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Triple Talaq petitioner Ishrat Jahan gets death threats, driven out of her home for participating in Hanuman Chalisa recital

Ishrat Jahan, the woman who was the petitioner in the historic case that eventually resulted in the Triple Talaq bill, has faced the wrath of her community members again. This time it is because she chose to attend a mass Hanuman Chalisa recital event.

As per reports, Ishrat Jahan had participated in the mass Hanuman Chalisa recital event at the Sankatmochan Hanuman temple in Dobson Road in Howrah. Following the event, Ishrat was allegedly threatened with her life and was asked by her landlord Manazir Hussain to vacate her house.

As per Ishrat’s complaint filed at the Golabadi station, on Wednesday, when she was returning home from her child’s school, she was stopped at the Nand Ghosh road by one Mustafa Ansari and her landlord Manazir Hussain along with over a hundred people.

Ishrat has alleged that the mob, led by Ansari and her landlord Hussain, pointed fingers at her and threatened her for participating in the Hanuman Chalisa event. They even asked him to vacate her house and leave the locality.

As per reports, Ishrat and her child were forced out of their home after the landlord’s threats. She has reportedly taken shelter in another person’s house at Rosemary Lane. She has stated that she lives alone with her child and is fearing for her safety after the Muslim community members have issued her threats.

Ishrat has said in her complaint that she is a citizen of a secular country and she has the full freedom to practice any religion and go anywhere. She has added that she has been receiving such death threats since she became the petitioner in the triple talaq case. She had stated that the has worn a Hijab to the event and the mob that threatened her had objected to that too.

It is notable here that the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and local Hindu organisations have been organising mass Hanuman Chalisa recital events every Tuesday to protest against the blocking of roads during Friday Namaz. Ishrat Jahan, who had joined the BJP last year, had also distributed Hanuman Chalisa books among the public at the event.

This Tuesday, the Kolkata police had tried to disrupt the Hanuman Chalisa event at the Dobson Road. After the police action, BJYM workers had staged protests.

Hard Kaur supports pro-Khalistan ‘Referendum 2020’, extends support to banned terror outfit Sikhs For Justice

Taran Kaur Dhillon, popularly known as Hard Kaur, has landed herself in a new controversy. Kaur has taken to social media to extend her support to Khalistan. Khalistan is a movement which calls for a separate country carved out from India for Sikhs.

Hard Kaur urging people to vote for Khalistan

In a post from four days back, Hard Kaur can be seen wearing a t-shirt which speaks of Referendum 2020. The caption reads that she is saluting ‘The Hero Sant Shaheed Bhindranwale”

Another post where Hard Kaur is urging people to vote for Khalistan

In another post, Kaur is again wearing the same t-shirt, she is again seen rooting for Khalistan. Kaur is also seen abusing Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh while urging the Sikhs to vote for Khalistan. She has also shared songs sung by Sikh singer Tarsem Singh Moranwali in praises of Bhindranwale.

Hard Kaur supporting TikTok ‘celebrities’ who propagated revenge for Tabrez Ansari’s death

In an Instagram post from last week, Kaur is seen supporting the TikTok ‘celebrities’ who were found propagating hatred and revenge over Tabrez Ansari’s death. Following social media outrage, the Mumbai Police had booked the offenders.

Not the first time

Recently, Kaur had come under fire for going mental on social media and blaming the RSS for Pulwama attack as well as 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, both of which were actually carried out by terror organisations supported by Pakistan. In her obnoxious posts, she was spouting Pakistani propaganda. She showered choicest of hate over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Apart from Bhagwat and Yogi, Kaur has also spread malicious lies about the origin of the word Hindu and hurt a lot of Hindu sentiments.

Eventually, an FIR was lodged against her over her abuses. The FIR was lodged under IPC sections 124A – attempt to excite disaffection or hatred, 153A – promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, 500 – defamation and 505 – intent to incite and section 66 of IT Act – sending offensive messages.

Sikhs For Justice

Sikhs for Justice is a UK based separatist group that is allegedly supported by the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency. Early this month, India has finally banned the pro-Khalistan outfit for its separatist agenda. The SFJ has been pushing for the Sikh Referendum in 2020.

