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Chhattisgarh: ITBP constable Masudul Rahman shoots and kills 6 colleagues, injures 2 and commits suicide

OpIndia Staff
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Chhattisgarh: ITBP constable Masudul Rahman shoots and kills 6 colleagues, injures 2 and commits suicide

In a shocking incident, six personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were killed and two others injured in Chhattisgarh today after an ITBP personnel fired at them on Wednesday.

According to the reports, ITBP constable Masudul Rahman fired at his colleagues with his service weapon, killing five of them and injuring two others. Later, the constable committed suicide by turning the gun on himself, the police said.

The incident took place at around 9 am at an ITBP camp in the insurgency-hit Narayanpur district, around 350 km from state capital Raipur, said Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P.

The police are yet to ascertain why the constable opened fire at his colleagues. It is suspected that he was upset with not getting leave and allegedly killed his colleagues following a dispute. The injured personnel have been flown to Raipur for treatment.

Besides Masudul Rahman those killed were identified as head constable Mahendra Singh (Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh), head constable Daljit Singh (Ludhiana, Punjab), constables Surjit Sarkar (Burdwan, West Bengal), Biswaroop Mahtoo (Purulia, West Bengal) and Bijeesh (Kozhikode, Kerala).

Two other constables, SB Ullas from Kerala and Sitaram Doon from Rajasthan have been injured in the incident.

“The ITBP personnel who shot his five colleagues committed suicide with his own rifle and died on the spot. The injured were being air-lifted to Raipur for treatment. The IG and SP have just reached the spot and further details about what triggered the incident would be known soon,” DGP Chhattisgarh DM Awasthi has stated to Times Of India.

Will support BJP when it comes to National Interest: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

OpIndia Staff
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Will support BJP when it comes to National Interest: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, in a recently held interview by ABP News, claimed that though his party has aligned with the Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra state but when it comes to issues of National Interest, it will always back the BJP.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goieoR5Ct9Y]

When the interviewer asked the rationale behind why Pawar chose to side with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra instead of the BJP which would have augmented his stature in the politics, provided his party with cabinet ministers, the NCP chief responded, “We always had good relation with the BJP. If tomorrow an issue of National Interest comes up, we will support the BJP. We have political differences and that’s why we went with the Shiv Sena party.”

However, the news interviewer posed a counter-question asking Pawar the reason for aligning with the BJP in the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections. Pawar replied that he did not want the two parties-BJP and Shiv Sena to come together at that time as their alliance would have had a detrimental effect on the fortunes of the NCP and therefore to this end, his party extended their support to the BJP at that time. “If BJP and Shiv Sena had come together, it would have made it tough for our party and therefore I did not want them to enter into an alliance,” Pawar said.

Recently, after about a month of struggle over the government formation in Maharashtra, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis had taken oath as the chief minister of state with the support of NCP and Ajeet Pawar sworn-in as the deputy chief minister. However, within 48 hours, Pawar backtracked and extended his support to the alliance of Shiv Sena and Congress.

Uddhav Thackeray was selected as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance while the deputy chief minister post is with the NCP. It is rumoured that Ajeet Pawar is the frontrunner in the NCP for taking oath as the deputy chief minister. Congress was given the position of Speaker which was granted to Gandhi family loyalist Nana Patole.

Rahul Gandhi caught sleeping in Lok Sabha during discussion on Chinese threat to India’s security

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi caught sleeping in Lok Sabha during discussion on Chinese threat to India’s security

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was today found sleeping in the Lok Sabha while the leader of opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary was slamming the government on the issue of the Chinese threat to India’s security.


Raising the perpetual threat posed by the two hostile neighbours Pakistan and China, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “India is destined to be surrounded by two hostile neighbours-Pakistan and China who pose an inimical threat to India. We can change history but cannot change geography. Pakistan backs terrorists but China backs Pakistan. We have an aggressive approach in dealing with threats emanating from Pakistan but why do we have a soft approach in dealing with China?”

