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Kashmiri woman arrested for allegedly planning ISIS terror attacks during anti-CAA protests in Delhi, tests positive for coronavirus

Jhankar Mohta
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Kashmiri woman arrested for allegedly planning ISIS terror attacks during anti-CAA protests in Delhi, tests positive for coronavirus

A Kashmiri woman, who was arrested earlier this year along with her husband and one another person, for allegedly planning a terror attack in the country during anti-CAA protests has been tested positive for coronavirus. The accused was in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Court has directed NIA to admit Hina Bashir Beigh to Delhi state-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital with immediate effect. 

3 accused were interrogated by NIA

Hina Bashir Beigh was interrogated along with her husband and the third accused Abdullah Bashith, a Hyderabad-based man by the NIA from May 29 onwards. As per reports, before the interrogation, all three had tested negative. But Hina had showed symptoms later, following which she was tested again after some days.

Hina Bashir Beigh’s lawyer M S Khan had filed an application seeking interim bail for her for two months, saying: “Delhi is struggling to cope up with the rising number of coronavirus positive cases” and that there is “lack of proper treatment facilities in government hospitals”.

In the plea, which will probably be heard by the court next week, Khan also said that Beigh has no criminal record and there is no chance of her absconding or tampering with the case’s evidence. “Beigh has clean antecedents and roots in society. There is no chance of her absconding or tampering with the prosecution witnesses.”

The coronavirus tests of accused persons were conducted on June 6 (Saturday), on the directions of the court, a day before their 10-day custodial interrogation ended on June 7 (Sunday). “The report of COVID-19 test of accused persons namely Jahanzaib Sami and Mohd Abdullah Basith is negative but the report of Hina Bashir Beigh is found positive,” the NIA informed the court.

Kashmiri woman with IS links, her husband nabbed by Delhi police earlier this year

Notably, Jahanzaib Sami is the husband of Hina Bashir Beigh. Delhi police had nabbed the couple and another accused Mohd Abdullah Basith from south Delhi’s Jamia Nagar in March this year. They are accused of having links with the terrorist organisation Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP).

According to the reports, the couple had been in touch with senior ISKP members in Afghanistan and had tried to exploit the anti-CAA riots to incite Muslims to carry out terror strikes inside the country. The Delhi police had intelligence regarding the IS terrorist presence in Jamia Nagar and carried out an operation on March 8.

Meanwhile, the court has sent Jahanzaib Sami and Mohd Abdullah Basith to jail after NIA did not seek their further remand for interrogation.

Kashmiri couple intended to carry out terror strikes including a suicide attack

Jahanzaib Sami was under the radar of the Indian intelligence operatives some time back for his association with senior members of ISKP in Afghanistan. It appears that he intended to carry out terror strikes including a suicide attack and had also been attempting to procure weapons for this purpose.

According to intelligence officials, Jahanzaib Sami was also in touch with Huzaifa al-Bakistani, the Pakistani commander of the Islamic State’s Khorasan wing who played a key role in efforts to radicalise Kashmiri youngsters to join the terror group. Huzaifa al-Bakistani, a Pakistani national who first joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba before upgrading to the IS, is a well-known online recruiter for IS.

Kashmiri woman active on pro-IS handles on social media

Jahanzaib Sami’s wife Hina Bashir Beigh was also active on pro-IS handles on social media and facilitated in spotting what the group considered ‘talent’ for its terror activities, a senior Police officer said.

After the arrest of the Kashmiri couple it was revealed that the Muslim couple operated an OSINT account on Twitter. OSINT is short for Open Source Intelligence, that is, data collected from publicly available sources to be used in an intelligence context. The couple operated an account on the social media platform with the username @kashmirosint. The handle has since then been deleted.

NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan was in conversation with Kashmiri couple on Twitter

On Twitter, it was found that the couple’s account has had interactions with NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan. The handle was apparently very popular within the research community and media. There are numerous OSINT accounts on Twitter and the agenda of these accounts is most often not known. Most of them operate from relative obscurity and they are mostly anonymous accounts. Given the nature of these accounts, it is easy to spread disinformation for sinister objectives in the name of OSINT as well.

