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Desperate to escape FATF blacklisting, Pakistan arrests two leaders each from JuD and LeT in token gesture

OpIndia Staff
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Desperate to escape FATF blacklisting, Pakistan arrests two leaders each from JuD and LeT in token gesture

Pakistan has again tried to fool the world with token gestures by arresting the ‘top four leaders’ of the banned LeT/JuD on charges of terrorism financing ahead of the Financial Action Task Force’s crucial plenary meeting scheduled to be held in Paris from October 12 to October 15.

This meeting is crucial for the terror state as a decision could be taken on Pakistan’s ‘grey-list’ status and whether there is a plausible reason to move towards putting the country under FATF blacklist.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has been keeping a close watch on the terror state of Pakistan, had recently declared that Pakistan has fared badly in the FATF-APG report card on money-laundering and terror-financing ahead of the annual meeting which is scheduled to be held in Paris between 13-18 October.

This observation might come as a major blow to the terror state which faces the threat of being placed on the FATF black-list. This fear has probably compelled Pakistan to orchestrate the arrest of these terrorists, whom it has been safeguarding for all this while.

The leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) arrested on Thursday have been identified as Professor Zafar Iqbal, Yahya Aziz, Muhammad Ashraf and Abdul Salam.

Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies believe that this move would put the “entire core leadership” of these outfits on trial.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said that there had been an “important progress” in the National Action Plan (NAP) as the main leaders of proscribed organisation JuD/LeT have been arrested by the CTD Punjab in offences of terrorism financing.

“JuD/LeT chief Hafiz Saeed is already in prison facing trial for commission of offences of terrorism financing. Now the entire core leadership of the JuD/LeT will be on trial,” the CTD said, adding that the CTD Punjab has also been investigating offences of terrorism financing wherein these accused had built assets using the funds raised through terrorism funding.

This strategy adopted by the terror state of Pakistan is not new. In August 2019, Pakistan had made a similar attempt to mislead the FATF by registering fake FIRs against the terror groups that they have been safeguarding all this while.

Moreover, Pakistan has previously shown the arrest of LeT, JeM, JuD and FIF cadres in a bid to fool the FATF. However, they were not arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 but under its Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Act. Which meant that the detainees could only remain a maximum of 60 days in custody.

JeM founder Masood Azhar and LeT founder Hafiz Saeed have for the most part been arrested only for breach of peace and never prosecuted under anti-terror laws.

The mere arrest of terrorists does not satisfy the requirements of FATF. They ask for a freeze of funds, denial of access to weapons and travel embargo. They also want nations to impose penalties that are proportionate and dissuasive. Arrest under the MPO does not meet these requirements and hence it does not satisfy the FATF.

In June 2019, the terror finance watchdog FATF had observed that Pakistan had failed to fulfil 25 out of the 27 action points that were given to the terror state by FATF to keep a check on the funding of terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as well as frontal groups like Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF).

In August, FATF’s major regional affiliate APG had blacklisted Pakistan for failing in over 35 of the 40 parameters.

Read: Pakistan blacklisted: FATF’s regional affiliate APG blacklists Pakistan for failure to curb terror funding

Pakistan continues to be in the FATF Grey list which means that lenders like the IMF, the World Bank and the EU may continue downgrading Pakistan causing more financial woes for the already poorly performing economy. In the wake of the ongoing economic crisis, the Pakistan military had recently voluntarily trimmed down its defence budget.

Controversial actor Ajaz Khan to contest Maharashtra Assembly elections as independent candidate after Owaisi’s party denied him ticket

OpIndia Staff
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Controversial actor Ajaz Khan to contest Maharashtra Assembly elections as independent candidate after Owaisi’s party denied him ticket

Known for exhibiting radical Islamist views, controversial actor Ajaz Khan has decided to contest Maharashtra Assembly elections as an independent candidate from South Mumbai’s Byculla constituency after Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM refused to grant him a ticket. Ajaz Khan, who said he would choose Quran over constitution, has filed from Byculla and will be up against lawyer and sitting AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan and Arun Gawli’s daughter, Geeta Gawli of the Shiv Sena. Amusingly, Khan wanted to contest from Owaisi’s party ticket from Mumbra but is now contesting as independent candidate from Byculla.

Ajaz Khan campaign picture. His election symbol is gas cylinder. 

