Speaking candidly about her conversion to Islam following her Nikah to Bollywood screenwriter Shahrukh Mirza’s son Farhan Mirza, TV actor Chahatt Khanna revealed in an interview with Telly Talk India on 22nd October that she was “thankful” to go back to her roots following the divorce. She was famous for her stint in the popular show “Bade Acche Lagte Hai.” Chahatt revealed, “Yes, in a way, yeah, I would say that. But I don’t know for their good or my good, but that is why I said, thankfully, I am back home,” when asked if she was brainwashed into converting to Islam.
Chahat also talked about her ‘religious’ family. She added that numerous individuals advised her against converting and that she was subjected to numerous limitations after doing so. “A lot of people did not want me to convert but I did because I wanted to do nikah (Islamic wedding ceremony). Not that I was forced to convert but I did. After that I was definitely told ‘Don’t worship your god, probably that is not the correct way, this is the correct way’ and I being a lost child followed that way. I think it was fine, it was not that bad. But then, I am happy, I am in a much happier space, I have more wisdom, I know what I am doing. I know what is correct and what is not, and I am living a very conscious life,” she expressed.
Chahatt married Farhan in 2013 and the couple got divorced in 2018 after she accused him of sexual and mental harassment. He was her second spouse. They also have two daughters together. “After my divorce, it took me a lot of time to come back to my originality. It took me 4-5 years to believe in Islam too but thankfully when I got back to my roots of the Sanatana Dharma I realised the greater truth behind a lot of things,” she stated.
On Wednesday, 24th October, a former army personnel was defrauded of Rs 83 lakh in an intricate scheme to ‘digitally arrest’ him. According to the police, Maj Gen Prabodh Chander Puri, 85, a resident of Sector 20, Panchkula, received a call from an unknown number on October 15th stating that his mobile phone was being used extensively and would be turned off within two hours. He was routed to customer care, who warned him that a mobile number registered in his name was being used to threaten people in Connaught Place, New Delhi.
Puri was assured he would be linked to the police department, and one claimed sub-inspector (SI) Mishra notified him of the phone’s usage and said he would connect him to the cyber cell. In an attempt to trap Puri in the fraud, another caller claimed SI Roshan informed Puri that his phone was used to launder money worth Rs 80 lakh and to allegedly threaten individuals.
He then received a video call from ‘SI’ Roshan, who had a Delhi Police cybercrime profile image. He instructed Puri not to hang up the phone and to remain in front of the camera until a police officer arrived. Another individual then contacted him and identified himself as Kashyap from the CBI. They inquired about his and his wife’s financial situation, and the call continued throughout the night. Puri then was compelled to provide his wife’s phone number as well. They threatened him not to tell his son, who is also in the army. They assured him that he would be digitally arrested and then released after a few procedures.
On October 16th, they sent him a picture of a man arrested for using his phone number. They forced him to withdraw all of his savings under his wife’s name. He was instructed to withdraw his fixed deposits and provide the receipts on call. They sent him an account number and instructed him to send over the funds, stating that they would refund the funds in six hours to his wife’s account. They also mentioned that they would suggest an award from the Centre for their assistance in solving the crime.
This is notably, not just one case in which the accused has posed as an authority figure to dupe people for money. Trapping people using the internet and phones and then looting them for crores of the sum has become a new normal, termed ‘Digital Arrest’.
In the given case, Puri filed a police complaint against the accused who posed as sub-inspector (SI) Mishra and SI Roshan to loot him of Rs 83 lakhs. The complaint has been filed under relevant sections, 316(2), 318(4), 336 (3), 338, and 340 of the IPC.
In today’s highly connected digital world, cyber threats are evolving at an alarming rate, fueled by advancements in AI and machine learning. This has also empowered fraudsters, increasing their chances of success in various scams. Despite growing awareness around the term ‘Digital Arrest’, linked to several fraudulent activities, the number of citizens falling victim to such schemes continues to rise. According to media reports, over 200 cases are reported each month in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone. A ‘Digital Arrest’ scam typically involves fraudsters posing as law enforcement officers on video calls, threatening fake arrests to extort money.
Ahmedabad police discovered a Taiwanese connection to ‘Digital Arrest’ scam
On 14th October, the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police announced it had detained four Taiwanese nationals out of 17 accused of ‘Digital Arrest’. While two of them were arrested from Delhi, the other two were arrested from Bengaluru.
The alleged racket involved a sophisticated scheme in which the accused impersonated officials from multiple government agencies, including the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Mumbai Crime Branch of the Maharashtra Police, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The scam also involved fraudulent claims linked to a Mumbai court, as well as the misuse of an Aadhaar card and bank account.
Indian Express
The gang ‘digitally arrested’ a senior citizen for 10 days, monitoring him through video calls and coerced him into depositing Rs 79.34 lakh as a ‘refundable’ processing fee to resolve a fabricated RBI issue. Police stated that the senior citizen had filed a complaint after individuals posing as TRAI, CBI, and cybercrime branch officials accused him of involvement in illegal transactions through his account.
Another such case reported from Ahmedabad on 24th October revealed that an elderly man was tricked into transferring Rs 1.26 crore in a digital arrest scam where the accused impersonated high-ranking officials, including the Chief Justice of India.
The accused posed as Chief Justice, CBI official to loot through internet
On October 10th, a victim from Delhi received a video call from the accused, who posed as a police officer, a CBI official, and the Chief Justice. They falsely informed him that his bank account was connected to a money laundering case, citing a Rs 2 crore transaction. The fraudsters threatened the elderly man, warning that he could face a five-year prison sentence.
