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Church scam: Fraudulent land deals, illegal sale of over 10,000 crores reported in Christian organisations of Uttar Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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Church scam: Fraudulent land deals, illegal sale of over 10,000 crores reported in Christian organisations of Uttar Pradesh

In what is being reported as one of the biggest scams in the country, Bishop Peter Baldev of the Church of North India and many others are accused of selling land worth Rs 10,000 crores in Prayagraj and surrounding areas.

As per reports, Bishop Peter Baldev and 16 others were booked yesterday in an FIR filed by John Augustine, the Bishop of Diocese of Lucknow, The Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon at the civil lines police station in Lucknow.

It is notable here that there have been many complaints in the past regarding land scams, forgery and illegal selling of land using falsified documents done by Christian societies and many office bearers of the Diocese of Lucknow have been named in those complaints. The persons named in the FIR also reportedly include officials and board members in many Christian private schools in the region.

The complainant Bishop John Augustine has stated that in 1970, some Bishops of Church of India had constituted Church of North India Trust Association. Later, using fraudulent means, the post of Bishop of Calcutta was created.

He further added the same people in 1991, spread this fake organisation and transferred the properties belonging to Indian Church Trustees, worth Rs 1000 crore, to the Church of North India Trust Association. The properties reportedly include church properties in prime locations in Lucknow, Prayagraj and lands in surrounding rural areas.

The accused in the case have allegedly sold the church properties using fraudulent means and have pocketed the proceedings worth about 10,000 crores among themselves.

Apart from Bishop Peter Baldev, 16 other persons namely, P.C. Singh, P.P. Marandi, P.K. Samanto Roy, general secretary Alwin Masih, Jayant Agarwal, Pal Dupahre, P.P. Habil, Suresh Jacob, Rajiv Chand, A.R. Stephen, H.R. Mal, Marvin Masih, Prem Masih, Ashok Vishwas, Prabal Dutta and Shashi Prakash have been named in John Augustine’s FIR.

In 2006, forty-one former students of the Jamuna Christian College and officials of the North India Synod had accused the Lucknow Diocesan Trust Association of illegally leasing out school and college properties worth crores and misappropriating funds.

The complainant has also stated that there have been many such cases where Christian organisations have been fighting among themselves over land scams and forgery cases. It is notable here that Christian organisations are one of the biggest landowners in India, apart from Indian Railways and the Waqf Board.

Modi govt not to buy Pilatus trainer aircraft following corruption charges, to ban Swiss defence firm for one year

OpIndia Staff
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Modi govt not to buy Pilatus trainer aircraft following corruption charges, to ban Swiss defence firm for one year

The Ministry of Defence has decided to drop its plans to buy 38 more Pilatus PC-7 MkII trainer aircraft from Switzerland after Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) accused the Swiss company of being involved in corrupt practices to bag the Rs 2,800 crore deal in 2012, reports ANI.

Reportedly, Pilatus, which supplies trainer aircraft to the Indian Airforce, has been banned for at least one year by the defence ministry. The Defence Ministry has also launched a fresh global hunt for basic trainers. The development is likely to cause a delay in the procurement of basic trainer aircraft into the IAF.

“The government has conveyed to the IAF that it should not pursue the follow-on option, keeping the CBI probe in mind. There is likely to be a government-to-government deal for more basic trainers as it is a critical need,” said an official according to the Hindustan Times.

Last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered an FIR against notorious arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, unknown officials in the Indian Air Force and Swiss aircraft maker Pilatus over alleged irregularities and corruption to the tunes of 339 crores. The kickback amount was allegedly given during the procurement of 75 basic trainer aircraft for the IAF in 2009 in an Rs.2,800 crore deal.

The CBI has alleged that Pilatus Aircraft Limited entered into a criminal conspiracy with Bhandari and Bimal Sareen, both directors of Offset India Solutions Private Limited, and dishonestly signed a service provider agreement with Bhandari in June 2010.

The CBI also alleged that the Swiss company deposited a million Swiss francs in the account of Offset India Solution Private Limited in two tranches in 2010.

