There is no end to the attack on religious minorities in Bangladesh which started after the Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt took charge following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. In such a distressing incident coinciding with Christmas celebrations, 17 houses belonging to the Tripura Christian community were set ablaze in Bandarban’s Lama Upazila.
Notably, Tripura Christian refers to people belonging to the Tripura community who follow Christianity.
As per reports, the attack occurred in the early hours of December 25, while residents were away attending prayers in a neighbouring village, as there is no church in their village. There was nobody in the village when the attack took place.
The affected village, New Betachhara Para in the Tongjhiri area is located in Ward No. 8 of Sarai Union of Lama Upazila. The villages had gone to nearby Tonggyajhiri village on Wednesday night to participate in Christmas celebrations. The miscreants took advantage of their absence to torch the homes, resulting in the complete destruction of 17 out of 19 houses in the village.
Gungamani Tripura, one of the victims, expressed his devastation, “Our houses have been completely burned to ashes. Could not save anything.”
Notably, the victim families belonging to the Tripura community have been residing in the Tongjhiri Tripura Para area for several generations. But they were forcibly removed from their homes a few years ago when some people claimed that the area had been leased out to the wife of a police officer and planted trees there. However, after the fall of the Awami League government, they came back to the village and started living in makeshift houses.
At around 12:30 am on Wednesday, the villagers attending Christmas payers in the neighbouring village saw a fire blazing in their village and rushed to their village. But by the time they reached, 17 of the 19 houses were completely gutted. All houses in the village were made of bamboo and straw, therefore the houses burnt quickly.
Notably, the villagers have been accused of land grabbing by people who had earlier removed them they resettled in the village. Md Enamul Haque Bhuiyan, inspector (investigation) of Lama Police Station, said there are complaints and counter-complaints of land grabbing in the remote area after August 5, when the Sheikh Hasina govt fell.
The police officer said that no formal complaints had been filed regarding the incident, and action would be taken upon receiving a complaint.
The villagers said that they had been receiving threats for some time, and that is why they left nobody in the village when they went to the church.
The local administration has provided rice, lentils, oil, and blankets to the affected families as relief materials.
This incident is part of a troubling pattern of violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government in August 2024. Since the government’s collapse, there have been a large number of attacks on minority communities across the country.
In a major success for the joint efforts of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), in the month of December, the International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System identified and blocked 6 lakhs spoofed calls with Indian numbers in a massive dip from 13.5 million in October. This spoof call prevention system was launched on 22nd October this year, after which the number of spoofed calls has gone down by 90% in just 2 months.
The Telecom Department said that within 24 hours of operation of the ‘International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System’, about 1.35 crore or 90% of all the incoming international calls with tempered Indian phone numbers were identified as spoofed calls and blocked from reaching Indian telecom subscribers.
“Within 24 hours of operation of the system, about 1.35 crore or 90% from all the incoming international calls with tempered Indian phone numbers were identified as spoofed calls and blocked by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) from reaching Indian telecom subscribers. In the latest reports of December 2024, the spoofed calls identified and blocked with Indian numbers have dipped to about 6 lakhs indicating that the system has successfully tackled the issue of cyber-crimes that were being conducted through calls that were being made from abroad, but the CLI [Calling Line Identity] was tempered to look as Indian number,” DoT said in a press release.
DoT highlights new tactics being used by scamsters to defraud people
The DoT further stressed that fraudsters are now using international numbers for carrying out scams. They are impersonating government authorities by calling from international numbers starting from +8, +85, +65 etc. To tackle this, the DoT said that it has formed a task force. It further stated that the task force has recommended that Telecom Service Providers should display “International Call” to Indian subscribers when a call is made from outside the country. With this, the call receivers would be able to understand that the call is not actually made by Indian government authorities.
“However, fraudsters have now shifted their tactics and are using international numbers for their deceptive practices. It is noted that fraudsters are increasingly impersonating government authorities by calling from international numbers that do not start with +91 but start with numbers such as +8, +85, +65 etc. DoT has formed a dedicated task force comprising of various stakeholders that is actively working to address such spoofed calls. One of the recommendations of the task force was that TSPs should display “International Call” to the subscribers whenever any call from outside the country is received. This will help the users to understand that such calls cannot be from Indian Authorities or organizations like TRAI, Police, Income Tax etc,” the DoT said adding that one of the TSPs, Airtel has implemented the technical solution and has already started displaying “International Call” for all calls received from outside the country.
