South Korea on Friday reportedly claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has tendered his apology over the killing of a South Korean official earlier this week.
South Korea’s Presidential office released a statement saying that Kim communicated his apology in a message to South Korea. It added that Kim described the incident as “unexpected” and “unfortunate”.
The apology from the North Korean dictator came as a surprise for the South Korean officials as well as the world, given that the North Korean leader is not known for expressing his regret over any issues with the South. The two countries share a troubled history and enduring dispute, going back to several decades, in the aftermath of World War II when a conflict resulted in the division of Korea into North and South.
“Comrade Kim Jong Un, the State Affairs Commission chairman, feels very sorry to give big disappointment to President Moon Jae-in and South Korean citizens because an unexpected, unfortunate incident happened”, Moon adviser Suh Hoon cited the North Korean message as saying.
According to Seoul, the message received from North Korea said that the troops fired in the air after the man did not explain why he was there, rather than just saying that he had come from South Korea. The man then tried to flee, when the North Korean troops fired 10 rounds at him. When they came close to the man’s floating object, all they could found was blood and the man wasn’t seen.
After ascertaining that the man was dead, the officials burned the floating object as per the coronavirus guidelines of the country, the message from North Korea read.
South Korea accused North Korean of shooting an offical dead
The apology came against the backdrop of allegations levelled by South Korea against the North Korean officials of shooting a fisheries official to death. South Korea on Thursday contended that one of its officials, was killed by the troops in the North and his body set ablaze for fear he might be carrying coronavirus.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in of South Korea described the shooting of its officer as a “stunning and deeply regrettable act that cannot be tolerated”. The Defense Ministry of South Korea called the incident “atrocious” and asked North to punish those responsible for the killing.
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of private hospital Max Saket after he tested positive for Dengue. Earlier this month, Sisodia had tested positive for Coronavirus and was admitted in the ICU of Government hospital Lok Nayak hospital.
On Wednesday, Deputy CM of Delhi Manish Sisodia was admitted to the ICU of government hospital Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) after complaining of high fever and a dip in his oxygen levels. On Thursday, after testing positive for Dengue, Sisodia was shifted to private hospital Max Saket for better care.
Government officials have said that Sisodia’s “blood platelets are also falling”. Sisodia’s condition had improved on Thursday morning, and he was moved to a ward in Lok Nayak later in the day, hospital officials said according to a Hindustan Times report. However, later in the day, he was tested positive for Dengue was shifted to LNJP.
“The minister was admitted to the hospital with high fever and low oxygen saturation. He was being monitored in the ICU and was put on oxygen support while various tests were conducted. It was found that he had low platelet count which led to the doctors to believe he might have a co-infection of dengue,” a senior doctor from Lok Nayak hospital.
Manish Sisodia had tested positive for Coronavirus on 14th September and was in home isolation ever since till his condition worsened.
हल्का बुख़ार होने के बाद आज कोरोना टेस्ट क़राया था जिसकी रिपोर्ट पोज़िटिव आई है. मैंने स्वयं को एकांतवास में रख लिया है. फ़िलहाल बुख़ार या अन्य कोई परेशानी नहीं है मैं पूरी तरह ठीक हूँ. आप सब की दुआओं से जल्द ही पूर्ण स्वस्थ होकर काम पर लौटूँगा.
After contracting Coronavirus, Sisodia had tweeted, “Had got my Covid-19 test done after I had a mild fever. The report has come positive. I have gone into self-isolation. As of now, I have no fever or any other issue. I am fine. By your blessing, I will recover fully and return to work soon.”
Till yesterday, there were 32,305 active COVID-19 cases in Delhi, with 5088 deaths. Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that Delhi is facing a shortage of ICU beds, however, there is no shortage of oxygen.
In a barbaric act, a 23-year-old Hindu woman has been brutally murdered by two Muslim youth after she refused to convert to Islam after marriage. The incident has occurred in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh.
According to the reports, the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday had recovered a beheaded body of a woman in a forest area near Preet Nagar under the Chopan police station area. The police officials said that the father of the deceased, Laxminarayan, identified the deceased as Priya Soni from her shoes and clothes.
