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Rajeev Sharma was paid by China to convey crucial information on Army movement, Defence acquisitions and Dalai Lama: Delhi Police

OpIndia Staff
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Rajeev Sharma was paid by China to convey crucial information on Army movement, Defence acquisitions and Dalai Lama: Delhi Police

Rajeev Sharma, a freelance journalist was arrested by Delhi Police on September 14 for sharing crucial information about India’s border strategy and Army deployment to the Chinese intelligence agencies. After that, two more persons were arrested in connection with the case, Chinese agent Qing Shi and her Nepali Associate Sher Singh.

The Delhi Police today convened a presser to reveal the details about the arrest and Sharma’s involvement in passing on the secret information to his Chinese handlers, Michael & George, based in Kunming, China, through different digital mediums. Special Cell DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav spoke at the press conference, claiming that Sharma was contacted by Chinese Intelligence agents in 2016 for carrying out spying for them.

Delhi Police says Rajeev Sharma earned Rs 40 lakhs for spying for the Chinese

He also added that Sharma was also in touch with some Chinese intelligence officer and had received Rs 40 lakhs in the last 18 months as he was being given $1,000 for passing on each sensitive information. The police official revealed that Chinese intelligence had tasked the journalist for conducting espionage activities in lieu of large amounts of money and luxury holidays.

Sharma, who was writing on defence-related issues for a few of the Indian media organisations, as well the hawkish Chinese state-affiliated media house Global Times, was arrested based on the inputs shared by the central intelligence. The police have recovered classified documents from him, the DCP added. The information conveyed were related to Army movements, Defence acquisitions, Dalai Lama, foreign policy etc.

A statement issued by Delhi police reveals that when Rajeev Sharma was writing for Global Times, he was spotted by Chinese intelligence, and he was approached by Michael from Kuming city through his LinkedIn profile. He had invited Sharma to Kuming for an interview in a Chinese media company, and the cost of his travel was paid by the Chinese. Michael and his junior Xuo had asked Rajeev Sharma to provide inputs on various aspects of Indo-China relations.

Sharma maintained contacts with Michael and Xuo between 2016 to 2018 through various means including emails and social media services. In January 2019, he met another Chinese person George, a General Manager at a Chinese media company. He had offered Sharma 500 USD for each articles on various topics related to Dalai Lama.

George had informed Rajeev Sharma that they will send him money through a company located at Mahipal Pur in Delhi, which is operated by Chinese woman Qing Shi. This company exports medicines to China, and in exchange, they receive money from China via legitimate means, which was used to make payments to their assets like Rajeev Sharma. Delhi police have informed that around Rs 40-45 lakh was transferred using this channel. Money was also being routed through hawala channels.

Sharma provided information on Galwan, Doklam and Dalai Lama to Chinese intelligence

As per the interrogation by the police, Sharma had disclosed that he had provided information on issues like India-Bhutan-China trijunction including Doklam, Galwan Valley, Indian-Myanmar military co-operation, India-China boundary issues etc.

In January 2019, Sharma had come in contact with a Kunming based Chinese entity George. George had asked Sharma to write/inform about Dalai Lama related issues and was offered $500 per article/information. He had received more than 30 lacs from George in 10 instalments from January 2019 to September 2020, the police official mentioned.

A Chinese national and Nepalese man arrested for paying money to Sharma for espionage activities

The police official said that Sharma was assisted by a Chinese woman Qing Shi and her Nepalese associate Sher Singh, who had been arrested for allegedly paying huge sums of money to him through a web of shell companies. Sharma had disclosed in his statement that Chinese nationals Jhang Chang and his wife Chang-li-lia were running the companies MZ Pharmacy and MZ Malls, under the fake names of Suraj and Usha.

Reportedly, the Chinese woman named Qing Shi is an intelligence officer of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) of the Chinese government. The name of her Nepali Associate is Sher Singh. They were operating the espionage racket from Mahilpur and further investigation into the Chinese companies based in Mahilpur is in progress.

