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Infosys CEO, CFO involved in unethical practices, dressed up books to show profits : Whistle-blower employees

OpIndia Staff
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Infosys CEO, CFO involved in unethical practices, dressed up books to show profits : Whistle-blower employees

A few anonymous employees of global software giant Infosys have accused its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Salil Parekh and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nilanjan Roy of unethical practices for many quarters.

According to the reports, the Infosys has been hit by a major controversy after an anonymous group of employees, who calls themselves as ‘ethical employees’, alleged that the firm has been dressing up its books to show better revenue and profit numbers.

In a letter to the Infosys board and the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the ‘ethical employees’ targetted CEO Salil Parekh while pressurising the finance team to take a number of steps that go against standard accounting practices.

“We are Infosys employees and we have emails and voice recordings on these matters. We hope the board will conduct an immediate investigation and take action,” they said.

“Parekh and Roy have been resorting to unethical practices for many quarters, as evident from their e-mails and voice recordings of their conversations,” said the complainants, who called themselves ‘ethical employees’ in a 2-page letter to the city-based IT behemoth’s board of directors on September 20.

Also Read: Home Ministry cancels registration of Infosys Foundation over FCRA violations

The employees alleged irregularities in large deals like Verizon, ABN Amro and a joint venture in Japan, saying revenue recognition was not as per accounting standards.

“Large deals have irregularities. CEO is bypassing reviews and approvals and instructing sales not to send mails for approval… Several billion-dollar deals of the last few quarters have nil margins. Please ask auditors to check deal proposals, margins and undisclosed upfront commitments made and revenue recognition. All information is not shared with auditors,” the letter read.

 

The letter alleged they were asked not to fully recognise costs like visa costs to improve profits in the last quarter. “We have voice recordings of these conversations. When auditor opposed, the issue was postponed.”

The letter further stated that important metrics on large deals and other financial information was suppressed to avoid the board’s attention. “CEO and CFO are asking us to show more profits in treasury by taking up risks and make changes to policies. This will provide short term profits. They ask us not to make any key disclosures in 20F and annual reports and to share good and incomplete information with investors and analysts. This is a regulatory issue. We have email and voice recordings and will share during the investigation. Whoever disagrees is sidelined …In a large finance team, important employees have left due to pressure to make the deal look good,” the employees said.

In response, Infosys in a statement on Monday said the complaint has been placed before the audit committee as per the company’s practices. “The complaint will be dealt with in accordance with the company’s whistleblowers policy,” Infosys said in the statement.

After Modi govt’s nod to rebuild demolished Guru Ravidas Temple on the same site, SC allows the same

OpIndia Staff
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After Modi govt’s nod to rebuild demolished Guru Ravidas Temple on the same site, SC allows the same

Soon after the Modi government agreed to give Guru Ravidas Temple devotees the same site where Ravidas temple was demolished a few months back in South Delhi, the Supreme Court has given its consent for the same.

Supreme Court on Monday also agreed to allow construction of a shrine to Guru Ravidas, revered by the Dalits, in south Delhi, on a 400 square metre plot of land at the same site where a Ravidas temple stood before it was demolished in August on the orders of Supreme Court.


Moreover, barring any commercial activity in the area in and around the place earmarked for the temple, the apex court has ordered the Central government to set up a committee within six weeks for the construction.

According to reports, the Centre offered to give back the same site to rebuild the shrine to ensure peace and harmony amongst the Dalit community which follow Saint Guru Ravidas.

In the last hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the stakeholders involved in the Ravidas temple controversy to deliberate on the issue with the lawyers and law officers and devise a solution to build a new temple at an alternate site.

The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Ravindra Bhat said that the Court will pass orders after the parties place a solution before it. The court asked the parties to find an amicable solution on a better location where the temple can be built.

“You find an amicable solution and come back to us. Any day we can pass the order. We respect the sentiments of everybody on the earth but we have to follow the law,” the bench said.

