Home Blog Page 5382

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un may have been holed up in his private villa with his 2000-women ‘pleasure squad’ to avoid Coronavirus: Report

OpIndia Staff
-
0
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un may have been holed up in his private villa with his 2000-women ‘pleasure squad’ to avoid Coronavirus: Report

Earlier in the day, it was reported that the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in the last 21 days to attend the inauguration of a fertilizer factory on Friday, May 1, according to North Korea’s government news agency KCNA. The appearance followed mounting global speculation over the North Korean leader’s health and possible death, which gained traction after he skipped the birth anniversary celebrations of his late grandfather, one of the most significant holidays in North Korea.

However, a new report published by The Sun claimed that the North Korean dictator was missing from the public eye because he fled to his private luxury seaside villa in Wonsan, located along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, along with a harem of 2,000 sex slaves, to avoid catching the coronavirus.

Satellite image © 2020 Maxar Technologies-38 North/Handout via REUTERS.

According to reports, satellite images showing luxury boats used by Kim Jong Un in addition to his personal train stationed near the Wonsan villa indicated that he was at the seaside resort.

Kim Jong Un private villa in Wonsan

The North Korean dictator resurrected his late grandfather’s “pleasure squad” or Kippumjo of secret sex entertainers in 2015, The Sun reported, adding that Kim’s “pleasure squad” of 2000-women kept him company at the villa.

The previous “pleasure troupe” was disbanded on the death of the old dictator in December 2011, but after the official three-year mourning period, Kim had started his own in 2015.

“It’s within the walls of his ultra-protected palaces that his Pleasure Squad provides entertainment for high-ranking North Korean officials,” the paper reported.

“The 2,000-strong harem is said to be made to sing and dance for the nation’s elite — but also take part in bizarre sexual games and orgies.” Kim has gained a reputation for his love of booze and fine food and the “Pleasure Squad” apparently takes care of his carnal pleasures, according to the publication.

Some of the girls are said to have been minors and forced into sex slavery at a very young age. North Korea defectors have alleged that the girls also have to undergo invasive medical examinations to confirm they are virgins before they can become members of the squad.

North Korea’s founder, Kim il-sung harem of women

The “Pleasure Squad” was first initiated during the reign of North Korea’s founder, Kim il-sung, who is still considered the country’s Eternal President, despite his death in 1994. In the late 1970s, he sent his officials across the nation to hunt for its most attractive women and girls to join the club.

Kim il-sung had a special thing for virgins because he believed having sex with them allowed him to absorb the girls’ “ki” or life-force. The girls’ parents would be informed that their daughters had been selected to serve Kim il-sung on an important mission, and they had no say in the matter. High-ranking officials in the North Korean military would then claim the women as wives after they had “retired” from their sexual duties in their 20s.

Rumors of Kim Jong Un illness and possible death

As per reports, Kim Jong Un presided a worker’s party politburo on April 11. The state media reported the next day that the leader had inspected fighter jets. After that Kim had vanished from the media reports of the country.

Speculations about his bad health and possible death emerged when he was found absent at April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather, who was the North Korea’s founder. The day is one of the most auspicious days for the country.

His absence triggered many unconfirmed reports over his condition. An online media outlet, that is handled by North Korean defectors reported that the dictator was undergoing treatment for the cardiovascular procedure last month.

It stated that Kim, who is in mid-30, needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.

14 key players under scanner of Enforcement Directorate in the funding of Tablighi Jamaat

OpIndia Staff
-
0
14 key players under scanner of Enforcement Directorate in the funding of Tablighi Jamaat

The Enforcement Directorate has uncovered the massive funding links of Tablighi Jamaat by conspicuous foreign and domestic individuals. Reportedly, the massive fundings to the orthodox religious sect are meant for expanding the Islamic missionary activities across India.

As per reports, 14 key people have been discovered who are staying abroad and used the financial system to mask the transactions using circuitous notes.

The Enforcement Directorate along with Crime Branch of Delhi Police and Income Tax department are examining the bank account of Maulana Saad and his allies to figure out whether these transactions violated the integrity of the banking and financial system as the money received in one account was transferred to another account within 24 hours.

