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Bombay HC dismisses FIR against foreign Tablighis saying they did not violate visa rules, says Maharashtra govt used them as scapegoats

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Bombay HC dismisses FIR against foreign Tablighis saying they did not violate visa rules, says Maharashtra govt used them as scapegoats

On Friday, the Bombay High Court dismissed FIRs filed against foreign nationals booked under the various provisions for violating their tourist visa conditions by attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin in Delhi, considered to be one of the epicentres of coronavirus pandemic in the country, reports Live Law.

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court, hearing a petition filed by 29 foreign nationals noted that Maharashtra government had acted under political compulsion and police also did not dare to exercise powers given to them under provisions of procedural laws and substantive laws.

The foreign Tablighis were booked under sections of Indian Penal Code, Epidemic Diseases Act, Maharashtra Police Act, Disaster Management Act and Foreigner’s Act by the Maharashtra police after they were suspected to be spreading coronavirus.

A bench comprising of Justice TV Nalawade and Justice MG Sewlikar quashing the FIRs against foreign Tablighis blamed the government for making these foreigners a scapegoat by registering the FIR against them.

“A political government tries to find the scapegoat when there is pandemic or calamity and the circumstances show that there is probability that these foreigners were chosen to make them scapegoats,” observed the Bombay High Court.

Did not violate visa rules: Foreign Tablighis

The petitioners submitted the court that they had visited India on a valid visa issued by the Government of India and they have come to experience Indian culture, tradition, hospitality and Indian food. They said that upon their arrival at the airport, they were screened and tested for coronavirus and only when they were found negative for the virus, they were allowed to leave the airport.

The petitioners argued that they were not involved in illegal activity including the breach of the order of the District Collector. They contended that even at Markaz, they had observed norms of physical distancing. The foreign Tablighis also claimed that under the conditions of the visa, there was no prohibition to visit religious places like Masjids.

Maharashtra police contends that Tablighis spread coronavirus

However, the Ahmednagar police had contended that the petitioners were found visiting places for preaching Islam religion, resulting in a complaint against them. He also contended that five foreign nationals from three different cases were found infected by the virus.

The DSP also submitted that the District Magistrate had issued prior prohibitory orders, but in spite of prohibitory orders, the Tablighi Jamaat were involved in Tabligh activity. The police officials said that despite repeated calls for testing, these foreigners who had attended the Markaz did not come forward voluntarily for testing and instead created a threat of spreading coronavirus.

The petitioners were booked for offences punishable under sections 188, 269, 270, 290 of Indian Penal Code, sections 37 (1)(3) r/w. 135 of Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 and section 11 of Maharashtra Covid-19 Measures and Rules, 2020, sections 2, 3 and 4 of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, section 14 (b) of Foreigners Act, 1946 and section 51(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Apart from the foreign nationals, Maharashtra police had also booked six Indian nationals and trustees of the Masjids for giving shelter to the petitioners. The police had booked after receiving secret information about them residing at the respective masjids in different areas and offering prayers in violation of lockdown orders.

No violation of visa by foreign Tablighis: Bombay High Court

Hearing the arguments, the Bombay High Court bench said that there was no violation of visa by foreign Tablighis as there are no restrictions on foreigners for visiting religious places and attending normal religious activities like attending religious discourses.

“Ordinarily, a tourist is not expected to follow the procedure laid down in para No. 19.8 if he does not want to preach the religious ideologies etc,” the court observed.

Justice Nalawade observed, “Tabligh Jamaat is not a separate sect of Muslim, but it is only movement for reformation of religion…it cannot be inferred that the foreigners were spreading Islam religion by converting persons of other religion to Islam. The record shows that the foreigners were not talking Indian languages like Hindi or Urdu and they were talking languages like Arabian, French etc. In view of the aforesaid discussion, it can be said that the foreigners may have the intention to know the ideas of Tabligh Jamaat about the reformation.”

The court noted that the allegations against Tablighi Jamaat very vague in nature and from these allegations it cannot be said at any stage that they were spreading Islam religion and there was the intention of conversion.