Pilatus had allegedly transferred 350 crores in Swiss francs to the bank accounts of Dubai-based Offset India Solutions FZC, also a Bhandari company, during 2011-2015. Pilatus also signed a pre-contract integrity pact with the defence ministry in November 2010, deliberately concealing the facts about service provider agreement with Bhandari.

The Pilatus deal controversy began when Korea Aerospace Industries, the closest rival to the Pilatus, had strongly protested against the UPA government deal claiming that Pilatus had submitted an incomplete bid and demanded its disqualification. South Korea’s defence minister had personally contacted A.K. Antony, his Indian counterpart, requesting a “high-level review”. However, these objections were overruled and Pilatus was awarded the contract.

The Indian Airforce trainee pilots undergo a three-stage training programme involving a beginner, intermediate and an advanced training program. Pilatus PC-7 is IAF’s primary trainer along with HAL HPT-32 Deepak. The HAL built HJT-16 Kiran is used in the intermediate training stage and finally, IAF pilots fly British built Hawks advanced jet trainers before they can fly fighter jets.

As Kiran trainers are approaching the end of their service life, some amount of stage 2 training is being done on the PC-7, an official said. He added that the delay in the indigenous Sitara intermediate jet trainer (IJT) programme, conceived two decades ago, has also upset the IAF’s calculations.

25 cows killed in Odisha after truck illegally transporting cattle turns turtle on Highway

OpIndia Staff
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25 cows killed in Odisha after truck illegally transporting cattle turns turtle on Highway

A truck illegally transporting cattle overturned in coastal Balasore district of Odisha today, killing around 25 cows. Around 35 cows were injured in the accident. The truck was allegedly transporting the cattle to West Bengal. According to Inspector of Jaleshwar police station, Pradip Majhi, the truck turned turtle on the National Highway 60 at Alarpur area killing the animals on the spot. The truck driver fled the spot after the incident.

“At least 60 cattle were allegedly being trafficked in pathetic conditions. Their legs were tied up”, said Inspector Majhi. An investigation has been initiated into the matter. “The incident occurred at 6 am today. Our investigation is underway”, Majhi added.

The locals have accused the police of not acting on the rampant illegal transport of cattle in the area. Local Bajrang Dal activists held protests after the incident. A Bajrang Dal activist Pawan Kumar Sahu urged the police to take immediate action. “We have always alerted about the illegal transport of cattle in the area. We urge police to take immediate steps in this regard”, said Sahu.

There have been several instances relating to alleged illegal transport of the cattle in the area. Three trucks were detained in February this year on the suspicion of illegal cattle transporting. A month prior to that, some villagers had thrashed four Muslim men carrying a cow. Their SUV was also set ablaze on the suspicion of them being cattle thieves. In a similar incident last year, a van suspected of smuggling cattle to West Bengal was set on fire by some people in Bhadrak district.

Kapil Sibal has sent bouncers to intimidate employees who are quietly sitting on a peaceful protest: Says Tiranga TV journalist

OpIndia Staff
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Kapil Sibal has sent bouncers to intimidate employees who are quietly sitting on a peaceful protest: Says Tiranga TV journalist

In a new development in the crisis in the Kapil Sibal backed Tiranga TV, journalists working in the channel have alleged that Sibal has sent bouncers to intimidate the protesting employees of the channel. Antra Mudgal, a journalist working with the channel tweeted photos of two bouncers sitting in the office of the channel.


Mudgal said that the employees are quietly sitting in the office on a peaceful protest. Tiranga TV’s senior anchor Barkha Dutt also said that the employees are on an all-night sit in dharna demanding a six month payout. She also said that the situation needs urgent intervention of Editors Guild of India and Information and Broadcasting Ministry.


Another Tiranga TV Journalist Swati Garg posted a video showing the bouncers in the officer of the channel. She said, “Your cheap Vakeel tricks won’t work this time
Kapil Sibal sir. We will make a point to expose you”.


Swati also informed that the journalists won’t leave the newsroom until Kapil Sibal accepts their demand. She said that sending bouncers won’t help, as they are not uncivilised mob which will vandalise office property or equipment. “We are journalists, resorting to violence is never an option for us”, Swati Garg Tweeted.