A senior IPS officer said, “Such transfers raise doubts that Jamaat funds after entering the financial system were layered to isolate the money from the source and disguise the transfers. The hasty transfer of money from one account to another appears to be an effort to give it a legitimate appearance. We are also looking at Hawala transactions that could have been successfully processed or integrated in banking system.”

The Key Players

As per reports, the probe agency has uncovered the role of a person called Noor, who is allegedly a hawala agent of Jamaat. He is not in direct contact with Maulana Saad but with Abdul Alim who looks after accounts of the religious sect and currency exchange for jamaat. Noor operated as the front of Maulana Saad, the existence of another contact concealed his direct involvement.

Another person known as Abdul Rahim is involved in the chain with Abdul Alim to invest the money in different activities.

The officer revealed that the sons and relatives of Maulana Saad were found to be in contact with another suspect Rafatullah Shahid, who is involved in investing the finances of Markaz in different sectors and enhanced interaction has been noted with Wasim, a travel agent who facilitates visa and passports for Jamaat people.

Wasim is said to be a single point contact with Maulana Saad and the agencies are in suspicion that transactions took place mostly in cash to elude detection, which has compounded investigators’ difficulty in tracking down formal money-transfers between the two key figures.

ED is also seeking details of money transferred by Mufti Rizvi into Jamaat’s account from Sri Lanka. Another person linked with Saad’s family is Aslam who resides in Canada and runs many businesses.

Noticing the transactions from Aslam to Jamaat, agencies see him as an important source of funding for Markaz activities in India.

As per reports, jamaat’s chief also invested money abroad to generate finances through various sources for Markaz. As per agencies, the money means for personal gain is diverted for investment through a person known as Mursaleen. Mursaleen operates various business activities abroad.

Officials said that one contact has direct links with the family of Saad who takes care of visas and passports for people traveling from former Soviet bloc countries. A person identified as Haroon who is a Russian passport holder is connected with two other persons Inam and Mushtaq who have been making trips abroad for Markaz’s activities.

Another direct contact is uncovered is Mufti Shehzad, who allegedly traveled to 42 countries in the last two years and suspected to be scouting new contacts and sources of funding as well as working as a liaison and frontman for Maulana Saad in those countries. His links with another contact Jamshed is also being investigated by ED.

Accounts to be freezed

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has directed to freeze Jamaat’s Bank of India accounts in the Lal Quan branch and examining all the transactions after suspecting that funds were allegedly laundered.

An officer revealed, “There are wheels within the wheel in entire financial networks which is generating money and further distributing it. We have sought details of all bank accounts, money that flowed in from abroad and within the country as well as income tax returns, however, they are not forthcoming. There is probably involvement of another 194 persons which is being examined but the complex layering is posing the proverbial issue of finding a needle in the haystack.”

The officer added, “We need to check both cash transactions as well as a paper trail to track Jamaat’s vast and secretive financial activities.”

Tablighi Jamaat says, “Have faith in due process of law.”

Tablighi Jamaat spokesperson Shahid Ali said, “We respect all statutory as well as constitutional bodies and authorities. Whatever investigation are being conducted we are committed to cooperate with the probe. We welcome all kinds of probe because we believe that until and unless the probe in not conducted properly, impartially, truth will not come out.”

He said, “Truth should come out and people of India should know.” He pointed, “They are absolutely clean and clear. That is why we are welcoming all investigations. What we are seeking is fair and partial investigation. Tablighi Jamaat will come out clean, as clean as Ganga water.”

Delhi court rejects bail plea of ex-AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the Delhi riots case

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi court rejects bail plea of ex-AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the Delhi riots case

A Delhi court has rejected the bail plea of ex Aam Aadmi party councillor Tahir Hussain, who is in judicial custody and is being interrogated in connection with Delhi riots.

The suspended AAP leader had approached the Karkardooma court in Delhi for bail, but his plea was rejected on Saturday. District and Sessions Judge Tyagita Singh dismissed his bail application on the ground that police investigation in the case was still at an initial stage.