Media propaganda against foreigners, says Bombay HC

Criticising the media’s portrayal of foreign nationals who attended Tablighi Jamaat, Justice Nalawade said there was big propaganda in print media and electronic media against the foreigners who had come to Markaz Delhi. The court also said that there was an attempt to create a picture that these foreigners were responsible for spreading coronavirus in India. There was virtually persecution against these foreigners, the court observed.

“It is now high time for the concerned to repent about this action taken against the foreigners and to take some positive steps to repair the damage done by such action,” the Bombay High Court said.

Referring to saying ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, Justice Nalawade said that one needs to show more tolerance and need to be more sensitive towards our guests particularly like the present petitioners.

The allegations, according to Justice Nalawade, showed that instead of helping the foreign Tablighis the state government lodged them in jails by making allegations that they are responsible for violation of travel documents, they are responsible for spreading of virus etc.

Bombay HC links CAA protests to Tablighi Jamaat episode

Referring to the anti-CAA protests, the bench said that due to the actions taken against Muslims fear was created in their minds. This action against Tablighis indirectly gave warning to Indian Muslims that action in any form and for anything can be taken against Muslims.

The court noted, “It was indicated that even for keeping contact with Muslims of other countries, action will be taken against them. Thus, there is smell of malice to the action taken against these foreigners and Muslim for their alleged activities. The circumstances like malice is important consideration when relief is claimed of quashing of FIR and the case itself.”

The Court concluding that the state government acted under political compulsion and action against the foreign nationals was malice, quashed all petitions and FIRs registered against them.

Interestingly, the same bench in February 2020 had quashed Sec 144 orders after observing that ant-CAA protesters cannot be called “anti-nationals or traitors”.

Earlier, we had reported regarding how courts over the last few weeks granted a spree of bails and plea bargaining in connection with the Tablighi Jamaat congregation that took place at Markaz Nizamuddin during mid-March amidst the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Pakistan: Activist Tanveer Ahmed tortured by security agencies after he removed Pakistani flags in PoK

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Activist Tanveer Ahmed tortured by security agencies after he removed Pakistani flags in PoK

The Pakistani security agencies have arrested and tortured activist Tanveer Ahmed after he removed the Pakistani flag from Maqbool Bhat Shaheed Chowk, Dadyal in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir..

Tanveer removes Pakistani flags in Dadyal

As per reports, he had demanded the removal of Pakistani flags from the area and had launched a hunger strike to pressurise the local administration. When the administration refused to comply, Tanveer chose to remove the Pakistani flags on his own. However, after he had removed one such flag, the POK activist was followed by security agencies. An undeterred Tanveer then dislodged another flag that was hoisted in the same area.

“I removed a Pakistani flag from the area & now I am being followed by secret agencies,” he was heard as saying in a video.

Tanveer Ahmed manhandled by security agencies

He was then manhandled and tortured by the Pakistani agencies. In a video that has now gone viral online, the security forces can be seen forcibly dragging Tanveer Ahmed on the ground. He was then coerced into a law enforcement vehicle while onlookers watched his ordeal.

Locals protests against the arrest of Tanveer Ahmed

Following his unconstitutional arrest, the people of Dadyal hit the streets in large numbers and demanded his immediate release.

Reportedly, the people in POK had been demanding the withdrawal of the Pakistani State and its forces from the area. They had demanded the officials to vacate the region.

Brewing controversy: Internal group of Muslim employees of Facebook complain over anti-Muslim content, media forgets to mention it is a Muslim group

OpIndia Staff
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Brewing controversy: Internal group of Muslim employees of Facebook complain over anti-Muslim content, media forgets to mention it is a Muslim group

Muslim employees of Facebook are reported to have raised the matter of the social media giant’s silence on alleged ‘anti-Muslim bigotry’ on its platform with its top leadership. Facebook has found itself in a controversy after one of its top executives, Ankhi Das, had allegedly refused to apply the platform’s hate-speech rules om BJP politicians due to the company’s business interests in India.