Antra Mudgal also said that in hindsight, the situation at the channel was inevitable. She says that there was no sales/marketing department in the channel, there were no official terms and contracts of employment, and there were many issues with the way the channel was run.

Earlier in the day, controversial journalist Barkha Dutt had made explosive revelations about the plight of journalists including herself employed at the Kapil Sibal promoted Tiranga TV. She had confirmed that about 200 employees of the channel were sacked without adequate compensation. She had also revealed that Kapil Sibal and his wife had planned to blame Modi for the crisis at the channel, and added that there was no interference in the channel from the union government.

Earlier this month, sacked employees of Tiranga TV staged a protest outside Kapil Sibal’s residence, demanding 6-month pay as compensation for their abrupt removal. They had also met Shekhar Gupta and submitted a memorandum to the Editors Guild of India. Journalists who have been fired from the organisation have contended that they were promised and assured a minimum of 2 years employment at Tiranga TV and after the Lok Sabha elections, which were manifestly disastrous for Congress, the channel proceeded on to an insidious track of firing the employees without following the due procedures.

Tiranga TV claims it did not dishonour any contract of employment, Barkha Dutt refutes the claim, says she has proof

OpIndia Staff
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Tiranga TV claims it did not dishonour any contract of employment, Barkha Dutt refutes the claim, says she has proof

In a series of tweets, controversial journalist Barkha Dutt today made explosive revelations about the plight of journalists including herself employed at the Kapil Sibal promoted Tiranga TV. Barkha alleged that scribes working at Tiranga TV were abruptly sacked, without following the industry-wide practice of offering 6-months salary as compensation. She also alleged that she and other senior journalists hasn’t been paid for over a year by the channel.

Lashing out at the senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and his wife, Barkha posted an elaborate Twitter thread raising her grievances against the veteran Congress leader and his channel’s alleged unprofessional behaviour. Barkha’s tweets confirmed the speculative reports of how employees of Tiranga TV were being unceremoniously fired from the company without being offered their due compensation. Barkha tweeted, “200 employees have had equipment confiscated and face sackings without even a 6-month payout.”

Kapil Sibal and his wife are currently on a vacation to London. Barkha had equated him with Mallya for fleeing the country while the employees in his company remained in profound distress. Dutt has claimed that she is also being threatened with defamation and instructed to withdraw her emails comparing Sibal with Mallya, the liquor tycoon accused of being a fugitive. Dutt has refused to take down the email, asserting that she would continue to stand by the staff of her organisation and help them in fighting the case legally.

According to the sources, the reason for sacking a number of journalists from the organisation is the acute cash crunch bedevilling the channel post-2019 Lok Sabha elections. After a landslide victory of PM Modi, the Congress leader promoted fortunes took a turn for the worse. Investors who were profusely pumping money into the channel backpedalled and stopped investing. Even the current investor has declined to fund the channel any further. The advertising revenues have dried up exponentially, making the channel almost ad-free.

One of the interesting facts in this otherwise gloomy lay-off scenario is Sibal and the other promoters’ strategy of holding PM Modi responsible for the channel’s depleting fortunes. The employees who were being sacked from the organisation were spuriously made to believe that their sacking was due to the Government of India’s unwarranted intervention. As revealed by Barkha in her tweets and also by another journalist who was sacked from the channel, this was just claptrap and the allegation that Government of India was interfering in the channel’s affairs didn’t hold water.

However, according to a source quoted by the Outlook India, the channel has not violated a single contract and has honoured each and every contract. The source said that some of the contracts at Tiranga TV had a 3-day notice period clause, which both the employer and the employee were entitled to exercise. The source also claimed that Barkha Dutt had come out to express her grievances only after her contract came to an end earlier this month.

In a bid to steer Kapil Sibal away from the controversy, the source claimed that Kapil Sibal was not involved in the venture and that his wife had launched the venture. However, Barkha has outrightly refuted this contention, saying that Kapil Sibal and his wife were both in the thick of the day-to-day operations of the channel. She also said that Kapil Sibal did all the interviews and cleared all the budgets.


Barkha Dutt also slammed Outlook for “giving a platform to lies by Kapil Sibal”. Refuting the claims made in the Outlook article, she asserted that no contract has been honoured, and her own contract also requires the channel to pay her full salary for a year which they have refused. Dutt also said that she has proof of Sibal’s ownership of the channel in emails.

