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Falsely accused of harassment and molestation by AAP member Jasleen Kaur, Sarvjeet Singh finally acquitted by court

OpIndia Staff
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Falsely accused of harassment and molestation by AAP member Jasleen Kaur, Sarvjeet Singh finally acquitted by court

Sarvjeet Singh, the man who was accused of harassment, obscene remarks and molestation at a Delhi traffic signal by AAP member Jasleen Kaur in 2015, has finally been acquitted by the court. Singh shared the news through a Facebook post and thanked the people who believed him and stood by him when the entire social media had declared him a criminal just on the basis of the Kaur’s words.

Activist Deepika Bharadwaj shared Sarvjeet Singh’s post and stated that Sarvjeet has been acquitted of all charges by the court after four long years of trial.


Sarvjeet Singh has been attending trials for four long years. Jasleen Kaur did not attend trials for three years. After missing 14 trial dates in the court, she had made her first appearance in December last year. She had claimed that she was away because she had ‘academic commitments’ in Canada.

The Case

On August 23, 2015, Jasleen Kaur, a student of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and an AAP member had posted a photo of Singh at a traffic signal and had claimed that he had passed obscene comments at her and had threatened her as she tried to click his photo.

Read: Top Lies spread by Indian Media in August 2015

Kaur’s Facebook post had gone viral within hours. Sarvjeet Singh, however, had commented on Kaur’s photo identifying himself as the guy in the viral post and had stated that he was innocent and it was Jasleen who had threatened him when he had declined to follow her directions to jump the traffic signal.

Singh was soon arrested by the police. As the case got highlighted as another example of the harassment that Delhi girls face every day, celebrities and politicians also joined in to congratulate Jasleen as a brave young lady. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had also applauded Jasleen.

Kejriwal’s Tweet on Jasleen Kaur, image via India Today

Kaur has become an instant celebrity. As per aanIndia Today report, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi had announced a reward of Rs 5000 for Kaur for her ‘bravery’.

Eye witness claim

Soon after Sarvjeet’s arrest and eye witness examinations, the case started falling flat. Vishwajeet Singh, who was present at the location, stated that Sarvjeet was innocent and it was, in fact, Jasleen who had verbally abused and misbahved with Sarvjeet. Kaur had again taken to social media to claim she was right and the eye witness accounts were false.

The Trial

For all these years, Sarvjeet Singh had dealt with the stigma of being the harasser. In 2016, he had again appealed to the people through a social media post, detailing how it was so easy to falsely accuse a man of harassment and how it is wrong to paint someone a victim and another person a harasser just on the basis of their gender.

Read: Perils of living in the age of instant outrage by media and social media

He also stated that he had lost many job oppurtunities beause his face has become ‘famous’ as that of a harasser and he could not even travel outside Delhi without informing the police.

Media hype and consequences

Almost all media channels had jumped in instantly to paint Sarvjeet as a pervert and a criminal. Social Media users had also widely shared Jasleen’s post and other related posts, instantly declaring Sarvjeet as a pervert. As the truth started becoming clear, it slowly became one of the cases where ‘trial by media’ totally ignored the truth and falsely branded someone as guilty. Times Now was even ordered to apologise and pay a fine by NBSA for their incessant coverage of the case wrongly protraying Sarvjeet as guilty before the courts did.

US President Donald Trump cancels subscriptions of ‘fake news’ Washington Post and New York Times

OpIndia Staff
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US President Donald Trump cancels subscriptions of ‘fake news’ Washington Post and New York Times

Taking the fight to media for their propaganda against him, US President Donald Trump has cancelled his subscription of the New York Times and the Washington Post. The White House is also planning to instruct federal agencies to not renew their subscriptions.

According to the reports, on Thursday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that the decision to not renew subscriptions across all federal agencies will be a significant cost saving for taxpayers – “hundreds of thousands of dollars”.

Read: Human Rights Watch publishes a report on ‘violent cow protection’ based on faulty data, NYTimes peddles it further

However, it is not yet clear if the cancellation will apply only to print subscriptions or also their digital versions. Interestingly, the White House has decided to portray it as a cost-saving decision.

In an interview, President Trump had said, “We’re going to probably terminate that (the Times) and The Washington Post. They’re fake”. US President has also called them the “enemy of the people” in the past.

Read: In opposing Narendra Modi, progressives at Washington Post reveal they are a mirror image of the ‘AltRight’

President Trump often refers to two controversial publications – New York Times and Washington Post as “failing Times” and the “Amazon Post” respectively. However, the NYT is an immensely profitable company and the Washington Post is owned by Amazon founder and owner Jeff Bezos but is not affiliated to Amazon, the company.

