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While puppet CM of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan Alyani touts the Gwadar marine drive, here is the truth

Hakeem Baloch
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While puppet CM of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan Alyani touts the Gwadar marine drive, here is the truth

On 12th of July 2020, the puppet chief minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan Alyani in a Tweet posted three pictures of Gwadar Marine Drive claiming that “ #Gwader marine drive after completion of road, streetlights, parks and floodlights on the beach.” After his tweet, the Baloch social media activists responded to that tweet and exposed the blatant lies of puppet CM and shared the other side of the story. The side which is always hidden in the Pakistani media and no one dares to talk about that because talking about the truth of Pakistani and Chinese expansionists design in occupied Balochistan is dangerous and life-threatening.

The Baloch social media activists shared the pictures of the locals of Gwadar who are deprived of drinking water and other basic necessities of life. Gwadar is claimed to be the hub of the billion dollars China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, the city which not only covers the long coastal belt of Balochistan but it also has a long trading gateway throughout the region and world. But the dissidents of the district Gwadar are deprived of basic needs of life such as Water, Food, Electricity and employment. 

Pakistan and China have been using their armed forces to continue the project which is known as the “Project of Death and Destruction” for the local people of Gwadar and Balochistan. According to many international media outlets, China is planning to occupy the Gwadar Port and the whole city to use this port and sea zone as one of China’s military bases to become the next superpower of the region and to ensure that region is under the control of China. On the other hand, the people of Gwadar and Balochistan have been protesting and resisting China’s involvement in Gwadar and they demanded that China should stop all their investments in Balochistan. 

Since both China and Pakistan have a record of disrespecting and disregarding the human rights of indigenous people and butchering those people who stand up against their expansionist designs. The Baloch armed group have decided to take the war against China and Pakistan into a next level and they include suicide attacks “Fidayeen” in their latest strategy to stop the deadly Chinese investments in Balochistan. 

The latest example of such attacks from Baloch armed groups is the attack on Pakistan stock exchange in Karachi. The Baloch armed group (BLA) not only managed to attack the KSE, but they have also highlighted their anger and they have sent a message to China and Pakistan that until and unless the Balochistan is free from occupation, no one is allowed to be part of the plundering Balochistan’s wealth and resources in the name of development or any other projects. After the attack on KSE, many false claims came from Pakistan and their master China that the attack was planned and logistically supported by India and they were cleverly running their side of the story into the media and in front of the people and world, until the attack was claimed by a well known Baloch militant group Baloch Liberation Amry, the group which was also involved in attacking Chinese consulate in Karachi and Gwadar PC hotel and carrying out a suicide attack on Chinese engineers in Dalbandin, Balochistan couple of years back.

The current pictures of Gwadar which were shared by the Puppet chief minister of Balochistan are nothing but face-saving measures for the Pakistani establishment to ensure China that their interests are saved and development projects are still continuing despite such attacks. Many Pakistani intellectuals and analysts believe that China is lacking trust on Pakistani security forces and the military leadership. They are now demanding full proof of security and stability in the region of Chinese interests. In contrast to what Pakistani state is promising to China, the continued attacks of Baloch armed groups on Chinese interests in and outside Balochistan are not only building pressure on Chinese regime but it is also making it impossible for China to continue their billion-dollar projects. 

That is why Pakistani state has now once again started the policy of collective punishment in Balochistan and they are raiding the houses of Baloch social and political activists abducting and torturing their families and in some cases even killing them in cold blood.

The Pakistani state who does not give access to internet services to the people of Gwadar and other Balochistan are still in shock that how the Baloch people are managing to tell the world about the facts and the ground realities. Just like any other occupier, the Pakistani state with the help of the Chinese regime has forgotten that it is impossible to control the people with force and oppression. This might work for some years or in some cases may be for some decades but not forever. Today the youth of Balochistan are not only educated but they also have an understanding of their rights and they are well aware of their enemies and their suppressive ideas. That is why the youth of Balochistan are on the streets of Balochistan on a daily basis and demanding their basic rights and protesting against any form of human rights violations this includes abductions, kill and dump, military operations, state-backed death squads and the roaming free in Balochistan. On the other hand Pakistani state and their media houses are continuously propagating against these innocent and peaceful protestors and the family members of Baloch Missing Persons and calling them traitors.

