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Would Antonia Maino (Sonia Gandhi) have remained silent if Christian padres were killed? Arnab asks on news debate over Palghar mob-lynching of Sadhus

OpIndia Staff
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Would Antonia Maino (Sonia Gandhi) have remained silent if Christian padres were killed? Arnab asks on news debate over Palghar mob-lynching of Sadhus

Mounting a searing attack against the interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Editor-in-chief of the Republic TV, Arnab Goswami questioned if she would have maintained the silence she is exhibiting today had Christian padres been killed instead of Hindu sadhus in the horrifying lynching incident in Palghar.

The debate was aired on Republic Bharat. A YouTube video of the same can be watched here.

“I would like to ask the country, would the country had remained silent if Maulvis or Christian Padres would have been targeted the way Hindu saints were? Would Italy’s Antonia Maino (Sonia Gandhi) have remained silent then? I would like to tell you, if the victims had been Christian padres, Sonia Gandhi, who had come from Rome, would not have remained close-mouthed on the issue,” Arnab said.

Arnab further alleged that he feels Mrs Gandhi is deep down happy that Hindu saints have been killed by the frenzied mob in a state that is governed by her party. He also contended that Mrs Gandhi would prepare and send a report to Italy saying she had been successful in eliminating Hindu saints in a state where she had formed the government.

“I am telling you. She would prepare and send a report to Italy in which she would state where she had formed a government in a state, and she is getting Hindu saints killed there. And she would receive applause from there (Italy),” the Republic TV Editor-in-chief said to the panellists on his show.

Arnab Goswami, known for not mincing his words, also slammed the media channels who have fought shy of covering the gruesome murder of the Hindu sadhus by a rampaging mob in Gadchinchle village of Palghar. He questioned why the media outlets are silent on the cold-blooded murder of the Hindu saints.

Palghar Sadhus lynched

The blood-curdling incident happened on 16th April 2020 in Palghar, Maharashtra. Two Sadhus, 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maharaj and 35-year-old Sushil Giri Maharaj along with their driver 30-year-old Nilesh Telgade associated with the Juna Akhara were on their way from Mumbai to Gujarat to give Samadhi to another Sadhu. At Gadakchinchale village, a wild and frenzied crowd of over more than 100 people attacked them. The villagers deemed them as thieves and started attacking them. The police claim that their team which had rushed to the spot to rescue the 70-year-old man also came under the attack of the violent mob.

Horrifying visuals of the Palghar lynching incident where a mob of over 100 people killed two Sadhus and their driver even as the Police stood there as mute spectators, just letting the barbaric act unfold, had gone viral on the social media.

People of the Sadhu community say that this village is tribals dominated and most of them are Christians while some are Muslims. Some even say that the police, out of fear of the tribals, handed over the Sadhus to the mob which later beat up those Sadhus to death with sticks. Reportedly, when the tribals of a particular religion started beating up the Sadhus, the police did not intervene.

TMC throws one troll under the bus, but is tight lipped about its most famous troll

OpIndia Staff
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TMC throws one troll under the bus, but is tight lipped about its most famous troll

On Tuesday, a TMC supporter, live on Republic TV debate, went on to insult the Marwari community by referring to them as ‘dishonest community that indulges in black-marketing’. However, hours after the debate was aired, TMC leaders took to social media to disassociate themselves from the said TMC supporter and condemned Republic TV for ‘misleading’ people.

TMC’s official handle also accused Republic of giving ‘fringe’ individuals space as TMC supporters.

Accept, while TMC threw the bespectacled TMC supporter under the bus for airing his views against Marwaris on national television, there is another TMC troll who regularly indulges in abusing Marwaris and Gujaratis, especially the ones living in Bengal on social media. Garga Chatterjee, who other than being a TMC supporter also identifies himself as ‘brain scientist’, has regularly indulged in abusing these communities. Some of his sample tweets are here:

TMC troll Chatterjee likes to give out cryptic clues to abuse communities. This is a regular feature. He refers to Hindi as ‘Gutkha language’. His hate for Marwari and Gujarati community has reached psychotic levels.

Amusingly, despite spending almost 60% of his waking hours hating on ‘Dhokla, Bhujia, Gutkha and Bania’, Chatterjee wants people to believe he doesn’t really think about them.

He likes to refer to PM Modi as ‘Dhokla in chief’. Following the TMC clarification, many on social media pointed out the hypocrisy that such tweets condemning the abuse are perhaps only on the surface since Garga Chatterjee continues to have a free rein.

TMC, however, has chosen to be quiet about Chatterjee. No condemnation of anything he says while hating on other non-Bengali communities on social media.