During the hearing for the bail plea, Tahir Hussain’s advocate Javed Ali had argued that his client was innocent and he has been falsely implicated in the case. His bail plea said that he was not directly involved in the violence, and the FIR only mentioned that certain acts of violence were taking place from the house of the applicant during the riots. Hussain also contended that actually he got injured in the violence, instead of attacking anyone.

The bail plea argued that any firearm, bullets, or even empty cartridges were recovered from the house of Tahir Hussain by the police, and the police ‘did not have a single piece of evidence’ to prove Hussain’s role in the crime. 

Tahir Hussain booked Under UAPA

Earlier, Tahir Hussain was booked under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA) in connection with communal violence in Northeast Delhi. Tahir Hussain is accused of the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) employee Ankit Sharma and also inciting riots in the Delhi in February this year.

JNU student leader Umar Khalid and two leaders from Jamia Coordination Committee, Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, were also booked under UAPA in the same case

The dead body of an Intelligence Bureau constable was recovered from a drain in North East Delhi amidst anti-Hindu riots in the national capital. Ankit Sharma, who lived in Chand Bagh, was returning home on Tuesday evening when he was allegedly attacked by a violent mob on the Chand Bagh bridge and beaten to death. The Muslim mob had thrown his body into a drain.

AAP suspended Tahir Hussain after FIR

Earlier Tahir Hussain was booked under sections 365 (kidnapping), 302 (murder), 201 (disappearance of evidence or giving false information) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the case of the alleged murder of the IB official. He was arrested on 5 March by Delhi police after remaining absconding for several days. He was arrested after he had gone to a Delhi court to surrender, and the court had rejected the plea saying that the matter was not in its jurisdiction.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had suspended Councillor Tahir Hussain from the primary membership of the party after he was named in the murder FIR.

Enforcement Directorate reopens Irrigation scam case against Ajit Pawar, registers case against him in Nagpur

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Enforcement Directorate reopens Irrigation scam case against Ajit Pawar, registers case against him in Nagpur

The central probe agency Enforcement Directorate has reopened the Irrigation Scam case against the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The agency has started an investigation into money-laundering by Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation over suspected irregularities in awarding irrigation contracts.

Earlier, the Anti-corruption Bureau had given a clean chit to Ajit Pawar in December last year in connection to alleged irregularities related to twelve projects under Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation. According to an affidavit filed in the Maharashtra High Court on 27 November, the NCP leader was cleared of all allegations in the Vidarbha irrigation scam by the Maharashtra ACB. The affidavit was filed just a day before the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government (Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress) was sworn in the state on November 28.

“There is no evidence to show that the secretary had briefed the minister about not accepting liability of the cost escalations,” the affidavit filed by the ACB to High court had said.

Nagpur Unit of ED has started the investigation

As per reports, the Nagpur unit of Enforcement directorate has started investigating the Goseikurd project in the Bhandara district. The investigation is based on the cases registered by the Anti-corruption Bureau. Although the case registered by ACB did not name Pawar, ED was investigating Ajit Pawar in connection with the scam. Accordingly, an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered by ED at Nagpur, where Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation is headquartered. ECIR is the FIR equivalent to FIR.

Ajit Pawar also handled the Water Resources and Development department and other departments during the Congress and NCP coalition government from 1999-2009. He has also been the Chairman of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation. Under which the irrigation projects were approved. He was later accused of irregularities.

On this issue, BJP Leader Kirit Somaiya has said, “I welcomes the 2 ECIR complaints registered by ED today on Maharashtra Irrigation Scam. I am sure that they will go deep into corrupt practices, money laundering etc. and also find the real beneficiaries.”

Spike in Coronavirus cases in Gujarat came around April 15th because Jamaatis hid their links with Delhi Markaz: Gujarat CM

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Spike in Coronavirus cases in Gujarat came around April 15th because Jamaatis hid their links with Delhi Markaz: Gujarat CM

Speaking about the massive surge in the number of coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad, the chief minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, held the congregation organised at Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi in mid-March by the Islamic seminary Tablighi Jamaat squarely responsible for the irrepressible rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the city.