Using intimidation, they convinced him that if he submitted a written request, they could ask the Supreme Court to prioritize his case and prevent his arrest. They offered to conduct a ‘digital investigation’ via video call, during which they kept him under constant surveillance. During this so-called investigation, the accused pressured the victim to break his fixed deposits and transfer the funds for ‘verification,’ assuring him the money would be returned within 48 hours. To support their claims, they even produced a fake Supreme Court certificate.
After the victim transferred the cash, the accused cut all communication, leading him to recognize that he had been duped. After detecting the fraud, the man reported it to the Cyber Crime Cell, which initiated an actual inquiry leading to four arrests.
Mobile phone users put under ‘digital arrest’ for 3-4 days before fraud
On 22nd October, a UP woman was duped in a similar ‘digital arrest’ scam for Rs 2.9 lakhs. The woman in the complaint said that she had received a call from an unknown number on 9th October and was asked to press 9 on the keypad after which her call was transferred. The lady was then informed that a man had been arrested for committing fraud of Rs 38 lakh using her phone number. The woman then was put under digital arrest and was forced to pay Rs 2.9 lakh for release.
On 19th October, a retired government official in Noida was duped of Rs 1.19 crore after being put under ‘digital arrest’ for four days by cyber criminals acting as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) personnel investigating a chit fund fraud of Rs 300 crore.
Image- Deccan Herald
Vijay Kumar Gautam, station house officer (SHO), cybercrime branch Noida, confirmed the crime and said that on September 11th, the victim got a call from an anonymous number. The caller described himself as a bank representative and informed him that Rs 1.9 lakh was due on his credit card issued in Mumbai. When the victim denied having anything to do with the credit card, the suspect moved his call to ‘Mumbai Police’ to register an online FIR.
The victim was later informed that his Aadhaar was used in a Rs 2.56 crore fraud involving a bank. He was told over the phone that the CBI was investigating this case, and the call was transferred again to someone impersonating a CBI investigator. “When I spoke to a CBI official, he said Rs 300 crore has been taken out from the bank, and more than 300 people have been cheated through a chit fund scam, and that my ID has been misused,” the FIR said.
The suspect assured the victim that if he cooperated with them, his name would be cleared and that everything had been looked into by the Supreme Court of India. During his digital arrest, he was allowed to carry out personal tasks.
“The victim then was asked to declare his financial status, and on the pretext of tracking a digital code to nab the real culprit, they made him transfer Rs 1.19 crore in three installments,” the head of the investigation stated. “He was placed under digital arrest from September 11th to 14th. When the victim did not obtain any clearance, he realized he had been tricked,” the officer explained.
Digital Arrest: What it is? How is it growing?
‘Digital arrest’ is a method used by cybercriminals to confine victims to their houses to defraud them. The perpetrators create fear in the minds of internet users by making audio or video calls, often impersonating law enforcement agents with AI-generated voices or visual technology.
In most situations, the fraud starts with an apparently innocent phone call from a claimed courier firm, cellphone provider, telecom department, or bank. These calls can be either live or automated, urging the recipient to enter a number for more information. Once connected, the victim chats with someone professing to be a support agent, and the misery begins.
The fraudsters often have some personal information about the victim, such as Aadhaar (or the last four digits), PAN, or bank details. Using this information, they convince the victim that their Aadhaar, PAN, mobile number, or bank account has been linked to alleged illegal activities. The victim is then connected to individuals impersonating law enforcement officers from agencies like the police, customs, ED, or CBI, who conduct a fake interrogation over video conferencing and issue a bogus arrest warrant via call or WhatsApp.
A ‘Digital Arrest’ involves the virtual confinement of the victim, including restricted access to bank accounts and digital platforms, prevention of online activities, live monitoring through video calls, and periodic check-ins, all of which continue until the scammers extort money. The scam typically escalates by taking the victim to a fake virtual court via Skype while they are under ‘digital arrest.’ The victim is then persuaded to transfer their bank balance to another account for ‘verification,’ with promises that the funds will be returned within 30 minutes. Fake documents, including letters and receipts on counterfeit letterheads of various authorities, are issued to further deceive the victim.
Advisory issued by I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre)
In light of the rising incidences, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is linked with the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued advice asking civilians to stay calm. The Ministry also stated that no one had the authority to arrest anyone online and that people needed to stay alert.
The advisory issued by the I4C read, “Don’t Panic, Stay Alert. CBI/Police/Custom/ED/Judges DO NOT arrest you on video call.”
The advice included logos for social media networks such as WhatsApp and Skype, stressing how scammers frequently used these services to make bogus calls. These platforms have indicated before that they are collaborating with government cybersecurity organizations to improve user protection from such threats.
Cases of sextortion emerging from Mewat, a hotbed of cybercrime
As reported several times by OpIndia, the Mewat region in Rajasthan and Haryana has become a hotbed of such cyber crimes. Several people residing in the area use technology to trap innocent internet users for money. In June this year, OpIndia reported about ‘Operation Anti-virus’ in Rajasthan during which police raided several locations in Mewat arresting several young individuals involved in looting people monetarily using the internet and fake calls.
As reported, thousands of SIM cards, mobile phones, swipe machines used for fund transfers, and cash counting machines were also been seized from the fraudsters. The Police arrested several individuals one of whom was identified as Abid. The accused had posed as a military man ‘Anil Kumar’ and made fake calls to loot people for money.
