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SC says arrest of woman for sharing Mamata Banerjee’s meme was ‘prima facie arbitrary’, Priyanka says ‘I will fight this case’

OpIndia Staff
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SC says arrest of woman for sharing Mamata Banerjee’s meme was ‘prima facie arbitrary’, Priyanka says ‘I will fight this case’

The deliberate delays made by the West Bengal state authorities in the release of BJP youth wing worker, Priyanka Sharma had finally come under scrutiny after the Supreme Court gave a stern observation saying that Priyanka Sharma’s arrest was “prima facie arbitrary” and not releasing her with immediate effect amounts to contempt.

The Supreme court’s observation came after counsel for Sharma’s brother mentioned the matter before it and said that despite the court’s order on Tuesday the activist has not been released from jail.

Priyanka Sharma’s counsel, NK Kaul also mentioned that though “Sharma is being released, but before her release, she was asked to sign an apology letter prepared by the Police which says she will not post this again”, claiming that how can Priyanka be asked to apologise when the West Bengal police have filed a closure report in the case.

He added that the jail superintendent had not been intimated about the Supreme Court’s order on Tuesday but was informed at 9.40 am on Wednesday, despite which his client had not been released.

Censuring the West Bengal government and warning that it would issue a contempt of court notice, the SC asked the counsel representing Sharma’s brother Rajib Sharma to take instruction on whether she has been released from jail or not.

After a few minutes, the lawyer said that she was released at 9:40 – 10:00 AM and that too after she was made to sign the apology statement.


The Supreme court had yesterday granted bail to West Bengal BJP functionary Priyanka Sharma, who was arrested on May 10 for allegedly posting a morphed picture of state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Facebook, after waiving its earlier condition that she tenders a written apology observing that freedom of speech ends when it infringes upon others’ rights.

The Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna had ordered for Sharma’s immediate release.

It is being said that a delay in the documentation process by state courts, had caused the delay in Priyanka Sharma’s release. After SC ordered the release on Tuesday, the documentation process was needed to be done by Howrah court as it had sent Sharma on 14-day judicial custody. However, this delay in documentation process by the state court is being seen as the state’s deliberate attempt to prolong Priyanka Sharma’s judicial custody

The family of Priyanka Sharma has been now called to the police station later this afternoon to complete the legal formalities.

Priyanka’s mother said to ANI, that though, her daughter was released at 9.40 am, she still has been kept in the Alipore (Correctional Home).


It may be noted that WB police have slapped the draconian Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, in the case, which has already been struck down by the Supreme Court calling it unconstitutional and an infringement on citizens’ fundamental right to know.

Priyanka Sharma, the BJP Bengal youth leader, was arrested for merely sharing a meme caricaturing Banerjee on her Facebook Timeline on May 9, and was slapped with non-bailable charges and sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

After her release on bail, Priyanka Sharma was defiant. She said she will fight this case and not apologise.


A complaint against the convenor of BJYM, Priyanka Sharma was made by TMC leader Vibhas Hazra in Howrah for allegedly sharing a morphed picture of Mamata Banerjee. The MET Gala 2019 themed meme superimposed Mamata’s face on Priyanka Chopra’s body. She was arrested and produced in Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Howrah.

The copy of the complaint read that this act broke the community guidelines and it was being viewed as an issue of violence. “She has not only tried to insult our Hon’ble Chief Minister, but she is trying to insult the culture of our Bengal by her post on Facebook and which is Cyber Crime”, read the complaint.

You have good fortune that I am sitting ‘silently’, otherwise I would have ‘occupied’ your office in 1 second: Mamata Banerjee to BJP

OpIndia Staff
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You have good fortune that I am sitting ‘silently’, otherwise I would have ‘occupied’ your office in 1 second: Mamata Banerjee to BJP

The state of West Bengal is on tenterhooks as the tussle between the incumbent TMC and the primary challenger BJP gets intense. Amidst this, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee gave a glimpse of her dictatorial tendencies, as she claimed that she has the power to ‘occupy BJP’s office’ in ‘1 second’.

The comment came after a protest broke out in Amit Shah’s roadshow in West Bengal, which saw an unprecedented number of people coming out to attend the roadshow. Threatening BJP, Mamata Banerjee said, “You have a good fortune that I’m sitting silently now, otherwise I can occupy your office in 1 second. Is Amit Shah God that nobody can protest against him?”

