the auto-rickshaw stand on the prairie of the border village on Saturday evening. The Vairengte mob in retaliation burnt 20 temporary bamboo huts and stalls built along the national highway by residents from Lailapur. Several houses have also been reportedly torched near Lailapur.
The volunteers in Mizoram were keeping the tab on the movement of people in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, some accounts say. Mizoram’s MNF MLA Lalrintluanga Sailo, however, claimed that his state was only protecting its territory from infiltration by Bangladeshi immigrants living in border areas. According to him, over eighty per cent living in the areas along the Assam-Mizoram border are illegal immigrants. At least 11 MLAs of Mizoram’s ruling party are camping at Vairengte.
The Mizoram cabinet on Sunday “expressed regret at the unilateral and provocative acts of disturbing peace and harmony in the border areas at three locations”. Placing the blame squarely on the Karimganj and Cachar district administration, Mizoram’s home department said, “The government of Mizoram appeals to all persons not to attempt to use the present crisis to further their personal or collective motives.”
“We got report last night that some temporary huts were burnt. Police were immediately rushed to the spot and the situation brought under control. Security has been beefed up in the area and we are engaged in talks with counterparts on the Mizoram side,” Cachar SP, Bhanwar Lal Meena, said. Assam CM Sarbanand Sonowal also spoke with the Union Home Ministry over the matter.
On Sunday, he dialled his Mizo counterpart Zoramthanga and said on Twitter, “We agreed to maintain the law & order situation of the area so that peace returns immediately. We resolve to work together for maintaining brotherhood between both the states.” Zoramthanga welcomed the initiative of Sonowal.
There was a dispute at the Assam-Mizoram border recently as well when Assamese officials reportedly demolished a farm hut erected on disputed land. That had led to a standoff near Thinghlun village in Mizoram’s Mamit district on the border with Karimganj.
Social Media platform Twitter has stated after it was reported that Leh is being tagged as part of China in location tag for the live broadcast the ‘technical issue’ has been resolved. As per media reports, a Twitter spokesperson in an email said that they were made aware of the issue and it has been rectified.
We became aware of this technical issue on Sunday, & understand & respect the sensitivities around it. Teams have worked swiftly to investigate & resolve the concerned geotag issue: Twitter Spokesperson on location tag in a live broadcast showing Jammu & Kashmir as part of China. pic.twitter.com/UqpCCgma1q
It wrote, “We became aware of this technical issue on Sunday, and understand and respect the sensitivities around it. The teams have worked swiftly to investigate and resolve the concerned geotag issue.”
Interestingly, the social networking giant, Twitter, is banned in China.
Twitter shows Leh as part of China in live broadcast
On 18th October, it was reported that Twitter was marking Leh as part of the People’s Republic of China. It was reported by Nitin A Gokhale, national security analyst when he was doing a Live session from the region. He marked his location as “Hall of Fame Leh”, but Twitter showed it as “Nitin A Gokhale was live. Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Republic of China.”
While reporting it on Twitter, he said he had tested multiple times, but it kept showing the location as the People’s Republic of China. The location remained the same after he entered Kushak Bakula Airport as his location. Another user (@rohitpandita000) went live on Nitin’s request, and the result was the same.
Recently, it was also found that default weather apps of Chinese phones in India do not show reports for cities that China considers as ‘disputed. When OpIndia tried to make search queries, it found that the default weather app on Xiaomi phones did not provide results for districts including Itanagar, Pasighat and Longding.
The ‘TRP scam’ has long morphed into a battle of the ideologies. In fact, it really started off like that when the Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh named Republic TV and hid the fact that the FIR which was filed, based on the Hansa Research Report, named India Today and not Republic TV, to begin with. Within 24 hours, the Mumbai Police had made up their minds that the Hansa Research Report and the FIR and the witnesses naming India Today were all wrong, and it was, in fact, Republic TV that responsible for the scam, not India Today.
Once the press conference on the 8th of October took place, the media went into a tizzy. India Today, NDTV, India TV and even Zee News and Times Now joined the cacophony against Republic TV and Arnab Goswami. What was the reason behind this? Was it a deep sense of morality and ethics that drove the conversation after Parambir Singh’s press conference? Was it their love for journalism? Was it even the soaring TRP of Republic that made other channels almost redundant?
