On Monday, a 71-year-old- pro-democracy activist and media leader Jimmy Lai was reportedly arrested by the Hong Kong police under the draconian security law brought by China over accusations of foreign collusion. His detention is the first high-profile arrest made as per the new security law.
Reportedly, Lai facing charges for orchestrating anti-China protests in Hong Kong. Lai is the founder of the news portal, Apple daily. According to Mark Simon, an aide of Lai, the Hong Kong police executed a search warrant at the office. Police officials in plainclothes barged into the premises carrying plastic evidence tubs and walked through piles of paper. Later, a handcuffed Lai was brought into the office. His son has also been arrested.
The Hong Kong police claimed that a total of seven people, aged between 59 and 72, were arrested on suspicion of committing fraud and colluding with foreign powers to subvert national security of the country. Hong Kong police inform that those arrested aged between 59 to 72. “The police operation is still ongoing and does not rule out more arrests,” the force said.
Declining Press Freedom in Hong Kong
Although Hong Kong has enjoyed a high level of ‘press freedom’ as compared to China, Lai’s arrest marks the beginning of a change. Reportedly, several foreign journalists have complained that their visas were not being renewed. The immigration department in Hong Kong has set up a national security unit to decline ‘sensitive visas’, including that of journalists.
According to activist Eddie Chu-hoi Dick, the Chinese Communist Party wants to gag pro-democracy voices in the country such as Apple Daily. “Lai’s arrest is the first step of [a] HK media blackout, he was quoted as saying. China academic Jeffrey Wasserstrom informed that the draconian move was linked with the recent sanctions by the US. ‘They are also part of an ongoing trend, blow after blow against people and institutions in Hong Kong linked to its vibrant civil society,” he stated.
Charges of ‘foreign collusion’ against Jimmy Lai
Reportedly, Lai may face a prison sentence of 10 years or for life, if found guilty of collusion with foreign forces. In Hong Kong, foreign collusion refers to conspiring on the behest of a foreign entity to disrupt the government, undermine elections, or impose sanctions. Reportedly, the use of ‘unlawful means’ to provoke residents against the government of Hong Kong or China is a punishable offence.
According to China’s mouthpiece Global Times, Lai is unlikely to get bail and may face ‘heavy penalties’ along with 25 others who have been charged for participating in a Tiananmen Square massacre vigil on June 4 this year. The new laws brought in by China allows it t extradite offenders from Hong Kong and hold their trials in mainland China.
Breakdown of election machinery
Last week, the elections in Hong Kong were postponed for a year allegedly in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, several pro-democracy leaders were disqualified. Countries such as Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada have urged Hong Kong to hold elections at the earliest. Britain’s foreign minister Dominic Raab had also expressed deep concerns about the delay in elections and the disqualification of pro-democratic candidates. “We call on the Hong Kong government to reinstate the eligibility of disqualified candidates. We urge the Hong Kong government to hold the elections as soon as possible,” he said in a statement.
China introduces new National Security Law in Hong Kong
The Communist Party of China had introduced a new national security law for Hong Kong, which introduces new crimes with severe penalties – up to life in prison – and allows Chinese security forces to legally operate in Hong Kong. The legislation gives extensive powers to China, which is intended to quell the ongoing protests in the Hong Kong demanding liberation from the occupation of Chinese. The legislation enables China to bring Hong Kong protestors to the mainland, prosecute and sentence them there. It also significantly restricts the city’s autonomy. Last week, the USA senate had passed a bill that seeks to sanction Chinese individuals and banks that help in restricting Hong Kong’s autonomy.
With the new law coming to effect, China has reportedly arrested dozens of peaceful protestors under the new sweeping national security laws imposed on the autonomous region of Hong Kong. India had also raised the issue at the UN last month.
It was only a few days ago when Delhi Police had written a scathing response to an editorial published by the Times of India that questioned the Delhi Police over its handling of the Delhi Riots. On August 6, the Times of India had published an editorial titled, “Capital aberration: Delhi police, shamed by rioters in February”, in which it went on to castigate Delhi Police for its investigation into both anti-CAA protests and the subsequent Anti-Hindu riots that rocked the national capital in February this year.
While on the 7th of August, the Delhi Police tweeted its scathing response to the article in Times of India, the publication has interestingly not updated their story to include the response of the Delhi Police. However, on the 10th of August, they published parts of the response as a nondescript “letter to the editor”.