Who is Garga Chatterjee?

Garga Chatterjee, a vocal supporter of the TMC and an abusive troll has a habit of raking up issues to create polarisation on linguistic lines. Earlier, Union Minister Piyush Goyal had announced Kolkata city metro’s decision of including information in Bengali in its smart cards. Taking an opportunity to target ‘Hindi imposition’ Garga had interpreted the tweet as the ‘Hindi imperial centre’ had now sensed the power of ‘Bengali resistance’. He once appeared on an English news channel’s Hindi debate show and insisted on speaking in Bangla in response to others speaking in Hindi. This despite the fact that he knew the show was to be in Hindi. Recently, he was found spreading hate against non-Bengalis and giving thinly veiled threats of violence against them.

CID takes over the Palghar lynching case, Maharashtra home minister says no Muslim arrested in the crime

OpIndia Staff
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CID takes over the Palghar lynching case, Maharashtra home minister says no Muslim arrested in the crime

The Crime Investigation Department(CID) of Maharashtra police has taken over the investigation in the Palghar lynching incident of two Sadhus and their driver last week.

The Maharashtra government had earlier ordered a high-level probe and suspended two policemen who showed complete dereliction of duty. Yesterday, the National Human Rights Commission had issued a notice to DGP Maharashtra mentioning that the Palghar incident was indicative of complete ‘negligence’ by the public servant. NHRC asked for a detailed report within four weeks including the details of action taken against the culprits and relief granted to the kin of the deceased.

Meanwhile, a Public Intrest Litigation has also been filed in the Bombay High Court on Tuesday by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava over the Palghar lynching incident. The PIL seeks a CBI/SIT inquiry and a time-bound trial in a fast track court.

Plaghar Mob Lynching incident

On 16th April 2020 two Sadhus associated with the Juna Akhara, 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maharaj, and 35-year-old Sushil Giri Maharaj along with their driver 30-year-old Nilesh Telgadewere were on their way from Mumbai to Gujarat to give Samadhi to another Sadhu. At Gadakchinchale village, a wild and frenzied crowd of over more than 100 people attacked them. The villagers deemed them as thieves and started attacking them. The police claim that their team which had rushed to the spot to rescue the 70-year-old man also came under the attack of the violent mob.

But later videos emerged which completely debunked the claim of police, as it was seen that the sadhus were in the custody of the police, but the police personnel handed them over to the mob. The mob then proceeded them to beat them to death in front of the policemen.

Arrests made in the case

The authorities on Sunday filed an FIR against the villagers and 110 people including 9 juveniles have been arrested so far. 101 have been sent to judicial custody till April 30 while the juveniles have been sent to the juvenile shelter home.

Today Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh released the list of 101 adults arrested in connection with the case. He also mentioned that he is specifically releasing it to those who were trying to make it a communal issue, perhaps responding to some allegations that the sadhus were attacked by Muslims.

The home minister sad that they were arrested within eight hours of the incident. He also added that rumors child lifters roaming in the area were doing the rounds, implying that the them locals may have attacked the sadhus assuming them to be child lifters.

Central government team fears that 42,000 people in Mumbai will contract coronavirus by April 30: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Central government team fears that 42,000 people in Mumbai will contract coronavirus by April 30: Report

According to a report by Marathi news channel ABP Majha, the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that visited Mumbai on Tuesday fears that by the end of April, 42,000 people in the financial capital of the country are likely to be contracted with the coronavirus infection.

The grim prediction comes a day after the team of Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited Mumbai to take the stock of the situation in the metropolis. The team visited Kasturba hospital and the headquarter of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to oversee the medical treatments of the patients and preparations undertaken by the authorities to combat the novel coronavirus. The central team’s biggest concern is to contain the epidemic before monsoons as it fears that the rainy season in Mumbai can exacerbate the situation in the country’s financial hub.

As per a Maharashtra government official, a team led by Manoj Joshi, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Food Processing and Industries, visited Mumbai to review the measures initiated by the local and state government to battle the coronavirus.

Another IMCT team comprising of 5 members and led by Sanjay Malhotra, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Power, reviewed the COVID-19 situation in Pune, another Maharashtrian city worst-hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

Read- Changed BMC test strategy could make the number of Coronavirus cases in Mumbai appear artificially lower

According to health minister data, with 5218 positive coronavirus cases as of 8 AM today, Maharashtra continues with the highest number of people infected with the Chinese virus. Out of if, 3,451 cases have been reported from Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban areas. The total coronavirus positives in Mumbai Metropolitan Region is 4077, which includes nearby areas like Thane, Raigad and Palghar. Pune has 716 coronavirus positive cases.

