In a rather embarrassing turn of events, it has emerged that CNN journalist Clarissa Ward faked the scene of ‘liberating’ a prisoner from Bashar Al Assad’s prison in Syria. Just days after airing an emotional clip featuring a man being freed from a Syrian prison, CNN updated its report to admit that the alleged “victim” of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime was actually an Assad intelligence official accused of abusing and extorting local people.
To no surprise, however, CNN did not apologise or retract its fabricated story but claimed to have found that the man rescued was a torturer in the uprooted Assad regime and not a victim. Following Verify-Sy’s report revealing that the rescued man was a torturer for the overthrown Assad regime and not a victim, CNN announced that it was looking into whether the released prisoner had provided their reporters with a “false identity.”
Notably, CNN journalist Clarissa Ward went viral with an ‘emotional’ report in which her crew found a surprised and scared “prisoner” in a secret jail facility in Damascus. The incident unfolded when a CNN crew was searching for missing American journalist Austin Tice.
The CNN report showed Clarissa Ward’s team visiting the prison at the Syrian Air Force Intelligence headquarters along with a Syrian ‘rebel’. CNN claimed that nobody inside the prison building was aware that a media crew with the camera was entering. Clarissa Ward saw that one of the doors was locked, and someone seemed to be inside. After the armed ‘rebel’ shot the lock off the door, the CNN team saw a traumatised man cowering under a blanket. The man, who identified himself as Adel Gharbal to CNN from Homs, requested water and food, claiming that he had not seen sunlight in three months.
CNN passed off the torturer as an innocent prisoner
In the video, the rescued man held Clarissa Ward’s hand appearing to be about to cry and claimed that he was brutally assaulted while in captivity and that Assad’s intelligence service had picked him up from his house.
While the man claimed to have not seen sunlight in months, when brought into sunlight he looked up to the sky but did not blink or feel the expected unease in his eyes which was obviously strange for a person claiming to have not seen sunlight for three months.
“Gharbal” looking directly at sunlight without flinching (Image: Still from the CNN report)
While “Gharbal” claimed to have been tortured in prison, he appeared clean, well-groomed, and physically healthy, well-fed, with no obvious bruises or evidence of torture. Verify-sy’s report identified the prisoner as Salama Mohammad Salama, also known as Abu Hamza. While he faked his identity during his encounter with CNN’s Clarissa Ward, who in her report misidentified the man as an ordinary citizen in captivity, the fact-checking website reported that Salama is a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence, known for his operations in Homs. He was posted at a checkpoint infamous for the abuses and brutalities inflicted on people there.
Salama Mohammad Salama alias Abu Hamza ended up in jail due to a dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer.
“Abu Hamza reportedly managed several security checkpoints in Homs and was involved in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants. According to locals, his recent incarceration—lasting less than a month—was due to a dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer. This led to his detention in one of Damascus’s cells, as per neighborhood sources,” Verify-sy reported.
It remains a question whether CNN journalist Clarissa Ward fell for the misinformation and lies Abu Hamza told them or it was a fake find and rescue operation to redeem the torturer’s image. However, Clarissa Ward, instead of apologising for misleading her audience, first boasted that the man from her report in CNN has been reunited with a relative, later simply stated that the person she passed off as an ordinary prisoner is Salama Mohammed Salama.
Clarissa Ward did not care to give the context that contrary to her claims, the man rescued was an intelligence officer of the Assad regime, who operated checkpoints in Homs notorious for “theft, extortion and coercing residents into becoming informants”. Despite the community notes on x and severe backlash, both Ward and CNN are defending their reportage even as its gimmick resulted in the freedom of a notorious torturer who now has deactivated his social media accounts and changed his phone number, presumably to erase evidence of his war crimes.
In the Spaghetti Western classic “For a Few Dollars More”, Lee van Cleef and Clint Eastwood play the classic “one from the inside, one from the outside” trick. Van Cleef asks Eastwood to join the gangsters and sabotage from inside while he stays out. To make the subterfuge look realistic, he even shoots Eastwood in the ear, creating a harmless flesh wound so no suspicions are aroused.
This trick is played in the left-liberal political arena all the time. We saw it during the Mumbai 26/11 incident – while one set of liberal “activists” performed direct action – shooting innocent civilians, the other set spread “saazish” conspiracy theories to give them cover and absolve them. Thanks to Thukaram Omble their game was defeated – the kalawa (sacred Hindu red thread) on Kasab’s hand notwithstanding. If not, you will be reading “history” in Wikipedia, written by Stalinist left-hands, that the entire attack was an RSS hit job. Just as we are told the Godhra train compartment burnt itself.
Coming to the George Soros saga in India of the present era, you can see this game being played as well. While one set of fake activists and pseudo-liberals march in lockstep with the agendas of the billionaire speculator and the wishes of the deep state woke Nazis, the other set operates from the outside providing certification services. It keeps telling us there is no such thing as deep state and George Soros is just a harmless 94-year-old who cannot harm India. Obviously, they airbrush the fact that junior Soros, far from being a decrepit geriatric man, is even more woke and married to Huma Abedin, of Indo-Pak origin and has faced allegations (she denies) of connections to the radical Muslim Brotherhood. Needless to say, she is wired into the Clinton-Democrats-MSM woke left circle who defend her.