As per the police Mewat region in Rajasthan has become a hotbed for cyber crimes. More than 500 cases are reported daily from the region and more than 150 FIRs have been filed for cybercrime in 2024 alone. These accused persons deceive people through investment allurements, fake digital arrests, threats of disconnecting utilities, and sextortion. They call people, introduce some investment schemes, and ask people to make initial monetary deposits for future benefits. However, later these people are lured and forced to make further deposits. On refusal, they are threatened with ‘digital arrests’, scaring people to follow them.
In several cases filed of sextortions, a similar pattern has been observed by the police. As per the authorities, the accused persons make video calls to innocent people from unknown numbers and then play some sex videos. The call is deceptively recorded in which the targeted individuals are recorded watching pornography or sexual content, giving it an impression of involvement. The victims are then threatened and asked to deposit money if they have to avoid ‘police action’ or ’embarrassment’. The victims often get intimidated to deposit hefty amounts that are transferred and routed to many bank accounts before the final withdrawal.
The police say that these accused persons employ and train youngsters on salary and operate a huge nexus of call centers to lure and loot innocents monetarily. The ’employees’ are expected only to make fake calls from fake mobile phones and initiate conversations leading to massive loot by the experienced fraudsters. As per the reports, several villages in the Mewat region are engaged in such fraud.
It is believed that 18% of the total cyber crime cases happening in India are reported from the Mewat region. A huge nexus operates here in which some are responsible for arranging fake SIM cards, some for making calls, and others for actually executing the loot. The fake SIM cards are supposedly arranged from the states of West Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha.
A similar raid was reported in April 2024
In a major crackdown against cybercrime, the Nuh police in April this year arrested 42 cyber criminals from various parts of Nuh, Mewat in Haryana in two days concerning several cyber fraud cases registered nationwide. The arrested accused were identified as Deen Mohammad, Asif, Arif, Sarfaraz, Saqib, Ijaz, and Munajir among others.
During the operation, a total of 50 cellphones, fake Aadhar cards, over 90 SIM cards procured with forged documents, cash, and several ATM cards were seized from the possession of the arrested accused. This was supposed to be the biggest crackdown on cyber criminals since April last year. Back then, the police had arrested 66 cyber criminals from 14 villages in a wide-scale operation that involved several police stations and dedicated teams of police personnel that included hundreds of cops.
Despite numerous news reports and awareness campaigns from various agencies, fraudulent ‘Digital Arrests’ and extortion schemes continue to persist. The best way to avoid falling victim to such scams is to stay alert, openly discuss any concerns and fears with friends and colleagues, and seek assistance from information security teams if in doubt.
The users need to always verify the identity of callers before participating in a conversation. Some more basic steps can be adopted to stay alert like being skeptical of sponsored ads on Facebook, Instagram, or Google that promote investment groups on WhatsApp or Telegram. People also should avoid providing sensitive financial information, such as bank details or login credentials, to unknown entities. They shall avoid clicking on strange links or also downloading unauthorized files.
As a preventive measure, the government recently launched the Chakshu portal under the Sanchar Sathi initiative by the Department of Telecom. Chakshu enables citizens to report suspected fraudulent communications intended to deceive telecom users through calls, SMS, or WhatsApp for cybercrime, financial fraud, impersonation, or other misuse. In the event of falling victim to cybercrime, complaints should be filed on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), while financial cyber frauds can be reported by calling the National Cybercrime Helpline at 1930.
On 13th October a Muslim mob attacked a procession of Durga idol immersion which resulted in the brutal killing of Ram Gopal Mishra and several injuries in Maharajganj of Bahraich district, Uttar Pradesh. 45-year-old Santosh Tiwari who is the neighbour of prime accused Abdul Hamid was also among the injured. The latter was the mastermind behind the brutal assault on Hindus. Santosh was so severely thrashed that he needed to go to Lucknow for his treatment. His bike was also set on fire by the rowdy crowd. He spoke to OpIndia about the occurrence.
The roofs of the houses of Santosh Tiwari and Abdul Hamid are adjacent to each other. He has a shop of online services named “Tripathi Digital Seva Kendra” where he does printing and typing to financially support his family members. He has a wife and a minor daughter at home whose rooftop is adorned by a saffron flag. He stated that his entire family keeps fast for 9 days during Navratri. On the day of the incident, he was distributing prasad to the devotees participating in the procession when a commotion took place and violence broke out. Upon witnessing the chaos, he went inside his place and shut the gate. Someone then shouted that his bike had been set ablaze.
Santosh further narrated that he came outside to investigate and saw that his two-wheeler was burning intensely. He proceeded to save his vehicle when a Muslim throng with sticks and sharp weapons surrounded him and attacked him. He ran towards his house, but they dragged him and started beating him mercilessly. He mentioned that he had no personal animosity or acquaintance with any of his attackers who were also raising “Nara e Takbeer” slogans. Stones were also being pelted from the roofs, during this time. He conveyed that he fainted due to the vicious assault and the Muslims left believing him to be dead.
His family eventually pulled him inside the house and more police force arrived at the location after some time following which an ambulance was called. He was wounded in many places including his head. The Hindus took him to the local hospital from where he was sent to the district medical college. The doctors there referred him to Lucknow Medical College due to his critical condition.
Santosh Tiwari (Source: OpIndia Hindi)
According to Santosh Tiwari, he would have died if he reached Lucknow late. He also had a head injury, which was revealed during treatment. He also shared several pictures of him taken during his treatment with OpIndia including one with an oxygen mask on his face. He has returned home after treatment but is still very scared due to the anti-Hindu riot. He is worried about the future of his family. His house is right in front of the mosque, which many Hindu victims and eyewitnesses have accused of making announcements to incite the members of the Muslim community.
