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Leftists heckle journalist Mahesh Vikram Hegde at airport, call him a member of ‘nationalist gang’: Intimidation the new norm?

OpIndia Staff
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Leftists heckle journalist Mahesh Vikram Hegde at airport, call him a member of ‘nationalist gang’: Intimidation the new norm?

In a video that has surfaced on Twitter, three women belonging to the Anti-CAA lobby can be seen heckling journalist Mahesh Vikram Hegde at an airport. The women have been identified as Kavitha Reddy, Najma Nazeer and Amulya Leona.


They coerced Hegde to sing “Vande Mataram” and prove his patriotism “for the country”. One of the women called him the member of “nationalist gang”. The one with the camera, Kavitha Reddy, asked the journalist in an absurd manner whether he knew the time when Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

In another video, the supposed “women activists” told the journalist that he was getting an opportunity to become “hero” from “zero” by singing Vande Mataram and “Sara Jaha se Aacha.” The hecklers were unmoved in their pursuit but Hegde maintained his composure and often smiled at their immaturity.

Three women harass Mahesh Vikram Hegde in flight
Kavitha Reddy’s Facebook Post

Kavita Reddy went on to label those who disagree with her as “cowards”, “guttersnipes” and “Godse’s children”. She proudly called her act of heckling as a “trailer” and warned that more such episodes of harassment are going to come in the upcoming days.

On 24th January, journalist Deepak Chaurasia was manhandled at Shaheen Bagh, the new Mecca for Anti-CAA protests. He was shoved and stopped from reporting. The camera was broken as well.

Another female video journalist associated with News Nation was beaten by three unknown assailants on January 27 when she had gone to cover Anti-CAA protests in South Mumbai’s Nagapada. Sudhir Chaudhary, the Editor-in-Chief of Zee News, was also stopped from crossing the police barricade to cover the Anti-CAA agitation.

On January 28, comedian Kunal Kamra tried to intimidate Republic TV media baron, Arnab Goswami on an Indigo flight to Lucknow. The mentally unstable comedian was later put on a no-flying list by several airlines.

On January 30, a team of Zee News reporters were assaulted near Sukhdev Vihar metro by Anti-CAA protestors. The video equipment was damaged. Mobile phones and personal belongings of the reporters were snatched as well. The journalist Mahesh Vikram Hegde now happens to be the latest victim of the onslaught.

The Anti-CAA lobby has now taken to harassment against those who question their malicious agenda. These hecklers have the backing of some of India’s prominent left-leaning journalists. Their morale is bolstered when these journalists-cum-spinmasters twist stories to whitewash their rogue behaviour.

It is now evident that physical assault, intimidation and public harassment is being weaponised to deride the dissenters. The Left which claims to be the champions of “right to free speech” happen to be the frontrunners in curbing others’ freedom of expression.

While it is perfectly fine to disagree with someone, but harassing a journalist and dubbing it as “trailer” sets a dangerous precedent of fascism.

Arrested Jammu and Kashmir cop Davinder Singh was on Hizb-ul-Mujahideen payroll, transported terrorists for money: Investigators

OpIndia Staff
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Arrested Jammu and Kashmir cop Davinder Singh was on Hizb-ul-Mujahideen payroll, transported terrorists for money: Investigators

The DSP of Jammu and Kashmir police Davinder Singh, who was arrested along with two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists earlier this month, was on the payroll of the Islamic terror organisation, according to investigators. On January 11, the police officer was arrested along with HM terrorists Naveed Babu and Asif Rather when they were travelling together in a car.

Davinder Singh had been taking money not only for transporting and sheltering Naveed, but was also receiving money on a regular basis from the terrorist for extending assistance throughout the year, police sources said.

“When he was caught, he was transporting Naveed to Jammu, where he was to stay for the winter. After that, they (Naveed and Asif) were supposed to leave for Pakistan. We are probing the route they were to take to reach Pakistan. Davinder was negotiating between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh for the job — he had not been paid the full amount,” a security establishment officer said.