The published version of the Delhi Police’s response was headline, simply, “Letter on Delhi Riots”.
The rebuttal of Delhi Police to Times of India and its malicious article on Delhi Riots
In his response to Times of India, PRO Delhi Police, Dr Eish Singhal wrote that “It is difficult to comprehend how the lawful examination of a person is absurd and self-defeating”. The TOI article on the Delhi Riots had raised questions about the police interrogating Prof Apoorvanand in the Delhi riots case and accused the police of ‘spinning a deceptive narrative’.
Response by DCP to Times of India
Responding to Times of India, that the editorial had written that the Delhi Police was ‘shamed by the rioters’. However, nothing could be father from the truth. It was the society as a while that was ashamed and that the Delhi Police is doing what it should – ensuring the culprits face the music.
“By deliberately inter-mixing several disparate discourses, the editorial has attempted to create a false narrative that if the police investigates the role of conspirators and masterminds of the violence, the actual rioters will be spared”.
Interestingly, the response that is published by Times of India in this ‘letter to the editor’ seems to be portions of the original response by the Delhi Police that they had uploaded on Twitter.
— #DilKiPolice Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) August 7, 2020
Why was Prof Apoorvanand questioned by the police
The media often raises questions and covers stories that are responded to by the party they are writing about. In this case, the Times of India wrote an article that castigated the Delhi Police for their investigation into the riots and made assertions that were clearly unfounded. Essentially, the Times of India did not take well to the fact that the police were questioning Professor Apoorvanand.
Prof Apoorvanand is a Hindi professor at the Delhi University. According to reports by the media, Apoorvanand was summoned for questioning as the Special Cell (New Delhi Range) had found links with the students’ outfit, Pinjra Tod, and with a WhatsApp group called the ‘Delhi Protests Support Group (DPSG)’. According to reports, his phone was also seized as a part of the investigation.
It is essential to understand why his supposed connection with the fat-left outfit, Pinjra Tod is considered a cause of concern and a reason for his questioning.
Pinjra Tod was at the heart of Delhi Riots and in several chargesheets, it was mentioned (with phone records and other documents) how rioters were in contact with members of Pinjra Tod. One has to recall the entire chronology to understand the magnitude of the involvement of the outfit in Delhi Riots.
A day before riots had erupted in Delhi, roads were blocked in the Jafrabad area of North-east Delhi and hundreds of Muslims, especially women had suddenly congregated in the area. At that time, concerned citizens had alleged that Pinjra Tod was at the heart of the road blockage and had instigated Muslims to occupy the area.
When Delhi Police started filing chargesheets, the far more sinister role of the group came to the fore. In May 2020, the Special cell of Delhi police had arrested two women named Natasha Narwal and Devangna Kalita in the North-east Delhi riots case. Both the women are founding members of Pinjra Tod, which was established in 2015.
The Delhi Police had alleged that both the women-Natasha and Devangana were involved in hatching the conspiracy to incite riots in Jafrabad. Natasha was booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for her role in inciting the anti-Hindu communal riots in Northeast Delhi in February. The FIR against them mentions that they are charged under Sections 147, 148, 149, 186, 353, 332, 333, 323, 283, 188, 427, 307, 302, 120B, 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under the Arms Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. The two arrested women were also a part of a larger conspiracy and were found to be associated with “India Against Hate” group and Umar Khalid. Later in June, Devangana was also booked under UAPA.
The damning WhatsApp messages retrieved from the phone of one of the accused, mentioned in the charge-sheet, proves it without a shadow of a doubt their involvement in planning and implementing the conspiracy to stir riots in Delhi. “Ghar me garam khaulta hua pani or tel ka intezam kare (Keep boiling water and oil handy in your house)”, “Tezab ki bottle ghar me rakhe (Keep bottles of acid in your houses)”, Cars/bikes se petrol nikalkar rakhe (extract petrol from your car/bike and keep with you)”, Balcony/terrace par eit or patthar rakhe (store bricks or stones on your balcony or terrace)”, “Lohe ke darwazo me switch se current ka istemal kare (metal doors should be electrified using switches)” are some of the instructive messages that were propagated in Whatsapp groups as a part of the preparation for violence in Delhi.
In the chargesheets that have been subsequently covered by OpIndia, the connection of the rioters to Pinjra Tod have emerged as stated by the Delhi Police.