बहराइच में मस्जिद के आगे भीड़, भीड़ के आगे आग में जल रहा सामान… और आत्मरक्षा के लिए चिल्लाते हिंदू, वीडियो में बंदूक लिए पुलिस वाले भी
बहराइच में 'मस्जिद से हमला' की मीडिया रिपोर्ट को नकार रही वहाँ की पुलिस… इस नए वीडियो के आने के बाद क्या दोबारा जाँच करेगी UP पुलिस? pic.twitter.com/x1ZkLuMOfw
Something is seen burning in front of the mosque, in a viral video online. Some people on social media suspected that it could be Santosh Tiwari’s bike.
For many decades, India has been plagued by the menace of love jihad as well as grooming jihad where Muslim men lure non-Muslim girls, especially from the Hindu community including minors by concealing their real identities and then proceeding to exploit their targets sexually. These matters often escalate to assault, harassment, torture, forced conversion, blackmail and even murder. All the states have also fallen victim to this pandemic and are witnessing a startling rise in such cases. The severity of the issue is demonstrated by the recent instances alone. In the first case, Adnan Khan trapped an underage tribal girl from Jharkhand. In the second one, Mohammad Matloom tricked a Hindu woman from Madhya Pradesh. In the third incident, Mohammad Javed duped a young Hindu woman and in the third occurrence, Zafar deceived a minor Hindu girl. All three cases are from Uttar Pradesh.
Grooming Jihad in Jharkhand
Jharkhand’s tribal regions are deeply affected by the growing threat of “grooming jihad” which is demonstrated by the recent instance where Adnan Khan (19) used social media to entrap a 15-year-old Hindu tribal girl, reported Organiser. He befriended her through Instagram. According to the complaint submitted by her family, he interacted with her on the app. “Adnan_khan_aaa” is his Instagram handle. He persuaded their daughter to elope to Delhi by gradually seducing her to fall in love with him. They filed a missing report on 13th October and charged that the accused had coerced her into accompanying him to Delhi.
He subsequently contacted her parents and told them that he was deeply in love with her and that her friends Taruna and Diksha could provide them with further information about him. The girl’s mother is currently employed as a maid at the house of Ambika Rai, the head of a non-governmental organization (NGO) that assists in rescuing girls who are either trafficked or held by Islamists. Organiser spoke to the latter and she disclosed that the police officer, who was reportedly Muslim, declined to register the parent’s complaint. He later registered a complaint but did not provide them with any form of access to it. Ambika Rai added that he only launched a complaint and handed over a copy after she spoke sternly with him.
She unveiled that Adnan was in contact with other girls in the family and claimed that they were like his sisters. He somehow persuaded the victim to come to Delhi as they had known each other for a while. When he later learned that the police were pursuing him, he called the girl’s parents and threatened to stop them from taking legal action against him. He boasted that he is well-connected and that they could not do anything to him.
However, the offender was contacted after the complaint was submitted and his mobile number was located. He then promised the complainants that he would return their daughter to Jharkhand and would also go to the railway station with her. He was apprehended by the railway police, who were also accompanied by female police officers when he went to the Anand Vihar railway station in New Delhi to drop the girl off. They couldn’t discover the girl at first, but as the cops became tough with Adnan, he told them that she was inside the train. It turned out that the girl was concealing her true identity by donning a hijab.
The girl was then brought for counselling. The perpetrator had made her speak to the family and her sisters had advised her to return because her mother’s health was deteriorating. According to Ambika Rai, he had also been to Delhi’s red light district. Members of another NGO who were following him stated that he had arrived at the location late at 2:00 am. Jharkhand police departed for the national capital to arrest him. Ambika Rai voiced that the case needs a thorough probe as Adnan is merely a minor player in a larger scheme to either traffic Tribal Hindu girls or trap and convert them to Islam.
Love Jihad case from Hamirpur district
A case of “love jihad” surfaced from the Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh, where Mohammad Matloom masqueraded as Raju Thakur to seduce a Hindu woman from Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, according to a report in Organiser. He tricked her into marrying him and embracing Islam. She managed to escape his clutches and filed a formal complaint after being threatened and sexually abused. On 16th October a First Information Report (FIR) was launched at the Biwnar police station after the victim’s complaint which revealed that she met him on Facebook, where he had presented himself as Hindu.
Matloom persuaded her to travel to Hamirpur after weeks of chatting by promising to marry her. She learned that the man she had been talking to was actually Muslim when she arrived at Hamirpur on 25th July. She was also pressured by his father Mehboob and another unnamed person to convert to Islam and then they forced her to have nikah (Islamic wedding ceremony). “When I opposed, the unknown person and Mehboob threatened me with a pistol and said they would chop and throw me into the jungle. They locked me in a room. At night, Matloom, the son of Mehboob, raped me multiple times. He physically assaulted me and threatened to shoot me when I resisted,” she narrated her ordeal.
She was able to get away and reach her home the next morning. However, her suffering didn’t cease there as Matloom and the unnamed accomplice persistently called her and her family. They used derogatory language about her mother and sisters and threatened to harm her or abduct her family members. She unveiled that the fact that no instant action was taken despite her repeated pleadings to the authorities had given the culprits more confidence. Sections 64(2)(m), 127(2), 352, and 351(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act have been invoked against the accused.
Love Jihad case in Pilibhit
In the second incident, a young Hindu woman was tricked by Mohammad Javed who forced her to convert to Islam and have nikah and threatened to leak her leak intimate photos and video if she didn’t obey him. The matter came to light on 14th October when she filed an FIR at the Sungadhi Police Station in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit which stated that he initially pretended to be Rahul and befriended her on social media. Their conversations began and he traveled to Pilibhit soon after Holi where the two met. He took Lakshmi to a nearby pizzeria, where he sexually assaulted her and captured the incident on camera. He utilised the recordings to blackmail her and threatened that he would release them if she didn’t agree to his demands for more meetings.