Also Read: Petition for Guru Ravidas temple reconstruction referred to CJI for placing it before the same bench which had ordered the demolition

The temple was demolished by the Delhi Development authority following Supreme court’s orders as the 15th-century shrine was located in a protected forest. Following the demolition, large scale protests were organised by members of the Dalit community who follow Saint Guru Ravidas. The followers of the Saint Ravidas believe that Guru Ravidas had stayed at the temple site after it was given to him in 1509 by Sikander Lodhi.

In their plea, the petitioners have contended that the site has religious significance for over 500 years, even before the Government of India or DDA came into being. The petitioners argue that the government, therefore, cannot say that the temple and the samadhis of Guru Saint Ravidas are encroaching upon the Government land.

The petitioners had urged the top court to restore the Ravidas Temple at the Tughlaqabad site.

Exit Polls suggest saffron dominance to continue in Maharashtra and Haryana

OpIndia Staff
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Exit Polls suggest saffron dominance to continue in Maharashtra and Haryana

As per the latest numbers trickling down from multiple exit polls, the BJP is all set to come back to power in both the states of Maharashtra and Haryana. All exit polls suggest that BJP will be in a comfortable position, perhaps in a better position in staking a claim at the government as compared to their standing in 2014 Vidhan Sabha elections.

Here are the exit poll numbers from top agencies for the two states:-

Maharashtra Exit Polls


Times Now Exit Poll

For the state of Maharashtra, Times Now Exit Poll projected a whopping 230 seats to the BJP coalition while the alliance stitched by Congress is forecasted to get a paltry 48 out of the 288-member Vidhan Sabha assembly. The tally of other parties stands at 10.

India Today- My Axis Exit Poll

The India Today-My Axis exit poll has been slightly generous to the grand old party as it predicted 81 seats to the Congress alliance while forecasting 181 seats to the coalition formed by the saffron party. The number of seats procured by Others as per India Today-My Axis hovers around 25.

CNN News 18- IPSOS Exit Poll

According to the CNN News 18- IPSOS poll, the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra is all set to come back to power with 243 seats while the opposition will be reduced to 45 in the 288 member Vidhan Sabha assembly.

ABP – C Voter Exit Poll

The NDA alliance stands at 204, while the Congress-led UPA alliance is poised to bag 69 seats in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. ABP- C Voter has predicted 15 seats to smaller parties and an independent candidate.

TV9 Marathi

The exit poll conducted by regional news channel TV9 Marathi grants 197 seats to the BJP coalition while forecasting 75 seats for the Congress-NCP alliance.

Jan Ki Baat

Jan Ki Baat poll agency has forecasted BJP dominance in the state of Maharashtra with 223 seats to their alliance. The exit poll shows Congress languishing at 54 while others count remains at 11.

Haryana Exit Polls


Times Now Exit Poll

The Times Now exit poll claims that BJP coalition will sweep Haryana with 71 seats while Congress will be reduced to 11 seats from its previous tally of 15 seats in 2014 state assembly elections.

IPSOS

The IPSOS survey says BJP will secure 75 seats in the northern state of Haryana while Congress will grab 10 of the total 90 Vidhan Sabha seats.

TV9 Bharatvarsh

According to TV9 Bharatvarsh, the BJP alliance will bag 47 seats while the UPA alliance will get 23 seats. The exit poll suggests that other smaller parties may play an important part in forming the government in the state as their number will be close to 20.

NewsX

The survey conducted by NewsX reveals that BJP alliance will score 77 of the 90 seats and comfortably form a government at the centre. The UPA’s relegation in the Lok Sabha elections will be mirrored in the Haryana state elections as NewsX survey predicts a meagre 11 seats from the coalition.

Jan Ki Baat

Jan Ki Baat predicts 57 Vidhan Sabha seats to BJP alliance in Haryana while grating 17 and 16 to the UPA and other parties respectively.