Another well-worn trick is also played here – that if India is so weak that George Soros can sabotage our system, then that is THE problem, not George Soros. Remember the “So what if they insult Lord Ram / Hindus, are we so weak?” that we often hear from liberals? They never say that to the “peaceful” protestors of offending cartoons. Even a respected journalist like Tavleen Singh, not leftist by any means, and certainly not part of any gang that works from inside or outside India, says “So what if Soros tries to sabotage”
A 94 year old US billionaire is ‘destabilising ’ a powerful country like India? Really? Its called WMD politics: Weapon of Mass Distraction. When you don’t want to or cant answer the questions of the day, bring in the ubiquitous ‘foreign hand’. Old trick, new players. ?
A good place to start is when the woke left is not the perpetrator but positions itself as the victim. Or, as always, on the side of the truth. Let us go through the standards set for others and see if we can measure them by their own scale.
Tulsi Gabbard has been attacked for “sharing Kremlin’s geopolitical views” and “parroting Russian talking points”, “amplifying Russian propaganda” and worse – simply because she took on the warmongering deep state and the military-industrial complex. She is against American interference in other countries and wasting money on regime change operations – a valid position to take for an American politician, whether or not you agree. After all, the results are there for all to see. But you can scarcely find any article in leftist media that doesn’t mention one or more of these set phrases as a routine. I am not going to insult your intelligence by posting links because I know you can simply Google “Gabbard parroting” and see for yourself.
Let us look at the “evidence” wokes have for the alleged “Russian interference” in 2016 elections that supposedly helped elect Trump. In fact, a Washington Post op-ed said “it succeeded in a way Russia could never have predicted”. In other words, Americans, citizens of the most powerful democracy in the world, educated and rich earning at least US$30,000 a year if not a lot more, were fooled by Putin into voting for Trump.
They created a “troll farm” of social media accounts that “pretended to be American”. Wiki says “470 FB accounts created by Russians” – you see FB has only 2.9 BILLION users, so 400+ is really a big number!
Articles in Russian media – this is not a joke. We are told to believe that reading Russian columns caused Americans to vote for Trump.
Leaking emails! If there is nothing embarrassing about those emails, why bother?!
Undermine public faith in the democratic process – sounds familiar?
The venom that Elon Musk faces for openly declaring himself a Trump supporter – but business donors to the Democratic party and its candidates rarely face. If you read coverage in usual leftist media that are practically in-house publications of the Democratic party – NYT, WaPo etc, you will see the hate poured on Musk for simply doing what businessmen always do – back this or that politician, often both!
That Elon supposedly talked to Putin once is being bandied about almost like an act of treason!
Very often in leftist media, you will see the phrase “who has admired Putin” affixed to any mention of Trump and Russia – as if just offering a word of praise for Putin as a diplomatic courtesy, is a sin. Though Russia and the US have been rivals, even the leftists don’t accuse Russians of using terrorists to attack US civilians in their own country. But they expect us to be nice to Pakistan and let their cricketers make money on our circuits.
The same woke moneybags donating a tiny sum of $1m to Trump inauguration festivities now linked to potential favors and escaping retribution etc!
As you can see, the US left sets fairly low standards when it comes to their own affairs. Going by the liberal gold standards, we can accuse Rahul Gandhi of being another Tulsi Gabbard for simply saying things that Pakistan often says. Or worse, terror groups and Khalistanis say.
If the world’s most powerful military state & democracy can be hacked by a country weakened by years of – ironically – leftist economic ideology and reduced to near irrelevance, sure $1 BILLION that Soros set aside for regime change operations in the third world (including India) can buy a lot more leverage?
If “troll accounts” numbering in a few hundred are to be taken seriously enough to allege foreign interference in India, what about “activist” accounts and YouTube channels that are openly funded by George Soros, Omidyar, Ford Foundation network and given gigs by the US Embassy? Does that have millions of followers?
If admiring Putin is a serious disqualification for a politician, what about admiring Palestine or Pakistan?
If Elon Musk being close to Trump is an issue, what about George Soros being close to Yunus, not to speak of Rahul Gandhi and his BJ yatra friends in India?
If Russian media writing articles is a threat, what is NYT, BBC, WaPO, Al-Jazeera etc writing reams and reams of anti-Modi propaganda?!
If a bunch of FB posts and articles can wreak havoc on a superpower and its democratic institutions, as liberals themselves argue, you can readily understand the power of propaganda. Especially when you consider that Russia is heavily discredited and lacks the woke muscle to fix Wiki pages or ban content it doesn’t like in YouTube, Google, FB, Instagram or Twitter. And the fact that the Western media that serves woke Gestapo interests is supposedly the gold standard of fearless, independent journalism, with all the news that is fit to print and shines light without which democracy will die in darkness.
The billions of dollars thrown about like confetti to any third-world bootlicker and brown nose that is ready to sing their tunes, can buy propaganda enough to bury practically any country on earth. In addition to this, like in Bollywood or Hollywood, there are the hopeful that try hard that their propaganda will attract the woke ecosystem’s moneybags and add to the orchestra. We have seen the proliferation of third-rate YT channels devoted to attacking Modi and singing praise of fascist looter dynasties each trying to be more crass and blatant than the other, to attract the right attention.
In fact, common sense will tell us the so-called links connecting George Soros and Rahul Gandhi, the opposition in India, are far stronger than the Trump and Russia connections, going purely by allegations and applying the same yardstick the liberals of woke holy land use. In fact, one is a known hoax. Democrats set up a full-fledged enquiry on the Trump-Russia hoax, spent millions and yet couldn’t bring any charge worth prosecuting Trump, let alone convicting.