Under such circumstances, in the due process of the investigation, it is only natural that anyone connected to Pinjra Tod and involved with them in the anti-CAA protests that led to the riots would be interrogated by the Delhi Police to probe their role in the violence.
The editorial by the Times of India only seems like an attempt to shield the Leftist intellectuals, much like others like Harsh Mander, Umar Khalid etc, from not just being interrogated or even being held to account, if the Delhi Police finds their involvement in inciting the riots.
Times of India and how unethical they were in their presentation of Delhi Police’s rebuttal
Ideally, Times of India should have attacked a copy of Delhi Police’s response to the original article where they had raised questions and to which, Delhi Police had responded. An archive of the original article that was published by the Times of India, at the time of writing this article, shows that the publication had unethically refused to include the rebuttal by the Delhi Police in their article.
It is essential to note that for any publication, it is meant to be a standard practise to update the article with the response of the party that is mentioned in the article itself.
In this case, Times of India was castigating the Delhi police. Delhi Police on the 7th gave a scathing and detailed rebuttal to the editorial by the Times of India. It was incumbent upon Times of India to add the rebuttal of the Delhi Police to its original article so the readers could essentially get both perspectives – TOI’s accusation against Delhi Police and Delhi Police’s response to those accusations.
However, Time of India chose, deliberately, to ensure that its readers do not read what the Delhi Police had to say.
Further, what is far more sinister and dishonest, is that instead of adding the full response of Delhi Police to its original article, Times of India took portions of it and published it as a ‘letter to the editor’, a nondescript section of the website which people hardly read, with a nondescript headline that gives no indication that it actually carries the rebuttal of the Delhi Police.
In fact, the Times of India even waited for the criticism to boil over and only published parts of the response on the 10th, almost 3 days after the Delhi Police had tweeted their entire rebutted to the TOI article.
Hence, Times of India not only ensures that its readers don’t get to read the Delhi Police’s response to the allegations levelled against them in the editorial, but also did not present the full rebuttal while publishing portions of it in a nondescript blog, tagging it as a ‘letter to the editor’.
This unethical behaviour of Times of India, while it may appear shocking, it far from surprising.
The media has often sliced and diced the truth to ensure that their readers get only a portion of the information that suits the agenda and the narrative that the media house wants to peddle. In this case, the narrative is that the Delhi Police is indulging in some sort of a witch hunt by interrogating several actors who are seemingly connected to the Delhi riots through various Islamist and Left organisations that instigated the violence.
In this endeavour, the media has ensured that the information that puts a damper on their narrative is kept squarely away from the readers. On the off-chance that they do decide to present the other side, the information is heavily truncated and/or twisted to ensure that either the end result is the same, or, the information does not reach its readers at all.
The anti-CAA, anti-NRC protests which had engulfed sporadic parts of the country until the onset of deadly coronavirus outbreak in early March this year, may resume as the Supreme Court lawyer Mehmood Pracha and one of the proponents of the demonstrations revealed that efforts are underway to resume the protests from August 15.
Speaking to news media organisations, Pracha said that the unlock stage of the coronavirus lockdown has reached a stage where the government is practically allowing almost all activities to recommence. He added that in such a scenario, protests against Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizen can also start again.
Pracha, who was in Aligarh, said, “The anti-CAA, anti-NRC protests had stopped in the view of the coronavirus outbreak that was spreading across the world, including India. Now, we are at an advance stage of unlocking and the central government is encouraging all activities to restart and issuing guidelines for the same. Hence the movement that was stalled due to coronavirus lockdown can be resumed as well.”
Pracha is planning to visit major cities to rally people’s support for the anti-CAA and anti-NRC protests. Starting out from Aligarh, Pracha said that the message conveyed from Aligarh travels all over the country and the world and therefore it is a very special for kickstarting the protest again.
The Supreme Court advocate also cited the permission granted for Jagannath Yatra in Puri where the administration had allowed the temple Sevayats to carry on the annual ritual. On the similar lines, he had demanded from the apex court of the country permission for a Muharram processions in compliance with the government’s coronavirus guidelines. Pracha argued that exemption that can be exercised for one religion can be applied for other religions too.
Mehmood Pracha had featured on a pro-ISIS publication
While the Supreme Court advocate is planning to restart the anti-CAA and anti-NRC protests across the country, it is important to dwell upon the chequered history of the man who was the poster boy for a pro-ISIS media outlet and is accused of fanning communal hatred in the past.
