Home Blog Page 5024

Protests against Left minister in Kerala gold smuggling case ‘anti-Quran’, says Communist Party leader: Here is how he came to that strange conclusion

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Protests against Left minister in Kerala gold smuggling case ‘anti-Quran’, says Communist Party leader: Here is how he came to that strange conclusion

A day after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) questioned Kerala Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel for his role in the gold smuggling case, the CPI(M) on Friday gave a communal twist to the investigation and claimed that the Opposition’s protest against the minister was an “anti-Quran” agitation.

According to the reports, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, in his weekly column in party daily Deshabhimani, has referred to the protest against the Kerala Communist government and minister KT Jaleel as an “anti-Quran agitation”.

In the article, the CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan defended minister Jaleel, who is an accused in the ongoing National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigation into the gold smuggling case. The investigations had revealed that KT Jaleel had illegally imported the Quran from UAE with the help of main accused Swapna Suresh, bypassing protocol norms.

The investigating agencies have suspected the presence of gold in these consignments as key accused Swapna Suresh was also aware of these shipments.

“It is not a criminal act to distribute a few copies of the holy book as requested by the UAE consulate in the state capital. The minister is in charge of the Waqf Board also. The Muslim League is adding fuel to the fire ignited by the Sangh Parivar,” he said.

IUML, Congress joining hands with RSS to launch ‘anti-Quran’ agitation, says Kodiyeri Balakrishnan

Attacking the opposition parties for demanding the resignation of the Kerala Minister, Balakrishnan said that the protests are part of a huge political conspiracy against the government. He claimed that the opposition parties were disrespecting the Quran and accused Congress, Muslim League of joining hands with the RSS to launch, to what he referred to as ‘anti-Quran’ agitation.

“IUML is adding fire to the anti-Quran agitation of RSS. Congress will also be with IUML in that act. We are opposing the agitation against Quran on the ground that no religious text should become subject of ridicule,” he wrote.

Opposition attacks Communist party of playing ‘communal card’

Following the attempts by the Communist party to give a communal twist to the gold scam, the opposition parties have rejected Balakrishnan’s charges and accused the LDF of communalising the issue.

Responding to Balakrishnan’s ‘anti-Quran’ tirade, Congress state president Mullappally Ramachandran said that the government has lost its face and using the Quran for political ends is dangerous.

IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty said the CPI(M) and Jaleel should answer to the allegations related to the gold smuggling. BJP state chief K Surendran said CPI(M) is trying to project Jaleel as the symbol of a religion and said that the Communist party was communalising the issue.

Kerala Gold Smuggling case: Link of accused Swapna Suresh with Kerala’s Higher Education minister KT Jaleel had surfaced

Last month the call details of main accused Swapna Suresh had revealed that the accused was in regular touch with Kerala’s Higher Education minister KT Jaleel.

According to the Call Detail Record (CDR), KT Jaleel had made several calls to Swapna Suresh. The details revealed that the minister and Suresh exchanged several calls in the month of May and June. Jaleel’s two personal staff members were also reportedly in touch with Suresh.

Sandalwood drug case: Bengaluru crime branch summons to former Congress corporator for questioning

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Sandalwood drug case: Bengaluru crime branch summons to former Congress corporator for questioning

The Sandalwood drug case in Karnataka has now taken a political turn after the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) asked former Congress corporator RV Yuvraj to appear before them in connection with the drug case.

According to the reports, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru police, which has been investigating the massive drug scandal in the state, issued summons to the young Congress leader asking him to appear for further questioning on Saturday. RV Yuvraj is the son of former Congress MLA RV Devraj.

The CCB officials reportedly sent notices to RV Yuvraj via WhatsApp asking him to join the probe. The 29-year-old Yuvraj was a BBMP corporator from Sudhamnagar. Reportedly, the Congress leader Yuvraj used to visit a yoga institute run by actor Sanjjanaa Galrani. Both were seen together in a few events in the past.

Reacting to the notice, Congress leader Devraj said, “My son doesn’t even smoke cigarettes nor does he drink. So how will he use drugs? He goes to London and Paris as he is a good tennis player. The CCB has served notice. I don’t know why the CCB has called him.”