It is interesting to note that while the Outlook story says Barkha Dutt’s contract has ended last month, the channel is still running her show. Even today the channel is running promos of her show on the channel, Democracy Live.

Earlier this month, sacked employees of Tiranga TV staged a protest outside Kapil Sibal’s residence, demanding 6-month pay as compensation for their abrupt removal. They had also met Shekhar Gupta and submitted a memorandum to the Editors Guild of India. Journalists who have been fired from the organisation have contended that they were promised and assured a minimum of 2 years employment at Tiranga TV and after the Lok Sabha elections, which were manifestly disastrous for Congress, the channel proceeded on to an insidious track of firing the employees without following the due procedures.

SFI should be called “Stupid Federation of Idiots”, says Kerala BJP leader AP Abdullakutty, 8 SFI members arrested in college stabbing incident

OpIndia Staff
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SFI should be called “Stupid Federation of Idiots”, says Kerala BJP leader AP Abdullakutty, 8 SFI members arrested in college stabbing incident

Newly joined BJP member AP Abdullakutty spoke about the recent SFI stabbing incident in the Thiruvananthapuram University College. He said that when he used to study, SFI stood for “Students Federation of India”, but now it must be called “Stupid Federation of Idiots”.

Abdullakutty was speaking at a reception held by the BJP in Kozhikode. According to him, the SFI seeks to implement the “Kannur Model Party Villages”. Abdullakutty also said that the SFI must now be disbanded.

Abdullakutty is a former MP who has recently joined the BJP. He was expelled from the Congress for praising PM Modi.

SFI members arrested for stabbing Akhil

Eight people in total have been arrested by the Kerala police in connection with the stabbing incident on Friday morning. All of them are SFI members and are students of the University College. This included the two main accused NN Naseem and R Sivaranjith. The two were arrested at 2 am at a bus stop while they were heading towards a CPM leader’s house. Police have said that Sivaranjith has confessed that he had stabbed Akhil, the victim and student of the same college.

Manorama Online had reported the names of all the accused. Their photos have been shown below.

The police have said that they have evidence against Sivaranjith. Wounds inflicted by knife has been found in his hands. Other accused have also given statements that they saw bloodstains in Sivarenjith’s and Naseem’s hands.

As reported by TNM, arrested people have been booked under sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (offence committed in furtherance of common objective), 224(b) (resistance towards apprehension, 223 (escape from confinement of custody), 241 (counterfeit money), 506(2) (criminal intimidation) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Allegations of exam malpractice

The police had raided the houses of Sivaranjith. Asianet reporters were prevented from entering his house while the raid was going on by the family members of Sivaranjith.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtZ8f60LJtk?start=25]

During the raid, police have recovered four bundles of unused answer sheets of the University of Kerala to which the college is affiliated to and a seal of the physical education director. Presumably, there are used to cheat in the examinations.

The police had also raided the University College SFI unit room. Answer sheets and seals were found in this room also.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOVj3BA5Jdo]

The University College has opened up investigations of exam malpractices. According to the Vice-Chancellor, it was a serious crime that answer sheets were found in the house of the accused. Six of the accused have already been suspended.

Special Branch is also investigating allegations that the SFI members were given special consideration for the Public Service Commission (PSC) exam for police recruitment. Allegedly the University College allocated itself as a PSC centre.

A former DGP has demanded the police rank list to be scrapped and for a re-examination to be held. This is because the accused were declared as rank holders. Sivarenjith holds the 1st rank while Naseem holds the 28th rank.

CPM’s response

CPM secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that his party would not support the eight SFI member accused of stabbing Akhil. “What has happened is most unfortunate and the party will not do anything to support any of the wrong doers. Whosoever is involved, will have to face punishment for their wrong acts”, he said. He had also met Akhil at the hospital.

SFI national president VP Sanu has issued an apology. “I hang my head in shame. Apologies to the people of Kerala,” the post of VP Sanu in a Facebook post.