We have not even investigated the CONLEFT-Soros links legally. Maybe we should. I would recommend appointing a retired judge of impeccable reputation to do that, armed with sufficient budget like the Mueller one was. I can bet you it will produce better results. But then the minute Modi does that, all hell will break loose. It will be “weaponsing law enforcement”, not if it is done by them!
The concerted, coordinated attacks on Modi in social media as well as mainstream media and Indian businesses like Adani Group that invest for the long term in infra and dare to take on China in the global race to business share, by leftist “activists” and backed by political dynasties should concern us all Indians, as much as the liberals want the “Russian interference” to concern the US voter.
We must hold Rahul Gandhi to similar standards the wokes do for Trump, Gabbard and Musk – sharing the stage, saying a good word, meeting anyone connected with Soros, Ford, Omidyar or anyone funded by them must be treated almost like unpardonable sins. It must be mentioned EVERY time their name is mentioned, something liberal media rarely fails to do.
The minute Rahul Gandhi says something that is similar to Pakistan’s “talking points”, we must treat it as an act of treason! Is that fair or acceptable? Of course, it must be, because that is exactly what they do!
If any journalist says we are too big and strong to be weakened by Soros we must direct them to read mainstream leftist media’s paranoia about Putin and Russians. In fact, they are “parroting the talking points of Soros” and thus naturally suspect. We are much weaker than the USA. In fact, we must borrow a page from the wokes’ books and question the loyalties, funding and other inspirations of such people.
As I keep saying, there is so much to learn from the left. We are fools not to.
The Delhi High Court has granted bail in a gang rape case, noting that two eyewitnesses examined in the case did not support the prosecution’s version. The accused has been in custody for over seven years.
The bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma granted bail, emphasizing that the petitioner should not be kept in custody indefinitely while awaiting the trial’s outcome.
In this case, the prosecution’s evidence has already been examined, and two key eyewitnesses, PW4 and PW5, did not support the prosecution’s case. The petitioner has been in custody for over seven years. It was noted that, out of 33 witnesses, only 13 have been examined, and the trial may take a considerable amount of time to conclude.
Advocates Prashant Prakash and Qausar Khan appeared pro bono for the petitioner, a rickshaw puller, and argued that the case relies solely on the uncorroborated testimony of the prosecutrix. They further submitted that the FSL report does not support the prosecution’s case.
However, the Additional Public Prosecutor, appearing for the Delhi Police, opposed the bail application on the grounds that the prosecutrix has consistently and consistently provided a corroborated statement on oath. It was further argued that if the accused is granted bail, there is a risk that he may interfere with the trial.
According to the Delhi Police status report dated 02.02.2017, the victim, N, came to PS Sunlight Colony, Delhi, and provided a statement in which she stated that in October 2016, she arrived at New Delhi Railway Station by train, where she met a man. She further alleged that she was sexually assaulted by several individuals, including the man she met.
Based on the victim’s statement, an FIR was registered under sections 376/363/366/506/328/34 IPC. During the investigation, two accused were arrested on 03.02.2017. Potency tests were conducted on both accused, and relevant exhibits were seized. The victim’s statement was recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C by the Metropolitan Magistrate, where she reaffirmed her previous statement Consequently, Section 6 of the POCSO Act was also incorporated into the case.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
The Railway Ministry has clarified that there is no plan to offer free train services for the upcoming Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. The clarification came after some media reports claimed that the ministry is considering allowing train travel without tickets for devotees returning from Maha Kumbh.
A statement issued by the ministry said, “It has come to the attention of Indian Railways that certain media outlets are circulating reports claiming that passengers will be allowed to travel free of cost during the Maha Kumbh Mela. Indian Railways categorically denies these reports, as they are entirely baseless and misleading.”
The statement said that travelling without a valid ticket is strictly prohibited under the rules and regulations of Indian Railways and constitutes a punishable offense. The ministry added that There are no provisions for free travel during Maha Kumbh Mela or any other occasion.
The statement further said that Indian Railways is committed to ensuring seamless travel for passengers during the Maha Kumbh Mela. It said, “Adequate arrangements are being made, including the establishment of special holding areas, additional ticket counters, and other necessary facilities to manage the anticipated influx of passengers.”
Notably, earlier a report by Dainik Bhaskar claimed that the railways is considering to do away with the requirement of buying tickets for general class passengers returning from Maha Kumbh. The report added that the necessary formalities for this are being finalised.
Dainik Bhaskar added that the ministry has estimated that over 5 lakh passengers will travel in general class coaches every day. As per the report, it will be a big challenge to gather the necessary resources to provide tickets to so many passengers in one day. Therefore, the requirement of buying general tickets is being cancelled for Kumbh.
However, the minister has now clarified that there is no proposal under consideration, and tickets will be required for travelling to and from Maha Kumbh on trains.
Indian Railways will operate approximately 13,000 trains, including 3,000 special services, for the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. The Railways is also eliminating 21 level-crossing gates in Prayagraj, and replacing them with road overbridges and underpasses.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly criticised the Congress party after several senior Congress leaders accused Home Minister Amit Shah of insulting BR Ambedkar in his speech in Rajya Sabha. The PM posted a thread of several posts on X today, listing how it is the Congress party that has been insulting Dr Ambedkar.
Notably, Amit Shah in his speech was exposing the hypocrisy of the Congress party on Ambedkar. He had said that it has become a fashion to take the name of Ambedkar, but Congress party and its governments never gave him his due. The Congress leaders used only a portion of the speech to allege that Shah insulted Ambedkar, and are even demanding his resignation.