Chowdhury also raised the recent security breach at the Andaman and Nicobar Island where a Chinese vessel Shi Yan 1 was reportedly found carrying out ‘research activities’ in the Indian waters. It was, however, subsequently driven away by the Indian Navy. Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also gave an adjournment notice over the “Chinese Intrusion in Arunachal Pradesh” claiming that China has illegally taken hold of 40-50Kms of Arunachal Pradesh.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB4ABP-AQQg]

However, during this discussion over issues of national security raised by his own party, Rahul Gandhi was seen sitting behind the Congress MP Chowdhury and blissfully taking a nap. Perhaps, the security of the country with regards to Chinese incursions is not on the priority list of the Wayanad MP, who has been known for clandestine meetings with Chinese ministers and delegates on numerous occasions.

During the Doklam standoff, while Congress and Rahul Gandhi himself were relentlessly slamming the central government for not handling the issue well, Rahul had also met the Chinese ambassador and Congress had tried to lie about it. Their initial denial over the meeting was later exposed when the Chinese embassy’s website had posted about the meeting.

This is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi has been caught sleeping during the Lok Sabha proceedings. There have been multiple occasions on which Rahul Gandhi was seen dozing off in the midst of Lok Sabha debates.

Read: Six excuses given by Congress and friends to save ‘sleeping’ Rahul Gandhi

In 2016, media claimed that they caught Rahul Gandhi “sleeping” during a debate in the Lok Sabha on the issue of atrocities on Dalits. During that time, Congress sympathisers and supporters had come out in defence of Rahul Gandhi, with some claiming that he was in deep meditation while others candidly admitting that owing to his relentless efforts and work, he deserves the ‘relaxation’.

“Mountbatten gave away India, and his wife. Cuckolded by Nehru”: Netflix’s British series The Crown tips the hat to first Prime Minister of India

OpIndia Staff
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“Mountbatten gave away India, and his wife. Cuckolded by Nehru”: Netflix’s British series The Crown tips the hat to first Prime Minister of India

Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, was charged with overseeing the transition from British India to independent India by 30th June, 1948. On his arrival he realised the situation is too volatile to wait for too long and decided to grant independence to India sooner rather than later. In the process he even split India into India and Pakistan.

The affair between Lord Mountbatten’s wife, Edwina and Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of Independent India is no secret. In an article that called Mountbatten “man-eater”, dailymail.co.uk recounted how Mountbatten fell in love with Nehru and how her promiscuity took a toll on her children. According to Lady Mountbatten’s daughter Pamela, ‘She found in Panditji [Nehru] the companionship and equality of spirit and intellect that she craved. Each helped overcome loneliness in the other.’

This has now found its way into the popular Netflix series The Crown, created by British writer Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television. The Crown is a historical drama that chronicles life of Queen Elizabeth from her younger days to her reign and gives a glimpse into the personal life of the royals. Lord Mountbatten was also the uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband to Queen Elizabeth. There are a few references to Lord Mountbatten and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

In first season’s first episode, during the wedding ceremony of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at first Winston Churchill appears to be referring to Lord Mountbatten as the man who gave away India. In the same sequence, few other people too say the same.


“Oh, it is Lord Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh’s uncle. The man who gave away India, and his own wife. Cuckolded by Nehru, if you please. Cuckold is the husband of the wife who has cheated on him with another man.

Read: How Jawaharlal Nehru used Indian Navy assets not just for vacation, but to ‘pay respects’ to Edwina Mountbatten after she died

In second season, Lord Mountbatten is appearing to accept the affair his wife had with Jawaharlal Nehru to Queen Elizabeth.

In the above video, one can see Lord Mountbatten speaking to his niece-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, about the ‘wild spirit’ she married to. He says he knew it because he was married to one too. “Trying to tame them is no use. There were times in India, it was all right under my nose, with Nehru of all people, my opposite number,” actor playing Lord Mountbatten said. “The humiliation could not have been more complete,” he said.

Rajkot: Two Muslim men booked for thrashing a Dalit man for ‘daring’ to wear a Pathani suit

OpIndia Staff
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Rajkot: Two Muslim men booked for thrashing a Dalit man for ‘daring’ to wear a Pathani suit

On Tuesday, two men have been booked for attacking a Dalit man for wearing a ‘daring to wear a Pathani suit in Gandhidham town of Kutch district.

According to a report by Times of India, the police officials have booked Amjad Pathan and Azgar Pathan for allegedly beating up 27-year-old Jayanti Bhati on the afternoon of November 26 near Green Palace hotel in Gandhidham. Jayanti Bhati belongs to a Dalit community and worked as a truck driver.