Inzamam-ul-Haq to step down as the Chief Selector of Pakistani cricket team after his term ends on July 30

Former Pakistani cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq has announced his resignation from the post of Chief Selector of Pakistan’s cricket team. He announced his decision during a press conference today. However, he will complete his tenure that ends on July 30. “I think it is time to step down, I will complete my team that ends on July 30. After more than three years as chair of the Pakistan men’s selection committee, I have decided not to seek renewal of my contract”, he said.

He also spoke about Pakistani cricket team’s poor performance in the Cricket World Cup 2019. “Cricket is my passion but I do not want to be part of the selection process. Unfortunately, we lost the opening match and it became difficult to make up the run rate in later matches”, said Inzamam.

According to reports, Pakistan’s miserable performance in the World Cup 2019 is the reason behind Inzamam-ul-Haq’s decision. He had faced criticism for being uncertain about some selection decisions and poor planning ahead of the World Cup 2019. He admitted that the Pakistani cricket team could have performed better in the World Cup 2019. “The team could have performed better during my time than the results reflect and I may have inadvertently overlooked some potentially deserving players, but I have always had the best interests of Pakistan cricket foremost in my heart. I hope the passionate Pakistan cricket fans will understand and can see this in my decisions”, he admitted.

“With the ICC World Test Championship due to get underway in September, the ICC T20 World Cup in 2020 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, I believe it is the right time for the Pakistan Cricket Board to appoint a new Chief Selector who can bring new ideas and fresh thinking”, he said. Former Pakistani Test opener Mohsin Hasan Khan’s name has reportedly been recommended as the new Chief Selector. Khan has earlier held the position the of Chief Selector and has yielded good results. He has also served as the interim head coach of the Pakistani cricket team.

Inzamam-ul-Haq’s nephew Imam-ul-Haq however, came out in defense of his uncle during a press conference in Lahore. He said that the Chief Selector only could not be held responsible for the team’s poor performance and that there were other members also on the selection committee.

After ICJ rules in India’s favour in Kulbhushan Jadhav case, Pakistan claims victory, sticks to its position: Read full statement 

After the International Court of Justice gave its verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, granting consular access to him and asking Pakistan to review the conviction of sentence of Jadhav, Pakistan has issued its first reaction to the judgement.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Pakistan government stressed on the fact that the ICJ did not order the acquittal or release of Jadhav, thus the court did not accept India’s application. They said that now Pakistan will proceed as per law.

Pakistan’s statement on the ICJ judgement in Kulbhushan Jadhav case

Pakistan has reiterated that Kulbhushan Jadhav entered Pakistan without a valid visa on a fake identity. They claim that Jadhav “is responsible for acts of sabotage, espionage and multiple terrorist incidents”. They also claimed that Kulbhushan Jadhav has confessed all these acts during his trial in a Pakistani court in front of a Judicial Magistrate. The statement by the ministry ended with saying “This is a clear case of Indian state terrorism.”

It may be noted that both India and Pakistan are claiming victory over the ICJ judgement. India is celebrating the fact that the court had ruled that Pakistan had violated the norms of Vienna Convention, and consular access to Jadhav and a review of the case has been ordered by the international court. India also won when ICJ rejected Pakistan’s claim that India’s plea was not admissible, and ICJ didn’t have jurisdiction on the case.

On the other hand, Pakistan has chosen to highlight the fact that the ICJ didn’t acquit Jadhav or didn’t ask him to be released. The death sentence of Jadhav was also not turned down, it has been only kept suspended till a Pakistani court reviews the case.

It may be noted that although ICJ has ordered the review and reconsideration of conviction and sentence of Jadhav, it has allowed Pakistan to chose how to do it. Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case was heard by a military court, but ICJ didn’t say that the retrial will have to be done in a civil court. This means, theoretically, Pakistan can still conduct the retrial in a military court, or any other court they choose, and that court can still arrive at the same judgement. It is also noteworthy that Jadhav will remain in a Pakistani jail, but he will not be executed until the review of his case is conducted. Although he will have consular access, and proper legal representation in the court.

Talking to media after the ICJ judgement, advocate Harish Salve expressed hope that the Pakistan will conduct a fair trial. Talking about what if the retrial arrives at same decision, he said that with court rullings one can always go back to the court with an appeal. He also added that if Pakistan conducts retrial in a military court with that same rules as earlier, it will violate the ICJ judgement as it will not be a fair retrial. They will have to change military court rules if they want the review to be done by a military court, he added.

