Vikas Dubey, the notorious gangster was neutralised today by UP Police in an encounter. While taking Dubey from Madhya Pradesh, the convoy of the police met with an accident. While the policemen lay injured in the accident, Vikas Dubey tried to snatch their weapons and escape. During this, Dubey was shot and killed.
The four policemen injured in the accident have not been brought to the hospital for treatment.
According to the reports, the injured policemen have been rushed to Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital in Kanpur, after they suffered some injuries during the encounter of gangster Vikas Dubey.
Kanpur: According to police, 4 policemen were injured after a car from UP STF convoy bringing back #VikasDubey from Madhya Pradesh, overturned today morning. pic.twitter.com/rI0RMpWXwz
IG Kanpur Mohit Agarwal, speaking to the media said, “Gangster Vikas Dubey has been killed in an encounter with the police. Four police personnel have also been injured. The injured personnel are currently being treated at a hospital.”
Gangster Vikas Dubey tries to escape, killed in an encounter
In a dramatic turn of events on Friday, the notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, who was arrested yesterday from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, was killed in an encounter in Kanpur on early morning on Friday.
The encounter had broken out between Vikas Dubey and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) after the gangster tried to flee upon reaching Kanpur. One of the vehicles of the convoy of Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) that was bringing back gangster Vikas Dubey from Madhya Pradesh to Kanpur overturned after skidding on the road due to heavy rains.
Soon Dubey tried to escape from the police custody and allegedly snatched a rifle from one of the injured policemen to open fire at the police. Following which, police shot at him in retaliatory firing. He sustained bullet injuries and was rushed to Kanpur’s LLN hospital where the doctors declared him dead.
The notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, who was responsible for the death of 8 policemen in Kanpur was arrested from Ujjain’s Mahakal temple on Thursday.
On Friday, a notorious criminal named Panna Yadav was injured during an encounter with the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police at Force at Ahiranpurwa village in Hardi area of Bahraich. On being brought to the district hospital, he was declared dead. According to Superintendent of Police Vipin Mishra, Yadav was a resident of Gorakhpur and carried a bounty of ₹50,000 on his head.
As per reports, Inspector General (STF) informed that the criminal had 36 cases of loot, robbery, extortion, and dacoity registered against him. He further stated that Panna Yadav would carry out his operations in Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Kheri, Basti, and Maharajganj. The cops were tipped off about the presence of Yadav. The criminal was gunned down after he had reportedly opened fire on the police.
A notorious criminal, Panna Yadav, was injured in an encounter with Special Task Force at Ahiranpurwa village in Hardi area of Bahraich last night. He was rushed to district hospital where he died. He was a resident of Gorakhpur & carrying a reward of Rs 50,000: SP Vipin Mishra pic.twitter.com/b9UEWcRIXF
The notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, who was arrested yesterday from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, has been killed in an encounter in Kanpur in the early morning on Friday. According to the reports, the encounter broke out between Vikas Dubey and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) after the gangster tried to flee upon reaching Kanpur.
Vikas Dubey, who was arrested from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, was being brought to Kanpur on Friday morning. As the Uttar Pradesh STF convoy reached Kanpur, Vikas Dubey tried to flee, resulting in an encounter.
The notorious gangster, Vikas Dubey, who was arrested from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh was killed in an encounter in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, 10th of July 2020. According to the police, while he was being transported to Uttar Pradesh, the convoy met with an accident. While police officials lay injured, Vikas Dubey tried to snatch their weapons and escape. In the process of trying to stop him, he was shot and killed.
The encounter of Vikas Dubey invited mixed reactions. While some said that Vikas Dubey had met his fate, rightly so, for brutally killing 8 police officials of the Uttar Pradesh police, others questioned the validity of police taking matters into their own hands, while doubting the credibility of the police’s version of what led to the encounter.
However, only a day before, The Wire was spinning a completely different yarn. An article published in The Wire insinuated that Yogi Adityanath was ‘casteist’ because in his ‘encounter raj’, a ‘Brahmin’ gangster would never be encountered and killed.