Khan has been allotted ‘Gas Cylinder’ as his election symbol. In an interview with News 18, Ajaz Khan said that he is confident of giving a tough fight to his competitors who’ve failed spectacularly in developing Byculla. Khan cited severe problems and the lack of basic facilities endured by the residents and workers in Byculla. He stated that buildings and roads are in bad shape and despite many incidents, no safety measures have been instituted. If being elected to power, Khan said that his first priority will be to raise the standard of living of the people of Byculla.

Read: We are 40 crore including legal and illegal : Ajaz Khan urges Muslims to come out and hit the streets

Khan has found support in another reality tv star actress Mahika Sharma who participated in Bigg Boss last year. Mahika has said she would like to see Khan as the prime minister some day. “Ajaz is young and hot,” she said adding that being a voice of the youth, Khan would be able to help the city develop in a better way. She added that Khan will bring an end to rape cases and women will be worshipped as they will feel secured.

The tendentious actor claimed that he took the plunge into politics to “end the politics of Hindus vs Muslims”. “I am here to end the politics of Hindu vs Muslims as it’s the time that politics is raised above this issue. Reports of lynching have made Muslims’ lives miserable and all are living under the fear of getting attacked anytime. Being a responsible leader one needs to make all feel secured in India,” Ajaz said.

Read: Actor who says he will choose ‘Quran over Constitution’, gets support from AAP, Hardik Patel and Pakistan

Serial abuser Ajaz Khan was recently arrested by the Mumbai Police on the charges of inciting communal tensions after he posted hate-filled videos on social media sites provoking violence and mob lynching of Hindus by Muslims, and mocking police for not being able to catch Muslims who indulge in communal violence. Khan had also posted a video menacingly threatening actor Payal Rohatgi by claiming that one day the entire world will turn Islamic. In the same video, Khan also made insinuations against PM Modi alleging that he is supporting those who carry out violence chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

Khan was released after his 14-day judicial custody ended, following which he appeared to sing a different tune. Khan released a video heaping praise on PM Modi and Amit Shah for playing an instrumental role in the release of innocent Muslims incarcerated all across the country on frivolous charges by previous Congress regimes.

Read: Abusive actor Ajaz Khan who was arrested for inciting communal tension was ‘framed’, claims his wife, says he did nothing wrong

It is germane to mention that just a few of days ago, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi made a deeply communal speech in his public rally in Nanded where he tried to draw a sharp contrast between Hindus and Muslims. In his speech, Owaisi exhorted the Muslims of Nanded to shun secularism and vote on the basis of their Muslim identity. Owaisi showed absolute disdain for the Hindu ritual of placing lemons and chillies for auspiciousness and warding off threats and asserted that Muslims do not waste lemons and chillies on such rituals.

Gloating over the fact that he alone fought the police and overcame all the obstacles on his own, Ajaz said, “My message is for Assaduddin Owaisi, Azam Khan, Waris Pathan, Hashmi ji and all other such politicians. I was being slapped with 3 false cases but you didn’t raise your voice in my defence. You (Assad) defended Kanhaiya Kumar in the parliament, you raised your voice for many people in the parliament but you never spoke for Ajaz Khan.”

From ‘Devi’ to ‘Chup Chudail’: Devdutt Pattanaik’s fall from grace with obnoxious tweets involving women

K Bhattacharjee
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From ‘Devi’ to ‘Chup Chudail’: Devdutt Pattanaik’s fall from grace with obnoxious tweets involving women

Devdutt Pattanaik had a good run on social media. But of late, the ‘mythologist’ of the Wendy Doniger school of thought has been coming off as unhinged. On the 10th of October, which happened to be the Mental Health Day ironically enough, the author resorted to using language that could only ever be construed as evidence of his deteriorating mental health.


It is rather uncouth and vile to call a woman ‘chudail’ (witch) for a mere difference of opinion. However, it wouldn’t dent Pattanaik’s carefully constructed feminist credentials as in the left-liberal clown world, people can easily get away with treating women extremely poorly as long as they mouth off their favourite talking points.

As it so happens, it’s not the first time that Pattanaik has had a meltdown on social media. During the Padmavat controversy, the author believed it was a good idea to demonize the men of the society in which women performed Jauhar to avoid being defiled by Islamic barbarians. He accused Hindus who understood and respected the motivations of the women who performed Jauhar of being ‘marital rapists’ and claimed they just liked burning women.