DoT advises citizens to exercise caution while answering unfamiliar international numbers
The DoT asked citizens that they should show caution with respect to answering calls from unfamiliar international numbers that do not start with +91 and that claim to be from government authorities of India. Citizens are advised to report such suspected fraud communications at the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi.
Source: PIB
Notably, spoofing is the process of changing the Caller ID to make a call appear to be from a different number, which is done by scammers to deceive the recipient. Cybercriminals in India have been using this tactic to commit fraud by impersonating various entities such as government authorities, bank employees and even relatives or friends.
Among the common scams carried out through spoof calls are financial scams wherein fraudsters falsely claim to be from banks or financial institutions, forcing individuals into divulging sensitive information or transferring money under false pretences. Furthermore, impersonation is another major scam in which scammers impersonate police or government authorities in order to obtain money or personal information by threatening service disruption, making false arrests, or engaging in illegal activities such as drug trafficking. Furthermore, callers have threatened victims with legal action and even personal harm unless their demands are not fulfilled.
In the recent past, numerous incidents of ‘digital arrests’ have been reported wherein scamsters defrauded people by posing as police or government investigators. Just a few days back, a 67-year-old woman and her two daughters were placed under ‘digital arrest’ for 17 days by scammers acting as CBI investigators who extorted Rs 5.5 crore from the victims. The scamsters often use sophisticated AI voice clones and visual aides to deceive their targets.
TRAI’s CNAP
Before the DoT came up with the International Incoming Spoofed Calls Prevention System, TRAI had introduced a calling name presentation (CNAP) service for Indian carriers. The goal of CNAP is to allow people to see the caller’s name (the registered user of that specific number) rather than just a number. It is similar to the services offered by the TrueCaller app. In June of this year, it was reported that various telcos, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, have begun CNAP trials.
In light of the growing cybercrime sophistication in the country, the DoT recently mandated that telecom providers Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea play cybercrime awareness messages eight to ten times daily for the next three months. These pre-call messages, provided by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), are intended to inform people about digital arrests and other scams.
On Wednesday, 25th December, the Supreme Court (SC)restrained the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from using the digital devices seized during searches on “lottery king” Santiago Martin, his family, and employees. The court said that the ED can’t access or copy the content from the digital devices including phones and laptops for investigation.
This is after the ED conducted massive searches at multiple locations in West Bengal, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu in connection with financial fraud of lottery and the corruption case involving money laundering through lottery tickets to certain influential people. The raid was conducted in November following a complaint filed by Meghalaya Police. The authorities accused the Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited of illegally monopolizing the state’s lottery business.
During the latest raids across 22 locations pan-India, the ED recovered Rs 12.41 in cash along with 17 mobile phones, hard drives, pen drives, and email backups. The SC however directed the ED saying that it had no authority to access the content from the digital devices seized during searches. The court order says that ED can’t access and copy the contents of two iPhone 15 phones and the devices belonging to the employees of the accused.
The Supreme Court’s order, issued by Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal on December 13th also stayed the summons issued by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) asking individuals to appear for data extraction from their devices.
The advocates appearing for the petitioner argued that unrestricted access to the personal digital devices seized during the raids violated their fundamental right to privacy. They further stated that such devices often store deeply personal and sensitive information. The ED however said that the ruling by the SC was unprecedented but not a major setback.
It said that it already had collected enough evidence including properties worth Rs 622 crore linked to Future Gaming.
The agency is probing a lottery scam case registered in 2012 against lottery baron Santiago Martin and others, in which the Sikkim government was allegedly cheated. The ED had earlier attached assets worth Rs 277.59 crore in the case. They included a large number of immovable properties in Tamil Nadu. On the basis of the charge sheets filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the ED had initiated a money laundering probe against Martin and his company, Future Gaming Solutions (P) Limited (presently Future Gaming and Hotel Services (P) Limited and formerly Martin Lottery Agencies Limited).