Article by The Wire
The Wire article starts with Yogi Adityanath’s legendary statement that criminals will not be spared. He had said that anyone committing a crime would be hammered (‘thoke jayenge’). One recalls how Yogi Adityanath in 2017 had said that criminals in Uttar Pradesh will either be jailed or killed in encounters. The article then goes on to talk about various tough statements made by not just Yogi Adityanath but even police personnel in the state.
It is after a long elaboration on what everyone knew was Yogi Adityanath’s public stance, The Wire started peddling a sinister agenda.
Article by The Wire
At this point, it would almost seem like The Wire cannot decide whether they support the practise of extra-judicial encounters, whether a result of circumstances or otherwise, or whether they consider it a human rights violation. Either way, The Wire insinuates that most people encountered in the state have been low rung, petty criminals and that none of the most wanted criminals have ever been encountered in the state.
The Wire then takes their propaganda further.
Article by The Wire
The Wire makes very clear insinuations here:
The Yogi Adityanath government had no intention of going after Vikas Dubey
The Yogi Adityanath government went only after Muslims and Dalits
The Yogi Adityanath government went after petty criminals, not the ones who were ‘connected’
The entire premise of the article was shattered well before the encounter itself.
The premise of the article is that the Yogi government goes only after Muslims and Dalits, however, if the Yogi government had no intention of nabbing Vikas Dubey, the initial raid itself would not have been set up.
It is pertinent to note here that in all these years, while the Samajwadi Party ruled, Vikas Dubey ran amuck with impunity and no coercive action against him. It was only during the Yogi Adityanath reign that a raid was conducted where an attempt was made to nab Dubey. In the process, 8 policemen were brutally murdered and then, a manhunt was launched as a result of which, Dubey was nabbed in Madhya Pradesh.
Further, after the encounter, the entire narrative of The Wire where it attempted to allege that Yogi Adityanath was ‘casteist’ for not killing Vikas Dubey in an encounter lies shattered as is.
However, one has to wonder why The Wire would publish such an article in the first place. The Yogi Adityanath government’s intention to inflict the strictest punishment on Vikas Dubey was rather evident from the raid that was carried out. After 8 police officers were killed, it was also a foregone conclusion that the police would not sit idly by after their brethren were slaughtered by the history-sheeter. What could possibly convince an editor to publish an article like the one published by The Wire, perhaps knowing fully well that they might end up severely embarrassed in the coming days?
Presumably and rather evidently, The Wire did not want Vikas Dubey to meet his fate. The narrative against Yogi Adityanath has been one that has been as severe and persistent as the one against PM Modi while he was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Seen as a leader who is not afraid to be politically incorrect and flex his muscles when the thugs take to the street, CM Yogi has repeatedly proven that he couldn’t possibly care less about the media or what it thinks about him, even if he tried.
By publishing this article, The Wire presumably aimed to exert pressure on Yogi Adityanath to ensure that no harm befalls Vikas Dubey. The reason behind this could be multiple. It is entirely possible that The Wire wanted Vikas Dubey, a notorious gangster to be alive, well and free so that their diatribe against Yogi could continue unabated. If Vikas Dubey had managed to escape or stay alive, The Wire would have found another, long-running trope against the saffron-clad Yogi who they love to hate. They would repeat ad-nauseum that Yogi Adityanath was a casteist and bigot who confidently took action against Muslims during the anti-CAA riots but got cold feet when it came to a gangster who was a ‘Brahmin’.
Further, they would have also peddled the theory that Dubey was ‘allowed to escape’ because he knew several secrets about the political class and hence, the UP govt never wanted him in custody in the first place. They would have conveniently forgotten that only a day before, Vikas Dubey’s mother had categorically stated that Dubey was a part of the Samajwadi Party. In fact, his wife too was a part of SP. They had no connections with the BJP directly whatsoever.
This little fact would have been hidden and every attempt would be made to insinuate, slyly, that Vikas Dubey was somehow connected to the BJP.