Yesterday, Amit Shah’s massive roadshow in Kolkata was marked by violence towards the end when clashes erupted between the supporters of the BJP and the Trinamool Congress. Ahead of the last phase of the Lok Sabha polls, BJP president Amit Shah did a roadshow in Kolkata, which was attended by a huge number of people. Earlier, Mamata Banerjee had tried to scuttle the campaigning of the BJP by not granting permission for a rally by the BJP president.

Amit Shah had blamed TMC workers responsible for the violence that broke out in his rally. Shah claimed that supporters of Trinamool Congress tried to provoke violence and hurl bricks and stones on them. Shah also accused TMC workers of damaging the statue of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar at the Vidyasagar college to gain sympathy. Asserting that because of central forces, he escaped unhurt, Shah said, “I would not have escaped unhurt without CRPF protection.” Shah also provided proof that the vandalism of the Vidyasagar statue was not done by BJP.

The TMC, on the other hand, has accused BJP supporters of using violence against its supporters. The TMC had also blamed the downing of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar on the BJP workers, claiming that they all are outsiders who have been brought here for the voting day.

9 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal are slated to go to polls in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections to be held on May 19, 2019.

Troll-cum-journalist Swati Chaturvedi mocks PM Modi, becomes a joke herself

Nirwa Mehta
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Troll-cum-journalist Swati Chaturvedi mocks PM Modi, becomes a joke herself

Abusive troll masquerading as a journalist Swati Chaturvedi in an attempt to come across as witty while mocking PM Modi shared a video clip of Prime Minister Modi. In the clip, which is edited, Modi is speaking in Dwarka, Gujarat, about the development of ports.


In his speech in Hindi, PM Modi is heard saying, “Jab se Bharat sarkar mein humein kaam karne ka avasar mila, humne Gujarat ke bandaro ke vikas par bhi itna hi dhyan diya hai.. aur jiske karan hum bandaron ka vikas karna chahte hai lekin hum bandar aadhaarit vikas bhi karna chahte hai.. hum woh infrastructure banana chahte hai ki jo bandaro ko road se jode, rail se jode, hawai patti se jode”

In the undated clip, it is clear that PM Modi is speaking about the development of ports, which is called ‘bandar’ in Hindi and Gujarati. Gujarat has the longest coastline and Dwarka is believed to be an ancient port. Chaturvedi thought she’s being witty by suggesting how Modi meant the development of ‘monkeys’ since Hindi word for monkey is bandar.

Now, a dig on the PM and Gujaratis would still have been fine, because we Gujaratis can take a joke or two on us, really, but what is disturbing in Chaturvedi’s brazenness regarding the whole thing. She was pointed out by multiple people that PM Modi means ports and not monkeys as Chaturvedi is implying and making it out to be a faux pas by Modi.


Swati Chaturvedi is like Salman Khan in Wanted. Once she has committed herself to something, ‘phir woh apne aap ki bhi nahin sunti’. She continued to justify her comment despite being proven wrong.


She even asked people to stop ‘justifying’ Modi’s ‘faux pas’.


Has Swati never heard of Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi? “Bandra” area of Mumbai, which derives its name from Bandar, meaning port? Or since she loves to flaunt her ‘secular’ credentials, does “Masjid Bandar” area in Mumbai refer to a mosque dedicated to monkeys?

This just goes to show that when Swati Chaturvedi is not busy cooking up fake stories and inventing ‘sources’ to pass off her figment of imagination as journalism, she is busy inventing a ‘faux pas’ when clearly there is none. Guess this is what happens when you spend a lot of time in fancy cafes in the most expensive retail location in India, Khan Market, instead of with mortal humans.

Vidyasagar statue: Here is the evidence that Amit Shah presented to counter Mamata Banerjee’s allegations

Ashish Shukla
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Vidyasagar statue: Here is the evidence that Amit Shah presented to counter Mamata Banerjee’s allegations

BJP president Amit Shah has left Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) nowhere to run, and if one may add also the biased Election Commission and Lutyens Media.

Mamata Banerjee has centred all her allegations around the alleged BJP workers’ hands in dismantling the statue of Vidyasagar, a key figure in Bengal renaissance in the 19th century, in the Calcutta University on Tuesday. Amit Shah put forth a series of evidence, in the form of photographs, in a press conference today which appear irrefutable.