Head constable Ratan Lal’s murder was a part of a wider conspiracy to trigger communal riots: Delhi Police

OpIndia Staff
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Head constable Ratan Lal’s murder was a part of a wider conspiracy to trigger communal riots: Delhi Police

Delhi Police on Monday filed a charge sheet in connection will the killing of head constable Ratan Lal during the violence that swept northeast Delhi in February this year. The police, in its charge-sheet, had stated that the murder of Ratan Lal was a part of a deeper conspiracy to gin up communal riots across the national capital.

The Special Investigation Team of Delhi Police has filed a 1,100-page charge-sheet in the murder of Ratan Lal and deadly attacks by rioters on IPS Amit Sharma and IPS Anuj Kumar. At least 17 accused have been named in the charge-sheet. There are about 4 to 5 key conspirators in this whole 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.

Ratan Lal’s murder was a deeper conspiracy

Constable Ratan Lal was murdered on February 24 when he was shot at by rioters while patrolling along with his seniors. The police had alleged in the charge-sheet that a group of 45 people held a meeting at the basement of a house on February 22, where the conspiracy of the riot was conceived. On February 23, a after the conspiracy was hatched, rioters asked senior citizens and children to stay indoor as they ran riot on the streets, indulging in vandalism.

A day later, on February 24, rioters and vandals again hit the streets, damaging public properties, setting vehicles on fire and causing bloodshed. Around 1 PM in Chand Bagh area, patrolling party in Chand Bagh was vastly outnumbered by a huge crowd of rioters. Senior police officials tried to placate the riotous mob but the crowd turned violent and attacked police. Head constable Ratan Lal was shot dead by the rioters. Amit Sharma, Anuj Kumar and several policemen received serious injuries, the charge-sheet said.

While police head constable Ratan Lal died of bullet injuries in Chand Bagh region, IB sleuth Ankit Sharma(26) was brutally stabbed by a violent mob sheltered inside AAP councillor Tahir Hussain’s house. Sharma’s body was recovered from a ditch in the Chand Bagh area.

Viral video of killing of Constable Ratan Lal

A video has surfaced in March where a violent mob of rioters can be seen attacking the Delhi Police officers with stones and sticks. It is believed this is the attack which injured DCP Shahdara IPS Amit Sharma and claimed life of constable Ratan Lal.

The video is believed to be of 24th February from Chand Bagh area. One can at first see the mob running away from the spot as police started taking action. However, soon a mob from the other side started attacking the police. The mob had individuals wearing black burqas who could be seen pelting stones at the police. One could safely presume the women were also attacking the Delhi Police with stones. If you listen closely, you could also hear gunshots in the background.

Anti-CAA protests propelled the Delhi riots: Delhi Police

Delhi Police had mentioned that the Delhi riots were triggered by the anti-CAA protests across the national capital, especially in Chand bagh area. According to a source, rioters who attacked police head constable Ratan Lal and other senior officers were in huge number and women were part of the crowd that assaulted the law enforcement personnel.

“The sit-in vigil was used as a platform to incite riots. The ensuing violence snowballed into fierce rioting in several parts of north-east Delhi. In Ratan Lal case it has been found that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy to trigger communal riots. A web of conspirators, instigators and rioters have been identified and several arrested,” added Delhi Police in a statement issued on Monday.

To get dirt on Arnab Goswami, Newslaundry messages a Pakistani journalist: Here are the details

OpIndia Staff
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To get dirt on Arnab Goswami, Newslaundry messages a Pakistani journalist: Here are the details

Newslaundry is known to harbour a deep-seated hatred for Republic TV for the latter’s editorial point of view which differs from theirs. Individuals associated with the media portal have run campaigns to stop brands from advertising their content on Republic TV and Arnab Goswami has been the object of much of their hatred.

Now, it appears, Newslaundry has gone one step further and attempted to use the statements by a Pakistani ‘intellectual’ to attack Arnab Goswami and Republic TV. A text sent by one of their employees to the said Pakistani citizen has been accessed by Opindia.

The employee of Newslaundry got in touch with Pakistani journalist Aarzu Kazmi and asked her as to why she appears on the channel. Kazmi is one of the Pakistani journalists and ‘experts’ who are regularly invited to Indian news channels to put forth the Pakistani side on a particular matter.