An open letter to the top leadership of Facebook by an internal group for Muslim employees said, “It is hard not to feel frustrated and saddened by the incidents reported … We know we’re not alone in this. Employees across the company are expressing similar sentiment.” It added, “The Muslim community at Facebook would like to hear from Facebook leadership on our asks.”

The group, called Muslim@, has staffers from India, USA and the Middle East. “Many of us also believe our organizational structure combining content policy and government affairs under the same umbrella is fundamentally flawed,” the letter stated. “There was also no acknowledgement that we might have made mistakes in allowing such content to remain on the platform,” it added.

The letter continued, “This is deeply saddening and can be viewed as indicating a lack of empathy for the Muslim experience at best and a tacit condoning of this behaviour at worst.” Facebook spokesperson cited the letter as an example of the “open culture” that is apparently valued at Facebook.

The statement said, “Leaders at Facebook appreciate the honest, candid feedback they receive. We stand against anti-Muslim hate and bigotry and welcome the opportunity to continue the conversation on these issues.” The letter also went on to add that there was not a single non-Muslim organisation that was designated as a “dangerous organisation” in India.

Media deliberately hides the fact that Muslim Facebook employees raised the matter

Conveniently, certain media outlets deliberately cloaked the fact that the matter was raised by Muslim employees of Facebook. Reuters, which claims to have seen the letter, and reported that it was by an internal Facebook group, refused to divulge that it was an internal group for the tech giant’s Muslim employees.

Source: Reuters

Hindustan Times, which reproduced the report by Reuters, too, did not mention the fact that the open letter was penned by an internalFacebook group for its Muslim employees.

Source: Hindustan Times

The most dubious attempt to hide the fact that it was a Muslim internal group came from NewsClick which cited the Wall Street Journal report on the matter but did not mention the fact. The WSJ did mention that it was a Muslim internal group in its report but NewsClick deliberately concealed the fact from its readers.

NewsClick report on the matter

The Facebook-BJP Controversy

WSJ on 14th August posted an article in which they alleged that higher officials in Facebook India are showing biased towards political and religious hate comments made by the users. The media house said that Facebook is not taking any action against the accounts that are linked to BJP. The article gave a way to the opposition party to attack Facebook and the BJP-led government at the centre.

Some users, including Nidhi, ex-journalist NDTV, left Facebook to mark protest. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said in a tweet that he would raise the issue in front of the Parliamentary Committee and said, “Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic “Safeguarding citizens’ rights & prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms”. The subject is squarely within the IT Cmt’s mandate & Facebook has been summoned in the past.”

Rahul Gandhi, too, jumped on the scene and targeted Ankhi Das. Following the attack, she received threats to her life and consequently, a police complaint was filed related to the matter.

‘Muslims entering Al-Aqsa mosque through gates of Israel are traitor, they will only get spit of people’: Grand Mufti of Palestine issues Fatwa

OpIndia Staff
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‘Muslims entering Al-Aqsa mosque through gates of Israel are traitor, they will only get spit of people’: Grand Mufti of Palestine issues Fatwa

The Palestinian Authority’s Grand Mufti has issued a fatwa banning Muslims from praying at Al-Aqsa mosque through the gate in Israel weeks after a peace agreement was agreed by Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to normalise their relations. The Mufti added that Muslims can visit the mosque from the gate in Palestine.

According to the reports, the Grand Mufti of Palestine has declared that any Muslims coming to Al Aqsa mosque from the side of Israel via the United Arab Emirates are traitors and “unwanted” as he issued the fatwa forbidding such visits.

The fatwa also banned Muslims from taking advantage of the normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to travel to Israel and pray at Jerusalem al-Aqsa Mosque. 

The historic agreement signed between Israel and UAE to normalise betwen the two countries allows Israel to attract Muslims to visit Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, referred to as Al-Aqsa mosque by Muslims, the religion’s third holiest site. 

However, the Palestinian Authority considers the deal is a betrayal for its cause and considers that any Muslim visiting the site is a traitor.

