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BARC email to Republic TV nails Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh’s lies, says no case or proof of TRP manipulation against Republic media network

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BARC email to Republic TV nails Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh’s lies, says no case or proof of TRP manipulation against Republic media network

In a sensational disclosure, the TV viewership rating agency BARC has confirmed that there has been no case, complaint or proof against Republic TV in the ongoing ‘Fake TRP’ scam as alleged by Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh. This was revealed in an email sent by BARC to Republic network.

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.

But later it was revealed that both the FIR filed in the case, and the complaint based on which the FIR was filed, had named India Today as guilty of manipulating viewership data, not Republic. Even after this, Mumbai police kept saying Republic is accused on the case, and have continued to shield India Today despite an official FIR against the channel.

In its mail to Republic TV, BARC has now stated that there is no complaint against Republic TV contrary to the claim of Mumbai Police Commissioner Singh, who had gone on lie at the press conference saying that BARC had found irregularities in Republic TV’s TRP data.

“If there was any disciplinary action initiated under the said code against M/s ARG Outlier Media Private Ltd., then BARC would have communicated the same to you along with necessary documents for your response,” the e-mail written by BARC to Republic TV CEO says rejecting the claims made by Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh.

BARC’s clean chit to Republic TV

The response from BARC comes after Republic media network had urged BARC representatives to confirm in public about the clean chit given by rating agency to the media network. The CEO of Republic TV Vikas Khanchandani had written to BARC CEO requesting him to publicly acknowledge about BARC’s finding that it had found no infringement the Republic TV.

Republic TV’s email to BARC CEO

Republic TV responds to BARC’s findings, demands apology from Mumbai Police chief

Responding to e-mail, Republic Media Network said it was delighted to inform that BARC clearly stated that there is not a single complaint or malpractice found against Republic TV, Republic Bharat or any other affiliate of the News Network.

“With the disclosure of BARC, the fake news – based campaign against Republic led by Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh comes to an end,” the media network added.

The media network also said that the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s comments against Republic TV were blatantly false, lies and an extension of political vendetta. The network said that it is now incumbent on him to apologise for his lie-ridden campaign against the news network.

“With today’s disclosure ultimately busting the entire charade of lies Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh tried to personally float against Republic, serious questions regarding the malicious attempt to concoc evidence against the Network come to the fore”.

“Right from his news conference on 8th October 2020 where he claimed that he had received a complaint from BARC against Republic to every news interview, he gave consequently wherein he repeated that unsubstantiated and vicious crafted narrative— the Mumbai Police Commissioner went on a tirade against Republic based on a series of complete lies,” the Republic TV noted.

Slamming other media networks for propagating the lies of Param Bir Singh, Republic TV said, “Now that the truth is out in the public domain, the onus is now on those portals to correct themselves, apologise for the fake news and put out the truth”.

Following the clean chit by BARC, Republic TV also stated that they had always believed the truth has a way of coming out and added that nothing and nobody can stop the truth from coming out.

“Let this case serve as an example before the people of India of just that. Republic will fight every attempt to bury, pressurise and subdue an independent news network by those attempting to fabricate evidence, spreading mistruths and initiating action based on fake allegations,” the network said.

The Republic TV network also said that they have full faith in the Honourable courts of law to take this matter and every other matter in the campaign against us to its logical conclusion.

“We are grateful to the Supreme Court and the High Court for its orders in other cases wherein Republic has been wrongfully targeted. We will fight this campaign against us and come out unscathed, no matter how hard the Mumbai Police or anyone else tries to intimidate and harass us. We will comply with the law of the land, but not for a moment give in to the coercive attempts to shut down our pursuit for truth through our journalism. We will fight this campaign both in the courts of law and the court of public opinion, with the people of India by our side,” the Republic TV said in its statement.

The ‘Fake TRP’ scam

The ‘Fake TRP’ scam has taken a sensational turn in the last two days. On Thursday, Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh, in an explosive statement had accused Republic TV of ‘TRP manipulation’. In a witch hunt attack against Republic TV and Arnab Goswami, the Mumbai Commissioner had claimed, that the channel had illegally paid some households to keep some channels on even if they were not at home to boost their TRP.

However, by the end of the day, it was revealed that in the original FIR, Republic TV did not find a mention anywhere. In fact, it was India Today that had been named in the original FIR. Later, the Joint Commissioner had to admit even India Today was named in the ‘Fake TRP’ FIR.