The father of the deceased informed the police that her daughter Priya had married a Muslim youth named as Ejaz Ahmed against the wishes of the family about a month and a half ago. According to the father of the deceased, Ejaz was pressuring her to convert to Islam, to which she disagreed.
The police officials have said that Ejaz had kept her at a lodge in the Obra area and was continuously pressurising her to convert to Islam. As the Hindu girl refused to convert, the angry Ejaz called upon another friend Shoaib Akhtar. The two Muslim youth carried Priya to a nearby forest area and killed her.
Accused had run away, was later nabbed
SP Ashish Srivastava said the woman’s beheaded body was found in a forest area near Preet Nagar under the Chopan police station area on Monday.
The two accused had run away after murdering Priya. The Police had deployed teams to trace the accused. The accused were later nabbed from Baggha Nala Pul early Thursday morning, the SP said.
The police officials said that they have recovered the mobile phone of the deceased along with a knife, iron rod and car. The National Security Act will also be invoked against them, the SP added.
With various evidence emerging, it has been well established that the violence and carnage that happened during US President Donald Trump’s visit to India was not spontaneous, but pre-planned and timed. OpIndia, in its extensive report on the anti-Hindu Delhi riots had explained how the communal violence in the national capital was the manifestation of deep-seated bigotry that had been weaponised under the garb of anti-CAA protests.
Now, OpIndia has accessed screenshots of Whatsapp chats between those who controlled the Delhi riots which further explain how the communal riots were not the handiwork of locals but it was a result of deeper conspiracy and planning.
In one of the two WhatsApp chats which allegedly took place between the conspirators on February 24, the day the streets of the national capital was marred by violence, one man named Ather Yusufzai raised concerns saying that he felt that the idea of rioting was not a good one. In the Whatsapp conversation, Ather Yusufzai appeared distressed as he said that the Delhi police had been acting strictly against the rioters and he opined that as a consequence of which their side could face a lot of damage. These people were seen as mulling de-escalation.
Whatsapp chat accessed exclusively by OpIndia
The person named Yusafzai appears scared in this text. He says there is very bad rioting going on in Noor-e-Ilahi area. Rioters are being brought in buses from Loni and other areas. He further asks, “Is this idea (of violence) is good? I don’t think so.”
Yusafzai’s further message says “Today police and pro (CAA) groups are acting very brutally. We will incur more damage.”
Following Ather Yusufzai’s message, another man named Anas Tanvir also tries to convince the others in the group, how carrying out the riots is not a prudent idea. Anas Tanveer also expresses anxiety on the plans of the rioters to attack the police headquarters, saying that the proposition might be risky as the police in Delhi were on red alert. One Chirag Patnaik also agrees to Anas.
Whatsapp chat accessed exclusively by OpIndia
It is pertinent to note that in this conversation which transpired on February 24, these handfuls of people speak of de-escalation and spilling the names of those who had planned the riots. What does this imply? It becomes evident that before the violence was unleashed in the national capital, it was in these group itself that the planning of the riots had taken place, that is why these members on February 24 spoke on how the riots took an extremely brutal turn, more than that was expected and also spoke of disowning those organisations and individuals who instigated the ghastly attack.
Earlier too, WhatsApp chats of these groups had exposed the role of conspirators in the anti-Hindu Delhi riots. One Ovais Sultan had in his Facebook post on February 23, objected to the transgressions by the Pinjra Tod activists. He wrote that it was because of these Pinjra Tod women activists that the locals of Saleempur and trans-Yamuna were in trouble. He spoke how these women activists spread panic, incited violence and blocked Jafrabad main road.
Ovais Sultan;s Facebook post
He wrote that these activists incited people by sloganeering “Kafan bandh ke aaye hain, jo humare saath nahi woh desh ka gaddar hain” (we have come prepared to die, those who do not support us are traitors). Ovais Sultan said that he did not approve of the Pinjra Tod activists because they were the ones who attacked the police, but none got arrested, all of them fled, and the locals instead got arrested and were facing the trials.
It is pertinent to note here, that at the time when this Ovais Sultan took to social media to express his disapproval, the planning for the next day was already completed and arson, murder and bloodshed which were to be organized in these areas the next day were already planned in a systematic manner.