The incident intensified at the Pilibhit Dussehra fair when the accused tried to take her by force. He exposed his true identity and brutally attacked her and even choked her when she refused. “My real name is Javed, and now you will have to convert and marry me. If you refuse, I will release all the videos and photos, making sure no one else will want you,” he declared. She raised an alarm, worried for her safety and honour. As soon as locals arrived on the scene, he was forced to escape. She reported the incident to her family right away, and they went on to lodge an official police complaint.
The cops arrested him and a case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections 64(2)(m), 115(2), and 351(3) was filed. “We have arrested the accused, Javed, who had been operating under a false identity to trap the victim. The charges are severe, and we are committed to ensuring that justice is delivered in this case,” the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Pilibhit highlighted.
Love Jihad case from Kanpur
In the third incidence, Zafar made friends with a 17-year-old girl in 11th grade in the Bidhanu police station area of Kanpur by posing as Raj. He even forced her to consume a cold beverage contaminated with alcohol while driving her to an unidentified location under the guise of dropping her off at home from school. He then began blackmailing the girl after making a pornographic film of her. He shared the video on social media after she stopped talking with him. Afterwards, he put pressure on her to become a Muslim. She informed her family members about the occurrence after the video went viral online and they lodged a police complaint. The authorities then initiated their investigation and began looking for the accused.
The interim government in Bangladesh has banned Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of Awami League, under the terrorism act. The home ministry issued a gazette notification last night, stating that Chhatra League has been banned with immediate effect.
The govt invoked section 18 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act-2009 to ban the organisation, and listed it as a banned entity. The section reads: “For the purposes of this act, the government, on reasonable grounds that a person or an entity is involved in terrorist activities, may, by order, enlist the person in the schedule or proscribe the entity and enlist it in the schedule.”
The notification claims that BCL has been involved in different conspiratorial, subversive and terrorist activities against the state since the fall of the Awami govt on 5 August. It calls BCL a brotherly organisation of Awami League, and accuses it of being involved in crimes like murder, torture, and oppression of students.
The govt alleged that Chhatra League took money for dormitory rooms for students, manipulated tender, raped and sexually harassed women, and committed other crimes, particularly in the last 15 years during the rule of Sheikh Hasina.
“At various times since the independence of Bangladesh, especially during the last 15 years od dictatorial rule, the Bangladesh Chatra League, the fraternal organization of Bangladesh Awami League, has been involved in various public security-related activities including killings, torture, harassment in common rooms, trading of seats in dormitories, gangs, rape and sexual harassment”, said the order issued by Bangladesh home ministry.
“Documentary information regarding these have been published in all the major media of the country and in some terrorist incidents, the leaders and workers of the organization have also been proved in the criminal court”, the order added.
It adds that BCL members attacked the students participating in the anti-discrimination movement in July this year, killed and injured hundreds of students and other people. The gazette notice says, ‘there are evidence that there are charges of conspiratory, destructive and provocative acts against the nation along with various terror activities against Chhatra League leaders even after the fall of Awami League government’.
This comes amid increasing demands from the student groups who toppled the Sheikh Hasina government to ban the student group. The student groups had threatened to take to streets if Chhatra League is not banned within a week.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, the group that led the movement against reservation in jobs and then against Sheikh Hasina govt, announced a five-point demands, including the resignation of Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The demands also included banning the Bangladesh Chatra League.
Hundreds of students were demonstrating in front of the Dhaka University vice chancellor’s office demanding the ban. The received the news of the ban there and cheered the decision.
Awami League and Bangladesh Chhatra League have condemned the interim govt for the decision. Notably, there are also demands to ban the Awami League, and the govt has announced that the party won’t be allowed to contest elections.
In a first public disclosure of the combined wealth of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her husband Robert Vadra, Priyanka has declared assets worth Rs 12 crore while her husband owns assets worth Rs 66 crore. This information was disclosed by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in her affidavit while filing her nomination as the Congress candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypolls.
According to her election affidavit, her total financial assets are worth Rs 12 crore. In her nomination papers, she stated a total income of Rs 46.39 lakh for the fiscal year 2023-2024.
Priyanka Gandhi owns movable assets totalling Rs 4.24 crore, including deposits in three bank accounts, investments in mutual funds, PPF, a Honda CRV car provided by her husband Robert Vadra, and approximately 4400 grams (gross) of gold worth Rs 1.15 crore.
Priayanka Gandhi Vadra’s immovable assets are valued at more than Rs 7.74 crore including two inherited half-shares of agricultural land in Mehrauli, New Delhi, as well as a half-share of a farmhouse. In addition, the affidavit states that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has a home in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, that is currently valued at more than Rs 5.63 crore.
Furthermore, Priyanka has liabilities totalling Rs 15.75 lakh, which she is challenging following reassessment proceedings filed by the Income Tax Department for the 2012-13 tax year. The affidavit reveals that the appeal is still ongoing before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).
Meanwhile, Robert Vadra’s wealth greatly outweighs that of his wife. He has a Land Cruiser worth Rs 53 lakh, a Mini Cooper, and a Suzuki motorcycle worth Rs 4.22 lakh. According to PTI, his mobile assets are worth Rs 37.9 crore, while he owns immovable properties worth Rs 27.64 crore. Robert Vadra’s commercial interests include partnerships in limited liability companies such as Blue Breeze Trading LLP, North India IT Park LLP, and Sky Light Hospitality LLP. He has total holdings of Rs 35.5 crore which includes a Rs 31.93 crore balance in Sky Light Hospitality.