Read: NYT’s racism and elitism is full display after the Indian company opens Manufacturing unit in the US

The two controversial news publications – NYT and Washington Post have always shared a tough relationship with the US President. Donald Trump has always deemed these publications as hostile to him and his administration, along with CNN, whose Jim Acosta had his White House press credential briefly cancelled, until the court restored it to him.

Read: Washington Post publishes ‘Rising hate in India’ story based on fake data

Donald Trump is not the first US president to ban a news publication from the White House. Reportedly, President John F Kennedy had too stopped the delivery of The New York Herald Tribune in 1962, unhappy with its coverage of him.

Not just in the US, the two left-leaning publications – Times and Post have been forefront at peddling pro-Pakistan and anti-Hindu narrative through their platforms to target the current Indian government. The two publications have often given space to anti-India elements to express their hatred towards the current dispensation, which was evident in their recent reportage after the Narendra Modi government successfully abrogated Article 370.

Read: Hey, New York Times, F**k you, again

Angered by the pro-Pakistan propaganda peddled by its communally coloured reports after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, members of Kashmiri Pandits had even protested against Washington Post over their biased reportage on Kashmir. The protesters had alleged that the prominent US daily was only giving “one-sided and biased coverage”.

NDTV anchor lies blatantly in a bid to discredit Assam’s two-child policy for govt jobs, says CM Sonowal has 6 kids himself

OpIndia Staff
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NDTV anchor lies blatantly in a bid to discredit Assam’s two-child policy for govt jobs, says CM Sonowal has 6 kids himself

In a bid to stabilise the state’s population growth rate, the Assam Cabinet decided to bar people with more than two children from having government jobs in the state after January 1, 2021. The two-child norm was already implemented in the state for Panchayati Raj and Municipal body elections, and now the same has been extended to state government jobs. While reporting this decision, NDTV anchor Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor chose to lie profusely and spread fake news in order to discredit the Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbanand Sonowal.

NDTV Anchor Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor, while reporting the news of the two-child norm for government jobs in Assam claimed that while people with more than two children will not be eligible to get a government job in Assam, the Assam Chief Minister, Sarbnand Sonowal himself has 6 children.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpAcsMSZQ9Q]

In a rather theatric manner, Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor tells her viewers that “The interesting bit in this is that the Chief Minister himself has 6 kids, but he has decided to finally implement this two-child policy”.

This video was also shared by NDTV on micro-blogging website Twitter but now seems to have been deleted by NDTV.

Read: As ISRO loses contact with Vikram Lander, NDTV journalist arrogantly yells at the scientist

The truth, however, could not be far from this. Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal does not have 6 children. In fact, the Chief Minister of Assam is not married and leads a single life.

Tweet by NDTV that has now been deleted

The anchor who blatantly lied on NDTV is not indulging in spreading such canards for the first time.

In 2018, NDTV published and shared news on their social channels with the headline, “Assam BJP Lawmaker’s Nephew Not On Citizen’s List, Says “It Happens.” The story carried a photograph of BJP MP Bijoya Chakravarty and Jaydip Phukan, who is a resident of Guwahati. Jaydip had taken to Twitter to assert that his name indeed does appear on the NRC list and he is not the nephew of the BJP MP.

Jaydip also wrote an official mail to NDTV, asking them to immediately retract his image from the irrelevant news published by them. He also tried to contact Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor, the writer of that particular article, to make the necessary corrections, but she was unavailable, said Jaydip.

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram to celebrate Diwali 2019 in Tihar Jail

OpIndia Staff
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Former Union Minister P Chidambaram to celebrate Diwali 2019 in Tihar Jail

Congress stalwart and former Union Minister P Chidambaram will celebrate this year’s Diwali festival with the inmate of Tihar Jail as the court has extended his Enforcement Directorate’s custody till October 30.


Seeking extension of Chidambaram’s custody, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked for further custody arguing that the Congress minister needs to be confronted with documents showing beneficial ownership of his family members.

Representing Chidambaram, senior advocate Kapil Sibal pleaded that his client is not doing well and should be sent to Hyderabad for treatment. However, Mehta replied back saying that he can be treated in AIIMS in Delhi. Special CBI court judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar ordered the extension of custody of P Chidambaram while directing his health check-up be done at AIIMS, Delhi.

