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‘Those who had kept farmers tied to restrictions for decades now lying about agricultural reforms’, PM Modi on opposition to farm reform bills

OpIndia Staff
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‘Those who had kept farmers tied to restrictions for decades now lying about agricultural reforms’, PM Modi on opposition to farm reform bills

After the opposition parties and an NDA ally Akali Dal raised objected to the farm sector reform bills passed by the Modi government, Prime minister Modi on Friday addressed the nation to clarify the matter.

In the ongoing parliament session, the Lok Sabha passed three agriculture-related bills. The bills on Agriculture market reforms and Contract farming provisions were passed on Thursday, while one bill amending the Essential Commodities Act was passed on Tuesday.

After the bill was passed, Akali Dal’s lone representative in the central govt, union agriculture minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from her post in protest. The Congress party, which itself had promised the reformed in its election manifesto, is also protesting against the bills.

Prime minister Narendra Modi today launched several development projects in Bihar through video conferencing. During his address, he also elaborated on the reforms to the farm sector brought by the union govt through the 3 bills. He said that yesterday was a historic day for the nation, when the farm reform bills were passed on the day of Vishwakarma Puja.

“These bills have released our annadata farmers from many restrictions. Famers will have more options to sale their produce”, the PM said. He said that it was very important to bring these bills to remove the middlemen between the farmers and consumers, who take away a major portion of the income of farmers. The Acts have come as a protection shield for the farmers.

Referring to opposition to the reforms, the prime minister said that political parties are lying to the farmers to mislead. ‘Before elections they make big promises to farmers, put it in their manifestos, but they forget it after the elections. And when the same reforms, which were there in the manifestos of those who had ruled the country for decades, are brought by the NDA government, they are creating illusion about it’, the PM said.

PM Modi said that the now these people are doing politics on AMPC reforms, opposing the changes in agricultural marketing, but these same changes were promised by the same parties in their election manifestos. When the NDA government has implemented these reforms, these people are indulging in spreading lies and misinformation, Modi said slamming the opposition.

He said that it is another example of opposing for the sake opposing, but they are forgetting that the farmers can see that they are not agreeing to the new opportunities being made available to the farmers.

The PM said that claims that govt will not pay MSP (minimum support price) to farmers, and that govt will stop buying grains like rice and wheat from farmers after the reforms, is a blatant lie. “Our government is committed to pay the right price through MSP the farmers, we were committed earlier, now, and will remain in future too”, he said. The PM also assured that government purchase will continue as past.

Illustrating how restrictive the AMPC regime was, the PM said that while people engaged in other professions, like those make garments, utensils, shoes etc can sale them anywhere in the world as per their choice, only the farmers had not given this right under the previous laws, and they were forced. But now they will be able to sale their produce anywhere in the country at their chosen price.

PM Modi said that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who was present in the virtual meeting, knew how restrictive APMC was for farmers, and he had removed the law from Bihar when he had become CM many years ago. What Bihar had done earlier is now being followed by entire India, he added.

The prime minister appealed the farmers to not trust such people who had ruled the country for decades and are now telling lies to the farmers. They want to keep farmers tied to several restrictions, they are taking the side of middlemen, and the farmers should be aware of them, he said.

After the bills were passed in Lok Sabha yesterday, the PM had tweeted about them stressing on their importance. He had said that the bills will release farmers from middlemen, and will give them newer opportunities to sale their produce. He had also tweeted that the agriculture sector will be benefited by technology, and this will empower the farmers. Refuting the lies spread by the Congress party, he had tweeted saying that the MSP and govt procurement of grains will continue as earlier. This bill gives farmers several other options which will empower them in true sense, he had added.

Netizens question Netflix over fake anti-Brahmin quotes visible in the trailer of ‘Serious Men’ featuring Nawzuddin Siddiqui

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens question Netflix over fake anti-Brahmin quotes visible in the trailer of ‘Serious Men’ featuring Nawzuddin Siddiqui

Following the paedophile movie ‘Cuties’ controversy, Netflix again finds itself in a spot of bother after inventing what appears to be a fake anti-Brahmin quote and attributing it to Infosys founder Narayan Murthy in a movie set to be released on the 2nd of October on its platform. The movie in question, ‘Serious Men’, features Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead and has been directed by popular filmmaker Sudhir Mishra.