Read: Devdutt Pattanaik’s work is full of errors, manipulations, and lies: Author Nityanand Misra

Pattanaik flirts with indecency with remarkable frequency. Recently, the ‘mythologist’ asked a person on Twitter if he was abused as a child for a caustic tweet.


On another occasion, Pattanaik told a woman that he was abusing ‘negative forces’ like her after she suggested that he needed some positive energy in his life.

Pattanaik also appears to be obsessed with the mothers of others. In one of his more horrendous tweets, the author replied to a twitter user’s query with ‘I will check with your mother’. It’s quite vulgar and wildly inappropriate but since he mouths off left-liberal talking points, he can get away with basically anything.

Image result for devdutt pattanaik vulgar tweets

Pattanaik appears to have made it a habit of involving the mothers of people who mock him on social media. It’s a rather unhealthy habit he picked up from gods know where.


Devdutt Pattanaik also appears to love accusing people of wanting to burn women. On a very particular date, the 17th of November, 2017 to be specific, he made a series of tweets with the exact same words: “You just like burning women”. He didn’t even bother to mix his words and just went with the flow. When your primary objective is demonizing your detractors, the specific content of tweets hardly matters I suppose.

Apart from his atrocious conduct on social media, his work has been criticized heavily for errors, manipulations and outright lies. He has been accused of misinterpreting Sanskrit texts and many believe he does so on purpose to peddle a particular version of Leftist political ideology.

Read: Mr Devdutt Pattanaik, Rani Padmini did not choose death, she chose immortality

Having said all of this, there are certain bright aspects to his personality as well. Recently, after homosexuality was decriminalized, Pattanaik came out as gay. Despite his sexuality, he has never attempted to make it the central feature of his personality, which is admirable. Nor has he gone absolutely gung-ho about it and endorsed the far-left crazy activism that goes on in the name of LGBT rights. It could change in the future but it hasn’t happened as yet.

Pattanaik has also attempted to combat some of the morbid aspects of Leftist dogma, for which he has received some flak from people from that end of the political spectrum.


Pattanaik has also called out the anti-Brahmin bigotry that is rampant in Leftist circles and in some ways, tried to draw attention to Islamic intolerance that is always ignored by the Left ecosystem.


While Devdutt Pattanaik would like to view himself as someone who has transcended the barriers of the Left-Right divide, in reality, he is merely another prominent face of the Left-Liberal Clown World. While his tweets on one or maybe two issues voiced opinions that sensible people would agree with, the majority of them reflect opinions that are ostensibly deranged.

Combined with the fact that his work is filled with distortions that come across as a deliberate attempt to twist Hinduism to further a particular political agenda that aligns with the Left, it is understandable why even his good tweets go unappreciated. On a fundamental level, Pattanaik appears to have a rather weird way of directing his tweets at the women in the family of the people who are mocking him. This rather creepy behaviour is bound to put people off.

In an instance of remarkable irony, Pattanaik has written books titled ‘Devi’ and ‘Lakshmi’ and ‘Book of Kali’. And yet, here we have him directing crass and creepy tweets at the mothers of those who mock or disagree with him.

In a world without social media, Pattanaik would most likely continue to be widely respected across the board. However, with its advent, it is impossible to keep the masks on for long. Many ‘intellectuals’ do labour under the delusion that they did everything by the book and therefore, like their predecessors, they should have gotten their due as well in terms of respect and adulation from people. The fact that they aren’t getting what they believe is owed to them is certainly driving some of them over the edge.

West Bengal: BJP worker seriously injured after being shot by TMC goons for chanting Jai Shri Ram

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: BJP worker seriously injured after being shot by TMC goons for chanting Jai Shri Ram

In yet another incident of political violence in West Bengal, a BJP worker was injured after he was shot allegedly by TMC workers. Ramprasad Mondal, a member of Bharatiya Janata Party, was allegedly shot at by a local TMC worker at Baruipur at South 24 Parganas in West Bengal for chanting Jai Shri Ram.


