The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has built up a 1,000 bed coronavirus facility in the national capital in 11 days only. The temporary structure also includes 250 ICU beds.
DRDO-built Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel #COVID19 Hospital in Delhi Cantonment, the temporary hospital structure has been erected in 11 days and will have 1,000 beds including 250 ICU beds: DRDO officials pic.twitter.com/QV0vPaJxY6
The DRDO had recently said that the wards in the new COVID-19 coronavirus facility will be named after the jawans martyred in the bloody face-off in Galwan Valley, Ladakh, with China. The ICU ventilator ward has been named after Colonel B Santosh Babu. The 1,000-bed facility will also have specialised ICU beds.
Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are likely to inaugurate the facility on Sunday.
As the Maharashtra government is busy dishing out threats to Patanjali for alleged misleading people over Coronil, some of the municipal corporations in the state are vigorously promoting the use of a certain “unani kadha” as a remedy against the coronavirus.
After the alleged success of “unani kadha” in fighting the spread of coronavirus in Malegaon, efforts are underway to make the use of the said extract in the Dhule district of Maharashtra, said the Municipal commissioner Aziz Sheikh.
The Dhule Municipal Corporation is preparing the “unani kadha” to boost the immunity of its frontline workers battling the scourge of coronavirus in the district. The Municipal Commissioner also added that efforts are undertaken to provide the kadha to the maximum number of citizens in the city.
With the assistance of district administration and Khatun Education Society’s Al-Ameen Unani Medical college in Malegaon, along with Malegaon’s RMS Institute of Pharmacy, the “unani kadha” was distributed among the workers of the Dhule District court. At the time of distribution of “unani kadha” at the district court, the Municipal Corporation said that it is prepared for the distribution of the extract in other parts of the town. The president of Unani college, Rizwan Sheikh, assured that the kadha will be made available for other institutions, individuals or administrative bodies in the city if they demand for the extract.
Several dignitaries were present at the event in Dhule when “unani kadha” was presented to the district court workers. Justice A. H. Syed participated in the event, along with District Judge J. A. Sheikh. Secretary of District Legal Services Authority, Dr G U Dongre was also the part of the event where a kadha was endorsed as an “immunity booster” to tame the coronavirus outbreak.
In Rajasthan also traditional formulation kadha is being promoted as a immunity booster against Coronavirus. Last month the state’s Ayush and Health minister said around 18 lakh people were served such kadha in the state from March to June, and process was still going on.
Maharashtra Government warns strict action against Patanjali if found misleading people with ‘Coronil’
This comes in stark contradiction to Maharashtra government’s fierce disapproval of the Patanjali’s Coronil drug. The Maharashtra government on Friday issued a stern warning to Baba Ramdev’s organisation Patanjali, promising stringent action against the company if it indulges in sowing confusion among people or misleads them claiming that their newly developed drug Coronil cures coronavirus.
“If Patanjali still tries to mislead the people and create confusion, action will be taken and a case would be registered under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 against the Ayurveda Company, said Maharashtra FDA minister Rajendra Shingne.
The Maharashtra government, however, said that the drug prepared by Patanjali can be advertised as “immunity booster”. Highlighting AYUSH ministry’s observation, Shingne clarified that Patanjali can sell Coronil as immunity booster only, adding that its name corona + nil = Coronil had created confusion among people.
While the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra goes on an overdrive to slam the drug prepared by Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali, its own employees in different Municipal corporations in the state are actively endorsing and advocating the use of unproven and untested formulations such as “unani kadha” to treat those afflicted by the coronavirus and to develop immunity against the contagion that has so far affected 11.1 million people across the world and had the countries scramble for preparing a vaccine against it.
Amidst the controversy surrounding fake licences of the Pakistani pilots, several countries have imposed strict restrictions on the operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Pro-active measures were taken by the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and the European Union in view of the safety of passengers travelling on flights that are operated by Pakistani pilots.
On Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) had reportedly suspended Pakistani pilots who were working in the country. As per the regulator, the temporary decision was taken to ensure the ‘safety’ and ‘security’ of the civil aviation of Malaysia. Meanwhile, CAAM informed that it was authenticating the licences of Pakistani pilots with the help of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).
“Licence holders that are verified as valid by PCAA will be reinstated immediately. “The records of the Pakistani licence holders will be reviewed by CAAM and PCAA,” the Malaysian regulator informed in a statement. CAAM justified its move by stating that similar action was initiated by several other countries.
UAE to verify Pakistani pilots
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) had also sought to verify the licenses of the Pakistani pilots employed with its airlines after claims of ‘dubious qualifications’ of 30% Pakistani pilots had surfaced. In a letter dated June 29, Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, the Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority of the UAE, had directed for the verification of credentials of flight operations officers, aircraft maintenance engineers, and pilots from Pakistan.
“We would like to request your good offices to verify the licensing credentials of the attached pilots’ list who are currently holding UAE’s pilots’ licenses based on licenses and qualifications issued by Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority,” Suwaidi wrote. Reportedly, out of 860 pilots in Pakistan, about 107 work for international airlines. When Reuters contacted the Pakistani aviation ministry, they refused to comment on the letter by the UAE Aviation Authority.
UK, European Union suspends PIA flights
Earlier, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority had withdrawn PIA’s permit to continue operations in three major flying destinations. “PIA flights from Birmingham, London Heathrow, and Manchester airports are suspended with immediate effect,”, a UK Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson was quoted as saying.
On Tuesday, the Pakistan International Airlines spokesperson informed that the European Union safety agency had suspended the airlines from operating in Europe for the next six months effective from July 1, 2020. “EASA has temporarily suspended PIA’s authorisation to operate to the EU member states for a period of 6 months effective July 1, 2020, with the right to appeal against this decision,” a PIA statement said, adding that PIA would discontinue all its flights to Europe temporarily. The decision was taken in light of the fake pilot license scandal in Pakistan.
PIA pilots have fake licences
Last month, Pakistan’s Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan made a shocking revelation that more than 30 percent of civilian pilots in Pakistan carried fake licences and were not qualified for flying. While addressing Pakistan’s National assembly, the aviation minister said that some 262 pilots in the country paid someone to sit on their behalf in the qualifying exam to clear the examination. These findings were revealed after a probe into the PIA plane crash in Karachi last month. Following the publication of the report into the crash, Pakistan International Airlines grounded 150 pilots suspected of having fake licenses.
In an attempt to quell the dissenting voices on social media platforms, especially Twitter, Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra have started handing out notices via Direct Message on Twitter to people who have made ‘offensive’ tweets against the state government or Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Maharashtra cyber police have been sending notices on Direct Notice to Twitter users for tweets considered as offensive by the govt.
In a series of tweets, a Twitter user who goes by the handle @NidarNaari claimed that the Maharashtra government is clamping down on the tweets that show the state government and the chief minister in a bad light. She added that Maharashtra cyber police will be issuing a warning for posting offensive tweets and if such posts didn’t stop, a complaint will be filed against the user under Section 149 of CrPC.
The Twitter user also alleged that posts deemed as objectionable by the government will be subsequently removed by Twitter India and the social media user will receive a call from the Cyber Cell, asking him/her to visit the police station.
You will be asked to visit Police Station.. Be careful ?
Another Twitter user shared a screenshot of the notice that was sent by the Maharashtra government on Direct Message, apparently for calling a driver as a driver in one of the tweets.
चालकाला चालक म्हणल्यास मिरची लागण्याचे कारण काय ? एवढीच लाज वाटते तर गाडी चालवायची नाही मग..!
तुमचे चेले सात तास चलवली म्हणून मिरवतात आणि आम्ही ड्रायव्हर म्हणलं तर आम्हाला नोटिसा पाठवता,पोलीस स्टेशन वरून फोन करून हजर व्हायला सांगतां..?
The notice from the Maharashtra Cyber Cell read that the user had used social media platforms for posting offensive/ abusive/ defamatory/ malicious posts.