The agency had then alleged that Martin and others conspired to make wrongful gains. They entered into an agreement with State government officials, in contravention of the Lottery Regulations Act, under which the company could avoid remitting the face value of lottery tickets sold in Kerala to the State exchequer as sale proceeds. An illegal gain of over Rs 910.30 crore was made by inflating the prize-winning tickets’ claims from April 1, 2009, to August 31, 2010, as alleged.
In another case, the Enforcement Directorate in 2022 had also attached properties worth Rs 409.92 crore in the case against Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited and its various sub-distributors and area distributors for West Bengal. The ED probe is based on the cases registered by the Kolkata Police under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Lotteries (Regulation) Act. The attached assets are in the form of bank balance and mutual fund holdings.
On 24th December, Pakistan launched an unexpected and “barbaric” airstrikes in the eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan, killing 46 people. Most of those killed were women and children. The Taliban has condemned the attack and called it “barbaric.” According to the Taliban, the airstrikes were an act of “clear aggression.” Media reports, as well as statements from locals and Taliban leaders, indicated that the strikes targeted multiple locations in the Barmal district. Several homes were destroyed in the airstrikes, leading to the deaths of entire families.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the number of deaths. Initially, six children were critically injured in the airstrikes but later succumbed to their injuries. A resident of the area, Maleel, told the media, “Pakistan bombarded four points in the Barmal district. In one house, 18 people from the same family were killed.”
The strikes were reportedly launched to target alleged hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Reports claimed that a TTP training facility was destroyed, killing 45 insurgents. However, the attacks angered Afghan civilians, and the Taliban Ministry of Defence has vowed to retaliate against the airstrikes.
Taliban vows vengeance, accuses Pakistan of ‘cowardly’ aggression
A strongly worded statement has been issued by the Ministry of Defence of the ruling Taliban, in which they referred to the airstrikes as a “cowardly” act. They declared that Afghanistan has the right to defend its sovereignty. The Taliban warned Pakistan, stating, “The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered.”
In a statement, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence said, “Barmal district of Paktika was bombed by the Pakistan Army late today. Most of civilians whom are Waziristani refugees, were targeted, and a number of civilians including children were martyred and injured as a result of the bombings. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan condemns the bombing and considers this barbaric act to be a clear aggression and contrary to all international principles. The Pakistani side should know that such arbitrary actions are not, the solution to the problems. The Islamic Emirate will not let this act of cowardice go unanswered, Rather, it considers defending its territory and soil an inalienable right.”
of the bombings.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan condemns the bombing and considers this barbaric act to be a clear aggression and contrary to all international principles.
The Pakistani side should know that such arbitrary actions are not, the solution to the problems.
— د ملي دفاع وزارت – وزارت دفاع ملی (@MoDAfghanistan2) December 24, 2024
The Afghan Taliban has further accused Pakistan of using unilateral measures to address its issues with the TTP. Notably, the TTP has increased its attacks on Pakistani forces since the ceasefire ended in late 2022. Kabul has repeatedly denied harbouring TTP militants; however, it has acknowledged that tensions have escalated since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Strikes coincide with diplomatic talks
The airstrikes took place while high-ranking Taliban officials were meeting with Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan in Kabul. Pakistani authorities have not issued any statement regarding the airstrikes. They have neither confirmed nor denied the strikes.
This was the second time since March this year that Pakistan has launched airstrikes in Afghanistan. In the previous airstrike, eight civilians were reportedly killed, leading to cross-border skirmishes. The growing hostility between the two nations followed a recent raid by the TTP near the Afghan border, which resulted in the deaths of 16 Pakistani soldiers.
Rising tensions on the border
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of providing safe havens for TTP militants responsible for attacks on Pakistani soil. However, Afghanistan has denied the allegations. The Taliban, on the other hand, has condemned Pakistan’s aggressive measures on Afghan soil and deemed them counterproductive.
The ‘Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana’ promising ₹2100 per month to the women of Delhi announced by Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has become a major source of controversy. After the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi warned the citizens that no such scheme is in existence at present, AAP councillor Ravinder Solanki slammed the party for announcing new scheme while not fulfilling earlier promises of similar schemes.
Ravinder Solanki raised eyebrows by publicly criticizing his own party for announcing new scheme while failing to deliver on the ₹1,000 monthly allowance for women promised during elections. He said that public no longer trusts the party for unfulfilled promises. He said that the party should have first fulfilled the promise of the ₹1,000 allowance before announcing the new scheme of ₹2,100 allowance.