Muslims coming to Al-Aqsa mosque from Israeli gates are unwanted, will find nothing but shoes

Speaking to the media, Mahmoud al-Habbash, chairman of the PA Supreme Council for Sharia Justice, said, “Whoever wants to come visit the Aqsa Mosque through the gate of Palestine: Welcome, and we will rejoice over him. But whoever wants to come through the Israeli gate is unwanted, and he will find nothing but the shoes of the people of Jerusalem and the spit of the people of Jerusalem in his face.”

Habbash said that the normalization with Israel/Jews meant that it is agreeing to natural relations with the enemies of Prophet Muhammad.

“We absolutely won’t accept the [UAE’s] treason. One grain of sand from the soil of pure Palestine and from the soil of Al-Aqsa Mosque is more precious than our blood and our lives,” Supreme Sharia Judge Mahmoud al-Habbash added.

Meanwhile, Palestine Authority Grand Mufti and Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council chairman Muhammad Hussein issuing a fatwa said, “It is forbidden for a Muslim to arrive in a plane of the United Arab Emirates or not of the United Arab Emirates to the Lod Airport [in Israel], which today they call Ben-Gurion Airport, in order to come and pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque. This is false marketing in terms of religious law, legally false religiously offensive”.

UAE-Israel peace deal

Recently, the President of the USA Donald Trump made a surprise annoucement saying that Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of lands in West Bank, claimed by the Palestinians for their future state.

The peace agreement, known as Abraham Accords between Israel and United Arab Emirates will now formalise the relationship between in Arab-Israel.

According to the deal, the UAE will recognise the state of Israel and establish formal diplomatic relations, while Israel will halt its plan to annex West Bank.

Barkha Dutt’s Mojo posts a 2018 picture from Shopian as a current one from Kathua, removes after being called out

OpIndia Staff
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Barkha Dutt’s Mojo posts a 2018 picture from Shopian as a current one from Kathua, removes after being called out

Mojo, the media venture of ‘journalist’ Barkha Dutt, has used photographs clicked two years ago to claim that they represent the current situation in Kashmir. The photo, which actually shows a scene from Shopian, was claimed to be from the Kathua district. Ahmer Khan, the photographer, has called out Barkha Dutt and her media venture on Twitter.

Barkha Dutt, in her response, has accepted the mistake of Mojo Story. She said, “I am told these have been removed and the team has been asked to examine how they were shared without verification.” Ahmer Khan said that the photograph was shot on the 1st of April, 2018. Mojo Story appears to have claimed that the pictures were very recent.

In the caption to the photograph, Mojo Story wrote, “Heavy shelling by Pakistan in Kathua district damages households. “We are suffering everyday, the firing starts at 10am and continues till 5pm,” says local.” However, the damaged house in the photograph concerned was the consequence of an encounter between Islamic terrorists and the Indian Army in Shopian.

Barkha Dutt appears to be losing her touch of late. Recently, she was seen having a serious discussion with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor over the supposed communal nature of Prime Minister Modi’s beard. Also, certain ‘students’ from Jamia Milia Islamia University she had christened as ‘sheroes‘ had turned out to be rabid Islamists.

10 days after banning Dr Anand Ranganathan for quoting a Quranic verse, Twitter apologises, restores account

OpIndia Staff
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10 days after banning Dr Anand Ranganathan for quoting a Quranic verse, Twitter apologises, restores account

10 days ago, Microblogging site Twitter had blocked and scientist and columnist Anand Ranganathan on the platform for posting a Quranic verse. 

In his tweet, Dr Anand Ranganathan had quoted a verse from Quran which stated that those who abuse Allah and His Messenger (Prophet), Allah has cursed them in this world and the hereafter and prepared for them a humiliating punishment. The verse can be found here. 

On 11th August 2020, Muslim mobs took to street in Bengaluru and torched house of Congress MLA over a Facebook post by his nephew which was allegedly derogatory to Prophet Muhammad. Later the rioters took to police station and attacked cops and torched the vehicles. Following the riots, many ‘moderate Muslims’ claimed how this (violence) is not what Islam teaches. Reacting to this, Dr Ranganathan informed them what Islam teaches. He said that those ‘moderate Muslims’ who think this is not what Islam teaches, they should say that they don’t agree with what is mentioned in the Quran.