Kamala Harris’ niece deletes morphed picture of Maa Durga after netizens ask her if she would do the same to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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Kamala Harris’ niece deletes morphed picture of Maa Durga after netizens ask her if she would do the same to Islam

Meena Harris, the niece of Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, took to Twitter to share a photoshopped image, which depicted Kamala Harris as Maa Durga. The image also showed Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden as a lion, the ‘vahana’ (vehicle) of Maa Durga.

Tweet by Meena Harris, now deleted

In the image, Kamala Harris symbolized as ‘Durga’ was seen killing US President Donald Trump, who was depicted as buffalo demon “Mahishasura”.

“I am actually speechless, other than to say that the first day of Navaratri was LIT,” said Meena Harris in her tweet.

However, the tweet did not go down well with netizens who slammed her for trying to exploit Hindu traditions for the political brownie points.

Some even questioned whether Harris would draw up such a caricature with Prophet Muhammad of Islam.

Just few days back, a man chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ had beheaded a teacher over allegations of showing caricature of Prophet Muhammad to his students.

Some even questioned the fairness of trying to use Hindu symbolism in a bid to sway votes ahead of US Presidential elections.

Some even questioned what work Kamala had done to be compared to Goddess Durga.

Amusingly, Kamala Harris also appears pretty clueless about the festival.

In a strangely worded tweet, Harris had wished Hindu Americans happy Navratri as a ‘holiday’.

Following the social media outrage, Meena Harris quietly deleted her tweet.

IMA scam: CBI files supplementary charge sheet, names several police officers including husband of Congress MLA Anjali Nimbalkar

OpIndia Staff
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IMA scam: CBI files supplementary charge sheet, names several police officers including husband of Congress MLA Anjali Nimbalkar

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday filed a supplementary charge-sheet against 28 accused persons, including five police officers, in connection with the multi-crore IMA scam. One of the accused is senior police officer Hemant Nimbalkar, the husband of Congress MLA Anjali Nimbalkar.

According to the reports, the charge-sheet filed by the CBI also include the CEO and managing director of the Bengaluru-based investment firm I-Monetary Advisory (IMA), Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who had duped investors across the state to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore.

Earlier, the CBI had registered four cases in connection with the IMA scam. According to the charge-sheet, the accused had collected unauthorised deposits from a large number of depositors on the promise of a dream return and had duped them approximately Rs 4,000 crore.

The CBI has named six police officers, who are currently under investigation by the SIT for their alleged involvement in the IMA scam. The senior officers named in the FIR are LC Nagaraj, EB Sridhara, Hemant Nimbalkar, Ajay Hilori, M Ramesh, and P Gowrishankar.

The charge-sheet alleges that Nagaraj, along with other police officials, did not verify and act on the complaints against IMA. The CBI said that the accused instead gave a clean chit to the company and recommended that the complaints be closed stating that IMA had not indulged in any illegal acts.

The charge-sheet also alleges that the ‘illegal’ activities of the company continued unabated and thousands of investors were scammed, who lost crores of rupees in the scam. In August 2019, the Karnataka government had transferred the multi-crore scam case to the CBI, in which several politicians and senior government officials are accused.

MA halal investment scam

The IMA halal Ponzi scheme was run by the founder of IMA group Mohammed Mansoor Khan and his associates, who duped lakhs of people by promising higher returns using Islamic way of investment. The IMA promoter has been charged for running the Ponzi scheme, which allegedly duped 40,000 investors to the tune of over Rs 4,000 crore. 

The IMA scam is one of the biggest money laundering and financial fraud cases unearthed in Karnataka recently. Around 40,000 investors reportedly lost their money in this scam. IMA Managing Director Mohammad Mansoor Khan had attracted investors, especially Muslims, by offering an investment scheme that appeared to follow Islamic precepts and provided lucrative returns.

More than 41,000 complaints were registered by investors accusing IMA directors of committing fraud after the firm closed in May 2019 and ceased to pay dividends. 

The names of few Congress leader had also surfaced for their alleged involvement in the Ponzi scheme, making it a high-profile case. Senior Congress leaders like BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, former Congress MLA Roshan Baig, Congress legislator from Khanapur in Belagavi Anjali Nimbalkar’s husband and Karnataka IPS officer, Hemant Nimbalkar’s name had also surfaced in the investigation.