The Student Federation of India (SFI) is the student body of the ruling CPM party. The SFI members had stabbed Akhil over a dispute about singing in the canteen. Akhil is in a stable condition and has submitted his statement to the police. Students of all political affiliations have come out in protest against the SFI. The college unit has been subsequently disbanded.

That accused have been absconding ever since the incident happened on Friday. Earlier a former student of the University had come out and revealed the ordeal she had faced at the hands of SFI students.

Interview: Former RAW officer makes further shocking revelations about Hamid Ansari after alleging that he endangered lives of RAW officers in Iran

Chiranjeevi Bhat
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Interview: Former RAW officer makes further shocking revelations about Hamid Ansari after alleging that he endangered lives of RAW officers in Iran

Former RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) officer had recently made explosive allegations. He had alleged that former Vice President Hamid Ansari who has served as Indian Ambassador to Iran between 1990-92, endangered the lives of RAW officers in Tehran and even ended up exposing the RAW set-up in Tehran. Journalist Chiranjeevi Bhat conducted an interview with Former RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) officer NK Sood who made further revelations about his time in Iran, Hamid Ansari and the vilified scientist Nambi Narayanan.

Following are the questions and excerpts of his answers.

You have made some allegations against former Vice President Hamid Ansari. When did you first suspect that he was indulging in ‘anti-national activities’?

It is the duty of a diplomat to act on behalf of the Country. He is supposed to protect the officials working in that location and ensure their security. Think, how can Indian officers get kidnapped? How do they get imprisoned? If it has happened, where should the complaint be lodged? Whose duty is that? What do you consider Ansari who did nothing?

What was the response of Hamid Ansari when the kidnappings happened?

Let us take the first case, the kidnapping of Sandip Kapoor from the airport. Hamid Ansari did not bother for 3 days after the incident. He washed his hands writing a note to the foreign office saying Kapoor was involved in ‘anti-national activities’.

Even when the second person was kidnapped, he did nothing. He wrote a missing complaint and sat on it. Finally, I informed my friend RK Yadav who was stationed in India, who then took up the matter with Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Vajpayee informed PV Narasimha Rao, and they were released only after a call from him. I remember that scene, after putting pressure from the Indian government he himself got Mr Kapoor to the embassy at 2 AM. Why? Only because he was charged up by PVN Rao government.

Did Congress have a role in these wrong-doings?

Before I answer that, let me relate an interesting incident. Hamid Ansari was well connected not just in Iran but also in India. P Chidambaram’s favourite Secretary KC Varma was nominated as the Chief of RAW. Can you believe this? Is some random minister’s secretary becoming RAW chief? Remember RAW is a very serious and critical wing. There are prescribed eligibilities and qualifications to become its chief. It is not a cinema where some PS or PA come one fine morning and take over as its chief.

You are accusing the Former Vice President. Are you worried about the consequences?

Why should I care? I don’t want anyone’s permission to speak the truth. I have placed it to the world directly.

You could have exposed it then. Why are you doing it now?

I said this at that time as well. I had gone through the proper channels and procedures, which a serving Government officer is supposed to. No one bothered to consider it. But the truth had to be told and hence nothing wrong in doing it now.

There is nothing wrong, but there is an argument that you are doing it to get Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval.

I respect Indira Gandhi just as much too. No one ruled this country like her. Prime Minister Modi is making efforts to unite everyone. I respect him for that. How long will one keep peddling the narrative that Hamid Ansari was a great person? Does it befit someone who was Vice President for two terms to seek Sharia Law? Have you heard any Vice President who joins hands with an organization like PFI and say that he is ashamed to be an Indian? This is the reason why I wanted to expose his true face and I am trying to do it now.

You know how the ecosystem works. If you say you are exposing him for these reasons, there are several people who might say your reasons are ‘communal’ or religion-based.

Let them say what they want to say. I would have forgiven Ansari, but when he turned into a habitual offender, I had to show the world his real face. I will definitely expose this person, who enjoyed everything at Nation’s cost and after being fed well, only to come back to my country and utter nonsense like “I am ashamed to be called an Indian”. I don’t care. I will answer anything that I have to face.

Many say that Hamid Ansari has ‘anti-Hindu’ sentiments. Do you agree? 