Message sent by Newslaundry journalist to Pakistani journalist

The Newslaundry employee told Kazmi, “Hi, I am Kapil from India, I am a reporter in Newslaundry. Actually, I am doing a story that Indian Anchors like Arnab Goswami, they call you guys to Indian shows and spread hatred or just bash on you like anything without any purpose.” He then proceeded to ask, “So I just want to know, do they pay you for that? and why do you even come when you know he will bash you off without any purpose? I mean what makes you come on these shows? Can you please answer these questions for me?”

As can be seen, the questions are extremely leading and there is no proper way to answer these questions. Moreover, the questions were asked to confirm their own biases rather than gain some understanding into the phenomenon. Furthermore, the questions were set up in a way so as to solicit a statement that could be used against Arnab Goswami and Republic TV.

It is to be kept in mind that several journalists, members of the army and security establishment and other ‘intellectuals’ regularly feature in Indian television debates to discuss their country’s point of view, which is often one that differs from India’s starkly. While ethically, several citizens are against the invitation extended to Pakistani intellectuals on Indian news debates, their opposition mainly stems from the fact that they do not want Pakistanis to get a platform in India to air their mostly hateful views on Indians and Hindus.

However, as evident from the message sent by the Newslaundry employee to the Pakistani journalist, Newslaundry’s contention seems to be quite different. While several viewers principally do not want Pakistani panelists to be invited because they do not want their vile hatred to find an audience in India, Newslaundry seems to be more bothered about the “hate” that the Pakistani panelists receive at the hands of Arnab Goswami.

For Newslaundry, it is Arnab that spreads hate and not Pakistan. For Newslaundry, it is Arnab that “bashes Pakistanis up” and that too, per Newslaundry, for no reason. Perhaps, for the Left propaganda website, the fact that Pakistan exports terror to India on a regular basis and attempts to undermine India and spread discord is not reason enough. For Newslaundry, Arnab is far more dangerous than Pakistan because for them, terrorism is a lesser evil than differing views.

It is also pertinent to note that Newslaundry is known to peddle propaganda and indulge in questionable journalistic practices. Not too long ago, they tried to pressurise a Zee News journalist infected by the Coronavirus to do a hitjob on Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary. They also attempted to whitewash an attack on a Temple during the Delhi riots even when their own reporting on the matter disproved their claim and consistnt with their efforts, they also defended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, accused of inciting the Delhi Riots and involvement in the murder of IB Constable Ankit Sharma.

Note: After the publication of this article, Kapil Kajal’s (reporter in question) employer, Hemant Gairola (Editor, 101reporters.com) contacted us and said that Kapil used NewsLaundry’s association all by himself and NewsLaundry didn’t ask him to do so. Now, there is no way to prove NL didn’t commission this article. Still, knowing pretty well that NewsLaundry has a bad habit of twisting and misrepresenting the statements they take to do an article, we are putting this update in the spirit of journalistic ethics.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain brazens out ‘no outsiders’ rule for hospitals, blames the central Government

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain brazens out ‘no outsiders’ rule for hospitals, blames the central Government

Amidst the unprecedented increase in active cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus in Delhi, questions are being asked about the inability of the Arvind Kejriwal-led-State Government to control the pandemic in the national Capital. On Monday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain, in a bid to pass on the buck to the Central Government, blamed it for not canceling international flights at the right time.

“Delhi and Mumbai are metropolitan cities. International flights had landed mostly in these two cities. There was no outbreak of Coronavirus in India at that time. If those flights were cancelled on time, the pandemic would not have spread this much,” Satyendra Jain remarked. He conceded that the transmission of the Chinese virus had increased to a large extent in Delhi. Jain highlighted that the daily increase in coronavirus cases in the State stood between 1000 to 1500.

The Delhi Health Minister also added how residents of Delhi need more hospital beds to brazenly justify the government’s contentious decision to bar non-residents of Delhi from availing treatment in private and state-run hospitals. “Our neigbouring states have said they have a few Coronavirus cases. So, what’s the problem (about our decision)?” he enquired.