Further investigation is underway and forensic analysis of mobiles and laptops is under progress to unearth further details of the entire network and the conspiracy in the case.

Sharma was arrested by a special cell of Delhi police on September 14 under the Official Secrets Act. His Twitter account has been restricted following his arrest. Sharma has reportedly worked with The Tribune, Free Press Journal, Sakaal, etc. and for left-wing publications like The Quint, DailyO, etc. He also runs a YouTube channel.

Justice Kirubakaran cautions against linguistic chauvinism, warns against ‘fringe elements’ wearing the mask of NGOs and human rights organisations

OpIndia Staff
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Justice Kirubakaran cautions against linguistic chauvinism, warns against ‘fringe elements’ wearing the mask of NGOs and human rights organisations

While hearing the bail plea of a member of the banned outfit Tamil Nadu Liberation Army in Madras High Court, Justice Kirubakaran on Saturday cautioned against linguistic chauvinism being used as a tool to create unrest in India. As reported by Bar and Bench, Justice Kirubakaran expressed strong views against creation of conflicts and separatism by invoking religious, racial and linguistic differences.

Justice Kirubakaran observed, “When these elements take ‘Tamil Culture’, Tamil Race’ and ‘Tamil Language’ as weapons for their sinister plans, the governments should be careful enough to see that no action of the government would pave way for or strengthen the propaganda made by these elements especially, with regard to emotive language issue. Already political parties are waiting to make use of such position to arouse linguistic chauvinism to harvest political dividends…There should not be any room for linguistic chauvinists to create any unrest in the name of languages in any part of our country”.

Highlighting the multiracial, multicultural and multi-religious character of the country, Justice Kirubakaran said that governments should induce in every citizen the feeling that his language, culture, religion, race are preserved and protected and not interfered with or suppressed by any action of the governments. He cautioned that even an apprehension in the minds of the people might prove counter productive.

Justice Kirubakaran also laid down some suggestions for the government to ensure the integrity and security of the nation. The suggestion are as follows:

  • Government should not create an impression in the minds of the people that their language is being discriminated or suppressed.
  • Government should not create any apprehension in the minds of the people that only a few chosen languages are given prominence and recognition, especially when there are 22 languages recognised and listed in the VIII schedule of the Constitution of India. These languages are entitled to equal treatment and protection, so that all the Indian-languages are well-developed and preserved.
  • Government should deal firmly with communal elements, religious and extremist forces.

Justice Kirubakaran said that the court is disturbed by the media reports showing links between the educated and respected personalities of the country and the Naxal movement. He said that the country is facing more danger from the elements within the country than the enemy countries. The judge also called out the fringe elements working in the garb of the NGOs, Human Rights Organisations and political groups and trying to create unrest in the country.

“This kind of fringe elements are stated to be more active in Tamil Nadu and wearing the masks of NGOs, Human Rights Organisations and political groups are trying to create unrest in Tamil Nadu by of continuous propaganda through media especially social media instigating the people to protest, creating fear psychosis and spreading hatred among the masses. However, it is to be noted that many of the NGOs and Human Rights Organisations are really doing yeoman services to the people”, Justice Kirubakaran noted referring to seditious pamphlets of the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army.

Referring to the sinister tactics of certain groups, he remarked that such groups make anti-national comments in the name of freedom of expression. He added that one can protest against the government but not against the nation. He also pointed how the recent stand-off between India and China exposed themselves by supporting the enemy country. He said that fundamentalists and extremists that pose threat to the unity and integrity of the country need to be nipped in the bud.

The petitioner was denied bail by the court.

Bihar: Hindu group attacked by Mohammed Nirala, Sarfaraz and others as Vishwakarma idol procession passes through Muslim colony

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Hindu group attacked by Mohammed Nirala, Sarfaraz and others as Vishwakarma idol procession passes through Muslim colony

An irate Muslim mob attacked a group of 10-15 Hindu devotees when a Vishwakarma idol immersion procession was passing through a Muslim dominated locality in Motihari, Bihar. In an incident that took place on September 18, in the Tarnia village, Motihari block, Bihar, Muslim goons attacked the Hindu group with lathis and bamboos. Several people were injured and the Lord Vishwakarma idol was also reportedly damaged in the ensuing.