“Maharashtra Cyber Police Department, the nodal agency for cyber in Maharashtra State is hereby issuing you a notice under Section 149 CRPC for posting offensive messages. You are warned to refrain from doing so, as it is an offence under Information Technology Act, IPC and other relevant applicable laws,” the message received on Personal Message read.
On May 20, the Maharashtra Cyber Police had posted messages on its Twitter account informing that anyone found posting offensive / abusive / defamatory / malicious posts will be issued notices under section 149 of CRPC. They had said that posting such offensive messages is an offense under Information Technology Act, IPC and other laws of the land, and had urged people from refrain from posting such messages. They had informed that they will send notices individually to users posting offensive messages in their inboxes.
The British daily – Guardian, which has been on a disinformation campaign against India over the issue of the current stand-off between the Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control near Ladakh, was yet again caught peddling fake news regarding Chinese ‘intrusion’ into the Indian territory near Pangong Tso in Ladakh.
In its report titled, “Our pastures have been taken: Indians rue China’s Himalayan land grab”, Guardian made various assertions, a few backed by questionable data, to state that China has captured pasture lands in Ladakh.
We had reported in detail regarding how Guardian misled its readers by not only making false assertions pertaining the current India-China stand-off but also wrongly claimed that Chinese PLA troops had ‘intruded’ and ‘captured’ India’s territory at Galwan valley and Pangong Tso during the ongoing stand-off.
Continuing their propaganda, the Guardian went on to outrightly lie that the Chinese PLA troops had constructed military structures, including a radar tower, close to a ridge known as Finger Four near Pangong Tso in just the ‘last few weeks’.
Image Source:Guardian
In the report, it claims that according to the fresh images obtained by them at Pangong Tso, which according to it is a ‘freshwater lake’ on the border, which clearly showed them that there were substantial Chinese military structures, including a radar tower.
Fact check:
For starters, Pangong Tso, as claimed by Guardian is not a ‘freshwater lake’ but one of the highest brackish water lakes in the world.
Secondly, the claim made by the Guardian concerning the PLA troops constructing a radar tower at Finger Four at Pangong Tso within few weeks after the current stand-off is also an outright lie as satellite imageries suggest that the radar tower had already existed for several years.
From the Google Earth satellite imagery, the radar tower, which according to Guardian was constructed recently, it can be proved that the white-domed structure, which is believed to be a radar tower, was already existing even before the current stand-off started from May 5.
Image Source: Google Earth
The Google Earth imagery for the area was last updated on April 6, 2017, which is at least three years from the current stand-off.
According to Defence Analyst Abhijit Iyer Mitra, the radar tower, which is claimed to constructed recently by the Guardian, was actually constructed by the Chinese troops in 2006 along with a shipping dock. A shipping dock can indeed be seen in the area close to the tower, with few ships docked there.
An August 2017 report by Colonel Vinayak Bhat (retd) also talks about the radar station and PLA Army naval station at the Pangong Tso Lake in the Sirjap Area. The report states as the area is surrounded by mountains, the radar can only monitor surface movements along the Pangong Tso lake.
In a hurry to discredit Modi government’s claims, the Guardian attempted to mislead its readers by making factually incorrect statements regarding the current stand-off between the two countries along the LAC.
Guardian cites Congress workers to make incorrect claims about Pangong Tso and Galway
Earlier, we had reported a detailed fact-check of the misleading Guardian in which it had over-enthusiastically spread false information regarding China ‘intruding’ and ‘capturing’ India’s territory during the ongoing stand-off between India and China.
The British daily had not only passed-off the claims made by a Congress worker as a local resident, without even referring to his political affiliation, to claim that China has occupied Indian terrorists but also went on to quote a 60-year-old individual, who according to Guardian had fought the 1962 India-China war, which was occurred 58 years ago.
The report had also falsely claimed that Chinese troops had captured Indian territories till Finger 4, which is also untrue.
The Guardian further quoted, a person identified as 60-year-old Tashi Chhepal, who according to them was a retired Indian army captain who fought the 1962 India-China war. However, Guardian made Tashi Chhepal, who is 60 year old currently, fight a war that took place 58 years back, making him the youngest soldier on the history.