Shah showed photographs of a locked main gate of Calcutta University; one of BJP workers outside the gate; the image of Vidyasagar’s statue not in open but two rooms inside the university; and the fact the time of the incident was 7.30 in the evening. “How could we, outside the locked gate, be present and break a statute inside rooms of the university? Isn’t it a fact that only TMC supporters were on the other side of the gate (inside university)”, thundered Shah, pointing at the conspiracy of TMC itself.

Shah further refuted the allegation of BJP workers causing violence in West Bengal. Said Shah: “Didi is fighting only 42 seats. We are fighting all over India. Has news come from anywhere that BJP has indulged in violence? Has violence been reported from anywhere in India but in Mamata’s Bengal? What proof do you need of the culture of violence under TMC rule.”

Shah said Mamata Banerjee was rattled by the turnout of over two lakh voters in his rally in Bengal yesterday and not “an inch of space was visible in over seven kilometres of stretch.” He also showed a photograph in which he is seen being shielded by paramilitary forces. “If these forces were not there, I wouldn’t have been able to come out alive,” said Shah.

Shah was particularly severe on Election Commission which he said has been “partisan” in favour of Mamata Banerjee. “There are any number of incidents, video recordings, of rigging in polls in Bengal. Media has reported it. After each of the six phases when violence has occurred in Bengal, our leaders have approached the Election Commission and sought action from them. Not once have they ordered a repoll anywhere,” said Shah.

“Election Commission has been a mute spectator. Everywhere in the country history-sheeters are apprehended ahead of polls. Not a single one has been caught in West Bengal so far. I seriously question EC’s neutrality in Bengal.”

Shah also urged media to come out with their footage of his rally to nail the truth on Vidyasagar statue and other issues.  He didn’t want the rest of media to act like a particular TV channel which headlined its coverage with “Violence in Amit Shah’s rally”. Were we behind the violence, he questioned. He pointed out that no less 60 people have been killed in Bengal and most of them have been BJP workers.

How does the ‘Establishment’ retain power? Here is what I learnt about ‘liberal’ privilege and how to break it down

Abhishek Banerjee
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How does the ‘Establishment’ retain power? Here is what I learnt about ‘liberal’ privilege and how to break it down

How do those in power manage to stay in power? And of course, by ‘power’, I don’t mean the government of the day but the all-powerful Establishment that move the corridors of power. In the popular imagination, we sometimes think of those in power brutally cracking down on dissent, midnight knocks on the doors and all. Which might be true if you are talking of a dictatorship like Saudi Arabia, North Korea or West Bengal.

But in most modern societies, that level of brutality is mostly impossible and often counterproductive, even in the short term. Instead, power is perpetuated in a different fashion: by getting everyone’s hands dirty.

In other words, give everyone who matters a small stake in the power hierarchy to shut up and toe the line. Find out what it is they need and as the Godfather would say, make them an offer they can’t refuse. This is far more effective. Cooperation works much better than coercion.

I will give you a personal example. A young cousin of mine is finishing the twelfth grade. She wants to become a lawyer, for which she aspires to study in one of the prestigious National Law Universities. For this, she must clear the Common Law Admission Test or CLAT.

So far so good. And so, like hundreds of thousands of other ordinary Indian kids, she goes to enrol in a coaching centre. And in order to prepare for the exam, they tell her to regularly read the following newspapers:

(1) The Hindu

(2) The Indian Express

(3) The Telegraph

In other words, become a Nehruvian. Orders from above. All escape routes are closed.

When I put this on Twitter, other folks came forward with their own stories. The UPSC entrance is a similar mess. So is the Bank PO exam.

That’s the genius of systematic ‘liberal’ privilege. Who do you blame here? Surely not the poor aspirant who wants to clear an exam. Do you blame the private coaching institute(s) who need their students to clear the exam so that they can build their reputation and make higher profits?

There’s nobody you can blame directly here. You grow up praying to Nehru in school. Then, you must pass a test of Nehruvian purity to get in. Each successive rung in the ladder requires you to demonstrate higher and higher levels of loyalty to Nehru.

If you have ever wondered how certain people can get bail over the phone, you have your answer. Every member of the ecosystem is beholden to every other. The Establishment prevails even if the government changes. They stick together.