As India was going through a communal turmoil, with the national capital of the country in the throes of bloody anti-Hindu riots earlier in February 2020, a publication titled ‘Voice of Hind’ was issued by Al-Qitaal Media Center and Junudul Khilafah al-Hind, featuring Mahmood Pracha on its cover page. The cover was titled So, Muslims, where are you going? It was featured with a subtitle “A call to the Muslims of India”.
The magazine had praised slain terrorists in Kashmir. It had also urged the Muslims to reject the idea of an Indian nation state and fight for the ‘caliphate’ instead.
Mehmood Pracha had called for raising of an armed militia
In addition to this, Mehmood Pracha has also been accused of exhorting Muslims to take up arms. In a press conference last year, Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad and Mehmood Paracha announced that they would be setting up a camp in Lucknow to teach Muslims and Dalits about the ‘right to self-defence’ and how to apply for a firearm licence.
Mahmood Pracha had cited the incidents of mob lynchings and the Sonbhadra massacre as reasons for conducting the camp. According to him, those events wouldn’t have occurred if the victims had legal firearms to defend themselves. They were basically planning to raise an armed militia to combat ‘mob lynchings’, using licenced weapons. Later, Mahmood Paracha was seen holding that training camp inside a Lucknow Mosque where he was training Muslims about how to fill forms for licences and acquire firearms, even though an FIR had been registered against him for his incendiary speech.
After India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai and others were left shocked that PM Modi continues to be the favoured leader in its own Mood Of The Nation survey, India Today ran another Twitter poll, this time asking who would be best suited to be next Prime Minister of India. Many had speculated that the poll was done under pressure from Congress and they were hopeful of winning it. This victory, would then have been converted into news by India Today employees like Rajdeep Sardesai. Unfortunately, Rahul Gandhi even lost this poll.
Amusingly, India Today’s other poll also binned Rahul Gandhi and his monologues which the media house tried to pass off as criticism.
India Today and Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi and India Today
India Today in an Easter-esque manner, has time and again resurrected Rahul Gandhi as the next big thing. It is quite evident from the cover page of India Today over the months where Rahul Gandhi has ‘come of age’ every few months.
Samples of Rahul Gandhi on India Today cover page
It is almost as if India Today has waited, with baited breath, for Rahul to turn water into wine and pull a miracle out of his politically-challenged personality, but, has only ended up with a loaf of rotten bread and Roohafza in its hand.
A month after BJP MLA Debendranath Roy was found hanging at a tea shop in Hemtabad in Raiganj, the West Bengal police have reportedly arrested a person named Mabud Ali on Friday.
As per the report, the accused was nabbed from Kashimbazar near Mothabari in Malda after his name featured in the suicide note allegedly found in the pocket of the deceased BJP politician. Ali has been handed over to the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) that has launched an investigation into the case.
Debendra Nath Roy was an elected representative from the reserved seat in Uttar Dinajpur. He was a former member of the CPI (M) and won from the party ticket in three consecutive terms. He had joined the BJP along with 50 other councillors in May last year. Reportedly, he had helped villagers financially through cooperative committees.
Accused allegedly took ₹1 crore from Debendranath Roy
Reportedly, the West Bengal police had earlier arrested one Niloy Singha from Malda in connection to the case. The duo was named in the suicide note and the FIR filed by Chandima Roy, the wife of Debendranath Roy. Earlier, the investigators had informed that the accused had borrowed ₹1 Crore from the BJP leader. The statesman had reported that the CID has slapped murder charges on Singha.
Niloy Singha was arrested on July 15. He has been under police custody. Singha was arrested from Mokdumpur in Malda district. The police had been under look out for Singha’s associate Mabud Ali since then.
Mabud Ali had gone into hiding
As per the report, Mabud Ali was hiding at his relative’s place near Kaliachak at Babla village. The CID investigators informed about his hideout to three police stations in the area. Reportedly, he was planning to evade arrest by changing his location.
Officer-in-charge of Mothabari police station, Bitul Pal, informed, “Soon after receiving the note from the CID, we explored all our sources. Thus, we came to know that Ali was being sheltered by one of his relatives at Babla village. He was changing his hideout every night to evade the arrest. We arrested him on Friday afternoon when he reached Kashimbazar on a two-wheeler.”