 

Uttar Pradesh: Priest found dead in a temple in Moradabad, Hindu groups demand justice

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Priest found dead in a temple in Moradabad, Hindu groups demand justice

On Saturday, a temple priest, identified as Ramdas, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Galshaheed police station area in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh.

As per reports, tension escalated in the area after his body was discovered from a nearby Valmiki temple. On being informed about the incident, the cops rushed to the spot, conducted the panchnama and sent the body for post-mortem. On receiving the news of his death, the relatives of the deceased priest too visited the house of the priest. They reiterated that he died mysteriously and that his phone was switched off since the previous night.

Relative Nirmal Gupta informed, “Two people had come to inform me that the body of priest Ramdas is lying in the Valmiki temple.” While he believed that the duo belonged to the said temple, Gupta was unable to recollect their names. “His phone was switched off and it has not been found yet. The police are, however, claiming that Ramdas had no mobile phone with him. That’s why I find his death unnatural,” he reiterated.

No marks or bruises on body, concedes Moradabad police

Meanwhile, the local police have conceded that preliminary investigation in the case has revealed that there were no marks or bruises on the body of the deceased.

While speaking on the development in the case, SSP (Moradabad) Prabhakar Chowdhury informed that the deceased had come to stay at the Valmiki temple, in anticipation of the upcoming Navaratri festival and had planned to fast for 9 days. However, he was found dead, the following day.

Hindu groups stage protest demanding fair investigation

The temple priest was also the Editor of Ganga Pradushan Mukti Morcha. Following his unnatural death, the Hindu organisations in the area have expressed anger over his death. While demanding a fair investigation into the case, the Hindu activists blocked the road at the Moradabad-Haridwar highway. They also took over the body of the deceased priest after the post-mortem was concluded. Later, they were dispersed by the police after being assured of appropriate action.

Mobile phones missing, case points to murder, alleges Rashtriya Yogi Sena

President of Rashtriya Yogi Sena, Aakash Agarwal, has informed that Ramdas was a vocal critic of mining in the area and was active on social media. According to him, the temple priest had 3 mobiles but they have been missing since his death. At the same time, his purse has also been missing and his profile picture (DP) has been removed. He informed that Ramdas had complained against the mining mafia and had conceded that he was received threats to life. Agarwal had also expressed anger over police’s refusal to share the post-mortem report with them. He alleged that the mysterious circumstances in the death of Ramdas point towards a potential murder angle.

Odisha lawyer Mehendi Reza gives rape threats to Kangana Ranaut on Navratri post, claims Facebook ID was ‘hacked’

OpIndia Staff
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Odisha lawyer Mehendi Reza gives rape threats to Kangana Ranaut on Navratri post, claims Facebook ID was ‘hacked’

Mehendi Reza, a lawyer from Odisha, gave rape threats to actor Kangana Ranaut in the comments of a post on her official Facebook page. When people confronted him, he alleged that his ID was hacked in an apology post on his profile.

On 17th October, actor Kangana Ranaut posted a few photographs and wished everyone on Navratri. She also informed me that another FIR had been registered against her. She wrote, “Who all are fasting on Navratris? Pictures clicked from today’s celebrations as I am also fasting, meanwhile another FIR filed against me, Pappu sena in Maharashtra seems to be obsessing over me, don’t miss me so much I will be there soon.”

Kangana Ranaut’s post

While most of her followers wished her for the festival and praised her for the stand she took against the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government, a handful of users posted hateful messages and rape threats in the comments. One user, Mehendi Reza, wrote, “should be r**ed in mid town.”

R**e threat posted by Adv Mehendi Reza

When several users confronted him for his comment, he alleged that his Facebook ID was hacked, and someone else posted the comment. He wrote, “Today my Facebook ID got hacked at evening and some derogatory comments get posted. This is my not views regarding any women or any community. I am also very shocked and apologise for it. I request to all the people of kindly accept my apology and forgive me whose sentiments got hurt. I am really sorry for it.”

Apology posted by Adv Mehendi Reza

Adv Mehendi Reza is a practicing lawyer in the Court of District & Sessions, Jharsuguda, Odisha.

Woman accuses Congress student wing NSUI leader of sending an unsolicited inappropriate pic

OpIndia Staff
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Woman accuses Congress student wing NSUI leader of sending an unsolicited inappropriate pic

A woman named Divyanshi Sheoran (legendivi_) has accused Congress’ student wing, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) State Co-ordinator, SM and RTI Cell, New Delhi Aaryaman Pratap Kushwaha (AaryamanPratap) of sending unsolicited, inappropriate pictures in private messages on Instagram.