Dara Hua ‘Murtad’? Two days after Kamlesh Tiwari’s death, ‘communist atheist’ Umar Khalid prostrates as a ‘believer’

K Bhattacharjee
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Dara Hua ‘Murtad’? Two days after Kamlesh Tiwari’s death, ‘communist atheist’ Umar Khalid prostrates as a ‘believer’

Two days after Hindu activist Kamlesh Tiwari was brutally murdered by Jihadis for blaspheming against the prophet of Islam, far-left atheist Umar Khalid has come out as a devout Muslim on social media. In a long Twitter thread, the former ‘apostate’ Umar Khalid preached the glory of Islam.


Umar Khalid claimed that the prophet was “not just Rahmatul Muslimeen. He is Rahmatul Alameen.” For a person who is supposedly an ‘atheist’, that’s an awful lot of respect for a religious figure. He further says that “we” shouldn’t disrespect anyone’s religious beliefs because that “goes against the Prophet’s teachings.” It was part of a coordinated attempt to deflect attention from the threat of Radical Islamic Terrorism and blame the ‘Hindutva brigade’ for preaching hatred.


Thus, it can be safely concluded that whatever Umar Khalid’s beliefs were until yesterday, the tweet thread confirmed that he is no longer an ‘apostate’. He is a devout Muslim now. The punishment for apostasy is deemed to be death by a great many Muslims around the world. It is a crime in many Islamic countries and some even reserve the death penalty for apostates. The Islamic term for an apostate is ‘Murtad’.

Umar Khalid’s apparent reconversion to being a Muslim presents an interesting case as his leftwing atheist credentials were greatly emphasized in the media. Scroll published an article with the headline “Sedition frenzy: How the media painted atheist and communist Umar Khalid as an Islamist”.

The Hindu, too, emphasized on him being a “hardcore communist” who “does not believe in any religion”. Not just Scroll or The Hindu, Wire and Quint and numerous other media outlets also published articles emphasizing on his communist identity and atheism.

In February 2016, he was quoted by NDTV as saying that he had felt ‘Muslim’ for the first time in his political life during the JNU controversy. He had said, “For the six-seven years that I have done politics on this campus, I have never thought of myself as a Muslim. I have never also projected myself as a Muslim. In the last 10 days, for the first time, I felt like a Muslim. These people are telling us about patriotism… They may have a majority but they are scared of us… they are scared of our struggle, they are afraid of us because we think.”

However, long after that as well, Umar Khalid was continued to branded as an atheist by the media and judging from the fact that he never corrected them, it is safe to say that he continued to be an atheist long after that. The confirmation of his Muslim identity only came after Kamlesh Tiwari’s murder for blasphemy by Jihadis, although it has been suspected for long.

Thus, there are two major possibilities that could perhaps explain Umar Khalid’s radical transformation from an atheist to a Muslim. Firstly, the whole charade of him being a Muslim might have been ‘Taqiyya’. The practice of ‘Taqiyya’ is religiously sanctioned lying or deceiving non-Muslims in order to present oneself as not a true believer in Islam.

The other possibility is that seeing the rise of Radical Islam, which is the single greatest threat that India currently faces and has many Indians afraid for their lives, ‘Murtad’ Umar Khalid did not feel comfortable with identifying himself as an atheist in these troubled times. It could very well be that he succumbed to the threat of Radical Islam, which was evident in Kamlesh Tiwari’s murder, and used the ‘Hindutva brigade’ to reaffirm his identity as a Muslim.

If the second speculation is indeed correct, then it does really speak for the times we are living in when someone who has been as vocal a critic of Hindutva as Umar Khalid and has adopted numerous stances which have popular support among Islamic fundamentalists as well does not feel safe as an atheist. In fact, his brand of politics was so similar to that of Islamic fundamentalists that the media had to emphasize on his ‘communist atheist’ credentials to rubbish speculations of him being a closet Islamist. The biggest argument against this theory is the fact that not a single Islamic fundamentalist, not anyone we know of anyway, has issued any comments against him for being a Murtad, which is extremely unusual.