The Death of Debendranath Roy
On July 13, The West Bengal police had recovered the dead body of Debendra Nath Roy, a BJP MLA from Hematabad, in a closed tea shop in the village of Balia in Bindol Panchayat in Rajiganj. Roy was found hanging from the roof of the shop. He had been missing from the previous night.
The shop, from where the corpse of the BJP leader was retrieved, is located about 1.5km from his house. After he went missing on Sunday night, the local area was searched overnight but it was in vain. The family of the BJP MLA has alleged that it is a case of murder. Reportedly, the cops rushed to the crime scene after they received information about the incident.
War of words between BJP and TMC
While the West Bengal police has ruled out ‘foul play’, the BJP unit of West Bengal has alleged that the MLA Debendranath Roy was murdered. BJP President (North Dinajpur) stated that the ‘suicide note’ was a conspiracy by the police to protect the murderers of the deceased politician. “We are not satisfied with the probe by the CID and will stick to our demand for a CBI investigation,” he was quoted as saying.
However, Sandip Biswas, TMC spokesperson of North Dinajpur, has accused the BJP of politicising the suicide case and concluded that the CID had proved its competence by apprehending the accused. He claimed, “The BJP had tried to politicise the MLA’s death and the true nature of the party will be exposed soon.”
It may sound bizarre but Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is not planning to step back from his “belief” that Bhagwan Ram was from Nepal. After claiming Bhagwan Ram was a Nepali sometime back on Bhanu Jayanti Day, he has now come up with a plan to develop areas under the Madi municipality in Chitwan district as ‘Ayodhyapuri’, where he thinks Lord Ram was actually born.
According to reports published in Nepali media, The PM called Shivahari Subedi, chairperson, Madi Municipality on 7th August and Mayor Thakur Prasad Dhakal, Mayor, Madi Municipality on 8th August to discuss his vision to develop the area. The Himalayan Times quoted Subedi saying ‘PM told the delegation that he believes Lord Ram was born in Nepal’s ‘Ayodhyapuri’ and not in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
PM Oli wants to collect evidence via excavation
PM Oli has formed a team to consult locals on how they can promote Ayodhyapuri and preserve the historical evidence. Subedi said, “We also believe that the area from Ayodhyapuri of Chitwan to Balmiki Ashram in Thori, Parsa, was Lord Ram’s birthplace.” Dil Kumari Rawal, National Assembly Lawmaker, said that PM had ordered the delegation to start excavation in Ayodhyapuri area to collect more evidence.
According to a report in WION news, PM Oli has said that the development of Ayodhyapuri will start on Ram Navami by placing idols of Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman.
Criticism from within the ruling party
Bamdev Gautam, the vice-chairperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, said that PM is making claims without any evidence. There is an internal turf-war going on within the ruling party which is believed to be one of the reasons of such statements by PM Oli.
Oli has recently developed the habit of claiming everything Indian as Nepali. He had earlier claimed Indian territory of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as Nepali. The communist government had even released a new map showing the above mentioned territories as Nepali.
Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan
PM Oli’s remarks came in the light of Bhoomi Pujan of Ram Mandir that was celebrated on 5th August. PM Modi, along with 174 leaders and saints were present for the ceremony. The Ram Mandir may take around 3.5 years to complete.
As per a report in Indian Express, a Northeast Delhi resident in Khajuri Khas received a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call where the caller allegedly tried to incite communal tension over Ram Mandir. The caller reportedly talked about Ram Mandir construction and disrupting the Independence Day celebration. A case of sedition has been registered against unknown persons.
During the investigation, the police found that similar calls were reportedly made to many others. These calls originated from Australia and Dubai where a prerecorded message was played. The Police is currently investigating the incoming calls and probing for possible links with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
On the basis of the complaint filed by Chander Mohan, the resident who received the call, an FIR under IPC section 124-A (sedition) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) was registered at Special Cell police station.
It should be noted that Delhi’s Khajuri Khas is the area which was amongst the worst affected in the anti-Hindu riots that broke out in February this year after the anti-CAA protests turned violent.
This comes days after journalists in Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh received audio messages from numbers originating from Malaysia, Canada and different parts of the United States of America. The message was about protests on Independence Day to raise voice against the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. It also demanded a separate nation for minorities, “Urdustan”.
While many media persons did not pick the call, around 50 journalists informed the senior police officials immediately about the messages they have received. Lucknow Police have take cognisance of the matter and registered a case against unknown people to launch a probe.
