Amidst reports of poll strategist and JD(U) National Vice-President, Prashant Kishor agreeing to work with Trinamool Congress in West Bengal for the 2021 Assembly elections in the state, the Janata Dal (United) has distanced itself from the political strategist. The JD(U) has disowned Prashant Kishor merely eight months after inducting him as the party’s National Vice-President.
Talking about the matter, JD(U) spokesperson Ajay Alok told ANI, “As an official spokesperson of JD(U), I am telling you that the party has no knowledge about it. Anyway, what has JD(U) got to do with what Prashant Kishor is doing personally? Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already said that he came to us as an activist. Now, if he is not interested in being an activist, what should we do?”
“We have got nothing to do with it. The best person to speak on it will be Prashant Kishor himself,” he added.
When confronted on speculations that Prashant Kishor, for all this while, was regarded as number two after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Ajay Alok said, “There is no such hierarchy in our party. We have the national president and after that, there are members and officials of the party. He is also one of the party officials.”
The JD(U) spokesperson, moreover, confirmed that his party was not planning to take any action against Kishor, “Action for what? First, let us know what the matter is. That is why I am saying that you should ask it to Prashant Kishor instead,” Alok said.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee who is not being able to absorb the embarrassment which she and her party had to endure after BJP made successful inroads in West Bengal during the Lok Sabha elections, and is plausibly doubting her own survival in the home turf, is looking at desperate measures to retain her position.
In this despondency, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee decided to hire services of the renowned poll strategist Prashant Kishor almost two years prior to the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, Prashant Kishor has a mixed record as an election strategist. Though he was associated with the Modi’s outstanding victory in 2014 and Nitish Kumar’s triumph in the 2015 Bihar elections, he terribly failed in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2017 where Yogi Adityanath trounced his clients Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Most recently, election strategist Kishor made an instrumental role in Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sweep in Andhra Pradesh elections.
In the gruesome murder of the two-and-a-half-year-old little girl Tina (name changed) in Tappal of Aligarh has sent chills down our spine. According to Aligarh Police, she was kidnapped on 31st May 2019, and an FIR was registered in PS Tappal, Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
The police has confirmed that two accused, Zahid and Aslam, have been arrested in this regard and that the murder took place over an altercation over money between the accused and Tina’s father.
The police has also said that according to the post-mortem report, ‘rape has not been confirmed’. Rape not confirmed is not the same as rape ruled out.
Self-proclaimed fact-checker AltNews in an attempt to whitewash the crimes of Zahid and Aslam, tried to claim that no rape had taken place and in support, they put out statements by some officials of Uttar Pradesh police.
Alt News contacted Akash Kulhary, SSP Aligarh who confirmed that the victim was not raped, adding, “The post-mortem report mentions death by strangulation as the cause. The claims circulating on social media that the victim’s eyes were gouged out and her arm amputated, are also false. Also, the claim that acid was poured on her body, is untrue. No such thing has occurred. The post-mortem report has been shared with the family of the victim.”
First of all, it is intriguing that such set of self-declared activists find a police statement the ultimate truth when it suits them, while rejecting even court observations when it doesn’t suit them. Say, will the founders and editors of AltNews accept that Ishrat Jahan was a terrorist because multiple policemen say so? We all know the answer.
However, going beyond their hypocrisy, there is evidence on hand that suggests that any claim – of either the poor child being subjected to sexual assault or whether she was not raped at all – is equally valid or invalid at this point of time.
Post-mortem report on Aligarh case (image courtesy: journalist @anjanaomkashyap on Twitter)
OpIndia showed the post-mortem report to a couple of doctors and they said that the baby died due to injuries caused to her. “The injuries were severe enough to lead to shock and eventually death. Shock is confirmed by the collapse of vessels (antemortem sign). Major blood loss happened before death,” a doctor confirmed that there were brutalities on the child.
“The most important of all is that her abdominal organs are missing, including uterus and genital organs. She might had been subjected to extreme torture and this can also be the cause of excessive blood loss and collapse of the blood vessels. Other injuries include fracture of leg below knee and amputation of humerus (arm). These injuries point towards brutality. Vaginal swabs have been taken for examination but due to decomposition they are less likely to be useful. It should be made clear that negative results on swab does not rule out sexual act.”