Though in the above post, Ovais Sultan appeared to be against the riots, his other chats had made it clear that he too, was very much a part of the concerted plans and he too was constantly trying to convince the conspirators.
As regards to this Anas Tanvir, our source confirmed that he is a lawyer who has been actively providing legal help to anti-CAA protestors in the national capital in February this year. On February 24 when the consequence of the Delhi-riots dawned upon him and he felt that things may possibly go out of control, he took to Whatsapp to present himself as the judicious one.
The conversation shows that the concerned individuals were well aware of the elements that have been involved in orchestrating the violence. Their responses show that they had just not anticipated the swiftness and scale of police action. They are also aware that rioters are being ferried in buses etc. They are discussing de-escalation only for the fear of consequences.
The plan to block Delhi Police headquarters is also being discussed in this group. Anas Tanveer’s texts show that he (and others in the group) are aware which specific people had worked to spread violence and he is urging other group members to be ready to identify them. Why did they want to block police headquarters when riots are spreading in the capital is another question that arises in this conversation.
Eyewitness testifies that the violence was planned in the meetings held before the riots
Over these months, evidence has emerged which proves beyond doubts that the anti-Hindu Delhi violence was well orchestrated and was not a spontaneous action. Today a testimony accessed by Times Now confirmed that an eyewitness has said before the magistrate that the violence was planned in the meetings held before the riots took place in the national capital. The eyewitness confessed that “Sadko par utrenge”, “Khoon bahayenge” calls were made and the Muslim mob was brainwashed into taking to the streets.
The eyewitness confirmed that it was discussed in the meetings that even if they were required to shed blood to coerce the government into taking back the law (speaking about revoking the Citizenship Amendment Act), they should not hesitate.
OpIndia’s extensively documents events that led to the anti-Hindu Delhi riots
OpIndia in its extensive report on the anti-Hindu Delhi riots had shed light on how the communal violence in the national capital was the manifestation of a planned, well-financed and organised conspiracy timed to coincide with Donald Trump’s India visit so it could grab maximum media coverage.
Our report documented the anti-CAA protests and other significant developments related to the matter from the month of December when violence first broke out not only in Delhi but across the country. We reported the manner in which politicians, non-governmental organisations and ‘civil society’ joined hands with the extremist elements within the Muslim community to wreak havoc across the country.
Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh, the husband of Deepika Padukone, has asked the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) whether he can be present during his wife’s interrogation on Saturday, reports Republic TV.
In his application to the NCB, Ranveer Singh has stated that Deepika Padukone suffered from anxiety and gets panic attacks, therefore, has asked their permission to accompany the actress to the interrogation. Deepika Padukone, who was shooting for a film in Goa arrived in Mumbai on Thursday with her husband Ranveer Singh.
Ranveer Singh has also stated that he is a ‘law-abiding citizen’ and was aware of the fact that he is not allowed to be present at the time of Deepika Padukone’s questioning, however, he has requested the NCB to allow him to accompany his wife to the questioning. No decision has been taken by the NCB on Ranveer Singh’s application yet.
Deepika Padukone to appear before NCB on Saturday
Meanwhile, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone will be appearing before the NCB on September 26. Along with Deepika, Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor have also been summoned by the Narcotics Control Bureau in connection with the drug mafia case.
On Friday, actor Rakul Preet Singh and Deepika Padukone’s manager Karishma Prakash were also summoned.
The NCB officials on Friday recorded statements of fashion designer Simone Khambatta and Shruti Modi, the former manager of Sushant Singh Rajput in connection with the drugs case.
The NCB had launched an investigation after it received official communication from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging a drug mafia in the Bollywood. The NCB had launched a probe after recovering various chats related to drug consumption, procurement, usage and transportation.
Update: In a battle of the ‘sources’, other media platforms are now reporting exactly the opposite of what Republic sources had reported. India Today and Hindustan Times have reported that their sources have confirmed that Ranveer Singh has made no such request to NCB.