Mondal was shot outside his house on Thursday when a group of goons opened fire on him without any provocation. He was hit by bullets on his right leg. The incident happened at around 4 PM on Thursday. A seriously injured Mondal was taken to the Baruipur, but he was later shifted to Kolkata National Medical College for further treatment.

BJP workers and Ramprasad Mondal’s family members alleged that he was attacked for chanting Jai Shri Ram during the just concluded Durga Puja. Ramprasad’s brother Nirmal Mondal, also a BJP member, said that Ramprasad used to chant Jai Shri Ram, which was objected to by TMC workers. He informed that Ramprasad was attacked twice earlier for the same reason.

Nirmal also said that funding for Durga Puja could be another reason for the attack. He informed that ahead of Durga Puja, local Trinamool members had come to the poultry farm run by him for Puja chanda, and had demanded Rs 800. He had refused to pay such a high amount, and this had led to a verbal spat. He alleged that his brother was shot by TMC members Pabitra Singh, Sanyasi Naskar, Ghute Sardar and Bhaben Mondal, the same persons who had demanded Durga Puja chanda. These persons have been named in the FIR filed in connection with the case.

Victim Ramprasad Mondal said that TMC workers were unhappy over the fact that both the brothers were BJP members. He confirmed that they were attacked earlier also for chanting Jai Shri Ram.

Also Read: West Bengal: RSS worker, his pregnant wife, 8-year old son brutally murdered in Murshidabad, police clueless

BJP District President Sunip Das blamed TMC workers for the attack. He said, “TMC supporters have been attacking BJP party workers here and vandalising our offices. Some people had left the place due to this reason. They had returned before the Durga puja to spend time with their families but suddenly tonight a few of TMC members turned up and attacked his home with pistols.”

Das said that TMC has been threatened by the rise of BJP of the state, and they are attacking BJP workers in West Bengal. Baruipur Panchayat member Manoranjan Sardar alleged that 5-7 Trinamool members were involved in the attack.

Baruipur block TMC worker Shyamsundar Chakraborty has denied the involvement of the party in the attack. He said that Ramprasad was shot while repairing a gun. He alleged that BJP is spreading false propaganda to create disharmony in the area.

Police have registered a case and have started investigating the incident.

This is nothing but lynching my right to expression: Twitter India forces journalist to delete tweet about Murshidabad murder

OpIndia Staff
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This is nothing but lynching my right to expression: Twitter India forces journalist to delete tweet about Murshidabad murder

Speculations that micro-blogging site Twitter often arbitrarily forces people to delete tweets for alleged violations has yet again come to fore. Twitter seems to have now forced ABP News journalist Vikas Bhadauria to delete a tweet about the heinous Murshidabad incident, in which the family of RSS worker was brutally murdered, including a 7-year-old and an unborn child as the woman was 8 months pregnant.

On Friday, ABP News journalist Vikas Bhadauria in a tweet accused the microblogging site of ‘muzzling his pen and journalistic freedom’ after it forced him to delete the tweet about the gruesome murder of RSS worker in Murshidabad, an incident reported which was widely in media.

He further claimed that his account was restored conditionally. “This is nothing but lynching my right to expression,” tweeted Bhadauria after Twitter forced him to delete his tweet on the gruesome Murshidabad murders.


Twitter had earlier asked to remove the tweet posted by ABP news after the micro-blogging site claimed that the post had violated Twitter rules. The Twitter in its notice to the journalist said that the content was ‘gratuitous gore’ which could be harmful if exposed.

Earlier on Thursday, ABP News journalist had posted the details regarding the barbaric incident that had occurred in Murshidabad, in which a 35-year old RSS worker Bandhu Prakash Pal, his pregnant wife Beauty Pal (30) and their eight-year-old son Angan Pal were brutally murdered at their residence.

Bhadauria had expressed his anguish after the incident was reported and had claimed that the Hindu population in and around Murshidabad area was almost equal to none. In his tweet, Bhadauria had tweeted the images of the incident, which according to Twitter had violated the rules.

Vikas Bhadauria’s tweet on Murshidabad incident

It is not the first time that social media users have questioned the mysterious behaviour of Twitter which is often found censoring social media users for expressing their opinion. Recently, it had also banned Kashmiri Pandit activist Rohit Kachroo after he had exposed NDTV for trying to stage a debate showing that Kashmiri Pandits are unhappy with the abrogation of Article 370.