Vadra’s Gurugram real estate portfolio, estimated at Rs 27.64 crore, was first purchased for Rs 2.78 crore, with a further expenditure of Rs 3.62 crore for development. Robert Vadra has liabilities amounting to Rs 10 crore.
The affidavit states that on the 28th of March 2023, the Income Tax Department commenced assessment processes for Vadra’s tax returns from 2010 to 2021. The overall demand raised is Rs 80 crore, with the highest amount of Rs 24.16 crore for the 2019-20 evaluation year. In the affidavit, Vadra has appealed the demands, and the proceedings are currently pending.
In addition to the financial details, the affidavit mentions that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has two FIRs filed against her and one notice from the Forest Department. The FIR, filed in Madhya Pradesh in 2023 against Priyanka alleges cheating and forgery under sections 420 and 469 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint about deceptive tweets. The second FIR, filed in Uttar Pradesh in 2020, accuses Priyanka of violating IPC sections 188, 269, and 270 during her protest over the Hathras incident. Priyanka and her brother, Rahul Gandhi, were charged for breaking prohibitory orders and the Epidemic Diseases Act during the COVID-19 epidemic while attempting to meet the family of a rape victim.
On Tuesday, 23rd October, Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chairman Jagdambika Pal alleged that TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee attacked his chair with a glass bottle during the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. As per the reports, enraged Banerjee smashed the glass bottle while discussing the matter with BJP member and former Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay. JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal, meanwhile, said that he escaped the attack with God’s grace.
“Yesterday during the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee broke a glass bottle and threw it with such anger and fury and the way he threw it at me, it is God’s grace that I narrowly escaped,” he said while talking to the ANI news agency.
#WATCH | Delhi: On scuffle during JPC meeting, Waqf Amendment Bill JPC Chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal says, "Yesterday during the Joint Parliamentary Committee, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee broke a glass bottle and threw it with such anger and fury and the way he threw it at me, it… pic.twitter.com/LquyJL51pQ
He further added that every member in the meeting is given an equal opportunity to speak and that such attacks amid serious discussions are to be condemned. “The government is having discussions on the bill so that it can benefit the Muslim community. The objective of the bill is to benefit the poor Muslims. The state wants such land to be used for the education and development of poor Muslims. We have to come to a consensus. If anybody disagrees, they must make their point. But showing such anger is not valid,” he added.
“This concerns Parliament. We have made (Lok Sabha Speaker) Om Birla aware of the incident. Because it was such a big incident. We had to adjourn the meeting for the first time. Because of the way the incident happened and the bottle was broken… everyone was shocked. There were two witnesses from Odisha, including a former Judge and a senior IAS officer. What message has been sent to the country? Their party (TMC) should also consider what kind of behavior is this? Where is there a place for violence in a parliamentary democracy,” Pal said.
The scuffle is believed to have taken place after the BJP MP objected to Banerjee interrupting other members. Banerjee and Gangopadhyay also had an ugly spat during a discussion on the registration of Waqf properties. Pal then said that he had informed the speaker about the attack and banned Banerjee from attending the next meeting.
“I have informed the Speaker about the entire incident but this is a serious attack on the parliamentary system. Kalyan Banerjee was allowed to speak the most. I will resign if someone is accusing me of not giving enough time to speak in the JPC. We have passed a resolution and expelled Kalyan Banerjee from the next meeting of the JPC,” Pal said.
Opposition leaders meanwhile have slammed Jagdambika Pal accusing him of allegedly breaking procedural rules by making the incident public. Pal denied the claims made by DMK member A Raja and AAP member Sanjay Singh, claiming that he did not make public the committee’s proceedings but rather spoke only about the violent occurrence.
“I have not revealed any proceedings or deliberations of the Committee. I have only made a statement about an incident of violence during the committee meeting by a member and his subsequent suspension,” Pal was quoted as saying.
The Canadian broadcaster CBC News recently interviewed Santokh Singh Khela. Khela serves as an organiser for the banned terrorist organisation Sikhs for Justice’s Ottawa division and is the mastermind behind the AI 112 bombing plot.
In May 1986, five members of the Khalistani terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa were charged with plotting to blow up Air India Flight 112 in New York City and Santokh Singh Khela was one of them.
Anti-corruption and anti-terrorism investigative journalist Mocha Bezirgan took to X on October 21, to share a snippet of the interview, raising concerns about Canada’s position on allowing pro-Khalistani terrorists to operate freely within the country.
“CBC interviews Sikhs for Justice’s Ottawa organizer, Santokh Singh Khela, who was previously sentenced to life imprisonment by a Canadian court for conspiring to blow up Air India flight 110 departing from JFK, New York, in 1986. He served almost a decade in jail before a judge ordered a stay of proceedings over disclosure matters. Why did the U.S. not extradite him and try him for the conspiracy? Santokh was presented with an award in Calgary this year by Ajaib Singh Bagri, who pledged to kill 50,000 Hindus at the WSO founding convention in 1984 and was previously charged for the other bombings that killed 331 people a year before Santokh’s conspiracy,” Bezirgan wrote.
CBC interviews Sikhs for Justice's Ottawa organizer, Santokh Singh Khela, who was previously sentenced to life imprisonment by a Canadian court for conspiring to blow up Air India flight 110 departing from JFK, New York, in 1986.