To know more about the incident, OpIndia got in touch with the President of Chatia Subdivision of Bajrang Dal, Golu Khelani. He confirmed that around 4 pm on Friday (September 18) evening, some Hindu youths were going to immerse the idol of Lord Vishwakarma. When the procession approached a locality which was predominantly Muslim dominated, the driver of the vehicle carrying the idol stopped and alerted the Hindu youths. He was reluctant to pass through the Muslim locality. The Hindu group was also threatened by the Muslim goons to not enter their locality with the idol. But the Hindu youths did not take the warnings seriously.

Driver of the vehicle carrying the idol brutally assaulted

As soon as they entered the locality, the Muslim goons started raining lathis and sticks at the Hindus. The vehicle in which the idol was being carried was stopped and attacked. The agitated Muslim goons pulled out the Dalit driver, Sukhari Ram, snatched the keys from him and mercilessly assaulted him. The goons then climbed the vehicle and damaged the Lord Vishwakarma idol placed in it.

Many Hindus were injured in the clash. The Bajrang Dal activist confirmed that three Muslim youths namely, Mohammed Nirala, Danish and Sarfaraz were the main accused who started the brawl.

Golu Khelani said that when he approached the police with a complaint, at first, they were reluctant to register a case against the Muslim goons. Later, the police filed an FIR against both the Hindu and Muslim groups, despite the fact that the Hindus were not at fault, said the Bajrang Dal activist.

Following the incident, the situation in the area remains tensed.

Bihar has witnessed similar incidents in the past

Earlier, on January 1, 2020, tension had gripped Ashok Rajpath in Patna, Bihar after violent clashes broke out between two groups during the Saraswati idol immersion procession. The students of Patna College and the people of Lalbagh pelted stones, fired at each other and hurled bombs which led to chaos in the surrounding areas. The brawl, which lasted for over two hours left several injured including inspector Manoj Kumar and a constable of Pirbahore police station.

Last year too, a violent confrontation broke out between two communities when an idol immersion procession was passing in front of the Dalalji ki Masjid in Alamganj in Patna, leaving over a dozen policemen injured.

More anarchy in USA? Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away, liberals threaten riots as Donald Trump could have third Supreme Court pick

K Bhattacharjee
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More anarchy in USA? Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away, liberals threaten riots as Donald Trump could have third Supreme Court pick

A stalwart of the United States Supreme Court, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, breathed her last on the 18th of September 2020 at the age of 87 after prolonged illness. The second woman to have ever served on the highest Court of the United States, she was nominated by former US President Bill Clinton.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is hailed as a feminist icon and has been awarded with numerous honours during her great and cherished life. Condolences poured from across the political spectrum, in deference of her vast accomplishments. POTUS Donald Trump said in a statement mourning her death, “Renowned for her brilliant mind and her powerful dissents at the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg demonstrated that one can disagree without being disagreeable towards one’s colleague or different points of view.”

Donald Trump’s statement on the passing away of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, however, has passed away at a time when the two political wings of the country hardly agree over anything. Her death has opened up a vacant spot in the Supreme Court which, if Donald Trump proceeds with nominating another person before the November elections, would create space for the worst kind of politics.

The nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh witnessed the politicisation of sex crimes and with so few days remaining for the election, if Republicans do decide to move forward with the appointment process, it would open up a can of worms. But that is precisely what promises to be in store for the country. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed that there will be a vote on what would be Donald Trump’s third Supreme Court pick after Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh.

McConnell said, “Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Meanwhile, ‘journalists’ are already ‘warning’ that there will be riots if Mitch McConnell forces through a Supreme Court appointment, then there will be riots. One of the most ‘journalists’ to make that declaration is Laura Bassett, whose columns appear in platforms such as the Washington Post and Rolling Stone.