A quote appears towards the beginning of the 2 minutes 39-second trailer, attributed to one ‘Narayan Murthy’, which says, “Reservations are bad. Let us treat Brahmins like animals for 5000 years and in the end, give them 15% reservation.”

Source: Trailer of the Netflix movie

Similarly, another quote appears right after this, attributed to one ‘Narayan Murthy’ as well, that says, “The fact about Sanskrit being the ideal language for operating system is a myth propagated by right-wing Brahmins.”

Source: Netflix movie trailer

The trailer has attracted a lot of fury from people on social media who are accusing the platform of maliciously spreading anti-Brahmin propaganda. Till the full episode is out, we cannot confirm whether the intent was to attribute it to the founder of Infosys, Narayan Murthy, however, showing scant faith in Netflix, netizens questioned the anti-Brahmin propaganda allegedly being spread through the show.

It should be mentioned that if indeed the aim was to attribute the quote to the Infosys founder, then the quote is fake. However, we don’t know yet if the quote is being attributed to the founder of Infosys or some character with the same name.

The matter was first raised by a user who tweets under the username @golgoltimes. He accused Netflix of spreading propaganda against Hindus.

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra has his account locked on Twitter. He presumably protected his account after the allegations started doing the rounds on social media. We cannot independently confirm this.

Twitter account of Sudhir Mishra is currently protected

Only recently, Netflix was slammed by people on social media for releasing a movie on its platform, ‘Cuties’, that sexualised children. US Congresswoman accused the movie of being child pornography. While the movie was staunchly defended by the mainstream media, there was bipartisan condemnation of the movie by politicians and people across the board.

The Goan Inquisition by the Portuguese: A forgotten holocaust of Hindus and Jews

Nivan
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The Goan Inquisition by the Portuguese: A forgotten holocaust of Hindus and Jews

The Portuguese inquisition of Goa is an often forgotten and unspoken event by the ‘secular’ circles of Indian historians, despite various historical records exposing the gross exodus of not just Hindus, but also Jews that had escaped Medieval Europe to take refuge in India.

The Portuguese inquisition of Goa started when Vasco Da Gama returned to Portugal after he discovered the route to India via Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Upon his return to Portugal in 1510, Gama told the Portuguese royals about the undiscovered route to India, which gave the Portuguese an opportunity to colonise the Western coast of India and particularly Goa.

Pope Nicholas V soon issued a diktat which gave the kingdom of Portugal a monopoly on forcing Christianity upon the locals of the newly discovered areas (and mainly India), along with the monopoly to trade on behalf of the Roman Catholic Empire in Asia. Soon after, the Portuguese sent its troops to capture a portion of Goa and set up a colony in the coastal city.

Aghast by the local traditions followed by Hindus, the Portuguese were angered by the locals following a religion other than Christianity and ordered all temples within the colony to be shut; this marked the beginning of the bloody Goan inquisition that comprised of gross human right violations and mass executions of the local Hindu, Jew and Muslim populations.

In 1541, idol worship was forbidden in the Portuguese colony of Goa and over 350 temples were destroyed by the Portuguese soldiers. It had been officially declared that being a believer of any religion other than Roman Catholicism was forbidden for residents of Goa.

The infamous Francis Xaviers and Martin Alfonso were sent to Goa by King John III of Portugal in 1542 to initiate the process of converting Goan residents to Roman Catholicism. On their arrival in Goa, they were enraged by the New Christians of Goa secretly practising their previous religions (either Judaism, Hinduism or Islam), while also upholding their Hindu values and traditions. A disturbed Francis Xavier wrote to King John III of Portugal on 16th May 1546 to impose inquisition on Goa in an attempt to ‘discipline’ the residents and make them follow Catholicism.

The inquisition banned apostasy of Roman Catholics to Hinduism, Judaism or Islam, and banned the sale of books in the Konkani, Marathi, Sanskrit and Arabic languages. The use of Konkani was forbidden in the colony of Goa. 