Another journalist, going by the handle @OnTheNewsBeat, shared the same snippet and pointed out how the CBC anchor didn’t disclose to viewers who she was platforming. There were no references to Khela’s past or present activities.
The anchor here doesn't disclose to viewers who she is platforming. No references to his past, or his present activities
The ?? people deserve to be told the truth of who the media is calling Sikh activists are plain terroristshttps://t.co/MSdiVdNr6F
Mocha Bezirgan also, in a separate post, shared a picture of Santokh Singh Khela with Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar before his murder.
A picture of Santokh Singh Khela (right) with Hardeep Singh Nijjar (middle) before his murder. Global News named the 2 men in the picture but didn't bother naming Babbar Khalsa's infamous Santokh Singh Khela, so I thought I'd. https://t.co/lzAe9tw1Qqpic.twitter.com/cLzNkQJxMA
It is worth noting that Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been fiercely criticizing India for over a year regarding the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. Trudeau accused the Indian government of involvement in Nijjar’s killing, citing “credible allegations” but without presenting any evidence. India strongly refuted these baseless accusations, escalating the already tense relations between the two nations.
After accusing Indian agents of being behind Nijjar’s assassination in June 2023, Trudeau recently admitted that his claims were based solely on intelligence and that he had no concrete evidence. In an interview, he acknowledged that there was no proof directly linking India to Nijjar’s killing when the allegations against New Delhi were initially made.
Santokh Singh Khela is associated with the banned terrorist organisation Sikh for Justice
Khela is also the organiser for the Khalistan referendum conducted by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) at Dashmesh Gurdwara.
Sikhs For Justice was banned by the Indian Government on July 10, 2019, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for anti-India activities. The Indian government designated its founder, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a terrorist. The organization has announced Referendum 2020, demanding a separate state of Punjab from India. Since its inception, the organization has been trying to lure the youth of Punjab with monetary rewards for instigating war against the Indian government.
Khela masterminded the Air India 112 bombing
In May 1986, five members of the terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa were charged with plotting to blow up Air India Flight 112. Months after the proceedings, while the Canadian court freed three men, it found Santokh Singh Khela and Kashmir Singh Dhillon guilty of conspiring to commit mass murder by blowing up Air India (AI) Flight 112 which originated at JFK airport in New York City. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987. The sentence was later overturned.
The Canadian government claimed that the alleged plot was conceived on April 4 1986, targeting an Air India flight departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport on May 30 in New York. All five men involved were from Montreal, Quebec. It was later revealed that Santokh Singh Khela had been under surveillance by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) since at least May 1985, when they recorded a phone call he made to Talwinder Singh Parmar, the mastermind of the Air India Flight 182 bombing.
When Khela and his associates were sentenced to life, Quebec Superior Court Justice Claire Barrette-Joncas said in her passing sentence that Santokh Singh Khela and Kashmir Singh Dhillon are examples to the world of how Canada treats terrorists.
“The crime you were found guilty of is so mind-boggling that the primary end of these sentences must be deterrence, a firm notice to you and any would-be terrorist that such conduct is not to be considered lightly in Canada,” she said.
Khela was awarded by Ajaib Singh Bagri, a close associate of the mastermind of the Kanishka bombing and who pledged to kill 50,000 Hindus
As mentioned by journalist Mocha Bezirgan Santokh Singh Khela was this year, presented with an award in Calgary by Ajaib Singh Bagri. Notably, Ajaib Singh Bagri was a close associate of Talwinder Singh Parmar, the mastermind of the Kanishka bombing, which happened a year before the Air India Flight 110 bombing plot. Ajaib Singh Bagri is the same person who had also pledged to kill 50,000 Hindus.
The bombing of Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, was one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in aviation history. The Boeing 747 aircraft, operating as “Kanishka” and en route from Montreal to London, was destroyed mid-air by a bomb, killing all 329 people on board, most of whom were Canadian citizens of Indian descent. The bomb was planted in the plane’s cargo hold, and it exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Ireland.
The investigation into the bombing revealed that the conspiracy had been planned and executed in Canada, where members of the Sikh terrorist group Babbar Khalsa, including Talwinder Singh Parmar and Inderjit Singh Reyat, were involved.
Pierre Trudeau is vastly blamed for the Kanishka bombing, as it was only after the Trudeau-led government saved Parmar he started preparing for the bombing. In 1984, Parmar told his fellow Khalistanis that “Indian planes will fall from the sky”.
In the same year, Ajaib Singh Bagri, a close associate of Parmar, pledged to kill 50,000 Hindus. He said at the founding convention of the World Sikh Organization, “Until we kill 50,000 Hindus, we will not rest!” It was reported by Milewski, who extensively covered the Khalistani movement in Canada and abroad.
To date, many consider the Kanishka bombing one of the darkest moments in Canada’s history, and it highlighted the growing influence of Khalistani extremists operating from within the country.
The bombing of Air India Flight 182 stands as a tragic reminder of the impact of terrorism and the long-lasting scars it leaves on victims’ families, while also bringing attention to the international dimensions of extremism.
Despite Santokh Singh Khela’s involvement in the AI 112 bombing plot and his close ties with Khalistani terrorist organizations and the masterminds behind the Kanishka bombing, which primarily killed Canadians, the Canadian media outlet not only provided him with airtime but also discreetly concealed his past and ongoing antecedents. The broadcast overlooked his role in masterminding the Air India Flight 112 bombing plot, downplaying the gravity of his involvement in what could go down history as another deadly terrorist attack.