Arvind Kejriwal reserves state-run hospitals for Delhites

Earlier, in a controversial decision, the chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal had announced that the Delhi Government hospitals would only treat patients who are residents of Delhi. He added that private hospitals, except those hospitals where special surgeries are performed and are not available in other parts of the country, had also been ordered not to admit patients from other states. Hospitals like AIIMS that come under the central government will function according to the Ministry of Health regulations, and they will admit patients regardless of the residential status.

Cow smugglers in Vadodara steal a cow, put her in a car in the middle of the night: Watch video

OpIndia Staff
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Cow smugglers in Vadodara steal a cow, put her in a car in the middle of the night: Watch video

In a video, which has been doing rounds on social media, cow smugglers in Gujarat’s Salatwada area in Vadodara were seen stealing a cow and stuffing her into a car in the middle of the night. A Tweeter user named Tejas Giri R Goswami has shared the video on the microblogging site where the smugglers are seen forcibly pushing and stuffing the bovine mercilessly inside a green Scorpio car.

Though the visuals are unclear, considering its been shot at night, a few men who are believed to be cow smugglers, are seen coming out of a green car parked at the intersection of two lanes in Vadodara. They then approach few bovines sitting on the pavement, and forcefully pull up a cow and push it towards the car. The men are then seen stuffing the bovine in the boot of the green car.

The incident was recorded by a friend of the owner of the bovine, stated the FIR, which has been filed at Karelibaug police station on June 7, 2020, on the basis of the complaint lodged by one Siddharth Rabari, reportedly the owner of the bovine.

According to the complaint, Rabari earns his livelihood by engaging in animal husbandry and has about 15-20 cows which sit across my house. Lately, “some thieves have been stealing our cows”, Rabari stated in his complaint.

Cow owner alleges smugglers selling bovines to illegal slaughterhouse

The FIR read that around 3 am on 7th June 2020, 3-4 men came in a Scorpio car and took away one cow worth Rs 60,000. He further states in his FIR that his friend had taken the video of the culprits stealing the cow. Rabari alleged that these smugglers probably sell these bovines to slaughterhouses.

Customer buys Bhagwat Purana, Amazon seller also sends a book on why the Hindu scripture is ‘irrelevant’ as a ‘special gift’

OpIndia Staff
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Customer buys Bhagwat Purana, Amazon seller also sends a book on why the Hindu scripture is ‘irrelevant’ as a ‘special gift’

An Amazon user has alleged that a seller-Vishv Books, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, has been fuelling anti-Hindu sentiments by sending a copy of a book denigrating the ordered Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran as a “special gift” along with the holy scripture.

The user took to Twitter to expose the Hinduphobia exhibited by the seller for anyone who wished to buy a copy of the holy Hindu scripture. The user had ordered Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran on Amazon from the aforementioned seller. However, the seller dispatched two items in the order.

Along with the ‘Shrimad Bhagwad Mahapuran’, a copy of “How irrelevant is Bhagwat Puran” marked as a “special gift” was also sent by the seller. The user has stated that the book packaged as “special gift” by the seller was a book written to denigrate the Bhagwad Puran and was meant to discourage the buyers from reading the Hindu holy book. The book also carried a survey card seeking readers’ views about the book and if they would be willing to more books from the seller, Vishv Books. The user had accused the bookseller of mocking the Hindu faith by unsolicitedly sending such a book that denigrates the Bhagwat Puran as ‘irrelevant’ and hurting the religious sentiments of the adherents.

Condemning at the seller, the user asserted that nobody has a right to impose what others should be reading and if the book gifted is worth reading, then it should be sold on the website and not bundled as a freebie along with the Hindu scripture. The Amazon user has also sought a response from the organisation by mailing about the unprincipled practices employed by the seller and has sought a clarification on the communal bias espoused by it.

This is not a one-off occurrence of the seller sending a book mocking the Hindu faith and its scriptures. The said customer shared that according to a review available on Amazon from 2019, another customer had raised his grievances against the aforesaid seller for sending a book that denigrated the Hindu scripture and which served to spread negativity about the faith and the holy book- Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran.