On Wednesday, the district administration removed an illegal Christian Cross and a statue of Jesus Christ, which was put up, on Susai Paliya Hill in Chikkaballapur in Karnataka. The action was taken, following the order of the Karnataka High Court in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
Police oversaw the operation of the district administration
The mammoth-size Cross and the Statue was illegally placed on government-owned pasture land, also known as gomala, to facilitate encroachment. The operation was executed by Assistant Commissioner Raghunandan, Tehsildar Tulasi under the watch of Superintendent of Police (Chikkaballapur) Mithun Kumar.
While confirming the administrative action, Raghunandan informed that the operation was conducted on the orders of the Karnataka High Court after it was found that the Statue and Cross were built on the government land, without seeking prior approval of the authorities.
Christian protestors resisted against the clearance operation
Hundreds of police personnel were deployed to control the law and order in the area. Reportedly, hundreds of Christian protestors held demonstrations at the site against the operation of the district administration.
They also engaged in sloganeering against the officials and the Karnataka government. The cops took the matter into their hands and ‘pushed back’ the local Christians who tried to obstruct the administration from implementing the orders of the Court.
Church-sponsored land encroachment in Kerala
Last year, the Christian church, with the alleged help of the communist government of Kerala, was accused of encroaching the ‘sacred forests’ associated with the Sabarimala temple, known as ‘Poonkavanam’ in Kerala. A report by the Malayalam newspaper Janmabhumi suggested that there was a massive encroachment of forestland near Panchalimedu, a part of Sabarimala forests in Idukki district. The entire region is designated as an ecologically fragile under the Environment (Protection) Act.
The worrying issue was that the Church had established boards and an arch in the forest area claiming it as a Christian pilgrimage centre. The reports further suggested that the move was aimed at the Sabarimala temple which had been on the radar of the Conversion lobby for the past seventy years.
In a significant decision, the Division Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday observed that the state cannot withdraw a prosecution filed against any accused based on religion and noted that it was against the public interest, reports Hans India.
“Withdrawing prosecution based on religion is against the public interest,” a division bench comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar and Justice J Umadevi observed while hearing the public interest litigation (PIL).
A petition was filed by P Ganesh of Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF) against the decision of the Andhra Pradesh government to withdraw the prosecution of Muslim youth, who had attacked a police station in Guntur in May 2018.
A mob of more than 2,000 Muslims had unleashed terror on the Old Guntur police station demanding handing over of a youth who had allegedly committed a sexual assault on a minor girl at that time. The mob had attacked the police station leaving the police personnel severely injured.
The mob used deadly weapons and caused injuries to the police personnel and inconvenience to the public. Six FIRs were registered against the accused based on the complaint by the aggrieved police personnel.
Andhra Pradesh govt had ordered withdrawal prosecution against Muslim youth
The Andhra Pradesh government had decided to withdraw prosecution against an accused Muslim youth and had directed the DGP to issue instructions to concerned officers to file a petition under Section 321 of the CrPC for the withdrawal of prosecution in crime registered in old Guntur police station.
However, the petitioners challenged the order issued by the Home Department and argued that this attack was nothing but waging a war against the sovereignty of the government.
Issuing stay orders on the state government’s order to withdraw prosecution the Court also instructed the government to make NIA as the party in the case.
Using religion to withdraw petition was highly objectionable, observes HC
Justice Rakesh Kumar observed, “The using of Muslim youth in the GO is highly objectionable on the part of the Government. Even the language used in the GO is not correct in our secular and democratic country. It is a fit case for NIA to be probed into.”
JV Phanidath Chanakya, the counsel representing the petitioners, said that the Director-General of Police himself asked the government to withdraw the prosecution in this case, in the month of February this year.
The High Court, stay the order, also directed the government pleader to file the counter by October 1. The counsel for the petitioner was directed to implead the NIA in the case.
With dwindling TRP ratings and frequent social media criticism of their bias, India Today is caught in a state of fix. Instead of course-correction, the news channel has been up-in-arms against its rival Republic TV. The motivated campaign has been spearheaded by two ‘ace’ journalists, namely Rahul Kanwal and Rajdeep Sardesai. In a bid to settle scores and placate their inflated individual egos with media baron Arnab Goswami, the duo has been further damaging the credibility of their channel – India Today.
A look at the BARC website shows that Republic TV has registered 5 times more viewership than India Today between September 12 and September 18. While India Today is at a distant 5th position, Republic Tv has managed to grab the top spot in the ‘English News’ genre.