“He was in touch with Naveed for years and was on his payroll. He has been regularly receiving money from Hizb-ul-Mujahideen,” an officer said.

Singh was arrested on January 11 in Kulgam while ferrying Naveed, Asif, and lawyer Irfan Mir to Jammu in his car. A team led by DIG Atul Goel had flagged the car (Hyundai i10) based on intelligence inputs. Sources said agencies learned about Naveed’s movement through Irfan’s phone, which had been put on surveillance. “Conversations revealed Naveed’s plan to leave for Jammu in an i10 car on January 11. Davinder was a chance arrest, albeit not shocking,” the officer said.

According to a source, Singh is not cooperating with NIA in his interrogation. “He is refusing to even recognize numbers stored in his phone. He says he was posted at (Srinagar) airport and would save numbers of anyone who met him. He is also maintaining his innocence. The technical investigation will throw more leads on his contacts and finances,” the officer said.

He was involved in multiple operations of trapping and killing militants or forcing their arrest or surrender. “He was very well-connected in Shopian. Tral has a sizable population of Sikhs and he had a good network among them, apart from other locals. He could not only generate information but also lure militants and execute operations,” a J&K Police officer said.

Due to his successful anti-terror operations in the Special Operations Group, he had got an out-of-turn promotion as DSP, and later was awarded a President’s Police Medal.

But his stint in Jammu and Kashmir was not clean. Singh was removed from SOG after there were allegations of extortions against him, and he was suspended from services for some time.

A former top cop of J&K said: “I did think he was useful initially, but soon realized that he was probably playing a double game and could rather damage the police force. By then, he had attained such notoriety that I used his name to get work done by my SPs. If ever I found an SP not delivering the goods despite repeated reminders, I would threaten to post Davinder under him. The work would get done within a fortnight.”

Davinder Singh was currently posted at the Srinagar International Airport. Earlier he was in the anti-hijacking squad of J&K police and before that a part of the special operations group when the elite force was established. His case has been handed over to NIA.

Malappuram’s Love Jihad factory: Missing girls, conversions, marriages and ISIS exports

Sanghamitra
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Malappuram’s Love Jihad factory: Missing girls, conversions, marriages and ISIS exports

Recently, the Syro Malabar Church, The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ council and many Christian organisations had voiced their concerns over the growing number of Love Jihad cases in Kerala. This is something many Hindu organisations, grieving parents and families have been alleging for the last few years too, that there are forces active in Kerala that are targeting young women, brainwashing them in the name of ‘religious studies’, forcefully converting them into Islam and then shipping them off to serve for ISIS as sex slaves.

Fr Varghese Vallikkatt, the spokesperson for the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council(KCBC), had stated that the government ignoring the cases of Love Jihad and not taking action, is nothing but a ‘silent sanction’. The Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church had expressed similar concerns recently too, that girls are being targeted by radical Islamic organisations in Kerala and are being sent to work for terrorist organisations.

The ‘missing’ girls

The cases started getting media attention back in 2016. In July 2016, Mini Vijayan, a military official had alleged that her daughter Aparna, has been forcefully converted into Islam. Aparna was traced to Sathyasarani, or the Markazul Hidaya Educational and Charitable Trust in Malappuram. She came to appear in court, accompanied by a woman called Sumayya. Aparna told the officials that she has accepted Islam and she does not want to go with her mother.

A recent report stated that Aparna, a BTech student when she vanished from her hostel in Kochi, has married a person named Aashiq, an auto driver from Malappuram.

Back in 2016, another case, that of a Hindu girl named Nimisha, had come to highlight. On August 2011, Kerala police had arrested two persons named Sheena Farzana and Naser, two alleged ‘handlers’ who were recruiting young girls in Kerala to go and ‘work’ for ISIS in Yemen. They were both from Sathyasarani, an organisation run by PFI. Investigations led to the discovery of several other targeted conversions.