‘Journalist’ warns of riots

American-Iranian scholar Reza Aslan voiced similar sentiments although he did not bother to be subtle about it. Interestingly enough, the clear incitement to violence does not appear to have violated Twitter’s terms and conditions. The same platform had censored Donald Trump for a tweet where the US President vowed to impose law and order.

Reza Aslan threatens riots

Beau Willimion, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, declared that they were “shutting down this country” if a Supreme Court appointment is made before the elections. Brad Willock, another writer and producer, threatened “massive protests and unrest”.

More Blue-Tick accounts threaten riots

Riots have already been underway all over the United States ever since the death of George Floyd. The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has thrown further chaos into the mix and has created the potential for more riots. The appointments in Courts have become an extremely political issue in recent times as Justices often interpret the law consistent with the liberal or conservative predilections.

Therefore, Supreme Court appointments are of great significance. Furthermore, since appointments to Supreme Court are for life, it has profound impact on the political future of the country. Thus, such appointments have become the battleground for ideological warfare as the United States becomes more polarised.

It is pertinent to mention here that in the last year of Barack Obama’s presidency, the Republican Senate blocked his nominee to the Supreme Court saying that the incoming US President should fill the vacancy and American voters should have a say in the matter. Now, Mitch McConnell argued that during the mid-term elections, the Republican majority in the Senate was increased which is valid evidence of the mood of the public.

Thus, it is justified to move forward with filling the vacancy left behind by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, McConnell argued. Such arguments are unlikely to find any favour among the Democrats and their voters and in recent times, they have demonstrated an inclination to use violence to achieve political objectives. With elections due in November, United States might be headed for a period of great turmoil.

Mumbai doctor slams Maharashtra government on its new circular governing the consumption of oxygen in private COVID-19 hospitals

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai doctor slams Maharashtra government on its new circular governing the consumption of oxygen in private COVID-19 hospitals

With Maharashtra reeling from an unprecedented shortage of oxygen because of the surging coronavirus outbreak, the Maha Vikas Aghadi state government has issued a new circular concerning the consumption of medical oxygen in state’s COVID-19 hospitals. However, doctors managing the COVID-19 crisis are seemingly displeased with the new notice that has accused the hospitals of not judiciously using the medical oxygen.

Mumbai doctor Amit Thadani, who had earlier accused the state authorities of harassment even as the coronavirus pandemic was gaining stronghold in the state, has today posted a tweet criticising the Maharashtra government’s new letter on consumption of medical oxygen and alleging that bureaucrats are disconnected from the ground reality.

“We invite babus to come sit in ICU and tell patients that their quota of oxygen is capped at 12 liters per minute and they should not misuse,” Dr Amit Thadani sarcastically tweeted after the letter asked the private COVID-19 hospitals to conduct consumption audit of oxygen calculating 7 litres per minute for patient in ward and 12 litres per minute for those in the ICUs to ensure that there is no leakage of medical oxygen in pipe lines, valves etc.

When one of the Twitter users mentioned that 12 litres is not a cap mentioned by the Maharashtra government but just a reference point to be used as a rule of thumb for the audit, Dr Amit Thadani retorted back stating that the requirements of ICU patients is somewhere close to 30-60 litres per minute and it is preposterous to think 12 litres per minute would suffice. He added that someone who has never managed a COVID-19 patient in his life could think of making such suggestions.

Maharashtra government issues a new circular ordering judicious use of medical oxygen

The criticism from the doctor came after the Maharashtra state was afflicted by the double whammy of coronavirus and depleting medical oxygen reserves. The state government issued a new circular, raising concern that if the consumption of medical oxygen continued at the present rate, the state would exhaust its manufacturing capacity of the oxygen.

The circular pointed out the discrepancies in the consumption of medical oxygen in the state with respect to the number of patients that are reported to be on oxygen.

“The consumption is not commensurate with the reported number of patients on oxygen in that particular district/municipal corporation. There is a gross mismatch particularly in the Private Hospitals and hospitals of the Municipal Corporations in terms of patients of reported on oxygen and the quantum of oxygen consumed in metric tons per day,” the circular read.