Addition to RV Yuvraj, the CCB has also issued summons to Kannada TV anchor Akul Balaji, actor Aryann Santosh. Akul Balaji is a well-known TV anchor and Aryann Santhosh is an upcoming actor in the Kannada film industry.

The CCB summons to Yuvraj comes a week after the NCB officials had issued a notice to Congress corporator’s son in connection with the Sandalwood drug case. The notice was served to Yashas K, the son of S Keshavamurthy, Congress corporator from Mahalakshmipuram. 

Former minister’s son under scanner in drug case

Aditya Alva, the son of former Karnataka minister Late Jeevaraj Alva, is also under the scanner of the Bengaluru Crime Branch for his alleged involvement in the drug scandal.

The Bengaluru Crime Branch officials had also carried out a raid on the farmhouse of Aditya Alva located near Hebbal lake. Aditya Alva is former Karnataka Minister Jeevaraj Alva’s son and actor Vivek Oberoi’s brother-in-law. The raids were carried out after police had suspected that Alva organised parties, where drugs were allegedly supplied.

However, Alva, who is one of the prime accused in the drug case, has gone missing ever since the CCB launched a crackdown against the drug mafia in the state capital.

Ravishankar, one of the prime accused in the Sandalwood drug case had informed the police that most of the drug parties were held at Aditya Alva’s farmhouse, which is located in Bengaluru. Ravishankar had also confessed to the use and consumption of drugs in these parties. According to Ravishankar, it is the same farmhouse where ecstasy pills were consumed.

Sandalwood drug case

Amidst the raging debate in the country over the issue of narcotic influence in the movie industry, a massive drug scandal was unearthed by the Bengaluru police recently.

In a major crackdown against drug peddlers in the state, the Bengaluru police ahs recently arrested some top actresses in the Kannada film industry over alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

The Crime Branch officials in Bengaluru have arrested Kannada actresses Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani in connection with a Sandalwood drug case. Many more actresses, musicians, are under the police scanner for their alleged links to the massive drug racket.

So far, the police have booked more than 15 people in connection with the Sandalwood drug mafia case. The police have already arrested nine accused including actor Ragini Dwivedi, her friend Ravishankar, realtor Rahul Shetty, actress Sanjjanaa Galrani and an event manager, Viren Khanna.

An eyewitness tells media that Disha Salian was gang-raped by 4 men in the party held on the eve of her death: Here are the details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
An eyewitness tells media that Disha Salian was gang-raped by 4 men in the party held on the eve of her death: Here are the details

A new sensational fact has come to light in the case of the mysterious death of Disha Salian, the former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. An eyewitness has told News Nation that Disha Salian was gang-raped by 4 men in the party which she attended on the eve of her death on June 8. The person, who the media house claims was present at the party which the celebrity manager had attended in Juhu, said that Disha’s screams were suppressed behind the blaring music which was being played in the party.

The eyewitness confirmed that there were a total of 6 people in the party, including Disha Salian’s fiance Rohan Rai. Notably, BJP leader Nitish Rane has been raising questions on Rohan’s disappearance since Disha’s death on June 8 and has demanded that the CBI investigates the role of Rohan Rai into celebrity manager Disha Salian’s death case as well.

Meanwhile, the eyewitness further revealed to News Nation that a filmstar’s son was also present at the party. Amongst the 4 people who allegedly sexually assaulted Disha, one was allegedly a close friend of hers and another was a minister’s security guard, claimed the eyewitness, furthering that he would recognise the minister’s security guard if he sees him.

News Nation has claimed that it has many evidences in the Disha Salian’s death case which it would be handing over to the CBI at 1pm today.

Interestingly, earlier, Disha Salian’s parents had said that the rape angle was completely false.

Speaking to India Today about the politician’s theories of rape and murder, Vasanti Salian said, “All this is false. Statements in this case are taken twice. Malvani police (where Disha Salian case is being investigated) has all documents on record. We have seen post mortem report. Mumbai police are doing their job properly and therefore we trust Mumbai police. We were quiet earlier but all these in media defaming our daughter we just can’t take it anymore. Therefore I request people to understand what is the truth.”

The past revelations which indicate that Disha Salian did not die by suicide

It is pertinent to note here that recently, a forensic expert had claimed that Disha had two sets of injuries—one before the fall and another one upon her fall—implying that Disha’s death might be a homicide. The expert also added that either Disha was assaulted or tortured, or that might have been the reason she had tried to escape the assault. They can be resistance injuries from the attack, he added.