If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr. Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!
The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in…
Responding to these, PM Modi posted, “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think their malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr. Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken! The people of India have seen time and again how one Party, led by one dynasty, has indulged in every possible dirty trick to obliterate the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar and humiliate the SC/ST communities.”
He then listed some of the misdeeds of the Congress party towards Ambedkar, which included getting him defeated in elections not once but twice, PM Nehru campaigning against him and making his loss a prestige issue, denying him a Bharat Ratna and denying Amnedbar portrait a place of pride in Parliament’s Central Hall.
PM Narendra Modi also said that worst massacres against SC/ST Communities have happened under Congress party’s regimes, and the party can’t deny it even if they try. “For years, they sat in power but did nothing substantive to empower the SC and ST communities,” he wrote in the thread on ?.
Posting the full video of the entire comment by Amit Shah on Congress party and Ambedkar, PM Modi said that the home minister exposed the Congress’ dark history of insulting Dr. Ambedkar and ignoring the SC/ST Communities. He wrote, “They are clearly stung and stunned by the facts he presented, which is why they are now indulging in theatrics! Sadly, for them, people know the truth!”
PM Modi added that his govt has worked tirelessly to fulfil the vision of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar over the last decade. He gave several examples, like removing 25 crore people from poverty, strengthening the SC/ST Act, Government’s flagship programmes like Swachh Bharat, PM Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala Yojana etc, adding that, each of them has touched the lives of the poor and marginalised.
The prime minister also listed his government’s efforts honouring BR Ambedkar and preserving his legacy, including the development of Panchteerth, the five iconic places associated with Ambedkar. He said that there was pending issue on land for Chaitya Bhoomi for decades, which was resolved by his govt, adding that he had gone there to pray as well.
Moreover, the Modi govt has developed 26, Alipur Road in Delhi, where Dr. Ambedkar spent his last years, and acquired the house in London where Ambedkar lived. “When it comes to Dr. Ambedkar, our respect and reverence is absolute,” PM Narendra Modi added.
In the latest episode of “As the Congress Spins,” the party has concocted a new warp and weft of lies claiming that Union Home Minister Amit Shah purportedly ‘insulted’ Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar in his speech in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (17th December).
While the Congress party has a record of peddling falsehoods about its opponents, its latest foray into the murky waters of fake news is less about facts or Ambedkar’s respect but more about Congress’s desperate attempt to score cheap political points against the BJP, highlighting their penchant for creating fiction when reality doesn’t serve their political agenda. However, this sinister attempt by Congress leader Supriya Shrinate and others to portray Amit Shah and the BJP as ‘anti-Ambedkar’, ‘anti-Constitution’ or ‘anti-Dalit’ falls flat when the full context of what Amit Shah said is presented.
Taking to X on Tuesday, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate shared a 12-second clip from Minister Shah’s address in the Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of a two-day discussion in Rajya Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution.
Shrinate alleged that Shah ‘insulted’ Dr Ambedkar and said, “Now it has become fashionable to chant the name of Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. If you had taken God’s name this much, you would have attained heaven: Amit Shah. This insult to Baba Saheb can only be done by a person who hates his constitution And whose forefathers had burnt the effigies of Babasaheb, the messiah of the oppressed and the deprived After all why do these Sanghis have so much trouble and hatred even with the name of Babasaheb?
Sharing the same video clip, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, “Now it has become a fashion- Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…If you take the name of God this much, you would attain heaven for seven lives.” Amit Shah has said something very disgusting. This shows that the BJP and RSS leaders have a lot of hatred for Baba Saheb Ambedkar. The hatred is such that they are even irritated by his name. These are the same people whose ancestors used to burn the effigies of Baba Saheb, who themselves used to talk about changing the constitution given by Baba Saheb. When the public taught them a lesson, now they have become irritated with those who take the name of Baba Saheb. Shameful! Amit Shah should apologize to the country for this.”
Congress leader KC Venugopal went a step ahead and declared Dr Ambedkar as equivalent to God and insulted the Manusmriti while attacking Amit Shah. “HM @AmitShah, in case you didn’t know – Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar is equivalent to God and the Constitution he drafted is a Holy Book for crores of people across the world. How dare you speak about Dr. Ambedkar with such disdain? The BJP’s disgust towards Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was always well known, and the Home Minister’s pathetic statements in the Rajya Sabha today further confirm how much they hate and detest Dr. Ambedkar. The worshippers of Manusmriti will always have scorn towards Dr Ambedkar, who rejected the horrible ideas espoused by the casteist RSS and their Manusmriti. Those who spoke of changing the Constitution if they won 400+ seats, are now openly mocking our country’s reverence for Dr. Ambedkar. Those who pretended to bow before him could not hide their true feelings for too long, and this dangerous statement from the BJP top brass shows they have lost the right to speak about Dr. Ambedkar ever again,” Venugopal said,
Alongside the Congress leaders, its media allies also jumped on the bandwagon and shared the said video clip without giving the complete context of the Minister’s remarks.
Other Ranvijay Singh, another ‘journalist’ Wasim Akram Tyagi who has earlier been booked for peddling fake news to further the narrative of “Muslim victimhood” shared the clip taken from Amit Shah’s speech and said, “This language of the Home Minister shows how much trouble he has with the Constitution and the Constitution maker. If the slogan of 400 plus had been successful then you would have seen what would have happened. Now in a hurry, the soul of the Constitution is being attacked by bringing up useless issues.”