It appears that the only prerequisite to having gainful employment with the notorious leftist websites such as ‘The Wire’ and ‘The Hindu’ is to harbour and manifest Hinduphobic views. Since a long-time now, anti-Hindu tendencies have been a hallmark of writers and journalists associated with these leftist rags.
Recently, a journalist named Suprakash Majumdar from ‘The Wire’ made an acutely Hinduphobic comment on Twitter, slandering Lord Hanuman, the esteemed devotee of Lord Ram. Majumdar, in his tweet, alleged that Lord Hanuman had a “gay crush” on Lord Rama.
“I think Hanuman had a gay crush on Ram. What do you guys think?” Majumdar asked on Twitter.
A journalist from ‘The Hindu’, Suchitra, responded to the tweet by mocking Hindus and Hinduism, sardonically claiming that Hindus will now lay claim to being the most modern and tolerant religion and sarcastically advised Majumdar to not provide ammunition to the Hindus with such suppositions.
Source: Twitter
“Hindus will come and declare themselves the most modern and tolerant religion now. Don’t give them ammo,” Suchitra, who had previously worked for Congress mouthpiece National Herald, said in response to Majumdar’s vile tweet defaming Lord Hanuman.
Soon after users on the microblogging website picked up the Hinduphobic conversation defaming Lord Hanuman, they registered their protest against the two journalists for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and demanded action against them. Spooked by the public umbrage at their patently anti-Hindu comments, Suprakash Majumdar appears to have deactivated his account.
Twitter account of Suprakash Majumdar
On the other hand, ‘The Hindu’ journalist Suchitra has protected her account, possibly fearing that Twitter users might dredge up her old tweets insulting Hinduism and Hindu Gods. The Twitter bio of Suchitra says she had worked with media organisations such as Quint, The Citizen, The Caravan, Congress mouthpiece–National Herald, many of which have been accused of blatantly publishing anti-Hindu content.
Twitter profile of Suchitra
It has been catnip for journalists working for left-leaning organisations such as ‘The Wire’ to brazenly peddle Hinduphobic views under the pretext of having the right to expression as enshrined in the constitution of India. However, over time, all pretences of nuance and subtleties have been shunned and the left-leaning websites and their writers have shown utter disregard for the sensitivities of the Hindus.
The anti-Hindu antecedents of the Wire
This is not the first time that the journalists associated with The Wire have indulged in Hinduphobic behaviour. The Wire had provided its platform for delinquents such as Sharjeel Imam, who had not only manifested Hinduphobic proclivities but also espoused seditious ideology, exhorting the Indian Muslims to cut off the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ to dismember Assam and the rest of North East from India.
The Wire had also indulged in maligning Hindu festivals while overlooking the vices of other religions. Denigrating the Hindu festival of Holi, The Wire published an article, hypothesizing that the festival of Holi perpetuated rape culture. Even Deepavali was not spared by The Wire which presumptuously proceeded to falsely attribute the source of pollution in the country to the festival. The Wire even advanced to disparage Tamil culture by reducing Jallikattu to animal abuse and machismo.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued a clarification following criticism over its claim of plan to release a Coronavirus vaccine by 15 August while starting human trials for the same in July. ICMR has said that while it aims to expedite clinical trials of COVAXIN, developed in collaboration with Bharat Biotech, all globally accepted norms for vaccine development will be followed. ICMR has clarified that it has asked the clinical study sites only to cut red tape related to the trial for the Coronavirus vaccine, and not to bypass any clinically necessary step.
On July 3, ICMR’s letter to 12 medical intuitions selected for human trial of the vaccine had appeared in media. In the letter, the medical body had asked the institutions to expedite the process and complete the enrolment by subjects by July 7, so that the vaccine can be released to the public by August 15. Mention of this date had created a controversy, as many believed that it is too early for a trial which has not started yet. Several media houses had reported that scientists are troubled by this deadline set by ICMR, and questioned the entire process of developing a vaccine for Coronavirus in India. Media had reported researchers and virologists quoting that completing the trial in such a short period is not possible, and advising ICMR to be careful.