Earlier, the post mortem report of Disha Salian had revealed that she didn’t have clothes on her body when she was found dead after falling from the 14th floor of a building. This revelation had raised questions over the claim of Mumbai police that Disha had committed suicide.

In fact, BJP leader Nitish Rane had also alleged last month that the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager had not committed suicide but she was raped and murdered. Speaking at a press conference, Rane alleged that Disha’s autopsy report reveals she had injury marks on her private parts.

He had accused Mumbai police of trying to scuttle the probe.

How Mumbai police impeded inquiry into the death case of the celebrity manager

Notably, Mumbai police from day one had been trying to push Disha Salian’s death as a case of suicide, but it has been alleged that she was murdered and her case has links with the similar mysterious death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Disha, who had worked as Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager for a brief period of time, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on June 8, six days before Sushant allegedly died of suicide. 

It was reported last month how Salian’s phone had remained active even after her death on June 8. Sources privy to the details claimed that Disha’s phone remained active for 9 days after her death. They also stated that Internet calls were made between June 9 and June 17 from Disha’s phone. However, though the Mumbai Police had reached the spot within minutes of Disha’s death, no phone was seized by the officials.

Moreover, Disha Salian’s dead body was allegedly found lying as far as 14-15 feet away from the compound wall, which is not possible in the case of suicide.

Earlier, the Mumbai Police had claimed that the files of the investigation into Sushant’s ex-manager Disha Salian’s alleged suicide case have been deleted “accidentally”.

HRCE Dept uses the ‘we are doing what Kings did’ argument, claims ‘secular’ state of Tamil Nadu entitled to control temples

OpIndia Staff
-
0
HRCE Dept uses the ‘we are doing what Kings did’ argument, claims ‘secular’ state of Tamil Nadu entitled to control temples

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has filed an affidavit at the Madras High Court saying that though the state of Tamil Nadu is secular, it is entitled to control temples. The departments said that under Article 25(2) of the Constitution, the state could regulate or restrict any economic, financial, political, or other secular activity linked to religious practice.

Affidavit in reply to the petition by Indic Collective Trust

In the first week of August 2020, Indic Collective Trust and its president T.R. Ramesh filed a petition in the Madras High Court against the HR&CE Minister and Commissioner stating misuse of temple vehicles and funds. The petition was attached to another case filed by Rangarajan Narasimhan, who has accused the state government of ordering 20 rich temples of the state to pay Rs.10 crore surplus funds. The Tamil Nadu government said that the funds were to be used for renovating 10,000 village temples. The court had put a stay on order.

Tamil Nadu govt and Temples: The state is doing what kings did

In the counter-affidavit filed in front of a Division Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice R. Hemalatha, the HR&CE Department said that majority of the famous temples in the state were constructed by kings. They also gave acres of land and other properties to those temples. The kings used to appoint officials to manage the temples. The government is doing the same via the HR&CE Department.

The department in its affidavit said that the HR&CE Act of 1959 was approved by the then-President on 19th November 1959, and it was preceded by a 1951 Act that was upheld by the Supreme Court of India in 1954. The petitioners are attempting to tarnish the image of the department to relive temples from the government’s control.

Government vehicles not fit for the road

Answering the charges of using temple vehicles for the department’s use, the affidavit said that the state government allotted vehicles long back to the department no longer fit for the road. The department uses the temple vehicles until the state government alot money to buy new vehicles. It emphasized that the vehicles and the drivers were only being used for official purposes. The petitioner had alleged in the petition that the vehicles were being used for personal use.

Alleged exaggeration of misuse of temple funds

The department said that temple funds that were collected under the pretext of darshan, Abhishegam, Archanai, Urchavam, etc. stay with the temple and not controlled by the department or the state government. It added that the department controls 38,449 religious institutes, including 57 mutts, 57 temples attached to mutts, 1,721 specific endowments, 3,479 temples with hereditary trustees, and 16,783 temples with temporary appointees.