Bhati had reportedly stopped near a hotel to have tea while two men approached towards him on a motorbike and started arguing with him. They asked Bhati as to why was he wearing a ‘Pathani’ suit. Following a heated argument, one of the accused lifted the ‘Pathani’ suit from behind and covered Bhati’s face and both of them thrashed the victim.

Read: 25 crimes that prove that the Dalit-Muslim unity is nothing but a farce

Reportedly, the accused also threatened Bhati by saying that he belonged to lower caste and should not wear a ‘Pathani’ suit. They further threatened to kill Bhati if he dared to wear the attire again.

Following the incident, Bhati lodged a complaint with the division police station of Gandhidham on the same day and left for his job. An FIR has also been lodged against the two accused under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocity) Act, assault and criminal intimidation. Both the accused are yet to be arrested.

Citizenship Amendment Bill to be tabled this session, HM Amit Shah holds last round of meetings

OpIndia Staff
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Citizenship Amendment Bill to be tabled this session, HM Amit Shah holds last round of meetings

Amid reports that the union government is likely to introduce the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the parliament in the coming days, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a meeting with the leaders of the North-eastern states to allay their concerns over the bill which intends to provide citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from neighbouring countries.

According to reports, the Tuesday night meeting with the leaders of the region is the third meeting in the series between Union Home Minister Amit Shah, senior leaders of the regions, activists and civil society organisations over the issue of Citizen Amendment Bill.

Earlier during the day, Assam minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma said the meeting on Tuesday is the final round in the series. “Today is the final round of meeting with Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. After this, the framework of Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) will be formulated. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has indicated that CAB will be introduced in this Parliament session,” Sarma said.

Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that Citizenship Amendment Bill will come before the Parliament in a positive environment and also he said that he hoped all the remaining confusion will also go away once the draft of Citizenship Amendment Bill is out in the public.

Read: Citizenship Amendment Bill: A necessity to correct a historical wrong

Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah had met politicians and organisations from the northeastern states on Tuesday to understand their concerns over the proposed law. Amit Shah had also held discussions with the representatives of students’ bodies and civil society groups of Assam on the CAB. Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal, too, attended the meetings. Mizoram CM Zoramthanga also called on Shah.

The groups, including the All Assam Students Union, had informed their concerns regarding the proposed bill to the Home Minister Shah. They reportedly said that the proposed law if enacted, could affect the indigenous people of the northeast.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday has informed all its MPs to be present in the House in large numbers in the coming days and said the Bill is as important as the law that abrogated controversial Article 370.

Reportedly, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while addressing the weekly meeting of BJP MPs indicated that the Bill is expected to be tabled in the Parliament next week and the government expects it to be passed before December 10.

“The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is coming soon. It is very important to get it passed,”  Defence Minister Singh reportedly stated to the BJP MPs.

Dismissing the Opposition’s objections over the bill, Singh said that the BJP had always worked to unite the country and its people. “If religious minorities are being persecuted in those countries, it is our duty to deliver justice to them. It should not be linked to any religion,” he said.

The Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, in order to grant Indian nationality to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, who come to India because of religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan even if they do not possess proper documents.

Read: India: A land with Hindu consciousness, which will forever be a natural home for Hindus

A section of people and organisations in the northeast have apprehensions about the Bill, arguing that it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for genuine Indian citizens in Assam, irrespective of religion.

The CAB will propose to amend the definition of illegal migrants, reduction in the number of years of residency period to obtain Indian citizenship through naturalisation and empower the Centre to cancel the registration of Overseas Citizen of India card in case of any violation.

The story behind viral picture of Piyush Goyal running towards parliament building

OpIndia Staff
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The story behind viral picture of Piyush Goyal running towards parliament building

On Wednesday morning, a couple of pictures showing a union minister running towards the parliament building were shared with much amusement on the social media. The picture was first shared by a correspondent of CNN-News18 Payal Mehta, who asked readers to guess the minister in the pic.


It turned out to be very easy guess for most readers, thanks to the getup of the minister and ‘bullet train’ hint. Netizens could recognise that it was Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who currently holds the dual portfolios of Railways and Commerce.

Goyal appears to be in a hurry to go inside the parliament even as media persons around him are hoping to catch a glimpse or get some sound-byte from him. But why was he in such a hurry?

