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Mahesh Bhatt denies links with modelling firm accused in a sexual abuse case, issues statement after appearing before NCW

Rubbishing the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him, film director-producer Mahesh Bhatt on Tuesday said that he appeared in front of the National Commission for Women (NCW) in connection with a sexual assault case filed against the promoter of IMG Ventures, a modelling firm.

Besides Bhatt, the notices were also issued to Urvashi Rautela, Rannvijay Sangha, Esha Gupta, Mouni Roy and Prince Narula in the case for recording the witness statements on a complaint against the promoter of IMG Ventures for allegedly blackmailing and sexually assaulting a number of girls on the pretext of giving them modelling careers.

The filmmaker issued a statement on Tuesday through his production house Vishesh Films and the same was also shared by the official Twitter account of the National Commission for Women.

In his statement, Bhatt said that he had appeared before the Hon’ble Commission today in the context of the complaint filed by Ms Yogita Bhayana, founder of People against Rapes in India. The complaint was filed against Mr Sunny Verma, promoter of the company IMG Ventures. Bhatt added that he was summoned by the Commission after his name and images were used by IMG ventures for the promotion of their event Mr and Miss Glamour 2020, scheduled to be held in November 2020.

Bhatt alleges IMG Ventures used his images and name without his consent

“I was approached to attend this event as a Chief Guest, I had responded that in the current COVID 19 circumstances, I would not attend any event. I could give it thought closer to November, depending on the circumstances at the relevant time. I have neither entered into any agreement nor received any monetary consideration for the event. Unfortunately, my name and images were picked up from social media and misused concerning the event without my consent and authority. When I confronted them on this, they have apologized profusely and withdrawn all my images in association with the event,” the statement issued by Mahesh Bhatt read.

Read- ‘Shut up or else, you will also be put to sleep forever’, mother of deceased actress Jiah Khan accuses director Mahesh Bhatt of intimidating her

Issuing a clarification, Bhatt said that he no association with IMG Ventures, Sunny Verma, Mr and Miss Glamour 2020 and that his name and credibility should not be misused for “promotion of the event to lure participation of others.”

The 71-year-old director lauded the NCW for championing the cause of “vulnerability and exploitation of women” and extended his “full cooperation” to the commission. “As a father of three girls, I have the highest regard for the cause taken up by Ms Yogita and the National Commission for Women and express my full cooperation for the crusade.”

Is Parth Pawar, Sharad Pawar’s grandson, at odds with the Maha Vikas Aghadi government?

Soon after the apex court of the country ordered a CBI probe into the alleged suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his residence in Mumbai on June 14, NCP leader Parth Pawar put out a cryptic tweet: “Satyameva Jayate”(Truth alone triumphs), triggering speculations that the post was meant for the Supreme Court verdict.

While Pawar did not specifically add anything to his tweet other than the old Sanskrit adage, the timing of the tweet was a reasonable indicator that it was intended to celebrate the court decision in the Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case.

Parth Pawar is the son of one of the tallest NCP leaders and the current deputy chief minister of Maharashtra-Ajit Pawar. Parth’s opinions have often been at variance with the party and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s stance. Parth had been amongst the first proponents of demanding a CBI inquiry into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Sharad Pawar raps Parth Pawar publicly for demanding CBI inquiry

Parth had made this demand against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government‘s stand which had contested in the Supreme Court against the transfer of the case to the CBI. Shiv Sena, one of the members of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance had been particularly apprehensive about the transfer of the case to the country’s premier investigative agency.

Parth’s demand for a CBI inquiry had evidently rattled the NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, who uncharacteristic to his nature, slammed his nephew’s son openly for his demand in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. In a public admonition to Parth, the NCP supremo reprimanded him and described him as “immature” and said that he did not give much importance to his “utterances”.

Not just Sharad Pawar, but other NCP leaders had also criticised Parth’s demand for CBI inquiry into the late actor’s death case. Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, too, had criticised Parth’s demand of a CBI inquiry, saying his remarks were made in personal capacity.

Parth had welcomed the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya

Earlier, Parth, who lost the Lok Sabha elections from Maval to the Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne, had a made a statement welcoming the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. 

“Finally, Shri Ram, who embodies the faith and cultural identity of India, will be home in peace. The fight was bitter and long,” Parth had said in a letter, adding “the arguments and claims attached to the Babri structure, which was present at the site before being demolished by kar sevaks in December 1992, had been “defeated thoroughly.”