In this crucial time, it is the responsibility of the civilised world that they should intervene in Balochistan and make sure that no more voices of Baloch are being brutally attacked and suppressed or the Baloch youth are forced to take extreme actions because the government of Pakistan and the military establishment has always treated Balochistan as their colony and now with the help of China the Baloch nation is living in a fear of losing their lands and turning to a minority in their own historical motherland.

Because of the fears and suppression, they have decided to sacrifice their lives to send a message to the world that we are the only people who are fighting against the Islamic regime of Pakistan and along with that they are also standing in front of Chinese Dragon. 

How a ground-level BJP karyakarta rattled Shashi Tharoor

Abhishek Banerjee
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How a ground-level BJP karyakarta rattled Shashi Tharoor

Sometimes, it is the little things that tell you the most about a person and how he thinks. We will find out what led Shashi Tharoor to spit out this fiery tweet.

Tweet by Shashi Tharoor
Tweet by Shashi Tharoor

It must be a matter of great import for the formidable Shashi Tharoor to speak thus. Like I said, we shall find out.

First let us meet Mr. Mahesh. This is Twitter profile.

Tweet by Mr Mahesh

Honestly, I do not know very much about him. I do not expect you to know much about him either. From his Twitter bio, he appears to be a common citizen of India, with an honest day job. Just like you and me and anyone else in the crowd. And he appears to be one of numerous BJP supporters on social media.

The other day, Mr. Mahesh took to Twitter to share some happy news with his followers.

Tweet by Mr Mahesh

Congratulations, Mr. Mahesh. Wish you success in your endeavor. That’s what a normal human being would have said on seeing this tweet. And you would expect the same bare minimum grace from a distinguished former Union Minister, if at all the tweet came to his notice.

Welcome to the timeline of Shashi Tharoor.

Tweet by Shashi Tharoor
Tweet by Shashi Tharoor

Yes, this is a three term Lok Sabha MP, former Union Minister and former Under Secretary General at the United Nations. Bullying a ground level BJP karyakarta who has been appointed as a humble office bearer in the party. Seizing upon the slightly odd sounding English word “propaganda cell” to throw Nazi comparisons.

Already, Mr. Mahesh had taken to Twitter to explain the name of cell in Tamil and Hindi, along with English.

Tweet by Mr Mahesh

Mr. Mahesh is the Vice President of one cell of a state BJP unit, one among dozens such as “Fishermen cell,” “Weavers cell,” “Intellectual cell,” “Legal cell” and so on. And this is the BJP state unit in Tamil Nadu, one of the least powerful units of BJP, with all of zero MPs and zero MLAs.

And the president, sorry … vice president of this cell in TN BJP is being bullied with Nazi comparisons. By none other than a former Union Minister. And for what? For an odd sounding rendering in English.

Dear Shashi Tharoor, you can acquire an outdated foreign accent by copying others. A sense of grace has to come from the inside.

But perhaps I am being too harsh on Shashi here. Maybe Shashi is scared. After all, the ground level BJP worker has been delivering knockout punches to the lazy Congress establishment for a while now.

Ten years ago, who would have thought that the BJP could win not one, but two successive Lok Sabha majorities? While Congress leadership has been stewing in its privilege, the BJP worker has raised the party flag over Uttar Pradesh, the entire North East and stormed the secular fortress of Bengal.

What has Shashi Tharoor done during this time? Sharpened his accent and acquired ever bigger, ever more useless English words.

If Fortress Bengal can be under siege from BJP, could Kerala really be so safe? So maybe Shashi is scared of the fiery spirit of a ground level BJP worker. When Kerala was hit by floods, Shashi had to fly to Geneva, but only to get help for the state of course. Presumably because he doesn’t know how to use a phone, email or any form of voice/video calling over the internet.

The ground level BJP worker is everything that Shashi can never become.

You keep going, Mr. Mahesh. Wish you best of luck with your ground level work. Never mind the troll cum former minister who is after you. Let Shashi be on Twitter, checking your English.

West Bengal: 4 days after BJP MLA was found hanging, party leader alleges Mamata govt is trying to kill MP Arjun Singh

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: 4 days after BJP MLA was found hanging, party leader alleges Mamata govt is trying to kill MP Arjun Singh

The political climate in West Bengal is charged with intimidation and violence. At a time when the law and order situation in the state has seemingly failed and political vengeance is on the surge, a sitting BJP MLA Debendra Nath Roy was found hanging from the roof of a tea shop. And just 4 days later, the BJP has accused the current political dispensation in the state for hatching a plan for another ‘murder’.