Read: Chidambaram celebrates birthday in Tihar jail, tweets ‘May God bless this country’

Earlier in the week, P Chidambaram had a temporary reprieve after the Supreme Court granted bail to the beleaguered leader in the CBI case. The order that was delivered by a bench of Justices R Banumathi, AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, instructed him not to leave the country without permission. The court also asked Chidambaram to submit a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties of like amount each.

P Chidambaram has been in custody since August 21 and is currently lodged in the Tihar jail. He is under the scanner of CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in the INX Media case in which he is accused of misusing his position as India’s finance minister and granting several clearances to the INX Media company.

Is the headquarters of DMK mouthpiece Murasoli built on land occupied from Dalits?

Suren
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Is the headquarters of DMK mouthpiece Murasoli built on land occupied from Dalits?

Recently, S. Ramadoss, the Founder of Pattali Makkal Katchi, which is currently part of the electoral alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP, had alleged that the headquarters of the DMK is situated on Panchami lands, which cannot be legally occupied by anyone other than people from scheduled caste communities.

This is a fairly large parcel of land situated in the heart of the Chennai city, on the arterial Mount Road. The property includes offices of the DMK party channel, Kalaignar TV and the party’s media organ Murasoli. There are spacious halls which are let out for marriages, meetings and functions at lucrative rates.

After Ramadoss raised this allegation, DMK President M K Stalin, issued a response saying that he is willing to produce the sale deed and documents of the property, which date from 1985. Senior BJP functionary Tada Periyasamy recently issued a sharply worded rejoinder on Facebook that the original documents dating from the 1923 Permanent Register, RSR ( Re-settlement Paisal Register ), SLR (Settlement Land Register) and the Gazette Copy from 1935 were the documents that could conclusively prove that the land is part of Panchami lands. He said that land originally belonged to Dalits which were later transferred to non-Dalits.

He also demanded Mr Stalin to produce relevant documents and prove his party’s claim. Further, Periyasamy also said that the land which was originally allocated to a Dalit on a non-transferrable basis was transferred illegally to two non-Dalits and the DMK acquired it only in the 4th transaction from the original allotment.

PMK chief Ramadoss claimed that the site had a hostel for Adi Dravidar students and demanded to know why the DMK president M. K. Stalin was silent on that factor. He said that DMK is showing only a patta of 1985, but silent on ownership papers earlier than that.

Also Read- Maridhas and the DMK: A Tamil David against the Dravidian Goliath

In the meanwhile, gossip is doing the rounds that Thirumavalavan, leader of the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi, a DMK alliance partner had raised the same claim when they were not part of the alliance. An old YouTube video was produced as evidence. The video has since been removed, so we cannot confirm the veracity that Mr Thirumavalavan ever made such a claim.

Today the Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that his government will conduct an inquiry into Panchami land issue.

What is this panchami land?

In 1891, the then Collector of Chingleput District in the erstwhile Madras Presidency J. H. A. Tremenheere had conducted a study on the situation of the Depressed Classes, as Scheduled Castes were then known. He concluded that one of the causes of systemic oppression and backwardness was that these castes were landless agricultural labours. To remedy this situation, the British administration had allocated nearly 12 lakh acres of land across the province to Depressed Classes under the Depressed Classes Land Act of 1892.

These lands could not be sold or transferred for a sum and the title would vest with the original allottees and their descendants alone.

However, in a very short period of time, it was found that very few of these lands were still in the possession of original allottees. Since the 1950s, successive Dravidian leaders have made promises to claim the Panchami lands for the Scheduled Castes. This had even figured in the DMK’s 2006 state election poll manifesto.

It is in this context that the allegation that one of the oldest social justice movements in the country could actually be squatting on land allocated for landless labourers seems so paradoxical.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra to be decided after meeting with the BJP: Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray

OpIndia Staff
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Chief Minister of Maharashtra to be decided after meeting with the BJP: Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray

The fate of Devendra Fadnavis as the Maharashtra Chief Minister hangs in the balance as Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said in a press conference today that the new chief minister of the state will be decided after consultation with their alliance partner BJP.


Citing a pre-poll agreement with the BJP, Thackeray said that based on the 50-50 formula agreed upon, inter-party discussions should be held and on that basis, Chief Minister of the state would be decided.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said that in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, he and BJP president Amit Shah had hammered out a “50-50 formula” based on which the two parties had agreed to select the next chief minister of Maharashtra. Uddhav Thackeray said, “It is now time to remind everyone about the formula and implement it.”