Alleging that there has been no judicious use of oxygen by the Private Hospitals, the notice has mentioned a list of actions to be carried out by them. One of them being carrying out audit of consumption of oxygen by patients in ward with 7 litres per minute as base and 12 litres per minute for those in ICUs.

The circular also directs the hospitals to upload patient discharge data on the portal on an urgent basis and take a review of all the patients who are on oxygen to ensure that oxygen is used prudently. Hospitals have also been asked to prepare a proper record of those on oxygen.

The notice also calls for scrupulous monitoring of private hospitals “who have a tendency of putting patients on oxygen for a longer duration, allegedly for commercial purposes”.

Devendra Fadnavis exposes how ABP Majha abruptly ended his interview, shares video of parallel recording he had arranged anticipating foul-play by the channel

OpIndia Staff
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Devendra Fadnavis exposes how ABP Majha abruptly ended his interview, shares video of parallel recording he had arranged anticipating foul-play by the channel

The former chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis today exposed how media twists statements by deliberate editing. He posted a video on Twitter from his interaction with the ABP Majha channel, where the channel had cut short his answer abruptly, along with his full answer that he had recorded simultaneously separately. The BJP leader was speaking on the GST and centre’s help extended to the Maharashtra government on the Marathi news channel.

Fadnavis tweeted that he had to share the video on Twitter because the ABP Majha channel had suddenly stopped his interview while he was answering on the centre’s support to the Maharashtra government.

Suspicious that the Marathi media outlet ABP Majha would not air his uncensored responses on GST and Centre’s help to the Maharashtra government, the former chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis had arranged for a parallel recording of his live interaction with the channel.

His suspicions turned out true when the Marathi media channel stopped the interview abruptly while Fadnavis was elaborating on the assistance provided by the central government concerning the GST credit and tax benefits to the Maharashtra government. Therefore, Fadnavis shared the footage from his parallel recording to call out the sham of ‘neutrality’ espoused by the media channel, accusing them of scuttling away when their slanderous allegations are rebutted.

The fact that Devendra Fadnavis had arranged parallel recording of his interview with ABP Majha shows the trust deficit he has with media. It points towards the sorry state of affair of Indian media when a former chief minister does not trust a private TV channel to carry his full statement, and had to arrange separate video recording of the interview anticipating what the channel actually did.

Centre is going out of its way to support Maharashtra and other states: Devendra Fadnavis

Fadnavis was responding to the question of whether the central government was discriminating against the Maharashtra government with respect to the transfer of GST credit when the interview was called off.

“In the context of the GST, let me tell you very clearly that till March the central government has given the Maharashtra state government a staggering amount of Rs 19,500 crore. The central’s Attorney General had made his stand clear on this issue that the state governments are liable to receive compensation equivalent to the cess amount and they cannot receive more from the consolidated funds as per the law,” Fadnavis said.

He further added, “However, the centre realised that the state is in difficulty and therefore it transferred the funds from consolidated funds to cess amount for the state. Just like the state’s collections are reduced due to the coronavirus induced lockdown, similarly, the centre is also under pressure due to reduced collection of the taxes. Yet, the central government has gone ahead and asked the states to borrow money to reconcile their GST deficit.”

Fadnavis said that the central government has also permitted the states to borrow loans way beyond their capacities to make up for the shortfalls in their GST amounts. “The centre has also promised that these loans will not be reflected in the state’s balance sheets and the centre would take care of repaying the borrowed amount,” he said.

Sushant Singh Rajput case: Muzaffarpur court orders eight Bollywood celebrities including Salman Khan and Karan Johar to appear before it on October 7

OpIndia Staff
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Sushant Singh Rajput case: Muzaffarpur court orders eight Bollywood celebrities including Salman Khan and Karan Johar to appear before it on October 7

Bihar’s Muzaffarpur District Court has issued orders to 8 Bollywood celebrities including Salman Khan and director-producer Karan Johar to appear before it on October 7 in the case related to the death of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The other names include Aditya Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ekta Kapoor, Sajid Nadiadwala, Bhushan Kumar and Dinesh Vijayan.