On Friday, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted that the police had gheraoed the house of Arjun Singh, BJP MP from Barrackpore in a bid to assassinate him. “We are fearful that the police want to encounter him and his son Pawan Singh. If the cops even try to do something, then the consequences will be serious,” Kailash Vijayvargiya warned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

BJP leader found dead in Uttar Dinajpur

On Monday morning, the West Bengal police reportedly 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 Sunday 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.

Reportedly, a suicide note was also recovered from the pocket of the deceased. The report further stated that the former legislator was going through a financial crisis and had to sell 6-7 bighas of land. As per his family, a group of young men had come to escort Roy on their motorcycles on Sunday night to an unknown location

Arjun Singh accuses Jt. Commissioner of conspiring to encounter him

Earlier in May, Arjun Singh had written a letter to the West Bengal Governor alleging an assassination attempt by Joint Commissioner Ajay Thakur on the behest of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. The Bengal Police had visited Singh’s residence to issue a notice to him and his nephew in connection to a pending case. Arjun Singh has alleged that two of the associates of Ajay Thakur had pointed guns towards him.

Detailing about the probable assassination attempt by the police officer, Arjun Singh wrote, “As per my reliable sources, Ajay Thakur had planned to start an argument with my security personnel in any pretext and then, assassinate me and family in the cross-fire. To execute their plan, Ajay Thakur along with his 35 associates, 2 persons out of such associates are renowned miscreants, had come in civil dress.”

Complaint filed by priest against the brother of UP BJP MLA for stealing slippers, mobile phones of devotees at a temple in Siddarthnagar

OpIndia Staff
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Complaint filed by priest against the brother of UP BJP MLA for stealing slippers, mobile phones of devotees at a temple in Siddarthnagar

A complaint has been filed with the police by the priest of Sinheshwari Devi Mandir in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar, accusing BJP MLA Shyamdani Rahi’s brother of stealing slippers, mobile phones of temple devotees.

The complaint filed by the priest mentioned that from the last few days, the devotees who came to the temple for offering prayers had lamented that their mobiles, helmets, slippers were being stolen from the temple premises. It also mentioned that the women devotees in the temple were subjected to harassment. On investigation by authorities of the temple, stolen slippers and mobile phones of the devotees were found in possession of Shiv Prasad alias Tyagi, the brother of BJP MLA Shyamdani Rahi, the complaint said.

The complaint has also alleged Shiv Prasad of harassing the women devotees visiting the temple.

Urging the police authorities to verify the allegations by reviewing the CCTV footage of the cameras installed in the temple, the priest has asked to file an FIR against Shiv Prasad and take necessary and appropriate action against the culprit for stealing the belongings of the devotees and molesting women visiting the temple.

Prasad had a history of stealing slippers, mobile phones and other belongings

The complaint additionally mentions that this is not the first time that Shiv Prasad has been accused of stealing the belongings of the temple devotees. It says that on many occasions in the past, personal belongings of the devotees have been recovered from Prasad.

It further mentions that Prasad had been defiant about stealing the slippers, mobile phones and helmets. When confronted, he said, “I have stolen the mobile phone but I won’t give it back. Do what you want, I am an MLA’s brother and I will do whatever I want to.”

Police says investigations ordered in the case

When OpIndia contacted police SHO, he said that a complaint has been received in this regard and an investigation is ordered. He added that additional information can be given only after the investigation is complete.

Shyamdhani Rahi is the BJP MLA from Kapilavastu constituency in the Siddharthnagar district.

Pyare Miyan who ran a sex trafficking racket of minor girls arrested from Srinagar, lived in govt bungalow allotted in 1990: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Pyare Miyan who ran a sex trafficking racket of minor girls arrested from Srinagar, lived in govt bungalow allotted in 1990: Read details

The Special Investigation Team has arrested the main accused Pyare Miyan in the sexual exploitation of minor girls in Bhopal from Srinagar and brought to the city. The accused was absconding from the last 4 days. The 68-year-old man is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl adopted daughter, apart from running a sex trafficking racket.