Of course, Umar Khalid could go on to claim in the future that he is still an atheist. But it will be extremely difficult for anyone to sell that story given the manner in which he prostrated before on Twitter. Furthermore, the fact that he used hashtags on Twitter to deflect attention from the barbarity of Radical Islam demonstrated during Kamlesh Tiwari’s murder makes it monumentally hard to argue that he is still an atheist. Despite all of this, he could, of course, still claim to be an atheist but that will be extremely hard to believe.

One has to admit that there are other possibilities that might have fueled Umar Khalid’s reconversion to Islam. And we can only speculate the reasons until then. There’s only one person who can put these speculations to rest, Umar Khalid himself.

Maharashtra ATS arrest one Sayyed Asim Ali from Nagpur for involvement in Kamlesh Tiwari murder

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra ATS arrest one Sayyed Asim Ali from Nagpur for involvement in Kamlesh Tiwari murder

The Nagpur Unit of Maharashtra Anti Terror Squad arrested one Sayyed Asim Ali from Nagpur in connection with his role in the murder of Hindu Samaj chief Kamlesh Tiwari on Saturday last week. The Uttar Pradesh police produced the accused before the court in Nagpur today and obtained his transit remand.


According to the sources, the Nagpur ATS received confidential information regarding the involvement of Sayyed Asim Ali in Tiwari’s murder. Based on the information received, Maharashtra ATS conducted an operation and Nagpur ATS inquired Ali. As per the revelations, the accused Ali was in constant touch with the 3 other accused arrested and played a pivotal role in the assassination of Kamlesh Tiwari.

Also Read- Lest we forget: When countless Muslims marched, went on a rampage and rioted demanding the head of Kamlesh Tiwari

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 have been arrested. They have reportedly confessed to the crime of killing Tiwari.

The Gujarat ATS has declared the names of the murderers as Moinuddin and Ashfaq who are still absconding. Director General Police of UP has announced a reward of Rs 2.50 lakhs each (total Rs 5 lakhs) for the apprehending of the two murder accused. According to the reports, the Gujarat Special Task Force (ATS) stated that a conspiracy was hatched to murder Kamlesh Tiwari and one of the accused, Ashfaq created a Facebook profile with the name ‘Rohit Solanki’ and befriended the deceased leader.

A CCTV footage had emerged showing the two attackers moving out of the hotel in their saffron kurtas carrying the box of sweets in which the murder weapon had been hidden. The Uttar Pradesh are still on the lookout for the murderers.

Yogi government decides that the Kamlesh Tiwari murder case will be heard in fast-track court

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi government decides that the Kamlesh Tiwari murder case will be heard in fast-track court

The Yogi Adityanath led Uttar Pradesh government has ordered that the hearing in the ex-Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari’ murder case would be heard in a fast track court.

Respecting the deceased leader’s families demand Yogi Adityanath has decided that the case would be heard on a daily basis.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has also announced Rs 2.5 lakh reward to anyone who gives information on the two suspected killers of ex-Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari, Ashfaq and Moinuddin.

The police have intensified raids across ‘musafirkhanas’ and madarsas in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh in a bid to arrest the culprits.

Read: Dear DGP OP Singh, people with a violent dogma don’t need a Kamlesh Tiwari to get radicalised

The duo has been identified using CCTV footage from a camera outside Tiwari’s office in Lucknow as well as the hotel they checked in to. They have been absconding since. The UP Police is looking for them in UP as well as neighbouring states.

According to sources, the suspects had reached Lucknow by road after deboarding the train at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. CCTV footage has been obtained from Kanpur Railway station. Following the murder, the assassins reached Hardoi, Pilibhit and Bareli. One of the suspects is also believed to be injured and he got treatment in Bareli at a known person’s place. Moinuddin was reportedly hurt while committing the murder and in the CCTV footage obtained from the hotel, he could be seen with his hand in his pocket trying to hide his injury.