In essence, by shooting a bullet into Vikas Dubey’s chest, the Yogi Adityanath government seems to have dodged a media bullet that was headed straight for it.
Whether one believes in the principle of neutralising gangsters in encounters or not, whether one believes the UP police’s version of events or not, the one thing that has been proven beyond doubt, in this case, is that Yogi Adityanath’s fight against crime does not depend on a person’s faith or caste. And it certainly won’t be affected by what the likes of The Wire want.
On Thursday, amidst the ongoing tensions between India and Nepal, the cable operators in Nepal have banned the broadcasting of Indian news channels except for Doordarshan in their country.
Addressing a press conference, Nepal Information and Broadcasting Minister Yuba Raj Khativada had claimed that the Indian media was telecasting news that jeopardised the sovereignty and self-respect of Nepali citizens.
Nepal’s Multi-System Operators have decided to put a ban on Indian news channels reportedly on account of their ‘unfounded’ reports on Nepal over the last few days.
Some Indian channels ran shows on Oli being ‘honeytrapped’
The decision to ban Indian news channels also came after a few media networks ran episodes featuring speculations about an alleged ‘relationship’ between Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the Ambassador of China to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, earlier this week. Some news reports had suggested the premier could have been “honey-trapped” by the ambassador.
One of the media reports on Oli’s alleged affair
Nepal Communist Party raises a strong objection to Indian media reporting on Oli
The reports alleging Oli’s cosy relationship with the Chinese Ambassador had garnered widespread criticism in Nepal and the spokesperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) criticised such reports.
Senior Nepal Communist Party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha had too alleged that the Indian media was spreading “baseless propaganda” against Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli. Echoing similar sentiments, chief advisor to Nepal PM Bishnu Rimal had condemned the news reports from India pertaining to KP Sharma Oli, stating that it violated basic ethics of journalism.
Baseless propaganda by Indian media against Nepal govt and our PM has crossed all limits. This is getting too much. Stop with the nonsense, said former Deputy Prime Minister & Spokesperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Narayan Kaji Shrestha: Nepal media
As per reports, the ban is not official and has been brought in by cable operators. Nepal’s Nepal’s information minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, when asked whether the Nepalese government is mulling a ban on Indian channels, had stated that it would be better if Indian media practises self-restraint. Nepalese social media handles had trended #BackoffIndianMedia recently.
Nepal’s aggressive posturing against India
The ongoing tensions between India and Nepal come after the Himalayan neighbour on the behest of China, arbitrarily decided to amend its map to add some Indian territories as part of it.
The Nepal government headed by KP Oli decided to adopt a Constitution Amendment Bill, to pave way for changing the updated political-administrative map, which includes Indian areas of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, in its symbol.
Perhaps acting at the behest of China, the Nepal Communist Party-led government in the country, had made irredentist claims against India by asserting that Nepal would “bring back at any cost” the Indian territories of Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh area.
On Thursday, an Indian Army convoy was attacked by a group of Pakistan-sponsored Islamic terrorists in Pampore in Awantipora district of South Kashmir during which a soldier and a woman were injured.
Reportedly, during the attack on the Army convoy that took place in the Ladoo area of Pampore, a Kashmiri woman suffered minor injuries and was soon shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. The injured lady was soon discharged.
The lady was reportedly caught in between the crossfire when terrorists attacked at the convoy of the security forces from near a Mosque in Pampore of Pulwama.
As reports began to emerge that there has been another attack by the Islamic terrorists, the propaganda machinery within Kashmir resorted to peddling false information pertaining to the incident to claim that the lady was hit by the bullets of Indian Army, who later succumbed to injuries.
Ashraf Wani, the India Today journalist took to Twitter to claim that a lady died after she was hit by a bullet in Pampore after the Indian Army had fired against “youth pelting stones”.
Image Source: Ankur Singh
However, senior journalist Aditya Raj Kaul posted the image of the injured lady, who was referred to as dead by Ashraf Wani, to state that the injured lady was absolutely fine and back home from the hospital after getting first-aid.