Nimisha, a 23-year-old Hindu girl was among the 21 people from Kerala who had left the state and went to join ISIS. it was the news of ISIS joining that had stirred up media interest and police action in the cases of forced conversion. Nimisha had converted, changed her name to Fathima, married another neo-convert named Bexton and had left for Afghanistan. Along with Nimisha was another girl called Merrin, who had also converted into Islam, changed her name into Mariyam and had married another neo-convert called Bestin. Nimisha was reportedly to marry a Muslim man who had later refused. The ‘conversion’ cum religious study centre, had then ‘arranged’ for her to marry Bexton.

In November last year, Nimisha aka Fathima, her husband and their child were reported in Afghanistan. They were identified by Nimisha’s mother from a photograph. They were part of an ISIS group that had surrendered in Afghanistan.

A number of such cases have been reported. In 2017, when NIA started probing the ISIS link and Love Jihad cases, they had found that two Hindu girls, Athira and Akhila (who later became Hadiya) were lured by the same woman, a PFI worker named Sainaba.

All these women were found linked to the Sathyasarani Trust or the Markazul Hidaya in Malappuram.

Sathyasarani: Target, ‘educate’ and convert

The organisation that emerges as the common link between these conversions and ‘education’ is Malappuram’s Sathyasarani Trust, or the Markazul Hidaya, an organisation run by PFI. Hadiya (Akhila) was there, Aparna was there, the women who went to join ISIS were there. A recent report states a raid by investigative agencies have recovered the documents of conversions of 70 Hindu and Christian girls. The trust has stated that the girls were there for ‘religious studies’.

In the Hadiya case, the NIA had stated in court that Hadiya’s conversion and marriage to Shafeen Jahan were not isolated incidents, but an organised effort by Sathyasarani and PFI.

An India Today sting into Sathyasarani and PFI had reported that PFI’s founder member had admitted on tape that their ultimate goal is to make India an Islamic State. It was also reported that NIA has taken cognisance of the investigative report.

Robust backing, financial capital

When Hadiya’s father, a retired army man had challenged her marriage and conversion in court, the PFI had provided the legal, financial and material help. Hadiya was seen meeting PFI leader. The organisation was reported to have spent over Rs 1 crore for Hadiya case. They had hired Kapil Sibal to represent Hadiya in the Supreme Court. A recent report, citing ED sources, had stated that Sibal alone was paid Rs 77 lakhs.

In 2016, a computer engineer ­Abdul Ras­hid Abdullah and his wife Sonia Sebastian alias Ayesha, an MBA, who were working with Peace Educational Foundation (PEF), an organisation that runs 10 schools in Kerala, were accused of “radicalising” 22 youth from Pada­nna, Palakkad and Trikarippur. Abdullah had allegedly arranged the marriage ­between Nimisha and Bextin.

Read: Nexus between Congress and Islamists in stoking anti-CAA riots? PFI spent over 120 crores, transferred huge sums to Kapil Sibal and Indira Jaising: Read details

The reach of Islamic organisations

A similar case was reported by another Keralite Christian mother Cynthia, in an Outlook report. Cynthia’s daughter Tabitha, who was studying in a gulf nation, had suddenly left after declaring that she wants to embrace Islam. Shocked and stunned, the family had tried to contact her. She was traced to a Baharain-based Islamic organisation called Discover Islam Society. When they managed to convince their daughter for a meeting, Tabitha, cloaked in a ragged hijab and sounding distant, had told them that she cannot live with people who are not Muslims. DIS offers ‘study material’ for their recruits in two Indian languages, Telugu and Malayalam.

Sathyasarani is just one institution. Its backers still deny any links to radical outfits and terrorist groups. there are dozens of such centres being run in Kerala. The Outlook report had cited sources in intelligence claiming that 95% of these radicalisation centres use literature from Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation. Many of the converted girls have also stated that they were fascinated by Naik’s speeches.