Meanwhile, a derogatory campaign (#तड़ीपार_माफ़ी_मांग) has been launched against the Union Home Minister based on the viral clip. Run by the anti-BJP elements, this campaign calls on Minister Shah to ‘apologise’ for his alleged ‘insulting’ remarks against Dr Ambedkar.
The Congress party has decided not to confine its false narrative against Amit Shah to social media campaigns and trolling but to rake it up in the Parliament as the party has called a meeting inside Parliament to discuss Amit Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar.
Did Amit Shah insult Ambedkar?
Contrary to the falsehood peddled by the Congress ecosystem, Home Minister Amit Shah did not insult Dr Ambedkar, rather, he launched a scathing attack on the Congress party and accused it of using the constitution as its “private property”.
During the discussion on “Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India”, Minister Shah said, “Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai – Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar’. If they had taken God’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven).
Minister Shah said that while the BJP is pleased that the Congress has started taking Dr Ambedkar’s name, the party should also express its true feelings about him. He then mentioned how Ambedkar had to resign from the first Cabinet due to his disagreement with the then-Congress-led government’s policies, which included Article 370.
मोदी सरकार के लिए संविधान केवल एक दस्तावेज नहीं, बल्कि वंचितों के कल्याण और राष्ट्रनिर्माण की मूल प्रेरणा है। राज्यसभा में संविधान निर्माण के 75 वर्ष पूरे होने पर आयोजित चर्चा से लाइव… https://t.co/B6eK3wj8EH
Furthermore, Shah alleged that the Congress made numerous amendments to the Constitution for its own interest saying that even before the country’s first elections, then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru implemented the first constitutional amendment to “limit freedom of expression.” “You treat the party (Congress) like your family’s property, and now you treat the Constitution the same way,” Shah said.
He went on to criticise the Congress party and the opposition for finding “faults” in the EVMs after facing defeats in elections. The Minister also slammed Congress for its Muslim appeasement politics alleging that it wanted to break the 50% limit on quota to provide reservations to the Muslim community.
It is thus, evident, that contrary to the false claims peddled by Congress, Amit Shah did not insult Dr Ambedkar but only exposed Congress’s mockery of the constitution.
Congress, Supriya Shrinate and the ignominious record of peddling fake news
This is not the first time that Congress leaders like Supriya Shrinate has peddled falsehoods about her party’s opponents. In fact, she has been caught peddling fake and misleading claims quite often. In November last year, Shrinate and other Congress leaders claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was met with an indifferent attitude by voters during his address at a rally and that when a senior BJP leader asked voters to complete the sloganeering and said ‘Congress party’, he was astounded to hear “Congress Party Zindabad’ from the large gathering. However, it turned out the video was edited and in reality, the people were raising “Congress party Murdabad” slogans but Amit Shah stopped them from doing so.
In November 2023, NDTV fact-checked Congress’s chairperson of Social Media and Digital Platforms, Supriya Shrinate and said they did not conduct any poll for Telangana elections. In the post, Shrinate said, “NDTV Poll of Polls confirms what we see on the ground in Telangana. Congress is all set to record a historic win!” She then threw some random numbers titled “poll of polls”.
In July last year, Shrinate claimed that the youth Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked to during his Delhi metro ride were BJP workers and not common citizens. However, later she deleted the tweet knowing that she had messed and wrongly accused the BJP and PM Modi of performing some ‘stunt’. However, it was reported that the students PM Modi interacted with were in no way associated with the BJP compelling Shrinate to delete her post, although she did not care to apologise for spreading fake news.
In June 2023, Supriya Shrinate tried to spread fake news amid PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States. In an attempt to criticize PM Modi, Shrinate who has also worked as a journalist, misquoted John Kirby, White House National Security Spokesperson. She indicatively claimed that Kirby had criticized PM Modi for not taking any press conferences in the last 9 years. However, OpIndia reported that John Kirby has never said the words quoted by Shrinate. Shrinate picked the quoted statement from a Reuters report and falsely claimed that Kirby had stated those.
Not only Supriya Shrinate but several other senior leaders of the Congress party have also been involved in peddling fake news against PM Modi, HM Shah and the BJP government. Back in September 2023, Several Congress leaders, including Pawan Khera and Sashi Tharoor, claimed that hoardings have been put up ahead of the G20 summit which shows that PM Modi is ranked ahead in the popularity of several other global leaders. However, it was reported that the image of the hoarding was put up in April 2023 and not ahead of the G20 summit.
In August 2023, the official X handle of the Congress party posted some numbers claiming that the viewership of Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Lok Sabha during the non-confidence motion was much more than the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, OpIndia analysis revealed that the numbers were not only fake but also senseless as the videos of speeches uploaded on the respective YouTube channels of both politicians, and the numbers didn’t match the numbers mentioned by Congress.
In April this year, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Telangana Congress shared an edited video and falsely claimed that BJP leader Amit Shah has promised to end reservations for the SC, ST and OBCs. In reality, the Union Home Minister had vowed to end unconstitutional reservation for the Muslim community and give it to the SC, ST and OBCs. In May, the official X account of Jharkhand Congress was withheld after a ‘deepfake morphed video’ of Union Home Minister Amit Shah was posted on the social media handle.