The temples under the administration of temporary appointees are till the time trustees are appointed as per the regulations. The petition stated that there are 19,000 temples under the administration of the government-appointed ‘fit person’ since 2011. In the counter-affidavit, the department said that the petitioners had exaggerated the amount used for refreshments during review meetings chaired by the HR&CE Minister, Secretary, and Commissioner.

Television channel ‘Tirukovil’

In June 2020, the state government announced that it would launch a television channel to broadcast special festivals and pujas at famous temples of Tamil Nadu. In the petition, it was alleged that the temple funds are being used to start the channel. The department, in its reply, said that the channel is still in the proposal stage. The state government has not taken any final decision. It said that the proposed channel is only to propagate the Hindu religion.

The court has set 25th September for the next hearing in the case.

Temple takeover issue: Uttarakhand govt bans protests within 200 meters of Kedarnath, priests say they won’t budge

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Temple takeover issue: Uttarakhand govt bans protests within 200 meters of Kedarnath, priests say they won’t budge

Since June, the priests at Kedarnath Dham are protesting against the formation of Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board. On Thursday, the Uttarakhand government has banned protests within 200 meters of the temple. The administration alleged that the Yatris were “feeling uncomfortable” because of the protests.

Orders passed after complaints by Yatris

Rudraprayag district administration issued a statement on Thursday in which they said that orders had been passed that prohibit any sit-in demonstrations in the 200-meter radius of the shrine and the main access road from the Valley Bridge. The orders were passed under section 15 (5) (6) of the Devasthanam Management Act.

Ravinath Raman, chief executive officer of Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board, said that yatris complained about the protesting priests outside the shrine. The decision was taken based on their complaint. He added that if the priests do not comply, the administration may launch criminal proceedings against them.

He said, “We got a few complaints from yatris that priests are sitting outside the shrine bare chested and protesting, making the yatris feel uncomfortable. We had also learned that the priests tried to convince yatris to join their protest. Representatives from the Board have tried talking to the priests along with attempts from the district administration also, but they are not budging. Now, we have said that they are free to carry out their protests, but not in the temple premises.”

Kedarnath Tirtha Purohit Mahasabha called orders against their rights

President of Kedarnath Tirtha Purohit Mahasabha, Vinod Shukla, said that they have been protesting for months. The government is not listening to their demands. They said that the orders passed by the government is against their rights. “We have been holding a peaceful protest. Now, our protest will continue, and we will intensify it with support from people of the whole Kedarnath valley, and we will not move till the chief minister comes to talk to us,” he added. Shukla denied any attempts made by the Board to initiate a discussion with the priests.

Santosh Trivedi, a priest from Kedarnath, was protesting since 12th June outside the temple. He had warned the government that he would leave his religion if they do not listen to his demands. After his condition worsened on 7th September, the administration airlifted him to AIIMS, Rishikesh. The Priests had written a letter to the state government on 5th September to mark their displeasure on the formation of the board.

About the Char Dham Devasthanam board

Uttarakhand Char Dhaam Devasthanam Board was formed in January 2020 to manage temples in the state. In June 2020, the Uttrakhand High Court dismissed the PIL filed by Subramanian Swamy against the formation of the board as it allowed the government to take over control of Char Dham and 51 other shrines. The court said that the board will only handle the administration and management of the properties.

Hindu activists have opposed the move of the Uttarakhand government saying that this is an attempt by the government to take over temples while Hindus have been fighting to free temples from government control.

‘No right to question integrity of successors’: 26 former cops slam Julio Ribeiro for supporting people pushing ‘anti-India and communal narrative’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘No right to question integrity of successors’: 26 former cops slam Julio Ribeiro for supporting people pushing ‘anti-India and communal narrative’

After former Mumbai Police chief Julio Ribeiro wrote a letter to Delhi Police chief SN Shrivastava raising doubts about the fairness in the investigation into the Delhi Anti-Hindu riots case, nearly 26 former police officers have written a letter slamming the former cop for supporting people who push ‘anti-India and communal narrative’.

In their letter, the former IPS officers have questioned Ribeiro, who was casting aspersions on the Delhi Police investigation into the Anti-Hindu riots case. They also accused Ribeiro and his associates of backing anti-India elements like Umar Khalid, who is accused of raising “Bharat ki Barbadi Tak Jung Rahegi” slogans.