Read: Prime Minister Modi, Hindus are under siege, and now is the right time to speak up

It is believed that one of the accused, Ashfaq, had befriended Tiwari by posing as Rohit Solanki to gain his trust. Before the murder, Ashfaq had a conversation with Kamlesh Tiwari on the phone when he stated his wish to join the organisation. The meeting between Kamlesh Tiwari and Ashfaq was fixed after the conversation.

Tiwari, a former Hindu Mahasabha leader, was assassinated at his Lucknow office by one Ashfaq and one Moinuddin who are still absconding and on the run. 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 have been arrested. The Gujarat ATS has declared the names of the murderers as Moinuddin and Ashfaq who are still absconding. Director General Police of UP has announced a reward of Rs 2.50 lakhs each (total Rs 5 lakhs) for the apprehending of the two murder accused.

Congress leader shares Facebook post worshipping his illegal weapon, gets arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader shares Facebook post worshipping his illegal weapon, gets arrested

A Congress leader in West Singhbhum district, Jharkhand, has been put behind bars after he uploaded his picture worshipping an illegal country-made gun on Vijaya Dashami on his Facebook timeline.

Radha Mohan Banerjee, Congress’ West Singhbhum district’s treasurer was arrested from his home in Chaibasa on Friday night, confirmed a police official on Sunday adding that the illegal country-made weapon, along with a licensed double-barrel gun and bullets have been seized from his residence.

“We had information of Banerjee possessing a country-made pistol illegally and his photo of worshipping weapons on Facebook confirmed the same,” said, Amar Kumar Pandey, Chaibasa sub-divisional police officer (SDPO).

A case has been lodged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and arms act on the basis of a complaint by Chaibasa police station officer-in-charge (OIC) Sunil Tiwari, who lead the raid. He said that “His arms license is valid till 2020 but in the wake of the seizure of illegal gun from his possession, we will recommend the cancellation of his license.”

The Congress leader had obtained the license for a double-barrel gun in 2011 when lived in Tonto, Jhinkpani.

Talking about the matter, Congress’ West Singhbhum district unit president Sunny Sinku said: “Opposition leaders and workers are being trapped in trivial cases and sent to jail but I will make any comment only after consulting our party working president in-charge of Kolhan Keshav Mahato Kamlesh.”

Earlier also, MLA Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ had been expelled from BJP after his gun trotting video went viral in July 2019. The MLA was seen brandishing guns and dancing to a popular Bollywood song in a video clip that had gone viral. Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ had resigned from Congress in 2016 where he was a cabinet minister in the then Congress government in Uttarakhand led by Harish Rawat.

Paltu Aadmi Party (PAAP): Check out the Facebook page against which Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has sought an FIR

OpIndia Staff
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Paltu Aadmi Party (PAAP): Check out the Facebook page against which Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has sought an FIR

With state assembly elections round the corner for Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party is in campaign mode. From trolling and abusing those who disagree with them online the political party which has single-handedly reduced the bar of public decorum has now sought an FIR against a Facebook page for ‘spreading fake news’ because the supreme leader it seems can’t take a joke.

AAP national secretary on behalf of Arvind Kejriwal has sought action against a Facebook page ‘Paltu Aadmi Party’ (PAAP). Paltu means u-turn in colloquial Hindi and PAAP would mean ‘sin’.

OpIndia decided to check out the page which AAP claims is ‘damaging their reputation by posting false and fabricated content’.

In the above video one can see that separate clips are joined to make it appear like Arvind Kejriwal is auditioning for a singing reality show ‘Indian Idol’ and the judges are shocked at the poor singing of the contestant (in this case, Kejriwal). It is followed by other clips of Kejriwal singing and judges giving critical comments on the ‘contestant’.

Read: Congress supporting troll followed by Kejriwal spreads fake news about BJP

Similarly, another post is on how a court case has been filed in Bihar for his anti-Bihar comment with respect to free treatment to patients in Delhi hospital.