Read: Welcome to India, Jack. If we were like Twitter, you’d have been ‘blocked’ or ‘shadow banned’ at arrival

The case of Twitter suspending accounts is not limited to common users. Earlier, several prominent users were shadow-banned by Twitter. Fact-checking accounts and other social media users who disagree with the left-wing accounts have faced bans and scrutiny from Twitter. Recently, tweets from scientist Anand Ranganathan, a free speech warrior and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri were withheld by the Twitter ‘in response to a legal demand’.

Another prominent Twitter Historian True Indology was also locked out of the Twitter after he had exposed NDTV’s false narrative by stating that Muslim majority Jammu & Kashmir never had a Hindu Chief Minister.

Karnataka: Assembly Speaker imposes temporary ban on media coverage of proceedings, journalists protests

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Assembly Speaker imposes temporary ban on media coverage of proceedings, journalists protests

A decision by Karnataka assembly speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri to place a temporary ban on TV channels from video graphing proceedings of the house has sparked protests in the state on Friday.

Ahead of the three-day winter session of the Assembly which began from Thursday, Speaker Hegde Kageri had issued orders to restrict camera persons, both electronic and print media, from covering the proceedings of the session.

Around 50 journalists from print, digital and television news organisations, including from both regional and national organisations, have now written to the Speaker asking him to review his decision. The scribes have also joined for a protest against the speaker’s decision on Friday at the Gandhi Statue in Maurya Circle.

Read: Rs 4.52 crore cash seized by Income Tax department following raids at Congress leader G Parameshwara’s premises

Reportedly, the ban on coverage was on an experimental basis and Kageri had stated that ban was not permanent. The Speaker had clarified that the restrictions will be implemented for the next three days after which the pros and cons of it will be weighed.

Media persons will be allowed to cover the session, but they cannot carry cameras inside the house to record the proceedings.

An official of the speaker’s office said that the state-run Doordarshan’s Kannada channel Chandana will provide the video feed of the Assembly proceedings to the private news channels. “As decided by the Speaker, private news channels can also take feed from Doordarshan for live coverage of proceedings as they do in the case of Parliament,” said the official.

Even, all news channels at the national level are banned from recording proceeding inside Parliament of India. The media can only take feed from the Lok Sabha TV and the Rajya Sabha TV for live or deferred coverage of the parliamentary proceedings. The same procedure will be followed from Thursday in Karnataka.

Interestingly, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday disagreed with speaker’s decision and said he will urge Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri to reconsider the banning of national and regional private TV channels from covering the proceedings of Karnataka Assembly live.

“My government is always committed to freedom of media. I will make a sincere effort and request speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri to reconsider his decision on barring media from telecasting the house proceedings,” Yediyurappa had said in a now-deleted tweet.

The decision to allow private television news channels to cover proceedings inside the Karnataka Assembly was first taken in 1994 when Congress leader KR Ramesh Kumar was the Speaker.

In 2014, during the Congress government, the then Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa had also proposed a ban on television cameras from broadcasting Assembly proceedings inside the house. However, the proposal was not followed up and it eventually lapsed.

When a few Hindu boys bought Beer in ‘Islamic’ Kashmir: What it meant for this small Kashmiri Hindu township

Ashish Tickoo
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When a few Hindu boys bought Beer in ‘Islamic’ Kashmir: What it meant for this small Kashmiri Hindu township

One fine morning, my uncle called mom. As both spoke, I understood that my brother had received some threating letter in Kashmir. He had recently moved to Kashmir for work. After completing his MBA, getting a job was tough till he got a government offer to work in Kashmir under Central government employment policy for Kashmiri Hindu migrants popularly known as “PM’s Package”. With limited options available, he decided to take up the job in Kashmir against the wishes of many in the family.

After realising that my brother was being threatened, every adult in the family was concerned. This was for the first time in two decades that the family was discussing circumstances under which we had to leave Kashmir so openly in front of us. The topic was hardly discussed in details when we were growing up, the discussion was never meant for kids. For my brother, it seemed like just another day in Kashmir, he refused to leave Kashmir even though he had received a letter threatening his life.