The key is that these changes are incremental, so you hardly even realize them. But they add up. Like compound interest. By the time you reach the top, you have handed your soul to Nehru. And perhaps you still don’t know it. Because you have just been doing things the way they have always been.

The way it’s always been… That’s how it works in law, in business, in bureaucracy, in media, in the intelligentsia, everything.

And when you piece all these little things together, the big picture makes sense. A single party won the highest vote share in all national elections from 1947 to right before 2014. In the Rajya Sabha, that same party remained single largest straight till mid-2017, showing the depth of its power. And while the government might have changed in 2014, the Establishment remained the same. Even with Modi in power, the Establishment wreaked havoc. They wrote letters, the maligned the country, they furthered the lie of India being lynchistan, rapistan and what not, they demonised Hindus who dared to, for the first time, rebel against the Nehruvians, they painted the oldest culture as violent and they even shielded terrorists because it would suit their agenda. The Establishment’s agenda was simple: Bring back a government that would toe the line of the establishment.

Okay, so ‘they’ control the UPSC, the Bank PO, the lawyers, the journalists, everything. Question is: what are ‘you’ going to do about it?

Obviously, I cannot claim to have all the answers. But hopefully, I have at least the right questions. And some humble suggestions.

When fighting a battle from a position of extreme disadvantage, you start by building a secure fortress. A core.

Where would such a core be? Because of their objective nature, the sciences and engineering are the obvious places to start. Ideologues can get into science and engineering for sure, but the nature of their work requires a certain level of objectivity.

You can get a historian to “prove” that Nehru gave us freedom, but remember what happened when Sanjay Gandhi tried to design a car? It didn’t work. Despite Indira Gandhi putting the resources of the whole nation at her son’s feet, the car didn’t work.

Doesn’t mean that a person with no formal education cannot design a car or make a game-changing innovation. It just means that uneducated Sanjay Gandhi will start from the same place as every other uneducated person trying to design a car. That his mother was Prime Minister doesn’t matter one bit.

Science. It’s always our best hope.

This is where foolish ideas like this don’t help.

Untitled.png

Yeah, why not open the floodgates and let the Trojan horses in?

So the first objective should be to secure the sciences and engineering like a fortress.

The next thing is to identify where the gatekeepers of ‘liberal’ privilege and replace the ones on the bottom rung. I will not name them here, but you might have heard of a certain Foundation that has diligently worked in the last few years to coach sympathizers of its ideology to crack the Civil Service exam.

The real “election” in India happens every year, at the time of the UPSC exam. Control the Civil Service and you control India.

If they can, why not us? Reach out to students when they are at the most delicate stage of their career. Help given at that time will pay dividends for a lifetime.

This takes patience. It all starts with low key changes at the bottom. Changes that are not so glamorous. Changes that are so “boring” that no media superstars would care to highlight them. It’s actually the boring stuff that really counts in life. We see the success of Bill Gates, but we don’t see the thousands of hours of programming he occupied himself with as a kid.

Above all, have patience. Unlike 1947, there’s no political monopoly today. If PM Modi today appointed a member of his family (with zero formal education) as an IFS officer posted as ambassador to America, UK, Russia and the UN, there would be an outcry. But when Nehru did so with his sister, Vijaylakshmi Pandit became a legend as a diplomat.

I am guessing UPSC aspirants today (all college graduates, presumably) are expected to know about Vijaylakshmi Pandit’s glorious career as an IFS officer.

But it’s not 1947. This is 2019.

Let us learn from the Chinese here,

“Hide your strength, bide your time, never take the lead.”

This is what Deng Xiaoping used to say back in the 1970s when China decided they would become a superpower that could challenge the might of the United States. Sun-Tzu would probably agree. It’s the art of war.

Everyone can see how one election changed India’s political culture. For the first time in history, Hindu sentiments seem to matter to all sides in an Indian election. Now imagine 5-6 or even 10 of such elections one after another. Imagine the mark that would leave. Imagine if the Establishment that has wreaked havoc, is tamed. Dismantled.

This nation has been around a long time. This nation will be around for a long time even after all the historians, intellectuals and bureaucrats you despise are gone. Patience and grit will win the day. Stay put.