The preliminary investigations into the Bhopal sex racket case have revealed that Pyare Miyan was involved in the trafficking of minor girls. The girls trapped in the racket used to call Miyan as ‘Abbu’, which means ‘father’. The man claimed that he was the owner of a newspaper.

Four people, including two women, were taken into custody in this case before Pyare Mian’s arrest. These include broker Sweety Vishwakarma (21), Uwais, Anas and Rabia. Uwais and Anas are relatives of the main accused Pyare Miyan. A victim’s grandmother has also been arrested in this case.

Another woman accused of introducing minor girls to Pyare Miyan has been arrested by the police. The arrested woman, Gulshan, is reportedly a distant relative of Pyare Miyan. Miyan used to call her “daughter-in-law” in public.

The police have claimed that Pyare Miyan used to force girls into the sex trade for earning money and paying for their living. At least 7 girls have come forward levelling serious allegations of sexual molestation and sex trafficking against him.

The police raid at Pyare Miyan’s four houses in Bhopal and Indore have resulted in the recovery of a large amount of pornographic material stored on DVDs, CD players, pen drives and hard disks. Some of it was also child pornography material. Apart from this, reindeer horns, wildlife bones and a great many numbers of liquor bottles were also retrieved from his flats. Two of his cars have also been seized.

Pyare Miyan exploited minor girls

The case involving Pyare Miyan came to light when police found 5 minor girls wandering around on the road in an inebriated state on July 12. On interrogation, they found that the girls were raped under the influence of alcohol by a certain Pyare Miyan. The police later found that he is a land mafia and had was involved in sex trafficking of minor girls. An investigation was launched into the illegal activities presided over by Pyare Miyan.

The investigation also revealed that Pyare Mian physically abused the minor girls. When she was older, she would get them married. In this case, a woman named Sweety Vishwakarma was also supporting her. At the same time, he used to come to the girls and the beloved used to exploit them on the pretext of giving them jobs. He also used to give money in the name of loans to the parents of the girls and then make them their victims.

Uwais, Pyare Miyan’s driver’s brother also accused of rape

According to the reports, Uwais, brother of Anas, the driver and relative of the accused Pyare Miyan, had also raped the 13-year-old minor girl. Uwais had apparently impregnated the girl in Indore after which she was shifted to a hospital in Shahjahanabad area of Bhopal for abortion.

At the time of abortion, the 21-year-old Sweety Vishwakarma was present in the hospital as a relative of the accused Pyare Miyan. The ChildLine organisation and the police came to know about other cases of Pyare Miyan after recording the statement of the victim. Miyan is currently under arrest on the charges of sexual exploitation of several minors.

The statements by a 16-year-old victim have revealed that Pyare Miyan had threatened to kill her and her mother. Because of these threats, despite being freed from the clutches of Miyan 10 months ago, the girl and her mother kept mum on the atrocities committed by him.

The girl’s mother claims that the girl’s maternal grandmother had remarried to Pyare Miyan’s brother. He adopted the girl three years ago, then 13-years-old, for studies and proper upbringing. He kept her for a year and a half with another girl in a flat in Indore.

However, the mother’s victim adds that in the month of September last year, the girl had complained on phone about the harassment faced by her. Following this, her mother brought the girl back to her home. But shortly afterwards, the victim and her mother were threatened by Pyare Miyan for getting the girl the back. Despite their protests, Miyan had sent goons to their house to beat the girl’s parents.

The victim’s father, an auto driver, lamented that after being fed up of Pyare Miyan and his goons, he had to sell his house and forced to live in anonymity.

Pyare Miyan was allotted a government accommodation

Madhya Pradesh police have started seizing the properties of Pyare Miyan located in Bhopal and Indore. It also came to light that the state government had given him a government bungalow, which has now been evacuated. However, the revelation has left people wondering as to how could Miyan get government accommodation.

This government accommodation, ostensibly an MLA Rest House, sprawling over an area of about 5000 sq ft, was allotted to Pyare Miyan in 1990. The campus was allotted to Miyan for running a workshop. However, he turned this government bungalow into his luxurious home. Despite several notices, he did not evacuate the bungalow.

There were two properties in the government bungalow allotted to Miyan. After a lot of struggle, one of them was vacated by the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Secretariat in 2002. However, Miyan clung on to the other one. He opened the office of an English newspaper named ‘Dainik Afkar’ from the government bungalow.