“The injuries 2 (right arm amputated) and 3 (left leg fracture) are definitely before her death. Her abdominal organs are missing. That is also most likely an antemortem act. But cannot confirm based on this report. They have not mentioned if the abdomen was open or was the coverings decomposed. The opening of left side of the chest is also confusing. It can be an antemortem or decomposition in case the body was lying on the left side,” the doctor said.
Another doctor said, “It seems like because of the amount of damage and ‘rotting’ (putrefaction) rape cannot be confirmed or denied. It all sounds bloody gruesome. Eyeballs are missing (says eye tissue absent, orbital socket intact), leg fracture, arm ripped at the shoulder and all abdominal organs missing. Could be because of animal scavenging too.”
Such injuries can happen if animals attack or scavenge, which looks improbable as the body was not found in any jungle or such place. The body was reportedly found near a dumping ground.
Doctor’s comments on the post-mortem of the child
The doctor’s comment on the post-mortem report mentions the uterus and other genital organs were missing. As per a doctor OpIndia talked to, “Animal(s) eating the organs is a possibility which cannot be ruled out. Whether these organs were mutilated before or after the death (due to animals) is very difficult to know and will require advanced forensics.”
However, one of the doctors said the possibility of animal scavenging was very slim.
“I don’t think it’s act of animals at all. Because when animals attack, half eaten organs are likely to be found in the body, animal bite marks can also be found in the rest of the body. They will also tear the chest for rib cage. After decomposition, the organs get liquefied. No animal can scoop out all the complete organs at once,” the doctor said.
When asked whether there is a possibility of confirming the child was raped, the doctor said, “I would think it would be impossible to deny or confirm rape, even with further exam. One possibility is they gave swabbed the areas and if they find ‘traces of human fluid/tissues’ from the assailants, they can suggest that type of assault.”
Therefore, going by the post-mortem reports, vital body parts were missing, her arm was indeed amputated, and the child may or may not have been raped, contrary to the ‘fake news on social media busted’ by AltNews.
AltNews even claimed OpIndia’s previous report which mentioned amputation of the child’s body was ‘fake’. They focused on the eyes gouged out part, about which we asked the doctors whom we showed the post-mortem report. They said that had the eyes been intact, the report should have talked about damages to it.
AltNews report on Aligarh case
In short, AltNews tried to deny that rape took place even as the statement by Uttar Police says that “According to Post mortem report rape has not been confirmed till now.” Notice the phrase “till now”, which was conveniently ignored by AltNews in their ‘fact-check’.
Furthermore, the post-mortem report is a testament to the kind of brutality that the victim had to undergo, the gravity of which AltNews is trying to dilute.
People at AltNews should have the sense that if someone throws a dead body to decompose or to be eaten by animals, that is also a testament to their brutal and hateful mindset. Even courts take cognisance of such deeds in ascertaining the cruelty and rarity of a crime, and finally in awarding punishments. But for AltNews, a murderer’s “role” ends after the victim is dead. This is not only insensitivity but complicity in whitewashing a crime.
The most tipsy topsy match of the World Cup so far. There was a shift of power balance after every ten overs. Though the result and last 5 overs of the game weren’t as exciting as the rest of 95 overs, and it was a terrific comeback by the Australian cricket team.
After winning the toss, West Indies opted to bowl first. They struck early on and removed the dangerous openers Finch and Warner in the space of two overs. Australia lost Khawaja, Maxwell, and Stoinis within the first 17 overs of the match, struggling at 79 for 5.
Watch – Australia Innings (Fall of Wickets)
The day started well for @windiescricket who tore through Australia’s top order.
At 79 for 5, it looked like Australia will be bundled out under 200, and would be an easy chase for West Indies. However, Australia’s never say die spirit kept them in the match. Steve Smith, the only top-order batsman who survived so far, was joined by wicket-keeper Carey. The pair added 68 runs for the 5th wicket in which the bulk of runs scored by Carey (45).
Still, 20 overs were left in the innings, and Australia desperately wanted someone to stay on the wicket and support Smith for a decent score to defend. The number 8, Coulter-Nile swung the match in Australia’s favor by his brutal onslaught. He smashed 92 runs off just 60 balls, helping Australia to reach a score of 288 in 49 overs.