Conclusion
The video clip taken from Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech in the Rajya Sabha is being deliberately circulated by the Congress party and its extended ecosystem without the correct context in an apparent attempt to project the senior BJP leader and the Modi government as the one hating Dr Ambedkar and Dalits. It was seen how Congress’s fear-mongering during the Lok Sabha elections that somehow the BJP would change the constitution if voted to power had been quite effective, it seemingly wants to continue projecting the BJP as ‘anti-Ambedkar’, ‘anti-constitution’ and even thus ‘anti-Dalit’ while polishing its own image as that of a ‘well-wisher’ and ‘protector’ of Dalits and the legacy of Dr Ambedkar.
On Monday, around 16 people were arrested by the Maharashtra Police in Hingoli district for pelting stones at a Hindu businessman. As per the initial reports, a mob of around 40-50 Islamists attacked a businessman identified as Kailash Kabra and pelted stones at his residence and commercial premise alleging him of conducting an alleged ‘blasphemous’ act against Islam.
The attackers claimed that Kabra forwarded an ‘objectionable’ message on WhatsApp against Islam. The incident is believed to have happened on Sunday, 15th December after which a huge mob gathered around Kabra’s shop in the Mondha region and pelted stones at his premises.
OpIndia obtained the FIR copy in the incident in which it has been mentioned that Kabra allegedly insulted Islam by sharing a video on WhatsApp with a caption that read, “Jihad ends in Netherlands. Mohammed should be presented as a cartoon throughout the country. Those who want Shariah law in India should run away from here. This is the most important message for everybody.”
Message that was forwarded by Kabra (Image exclusively obtained by OpIndia)
Following this Kabra was booked under sections 196, 299, 351(4), 356(2), and 356(3) of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita, 2023 based on a complaint filed by one of the Islamists identified as Mohammed Hasham Khan Afzal. In the complaint, Afzal mentioned that Kabra had allegedly insulted the community by making derogatory remarks against the Prophet.
As per information obtained by OpIndia, Islamists in the locality got enraged over the forwarded message and conducted massive protests in the region calling for a ‘Basmat bandh’. Meanwhile, protesters could also be heard raising the slogans of ‘Allah-hu-Akhbar’ and ‘Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek hi Saja, Sar Tan Se Juda’.
The police were eventually informed about the stone-pelting, following which the force reached the spot to control the situation. Amid this, several people got injured in the incident including Vasmat Sub-Divisional Police Police Officer (SDPO) Rajkumar Kendre.
“A mob of 50 persons hurled stones at a shop and were moving towards the residence of businessman Kailash Kabra to vandalize it. Kabra allegedly forwarded an objectionable WhatsApp message about Islam. Kendre sustained injuries when he and his team tried to stop the stone pelting. The additional force was sent to the site and police carried out a cane charge,” one of the officials said.
An FIR in the case has been filed under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for an attempt to murder, riot, and voluntarily cause hurt to deter a public servant from his duty. FIR was filed after Kendre filed a complaint, a copy of which has been obtained by OpIndia.
Based on the complaint filed by Kendre, around 12 Islamists identified as Sheikh Mohsin Sheikh Hasan, Khalid Akhtar Jameer Ahmed, Sheikh Arbaz Sheikh Mehmood, Sheikh Nadeem Sheikh Moin, Mohammed Shoaib Mohammed Maksood, Musharaf Kajoloddin Faruqi, Mohammed Sohail Mohammed Maksood, Sheikh Ajeem Sheikh Moin, Arbaaz Sheikh, Junaid, Aarfaat Sheikh and Sayyed Javed Sayyed Khanja have been booked. The sections imposed against these are 109, 121(1), 132, 189(2), 190, 191(2), 191(3) of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita, 2023; 135 of Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, and also section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932.
As per the FIR, the Islamists also threatened the police as the latter reached the spot to control the situation. The Islamists gathered around Kabra’s home and began pelting stones at the closed shutter of his shop at around 1:30 pm on Sunday. After an hour or so, the police reached the spot after being informed about the chaos.
“We reached with a huge force as we were told that around 50 or more Islamists were pelting stones at Kabra’s residence. On arrival, we asked them the reason for the attack. But instead of responding to the authorities, they threatened the Police asking the force to return,” SDPO Kendre said in the complaint.
The Islamists threatened the police saying they would kill the officers and burn their vehicles if they failed to return. “We suffered severe injuries on our head, back, and arms, as they continued to pelt stones even on the officers,” Kendre added.
Reports suggest that eight persons were detained by the police from the spot and the other eight were arrested following the search operation.
While investigations are underway, all the efforts are being made to nab other 20 persons involved in stone pelting. Probe underway.
A young woman had taken her life on 11th December in Ghaziabad and now the reason behind the extreme step has come to light, reported Hindustan. Her father has filed a report and complained that Faraz Attar, from Shahdara in Delhi had trapped the deceased in a relationship, raped her and then cheated her after converting her to Islam. She was deeply hurt by the harassment and this led to set herself on fire, the father’s complaint says.
The police have registered a case against the man Faraz Attar and his family. As per reports, a 70-year-old resident of Kavinagar police station area informed that he used to be a businessman. The accused seduced his 30-year-old daughter many years ago to seize the property, which was worth about Rs 20 crore and in her name. He pretended to be unmarried before her after which he exploited her physically, mentally and financially.
Faraz reportedly took lakhs of rupees from her citing his own debt. According to the victim’s father, her behaviour had changed in a few months. On 14th November, the father went to her room and was shocked to see her observing the practices of a different religion. Under extreme stress due to the problems in his daughter’s life, the father reportedly suffered a brain stroke and had to be admitted to a private hospital in Delhi. According to him, when he was admitted to the ICU (intensive care unit), Faraz had taken his daughter along with for a ‘visit’ to the hospital and asked him to allow them to get married.