The administration is investigating all the illegal constructions and other illegal activities linked to Pyare Miyan. The police have already demolished an illegally occupied wedding hall and other houses in Bhopal. The process of demolition of other unlawfully acquired houses is underway.

Rahul Gandhi video: A litany of half-truths that shields China and blames India

K Bhattacharjee
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Rahul Gandhi video: A litany of half-truths that shields China and blames India

Former Congress President and scion of the Nehru-Gandhi Parivar, Rahul Gandhi, finally released the video that he had promised, although a couple of days behind schedule. In the short 3-minute clip, Gandhi speaks on the India-China conflict at the Line of Actual Control. As expected, he blamed the current government for the escalation by China.

Rahul Gandhi attempts to answer why China acted in the manner it did at this particular point in time. He says that countries are protected by a confluence of factors: Neighbourhood, Foreign Policy and Economy. As an aside, he also mentions that a country is protected by ‘the vision its people have’. And naturally, Rahul Gandhi attempted to prove that the government had failed in each of these three fronts.

Foreign Policy

In the matter of foreign policy, Rahul Gandhi distinguished between ‘strategic partnerships’ and ‘transactional relationships’ although it is not clear as to what is the precise nature of the differences between the two. Are ‘strategic partnerships’ completely devoid of the concept profit and loss? Are ‘transactional relationships’ completely devoid of strategic objectives and simply crafted at whim?

Rahul Gandhi does not elaborate much on why ‘strategic partnerships’ are to be preferred over ‘transactional relationships’, or why the former is automatically more favourable than the latter. It might indeed be the case that the former is better than the latter but the only reason the Congress dynast gives is that it is better because Congress used to do it.

Of course, he does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Congress policy reflected ‘strategic partnerships’ while Narendra Modi’s reflect ‘transactional relationships’. Rahul Gandhi makes such bold assertions pretending as if these are self evident but that it isn’t the case can be gauged from the Congress party’s continued irrelevance in national politics.

Towards that end, Rahul Gandhi claimed that earlier, India had a ‘strategic partnership’ with the USA and at the same time, had a strong relationship with Russia. Now, he claims, it is not the case. But, it is an undeniable fact that geopolitical realities of today are not the same as it was yesterday. Is his argument that India should continue to maintain past relationships even if they are not as beneficial currently merely because of sentimentalities?

Web of Distortions

Rahul Gandhi says that earlier countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka in our neighbourhood were our friends. In fact, with the exception of Pakistan, all countries in the neighbourhood used to work with us, says the dynast. Notably, Rahul Gandhi appears to consider China as a country that was friendly with India as well, despite the fact during the era of ‘strategic partnerships’ China intruded on Indian territory on several occasions.

Rahul Gandhi then proceeds to say that ‘Nepal is angry with us’. While it is true that Indo-Nepal relationship is at a historic low, such a torrid relationship was not born in a vacuum. The beginnings of such a tumultuous relationship between the two countries began in the days of ‘strategic partnerships’ of Congress governments.

Right from the days Jawaharlal Nehru himself, The Congress held Nepal in disregard. However, it was after Rajiv Gandhi’s second visit to the Himalayan country that the relationship between the two countries really tanked. Rajiv Gandhi was miffed because Sonia Gandhi, his wife, was denied entry to the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu due to her being a non-Hindu.

It is widely believed that Rajiv Gandhi ordered a blockade of Nepal to avenge the perceived slight against his wife. A former Indian Ambassador to Kathmandu said, “It is well known that Rajiv Gandhi was ill-disposed towards Nepal’s monarchy and he had met pro-democracy leaders during his visit to Nepal in November 1987 for the SAARC summit. The Pashupatinath incident made him vengeful towards the king. The support that RAW started extending to Nepal’s anti-monarchists, including the Maoists, is very well known.”

The consequence of such a decision, made on the basis of ‘strategic partnerships’ as per Rahul Gandhi, was that the relationship between India and Nepal soured incredibly. And that was what led to Nepal’s tilt towards China. Finally the abolition of the Nepalese monarchy during the UPA regime cemented Nepal’s inclination towards China. Therefore, to maintain the pretence that Narendra Modi is entirely responsible for the current predicament reeks of historical ignorance.