#WATCH | On Delhi WCD dept clarifying AAP's proposed scheme Mahila Samman Yojana not notified yet, AAP Councillor Ravinder Solanki says, "A lot of women come to the office and ask about Rs 1000 allowance. Till now, Rs 1000 allowance has not been given and you have made the women… pic.twitter.com/CJ0L7z5G5Y
Speaking to the media, Solanki said, “a lot of women come to the office and ask about ₹1000 allowance. Till now, ₹1000 allowance has not been given and you have made the women queue up for ₹2100. We want to tell Kejriwal ji that they should have first fulfilled the promise of ₹1000 allowance and then announced another scheme. The public is not trusting anymore. We have no answers to give the public.”
AAP councillor Ravinder Solanki’s open criticism of his own party comes after the Delhi Women and Child Development Department clarified that there is no such scheme as the ‘Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana,’ along with another promised scheme named ‘Sanjeevani Scheme’.
The department issued a public notice today saying that no scheme called ‘Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana’ exists, and therefore the question of physical forms / applications for the registration under this non-existent scheme does not arise. The department warned that “Any private individual/ political party collecting such physical forms / applications or collecting information from applicants under the name of the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana is fraudulent and without any authority.”
The dept also cautioned citizens against sharing personal details like as bank account information, voter ID card, phone numbers, residential address, or any other sensitive information in the name of this scheme.
Similarly, the Health and Family Welfare Department issued another public notice saying that there is no scheme called ‘Sanjeevani Scheme’ that promises free treatment for all citizens above the age of 60 years. It asked people to not believe in free treatment under this non-existent scheme, and issued similar warning against giving out personal information.
On 23rd December, the President-elect of the United States of America announced that Sriram Krishnan will serve as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Sriram, who was born in Chennai, completed his B-Tech in Information Technology from SRM Engineering College in Kattankulathur, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. In 2005, he moved to the US when he was 21.
Sriram has a distinguished career in the field of technology. He has worked with leading firms, including Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo!, Facebook, and Snap. In 2013, he joined Facebook, where he played a significant role in scaling the mobile app download ad business. Later, he joined Twitter (now X) and worked there until 2019. He also collaborated with Elon Musk to restructure the platform after Musk acquired it in 2022.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Sriram Krishnan will serve as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Working closely with David Sacks, Sriram will focus on ensuring continued American leadership in A.I., and help shape and coordinate A.I. policy across Government, including working with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Sriram started his career at Microsoft as a founding member of Windows Azure.”
Source: Truth Social
Expressing gratitude to Trump, Krishnan wrote on social media, “I’m honoured to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI working closely with David Sacks. Thank you, Donald Trump, for this opportunity.”
?? I'm honored to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI working closely with @DavidSacks.
Notably, on 6th December, David O. Sacks was announced as the Crypto Czar of the White House by Trump. David will guide policy for the Trump Administration in AI and Cryptocurrency. Sacks has worked for big companies, including PayPal, Zenefits, and Yammer. David will be leading the team where Sriram will serve as an advisor.
Anti-India hate filled social media following the announcement
Sriram’s appointment at the White House did not sit well with some Right Wing conservatives in the US, who accused him of being against Trump’s “America First” campaign. Sriram’s stance on removing the country cap on H1-B visas was misrepresented, suggesting that he would prefer skilled workers from foreign nations over Americans.
The social media uproar against Sriram was initiated by journalist Laura Loomer, who called his appointment “disappointing.” In a post on X, she wrote, “It’s alarming to see the number of career leftists who are now being appointed to serve in Trump’s admin when they share views that are in direct opposition to Trump’s America First agenda. How will we control immigration in our country and promote America First innovation when Trump appointed this guy who wants to REMOVE all restrictions on green card caps in the United States so that foreign students (which make up 78% of the employees in Silicon Valley) can come to the US and take jobs that should be given to American STEM students? This is very troubling.”