Mamata Banerjee relents after intense standoff against IMCT team

Amidst the deadlock over the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT)’s visit to West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government on Tuesday finally agreed to permit the central team to make an on-ground assessment of the situation in the state. The permission from the TMC supremo came almost after 30 hours since the Central team had reached Kolkata.

Earlier, Mamata Banerjee had written a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which she alleged that sending of the inter-ministerial central teams (IMCT) into several districts–Kolkata, Howrah, Medinipur East, 24 Parganas North, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri–is tantamount to a “unilateral action” by PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Rajasthan: Migrant workers paint walls of quarantine centre in return for good hospitality by villagers

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Migrant workers paint walls of quarantine centre in return for good hospitality by villagers

In a heart-warming gesture, migrant workers made use of their isolation time in innovative activities such as sprucing up a quarantine facility where they are residing amidst the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Migrants labours from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and other places of the country were so pleased with the hospitality provided by the villagers in Rajasthan’s Sikar that they started painting the walls of the school building which was turned into a quarantine centre to house them.

According to the reports, migrant workers in Palsana, Rajasthan, wanting to utilise the excess time at their disposal in productive activities, decided to take up the initiative of adorning the walls of the school and set an example for others to follow. The workers staying at the quarantine facility wanted to do something in return for the generosity bestowed by the villagers and the village sarpanch for them during their stay in quarantine.

To reciprocate the good arrangements made by the villagers, the migrant workers set out to beautify the quarantine facility they were staying in. They asserted that they wanted to add a good memory to the quarantine centre in such trying times and thus decided to airbrush the school with new colours. The sarpanch of the village and the school staff arranged colours on their request. The labourers then started painting school.

Reportedly, the school was not painted for the last nine years. The workers who decided to embellish the school with revitalising colours refused to take money for their services. They said that it was a goodwill gesture by them for the services and good care they have received by the locals and the authorities at the quarantine centre.

Indian Islamists join Pakistanis pretending to be Arabs while targeting Hindus in Gulf over criticism of role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Islamists join Pakistanis pretending to be Arabs while targeting Hindus in Gulf over criticism of role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading coronavirus

The witch hunt against Indians in the Gulf countries has now taken an ugly turn as Pakistanis, quite possibly backed by the ISI, are now pretending to be Arabs on social media while ‘complaining’ to Prime Minister Modi of ‘Islamophobia’. An article in Organiser states that after the relentless anti-India campaign launched by some Indian Muslims in response to passing of Citizenship Amendment Act, the Islamists in the west have taken this opportunity to spew venom against the Indians in Gulf countries.

As per the report, Kerala-based Islamic extremists pioneered the hate campaign urging Arabs and law authorities to take action against the Hindus working in the Gulf as they ‘kill Muslims in India’. Various fake handles on social media have been created just with the purpose of spreading falsehood against India.

It is a fact that the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz in New Delhi has contributed to as many as 30% of total coronavirus patients in India. The anger of general public is also due to the fact that many of these have hidden their travel history and also misbehaved with healthcare workers including molesting nurses and pelting stones at doctors and healthcare workers.

Indians turning on Indians

As per the report, various Islamic organisations based in Kerala used leading businessmen and religious leaders to influence the Arabs and fed them with fake narrative against India. Media platforms based out of gulf countries like GulfNews, Al Jazeera, Khaleej Times were used to spread misinformation about India and treatment of Muslims in India.

Pakistan joining hands with disgruntled Indian Muslims

A 2016 policy of Pakistan titled “Policy guidelines in view of the latest situation developing between India and Pakistan” had recommended having a ‘media coordination committee’ with select Journalists as members to “counter Indian propaganda” and specifically promote a media strategy. The policy also stressed on the need to hire International lobbyists and strategic communication firms to “change global narrative”. The policy document called for highlighting the “fault-lines” in the Indian society. They specifically mention Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Dalits as “alienated” sections about whom narrative should be built. The Policy also called to target Modi and RSS ideology, and suggests reaching out to those in India who are “opposed to Modi’s extremism”. Policy specifically talked about reaching out to people in political parties, media, and civil society.

Hence, it does not come as much of a surprise that the “India is against Muslims” propaganda and narrative finds its support in Pakistan.

Alert netizens pointed out that in past few days, various Twitter users changed their handles to sound more Arabic and tweet against India ‘condemning’ the ‘hate’ against Muslims.

As can be seen above, Twitter account by th ename “H. H. Mona bint Fahad al Said” with a flag of Oman next to her name was earlier ‘pak__fauj’.

Many such Twitter handles have sprung up in past few days.