Former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro had written a letter to Delhi Police chief regarding their supposedly flawed investigation into the Anti-Hindu riots that was unleashed by Muslim mobs on the streets of Delhi in the month of February.

In his letter, Ribeiro had questioned the Police’s supposed lack of action against BJP leaders and had come to rescue of the riots accused Harsh Mander and Delhi University professor Apoorvanand.

Ribeiro has no right to question the integrity and professionalism of police officials

The letter, signed by several former DGPs, Addl DGPs, at least two former IB officials, three former-IGPs, said that Ribeiro or any other former officer has no right to suspect or question the integrity and professionalism of their successors in the Indian Police Service and demoralise the forces.

“The Delhi Police has every right and duty to investigate the role of any such person, and the custodial investigation is a part of due process of law. The accused has his rights under the law to seek anticipatory bail or a regular bail, as the case may be, and the right to a fair trial where he can prove himself innocent,” the former cops defending the Delhi Police investigation said.

The letter by former IPS officers also schooled Ribeiro regarding the due process of law and added that no one is above the law.

“Such posturing and adverse commentary by such officers may demotivate the police officers and dilute their firm resolve to act against the criminals, including those who incite communal divide in India by instigating riots,” they said.

Julio Ribeiro’s letter to Delhi Police

Former Mumbai Police chief Julio Ribeiro, who has a history of writing open letters in support of controversial political events, had recently written a letter to Delhi Police chief SN Shrivastava, questioning the fairness of the investigation in the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots case.

Without fully apprising himself about the actual status of the investigation of the Anti-Hindu Delhi Riots, former cop Julio Ribeiro wrote to Delhi Police expressing his concerns had called the Delhi Police investigation as a miscarriage of justice. In an interview, he had claimed that he had not seen this kind of one-sided action by Police before.

Defending the controversial far-left activists Harsh Mander and Apoorvanand, Ribeiro had said Shrivastava doubted the patriotism of Harsh Mander and Apoorvanand and had termed them as “true patriots”.

“Harsh and Apoorvanand are Gandhians. I should have remembered that Gandhians have lost favour with this regime!” Ribeiro had written in his letter.

Delhi Police chief SN Shrivastava responds to Julio Ribeiro

Following Ribeiro’s letter, SN Shrivastava, Commissioner of Police, Delhi, had responded to him with a detailed reply clarifying his doubts about the Anti-Hindu Delhi Riots investigation.

In his response, Shrivastava said that there is no discrimination based on caste or religion, and the whole investigation is backed by documentary and scientific evidence.

The Delhi Commissioner of Police had said it was his duty to put things in the right perspective. The Delhi Police has not revealed many details of the investigation other than those that are in the charge sheets and status reports submitted in the court.

While dismissing the allegation raised by Riberio, Shrivastava mentioned that when he talked to him on the phone, the ex-cop acknowledged that he does not have first-hand information about the cases. He further added that it was clear Ruberio did not contact any police officer from Delhi Police to understand the actual situation.

In an ironical turn of events, BMC calls Kangana Ranaut’s plea an ‘abuse of law’ after hounding her for dissenting views

OpIndia Staff
-
0
In an ironical turn of events, BMC calls Kangana Ranaut’s plea an ‘abuse of law’ after hounding her for dissenting views

Responding to actor Kangana Ranaut’s plea before the Bombay High Court where she had demanded Rs 2 crores as damages, the BMC has said that her plea is an ‘abuse of law’ and that the High Court should dismiss it. In an affidavit, BMC has also demanded that costs be imposed on Kangana Ranaut for making this plea before the High Court.

“The writ petition and the reliefs sought for therein constitute an abuse of process. The Petition should not be entertained and should be dismissed with costs,” the petition by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

In its reply, Wled through advocate Joel Carlos, the BMC alleged that Ranaut falsely stated that the alterations were as per permission previously granted by it.

It was on the 9th of September that the BMC had demolished a part of Kangana Ranaut’s Pali Hill bungalow claiming that she had made several structural changes to the house without taking due permission. The move was widely seen as a political vendetta against Kangana Ranaut since she has been speaking up against Bollywood and especially, against the Shiv Sena and the Mumbai Police for their shoddy handling of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

It is thus an ironical twist of events that after taking steps that were in violation of the High Court order, BMC is now claiming that Kangana Ranaut’s plea is an “abuse of law”.