In part, it was indeed about the soaring TRP of Republic TV. With a lion’s share in English News segment (up to 77%) and the fact that Republic Bharat had managed to overtake the reigning kings of Hindi news, AajTak certainly made Arnab Goswami and his channel the number 1 target. Coupled with the fact that Arnab had been making all the right noise as far as the ‘non-left’ was concerned. Ideologically, Arnab had to be destroyed because the Left simply could not have a channel that was presenting an alternate narrative to the Left and gaining most of the viewership in the process.
What was interesting, however, was channels like TimesNow jumping in to join the cacophony and vilify Republic TV.
TimesNow itself has been taking an editorial position that does not sit well with the Left. You see, Vineet Jain is a smart businessman who likes to hedge his bets – Mirror Now for the Left. TimesNow for the non-left. Be that as it may, for TimesNow to go after Republic TV without doing their basic research came as a shock to many.
Over time, Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar had made a reputation for themselves – they were decent investigative journalists and were often found on a side that was the non-left – they took on the Naxals, the Left, the ones screaming Azadi, the drug cartel etc. Editorially, they were often on the same page as Republic TV.
Then why did TimesNow join the cacophony even though the FIR and the Hansa Research Report named India Today and clearly, the Maharashtra government was using the state machinery, including the Mumbai Police to bring down Arnab Goswami with less than ethical means?
Simply put – professional jealousy. One has to recall that Arnab Goswami did quit TimesNow to launch Republic TV and one can’t forget the brouhaha it had led to. TimesNow had even gone to court to stop Arnab Goswami from using the phrase ‘The Nations Wants To Know’ after Republic TV was launched. TimesNow simply can’t stand the fact that Arnab Goswami quit the channel to start his own, and now, he is beating them black and blue as far as the viewership is concerned. For the others, of course, it was about vilifying Arnab Goswami and Republic TV just enough so they could target his advertisers.
It is to be kept in mind that even Parambir Singh during his press conference mentioned that he would be summoning advertisers of Republic TV and questioning them. Arnab Goswami revealed on air that Parambir Singh planned to do so.
So TimesNow, owing to its petty professional rivalry, decided to help the Left decimate Republic TV’s credibility and one of the source of its funds – advertisers.
Little did TimesNow realise that the help they were extending to the Left strategy in their strategy to pull Arnab Goswami down would pull them down too.
The Wire today has published an article that goes after the advertisers of “channels that spew venom”.
The Wire article
The Wire article has several quotable punchlines:
All responsible companies should boycott these venomous channels and civil society should mount pressure on them to do so, or face a boycott of their own products.
They are like brainless, amoral viruses which know only one thing – how to replicate and amplify their hate. The real villains are the hosts who provide shelter and sustenance to these viruses, but nobody is talking about them.
One would imagine that The Wire article only talking about Republic TV. After all, Times Now did help them run the campaign against it.
But then, you read closely.
To one’s horror, The Wire article mentions both Times Now and Republic. Lists their marquee advertisers by name.
The Wire article
Towards the end of the article, they write:
The lesson which emerges from the TRP implosion, therefore, should be that it is not only that channels like Republic and Times Now should be boycotted, but that the pressure and the boycott should extend also to those members of India Inc. who continue to support them with advertisements. For corporates, too, are citizens of this country and should be judged as such. It’s bad enough for them to cosy up to the government, but must they also jump into bed with bigots, mercenaries and fanatics? Surely, there are better ways of making money than by pandering to the mob on prime time TV.
So the plan here is to ensure that advertisers pull out of Republic TV AND Times Now. The same channel that helped them run a campaign against Republic TV when the facts did not support the claims implicating them in the TRP scam. When the facts pointed towards India Today. When the facts showed rather clearly that Arnab Goswami and Republic TV were being targeted simply because they dared to not toe the Left agenda.
So the Left has not spared Times Now simply because it toed their line? They are going after them regardless? Shocking!
Not really, though.