Like one Kahlown Yasin pretending to be an Arab on Twitter is quite possibly from Pakistan. As Twitter detective @PokerShash discovered, Yasin is not a Sheikh but some random person from Pakistan working in the Gulf.

Many also changed their profile handles and pictures to that of a woman and pretended to be a Muslim woman condemning ‘atrocities against Muslims’ in India.

Targeted attack on Indians, especially Hindus

Organiser report states that few NRIs had said that the attack against Indians, especially Hindus, in West Asia started much sooner but intensified during anti-CAA protests. Citing a migrant worker from Kerala, Organiser says that the cadres of Islamic outfits like PFI and Jamaat-e-Islami regularly target Indians in UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar, etc. In December 2019, an Indian doctor was reportedly expelled from Qatar hospital after a bunch of Islamists convinced the authorities that his support to CAA was anti-Muslim and communal.

Now, many are facing trouble because of expressing anger against Tablighi Jamaat members’ negligence and misbehaviour. That’s not it, Indians, especially Indian Muslims have been at the forefront of ‘hunting down’ so to say Hindus who are working in the gulf countries and having even slightly critical view about the Muslims.

Some Islamists also cheered the attack on Indians.

Many Indians, especially journalists, seem to have taken it upon themselves to make lives of fellow Indians difficult just because they could.

Tablighi is a subsect of one school of thought in Islam. Defending them or indulging in whataboutery over their behaviour does more harm than good to Indian Muslims, most of whom do not even belong to this subsect.

Jharkhand: Teacher kills self after declaring himself coronavirus positive on social media

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Teacher kills self after declaring himself coronavirus positive on social media

A 28-year old man from Jharkhand’s Giridh committed suicide after declaring himself coronavirus positive early on Monday morning. Suresh Pandit, an English teacher in a private school reportedly hanged himself from the ceiling of his house at Baidapahri village under Birni police station.

His suicide note went viral on social media that alerted the police. The police have claimed that it is a clear case of depression because the person was suffering from cough and breathing problems. He allegedly committed suicide thinking that he had been infected by the coronavirus.

Giridh SP Surendra Kumar Jha said, “It appears to be a clear case of depression under which he committed suicide suspecting him to be infected with coronavirus.”

According to the police, he had informed in the note that he is infected with the coronavirus. In the three-page suicide note, he had mentioned that he had quarantined himself at home and abandoned everyone from making a contact. He further added that when he got to know about the disease it was too late. Hence there was no other option was left but to commit suicide.

He also mentioned that he had been to a wedding ceremony and might have infected from there.

As per reports, he had also visited Birni Community Health Centre on April 18 for health check-up but no symptoms were detected in him so he was sent back.

Jammu and Kashmir: Police books journalist Gowhar Geelani for indulging in unlawful activities, glorifying terrorism

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir: Police books journalist Gowhar Geelani for indulging in unlawful activities, glorifying terrorism

The Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone on Tuesday booked a journalist Gowhar Geelani for indulging in unlawful activities through his posts and writings on social media.

According to the reports, Jammu and Kashmir Police said they had received information that an individual named Gowher Geelani was indulging in unlawful activities by glorifying terrorism through his posts on social media.

The J&K police said that the said individual had written posts on social media platforms that were prejudicial to the national integrity, sovereignty and security of India.

The police statement also mentioned that Geelani’s unlawful activities include glorifying terrorism in the Kashmir Valley, spreading disaffection against the country, and causing fear in the minds of people that may lead to offences against the public.

Complaints against Geelani

The Jammu and Kashmir police said that there were several complaints against Gowhar Geelani accusing him of intimidation.

“The unlawful activities include glorifying terrorism in Kashmir Valley, causing disaffection against the country and causing fear or alarm in the minds of the public that may lead to the commission of offences against public tranquillity and the security of State,” the police statement said.

The police statement said that an FIR No. 11/2020 under the relevant sections of law has been registered at Cyber Police Station Kashmir and investigation has been initiated.

Two more Kashmiri journalists booked

Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir police had booked two other Kashmiri journalists Masrat Zahra and Peerzada Ashiq for spreading misinformation on social media and sharing anti-national posts with criminal intent. The police had invoked the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Zahra for posting anti-national posts on her social media accounts. Zahra was called to the Cyber Police Station for questioning.

Peerzada Ashiq had allegedly published a fake news item regarding the Shopian encounter. As per the police, the article by Ashiq in The Hindu was factually incorrect and was published without trying to get the correct information from the district authorities. 