Thereafter, Kangana Ranaut had approached the Bombay High Court asking for a stay of demolition and had been granted the same by the Court. On the 15th of September, Ranaut amended her plea, seeking a compensation of Rs 2 crore from the BMC.

Kangana Ranaut plea demanding Rs 2 crore as damages from BMC and the politics of vendetta by Maharashtra govt

In her amended plea, Ranaut alleged that the BMC’s decision to demolish her property was a direct consequence of her comments against the Maharashtra government.

The actor had approached the court after BMC at the behest of the Uddhav Tackeray-led government in Maharashtra, on September 9, demolished her property in Bandra worth crores, within just 24 hours of a ‘stop work’ notice and at a time when such demolition activities have been prohibited by a High Court order.- Advertisement –

A division bench led by Justice S J Kathawalla had stayed the demolition, saying that the civic body’s actions seemed “malafide” (having dubious intentions).

However, until then, the BMC had already demolished at least 40 per cent of the property on the ground that some illegal alterations were carried out at the property without permission.

BMC’s action violated Bombay HC’s order

The demolition drive which was carried out by the BMC was in violation of the order of the Bombay High Court that directed the government, Municipal corporations and other authorities against carrying out any demolition, eviction and holding auctions of attached properties across the State of Maharashtra till September 30.

The BMC did not take prior permission from the court as required by the March 19 order. It is to be seen whether contempt charges will be slapped against the BMC for not complying with the order of the High Court.

The court is slated to hear the matter on September 22.

West Bengal and Kerala come under scanner as NIA arrests 9 Al-Qaeda terrorists, were planning multiple attacks

OpIndia Staff
-
0
West Bengal and Kerala come under scanner as NIA arrests 9 Al-Qaeda terrorists, were planning multiple attacks

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has busted a major terror module in the country after it nabbed 9 Islamic terrorists linked to Pakistan-sponsored Al Qaeda from West Bengal and Kerala on Friday.

According to the reports, the National Investigation Agency arrested nine terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda from Murshidabad in West Bengal and from Ernakulam in Kerala. The officials also seized some digital devices and documents.

The arrested terrorists have been identified as Murshid Hasan, Iyakub Biswas, Mosaraf Hossein, Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal, Atitur Rehman.

Al Qaeda was founded in the 1980s by Osama Bin Laden and is an Islamic terrorist organisation that has been responsible for carrying out several terrorist attacks all around the world.

While CNNNews18 has said that 11 terrorists have been nabbed, ANI has reported that 9 terrorists have been nabbed as the Al Qaeda module was busted.

During the preliminary investigation, it was found that the individuals were radicalised by Pakistan-based Al Qaeda terrorists on social media to carry out attacks at multiple places in India, including the National Capital Region.

The inter-state module, which was operational for some time, was planning to carry out terror attacks at vital installations in India.

Reportedly, the NIA officials have recovered incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, and literature on homemade explosives.

The terror module was also raising funds to carry out attacks and a few of them planned to travel to New Delhi to try and procure arms and ammunitions.

“A large quantity of incriminating materials, including digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices have been seized from their possession,” the NIA statement has said.

Delhi Police arrests journalist Rajeev Sharma for possessing classified defence documents, had written for Chinese mouthpiece GlobalTimes

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi Police arrests journalist Rajeev Sharma for possessing classified defence documents, had written for Chinese mouthpiece GlobalTimes

The Delhi Police have arrested a freelance journalist identified as Rajeev Sharma under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), who was found in possession of classified defence-related documents.

According to the reports, the special cell of the Delhi Police arrested Rajeev Sharma in connection with a case under the Official Secrets Act.

Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), confirming the arrest said that Rajeev was found to be in possession of some defence-related classified documents. He added that an investigation is in progress and further details will be revealed soon.

According to the police, 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.

Rajeev Sharma wrote for Chinese publications, The Quint, Dailyo

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.

According to journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, Rajeev Sharma had written several columns for Chinese newspaper Global Times, the mouthpiece of Communist Party of China for the last several years.