As per an India Today report, Neo-Salafism, which promotes a revanchist Islam, has also struck root in the state. A group calling themselves ‘Dammaj Salafis’ live in a cloistered community in Nilambur in Malappuram. Much like the Amish in the United States, they reject modern technology and live the ‘primitive life’, like in Prophet Mohammad’s time in seventh century CE. Five of the Kerala’s missing ‘ISIS 21’ were followers of this movement and had also reportedly taken religious courses at a Sri Lankan Salafist centre.

Conversions, fears and numbers

An India Today report in 2016 had cited that government data said between 2011 and 2015, 5,975 people in the state had converted to Islam. 1,410 converted in 2015 alone. An overwhelming number, 76 per cent, of the new converts are women below 35, like Nimisha. In another startling revelation, when IRF’s Arshid Qureshi was arrested, it was found that he had engineered over 800 conversions in Mumbai, had converted Merin and also had presided over her marriage to a neo-convert. With the increase in radicalisation in the state and the growing concerns among Hindu and Christian families, it can only be said that the numbers are growing. Police officials say that actual numbers can be far greater.

The report cited the police and families’ legal hurdles in such cases. “When we raid the centres, they produce the girl before the court and make a public statement that she wilfully converted. If there is no crime, the police have no role.” The police officers had also stated that the girls practically vanish, behind burkas. “Their families are unable to trace them and they are given up for dead. The women also wipe out any traces of their old identity, they change names, destroy passports and old signatures. All of which makes it that much more difficult for security agencies to track them down later.”

This is very similar to something we see in the forced conversion cases in Sindh, Pakistan. The only difference is that due to India’s robust laws against child marriage, the victims are adults, posing further problems for the families and police because the cases then just get dismissed or stalled, since the girl, and her Muslim husband, are protected by law for acting as per their ‘free will’. Without an explicit statement from the girl, there is no way for the family or police to establish coercion or brainwashing.

Investigation into rampant radicalisation and terror recruitment

NIA has long been investigating the connection between Lov Jihad, terrorist recruitment and radicalisation in Kerala. Kerala has the most number of radical Muslims working for ISIS in war-trodden countries. Abdullah Rashid, who had taken the 21 people to fight for ISIS, was recently known to have been killed in a drone strike. His wife Ayesha was a Christian convert. His second wife Yasmeen, a woman from Sitamarhi, was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment in 2018. Yasmeen was said to have recruited 15 more people. Rashid was also behind the recruitment and conversion of the Hindu and Cristian girl who had gone to fight for ISIS.

NIA had recently arrested Riyaz Aboobacker who has admitted that he had been in contact with Rashid Abdulla for a very long time online. Riyas is an IS operative from Palakkad who had during his interrogation, revealed that he was planning to conduct a suicide bomb blast in Kerala, similar to the Sri Lankan blast.

Conclusion

The roots of radical Islam have sunk deep into Kerala. The sheer number of radicalisation, conversion and recruitment centres running is still far from making national headlines or turning the attention of mainstream media. But there is no doubt that it is a ticking time bomb.

Using women as tools and weapons, through either sex slavery or usage in terror recruitment is no longer a secret in the post-ISIS era. The governments, state and centre, need to take it seriously and formulate robust measures to fight the issue.

Former Congress Leader Urmila Matondkar compares CAA to Rowlatt Act: Here is how she is wrong

Dibakar Dutta
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Former Congress Leader Urmila Matondkar compares CAA to Rowlatt Act: Here is how she is wrong

On Thursday, former Congress leader Urmila Matondkar had compared the humanitarian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to the contentious Rowlatt Act of 1919 at Gandhi Bhavan memorial in Pune. The former Congress politician made those remarks during an event held on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary.