A month after Shivraj Chouhan took oath as CM, Madhya Pradesh gets 5 ministers

OpIndia Staff
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A month after Shivraj Chouhan took oath as CM, Madhya Pradesh gets 5 ministers

5 ministers in the Madhya Pradesh government were administered the oath at the Raj Bhawan in the presence of Governor on Tuesday, 21 April. This happened 29 days after Shivraj Singh Chouhan was sworn in as Chief Minister for the fourth time on March 23.

As per reports, a full scale of the cabinet will be appointed after the lockdown is lifted.

The five ministers sworn in on Tuesday include Narottam Mishra who has been a six-time BJP MLA and also an ex-minister from the Gwalior-Chambal region. Kamal Patel, a five-time BJP MLA, ex-minister from Central MP, also considered close to former Union Minister Uma Bharti. Meena Singh, BJP’s five-time tribal MLA. Tulsi Silawat, who had been a health minister in the Kamal Nath government and Govind Singh Rajput, ex transport and revenue minister in the Kamal Nath Government.

The five ministers represent five different regions of Madhya Pradesh including Bundelkhand, Central Mp, Malwa-Nimar, Mahakoshal, and Gwalior-Chambal region.

As per reports, the first expansion of the cabinet is likely to happen after May 3. Since Shivraj Singh Chouhan took the oath of CM of MP, the opposition has been continuously accusing him of running a single man government during the coronavirus pandemic crisis in the state. Madhya Pradesh has reported 1485 cases of coronavirus so far.

The Kamal Nath government had fallen in March after 22 of the Congress MLAs, along with bigwig Jyotiraditya Scindia tendered their resignation from their respective positions in the Congress party and later joined the BJP.

Covidiot: Surat broker forges HM Amit Shah’s signature to return home from Mumbai, booked for forgery

OpIndia Staff
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Covidiot: Surat broker forges HM Amit Shah’s signature to return home from Mumbai, booked for forgery

Surat broker, in his desperation to come back home from Mumbai, forged Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s signature on a ‘special permission’ to take a road trip. As reported by Ahmedabad Mirror, 33-year-old Rajesh Patel, a real estate broker from Surat was in Malad, Mumbai, when the lockdown was announced. Subsequently, the state borders were also sealed in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus. However, after being stuck for such a long time, he decided to pay heed to his friend’s suggestion of using a forged signature of Home Minister Amit Shah to drive his way back.

Friend in need, friend indeed

As per the report, Rajesh Patel was stuck in Malad when he reached out to one Hasitbhai Rajpurohit, also a real estate broker, in Vadodara. The latter, allegedly put Patel in touch with one of his friends, Manish, also a resident of Vadodara, who pitched in to help. Manish reportedly got Patel’s ID proofs and forged Union Home Minister’s signature on a ‘special permission’ letter and sent it across to Rajpurohit. Rajpurohit allegedly forwarded the same to Patel on WhatsApp.

Forged letter of ‘special permission’

The letter dated 27th March, 2020, is addressed to “Director General of Police, All State, India” and identified Patel as a ‘pharmaceutical businessman’. The letter stated that he is allowed to travel all over India for ‘medicine and pharmaceutical work’ and that they are taking all precautions for coronavirus. The letter also stated that Patel is authorised by Government of India to travel across India and continue the work in medicine and pharmaceutical.

Forged signature of Amit Shah (image: Ahmedabad Mirror)

Fooled Maharashtra Police, alert Gujarat cop caught him

Armed with the letter with forged signature, Patel, along with two other people, including a woman, left for Surat from Mumbai. They were travelling in an Innova with Maharashtra registration number. The forged letter got them through three check posts in Maharashtra, Bhilad, Damanganga and Bhagwada. Once they were through to Gujarat, they thought they’d make it, after all, Gujarat was Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

Except, an alert cop, head constable Hiteshkumar Darji at Vaghaldhara checkpost in Gujarat asked for the original ‘special permission’ after Patel fumbled a little. The three people were then taken to Dungari police station in Valsad for interrogation. The two who were travelling with Patel have been booked as witnesses in the case. His friends, Rajpurohit as well as Manish have reportedly gone missing. Rajesh Patel is booked for forgery, criminal conspiracy and violation of government notification under section 465, 468, 471, 120 (B) and 188 (A) of the IPC and section 135 of the GP Act.

Covidiots

A covidiot is someone who ignores public health and safety warnings and puts not only his own health and life at risk but also others around him. Recently, an Uruguayan diplomat was found flouting lockdown rules in Delhi. She was found cycling on the roads of Delhi without a mask, despite government orders of complete lockdown. New Zealand health minister also flouted lockdown guidelines and went to a beach with his family for a walk. Earlier in March, a man who had licked toilet as part of ‘coronavirus challenge’ tested positive for COVID-19.

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