Parth’s statements, which have been manifestly at variance with the party and the Maharashtra government on more occasions than one fuels speculations that there may exist not just inter-party rift within the alliance partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition but intra-party fissures as well. Sharad Pawar’s brutal and overt rebuke of Parth bears testimony to this assertion. 

According to the sources quoted by News 18, there’s already growing friction between the two NCP stalwarts-Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar and Parth being the son of deputy chief minister, he is being regarded as the chip of the old bloc. 

Parth’s opposing views might be a part of a wider power-tussle

Contrary to Parth, who is educated in London and speaks stilted Marathi, another Pawar scion, Rohit Pawar, son of Sharad Pawar’s another nephew Rajendra, is more grounded and had won a hard-fought Vidhan Sabha election to enter the state legislature by defeating then minister Ram Shinde from the Karjat-Jamkhed constituency. It is alleged that Rohit enjoys the favourable support of the NCP supremo as compared to Parth. 

It is notable here that Ajit Pawar had earlier entered into an understanding with former BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis after the assembly elections last year and the duo had suddenly taken oath as CM and Deputy CM while the power tussle over possible alliances was very much in progress, after Shiv Sena had snubbed the BJP over CM post.

After a couple of days, Ajit Pawar, who had initially claimed the support of a faction of NCP MLAs, had come back to the party fold, eventually becoming a part of the MVA government with Congress and Shiv Sena.

Congress troll Saket Gokhale spreads fake news claiming Ankhi Das has links with RSS using her twin sister’s image

Ever since The Wall Street Journal published a report on August 14 alleging that a senior executive of the social media giant Facebook was allegedly favouring the BJP, the Congress party and its ecosystem have been continuously targetting the Ankhi Das, the public policy director of Facebook.

The Congress party and its ecosystem, citing the WSJ report, had alleged that Ankhi Das had opposed action against BJP and Hindutva figures accused of hate speech. However, neither WSJ nor the Congress and its ecosystem had provided substantial proofs to back their claim.

As the allegations made against Ankhi Das by the Congress party and few media networks began to fall apart, the Congress party trolls began to attack Das personally and made wild allegations claiming that she had links with RSS-affiliated groups.

Congress troll Saket Gokhale spreads fake news

One such allegation was made by Saket Gokhale, a known sympathiser of the Congress party and a troll, who alleged that Ankhi Das had links with RSS-affiliated groups.

On Saturday, Gokhale had claimed that Ankhi Das had “attends sessions” of the World Organization of Students & Youth (WOSY), a youth group, which is led by her sister, Rashmi Das. The Congress troll also said that WOSY’s office was located in the same building as an RSS outfit in Delhi.

Image Source: Saket Gokhale

In a hurry to target Ankhi Das, Gokhale went on to post an image of the WOSY event to claim that Ankhi Das was attending the event. However, the image of a person, who he had attached in his post did not belong to Ankhi Das, instead, it was her twin sister Dr Rashmi Das.

It was Rashmi Das, who was present at the event and not Ankhi Das. It is pertinent to note that Rashmi Das was also an office-bearer of the ABVP in Jawaharlal Nehru University.

ABVP, WOSY responds to fake claims

As Saket Gokhale resorted to usual antics of spreading fake news on social media platforms, both the ABVP and WOSY schooled Saket Gokhale over the allegations. The WOSY has even threatened legal action against him.

In a statement issued on its Twitter handle, WOSY said that the claim that Ankhi Das attended its sessions was “completely false even to this day”. It noted that Rashmi Das has been with WOSY for over two decades. WOSY also added that Dr Rashmi Das’s association with it was purely voluntary in nature and aimed to spread the concept of ‘Vasudeva Kuttambakam’ among international students living in India.

WOSY also demanded Gokhale take down his post on the issue and publicly apologise, failing which it would be “constrained to pursue legal action against his vilification, spreading fake news and fomenting hatred and unrest”. 

ABVP’s JNU unit also put out a statement on Sunday, slamming Gokhale for his false allegations against Rashmi Das and said that the act was a “recent show of cheap attention-seeking behaviour” and “false news” by the Congress. It described Saket Gokhale as a “string-puppet journalist” of the Congress.

The ABVP described Saket Gokhale as a “known follower and fan of Rahul Gandhi” and said that he lived by spreading fake news and false propaganda “under the patronage of the Congress”.

Never hid my ABVP ties:

Meanwhile, Dr Rashmi Das, the twin sister of Ankhi Das, reacted to the controversy, saying that she is being attacked because of her political leanings.

Speaking to Times of India, Rashmi Das, who is two minutes older than Ankhi, said she never hid her association with the ABVP.