In her Instagram stories, as shared by Twitter user iLLuminadii, Sheoran shared screenshots of her private conversation with Kushwaha in which he sent her an inappropriate photograph.

Inappropriate image shared by Aaryamam

In the above screenshot one can see Aaryaman sending inappropriate image of himself to Divyanshi.

Screenshot shared by Devyanshi

When she confronted him and asked why he sent her such a photo, he asked her to chill out as he allegedly sends similar images to ‘multiple people’ after a workout.

Divyanshi’s message

She wrote in her stories, “So, I don’t owe anybody any sort of clarification but just to get it out there, I don’t talk to him. We’re not friends. I just know him because we were in the same college, different sections. Then today out of nowhere, he sends me this picture and then tried to not APOLOGISE, but JUSTIFY, sending it.”

Suspension from NSUI

After the whole case started to get viral on social media, she shared a screenshot of a message allegedly from NSUI official Deepanshu Bansal in which he wrote to Aaryaman that he had been suspended from the designations in the organization till further orders. He said in the message that an enquiry committee had been formed to investigate the case and it was found that he was guilty in the same. Aaryaman has removed NSUI credentials from his social media account.

While sharing the message, Sheron wrote that she had mailed the screenshots to Pratap’s college dean and will update about the progress. As per her timeline, she is planning to take legal action against Pratap. Several advocates have already come forward to help her take the case ahead legally.

Kerala-based media misreports suicide of a minor Dalit girl as ‘rape and murder’, Delhi Police issues rejoinder

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala-based media misreports suicide of a minor Dalit girl as ‘rape and murder’, Delhi Police issues rejoinder

On Saturday, Delhi Police issued a rejoinder to a Kerala-based media “Madhyamam” for misreporting the death of a 17-year-old girl in Gurmandi in North Campus area of Delhi University.

In a report published on Saturday, E-Madhyamam had claimed that a 17-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly ‘raped to death’ on October 4 in her landlord’s house, where she was working since September 26. The Kerala-based media also compared the incident to the Hathras murder case, where a 19-year-old was allegedly killed by four youth and termed the Delhi incident as a ‘rerun of the Hathras model’.

According to the report, the girl who hailed from Bihar had allegedly faced severe atrocities and the landlord did not let the girl inform her relatives about this. The report also claimed that the family of the victim had allegedly said that the deceased girl was forced to sleep in driver’s room and had tried to inform her parents about the mental and physical abuse she was facing.

Further, the report said that the family members were not allowed to see the deceased girl and about 12 relatives of the girl who had assembled near the spot were taken into the custody.

According to Madhyamam, the police, on the next morning sent the body for post-mortem and later forcefully took the body to cremation. The report said that no FIR has been lodged yet by the police and added that the post-mortem report mentions no rape.

Delhi Police issues rejoinder

The Delhi Police has issued a rejoinder to the E-Madhyama report on the death of 17-year-old dalit girl in Delhi and has categorically dismissed reports suggesting that the girl was raped before her death.

Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Police said that on October 4, they received reports that a girl was found hanging in her residence near Gurmandi area. The Model Town police, PCR and Fire Services reached the spot and found that her room was closed from inside.

The police said that the staff of fire services broke open the door of the room and found that one girl hanging from the ceiling. The deceased was identified as a resident of Rajpura Gut Mandi, Delhi and added that her age was subsequently ascertained 16-17 years by board of doctors.

“The crime scene was inspected by the Crime Team and body was preserved in mortuary for post mortem. There were no injury marks on the body and inquest proceedings u/s 174 Cr.P.C. were initiated,” the Delhi police clarified.

Due to sensitivity of the matter, the post mortem was conducted by a Board of doctors at Safdarjung Hospital on October 8, who ruled that the cause of death as suicidal. No foul play has been found in the incident, the Delhi Police said.

Hathras Case

On 14th September, a 19-year-old woman was strangulated, and later she succumbed to injuries on 29th September. The Hathras case has become the ground for political drama and media propaganda. Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad, TMC leader Derek O’Brien, and several others have visited Hathras to meet the family. The victim had claimed she was gang-raped by the accused, however, it has neither been confirmed or denied by medical reports yet.