In an event organised by AajTak-E Agenda, the chief minister of Gujarat said that the spurt in the number of coronavirus cases in the state came to light around April 15 as the “people related to Jamaat” hid their links with the Markaz event in Delhi in March.

Rupani said, “Ahmedabad is divided into two, Old Ahmedabad and New Ahmedabad. New Ahmedabad has 90 per cent population and Old Ahmedabad has 10 per cent. But because Jamaat people hid their travel links, Old Ahmedabad has reported 90 per cent of corona cases with just 10 per cent population.”

In addition to Ahmedabad, Surat is another big city that is badly hit by the scourge of coronavirus. “People of Tablighi Jamaat extensively travelled in Surat and Ahmedabad and deliberately concealed their travel result. As a result, these two cities are witnessing an unprecedented uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases reported by the authorities,” Rupani said.

While holding Tablighi Jamaat accountable for the menacing rise of coronavirus cases in the state, Rupani added that the state government was nimble in taming the intractable contagion. Talking about the containment measures instituted by the Gujarat government to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, Rupani said, “We have stressed on surveillance and tests. Ahmedabad and Surat form more than 80 per cent of cases. In both cities, more than 500 teams are doing door-to-door surveys.”

Rupani became the fourth chief minister to lay the blame of the uncontrollable rise of coronavirus cases in their states on Tablighi Jamaat. Prior to Rupani, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Uttarakhand CM Triveni Singh Rawat, and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had all held the orthodox Islamic organisation responsible for the spurt in the coronavirus cases in their respective states.

Of late, there has been an alarming rise in the number of positive coronavirus cases in Gujarat. The sudden spike in the count of COVID-19 cases in Gujarat has propelled it to the number 2 in the list of states with the highest infection, only behind Maharashtra, who leads the tally quite decisively. As of the latest figures, the total number of infected in Gujarat stands at 4,721 with 236 fatalities.

The epicentre of coronavirus outbreak in India- Tablighi Jamaat

The Tablighi Jamaat time bomb erupted across the country in the last week of March when around 200 people with Wuhan Coronavirus symptoms were admitted to various hospitals in Delhi from the Markaz Nizamuddin and surrounding places. Subsequently, the area around the Markaz Nizamuddin was cordoned off by the Delhi Police. Soon, cases began to erupt across the country with links to the Tablighi Jamaat and the country stood horrified as the magnitude of the Islamic Missionary organization’s transgressions became known. But even so, a significant section of the media and the political class is going out of its way to whitewash and hide the crimes of the Tablighi Jamaat. By some estimates, it is believed that the 30 per cent of the country’s total coronavirus infection is linked back to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.

Meet Dr S Mukherjee, tainted doctor heading Mamata Banerjee’s 12-member experts’ committee formed to deal with Coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Meet Dr S Mukherjee, tainted doctor heading Mamata Banerjee’s 12-member experts’ committee formed to deal with Coronavirus

A statement issued by the West Bengal health department, headed by the chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself, on March 26 said that the department has set up a 12-member “committee of experts” to advise the government on various technical issues related to the fight against coronavirus. The committee was formed to “advise the government on where and how to set up quarantine facilities in the state” and also recommend the “treatment protocol” for patients to be followed across hospitals in the state. WB CM Mamata Banerjee had entrusted Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, a veteran medical practitioner, rheumatologist and internal medicine specialist, with the responsibility to head this department.

12-member “committee of experts” headed by Dr Sukumar Mukherjee

Despite having a proficient team of 12 “experts”, Mamata Banerjee, who came under the scanner for the alleged callousness in handling the coronavirus crisis in her state, once again on April 6, announced the formation of a global team of experts that will help the Bengal government formulate policy decisions to tackle the Covid-19 crisis. Called ‘Global Advisory Board for Covid Response Policy in West Bengal’, the team comprises of eight members led by Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee, the economist who advised Congress on the ill-conceived NYAY. Here too, Dr Mukherjee is a member.

Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, the 83-year-old veteran medical practitioner, rheumatologist and internal medicine specialist, is clearly indispensable for Mamata Banerjee. This is probably the reason why, despite his tainted past, the 83-year-old doctor has been a constant in Mamata Banerjee’s panel of experts.