She said, “After the end of the Second World War in 1919, the British knew that unrest was spreading in India and that may arise after the Second World War was over. So, they brought a law commonly known as the Rowlatt Act. That 1919 law and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 will be recorded as black laws in history.” Besides refusing to accept the law, she alleged that CAA is against the poor and the idea of “Bhartiyatva.”

Read: Inefficient, dishonest, and lack of coordination: Urmila’s letter slams two of Sanjay Nirupam’s aides for her ‘disastrous campaign’

Essentially, Urmila Matondkar compared the CAA with the Rowlatt Act in her ignorance and to deride the Modi government.

Here is why she is wrong

The Rowlatt Act of 1919 (also called Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919) was enacted by the colonial British government to detain political leaders whom they perceived as “threats”, for an indefinite period. It empowered the government to arrest individuals without a warrant and incarcerate them for up to 2 years without trial.

The accused were to not receive any evidence used against them in the trial or know the identity of the accusers. People were restricted from participating in religious and political activities. The said Act was designed to curb revolutionary nationalist movements that had started gaining momentum in India and could undermine the Imperial Government.

Read: How to debate the Citizenship Amendment Act with ‘liberal’ idiots

Mahatma Gandhi organised a non-violent Satyagraha movement against the black Act that led up to the infamous Jalliwana Bagh Massacre and the Non-Cooperation Movement. The Act was repealed in March 1922.

CAA, on the contrary, is a humanitarian Act designed to fast-track the citizenship of minorities belonging to 6 religions who have been persecuted on religious grounds in the 3 neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The cut-off date for the said Act is Dec 31, 2014.

CAA does not have provisions to withdraw or annulate someone’s existing nationality. It can neither be used to detain someone indefinitely or arrest without warrant. At this point, it becomes clear that the “Black Act” has no similarity with CAA and the comparison, therefore, is absurd and intellectually dishonest.

Here is the law that came close to the Rowlatt Act

The Rowlatt Act saw its resurgence in 1971 when Indira Gandhi passed the contentious Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). Through the 39th Amendment to the Constitution, the said Act was placed under the 9th Schedule.and thus kept it beyond the purview of a judicial review. The move was well-thought-out.

Due to the broad nature of the law, individuals could be kept under preventive detention, private properties could be searched and seized without any warrant by law enforcement.  This law was subsequently misused during the dark days of Indian Emergency (1975-1977) to put the opposition leaders behind bars.

Read: Sanjay Gandhi had him imprisoned because he refused to help Adil Shahryar, claimed planning commission member in 1977

By implementing this law, Indira Gandhi assumed extra-judicial powers. People were tortured, coerced and arrested using MISA. The law infringed upon the Fundamental Rights of people and was hence repealed in 1977 by the Morarji Desai led Janta-Party government.

It is evident now that the law that closely mirrored the Rowlatt Act was, in fact, MISA and not CAA. Having said that, it is ironical that in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Urmila Matondkar contested from the ticket of the Indian National Congress, the same party that once reminded India of the Black Act.

Jharkhand: High School celebrates Saraswati Puja after 50 years, was disallowed earlier due to majority Muslim students

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: High School celebrates Saraswati Puja after 50 years, was disallowed earlier due to majority Muslim students

In a small village called Gidaur in Jharkhand, Hindu students celebrated Saraswati puja after 50 long years amidst heavy police presence. The Hindu students had not celebrated Saraswati Puja in Manjhgawantri High School because majority of students who were studying in the school were Muslims. This year, amidst police presence, the Hindu students celebrated their festivals, reported Jagran.

On the Saraswati Puja celebration, Block Development Officer Poonam Kujur, Magistrate Ajay Bhagat, DSP Prabhu Dev Kujur, Station In-charge Sushil Kumar, Panchayati Raj Officer Mo. Nasim Uddin Ansari, deputed magistrate Rupesh Mahato and district police force personnel were deployed.