On Facebook, several people started breaking the news about the letter on various Kashmiri Hindu forums. Facebook threads and discussions started to grow, some discussing how they had warned against going back to Kashmir and how the people had compromised the community’s dream of going back to a safe Kashmir by taking up the Jobs offered by the government. One particular post caught my attention in which one anonymous user had written that he was currently in Kashmir as a part of PM’s employment package and the situation was very tough for them. He spoke about how the government had tricked them in signing an employment contract under which they would no longer have migrant status in-case they left the job. I understood brother’s unwillingness to leave Kashmir.

I decided to go to Kashmir. I convinced parents that I was going to drive to Ladakh and on the way, I would stop by in Kashmir to meet my brother and try to convince him to quit the job and come back. Next day I was in Kashmir. As I entered the Kashmiri Hindu compound where my brother stayed, it all felt normal. He wasn’t at home. They had gone as a delegation to meet a separatist leader living nearby.

The first question I asked my brother as he came back was “Why would you people go and meet a separatist leader?” Brother responded with a smile and his first words were “This is not your Facebook discussion forum or the US; this is Kashmir. Things work differently here. Here if anyone tries to be a Sunny Deol, he will be floating in the river the next day. We are no tourists here now, we are living and working here and to do that we have to ensure everyone is on our side including the separatists.” And the discussion continued.

Read: Imran Khan again speaks like a terrorist group leader, says supporting Kashmiris against India is ‘Jihad’ to ‘make Allah happy’

It so happened that a few boys from the township had purchased Beer from a local liquor store and gone back to their apartments in the township. Just a few days later, the township received an abusive threat letter through the post. They were warned against the “un-Islamic” acts they were indulging it and the possible ‘consequences’ in the future. It was a surprise for the township. People didn’t even pray loudly in the nearby temple in order to avoid any conflict. During urgent township meeting on the way forward, the boys revealed that they had purchased Beer a few days earlier. It was shocking to many as it meant that someone was keeping a close eye on what was happening inside the township.

Everyone was afraid. One of the first steps they took is to send the delegation of a few people to meet a separatist leader. The separatist had called his network across the border within the terrorist organization, who had sent the threat letter. Leader of the terrorist organization is said to have assured the delegation while on phone loudspeaker that the threat letter was fake and probably sent by a few local boys. Those who led the delegation mentioned in a meeting that conclusion of the meeting was that Kashmiri Hindus are here to work but they should remember that they are being watched and not indulge in any “Un-Islamic” acts.

Read: If Hindus try to settle in Kashmir, they should not be alive for a single moment: Pakistan endorses genocide on live TV

Over the next few weeks, the delegation went on to meet many high-ranking Police officers, senior politicians in and outside Kashmir. Everyone met them, but no one helped. No arrests were made. Nobody tried to figure out who the people behind the threat were. Nobody understood what a threat letter meant for people of a community who had made an attempt to come back to Kashmir after 2 decades since Kashmiri Hindus were ethnically cleansed from Kashmir.

Few media houses paid attention to the incident but this was the turning point for the community who were already living under below standard conditions of living. Over the next few weeks, I learnt about how the teachers from the township were threatened in their classes by young students. During an India-Pakistan match, it is better for us that Pakistan wins otherwise the situation for us in class becomes very tough, we have now learnt how not to celebrate. The Beer incident changed everything for us. It was a warning for us to live on their terms and as long as we do so, all will be fine for us.

During my 3+ weeks in the township, I learnt how we see things as right or wrong on our Facebook discussions. Many felt helpless with 18-hour power cuts, no outside help, single security guard inadequate to save the township from a terror attack, Politicians unwilling to help, an administration that had other priorities, ignoring the local boys teasing the girls from the township on their way back from work, challenges in the office.

For this Kashmiri Hindu Township in Kashmir, it was about survival and they saw no hope.

Tonk: 3 days after stone pelting on Dussehra procession, curfew relaxed for 2 hours, no internet till Sunday night

OpIndia Staff
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Tonk: 3 days after stone pelting on Dussehra procession, curfew relaxed for 2 hours, no internet till Sunday night

2 days after a curfew was imposed in Malpura town of Rajasthan’s Tonk district after a procession of Hindus on Dussehra was attacked with stones by people in a Muslim-majority locality, the curfew imposed early on Wednesday morning was finally relaxed for two hours today morning from 8.30 to 10.30 am.