I don’t know about that. Once he even targeted Mohammed, an Indian, who was working in Iran. He was security personnel in Iran. He made up a story against him and sent him back with a note that he shouldn’t be given foreign postings. But wherever Hamid Ansari worked, he has harmed Indians and Indian Muslims too. Don’t know about his anti-Hindu ‘leanings’. But it is clear and evident now that his loyalty is elsewhere. I don’t wish to say that explicitly.

Who else is with Hamid Ansari?

Ratan Sehgal. There is yet another interesting fact. You must have heard of Nambi Narayanan. He was accused of espionage and the Supreme Court had found the allegations against him false. He was proven innocent. But no one knew who fixed him up in that case. It was the handiwork of Ratan Sehgal to deliberately fix the Scientist and accuse him of espionage, done just to spoil India’s image in international level. The fact is that Ratan was caught spying against India for CIA when he was in Intelligence Bureau and is now happily settled in the USA. He is very close to Hamid Ansari and used to even scare us. He used to give instructions to us.

What is the opinion of India amongst Iranians?

Iranians really admire Indians. Especially they are fond of Hindus. They still wear the same kind of attires that we wear, practice Indian dance forms in their homes. There have been no instances of attacks on Indian officers either before Ansari’s tenure or after he left. Ever since Modi became the Prime Minister, they share a brotherly relationship.

Has Hamid Ansari ever conspired against you?

We all knew the kind of person he was. We were fed up of his ‘don’t-care attitude’ when officers went missing. Many officers’ wives including mine sought appointments to meet him in his office and sat in protest in front of his office. They were not allowed to meet him for a long time.

A couple of officers’ wives went inside and found him casually reading the newspaper. They sought justice and he casually dismissed them saying “I will look into it.” Subsequently, he issued a notice to all officers saying their wives misbehaved with him. Then I went up to him and said, though my wife came, she never met you. Tell me what, where, and how did she do anything that you have issued a notice for. In response, Ansari just stayed silent. Every moment of his tenure there was torture for every officer.

How can you say that he set out to finish RAW in the Gulf region?

Hamid Ansari and Ratan Sehgal colluded with each other, met our diplomats posted in Muslim countries and went about transferring us and sabotaging our operations. The result was similar to whatever happens when you transfer top investigating officers in the Police department. Even when Iranians resorted to kidnapping, torture, injecting drugs to extract the truth, he never took any steps. What does that indicate?

How were the Indian Politicians, Official and Diplomats following Ansari’s orders?

Hamid Ansari was an expert in playing with emotions. Whenever Ansari visited India, he used to bring special gifts, dry fruits from Iran to offer it to staff and officers in the Prime Minister’s office. It is natural for the recipients of these gifts to develop a good opinion. Also, since he was not in front of them all the time, nobody would know the cruel face of him. It was assumed he was a nice person. He used to use and misuse this to achieve his goals.

Pakistani court protects Hafiz Saeed from arrest, allows him to go free with Rs 50,000 surety bond

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani court protects Hafiz Saeed from arrest, allows him to go free with Rs 50,000 surety bond

Hafiz Saeed, Chief of Pakistan based terrorist organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Lashkar-e-Taiba has been granted anticipatory bail by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore today. According to reports, Saeed has been granted bail along with three others in a case relating to illegal use of land by JuD for its seminary.

The ATC court granted bail to Hafiz Saeed, Hafiz Masood, Ameer Hamza, and Malik Zafar against the surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each until 31st August. The counsel appearing for JuD has contended before the court that the outfit was not using any piece of land illegally requesting the court to accept bail pleas of the accused.

Earlier this month, Saeed was booked along with his 12 accomplices over terror funding allegations. Currently, he is facing around 23 terror-related cases in Pakistan but the Pakistan government did not produce concrete evidence before the court. As a result, he was granted bail by the court.

Meanwhile, notices were issued by the Lahore High Court (LHC) to the federal government, the Punjab government and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in connection with a petition filed by Saeed and his seven aides. The petition was filed challenging a case regarding a charge of terror financing lodged by the CTD. A two-member bench of the LHC has given two-weeks time to the parties to submit their replies.