For long, the village was on tenterhooks as there was tension prevailing between the Hindu and Muslim communities of the village. The tension was mainly due to Hindu students of the High School not being allowed to celebrate Saraswati Puja because of the Muslim students of the school. Reportedly, even in the Peace meetings of the community, this issue was often the dominant issue discussed.

Read: 8 attacks on Durga Puja and Dussehra processions in just 2 days, Durga idol vandalisation reported across India

Manjhgawantri High School in Gidaur was established in 1972 as a Primary School first. In the year 2006, the school was upgraded to a middle school and thereafter, in 2010, it was converted into a High School. For several years, Hindu students were paltry in this school and the student population was dominated by Muslim students. Owing to this, Saraswati Puja was not celebrated in the school, however, after the school turned into a high school, more Hindu students took admission and the demand for Saraswati Puja celebration only grew louder.

The demands to celebrate the Puja also gave rise to communal tension in the village.

On January 28, an application was made by the school children to celebrate Saraswati Puja at the block office and local police station. Subsequently, the administration deployed police personnel in the school a day before. After which, on Thursday, a statue of Goddess Saraswati of Vidya was installed and worshipped.

Missing woman from Meerut recovered from Shaheen Bagh, accused Shahzad arrested, family alleges forced conversion attempt

OpIndia Staff
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Missing woman from Meerut recovered from Shaheen Bagh, accused Shahzad arrested, family alleges forced conversion attempt

A woman missing from Meerut’s Partapur area has finally been found by the police. The woman was missing from Saturday. As per reports, the police have arrested a man named Shahzad for the alleged kidnapping.

Interestingly, the search for the woman led the police to Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, the place where Muslims have been protestings against the Citizenship Amendment Act for over a month.

A man named Shahzad was arrested and the woman was recovered when Partapur police traced the accused Shahzad to Shaheen Bagh. After an initial inquiry and the woman’s statement, the police had arrested Shahzad.

The family members of the woman had filed a police complaint reporting her missing. They have alleged that Shahzad wanted to forcefully convert the woman into Islam.

Brahmapuri CO Chakrapani Tripathy, however, has stated that the police are yet to officially confirm whether it was a kidnapping. The woman had been sent for medical examination and was produced in court on Thursday 30 January.

The woman is a resident of a village near Partapur. The accused Shahzad is from Modinagar. The woman’s family members had alleged that Shahzad’s intentions behind taking her to Shaheen Bagh should be investigated. The arrest was made by Modinagar police and the accused was later handed over to the Partapur police.

Late night drama at Shaheen Bagh: To speak to the media, or not to speak

OpIndia Staff
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Late night drama at Shaheen Bagh: To speak to the media, or not to speak

The drama by the crowd congregated at Shaheen Bagh to oppose to Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC never stops. Late last night, news emerged that Shaheen Bagh protestors were to hold a press conference after different political parties had referred to the protests during the campaign trail for Delhi elections.

By 9:30 PM, the news of the press conference was all over the media.

Saahil Murli Menghani, a journalist who has been covering Shaheen Bagh protests extensively, tweeted that Shaheen Bagh had called for an urgent press conference at 11 PM on Thursday.


Saahil had also tweeted that the press conference was likely about the road which has not been blocked by Shaheen Bagh protestors but barricaded by the police itself.

Several media houses too reported that Shaheen Bagh was all set to deliver a press conference. Speculations were that the press conference could be about the politicians talking about the protest, the incident at Jamia earlier where a youth had fired a shot towards the Jamia anti-CAA protestors or more.

Read: A lawyer and writer heckled at Shaheen Bagh while Rahul Kanwal walked off deliberately: Here is what really happened

However, the drama was only beginning.

Soon, Saahil tweeted that there was no press conference at Shaheen Bagh and that the protestors claimed that this was planted fake news. However, evidently, there was a tussle between two groups of the protestors with one wanting to hold the press conference and the other opposing the move.


Evidently, the fight at Shaheen Bagh was about opening one side of the road that the protestors were not using.