Vishv Books associate of Delhi Press which peddles Hinduphobia

Vishv Books is an associate company of Delhi Press.

Vishv Books is an associate company of Delhi Press

In October 2019, OpIndia had reported how Delhi Press, under whose aegis magazines like Sarita, Champak, Caravan are published, has traditionally been far removed from ground realities and has often demonised Hindus and the Indian state in order to further the leftist propaganda.

Amazon India sends Bible even when customer never ordered one

Earlier in 2017, netizens were shocked when a Twitter user had shared that Amazon India has sent her a copy of the Bible even when she had not ordered it from the online marketplace. The user, Yogini Deshpande, claimed that she had ordered a JNU book on Amazon India. But, instead of her ordered book, she received a copy of the Bible.

Strangely, the tags on package claimed that it was a book sent by the same publisher — Hindi Sahitya Sadan — but the book (Bible) was published by another publisher named The Bible Society of India, having its office in Bangalore.

After Yogini took to Twitter to inform how she had received a copy of Bible on ordering a JNU book, several Twitter users claimed to have received a Bible instead of their regular orders placed on Amazon.

Preliminary investigation reveals elephant ‘accidentally’ consumed explosive: Here is why that line of investigation does not make sense

Editorial Desk
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Preliminary investigation reveals elephant ‘accidentally’ consumed explosive: Here is why that line of investigation does not make sense

Recently, the case of a pregnant elephant from Palakkad, Kerala dying after consuming a jaggery coated explosive came to the fore and led to widespread outrage. The picture, of the Elephant standing calmly in the water while she died, bit by bit, due to the explosives going off in her mouth was heart-wrenching. The initial outrage also revolved around whether this was a deliberate act to torture the elephant or was there more at play in this case.

The Elephant that died in Palakkad

One accused, P Wilson, who is an employee of an estate that cultivates cash crops and spices, has been arrested. Two other suspects, Abdul Kareem and son Riyasudheen, owners of the estate where Wilson worked are currently absconding.

The accused reportedly said to the interrogators that they had set up a trap of fruit filled with crackers to scare wild boars, which destroy their farms often. Evidently, it is common to practise in Kerala to use jaggery-coated explosives or explosives stuffed in fruits to “scare away” wild boars who enter farms and destroy crops.

However, the explanation itself is slightly dicey because there is no way to “scare” a wild boar or any animal by planting a jaggery-coated explosive. The aim is obviously for the animal to eat the fruit and the result would be fatal, as it was in the case of the elephant.

The explanations that have been issued by governments, state and central govt, are not convincing, to say the least. The latest one has been issued by the Environment Ministry headed by Prakash Javadekar. Presumably, this statement that has been issued by the Environment Ministry draws from the investigation that is being conducted by the Kerala government.

The Environment Ministry, in its statement first acknowledged that the method of planting explosive-filled fruits to trap wild boars who trample on plantations is ‘illegal’, however, the statement goes on to assert that the elephant might have ‘accidentally consumed the fruit’.

It is sort of a given that the elephant may have ‘accidentally consumed the fruit’. Elephants are not exactly equipped to investigate the quality of fruit before consumption or read instruction manuals. However, the question here is much larger and by the statement issued, it seems like the entire point is being missed by the Environment Ministry.

The pregnant elephant from Kerala was in the farmland and explosives were meant for any animal that entered the farmland

A News18 report says that the elephant was seen in farmland last, and the accused arrested works at the farmland. The two abscondings are the owners of that farmland. It has been established that the method of using jaggery-coated explosives to torture wild boars and drive them away from farmlands is a long-established illegal method that is used in Kerala.

So let us assume that the jaggery-coated explosive was already planted in the farmland to murder wild boars. Since the elephant was in the farmland, she must have consumed the very jaggery-coated explosive that was planted there.

Since the explosive obviously cannot have some sort of mechanism that it would allow it to explode only for wild-boars, any animal that consumes the explosive is bound to meet the fate that the pregnant elephant met.

Thus, to say that the elephant “accidentally consumed” an explosive meant for wild boars asks us to make certain wild assumptions.