It is notable here that Wani had not only invented a civilian ‘death’ when there was none, he had also stated that the Indian Army had opened fire on some ‘youth pelting stones’, trying to peddle a narrative that the army fires and kills young boys who pelt stones. The authorities have confirmed that bullets were fired at the Army convoy, not ‘stones pelted’.
Anti-India rhetoric spread by some groups
This is not the first time that India Today journalist has been pushing such dangerous false information on social media with regards to the terrorist attacks in the valley. Just a week back, Ashraf Wani had passed off a purported video of the son of the deceased, to claim that his 64-year-old father, who was killed by terrorists in Sopore, was actually picked by CRPF jawans.
In fact, Wani was trying to push the narrative on social media that 64-year-old man who was killed by the terrorists, was actually picked by the security forces, who was later found dead on the streets of Sopore. The image of the three-year-old child sitting on the chest the deceased person, who was later saved by the Indian Army had gone viral on the internet. Some media portals had even circulated a video of the three-year-old to claim that his grandfather was shot by police.
These purported videos of Ashraf Wani also made it to the social media groups of pro-Pakistan sympathisers in the valley, who used it to spread the narrative that it was the CRPF soldiers who killed the old man and not the terrorists.
The notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, who was arrested yesterday from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, has been killed in an encounter in Kanpur on early morning on Friday.
According to the reports, the encounter broke out between Vikas Dubey and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) after the gangster tried to flee upon reaching Kanpur.
Vikas Dubey, who was arrested from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, was being brought to Kanpur on Friday morning. As the Uttar Pradesh STF convoy reached Kanpur, Vikas Dubey tried to flee, resulting in an encounter.
According to sources, gangster Vikas Dubey attempted to flee after the car overturned. Shots were fired and he has been rushed to a hospital; more details awaited on his condition https://t.co/VPBEQjlcai
During the encounter, which took place at Sachendi border near Kanpur, Vikas Dubey sustained bullet injuries. Two police constables have also sustained injuries.
According to India Today, Vikas Dubey succumbed to his injuries. The body has been taken from the spot to Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital or Hallett Hospital in Kanpur where police and team of doctors are present.
The police has said that the police car met with an accident and the car overturned. After the accident, Vikas Dubey tried to snatch the weapon of injured policemen and attempted to flee. It was then that the police fired in retaliation, killing the gangster.
#WATCH Vikas Dubey attempted to flee by snatching pistol of the injured policemen after car overturned. Police tried to make him surrender, during which he fired at the policemen. He was injured in retaliatory firing by police. He was later rushed to the hospital: SP Kanpur West pic.twitter.com/ZajJVLNGBU
IG Kanpur Mohit Agarwal said that 4 policemen were injured in the accident.
Vikas Dubey arrested in Ujjain
The notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, who was responsible for the death of 8 policemen in Kanpur was arrested from Ujjain’s Mahakal temple on Thursday.
According to the reports, Vikas Dubey was present in the Lord Mahakal temple at Ujjain on Thursday. The visuals showed that Madhya Pradesh police nabbed the gangster inside the premises of Lord Mahakal temple. Reports stated that the security personnel at the temple had identified Dubey and had alerted the local police.
Vikas Dubey, dressed in a white shirt with a mask, was then brought to the Mahakal police station. The police had reportedly found credible identity proof with him after the arrest proving that the man arrested is Vikas Dubey.
From the 24th of February to the 26th of February, Delhi burnt with massive communal riots that were a direct consequence of the sabre-rattling by Islamist mobs. One of the first Hindu casualties was constable Ratan Lal, who was mercilessly killed by Islamist mobs. The chargesheet filed by Special Investigation Team of Delhi Police in the murder of Ratan Lal and deadly attacks by rioters on IPS Amit Sharma and IPS Anuj Kumar mentions at least 17 accused.