One section of the protestors at Shaheen Bagh wanted to open the road not being used by the protestors, however, one section of the protestors believed that if they open that side of the road, they would leave themselves open to an attack.

Interestingly, while the media was present at Shaheen Bagh, they were asked to shut their cameras and not record.

Read: Please come fast or my wife will die: Man pleads, but Shaheen Bagh ‘protestors’ don’t let an ambulance pass

Then, the media was asked to leave and apparently, “recording was not allowed”. The road was to remain shut and there was no press conference after all.


It is interesting to note that the media seems to comply rather willingly and submit to the demands of Shaheen Bagh protestors when they ask them to ‘not record’ what is happening at a very public protest.

There were some updates that suggested that the two groups of Shaheen Bagh had even got into a tussle.


It was reported that the two groups at Shaheen Bagh were allegedly throwing slippers at each other while on stage. OpIndia at this point could not verify these claims independently.

While the Shaheen Bagh protests have long been touted as an organic protest by women, the sequence of events points to anything but that. After Sharjeel Imam, the mastermind of Shaheen Bagh was arrested for his seditious speeches, Shaheen Bagh tried to distance themselves from Imam saying that the protests had no organising committee. However, everything that has happened so far, from tweeting these updates by their official Twitter account to these factions fighting about talking to the media and beyond, it points to a well-oiled protest that is being organised and funded externally.

A bus conductor in Bengaluru didn’t clear IAS exam, he misled media: Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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A bus conductor in Bengaluru didn’t clear IAS exam, he misled media: Here is the truth

It was reported earlier that a 29-year-old bus conductor in Karnataka named Madhu NC employed at the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has recently cleared the coveted Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Main exam in January.

Reportedly, he was said to be overjoyed when he found out that he has cleared the mains exam and was looking forward to the interview round to be held on 25th March.

Bangalore Mirror had reported that Madhu had stated that his parents are overjoyed, though they do not even fully understand what exams he has cleared or what it may mean.

Read: Coolie clears civil services exam after studying with the help of Indian Railways’ free WiFi

However, it is now revealed that the news seems to be untrue. The BMTC conductor who was said to have cleared his IAS examination had misrepresented his marks. Mumbai Mirror reported that the mark sheet that was shown to the paper actually did not belong to him but someone else called Madhu Kumari.

Reportedly, BMTC is now probing how the conductor misrepresented his results and investigating the matter further.

Note: We had curated the report by Mumbai Mirror. Once the Mumbai Mirror updated their report with new information, we have modified our report accordingly. We regret the error made. 

Coronavirus: Pakistan to not evacuate its citizens in China as an ‘act of solidarity’ towards its ally

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Pakistan to not evacuate its citizens in China as an ‘act of solidarity’ towards its ally

Pakistan has announced that it will not evacuate its citizens from Wuhan and other places in China the midst of the Coronavirus crisis. Its decision, according to the Imran Khan-led government, is an ‘act of solidarity’ towards its ‘all-weather ally’ China. Four Pakistani citizens have been affected by the virus thus far. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr Zafar Mirza said that it was not advisable to evacuate Pakistanis from China, saying that the government will demonstrate responsible behaviour and not become a part in spreading the virus.

He said that WHO has also advised that foreigners currently in China should not be evacuated, and at present China is also not allowing this.

Although Pakistan claims that it is motivated by its goodwill towards its ally China, it is much more likely that the government does not wish to take back its citizens because there’s a likelihood that it might spread to other Pakistanis as a consequence. It is more likely that Pakistan’s decision is motivated by cold-blooded pragmatism rather than any other reason.

As per reports, there are up to 800 Pakistani students studying in Wuhan, the city which has been quarantined by the Chinese regime in response to the crisis. “We believe that right now, it is in the interest of our loved ones in China (to stay there). It is in the largest interest of the region, world, country that we don’t evacuate them now,” Dr Zafar Mirza was quoted by Pakistani media as saying.