The Inquisition particularly affected the New Christians of Europe from the Jewish community, who had fled to India during the Spanish Inquisition in an attempt to escape the imposition of Christianity and live amongst the Jewish community in India. They had come in search of a life of dignity where they could practise Judaism openly and not in hiding while pretending to be Christian. India was the only country in the world where Jews were given absolute freedom to practise their faith, especially under Hindu kingdoms.

Upon the imposition of the inquisition in Goa, life became comparable to hell for the local Hindu population, who were often on the receiving end of persecution and were targeted in particular by the sadistic Christian missionaries. The Christian missionaries called the Hindus ‘uncultured’ and ‘savages’, who worshipped black idols ‘resembling demons’; the Christians took it upon themselves to force Hindus into leaving their religion and succumbing to Christianity. An inquisition office was thereby set up which aimed to discriminate against Hindus on all matters possible.

Hindus were forbidden from holding any public office, inheriting their father’s property and testify as witnesses in courts. If a Hindu child was deemed to be an orphan by the colonialists, the child was ‘seized’ by the Society of Jesus (founded by the not-so-saintly Francis Xavier) and made to change his religion. Clear discrimination was seen in social life, where Hindus were forced to sign public documents only after Christians and couldn’t be clerks in village offices. In 1567, a law banning Christians from employing Hindus in the colony was introduced. (Ref: Teotonio R. De Souza, The Portuguese in Goa, pg 28-29). 

The inquisition office even questioned natives who were suspected of following their previous religions in private. Over a span of 214 years (1560-1774), 16,172 natives were questioned and often tortured for following a religion other than Roman Catholicism. To be questioned by the inquisition office, a mere rumour of practising idol worship in private or chanting a Hebrew prayer would suffice for the missionaries to drag the native to the office. 

Those convicted of following another religion were subjected to heinous punishments, including public flogging, being ‘put on the rack’, burnt on stakes and having one’s nails and eyes crushed by bloodthirsty missionaries. In some cases, entire villages were burnt with the women and children taken as slaves. Large wheels were used for torture, with those convicted of following Hinduism or Judaism being tied to the wheel and then spun, with almost every bone of the innocent Hindu or Jew being crushed.

Hindu children were sometimes taken away from their parents and burnt in front of them, with the parent being tied and forced to witness his child being burnt alive until he accepts to convert to Christianity. Over 4,000 non-Christians were inflicted with such punishments during the course of the inquisition. In inspiration of the Muslim invaders, the missionaries imposed the Xenddi tax on the Hindu population, similar to the Jaziya tax. (Ref: Sarasvati’s Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians, Alan Machado Prabhu, I.J.A. Publications, 1999, pg. 121)

Amidst the Portuguese inquisition, a small group of Saraswat Brahmins managed to hide from the invading Portuguese colonialists and smuggled the famous Mangeshi shiv linga of Lord Shiva out of its original site in the Kushasthali Cortalim village and built the renown Mangeshi temple in Goa’s Priol village which belonged to the Hindu Kingdom of Sonde.

The Portuguese ravaged homes destroyed the local culture and imposed a foreign religion on the local population. Hindus were deliberately targeted by the European invaders in an attempt to convert them to Christianity. Despite the barbarism used by the Europeans, Hinduism survived the attempts to erase it from Indian culture and continued to flourish after Goa was liberated by the Indian government in 1961.

The Goan Inquisition is a disturbing reminder to Goan Hindus about their history and signifies the struggles undertaken by our ancestors to preserve our cultural identity.

No more APMC monopoly, more choice, freedom for farmers to seek better prices for crops: All you need to know about the new bills by the Modi govt

Shashank Bharadwaj
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No more APMC monopoly, more choice, freedom for farmers to seek better prices for crops: All you need to know about the new bills by the Modi govt

One of the biggest factors plaguing the growth of agriculture sector in the country is the inability of the farmer to find a market and to get a fair price to his produce. To address the issue, the erstwhile governments of different states enacted the Agricultural Produce Market Regulation Acts (APMC Acts), which authorised them to set up and regulate marketing practices in wholesale markets. 

The objective of these markets was to ensure that farmers get a fair price for their produce. However, with each passing year, the APMCs turned out to be inefficient with increasing cartelisation of middlemen, ban on private players to enter the trade, increasing corruption etc.