Dr Sukumar Mukherjee and his ‘glorious’ past

Dr Sukumar Mukherjee stands indicted in India’s worst medical negligence case: Anuradha Saha death case in 1998.

In a landmark 2013 judgement, the Supreme Court held Dr Mukherjee along with two other Kolkata doctors responsible for the death of Anuradha Saha, a 36-year-old US-based psychologist and in judgement, that was truly unprecedented in India’s medico-legal history, awarded a whopping Rs 11.5 crore (with interest) as compensation to the victim’s family.

The apex court ordered Dr Mukherjee to shell out Rs 10 lac of the total compensation amount while the rest was to be paid by the private hospital (AMRI Kolkata) he was attached with during the case. In fact, Dr Mukherjee’s role was so heinous in view of the Supreme Court that it imposed an additional penalty of Rs 1 lakh against Dr Mukherjee. None of the other doctors who were also found guilty for contributory negligence in Anuradha’s death had to pay any additional penalty.

In the year 2012, a separate petition seeking imprisonment of Dr Mukherjee was accepted by  the National Consumer Forum (NCDRC) since until then the tainted doctor had not paid any compensation to the family showing complete direct to the apex court’s judgement.

Dr Saha expresses disappointment over the induction of Dr Sukumar Mukherjee

Speaking to India Today, Anuradha Saha’s husband and PBT president Dr Kunal Saha expressed his disappointment over the state government’s decision to include Dr Sukumar Mukherjee in the panel handling the coronavirus crisis in hand.

“It is absolutely stunning to imagine that Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, the only doctor in Indian medical history whose conduct was so reprehensible that Supreme Court of India viewed him as “Unbecoming of a doctor” and as a man who brought “great disrespect to the medical profession”, is now chosen by Bengal CM as the leading medical expert to advise Bengal residents to combat Covid-19,” he said.

“Perhaps more shocking is the fact that nobody from Bengal medical has raised any voice against such brazen act by the government. It’s truly pathetic but I am more worried about the hapless patients and ordinary people of West Bengal. I always hope and pray that Dr Mukherjee follows actual medical science and do not treat anyone the way he treated my beloved wife, Anuradha. Lakhs of innocent and vulnerable Bengalees’ lives are at stake,” Saha told India Today from the US.

More importantly, the Medical Council of India (MCI) had also found Dr Mukherjee guilty for “professional misconduct” and directed the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) to cancel his license on May 23, 2011. But a devious WBMC refused to cancel Dr Mukherjee’s medical registration maintaining that there was nothing wrong with Dr Mukherjee’s treatment and refused to take any disciplinary action against him despite the apex court and MCI’s direction.

Mamata Banerjee’s obsession with Dr Sukumar Mukherjee

Despite Dr Sukumar Mukherjee’s ‘crackerjack professional’ record, Mamata Banerjee had appointed him as a member of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) in 2017. Ironically, as part of the commission, Mukherjee, whose own licence was suspended by the Medical Council of India following the Supreme Court’s verdict was chosen to judge complaints of medical negligence and ethical violations against other doctors.

Now, once again she has embraced him openly and entrusted upon him the responsibility of handling the coronavirus pandemic. One is left to wonder here, what future in stores for the people of West Bengal.

West Bengal sitting on a “time-bomb”

The suppression of facts and fudging of data has become a major worry for authorities and health experts in West Bengal, which has now snowballed into a huge controversy between the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government and health-care experts.

The health-care experts believe that the situation in Bengal is very grave as the Mamata Banerjee-led government has not been giving real data to assess the actual seriousness of the pandemic. From threats to doctors for whistleblowing against the state government against lack of facilities to allegations of state government illegally disposing of dead bodies, there have been serious allegations against the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal.