In the video, Rahul Gandhi also says the Sri Lanka has given a port to China. He was referring to the Hambanthota Port, which was built by Sri Lanka with loans from China. And again, the loans for its construction were delivered during UPA’s era of ‘strategic partnerships’. Ultimately, unable to repay the loans, Sri Lanka had to agree to lease the port to a Chinese entity. Again, to pretend that the sole blame for it lies with Narendra Modi reeks of historical ignorance.

Furthermore, Rahul Gandhi claims that Maldives and Bhutan are ‘disturbed’. It appears that the Congress dynast is bent on creating disputes where there are none. While it is true that the relationship with Maldvies soured for a short while, things came back to normal and even better than before following the conclusion of their elections.

As for Bhutan, The India Chinese standoff at Doklam was a consequence of Bhutan’s status as India’s protectorate, apart from Indian national interests. Nothing has changed in that regard between the two countries. The claim that Bhutan’s relationship with India is ‘disturbed’ is just a plain lie.

‘Best Time To Attack’

Rahul Gandhi says due to a combination of these factors, along with the state of the economy, which is not limited to India as he pretends, led China to believe that this is the best time to engage in aggressive conduct at the LAC. Quite cleverly, he puts the entire blame on the current government without bothering to realise that sometimes, expansionist powers try to use calamities to extend their borders. And the Coronavirus crisis is certainly a grave calamity.

If it is the conduct of the current government that has made China act aggressively at the LAC, then Rahul Gandhi should also answer what it was about the UPA that made China intrude upon our territory in 2013. But, of course, the purpose of the whole video was to engage in petty politics. Rahul Gandhi has finally found the perfect medium where he can spout his inanities without anyone to counter his lies. Unlike live speeches, where mistakes cannot be rectified, such videos also present one with the opportunity to rectify mistakes before it is published.

After Vikas Dubey, UP Police cracks down on Mukhtar Ansari’s illegal empire in several places, in Jaunpur, with Dhol and fanfare: Here are details

OpIndia Staff
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After Vikas Dubey, UP Police cracks down on Mukhtar Ansari’s illegal empire in several places, in Jaunpur, with Dhol and fanfare: Here are details

The Uttar Pradesh government is cracking down hard on don Mukhtar Ansari. On Saturday, Jaunpur district administration had issued an order to attach the properties of fish mafia Ravindra Nishad, a close associate of Mukhtar Ansari. The Tehsildar was assigned the task of attaching the properties of Nishad and with the help of Jaunpur police, Nishad’s business establishments were sealed by the government.

A video shared by journalist Pankaj Jha showed that the Jaunpur administration has been attaching the properties with local ‘band-baja’ announcements.

Illegal fish business

As per reports, on July 3, the UP Police had caught a truck loaded with fish illegally transported from Andhra Pradesh in the Jogiyapur area of Jaunpur. Fish mafia Ravindra Nishad and his Andhra associate B Narang Rao were arrested. The police have informed that for years, Nishad has been running an illegal fish business worth crores, under protection from mafia don Mukhtar Ansari.

Nishad had neither applied for any license nor have registered any of his business establishments. He has been reportedly running the business with active support from Ansari and used to give a share of profits to Ansari. Nishad has been arrested under the gangster act.

On the basis of initial details of Nishad’s illegally acquired assets obtained during the investigation, DM Jaunpur had ordered the attachment of properties worth 3.71 crores. Nishad has been granted a time three months from the date of the order to appeal against the attachment. The attached properties include a bullet bike, 2 pick up trucks, a house, shop and an under-construction shopping mall, apart from bank accounts.

Cancellations of arms licenses

Apart from Jaunpur, the UP Police has taken action against don Mukhtar Ansari’s mafia kingdom in Ghazipur too. As per reports, arms licenses of at least 4 known associates of Ansari have been cancelled. The administration has also sealed the properties worth 58 lakhs of one Brijesh Sonkar, Ansari’s shooter.

On July 5, a godown, allegedly constructed on illegal land, was demolished. The godson was reportedly being constructed under the name of M/s Vikas Constructions where Ansari’s wife Afsa Begum and hi brother in law Atif Raja are shareholders. On July 12, at least 20 members of Ansari’s gang were booked under the gangster act.

Ghazipur DM OP Arya had also stated that properties worth 33.8 crores have already been freed from the illegal occupation of Ansari and his associates. At least 33 weapons have been seized and deposited after cancellations of their licenses. At least 17 gangsters running illegal businesses in association with Ansari have been identified and action is being taken against them.