The Muzaffarpur Court notice

The court has acted on the complaint filed by Muzaffarpur lawyer Sudhir Ojha, against these celebrities, which was filed three days after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14, in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court holding them accountable for the death of the actor.

The case was filed under sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 109, 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

The lawyer had originally filed the case at CJM court, but the court had dismissed it saying that the matter is outside its jurisdiction. After that, Sudhir Ojha had approached the district court, which had accepted the petition. The summoned persons have been asked to present before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court by the district court in its order.

Karan Johar’s alleged drug party under scanner

Recently, Karan Johar’s name also surfaced after Rhea Chakraborty reportedly revealed names of celebrities from the industry including actors, producers and directors for their alleged involvement in the drug cartel. It was reported how the Narcotics Control Bureau may also launch an investigation into an alleged drug party held at Karan Johar’s house on July 30, 2019. 

The video had featured Ranbir Kapoor, Ayan Mukherjee, Vicky Kaushal, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Shahid Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and others. However, most of the actors, including Vicky Kaushal and Karan Johar had rubbished the allegations.

The video of the party at Karan Johar’s residence had gone viral on the internet. Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa had tweeted the video alleging that several actors in the video were in ‘drugged state’.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s death sparked a debate over nepotism in Bollywood

The sudden and untimely demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has opened a can of worms and sparked a debate over nepotism in the cinema industry. Many celebrities had opened up on how the big and influential families in Bollywood have been propagating it over the years. Many blamed the big filmmakers such as Mahesh Bhatt and Karan Johar for their favouritism in the industry, which according to a few resulted in the death of Sushant Singh Rajput.

Days before his arrest for having classified documents, Journalist Rajeev Sharma had spoken about the state of Indian media and ethics

OpIndia Staff
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Days before his arrest for having classified documents, Journalist Rajeev Sharma had spoken about the state of Indian media and ethics

A few days before his arrest, freelance Journalist Rajeev Sharma – who is currently in the custody of the Delhi Police on charges of possessing classified defence documents, had spoken about the state of media in the country and the lack of ethics in reporting the real issues that are currently plaguing the country.

Taking to Twitter, Rajeev Sharma had expressed his opinion about the state of media in the country. Sharing his Youtube video on the issue, Sharma had claimed that the state of Indian media was pathetic.

Ironically, Sharma had attempted to teach ethics to the India media by asserting that the media was supposed to be a watchdog rather than becoming the lapdog of the government.

Interestingly, Sharma runs a YouTube channel called “Rajeev Kishkindha”, which has around twelve thousand followers. Rajeev Sharma had uploaded various videos on his Youtube channel.

In one of his Youtube videos, Rajeev Sharma had spoken about the role and responsibilities of media in the society and had schooled some of the media networks for carrying out continuous coverage over irrelevant issues associated with the movie industry at a time when they were supposed to speak about the other important issues relating to employment, inflation, economic growth, etc.

“The role of media is to show mirror to country, society, political parties and the government. Media is the fourth pillar of a democracy,” says Rajeev Sharma in his video.

Sharma, in his video, goes on to say that it is an understatement to refer the current media establishment in the country as a ‘sold out media’ as the media has stopped questioning the government and instead has been cosying up with the ruling dispensation. The media has become the spokesperson of the government, says Sharma in his video.

Narrating a story, Rajeev Sharma went on to claim that the media has been deliberately ignoring real issues in the country and has been busy in reporting news that is connected to the entertainment industry.

Delhi Police arrests Rajeev Sharma, Chinese agent in Delhi

The special cell of the Delhi Police arrested freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) after they had found that Sharma was in possession of classified defence-related documents.

Rajeev was arrested on 14 September and interrogated during the police custody for six days. Later he was produced before a magistrate the next day. His bail application has been listed in Patiala House Court for 22 September.