You see, the Left demands utter and absolute servility. It is not really like the non-Left where there exist a thousand shades and a million disagreements. The line is drawn in the sand and one is simply not allowed to cross it, as far as the left is concerned. TimesNow will never really be exempt from their attacks unless TimesNow becomes Mirror Now. The fact that it turned against Arnab Goswami and Republic TV to help them in their elaborate plan is immaterial.
Regardless, the Left is now asking advertisers to pull out from TimesNow. Regardless, TimesNow is still their enemy.
So what did TimesNow really achieve by not putting its professional rivalry aside and digging not the merits of the case? What did TimesNow really lose here?
Maybe not the advertisers – at least, not just yet. But what it did certainly lose is the faith it had carefully built within the non-Left ecosystem. The loss of faith might not last, but it will leave a lasting impression.
The Left does not really hate Arnab Goswami. They hate what he stands for and the fact that Republic TV is going against their Omertà and winning. By helping the Left decimate the non-left ecosystem, even though unsuccessfully, TimesNow has won no favours with the Left. It continues to be their target and it was evident even before The Wire article came out since Bollywood had filed a case not just against Republic but also TimesNow. What it has done is lost favour with a section of the non-Left who now see them as a channel that would join the Left, abandoning its supposed principles, the moment they get the chance to settle personal scores.
The biggest loser in this entire fiasco seems not to be Republic TV, but eventually, TimesNow.
A German court has upheld a ruling that a Muslim doctor should not be granted the country’s citizenship after he refused to shake hand with the woman presenting him his naturalisation certificate during his citizenship ceremony.
The Baden-Württemberg’s administrative court, while hearing the case, ruled that the Muslim doctor was rightly denied citizenship because his refusal to shake hand was a proof that he viewed women as “a threat of seduction”.
The judge furthered that the German constitution enshrines sexual equality and only those applicants who are able to demonstrate that they can live according to the values set out in the German constitution can be entitled to the German citizenship.
A handshake “has a long tradition of signalling to greet or saying farewell that exists irrespective of social status or sex”, the ruling stated. Furthering that shaking hands “holds special importance” as it has a legal bearing and also symbolizes the conclusion of a contract, the judge felt that anyone who refuses to shake hands on gender-specific grounds is in violation of the equality. It described the doctor’s actions as “fundamentalist” and reflective of “a Salafist worldview”.
Defending his actions the 40-year-old Muslim doctor said that he had made a promise to his wife never to touch another woman. He also said that he would never shake hand with anyone in the future, be it a male or a female. Unimpressed by the argument presented by the Muslim doctor in his defence, the judge said that the man would surely have to use the gesture in the future in order to carry out important societal functions. The court saw his concession on not shaking anyone’s hand as a “purely tactical move” and ruled that the doctor was rightly denied the citizenship of the country.
The incident occured in 2015, during a citizenship ceremony that was supposed to be a formality after the doctor had obtained the highest possible score in his citizenship test- an exam that probes how well immigrants understand German history and its democratic values.
When the female bureaucrat had offered her hand and he declined to shake it, she had refused to hand over his certificate to him.
According to reports, the doctor is now left with option to dispute the ruling at the federal level, which would be his last chance to have the decision overturned.
This is, however, not the first case. A series of legal cases across Europe in the past have questioned whether those who refuse to shake hands with people of the opposite sex for religious reasons are guilty of discrimination. In 2018, a Muslim couple had been denied Swiss citizenship after refusing, for religious reasons, to shake hands with people of the opposite sex during their interview. While refusing to grant them Swiss citizenship, officials had cited a lack of respect for gender equality as the reason for their decision.
On Sunday, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) accused the Republic TV of “misrepresentation” after the channel led by journalist Arnab Goswami quoted an official communication from the Council to claim that it was innocent of malpractice in the TRP manipulation case.
The statement issued by Republic TV cited an “official email” from BARC and asserted that “there is not a single complaint or malpractice found against Republic TV, Republic Bharat or any other affiliate of the News Network”.
Hours after the revelation by the Republic TV, BARC issued a statement claiming it was “dismayed at the misrepresentation of its communication by Republic Network”. The Council further added that it had not commented on the ongoing investigation and it is providing the required assistance to the law enforcement officials.
“BARC India is highly disappointed with the actions of the Republic Network by disclosing private and confidential communications and misrepresenting the same,” the statement by Council said.