While Thackeray did not divulge the modalities of his party’s agreed formula with the BJP, he did say that if need be, Home Minister Amit Shah will himself come to get the things sorted. Rumours are rife that the agreement between the two frenemies was about sharing the chief ministerial position for a period of 2.5 years. There are also rumours that say that the 50-50 formula may allude to the equal number of ministries in the cabinet for the two parties.

The Shiv Sena-BJP is currently hovering around 160 mark, maintaining a comfortable majority required to form a government in the 288-member Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. As per latest data on EC website, BJP was winning and leading in 103 seats, while it was 56 for Shiv Sena.

Kashi Vishwanath Dham Project, ‘buy local’ and ‘Bharat ki Lakshmi’: Narendra Modi addresses party karyakartas from Varanasi

OpIndia Staff
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Kashi Vishwanath Dham Project, ‘buy local’ and ‘Bharat ki Lakshmi’: Narendra Modi addresses party karyakartas from Varanasi

Prime Minister Modi addressed karyakartas of the BJP from Varanasi today ahead of Diwali. During his address, he conveyed his condolences towards the family of Kameshwar Narayan Singh after he passed away on the 10th of October and paid his tributes to the late veteran karyakarta.

PM Narendra Modi interacted with the karyakartas from Varanasi and answered several of their queries. In response to a question regarding the vision he had for the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Project, he said that everything was happening with the blessings of Bholenath. He said, “With the blessings of Baba Vishwanath, the resolve taken by the Kashivasis will not only ease the devotees of Baba Bholenath, but they will also experience the grandeur in addition to the Divinity.”


“You are witness to the streets of Banaras. These lanes have their own beauty, they have their own importance, they are the pride of Kashi but you have also seen how it was often difficult to go through these lanes for Baba Bholenath’s darshan,” he added.

Narendra Modi also expressed gratitude towards the many families who had willingly sold their property to the government for the success of the project. He further said, “Temples are not just places of worship of God, but they are the center of our faith, they are the center of our devotion. Whether it is the temple of Kashi Vishwanath or any other temple, there is a discharge of positivity in everyone’s mind by coming here.”

Read: International Women’s Day 2018 : Read what women members had to say in Rajya Sabha

The Prime Minister also suggested during the address that on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, people celebrate ‘Bharat ki Lakshmi’ as well. He said that there will be one girl in our neighbourhood who must have accomplished a certain feat. He suggested that through ‘Bharat ki Lakshmi’, we honour the daughters of our country.


The Prime Minister also urged everyone to buy local. He suggested that till the year 2022, we focus on buying local. He said, “If things are made in our village, we will not take them from outside. If not in the village, take it from the block, district or state. But we will try to take what we get locally.”


During the address, Prime Minister Modi also urged the karyakartas to spread awareness of government schemes among the citizens of the country so that they can benefit from them as well. He also emphasized that people should try and ensure that not much wastage is produced during Diwali and if possible, such things should be donated to the needy instead of letting them to go to waste.

Amit Shah declares staking claim to form govt in Haryana, takes to Twitter to thank voters for making BJP the largest party

OpIndia Staff
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Amit Shah declares staking claim to form govt in Haryana, takes to Twitter to thank voters for making BJP the largest party

Though BJP and Congress are battling it out in Haryana 2019 Assembly elections, as none of the parties reaching the absolute majority mark, Union Minister Amit Shah has taken to Twitter to thank the voters to give BJP a chance to serve for five years and making BJP emerge as the single largest party in the elections.


The National President of BJP, Amit Shah said that in the last 5 years, the Khattar government under the central leadership of PM Modi made every effort for the welfare of the people of Haryana. “I congratulate the public for making BJP the largest party and giving it a chance to serve again,” he tweeted. Along with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, he also congratulated BJP Haryana chief Subhash Barala and all the workers.

Read: Another fight brewing in Haryana: As AAP, NOTA and the Communists battle it out, NOTA seems to be winning

Moreover, ANI News agency quoting sources says that Haryana CM ML Khattar may meet the Governor to stake claim to form the government. It is also being believed that Dushyant Chautala’s JJP is set to support the party, sources have told News18. As per reports, INLD has also made it clear that it will not support Congress.

Apart from this, there are reports that Dushyant Singh Chautala has left for Delhi. At the same time, Congress’ Bhupendra Singh Hooda has also left for Delhi.