Statement issued by ICMR on Covaxin trial
After the growing criticism over particularly the deadline, ICMR in a statement issued on July 4 has clarified that it has asked the study sites chosen for the trial to cut red tape to complete the trial as soon as possible. The medical body also said that all other Coronavirus vaccine development efforts across the globe have been fats-tracked in the similar manner. ICMR has confirmed that it has tried to ensure that the vaccine is not stuck in files, and also will conduct multiple steps in the development process simultaneously, like human and animal trials.
“In the larger public health interest, it is important for ICMR to expedite the clinical trials with a promising indigenous vaccine. Faced with the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequent dislocation of the normal life, all other vaccine candidates across the globe have been similarly fast-tracked. ICMR’s process is exactly in accordance with the globally accepted norms to fast-track the vaccine development for diseases of pandemic potential wherein human and animal trials can continue in parallel”, the statement says.
ICMR informs that the pre-clinical studies on COVAXIN have been completed successfully, and now phase 1 and 2 human trains for the same will start.
“Now that preclinical studies have been completed successfully, the phases 1 and 2 human trials are to be initiated. The letter by DG-ICMR to investigators of the clinical trial sites was meant to cut unnecessary red tape, without bypassing any necessary process, and speed up recruitment of participants. Just as red tape was not allowed to become a hindrance in the fast track approval of new indigenous testing kits or for introducing in the Indian market potential COVID-19 related drugs, the indigenous vaccine development process has also been sought to be insulated from slow file movement. The aim is to complete these phases at the earliest, so that population-based trials for efficacy could be initiated without delay”, ICMR adds.
In phase 1 of a clinical trial, a drug under development is tested on small number of healthy volunteers to check its safety, while in phase 2, it is tested on a small number of patients of the disease to check its efficacy. After both the phases, phase 3 is conducted on a larger number of patients to determine its efficacy level
The Country’s apex body on medical research confirmed that the “trials will be done following the best practices and rigour, and will be reviewed, as required, by a Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB)”.
They also slammed the media reports for questioning the efforts to develop the virus by saying that “while issues raised in public domain from time-to-time by commentators are welcome, as they form an important part of feedback loop, the best of India’s medical professionals and research scientists should not be second guessed for their professionalism or adherence to the highest scientific rigour.” ICMR also confirmed that it is committed to treat the safety and interest of people of India as a topmost priority.
The Chinese Communist Party has been a belligerent force in the world scene for decades now. Apart from its totalitarian control of its own territory, it also lays claim to territory beyond its borders based on historical precedent, that sometimes dates back to the 14th Century. Very recently, in the wake of its furtive disputes with India and Japan, it also laid claim to the Russian city of Vladivostok.
The Chinese claim to Vladivostok is a stark reminder of the extent to which the ‘Century of Humiliation’ plays a very crucial role in shaping China’s foreign policy and its actions on the international scene. The ‘Century of Humiliation’ occupies a very important place in the national imagination of the Chinese. The period refers to the century between the First Opium War in 1939 to the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
The period was marked by numerous wars where the Chinese suffered defeat at the hands of Western powers, Russia and Japan. It is estimated that the Chinese control of its territory shrank by a third and its millennia-old imperial system collapsed. The period was also marked by internal rebellions, uprisings and civil wars. To say that it was a pretty bad time to be a Chinese would be an understatement.
Vladivostok, as mentioned above, was annexed by the Tsarist Regime in Russia through the Treaty of Peking in 1860. Until then, it was ruled by the Qing Dynasty of China. Besides Vladivostok, China also lost the Kowloon Peninsula to Britain. Even after a hundred and sixty years, such emotional wounds have not been forgotten.
One American commentator noted, “The Chinese have one very broad generalization about their own history: they think in terms of ‘up to the Opium war’ and ‘after the Opium war’; in other words, a century of humiliation and weakness to be expunged.” Others have noted, “Chinese nationalism is not just about celebrating the glories of Chinese civilization; it also commemorates China’s weakness.”