“This is what the WHO is saying, this is China’s policy and this is our policy as well. We are standing with China in full solidarity,” he said. “Right now the government of China has contained this epidemic in Wuhan city. If we act irresponsibly and start evacuating people from there, this epidemic will spread all over the world like wildfire,” Dr Mirza said. However, some Pakistani students in Wuhan have complained that they are not being taken care of by the Chinese authorities.

The death toll has already reached a staggering number of 132, most of whom lived in China’s Wuhan city. There have been more than 6100 confirmed cases of coronavirus exposure since the outbreak began almost a month ago. Most patients are between 55-87 years old. As such, many tourist places have been shut down and festivities cancelled. Meanwhile, India’s first confirmed case has been reported from Kerala.

Most affected is the Wuhan city, where the virus outbreak was first reported. Along with Wuhan, the Chinese authorities have locked down 18 cities in the country to prevent the virus from spreading. All flights, trains and other modes of transportation going out these cities have been suspended, meaning people in these places can’t leave the cities.

‘Sharjeel Imam’s hands should be cut off and put on chicken’s neck corridor. Amit Shah should finish insects like Sharjeel’, Shiv Sena says in its mouthpiece

OpIndia Staff
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‘Sharjeel Imam’s hands should be cut off and put on chicken’s neck corridor. Amit Shah should finish insects like Sharjeel’, Shiv Sena says in its mouthpiece

Amidst sustained protests in the Country against Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, Shiv Sena on Thursday alleged that attempts were being made to create a civil-war like situation in the country in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana.

The Shiv Sena alleged that India’s social and religious unity has ended. “Attempts are being made to escalate the dispute between Hindus and Muslims. Attempts are also being made to create anarchy and a civil war-like situation that exists in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the Shiv Sena, which leads the coalition government in Maharashtra along with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, said in the editorial.

The editorial also tore into JNU student Sharjeel Imam, who has been arrested by the Delhi Police from Bihar’s Jehanabad for making an inflammatory speech at the Aligarh Muslim University. Sharjeel had called for cutting off Assam from the rest of India amid protests against the CAA and NRC, and a video of his speech had gone viral. A case of sedition has been filed against the JNU student over his inflammatory speech.

In strong words, the Shiv Sena editorial said: “Sharjeel Imam wanted to take over chicken’s neck and divide India. His hands should be cut and kept on display at the chicken’s neck highway. Home minister Amit Shah should immediately finish insects like Sharjeel. But he (Amit Shah) should also stay away from indulging in politics in Sharjeel’s name.”

Sharjeel could be heard saying in the viral video: “If we all come together, then we can separate the Northeast from India. If we cannot do it permanently, then at least for one to two months, we can do this. It is our responsibility to cut Assam from India. When this happens, only then the government will listen to us.”

The party called on the government to ensure no other Sharjeel emerges in the country. Sena said statements made by Sharjeel Imam had caused great damage to peaceful anti-CAA protests going across the country. “There have been protests all over the country against the new citizenship law, but no one has made any anti-national statements in this entire movement,” the editorial on Saamana said

“Urban Naxalism is already here. One Sharjeel is has been arrested but the responsibility lies on the government’s shoulders that no other Sharjeel should emerge. Sharjeel’s statement has given an issue to the BJP for free in the Delhi Assembly polls. His statement is ‘anti-national’ and ‘separatist’,” it added.

Sharjeel Imam, who masterminded the Shaheen Bagh road blockade to protest against the CAA, was arrested by Delhi Police from Bihar after multiple FIRs were filed against him for his seditious speech. Addressing a gathering at Aligarh, Imam had urged Muslims to come together and cut off the Siliguri Corridor aka the chicken’s neck, which connects the seven northeastern states to the rest of India. He had also earlier made provocative speeches where he had asked Muslims to come out and block roads of India and bring it to a standstill so as to get international media attention. Imam is a columnist at The Wire.

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