Delhi: For having an affair ‘outside religion’, brothers attack Salma with acid, even mother abandons her

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: For having an affair ‘outside religion’, brothers attack Salma with acid, even mother abandons her

In an extremely distressing turn of events 22-year-old Salma, a native of Gulaothi area in Bulandshahr, who was allegedly attacked with acid on May 9, by her two brothers Irfan and Rizwan and later dumped from a moving car in Kot village in Greater Noida’s Dadri on Thursday afternoon has now been abandoned by her mother too.

Salma, who has been receiving treatment for critical burn injuries on the face and neck at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital is said t be in a critical condition. According to the hospital sources Salma’s respiratory track has also been damaged by the acid attack and is on a life support system.

The ghastly incident occurred around 1:30 pm, on May 9, when the girl was travelling in a car along with her two brothers. The accused duo stopped the car near Kot village and pulled the victim out. They hurled a bottle of acid on her and fled away in the car leaving her lying on road, confirmed Avaneesh Kumar Singh, Circle Officer, Dadri.

A passerby noticed the woman on the road and immediately informed the police. By the time they rushed her to the hospital, she has lost her eyesight.

The accused were reportedly miffed with their sister as she had “befriended” a married man from the neighbourhood “belonging to another religion”. Both have been booked for attempt to murder (IPC Section 307).

The victim has now been abandoned by her mother too. Salma is being taken care of by a team of nurses. The cops on duty have been taking care of the victim and have also arranged for an attendant to help take the girl to the washroom.

A woman constable of UP Police posted at the hospital said that the mother was tracked down by cops two days ago and was brought to the ICU to meet Salma. She was there with the victim for a while but disappeared later in the evening, confirmed the police.

The victim, however, told the police that this is not the first time that her brothers tried to kill her, earlier also they tried several times but she got saved.

Similarly, in another suspected case of honour killing, a Muslim woman was strangulated and mutilated by her father and brother in Purba Burdwan district, West Bengal, for being in a ‘relationship’ with a Hindu man.

In June last year, a pregnant Muslim woman was burnt alive by her family in Karnataka for marrying a Hindu man, while a Hindu man and his Muslim wife were killed in broad daylight by woman’s brother in Uttar Pradesh in November 2014.

There have been several instances also where the man has been castigated for being in a relationship with a Muslim girl or woman like the one we reported late last year where four members of a Muslim family, including a woman, had been accused of killing a member of their own family – a teenage girl – because she fell in love with a Hindu boy, who was also killed by them. Similarly, in September last year, a Hindu man was killed in Andhra Pradesh for being in a relationship with a Muslim girl. In March 2015, a Hindu man in Bihar was also killed as he ‘dared’ to marry a Muslim girl.

In another such incident, in February this year, a Hindu boy named Ankit Saxena was brutally murdered in Delhi for being in a relationship with a girl named Shehzadi from the Muslim community. The alleged murderers were relatives, including parents, of the girl. The Ankit Saxena case particularly gained gravity because this went on to become a classic example of varied media houses’ bias reporting where mainstream media tried to conceal the religious identity of the girl’s family.

Gold utensils and other materials seized from Congress, JDS leader’s hotel room by EC in Hubballi, Karnataka

OpIndia Staff
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Gold utensils and other materials seized from Congress, JDS leader’s hotel room by EC in Hubballi, Karnataka

A team comprising of Election Commission’s flying squad, along with income tax and enforcement directorate sleuths, on Tuesday, carried out search operations in two hotels in Hubballi where Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, State minister DK Shivakumar and several other officers were staying.

These leaders were campaigning in Hubballi as two assembly constituencies in Hubballi Karnataka, Chincholi and Kundgol where bypolls will be held on May 19. The officers reportedly seized gold utensils and other materials from the hotel rooms, allegedly meant for bribing voters.

According to reports, the raids were meant to curb election-related malpractices. The sources confirmed that the team seized gold utensils, party caps and photographs of former MLA of Kundgol C S Shivalli, from a room where congress worker Shivakumar Chandrashekhar Gokavi was staying. A subsequent police complaint has been lodged against Gokavi about the violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

Moreover, as precautionary measures against the use of money power in the Lok Sabha elections, the Income Tax department had earlier too carried out a series of raids on close aides of Janata Dal-Secular leaders in Mandya and Hassan districts of Karnataka ahead of the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections. It was reported that the raids are being carried out on contractors related to JD(S) leaders over allegations of laundering money.

Prior to this, the IT officials had also carried out similar raids on the close aides of HD Revanna in Hassan and CS Puttaraju in Mandya.