Salve said that if Pakistan conducts a fair trial with proper legal assistance, we will secure Jadhav’s release, and if the trial is not fair, we can go back and knock at the doors of ICJ again. When asked if he will continue to fight the case in Pakistan’s courts, Harish Salve said that he does not think he has the right to argue in a Pakistani court, but said he is sure that there are fantastic lawyers in Pakistan who will take up this case.

AMU cleric arrested on accusation of sexually harassing a 9-year-old girl whom he used to teach Quran

A Muslim cleric named Mohammad Ahmed (Mohammad Afzal as per some reports) has been arrested for molesting a 9-year-old girl. According to reports, the accused used to teach Quran and Urdu language to the victim at her home. He was appointed at the post of Muajjin at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and used to read namaz inside a mosque in the University.


The accused had allegedly threatened the victim and raped her. When the minor girl’s mother came to know about it she filed a complaint against the accused on the Tehsil day. A Tehsil day is a sort of grievance redressal day that is organised in Uttar Pradesh on the first and the third Tuesdays every month to solve the problems of the local people from 10 am to 2 pm. This is presided by the District Magistrate while other officials from various departments are also present.

According to reports, the cleric has admitted to committing the crime while talking to media. He said that he used to go to teach her, when some harassment happened by him. He admitted that he molested the girl four-five times.

Ahmed said that he gives the call for Azaan from the Mosque inside the University campus, and also reads the Namaaz when the Imam is not present.

AMU officials informed that the cleric has been removed from his post after the incident. They also said that he was not a permanent employee of the university, and he was appointed on a temporary basis as the Imam of the mosque was on leave. The cleric used to go outside the campus for tuition where the crime took place, they said.

The police have registered a case against the accused under sections 376 and 506 of the IPC and under the provisions of the POCSO Act. An investigation has been initiated in the matter. SSP Akash Kulhari confirmed the matter and said, “A woman filed a complaint that her daughter was sexually harassed by the cleric. He has been arrested”.

Last month, an incident of rape of a 16-year-old girl by a Maulvi in a Madarsa in Kanpur was also reported. The victim was a student at the Madarsa where the accused Maulvi used to teach.

Abandoned baby girl no more even as Sakshi Joshi and Abhishek Upadhyay file FIRs against each other

Filmmaker Vinod Kapri and his wife Sakshi Joshi have filed an FIR against the journalist Abhishek Upadhyay who had accused the couple of using tragedy of a new born child to promote himself and his movie.

In the FIR filed on 13th July, Sakshi has accused Abhishek of writing a Facebook post alleging that he has indulged in her character assassination.

In his post, without naming anyone, Abhishek had written a story about a lady who marries an old divorced man through manipulation. In her FIR, Sakshi has claimed that the above story refers to her.

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As per the FIR, she deduced that the post was about her when someone commented on the Facebook post with her and her husband filmmaker Vinod Kapri’s name and Upadhyay ‘liked’ that comment. She even alleges in her FIR that Upadhyay not only wrote the above post to defame her and Kapri and asked people to share the above post via WhatsApp but also asked people to walk up to the couple and spit on them.

She even accuses Upadhyay of getting his friend to threaten through a comment that the couple should be beaten up and killed. She has alleged that Upadhyay and his friends are conspiring to get Kapri killed. Sakshi has alleged that owing to the Facebook post, there is a threat to their lives.

Following the above FIR, OpIndia reached out to Abhishek Upadhyay who rubbished the claims. Upadhyay laughed at the allegations of trying to get Vinod Kapri killed and said, “Now I know why he makes flop films. Because he doesn’t even know how to write stories.” He said that his Facebook post was a literary one and had nothing to do with Kapri or his wife.

On 16th July, Abhishek, too, filed a counter FIR against Sakshi Joshi and her husband Vinod Kapri accusing them of CARA rules and Juvenile Justice Act violations.

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In his FIR, Upadhyay has asked accused Joshi and Kapri of violating the CARA rules. CARA had informed Sakshi on 16th June 2019 itself that posting the pictures of the newborn baby was in violation of the Juvenile Justice Act. However, despite the warning, the couple continued to post the pictures.