Who is Mukhtar Ansari?

Ansari is a politician and a mafia don. He had been associated with Bahujan Samaj Party earlier. Ansari has been an MLA from Mau constituency for a record five times. He was expelled from the BSP in 2010, but later was given an entry again and had won the 2017 assembly elections from Mau. He had been in jail for the murder of BJP leader Krishnanand Rai. But was acquitted by the CBI court in 2019 after the witnesses turned hostile. His grandfather Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was once the president of the Indian National Congress and Muslim League.

Did Iran leave India out of the Railway project in Chabahar? Here is everything we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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Did Iran leave India out of the Railway project in Chabahar? Here is everything we know so far

Confusion prevails over the status of India’s involvement in the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project in Iran after media reports that India has been dropped from the long-pending infrastructure project. While Iran says there was no agreement with India to begin with, India insists there was an MoU and it is still part of the project.

On July 14th, journalist Suhasini Haider reported on The Hindu that Iran government has decided to go ahead with the project to build a railway line from Chabahar port to Zaheban without the assistance of India, despite signing an agreement with India four years ago. The report quoted Iranian side as saying that the delay from India in starting and funding the project was the reason behind.

Last week the track laying ceremony was held for the project to build the 628 km long railway line. The Hindu quoted Iranian officials that the Iranian Railways will proceed without India’s assistance in the project, and it will be funded by Iranian National Development Fund. The Hindu report claims that while the Indian side visited the project site several times, work on it was not started, allegedly due to worries that it might attract sanctions from the USA.

After the Hindu report was out, Iran issued a statement denying that India has been dropped from the project. But strangely, they claimed that there is no question of India to be dropped from as there was no agreement with India on it. Iran govt said that the story was “totally false because Iran has not inked any deal with India regarding the Zahedan-Chabahr railway line”. An official of the Iran govt said that “Iran has only signed two agreements with Indians for investment in Chabahar: one is related to port’s machinery and equipment, and the second is related to India’s investment to the tune of $150m,” and denied any agreement with India on the railway line. He said that the issue of Chabahar railway infrastructure and the railway, but during the negotiations, it was not agreed.

But the Iranian claim is confusing because they had indeed signed an MoU with India for the Railway line during PM Narendra Modi’s Iran visit in May 2016. The website of Ministry of External Affairs lists 12 MoUs signed between the two nations during the visit, and the 11th MoU is between Ircon International Limited of India and CDTIC (Construction, Development of Transport and Infrastructure Company) of Iran, for services for the construction of Chabahar-Zahedan railway line. The MoU had included all superstructure work and financing the project worth around $1.6 billion.

MEA website lists India-Iran MoU on railway project

The MEA has also denied the report of India being thrown out by Iran from the project and said that feasibility survey has already been carried out and the spot assessment has been made for the same. MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that IRCON was appointed by the Government of India to assess the feasibility of the project, and it was working with CDTIC.

According to reports, there has been a change in Iranian policy on developing infrastructure, and they decided to develop the project on its own but will involve India at a later stage. Iran has hinted that while it will complete the current phase of the project on its own, India will be asked to join in the second phase, which will be from Zahidan to Zaranj on the Afghan side. Sources say although Iran decided to go ahead with the current project due to delays, it is keen on Indian involvement later as it is facing financial crunch due to US sanctions.

Therefore, while it is correct that Iran has dropped Ircon from the rail line project, its explanations regarding it does not match with facts. Iran says there was no agreement with India on the Railway line, which is not correct. India has also reiterated that there was an MoU signed between the two countries. Only Iran can remove this confusion by coming clear with facts.

It may be noted that India continues to operate the Chabahar Port in Iran, and India is among the few counties that still buy oil from Iran despite US sanctions.

Gujarat: Madarsa cleric from Kutch booked for raping a minor girl multiple times

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Madarsa cleric from Kutch booked for raping a minor girl multiple times

On Tuesday, a case was reportedly filed against a 40-year-old Madrassa teacher, Samsuddin Haji Suleman Jat, for raping a 19-year-old girl on four different occasions when she was a minor. The incident took place in Dhoro village of Nakhatrana taluka in Kutch district of Gujarat.