Firstly, the theory expects us to assume that the farmland owner and worker would have removed the explosive had they own it would have been consumed by an elephant. The elephant, just like wild boars was in the farmland and to the workers and owners, it was likely just another animal ruining and trampling on their produce.

Unless evidence to the contrary emerges, we have to assume that just like the wild boar, the elephant trampling on the farmland was also intended to consume the explosives. There is no evidence yet to assume that the farmland owners and workers would be benevolent to the elephant and would have let her trample over their farmland.

Thus, there is no defence to be made out here about the elephant ‘accidentally’ consuming the explosive. The explosive was meant for any animal that trampled on the farmland and the pregnant elephant met the fate that was intended. It has only gained prominence because of the outrage that surrounded this case.

Kerala elephant death: Was it ‘deliberate’ or not?

The statement that says that the pregnant elephant ‘accidentally’ consumed the explosives has a definitive undercurrent. It essentially means that the rumour that she was deliberately fed the explosive is false.

She was perhaps not targeted singularly and nobody force-fed her the explosives, however, in this case, the definition of ‘deliberate’ has to be extremely different.

As explained above, the explosive was most likely meant for any animal that entered the farmland, and thus, it was a deliberate act of cruelty that was inflicted on the animals. It was not, for example, a firecracker for Diwali that was ‘accidentally’ consumed by the elephant. It was a jaggery-laden explosive that was consciously made to torture any animal, in this case the pregnant elephant, that wandered inside the farmland.

In that sense, it was certainly a deliberate act of cruelty and it should be seen as such when the investigation is being conducted.

The subject of investigation: The cruel method itself must form a part of it

The outrage surrounding the death of the pregnant elephant has put the spotlight in this cruel method employed by farm owners in Kerala. While the environment ministry is acknowledging that the method is illegal, it cannot put more emphasis on how the explosive was ‘accidentally’ consumed by the elephant. The line itself hints at exoneration and anyone employing these cruel methods do not deserve exoneration but punishment to the fullest extent of the law.

Saying that the elephant ‘accidentally’ consumed explosives meant for another animal hints at normalisation of this cruel method that adversely affects forest life and neither the state government nor the environment ministry can be seen normalising this cruel practice.

Bois locker room case: Girl who exposed the Instagram chats gets threats on social media, Delhi police file another FIR based on her complaint

OpIndia Staff
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Bois locker room case: Girl who exposed the Instagram chats gets threats on social media, Delhi police file another FIR based on her complaint

The girl from South Delhi who had originally busted the ‘Bois locker room’ controversy has now lodged a complaint that she has been receiving threats on social media ever since the controversy. Based on her complaint the Delhi police cyber cell has filed another FIR in the case.

In May this year, the girl had exposed the said group and a host of other such groups by sharing screenshots of the repugnant details of the Instagram chats comprising of boys that discussed ‘gang-raping’ girls with the Delhi Police cyber cell. The complaint has now been shifted to cyber crime cell of Delhi Police. News agency PTI has quoted a senior police officer said that nature of content the girl has received has been threatening but also obnoxious in nature.

Delhi police cyber cell probing the ‘Bois Locker Room’ controversy lodged first FIR in the case

On May 4, the Delhi police had registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 465 (forgery), 469 (forgery to harm reputation), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) and Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and apprehended a 15-year-old juvenile and identified 20 other accused involved in the Boys Locker Room group case.

Delhi police arrested group admin of the ‘Bois Locker Room’ Instagram group

On May 6, the Delhi police cyber cell probing the case arrested the class 12 administrator (admin) of the controversial ‘Bois Locker Room’ Instagram group.

Though the police have refused to share the identity of the arrested person, saying it could lead to revealing the identities of the minors who were part of the group, which had attracted the ire of people for its inappropriate content, it said that the arrested admin is a Class 12 student at a school-based in NCR and had appeared for his board exams this year. He is not a minor, confirmed the officials.

One of the girls pretended to be boy and suggested ‘she’ be gangraped herself

On May 10, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell) Anyesh Roy revealed that one of the girls pretended to be a boy and suggested ‘she’ be gang-raped herself. Roy said in a press statement that the investigation has revealed that “the alleged Snapchat conversation is actually between a girl (sender) and a boy (receiver) in which the girl is sending chat messages through a fictional Snapchat account named ‘Siddharth’.” It is further said that “Using the fake identity of a male person, she suggested in the chat, a plan to sexually assault herself.”