Reports have emerged that alleged PFI and Naxal connection to the case to instigate caste violence in the state. Investigation agencies found that a woman was posing as the sister-in-law of the victim and living with the family allegedly to train them what to say in front of the cameras. The state has requested for Supreme Court-monitored CBI inquiry in the case.

Delhi riots: ED files charge sheet against suspended AAP leader Tahir Hussain in money laundering case

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi riots: ED files charge sheet against suspended AAP leader Tahir Hussain in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday filed a charge sheet against suspended Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain in money laundering case. The ED is probing allegations that Hussain and people associated with him laundered money through shell companies to fuel the anti-CAA protests which eventually turned violent. Earlier, in its charge sheet, Special Cell of Delhi Police had mentioned that five accused had received money amounting to Rs 1.61 crore between December 2019 and February 2020 for executing the riots.

Along with him, one Amit Gupta is also a co-accused. The court has summoned Hussain and Gupta on 19th October. Tahir Hussain has been accused in several cases linked to the riots, including the murder of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma during the February 2020 Delhi riots. He has been charged under the stringent anti-terror law – Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Tahir, along with Gupta are currently lodged in Tihar jail on charges of rioting and murder.

The ED had arrested Hussain on 31st August to probe allegations that he along with other accused laundered money to the tune of Rs 1.10 crore for fuelling anti-CAA protests that turned violent and the subsequent riots.

Tahir Hussain’s role in Delhi riots

In his confession statement, Tahir Hussain said that along with him, one Khalid Saifi, his close associate, planned the riots. He had also said that his political position (as Aam Aadmi Party leader) should be used against Hindus and for the community. After the Supreme Court verdict came in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman and the Indian government passed Citizen Amendment Act tabled by Home Minister Amit Shah, Tahir and Khalid met and decided that this is time they have to act.

Bihar elections to Tanishq advertisement: 8 key takeaways from latest interview with home minister Amit Shah

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar elections to Tanishq advertisement: 8 key takeaways from latest interview with home minister Amit Shah

For the first time in the last 4 months, union Home Minister Amit Shah gave an exclusive interview ahead of the much-anticipated Bihar Assembly elections. In his interview with CNN News18, Shah touched upon a range of contemporary issues such as Bihar elections, Sushant Singh Rajput’s death probe, India-China standoff, Tanishq ad controversy and several others.

Here are 8 key takeaways from Amit Shah’s latest interview:

Nitish Kumar will be the next CM of Bihar: Amit Shah

The Union Home Minister asserted that the next chief minister of Bihar will be none other than JDU chief and incumbent chief minister Nitish Kumar. He also added that Kumar will preside over the chief ministership of the state even if BJP gets more seats than the JDU.

“Nitish Kumar will be the next chief minister of Bihar even if BJP racks up more seats than its alliance partner Janata Dal-United(JDU) while adding that NDA will return to power with a two-thirds majority in the assembly polls,” Shah said. This means that Bihar will not face a Maharashtra like situation even if BJP wins more seats than its ally.

LJP broke away from NDA alliance because consensus could not be reached over seat distribution: Amit Shah

Spilling the beans over Chirag Paswan-led LJP’s departure from NDA, Shah said that the party chose to go solo in the elections even though a reasonable number of seats were offered to them and several attempts at negotiations were made.

“We are not the ones who severed the alliance. It was them (LJP) who left the NDA alliance. In the previous election, we did not fight alongside Nitish Kumar’s JDU so when this year they were also in the alliance, it was but natural that both BJP and LJP would have to give up on a certain number of their seats. However, it was unacceptable to them. We tried to have several negotiations but it did not pan out as expected and they left the alliance,” Shah said.

Protest against Farm Bills a deliberate attempt by the opposition to instigate farmers against the BJP: Shah

Shah also slammed the opposition parties for instigating farmers against the recently passed farm bills. He said that the agriculture bills passed by the BJP government provide farmers with an option of selling their produce at a better price outside their mandis.

“The opposition parties are tricking the farmers by feeding them with inaccurate information about the farm bills. Purchase for Kharif in Punjab and Haryana has begun. MSP regime will stay. None of the Bills says that MSP will cease to exist. A deliberate attempt at stoking fear among the farmers is done for petty political gains,” Shah said.

Small incidents like Tanishq ad controversy cannot break India’s communal harmony: Amit Shah

Regarding the controversy stirred up by a recent advertisement by Tanishq jewellery brand that showed a Hindu woman married into a Muslim family which critics claimed was a subtle attempt at promoting ‘love jihad’, Amit Shah termed the controversy inconsequential, adding that such small incidents cannot shake the country’s communal harmony and that its roots are very strong.