Meanwhile, By poll in Kundgol seat is being carried out after it fell vacant following the death of sitting MLA C S Shivalli a few months ago. Shivalli’s widow Kusumavathi is contesting the election from this seat. Meanwhile, Chincholi is going for bypolls as the sitting Congress MLA Dr Umesh Jadhav resigned from the assembly to join BJP and contest the Lok Sabha election from Gulbarga on BJP ticket against Congress stalwart Mallikarjun Kharge.

Results of these two constituencies will be declared simultaneously with the Lok Sabha election results on May 23.

How IndiaTimes invented “Muslims should leave” hate crime in a Gurugram road rage incident

OpIndia Staff
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How IndiaTimes invented “Muslims should leave” hate crime in a Gurugram road rage incident

In an unfortunate incident of road rage, one Dr Narul in Gurugram was beaten up by a mob when he went to buy milk for Iftar. However, IndiaTimes.com, a Times Group website, decided to twist its own report and give it a communal angle and declare the road rage as hate crime.

On Tuesday, The Times of India, the flagship product of Times Group, reported a story that one Dr Narul had come to Ardee City at around 8 pm to buy milk in his Baleno car when two men got off from their Fortuner car and abused him. Dr Narul mentions that when he told them that they were coming from the wrong side of the road, the duo called up a few other men who then beat him up in what clearly appears a case of road rage.

He mentions that when he was being beaten up, he heard someone say that he (Dr Narul) is a Muslim and hence they (the men allegedly beating him up) should leave because this incident could lead to communal riots.

“They thrashed me brutally and I could not understand the reason. I heard two of them saying that I am a Muslim and they should leave otherwise riots will take place. They fled after leaving me on the road side. I don’t know any of them. I want strict action against the accused,” Nurul told TOI.

Following this, the attackers fled the scene. So in essence, the crime (assault) was stopped by the perpetrators when they realised the religion of the victim.

However, IndiaTimes, another Times Group website, reproduced this story by giving it a communal twist.

IndiaTimes headline with communal angle

As seen above, the journalist twisted Dr Narul’s statement to a sister publication and gave it a communal twist. The headline reads that the mob thrashed Dr Narul while shouting “Muslims should leave”, while in fact, they fled the scene when they realised the person they were beating up was a Muslim.

What is unfortunate is that the story with communal angle has got more shares on social media than the story which originally reported the incident.

Shares of TOI and IndiaTimes stories

As can be seen, the original Times of India story which did not have any communal angle got fewer shares as compared to IndiaTimes story which went viral.

In fact, even readers pointed out the click-bait and misleading headline of IndiaTimes.

Comment by a Facebook user calling out IndiaTimes’ misleading headline

We have earlier written how crime stories turn into communal headlines after a few days. Giving a Muslim angle to a road rage spices up the story and helps build the narrative that ‘mob-lynching’ is the new normal.

The above story had all the elements. A Muslim man out to buy milk, for Iftar, gets beaten up and the word ‘Muslim’ is heard by him. So why let the opportunity pass by when there is a scope to help build the ‘mob lynch’ narrative? Media appears to be playing a very dangerous game. The same people who accuse others of communalising an incident, appear to do so in a very determined and devious way by twisting the facts.

The media could very well have been given the benefit of the doubt in this case, had it not been a habitual offender in this regard. They are either complicit in it by deliberately twisting facts such as in the case of a woman allegedly being beaten up to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, or careless to make headlines based on unsubstantiated claims as had happened in the case of a man who claimed attack by gau-rakshaks in Mumbai.

Midnight crackdown in Mamata’s Bengal: BJP leaders and karyakartas detained by Kolkata Police

OpIndia Staff
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Midnight crackdown in Mamata’s Bengal: BJP leaders and karyakartas detained by Kolkata Police

In a midnight crackdown on BJP leaders and workers, dozens of BJP karyakartas including BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Bagga have been detained by Kolkata Police. According to sources they were picked up at around 3 am earlier today. Kolkata goes to polls on May 19 in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP President Amit Shah had carried out a roadshow in Kolkata last evening which showed a huge turnout despite TMC government’s attempt to scuttle BJP’s campaigning. Other than the usual slogans of the party, the workers also chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ during the roadshow, which will surely irk CM Mamata more. Artists dressed as Lord Ram and other characters of Ramayana also seen among the sea of saffron wearing supporters of the party. Earlier this month, Mamata Banerjee had confronted people who chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ when her car passed by, accusing them of abusing her.