Realising the inadequacies in the existing APMC acts of various states to offer a proper marketing mechanism for the farmers to sell their produce, the Narendra Modi government in 2014 had announced a unified National Agriculture Market (NAM). NAM is a pan-India electronic trading portal which seeks to connect existing APMCs and other market yards to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.

Continuing the reform agenda, the Modi government has now introduced three more bills to promote much easier trade for the farm produce and to provide a competitive market for the producers outside the existing APMC system.

Three bills introduced by the Modi government

The three bills introduced by the Modi government in the current session of Parliament are: The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

Earlier, these reforms were announced as part of the third tranche of the economic package announced under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

The new bills, when passed by the Parliament will give effect to the amendments proposed to the Essential Commodities Act and bring in two new central laws on trading and marketing of farm produce in the country.

The objective of the three proposed laws is to make way for creating the Modi government’s ambitious vision of ‘One India, One Agriculture Market’. The law intends to end the monopoly of Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in carrying out the trade of farm produce in the country. 

The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020:

The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 aims at creating additional trading opportunities outside the APMC market yards to help farmers get remunerative prices due to additional competition. Farmers can now sell their agricultural produce in a market of their choice at better prices.

  • The newly proposed law will allow intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ produce beyond the physical premises of APMC markets thus giving freedom for the farmers and traders to sell or purchase farm products anywhere.
  • The proposed law also provides buyers with the freedom to buy farmers’ produce outside the APMC markets without having any license or paying any fees to APMCs. 
  • The Bill prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess or levy on farmers, traders for the trade conducted on farmers’ produce conducted in an ‘outside trade area’.
  • Under the proposed law, electronic trading in transaction platform has been proposed for ensuring a seamless trade electronically. The proposed law also allows private individuals, FPOs and co-ops to set up electronic trading platforms in these areas.
  • There will also be a separate dispute resolution mechanism for the farmers.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020:

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 creates a framework for contract farming through an agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce. 

  • The proposed law provides for a farming agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce. The minimum period of an agreement will be one crop season or one production cycle of livestock. 
  • Under this legislation, farmers are empowered to directly engage with processors, wholesalers, aggregators, retailers exporters etc, thus eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realisation of the price for the farm produce.
  • The proposed law also states that the price of farming produce negotiated between the trader and the farmer should be mentioned in the agreement.
  • The buyer will be responsible for providing necessary means or inputs for good crop yield. Under the bill, it is the responsibility of the buyer to provide agricultural equipment to the farmer.
  • It provides for a three-level dispute settlement mechanism: the conciliation board, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Appellate Authority.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020:

The amendments to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 allows the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances.

  • Under the legislation, the central government may regulate or prohibit the production, supply, distribution, trade, and commerce of such essential commodities.
  • The proposed bill provides for the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items including cereals, pulses, potatoes, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, only under extraordinary circumstances.  
  • The legislation requires that imposition of any stock limit on agricultural produce must be based on price rise.
  • The bill amends the Essential Commodities Act to provide that stock limits for agricultural products can be imposed only when retail prices increase sharply and exempts value chain participants and exporters from any stock limit.  

Significance of the proposed laws:

  • The three historic legislation will unlock the overly regulated agricultural markets in the country.
  • The laws will provide more choices for the farmer and lessen the marketing costs for the farmers thus helping them to get better prices. It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers of regions with shortages, lower prices.
  • The laws will enable the farmer to make use of modern technology and better inputs to enhance their farm produce and its trade. It will reduce the cost of marketing and improve the income of farmers.
  • These new laws will encourage large companies, food processing firms, exporters, etc, to invest in the farm sector and source good-quality farm produce.
  • The announced amendment to the Essential Commodities Act is expected to help both farmers and consumers while bringing in price stability.
  • The proposed changes will also create a competitive market environment and prevents wastage of agri-produce that happens due to lack of storage facilities.

Many opposition parties, including the Congress, are opposing the bills. The Congress party, however, were once the proponents of the same reforms that are currently being introduced by the Modi government. Interestingly, in 2019, the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi had themselves announced these reforms in their election manifesto.