Alison Kaufman, senior Asia policy researcher at the CNA Corporation, stated in one of her papers, “The Century of Humiliation presents not just a cautionary tale about past experiences, but a source of beliefs about how the world works. Both explicitly and implicitly, Chinese elites still use the vocabulary and questions developed during that period to interpret the dynamics of international relations today.”
She added, “Contemporary arguments about the nature of competition among nations, the reasons that nations succeed or fail in the international arena, and the prospects for long-term global peace or cooperation are conducted through terms and assumptions developed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
During the ‘Century of Humiliation’, China was forced to open up its ports, cede territories, suffered Japanese incursions and massive internal rebellions. Kaufman states, “The events of this period marked China’s abrupt transition from a powerful, proud, and unified state to one whose territory was “carved up like a melon” by foreign powers and whose army had been humiliated.”
The Chinese Communist Victory declared the end of the ‘Century of Humiliation’ when it acquired power in 1949. In the words of one politburo member, “the establishment of new China… put an end to the situation in which old China was split up, the nation was subject to humiliation, and the people experienced untold sufferings.”
David Scott, an expert on China, remarked, “Instead, for about one hundred years, China limped along in the international system, neither one thing nor the other. It was the most populous state on the globe, accounting for one-quarter of the world’s population, yet it also conceded territory and sovereignty rights to a plethora of outside countries, including even small European countries like Belgium and Portugal with a fraction of its population and size. China was neither a colony nor sovereignly independent. It was in the “Community of Nations,” yet humiliatingly seen as the “Ward of [Western] Civilization.” Part of the “international system” and its power distributions, it was not necessarily part of “international society” and its shared norms.”
The ‘Century of Humiliation’ narrative also helps the Chinese Communist Part to ramp up support for itself among the Chinese citizens. The end of the dark days coincide with the victory of the CCP and hence, the Chinese are predisposed towards viewing the CCP in good light. However, it also should be admitted that it is not far from the truth because it’s truly under the CCP that China has risen from the depths to become a potent force in world politics.
Today, China has greater ambitions and wishes to transform the world order into one that is more conducive to its own interests. It seeks to correct what it perceives to be injustices meted out to them in the past but also seeks to ensure that it is never in a position where it is forced to suffer such humiliation again.
Some have opined that the ‘Century of Humiliation’ is a myth that has become China’s “chosen trauma”. They argue that it is propaganda that has been adopted by the Chinese Communist Party to dredge up nationalistic fervour among its population and consolidate support for itself and legitimise its rule. Whatever it may, it cannot be denied that it occupies a dominant space in the public imagination. So much so that Chinese and Taiwanese textbooks to this day divide their history as before and after the Opium War.
The Delhi anti-Hindu riots have been one of the brute and macabre displays of street violence displayed by the Islamist mobs in recent times. Over 50 people died in the riots from both communities, Hindus and Muslims. The most ghastly cases that emerged from the riots were the murders of IB staffer Ankit Sharma and sweet-shop worker Dilbar Negi. While Dilbar Negi was dismembered and burnt alive, Ankit Sharma was mutilated, murdered and dumped in a Chand Bagh drain by a Muslim mob spearheaded by AAP leader Tahir Hussain.
In the charge sheet filed in the case of Ankit Sharma’s murder, it was found by the Delhi Crime Branch that Tahir Hussain had met Khalid Saifi and Umar Khalid in January at Shaheen Bagh. It was there that the plan for the riot was hatched between the three. It has also been revealed that Khalid Saifi had met Islamist preacher Zakir Naik in Malaysia to ask for funding for the riots. Moreover, it was revealed that Tahir Hussain got money in shell accounts that were then used to fund the anti-Hindu riots.
So far, Tahir Hussain’s involvement was revealed to the extent of planning the anti-Hindu riots in Chand Bagh and funding the riots. It was also found that he was instigating the mobs to pelt stones, acid bottles etc against ‘Kafirs’ (Hindus).