Screengrab of the BARC ratings (English News genre)
The story is no different when it comes to ‘Hindi News’ genre. Owned by India Today group, Aaj Tak had earlier managed to grab the top spot for a span of 13 year period. But, Republic Bharat, which was launched 1.5 years ago in February 2019, had turned the TRP tide towards it. Between August 15 and August 21, Republic Bharat recorded 16.40% viewership while AajTak fell behind with 14.26% viewership.
The case has remained consistent ever since August. For the period between September 12 and September 18, Republic Bharat recorded 27,84,77,000 impressions but Aaj Tak could only manage 19,86,58,000 weekly impressions. The dwindling TRPs number has probably left both Rajdeep Sardesai and Rahul Kanwal agitated, as is evident from their constant tweets and vented frustrations targeted against Republic and its Editor in chief.
Screengrab of the BARC ratings (Hindi News genre)
Social media feud between India Today and Republic Tv
On 8th September, Kanwal wrote on his Twitter account that while “Banana Republic” channels are questioning India Today’s integrity for interviewing Rhea Chakraborty, they are hounding Rhea across Mumbai city desperately hoping that she will talk to them. “India Today got an interview you wanted,” he added and compared Arnab Goswami with Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels.
Republic TV did not take time to reply and tagged India Today, Aaj Tak and Aroon Purie, where they shared weekly TRP data of the top five news channels. Republic wrote, “Can you give this (weekly TRP report) to your newsdesk with our compliments and tell them to take a chill pill.”
India Today and Republic TV had chosen sides in Sushant Singh Rajput’s case. While Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV has been standing with Rajput’s family, India Today has come to the rescue of Rhea Chakraborty and has been raising voice against the comments made by various news agencies against her.
India Today editor Rahul Kanwal had lied about ratings in April
India Today’s Rahul Kanwal has bee upset with Republic TV for quite some time now. Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic in April, Rahul Kanwal claimed that viewers were spending twice the time on India Today than they did on their competitors.
Following his assertion, Rahul Kanwal had said, “Bloated egos and noise factories can polarise but they can’t report on a fast-moving story”. The obvious reference of Rahul Kanwal’s tweet was Republic TV and Arnab Goswami. Further, Rahul Kanwal claimed that Aaj Tak and India Today were “number 1 this week”.
Rahul Kanwal’s tweet
On cross-checking the BARC data, it became clear that Kanwal’s claim was wrong. From the 28th March 2020 to the 3rd of April 2020, according to BARC, Republic TV had a substantial lead over India Today. In fact, Times Now was second to Republic TV and India Today was a distant third.
Week 14 (4th April to 10th April) was worse for India Today. While Republic scored 1896, India Today scored only an 866, slipping to the number 4 spot. It is pertinent to note that Rahul Kanwal had congratulated himself first on the 9th of April.
Doublespeak on Deepika Padukone’s summon by NCW
Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, and Rakul Preet Singh were summoned by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Wednesday in a Bollywood-drug nexus case. India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai alleged that the government was using Deepika Padukone as a distraction from major issues like the Farmers Bill. Rajdeep Sardesai took to Twitter to hint that Deepika Padukone’s summons by the Narcotics Bureau on September 25 was somehow connected to the farmer’s protest.
But amusingly, while on one side the India Today journalists were seen casting aspersions on the government for using the actor to distract the public’s attention from the larger issues and whining about the unnecessary media coverage being given to Deepika Padukone’s summon, their own journalists were stationed in Goa, covering Deepika Padukone’s minute-by-minute update.
Senior journalists from India Today were even seen chasing cars, trying to cover Deepika’s journey from her hotel to the airport.
Downplaying the attack on Republic Tv journalist
Hours after psephologist and republic TV journalist Pradeep Bhandari was manhandled and slapped by a fellow ABP journalist, Rajdeep Sardesai wasted no time in downplaying the assault and engaging in victim-blaming. Referring to the security provided to Bhandari, he ranted, “An image which perhaps defines the Tv media in ‘Banana Republic’ times.” While casting aspersions about the integrity of Pradeep Bhandari, Sardesai indirectly justified the attack as a ‘sign of lost respect’.