According to ECI official figures, Haryana is heading for a hung assembly as none of the parties appears to be emerging with a clear majority. As per ECI official figures, BJP has won 32 seats and is leading in 8. Congress has won 28 and leading in 3. JJP has won 10 seats. Haryana Lokhit party and INLD have won 1 seat each. All 7 independent MLAs have won. JJP has emerged as the kingmaker in the Haryana elections.

India Today misrepresents election results, claims Congress-NCP is ahead of BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra

OpIndia Staff
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India Today misrepresents election results, claims Congress-NCP is ahead of BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra

If getting the exit polls results wrong were not enough, now mainstream media has started to wrongly report the actual results too. While the counting for the assembly elections still going on, India Today published a piece of totally misleading news saying that Congress-NCP has taken a lead against BJP and Shiv Sena.

India Today posted a tweet with graphics on Maharashtra election results. In that, while it showed the combined seats of Congress-NCP alliance as 109, they decided to ignore that BJP and Shiv Sena had formed an alliance prior to elections, and showed their winning numbers separately, BJP’s 99 and Shiv Sena’s 57. Thus, the number of Congress-NCP alliance became bigger than the individual numbers or BJP and SS. Although the India Today tweet is factually correct, it creates a wrong impression that the Congress-NCP alliance is leading in Maharashtra assembly elections.

But that is completely wrong interpretation as BJP and Shiv Sena as in an alliance and their combined number is 156, much ahead of Congress-NCP’s 109. The number 156 also crosses the halfway mark of 144 in the Maharashtra assembly with a total strength of 288. Therefore, unlike Haryana which has resulted in a hung assembly, the pre-poll alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena has won a clear majority in Maharashtra. But despite that fact, India Today tried to create confusion in the mind of people by suggesting that Congress-NCP is winning the state.

Indian High commission was a potential target in Easter Sunday attack: Sri Lankan Parliament committee report

OpIndia Staff
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Indian High commission was a potential target in Easter Sunday attack: Sri Lankan Parliament committee report

The Sri Lankan Parliament Committee report on the Easter Sunday attack has said that the Indian High Commission was a potential target of the terror attack on the island state that killed over 350 people and left, over 500 injured on 21 April this year.

The 272-page report submitted on Wednesday by the nine-member Parliamentary Select committee referred to intelligence reports suggesting that a hotel frequented by Indians was also a likely target of the terror attack.

The report read: “Parliament cannot recommend the perpetrators of this attack. That power is in the court. The task of the Select Committee was to find out where were the shortcomings, negligence and weaknesses,” Chairman of the PSC and Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri said in the court.

Read: 600 foreigners including 200 Islamic clerics expelled from Sri Lanka, visa restrictions on religious preachers tightened

“The PSC also notes that intelligence information received indicated that the Indian High Commission was one of the potential targets and that it is surprising an intelligence official who is a prominent part within the intelligence apparatus in Sri Lanka was not aware of the possible links between the intelligence information received, source, potential target etc,” the report read.

On April 21, Easter Sunday, the terrorist group NTJ had targeted Easter worshipers and high-end hotels hosting international guests with coordinated explosions. The series of blasts was carried out across 8 locations in three different cities including Colombo. St Anthony’s Church in Colombo, St Sebastian’s Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and a church in the eastern town of Batticaloa were targeted during Easter mass.

Further, three more explosions hit Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand, and Kingsbury, all five-star hotels.

The PSC report admits to intelligence failure at several level. It says that the director of SIS (State Intelligence Service) failed to notify the concerened individuals after he recieved the warning on April 4. It also says that the SIS failed to act on intelligence gained after teh April 16 explosion in Kattanakudi.

Read: Sri Lankan millionaire’s family was an ISIS cell: Suicide bombers shatter shameless excuses peddled by ‘liberals’ to justify Islamic terrorism

According to the details which unfolded gradually, the Islamic State (ISIS) had claimed responsibility for the dastardly attack.

It was earlier reported that even India had shared the intelligence input on April 4 that the Islamic group National Thowheed Jamath might carry out attacks in Churches and a hotel frequented by Indian nationals but the country did not pay any attention to the warnings thinking that India was attempting to create enmity between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Sri Lanka’s PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has reportedly admitted that they had been warned about possible attacks by an Islamist terrorist group. PM Wickremesinghe stated that despite the warning by intelligence agencies, Sri Lanka ‘failed’ to take adequate measures.

Consequently, Sri Lanka paid a heavy price for ignoring intelligence warnings. India is now providing intelligence assistance to Sri Lanka in the investigation of the Easter terror attacks.

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