“I was with ABVP at JNU, where I did my PhD in international relations. I was general secretary of the students’ union. My work with ABVP and Sangh organisations has been public knowledge for 25 years,” she said.

Interestingly, both the sisters have studied at JNU. Dr Rashmi Das said that it is strange that she was being subjected to humiliation. Ankhi and I are identical twins and I can neither hide my identity nor my past or ongoing work, she added.

Responding to false allegations made by Saket Gokhale, Rashmi Das said, “That I am her sister is being shown as some kind of revelation. My image has been passed off as hers to say Ankhi attended a WOSY event. That’s fake”.

‘No FIR filed in Sushant Singh Rajput case, no investigation on complaints yet’: Read Supreme Court’s comments on Mumbai police

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.

The apex court justified the actions taken by the Bihar police in the case as the Mumbai police had not only failed to register an FIR in the case but had also failed to conduct investigations relatable to the allegations in the complaint.

“The records of the case produced before this Court, does not prima facie suggest any wrong doing by the Mumbai Police. However, their obstruction to the Bihar police team at Mumbai could have been avoided since it gave rise to suspicion on the bonafide of their inquiry”, the SC said, observing that Mumbai Police were conducting only a limited inquiry into the cause of unnatural death, under Section 174 CrPC.

Excerpt from the SC judgement

It observed that complainant and Bihar Government had claimed that the Mumbai police, even during the limited inquiry under Section 174 CrPC, were attempting to shield the real culprits under political pressure, a claim which it said was “stoutly refuted by the State of Maharashtra”.

Excerpt from the SC judgement

Cites Aranab Goswami Vs Sonia Gandhi row

Citing Arnab Goswami vs Sonia Gandhi row, the SC said that the one factor which justified CBI intervention in the case is the “public confidence in the impartial working of the state agencies”. It observed that in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, the alleged political interference against both states has the potential of discrediting the investigation, therefore in order to lend credibility to the investigation, it is desirable to hand over the case to CBI, said the apex court.

SC judgement
Excerpt from the SC judgement

It observed that “in Mumbai, no FIR has been registered yet nor has the Mumbai Police considered the matter under Section175 (2) CrPC, suspecting commission of a cognizable offence nor proceeded for registration of FIR under Section154 or referred the matter under Section157 CrPC, to the nearest magistrate having jurisdiction”.

It said that the Mumbai Police have attempted to stretch the purview of Section 174 without drawing up any FIR and therefore, as it appears, no investigation pursuant to the commission of a cognizable offence is being carried out by the Mumbai police.

They (Mumbai police) are yet to register an FIR. Nor they have made a suitable determination, in terms of Section 175(2) CrPC. Therefore, it is pre-emptive and premature to hold that a parallel investigation is being carried out by the Mumbai Police, read the SC judgement.

The court ensured that there was no confusion about CBI being the sole authority to probe the mystery behind Rajput’s death and that no other state police could interfere with it.

Earlier, the Bihar government had referred the Patna FIR in the actor’s death case to the CBI, leading the Centre to ask the investigating agency to take up the case. However, Maharashtra government had opposed the Centre’s decision to hand over the case to CBI and said the Patna FIR should be transferred to Mumbai police in whose jurisdiction the incident happened. Mumbai police are yet to register an FIR and have continued their inquiry in the Sushant Singh Rajput’s case under an accidental death report.

MX Player releases trailer of Bobby Deol starrer ‘Aashram’, social media claims negative portrayal of Hinduism

MX Player released the trailer of Prakash Jha’s web series ‘Aashram’ in which Bobby Deol is making his web-debut on 17th August. The trailer revolves around the life of a godman (played by Bobby Deol) who has gained popularity quickly. He promises “moksha” to everyone and asks his followers to get rid of any worldly things that may be binding them to the world like money, property etc. It can be seen in the trailer that his followers join his Ashram after donating all their belongings to him.

In the trailer, it can be seen that the Godman has a hidden bunker in his Ashram, where he keeps young women in jail type structures. The police had found several bodies of young women in the area, and the story seems to progress to show the Godman as a conman. The scenes seem to portray that the Ashram has something to do with the sudden and mysterious disappearances of young women in the area.

The trailer for Bobby Deol starrer ‘Ashram’

Netizens call it a negative portrayal of Hindu faith

Several social media users complained that against the trailer portrays a rather negative picture and is targeted against the Hindu faith. The hashtag #BanAashramWebSeries started to trend on twitter.

Some Twitter users objected to the depiction of the godman performing yagna rituals and other details that assert Hindu faith, and stated that the series is a deliberate attempt to malign and defame Hindu dharma.