Uttar Pradesh: Cops arrest 2 people for organising Iftar party in Noida amidst Coronavirus lockdown, FIR against 19 others

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Uttar Pradesh: Cops arrest 2 people for organising Iftar party in Noida amidst Coronavirus lockdown, FIR against 19 others

On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh police had reportedly arrested two men, namely, Pappu and Mausam, for organising a public Iftar party in front of Jama Masjid in Mohalla Chauthaiya Patti in Greater Noida amidst Coronavirus lockdown. Moreover, a case has also been filed against 19 other people for flouting social distancing norms and lockdown guidelines under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Following the nationwide lockdown that was imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, all forms of public religious gatherings were banned. Ahead of Ramzan, the Government had appealed to people to stay at their houses and celebrate Iftar party with their families instead.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone III) Rajesh Kumar informed that the Jewar Police rushed to the scene around 7 pm and nabbed the two accused, on receiving information about the Iftar party. He said that the other people involved in the case are absconding and a search is underway to apprehend them.

Social Distancing goes for a toss

Earlier as the month of Ramzan commenced, crowds were seen shopping and moving around at various places completely flouting the lockdown and joining the public gatherings. One of the areas was the Shastri Park area of North-east Delhi, that witnessed a huge crowd on April 22 morning despite lockdown orders. In another instance, the Lal Kuan area of Delhi, a highly populated and a minority-dominated area, was also the busiest market on April 22.

The Hindu publishes fake news claiming that Railways is charging extra money from stranded migrants to travel in special trains: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
The Hindu publishes fake news claiming that Railways is charging extra money from stranded migrants to travel in special trains: Read details

Following the decision by Modi government to run Shramik Special trains to help millions of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and others stranded by the lockdown return home, there has been a concerted campaign to discredit the efforts of the Modi government.

In a similar effort to create confusion among the public, the ‘liberal-secular’ media network – ‘The Hindu‘ reported that railway department will be charging Rs 50 extra per passenger addition to the sleeper class fare for migrants travelling in the special trains being operated between various states.

The Hindu report

Soon, social media users including few journalists shared the report on social media platforms to claim that it was wrong to charge enhanced passenger fare from the stranded migrants and the Modi government should provide the funds through the PM-CARES fund.

Rohini Singh, who claims to be a journalist and notoriously known for spreading fake news on social media did not lose out an opportunity to target the Modi government. Falling for the fake propaganda by The Hindu, Rohini Singh insinuated that funds from PM-CARES should be used to pay for the movement of migrants.

Various other netizens also latched up to the false reportage of the The Hindu to claim that the central government should have used funds from PM-CARES instead of harassing poor migrants to pay for their one-way journey back home.

Fact Check about the Special Trains:

In a hurry to attack the Modi government, perhaps the Hindu has chosen to deliberately misreport as it forgot to mention that the passengers need not pay anything for the journey as the state governments have in fact decided to pay full fare including the extra 50 rupees per passenger.

According to a senior official, the special trains are for people who are registered by state governments and are not open to the public at large. The passengers who have been brought to the railway stations by government officials of the sending state will be allowed to board. If the state government then charges the passengers to make good on that payment, the Railways cannot be held responsible for that decision.

Most importantly, passengers will not have to buy tickets as the state governments concerned will have to coordinate and pay for the tickets. As these are not regular trains, but special trains which will run on the request of state government, there is no provision to buy tickets for those trains. The respective state governments will book the trains by making the payment as charged by the Indian Railways, and the passengers do not have to pay anything.

The railway ministry officials said the special trains will run from point to point on the ‘request of the state governments’ concerned according to home ministry protocols. 

The extra charges are being collected as meals and drinking water will be provided to the passengers by the sending states at the originating station. On longer routes, the railways will provide a meal during the journey. Hence, the Railways have been collecting extra charges, which will be paid by the state government.

Railways Ministry sources told OpIndia that the Superfast charge of Rs 30 is being taken as per existing policies of Railways, because all the Shramik Special trains will run as superfast trains as they will run point to point with only a few stoppages. Moreover, no additional charge is being charged from passengers. Food and beverages are provided to the passengers as complimentary by the Railways, and only Rs 20 as additional charge is being collected. As the trains will run at 50% capacity to ensure social distancing as per MHA guidelines, the Railways is spending considerable resources for this movement of migrants.