Last month, Arvind Kejriwal had said that patients from Bihar spend Rs 500 to come to Delhi and take free treatment because of which Delhi residents are being deprived of medicine facilities. A social activist named Nitish Kumar has now filed a petition alleging he was hurt by Kejriwal’s remarks. Kumar, in his petition, said the Delhi CM has behaved irresponsibly and tried to vitiate the peace, unity, sovereignty and harmony of the country and the state.

Read: Read how this Digvijaya Singh aide is running a fake news website and Facebook pages for anti-Modi and pro-Islamist propaganda

The page further shows various videos juxtaposing Kejriwal’s one statement against his own contradictory statement on same issue.

The page also takes a dig on the former supporters, members and leaders of AAP who have been shown the door by Arvind Kejriwal.

Many of these have been vocal critics of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal and were shunted after they spoke up against him.

Essentially, Arvind Kejriwal wants an FIR against a Facebook page which posts memes, jokes and disagrees with his politics. Delhi is slated to go to elections early next year where Arvind Kejriwal is seeking reelection as the chief minister of national capital.

SC clarifies there is no stay on construction of Metro shed at Aarey Colony, order staying further felling of trees to continue

OpIndia Staff
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SC clarifies there is no stay on construction of Metro shed at Aarey Colony, order staying further felling of trees to continue

The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that there is no stay order the construction of Metro shed in Aarey Colony, with a stipulation that a stay on felling of trees will remain. Besides, it has also asked for a White Paper on the matter, seeking details of trees uprooted, transplanted and those that survived the transplant.


Approximately 2000 trees were uprooted between October 4 to October 6, before the apex court put a stay on the further felling of trees. The order came after the Maharashtra government proceeded to chop the trees it needed to for its plan to clear 33 hectares of Aarey land for the project.

Appearing on behalf of BMC, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured the bench that no further cutting of trees has taken place in Aarey colony and asserted that complete status quo is being maintained following the top court’s last order. In addition, Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi also affirmed the court that “absolute” status quo has been maintained and that no trees have been uprooted since the top court’s previous order.

The Supreme Court has listed the matter to be heard in court on November 15. On October 7, the SC had ordered the Maharashtra government to not cut any more trees in the Aarey area.

The Court has ordered MMRCL to submit a detail report on aforestation meassures taken by it to compensate for felled trees. The court also sought a status report with pictures on plantation, transplantation and felling of trees in Aarey Colony.

Also Read- NGOs and assorted ‘liberals’ protesting against Mumbai Metro are wrong: Here are the facts of Aarey Colony Metro Shed

On the night of 4th October, the Mumbai Metro Corporation had started the process of cutting 2,185 trees in Aarey colony after the Bombay High Court dismissed all petitions against the same earlier in that day. As per an order issued by the Tree Authority on 13th September, approval for cutting 2,185 trees and transplanting 461 trees was granted to clear the allotted land for the depot of metro trains. Police had to impose section 144 of the IPC for smooth implementation of the order as protestors had arrived at Aarey Colony to prevent trees from being cut. Out of 2,185 trees marked for felling, 2,141 trees were cut before the stay by SC, while the Metro Corporation had said that they have cut all the trees that needed to be cut and they do not need to cut any more trees in the area.

It may be noted that in April this year, the Supreme Court had rejected the plea against locating the metro rail depot at Aarey, ruling that all other alternative locations suggested by activists were rejected by the Technical Committee after thorough studies. The activists had approached the Supreme Court after Bombay High Court had rejected their petitions. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna had dismissed the interlocutory application within minutes, citing the Bombay HC order and the technical committee’s report.

Mumbai Metro has already planted 20,900 trees with GPS tagging on each of them in nearby Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and survival rate is 95% for the trees, as confirmed by the Chief Conservator Forest and Director of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The Tree Authority has further ordered MMRC to plant 13,110 trees in the Aarey Colony area within 30 days. This means, compared to 2,141 trees cut and 461 trees transplanted, almost 34,000 trees are being planted, which is 15 times the number of trees felled.