The eldery man mentioned that since he was close to death Faraz took advantage of the situation and made him agree to the proposal. He also compelled the old man to sign a paper stating that he had no objection to his daughter’s marriage to a youth from another community, on his brother Kasif’s direction. The culprit had described his brother as a lawyer of the Supreme Court. He even made him swear on his daughter not to tell any family member about the relationship.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) City Rajesh Kumar stated, “A case has been registered against Shahdara resident Faraz Attar, his brother Kasif, mother Mahe Talat and sister Sana under sections including conversion, rape, abetment to suicide and others. Efforts are underway to arrest the accused.” The complainant unveiled that his daughter had revealed that Faraz had used her only for the sake of her property and continued to sexually exploit her. the property and sexual affair. The woman also had undergone several abortions, as per the complaint.
Faraz even arranged for a tutor for her to learn Islamic practices and religious books. According to her father, Faraz may have even used drugs to control his daughter. The complainant informed that on 24th November, Faraz called him and his daughter to a hotel in Kaushambi and introduced him to his brother, mother and sister. The victim had covered all the expenses there too.
On 5th December, she had prepared the marriage documents, but Faraz insisted on extending the date. On 10th December, she stated that Faraz had put forward a condition for the wedding and would only agree if the woman’s father recognises him (Faraz) as his heir and inheritor of properties. This devastated his daughter, who on the fateful day burned herself alive at the Chandrapuri home.
On 17th December, the founder of the banned terrorist outfit Al-Umma, SA Basha, died at a private hospital while undergoing treatment. The 84-year-old Basha had been serving life imprisonment in the Coimbatore serial blasts case since February 1998. He was released on parole a few months ago by the Madras High Court due to ill health, so he could spend some time with his family.
Funeral procession of SA Basha who plotted the 1998 Coimbatore blasts that killed 58 people and injured 231 others. BJP leader LK Advani escaped death by a whisker.
Basha was a top Al Umma operative. He never showed any remorse for his crime. pic.twitter.com/YfSc2Q48he
He had also threatened to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In July 2003, then-Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, was scheduled to visit Coimbatore. Basha and others were convicted in murder of a Hindu Munnani leader. When journalists were talking to the convicts at the Coimbatore court premises, Basha stated if Gujarat CM Modi visited Coimbatore, he would be killed.
VIDEO | Chennai: “The thinking of making him (S A Basha) a martyr is very bad actually. He is not only a terrorist, he is a convict. I don’t understand how this (Tamil Nadu) government is keeping quiet. I saw a report that there are around 2,000 police to monitor the procession.… pic.twitter.com/k6HIpDHdre
Basha’s funeral procession was taken from South Ukkadam to the Hyder Ali Tippu Sultan Sunnath Jamaath Masjid at Flower Market in North Coimbatore for the last rites. Shockingly, despite it being public knowledge that he was a terrorist and the mastermind of the Coimbatore serial blasts that killed 58 people and injured 231, thousands of Muslims joined his funeral procession on 17th December in Coimbatore.
Shocker from Tamil Nadu. 1998 Coimbatore blast mastermind who murdered 58 Indians and injured 231 others, given a send off fit for a hero. SA Basha, key member of Al-Umma radical outfit died serving time in jail from illness. State security merely watches this open eulogy by… pic.twitter.com/YTnm2RS4DT
The BJP criticised the Tamil Nadu government for allowing such a massive procession to take place for a terrorist. Tamil Nadu BJP Vice President Narayanan Thirupathy condemned the reports of the procession in a post on X, stating, “I am surprised to see that some politicians in Tamil Nadu have hailed the terrorist Basha as a martyr, as if he has served society. He is a life convict sentenced for murdering around 60 Tamil people and leaving hundreds injured. He is a hard-core criminal and convict.”
It is really shocking and unfortunate to know that a funeral procession of the dreaded terrorist of the banned Al-umma’s founder Basha would take place today at Coimbatore as per media reports. Basha was the conspirator in 1998 Coimbatore Bomb blast that took away 58 lives and…
BJP functionary from Tamil Nadu, Amar Prasad Reddy, wrote, “A shocking incident from Tamil Nadu. SA Basha, mastermind of the 1998 Coimbatore blasts that claimed 58 lives and injured 231, received a hero’s farewell. Thousands openly eulogised the Al-Umma terrorist as state security stood by as mute spectators. Why was this allowed? What precedent is being set? How can anyone glorify a terrorist akin to ‘Afzal Guru’? The so-called defenders of constitutional values and secularism remain silent as their principles are mocked.”
A shocking incident from Tamil Nadu:
SA Basha, mastermind of the 1998 Coimbatore blasts that claimed 58 lives and injured 231, received a hero’s farewell. Thousands openly eulogized the Al-Umma terrorist as state security stood by as mute spectators. Why was this allowed? What…
SA Basha, Coimbatore serial bomb blasts and Al-Ummah
SA Basha, the founder of Al-Ummah, was the mastermind behind the Coimbatore bombings. Supported by ISI agents like Azam Ghauri, Saleem Junaid, and Farooq Ahmed, Basha used his organisation’s network to execute the attacks. His extremist agenda was fuelled by a desire to avenge communal violence against Muslims. In addition to his role in the Coimbatore blasts, Basha was implicated in the 1993 RSS office bombing in Chennai and had been arrested for inciting communal riots the same year.