However, his Twitter account was blocked by the platform. Twitter claimed that citing a Quranic verse is against the rules of the platform and is ‘hateful conduct’.

Now, after 10 days, Twitter has tendered an apology to Dr Ranganathan and restored his account.

In an email to Dr Ranganathan, Twitter apologised for the error and regretted the inconvenience caused.

Hyderabad: 25-year-old woman files 42-page complaint saying she was raped over 5,000 times by 139 men and women in 10 years

OpIndia Staff
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Hyderabad: 25-year-old woman files 42-page complaint saying she was raped over 5,000 times by 139 men and women in 10 years

In a shocking allegation, a woman in Hyderabad has said that she has been raped over 5,000 times in the last 10 years by 139 people. After the 25-year-old woman registered the complaint at Panjagutta police station on Thursday, the police have filed an FIR. In some media reports, the number of accused have been reported as 143.

According to reports, the woman has said that she is from Somajiguda and she was married to a man from Miryalaguda in June 2009, and soon after the marriage, the assault on her had started. She has said that she had to face sexual harassment and physical assault by the family members of her husband.

Due to the harassment, she divorced her husband in December 2010, and got herself admitted at a college for further studies. But her ordeal didn’t end with that. She has alleged that she has been raped and gang-raped around 5000 times by more than a hundred men at different places, and she was also video recorded in objectional positions which were used as pornographic material. The woman has said that she was also abused for her caste, apart from many other assaults that she has narrated in her 42-page complaint.

She was forced to abort pregnancy several times, was drugged, forced to dance nude. She was also attacked with cigarettes on her body. The woman said that the men had tortured her and threatened to kill her using different methods like pouring acid on her and burning her with petrol. She has alleged the men run an online sex racket, and there are many other girls who are victims of their crimes.

The woman said that due to fear of her life, she filed the complaint so late.

In the complaint, the woman has named several people as the culprits. The names include leaders of a left-wing student union, doctors, jewellers, media and movie industry personnel, acquaintances of relatives. She said that some people came from different places like Bengaluru and even the USA. She has mentioned that there were some women also who had assaulted her.

After the complaint was received, the police have registered a case under IPC sections 376(2), 509, 354, 354(a), 354(b) and 354(c), and also the relevant sections under the Prevention of Atrocities (SC, ST) Act.

Police told the media that they are recording her statement and her medical tests are being done. They said that it is early to say anything about the case, saying that they are trying to collect more information to verify her allegations.

Afghanistan: 8 Taliban terrorists die in an explosion while making bombs inside a Mosque

OpIndia Staff
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Afghanistan: 8 Taliban terrorists die in an explosion while making bombs inside a Mosque

On Monday, a group of terrorists associated with the radical Islamist outfit Taliban had reportedly died, following an explosion at a mosque in Sikandar Khel Village in Chahabar Bolak district of Balkh in Northern Afghanistan.

According to a statement released by the 209th Shaheen Corps, the incident took place when 8 Taliban terrorists were busy manufacturing bomb inside the said mosque.

The explosion led to the extermination of four terrorists, namely, Zarif, Abdul Basir, Abu Bakar, and Habib and injured the other four. Reportedly, the explosion also destroyed a large number of explosives to make IEDs.

Radical Islamists killed 221 people in Afghanistan in 7 days

In a shocking revelation, it has been found that a staggering 221 people across the world have been killed by radical Islamists just in the first week of August, which is between August 1 and August 7, reported The Religion of Peace, a global Islamist crime watchdog. The website stated that radical Islamists have carried out a total of 38 terror attacks within just 7 days of August in 11 countries.

While the looming threat of radical Islamism is often negated, the Religion of Peace noted that radical Islamist terror outfits executed 135 such attacks in a month’s time. The said incidents of terror led to 646 injuries and 662 deaths in 21 countries.