“The roots of social harmony are very strong. There have been many such attacks on it. The British tried to break this harmony, later the Congress also tried the same,” Shah said.

I’m clear that there shouldn’t be any media trial: Amit Shah on Sushant Singh Rajput death case

The Union Home Minister also spoke on the brazen media trial going on in the alleged suicide case of Sushant Singh Rajput. When asked if the actor’s death will be a political issue in the poll-bound Bihar, Shah responded, “I am very clear that there shouldn’t be any media trial. If there is any lack in the investigation or an attempt to sabotage the case then you can raise questions. It’s media right and duty. But to prolong an issue for the sake for TRPs is not right.”

BJP will form the government in West Bengal next year: Amit Shah

Radiating confidence about the BJP’s prospects in the forthcoming state elections in West Bengal, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the saffron party will form a government in the state next year as “parivartan” is inevitable.

Shah remarked that the law and order situation in the West Bengal has utterly collapsed and the state is plagued with numerous corruption scams, including the scams in the relief material granted to it following the disaster wreaked by Cyclone Amphan.

Governor Koshyari should have chosen his words carefully: Shah

Days after Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari kicked a hornet’s nest with his letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray asking him if he had turned secular, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his interview to CNN News18 said Koshyari could have chosen words wisely.

Confirming that he read the letter written by Governor Koshyari, Shah said, “he made a passing reference, but I also believe that he (Governor) could have avoided the selection of those particular words,” said Shah.

India will not cede an inch of its territory to anybody: Amit Shah

Regarding the ongoing standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, Union Home Minister asserted that the country would not tolerate violation of its sovereignty and its Armed Forces are ready to face any eventuality.

“Every nation is always ready (for war). That’s the purpose of raising and maintaining armies so that you can repel any form of aggression. My comments are not in reference to any particular situation but I would like to reassure that India’s defence forces are always ready,” Shah said.

When asked if India should tackle Chinese aggression by reconsidering its stand on Tibet and Taiwan, Shah refrained from giving a straight answer, noting that it is not the right platform to discuss such complex issues with profound geopolitical ramifications. Shah referred to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and foreign minister S Jaishankar’s stance on the India-China standoff, saying that what they have cogently articulated India’s stand on the issue.

Gujarat: Cow offered as bait to a lion for filming illegal show in Gir, five detained after video goes viral, main accused Mayuddin Kadri absconding

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Cow offered as bait to a lion for filming illegal show in Gir, five detained after video goes viral, main accused Mayuddin Kadri absconding

A day after a shocking video of a live cow being offered as a bait to a lion from Gir Sanctuary in Gujarat went viral on social media, the forest officials detained five men and launched a manhunt for the prime accused Mayuddin Kadri who is on the run.

The Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) of Junagadh Wildlife Circle, Dushyant Vasavada, informed that the five men were detained in connection with the alleged harassment of the lion and entering the reserved forest area without due permission, while the officers were in the lookout for the prime accused in the case. “The videos were shot in Ghantvad village near Jamvala. The manner in which the lion arrives at the spot, and the fact that the accused knew the direction from which the lion arrives, suggests something criminal. We are investigating if the accused had baited the lion,” Vasavada told the Indian Express.

The inquiry into the incident was initiated after the purported video went viral, enraging netizens, who expressed outrage over the incident and demanded the arrest of the people involved in the incident.

Another senior official privy to the case confirmed that the video was being shot for an illegal show and also said that such shows are probably organized regularly in return for a hefty sum of money. “The way the group was ready with their cameras makes it seem this was a routine affair for the group. They might not be feeding the lion for a couple of days and then organizing the illegal show by charging high rates,” he said.

At least two videos of the aforementioned incident had gone viral on social media on Thursday. The video showed the cow tied with a rope as a bait to the lion in the sanctuary. A few moments later, a lion emerges from a bush and pounces on the cow making a kill. In the video, many men can also be seen making videos of the encounter on their mobile phones.

According to a report by Times of India, the video footage is from somewhere between Kodinar and Una in Gujarat. 

This is, however, not an isolated incident reported from the Gir reserves in Gujarat.

Prior to this, many videos have surfaced online where locals are seen harassing the Asiatic lions of the Gir National Park, the only Asiatic lion reserve in India.

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