Republic TV urged BARC to issue a public statement clearing their name from TRP scam
Responding to the accusations levelled by BARC, Republic TV questioned Council’s silence over the matter despite confirming it in private that it did not find any malpractice and hasn’t initiated any disciplinary action against it. It said that since the matter is in the public domain and the channel’s name is being tarnished, BARC should issue a public statement and put to rest the unsubstantiated allegations levelled against it.
The Republic TV further added that they have been constantly and persistently asking BARC to issue an official statement that there is no malpractice by or disciplinary action against it and in this regard the channel CEO Vikas had written an email to BARC on October 16, urging them to issue a public statement to end this controversy and rumour-mongering by vested interests who are unabashedly using the current lack of coherent statement by BARC to further their own agenda and interest at the cost of channel’s reputation and credibility”.
BARC privately confirmed to Republic TV that there is no malpractice or disciplinary action against them
The next, i.e October 17, BARC CEO Sunil Lulla responded to Republic TV’s email confirming that the Council had not found any violations against the channel, and has therefore not initiated any action against it. The statement also included that there had been no disciplinary action initiated against the Republic Media Network and that they would have been given a prior intimation to the channel if that were the case.
Republic CEO responded back, once again exhorting the Council to make an official communication to clear the air surrounding the accusations of TRP manipulation levelled against the channel.
“If BARC knows and has confirmed to us that there is no malpractice and no disciplinary action against Republic, why is it not saying so publicly? When the matter is in the public domain, and our name is being besmirched publicly, why is BARC not issuing a public statement?” Republic TV said.
BARC is throwing us under the bus: Republic TV
Republic TV also argued that when Mumbai Police Commissioner publicly cited BARC’s analytical report in his press conference to accuse Republic TV of malpractices, why is the council mealy-mouthed about the matter and not willing to come clean on it. It accused that BARC is throwing them under the bus under pressure from vested interests as their competitors—India Today and India TV—have representation on the IBF Board. Republic TV has requested urgent steps to issue a public statement clearing their name in the controversy.
BARC email to Republic TV nails Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s lies
The BARC’s mail written to Republic TV has categorically stated that there has been no manipulation by Republic media network. The mail states that if there was any complaint against Republic, BARC would have informed about the same to the media house. With this sensational disclosure by BARC, the entire campaign by Mumbai Police against Republic Media Network has turned out to be a lie.
The BARC e-mail now proves that Mumbai Police Param Bir Singh had lied about the involvement of Republic Media Network in ‘Fake TRP’ scam during the press conference.
Earlier, Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh had addressed a press conference to name Republic TV in the ‘fake TRP’ scam despite the FIR naming India Today in the scam. Param Bir Singh, who had seemingly made up its mind that Republic TV was the culprit, had sent a notice to BARC to acquire their viewership data. Singh had also claimed that BARC had found that Republic TV had carried manipulation in viewership data.
On Saturday night, a notorious criminal jumped to death from the apartment of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) politician, following a police raid. The incident took place at a housing complex in Chitpore in North Kolkata, West Bengal.
As per the report by ABP Ananda, the deceased criminal has been identified as Abdul Hossain alias Sentiya. The deceased allegedly had multiple cases of murder and extortion registered against him, at the Bhadreswar police station in Hooghly. According to the police, Hossain was drinking at the apartment with his colleagues, which included a police official, driver and cook of the apartment owner. They had also called in two sex workers at the said apartment. ABP Ananda reported that the flat belonged to a TMC leader named Mohammed Yasin.
Notorious criminal jumps to death from TMC politician’s flat
Reportedly, Hossain and his colleagues ended up having a brawl, which alerted the other residents of the housing complex. The fight took an ugly turn and the security guards had to intervene to pacify the situation. At around midnight, one of the call girls, soaked in blood, came out of the apartment and cried for help. Hearing her screams, the neighbours came to her rescue and called in the police.