Tongue inside the mouth, absence of froth, and a missing timestamp: Final autopsy report of Sushant Singh Rajput

OpIndia Staff
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Tongue inside the mouth, absence of froth, and a missing timestamp: Final autopsy report of Sushant Singh Rajput

The mystery surrounding the death of the 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput is getting deeper with each passing day. The final autopsy report of the deceased actor, conducted under the watch of the Mumbai police, has revealed crucial details which have now put the investigative authorities in the dock.

According to the final autopsy report, as accessed by Times Now, rigor mortis (stiffness in muscles) was observed on the upper and lower limbs of Sushant Singh Rajput. While no decomposition of the body was observed, the natural eyelids of the actor remained partially opened. The report further revealed that his tongue was inside his closed mouth and no frothing or oozing of blood was observed. The actor’s cornea was hazy, conjunctiva congested and his teeth remained intact.

Besides, the autopsy report rules out fractures around his neck and cranium. “Pressure abrasion (ligature mark) present around the neck at the level of thyroid-cartilage, passes obliquely upward, backward towards mastoid process on both sides,” the report noted. Besides, the report has mentioned the cause of death of Sushant Singh Rajput as ‘asphyxia due to hanging’.

Autopsy report of Sushant Singh Rajput lacks time stamp

As per a report by India Today, the final autopsy report lacked a timestamp, which is considered a critical piece of information. Dr. Sudhir Gupta, the head of the Forensics Department at AIIMS, has stated that the Mumbai police should have sought a second opinion from doctors since the column for the timestamp was left vacant. “It is a hard fact, what can be said about that … they should give it. It is mandatory,” he was quoted as saying. He further added, “If there is something missing (in the autopsy report) they have to take a second opinion from doctors.”

Medical team to scrutinise autopsy report

Dr Sudhir who had led the forensic investigation in the sensational cases of Jessica Lal, Sunanda Pushkar, Gopinath Munde, and Sheena Bora is a part of a team that will head to Mumbai on August 27 to analyse the medical and autopsy reports of Sushant Singh Rajput. Reportedly, he will be sent all files on Sunday and it would take him 3-4 days to scrutinise the reports.

Supreme Court directs Mumbai police to hand case to CBI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the unnatural death of Sushant Singh Rajput. The SC has asked the Mumbai Police to hand over all the evidence they have collected in connection the case so far to the CBI. Observing that the FIR registered at Patna on the complaint filed by Rajput’s father was correct, the SC said that the CBI will be competent to probe not only the Patna FIR but any other FIR related to Rajput death case.

Tamil Nadu: Officials stop funerals at Christian cemetery near Manimoortheeswaram Uchishta Ganapathy temple after allegations of land encroachment

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu: Officials stop funerals at Christian cemetery near Manimoortheeswaram Uchishta Ganapathy temple after allegations of land encroachment

In a significant victory to Hindus in Tamil Nadu, the Tirunelveli district authorities have imposed a ban on carrying out funeral at a recently built Christian cemetery near the ancient Manimoortheeswaram Uchishta Ganapathy temple at Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.

In November 2019, the activist group Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) had lodged a complaint against the land encroachment near the gopuram of ancient Manimoortheeswaram Uchishta Ganapathy temple of Tamilnadu’s Tirunelveli by a local church.

In its complaint to the District Commissioner of Tirunelveli district, LRO had urged the authorities to remove the Christian cemetery, that had come up very close to the gopuram of ancient Manimoortheeswaram Uchishta Ganapathy temple. The complainants had alleged that the church was attempting to usurp temple land in the future.

District authorities impose a ban on funeral at cemetery

Following the complaint by LRO, the Tirunelveli administration has imposed CrPC section 145 and also ordered to ban on carrying out any funeral in the encroached land.

On Friday, the Hindu activist group LRO took to Twitter to inform about the district authorities’ decision.

Responding to the complaint, the Tirunelveli district administration has said that the Christian cemetery is located in a private land and due to the objections raised by the devotees and people from the local area they have imposed a ban on carrying out any funeral at the cemetery land.

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