Sharma, who is a resident of Pitampura in Delhi, had earlier worked with United News of India, The Tribune, Free Press Journal, Saakaal and others as a journalist. As a journalist, Rajeev Sharma was covering defence and foreign affairs for around two decades.

Rajeev Sharma had written several columns for Chinese newspaper Global Times, the mouthpiece of Communist Party of China for the last several years. In addition to Chinese publications, Sharma had also written columns with left-wing publications such as The Quint, DailyO etc.

Along with Sharma, the Delhi police also arrested a Chinese woman and her Nepalese associate on the charges of paying huge amounts of money to Sharma through shell companies.

The Chinese woman named Qing Shi is an intelligence official of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) of the Chinese government. The name of her Nepali Associate is Sher Singh.

Namrata Datta, who shared a plagiarised thread on PM Modi, has a history of stealing tweets, lying, and making unfounded claims

Jinit Jain
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Namrata Datta, who shared a plagiarised thread on PM Modi, has a history of stealing tweets, lying, and making unfounded claims

PM Modi celebrated his 70th birthday on September 17, 2020. While his admirers wished him a long and healthy life, his critics took the opportunity to attack and discredit him. One of the detractors, Namrata Datta, who goes by Twitter handle @cardinam, took to the microblogging website to peddle lies and concoctions about PM Modi. Except that the long thread of tweets posted by her was a verbatim copy of a year-old tweet thread a lesser-known Twitter user.

In the plagiarised Twitter thread which is replete with insinuations and fabricated claims, Datta sought to discredit PM Modi, trotting out the lies that his opponents have long used to tarnish his reputation. Datta raised aspersions on the authenticity of his birth certificate, his claim of subsisting his family by selling tea, his academic qualifications and other such things. Unsurprisingly, the thread was also shared by Bollywood filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.

Furthermore, when a Twitter user questioned her about the thread, she shamelessly responded that “after loads of reading and connecting to the dots”, she could arrive at such a thread about PM Modi.

As the allegations of plagiarism were levelled against Ms Datta, Twitter users were merciless in exposing her, drawing attention to the past incidents where she had lied about meeting Sushant Singh Rajput, unabashedly stole tweets, made false claims about her degree and levelled serious allegations against the former CPI member Ritabrata Banerjee.

Namrata Datta’s lies about meeting SSR at Paris Airport picked up by media organisations

Just a couple of days after the actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise, Namrata Datta, who claims herself to be a PhD scholar at Cambridge University, started exploiting the death of the actor to garner cheap attention. On June 16th, Datta posted a tweet, claiming that she had met the ‘Kai Po Che’ actor at the Paris airport when ‘they both had hours to kill”.

According to Datta’s tweet, Sushant Singh Rajput explained quantum physics to her at the airport and later they both shared a drink to celebrate their respective birthdays which allegedly fall within a gap of 5 days. Datta also added that they both had discussed DNA and X-Ray crystallography method in the course of their alleged discussion.

These unproven contentions were quickly lapped up by a host of media organisations, who in their eager alacrity to publish eulogising articles commemorating Sushant Singh Rajput and his mystical fascinations did not bother to verify the claims made by Namrata in her tweets.

Realising that her tweets and claims made about Sushant Singh Rajput had catapulted her to headlines of many media organisations, Datta persisted with her charade and continued fooling the emotionally devastated fans of the actor by sharing photoshopped images of herself with Sushant Singh Rajput. She started asserting that the photoshopped images were the photos clicked by Sushant Singh Rajput at the Paris airport.

However, some of the observant followers were quick to identify that the image was a shoddily photoshopped one and called her out for the same.

Datta, a biologist doubled as a software professional

Coming back to her Twitter profile, Namrata, who has a penchant for weaving fictional tales, has mentioned in her Twitter bio that she is a ‘Molecular Biologist at Cambridge University’.

Back in 2017, Namrata was embroiled in another controversy where she was accused of stealing a mega-viral tweet.

“Spoke to my ex after 10 years. “Miss or Mrs.?” He asks Dr. I said,” Namrata had tweeted.