Some social media users said that while the government bans movies against Prophet, movies like PK and series like ‘Aashram’ make it to the screens. He further questioned why no one cares about Hindu sentiments?

One user stated that while there are several well-known cases of crimes associated with institutions of other faiths, filmmakers only target Hindus because showing crimes committed by so-called religious people of other faiths will be against ‘secularism’.

Another said that the disclaimer by MX Player for the web series ‘Aashram’ is ridiculous. He said it has no meaning if the OTT platform is allowing content that defames the culture and Dharma.

User @/ Ishwari_Rajya said that the entertainment industry only focuses on defaming the Hindu religion and Sadhus. She added that Bollywood Hinduphobia wouldn’t stop.

The recently launched trailer of Sadak-2 was also criticised by many for its negative portrayal of Hindu imagery and belief system. The rage against the trailer got mixed with the anger against the Bhatts for their anti-Hindu statements in the past, and it resulted in Sadak-2 trailer becoming the second-most disliked video on Youtube with more than 18 million dislikes. Netflix has been under fire multiple times for depicting Hindu religion in a bad light with series and movies like Ghoul, Sacred Games, Leila and more.

Salman Khan assassination plot? Sharpshooter nabbed from Faridabad, had conducted recce in Mumbai to plan murder

Faridabad Police has nabbed a sharpshooter of Lawrence Bishnoi gang who had reportedly carried out recce of Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s Bandra house in Mumbai in January this year. 27-year-old Rahul alias Sanga alias Baba belonging to Bhiwani district but currently living in Hisar was arrested on 15th August 2020. He was wanted in murder of one Pravin, a local resident and a gun was recovered from him.

As per reports, a senior police officer has claimed that Rahul had gone to Mumbai in January this year to carry out a recce of his Bandra home to plot his murder. He had also observed Khan’s movements for three days. Reportedly, Rahul was upset over Khan’s acquittal in blackbuck poaching case where Salman Khan was an accused. The plan to murder Salman Khan reportedly could not be executed because of coronavirus outbreak.

In June 2018, the Haryana Police had arrested sharpshooter Sampat Nehra from Hyderabad who had also gone to observe Salman Khan’s movements. Nehra was also working on the directions of the gangster Bishnoi.

As per reports, Rahul has committed four murders in past six months alone. He is now in remand and will be produced in court to demand custody.

Meanwhile, Salman Khan has been living in Panvel at his farmhouse with his family and friends since the coronavirus outbreak. He will be next seen in reality show Bigg Boss season 14.

“Bihar ke mukhyamantri pe comment karne ki aukaat Rhea Chakraborty ki nahi hai”: Watch Bihar DGP respond to comments made by Rhea Chakraborty

After the Supreme Court of India ordered a CBI probe into the mysterious death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey hailed the court decision as a victory of the truth, adding that the verdict has shown Rhea Chakraborty her true place.

Speaking against the comments made by Rhea Chakraborty for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey said, “Rhea Chakraborty has no standing to pass a comment on the Bihar chief minister”.

He further added, “Whatever Bihar Police had been doing, that had been through legal and constitutional means and the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had fully backed the police force. If there is a sliver of hope emerged in getting justice for Sushant Singh Rajput, it is because of CM Nitish Kumar,” Pandey said.

Earlier, Rhea had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, where she had alleged that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar was responsible for the FIR filed against her in Patna by Sushant Singh Rajput’s father KK Singh.

“Bihar CM is responsible for FIR in Patna,” Rhea Chakraborty was quoted as saying. It also added that she had alleged that SSR’s death occurred ahead of Bihar polls and that’s the reason the CM is taking a keen interest in pursuing the case.

SC orders CBI probe into the alleged suicide case of Sushant Singh Rajput

Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered CBI probe in Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

Supreme Court further directed the CBI to also look into any other cases registered in future in relation to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The SC said that the FIR registered in Patna by Sushant’s father was correct. 

The Supreme Court has asked Maharashtra police to assist the CBI. The Kai Po Chhe actor was found dead in his apartment on 14th June 2020. While initially it was reported to be suicide, later reports suggested there might be a foul play. The family has demanded the death be investigated to get justice for Rajput.

Rhea’s changing position on CBI probe

Ever since the death of Sushant Singh Rajput became a matter of national debate, Rhea has been changing her position on it. Initially, she had requested Home Minister Amit Shah ‘with folded hands’ for a CBI probe in the case. But when the case was actually handed over to the CBI by Bihar police, she opposed it. She had filed a petition in the Supreme Court opposing Bihar police recommending the transfer of the case to CBI, the judgement of which came today rejecting her plea. But again last week, she had commented that she had no objection if the Supreme Court transfers the case to CBI.