He claimed, “When a ‘noise’ channel hires private security to ‘protect’ their so-called reporter from fellow journalists: it’s a sign of the channel having lost the most precious TRP: TV RESPECT POINTS of your peers!”
An image which perhaps defines the tv media in banana republic times. When a ‘noise’ channel hires private security to ‘protect’ their so called reporter from fellow journalists: it’s a sign of the channel having lost the most precious TRP: TV RESPECT POINTS of your peers!? pic.twitter.com/cVWSx0HUf1
Failing to condemn the fact that a fellow journalist has been attacked, Rajdeep took the incident as an opportunity for scoring goals, to pontificate that Republic TV may have better TRPs, but it is losing ‘respect’. The passive frustration of losing in the TRP race to a ‘New’ channel was visible again.
Hypocrisy over privacy and Whatsapp Chats
On Thursday, Rahul Kanwal took to Twitter to raise concerns over ‘digital privacy’ and the issue of ‘private Whatsapp chat leaks’, pertaining to the chats that had resulted in the NCB summons for Deepika. He wrote, “The leaking of private Whatsapp chats raises serious questions about privacy? Many have been wondering how was NCB able to access Deepika Padukone and Karishma’s private chat?” Kanwal further inquired, “Can someone be forced by agencies to share passwords with help retrieve deleted chats?”
The leaking of private Whatsapp chats raises serious questions about privacy? Many have been wondering how was NCB able to access @deepikapadukone & Karishma’s private chat? Can someone be forced by agencies to share passwords with help retrieve deleted chats? #Newstrack 8 pm
Rahul Kanwal’s assertions about data privacy were hypocritical, and even ironic. This is because he and his channel has been at the forefront of exploiting private Whatsapp chats for TRPs. A month earlier, Kanwal tweeted, “Sushant’s family has said they didn’t know about his mental illness. But new WhatsApp chats accessed by India Today show exchanges between Sushant and his sister Priyanka where the sister is arranging depression medicines and telling SSR to have his pills.”
Sushant’s family has said they didn’t know about his mental illness. But new WhatsApp chats accessed by India Today show exchanges between Sushant and his sister Priyanka where the sister is arranging depression medicines and telling SSR to have his pills. https://t.co/FvJXUjmYqY
If Rahul Kanwal was genuinely concerned about ‘digital privacy’, then, how did his channel not shy away from posting private Whatsapp conversation between Sushant Singh Rajput and his sister Priyanka? In another article, citing private Whatsapp chats, India Today claimed that Sushant’s sister Nitu too was aware of his ‘treatment’ for depression.
Screengrab of the India Today report
In another exclusive news item, India Today had shared private conversation between director Mahesh Bhatt and actress Rhea Chakraborty to ascertain that the latter left the house of Sushant Singh Rajput on June 8.
Screengrab of the India Today report
In the age of social media, senior journalists should be aware that it is no longer possible to fool the masses with sanctimonious assertions and bias. The clearly visible hypocrisy and twitter attacks against a rival channel only highlight their own frustrations and shows that they are not actually concerned about journalistic standards and media morality. They are just upset that someone else, someone new is beating them in the game.
The central government is planning to ban mobile app of Islamist preacher Zakir Naik for inciting religious hatred. As per the report submitted by Intelligence Bureau (IB) to the Home Ministry, Naik’s app and social media handles are engaged in anti-India activities and are indulged in recruiting and radicalising Muslim youths.
The report said that Zakir Naik’s organisation has links with Jihadi groups and that it receives funding from Arab countries for furthering the Jihadi propaganda in India.
Top officials of the IB and the NIA held a meeting at the Home Ministry office in Delhi in which it was discussed whether hate speech videos posted by Naik posed threat to communal harmony in the country.
A fine of Rs 2.75 crore was imposed on Naik’s channels Peace TV and Peace TV Urdu in the UK by UK media watchdog Ofcom for broadcasting hate speech and repeatedly inciting violence through his channels. Zakir Naik is wanted in India for money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speeches. His name is included in the NIA’s most-wanted list.