In a shocking turn of events, a renowned American doctor has admitted to delaying the publication of the study on the mental health effects of puberty blockers in youth with gender dysphoria for nine years, fearing that the findings of this taxpayer-funded study would be “weaponised” and used to justify restrictions on so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors. This fear stemmed from the fact that the study showed puberty blockers treatment did not result in improved mental health of the subjects.
Speaking to the New York Times, Dr Johanna Olson-Kennedy, who runs the largest youth gender clinic in the US, said that she and her colleagues had postponed the publication of findings from a two-year-long study funded by the National Institutes of Health because they were concerned that the findings would be “weaponised” and used by opponents of transgender procedures for minors.
“I do not want our work to be weaponized,” Dr Johanna Olson-Kennedy said.
This $10 million taxpayer-funded study tracked the growth of 95 children from throughout the country to determine if their mental health improved after receiving puberty blockers. Olson-Kennedy claimed that treatment with puberty blockers did not result in mental health benefits, most likely because the children were doing well when the trial started.
However, the unreported data contradict an earlier study published by Olson-Kennedy and colleagues in 2022, which revealed that roughly one-fourth of the children were depressed or suicidal before receiving either puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones.
“Elevated depression symptoms were endorsed by 28.6% of GnRHa cohort youth, and 22.1% endorsed clinically significant anxiety. About a quarter (23.6%) endorsed lifetime suicidal ideation, with 7.9% reporting a past suicide attempt,” the 2022 Psychosocial Characteristics of Transgender Youth Seeking Gender-Affirming Medical Treatment report reads.
Notably, Olson-Kennedy is the medical director of the Centre for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. As per the data on Stop The Harm, created by the medical advocacy organisation Do No Harm, during 2019 and 2023, the CTYHD prescribed 103 minor patients cross-sex hormone or puberty blocker therapy and performed 165 cross-sex surgical procedures on children. The numbers are outrageous given her own research shows that puberty blockers do not help mental health and yet Olson-Kennedy fears that the critics of puberty blockers will ‘weaponize’ it against them.
Source: Stop The Harm
Olson-Kennedy also confessed that she feared that the study’s findings about the absence of mental health improvements would be used in court to argue that “we shouldn’t use blockers.” She also blamed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and ‘politics’ for a cut in funding to justify the delay in revealing the research findings, however, the NIH refuted Olson-Kennedy’s claims.
Notably, Puberty blockers or simply hormone blockers, are drugs used to delay the beginning of puberty in children, especially those suffering from gender dysphoria. These blockers temporarily restrict the release of sex hormones, preventing the development of secondary sexual traits such as breasts or facial hair.
While the woke doctor is blatantly defending the deliberate delay in publishing the findings of the research, one of her fellow researchers has said that “the decision flies in the face of research standards and deprives the public of really important science in a field where Americans remain firmly divided,” as NYPostreported.
The reports of Dr Johanna Olson-Kennedy causing a deliberate delay in publishing the research results since it indicated that there were no mental health improvements in the children has triggered outrage.
'We must not publish a study that says we're harming children because people who say we're harming children will use the study as evidence that we're harming children, which might make it difficult for us to continue harming children.' pic.twitter.com/hS4CcswkXg
JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author who is often in headlines for her strong opinions on gender identity politics criticised Olson-Kennedy in a sarcastic post saying, “We must not publish a study that says we’re harming children because people who say we’re harming children will use the study as evidence that we’re harming children, which might make it difficult for us to continue harming children.“
The Israel Defence Forces on Wednesday revealed that six journalists working for Al Jazeera are members of terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). As per IDF, intelligence information and numerous documents found in Gaza confirm that the 6 journalists have military affiliation with the terror groups.
The information that proves the affiliations include “personnel tables, lists of terrorist training courses, phone directories, and salary documents for terrorists,” the IDF tweeted on Wednesday. “These documents serve as proof of the integration of Hamas terrorists within the Qatari Al Jazeera media network,” the tweeted further stated.
EXPOSED: 6 Al Jazeera journalists have been exposed as Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.
The IDF has disclosed intelligence information and numerous documents found in Gaza confirming military affiliation of six Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad… pic.twitter.com/quVmr2zE8B
IDF has said that the documents “unequivocally prove” that the journalists functioned as members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s respective military wings. “These documents are proof of the involvement of Hamas terrorists in the Qatari media network, Al-Jazeera,” IDF said in a statement.
The statement added that most of the journalists that the IDF has exposed as operatives in Hamas military wing spearhead the propaganda for Hamas at Al Jazeera, especially in northern Gaza.
The six journalists have been identified as Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif, Alaa Abdul Aziz Muhammad Salama, Hossam Basel Abdul Karim Shabat, Ashraf Sami Ahsour Saraj, Ismail Farid Muhammad Abu Amr, and Talal Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Aruki.
IDF said that Anas Al-Sharif was the head of a rocket launching squad and a member of a Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s Nuseirat Battalion. Alaa Salama was the deputy head of the Shaboura Battalion’s propaganda unit of Islamic Jihad. Shabat was a sniper in Hamas’s Beit Hanoun Battalion, Ashraf Saraj was a member of Islamic Jihad’s Bureij Battalion. Abu Amr served as a training company commander in the East Khan Younis Battalion, and Abdul Rahman Aruki was a team commander in Nuseirat Battalion of Hamas.
Ismail Abu Amr was injured in Israeli operation in Gaza in February this year. At that time, Al Jazeera had denied that he had links with terror links. But now IDF has found documents establishing the link.
In May this year, Benjamin Netanyahu govt ordered to shut down the operations of Al Jazeera channel in Israel over its pro-Hamas propaganda. After that in September, the Israel govt also closed the Al Jazeera bureau in Ramallah in West Bank.