However, the Hindu has decided to leave it out from its report to mislead public and create confusion among the masses. It is interesting to note that in its report on the special trains yesterday, The Hindu had mentioned that “passengers are not required to buy the ticket. The fares will be paid by the state governments.” But still, it went ahead and published a fake report today.

Hounding of Arnab Goswami is unsurprising: This is what happened to me at a media event when I was just a law student

Rucha Dhakras
-
0
Hounding of Arnab Goswami is unsurprising: This is what happened to me at a media event when I was just a law student

The recent incident of the attack on TV Journalist and editor in Chief of Republic TV Mr Arnab Goswami brought a flashback of events that happened around six years ago. Although, Mr Goswami received support from various parts of the society, yet the staggering silence of the left-liberal personalities or their hasty criticism and justification of the incident comes as no surprise. This lot has been loyal to a certain ideology or rather certain political dynasty for a very long time. Their loyalty knows no bounds and at times, it has taken an ugly shape of a hood of a cobra spewing venom at anything that is said to the contrary. This bunch of intellectuals has constantly targeted Indian ethos. There are shining examples of Macaulay’s Education System. So, for them to target Mr Goswami and continuously spew hate against his brand of journalism doesn’t come as a surprise. In fact, it reminds me of an event that I participated in years ago, when I was the target of the leftist journalists.

Six years back, I was invited to an event organized by a forum where an interactive session was held with a journalist of a leading Marathi News Channel. People from all walks of life were invited and as a person representing the field of law, I was given an opportunity not only to attend the event but also a chance to ask a question to our guest. Back then, I was a naïve young law student, championing the freedom of speech and expression and thought this opportunity to be a golden chance to ask the guest of honour the question that had been troubling me for a very long time. That’s why me and one of my friend, decided to attend this event. 

I was surprised to see that even though the program was for all to attend, maximum attendees were journalists and reporters of various news agencies based in my city. Majority of the attendees were from those Newspapers that are known for sympathizing with the anti-establishment elements. Needless to say, only a handful of us were from the field of literature, law, psychology and politics. As was the protocol, our guest was given the stage to speak about his experience as a journalist for 20 minutes and then the floor was opened for questions to be asked. Maximum of them were from reporters and not more than three were from other fields. 

When I was given the chance, I asked two questions. 

1. Does the media have a problem with Right Wing Ideology? Why is it that a Hindu ideologue or a BJP politician or even RSS leader is hounded for any statement of theirs whereas no matter how silly statements are issued by politicians of other political parties like Congress etc, there is a pin drop silence?

2. We recently saw what happened with Rajdeep Sardesai at Madison Square garden. I believe it was a genuine reaction coming from common man after the merciless criticism of their leader Mr. Narendra Modi. Especially on social media platforms. Don’t you think that people have started questioning the credibility of media and because of the biased reporting done by a section of media, people have started reacting. What is your take on that?

Never in my life had I been particularly drawn to politics but the 2014 campaign and the overwhelming support of BJP and PM Modi in particular piqued my interest and I observed the difference between the media reporting done as regards Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. I did some research as to why this lot seemed to target Mr. Modi and realized that they don’t have a problem with Modi. They have problem with the ideology he represents. I scanned through interviews after interviews and it dawned on me that their hatred towards Mr. Modi is deep entrenched to their hatred for Hindus. That’s what triggered me to ask as to what the reason was behind the hate. It was a very innocent curiosity on my part. I was blinded by my quest to find answers and the idea of free speech so much that I had no idea what was to be unleashed on me in matter of next ten minutes or so. 

The thing that shouldn’t surprise us that our guest of honour could not answer any of my questions. Instead, he explained how there’s nothing such as right-wing and how social media is a bane for today’s journalism. It was as if I opened a platform for him to speak on the bane of social media. As mine was the last question, the closing ceremony concluded and it was finally snack time. My friend and I were standing in the corner, not engaging with anyone, happily munching over the delicious Samosa and chips when we were approached by a bunch of our journalist friends. 