The local people who had been shut inside were seen rushing to the market for buying vegetables, milk and other necessities. As per reports, the local police had allowed only two-wheelers on the road during the two hours of curfew relaxation.

The curfew is expected to remain in place for another few days. Internet services in Malpura have been restricted too. Internet services are to remain shut till Sunday night.

During the curfew, all the roads to and from the town were completely sealed. Though newspaper distribution was allowed in the last two days, buses and transport vehicles have been banned.

However, the police have informed that only two accused persons have been arrested so far over the stone-pelting incident.

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

On Thursday evening, leaders of the two communities were invited for a ‘Peace meeting’. Departmental head LN Meena reportedly informed that there were adequate security arrangements in place for the Dussehra procession. Community leaders have reportedly condemned the violence and expressed regret.

On Tuesday, the Hindus in the town taking out a Dussehra procession were confronted by members of another community near a high Muslim concentration area near Saadat Chowraha. A heated argument broke out between two groups resulting in communal clashes as members of the community pelted stones at the procession of Hindus.

The stone-pelting and attack on the Dussehra procession had generated massive outrage in the town.

Protesting against the police’s failure to nab culprits responsible for the stone pelting, Hindus in the area, led by BJP MLA Kanhaiya Lal sat on a dharna outside the police station. The Ravan Dahan was also delayed. Finally, government officials and municipality staff had burned the Ravan effigy early on Wednesday morning. The police had imposed curfew and stopped internet services from Wednesday morning.

Rs 4.52 crore cash seized by Income Tax department following raids at Congress leader G Parameshwara’s premises

OpIndia Staff
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Rs 4.52 crore cash seized by Income Tax department following raids at Congress leader G Parameshwara’s premises

Following Income Tax department raids at former Karnataka Deputy CM and Congress leader G Parameshwara’s premises, cash to the tune of Rs 4.52 crore cash has been recovered till now. IT sleuths carried out raids at around 30 premises of former deputy chief minister of Karnataka.


The IT department said that today also the raids will continue at the premises of Siddhartha Medical College in Bengaluru. The college is run by a trust related to G Parameshwara.

Read: Read the details of Enforcement Directorate’s case against Congress leader D K Shivakumar

The IT raids are also underway at the home of G Parameshwara’s brother’s son, Anand’s house. Residence of his personal assistant Ramesh were also searched. Yesterday, too, the IT department carried out raids at various locations linked to G Parameshwara. As per reports, these raids are in connection with multi-crore tax evasion case linked to NEET exams.

Tripura villagers detain 3 Bangladeshi soldiers allegedly trying to kidnap Indian man: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Tripura villagers detain 3 Bangladeshi soldiers allegedly trying to kidnap Indian man: Report

In Tripura’s Sipahijala district, 3 Bangladeshi soldiers were detained by villagers allegedly for trying to kidnap an Indian man. As per a report in The Hindu, villagers near the India-Bangladesh border confronted three Bangladeshi soldiers in plainclothes trying to enter the village and kidnap an Indian man.

The Bangladeshi soldiers reportedly belonged to the Rapid Action Batallion (RAB). The incident occurred near the border pillar number 2059 near Kalamchara. At around 9 am on Thursday, villagers reportedly caught the Bangladeshi soldiers in the village and beat them up.

As the news of the detained Bangladeshi soldiers spread, BSF personnel rushed to the spot and rescued the RAB paratroopers. The Bangladeshi soldiers were then taken to the Ashabari border outpost on the Indian side.

The villagers stated that the paratroopers had come to kidnap one Abu Khayer. Khayer’s mother had passed away in the early hours of Thursday.

After the RAB paratroopers were held, the BSF officials reportedly held a flag meeting with the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) officials later in the afternoon yesterday.

Read: 31 Rohingyas stranded at India-Bangladesh border handed over to Tripura Police

It is notable here that India shares over 4156 km of border with Bangladesh and Tripura shares over 800 km of it. The India-Bangladesh border at Tripura has been notorious for illegal immigration and cross border crimes. Tripura CM Biplab Deb has been highlighting the need for tightening border security.

Rohingya Muslims have been entering illegally through the porous India-Bangladesh border over the years. The Sipahijala district has also seen many cross border crimes.

In August, 2 BSF jawans patrolling the border were kidnapped by Bangladeshi smugglers after a skirmish in the same district.

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