It has turned out that the Minister did not want to be late for Question Hour in the Lok Sabha and he can be seen holding papers that presumably has the relevant information related to the questions that have been put to him by other members of the parliament.

The reason why Goyal had to hurry was because he was attending a cabinet meeting in the morning. As soon as the cabinet meeting got over, he rushed to be on time to answer questions in the parliament.

Full marks for fitness and punctuality!

Kamlesh Tiwari murder case: Maulana Kaifi Ali Rizvi who gave refuge to killers gets bail, to be released today

OpIndia Staff
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Kamlesh Tiwari murder case: Maulana Kaifi Ali Rizvi who gave refuge to killers gets bail, to be released today

Maulana Kaifi Ali Rizvi from Bareilly, who was arrested by ATS on 21 October in connection with Kamlesh Tiwari murder case has been granted bail. He may be released today. As per reports, his bail was arranged for by the people from the dargah where he is associated.

Reportedly, the lawyer arguing for Rizvi said that the crimes he was accused of were bailable and hence he should be granted bail. Following this, magistrate Sudesh Kumar granted him a bail on two bonds of Rs 20,000 each.

According to the agencies, the last location of the two suspected killers was traced to Bareilly. It was reported that the killers, namely Ashfaq and Moinuddin, had visited the cleric in Bareilly after they killed Tiwari in Lucknow on October 18.

Tiwari, a former Hindu Mahasabha leader, was assassinated at his Lucknow office by Ashfaq and Moinuddin from Surat. The Uttar Pradesh police and Gujarat ATS sprung into action to blow the lid off a Surat-based Jihadi group that was indoctrinated by one of the accused who planned the murder, Maulana Mohsin Sheikh. Two other conspirators, Rashid Pathan and Faizan Sheikh have been arrested on late Tuesday evening from Surat in Gujarat in connection with the murder.

Read: All you need to know about the Kamlesh Tiwari murder investigation so far: Jihad, a well-hatched plan and plain brutality

While Ashfaq and Moinuddin will be handed over to the UP Police for further investigation, the other three accused have already been sent to UP on transit remand.

Moinuddin, along with Ashfaq, was arrested by Gujarat ATS on October 22 from Gujarat-Rajasthan border after being on the run for four days. While Moinuddin worked as Zomato delivery boy, Ashfaq, second man arrested for the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari, worked as a medical representative in a pharma company. He had forged his colleague’s Aadhaar to pose as Rohit Solanki, a Hindu rights activist, to gain the trust of Tiwari.

Chidambaram gets bail, to walk out after 106 days but can not talk to media

OpIndia Staff
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Chidambaram gets bail, to walk out after 106 days but can not talk to media

The Supreme Court has granted bail to former finance minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media case. As per reports, the scam accused former UPA minister is granted bail in the ED case against him.

The bail has come after over 106 days in custody. As reported by Live Law, the SC has criticised the Delhi HC for making observations on the merits of the case. The SC has noted that despite the triple test being found on Chidambaram’s favour, observations were made on merit. The SC observed that the accused has participated in the investigation.


Chidambaram has been lodged in Tihar jail. He might get released today. Observing that economic offences are also ‘grave’, the SC bench has granted bail to the Congress leader under a bail bond of Rs 2 lakh and 2 sureties.

Other conditions of bail are that Chidambaram can not contact the witness of the cases against him, can not travel without prior permission, can not make press statements over the case and will make himself available for interrogation when summoned.

The judgement was pronounced by a 3-member bench of Justice R Bhanumathi, AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy.

The UPA stalwart and former Union minister was arrested by the CBI after a high-level drama where CBI officials had to scale the walls of his residence on August 21. After 58 days under the CBI custody, the SC had granted him bail in the CBI case.

But the ED had taken the custody of Chidambaram on October 17, before his bail order came for the CBI case. So he had remained lodged in Tihar all this while.

The INX Media case is over the foreign funding received by INX Media, then owned by News X’s Peter and Indrani Muckerjea, allegedly by the violation of FIPB norms by the union finance ministry under Chidambaram. Chidambaram’s son Karti is also accused of lobbying and bribery in the case.