This judicial relief for Saeed comes despite the FATF putting the government of Pakistan under tremendous pressure to display concrete action taken against terror organisations operational on their soil. The FATF had given Pakistan a deadline till October this year to show the cash-strapped nation has taken solid steps to stop terror funding.

In the month of March this year, the United Nations had rejected Saeed’s appeal of removing his name from the list of banned terrorists. Saeed was the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He was banned by the UN in December 2008 after the attack. He is also the founder of the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.

It is notable here that the Jamat-ul-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat are the front organisations run by Saeed to finance terror outfits working under his patronage.

Amit Shah intervenes as Owaisi heckles BJP MP during NIA Amendment Bill discussion, asks AIMIM MP to ‘get in habit of listening’

OpIndia Staff
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Amit Shah intervenes as Owaisi heckles BJP MP during NIA Amendment Bill discussion, asks AIMIM MP to ‘get in habit of listening’

Union Home Minister Amit Shah today came down heavily on AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi during the discussion on NIA Amendment Bill in the Parliament. The assembly was discussing the bill to strengthen the National Investigation Agency. The opposition, however, was spooked by the amendments and tried to give it a communal spin.


When BJP MP Dr Satya Pal Singh was speaking how certain terror cases were politicised when it did not suit the political party. Citing an example of the Mecca Masjid blast case from Hyderabad, Dr Singh said that the chief minister had intervened when some of the suspects were found to be of the minority community. Without naming the chief minister he was referring, to Dr Singh said that he had asked the police commissioner to not do anything ‘otherwise you will lose your job’

At this point, AIMIM MP from Hyderabad, Asaduddin Owaisi interrupted the BJP MP. He insisted that the BJP MP should provide proof for the above conversation.

Union Minister Amit Shah took a dig at the opposition and said that suddenly Owaisi and other people’s secularism is overflowing. “When A Raja was speaking why didn’t you interrupt him? You should not have different yardsticks. You should also learn to listen, you will have to listen,” Shah said.

The Lok Sabha has passed the NIA (Amendment Bill), 2019.

Were England wrongly awarded 6 runs instead of 5 from the overthrow in the final over in the World Cup final?

OpIndia Staff
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Were England wrongly awarded 6 runs instead of 5 from the overthrow in the final over in the World Cup final?

As the high-octane edge of the seat thriller contest between England and New Zealand in the cricket World Cup drew to an end, with England barely scraping out a victory, many cricket enthusiasts started debating the umpires’ decision to award 6 runs to the hosts amidst the topsy-turvy scenes of Trent Boult’s final over to Ben Stokes in their chase.

On the fourth delivery of the final over, as Stokes’ desperately dived off to complete the second run, a throw from the deep midwicket ricocheted off Ben Stokes’ bat towards the unguarded third-man boundary. After discussion with his fellow partner, Kumar Dharmasena signalled six runs, 2 runs scored by the batsman and 4 runs from the overthrow boundary, effectively bringing the equation for England well within their reach. From needing 9 from 3 balls, England now needed only 3 from 2 balls.

As per Law 19.2, concerning “Overthrow or wilful act of fielder”, it would seem that the umpires should not have awarded the second run to England, making it a total of five runs for the incident, not six. The law states: “If the boundary is conceded from an overthrow or from the wilful act of a fielder, the runs scored shall be any runs for penalties awarded to either side, and the allowance for the boundary, and the runs completed by the batsmen, together with the run in progress if they had already crossed at the instant of the throw or act.”

The last part of the clause is vital in determining how much runs can be awarded in an event that a boundary is conceded of an overthrow or fielder’s willful action. A close evaluation of the footage of the incident reveals that, at the instance the ball was released by the New Zealand fielder, Martin Guptill, Stokes and his partner, Adil Rashid, had not yet crossed for their second run.

There is a certain level of obscurity in the wording of the law. The references throw or “act” may relate to the moment that the ball deflected off Stokes’ bat too. However, there is no reference to the batsman’s actions at any other point in the law.

Former ICC umpire Simon Taufel declared that there was a clear “error of judgment” by the on-field umpires in the last over of the England chase’s against New Zealand in the World Cup final and said that England should not have been awarded 6 runs.

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