There are about 4 to 5 key conspirators in the entire case, which includes Salim Khan, Salim Munna and Shadab. The police stated that the riots were engineered in Delhi through a conspiracy to malign the image of the country. Interestingly, DS Bindra, who was hailed by the media as a messiah serving food to anti-CAA protestors was also named as one of the instigators of the riots that led to the murder of Ratan Lal.
Ratan Lal was mercilessly lynched by a crazed Islamist mob while he was trying to do his duty on main Wazirabad Road, Chand Bagh. The mob had come prepared for a riot according to the charge sheet. In the chargesheet, as reported earlier, it is mentioned that the agencies collected live cartridges and even used cartridges along with petrol bombs and Molotov cocktails from the rooftop of a rickshaw shop in the vicinity as well. Several bricks and stones were also collected for examination.
The video that had emerged at the time of an Islamist mob mercilessly lynching Ratan Lal had left the nation shocked. The rage and the coordination of the mob were rather evident from the video. It was reported at the time that the police had essentially gone to speak to the mob, pacify them and ask them not to continue with their illegal march, and it was then that they were attacked.
With the chargesheet being filed in the murder of Ratan Lal, a chilling fact has come to the fore. During the perusal of the chargesheet, OpIndia noticed that several witnesses who were examined by the authorities attested to the fact that before Ratan Lal was lynched to death by the Islamist mob, another police officer was held hostage by the mob.
Two police inspectors who were beat officers in the area and were responsible for maintaining law and order in the area after the mob had decided to take out an illegal march in protest of the CAA have given their statements where these facts are mentioned explicitly.
Excerpt of Chargesheet
The chargesheet says that Salim Munna, one of the main accused, was already telling Muslims congregated in the area to “show their might”. Before the murder of Ratan Lal, the statements of the two police officers say that the mob was already armed with sticks and rods. On the instruction of ACP Anuj Kumar, two police officers, who are the witnesses giving their statement, in this case, went in the tent of the protest site to speak to Salim Munna so the crowd build-up could be stopped. The police officers had gone there to tell the protestors to meet with the ACP and speak to him.
However, the two officers were held captive by the crowd and managed to escape with great difficulty.
A Muslim victim had also testified to the same hostage situation. His witness statement is also attached in the chargesheet.
Witness statement
The witness statement clearly says that the constables who had been sent in the tent to talk to the protestors were surrounded by the angry and agitated rioters and had escaped only later.
In December 2019, when riots had broken out in various parts of the country by Islamist mobs, a similar incident had taken place.
In Meerut, the police had received a tip-off that things could turn ugly during one of the protests on a Friday. Soon after the Friday prayers, a crowd of people wearing black bands came out from the Jama Masjid at around 2 pm to protest against the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Bill. When police tried to stop them, they started chanting slogans against the police after which the police lathi-charged them. After that, 15-20 miscreants reached the Lisadi gate intersection and started creating ruckus there. As the crowd kept swelling, the protestors started throwing stones at the police forces.
DM and SSP reached the spot as bullet started flying from both sides. On Hapur road, where around 25-30 RAF police trainees were deployed, realising that the police deployment is less, the agitating crowd shifted there, vandalising scores of vehicles and pelting stones against the law enforcement personnel. To protect themselves from the stone pelting, the trainee policemen took shelter inside a shop, but they were taken hostage by the violent protestors inside the shop by shutting down the shutters. The mob also tried to torch the shop, but was unable to do so.
The trapped policemen called their seniors, and a police force from Nauchandi police station reached the spot, but their vehicles were also stopped and they were attacked with stoned by the protesters. After that, the police opened fire on the mob, and eventually rescued the trapped RAF soldiers and brought the spiralling situation under control.
With this precedent, it is evident that the constables who were stuck in the tent, right before Ratan Lal was murdered by the same mob, were in an extremely precarious position. Soon after, the same mob mercilessly murdered constable Ratan Lal and grievously injured several others.