Last year, he had launched a mobile application called the free Peace TV App that had over 1 lakh downloads on Google Play Store. The app has round the clock telecast in four languages, English, Urdu, Bangla and Chinese. Through this app, Naik’s TV channel is broadcast across India despite being banned and has an age rating of 3+. His app is also banned in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
NIA Booked Zakir Naik in Love Jihad Case
Recently, the NIA had booked Naik in a case of love jihad involving the daughter of a Chennai-based businessman and the son of a top politician of Bangladesh belonging to the political party of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Two other radical preachers from Pakistan were also book by the central agency in the same case.
Recently, the absconding Islamist preacher had uploaded a video in which he asked the Muslims in India to take jobs in IAS/IPS only if they were “bold” enough to protect Muslims and Islam.
An old woman in Pakistan who was separated from her family during the partition, was abducted and converted to Islam, has finally united with her family in India over a phone call. According to a report of Indian Express, the 86-years old woman named Daphia Bai alias Aisha, who was separated from her family when she was 13, talked to her nephews and grandsons over a video call. Daphia could not hold back her tears as she saw her family for the first time since partition. She desperately started kissing the screen of the phone as the pictures of her family members appeared on it.
Daphia’s family lives in Morkhana town of Bikaner, Rajasthan. A translator helped her talk to her family as she spoke in Saraiki while her family spoke in Marwari. She said that the had spent all her life crying. She narrated how she tried to trace her family by offering people ghee to help her. In all these years, Daphia remembered the names of her siblings and that the place where her family lived had a lot of peacocks.
This information helped in tracing Daphia’s family. A Pakistani YouTuber Muhammad Alamgir had shared a video of Daphia last year asking if anyone knew anything about her family. Alamgir came to know about her from his friend Munawwar Ali Sheikh who knew Daphia’s grandson Naseer Khan.
Kidnapped and Converted after Partition
Her family belonged to the Meghwal caste and used to shuttle between Bikaner and the part of Punjab which went to Pakistan after partition. After partition, her family chose to stay in Bikaner. But she was kidnapped, converted to Islam and married off. She gave birth to seven children. However, she kept looking for her family all these years. Daphia’s grandson said that she used to say that her siblings’ names were Alsu, Chothu and Mira and that her home town had a lot of peacocks. He said that she used to talk about her mamu’s (maternal uncle) wedding that she had attended.
The video of her story shared by Alamgir was spotted a by a Delhi-based man named Zaid Muhammad Khan. after watching the video, Khan decided to search for Daphia’s family. He shared her story on Facebook with some people in Bikaner particularly in Morkhana which he guessed since she used to talk about peacocks at her place. He even skimmed through publicly available revenue records looking for her siblings.
Khan came in contact with a person named Bharat Singh who runs a shop in Morkhana. Singh started looking for Meghwal families who had lost many members during the partition. Finally, in the second week of September, he traced a family in Morkhana who had heard their elders talk about a sister who had gone missing during the partition. They searched for her for years. The family members of her sibling Chotu made a WhatsApp video call to her. The grandchildren of her siblings were elated to see her. The families exchanged photographs on phone.
Daphia has lost all her children except two daughters. With growing age, her desire to find her family grew stronger. According to her grandson Naseer, she used to keep repeating the name of Morkhana. Around 20 years ago, her family had taken her to Yazman Tehsil in Bahawalpur district in Pakistan wherein some Meghwal families still lived. He used to say that the elder members in that family would tell her that they were her brothers thinking that this would console her. They would even visit her in her town in Mailsi.
She was Sold for an Ox
Daphia had put out an advertisement in a local Urdu newspaper on Pakistan’s Independence Day, narrating how she was sold in exchange for an ox. “I belonged to a Hindu family. At the age of 13, during Pakistan’s independence, I was separated from my family. And then I was condemned to Bakshinda Khan who sold me off to Ahmad Baksh, son of Ghulan Rasool, for an Ox”, she narrated in the advertisement. Dalphia was married to Ahmad Baksh.
The advertisement further said that she was made to recite the Prophet’s word and was converted to Islam. She was renamed as Aisha Bini. She bore three sons and four daughters. She said that she used to she missed her family on Pakistan’s Independence Day and wished to meet them before dying. She is now waiting for a visa to travel to India to meet her family.