Begusarai: Hindu minor girl who was abducted on gunpoint rescued from Patna after 25 days, main accused Nazmul absconding

The Hindu minor girl from Beguasarai, who was abducted on gunpoint on July 26, has now been rescued. The Begusarai police recovered the minor from Patna on Wednesday morning.

The father received a call from the Bachhwara police station in Beguasarai at around 7:30 in the morning and was informed that the girl has been found in Patna.

The gang of abductors have been arrested and sent to jail, accept the main accused Nazmul, who is absconding, the girl’s father Dinesh informed OpIndia.

Dinesh Kumar Pandit, who had filed an FIR, said that a gang of 7 people including a female had abducted his daughter on the evening of July 26. He had named the main accused to be one Izmul Khan alias Nazmul alias Aryan and his accomplice, Mohammad Narool Ansari, Mohammad Munaffar Anjum Ansari alias Chand and Farat and others.

Meanwhile, Dinesh confirmed that he has not seen his daughter yet. She has been taken to the Begusarai court and her parents are currently on their way to meet their daughter.

The kidnapping of the Begusarai minor Hindu girl

On July 26, a Hindu minor girl was allegedly abducted on gunpoint from Bhikan Chak village, falling under Bachhwara police station limits, in Begusarai, Bihar, while she was returning from the market with her father. Dinesh, the minor girl’s father had alleged that seven people, including main accused Nazmul and a female, approached them in a Bolero car while they were crossing the Panchayat Bhavan in Behrampur in Mansurchak Block in Begusarai district and took away his daughter on gunpoint.

While the victim’s family had alleged that their daughter was kidnapped the Begusarai police had insisted that it was a “love affair” and that the “story of kidnapping was false”.

We had reported then how despite the girl being a minor, the SHO had confirmed that the POCSO Act had not been invoked and that the accused were booked under IPC sections 366, 323, 341, 379, 384 and 504, for kidnapping and causing hurt, among other offences.

Non-Gandhi should lead the Congress party: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

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Even as the Congress party struggles to find a permanent president for the party, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has asserted that a non-Gandhi should be the Congress party chief. The assertion came in agreement with the former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who at the time of his resignation had sought that a leader not belonging to the Gandhi dynasty should lead the party.

“He has said that none of us should be the president of the party and I fully agree with him on this,” Priyanka said, adding, “I think that the party should find its own path also.” About the Congress party losing the narrative battle against the BJP, Gandhi said that Congress was slow to adopt the ‘new media’ and by the time it got used to it, the damage had already been done.

Priyanka also stated that she is ready to take orders from a non-Gandhi “boss” on whether she should be entrusted with the responsibility of organisational charge for the UP and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The comments made by Priyanka were a part of an interview published in a book on next-generation leaders of India.

Priyanka’s statements come amidst the growing speculations that one of the two siblings-Rahul or Priyanka will take the reins of the Congress party.

Watch: Senate member says democracy is ‘sexually transmitted’ in Pakistan

Not just in India, dynastic politics has crept even into the political system of Pakistan. Highlighting the menace of dynastic politics in the country, a senior senate member of Pakistan recently made scathing remarks against country’s political system by calling it as a ‘sexually transmitted democracy’ and also as a ‘genetically inherited democracy’.

Speaking in the Senate, senior Senate member of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Muhammad Ali Saif lashed out at the prevailing dynastic politics in the country to say that it was shameful to say such a system as ‘democracy’.

In the video which has gone viral now on the internet, MQM leader Saif can be heard calling Pakistan’s self-proclaimed democracy as ‘sexually transmitted democracy’ and also as a ‘genetically inherited democracy’.

“Jamhuriyat (democracy) in Pakistan is all about someone’s daughter, someone’s son. It is shameful that in the name of democracy, such blatant and shameful nepotism is being peddled here,” the senate member said.

“I feel ashamed when I speak about Democracy and hear pro-democracy slogans here (Senate)…This is the state of our democracy. Genetically inherited democracy. Sexually transmitted democracy. If this is our democracy, then I would like to say shame on it, not once but thrice,” said Muhammad Ali Saif.

It is not certain when exactly MQM leader Muhammad Ali Saif had made such a comment. However, as Saif and other members were be seen wearing a mask inside , it is being speculated as a recent video. Saif’s statements received a positive response on social media platforms as netizens and social media users hailed the MQM leader for speaking on the issue of dynastic politics.