Watch – Australia Innings (Batting highlights)
But thanks to some superb shot-making by Steve Smith, Alex Carey and a glorious 92 from Nathan Coulter-Nile, the Aussies were able to post a match-winning total.
Like Australia, West Indies also didn’t have a great start. They lost the opener Lewis in the second over of the match. Gayle smashed four boundaries before being given LBW by the umpire. Shai Hope and Pooran added 68 runs for the 3rd wicket, the highest partnership for West Indian innings. The West Indies was looked all good till 45th over to win the match.
The West Indian batsmen played too many dot balls and tried to compensate with boundaries. This tactic hurt them a lot as they missed too many singles and lost wickets in trying to take additional risk in hitting boundaries. Especially Russell Arnold threw away his wicket, cost them the match.
Watch – West Indies Innings (Fall of Wickets)
It was Australia’s day in the end. Mitchell Starc cleaning up the tail and guiding the defending champs to their second victory in as many games ?
Coulter-Nile’s 92 is the highest score by a batsman in World Cup batting at number 8.
Andre Russell became the 383rd player to reach 1000 runs milestone in ODIs. He is the fastest to reach the milestone – in just 767 balls.
Chris Gayle became the 18th batsman to score 1000 or more runs in World Cup, and only the third West Indian after Viv Richards and Brian Lara.
Micthell Starc is the fastest to take 25 wickets in World Cup history. He reached this feat in just 10 matches.
Mitchell Starc became the fastest bowler to reach 150 wickets in ODIs. He reached the milestone in 77 matches; the previous record was of 78 games by Saqlain Mushtaq.
Before this match, West Indies were the only team that won more games than they lost against Australia in the World Cup. The head to head record is now even at 5-5.
Four terrorists belonging to Pakistan sponsored Islamic terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad have been gunned down by the Indian security forces in Panjran, Lassipora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday.
According to reports, the operation was jointly launched by Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF in Pulwama after they received information about the presence of terrorists.
Update. Four terrorists have been eliminated.They reportedly belong to JeM.Operation over. More details to follow. https://t.co/ehIPXVeZ1R
The encounter broke out yesterday evening after the terrorists opened fire upon the security forces, who had launched cordon and search operation (CASO) following the inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. Three AK-series rifles have also been recovered from their possession.
It is reported that two of the terrorists were former SPOs who had deserted their service to join JeM just a day prior. The names of the slain terrorists are, Ashiq Ahmed, Imran Ahmed, Shabir Ahmed and Salman Khan.
Huge. 4 Jaish terrorists killed in Pulwama also include 2 SPOs of J&K Police who had ran away with weapons to join Jaish only 24 hours ago. Shelf life in new profession less than a day. Identifications:
Ashiq Ahmad, Imran Ahmad, Shabir Ahmad (SPO), Salman Khan (SPO). pic.twitter.com/sh3Ed3xwJj
The encounter comes two days after a woman named Nigeena Bano was shot dead by terrorists in Kakapora area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir. Another civilian identified as Mohd Sultan was injured in the attack, the police said.
Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday showered praise on the work culture of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS) and urged his party cadre to learn from RSS Swayamsevaks, reports ANI.
Reportedly, addressing the 2019 Lok Sabha election review meet in Pimpri Chinchwad area of Pune, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar asked the NCP cadres to emulate the work culture of the RSS and asked them to learn persistence, patience and consistency from RSS. Sharad Pawar also said that the secret of RSS cadre is that they know how to win people’s faith.
“Workers should start going house to house to meet voters from today itself. If you do this, voters of Maharashtra Assembly Elections won’t ask ‘why do you remember us now. You should see how RSS members campaign. “If they visit 5 houses and 1 of them is closed, they visit again and again until they have sent their message. How to stay in touch with the people, RSS members know it very well,” said Pawar.
Reportedly, Sharad Pawar also shared an incident wherein he and a senior BJP leader had discussed the difference of opinion on the RSS Swayamsevak’s way of working and behaviour. Pawar said while he had shared why he does not agree with their ideology, the senior BJP leader explained about the persistence, patience and consistency exhibited by any Swayamsevak at any given time.
NCP, which was part of UPA coalition with the Congress faced yet another humiliating defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections against the BJP-Shiv Sena led coalition in the state. The party had contested on 35 seats but won only 4 in Maharashtra and one in Lakshadweep.