I was left speechless when they bombarded me with sermons as to how it was disrespectful my line of questioning was. How I should have considered the seniority o the journalist and how wrong I was to question the integrity of media! So I countered them that my questions were mere observations after having done an extensive study on the pattern of reporting done by media. And as a citizen of this country, I have right to question the media establishment. I also asked then to pay more attention to their respective twitter handles so they could understand that I was not the only one asking questions. I was thankful to the support of my friend who had my back because I was sure,  otherwise, I would have drowned in the sea of insults thrown at me. 

I was told that I’m a mere student who cannot understand the complexities of governance that establishments and how they act against the law. This premise gives the media to question the government. The media was to uphold the right of ignorant citizens like me. Some of them gave me their visiting card and asked me to contact them so they could explain to me how transparent and independent the media is and to clear the confusion in my mind about right-wing. I was stunned, to say the least. It was then, I realized, that our media, who are supposed to be the fourth pillar of democracy, is not as free as it wants people to believe. 

Today, when I reflect back to the incident, I realize that the verbal attack on me wasn’t because I asked them questions. It was because I had managed to pinch their jugular. The media is tolerant as long as you don’ question them. The moment you question their bias and their ideology you become their target of hatred. It was the first instance of intolerance I encountered and it was prior to the whole Award Wapsi drama. These people are vicious and go as far as insulting a woman in public for her fault of merely questioning them. They don’t spare the likes of Union Minister Smriti Irani, I’m just a common citizen, a mere first step on the ladder. Their hatred for everything that stands for Indic values and Hindutva runs far too deep. They don’t want India to rise to her full capacity. They are the stooges that want India enslaved to the western ideals. 

Therefore, when a journalist, who is one of their own fraternity, comes up with a new brand of nationalist journalism is not spared. He’s maligned, questioned about his ethics and is called a Hashtag Journalist. All because he has managed to defy their brand of journalism that mocks the nation and national sentiments. That is why when Mr Goswami exposed Mrs Gandhi’s hypocrisy, he was attacked. The likes of and Nikhil Wagle immediately jumped to question if Mr.Goswami can even be considered a journalist. 

The problem lies not with loyalty but their steadfast sycophancy of the dynasty and the Queen. Apparently they still adhere to the norm of “The Queen Is Above All”

Watch: 18 people found travelling from Maharashtra to Lucknow inside a concrete mixer

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Watch: 18 people found travelling from Maharashtra to Lucknow inside a concrete mixer

In a shocking incident, 18 people desperate to return to their homes in Lucknow from Maharashtra were found travelling inside a concrete mixer tank by police in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. A video of the said incident has now gone viral on social media. The men holed up insider the tank could be seen coming out of a narrow orifice, one at a time, in the presence of police officials.

The truck was stopped by the cops at the border between Indore and Ujjain to check for the illegal movement of people. Cautioned by the driver’s nervousness, the police officers stationed at the border checked the massive concrete mixer drum. To their surprise, they found 18 men sitting inside when they opened the lid of the tank.

The migrant workers were then sent to a local quarantine facility for Coronavirus testing. The Madhya Pradesh Government is meanwhile arranging a special bus to take them to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. DSP Umakant Chaudhary informed, “The truck has been sent to a police station and an FIR has been registered.”

Migrant Crisis

Following the imposition of the nationwide lockdown in the wake of the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, economic activities have come to a standstill. With daily wage workers left with no food, shelter, and job, travelling home seemed to be the last option for them. Given that public transport was unavailable owing to social distancing guidelines, several people began their journey on bicycles and even barefoot.

The nationwide lockdown which was announced on March 24 and later extended to May 3 and now further been prolonged to May 17. Several restrictions have been eased out in non-containment zones in the country.

Special trains for stranded people

Easing the movement of migrant workers, tourists, students, pilgrims stranded at different places, the Union Government on May 1 allowed the use of trains for transporting the stranded people to their home states.

Earlier the Home Ministry had allowed the movement of stranded people to their home states using chartered buses. But due to do the huge number of people, especially migrant workers, stranded at various places, several states had requested special trains to transport them as buses will not be enough to handle such a massive migration.

1...5,3815,3825,383...7,585Page 5,382 of 7,585