Narcotics Control Bureau starts investigation into party hosted by Karan Johar: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Narcotics Control Bureau starts investigation into party hosted by Karan Johar: Report

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is investigating a video from a party hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar that went viral on social media, DNA has reported. The media outlet said that it has been informed by sources from the NCB regarding the same. It will be investigated whether the video is real or if it has been doctored. If the video is found to be real, then the investigation is likely to proceed forward.

Earlier, we had reported that the NCB may launch an investigation into the matter and Karan Johar may be summoned regarding the same. The DNA now confirms that an investigation into the matter has been launched. The video had featured Ranbir Kapoor, Ayan Mukherjee, Vicky Kaushal, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Shahid Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and others.

After the video had gone viral on social media, people on social media had alleged that the actors in the video were under the influence of drugs. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, national spokesperson of Akali Dal, too, had made the allegations. However, the claims were rubbished by most of the actors including Vicky Kaushal and Karan Johar.

Not too long ago, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who is spearheading a movement against drug mafia in the Bollywood, had dropped a bombshell by revealing that there were rumours that several Bollywood actors consumed drugs and were ‘cocaine addicts’. It was also reported that NCB officials are set to summon at least 25 prominent Bollywood stars in the drug investigations. The celebrities also include some ‘B-grade’ actors who have been accused of consuming and procuring drugs.

After recent spate of ‘Love Jihad’ cases, Yogi Adityanath govt may bring ordinance to check forced religious conversion: Report

OpIndia Staff
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After recent spate of ‘Love Jihad’ cases, Yogi Adityanath govt may bring ordinance to check forced religious conversion: Report

Against the backdrop of a large number of religious conversions linked to ‘love jihad’ in the state, the UP government is likely to promulgate an ordinance against forced religious conversions.

“It is under the process and Acts and laws of other states are being studied and discussed before UP has its own law against religious conversions,” Times of India quoted a senior official privy to the development.

The action to curb religious conversions can be attributed to the recent cases of love jihads reported from across the state, particularly from Kanpur, where girls are being converted under the pretext of marriage. The issue was recently raised by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat during his two-day visit to state-capital Lucknow.

As of now, eight states have anti-conversion laws, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The law was first enacted by Odisha in 1967, followed by Madhya Pradesh in 1968. According to a law department official, Uttar Pradesh could be the ninth one in the list of states with an anti-conversion law.

The law against religious conversions serves to prevent people from converting others, either by ‘allurements’, ‘force’ or ‘fraudulent’ means. The UP’s law would be similar in nature to the laws enacted by other states, making religious conversions arduous and complex, the source revealed.

Earlier this week, the Kanpur Police had formed an eight-member Special Investigation Team(SIT) to investigate the rising number of forced conversions done on the pretext of marriage. As many as 11 cases of ‘love jihad’ had come to light from the same district in the past one month.

Cases of love jihad in Uttar Pradesh on the rise

While cases of love jihad have been reported across the state, Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur has been emerging as the epicentre of ‘organised love jihad’ cases. There have been several cases of forced conversions of women on the pretext of marriage reported from the city that it has fuelled suspicions about a new model of entrapping Hindu women gaining a foothold in the city.

Following the much-publicised Shalini Yadav case, another case of ‘love jihad’ had come to the fore. A Hindu family had lodged a complaint at the local police station in Govind Nagar, Kanpur, accusing a Muslim youth named Asif Shah alias Nafiz of brainwashing their daughter with the help of occult practices, physically abusing her, threatening and intimidating her to convert into Islam and marry her.

Similarly, one more ‘love jihad’ case was reported recently, where a 14-year-old Hindu girl was allegedly trapped by a Muslin youth pretending to be Hindu. The incident was reported in Kanpur’s Gopal Nagar. The victim’s family, with the help of Bajrang Dal State Secretary Ramji Tiwari, approached the police on Monday with a complaint and sought action against the accused- Fateh Khan alias Aryan Mehrotra.

After Coronavirus and the Bubonic plague alert, thousands infected by bacterial outbreak after factory leak in China: Details

OpIndia Staff
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After Coronavirus and the Bubonic plague alert, thousands infected by bacterial outbreak after factory leak in China: Details

According to reports, thousands of people have been found positive for a disease caused by bacteria in Gansu province in northwest China. The disease is said to be caused by a leak that happened at a pharmaceutical company last year.