The NCP-Congress alliance has now shifted its agenda towards the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections to take on the incumbent BJP government. In 2014 state polls, NCP had won 42 out of 288 assembly constituencies.
As BJP is making huge inroads in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who seems to be fearful of her opponent’s outreach has now banned victory processions of the BJP claiming it would ‘trigger violence’ across Bengal.
According to the reports, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has issued a diktat to the police ordering them to take strong action against BJP leaders if they create any trouble by holding victory rallies in the state. Mamata Banerjee has dictated that there should not be any more victory march in the state as over 2 weeks have passed since the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results.
Mamata Banerjee had visited the home of local party leader Nirmal Kundu, who was killed at Nimta in North 24 Parganas in the political violence that took place in the state recently. During the event, Banerjee instructed the police not to allow BJP to take victory rallies citing law and order problems and said the police should take action against the BJP leaders who try to disturb law and order.
The Bharatiya Janata Party which made a grand entry into the state of West Bengal by winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats has pushed the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee into irrelevance in national politics. Political violence has been a burning issue in West Bengal as there have been dozens of murders and attacks before and during the elections.
It is notable here that, Mamata Banerjee, who also keeps the home ministry portfolio in Bengal, had also banned BJP’s Rath Yatra campaign last year, citing ‘law and order’ issues. Her government had also stopped many BJP leaders from holding rallies in the state by refusing permission for landing choppers.
Amidst these acts of violence, Mamata Banerjee has also shown her opposition to Hindus raising religious slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”. Recently West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got irked by these slogans and was also seen lashing out at the people and threatening to take action against the people chanting Jai Shri Ram.
Later, she had also unleashed her state police force to arrest few people for chanting Jai Shri Ram slogans in the state.
The Congress party on Thursday served a notice to Prithviraj Meena, MLA from Todabhim in Rajasthan, for his remarks against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot after a disastrous show in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Congress MLA who spoke against Ashok Gehlot has been served a notice.
Earlier on Wednesday, Meena had suggested that Gehlot should bear the responsibility of the party’s humiliating performance in the state. He had also proposed that Gehlot be replaced by his deputy Sachin Pilot as the CM of the state.
The Congress party has asked its MLAs to abstain from making any statements in the media or social media that can “hurt the party’s dignity”. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera confirmed the concerned MLA, who had raised the issue of CM Gehlot’s resignation, has been served a notice by the Rajasthan Congress unit in-charge Avinash Pande. He added further that an advisory has also been issued to others to refrain from making tendentious remarks.
Congress failed to open its account in Rajasthan in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Even CM Gehlot’s son Vaibhav lost from Jodhpur constituency. Instead of accepting the responsibility for the poll debacle, Gehlot had passed the buck to Pilot for his son’s debacle.
Gehlot seems to have been deeply hurt by losing Jodhpur, which has traditionally been touted as a Congress bastion. Gehlot had earlier blamed Pilot since he was the Congress state in-charge of Rajasthan for the elections.
“Sachin had claimed that Jodhpur will be won by a big margin. It has been a Congress stronghold since a very long time. I think he should take the responsibility of the loss, at least of the Jodhpur Lok Sabha seat,” Gehlot said.
Ever since the election defeat, the rift between Pilot faction and Gehlot faction has intensified. Each group is seen blaming the other for the ignominious defeat. Leaders like Udai Lal Anjana had even questioned the candidature of Vaibhav from Jodhpur constituency.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had also pulled up Gehlot for neglecting the campaigning of the party in the state to concentrate on his son’s campaign in Jodhpur.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has requested the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) to get the dagger insignia of the Indian Para Special Forces removed from the wicket-keeping gloves of the former Captain of the Indian Cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
International Cricket Council (ICC) has requested Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to get the ‘Balidaan Badge’ or the regimental dagger insignia of the Indian Para Special Forces removed from Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s wicket-keeping gloves. pic.twitter.com/63rOjsCooX
The news was confirmed by the ICC General Manager, Strategic Communications, Claire Furlong while speaking to IANS. “We have requested the BCCI to get it removed”, Furlong said. According to the global body governing cricket, it is against the regulations. When asked whether Dhoni could be punished for breaching ICC rules, Furlong said that at present Dhoni is only requested to remove the insignia and there will be no punishment for the first time offence.