When BuzzFeed India had contacted her and pressed about the allegations of stealing the tweet, she appeared unfazed saying there was nothing wrong about doing it as she simply felt that the tweet pertained to her life. However, when BuzzFeed India asked to furnish her degree, she evaded the request claiming she would be able to confirm her doctorate in a few months’ time. This was in February 2017.

A few months later, she was described as a software professional based out of Bengaluru by various Indian media organisations after she accused CPI leader M Ritabrata Banerjee of raping her by promising her marriage. Perhaps Namrata Datta is the first ‘doctor’ in the universe to moonlight as a software professional in Bengaluru as well as Molecular Biologist at Cambridge University.

Former CPI M member Ritabrata Banerjee accused Namrata Datta of extorting and intimidating him

Ms Datta rose to prominence in 2017 after filing an FIR against the former CPI M member Ritabrata Banerjee for allegedly raping her on the pretext of marriage. At that time, she was described as a Bengaluru-based software professional in an article by Hindustan Times.

Ritabrata Banerjee had then shared a complaint he had lodged with the police about Ms Datta, along with the Whatsapp chat, accusing her of extorting him. Banerjee alleged in his complaint that after he had helped Ms Datta with securing a loan from an SBI branch for her further studies, she continued making material demands of him until the ex-CPIM member expressed his inability to continue fulfilling her demands.

Banerjee had also added that he had made a payment of Rs 2.25 lakhs on July 20, 2017, after Ms Datta repeatedly pestered him for money claiming that she needed them for the treatment of lymphoma. He also mentioned that when he started distancing himself from her, she went to the extent of issuing threat calls and sending intimidating messages on Whatsapp.

In the screenshot of the Whatsapp chat attached by Banerjee, it can be seen that the sender of the message is threatening and trying to extort money from the former CPI M member.

However, Ritabrata was expelled from the party and West Bengal CBI summoned him after Namrata filed a complaint against him.

In addition to this, Datta had also lodged a complaint in 2017 against 4 individuals, accusing them of intimidation. She was then described by the Times of India report as a “software professional”. Datta had alleged in her complaint Archana Majumder, Durba Sen and two others had called her on different occasions and threatened her, at the behest of former Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy.

‘Bunch of Thugs’: Donald Trump slams George Floyd protesters for vandalising statue of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘who only wanted peace’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Bunch of Thugs’: Donald Trump slams George Floyd protesters for vandalising statue of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘who only wanted peace’

United States President Donald Trump hit out at the protesters who vandalised various statues during the violent protests that followed after the death of an African-American man George Floyd. Donald Trump was addressing an election rally at Minnesota ahead of the Presidential election that are due in November when he came down heavily on the violent protesters who vandalised several statues across the country.

Trump said that the protestors damaged many statutes including the statues of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. “You know, they started ripping down Abraham Lincoln. When they hit Lincoln, I said wait a minute. This is the man and you can do… then they hit George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. They had everybody”, said Trump.

Describing the violent protestors as thugs, Trump said that they had no idea about what they were doing as they even demolished the statue of Mahatma Gandhi who talked about nothing but peace. “They even had Gandhi. All Gandhi wanted was one thing, peace, right? We have peace. Rip down his statue. We don’t like him. I don’t think they have any idea what they are doing”, he said.

“I think they are just a bunch of thugs, okay. You want to know the truth? I think they are a bunch of thugs”, he added. Donald Trump said that no one will be able to demolish statues now as he has passed an executive order which can land such people in jail for ten years.

Accusing the rioters of ‘ripping down our history, Donald Trump stated, “That’s where these guys begin. The take away your history. You look at the Middle East. You look all over. Look what ISIS did. Look what all of them do. They go down and they go to museums and they break everything and they rip everything. They want to take away your past. They are not taking away the past of the United States of America. Not as long as I’m here.”

In the month of May, George Floyd was allegedly killed after a police officer pinned him to the ground and put his knee ion his neck. Violent protests broke out in the US following his death. Various videos had emerged protestors burning down historical buildings, demolishing statues and even looting stores.

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