The Aam Aadmi Government-led by Arvind Kejriwal has been receiving criticism for all quarters for its unpreparedness in tackling the coronavirus crisis in the national capital. At such a time, his die-hard fans and supporters have taken it upon themselves to rebuild his lost credibility. Arvind Kejriwal’s adherents are taking to Twitter to hail him for ‘saving life’ of a Modi voter. Even after the party getting trolled time and again for taking unnecessary credit for things not done by them, the AAP supporters under the hashtag #DelhiDefeatingCorona, went ballistic hailing Kejriwal for something in which he actually had no role to play.
A Twitter user named Sushant Saurabh, who lives in Delhi, was diagnosed with coronavirus infection. His wife too was apparently infected. According to his Tweet, they both got themselves admitted in Delhi’s LNJP Hospital on June 20. Sushant Saurabh, who has now recovered from the infection took to Twitter to laud the health workers, the doctors and the staff at LNJP hospital in Delhi who took good care of him and his wife. While praising the facilities at the hospital, Sushant Saurabh had tagged Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in his Tweets.
AAP supporters heap praises for Kejriwal
The AAP supporters, who were quick to spot this, dug up Sushant Saurabh’s Twitter account only to find, that he is a Modi supporter. This got the ball rolling for the Arvind Kejriwal fan club who started sharing Sushant Saurabh’s 2019 Tweets where he had expressed support for Modi. During the 2019 general elections, Sushant had voiced his support for Modi by writing “Namo Namo” under hashtag #MeraVoteModiKo. Sharing screenshots of his old Tweets and his current ones praising LNJP hospital, its doctors, health care workers and the facilities, AAP supporters started hailing Kejriwal was “saving life” of a Modi supporter.
So much was the excitement, that one of Arvind Kejriwal’s supporter was quick to declare him the next Prime Minister. Saying that this would give us great hospitals all over India, the Twitter user asks everyone to choose the next PM wisely.
AAP leaders also jumped in to show their adherence for their leader. Kundan Gogia, the power movement in charge from Patiala constituency, said that there are two kinds of leaders, one who takes care of votes and the other you take care of his people, insinuating that Kejriwal is amongst the second kind.
Taking needless credit for the work done by someone else is something which the Aam Aadmi Party has expertise in. The AAP chief has many times used sensitive issues to gain PR brownie points. Last month, the Aam Aadmi Party was caught claiming credit for the 10,000-bed coronavirus facility in Delhi, built by ITBP under the union home ministry. Soon after India’s largest facility for coronavirus patients, the Sardar Patel COVID Centre and Hospital, Chattarpur became operational in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party, which had almost given up the coronavirus fight in Delhi, soon jumped to take the credit for the newly built coronavirus facility despite the fact that Arvind Kejriwal-led government had a very limited role to play in setting up the facility.
Going by his penchant, Kejriwal had also tried to take credit for Center’s free ration scheme. Exposing Kejriwal, BJP leader had shared screenshots of an e-coupon Delhi government has issued for free ration under Chief Minister Corona Relief Free Ration Scheme. The e-coupon which had a photograph of Arvind Kejriwal nowhere mentioned that the Delhi government had actually got the ration from the centre under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
Moreover, during the initial days of the Covid-19 pandemic, AAP’s MLAs, including Manish Sisodia and Raghav Chaddha, posted photos of themselves leading the disinfection drive. The party also tried to take credit for the recently established coronavirus facility at Radha Soami center in Delhi, the work for which was actually carried out by the Central Government.
The talks between Indian and Chinese sides to diffuse the tension at the LAC in Ladakh has started to yield results as the first phase of disengagement has been completed, and the second phase will begin shortly. According to a report by ANI quoting government sources, armies of both the countries have completed withdrawal from conflict sites along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, in Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso lake and other conflict areas.
Disengagement between India and China completed at Patrolling Point 17 (Hot Springs) today. With this, disengagement complete at PP-14, PP-15 and PP-17. Chinese Army thinning out in Finger area in Ladakh: Indian Army Sources pic.twitter.com/60Na3maoEW
During the first phase of disengagement, the Chinese military has moved back from Finger 4 to Finger 5 along the Pangong Tso lake. Apart from that, they have also moved back by around two kilometers in Galwan Valley, Hot Springs (Patrolling Point 17) and Patrolling Point 15. The disengagement took place after Coprs Commander level talks between the two sides.