Stress due to domestic concerns, misunderstandings and even a stressful environment can trigger psychological distress in an individual. Something similar may have happened to Rajesh (name changed), a cook from Delhi working in Mumbai. However, his time had not arrived yet as a Facebook official from Ireland happened to notice ‘suicidal activity’ on his account and alerted the Delhi Police.
The story was brought to the fore on Sunday, 9 August after DCP Cybercrime, Delhi quoted a report of India TV and praised the officials involved in saving the man from committing suicide.
As per reports, on 8th August, at around 7:50 PM, Anyesh Roy, DCP Delhi Police had got a call from a Facebook official from Ireland. He informed Roy that their system had identified suicidal activity on a Facebook account that belongs to a woman in Delhi. The Facebook official sent all the necessary information via an official mail to the Delhi Police. On digging up the information of the phone number, it was found that it belonged to one Sumati (name changed).
As calling her may cause further distress, DCP decided to send a team to her registered address in Mandawali, East Delhi. He called up Jasmeet Singh, DCP, East Delhi to inform him about the situation. A police team arrived at Sumati’s home within minutes and found out that the account was being used by her husband, who left home after a fight and now working in Mumbai as a cook. Sumati gave the Police his number, but she did not know where he lived in Mumbai.
Information shared with Mumbai counterparts
Delhi police informed Bal Singh Rajput and Rashmi Karandikar, DCP (Cybercrime cell), Mumbai about the situation. Karandikar got in action immediately and tried contacting Rajesh on his phone, but it was switched off. While trying to find his address, she kept on calling him, and finally, Rajesh switched on his phone and picked up the call. DCP Karandikar talked to him to calm him down and got his address. She sent a police team to the address that took control of the situation and prevented the suicide.
Security has been increased across India, especially in Uttar Pradesh ahead of Independence Day, keeping in mind the threat perception just days after the Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan. As per reports, the intelligence agencies are keeping a close watch on Islamist organisations like Popular Front of India (PFI) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). Central investigative agencies have issued direction to be alert ahead of festivals like Janamashtami and Independence Day.
Last week, four members PFI, SDPI and one madarsa ‘teacher’ were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for spreading hate on social media on the day of Bhoomi Pujan and to spread communal and religious tension. Some Islamists had reportedly tried to create communal tension on the day of Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan.
In wake of that, to maintain peace during Janamashtami and Independence Day, strict surveillance is being carried out. Police has especially increased is vigil on social media posts. In fact, ATS (Anti-Terrorism Squad) has been keeping a tab on PFI and such organisations after the anti-CAA protests which went violent. In the December 2019 anti-CAA protests which turned violent, the police had arrested over 100 PFI members in Uttar Pradesh.
Ahead of Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan agencies had warned of terror attack since it also coincided with first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370. The intelligence agency had released a detailed advisory after which the security in Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Ayodhya had been increased.
In a bizarre incident, a large quantity of cow dung was reportedly stolen at Rojhi village in Koriya district of Chhattisgarh. As per the report, a complaint was registered with the Gauthan Samiti by two farmers named Lalla Ram and Sem Lal after they discovered that a hundred kg of cow dung went missing. The farmers had accumulated the cow dung to sell it to the State government after it had launched the ‘Godhan Nyay Yojana’ to buy it for ₹2 per kg from cattle owners.
Cow dung used for innovative products
Reportedly, the Gauthan Samiti members then approached the local police and filed a complaint. In recent months, the sale of cow dung by farmers had helped in the development of innovative, eco-friendly products including such as lamp posts, idols, and Rakhis. The hundred-kgs of cow dung was reportedly stolen by locals who returned it after realising the inconvenience caused to the Samiti and the villagers. As per the report, the issue was resolved among the villagers and official intervention was avoided.
Gauthan Samitis in Chhattisgarh
Reportedly, the Congress government had transferred ₹1.65 crore rupees to the bank accounts of 46000 cattle owners as payment for the cow dung. Chhattisgarh has sanctioned over 5330 cattle-shed premises (called Gauthan) under the Suraaji Gaon Yojna Reportedly, 2408 such Gauthans are operational in rural areas whereas 377 are already working in the urban areas.
The Godhan Nyay Yojna was launched by Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel in July on the occasion of the Hareli festival. It aims to enrich rural economy by helping the farmers earn money by selling organic manure, and empowering women self-help groups to develop vermin-compost, animal care centres, and reduce dependency on chemical fertilisers.