‘Bois Locker Room’ controvery

Last month, social media was awash with repugnant details of an Instagram chat group comprising of boys that discussed ‘gang-raping’ girls in a group called ‘Bois Locker Room’ (Bois, being a spin on the word ‘boys’). The leaked photos of the “Bois Locker Room” (Boys Locker Room) Instagram group had kicked up a storm over the normalisation of rape culture in the country. The group allegedly ran by teenage boys, involved graphic sexualisation and sharing of private photos of underage girls, objectifying them and allegedly planning gang-rapes with minor girls. The petrifying incident came to light after a girl from South Delhi shared a screenshot on social media and busted the said group and a host of other such groups.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal develops fever and sore throat, to undergo Coronavirus test on Tuesday

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal develops fever and sore throat, to undergo Coronavirus test on Tuesday

Arvind Kejriwal has developed a sore throat and fever and will undergo a test for Coronavirus on Tuesday, reports say. The Delhi Chief Minister has been experiencing the symptoms since Sunday, raising fears that he has contracted the virus.

Arvind Kejriwal has cancelled all his meetings since Sunday and has isolated himself, as per reports. He was last seen during an online media briefing on Sunday where he announced the government’s decision to reserve all Delhi government and private hospitals for the citizens of Delhi only. He has reportedly been advised by his doctors to wait for a day or two to test for the virus.

Arvind Kejriwal has addressed the public regarding the matter and no tweets regarding the same have appeared on his Twitter account as of the time of writing this report. It is expected that he will address the electorate at some point in the near future. Delhi, meanwhile, has close to 30,000 cases and 812 people have died due to the virus thus far.

As unlock 2.0 rolls in, life is back to normal with traffic jams amid rising Coronavirus cases

OpIndia Staff
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As unlock 2.0 rolls in, life is back to normal with traffic jams amid rising Coronavirus cases

In a bid to contain the Coronavirus pandemic, a nationwide lockdown was announced by the Union Government in the intervening night of March 24-25. The lockdown was extended in four phases with relaxations increasing with every new stage. Owing to the economic challenges posed due to limited business activities, coupled with the looming threat of increased unemployment, the Centre in consultation with the States had decided to ease the restrictions even further.

Return of Traffic Congestion

The Unlock 2.0 which begins from Monday witnessed massive traffic congestion on Delhi Noida Direct Flyway. While roads remained devoid of vehicles during the lockdown phase, life has started to become normal in the Capital city. Mumbai, one of the worst-hit cities also saw a surge in traffic and heavy jams.

Massive traffic jam was also witnessed at the Western Express Highway in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Places of Worship reopen

All places of worship were directed to shut operations on March 24 with the enforcement of the first phase of the lockdown. After a gap of 2.5 months, temples are now preparing to welcome the attendance of devotees. In pictures, devotees at Sharana Basaveshwara Temple were seen maintaining adequate physical distance while queuing up for entry into the temple.

Visuals from the Golden Temple in Amritsar saw devotees undergoing thermal checks, and authorities sanitising the premises. Devotees were seen wearing masks along with headcovers while visiting the temple premises.

Similarly, a man dressed as Lord Hanuman dances on dhol beats at Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place, Delhi. Fatehpuri Masjid in Delhi, too, reopened for devotees following the unlock 2.0 guidelines.

Rising Coronavirus Cases in India

According to the data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 1,25,381 active cases and 7,135 deaths as of June 8. Maharashtra tops the list with a whopping 43,601 active cases, followed by Delhi (16,229) and Tamil Nadu (14,399). Maharashtra alone accounts for roughly 33% of all active cases in India. As per reports, even though India’s recovery rate stands at 48.36%, yet the total count of all cases equal to 2.46 lacs, a little short of UK’s 2.78 lac cases. The country has also witnessed a record daily increase of 9,971 cases. While life returns back to normalcy with the reopening of shopping malls, restaurants, and places of worship, the rising cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus still remain a cause of concern.

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