The charge sheet filed in the Ankit Sharma murder case now reveals that Tahir Hussain not only planned the riots and instigated the mobs, but he was also at the roof-top pelting stones and acid bombs at Hindus of Chand Bagh himself.
Tahir Hussain charge sheet
Pradeep Kumar Verma, a Hindus whose garage was gutted by Tahir Hussain and other Islamists has told the police that first, Shah Alam, Gulfam, Riyasat Ali and others broke open the shutter of his parking, burnt and damaged vehicles and also looted Rs 20-22 thousand.
While this was happened, Tahir Hussain and others like Liyakat Ali were throwing stones, petrol bombs towards the parking lot and also instigating others to do so.
Pradeep had earlier went on record and attested to journalists that he had heard the mob chanting ‘Hindu hai, maaro”, (kill them, they are Hindus).
Here is what the mob did to Pradeep’s parking space.
Parking space gutted by Tahir Hussain and his mob Parking space gutted by Tahir Hussain and his mob
Another witness, Surendra Singh, who was present at the parking space that belonged to Pradeep also corroborated the chain of events in his statement to the police. He too said that Tahir Hussain was pelting stones and petrol bombs at the parking space.
Tahir Hussain charge sheet
Another witness had the same version to tell the police.
Tahir Hussain charge sheet
The witness statements as recorded in the charge sheet completely shatter the defence that was mounted by Islamists and Leftists for Tahir Hussain when videos of him walking about on his terrace surfaced during the Delhi riots.
In a so-called ‘exclusive’ interview with the Leftist propaganda portal The Wire, Tahir Hussain claims that he is “innocent and a victim of communal violence myself”. He is heard saying in the video clip, relayed by The Wire on Twitter, that he should not be targeted for being a Muslim. He says he has full faith in the judiciary and claimed that justice will be done.
Interestingly, Tahir Hussain had made similar appeals in another ‘exclusive’ interview with India Today, just before surrendering in court.
Several Islamists had pled the case for Tahir Hussain and claimed that he was innocent and had actually called the police to save him from the rioting mobs during the Delhi riots.
However, now, the details that have emerged in the charge sheet prove that not only was Tahir Hussain planning and coordinating the riots that broke out in Chand Bagh, but was also throwing stones and petrol bombs at Hindus who he deemed as ‘Kafirs’.
On Thursday night, a team of police and Local Crime Branch (LCB) reportedly nabbed a 19-year-old boy named Ismaeel Lashkar for raping a four-year-old girl in Yashoda Dham locality of Bhachau in the Kutch district of Gujarat. The incident took place 1.5 months ago during which the youth, who happened to the neighbour of the victim, committed the heinous act.
The victim’s parents are migrants from the State of West Bengal and have been living in the area for 2 years. Lashkar also hailed from West Bengal and worked in a nearby factory. He lived alone and was addicted to watching pornographic content. Cops have informed that the Coronavirus test results of the accused are awaited and that he will be arrested if he is tested negative.
On the fateful day of May 20, the girl was abducted by the accused while she was playing outside her hut in the colony. He forcefully took her to an adjoining bush and raped her. An officer from the Kutch (East) police station informed that about 70 migrant families lived in the Yashoda Dham locality and that they had suspected the accused to be one among them. Interestingly, the perpetrator behaved normally in public and took precautions to not raise suspicion in people’s minds.
Investigation into the Case
The victim was initially terrified and reluctant to confide about her perpetrator to a stranger. However, she eventually revealed the name of Lashkar after a female assistant sub-inspector was able to win her confidence. The victim also underwent psychological counselling sessions through an interpreter. As per reports, the accused has been booked under Sections 4 and 5 of the POSCO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, besides Sections 363 (abduction) and 376 – 3A,3B (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Cops had seized the mobile phone of the accused and found explicit content in it. Lashkar has revealed that he was motivated to commit the heinous crime after watching pornographic material. Inspector (Gandhidham Crime Branch) MS Rana informed that the accused used to frequently visit the area and that they had received a tip-off about his involvement in the crime.