In his FIR, Upadhyay has mentioned a company named “Bhagirathi Films Private Limited” and has alleged that the company could be a front for money laundering.

Bhagirathi Films Private Limited documents via MCA website

Casting aspersions that Kapri may have a dubious source of income, Upadhyay has said that he would also write to the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Officials and urge them to investigate the company where the couple are directors.

A few weeks back, an emotional story of a journalist couple ‘adopting’ a baby rescued from a garbage dump in Nagaur, Rajasthan made rounds on social media evoking strong sentiment amongst the social media users. A journalist couple, Vinod Kapri and Sakshi Joshi, had warmed everyone’s hearts after they had announced that they would be adopting a baby girl found abandoned near a garbage mound in Rajasthan’s Nagaur area.

However, shocking tweets by journalist Abhishek Upadhyay suggests that controversial journalist Vinod Kapri used the tragedy of a newborn to promote himself and his movie ‘Pihu’ which was supposedly set to release on Netflix in the following days.

In a series of tweets, Upadhyay claimed that Kapri had planted stories in Indian as well as international media houses that he had already adopted the newborn child.

While the mudslinging continues, the little child in whose name it all started, has unfortunately passed away.

Kulbhushan Jadhav case: India wins at the ICJ, court says Pakistan violated Vienna Convention, orders review of case & consular access

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled in India’s favour in Kulbushan Jadhav’s case. The court unanimously found that it has jurisdiction in the case. The court rejected Pakistan’s objections to the admissibility of India’s application, and found that application of India is admissible.

The court also ruled that Pakistan had violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, by not informing Kulbhushan Jadhav about his rights under the convention, and also by not informing the Indian Consular officials in Pakistan about Jadhav’s arrest.

The ICJ said that Pakistan deprived India of its right to have access to Jadhav, to visit him in detention, and to arrange for his legal representation. Therefore Pakistan violated the Vienna Convention. The court ordered Pakistan provide Kulbhushan Jadhav with an effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentence.

Finally, the International Court of Justice said that the stay order on execution of Jadhav will continue, and the conviction and sentencing of the case must be reviewed and reconsidered.

All these rulings were passed by fifteen to one, with the ad hoc Pakistani judge opposing them.

Jadhav is an Indian national and a retired Navy officer, who was arbitrarily arrested by Pakistan in 2016 for being an ‘Indian spy’. The Indian government had approached the International Court of Justice over the arbitrary death sentence handed down to Jadhav after an ad hoc hearing in Pakistan.

A Pakistani military court sentenced him to death in April 2017 on charges of espionage and terrorism. However, the International Court of Justice in The Hague had asked Pakistan to hold off the execution till it reaches its final verdict in the case.

The ICJ had conducted a public hearing of the case in February this year. India has sought annulment of Jadhav’s death sentence and his immediate release, stating that the Pakistani army court verdict has failed to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process. Senior advocate Harish Salve had presented India’s case at the ICJ.

Govt of India approves construction of India’s largest hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh

The Union Cabinet today approved the construction of India’s largest hydropower plant in Arunachal Pradesh, which will include India’s tallest dam. Pre-investment activities for the Dibang Multi-Purpose Project was approved by the union government today. The government today allocated ₹1600 crore for preliminary activities of the project like compensation for land acquisition, payment of net asset value of forests, compulsory afforestation, construction of roads and bridges to access the project site etc.

Dibang Multipurpose Project is a hydropower cum flood moderation scheme proposed on Dibang River in Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh. Apart from producing electricity, the project will moderate flood in areas downstream of the Dibang Dam during the monsoon session. The plant will produce 2880 MW of electricity, making it the largest hydel power in the once completed. It is estimated that the project will produce 11223MU of energy in a 90% dependable year. The Dam constructed for the project will be 278-meter-high, making it tallest in the country.

The total estimated cost of the project will be ₹28,080.35 crore, and once started it will take 9 years to complete. The foundation stone for the project was laid by former PM Manmohan Singh in January 2008 itself, but the construction did not start. The project will be executed by NHPC Ltd, which will have a 278-meter-tall Concrete Gravity Dam, 6 horseshoe-shaped Head Race Tunnels of 9 meter diameter, and underground power station, and 6 Tail Race Tunnels of 9 meter diameter.