Deeply disturbing to see the appointment of Sriram Krishnan @sriramk as Senior Policy Advisor for AI at the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
“Mind you, none of the tech executives who are meeting with Trump and getting appointed in his cabinet supported him in 2020 or during the 2024 primary. I feel like many of them are trying to get into Trump’s admin to enrich themselves and get contracts at DOD. This is not America First policy,” she added. In the post, she added a screenshot of Sriram’s post from November this year, where he had quoted Elon Musk and suggested it would be great if anything could be done to remove country caps for green cards or unlock skilled immigration.
Anything to remove country caps for green cards / unlock skilled immigration would be huge. https://t.co/21toGtW5lS
Social media user YearOfTheKraken compiled a thread highlighting similar anti-India sentiments regarding Sriram’s appointment. A non-profit organisation, Project for Immigration Reforms, launched a campaign against the appointment of Sriram and other Indians on social media. Quoting Sriram, the organisation wrote, “The only country he’s helping serve is India,” and included a screenshot where Sriram advocated for addressing skilled immigration issues in the US, particularly for individuals from India.
X user Nas Escobar wrote, “No matter what Sriram Krishnan says, he is INDIA First. No matter what the people around him say. Their only goal is to import more Indians to REPLACE American Workers.”
No matter what Sriram Krishnan says, he is INDIA First. No matter what the people around him say. Their only goal is to import more Indians to REPLACE American Workers.
Another X user Aethelleas wrote, “You’re not allowed to talk about how a new Trump appointee is openly advocating for Mass Immigration from India to Replace Americans. Every one of the tweets on this topic has been marked “hate”. I’ve tweeted exactly this message for years, and even @ Vijaya didn’t flag me. Elon Musk is protecting the Mass Migration Lobby, and shutting down its Americans First Opponents.”
You're not allowed to talk about how a new Trump appointee is openly advocating for Mass Immigration from India to Replace Americans. Every one of the tweets on this topic has been marked "hate". I've tweeted exactly this message for years, and even @ Vijaya didn't flag me.… pic.twitter.com/Cc50cHwc5e
Replying to Laura, David Sacks came to Sriram’s support and wrote, “Point of clarification: Sriram didn’t say he wants to remove all caps on green cards. He said he wants to remove country caps on green cards. Right now, every country in the world gets allocated the same number of green cards, no matter how many qualified applicants it has. So applicants from India have an 11 year wait whereas applicants from many other countries have no wait at all. Sriram still supports skills-based criteria for receiving a green card, not making the program unlimited. In fact, he wants to make the program entirely merit-based. Supporting a limited number of highly skilled immigrants is still a prevalent view on the right. Sriram is definitely not a “career leftist”!”.
Elon Musk replied to Sacks agreeing to him, saying “makes sense”.
The uproar on social media over Sriram’s appointment in Trump’s administration was not only unwarranted but also burdened with baseless allegations. Sriram is an accomplished professional with a remarkable career at leading tech companies. He has been a consistent advocate for merit-based, legal immigration—a stance entirely aligned with fostering innovation and sustaining America’s stature in cutting-edge technologies.
If we look at history, Indian-Americans have long been integral to the progress of the US, specifically in the fields of medicine, technology, and academia. Instead of displacing opportunities for Americans, highly skilled immigrants like Sriram have enriched the US talent pool. Immigrants like him have helped drive technological advancements and the economic growth of the country.
The claims that Sriram’s advocacy for removing country caps on green cards is against the “America First” agenda are unfounded. As clarified by Sacks, Sriram supports skills-based criteria and a fair allocation of green cards, addressing long wait times for qualified applicants from countries like India. This particular approach promotes fairness and competitiveness and upholds the legal pathways for immigration, which followers of Trump support.
Moreover, Sriram’s advocacy contrasts with the rampant illegal immigration that has surged exponentially under the Biden administration. His call for reforms focuses on streamlining the process for skilled professionals, ensuring that only the best talents are welcomed through legal channels. It aligns perfectly with the conservative values of meritocracy and controlled immigration.
The Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Committee has called for a 72-hour bandh in Katra starting Wednesday to oppose the Rs 250 crore ropeway project near the Vaishno Devi shrine.
The committee argues that the project threatened the livelihoods of local traders, laborers, and service providers who depend on the traditional pilgrimage route.
This protest follows previous demonstrations, including a complete shutdown in Katra on December 18, where local businesses and service providers suspended operations to voice their opposition.
The committee had temporarily suspended their strike until December 23 after discussions with the district administration but resumed protests due to a lack of resolution.
The Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has approved the Rs 250 crore ropeway project, which aims to facilitate a safer and faster journey for pilgrims, particularly those who find the 13-km trek challenging. The ropeway is expected to reduce travel time to six minutes and is scheduled for completion by December 2026.
However, local stakeholders fear the project will bypass traditional routes, adversely impacting businesses and services catering to pilgrims. They have demanded that the project be shelved to protect their livelihoods.
The ongoing protests have disrupted services for pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine. Travelers planning visits during the bandh period are advised to prepare for potential inconveniences, consider postponing their plans, or explore alternative arrangements.
Meanwhile, Authorities have urged protesters to engage in dialogue to address their concerns while ensuring the smooth functioning of pilgrim services.
The situation remains fluid, with further developments anticipated as discussions between the committee and the administration continue.
On November 25, pony and palanquin owners along with the locals had pelted stones during the protest against the ropeway project.
Paramvir Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Reasi, told ANI, “People have been protesting here for the past three days, and we have been managing the situation. Today, some of them pelted stones at the police team. We are trying to handle the situation, and hopefully, normalcy will be restored soon.”
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the site of the under-construction Jammu Tawi Riverfront Project and reviewed the ongoing work.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On the 23rd of December, the Buxar Police said that they have taken cognisance of the satirical videos of a Bihar-based YouTube channel “MVS Films”. In a statement issued on Monday, the SP office of Buxar Police said that they have received information about three video creators including a Buxar resident Ashish Pandey at MVS Films allegedly trying to “spoil” the communal atmosphere in the society by making “derogatory and objectionable” videos in Muslim attire. The police said that a team is being formed and the said information is being verified.
“On date- 22/12/2024, information was received on the Twitter handle/Facebook page of Buxar Police that a comedy channel named “MVS Films (@MVS Films)” is active on the social media platform, which makes comedy videos. The main member associated with this channel, Ashish Pandey, is probably said to be a resident of the Buxar district of Bihar, and his two other companions are trying to spoil the communal atmosphere in the society by making derogatory and objectionable videos in Muslim attire. Taking cognizance of the said information, on the instructions of Superintendent of Police Buxar. Under the leadership of Deputy Superintendent of Police cum Cyber Station Head, Buxar. A team is being formed and the said information is being verified. It is requested not to post any kind of photo or video which can hurt religious or communal sentiments, doing so is a legal offence,” the Buxar Police statement reads.
The police statement came after Islamists on social media started circulating several satirical videos created by MVS Films on current issues. In this case, the FIR was registered on the complaint lodged by Congress leader and National Convenor of “Volunteers against Hate” Meraj Hussain and one Mohammad Shadab Khan.
बक्सर पुलिस की ओर से MVS FILMS मामलें में बिग अपडेट ?
आदाब दोस्तों,
बक्सर पुलिस ने आखिरकार MVS Films द्वारा मुसलमानों की वेशभूषा में कॉमेडी की आड़ में फैलाए जा रहे नफरती एजेंडे को गंभीरता से लिया है। पुलिस अधीक्षक बक्सर के निर्देशन में, पुलिस उपाधीक्षक सह साइबर थानाध्यक्ष… https://t.co/TcaK1RN2Fwpic.twitter.com/vDZsPj2I6z
One particular video titled “Madarsay me train palatnay ki training (Training in madarsas to derail the trains) on the radar of Islamists, shows a Muslim man near a railway track is asked why he is there, and he replies that he must board the train. A screwdriver then drops out of his pocket, and he flees, vowing to carry out “rail jihad” and shouting “Allahu Akbar”.
While the outraging Islamists deemed this video hateful and derogatory towards the Muslim community, a probe by NIA and UP ATS revealed that training on how to derail trains was being imparted in madarsas in Jhansi and Kanpur.
As OpIndia reported earlier, the security agencies revealed that students of the madarsas are being radicalised and instigated to derail trains. Moreover, the youths are also being trained on how to derail trains. As part of the probe, the agencies are conducting raids at various madarsas in the region. Such training is being imparted via online mode, and the probe teams recovered several videos. In the videos, radical Islamists are seen instigating youths to derail trains, and also instructing them on how to do the task.