Chines troops had retreated from Patrolling Point 14 few days ago, following the talks between the two sides. Recent satellite images also show that the Chinese side has withdrawn from contentious sites at Galwan Valley. The buffer zone at the Galwan valley will be the area on the both sides of PP14.
Similarly, Indian forces also moved back from their positions as per the agreement. At Pangong Tso, Indian side has moved back to Dhan Singh Thapa post near Finger 3, where the base post of Indian side is located. After both sides move back into their own territories, the vacant space now created between the positions of India and China will be treated as temporary non-patrolling zones by both the countries, and the troops will not enter this area. For example, at the Finger area, the space between Finger 3 and Finger 5 will become a non-patrolling area. It is reported that approximately 3 kilometers of land will be kept as non-patrolling area.
Talks on the second round of disengagement will begin by next week, which will focus on both sides moving back to permanent locations, as decided during the recent meeting between Indian NSA Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart. Corps Commander-level talks will take place between the two armies after meeting of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) scheduled to be held tomorrow.
Both India and China have agreed that it was necessary to ensure to complete the disengagement of troops along the LAC at the earliest to fully restore peace and tranquillity at the border.
Taking PM Modi’s call to make India self-reliant or Atmanirbhar Bharat, 150 firms in Morbi have joined hands to create local alternatives to products currently being outsourced from China. As the call to boycott China and its product gains momentum, Morbi, known as a hub of ceramic tiles in Gujarat, is aspiring to replace the Chinese toy market.
Around 150 electronics item and clock manufacturers from Morbi are in talks with firms which source parts or finished products from China for the Indian market. The manufacturers believe that with more than 25000 skilled manpower and the required infrastructure, they are well equipped to make many such products in Morbi.
The MD of the world’s largest wall-clock maker- Ajanta-Oreva Group, Jaysukh Patel, said that due to the decrease in demands since the Covid-19 outbreak, Morbi has been operating at barely 20 per cent capacity. “So, we started looking at our strengths and decided to replace China as a supplier for small electronic equipment for consumer appliances, toys and gift articles,” explains Patel.
The MD of Ajanta clocks furthered that the manufactures will not only be engaging with toy and gift articles makers but also consumer durable firms such as Hitachi, Samsung and LG for new business.
Speaking on cost-efficiency, Patel said that they are confident of not only delivering products at a better cost than China but also manufacturing superior quality products.
Letter sent to PM Modi asking for support
Patel added that Morbi has already approached the centre for help. “A letter has been sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking government support and protection for this segment of products”, Jaysukh Patel said.
Raising concerns on under-invoicing/tax evasion by Chinese companies to dump goods into the Indian market and ruin the country’s MSME sector, the letter to the PM dated July 5 read: “Indian MSME is competent enough to compete with Chinese products provided we curb the unethical imports of Chinese products. It will be a great assistance and boon to the MSME sector, if we can curb such unethical imports.”
Morbi, the ceramic tiles hub of India
For the uninitiated, Morbi or Morvi is a town and a municipality in Morbi district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Morbi is a huge industrial hub, especially famous for the production of ceramic tiles. Apart from housing 80% of India’s ceramic vitrified tile manufacturing units, Morbi is also famous for the Ajanta plant, one of the leading manufacturers of electronics items and clocks. Morbi initially used to be a manufacturing hub of clay roof tiles (commonly known as Naliya tiles in Gujarat). But as days progressed, the manufacturers turned to ceramic vitrified tile and now it has become the hub for such ceramic tiles in India.
China is the biggest exporter of ceramic products, especially vitrified floor tiles in Europe, the US, far-eastern countries and Africa. According to tiles makers in Morbi, Gujarat, as supply from neighbouring country has stopped, China-dominated markets are now looking at Indian tile manufacturers.