The Balidaan Badge and Dhoni’s glove with the badge
Dhoni was spotted wearing his green wicket-keeping gloves having the dagger insignia during the opening match in the ongoing cricket World Cup. The dagger insignia called the Balidan Badge is a distinct insignia of the special forces forming part of the Parachute Regiment. The badge can only be worn by Paramilitary Commandos. Dhoni, who was conferred an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment in 2011, was flaunting the Balidan Badge as a mark of respect for the Armed Forces. The former Skipper had also undergone training under the Para Brigade in 2015.
Dhoni had attracted a lot of appreciation on social media from cricket fans for sporting the Balidan Badge on his gloves.
Dhoni has often expressed his desire to join the Armed Forces. Earlier, the whole Indian Cricket team had worn Army caps during an ODI match against Australia at Ranchi to pay homage to the CRPF personnel who had lost their lives in the ghastly Pulwama terror attack.
Within six months of its launch, media and entertainment company Network18 Media & Investments Ltd has decided to suspend the publication of its weekly print newspaper Firstpost. The 20-page weekly English print edition was launched eight years after the company launched its online news portal.
The weekly edition that was aimed at catering the audiences of metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and the National Capital Region will circulate its last edition on Saturday, June 8. However, the print edition was launched at a time when print media isn’t exactly going through its best phase.
“Firstpost is a platform agnostic brand that has stood for strong and credible opinions and will continue to do so. The brand has believed in constantly experimenting and re-investing itself, and Firstpost in print was one such experiment to provide a weekend reading experience to a different audience than online. The experiment has provided us with good learnings. While we were pleased with the ongoing evolution of the brand and the compelling journalism the team produced on a weekly basis, logistical problems made the project unsustainable in print,” reads the official statement.
The statement further added that the quality of journalism offered by Firstpost would continue in digital and other platforms for loyal consumers. Over the years, Firstpost has come to stand for a certain class of journalism and Network18 is committed to its growth. The company will continue to invest in the brand, it divulged further.
As per the report published in Mint, in an earlier interaction with the publication, Rahul Kansal, business head of the paper and brand advisor, Network18, had said that in trying to cater to mass audiences, bigger newspapers of the country had left more discerning readers slightly estranged. According to Kansal, the company’s projections had shown that a general newspaper with a political bent like Firstpost could be a self-sustaining business proposition.
Although he had not divulged the investment details, he had said that it was a controlled, high-quality product.
The paper that was priced at Rs. 8 and levied an annual subscription fee of Rs. 249 had aimed at circulating 50,000 copies in Mumbai and Delhi each. They were hoping it would pick up the pace once the brand stabilized.
The advent of digital news has been tough competition to newspapers that are struggling for their sustenance. We had reported earlier how Hindustan Times that decided to shut its business bureau. Likewise, in the United States, various newspapers have been shutting shop since 2004.
According to the FICCI-EY media and entertainment industry report 2019, the print segment only grew by 0.7% in 2018 to reach Rs. 305.5 billion and ad volumes fell 1% over the same period.
The termination of the print edition of Firstpost comes days after another online portal Scroll had to lay off 20 employees, including 16 from the editorial team.
The newly elected second Narendra Modi government has decided to reconstitute the National Institution for Transforming India (Niti) Aayog, the government think tank formed by the first Modi government replacing the Planning Commission.
Niti Aayog is chaired by the Prime Minister of India, and its vice chairperson Dr Rajiv Kumar has been retained in the same post by the government. V. K. Saraswat, Prof. Ramesh Chand and Dr. V.K. Paul are retained as full-time members of the Aayog, while Bibek Debroy has been dropped who was also a member.
There were speculations that Debroy will not be included in the newly constituted Niti Aayog, to which he had responded with a limerick on Twitter.
News that is fake
Leaves mirth in its wake.
If media checked precedence
It wouldn’t suffer from decadence,
But that is not quite my headache.
The name of Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s name is also missing from the notification issued by the government.
The ex-officio members of the Niti Aayog are, Defence minister Raj Nath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, And Agriculture and Farmers welfare minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who is also the Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
The special invitees to the Aayog Are, Road Transport and Highways, and MSME minister Nitin Gadkari, Social Justice and Empowerment minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Railway Minister and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, who is the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Planning.