The election in West Bengal has been marked with large scale violence and electoral malpractices by the ruling party in the state. Several BJP leaders and workers have been attacked by TMC goons, including state party president Dilip Ghosh and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The social media is filled with videos from polling booths from the state showing TMC workers voting on behalf of genuine voters, right in front of election officials and security personnel.

Various Twitter users came out and extended support to Bagga and BJP karyakartas and demanded their immediate release.


OpIndia tried to call New Market Police Station to get a statement from Kolkata Police but we were kept on hold for six minutes, twice and did not get a response. We shall update the story when we have more information.

Conduit in Easter attacks in Sri Lanka was earlier reported for his cow worshipping jibe and hailing Pulwama attack

OpIndia Staff
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Conduit in Easter attacks in Sri Lanka was earlier reported for his cow worshipping jibe and hailing Pulwama attack

According to the investigators, one of the youths suspected of providing technical and logistical support to the Easter Sunday bombers was under the surveillance of Indian Intelligence agencies three years ago for links with the Islamic State suspects. Security agencies believe that 24-year old Aadhil Ameez was the link between two terror outfits that carried out attacks on the church and hotels in which 250 people lost their lives and hundreds of others were injured.

Now it has emerged that one conscious social media user had noticed how Aadhil Ameez had mocked Hindus with cow worshipping jibe and hailed the Pulwama attack on one of the posts condemning the attack on Facebook. Responding to a Facebook post about the Pulwama attack, Aadhil Ameez had posted, ‘Kaafir, your cow worshipping Jawans are in hell’. The user who goes by Twitter handle @TheAngryLord had then reported his terrorist mindset to the authorities and asked to take stern action against him.


After seeing this port, the Twitter user drew the Ministry of External Affairs of India, Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan police’s attention towards the mocking and abusing of the martyrdom of CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the Pulwama attack.

Apparently, no serious action was initiated against him, who is now accused of being a key link between 2 terror outfits responsible for carrying out the ghastly Easter Sunday attack in Sri Lanka. Aadhil had been on India’s monitoring list since 2016 and named in two charge sheets filed in Indian courts against suspected Islamic State operatives as being one of their contacts.

In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, many complaints of individuals celebrating the attacks or posting approbatory posts on social media came to the fore. Various institutions, public dignitaries and government agencies faced flak from the usual suspects for taking a tough stand against those who were found celebrating the dastardly attack on the paramilitary forces.

Concerted attempts were made by these usual suspects to paint the aggressors as victims by indulging in rumour-mongering and thus discouraging the agencies from taking action against them. JNU freelance protestor Shehla Rashid spread a rumour that 15-20 students were stuck in the hostel and a mob was unleashed against them. Dehradun police had then filed an FIR against her.

One of the pertinent points here to be noticed is Aadhil Ameez’s choice of words to mock the Indian Bravehearts. He specifically used ‘Cow worshipping’ jibe to spew his vitriol against Hindus. The same language was used by the Pulwama terrorist, Adil Ahmed Dar in his video justifying his attack on the ‘cow worshippers’ and ‘Gaumutra’ drinkers. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who is known for peddling fake news and malicious propaganda is often found on Twitter mocking Hindus with ‘Gaumutra’ barbs.

Several people on social media have observed that with multiple terrorists using the cow worship and Gaumutra jibe against Hindus, perhaps security agencies should keep a close eye on those people who use this reference to mock Hindus, as they can be potential terrorists.


The above incident shows that the governments in the world should no longer consider the online mockery of the deaths of the victims and the exultation expressed after a terror attack as flippant and innocuous. Those who gloat on the terror attacks and direct their hatred against a particular community with specific jibes should be put under surveillance and their activities should be monitored so that they are nipped in the bud before they execute their nefarious terror designs.

Now with multiple terrorists using the Gaumutra jibe against Hindus, perhaps security agencies should keep a close eye on those people who use this reference to mock Hindus, as they can be potential terrorists.

The governments across the world should also adapt to the evolving demands posed by the new-age terror networks. Online surveillance and grievance mechanism should be made more robust so that their macabre behavioural pattern suggesting solidarity for terror activities can be spotted and relevant course of action be taken against them in advance.

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