It is pertinent to note that train sabotage incidents are on the rise in India and in August this year, a Pakistani Islamic terrorist Farhatullah Ghori called on his supporters encouraged his supporters to carry out large-scale train derailments in Delhi, Mumbai, and other Indian cities prompting Indian intelligence agencies to intensify investigation into train sabotage incidents.
In another video deemed ‘offensive’ by Islamists online, three Muslim persons are shown debating the claims of the existence of a Shiva temple underneath the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. According to one of the youths, when Islamic invaders arrived in India, they demolished temples and constructed mosques on top of them. Another Islamic skull cap-wearing youth says the Ajmer Dargah would fall under Hindu hegemony now that some Hindus have awakened and expressed fear over what would happen if all Hindus ‘woke up’.
Another video shows a Muslim man approaching two other Muslims and claiming that he has found how to live in India without being detected by “Kafirs.” The man tells them, “Our Rohingya brothers in Jharkhand have already set up a ‘Jamai tolly’; we will go there, capture Adivasi women, marry them, and become jamai (son-in-law).”
This video was based on the media reports about a Muslim man acknowledging the trend of marrying Adivasi women to buy land and contest polls surfaced on social media. The viral video was a snippet of an interview by e-Organiser journalists Subhi Vishwakarma and Azad Nishant with a Muslim resident of the Barhait Assembly constituency. In the video, the man is heard saying, “Barhait Vidhan Sabha, for instance, is a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST). You can contest any election from this. And this is why we marry Adivasis, with her consent, of course.”
About MVS Films
Launched in 2014, the YouTube channel MVS Films has amassed over 5,51,000 subscribers. In the 530 videos uploaded so far, the channel’s founder Vivek Tiwary and others create videos presenting a blend of satire and comedy on social and political issues. From the Jhansi Madarsa train derailment conspiracy case to religious conversion activities of Christian missionaries and Islamists, and political issues, MVS Films makes light-hearted videos as they claim to “spread awareness and make people laugh”.
The “About” section of MVS Films on YouTube says “The true meaning of comedy is to raise awareness and promote social change while also making others laugh. All of the videos we present are dramatizations of events in the public, and they are entirely fictitious. They do not include our personal opinions. If you appreciate our efforts, please support us by subscribing to MVS Films so that we can do better work and share the ordinary man’s words with the broader audience!”
“Not against the Muslim community, only against Jihadis”: MVS Films tells OpIndia
In conversation with OpIndia, Vivek Tiwary, one of the content creators at MVS Films talked about the viral videos which have triggered Islamists. Speaking about the “Rail Jihad” video, Vivek said that it was based on the revelations made by the NIA and UP ATS that a Madarsa in Jhansi was giving training to Muslim students to derail trains.
“Our video was created on the basis of the media reports on the findings of the NIA and UP ATS’s investigation. We showed how some Jihadis are trying to endanger the lives of people. We made this video only to spread awareness and we had no intention to target the entire Muslim community. Call it a problem or whatever, the Jihadis do dress up the way we showed in our video. We have to get into the character and thus we made the video and uploaded it on social media platforms,” Tiwary said.
He told OpIndia that MVS Films was being targeted after another satirical video on the premise of the recent Amit Shah-Ambedkar controversy was shared by the Bhartiya Janata Party on its official social media handles. Calling the Islamist outrage and targeting by the anti-BJP ecosystem a “side-effect” of their video against Congress’s alleged historical “disrespect” of Dr Ambedkar, Vivek Tiwary said that the opposition parties, particularly, Congress leader Meraj Hussain took it to heart.
Tiwary alleged that Hussain and his team deliberately distorted the narrative of the “Madarsa train derailment” video to claim that somehow MVS Films are spreading hatred against Muslims, are “anti-Muslim” and are trying to incite Hindu-Muslim riots. He added that contrary to the assertion made by Hussain and others that the said video hurts the sentiments of Muslims, “the sentiments of Jihadis only will be hurt by our video, not those of nationalist and patriot Muslims,” Tiwary said.
He told us that Buxar Police have summoned him and that sections have not been pressed against the MVS Films content creators yet. Tiwary further alleged that Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Ajit Kushwaha and RJD MP Sudhakar Singh are exerting political pressure to get Tiwary and the two other content creators at MVS Films arrested at any cost.