Dibang Multipurpose Project is envisaged as a storage-based hydro-electric project with flood moderation as the key objective. The construction of the project shall prevent the sizeable downstream area from floods. After implementation of master plan of Brahmaputra Board for flood moderation of all rivers contributing to river Brahmaputra, of which Dibang MPP is one of the component, sizable area will be protected from flooding and it will help in mitigating the perennial damage due to floods in Assam.

The project has already obtained all statutory clearances like TEC, Environment Clearance, Forest Clearance (Stage-l) and Defence Clearance for seeking Investment Sanction from Govt. of India, but Forest Clearance (Stage-II) is pending.

Dibang is one of the main tributaries of the river Brahmaputra. In fact, Dibang and Lohit rivers merge with Dihing river (called Siang in Assam, Tsangpo in Tibet) in eastern Assam to form the mighty Brahmaputra River. Last year India’s second longest bridge constructed over the Dibang river in Arunachal was opened. The 6.20 kilometer long bridge is just 50 km away from India’s longest bridge in Assam.

India with Kulbhushan: Friends of ex-Navy officer hold prayers ahead of ICJ verdict

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to announce its verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case at 6.30 pm (IST), in a public setting at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands today. President of the Court, Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, will be reading out the verdict.

As India awaits the judgement with bated breath, the friends of the retired Navy officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arbitrarily arrested by Pakistan in 2016 for being an ‘Indian spy’, were seen wearing t-shirts, which read, ‘India with Kulbhushan’ as they prayed for his safe return in Mumbai.


His friends have expressed hope that today’s verdict would be in India’s favour and would facilitate Jadhav’s safe return.

While speaking to the news agency, ANI, Jadhav’s friend Arvind Singh said, ” We have high hopes that Jahdhav will soon return to India. I am happy about the fact that our country has represented this case very well in the ICJ. (Harish) Salve Ji has done a great job. I am hopeful that the ICJ will give judgment in our favour. In the last three years, Pakistan has shown lots of doctored videos which were not accepted by the ICJ. Till now Pakistan has no solid evidence against Jadhav. ”

Speaking in the same lines, Jadhav’s other friend, Vandana Tulsidas Pawar also expressed hope that justice will be served in ICJ today.”I am hopeful that Jadhav will be free soon. Pakistan is a lier. We have high hopes from ICJ today. My only fear is what next Pakistan will do?.”

Meanwhile, several people in many parts of the country, resorted to demonstrations to express their anger towards Pakistan and support for the retired Navy officer, who had been sentenced to death by the Pakistan Military court on April 2017 on charges of espionage and terrorism.

Demonstrations being held in support of retired Navy officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav

The MEA had earlier reiterated  India’s commitment to making all possible efforts to “secure and protect” the rights of Jadhav.

The 49-year-old Jadhav was sentenced to death by the military court of Pakistan in April 2017 on alleged espionage charges. Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI had kidnapped Jadhav from Iran.

India had first approached the ICJ on May 8, 2017, for egregious violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 by Pakistan in the matter.

The court had on May 18, 2017, indicated provisional measures as requested by India and passed an order obligating Pakistan to not carry out the death sentence that was awarded to Jadhav through a farcical trial by the military court of Pakistan.

Pakistan claimed its security forces arrested Jadhav from Balochistan province on March 3, 2016, where he had reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the navy. Jadhav’s sentencing had evoked a sharp reaction in India.

Richa Bharti case: Ranchi Court takes back order to distribute Quran after state govt and investigating officer’s request

The Ranchi Court, which had ordered Richa Bharti to distribute 5 copies of the Quran as a condition for bail, has been forced to take back its ridiculous judgment. The investigating officer in the case formally requested that the condition for donating the Quran be done away with due to “difficulties in its application”. The state government, too, requested that the bail order be modified to that effect.

The controversial order of the judge had attracted the wrath of the public at large. There was huge angst among people and demands for the judge’s sacking were also raised. People had donated a large amount of money to pay for Richa Bharti’s legal fees as well.

Richa Bharti, too, had raised a strong objection to the Ranchi Court ordering her to distribute copies of the Quran. She had said that the Courts never ask Muslim perpetrators to do Ramayan or Durga paath, and soon, she might be asked to convert to Islam.