Meanwhile, the notorious criminal had locked the door from inside. When the cops knocked on the door, the wanted criminal tried to escape from the apartment, which was located on the fourth floor. A police official informed, “When cops knocked on the door, Hossain tried to slip out of the balcony using a curtain. But he soon lost grip and tried to hang on to a nylon rope. But he lost grip again and fell on the lawn”. Hossain was then rushed to the RG Kar hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
(Video Courtesy: ABp Ananda)
Cops interrogate colleagues of Hossain, forensic team finds struggle marks
While speaking about the incident to ABP Ananda, forensic expert Tanmoy Mukherjee said, “There are marks of struggle within the flat. We have found bloodstains all over the apartment. The accused had tried to flee using the curtains of the apartment but he failed. They had also tried to escape from the back door but it was in vain.”
The cops have recovered a huge stockpile of cigarettes, alcohol and broken bottles from the crime scene. At the same time, a forensic team was called in to examine the scene. The cops have detained the police official, cook, driver of TMC leader, besides the two sex workers are also being interrogated.
Hasan Gafoor, who was the Mumbai Commissioner of Police during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, had accused senior police officials, including Param Bir Singh of not taking on the terrorists. Gafoor had said Joint Commissioner in-charge of law and order K.L. Prasad, Crime Branch Additional Commissioner Deven Bharati, southern region Additional Commissioner K. Venkatesham and Anti-Terrorism Squad Additional Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh “did not appear keen on responding to situation”.
The four police officers were critical of Hasan Gafoor while deposing before the Pradhan Committee that was set up to probe the response to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. To Gafoor’s remarks, Param Bir Singh had threatened legal action for ‘defaming’ him. Singh had defended himself and claimed that he was seen on several television channels when he was at Hotel Taj and Oberoi. The television channels were live telecasting the siege which had eventually helped the terrorists, as per reports.
Param Bir Singh’s father, Hoshiar Singh in March 2010 filed a defamation case against Hasan Gafoor which was stayed by the Bombay High Court.
26/11 Mumbai terror attack
On 26th November 2008, ten terrorists from Pakistan wrecked havoc in Mumbai. They held the country on ransom for almost three days as some of them holed up inside star hotels in Mumbai, holding hostages, many of them foreign nationals, as the ghastly scenes were telecast live in our living rooms.
In 2009, soon after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, a petition was filed against Parambir Singh and three other additional commissioners of police on the charges of dereliction of duty during the Mumbai terror attack.
A Public interest litigation (PIL) seeking action against these officers and their suspension on the charges that officers such as Param Bir Singh had failed to follow orders of the then police commissioner.
The petitioner had claimed that had the senior officers obeyed the orders, the terror situation would have been brought under control much earlier and many lives could have been saved. The petitions said that if the officers had acted properly, two more terrorists could have been caught alive. The petition was filed on Hasan Gafoor’s statement.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Julio Ribeiro called Singh a ‘Bad cop’
In July 2018, Ribeiro had written an article on the two cops fighting for the post of the Mumbai Police Commissioner. Without naming Param Bir Singh, Ribeiro had drawn up a ‘good cop-bad cop’ analogy, where Singh was believed to be the ‘bad cop’. Taking an offence to the same, Singh had sought an apology from Ribeiro and had even threatened to sue him.
Sadhvi Pragya alleged Param Bir Singh tortured her in custody for ‘Hindu terror bogey’
One of the most controversial tenures of Param Bir Singh was during his days at the ATS. Param Bir Singh, who was the Additional Commissioner of Police (ATS), was accused of severe torture by current Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur had alleged that she was subjected to extreme torture by the Mumbai ATS to make her forcefully confess to her role in the alleged ‘saffron terror case’. Making serious allegations against then members of the Mumbai ATS, Sadhvi Pragya had disclosed that ATS officers including Param Bir Singh had kept her in illegal detention and tortured her for 13 days.
Param Bir Singh gave clean chit to Ajit Pawar in irrigation scam
Param Bir Singh, IPS officer of the 1988-batch, was appointed as the Mumbai police commissioner in February this year. Singh, prior to his appointment as the Mumbai Police, he was the Director-General (DG) of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Param Bir Singh’s tenure at the Maharashtra ACB was also controversial. In December last year, the ACB under Singh had given a clean chit to then Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar in the irrigation scam. Ajit Pawar was accused in a scam involving 12 Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) projects.