The disease which is also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever is often caused by coming in contact with the livestock carrying the bacteria named brucella. No fatalities have occurred due to the disease as yet. The authorities have tested 21,847 people out of a total population of 2.9 million in Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province. Around 3,245 people have been infected with the disease as told by the Lanzhou Health Commission. The symptoms of the disease include headache, muscle pain, fever and fatigue. According to reports, some of the symptoms of the disease can turn chronic which may include arthritis or swelling in organs.

The human to human transmission of the disease is reportedly rare. The contamination mostly happens by consuming contaminated food and breathing in the bacteria.

How the Outbreak Happened

According to reports, there was a leak at the Zhongmu Lanzhou biological pharmaceutical factory between July and August last year. The factory used expired disinfectants and sanitizers while producing Brucella vaccines for animal use. Due to the use of expired disinfectants, the bacteria in the waste gas might not have been eliminated completely.

The contaminated waste gas formed aerosols containing the bacteria and leaked into the air. The outbreak was first reported at the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute in November. Students and faculty members were among the people infected at the Institute. The infection then spread to the northwestern parts of China.

The vaccine production license of the factory was revoked in January. The factory had issued a public apology in February this year and said that it had punished the eight people responsible for the incident. It assured to cooperate with the local authorities in the compensation programme for affected people.

In July this year, China had issued a warning regarding the spread of the deadly bubonic plague in Bayan Nur in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Journalist Rohini Singh claims woman protester was harassed by UP police, both the ‘victim’ and police deny the claim

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist Rohini Singh claims woman protester was harassed by UP police, both the ‘victim’ and police deny the claim

On Friday, ‘journalist’ Rohini Singh took to Twitter to claim sexual harassment of female demonstrators at the hands of police personnel during protests over unemployment in Uttar Pradesh.

While sharing a picture of a female protestor being manhandled, she wrote, “If you are a mother, then, this picture should fill you with anger. If you are a father, then, this picture should worry you. If you are a brother, then, this picture should boil your blood.”

She further continued, “When girls step out of their house in UP, they are faced with eve-teasing and rape. But, they are being subjected to the same treatment by the police.” Invoking political connotations, Rohini Singh asked, “Is this ‘Ram Rajya’?”

But the ‘victim’ in the photo herself has denied the claims of Rohini Singh. The woman has has said that she was not harassed by police, and it was a case of mistaken identity.

Screengrab of the tweet by Rohini Singh

Female protestor refutes claims of ‘deliberate’ harassment

In a video shared by popular social media user Ankur Singh, the female protestor said, “My name is Kanchi Singh. We were protesting near Gate no. 1 of Lucknow university. I was made to sit in the police van just like other protestors.” Citing mistaken identity, Singh clarified, “They mistook me for a boy due to my dress and made me sit in the van.” Refuting claims of sexual harassment at the hands of the police personnel as alleged by Rohini Singh, she emphasised, “They did not do anything to me. Nothing was deliberate. The theory of ‘harassment’ is just misunderstanding.”

UP Police denies allegations of sexual harassment

In a statement, the Police Commissionerate Lucknow clarified, “We want to clarify that it was important to disperse the protestors in light of the law and order situation. Since the crowd was huge, it was difficult to distinguish between the genders on the basis of their outfit. By mistake, the female protestor was taken away by the police personnel, after mistaking her for a man. Even the female protestor has acknowledged the misunderstanding caused over the attire. The Police Commissionerate Lucknow respects women and expresses regret over the incident.”

Rohini Singh targets Gujarat government with fake news

This is not the first that the journalist has tried to target BJP State governments with misleading news stories. Earlier in May, Rohini Singh authored an article for ‘The Wire’, titled- “Behind Ahmedabad’s Ventilator Controversy, a Backstory of Connections to Top BJP Leaders” which alleged that the Narendra Modi government is procuring 5000 ventilators from a Rajkot based firm which has already been accused of supplying substandard breathing machines to the Ahmedabad’s largest COVID-19 hospital.