As per a report in Times Now, the accused had first raped the victim in 2015. Samsuddin had asked her to wash his clothes. Following that, he raped the victim in the bathroom and threatened to defame and even murder her if she complained about the incident to anyone else. “The Maulana immediately came from behind and raped me. He also threatened me not to disclose anything about the incident or else he would tarnish my character,” the victim was quoted as saying.

The victim who had recently married in December 2019 was encouraged by her husband to file a rape complaint against Samsuddin at the Nara police station. As per the report, the victim was sent to the madarsa to learn Urdu and Arabic when she was 15. While she failed to remember the dates, she was able to recollect the years during which the heinous crime was committed.

Accused booked under POCSO act

According to the victim, the Maulana raped her three more times, following the first instance of assault in 2015. Reportedly, the latest instance of assault took place in 2019. The cops have booked Samsuddin under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and IPC Sections for rape, and criminal intimidation. The police have sent a team to the Dhoro village to nab the perpetrator.

As Uddhav Thackeray govt buys expensive cars for ministers, doctors and nurses leave Mumbai to return to Kerala as BMC keeps salary pending

OpIndia Staff
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As Uddhav Thackeray govt buys expensive cars for ministers, doctors and nurses leave Mumbai to return to Kerala as BMC keeps salary pending

Even as the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra headed by Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray passed a special provision, sanctioning the purchase of expensive cars for the ministers, several doctors from Kerala, who had come to Mumbai at the Maharashtra state government’s bidding to fight the coronavirus spread in the city, are on their way back as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not yet paid their salaries.

15 of the 40 doctors have already left for Kerala while the remaining will be leaving shortly. Besides doctors, at least 35 nurses from Kerala, who had joined Seven Hills hospital in Mumbai last month, too, have not received their due salaries.

BMC interminably postponing the salaries

“All 40 doctors who flew to Mumbai from Kerala have not received their remuneration. They were supposed to work here for two months. Fifteen of them decided to return home last week due to salary issues,” said a doctor associated with the South Asia chapter of Doctors Without Borders that had facilitated the movement of these professionals to Maharashtra during the lockdown.

For the past few days, the doctors raised their concerns of not being paid. They also alleged that the BMC was not reimbursing their travel expenses. They said that the Municipal corporation was continuously postponing their payment. The BMC initially promised to pay by July 5, then deferred it to July 10 and finally to July 13. However, the salaries of the doctors were not credited by July 15.

A BMC official has assured that salaries will soon be credited in the bank accounts of the doctors and the nurses as the file was on the move.

Despite the non-payment of salaries, the Maharashtra government requests more medical force from Kerala

A team of 40 doctors and 35 nurses had arrived in Mumbai on June 9 after the government requested the Kerala government. They were entrusted with the task of aiding the BMC in setting u a COVID-19 hospital in the city. The BMC had promised a salary of Rs 2 lakh for specialist doctors, Rs 80,000 for MBBS doctors and Rs 35,000 for nurses, along with travel allowances.

While the doctors and nurses who had already arrived in Mumbai to join the city’s frontline forces in combating a rapidly spreading pandemic are yet to be paid, the Maharashtra government has put in an additional request for the health care resources to the Kerala government. In a letter to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on June 22, Uddhav Thackeray said, “Our doctors and nurses have been fighting a long-drawn battle against COVID-19, and whilst we have begun to chase the virus and chase it for good, we need to have more members into our medical frontline front to assist increased capacity. Apart from ICU trained nurses, we require intensivist’s, anaesthetists, pulmonologists, physicians at large.”

Uddhav Thackeray government passes a special provision for the purchase of expensive cars

The Maharashtra government is struggling to pay its own employees, let alone health care resources requested from other states. But while the state is floundering to make payments to the employees involved in the fight against the coronavirus, the government had recently given its authorisation for the purchase of 6 new vehicles for its ministers.

The approval from the Uddhav Thackeray government came at a time when the Maharashtra Treasury is in a bad shape in the wake of coronavirus induced lockdown in the state.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government gave its nod for the purchase of Innova Crysta 2.4 ZX (7 seaters) worth Rs 22,83,086 from Madhuban Motors Pvt. Ltd., Lower Parel, Mumbai. It is pertinent to note that while the ceiling limit for the purchase of a car has been Rs 20 lakh, a special provision, with the approval of the state government’s finance department and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was passed to pursue the purchase of the vehicles.

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