Basha, who used to be a timber marchent, established Al-Ummah in the aftermath of the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya in 1992, with the goal of uniting terrorist Muslim groups in southern India. Based in Kottaimedu, a predominantly Muslim area in Coimbatore, the organisation quickly became a front for ISI operations in Tamil Nadu. It maintained secret arms factories, producing explosives like PETN and RDX, and trained its members in assembling improvised explosive devices.
In 1998, the murder of a police constable, Selvaraj, resulted in Hindu-Muslim clashes in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. During that time, election campaigning was also ongoing. On 14th February 1998, Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani was scheduled to address a rally at RS Puram in Coimbatore. Before he could reach the venue, bombs went off in several parts of the city. The bombs were concealed in cars, motorcycles, bicycles, side boxes of two-wheelers, denim and rexine bags, and fruit carts. Reports mention that the bombings were apparently in retaliation to the 1997 Coimbatore riots that happened during November and December in the year 1997.
53 people were killed, and 231 were injured in the serial bomb blasts. In later days, the death toll climbed to 58. One of the bombs went off at RS Puram as well, minutes before Advani could reach the venue. The blasts were timed between 3:50 PM and 4:20 PM. Apart from deaths and injuries, the blasts resulted in a property loss worth Rs 4.37 crores. The violence, planned as retaliation for the deaths of 18 Muslims in the 1997 Coimbatore communal riots, continued over the next three days.
Investigations revealed that SA Basha was the mastermind behind the serial bomb blasts. Initially, the investigation was carried out by the city police. However, it was later transferred to a special investigation team of the CB-CID. Basha was found guilty of the crime and sent to jail. He had been in prison since then.
A chargesheet in the bomb blast case was filed in 1999, where Basha was named as the mastermind of the crime. He was accused of plotting to kill Advani using a suicide squad. They planned to use 650 kg of gelignite to carry out the deadly task. According to the chargesheet filed in the case, Basha managed to procure gelignite and other explosives from Mysore to make IEDs and bombs.
A total of 166 suspects were listed in the chargesheet. Of these, 158 were convicted by the special court. Out of those, 43, including Basha, were sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, the conviction of 17, including Basha, was upheld by the Madras High Court, while the other 22 were acquitted.
While 17 convicts filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, Basha did not appeal. One of the convicts died.
Despite being banned after the Coimbatore blasts and the arrest of over 100 members, Al-Ummah continued to pose a threat. In April 2013, a former member of the group, Panna Ismail, was linked to a bombing near the BJP office in Bangalore, which injured 16 people, including 11 policemen. Investigations revealed ongoing connections between Al-Ummah’s ex-members and other terror outfits, underlining the persistent danger of dormant extremist networks.
In February 2024, Tamil Nadu government led by DMK sparked controversy after they released three terrorists involved in the 1998 Coimbatore blast case. While speaking about the matter, BJP (Tamil Nadu) President K Annamalai said, “It’s very unfortunate the DMK government is trying its best to release 16 convicts in the infamous Coimbatore bomb blast and they’re doing everything within their power to get this done before the Lok Sabha election just to get a brownie point.”
“Only in October 2023, the Supreme Court has squarely rejected the bail for all the 16 convicts saying it’s a grave crime of the very high order. Now, DMK government in 2021, after they came to power, they got the Justice Adinathan Commission, more like an eye wash commission. They got a report from the commission which said they should be released,” the BJP leader was heard saying.
Some of the information about SA Basha and Al Ummah has been extracted from Madras High Court judgment dated 18th December 2009.
The 11 Indian nationals who died in an Indian restaurant in Gudauri, Georgia due to carbon monoxide poisoning are mostly from the state of Punjab, the sources said the embassy is working to repatriate the mortal remains at the earliest.
“The Indian embassy in Georgia is in touch with the families and is working with local authorities to repatriate the mortal remains at the earliest,” according to sources.
On Monday the embassy confirmed the deaths of 11 Indian nationals in Gudauri, Georgia, and expressed deep condolences to the bereaved families.
In a press release posted on X, the Indian Embassy in Georgia wrote, “The Embassy of India in Tbilisi is saddened to learn of the unfortunate passing of eleven Indian nationals in Gudauri, Georgia, and extends its deepest condolences to their families.”
“The Embassy is working closely with local authorities to facilitate the prompt repatriation of the mortal remains to India. We are also in contact with the bereaved families and are committed to providing all possible support,” the press release added.
Earlier, Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the bodies were found on the second floor of the Indian restaurant, adding that during the inspection, no signs of body injuries or signs of violence were detected.
Georgia’s Internal Affairs Ministry said in a statement, “The employees of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in connection with the accident that took place in Gudauri, as a result of which 12 people died, started an investigation under Article 116 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which implies negligent manslaughter.”
“In the resting area on the second floor of the Indian restaurant located in Gudauri, the bodies of 12 people employed in the same facility were found. At the initial inspection, no signs of body injuries or signs of violence were detected. According to the preliminary information of the investigation, a power generator was placed in an indoor area, closed space near the bedrooms, which was turned on yesterday, probably after the power supply was turned off,” the statement added.
The statement further said that out of 12 deceased individuals, 11 are citizens of foreign countries, and one is a citizen of Georgia.
“In connection with this fact, investigative actions are actively being carried out, forensic-criminalistics are working on the spot, and interviews of persons related to the case are being conducted. Appropriate examinations are appointed. A forensic medical examination has also been appointed to determine the exact cause of death,” Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
Notably, the incident, which occurred in an Indian restaurant in Gudauri, is under investigation.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
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