However, the Press Information Bureau of India took cognisance of the lies and deceit peddled by Ms Singh in The Wire. The official Twitter handle of PIB issued a tweet denouncing the article published on the leftist rag as fake. PIB claimed that the ventilators which Ms Singh is talking about in her article were not procured but were received as a donation. It further added that the quality of the ventilators, which is continuously being ridiculed in the article published on The Wire was in accordance with the required medical standards.

Disha Salian had both pre-fall and post-fall injuries: Forensics expert Dr Dinesh Rao

OpIndia Staff
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Disha Salian had both pre-fall and post-fall injuries: Forensics expert Dr Dinesh Rao

The mystery surrounding the deaths of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and his former manager Disha Salian, is growing murkier with each passing day as more and more revealing and incongruous details of the alleged suicide cases are coming to the fore, in sharp contrast to the Mumbai Police’s assertions. Disha Salian had died after falling from 14th floor of a building on 8th June, just a week before Sushant’s death. Although police have claimed that she killed herself, now a forensic expert has claimed that Disha had two set of injuries—one before the fall and another one upon her fall—implying that Disha’s death might be a homicide.

Disha Salian’s pre-fall injuries could lead to a possible case of homicide

Speaking at a debate on Republic TV, forensic expert Prof Dr Dinesh Rao revealed information about Disha’s case saying, “An important nugget of information I would like to add here is related to the pattern of injuries detected on Disha’s body. There were definitely two sets of injuries that I noticed. One of them being pre-fall injuries, and another set of injuries were obviously due to the fall from height. This needs to be investigated and it definitely leads to a possible case of 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.

Dr. Dinesh Rao has been a Professor and Head of the Department of forensic medicine at The Oxford Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre, Bengaluru. He is a former Director and chief forensic pathologist in Kingston, Jamaica.

Disha fell to her death from the 14th floor of a Malad high-rise on the intervening night of June 8 and 9, with the Mumbai Police ruling it as suicide. Sushant was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14 under mysterious circumstances. Three agencies–CBI, ED and NCB are currently probing different angles related to the death case of the late actor.

Nitesh Rane wrote a letter to Amit Shah seeking protection for Disha Salian’s

A few days back, BJP leader Nitesh Rane had raised suspicion over the death of Disha Salian, citing that Rohan Rai’s arrival at the spot 20-25 minutes after the incident was indicative of suspicious behaviour. Rane had written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking security for Disha Salian’s fiance, Rohan Rai, claiming that his testimony might be vital in establishing the link between the deaths of Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Salian. Rane had alleged that Rai had fled Mumbai and was wary of coming back, fearing pressure from “influential people”.

Viral video: How the family of a Hindu woman thrashed a Muslim man harassing her, and why the police arrested them all

OpIndia Staff
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Viral video: How the family of a Hindu woman thrashed a Muslim man harassing her, and why the police arrested them all

In a video which has now gone viral on social media, a woman is seen waiting for someone on her scooty parked on the roadside. Soon a youth approaches her. Suddenly, that youth is accosted by a few other men, who along with the woman, start thrashing him up. The woman is also seen using her slippers to beat up the youth. The incident had reportedly taken place in Madikeri, Kodagu district, Karnataka, on Thursday, where a Hindu woman allegedly beat up a Muslim youth for sending vulgar messages to her on social media.

According to a local newspaper, Kannada Prabha, police has arrested the Muslim youth on charges of harassment, levelled on him by the Hindu woman. Moreover, based on a counter-complaint, the woman along with 4 of her relatives have also been arrested for assaulting the youth.

In what transpired, a Muslim youth named Mohammad Munassir had been harassing a Hindu woman in Madikeri, Karnataka, by sending vulgar text messages to her. Tired of the constant badgering, the woman thought of teaching the youth a lesson.

She sweet-talked him into meeting her near the RTO office on Thursday, to which he willingly agreed. When the youth went to meet her, the woman, who was waiting at the designated spot along with her relatives, bashed up the youth. In the video, the enraged woman is also seen thrashing the youth with her slippers.

The Madikeri police arrested Mohammad Munnasir after the victim registered a complaint. Meanwhile, a counter-complaint had also been filed by the accused alleging that the family members of the lady thrashed him. Based on his complaint, the Madikeri police also arrested the woman and four others in the case.

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