The city of Ayodhya is all decked up and is in a festive mood this Navratri as a grand Ram Leela is being held. Doordarshan is streaming Ayodhya’s Ram Leela, a theatrical enactment of the life events of Bhagwan Ram, live from Ayodhya this year. The broadcast by DD National, which started on 17th October, is happening in collaboration with the tourism and cultural department of the Uttar Pradesh government.
The first video on Doordarshan’s Youtube channel has already crossed a million views. Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi S Vampati wrote on Twitter that the telecast has already crossed multi-million minutes of digital watching.
Ram Leela from Ayodhya already clocking multi-million digital watch minutes https://t.co/i8qf52dbXE
The live telecast of the event was launched by Neelkanth Tiwari, Tourism, Culture, Religious Affairs Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma, MP Uttar Pradesh. It can be viewed on both TV and Youtube. Ram Leela runs for ten days and ends on Vijay Dashmi with ‘Raavan Vadh’ by Bhagwan Ram. The first episode on Youtube has already gained one million+ (ten lakh) views, while the second video has clocked over seven lakh views.
Every episode of Ram Leela runs for more than 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Grand Ram Leela in Ayodhya
This year, the city of Ayodhya is hosting a star-studded, grand Ram Leela at Laxman Qila on the banks of the Sarayu river. Bollywood actors Asrani and Bindu Dara Singh are playing the roles of Narad Muni and Lord Hanuman respectively. Bhojpuri superstars and current BJP MPs Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishen are playing the role of Angad and Bharat. Popular actors Raza Murad and Shahbaz Khan are also playing important roles.
Ramayana re-run on Doordarshan broke all records
In March 2020, when a nation-wide lockdown was announced due to the coronavirus pandemic, Doordarshan had decided to bring back old television series to life, including Ramayana and Mahabharata. Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan aired on Doordarshan for the first time between 1987 and 1988. The decision to re-run Ramayana attracted unexpected viewership for the channel, and it gained 7.7 crore views on 16th April. During the telecast, social media accounts were filled with stories of nostalgia and rediscovering Ramayana. Interestingly, the re-run had attracted viewers from all age groups.
The beheading of a 47-year-old high school teacher named Samuel Paty on Friday in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine has sent shockwaves across the world. The terror attack was executed by an 18-year-old radical Islamist named Abdoullakh Abouyezidovitch A.
He stabbed Paty in the throat and severed his head for showcasing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed to his students in College du Bois d’Aulne during a civics class on freedom of speech. The young terrorist had also uploaded the gory pictures on Twitter, before being shot dead by the French police.
Online campaign was on to get Samuel Paty fired
Now, intriguing details have surfaced as to how online doxxing facilitated the barbarian act. On October 7, a man Brahim Chnina had uploaded a Facebook post wherein he claimed that his daughter and other Muslim students were asked to raise their hands by their history teacher. His daughter studies in the 4th grade and is 13-year-old.
The man further claimed that the said teacher then asked the Muslims to get out of class as he was about to show something that would ‘shock everyone’. While a few Muslim students complied with the request, the man’s daughter refused to do so. He alleged that the history teacher then showcased the image of a naked man and claimed that it was that of Prophet Mohammed. An agitated Brahim Chnina called the act a ‘disgrace’ and informed that he would take up the matter with the administration. He also urged others to send emails to the school principal, demanding the termination of the said teacher.
Screengrab of the Facebook post by the agitated parent, via RT.com
Although he had not named Samuel Paty in the post, the online campaign to sack the 4th-grade history teacher was enough to help agitated Muslims to identify him. It is important to note that Brahim Chnina later gave away the name of the teacher in another Facebook post. However, even before he did so, personal information of Samuel Paty began doing the rounds on the internet. This is evident from the screenshots that began circulating on social media.
Voilà le genre de #tweets indignés qui circulaient depuis le cours du professeur d’histoire sur la liberté d’expression et la laïcité. C’est l’enseignant qui a été décapité vers 17h devant son lycée de #Conflans. pic.twitter.com/uHG0ZYHqpr
In another Youtube video on October 12, the man came on air along with his daughter. A man off-camera, now known to French security agencies, had claimed that President Emmanuel Macron was inciting hatred against Muslims and called for ‘mass mobilisation’ in case teacher Samuel Paty was not removed. It is now being speculated whether the 18-year-old terrorist was motivated by the online campaign to avenge the insults against the Prophet.