Cases against ‘Dalit activists’ arrested during Bhima Koregaon violence will be dropped: Uddhav Thackeray assures NCP leaders

OpIndia Staff
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Cases against ‘Dalit activists’ arrested during Bhima Koregaon violence will be dropped: Uddhav Thackeray assures NCP leaders

In a decision which could have serious law and order implications, the newly elected Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday has reportedly assured senior NCP leadership that criminal cases filed against the Dalit ‘activists’ in connection with the violence at Bhima-Koregaon will be withdrawn at earliest.

According to a Times of India report, the decision to withdraw cases against these ‘activists’ who had allegedly resorted to violence during the Bhima Koregaon event comes after Maharashtra CM had asked the state home department to immediately withdraw criminal cases filed against the so-called ‘activists’ booked for protesting against the cutting of trees in Aarey Colony and those opposing the Nanar refinery in the Konkan.

“Law-enforcing agencies had initiated criminal proceedings against activists for their alleged involvement in the Bhima-Koregaon violence and the Indu Mill agitation. All of them were falsely implicated, so we requested the CM to withdraw the cases immediately, and he acceded to our request,” said NCP MLA Prakash Gajbhiye, who was also present at the meeting.

Two days back, NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad had demanded the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government to drop the charges slapped against Sudhir Dhawale, a prime accused in the Bhima Koregaon case for his involvement in the Elgar Parishad and an alleged ‘Urban Naxal’. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde had also written to Uddhav Thackeray for the same.

On the 200 anniversary of the battle of Bhima-Koregaon on January 1 last year, a large number of people had gathered at the memorial near Pune. While the crowd was dispersing, violence erupted not only in Pune and surrounding areas but across the state. A 28-year-old youth, Rahul Patangale, was killed in the violence. 52 cases were registered and 152 people were arrested for violence and riots in the streets.

The Bhima-Koregaon cases are different from the ones related to the Elgar Parishad rally held the day before the January violence. Cracking down on the Elgar Parishad’s alleged ‘Urban Naxals’ the Maharashtra police and ATS had arrested several alleged Naxal sympathisers and co-conspirators last year.

Read: Elgaar Parishad chargesheet: Arrested Urban Naxals were planning to incite Dalits, overthrow democratic system

Apart from the Elgar Parishad cases, the Pune police had registered 58 cases against 152 people for the violence during the Bhima Koregaon event. Subsequently, on February 9, 2018, the state government appointed Justice JN Patel, a former judge of the Bombay high court, to probe all aspects of the violence under the Commission of Inquiry Act.

In connection with the Elgar Parishad case, ten ‘activists’, who are known to be sympathisers of left-wing terror were nabbed by the Pune police. These ‘activists’ are also accused of plotting to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Initially, the five suspected ‘Urban Naxals’ were arrested by the Pune police on 6 June 2018 over charges of organising the Elgaar Parishad held at Pune’s Shaniwarwada on 31 December 2017, which is believed to have instigated the Bhima-Koregaon violence a day later.

They are Delhi based activist Rona Wilson, advocate Surendra Gadling, professor Shoma Sen and Mahesh Raut from Nagpur and Mumbai’s Sudhir Dhawale.

The Pune police had filed a 5,000-page charge sheet, which had names of 10 persons of the above ‘Urban Naxals’. Addition to these five, absconding underground Maoists Milind Teltumbde, Prakash alias Ritupam Goswami, Prashant Bose alias Kishan da, Manglu and Deepu have also been named in the charge sheet.

Apart from these ten alleged ‘Urban Naxals’, in a nation-wide crackdown, the police had arrested P Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, Gautam Navlakha in Delhi, Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Pereira in Mumbai, Sudha Bhardwaj in Delhi, Anand Teltumbde in Goa and Stan Swamy in Ranchi in relation with Elgar Parishad violence and plot to kill the Prime Minister Modi. Gautam Navlakha is accused of having links with Maoists, Kashmiri separatists, Pakistan’s ISI and banned terror organisation Hizbul.

The withdrawal of cases by a newly elected government against the perpetrators involved in riots and vandalism is not new. As soon as Congress came to power in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, the government had withdrawn the Bharat Bandh cases filed in April 2018 against Dalits after alliance partner BSP had threatened to withdraw their support given to Kamal Nath government.

The Kamal Nath government had also decided to withdraw nearly 50,000 similar cases filed in the last 15 years by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during its tenure in Madhya Pradesh.

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