Kashmir: Terrorist attacks on non-locals create fear, apple traders and truck drivers hit

OpIndia Staff
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Kashmir: Terrorist attacks on non-locals create fear, apple traders and truck drivers hit

The recent killings of non-local workers, traders and truck drivers by Islamic terrorists in Kashmir have provoked a sense of fear among non-locals who load their trucks and transport  Kashmiri apples to other states. Terrorised by the brutal killings unleashed by Kashmiri terrorists at various places across Kashmir, many truck drivers are now returning empty from the Valley.

Reportedly, after the successful abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, normalcy has been restored in the valley. However, an isolated Pakistan due to its desperation to internationalise the issue has been attempting to incite violence in the valley to disrupt the normalcy.

With Pakistan trying to meddle in Indian internal affairs, at least three non-locals have been shot dead by Islamic terrorists. In just last two weeks, two non-local truck drivers have been shot down by terrorists. In another such incident, an apple trader from Punjab named Charanjeet Singh was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Shopian district last Wednesday.

Read: Truck drivers, apple traders, shopkeepers and migrant worker shot: Terrorists in Kashmir target business in the valley

These killing came two days after terrorists shot dead a truck driver from Rajasthan and assaulted an orchard owner in Shirmal village in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. The truck, bearing a Rajasthan registration number, was set ablaze on its way to Jammu. The body of the driver was recovered from the truck.

In August, terrorists had shot and killed a 65-year-old shopkeeper for defying their diktat and keeping his shop open. On September 7, three fruit traders and a toddler were shot by terrorists in Sopore.

As per reports, after these attacks, a fresh wave of terror has gripped in the valley resulting in non-locals fearing to enter or stay in the state. Truck drivers camping in Kashmir valley to ferry apple boxes outside the state are living in constant fear after terrorist attacks on non-local workers. The main markets, where apple growers were bringing their crop from different orchards in the region are deserted.

Many truckers, which carry essential commodities and other goods for the people of Kashmir from Jammu and other parts of the country are being targeted and not allowed to load apples for different destinations in the country.

A report in the Daily Excelsior says that many vehicles have been attacked during the past one week and drivers are being beaten up by the mob in Shopian, Pulwama, Sopore, Srinagar and some other areas of Kashmir.

In recent weeks, more than 30,000 trucks have reportedly ferried apples outside the state. However, there are still truck drivers stranded in distant pockets. The local police have reportedly deployed extra forces in the are to instil confidence among truck drivers.

The truck drivers who were in the state to load the apples had to run for their lives following the attack. They returned to Narwal Fruit Mandi at Jammu during last two days and shared their horrifying experience in Kashmir. The truck drivers shared that there is fear among the truckers after Shopian incident where a truck driver from Rajasthan was burnt alive along with his vehicle.

Truck drivers gathered in Jammu have narrated that they have been forced to return with empty vehicles after being threatened by people in Kashmir. They report huge losses and say that nobody will go there if there is a risk to life.

Expressing their ordeal, truck drivers revealed that they went with empty trucks from Delhi, Jammu and Punjab to Kashmir to load apple but they were attacked with stones, lathis and were made to flee by the locals. Another truck driver said the locals threatened them to flee back to Jammu and asked not to come again. The driver stated that he suffered a loss of over Rs 35,000 and many truckers who were made to flee back are facing losses and damages.

The terrorist attacks have not only resulted in losses to non-local workers but also to the local Kashmiri apple growers, who are now facing the heat as no trucks are being able to transport their apples out of the state.

Mohammad Ashraf Wani, president of Fruit Mandi Association in Shopian, said that they are dependant on transporters from other states to export our apples. However, everyone is afraid and they also do not want these drivers to face any consequence.

“Our lives are completely dependent on apple business. If such incidents keep happening, it will only make things worse for us,” said Wani.  According to Wani, Shopian apple market has more than 200 locally-owned trucks but as per need, they require around 8,000 extra trucks, which usually come from outside states.

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