Local mosque urged Muslims to contact Brahim Chnina; later deleted post
As per reports, the local mosque (La Grande Mosquée de Pantin) had also joined the online campaign to get Samuel Paty fired. While sharing the video address on Facebook, it had urged fellow Muslims to contact Brahim Chnina, the father of the 13-year-old student. Although the mosque did not give away personal details of the deceased teacher, it was allegedly a part of the mobilisation campaign that eventually lead to the gruesome crime.
However, after the beheading case came to light, the mosque authorities quickly took down the Facebook post and condemned the incident. It stated, “We strongly condemn this savagery, Islam and its teachings strongly oppose such acts.”
Screengrab of the deleted Facebook post by the mosque
Terrorist asked students to identify the teacher, prior to beheading
Abdoullakh Abouyezidovitch, born in Moscow, had come to France as a refugee and was out of the radar of the anti-terrorism police. He had earlier been to courts for minor offences. Reportedly, he wanted to ‘punish’ the teacher for his ‘blasphemous act’. The 18-year-old Islamic terrorist, who lived in the Normandy town of Évreux, had no connections with the school or the teacher. On Friday, he waited outside the school premises and asked pupils to point out Samuel Paty.
As per reports, Abdoullakh then followed the victim, who was en route to his house on foot. Abdoullakh, then, attacked Paty, inflicted wounds to his head and then beheaded him. The young terrorist then uploaded the gory picture of the severed head on Twitter and wrote, “In the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful, … to (President Emmanuel) Macron, leader of the infidels, I have executed one of your hell-hounds who dared to belittle (Prophet) Mohammad.”
10 people detained over beheading case
As per reports, France police have initiated a probe into the beheading of the 47-year-old high school teacher. Since Friday, the police have arrested a total of 10 people in connection to the case. On Saturday, France 24 reported that 9 people were arrested on Friday including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working. While condemning the incident, Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said, “Our unity and our resolve are the only responses faced with the monstrosity of Islamist terrorism.”
A day after Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath went on a misogynist tirade against Dalit BJP leader Imarti Devi, he has now issued a statement to justify his remarks.
@OfficeOfKNath issues statement – says “ we are all items .. there’s nothing objectionable in it … we are referred to as item numbers ..words have been distorted .. to deflect attention from main issue like joblessness
According to journalist Pallavi Ghosh, Kamal Nath had issued a statement saying, “We are all items .. there’s nothing objectionable in it … we are referred to as item numbers ..words have been distorted .. to deflect attention from (the) main issue like joblessness.”
While addressing a political rally on Sunday, Kamal Nath referred to the Dalit politician as an ‘item’. “Wo kya hai… main uska naam kyun lun… aapko mujhe starak karna chahiye tha kya item hai… (Who is she… what’s her name? You all should have warned me… what an item!),” Kamal Nath said as the crowd of Congress supporters yelled Imarti Devi’s name. The Congress supporters were seen hooting and cheering at his despicable remarks.
However, instead of tendering an apology, the senior Congress leader has decided to brazen it out. He claimed that his comment was distorted to deviate public discourse from ‘main issues’ such as joblessness.
NCW takes cognisance, will send notice to Kamal Nath and Election Commission
Reacting strongly to the derogatory remarks made by the Congress leader, National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma informed on Twitter that she would issue a notice to Kamal Nath and also write to the Election Commission.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati has lashed out at Kamal Nath and has demanded an apology, not just from the senior Congress leader but also the top leadership of the party. She said that the comments made by Kamal Nath exposed the mindset of the grand-old party towards the Dalit community.
BJP files complaint with Election Commission
The BJP has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission over the indecent comment made by Kamal Nath against Imarti Devi. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that Kamal Nath should withdraw his remarks and issue an apology over the same. BJP state general secretary Bhagwandas Sabnani stated, “We have lodged a complaint against Congress leader Kamal Nath referring `item’ word to Imarti Devi and insulting the women. We have demanded to put a ban on Nath’s political rallies and will also approach the National Women Commission and Nation Commission for Scheduled Castes to lodge a case and take appropriate action.”