“They (Islamists and anti-BJP elements) are targeting us due to ideological differences. We are artists and we have to get into the attire fitting the character we are going to portray. Even in Aamir Khan’s film PK, a man was shown as Bhagwan Shiva and tried to convey a certain message, were then the sentiments of Hindus hurt? But when we as actors portray a character to highlight the wrongs in Muslim society, we are instigating riots? But since we are small creators and not as big as Aamir Khan etc, we are being targeted,” Vivek said adding that the entire Islamo-leftist ecosystem is targeting them
Furthermore, Vivek told OpIndia that MVS Films is being massively targeted on social media and that he along with other creators on the YouTube channel is receiving abuse and death threats. Vivek said that someone messaged saying that he would be shot dead. In addition, Vivek said that MVS Films is receiving bulk emails to remove the video on Dr Ambedkar. He reiterated that none of the videos uploaded on the MVS Films YouTube channel are intended to offend the sentiments of any particular community but only spread awareness about the current socio-political issues.
On Wednesday, 24th December, a 24-year-old Hindu girl identified as Hema committed suicide after being pressured by a man to convert her religion to Islam in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district. The accused person has been identified as Gulfam. As per the Dainik Bhasker report, the accused developed relations with the girl by hiding his religious identity, forcing her to marry him, and also changing her religion to Islam.
Fed up with the constant harassment, the girl decided to end her life. The girl, a rental resident of Harungala, Baradari, Bareilly had moved to the district from a village for employment purposes. She wanted to support her family financially. She learned tailoring and embroidery through a skill development program and also pursued her Basic Training Certificate (BTC) to become a teacher.
In the meantime, she came across Gulfam who befriended her using a fake non-Muslim identity. He made the girl fall in ‘love’ with him. However, later he forced her to marry him and convert her religion to Islam.
Reports suggest that the family of the girl had recently fixed her marriage with a boy from her community. This enraged the accused who forced her to convert and marry him.
The family of the girl confirmed that the accused had been harassing her constantly. “She was happy with the arranged marriage we fixed for her. All the preparations for the marriage were also done. But she decided to end he life due to constant harassment by the accused,” the maternal uncle of the girl said.
He further revealed that Gulfam had initially introduced himself as Sonu to the girl and had concealed his true identity. “The girl had no interest in Gulfam as she was unwilling to change her religion. Despite this, Gulfam stood by his demands and forced her to convert to Islam,” he added.
Inspector Sunil Kumar, in charge of Baradari police station, confirmed that the woman, originally from a village in Bisalpur, Pilibhit district, died by suicide on December 20th due to pressures faced at the hands of Gulfam, also known as Sonu. A case has been registered against him, and he has been arrested.
In a shocking incident, a Hindu woman was found held captive by a Muslim man in Assam’s Cachar district. The woman was restrained using a long iron chain tied to one of her legs, was tortured regularly, and was forcefully converted to Islam.
Around three months ago, Locals informed members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad that a Hindu woman was being brutally tortured at Munaf Ali’s house regularly. The Hindu groups launched a probe and found that Munaf Ali had been torturing his wife and had restrained her with a chain. Subsequently, the woman was rescued with the cooperation of police and local Adivasi residents, and Munaf Ali was arrested.
Videos from the house where the woman was held show a long iron chain tied to her left leg, which allowed her to move around inside the house but kept her inside.
As per the Hindu activists, the Hindu woman was a victim of love jihad and Munaf Ali abducted her 12 years ago. He kept her hostage and got her converted to Islam. She gave birth to five children during this period. At present the kids in the custody of the brother of the accused.
After the marriage, he started forcing her to hand over her land to him, which she refused. As a result, he started torturing her.
As per the Hindu Adivasi woman, Munaf used to assault her regularly. She said that she is a Hindu belonging to the tea tribe, and was forcefully converted to Islam. Around, three months ago, he assaulted her badly for refusing to hand over her property, and even attempted to strangulate her. He then tied her leg with an iron chain, keeping her hostage in the house.
In response, the woman alerted the neighbours by shouting about the situation. The locals then contacted the Hindu groups, which led to her rescue.
After the woman was rescued, the Hindu groups performed ‘Ghar Wapsi’, returning her to Hinduism with Vedic rituals.