Recently, Sharma had written a piece for Chinese newspaper Global Times, titled ‘A rapprochement road map for Beijing and New Delhi benefits both countries’, in which he had opined that, “The steady deterioration of bilateral relations since the night of May 5, when the latest standoff began, has practically evaporated all the diplomatic gains of the past years in one stroke. He had been writing for the Chinese mouthpiece newspaper for a long time.

The current crisis is the biggest threat to normal ties between the two sides since 1962. It’s a lose-lose situation for both. Their common objective must be to build a better and peaceful future for their peoples and not a military buildup against one another.”

In addition to Chinese publications, Sharma had also written columns with left-wing publications such as The Quint, DailyO etc. Sharma also runs a YouTube channel called ‘Rajeev Kishkindha’, which has around 11,900 subscribers. 

Reportedly, Sharma was one of the few people who were allegedly alerted by Canada-based agency that their phones were compromised through their WhatsApp using Israeli cyber intelligence tool ‘Pegasus’. Sharma was reportedly alerted that his phone was under surveillance for about two weeks in May last year.

Following the arrest, Sharma’s Twitter account, which has over 5,300 followers, has been restricted.

Bloomberg Quint calls an economist an ‘infectious disease expert’ to peddle the theory that a high recovery rate is a ‘useless statistic’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Bloomberg Quint calls an economist an ‘infectious disease expert’ to peddle the theory that a high recovery rate is a ‘useless statistic’

At the time when the entire country stands united in its fight against the Chinese epidemic COVID-19, the ultra-left wing website – The Quint, notoriously known for spreading false information time and again, attempted to create panic in the society by again indulging in peddling fake news. The portal published views of a so-called epidemic expert, whose earlier prediction on Coronavirus spread was proved to be very wrong.

In an article dated September 17, the leftist propaganda portal firstly, fear-mongers by trying to portray how the coronavirus scourge in India is spreading like in no other country around the world and how India will “soon eclipse the outbreak in the U.S.” Secondly, it attempts to belittle the central government led by Narendra Modi by peddling the theory that a low mortality rate or a high recovery rate is a ‘useless statistic’. And to prove this it quotes some ‘infectious disease experts’. Incidentally, one of the “experts” is Ramanan Laxminarayanan.

Congress used similar narrative to belittle the central government

First and foremost, the claims The Quint uses to spread fear amongst the citizens simply does not hold water, because rather than the total numbers, what matters is the proportion of the population which is infected. India has the second-largest population in the world, and hence, the number of Coronavirus cases per million population is actually what counts and if that is taken into account, India’s position still remains better than many other countries across the globe.

Amusingly, Congress had used a similar narrative a few months ago to belittle the Modi government but was left red-faced.

“Expert” Ramanan Laxminarayanan is not even a doctor, just a PhD in economics

Secondly, the ‘infectious disease expert’ The Quint has quoted to discredit the initiatives of the government and are trying to create panic in the society is no “expert”. Rather, he is not even a doctor but has a PhD in economics. Ramanan Laxminarayanan actually claims to be an economist and has worked for a little-known not-for-profit organisation named Public Health Foundation of India for the last four years.

In fact, the UPA-era public health entrepreneur is the same “expert” who had come up with outlandish claims that India would be facing close to 300 million COVID-19 infections and 2.5 million deaths due to coronavirus outbreak by July. He had made these predictions in interviews given to India Today and Barkha Dutt’s YouTube channel. But the actual numbers in Jule were much less than what he had predicted.

The Quint transforms an engineer to a doctor to peddles fake news regarding India’s efforts in tackling coronavirus

The Quint stooping to this level to berate the Modi government is not at all surprising. The leftist website had earlier, notoriously, transformed an engineer named Girdhar Gyani into a doctor to peddle fake news saying India is already in the middle of stage-3 community transmission of Coronavirus.

The leftist media portal did not stop at this. It even went on to shockingly lie that Gyani was part of the meeting of prominent doctors and healthcare providers chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 24 March. According to the Quint, Gyani was in the capacity of convenor of the task force on COVID-19 private hospitals created in response to an initiative by NITI Aayog.

However, the claim made by the Quint was proved to be out-an-out fake news. According to the official document released by the Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which had formed the high-level committee of doctors and health experts, in association with NITI Aayog, there was no reference to ‘Doctor’ Gyani being part of the expert group.

1...5,0235,0245,025...7,645Page 5,024 of 7,645